History is by nature, an interpretive discipline Essay

With simplest words, history is the story of the human experience. While history teaching originally focused on the facts of political history such as wars and dynasties, contemporary history education has assumed a more integrative approach offering students an expanded view of historical knowledge that includes aspects different subjects, such as of geography, religion, anthropology, philosophy, economics, technology, art and society. This wider embrace is reflected in the vague but ubiquitous term, â€Å"social studies. History has no subject matter of its own. History derives its content entirely from other disciplines, especially from the social sciences. Before the disciplines of political science, economics, archeology and sociology had been invented, it was history that dealt with these realms of knowledge. Historians are the generalizers, the synthesizers. They look at an event or series of events and try to bring relevant knowledge from all fields to bear on understanding the situation. Viewed in this light, history is a verb, not a noun; it is more an approach than a subject. This approach is sometimes termed the â€Å"historical method,† which generally involves trying to identify all relevant information about an historical development, critically examining sources for validity and bias, then selecting and organizing this information into a well-constructed narrative that sheds some light on human experience. History is not static; our views of history are constantly changing as new discoveries are made that cast doubt on previous knowledge. New interpretations of historical events frequently come along to challenge older views. Was the Viatnam War really worth of? Or was Ronald Ragan the grand statesman of his age or a less admirable figure? Such newer, alternative explanations are termed revisionist history. The historian, following the historical method, tries to determine if the evidence is real, accurate or biased. After making these judgments, the historian selects some evidence to include in his narrative, and he rejects other sources. The finished product reflects the judgments, point-of-view, biases and errors of the historian himself. This is a highly subjective process throughout. But it should be remembered that history did happen, and without it we would be largely ignorant of the workings of the world and of the human animal. Conscientious historians are aware of the pitfalls in their search for historical truth, and they try to avoid them. Students who are aware of the inherent limitations of history will be better prepared to evaluate the validity of historical evidence and historical accounts and consequently more adept at evaluating the conflicting evidence and opinions surrounding the important issues of their own time. Thus the study of history can teach many critical skills. That is, studying history helps sharpen the critical â€Å"thinking† and communication skills essential to success in school and in most professions.

History of the Beer Growler Essay

Introduction I. Attention-getter: Does anyone know what the term â€Å"Growler† means and how it relates to beer? (merriam-webster. com) A container for beer bought by the measure (can, pitcher, bottle, etc) II. Thesis statement: Beer is drank everyday in the United States, without a single consideration of the vessels they come in or how they came to be. III. Preview of Main Points: Today were going to discuss, when the growler first emerged, how it got its name, and the common day growler. Transition: Starting with my first point, when growlers first appeared. 1. The first growlers are believed to have emerged in the mid 1800s. A. The consumer wanted to drink beer at home, and during lunch breaks at work. B. They were the only way to have beer outside of the saloon or local tavern C. Growlers varied from glass, to pottery, to the most popular being a 2qt galvanized pail with lid. D. (focusonthebeer. com) they were sold as a pint, and filled 1/2 beer, and 1/2 foam. . Transition: Now that we have discussed when they emerged, let’s talk about how they got their name. 2. The term growler is actually up for some debate. A. Some believe it was sound of CO2 escaping from the lid of the pail. B. Others believe it was rumbling of the stomachs of workers waiting to have beer during lunch. C. (bottles. net) Many also believe it was conflict between the bartender, and the customer. The customer was â€Å"growling† about not having a full pail, and the bartender was â€Å"growling† about only having to charge for a pint. Transition: Lastly we are going to discuss the common day growler. 3. It wasn’t until 1989 when it emerged again, in what we are familiar with today in terms of the growler A. (beeradvocate. com) In 1989 Charlie Otto is being credited for what we see in today’s growler B. (grandtetonbrewing. com) formerly â€Å"Otto brothers brewing company† Otto wanted to allow his customers to take beer home and enjoy it. C. After discussing this with his father, his father told him he needs a growler, which his father remembers getting filled for his father. D. Common day growler is a glass jug with a small handle. Often times with the Brewery label silk screened on the bottle Conclusion A. Review of Main Points: Today we have went over when the growler emerged, how it got its name, and the common day growler. B. Residual message: Today the growler is particularly popular with the craft beer breweries; it is believed to have stopped over 1 billion bottles, and cans going into the trash each year. References: Source 1 Merriam-Webster, 2013. Definition of the word Growler. Available from Merriam-Webster via internet (http://www. merriam-webster. com/dictionary/growler). Source 2 IGrind, November 12, 2011. The Growler: Part 1 The Past. Available via the internet (http://www. focusonthebeer. com/2011/11/growler-part-1-past. html) Source 3 Jess Kidden, 2013. History of the Growler Available via the internet (http://www. bottless. net/The_History_of_The_Beer_Growler_s/605. htm) Source 4 BeerAdvocate, July 31, 2002. The Growler: Beer-to-Go! Available via the internet (http://beeradvocate. com/articles/384) Source 5 Grand Teton Brewing, Growler History. Available via the internet (http://www. grandtetonbrewing. com/Growlers. html).

Female Education and Economic Growth

Female Education and Economic Growth Case Study Of India Economic growth in India India is classified as a lower middle income country, and since 2011 is no longer regarded as a developing country (World Bank Database, 2012) due to recent high economic growth (Kohli, 2006). In 2010, the country had a real GDP growth of 8. 8 percent and a nominal GDP per capita of 1410. 3 dollars (World Bank Database, 2012). According to AT Kearney, an International consulting group (Rao & Varghese, 2009), India is ranked as one of the best countries to start a new business in.The foreign investment rate, might be a proof of that. The ministry of finance in India believes it will reach almost 40 percent of the GDP by 2013. Not only the foreign investments have increased but the domestic savings and investments has also gone up and were about 30 percent of the GDP in 2009 (Rao & Varghese, 2009). The ratio of poor people6 has decreased from 45. 3 percent to 29. 8 percent between year 2000 and 2010 (Worl d Bank Database, 2012). Even if poverty has decreased one third of the population is still thought to be poor (World Bank Database, 2012).Poverty negatively affects the opportunity for many to be able to enroll in school negatively. The state has a major role to mass educate the population and increase human capital (Duraisamy, 2001). One of the most important ways to do that is to reduce the fertility rate. It is one of the major components to long-term economic growth in India (Dreze & Murthi, 2001; Tilak, 2006; World Bank, 1997; Yadava & Chadney, 1994). A lower fertility rate means a higher GDP per capita (Weil, 2009), and more money to invest in the country and its inhabitants (World Bank, 1997). Education in India The 1. billion people (World Bank Database, 2012) of India's 28 states, together with its seven union territories, do not speak the same language, do not share the same culture and do not have the same religious beliefs. Educational system differs in the respective st ates due to the fact that it is partly regulated by the state and partly by the local government (Kajisa ; Palanichamy, 2009; World Bank, 1997; World Bank, 2004). In 1999 India spent 4. 5 percent of its total GDP on education, but spending on education has declined since then. In 2006, spending dropped to 3. 1 percent (World Bank Database, 2012).Article 45 in the Indian Constitution states: â€Å"†¦ for free and compulsory education for all children until they reach the age of 14† (in Andreosso-O'Callaghan, 2003). 7 As can be seen in article 45, ambitions have been high since 1960s. In year 2000 approximately 18. 5 million children were out of school. In 2007 the number was 4. 9 million. Primary completion rate also increased and in 2008 it was around 95 percent, for both males and females8 (World Bank, 2012). The quality of governmental schools has been questioned in India (Duraisamy, 2001). Even if the completion rate in primary schooling is high, literacy rate is not reflecting that.Between year 2000 and 2006 there has been little change in the literacy rates, which was just under 50 percent for females and approximately 75 percent for males (2006) (World Bank, 2012). Some argue that good quality schooling is only available for the rich and higher middle class in private schools, especially for boys (Andreosso-O'Callaghan, 2003). According to Easterly (Andreosso-O'Callaghan, 2003) elite education does not lead to economic growth. If ability is seen as innate, it means that the majority of the people who are not included in the elite will not be able to use their full potential.This is a great social loss, and might slow down India's future long-term economic growth (Esteve- Volart, 2004; Klasen, 2002; Rao ; Varghese, 2009). For example, in China, mass education has been the key to a fast growing economy (Andreosso-O'Callaghan, 2003). Chatterji (2008) claims that primary education has the highest correlation with economic growth in India, seconda ry education have some effect and tertiary education being insignificant to economic growth. The reason Chatterji (2008) came to that conclusion might be the debated â€Å"surplus of education† in the media.India supplied domestic labor market with 22 million graduates (2009) and faced high youth unemployment rates (Rao & Varghese, 2009). However, Tilak (2007) disagrees. According to him higher education has a significant effect on economic growth, but it is not as strong as the effects of primary and secondary education on economic growth in India. Female education in India As mentioned above approximately 18. 5 million were out of school in the year of 2000, almost 75 percent of these children were girls9. Out of 5 million children out of school in 2007, 3. 5 million were girls.The data indicates that ratio is still approximately the same. In year 2007 the expected years of education for women and men respectively was 10. 9 for males and 9. 8 for females. However, this was not reflected on the average years of schooling in 2010. The mean years of schooling for girls over the age of 15 were approximately 4. 5 years and about 7 years for boys (World Bank, 2012). 10 Figure 1: Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators and Global Development Finance (World Bank Database, 2012). As can be seen in figure 1, gross female school enrollment11 rate has increased for all levels in India between 1990 and 2010.The highest increase has been in primary education after the millenium and forward. The high percentage rate of female enrollment rate in primary schooling might be an indication that women in all ages are enrolling in school, independent from appropriate primary schooling age in the country. This might be due to an increase in informal schooling, which will be reviewed later in the paper. Secondary schooling is spiriling up as well, which might be due to an increase of the middle class in India. However, tertiary education does not have as high increa se in enrollment as primary and secondary schooling.This might as well be due to an increase of the middle class. Females staying at home is a sign of financial stability (Duraisamy, 2001), therefore the incentives to enroll in tertiary education might decrease. Figure 2: When figure 1, is compared to figure 2, which shows the trends for male schooling in India between 1990-2010, it is possible to see that the gap between male and female enrollment is closing. In the beginning of 1990 almost 110 percent of males were enrolled in primary schooling, whilst only 80 percent of females were enrolled in the same level.In 2010 the enrollment for males and females is almost the same. This might be because of subsidies for girls, but also that informal schooling which first of all targets females and the poor has showed results. The enrollment for male secondary schooling has slightly increased during the last two decades, while the female secondary enrollment significantly has increased. Th is might be due to the facts mentioned for primary schooling, as well as completion of primary schooling and therefore the ability to move on to the next level of schooling.The increase of the middle class might also be a reason for this. Tertiary schooling is moving in the same pace more or less both for males and females, slightly more males than females join higher education. Which might be an indicator that the most bright ones, or with the most money have the ability to join, independent of gender. It is also important to mention the states hard work since the 1960's to make its inhabitants see the positive sides with education, working hard for families to see the benefits of schooling for girls.A woman's socioeconomic background might affect the level of completion rate. If a family is poor, one rather invests in sons than daughters (Chaudhri & Jha, 2011; World Bank, 1997). Women from the middle class in the majority of cases finish at least primary education, irrespectively if they live in rural or urban area. Women from the upper class in the urban areas, usually have at least secondary education, and more often can chose if they want to become a part of the labor force or not. There are few or no social barriers prohibiting them from joining the labor market (World Bank, 1997).Duraisamy (2001) came to the conclusion that female education has a positive rate of return for all levels of education in India. World Bank (1997) came to the same conclusion, but only when participation in the labor market was not accounted. One reason for this might be that majority of women do not work after finishing school but become stay at home mothers. Therefore education for women might not give the same economic return on the investment compared to men who join the labor force and therefore contribute to increased income per capita.This finding might be questioned due to exclusions of positive externalities mentioned earlier in the paper. Before continuing on and rev iewing the impacts of female education on economic growth through a decline in fertility rate and increase in human capital, it is important to clarify the diversity in India. In the 1990s some states had almost universal education, such as the southern state of Kerala. In Kerala, both men and women can choose whether to join the labor force or not. In other parts of the country, such as states of Bihar and Rajasthan, overall female enrollment was about 50 percent.In Punjab on the other hand, an agricultural state in the north, overall female enrollment was almost 80 percent, but labor participation for women was extremely low (World Bank, 1997; World Bank, 2004). Female education's effect on fertility rate in India Dreze and Murthi (2001) argue that female education together with low mortality rate and low son- preference are the only significant factors reducing fertility rate in India. They add that modernization and urbanization, poverty reduction and male literacy have no signi ficant association with reduced fertility rate.On a national level, a drop in fertility rate reduces population growth and therefore increases income per capita. A lower mortality rate is indirectly affected by female education. According to the World Bank (1997; 2004) literate women have more knowledge about how to feed their children; they grasp the importance of hygiene and clean water, and know more about a child's basic health. This decreases child mortality, and therefore women does not have to plan for as many children (Dreze and Murthi, 2001; Yadava & Chadney, 1994). Figure 3:Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators and Global Development Finance (World Bank Database, 2012). Figure 4: Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators and Global Development Finance (World Bank Database, 2012). In figure three and four one can view that fertility rate and mortality rate have decreased significantly in the last 20 years. Majority of the scholars such as Klasen (2002) cla im that only secondary female education has a direct effect on reducing fertility rate while primary education has an indirect effect in reducing fertility rate through reducing mortality rate for children under the age of five.Comparing figures one, two and three one can comprehend that it might be true. Mortality rate has had a higher percentage decrease than fertility rate and primary female enrollment is higher than secondary. There is a strong son-preference in India. Parents might continue to have children until they get a son. A weaker son-preference could decrease the fertility rate by eight percent (Dreze and Murthi, 2001; Chaudhri & Jha, 2011; Esteve-Volart, 2004; Mutharayappa, Choe, Arnold & Roy, 1997; Yadava & Chadney, 1994).Some argue that modernization did not show to have any direct effect on fertility rate in India but might lower son-preference indirectly through female education. However, this might not only be true for female education solely, but for education in general as well (Dreze & Murthi, 2001; Yadava & Chadney, 1994). 13 In India, female secondary education has a stronger direct effect in reducing fertility rate, than primary education. An educated woman might not desire as many children as an uneducated one. They also have a higher probability to give birth to as many children as desired.Thus, the actual family size has a higher chance to be close to the desired. This indicates to an increased knowledge of contraception use and that educated women marry later than uneducated ones. The income and substitution effect both occur in India, as explained above (Dreze & Murthi, 2004). In 1994 in Gujarat, women with no education had 3. 6 children, mothers with primary education had 3. 3 children, and women who had completed secondary school had 2. 4 children. In Rajasthan the fertility rate in 1991 was 6, and in Kerala the fertility rate the same year was 2. 6.The rate of female enrollment in these states was very different, from almost un iversal in Kerala to less than 50 percent in Rajasthan (Mutharayappa, Choe, Arnold & Roy, 1997; World Bank 1997; 2004). 14 It is commonly believed that poverty has a significant positive effect on fertility rate. As mentioned earlier, Dreze and Murthi (2001) have not found any association between poverty and fertility rate in India. Studies have shown that parents do not view children as financial assets. Instead they are seen as a financial burden in short-term, with a possibility that sons will take care of them in old age.This perception in India seems to be independent of income. Female education's effect on human capital in India After China, India has the second largest labor force in the world, of approximately 500 million people (Rao ; Varghese, 2009; Sahoo ; Kumar Dash, 2009). This is a possible foundation for high productivity and therefore economic growth. However, if the population is unhealthy, illiterate and uneducated then the large population might not translate into a high human capital. In India, where majority of the mothers stay at home, they are the ones taking care of children's health needs (Esteve-Volart, 2004).There has been shown, not only in India, but in the whole world, that mothers who are literate have more nurtured and healthier children, than their illiterate counterpart (Tembon & Fort, 2008). Therefore female education has shown to be both directly (through women joining the labor force) and indirectly related to a higher human capital, hence higher economic growth. Good health and nutrition received in early age is an important condition for good health as an adult. For example, in India, vaccination against polio and malaria increases when a mother is educated to some extent (World Bank 1997).However the causality between female education and better health and attainment in school can be questioned. The poorest women have the least access to education in India, and therefore do not have access to financial assets as educated women might have. Healthy children facilitate mother's ability to go back to paid or un-paid work much faster than women who have unhealthy children (World Bank, 1997; 2004). This means that the opportunity cost of female education for girls decrease, if mothers and siblings are healthier. This might increase female enrollment, and decrease drop-out rate among girls.Therefore, an increase in knowledge of basic health due to female education increases human capital in more than one way (Esteve-Volart, 2004; Rao ; Varghese, 2009). In the majority of cases, fathers join the labor market while mothers stay at home, especially in rural areas. In India there is a positive relation between educated mothers and their children's achievements in school. Studies have shown that a mother's education increases not only the health and therefore concentration level of a child in school, but also the motivation and grades.Once again we can see that educated mothers have positive effects on their d aughters. Educated mothers, especially in urban areas, encourage their daughters more often to strive for a higher education, than uneducated ones (World Bank, 2004). Policies that promote female education in India The Indian government has been working hard since the late 1960s to be able to give universal education to its population (Duraisamy, 2001; Tilak, 2006). It is not the easiest task in India where the population grew from approximately 890 million in 1991 to over 1. billion in 2010. The hardest ones to reach are the Dalit15 girls. Indian government has tried to increase the demand for education for them through subventioning the direct costs of their education, for example text books and uniforms (Ferry, 2008;Munshi ; Rosenzweig, 2006). 16 A project that started in the 1980s in India was informal schooling. The purpose was and is mass education for those who had the least possibilities to enter formal schooling and provide basic knowledge in subjects that students can use in their everyday life.These schools reduce opportunity cost of female education through having schools closer to communities in rural areas and during the day when girls do not have to be involved in household work. There are many positive effects of informal schooling, which are similar to those of primary education. However, the national institute of educational planning and administration reported that the informal education had several weaknesses, especially in the poorest areas in the country like Bihar.It was said to be underfunded, curriculum was thought by unmotivated teachers and few children continued with formal education (World Bank, 1997). Studies made in urban Mumbai shows that some girls from former casteless groups, the Dalits, have been the biggest winners. These women used free education offered to them and became active members of the labor market and have taken themselves out of the poverty trap. In contrast to women from the middle class who might not have been able to do so because of the social norms (Ferry, 2008).In summation, the key factor for long-term economic growth in India is a decrease in fertility rate. The proof that female education affects economic growth through fertility rate reflects findings of Dreze and Murthi (2001) who argue that the only factors which decrease fertility rate in India are female education, low mortality rate and low son-preference. It is also proven that female education has both direct and indirect effect on human capital which creates effect on economic growth as well. Obstacles for female education in India are mainly related to social and cultural norms, as well as a high population.

Obama Healthcare plan vs. Clinton Healthcare plan Essay

Obama Healthcare plan vs. Clinton Healthcare plan - Essay Example Since Hillary has no mechanism for enforcing the individual mandate she proposes, Obama regards the mandate as a bluff. John Edwards, whose plan includes mechanism for enforcing the individual mandate that he has proposed, supported Obama’s criticism of Hillary and Hillary’s criticism of Obama. In the Edward’s proposal, proof of insurance will be required when income taxes are paid and when health care is provided. Thus, Americans will be compelled to buy health insurance. The Edward’s plans make provision for families without insurance and those that lose coverage. The former will be enrolled in plans such as Medicare and Medicaid while the later will be enrolled in other plans. The issue is not enrolling people in private health care plan but getting people to participate in the plan. Thus, the Obama plan makes perfect sense given that it resist individual mandate, which may be unattractive to a large number of people and may not easily be enforced. The President’s Medicare Plan: A Trojan Horse to Ration Health Care? Medicare, with $30.8 trillion in long term unfunded obligations, could cease to exist if the runaway cost is not reined in. The problem is how Medicare cost should be controlled. Two options are available: changing the structure and culture of Medicare through empowering patients to make health care decisions that lead to best results, in addition to forcing plans and providers to compete for the money; and top-down bureaucratic control of the cost of health care services. Of course, these options will reduce the cost but will simultaneously reduce the quality of health care. The first option, which was taken by Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, has been described to give Medicare patients control over cost of services and freedom to choose how they access these services. The result according to Heritage’s Robert Moffit and James Capretta is value in return for the dollars. President Obama opted for th e second option: tightening the top-down bureaucracy and reducing Medicare payment to doctors and hospitals, in addition to reducing providers’ reimbursement rates. This option leads to reduced senior access to doctors. Under the second option, the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB) will be strengthened to rein in cost of Medicare while improving the quality of care. The White House planned to equip IPAB to promote prevention without shifting cost to seniors. Though reducing doctors’ salaries will reduce Medicare cost as envisioned by the second option, according to British Physician Anthony Daniels strengthening IPAB to focus on prevention will be unsuccessful at addressing the fiscal problem The fact that Congress continues to delay in reducing doctors salaries suggests that the second option is not politically attractive. Pursuing health care reforms that put bureaucrats in charges will reduce patient access to care. The second option should be repealed to av oid such outcome. Will Obama’s health care plan mirror the 1994 Clinton failure? Former President Bill Clinton key policy plan in 1994 was a

Media- a secret ally of violence Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Media- a secret ally of violence - Essay Example during dinner preparation and other activities, while children are most likely to find an enjoyable program somewhere on the dial at any time of the day or night. However, the types of programming selected have often had a negative impact on those who watch it. By glamorizing violence, the media has destructive effect on the youth, adolescence and the society. Because of the powerful way in which the media has focused on violent and antisocial behavior, the media deliberately misinforms, making the viewers fearful, suspicious and cynical. Because of its bias toward bad news, the media feeds a perception that the world is a violent, dangerous place. As a result, the viewers come to overestimate the rate of violence. â€Å"The prevalence of bad news and the power of image encourage children and us to overestimate the chance of accident, risk of disease, the frequency of marital infidelity.† The writer then went on to explain that â€Å"the average policemen, for example, never fires a gun in action and most Americans are monogamous.† (240). With these images flashing in their minds every evening, the viewers become negative, mistrustful of others and withdrawn, and cease to believe in progress. In the age of information, many Americans instead feel utterly alone and depressed. Even worse than creating a world in which so many people feel alone and unable to trust their fellow man, the media causes the viewers to fail to sympathize with the victim. Viewers become accustomed to the violence scene on television with scenes that involve bloodshed, raping and other acts of extreme violence. This creates a situation in which the viewers are emotionally desensitized in real life violence. â€Å"There is near-unanimity by now among investigators that exposure to media violence contributes to lowering barriers to aggression among some viewers.† (234). Demoralized by the violence scenes, the viewer finds it easier to identify with the aggressor and the aggressor’s

Microsoft Zune vs Apple iPod Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Microsoft Zune vs Apple iPod - Essay Example Apple released its first-ever portable media player, iPod Classic, in 2001. Like the usual portable media players, one can listen to music, watch videos, show pictures and even play games on the iPod. Apple has since modified the original iPod and has made it small and wearable (iPod Shuffle) and with more and more features like having built-in Wi-Fi and enabling it to record and edit HD videos, download and play online games, among other things. Each product has its own device generation as well.Microsoft released its own media player device in the year 2006 and called the original Zune 30. The numbers in their name indicates how big the capacity of the device is. Zune 30 can play songs, video and show pictures just like the iPod. The only difference is that photos and videos can be watched or played in either portrait or landscape mode. The Zune can also be modified to play games and can play in many different audio formats. It also has a Zune-to-Zune wireless sharing of music and photos. Next is Zune 4 which has the generation of 8 and 16. According to Surhone et al. (2010), it can be clicked 5 ways. Like its predecessor, it has Wi-Fi used for wireless sharing of photos and music in other Zune. It has also a FM radio. Zune 80 or 120 was the next release for the Microsoft, which produce positive results as it was called an â€Å"iPod alternative†. The features are the same as its previous predecessor but with higher capacity as the number indicated in the name and bigger screen.   The most recent release is the the Zune HD. As its name suggests, one can buy and rent high-definition (HD) movies and TV shows, play HD radio, download apps and games and surf the internet on the Zune HD.  

The Role of Political Parties in Mobilizing Electoral Participation in Essay

The Role of Political Parties in Mobilizing Electoral Participation in the U.S - Essay Example First, political parties provide funding and support of candidates that run for political positions. This is the most important support role of a political party is provision of a candidate with the party nomination. Other kinds of support also come in the form of money that goes into conducting political campaigns. in cases where the money does not come directly from political parties, parties still provide important strategy, logistics and organization information that make additional funding and smooth running of the whole operation possible (Ginsberg et al., p. 123). In the period leading to elections, parties help organize fundraisers to help meet budget deficits, they also provide workers for the campaign team of the candidate and monitors the opposition for any election irregularities. The last but most important support role of any political party to its candidate is to instill confidence in him or her of a fair election process. The other role of political parties is to act as political educators. In this role, they provide the necessary literary materials to enlighten voters on the issues that they need to know (Ginsberg et al., p. 223). These issues may range from civic rights to duties and responsibilities of voters towards their country. Part of this role involves instilling on the electorates the importance of casting their vote on the election date. As political educators, mobilizing candidates and educate them on the electoral process and possible outcomes, like their likelihood of being elected. Further, political parties provide information to the public concerning their stand on issues of the day. As part of their role as educators, parties have to periodically reminding members and voters on the importance of casting their vote, since if members do not go out and vote their candidates will lose the elections.

Terrorist organization research and report on Hizballah (Party of God) Paper

Terrorist organization and report on Hizballah (Party of God) - Research Paper Example Specifically, Hezbollah gained its reputation for their bloody battles against invading Israeli occupational forces, during which they employed guerrilla warfare and martyr-based attacks. The Hezbollah began in 1982 as a response to the Israeli invasion of Lebanon. As their name literally translates to â€Å"Party of God†, they had deep religious motivations for starting the organization, though their direct actions may have seemed more political initially. During this time, Lebanon was controlled by Shia politics that had risen since the country’s liberation from France in 1943 (Norton, 2009, 21). At the outset, Israeli forces were welcomed into Lebanon to assist in forcing the Palestinians out of the southern part of the nation. However, when the Palestinians were successfully removed from the area, and Israeli occupation forces refused to leave the country in the following months, the Hezbollah viewed their actions as a direct threat to the Muslim way of life, as well as, an infringement on the Lebanese people independence. The founding members of Hezbollah were offended by the way the Israelis took ownership of their land. They were also not happy a bout the economic oppression the Israelis imposed on the native Shiites. Furthermore, the Hezbollah believed that these offenses required swift and violent action. This initiated the conflict between the nascent group and the Israeli forces, followed quickly by the involvement of other countries. To this end, in the first few years of the group’s infancy, the Hezbollah released a manifesto listing their objectives as the removal of Israeli occupation forces from Lebanon and the overall obliteration of Israeli forces from all nations. In this manifesto, they also described their desire to be free from all Western political or military involvement, as well. They viewed most of the Western nations as being allies to the Zionist movement (Jaber, 1997,

Points To Consider Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Points To Consider - Article Example This is evident how Finn decided not to push through with his original plan because his inmost being is telling him the other things to do which have the basic foundation on his core values. Societies and organizations have varying values which could be influenced by culture. These values are also their guiding principles on how they act in the attainment of their organizational goals. Twain successfully depicts this point in his novel. What alternatives does Huck explore in making the decision? First, Huck tries to weigh everything and put it to a substantial logical reasoning. He sets enough time to ponder on probable consequences of his future actions. In the same way, decision-makers act in the same path because decisions are crucial as they could lead someone or a group to consequences and other related results. Second, Huck organizes the facts as he recalls past actions. He evaluates past actions together with the prevailing conditions and he finally is able to come up with a d ecision that he needs to consider. How does he evaluate each alternative? By considering the probable implications of his actions, Huck in his own little way successfully evaluates each of his alternative course of actions. In today’s contemporary time, decision-makers assess the degree of significance of an alternative by trying to consider the associated strength and weaknesses. In the case of Huck, he all has the effort of initiating an assesment of an implication whether it could bring an advantage outcome or not. He successfully creates this by looking at the entire perspective on the prevailing life of his friend, Jim. Why does he reverse his original decision? After he passes on the issue that he needs to consider, Huck evantually sees the entire perspective. This becomes possible because he gives considerable amount of time considering his probable decisions. He changes his original decision because he acquires the opportunity to see the right perspective based on his conscience and awareness on the entire issue involved. In the same way, in real-life application, we tend to change our original decision if it would come to our senses that there is other better point of view. Points to Consider Can you think of contemporary situations analogous to the one described in this essay where a leader feels compelled to make a decision based on what others will think of him or her? This is evident among politicians, especially in democratic nations where there is a need to elect an officer to be chosen by the masses. The candidates just like in the US will be given an opportunity to make their own stand on a given issue or situation. In some cases, some politicians would eventually consider the prevailing trend, especially the opinion of the massess to increase their chance of acceptance and approval. The bottom line, they at some point are compelled to make a decision based on what others will think of them. Obama’s stand on same-sex maarriage is sue could at some point be a specific example. How can a leader overcome the pressure to make a decision that he or she knows is not the best decision? Leadership is about influencing others and most especially creating followers and not only mere subordinates. Leaders should therefore create a culture that is flexible to change so that when there is a need to

Control being over business by government Essay Example for Free

Control being over business by government Essay What are the arguments for and against, greater control being exercised over business by government? How do these arguments differ between the countries of the group members? We would like to start the answer by an example of USA when they were heavily involved in the industrialization and expansion. People of all different occupations were involved in some part of the industrial revolution. However there was a debate over the government intervening in the building of infrastructure. Chief Justice John Marshall made many landmark court decisions which played a role in defining the business climate that developed during the industrial revolution and strengthened the central governments control over the business. Thus finally the government was involved in the early stages of the industrial revolution. The governments decision of this era laid the ground work of the future U.S. growth of the nation. Without these pro-business decisions, the United states would not have made the change from being agriculturally dependent to the industrialized nation it is today. [www.historyteacher.net/USProjects/myessay21.htm] Hence it sounds better in some situation and it doesnt in some. For example in China, local governments stand passively by as private firms aggressively reject long-standing official right because the government officials in south China are increasingly anxious to shed their responsibility for economic management. Also they fear the risks and dangers associated with the more complete market system that has emerged during the 1990s. As a result, Chinas southern provinces have already begun the process of separating government from business, while, in the north, leading officials emphasize the slogan separate government from enterprises but, fearing slow growth, practice the opposite. [www.pitt.edu/~tgrawski/paper98/china.html] To what extent do you think a change of government in a) UK would affect the business community? b) the countries of group members? It can have a great impact on businesses in UK or in other countries like India, China etc. For example: Regulatory systems can be improved to provide faster access to exploration land and clarification of aboriginal disputes, taxes such as corporate taxes, income taxes etc can be reduced, Business leaders can hope for a complete overhaul of the resource-rich provinces economic structure, Economic growth can be affected by change in government, it is expected that the new government can come up with creative solutions on how to reduce government indebtedness during its term, the new government will aim to solve deficit of balance of payments by boosting production through attracting direct foreign investments, also new government can change the manufacturing scenario in the country like instead of importing products, they can plan to manufacture in their own land which will indirectly reduce the unemployment in the manufacturing field. Also it can provide grant to those regions in which unemployment is high. [http://www.rba.hr/web/pdf/rrr/rba-rrr-012-2003-12-18.pdf] What are the implications of privatising a public sector business organisations? With privatization programs still active in several countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, there is a growing debate on effects on economic development. To address such issues the representatives of privatization agencies of different nations established the African Privatization Network (APN) in November 1995. APN aims at promoting the concept of privatization and encouraging its implementation in African countries by sharing legislation and other relevant documentation; studying the nature and scope of privatization in each country according to its special circumstances and needs; and monitoring the process of privatization in Africa, identifying problems and obstacles and offering advice where required. The positive view of privatization suggests that it went ahead, in spite of domestic opposition, because politicians and bureaucrats perceived real benefits to themselves and their supporters. They could influence the sales to their own benefit, while, on the other hand, a more focused public sector improved service delivery. A well functioning private sector is essential for increasing economic growth and thus reducing poverty. Yet international development institutions recommend sophisticated policies to improve the business environment that governments in developing countries cannot successfully implement. The result is often a worsening of private sector performance. The promotion, support, financing, marketing and management of small and medium sized enterprises and industries is the core business of any privatisation programme. [ http://www.developmentgateway.org/node/130679/]

Cytopathic Effects as a Result of Infection of E-coli

Cytopathic Effects as a Result of Infection of E-coli Analysis of cytopathic effects as a result of infection of Escherichia coli by T4 bacteriophage using spectrophotometry and plaque assay Abstract T4 bacteriophage is a double stranded DNA virus that infects Escherichia coli and is an important tool in research and study of genetics. It contains about 168,800 base pairs of DNA. It has an icosahedral capsid as its head that contains its nucleic acid and has a tail structure formed of tail fibres, sheath, base plates and coat. These different structures of T4-phage play important roles when invading the host cell (in this case E.coli). T4-bacteriophage infects the host cell by lytic pathway where the host cells are used to produce virus components and it results in the lysis of host cell releasing the virus components to the external membrane. This experiment plans to examine the cytopathic effects of the T4-phage on E.coli using a spectrophotometer. Also, plaque assay is carried out in order to determine the original concentration of phage in the solution. The spectrophotometer reading increased for both control and T4-infected cultures as the time of post infection increased. T he highest reading was 0.192 for control at 120 min pi. Introduction Viruses are small infectious agents and are about 10-30nm in size. Strelkauskas, et al (2010) describes viruses as â€Å"obligate intracellular parasites† which means they need a host cell in order to survive and replicate. The viruses are classified depending on their morphology, chemical composition and mode of replication. They are divided into two groups based on the nucleic acid they contain: DNA or RNA. They are sub-divided into further groups according to their symmetry of capsid where the genetic material is enclosed within an envelope or without an envelope (naked). Also, the configuration of the nucleic acid (single-stranded or double stranded and linear or circular) play a role in the classification of viruses (Gelderblom, 1996). A fully assembled infectious virus is known as a virion and its structure is based on two important things; the ability to survive in harsh conditions until it can infect the host cell and to be able to shed the protective barrier in order to enter a host cell. Bacteriophages are viruses that infect bacterial cells and were first observed in 1915 and 1917 by Twort and d’Herelle. T4 bacteriophage is a member of T-even phages and infects Escherichia coli (E.coli) bacteria. It is considered as one of the complex viruses because of its genome which consist of 274 open reading frames and 40 of these reading frames encodes for structural proteins (Leiman, et al, 2003). T4- bacteriophage has been extensively studied since 1940s and plays a major role in advancement of modern genetics and molecular biology. Some of the early essential ideas of genetics including the basis of genetics code, mRNA, ribosome and the codon have came from studies using T4-bacteriophages (Miller et al, 2003). T4- bacteriophage contains double stranded DNA as its nucleic acid which is enclosed within a protective coat known as capsid. Its capsid is icosahedral in shape (shown in figure 1). It also has tail part which is made up of coat, sheath, tail fibres and base plates. The tail part is useful when recognising a host cell followed by penetration to the host cell thus causing infection. Bacteriophages have two types of replication strategies: lytic cycle and lysogenic cycle (Baker, et al, 2011). Lysogenic infection in E.coli is exemplified by bacteriophage lambda where the viral DNA replication takes place without destroying the bacterial cell. Here, the virion infects the host cell and instead of triggering more virus reproduction, it recombines with the host genome causing no damage to the cell which is known as prophage. These viruses can remain dormant within the bacterial cell for years and only cause infection under certain circumstances. T4-bacteriophage is a virulent virus that causes lytic infection to E.coli. The first step in this cycle is adsorption where the virus recognises the cell receptors on the surface of the host cell and attaches itself to the host using its tail fibres. Once attached to the host cell, the virus must penetrate through the cell membrane of E.coli. The base plate of the virus comes in contact with the cell wall of the host cell ca using conformational change in structure of the virus. This allows the sheath to contract and the core is pushed through the wall into the cell membrane where the viral DNA is injected into the host cell (Todar, 2008). DNA viruses have the same genome configuration as the host cell; hence the replication process used in host cell can be used for viral replication. T4- bacteriophage transcribes nucleases that break down the bacterial DNA which is used to produce more viral genome. The newly made viral nucleic acid and structural proteins are assembled together to form virulent viruses. The lysozymes produced by the bacteriophages as a late viral protein lyses the cell wall of the E.coli causing it to burst open hence releasing virulent virus which have to potential to infect other cells. The lifecycle of a T4-bacteriophage takes about 25-35 minutes to finish (Mayer, 2010). Figure 1: The left picture shows the electron microscopic image of T4- bacteriophage and the right shows the model of the T4-bacteriophage. The head of the virus contains a capsid formed by icosahedral structure that holds the phage’s double stranded DNA. The collar connects the head and the tail structures. The tail consists of core, sheath, base plate and tail fibres which are involved in recognising host cells and then attaching phage to specific receptors on the host surfaces (Todar, 2008). The virus-infected bacterial cell generally shows some changes in their phenotype such as altered shape, detachment from the substrate, cell lysis, membrane fusion, membrane permeability, inclusion bodies and apoptosis. These changes are known as the cytopathic effects of a virus (Cann, 2005). In this experiment, the lysis of E.coli is examined using a spectrophotometer which determines the absorbance of the cultures to indicate the growth of the bacterial cell within the flasks. Also, it is important for clinical and research virologists to know the number of infectious virus particles in a sample which is known as the titre. The plaque assay gives the most accurate results when determining the titre of the phage. T4- bacteriophages can be grown on bacterial lawn. Infected E.coli cells are lysed so, they will form visible plaques on the agar plate which are counted to calculate the titre of the virus. The experiment aims to firstly infect the bacterial cells with T4-bacteriophage in order to indirectly observe the cytopathic effects of virus infection by monitoring changes in bacterial cell growth, compared to an uninfected (control) culture. An absorbance reading is taken using a spectrophotometry as the cells in the culture grow and divide making the culture opaque and thus increasing the absorbance of the culture. Also, the experiment plans to assess the progress of T4-phage production during the infection of E.coli by taking samples of extracellular virus at regular time intervals post infection. Furthermore, the virus from each samples were quantified using plaque assays to demonstrate the progress of virus amplification that occurred during the process of infection in the bacterial cells. Materials and methods E.coli was used as the host cell of T4-bacteriophages in the following experiments. Measuring the changing cell density of cultures using a spectrophotometer: Two cultures were made; the control culture (C) consists of mixture of LB broth and E.coli whereas the T4- infected culture (T) was made by mixing LB broth, E.coli and 100ÃŽ ¼l of bacteriophage. The immediate absorbance readings at 0 seconds were measured in the spectrophotometer at wavelength 600nm and LB broth solution was used as a blank. The flasks containing the two cultures were placed in the orbital shaker covered with foil lids throughout the readings of absorbance. During the 1 hour incubation, 10  µl of the T4-infected sample was placed in a C-chip Haemocytometer and the bacterial cells were counted under the microscope which was used to calculate the multiplicity of infection (MOI). After 1 hour incubation, the absorbance readings were taken at 15 minutes interval until the cultures had been monitored for at least 2 hours. Harvesting virus sample: At 40 min post infection, 1 ml of each of the cultures were taken out and placed into sterile microfuge tube. The tubes were centrifuged at 6,500 rpm for 5 min and 750  µl of supernatant was removed from the T4-infected tube. It was then incubated over night and another sample was collected after 23.30 hours post infection. Preparation for plaque assay: A serial dilution of 10-7, 10-8 and 10-9 were made from the overnight T4-infected sample and dilution of 10-4, 10-5 and 10-6 were made from the 40 min p.i. T4-infected sample by using sterile M9 medium. 1 ml of E.coli culture was transferred to each of the two bottles containing 0.1 ml of the each diluted sample. The bottles were placed in water bath at 37 °C for 15 minutes for bacterial infections to begin. One small bottle of molten soft agar was taken from 42 °C bath and poured into labelled agar plates and evenly mixed with the bottle containing E.coli and diluted sample. This process was followed for all 6 agar plates. Then, the plates were incubated at 37 °C overnight after they were set completely. Plaque counts: After the incubation period, the agar plates were examined and the number of plaques formed on each plate were counted and recorded. Results The absorbance readings taken from the spectrophotometer at 600 nm of both the control and the T4-infected cultures is shown in table 1. At 0 min pi, both the cultures had similar readings (0.05 and 0.054 for C and T respectively) as they were just made. After one hour incubation period (60 min pi), there was increase in the absorbance for both of the cultures. However control had higher absorbance reading than T4-infected (0.106 and 0.064 respectively). Overall, the absorbance readings of both the cultures increases with the time except for 90 min pi in T4-infected where there is a decrease in absorbance reading by 0.028. The readings recorded for control is higher than T4-infected at each time period and the highest reading is at 120 min pi in the control culture (0.192). Table 1: absorbance reading of the cell cultures at 600nm Figure 2: Absorbance reading of control and T4-infected cultures against time Calculating the Multiplicity of infection (MOI)- the number of virions (pfu) per cell T4-titre = 2.74 x 1010 pfu/ml Cell count in T4-infected using C-chip Haemocytometer = 2808 cells per grid. Number of cells per mL = 2808 x 10,000 = 2.808107 cells/mL Number of cells per flask = 2.808107 x 23.1 (total volume) = 6.48 x 108 cells/flask MOI = (0.1x titre)/cells per flask = 2.74109/ 6.48108 = 4.22 pfu/cell. Table 2: class data of the plaque counts of T4-infected E.coli The growth curve of the T4-infected E.coli is shown in figure 3. A growth curve of a virus normally shows the eclipse period, latent period, rise period and the burst size. At 0 min pi, there is high number of extracellular cells (2.66 x 109 pfu/ml) as the virus has not been taken up by the E.coli cells. As the time increase to 20 min pi, the curve levels fell down due to penetration of viruses into the cell (as shown in figure 3). This phase is known as eclipse phase where the input virus begins to uncoat so, no infectious virus is detected. Latent period covers the period from the time of disappearance of infecting virus (eclipse phase) to re-appearance of it in E.coli. The rise phase is when there is a gradual increase in T4-phage titre as viral replication occurs and new cells are formed. Then the virus T4-tire levels off towards the end as cell lysis take place releasing the newly formed virus particles. However, the rise phase (shown is figure 3) doesn’t not rise gradual ly. The T4-titre rises until 60 min pi (2.845x 109) and instead of levelling off, there is a huge drop in the virus titre (8.05 x 107) at 80 min pi. In addition, the T4-virus sampled after overnight incubation (23.30 hours post infection), the dilution factors 10-7, 10-8 and 10-9 resulted in plaque counts of 12, 50 and 59 respectively. However, the plaques were only observed in one plate of each dilution and in the other plates no plaque were observed (Table 3 in appendix). Discussion Albrecht, et al (1996) states Infection caused by cytocidal viruses is normally associated with alterations in cell morphology, cell physiology and sequential biosynthetic events. The changes in cell morphology can sometimes be detectable which is known as cytopathic effects and they can be rounding of infected cells, formation of syncytia, and appearance of nuclear/cytoplasmic inclusion bodies. T4- bacteriophage usually causes death of host cell after replication causing cytopathic effects. A spectrophotometer is used to detect these cytopathic effects of T4-phage in E.coli. The spectrophotometer can only detect opacity due to the presence of bacterial cell and cannot detect virus as they are very small. So, as there is growth in cells in the culture, they become more opaque increasing the absorbance reading of the culture. The T4-infected culture didn’t have as much growth as the control as its absorbance readings are lower in all of the time period (as shown in figure 2). T4-phages can only replicate within the host cell therefore it must be grown in a bacterial cell. As shown in figure 3, at time 0 min pi, the amount of virus titre is the highest (2.66 x 109 pfu/ml). This is because the process has just begun as the T4-phage injects its ds DNA into the host cell after cell contact which is known as adsorption. Then, the virus titre drops down to 2.45 x108 pfu/ml at 20 min pi as it is attached to the host cell by receptor binding in order to penetrate into the host cell. At 40 min pi, the virus titre level begins to rise as the virus start to replicate within the host cell. The virus titre is suppose to increase till a certain time period and will gradually level off as the virus cell replication increases and after the host cell is filled with viral components, cell lysis occur releasing the newly formed virus phages to infect the surrounding bacteria. However, as shown in figure 3 this does not happen. The virus titre rises till post infection 60 mi n but there is a huge drop in virus titre after (8.05 x 107pfu/ml). There are errors in some of the results of the experiment like the decrease in absorbance reading of T4-infected at 90 min pi and the huge drop in virus titre at 60 min pi. Also, an overnight sample was taken from T4-infected culture at 23.30 hours post infection and plaque assay was carried out with dilution factors of 10-7, 10-8 and 10-9. There is no plaque formation in one of the two plates in each dilution (shown in table 3 in appendix). These errors in results can be due to various factors such as contamination in the samples due to poor sterilise technique, insufficient mixing and pipetting errors when making serial dilutions. Also, in plaque assay, the morphology of plaque depends on various environmental factors like the phage, the host and the growth conditions (Maloy, 2002). The size of the plaque is proportional to the efficiency of adsorption, the length of latent phase and the burst size. Also, the phages are affected by various physical and chemical factors like temperature, acidity, ions, etc. The other error can be made when counting the plaques in plaque assay. The counting is subjective to the counter as different counter would get different results for the same plate. The colonies were concentrated so it would be hard to differentiate between single colonies as they grow very close together. For more accurate counting of the plaque, the plates with 10-200 plaques would be chosen as there were three dilution factors of plates to choose from and anything with >200 plaque counts were not counted. Also, the experiments could be repeated more than once and for longer period of time when monitoring T4-infected E.coli so, average could be taken out which would give more accurate and reliable results. In conclusion, T4-bacteriophages are virulent infecting E.coli cells by lytic pathway and this can be measured by examining the cytopathic effects using spectrophotometer. Also, plaque assay of T4-infected E.coli helps to determine the virus titre – concentration of virus in a sample. T4- bacteriophages are a model organism to study and are involved in advancement of modern genetics and molecular biology. Also, they could be used to treat bacterial diseases as the theory states that phages can selectively kill the host cell without damaging the human cells. Some potential applications that are being considered include adding phage suspension to grafts in order to control skin infections and intravenous fluids for blood infections (Talaro, et al, 2007). Word count: 2,763 References Albrecht, T., Fons, M., Boldogh, I., et al. Effects on Cells. In: Baron S, editor. Medical Microbiology. 4th edition. Galveston (TX): University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston; 1996. Chapter 44.Available from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK7979/ Baker, S., Griffiths, C. and Nicklin, J. (2011). BIOS Instant Notes in Microbiology. 4th edn. New York: Taylor Francis Ltd. Cann, A.J. (2005).Principles of Molecular Virology. 4th ed. United States: Elsevier Academic Press. 210-211. Gelderblom HR. Structure and Classification of Viruses. In: Baron S, editor. Medical Microbiology. 4th edition. Galveston (TX): University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston; 1996. Chapter 41.Available from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK8174/ Leimana, P.G., Kanamarua, S., Mesyanzhinovb, V.V., Arisakac, F., Rossmanna, M.G. (2003). Structure and morphogenesis of bacteriophage T4.Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences. 60 (1), 2356–2370. Maloy, S. (2002).Phage plaques.Available: http://www.sci.sdsu.edu/~smaloy/MicrobialGenetics/topics/phage/plaques.html. Last accessed 30 March 2014. Miller, E S., Kutter, E., Mosig, G., Arisaka, F., Kunisawa, T., Rà ¼ger6, W. (2003). Bacteriophage T4 Genome.Microbiology and molecular Biology Review. 67 (1), 86-156. Strelkauskas, A., Strelkauskas, J. and Moszyk-Strelkauskas, D., 2010. Microbiology, a clinical approach. New York: Garland Science. Talaro, K.P. (2007).Foundations in Microbiology: Basic Principles. 7th ed. Phillipines: McGraw-Hill. 160-181. Todar, K., 2012. Bacteriophage. [Online]. Available at: http://textbookofbacteriology.net/phage.html..> (Accessed 30 March 2014). Appendix   Ã‚   Table 3: T4 virus sampled after overnight incubation (23.30 hours pi)

The Grant Corporation Information Technology Essay

The Grant Corporation Information Technology Essay This report studies how to implement human resources information system, problems faced by Director of HR at grant incorporation in order to implement new HRIS and the corrective measures that should have been done to facilitate the change are studied in this case report. The critical success factors and weaknesses in various stages of implementing an HRIS are explored in the paper. The problems are rooted mainly in two factors. One is that HR department lacks knowledge about HRIS and secondly poor communication in the change process. According to (Hammer, 2000) some organizations are not successful in implementing human resource information systems. The system fails because the various software programs are not integrated and information is often missing. Some possible ways to prevent or solve these problems are: 1) consider add-ons, 2) get portal power, 3) integrate the system, 4) hire or host, 5)use what you have, 6) restructure the team, and 7) dont go it alone. The recommendatio ns based on research are provided in this report. The Grant Corporation The following case analysis report includes scenario of change management process at The Grant Corporation. The HRD at Grant Corporation needed to expand to keep up with the growth of organization. Newly hired Director of HR, Julia Woodland suggested implementation of a HRIS system to deal with existing HR issues. But it was not successfully implemented. According to (Mackenzie, 2010), increasingly, the failure to successfully implement information systems have less to do with the hardware or software aspects of the new system and more to do with the skills of the change leader and the people and organizational issues related to the change. The cause of problem that arises at grant incorporation involves lack of leadership, communication, planning, change management, and training. Woodlands Evaluation Julia Woodland executed a successful need analysis and concluded that HRD requires advance technology to perform efficiently and effectively. She proposed the purchase of an integrated payroll/HRIS that will integrate the finance departments system, benefits and 401(k) providers systems, which got approved. Woodland was so overwhelmed with the project; she overlooked the fact that the success requires participation and commitment from all areas of the firm. Human Resource Information Systems: Basics, Applications, and Future Directions (Michael J. Kavanagh Mohan Thite, 2008) states The Eight-Stage Change process(Kotter,1996), the steps are to Create a sense of urgency, recruit powerful change leaders, build a vision and effectively communicate it, remove obstacles, create quick wins, and develop your momentum. If Julia had followed this process, it could have helped her to make the change part of the Grant Corporation. Required Individuals for Change Process In my opinion, top management support is required from beginning, all through the execution evaluation of project along with the people who are going to be affected. In this case IT department, HR department, Payroll would have been included from the initial stage of process. As, employee communication is especially critical when were trying to get others to see and do things differently (Duck, 2001, p.27) Staffing Errors and Their Impact There are three primary activities in an HRIS implementation configuring the HRIS for the firms business processes and policies, interfacing data with other systems and converting historical data into the HRIS, and preparing the organization for the new HRIS. Woodland failed to involve, consult key people from organization in change process, she had unrealistic expectations, that her staff would welcome the new system, there was lack of communication which created distrust among HRD, and which impacted adversely on management commitment resulting in failure of implementation of HRIS. (Lorenzi, 2000) noted that for successful implementation of IT system, effective leadership, planning, change management techniques, communication, and training should be comprehend. Woodland should have considered these factors to achieve her goal. Importance of Cultural Issues Organizational culture is defined as a complex set of shared beliefs, guiding values, behavioral norms, and basic assumptions acquired over time that shape our thinking and behavior; they are part of the social fabric of the organization-its genetic code. As such, culture drives the organization and guides the behavior of everyone in that organization-how they think, feel, and act. In other words, the culture forms a behavior template. (Michael J. Kavanagh Mohan Thite, 2008, p. 192). Woodland would have understood the organizational cultural prior implementing the change. By developing a better understanding of the organizational culture, she could have implemented the strategies regarding change which employees might have embraced. Communication Plan If I had been in Woodland`s position I would have developed a communication plan that would have defined clear and concise roles for employees involved in the change process. Communication is one of the important tools in implementing effective change strategies for success. As (Michael J. Kavanagh Mohan Thite, 2008) defined in the Case for Change: Reason for change, Vision for future, Plan for getting there, Believe change is achievable and clear expectations must be included in communication plan. Having a company meeting to stage the beginning of these new ideas will provide the employees with the information they need to embrace any impending changes that the company is making and to their role in the new vision for the future. Training In this case training would help employees at to cope with organizational change by enabling them understand why it happens, why it is needed and what it means to them and to organization. With proper training employees would feel confident in using HRIS, and training would reduce their concerns, thus encouraging them to be a part of change. User Acceptance The Grant Corporation must involve end users in planning of HRIS project from beginning. According to (Michael J. Kavanagh Mohan Thite, 2008) when users are included in planning, acceptance testing, and switching over to a new HRIS, their commitment, trust increases for the project. Woodland must keep ongoing communication with employees, along with feedback to make HRIS user friendly. Woodland must inform employees regarding decisions made and by asking them to provide input on those decisions to make system accepted by them. Process Reengineering The process reengineering is beneficial as this would allow the company to obtain its full return on investment (ROI). With reengineering they can gain full potential of new system, instead of just automating existing processes. The firm will alter their conservative processes to align themselves with the new technology. (Michael J. Kavanagh Mohan Thite, 2008). Implementation Maintenance and Support HR and IT departments will have to establish a help desk to assist employees with their concerns. They will also need to ensure system is being used correctly. New policies and procedures must be established for the use of electronic data addressing security and privacy concerns. Effectiveness and efficiency of system should be monitored. Ongoing communication and training is vital for proper maintenance and support of the system. CONCLUSION The Grant Corporation case analyzes importance of good technical and organizational skills for successful implementation of an HRIS system. The success of a HRIS system exists in understanding organization culture, ongoing communication along with effective implementation process. Change management is a process by which an organization moves from its current state to some future desired state as defined by its vision. (Michael J. Kavanagh Mohan Thite, 2008, p. 201). REFRENCES: Duck, J. The change monster. New york: Crown Business. Hammer, M. 2002. Recharging your HRMS Workforce. 81(9): 38-41. (2002). Retrieved from http://gspa.nida.ac.th/load.php Lorenzi, N. . (2000). managing change:An overview. Journal of the american medical informatics association, 116-124. Mackenzie, A. (2010). Chapter 8 Course Notes.htm. Michael J. Kavanagh, M. T. (2008). Human Resource Information Systems: Basics, Applications, and Future Directions. SAGE, 2008.

Women In Ballet Essay example -- essays research papers fc

Ballet is an art form born out of the expressionism and creativity of the Renaissance period (Kraus 63). From the first ballet performed in 1580 to the present, women have been portrayed as fragile and dependent on men. One such ballet is The Nutcracker in which the girl-heroine Clara relies on the Nutcracker to save her from the evil Mouse King. The first production of The Nutcracker was performed for critics, public figures, and members of high society and received lack luster reviews on December 17, 1892 (Anderson 40-52). The story opens in the parlor of a middle-class German family, the Stahlbaums, during a party on Christmas Eve. Excitement fills the air in anticipation of the night's festivities. The Stahlbaum children, shy Clara and her brother Fritz, are caught in the enchantment of the evening. Guests arrive and presents are exchanged; all this is a typical Christmas scene, until the magic begins. Drosselmeyer, Clara's godfather, arrives late with his nephew, a boy near Clara's age, and a nutcracker for Clara. Clara very much likes Drosselmeyer's charming and courteous nephew and is also fond of her strange new toy. With the last dance, the party is brought to an end. Clara, unable to sleep, creeps downstairs for one last look at her nutcracker. She falls asleep on the sofa holding the nutcracker in her arms. Clara is awakened to the peculiar sounds of scurrying and rustling. The Christmas tree lights have turned on again, as it grows bigger and bigger. All of the toys, including Clara's nutcracker, have come to life. Suddenly mice invade the room with intentions to rob and plunder. Under the leadership of the fearsome Mouse King, the mice begin to attack the dolls. The dolls retaliate under the leadership of the Nutcracker, but are unable to fight off their enemy. The Nutcracker, left unharmed, engages in a duel with the Mouse King. He appears to be losing when Clara throws her slipper at the Mouse King. This distracts the Mouse King enabling the Nutcracker to deal a final blow to the Mouse King. The mice scatter, and the toys are saved. The Nutcracker thanks Clara and is transformed into Drosselmeyer's nephew. He takes Clara to the palace in the Land of Sweets ruled by the Sugarplum Fairy. Young Drosselmeyer impresses the Sugarplum Fairy with his tale of the night's adventure. As a reward, she promises the children ... ...l that even in Clara's own dream she is being lead by the Nutcracker. This helps further display the belief that a woman not only needs but also wants a man to tell her what to do. Despite being an outdated story for our modern times, The Nutcracker remains a holiday favorite. Some could not imagine Christmas time without watching the dance of the Sugarplum Fairy or the battle of the Mouse King and The Nutcracker. Maybe it is the beautiful dancing, the magical Christmas scenes, or the romantic story, but no matter what, is seems The Nutcracker is here to stay. Bibliography Anderson, Jack. The Nutcracker Ballet. New York: Mayflower Books, 1979. Balanchine, George. Balanchine's Complete Stories of the Great Ballets. Garden City: Doubleday & Company, 1954. Banes, Sally. Dancing Women: Female bodies on stage. London: Routledge, 1998. Guest, Ivor. The Romantic Ballet in Paris. Middleton: Wesleyan UP, 1966. Kirstein, Lincoln. Four Centuries of Ballet: Fifty Masterworks. New York: General Publishing, 1970. Kraus, Richard. History of Dance. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, 1969. "The Nutcracker." International Dictionary of Ballet. 1993

King Solomon Essays -- essays research papers

There are many famous individuals through the history who made great impact on our lives. We can go on and on to list them all but for my topic I would like to choose one of the wisest person who ever lived is king Solomon. During his era the Israel kingdom achieved a lot of success in trading, expansion and fair judgment. Also Solomon regarded as an author of high skill and remarkable output. The writings that have been attributed to him are the biblical Proverbs, the Song of Solomon, Ecclesiastes, the Wisdom of Solomon, and the later Psalms of Solomon. The book of Proverbs expresses the conclusion of the will of man. Together, the books of Psalms, Proverbs and Ecclesiastes give us the understanding of the soul of man. In Psalms you have the emotional nature, which is one part of the soul function. Ecclesiastes deals with the function of the mind, the search of man reason throughout the earth, analyzing, evaluating, weighing and concluding. But in the book of Proverbs we have the appeal to the will of man and the conclusion of the will. Therefore, this book is all about the things man should decide, the choices of life. This is beautifully set before us in the introduction to the book. We all know that education is not only the key for our success and good life but also expansion of knowledge and information. â€Å"To know wisdom and instruction, to discern the saying of understanding, to receive instruction in wise behavior, righteousness, justice and equity; to the youth kn...