Employee Motivation Essay

Abstract. Employee motivation is the psychological feature that arouses an employee to behave in a certain manner for accomplishing certain organizational goals. Individuals differ in motivation along three parameters viz. self-esteem, need for achievement, and intrinsic motivation. There has been a growing emphasis on employee’s needs rather than just organizational needs, and recognition of the strategic value of employees being developed to their best potential. Organizations have become increasingly aware that the effective development of their employees’ skills and knowledge has benefits for the whole organization. Performance appraisal can be a crucial factor in the setting of career goals and the perception of job satisfaction leading to increased motivation and productivity. The paper examines employee motivation at the workplace. What is Motivation? Motivation is based on emotions. It is the search for positive emotional experiences and the avoidance of negative emotional experiences. Motivation is involved in the performance of all learned responses. It is a behavior that will not occur unless it is triggered. In general, psychologists question whether motivation is a primary or secondary influence on behavior. For example, is the behavior stemmed from personality, emotion perception, and memory or if motivation stems from concepts that are unique. Each year, billions of dollars are spent on motivation courses by large companies. The course involves training in motivation, meetings to boost motivation, incentives to strengthen motivation, meetings to analyze problems in the workplace motivation, tools to measure motivation mission statements, etc. These training sessions also include how to cope with problems in recruitment, productivity and retention, problems of commitment to teams and corporate agendas. Motivation is extremely important to success and to reach personal and business goals that one has set. Ethics Employees must learn to work together towards common goals. Employees must have an understanding of the organization as a whole and how they fit into the organization. They will most likely need training to acquire the knowledge needed for organizational understanding. Once an understanding of the organization and their role in it has been established, the employee with act on the goals set forth. Management must show the employee the need for their being there and for their output and input. The top to bottom role should be fair and there must be a clear code of corporate ethics. There must be communication between all levels, top to bottom, bottom to top. No employee should be left out. Management should ensure that their employees feel secure and they can be trusted and are equals among their peers. Performance should be viewed as a learning experience, not a horrific experience. Appraisals The annual performance review is one of the most feared and fearful processes that leaves employees angry and depressed as opposed to motivated to perform better. Companies have started to look at the appraisal as a more developmental approach to performance evaluation, instead of making the employee feel more insecure about their job performance. By using this technique, it would emphasize on giving employees the skills they need to perform effectively. The goal of a plan such as this would be to achieve goals that have been set by the company and be appraised on how many of those goals they have reached. Goals should be clear and sufficient to motivate employees into action. Business performance will improve by using an effective appraisal system. By defining clear objectives, the employees will be able to focus on the specified task and company goals. Appraisals help the employees feel that their good work is recognized and that they are valued. It also provides an opportunity to discuss concerns and weaknesses that the employee may have and suggestions may be made to find a solution to the problem. Motivation Techniques In order to motivate employees, they must know what is expected of them. Employees must have a clear understanding of challenges and realistic goals that they must meet. Employees that are encouraged to healthy competition ensure that the criteria for successes are clear and do not encourage resentment or low morale. Tough approaches, like firing staff that are not working to their full potential, can motivate other employees to do work better and strive for those goals that have been set. There is no perfect way to motivate staff. Some psychologists hold that financial bonuses or perks will be enough to motivate employees to give their best effort. Competition between employees is also commonly used as a motivation strategy at times. However, the keys to effective employees are motivation strategies that provide a range of incentives that appeal to the different personalities of the employees. While one individual may be driven by money, another may find job satisfaction or creative opportunities more powerful factors. Some company employee motivation techniques suggest that most employees respond to the same incentives. Money is most commonly used to improve motivation, staff retention and ambition. Everyone is different and has their own view about what is important to their life. For this reason, there are steps that can be used to motivate employees by doing things that they value and mean doing the right thing. They are as follows: Find the right job for the right person Empower Employees Co-operation vs. Competition Involve employees in company development When staff feel secure and nurtured in their work environment they perform  better. These steps help employees feel secure in their environment: Praise and recognition of the employee’s successes as much as you constructively criticize them. Let employees be aware of their job security. Be a Leader to staff. Create a comfortable working environment. Treat employees fairly. Mangers are responsible for overseeing employees who are engaged in work or learning tasks. Managers must be aware that some employees participate more out of interest in the task than others are. Others gain their satisfaction principally out the way in which their performance on the task leads to rewards like pay or status. But typically there is a mixture of motives for which a range of different incentives is relevant. Most employees will find at least some satisfaction in simply doing the work. The balance of these intrinsic and extrinsic sources of satisfaction varies from one person to another and between different situations. Some people indeed are highly motivated by both intrinsic interest and extrinsic rewards. Extrinsic and intrinsic motivation Most employees understand intrinsic satisfaction or intrinsic motivation, when an activity is satisfying or pleasurable in and of itself. These activities are things employees like and want to do. For most people, intrinsically enjoyable activities are things like eating, resting, laughing, playing games, winning, creating, seeing and hearing beautiful things and people, and so on. To do these things people do not need to be paid, applauded, cheered, thanked, respected, or anything. They do them for the good feelings that are automatically and naturally received from the activity. Intrinsic rewards also involve pleasurable internal feelings or  thoughts, like feeling proud or having a sense of mastery following studying hard and succeeding in a class. Many, maybe most, activities are not intrinsically satisfying enough to get most of people to do them consistently, so extrinsic motivation needs to be applied in the form of rewards, incentives, or as a way to avoid some unpleasant condition. There are many activities that are intrinsically satisfying to some people but not to other people. This diversity suggests that past experiences can have a powerful influence on determining what is intrinsically satisfying to an individual. In many activities, intrinsically satisfying aspects combine with extrinsic pay offs. For example, employees and people in general, intrinsically enjoy conversing and, at the same time, they get attention, praise, support and useful information. In this case where intrinsic and extrinsic motivations are mixed, one might suppose that over a period of time the accompanying extrinsic reinforcements gradually increase our intrinsic enjoyment of the activity and perhaps vice versa. Extrinsic Motivation Extrinsic Motivation comes from without, such as money, titles, honors, trophies or a date. Extrinsic motivation has been found to destroy intrinsic motivation. Presently there is a movement to eliminate extrinsic motivation from schools, hospitals, and government. Extrinsic Motivation can be based on the phrase, â€Å"Do this, and get this.† Methods of Extrinsic Motivation are sometimes controversial. Some argue that employees view their work as a form of punishment and the paycheck is their reward. Extrinsic rewards tend to focus attention more narrowly and to shorten time perspectives, which may result in more efficient production of predefined or standardized products. Job satisfaction and long term commitment to a task may also be affected. Management first thinks about rewarding employees with money as an effective reward. Unfortunately, money will not always motivate employees to perform better or stay with the company longer. Not everyone thinks money makes the  world go round. Intrinsic Motivation Intrinsic motivation is the satisfaction in which the rewards come from carrying out an activity rather from a result of the activity. Employees that are intrinsically motivated tend to be more aware of a wide range of phenomena, while giving careful attention to complexities, inconsistencies, novel events and unexpected possibilities. They need time and freedom to make choices, to gather and process information, and have an appreciation of well finished and integrated products, all of which may lead to a greater depth of learning and more creative output. Intrinsic Motivation is the outcome of a work situation that employees enjoy. It comes from inside of the employee. Employees feel that they are in charge and that they have the opportunity to acquire new skills and abilities to match a different challenge. Employees also feel that they are a part of a successful team. When rewards, such as praise, are based on performance standards that imply one is doing well and performing competently, then the intrinsic interest increases. People like to be told they are doing well. Intrinsic Motivation is an emotional preference that gives pleasure and enjoyment. It stems from a strong emotional interest in an activity. It can be classified as a sense of freedom. Theories. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Abraham Maslow is considered as the father of Humanistic Psychology. Humanistic Psychology incorporates both Behavioral and Psychoanalytical Psychology. Maslow, although he studied both types of Psychology, he rejected the idea that human behavior is controlled by only internal and external factor. Maslow, instead, based his Motivation Theory on the basis that â€Å"man’s behavior is controlled by both internal and external factors.† (pp. ) He also emphasized that humans have the ability to make choices and  exercise free will. Maslow collected data for his theories by studying individuals with an outstanding presence. His studies led him to believe that certain people have needs which are unchanging and genetic. Some needs are more basic than others are and others are more powerful than others are. As these needs are satisfied, new needs are created and other needs emerge. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs is as follows: Basic Needs: Physiological; The need for sleep and rest, food, drink, shelter, sex, and oxygen. Safety; The need to be safe from harm. The need for a predictable world with consistency. The need for fairness, routine, and a sense of stability and security. Growth Needs Love and Belonging: The need for love and affectionate relationships, belonging to a group, and caring. Esteem (two components): Self-respect: The desire for confidence, competence, adequacy, achievement, and mastery. Respect of others: The desire for acceptance, recognition, reputation, appreciation, status, and prestige. Understanding and Knowledge: The needs to satisfy curiosity, explore, discover, find solutions, look for relationships and meaning, and seek intellectual challenges. Aesthetics: The need for beauty in surroundings. Self-actualization: The need for growth, development and utilization of potential, becoming all that one can be; self-fulfillment. McGregor’s X and Y Theories Two theories of human behavior at work were developed by Douglas McGregor. Theory X and Theory Y. McGregor did not indicate that workers would be type X or type Y. He saw the two types as extremes, with various possible behaviors in between. Theory X workers would be described an individuals who dislike work and avoid work when possible. They also lack ambition and do not like responsibility and prefer to be followers instead of leaders. These individuals also have a desire for feeling secure. Theory Y workers are individuals that could be characterized as individuals who did not dislike work and are considered responsible. These workers consider work as play or a rest time. For Theory Y workers, management would need to challenge the individual and create a working environment where they can show and develop their creativity. With Theory X, receiving rewards motivates the individuals. Keller’s ARCS Theory of Motivation John M. Keller designed four conditions for an employee to be motivated. Attention, relevance, confidence, and satisfaction (ARCS) are these conditions that when an employee uses them, they will become more motivated to do their tasks and reach goals set by themselves or others. Keller suggests that ARCS must happen in sequence. By following the ARCS order, it will keep the employee interested in the topic. If it were to lose its sequential order, then interest will be lost and motivation would not take  place. This motivation theory argues that events that fulfill personal needs or goals will enhance performance and effort put forth by the employee. Each of Keller’s conditions build upon the next condition. The management should keep these conditions in mind when designing goals and assigning tasks. The Conditions set by Keller are as follows: Attention: The first and single most important aspect of the ARCS model. It is gaining and keeping the employees attention. Keller’s strategies for attention include sensory stimuli, question provocation, and variability. Relevance: Attention and motivation will not be maintained unless the employee believes the training is relevant. The training program should answer the critical question, â€Å"What’s in it for me?† Benefits should be clearly stated. For a sales training program, the benefit might be to help representatives increase their sales and personal commissions. For a safety-training program, the benefit might be to reduce the number of workers getting hurt. For a software-training program, the benefit to users could be to make them more productive or reduce their frustration with an application. Confidence: The confidence aspect is required so that the employee feels that they should put a good faith effort into the organization. If they think they are incapable of achieving the objectives or that it will take too much time or effort, their motivation will decrease. In technology-based training programs, employees should be given estimates of the time required to complete the task or a measure of their progress through the program. Satisfaction: The last is Satisfaction. The employee must obtain some type of satisfaction or reward for achieving the goal or finishing a task. This can be in the form of praise from a supervisor, a raise, or a promotion. If managers are to use this Theory of Motivation, they must address adequate  examples and/or choices for their employees to be available to complete the task or reach a goal. Some employees may be active learners and enjoy experimentation. Some employees may be reflective learners and are more in tune with observing and lectures. These styles must be taken into consideration in order for the employee to feel motivated and be able to help the organization. There are currently thousands of articles on employee motivation research that has evolved from the early work of Maslow, Keller and McGregor. The application of these theories into new communication situations, like the Internet, will be an important contribution for generations to come. Benefits of Motivation Employees It is important that employees are motivated to work hard and increase productivity. Yet some workers are not reaching their full potential. Managers need to be proactive and start or improve existing motivation programs. Employees are aware of what their employers are or aren’t doing to recognize their efforts. The time it takes to set up a program is minimal, program administration is easy and efficient with automated program tracking and reporting. The end result is a program tailored specifically to the needs of the company. To develop a successful motivation program that benefits a company the following suggestions may be helpful: Specific goals that provide a strong sense of motivation and are expected to be obtained. Equity for all participants. Employees perceiving inequity may lower productivity. High perceived value so the participant becomes emotionally involved in obtaining the goal. Employee involvement during the development of the program and timely feedback to employees continuing throughout the program. Employee motivation is the responsibility of the company and its managers. The company must create a workplace that is full of culture and high achievers in order for the business to improve. Recognition, appreciation and rewards are crucial to employee motivation. A pat on the back or a mention of thanks can literally move mountains. Productivity rises for employees that are rewarded for the work they do. A company’s reputation and productivity increases with employees that feel appreciated. Recognition keeps communication open. It is important to keep communication alive with staff. By opening the lines of communication and staying in touch with the employees it will keep you in touch with their needs and desires. Create an atmosphere of cooperation, and give credit where credit is due. In return, the company will have employees that will go the extra hundred miles, and the returns will be tenfold. When an employee is passionate about their involvement and contributions, there will be no limit to the success that can be achieved. Bibliography Pandy, Wayne. (2001) Safety Incentives & Recognition. Creating an Achievement Based Safety Culture. Retrieved September 18, 2004 from http://siri.uvm.edu/ppt/csseincentive/sld030.htm Captain Webb, Bob. (2001) Developing productive skills through self-discovery. Retrieved September 18, 2004 from http://www.motivation-tools.com/ Accel Team. (2004) Motivation. Retrieved from http://www.accel- team.com/motivation/index.html Accel Team. (2004) Theorists and their Theories. Retrieved from http://www.accel- team.com/motivation/theory_01.html Carnegie, Dale. (1981). How to Win Friends & Influence People; Be a Leader: How to Change People Without Giving Offense or Arousing Resentment (pp. 205-243). New York, NY: Pocket Books. Faculty of Information Studies. (1995) Motivation Theories. University of Toronto Retrieved from http://choo.fis.utoronto.ca/FIS/Courses/LIS1230/LIS1230sharma/motive1.htm

Jim Crow Laws Main Problems for Black Americans in the 1920s and 1930s Essay

When the Civil War ended in 1865, Abraham Lincoln proclaimed all men in America – black or white – equal. However, throughout the rest of the nineteenth and much of the twentieth century African-Americans were widely discriminated especially in the Southern states of the country. They faced serious social, economic and political problems and were regarded by most people as the inferior race. Although America was referred to by its president Woodrow Wilson as the â€Å"great melting pot† in 1915 and although it was supposed to be a country where â€Å"all men are created equal† as stated in the Constitution; this certainly was not the case. American society was divided by strict racial hierarchy with the White Anglo-Saxon Protestants (WASP) on the very top, other European immigrants in the middle and with blacks descending mainly from slaves on the very bottom. Historians argue why this was and why the desires of some leaders to create a homologous nation really stayed only desires. Some argue that the ethnic minorities faced discrimination in everyday life because it had legal basis in the so called â€Å"Jim Crow† laws, which promoted the â€Å"separate but equal† decision of the Supreme Court from 1896. These laws were introduced in the South to support the separation of the races and basically made the discrimination of Blacks legal. However, others argue that the reason for discrimination lay deeper in the American history and that it rooted from the established racial hierarchy. There were many half-secret organisations that fought for the white supremacy and some historians, such as David M. Chalmers argue that it was the existences of such groups that caused the discrimination against blacks. Some historians also argue that the federal apathy was another important obstacle blacks had to face. This was because of the laissez-faire policy and also because of personal racist views held by the presidents of the era, who wanted (as the rest of American people) to keep power in the hands of the WASP establishment. Some other historians would argue that it was the impact of World War One that deepened the racial problems and others believe that blacks had to deal with discrimination because of the fear of the whites that their social and economic status were under threat. This essay will examine all those possible reasons why black people were treated with hostility in the interwar period and will prove that while the Jim Crow laws were important in justifying this approach; it was in fact the deep-rooted racism that caused all the other factors and led to the savage discrimination of African-Americans. Some historians, such as John A. Kerr argue that the Jim Crow laws were the main cause of the discrimination present in American states. The decision of the Supreme Court in 1896 led to proliferation of these laws throughout the South as Homer Plessy lost his case and the Court found that the laws were not breaking the US Constitution. The Court decided to support the popular â€Å"Separate but Equal† policy, which meant that as long as equal facilities were provided, the segregation of the races wasn? unconstitutional. Seven of the eight justices at the trial favoured this decision and stated that the 14th Amendment to the US constitution was not â€Å"intended to abolish distinctions based upon colour† and that separation of those does not â€Å"necessarily imply the inferiority of either race to the other. † This decision disappointed black people as they knew that it was very unlikely that the states would provide them with equal facilities. As a result of this case states could impose legal punishments on people consorting with members of another race. The most common examples of Jim Crow laws were forbidding intermarriage and ordering business owners and public institutions (schools, offices) to keep their black and white clientele separate. Basically, the discrimination of black Americans was now legal. The only justice that didn? t agree with the court? s decision, John Harlan, summarised it well stating â€Å"the present decision†¦ ill not only stimulate aggressions, more or less brutal and irritating, upon the admitted rights of coloured citizens, but will encourage the belief that it is possible, by means of state enactments, to defeat the beneficial purposes which the people of the United States had in view when they adopted the recent (13th and 14th) amendments of the Constitution. † In addition, even though black people possessed the right to vote, by the year 1902 there was only 3,000 black voters in Alabama as it was one of the states that created impossible qualification tests for black voters. In a state where African-American population was significant with around 900,000 individuals this isn? t surprising and only proves the extent of discrimination and racism present. These ridiculous tests, with questions such as â€Å"How many bubbles are in a bar of soap† denied blacks the opportunity to vote for their politicians and thus decreased the chances of a change of the situation. The Jim Crow laws were clearly a manifestation of the racism present within American culture, but they alone weren? t the reason for the hostility and discrimination towards the blacks. The factor that caused the laws to come into existence and be accepted and followed was the deep-rooted racism and the presumed dominance of the WASPs and this was the main problem African-Americans had to deal with. Many historians would thus argue that the main reason why ethnic minorities and blacks in particular, faced discrimination was the existence of racial hierarchy and deep-rooted racism inherent within the American WASP culture. After the 13th Amendment in 1865 that freed the former black slaves and the 14th and 15th Amendments that provided them with equal rights and suffrage, African-American hoped for a new better beginning. However, the former slave-owners and other WASPs living especially in the south were not willing to undergo such change. The problem wasn? t only with blacks, other ethnic groups different from the white â€Å"acceptable† Americans of northern European origin suffered from discrimination and perceived inferiority as well. Americans wanted to keep their standard of WASP Americanism and were unwilling to accept other cultures as equal. There were many pseudo-scientific findings that were meant to prove this inequality. Joseph Le Conte, an American anthropologist, for example claimed that â€Å"modern ethnologists have thoroughly established the fact that in all essential qualities the Negro race seems to be totally incapable of development†. Racial stereotypes of blacks as inferior beings were popular throughout American society and although the racial hierarchy was mostly unspoken, there were clear signs of it in every aspect of the culture. As the blacks were always regarded as inferior, low-class people, it was not easy for the white supremacy supporters to all of a sudden support their equality. Racism had a strong historical context in American society and it was this that caused the Jim Crow laws to be legalised and supremacist organisations, such as the Ku Klux Klan, to form. Therefore the deep-rooted racism must be seen as the key problem Blacks had to face as it caused all the other obstacles for them and resulted in discrimination in all levels of the society. However, some historians would argue that it was the existence of the supremacist organisations that posed the biggest trouble to the black Americans. Ku Klux Klan was formed immediately after the end of the Civil War but its main wave of actions happened during the 1920s and 30s. The founder of the second KKK, who awoke the old tradition in 1915, was William J. Simmons. His aim was to purge Southern culture of corrupting influences that were according to him trying to â€Å"destroy WASP America. † These were apparently not only blacks, but also other ethnic and religious groups, such as Catholics, Jews and even communists. The Klan used violent methods to intimidate and suppress these groups. Mob violence and lynching were a daily fact of life in the south during the 1920s. However, the organisation became gradually more national with members in the northern countries as well as in the southern ones. It restricted its membership to native-born white Protestants and it attracted many people due to blacks? migration and social fears resulting from it; many people across the country became committed to the â€Å"100% Americanism† and were afraid of losing the position on the top of the racial hierarchy. As historian Paul S. Boyer states, â€Å"The organisation consisted primarily of ordinary people, not criminals or fanatics. The Klan? s promise to restore the nation to an imagined purity – ethnical, moral and religious – appealed powerfully to ill-educated and deeply religious Americans. † By 1925 KKK had 5 million members and it dominated state legislatures. Assembly men, sheriffs, judges – all were members of the Klan and agreed with its policies, either secretly or publicly. The Klan used symbols, such as white robes and burning crosses to bring about and emphasise fear and as historian David M. Chalmers argues they were viewed as a â€Å"super-secret organisation; masked and mysterious, with a tradition of violence for which a generation of legend had achieved a high measure of social approval. † They were feared by the blacks and praised by the whites. Although the white supremacy organisations, such as the KKK played an important role in supporting racist actions and discrimination, they didn? t exist without a cause. This cause was the deep-rooted racism within American people as well as the social and economic fear after the â€Å"Great Migration† and the First World War. It is also surprising that such a violent organisation was free to carry out its actions and was not stopped by neither federal, nor state governments. This shows that the legal aspect of discrimination was to a great extent the major problem for the blacks. However, racism would have existed without the laws, but the laws would not have existed without the deep-rooted racism in American culture, which establishes it as the key reason for all the problems. In any other instance, organisations such as the KKK and racist laws such as the Jim Crow laws would not be accepted by any government. Thus, historians debate also the option that one of the biggest problems African Americans had to face during this time period was the federal government? s apathy. By the ruling of the Supreme Court in 1876 it has been decided that individual states could govern themselves as they saw fit. This led to proliferation of the Jim Crow laws in the South and increasing ignorance of the problem of discrimination in the North. What is more, it provided the federal government with an excuse to not intervene and carry out the ineffective laissez-faire policy. Woodrow Wilson, a Democrat president during and after the First World War, was even racist himself. He declared that the blacks were â€Å"an ignorant and inferior race† and strongly defended segregation stating in 1916 that it is â€Å"not humiliating and is a benefit to you Black gentlemen. † Even though he is known for his campaign for international brotherhood and peace and he denounced the tactics of the KKK, he openly sympathised with its efforts to restore the white supremacy. Clearly, the racism in America was deep-rooted in all levels of the society. In the 1920s Republicans held the presidential office in their hands and as part of their overall approach to ruling they applied the laissez-faire attitude towards social affairs. As Calvin Coolidge stated â€Å"the chief business of the American people is business†. They simply did not think it was their job to intervene in people? s everyday lives. Moreover, the various administrations seemed to close their eyes to racial discrimination. Anti-lynching law in 1921 was never passed as it was defeated by Southern Senators and that meant that the organisations such as the KKK could continue with their horrible actions. What is more, the Klan was allowed to organise 40,000 men march on Washington DC in 1925 showing its strength and being de facto supported by the federal government. Blacks were also further excluded from the Republican Party and had to submit to segregation in the White House and the federal civil service. The evidence shows that Blacks were discriminated in all levels of the society. Even the presidents themselves were racist and did nothing to tackle the inequalities, if not making them worse. The federal apathy clearly rooted from the racism present among the public and the government was simply responding to the will of the people. This created further complications for the African Americans to gain their civil rights as they had to face racism and discrimination not only at everyday levels but also at the proper political ones. Historians also debate the possibility that the aftermath of WW1 causing the â€Å"Great Migration† and wide spread social and economic fears was itself the reason for discrimination of black Americans. In the WW1, many African-Americans fought for the country, but even more of them were employed in munitions, other factories and agriculture to keep the country going. As a result, many blacks moved from the South to the North as they saw it as a chance for better life. Whites didn? t always welcome these migrants as they, too, had racism deep in their minds. Black migrants were also seen as an unwanted job competition – in 1917 in St. Louis 40 blacks and 9 whites were killed in race riot over employment. Although discrimination was nowhere near legal as it was in the South with the Jim Crow laws, whites in the North considered themselves superior as well and were ready to defend their position on the racial hierarchy. In Chicago, race riots began when a black boy accidentally swam to â€Å"white only† waters and the respectable white American citizens present on the beach stoned him to death. As Willoughby and Willoughby argue, â€Å"This incident clearly indicates the depth and extent of the hatred and prejudice. † And it indeed does. As shown above, the KKK had huge number of supporters and members in the North as well ever since its reformation and this meant that even the Northern WASPs were ready to discriminate. This leads back to the deep-rooted racism in the American culture and indicates it as the key problem. After the war ended, the closings of munitions factories hugely affected large proportion of the population. Blacks were then used as strike-breakers and were accused of lowering the wages as they were willing to work for less money. This, of course, created tensions and caused the â€Å"native† white Americans to feel their economic and social status being genuinely under threat. However, this attitude towards African-Americans was nothing new. On balance, there have been Klan members and other WASPs discriminating previous to the war, but the â€Å"Great Migration† caused by northern agents recruiting black workers in the South for munitions factories and other jobs, significantly increased the hostility towards blacks and heated the already existing racial tensions. It also gave further reasons to the â€Å"ordinary white workers† to support or join the Klan. Overall, there was no legal basis for discrimination in the north of the country, but the deep-rooted racism causing de facto segregation of the races provided strong enough reason for the racist Americans to discriminate. The black Americans faced serious problems of discrimination as they were regarded as members of the inferior race during the 19th and most of the 20th century. During the 1920s the tensions increased as the African Americans began to migrate within the US. Jim Crow laws made it legal to discriminate in the south as they sought segregation of the races and indirectly approved the white supremacy. This, alongside with federal government unwillingness to do anything about them, made it possible for racist organisations, such as the KKK, to exist and promote the WASP superiority through violence. However, the view that the KKK itself was the cause of racism is over simplistic misconception as it would not exist and be widely supported if the people would not agree with its goals. In addition, the impact of the First World War which meant increase in black migration to the North caused further deepening of racial problems there and was a factor in the increasing tensions. The problem black Americans faced was discrimination. This was possible to a great extent due to its de jure legalisation in the Jim Crow laws, but in actual fact the main problem blacks faced was the established racial hierarchy within the American society and the deep-rooted racism present in majority of the people. Simply, Blacks were denied to vote, federal government refused to do anything about their inadequate treatment and the Ku Klux Klan successfully managed to question their equality by themselves. However, all these actions taken by the WASPs to secure their position were but a manifestation of a wider racist attitude that was deep-rooted in the culture. In final conclusion, Jim Crow laws were a problem for the black Americans in the 1920s and 30s, but it was not the main one as they had to deal with the deep-rooted racism first to get rid of their discrimination completely.

Should Extreme Sports Be Banned as They Put People’s Lives at Risk?

Extreme sports have become popular in the last two decades. For may people practising them is the only way of living. For them the adrenaline is the most important thing in their lives and that’s why they must try even more and more dangerous things. But, of course, that’s not the only reason. Extreme sports are trendy and many people practise them just because of that fact. It’s true, that extreme sports, like bungee jumping, canyoning, rafting, ice climbing, snowboarding, surfing, parachute jumping, paragliding or mountaineering always bring a risk.Even if you are very good sportsman you must know that only one, small mistake can be very dangerous and can cause your death. Alhought many people die every year making extreme sports, the number of â€Å"courageous† is higher and higher. But its question of choice what are we doing in ours lives. For many people extreme sports are the only way of living. They have to feel adrenaline, they want to break their own records, they want to feel free.They usually say: â€Å"there is a risk, there is a fun†, but they know that they do it at one's peril. Extreme sports often are an escape from reality, from stress and from monotony. You don’t have to think about your problems. You just think about yourself, you can relax, and prove that you can do things which are admired by other people. There is even a special TV channel- â€Å"Extreme Sports†, where everyone can watch amazing tricks, and crazy people who make that extreme sports are more and more popular in the world.But it’s impossible to write what do the people feel during making extreme sports. You must try yourself to know how huge survival it is. And if you do it one time, it’s very possible that you will do it often. But the question is if â€Å"should extreme sports be banned as they put people’s lives at risk? † And my answer is â€Å"definitely not†. As I said, It’s que stion of our choices. If you want to fell more adrenaline than extreme sports are very good way. And even if the extreme sports were banned, people would do it still.

Comparative Politics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Comparative Politics - Essay Example The dictatorship or authoritarian governments can be considered as an example of elitist theory. In majority of the cases elite class of the society exercise their powers because of certain skills which are quite unique in that particular area. This is the reason on the basis of which most of the people living in elitist society could not challenge the status quo. Most of the people assume government as an elite group. However this is not the case always. Corporate sector can also act as an elite group of the society. They are on a bargaining position because of their revenue generating capability which will ultimately benefit the country. Real life scenarios of recent past suggest that corporations even play role in developing governments across the globe. Therefore it can be concluded that elite group has a powerful role to play in the growth and development. The pressure groups are almost inexistent in the elitist society. They do not have the resources to influence their point of view on elitist. Elitist theory also states that whenever attempts are made to over through elitist, the reaction of could be very harmful for the effective functioning of the society. Therefore decent homework will be required to alter such system (Machiavelli, NiccoloIâ‚ ¬, W. K. Marriott, Nelle Fuller, and Thomas Hobbes, 1955). Pluralist theory suggests that economic development of the nation is the responsibility of government. However certain pressure groups can influence the decision making process of government. In pluralist society public have the power to actively criticize the decisions of government and develop a pressure group for the improvement of their living conditions. There are classes of competing groups who try to grab maximum power by dissecting the opportunities for other pressure groups. Political scientists are of the opinion that pluralist society cannot become stable in the long run since it does not have unity of command. Unstable governments are the n orm of those societies. As far as the case of Unites States of America is concerned it can be concluded that pluralistic democratic system is prevailing in the country. Government administration of USA has to face to pressure as well as opposition members on the congress before making any decision associated with the government. Occupy Wall Street movement can be considered as an example of pressure group. There is no limitation on the general public to protest against governmental decisions (Johnson, Janet Buttolph, and Richard Joslyn, 1986). Question 2 Plurality system is the single voting system. According to this system the candidate with highest votes is elected as a member of legislative assembly. This system is based on the constituent politics. There are some political scientists who consider it as a best representative of democratic system. However opponents argue that it is not necessary that general public could elect the member who can solve their problems in the true se nse. Therefore the system cannot be considered as fool proof. The condition of absolute majority does not prevail in this system. Simple majority is enough to decide the candidature. Proportional representation system is quite different from plurality system. It is based on seats to voter relationship. For example if party A has received 30% seats in the assembly then that party should also get 30% votes in the electoral process. Political scien

Famous People - Jorge Luis Borges, Georgia OKeeffe, Zdenek Pesanek Research Paper

Famous People - Jorge Luis Borges, Georgia OKeeffe, Zdenek Pesanek - Research Paper Example Although Borges was an Argentinean writer, as well as a philosopher, he spent many years in Geneva; he was sickened by the continuous failure of politics, leading to his fiction that delved into real ontological mysteries from the viewpoint of an evolutionary (Alazraki 12). The Google Doodle illustrates a complex image of an ageing man overlooking illustrious architecture in the rear of the glass. A close study of this illustration portrays a library on the right, as well as views from â€Å"The Garden of Forking Paths,† which a short story is written by Borges describing the future in a number of ways. Considering that Borges had never benefited from the marvels of a digital computer, his illustrations of a far-flung future tend to contain a patently retro feel. According to Borges, the nature of space, reality and time tend to realms with enormous possibilities, leading him to question the idea of life as being either a linear process or just a singular path in time (Bloom 7 9). Borges goes ahead to suggest that every decision is at the core of a system of recursive splitting paths, an ever-persisting moment, as well as the place of choice with intense future impact and connects to all precedents, thereby making history impenetrable and the future incomprehensible. In 'The Garden of Forking Paths', the book deals with decision making, as well as the discovery and accumulation survival 'know how' by the creating and testing ideas in reality, along with the imagination. According to Borges, people learn through the investigation of the legacy of ancestors, innovate through imagining future opportunities but either survive or die here and now. Although there is a mystery concerning the meaning of time, as well as diversity, through ignorance, people are driven to making choices between the forks, competing alternatives, if they are to survive; this story is concerned with choice and not time. Apart from that, intelligent design tends to be an experiment ra ther than a solution since truth can only be disclosed in the future. Therefore, generating, as well as testing in the imagination entails real physical arrangements in life, the brain and dreams, and not in different books; hence survival depends on people’s imaginative experiments! Question 2: Georgia O’Keeffe Georgia O’Keeffe was born on November 15, 1887, in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, and was a female artist, an icon of the twentieth century, as well as an early avant-garde artist of American Modernism (Keeffe 3). The works of Georgia O’Keeffe and her cultural impact are preserved by the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe, New Mexico. This museum is the only research center globally which dedicated to intellectual study in American Modernism.

The Experience Economy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Experience Economy - Essay Example The importance of themes can be seen in the success that businesses that have identified a right theme for their business activity have attained. It is this right theme that gives customers something to associate with the business activities of the business enterprise. Very common examples of this are eateries that have identified a theme and built their business activities around such a theme. Customers coming to such eateries attracted by the theme put out like Hard Rock Cafà © or the House of Blues and continue coming there because the experiences there have appealed to all the five senses of sight, hearing, touch, smell and taste. Chapter One on â€Å"Welcome to the Experience Economy† attempts to convey the message or argument that experiences are a clear and distinct economic offering and provides the means for future economic growth against stagnation since the agrarian economy and the scale economy of industrialization. The book starts with these words â€Å"Commoditized. No company wants that word applied to its goods or services†. (p.1). However, that is exactly what has happened. With the sole concentration on price there is hardly any differentiation between products and services and so margins crash. Coffee is a true commodity. Yet, it also offers to be a commodity, good, or service depending on the how customers can be made to attribute value to it. Sold as coffee beans it remains a commodity, but as coffee powder it becomes a good. However, sold in a restaurant the value of ambience lifts the value of a cup of coffee sold and provides a sensation of experience to the cup of coffee thr ough teasing the senses, through theatre experience or the like and thus the value of the cup of coffee rises even further. This is the economic offering that experience offers and the basis of the experience economy of the authors. In Chapter Two on â€Å"Setting the Stage† the authors try to reinforce this message by taking and demonstrating with examples

Problem and Solution paper Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Problem and Solution paper - Assignment Example Mobile phones have formed an integral part in the current telecommunications as well s electricity and have since formed part of the day to day living of people. The exposure of a person to a mobile phone is usually measured in terms of Specific Absorption Rate. Mobile phones use radio frequency signals whose exposures to body issues have adverse health effects. Even though the exposures to these signals from phones are low and within EU limits, they could have long term effects on humans. The RF fields normally penetrate the tissues of the body to varied depths depending on their frequency. When energy from RF is absorbed into the body, it is changed into heat which is then carried away by body tissues. It is this heat that has health effects. Recent research has shown that the exposure of RF to body tissues do not cause cancerous infections because of its low levels. Issues that raise concerns over the safety of mobile phones on health are whether continued exposure to these signals could cause infectious diseases. Mobile phones have not been embraced for a period long enough to ascertain their long term effects. For this reason, it is sti ll unclear the extent of long term use of these forms of technology in relation to the occurrence of the disease acoustic neuroma. (Burgess 188) On the other hand, those who live around power lines are at a risk of contracting cancerous infections though the probability is extremely low. These lines provide Extremely Low Frequency fields. A recent research conducted by the International Agency for Research on Cancer there is a possibility that these magnetic fields are a human carcinogen. However, it was stated categorically that this is not a direct insinuation that the magnetic fields are actually carcinogenic but was classified as a possibility. (McCall 120) A 1979 research raised concerns of increased incidences of leukemia realized in children who lived in residential places that were close to

Question answer Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Question answer - Essay Example The details mentioned in the data require that the long run rate of return must be calculated using the formula of present value of dividend using Dividend Discount Model. . PV GROWING PERPETUITY (DIVIDEND DISCOUNT MODEL) Data: Present Value of Share PV O USD.150 Dividend for the First Year D1 USD. 7 Growth g 0.04 Rate of return r ? FORMULA REARRANGED In the above provided case since the value of price was already provided, the formula for such payments has been manipulated and rate of return has been evaluated. The formula for DDM for the current price of shares is rearranged for the calculation of rate of the return. Applying this arrangement, the long term rate of return for the company is as follows: r 0.086667 r 8.67% Hence, the expected long run rate of return is 8.67%.This refers that when company is paying 60 percent of the earning as dividend to shareholders and investors are pricing the share at USD.150, the required rate of return in the long terms is 6.67%. This percentag e assumes that price is based on incorporating all information about the company. The formula can be summarized as the ratio of the cash flows of dividends received in the future periods by the net difference of the discount rate and the growth rate. This formula is developed on the concept that current price of stocks are a series of payments which grows as dividend perpetually at a constant rate. . The formula assumes that the payments of dividends are received for an infinite period at constant growth rate. For the calculation of Present value it is very important that the discount rate used for the calculation is higher than the growth rate.. PART B Dividend discount model assumes that the price of stocks follows constant growth indefinitely across the life of the company (McLaney, 2009). However, on actual grounds the growth of the company varies from time to time. For instance, in the above case, The Company aims to expand and therefore, therefore, has changed the dividend pol icy across for five years (Ross, Westerfield, and Jordan, 2009). In such case, two stage dividend discount model is used to evaluate the price of the stock in current year. In such a system of two staged growth, the price of stocks are measured by calculating the present value of dividend streams by discounting it with required rate of return. For the second staged growth, the price of a stock is calculated for the year in which growth has changed and is then discounted to current year (Gitman, 2003). In the final stage, the present values of two staged dividend growth are combined. The following formula is used for such cases: Following this, procedure the price of stock in second case is USD. 74.99. Given below is the calculation for the case: PART B DIVIDEND CALCULATION STAGE ONE STAGE 2 YEAR 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Dividend MENTIONED IN CASE ONE 7 Â   Â   Â   Â   Â   Â   earning (calculated using Dividend Information of Case (1) and then growth applied $ 11.67 $ 12.13 $ 12.62 $ 13.1 2 $ 13.65 $ 14.19 $ 14.76 Reinvested $ 10.50 $ 10.92 $ 11.36 $ 11.81 $ 12.28 $ 4.26 Â   Â   Â   Â   Â   Â   Â   DIVIDEND WITH NEW % OF GROWTH Dividend $ 1.17 $ 1.21 $ 1.26 $ 1.31 $ 1.36 $ 9.94 $ 10.33 Â   Â   Â   Â   Â   Â   Â   Â   The above table determines that to get base year information, it is assumed that the earning of company for year one remains same as it is provided in the case. Hence, price is as follows: PRICE Â   Â   Â   Â   Â   Â   Â   Â   Â   PV: dividend 1 / (1-R)^t PV: dividend 7 / (r-g)

The UAE Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The UAE - Essay Example Moreover, it was recently ranked number 40 out of the 183 countries with regard to the overall ease of conducting business. This article explores the business environment of the UAE by examining its PESTL environments. The United Arabs Emirates (UEA) is a Middle East country bordering the Arabian Gulf and Oman Gulf, between Saudi Arabia and Oman. It is a federation of seven countries established in 1971with its members operating under one federal government. The country which is a monarchy is politically stable. Even though democracy sometimes is jeopardized, citizens enjoy a lot of freedom. UAE has four levels of governments: President, Federal National Council, High Council, and Local Emirs. What is evident is that most powers are vested in the hands of the Emirs. As such, no authority is allowed beyond Emirs, implying that citizens from different Emirates have absolutely no say on political issues (Kjeilen 2004). The UAE enjoys favorable diplomatic relations with several countries. It has close ties with most Arab countries including Egypt and Pakistan. The country’s main export markets include Germany and the United Kingdom even as the U.S. and France maintain security related cooperation with the country. The government has made great effort to increase spending on job creation, opening up space for private investor involvement as well as expanding its infrastructural facilities to create a favorable environment for business and investment. The government’s commitment to promote business and investment is also seen when it created a free trade zone in UAE. The zone was mainly established by the government as a way of promoting direct foreign investment in the country. This implies that there are no limits on overseas ownership within UAE. The government in this case allows foreign investors to establish fully-owned companies within the free trade zones, which currently stand at

Project procurement and contract management Essay

Project procurement and contract management - Essay Example In managing contracts related to procurement of materials in projects the purchasing manager or the specialist has to perform a series of tasks according to some predefined criteria. In the same way the purchasing specialist has to take it to consideration the number of factors that directly and indirectly impact on his performance In the first instant skills of the purchasing specialist would be enhanced by the vertically integrated organizational and management structure which essentially support the design planning and implementation of supply chain strategies, especially those directly related to the purchase of raw material and components for primary operations.The purchasing specialist has to focus on his tasks associated with procurement and management in order to achieve a degree of functional conformance to established standards such as the core business activity related efficiencies. This means that the ever increasing practice of modern business organizations' preference f or outsourcing certain tasks that lie out of the core business functions of the organization is dictated by competitive pressures. For instance the purchasing specialist would be able to hone his skills depending on the level of concentration on core business operations by the company.Business organizations’ increasing level of dependency on resources procured from outside enables purchasing specialists to develop a special set of skills for effective practice as a purchasing specialist. ... Customer relations and strategic focus on facilitating the control over internal and external relations are much more important than the activity of selling. As such the purchasing specialist's functional skills are augmented by both complexity and diversity of the facilitator's role rather than putting the purchasing manager or specialist into and old fashioned functionary's mould. The purchasing specialists would have to place emphasis on the supplier's credentials rather than the price itself. In the first instance a competitive tendering process involves not only specification and evaluation criteria but also the painful task of selecting the best team for the tasking hand (Morris & Morris, 2007). This requires not only a knowledge of tendering skills but also particularly strong evaluation techniques. This is due to the fact that value parameters attached to the determination process of suitability criteria are fundamentally based on the purchasing specialist's dynamic role. The entire process of procurement of supplies has to be specified in conformance with the cost involved in the prolonged lifecycle of the product. The purchasing specialist has to plan for the appropriate evaluation criteria, that would otherwise be ignored and delivery schedules dragged without much consideration of the critical path (CPA). This might affect both the functional paramet ers and the technical specifications, thus hindering the aesthetic and qualitative outcomes of the process. Finally the purchasing specialist needs to focus attention on the objective of controlling the entire supply chain evaluation process in a manner that non price factors receive a fair share of attention throughout the tender process, thus leaving little room for any

Poverty in modern life Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 188

Poverty in modern life - Essay Example There are many reasons for this problem and many solutions. The main cause of this problem is social stratification, where the poor people are condemned to their poverty. The rich continue enriching themselves by using their power and authority while the poor continue being poor. Income inequality caused by social stratification, political issues and poor economic policies lead to increased poverty among the minority members of the society. In addition, this problem happens due to lack of information about microfinance and banking in the society. Information asymmetry leads to inadequate information by the members of the society which could be used to make appropriate financial and economic decisions in order to come out of poverty. Lastly, this issue is caused by governments’ inability to implement public policies effectively. There are three primary solutions to this issue. The first solution is the government should establish effective systems of financial and economic empo werment. A country that has people that are development conscious can least find itself in situations of war and other forms of violence. Therefore, governments should create favorable policies that enhance business growth and peaceful co-existence among all people. In my opinion, economic empowerment is the only way that people can understand ways of identifying and providing solutions to social needs. Secondly, the government should create regulations to control financial markets so that they provide financial services effectively to all members of the society. For instance, the government should direct banks to lower their lending rates to small and medium businesses to allow them to invest and provide financial and economic security to members of the public.  

The Face of the Terrorist Essay Example for Free

The Face of the Terrorist Essay A faceless enemy. It has been eights years after the September 11 attack in the United States of America. Several people died and it was also the same time when the Unites States of America government contemplate on how the terrorists look like. Terrorists had been faceless for all we know and we do not even have any idea about them until Osama bin Laden was identified by Bush. The knowledge about terrorism and terrorists has been very limited but in some occasions and in present, the internet was able to give face to the faceless enemy and as soon as Bush gave bin Laden’s name, it was the start of identifying more faces of the enemy. In this paper, the author ought to explain terrorism and the face of terrorists wherein images from online sources and references are presented by the author to justify what she was pertaining to in line with terrorist’s face. Using Racialist, Sexism and Fascism ways, the author explained her argument and gave a face to the nameless enemy. At the same time, it was not the face of the enemies alone that was tackled in this paper but also the different faces of terror which was marked when Al Qaeda, the name given to Osama bin Laden’s organization as western and media name attacked United States of America. Considering the primitive years wherein pictures are not yet existing, identification of someone, probably a suspect or a colleague is hard to do and the mind was the only one who does the job of recognizing culprits and acquaintances. In present generation, mug shots are used to identify criminals and soon after to relate them with one another to solve a certain crime. Offerings several incidents and examples, the author named and identified when a terror becomes and terror and how those who were victims became the terrorists. As she presented two faces of people, the victim and the terrorist, it seems that these two can trade places and with sacrifice and revenge present, it is not impossible to have another kind of terror from a different kind of terrorists. Stereotyping was of course an unfair act and yet, we cannot help but guard ourselves from people who have turbans on their heads and all bearded like Santa Claus, only that they were not the good ones. America might be too cautious to a person who has a diaper on their head and a fan belt in it and decide to pull them off (Engle, 2009) but we can never blame them, after all, the leader of Al Qaeda looks like that and although there are heroes presented, they should also be cautious about what they were doing because defacement is much easier than being really the good ones. Critique Karen Engle’s analysis of the faces of terrors and the terrorists allow us to understand the distinction and the stereotypes made by the people, especially those in the government to identify them as crime promoters and culprits. An analysis that gives light to the unknowns in present and the many questions arising from the attacks, both previous and recent ones, this article was informational enough to be endorsed to people of any age, except to those who were still too young to understand that in this world, safe is not safe until we are sure of the people we are dealing with. While we can consider the victims as real victims, looking on the other side of the story, we will understand that they are not victims until the end. As long as there are revenge and sacrifice, it will be easy to understand that people, terrorist or not are capable of doing anything that can terrorize people around them. This paper had served as a lesson to be learned that allows the readers to be open minded and to stop stereotyping people. List of References Engle, Karen. The Face of a Terrorist. Sage Publications. Online Version from http://csc. sagepub. com/cgi/reprint/7/4/397

Effects of Traumatic Experience on Child Behaviour

Effects of Traumatic Experience on Child Behaviour How can a traumatic experience influence childrens behaviour? A literature review Introduction The issues surrounding childrens behaviour after a traumatic experience are complex, multifactorial and often hugely controversial. Having considered the literature on the subject, one could be forgiven for believing that there are as many opinions on the issues as there are people considering the issues. In this review we have attempted to cover as many of the major areas as possible in order to present a reasonably comprehensive overview of the subject. The definition of a traumatic experience is subjective from both the point of view of the child concerned and also form the observer. Some commentators have suggested that the only workable definition of a traumatic experience is one that, by definition, produces demonstrable psychological sequelae. (Abikoff 1987) This may be the case, but as other commentators observe, some psychological sequelae may not surface for years, if at all. This does not mean that the original triggering episode was not traumatic. There is also the view that that the worst kind, or most extreme type of trauma may be the most likely to be actively suppressed at either a conscious or subconscious level. (Haddad Garralda. 1992) Literature Review With an area of literature as vast as the one that we are considering here, it is often difficult to find a place to start. In this instance we will consider the paper by Prof. Harry Zetlin (1995) who starts with a short monograph on the screening of a television programme which dealt with arguably the most catastrophic of stresses to befall a child, that of the loss of a parent through murder or violence. He makes several thought provoking comments which are worthy of consideration as they are germinal to the thrust of this article. The first is a plea that the diagnostic label of post-traumatic stress should not be a â€Å"catch-all basket† for all emotional and behavioural problems that can occur after a traumatic experience. (Gorcey et al.1986) The second is the realisation that in the particular circumstances portrayed on the television where a parent is murdered have two consequences. The first is the obvious catastrophic trauma that the child experiences with the violent loss of a parent, but the second is the much less obvious fact that the child has, at a stroke, also lost a valuable, and normally available resource, of the protective family environment, which is often one of the most useful therapeutic tools available to the therapist. He adds to this two further insights. The first is that the surviving parent has their own trauma to deal with and that is invariably transmitted to the child and that, because such events are mercifully comparatively rare, only a comparatively few professionals are ever able to build up any significant expertise and experience on the subject. The main issue of the piece is, however, the very relevant point that considering the apparent obsession of the media with intrusive â€Å"fly-on-the-wall† documentaries and the almost equally insatiable public hunger for sensation, the very fact that such a programme is made at all, almost inevitably adds to the trauma felt by the victims. (Koss et al 1989) One could argue that actually confronting and talking about such issues is part of the healing process. Such considerations may be of value in the adult who is more able to rationalise the concepts involved, but to the child this may be very much more difficult and being forced to relive the episodes in a very public and unfamiliar arena, may do little more than add to the psychological stresses and damage already caused. (Mayall Gold 1995) This paper offers a wise and considered plea for sense and moderation, not to mention reservation and decency. It is written in calm and considered moderate tones which makes the impact of its message all the more powerful. The next few papers that we would like to analyse deal with the thorny issue of Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children. It has to be commented that there is a considerable body of literature which argues on both sides of the debate about whether ADHD is the result of childhood trauma. One side is presented, quite forcibly, by Bramble (et al. 1998). The authors cite Kewley (1998) as stating that the prime aetiology of ADHD is a genetic neuro-developmental one. They challenge the expressed views that it is a manifestation of early childhood abuse or trauma which can have occurred at some time previously with the words: â€Å"†¦..early abuse and trauma later manifest as symptoms and that the detection of these symptoms in children clearly illustrates early trauma is a prime example of the logical fallacy that underpins all psychoanalytical theory and practice.† The authors argue that to state â€Å"because psychotherapy is often effective it must reflect the fact that a traumatic episode must have been responsible because it addresses directly the original emotional trauma† (Follette et al.1996), is completely unsound. The natural progression of this argument, they assert, is the reason why many parents of children with ADHD have such difficulty in finding child psychiatrists who can actually help them rather than the many who would seek to blame them for the child’s behaviour in the first place. (Breire 1992) The authors take the view that the reason that psychoanalytical practitioners have held so much influence on the profession over the years is that it is only recently that the glare of evidence based medicine has fallen on their discipline. The authors argue that far from using psychotherapeutic tools to try to achieve resolution, the evidence suggests that psycho-stimulant treatment is far more effective (Abikoff 1987) if only because it enhances the therapeutic effect of other forms of treatment such as family therapy and special educational provision. The converse argument, or perhaps an extension of the argument, is presented by Thambirajah (1998) who takes the view that many papers on ADHD (and by inference he is referring to the one reviewed above), regard the syndrome as being a diagnosis made simply by â€Å"checking an appropriate number of boxes on a check-list†. He asserts that factors such as biopsychological circumstances should be weighed equally strongly as the symptom cluster of impulsivity, inattention or hyperactivity. (Tannock 1998) In direct contrast to the preceding paper he states that early traumatic experiences, current abuse or even depression of the mother may all be contributory factors in the aetiology of the condition. He argues that taking no account of these factors is to ignore much of the accumulated evidence and wisdom on the subject. He also makes a very valid point that to ignore these factors and only to use the check-list approach means that here is an over-reliance on the significance of these symptoms and, as a direct result, this leads to an overestimation of prevalence. He points to the obviously erroneous estimate of a study that was based exclusively on check list symptomatology, of 15% (although the study is not quoted). The author makes the very valid point that most psychiatrists would agree that the hyperkinetic disorder is a small sub-group within the ADHD syndrome and that these children may need treatment with stimulants but only after other aetiologies have been excluded. He makes the rather apt comparison of treating all children with ADHD the same way as calling all four legged animals with a tail donkeys. There are a great many more papers on this issue which we could usefully review but we must explore other areas of trauma in a child’s life in order to try to give a representative overview. With the possible exception of the situation outlined in the first paper reviewed, there can be few experiences more traumatising to a child than to me made homeless as a refugee in a time of war. The paper by Hodes (et al. 2001) is both heart rending and informative as it explores the health needs of refugees arriving in the UK. Although the paper catalogues all of the health needs (that need not concern us in this article) of the refugees, it does not overlook the psychosocial trauma aspects of the children’s plight. They point to the fact that one way that a child’s psychological trauma can be minimised is by being accepted into a peer group such as a school. While this may indeed be true, the problem is that refugee children are seldom seen by their peers as â€Å"belonging† and are therefore seldom completely accepted. (Lewis 1998) This is either aggravated or caused by the fact that they already have twice the rate of psychiatric disorder as found in control groups of children. (Tousignant et al. 1999). It is therefore important to be aware of these problems as they are often very amenable to psychiatric intervention (O’Shea et al. 2000). The authors quote a paper by Burnett and Peel (2001) who appear to be particularly pessimistic about making a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder in children from a fundamentally different culture, as their recovery is thought to be secondary to the reconstruction of their support networks, which may prove particularly difficult in a different or even alien, cultural environment. They point to studies of the children who fled to the USA to escape the Pol Pot regime, who had post-traumatic stress in childhood, and even when followed up 12 years later they quote 35% as still having post traumatic stress and 14% had active depression. (Sack et al. 1999). This may be a reflection of the difficulty in getting appropriate treatment for a condition in a different culture. But, in distinct relevance to our considerations here, the authors comment that even exposure to a single stressor may result in a surprisingly persistent post traumatic stress reaction. (Richards Lovell 1999) The last article that we are going to consider here is a paper by Papineni (2003). This paper has been selected partly because of it’s direct relevance to our consideration, but also because on a human level, it is a riveting piece of writing. It is entitled â€Å"Children of bad memories† and opens with the quote â€Å"Every time there is a war there is a rape† (Stiglmayer 1994). The whole article is a collection of war-related rape stories and the resultant psychopathology that ensued. The author specifically explores the issues relating to childhood rape and its aftermath. She also considers a related issue and that is how the effect of maternal shame shapes a child’s perception of themselves (with heartrending consequences), how the shame felt by the mother is often externalised to affect the child who is the visible symbol of the physical act. (Carpenter 2000) The catalogue of emotion and reaction described in this article by some of the subjects, would almost make an authoritative text book on the consequences of a traumatic experience in childhood. It would be almost impossible to quantify a single negative emotion that was neither articulated nor experienced by the victims, not only of the act of rape, but also of the stigma and aftermath of the act which was often described as the worst aspect of the whole thing. A constant theme that runs trough the paper is the realisation that the presence of a child conceived by a rape is a potent reminder of the trauma and therefore is, in itself a bar to psychological healing. The author also points to the fact that another, almost inevitable consequence of forcible rape, is difficulty with relationships and intimacy which can devastate a child’s social development. (Human Rights Watch.1996). Such a child may not only have this burden to bear for its life, but the stigma forced upon it by society may also have untold consequences. The author quotes a child born from the Rwandan conflict, describing itself by different names which bear witness to society’s perception, and more accurately and inevitably, the child’s perception of itself: â€Å"children of hate, enfants non-desirà ©s (unwanted children), or enfants mauvais souvenir (children of bad memories)† The author describes how such psychological trauma may never be successfully treated and ends with the very perceptive comment â€Å"There cannot be peace without justice, and unless the international community recognises all rape in conflict situations as crimes against humanity, there will be no peace for the victims of such atrocities.† Conclusion It is clearly a forlorn hope to cover all of the aspects of trauma and its potential impact on a child’s life in one short article. We hope that, by being selective, we have been able to provide the reader with an authoritative insight into some on the problems associated with the subject. References Abikoff H. 1987 An evaluation of cognitive behavior therapy for hyperactive children. Adv Clin Child Psychol 1987; 10: 171-216. Bramble, Anne Klassen, Parminder Raina, Anton Miller, Shoo Lee, M S Thambirajah, Andrew Weaver, and Geoffrey D Kewley 1998 Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in children BMJ, Oct 1998; 317: 1250. Briere J. 1992 Methodological issues in the study of sexual abuse effects. J Consult Clin Psychol 1992; 60: 196-203. Burnett A, 2001 Peel M. Health needs of asylum seekers and refugees. BMJ 2001; 322: 544-547 Carpenter RC. 2000 Surfacing children: limitations of genocidal rape discourse. Human Rights Quarterly 2000; 22: 428-477 Follette VM, Polusny MA, Bechtle AE, Naugle AE. 1996 Cumulative trauma: the impact of child sexual abuse, adult sexual assault, and spouse abuse. J Trauma Stress 1996; 9: 25-35. Gorcey M, Santiago JM, McCall-Perez F. 1986 Psychological consequences for women sexually abused in childhood. Soc Psychiatry 1986; 21: 129-133. Haddad P, Garralda ME. 1992 Hyperkinetic syndrome and disruptive early experiences. Br J Psychiatry 1992; 161: 700-703 Hodes, B K MacDonald, C J Mummery, and D Heaney 2001 Health needs of asylum seekers and refugees BMJ, Jul 2001; 323: 229 Human Rights Watch. 1996 Shattered lives: sexual violence during the Rwandan genocide and its aftermath. USA: Human Rights Watch. 1996 Kewley GD. 1998 Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is under-diagnosed and under-treated in Britain. [With commentary by E Orford.] BMJ 1998; 716: 1594-1595. Koss MP, Dinero TE. 1989 Discriminant analysis of risk factors for sexual victimisation among a national sample of college women. J Consult Clin Psychol 1989; 57: 242-250. Lewis M. Shame and stigma. In: Gilbert P and Andrews B, Editors, Shame: interpersonal behaviour, psychopathology, and culture, Oxford University Press, Oxford (1998). In: Gilbert P and Andrews B, Editors, Shame: interpersonal behaviour, psychopathology, and culture, Oxford University Press, Oxford (1998). Mayall A, Gold SR. 1995 Definitional issues and mediating variables in the sexual revictimisation of women sexually abused as children. J Interpersonal Violence 1995; 10: 26-42 OShea B, Hodes M, Down G, Bramley J. 2000 A school based mental health service for distressed refugee children. Clin Child Psychol Psychiatry 2000; 5: 189-201 Papineni 2003 Children of bad memories The Lancet 2003; 362:825-826 Richards D, Lovell K. 1999 Behavioural and cognitive behavioural interventions in the treatment of PTSD. In: Yule W, ed. Post-traumatic stress disorders. Concepts and therapy. Chichester: John Wiley, 1999:239-266. Sack WH, Him C, Dickason D. 1999 Twelve-year follow-up study of Khmer youths who suffered massive war trauma as children. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 1999; 38: 1173-1179 Stiglmayer A, Editor, 1994 Mass rape: the war against women in Bosnia-Herzegovina, University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln (1994). Tannock R. 1998 Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: advances in cognitive, neurobiological and genetic research. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 1998; 39: 65-69 Thambirajah, 1998 Consultant child and adolescent psychiatrist. Child and Family Consultation Centre, Foundation NHS Trust, Stafford ST16 1PD BMJ 1998;317:1250 ( 31 October ) Tousignant M, Habimana E, Biron C, Malo C, Sidoli-LeBlanc E, Bendris N. 1999 The Quebec adolescent refugee project: psychopathology and family variables in a sample from 35 nations. Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 1999; 38: 1426-1432 Zeitlin. H 1995 Traumatised children BMJ, Sep 1995; 311: 883. ************************************************************************************************14.5.05 PDG Word count 2,746

Concepts of Classical Humanism

Concepts of Classical Humanism The citizens of ancient civilizations lived in a world where the influence of nature and the influence of its rulers minimized the common mans efforts. Confronted with this, ancient Greeks professed they had the greatest intelligence of all, saying they had the natural abilities to understand and control the world Classical Humanism. Classical Humanism resonated in every part of Greek life. From Poets like Sophocles whos play Antigone speaks to their influence on humanity at the time. Classical Humanism was also conveyed by the Greeks incredible self belief within their own civilization, none more so than the wealth and power shown in Fifth Century Athens. Although this confidence eventually diminished, the belief of Humanism remained a cognate legacy. Renaissance philosophers and artists challenged the Church by perusing the ideas and culture of Greek Humanism. An illustration of Greek Humanism was the spectacular complex of temples in theAthensacropolis, soaring high over the city below. An acropolis was a fortress built on top of a hill at the center of the city. They were commonly the citys most revered district and contained temples anointing the citys patron leaders. A prime example of this was the Parthenon temple in Athena. It was one of the largest temples ever built inGreece, and all aspects of its construction were closely monitored and controlled by the citys leading artists and architects of the time. The Parthenon was built on the top of Acropolis; the original building on the site was built as an offering to honor the goddess Athena because the people of ancientAthensbelieved that she watched over their city. This time was the Golden Age of Athens, with the institution of democracy in the city, with a new form of government, citizens were afforded the opportunity to view and understand themselves as constituents of a greater whole, the latter being Athens. The Parthenon was unparalleled among Doric temples as it had a second frieze (Frieze: the part of a classical entablature between the architrave and the cornice, usually decorated with sculpture in low relief). The Parthenons frieze ran along the cella wall and across the inner columns. It was a stroke of genius as acted as a sculpted advertisement for Athenian civic prudence, which was more than 500ft long. This [particular frieze depicted a noble parade of Athenian citizens, reminding the citizens of their festival held every four years for the Goddess Athena. The frieze had a naked horsemen sitting on their horses in all glory, it had Athenian maidens leading a parade to the thrones of Zeus and Athena, who presided over the celebration. Inspired by their self belief as being the supreme citizens ofGreece, they confidently portrayed themselves among the gods. The Greeks were a civilization who had a high confidence of themselves and of there God given abilities. This was shown in many ways with their architecture at the time, none more evident than the Parthenon inAthenswhich proudly, and some may say arrogantly, displayed the Athenians as a higher class of citizen I Greece and throughout the region. This belief would continue on in years to come through the literature and buildings from this era.

Media Affects on the Self- image of Women Essay -- Marketing Advertisi

Media Affects on the Self- image of Women When you first glance at this article, you might say to yourself â€Å"I know what women in the media is about, it's stereotypes and sexism.† What you probably don’t know is that however subtle, these visual cues are affecting women individually and collectively, in how they view themselves and other women. Relationships are a fundamental aspect of women’s behaviorism and advertising exploits this. It turns people into objects and offers products as a replacement for human contact, producing serious affects on the self- image of women and adolescent girls. Young women aged 15 to 30 are a prime industry target since 80 per cent of all consumer products are purchased by women in this age group. Advertisers spend large amounts of money on psychological research and focus groups, and what have they learned? That women are vulnerable to the promise of a relationship with a product and these advertisers make use of this on the basis that purchasing and use of certain products will resolve women’s social, emotional, and financial difficulties. We’ve all heard the phrase ‘You can never be too rich or too thin.’ The most widely read magazine among teenage girls, Seventeen, states that it ‘encourages independence’ and is a girl’s ‘Bible,’ but more than half of the magazine is fashion, beauty, and boys. It teaches adolescents that the most important thing on their minds should be appearance and attracting men. Through advertising, these young women are encouraged to portray themselves as sweet and passive, but sexy and attractive. They are taught to be quiet and kind, but to compete with other girls for attention from boys. They hav... ... supposed to be competing with other girls for attention from boys. Of course we don’t take all ads literally, but we have to remember that they add up and we are exposed to up to 1500 ads daily. The cultural messages that we are receiving from these ads do affect young women immensely. To be aware of this issue is important to everyone. As author and lecturer Jean Kilbourne says â€Å"These days, self-improvement seems to have more to do with calories than with character, with abdomens than with absolutes, with nail polish than with ethics.† References Calvine, Howard. (1999). Depicting Women as sex objects in television advertising: Effects on body dissatisfaction. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin. Vol. 25, pages 1049-1059. Kilbourne, Jean. (2000). Hidden Persuaders. Adweek. Vol. 41, pages 44-60.

A Comparison of Two Versions of The Big Sleep Essay -- Big Sleep Essay

A Comparison of Two Versions of  The Big Sleep The Production Code attempted to censor sex and violence in film of the 1930's and 40's. Instead of impairing, it encouraged directors to use artistic ideas and integrity to surpass the viewers' expectations -- actively involving them in the film despite Hollywood's censorship. Howard Hawks is one such director who used the restrictions of the Production Code to his advantage. His screen adaptation of the Raymond Chandler novel The Big Sleep portrays the same amount of sexuality and violence apparent in the written word, using a distinctly subtle style, which develops broader themes. Comparisons with the extremely dull 70's remake by Michael Winner further suggest the superiority of Hawks' film noir. While Hawks masterfully creates an original world of sexuality and suspense, Winner unsuccessfully focuses on violent and sexual images in a vain attempt at filmmaking. There is not a trace of nudity in Hawks' The Big Sleep, yet it thrives on sex. The viewer will not catch a glimpse of a buttock, nipple nor a whole breast. This scarcity of skin is attributed to the superb screenplay writers Leigh Brackett, William Faulkner and Jules Furthman. They depict a charming Marlowe, played by Humphrey Bogart, interacting with various frisky femmes exhibiting innuendo that brilliantly illuminates the screen. Marlowe and the Acme Bookstore clerk flirt with an elegance even the slyest viewer would envy. The scholastic seductress flashes her beautiful eyes at him saying, "You begin to interest me, vaguely." Bogie's response -- "I'm a private dick on a case." With a loud, tumultuous clap of thunder, the audience sits bolt upright, anticipating the sultry shenanigans to ... ...blood trickles down their faces. There is no cohesion between the death scenes; Eddie Mars does not die in this version, so there is no build up or statement made. At a first glance, it is obvious that the two films, with 32 years between them, are quite different in style and theme. No matter when the film is viewed, Howard Hawks' film engages the audience presenting interesting themes in a sleek, stylistic fashion. His version may contain a limited amount of bare skin and violence, but proves that these inclusions are unnecessary if the film has voice and direction. To Winner, there is no direction or voice. He makes a hollow shell of a film extracting Chandler's exact scenes, harnessing the nudity and violence instead of the deeper themes that stand out in Hawks'. Works Consulted: Chandler, Raymond. The Big Sleep. New York: Random House, 1939.

Lucy Essay Essay

We all realize that us humans have some sort of relation to apes and chimpanzees, but what evolved us from them to becoming bipedal hominids? In this essay I will be inculcating you about the evolution of humans, the captivating discovery of Lucy, an Australopithecus afarensis, and how her uncovering of a new species is so important to our advancement. Lucy is our oldest, most complete human ancestor and it lead to a controversial change in our view of human origins. Lucy is a 3. 15 million year old female hominid, of the genus Australopithecus, whose skeleton was uncovered on November 24, 1974 by Donald C. Johanson and Tom Gray in the Hadar region of Ethiopia. Donald Johanson’s first discovery consisted of a few pieces of a knee bone. He sent the bones to Owen Lovejoy, who was an anatomist and part-time forensic expert. He then examined the bone fragments and concluded that they appeared human, that the joint could â€Å"lock†, which meant the animal could walk upright. This was an important discovery showing an ancient bipedal creature. They named their discovery, â€Å"Lucy† in reference to the well-known Beatles song â€Å"Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds†, which played over and over as they celebrated their findings. While only 40% of the skeleton was found, this uncovering of Lucy was very fascinating and answered many questions to our human evolution because it was the missing link between apes and the upbringing of hominids. The discoverers called Lucy, Australopithecus afarensis which stands for â€Å"southern ape of the Afar region†. This genus was one of the earliest species of hominids; the family of bipedal primates also includes homo hablis and homo erectus. While Australopithecus and Homo species vary in many ways, both hominids share common characteristics that define them as a group. The most distinct of these traits is bipedal locomotion, which means they could walk upright instead on being on all fours like apes. The particular and revolutionary characteristics of Lucy is that she had a small skull, a bipedal knee structure, molars, and front teeth of human form and size. Lucy’s skeleton proves that her kind was bipedal by the shape of her pelvis and the angle the femur takes from the hip socket to the knee joint. From her waist down she was hominid, and from her waist up she was still ape, as her skull was still the size of a chimpanzee. Her brain size varies in range from 365 to 385 cubic centimeters and had hand and motor cortex. Her species has a prolonged mouth, strong brow line, and a small forehead. She stood about three and a half feet high and weighed 60-65 pounds. The males were about twice the females size ranging from four to four and a half feet tall. This species also had about 100-120 different calls, hand gestures and signals. This suggests a intricate social and mating system. Evidence shows that she was probably young but fully mature when she died of natural causes. Her corpse is likely known to have sunk into a lake and over millions of years, the lake dried up, buried, and harden her bones which eventually fossilized them and preserved them for us to discover. The following year, again at the famous site of Hadar, Ethiopia, Donald Johanson’s team made the ground breaking discovery of the fossilized remains of some 13 individuals, known as the â€Å"First Family†. They believed that at that time, there was a mud slide that buried and killed tons of these creatures, in all age range, from babies to adults, both male and females. This was believed to be the oldest evidence of human ancestors living in groups. It had also provided us with much more understanding of their lifestyle and habitat. Lucy lived at a time when the Hadar region was not a desert environment like it is today. Instead, it was thought to be more like a woodlands and savannah domain. A. farensis, was not totally ape and yet not quite human, is thought to have probably lived in a variety of habitats. Having evolved into being bipedal as an adaptation to living in the open areas, like grasslands with few trees. They were thought to feed for seeds, berries, fruit, tubers, nuts and termites. The benefit of being able to walk upright gave them the advantage of free hands to grab food or carry their young, looking over high grassland, and developing a bigger brain. Unfortunately for them, they had long dry seasons with no rain which made the food source scarce. Without bipedalism we wouldn’t be able to develop into the hominids that we have become. The Hardy Weinberg’s equation is important for the concept of population genetics. In order for Hardy-Weinberg’s equilibrium of no evolution occurring to work, the following seven conditions must be met: no mutations must occur so that new alleles do not enter, no gene flow can occur, random mating must occur, everyone produces the same number of offspring, the population must be large so that there is no genetic drift, natural selection is not occurring, and all members are breeding in the population. This equation does not work with humans because we do not randomly mate. Usually individuals choose a spouse who has positive attributes that they like, which can include personality, taste, attractive, good with children, intelligence, sometimes race/color, height, humor, etc. In Lucy terms they would want someone who is a good hunter, provider, and smart but they wouldn’t get that option of being picky because they couldn’t travel very far to selection their peculiar mate. Also, natural selection happens all the time as well as mutations but most are not harmful. So if you were to apply this to the A. afarensis, the majority would disprove this equation. A. afarensis were also good at tool making. They used horns and bones as tools but not as weapons, as many people though they did. Also, they would use some stone tools that were known to be the breaking dawn to human technology. Their main predators were â€Å"big cats† such as lions and leopards. They had little to no protection which made them easy prey. Leopards were excellent climbers but they could not climb as well as apes which made it hard to escape. Also the lions are very patient creatures, so they would wait under the tree until they would could down and then they would eat them. Eventually, the robust A. afarensis, a. boisei, a. robustus and a. aeithiopicus would go extinct but the gracile Homo Habilis, which was discovered 2. 6 million years ago by Lewis Leaky, would go on to become our ancestors. In Africa, some of the animals that relied on forest died out because it was too dry. For example, during this period Lucy had disappeared because this species cant survive in that situation. But other species evolved by exploring different dietary sources that were available in that time. For example, many evolved physical adaptations to graze on the new species of plant life called grass that colonized the deforested terrain. The same seems to have happened to our ancestors, who had previously relied on forest foods such as soft fruit. We just kept evolving as the millions of years went by and adapting to new environments. In this essay, as you can see, Lucy was an astonishing discovery and was the missing link to our upbringing. This species was bipedal and hominid from the waste down, ape like from the waist up. They were also smarter than chimps with their different hand and motor cortex, their tool use, and brain size. Without the constant concept and knowledge of evolution occurring, our species would have never of came about but we are very fortunate for this discovery and to be who we are in this world today.

Microscopes and Microscopy

Microscopes and Microscopy Introduction The purpose for including a lab on microscopy in his course is because it is a very important tool in making detailed observations. This lab helps the average person realize that there is much more to things than what you see with the naked eye. In the field of human biology microscopes are very important for many reasons. In the late 1500’s a scientist named Zacharias Janssen created the first microscope of it kind and now we have several microscopes that are very important to the study of human biology. The compound microscope is used to view individual cells as well as living cells such as hair. Electron microscopes can be used to view things such as biological tissues and organisms. Also, another popular microscope used in human biology is the stereo microscope, which is commonly used to dissect and examine human tissue. Discussion When studying the â€Å"optics† slide in the interactive section of this lab it displayed image orientation. To display this it took the letter â€Å"e† and showed you the standard view to the naked eye and then it showed you the view through a light microscope and it looked very different. The â€Å"e† was upside down and backwards left while looking down in the microscope. The reason it looked like this was because of the shape and lenses in the microscope. While studying the color threads on the interactive microscope you notice that the colors are red, green, and yellow from top to bottom. The magnification that was useful in helping me determine the order was 400x. This magnification allowed me to see that the yellow color thread was on the bottom and that the green color thread was in the middle. The optical principles that are in play here are perfect lens characteristic and transmitted light microscopy optical pathways. Interpupillary distance is the distance between the centers of the pupils of the two eyes. The way to determine what the interpupillary distance is with a device called a pupil meter. This device presents a binocular subject that can be set from a close viewing distance out to optical infinity. The diopter setting is a control knob on a microscope that helps your eyes view something similar in proper relation instead of allowing each individual eye to view the subject differently. It is necessary to locate an object using the low objective because it allows you to gain a better focus before switching to the high power objective and makes it so you don’t have to make much of an adjustment on the high power objective. Just trying to focus using the high power objective could get very time consuming. Reducing the iris diaphragm aperture on a microscope will clarify an image focused under high power, but it would be letting less light in the field of view. The reason it would clarify the image is because under high power it doesn’t take much light to bring whatever you are viewing into focus due to the strength of the lens. If my lab partner was having problems locating onion cells using a parfocal microscope with the low power objective and just switched to the high power objective I would tell her that this is an incorrect way to bring the onion cells into focus. I would advise her that she would need to continue to bring the onion cell into focus with the low power objective because once you have it in focus with the low power objective you can switch to the high power objective with out making any changes to the focus. I am striving to become a nurse and I believe that in that career field it is extremely important for me to be especially knowledgeable regarding microscopy. While working as a nurse it is going to be extremely important for me to know what microscopes are going to be best to use in certain circumstances. For my career field it is going to be very important to understand how to use a microscope and that goes for knowing how to bring cells into more focus as well as knowing that I need to bring what I am viewing into focus under the low power objective.