Essay The Combination of Society and Culture - 893 Words

The Combination of Society and Culture Without delving into deep sociological theories of the nature of society, we can consider human societies as any community of individuals who are united together by a common bond of nearness or intercourse and are those who recognize each other as associates, friends and acquaintances. Individuals who play certain roles and the relationships between each role form the society itself. The complexity of society makes it difficult for us to identify our relationships. Generally, societies form different norms and cultures and these norms and cultures will change. Despite the changes in ones society and culture, members of any society like happiness in their own ways. In complex societies, it is†¦show more content†¦A central challenge for any culture is trying to secure an acceptable if not virtuous mode of collective life (Gergen 185). This is called the moral project. This project, if completed, would create the ideal utopian society. Our western culture has sought to construct an intelligibility that can be shared by all, an image of moral life and how it is to be achieved. The problem here lies in the emergence of new technologies such as cell phones, the Internet, and faxes that have expanded and intensified the domain of social connection. This is bringing about a whole new type of society and cross culturalization among people. The new question from this is, Can the traditional conceptions of self and community remain a viable basis for moral order? Humans also use symbols to distinguish between different societies and cultures. The uses of requests, commands, commendations, corrections, greetings, symbols, and so on have practical consequences in cultural life. To theorists, language is seen as an unremarkable tool that people use to coordinate activities. On the other hand, symbols can be regarded as one of the most basic systems of human expression. Symbols convey a deep and almost instinctive meaning to people. Whether it is see n as embodying violence and oppression or as a rallying point, symbols make up the very fabric of identity. A symbols very existence and meaning depends on whom it is representing. A given symbolShow MoreRelatedHofstede Model Of National Culture989 Words   |  4 Pages Hofstede Model of National Culture Introduction Culture is the social behaviour and integrated pattern of human knowledge, belief, and behaviour that depends upon the capacity fro learning and transmitting knowledge to future generations It is the set of values, goals and practices that characterise an organisation A key to being successful in business internationally is to understand the role of culture in international business.culturalRead MoreLeadership And Hofstede s Six Dimensions1156 Words   |  5 Pagestoday’s business can be tricky. 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Geoffrey Chaucer utilizes his novel The Canterbury Tales to portray his worldview on society as being materialistic, self-centered and lustful to describe and compare the world he once livedRead MoreLeadership And Hofstede s Six Dimensions879 Words   |  4 PagesHofstede’s six dimensions of national culture are, Power Distance Index (PDI), Individualism vs. Collectivism (IDV), Masculinity vs. Femininity (MAS), Uncertainty Avoidance Index (UAI), Long Term Orientation vs. Short Term Normative Orientation (LTO) an d Indulgence vs. Restraint (IND) and Power Distance Index (PDI). However, to become an effective leader, Power Distance Index (PDI) and Long Term Orientation vs. Short Term Normative Orientation (LTO) is a good combination. Hofstede’s Six Dimensions

The Crisis Of The United States - 1271 Words

â€Å"Literacy is a bridge from misery to hope† (Annan). In our world today, literacy has become an imperative driving force in determining the level of success and adaptability of a child to a nation. It is a step in the right direction towards tapping into the endless opportunities and potentials that lay beneath the surface. And research has it that a country economic standing relies heavily on its literacy rate and vice versa, but one country that has proved that wrong is Cuba. Although Cuba currently holds a reputable global standing as one of the best educational systems in the world, this didn t come about without its fair share of struggles resulting from its diplomatic crisis with the United States. The US-Cuba relations is one that statistically should have resulted in the collapse of the Cuban social and economic systems unless resolved, but notwithstanding they maintained independence from the influences of tyrannical governments and it has provided its people and the world with the ability to recognize the importance of literacy and education in the advancement of a country s economy. In order for a country to grow and flourish, its society must be equipped with the ability to compete. Cuba is one country that’s been faced with the issue of lack of competition which has left its economy stagnant and unproductive. Many Cubans imagined an independent Cuba, and have time and time again shown their dissatisfaction and patriotism, but the world never listened.Show MoreRelatedThe Crisis Of The United States1711 Words   |  7 PagesDuring the mid-2000s, the global economy was impacted by one of the biggest financial catastrophe; the subprime mortgage crisis. 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Being as though the United States is one of the world s most hegemonies countries after its economy suffered from an immense downturn many smaller countries were affected, most specifically the Caribbean. Many countries within the Caribbean were affected greatly by the recession due to the fact that most of their gross domestic product comes from

Chlamydia (1777 words) Essay Example For Students

Chlamydia (1777 words) Essay ChlamydiaChlamydia Sexually transmitted diseases infect millions of people a year. Some of the commonly known sexually transmitted diseases are herpes, syphillis, HIV, AIDS, genital warts, and gonorrhea. Some of these diseases are fatal, others can be cured with antibiotics. All of these are dangerous, but the most common sexually transmitted disease is a disease that isnt as well known. This disease is called chlamydia. Chlamydia is a disease that is infecting young adults all over the country. This disease is of great concern for individuals in high school and those in college. This disease is the leading cause of sterility. Chlamydia is a sexually transmitted infection caused by a bacteria called Chlamydia trachomatis. It primarily infects cells in the tube which carrries urine from the bladder to the outside of the body, and also the neck of the uterus. Chlamydia also infects the cells in the rectum and eyes. Chlamydia is the number one sexually transmitted disease in the United States, rates are highest in the West and Midwest. Missouri has a chlamydia rate that is much higher than the national average. Health economists estimate that the chlamydial infections and the other problems they cause cost Americans more than two billion dollars a year. Over four million people become infected with chlamydia each year. New cases of chlamydia are about four times more common than new cases of genital herpes and genital warts combined. Chlamydia is often dubbed the silent epidemic because it is so prevalent, but so unheard of. Chlamydia is not as well known as other sexually transmitted diseases like gonorrhea or syphilis. Chlamydia infection is greatest among young adults and teenagers, especially in sexually active women less than twenty years of age. One of the reasons that chlamydia is so prevalent is because over 70% of women who are infected dont know they are infected because they lack signs or symptoms. About 50% of men lack signs or symptoms. Chlamydia is t ransmitted in various ways. Chlamydia is primarily transmitted through sexual intercourse. It is transferred during oral, vaginal, or anal sexual contact with an infected partner. Chlamydia can also be acquired in the pharynx from oral-genital contact. Chlamydia can also be transferred from an infected mother to her child during delivery. The children often have an eye inflammation at birth or, in rarer cases pneumonia. There are several risk factors for chlamydia. Engaging in unsafe sex is a huge risk factor for chlamydia. Having sex with more than one partner also increases the risk of contracting chlamydia. Being in a sexual relationship with someone who has multiple sex partners is also a risk factor in becoming infected with chlamydia. If symptoms do appear, they usually appear from one week to one month after being infected. There are many symptoms that occur in men. Some include the inflammation of the urethra, a stinging feeling during urination, mild, sticky, milky, mucus like discharge from the penis, and possible itchiness around the opening. Others include pain, or tenderness in the testicles. These symptoms may seem to come and go. Approximately half of men infected with chlamydia will never have these symptoms. Symptoms in women include mild, milky, or mucus-like discharge, painful urination, painful intercourse, bleeding between periods, and abdominal pain. Others include stinging during urination, and pain caused by pelvic inflammation. Symptoms may also appear in the rectum, and can cause discharge and pain as well as diarrhea. Chlamydia can also cause eye infections, like conjunctivitis. Women are less likely to show symptoms with over 70% of infected women showing no symptoms at all. Infants that have been infected from birth show several symptoms. These symptoms include problems breathing, inflammation of the eye, premature birth, and even pneumonia. Chlamydia is easily treated if it is detected soon after it is contracted. Narrative Persuasive EssayKnowing that chlamydia is the number one sexually transmitted disease in the country, especially among high school and college students, it is important to become familiar with the disease. It is more important to find the ways to prevent and protect against the disease. Chlamydia should be a concern for all teens and young adults across the country. This disease should be a concern for every student on campus. Chlamydia is the number one sexually transmitted disease at Towson. This disease is so easily treated by antibiotics, that it is a shame so many people are living with it. Although chlamydia is a disease that often shows no symptoms, it does carry long term consequences. This is the silent epidemic that is raging across America. The only way to stop chlamydia from spreading so rapidly is to become informed about the disease and its consequences. Chlamydia is a concern for everyone who is sexually active. Health and Beauty

Supply and Elasticity

Define Supply and explain what Causes Change (shifts) of Supply and how Supply Determines Prices Supply refers to the ability and readiness of sellers to create and offer different quantities of a commodity at different prices, or during a certain phase (Arnold 2010). Similar to demand, supply can also change. The supply of a commodity can increase or go down. Supply increases when suppliers can produce and are ready to sell the good at each price.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Supply and Elasticity specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More For instance, sellers could produce and be ready to sell 50 dresses at $20 each in May, while in June they could have the capacity to produce and be willing to sell 70 dresses at $20 each. If supply increases, the entire supply curve shifts to the right as shown in fig (a). Fig (a) Shifts when Supply Increases On the other hand, supply decreases when sellers decide to produce and se ll less of a good at all prices. For instance, sellers can produce and be willing to sell 50 dresses at $20 each in May, while in June, they could have the capacity to produce and be willing to sell 25 dresses at $20 each. If supply decreases, the entire supply curve shifts to the left as shown in fig (b). Fig (b) Shifts when Supply DecreasesAdvertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Many factors affect the supply of goods and interfere with supply curves. These factors include prices of other commodities, technology, prices of related resources, prospects of future price, the amount of sellers, government restrictions and taxes (Arnold 2010). Price of Related Resources Resources are central in the manufacture of goods. For instance, manufacture of tables needs wood. Table production becomes less expensive when the price of wood decreases. The profits from manufacturing tables increa se as price of tables remains the same even ass cost reduces. Consequently, the economic incentive to manufacture more tables boosts. Table manufacturers will make and sell an increased number of tables at each price. Therefore, the supply curve of tables will rise and this curve will shift to the right direction. Manufacture of tables becomes more expensive when the price of wood increases. As a result, the supply of tables will fall and the supply curve of tables will shift to the left direction. Prices of other Goods Changes in price of a single commodity affect the supply of other goods. For instance, a company that manufactures plastic cups may start manufacturing glass cups, when the price of glass cups rise. Quantity of Sellers When an increased number of sellers begin selling a commodity due to high profits the supply curve moves to the right. When the number of sellers reduces due to losses the curve shifts to the left. Technology Technology refers to expertise in use of re sources during production (Arnold 2010). An advance in technology refers to the capacity to yield increased output with a fixed measure of resources and this lessens costs in unit production. For instance, lest assume that it takes $80 to create 20 units of a product. The cost of production per unit is $4. Suppose an advance technology can produce 40 units at a cost of $80, the cost of production falls to $2, for every unit. When the per-unit cost of production falls, quantity of supply increases.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Supply and Elasticity specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Reduced costs of each unit boost profitability and these acts as an incentive to manufacturers to create more products. For instance, if farmers discover a way to grow peas using the same quantity of resources, cost of production per unit decreases, profits rise and farmers get the incentive to grow and sell more peas at each price. The curve of supply here shifts to the right. Future Price Expectations Producers may stop producing a commodity if they predict that it will sell at a higher price in prospect. In this situation, the supply curve will shift to the left. For instance, if wheat producers expect that the prices of wheat will rise next year, they may stop selling wheat pending next year. Equally, if wheat producers expect that the price of wheat will fall next year, they will sell more wheat this year. Government Restrictions At times, the government may decide to cut supply through imposing an import quota. For instance, a U.S. import quota on Chinese mobile phones will cut the supply of China mobile phones in America and the curve will shift to the left. Similarly, the supply of Chinese mobile phones increases upon removal of the import quota and the supply curve shifts to the right. Taxes and Subsidies Taxes increase the costs of commodities. When the rates of taxes rise, producers tend to produce l ess commodities and the curve shifts to the left. Besides, when the rates of taxes decrease, producers tend to produce more goods and the supply curve turns to the right. Explain what is Price Elasticity of Supply and its Determinants and why does it Matter whether Supply is Price Elastic, Inelastic or Unit-Elastic? According to the law of supply, higher prices increase the amount of supply. The price elasticity of supply gauges how the amount of supply changes with price (Mankiw 1998). The supply of a product becomes elastic when the amount supplies responds to pr ice change significantly. Supply becomes inelastic when the amount supplied reacts to price changes insignificantly. The flexibility of sellers to change the quantity of good they produce affects price elasticity. For instance, land at the beach is inelastic, since production of more land is impossible. On the other hand, commodities like cups, seats and radios have elastic supplies, since companies that produce them can extend the time for work in response to a higher price. The main determinant of the price elasticity of supply in markets is the phase of time under consideration. Supply becomes more elastic after an extensive period than after a short duration (Mankiw 1998). Companies cannot change their quantity of production over a short phase.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Therefore, the amount supplied in the short run does not change in reaction to changes in price. On the other hand, companies may create new plants, or close old ones in the long-term. Besides, new companies can penetrate a market as the old ones end. Therefore, the amount supplied can react to price significantly, in the long-term. Price elasticity of supply matters because it helps in determining how price is reacting to changes in demand. For instance, coffee demand may change due to introduction of substitutes at a lower price, or due to people’s sensitization about the negative impact of caffeine in coffee. When the price elasticity of supply is high, the price changes insignificantly compared to when the price elasticity of supply is low. A slight change in price can make companies to cut the quantity supplied down to the lower quantity demand, with high price elasticity (Taylor 2006). Therefore, the elasticity of supply affects the equilibrium price and change in quant ity. After considering supply elasticity, we can foresee what happens to prices following a shift in the supply of a commodity. We can as well forecast what the impact of a change in demand on price. References Arnold, R 2010, Microeconomics, Cengage Learning, London. Mankiw, G 1998, Microeconomics, Elsevier, New York. Taylor, J 2006, Principles of macroeconomics, Cengage Learning, London. This essay on Supply and Elasticity was written and submitted by user Emmy Burt to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Financial Reporting Practices and Ethical Standards in Health Care Finance

Financial Reporting Practices and Ethical Standards in Health Care Finance The issue of professional ethics has always been important for the health care workers but with the recent changes in the society, this issue has become especially topical. Financial accountability and reporting is important for meeting the ethical standards within the health care organizations and protecting the patients from the financial burden and unnecessary services.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Financial Reporting Practices and Ethical Standards in Health Care Finance specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Planning, controlling, organizing, and decision-making are the four major elements of effective financial management though some researchers do not recognize organizing as a separate component. Still, proper organization is significant for the effectiveness of the whole project, and requires special attention of the financial managers. The planning element presupposes identification of the main objecti ves of a particular project and selecting appropriate measures that need to be imposed for meeting them. The controlling element requires analysis of reports from all the divisions of the organization and evaluation of the existing state of affairs. On the organizing stage, the manager chooses the most effective ways for using the available resources. The element of decision making presupposes deciding between various alternatives after analysis of possible consequences and evaluating the positive and negative sides of every option. Baker and Baker (2010) noted that â€Å"decision making actually occurs parallel to planning, organizing, and controlling. All types of decision making rely on information, and the primary tasks are analysis and evaluation† (p. 5). The field of accounting is of crucial importance for organizing the financial information on a particular health care organization, for making the informed choices after the analysis of this data. Working on the externa l reports, the financial managers should consider the generally accepted accounting principles so that the processes in different organizations could be compared according to similar metrics. These standards depend upon the type of a particular health care organization, and the majority of them is non-for-profit and does not pay income taxes though a number of for-profit organizations delivering health care services increased recently. â€Å"A common misunderstanding is that nonprofits are not allowed to make any money, when in fact they must generate more revenue than expenses to stay in business† (Barker, 2009, p. 210). However, it is important to take measures for handling the conflict of interests and to protect patients from the financial burden, meeting the general financial ethical principles for health care organizations. It is important that the physicians should resist the temptation of providing the unnecessary services, disregarding their financial self-interest.A dvertising Looking for research paper on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More At the same time, the organizational ethics is even more important than the moral of an individual practitioner. Weber (2001) noted that â€Å"the issue here is not so much how the individual behaves as how the organization is managed† (p. 52). Meeting the generally acceptable ethical principles, health care organizations improve the quality of their services and protect patients from paying for unnecessary services. The realities of present day hospital or clinical settings predetermine a number of challenges for nurses and physicians who face ethical dilemmas in their professional practice day by day. The issue of meeting the ethical standards is related not only to personal choices of health care workers and management of organizations but to the state of affairs in the sphere as well. â€Å"In today’s chan ging practice environment, third parties have increasing control in the delivery and financing of care and in treatment decisions† (Povar et al., 2004, Ethics in practice). In other words, there are a number of additional factors which complicate the physician-patient interaction and may become a hindrance for considering the ethical principles while providing the health care services. Thus, even focusing the health care plans on the patients’ interest and disrespecting their financial self-interests, practitioners have to handle the issues of financing their research projects. For example, pharmaceutical companies appear to be one of the most influential third parties. Within the recent decades, the conflicts of interests of physicians and pharmaceutical companies have become widely spread. It is obvious that drug manufacturers are interested in increasing their revenues by selling more medicine. Still, physicians should remain focused on the patients’ interests and the quality of the health care services. At the same time, the importance of cooperation with pharmaceutical companies should not be underestimated because of their support of the research projects. â€Å"The pharmaceutical industry spends approximately $ 12 billion annually on gifts and payments to physicians† (Studdert et al, 2004, â€Å"Financial conflicts of interest†). The physicians’ accountability and procedures of financial reporting are of crucial importance for controlling the health care organizations. â€Å"The financial matters for which [providers are] (or could be) held accountable include the price of services, the efficiency with which they are provided, assurance that services billed for were delivered, and the overall financial performance of the [providers]† (Emanuel and Emanuel, 2004, What is accountability in health care?).Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Financial Reporting Practices and Ethic al Standards in Health Care Finance specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Despite the changing professional environment, the principles of professional ethics have to prevail and physicians have to avoid providing unnecessary services to their patients. Effective management and financial reporting are important for meeting the ethical norms within the health care organizations and providing high-quality services. Reference List Baker, J.J. Baker, R.W. (2010). Health care finance. Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett Publishers. Barker, A.M. (2009). Advanced practice nursing: Essential knowledge for the profession. Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett Publishers. Emanuel, E.J. and Emanuel, L.L. (2004). â€Å"What is accountability in health care?† Annals of Internal Medicine. Retrieved from https://annals.org/aim/article-abstract/709376/what-accountability-health-care?volume=124issue=2page=229 Povar, G.J et al. (July, 2004). Ethics in practice: Mana ged care and the changing health care environment. Annals of Internal Medicine, 141 (2). Retrieved from https://annals.org/aim/fullarticle/717640/ethics-practice-managed-care-changing-health-care-environment-medicine-profession Studdert, D.M. (October, 2004). Financial conflict of interest in physicians’ relationships with the pharmaceutical industry – self-regulation in the shadow of federal prosecution. The New England Journal of Medicine, 351.Advertising Looking for research paper on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Weber, L.J. (2001). Business ethics in healthcare: Beyond compliance. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press.

Sociological Definition of Degradation Ceremony

Sociological Definition of Degradation Ceremony Historically, a degradation ceremony is the process by which to lower a persons social status within a group or within society in general, for the purposes of shaming that person for violating norms, rules, or laws, and to inflict punishment by taking away rights and privileges, as well as access to the group or society in some cases. Degradation Ceremonies in History Some of the earliest documented forms of degradation ceremonies are within military history, and this is a practice that still exists today (known within the military as cashiering). When a member of a military unit violates the rules of the branch, he or she may be stripped of rank, perhaps even publicly by the removal of stripes from ones uniform. Doing so results in an immediate demotion in rank or expulsion from the unit. However, degradation ceremonies take many other forms, from the formal and dramatic to the informal and subtle. What unifies them is that they all serve the same purpose: to lower a persons status and limit or revoke their membership in a group, community, or society. Sociologist Harold Garfinkel coined the term (also known as status degradation ceremony)  in the essay Conditions of Successful Degradation Ceremonies, published in  American Journal of Sociology  in 1956. Garfinkel explained that such processes tend to follow moral outrage after a person has committed a violation, or a perceived violation, of norms, rules, or laws. Thus degradation ceremonies can be understood in the context of the sociology of deviance. They mark and punish the deviant, and in the process of doing so, reaffirm the importance and legitimacy of the norms, rules, or laws that were violated (much like other rituals, as discussed by Émile Durkheim). Initiation Ritual On some occasions, degradation ceremonies are  used to initiate people into total institutions like mental hospitals, prisons, or military units. The purpose of a ceremony in this context is to deprive people of their former identities and dignity in order to make them more accepting of external control. The perp walk, wherein a person suspected of committing criminal acts is publicly arrested and led into a police car or station, is a common example of this kind of degradation ceremony. Another common example is the sentencing to jail or prison of an accused criminal in a court of law. In cases like these, arrest and sentencing, the accused or convicted loses their identity as a free citizen and is given a new and lower criminal/deviant identity that deprives them of the social status they previously enjoyed. At the same time, their rights and access to membership of society are limited by their new identity as an accused criminal or a convict. Its important to recognize that degradation ceremonies can also be informal but still quite effective. For example, the act of slut-shaming a girl or woman, whether in person, within her community (like a school), or online produces similar effects to the formal kind. Being labeled a slut by a cohort of peers can lower a girl or womans social status and deny her access to her peer group. This kind of degradation ceremony is the modern-day version of the Puritans forcing people who were thought to have had sex out of marriage to wear AD (for adulterer) on their clothing (the origins of Hawthornes story  The Scarlet Letter). Updated  by Nicki Lisa Cole, Ph.D.

K-Pop Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

K-Pop - Essay Example As a result, the youth had disposable resources that they could use in consuming popular culture. K-pop emerged to meet the need for a form of entertainment that was local but also embraced the pop curiosity that was rampant at the time. An interview conducted on a friend on whatsapp revealed that K-pop music is amazing and emotional. In addition, they are fresh and illustrate change as evident in the manner in which dancers attain rhythm and unity. Many people think that PSY single-heartedly invented K-pop, the Korean music scene. However, the emergence of the music genre can be traced to idol acts who popularized it in the 90s (Oak & Woong 1). Gangnam style, Psy’s sound and comedic choreography has attracted over 1.7 billion views since its release (Oak & Woong 1). In spite of this being the first K-pop hit that has achieved international success, early idols used a combination of western and Eastern sounds that were in-sync with the fashion choices of the time. In 1992, the Seo Taiji and Boys, a trio of singers and rappers emerged with a penchant for mixing American and Korean lyrics (Oak & Woong 1). They experienced success in South Korea due to the inherent desire for a music genre that could reflect their embrace of western culture with betraying their own. Entertainment companies looked at this new trend as an opportunity for enhancing their profits (Williamson 1). As a result, copycats emerged and contributed towards the genre becoming a mainstream act in Korea.

Early American history 1450 to 1820 Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Early American history 1450 to 1820 - Term Paper Example The Columbian exchange refers to the movement of people, their belongings, plants, animals, and diseases from Europe to America after Columbus’s discovery of America. Such a drastic change in environment and ecology adversely affected the Native Americans making Columbus exchange one of the reasons of the prosperity of Europeans while a reason of downfall for the Native Americans (Brogan, 2001). Another important happening during this period is the French and Indian War which was fought during the late 1750s. The war was very much significant as it would determine the future and stability of North America. The French and Indian had an upper hand in terms of organization and strategy and this is the reason for their domination during the initial years of war. Seeing their colonial allies getting defeated, the British soon jumped into the battle and the tides turned in favor of the Americans. Even though the British eventually won the struggle for freedom, the struggle never rea lly ended because the Native Americans wanted freedom also from their colonial masters (Brogan, 2001). The tension between the British and the Americans increases which ultimately erupted into an open conflict referred to as the American Revolution. The most important event during this time period, as regarded by the historians is perhaps the American Revolution. The American Revolution which started in the year 1763 shattered the foundations on which the Old America was established and provided the idea of a United States of America. The American Revolution was a fight against the monarchy and aristocracy and the public openly stood against the English rulers. Even though initially the revolution was a struggle to overthrow the colonial system, it grew into something much more fundamental and important to the American community as a whole. The American Revolution provided the foundation of a unified America in which all the states fought for a unified cause (Bailyn, 1992). The valu es instilled in the participants are still there and are looked up to as an inspiration as America could not have achieved its current stature without this Revolution. For a long time the British had exercised their superiority and domination over the over the Americans, intercepting their ships and searching them. In 1812, the Americans waged war on the British. It was through this war that the Americans got their national anthem even though the war did not end decisively. A treaty was formed soon after the battle, the terms of which made it look more like a cease fire (Brogan, 2001). The war was not only important because the national anthem was composed during it but also two future presidents of the country began their political careers during this war. The start of the eighteenth century marked many important developments in the economic sector of the country. The most important of these is the market revolution. The market revolution is the name given to the series of steps ta ken by the steps to develop transportation within their respective cities which ultimately provided easier and greater access to markets. This proved to be very beneficial for the economy which boomed during this period (Brogan, 2001). The beginning of the eighteenth century also witnessed some ‘revolutionary’ changes in the political system of America. Jefferson became president in 1801, bringing

Communicators of the Sea Essay Example for Free

Communicators of the Sea Essay

Human Gene Therapy Essay -- Genetics Science Biology Essays

Human Gene Therapy Imagine this, you have just married your college sweetheart this past summer. You have now been happily married for over a year and you find out that the two of you are going to be parents. So as the typical soon to be mom and dad so commonly do, the two of you start going to the doctor for checkups to make sure the pregnancy is running smoothly. Early in the pregnancy you hear the worst, your baby has a fatal disease. The two of you are terribly heart broken over the situation. You tell your doctor that abortion is out of the question because you do not believe in it. On the other hand the doctor hits you with the question, "What about gene therapy?" Unfortunately you and your spouse look dumbfounded at each other because you have no idea what the doctor just said. So, what exactly is Human Gene Therapy? Well, in the next couple of pages I am going to cover some of the basic ideas of human gene therapy, discuss some of the public debates, and wrap things up with my personal opinion. Gene therapy is basically genotypic pharmacology. This involves the use of factors which modify the genetic composition of a given cell or group of cells. As a result of the idea for human gene therapy, a new technique of treatment for many human diseases has been developed. The factors that contribute to the treatments are either gene products, or are capable of interacting with gene products, or have the ability to interact with gene products in an individual cell or a group of cells. The interactions of contributing factors to gene therapy success are extremely capable of regulating particular genes, which either directly or indirectly, leads to the cure of a disease. As a result of this interaction an eventual cure of th... ...e lifespan and population. So, I am going to leave you with these few words. Maybe the human race should be thankful for what we currently have and the limited time we have left on earth. To me a basketball game with no final whistle would have no meaning. So would immortality. References Rehmann-Sutter, Christoph "The Ethics of Human Gene Therapy." The Hastings Center Report, May 1999, v.29, 3, 43 Begley, Sharon. "Designer Babies. (altering unborn babies through gene therapy)" Newsweek, 9 November 1998: 61 (1) Friend, Tim. "Patient gets first MD gene therapy." USA Today 3 September 1999: A1 10/15/1999:http://www.boil.tsukuba.acjp/~macer/Papers/GTN95A.html 10/15/1999:http://piebald.princeton.edu/mb427/1997/students/therapy/main.html 10/15/1999:http://www.med.upenn.edu/ihgt/info/whatisgt.html 10/15/1999:http://www.med.upenn.edu/ihgt/info/topic1.html

Legalising Prostitution: Debate, communication model and evaluation

Section 1: Group Discussion This section contains what was discussed during group discussion session. The general area of prejudice chosen for discussion was prostitution. Dubbed the oldest profession, there was unanimous observation among group members that prostitution is still loathed in the society, and commercial sex workers, mostly women, are still treated with contempt within our society. The common notion about prostitution is that whilst men are often ‘buyers’ of sex service from prostituting women, the latter are victims of exploitation. The term exploitation is used because women who engage in prostitution are seen to be compelled to engage in commercial sexual activities against their will. Whilst the common fact is that women who engage in prostitution see it as a source of income, and participate in it with their full consent without coercion, we observed that it is quite difficult to convince a person whose belief is entrenched in the moral dimension of commercial sex work that it is a normal activity. The prejudice against women is also entrenched by the belief that women who engage in this trade are of lesser social standing, even though this is always not the case. The other common belief is that while women prostitutes are looked down upon, men do not suffer any form of prejudice. In other words, men are often seen as the exploiters of sex workers, and hence do not enjoy any fair share of prejudice. On the other hand, both men and women engaging in prostitution are seen as morally repugnant, hence the common prejudice that come with it. The debate to legalise prostitution or not has been in the public domain for quite some time now. But it is the increased attention that it has received in the recent past that has invoked a lot of passionate debate in many legal jurisdictions as regards whether to legalise it or not. We may be all aware that one of the reasons why same-sex marriage has gained much currency today is because it is no longer viewed as socially unacceptable to the extent that it is not legal to hold gay couples in contempt in many countries. In recent past, it was not difficult to meet some strong views against marijuana user; with some even believing that the latter were losers who should be kept at the periphery of the society. However, criticism over marijuana use has waned in the recent past because of the recent revelation that it could be used to treat cancer. In addition, marijuana has also been used for pain relief for some time. This recent development has meant opposition to campaigns to keep marijuana illegal is at an all-time low. However, the same cannot be said about prostitution. The stigma associated with the sex trade remains strong, with women and men engaging in it seen as socially ambiguous individuals without moral standing in society. This kind of idea can promote dangerous conducts towards prostitutes. The fact that prostitutes are not regarded highly puts them at more risks to abuse including rape and murder. In addition, prostitutes are more likely to contract sexually transmitted diseases, further endangering their lives. Decriminalising prostitution will not only protect women but will also improve their safety and their rights, because however much it is made illegal, the oldest profession is not likely to go away anytime. Section 2: Commentary and Rationale This section will cover commentary on the topic and discuss it based on the chosen model of communication, the heuristic-systematic model. The debate on whether to legalise prostitution or not has intensified in the recent past, with voices advocating for the latter increasing in number every day. It’s no doubt that the stigma associated with prostitution is real, and remains strong amidst the growing knowledge that it will not stop any time soon. This is despite the rising evidence that decriminalising the trade has some significant health benefits. Research by two economists, Scott Cunningham and Manisha Shah (cited in Albarracin, et al., 2005, p. 78), looked at the situation in Rhodes Island when prostitution was accidentally decriminalised and found that cases of gonorrhoea had drastically reduced, as rape incidences. . Shannon et al. (2004, cited in Griffin, 2006, p.139) also confirmed this result when they conducted a study in Vancouver, British Colombia, and found out t hat decriminalising of prostitution can significantly reduce HIV prevalence by minimising its spread. Despite all the evidence showing the benefits of legalising prostitution, the benefits have not attracted the attention of the legislators. . In addition, many have argued that idea of legalising prostitution is unattractive to voters and therefore to politicians. There is need to focus on presenting arguments that provide options to the intended audience on the need to legalise abortion, and that is where the model for persuasive communication will be necessary in the subsequent section of this paper. The Heuristic-Systematic Model of Social Information Processing The concept of persuasion is an important aspect to not only convincing the people to accept an idea but also to drive changes of mind towards the accomplishment of the idea. The Heuristic-Systematic Model (Chaiken & Trope, 1999) recognises that people either use heuristics and short-cuts to decide on important issues, or use a systematic mechanism that processes the merits and demerits of an argument. The Heuristic approach suggests that the decision-maker asks questions such as of ‘how do I feel about this issue?’ despite the recognition that such questions can cause problems of understanding and choice, particularly when the person facing the decision dilemma mixes up the cause and the effect of their emotions. In other words, the Heuristic-Systematic Model recognises that in any argument there are a number of variables that are conceptually independent of the message quality and which are likely to influ ence people to act or agree with the proposed idea. Dillard & Pfau (2002) state that that these variables are able to qualitatively differentiate information processing, and give people more room to negotiate with their thinking process. It is important to recognise that people rarely process information in perfect conditions, because there are often environmental and cognitive constraints that tend to either limit the broadness of reasoning or curtail information processing. In this line of thought, people tend to process information economically; investing only in cognitive efforts when they feel motivated enough with a number of cognitive resources. In the prostitution decriminalisation debate, this can be said to affect that the way people reason, that is, arguments are likely to be based on strong environmental and cognitive influences entrenched by history, personal interest or fear, religious and cultural convictions. For instance, some arguments have emerged that prostitution should remain illegal because legalising it will mean women of loose morals will increasingly tempt men of good morals to increasingly betray their families. This kind of argument tends to make out that women who engage in prostitution a re the villains. The other belief is that women who engage in prostitution should be protected from being hurt against: sexually transmitted diseases, unruly pimps, and exploitation. The other argument would only be based on religion and historical cultural practices that prohibits prostitution as a trade. The three lines of arguments are motivated by different lines of thought, which can fall in either heuristic or systematic message processing mechanism. Ironically, the arguments against prostitution which include the view that women of loose morals prey upon upstanding men of good morals and lead them to betray their families has been accepted in some countries such as Sweden, which in 1999, criminalised the buying of sex but allowed individuals to continue selling it (Dillard & Pfau, 2002). Many proponents of this legislation argued that violence against prostituting in women is inherent, and that the best way was to reduce prostitution prevalence by limiting activities of the potential buyers. On the other hand, the State of Nevada, United States legalised prostitution to protect women from exploitation and abuse (Taleb, 2012). The Heuristic- Systematic model posits that people generally process persuasive information systematically only when they are fully motivated. When one is in a systematic mode, they tend to take into consideration all relevant pieces of information, elaborately analyse the information, and make a judgment based on the elaborated issues. However, whenever people are not adequately motivated or do not possess sufficient cognitive resources, they often resort to processing of information heuristically or superficially. People in a heuristic mode of thinking consider only a few or a single informational cue and come up a judgment based on the cues. Whilst decriminalising or legalising prostitution has attracted massive debate, its inability to pass the legislative hurdle or even attract attention of the political class has been overbearing for its proponents. In other words, legalising of sex trade has not been high amongst the priorities of many legislative agendas for many countries, i ncluding United Kingdom and United States (Taleb, 2012). The reason why the Heuristic- Systematic model can work towards pushing for the legalisation of prostitution is because of its dualism nature, which allows the message to reach different classes of people. The goal here is to get support for legislation that would see prostitution decriminalised, and protect the parties involved. . Expert advice backed by research findings are powerful tool to convince legislators, who may not take their time to scrutinise the quality of persuasive arguments, and mostly prefer quick fixes in making decisions. Packaging a message heuristically can allow the legislators to pick the cue, and avoid the difficult process of differentiating a strong and a weak message (Griffin, 2006). Reimer, et al (2004, p.81) observe that â€Å"people who expect to discuss a persuasion message later are more affected by the number of persuasive arguments but are never affected by the attractiveness of the communicator.† It is presumed that the importance of the message easily induce systematic processing of the message. By contrast, people who do not expect to discuss the message are often affected by how attractive the communicator is, and not affected by the number of persuasive arguments (Reimer, et al, 2004). Studies have proven that motivational variables affect the mode in which people process persuasive arguments. These variables include personal relevance of the message, importance of the task, attitude accountability and exposure to a person’s attitude (Chaiken & Trope, 1999). On the other hand, there are cognitive resource variables that affect the mode of message processing, which includes distraction, repetition of the message, creating time pressure, a nd modality of communication, knowledge and expertise (Griffin, 2006). Although it is important to recognise these modes of communicating the message in terms of communicating the value of legalising prostitution, it should not appear as though there is any form of dissociation of the variables at the early stage of the group means (Griffin, 2006). Similarly, heuristically communicating the message should be able to have direct effects on the attitudes of the target group. In this aspect, when the people agree in a consensus that prostitution should be legalised, then it can be considered correct and valid for acceptance. An important factor which should be covered by any dual-process model is how the two processes interact or work together. Although one may argue that the two processes, heuristic and systematic are mutually exclusive or are competing concepts, in this case of legalising prostitution they should work together. The Heuristic-Systematic model posits that the two proc esses, heuristic and systematic, are indeed working simultaneously. Evidence of how these two processes can work is when arguments pitting two judgmental implications of both of them. For instance, an expert source delivering a message consisting of weak arguments can present a scenario where both systematic and heuristic processing of messages is done under different levels of motivation. It is also important to note that the heuristic-systematic model attenuates that wherever the two processes opposes each other, the implications the comes from systematic processing can â€Å"easily attenuate the impact of heuristic given that people are sufficiently motivated.† For example, Griffin, (2006).found out those highly motivated participants who were presented with consensus cue information that is inconsistent with the attributes singularly based their judgments on their own cognitive prowess in relation to the product attributes. This concept is applicable in the case of prosti tution legalisation debate, in the sense that legislators can use their own cues and decide on the legislative agendas that will legalise commercial sex work. Section 3: Evaluation Proposal Evaluating heuristic- systematic model effectiveness is an important part of this model’s success towards ensuring the message to legalise prostitution is effectively passed. Effective communications needs evaluation, which helps to identify the impact of the efforts made in passing the message to the target audience. To effectively monitor the communication model, various tools shall be used in the process. Public opinion evaluation: Getting the opinions of the public as far as legalising prostitution is concerned is an important point to start from. Public opinion monitoring tool will be used to ask the public if they heard about the campaign to legalise prostitution from opinion leaders including legislators and non-governmental organisations. In addition, the questions will be directed to ask the public whether they agree with the manner in which legislators in support of the prostitution presented their messages or agreed with them in the context and reasons given by the leaders. For example, questions such as: Whose arguments made sense in the call to legalise prostitutionAnd whyThe questionnaire trackers will be recorded in terms of age, gender, work status, tenacity. The methodology to be used will remain consistent over time to allow for the tracking of metrics over time for comparison purposes. Evaluating media Evaluating the media response on how effective the proposed model will work, the formal process for evaluating the impact of the campaign in the media is to analyse whether it can be replicated and made part of regular campaign mechanism. Media Coverage Before Campaign (airtime/space) Coverage After Campaign (airtime/ space) % Increase in Coverage BBC National News BBC London ITV National News London Tonight Evening Standard Metro Radio 4 Times The table above will provide a guideline on how the media coverage has increased/ or decreased due to the campaign. This will be able to help bring depth to the understanding of our campaign, and if the media (both mainstream and tabloids) respond to increased debate. By monitoring how the media has changed the amount of airtime/ or newspaper coverage space in covering the legislative debates, it is possible to analyse the outcome of the campaign in ensuring the legislators continually discuss the possibility of decriminalising or legalising prostitution. The media monitoring will be conducted by assistants on everyday basis, and compiled in a weekly report for tracking if there is any change in trends. Each article or piece of broadcast coverage will be allocated points based on the following criteria: Positivity/negativity of the message (in favour of legalising prostitution): analysing the articles, opinions, newspaper columns and news coverage. Positivity/ negativity of the headl ines: positive mentions of the campaign groups, legislators; and Neutrality of opinions reported Finally, a range of stories will be typically evaluated and compiled on a daily basis, and tabulated on a weekly basis. Classification of stories will ensure the campaign program can be understood in the manner in which the media responds to the legislative debates, which is likely to translate into public debate as well. References Albarracin, D., Johnson, B. T., & Zanna, M. P. (2005). The handbook of attitudes. Mahwah, N.J: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers Chaiken, S., & Trope, Y. (1999). Dual-process theories in social psychology. New York: Guilford Press. Dillard, J.P. & Pfau, M. (2002). The persuasion Handbook: Developments in Theory and Practice. NY: Sage Publications. Griffin, E. A. (2006). A first look at communication theory (6th ed.). Boston, MA; McGraw Hill. Reimer, T., Mata, R & Stoecklin, M. (2004). The use of Heuristics in Persuasion: Deriving Cues on Source Expertise from Argument Quality. In Current Research in Social Psychology, 10(6), 69-83. Taleb, N. (2012). Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder. New York: Random House.

Working Poor in America

Working to be Poor in America A single mother of three works two jobs at minimum wage can survive only if she takes advantage of food stamps and lives with a roommate to help pays the bills. This is the case with most of the â€Å"working poor† in America. In 2006, a family of four with one minimum-wage earner had a total income (including food stamps and the Earned Income Tax Credit) of $18,950, some $1,550 below the poverty line. America is one of the richest countries in the world and yet according to the US Census Bureau, in 2010 21 million of its population lived in working-poor families.This translates into nearly 9. 6 percent of all American families living below 100 percent of poverty have at least one family member working. How can this be? Some people believe that the workers are to blame; they believe that it is the workers’ lack of ambition and drive to better themselves that causes them to be in such dire conditions. While this might be true in very few cas es, I don’t believe that it paints the entire picture as to why there could be a â€Å"working poor† class in America.Despite what society may think, the â€Å"working poor† exists because they are subjected to minimum wage, insufficient hours, layoffs, lack of skills, expensive health care and childcare, and inadequate housing. Society throws so many curve balls at low-wage workers that it has become very nearly impossible for them to transcend their situations. One common misconception is that the answer to poverty is to get a job. We assume that if someone is hungry, it is because they are unemployed and are living on the streets. The reality is that over 49 million Americans are affected by hunger.Does this mean that they all are jobless and homeless? As the article â€Å"25 million depend on emergency food assistance† reports, about one-third of the adults between the ages of 18 and 65 needing emergency food-aid are employed. Thirty-six percent of al l families seeking assistance reported that at least one family member was working. As Michelle Conlin and Aaron Bernstein explain, today more than 28 million people, about a quarter of the workforce between the ages of 18 and 64, earn less than $9. 04 an hour, which translates into a full-time salary of $18,800 a year—the income that marks the federal poverty line for a family of four. â€Å"The Working Poor Are Not Getting By in America†) The Census Bureau lists that overall 63% of U. S. families below the federal poverty line have one or more workers. How is it that such a large percentage of the U. S. population can be considered as poor or hungry? Is it that all these people lack ambition or is it society that places the burden of poverty on these workers? The primary and main reason for the rut the â€Å"working poor† find themselves in is the minimum wage. While profits and productivity soar in today’s economy, the minimum wage hasn’t kept p ace with inflation.Opponents of a raise in the minimum wage often make dire predictions about supposed adverse impacts on employment rates and the economy. But study after study shows that there is simply  no  evidence that raising the minimum wage has led to higher unemployment, and there is substantial evidence that a responsible minimum wage increase does not affect employment rates at all. According to the New York Times editorial Board, if the minimum wage had kept pace with the rise in executive salaries since 1990, America’s poorest paid workers would be making more than $23 an hour.In 1956, the federal minimum wage was a dollar an hour; that same dollar when adjusted for inflation would be $10. 55 an hour in today's dollars, instead today the actual federal wage is $7. 25 and for tipped workers a dismal $2. 13. This amounts to about $1. 50 an hour less, in today’s money, than it did in 1968. In â€Å"Raising the minimum wage will reduce poverty† it s tates that even with a $7. 25-an-hour minimum wage, a family of five with a full-time, minimum-wage earner that receives food stamps and the refundable tax credits would fall $1,139 below the poverty line in 2009.In the past 30 years, Congress has passed legislation to increase the minimum wage exactly 3 times. With politicians and employers fighting furiously to keep this minimum wage down, low-wage workers are forced to work two, sometimes even three jobs in addition to depending on government handouts in order to barely get by. While their income is kept at a minimum, their expenses continue to soar: health care, child care, gas prices, housing, the list goes on. The cost of living has been constantly rising for years while the minimum wage lags behind. The number of people who lack health insurance is about 49. million. In 2010, the percentage of people who had health insurance through their employers fell to 55. 3% while 31% of Americans relied on the government for health insu rance. (Les Christie) However, while most children in families with a full-time minimum-wage worker are eligible for free or low-cost health insurance through Medicaid or the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, their parents are not. In fact, according to the Census data, in 25 states a parent in a three-person family with a full-time, minimum-wage job earns too much to qualify for Medicaid.As a result, about 41 percent of all parents with incomes below the poverty line were uninsured in 2005. In addition to this, many working poor families face significant childcare costs. According to the National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies, in the median state in the 2004-2005 academic year, full-time infant care in a licensed child care center cost an average of $7,100 per year, while full-time care for preschoolers in a licensed child care center cost an average of $5,800.Without a child care subsidy, a family earning at or near the minimum wage is un likely to be able to afford such a tuition bill for one child, let alone two or more children. Housing cost burdens for poor families are often severe. Expenditures on public housing have fallen since the 1980s, and expansion of public rental subsidies came to a halt in the mid-1990s. Actual rents have to be less than 30% of one’s income to be considered ‘affordable’. Ehrenreich 201) Housing analyst Peter Dreier reports that 59% of poor renters, amounting to a total of 4. 4 million households, spend more than 50% of their income on shelter. (38) Nationwide, the average cost of a modest two-bedroom apartment in 2006 was $821 per month, or $9,852 per year, according to the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). At this cost, rent and utilities consume nearly half (48 percent) of the income of a family of four at the poverty line. This calculation assumes that the family receives food stamps, the EITC and child tax credit. ) Rising rents are forcin g the low-wage workers into motels with fluctuating prices for the winter season and tourist seasons. By relying on the minimum wage, basic necessities such as health care and home-ownership have now become a luxury to the â€Å"working poor† – a distant dream that can never be realized. We would assume that there is adequate support for the â€Å"working poor† through government handouts, but even this system is flawed.Throughout the nation soup kitchens and food pantries are stretched beyond capacity, struggling and failing to meet new need, much of it from working people whose wages simply haven't kept up. Barbara Ehrenreich in her book Nickled and Dimed reveals through her own experience as a low-wage employee just how difficult it is to receive help from the government and charity organizations and how limited these options are. You would need to dedicate a significant amount of your time and energy to locate these options and even when you do manage to get in touch with the â€Å"right person† the help received can be useless.As a low-wage worker, where every hour of your time is money spent, devoting this amount of time to looking for government aid is a luxury as well. Therefore, they are prevented from receiving the little assistance available to them. Most of the time, they do not even qualify for welfare because of the low-wage paying job that they have, even though they desperately need the assistance. Therefore, who or what do we blame for the devastating conditions of the â€Å"working poor† in our society?If there was a clear cut answer to this question, then maybe this question would never need to be asked. We would just point a finger and work on getting the problem fixed. Society strips the â€Å"working poor† of their dignity, self-worth, self-respect and pride and leaves them naked to suffer these physically demanding, dead-end jobs where they are paid next to nothing and in the end, still condemned because they are thought of as lazy parasites that put a strain on society through their addictions and their insistence on reproducing in unfavorable circumstances.Society is quick to judge these individuals and disapprove of their actions when in reality it is society’s fault that these people must depend on such things as welfare in order to minimally survive. According to Furman and Parrot in â€Å"Raising the minimum wage will reduce poverty†, raising the minimum wage would be an important first step and a useful complement to public policies like the EITC, food stamps, and child care subsidies, which provide additional benefits and supports for low-income working families.They believe that a broader agenda is needed, however, to raise the prospects of low-wage workers and their families more significantly. Such an agenda would need to include additional income supports, help in obtaining the health care, child care, and housing that these families need but often cannot afford, and new opportunities to attend college or upgrade their skills so they can secure higher paying, more stable jobs. Works Cited â€Å"25 million depend on emergency food assistance. † Policy & Practice June 2006: 7.Academic OneFile. Web. 22 June 2012. Bureau of Labor Statistics. United States Department of Labor. May 2012. Web. 21 June 2012. Christie, Les. â€Å"Number of people without health insurance climbs. † CNN Money. Cable News Network 2012. Web. 21 June 2012. Conlin, Michelle, and Aaron Bernstein. â€Å"The Working Poor Are Not Getting By in America. † Poverty. Ed. Viqi Wagner. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2007. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from â€Å"Working †¦ And Poor. † Business Week (31 May 2004). Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 0 June 2012. Dreier, Peter. Why America’s Workers Can’t Pay the Rent. Dissent 47 (3). Summer 2000. Ehrenreich, Barbara. Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America. New Yor k: Henry Holt and Co, 2001. Print. Furman, Jason, and Sharon Parrot. â€Å"Raising the Minimum Wage Will Reduce Poverty. † Poverty. Ed. Viqi Wagner. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2007. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from â€Å"A $7. 25 Minimum Wage Would Be a Useful Step in Helping Working Families Escape Poverty. † www. cbpp. org. 2007. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context.Web. 22 June 2012. Jeff Chapman. â€Å"Employment and the Minimum Wage: Evidence from Recent State Labor Trends,† Economic Policy Institute, 2004. And in one of the most compelling studies, David Card and Alan B. Krueger find that the 1992 New Jersey state minimum wage increase had no negative effect on employment in New Jersey’s fast-food industry. David Card and Alan Krueger, â€Å"Minimum Wages and Employment: A case study of the fast-food industry in New Jersey and Pennsylvania,† American Economic Review, vol. 4 (4), 772-793, 2004. Pimpare, Stephen. â€Å"Welfare Reform Has Increase d Poverty. † Poverty and Homelessness. Ed. Noel Merino. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2009. Current Controversies. Rpt. from â€Å"Why Welfare Reform Has Failed. † ZNet. 2004. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 22 June 2012. RaisetheMinimumWage. com. National Employment Law Project. June 2012. Web. 21 June 21 2012. Rhoda Cohen, J. , Mabli, F. , Potter, Z. , Zhao. Hunger In America 2010. Feeding America. February 2010.

Killer Submarine essays

Killer Submarine essays Submarine Secrets in the Cold War is about sleek, black killing machines called submarines. For forty years submarines lived in the lines of the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union. There are always secrets and questions to what really took place. The U.S. had pushed technology as had as they could. The U.S. had created the ultimate submarine called the killer shark. This submarine was equipped with a computerized system, five control sub missiles and sonar range. The killer shark can dive deeper and more silently than ever before, it was considered the most advanced submarine. But something tragic had suddenly happened. Then, five years later it happened again but this time with a submarine called the Scorpion. No one likes to talk about it. Secrets were kept for twenty- five years. Under water microphones were also created and used by the U.S Navy. This was a device to detect multiple code- books, missiles, and torpedoes 17,000 feet below. They then used what was called Glomar Explorer, a ship used to lift old submarines off the oceans floor. This ship had a claw attached that weighed 15 million pounds and was the size of a football field. The device called the Deep Submergents rescue vehicles (DSRVS) was built to be buried on the Russians territory and detecting over 1200 miles. Recently, there was a collision between the USS Greeneville and a Japanese fishing trawler. This accident leaves 9 civilians dead. Submarines are weapons of all weapons of the Cold War and they still ...

9 Reasons You Might Be Failing at Your Careerâ€And How to Fix It

9 Reasons You Might Be Failing at Your Career- And How to Fix It The time has come to talk about the â€Å"F† word. (No, not that â€Å"F† word.) Failure. No matter who you are or what you do, that word usually has the power to strike fear. If you suspect you’re already failing in your life (for example, you’re not where you thought you would be at this point, or you’ve experienced setbacks), that can be incredibly intimidating. It may keep you from shaking off bad habits and picking up new ones that would get you in a better place. This is especially true in your career. It can be super easy to fall into an inertia bubble and then find yourself shrugging helplessly when you know it’s time to get out. Let’s look at some of the reasons you might think you’re failing at your professional life, and what you can do about them.1. You feel helpless to make changes.This is one I struggle with all. the. time. You may not think you’re helpless per se, but maybe you just feel overwhelmed by dail y minutiae, and you feel like staying afloat is all you can accomplish. If you’re managing only what comes your way, you’re troubleshooting rather than improving.What to do about it: Realize that you do have a say in your daily life, even at work where things might seem very regimented or non-negotiable. If you want to take more agency and control in your life, it starts with you. Learn to advocate for yourself, and negotiate what you want. You’d be surprised at what you can get if you learn to ask for it in the right way.2. You’re too busy blaming other people.I’d be much further along if Susan weren’t getting all the attention and good projects at work. I’d be making more money if Frank paid more attention to what I’m doing. I’d have a better job if it weren’t for my cat/my parents/my therapist.What to do about it: You do you. Your career is yours, and yours alone. This means that ultimately, your decisions are your responsibility- not your cat’s, your parents’, or your therapist’s. It’s time to stop blaming, and instead start thinking about what it would take for you to get what you want: that raise, the good projects, the job you want. Blaming others takes up a lot of mental energy, which you should instead be using to do an internal audit of why things aren’t working out the way you want- and what steps you can take to make progress.3. You’re settling for a mediocre status quo.This is an especially insidious kind of failure. You’re comfortable enough, have a job that pays your bills, but you’re not really going anywhere. It’s settling for the good-enough-right-now, at the expense of what is good for you in the future.What to do about it: Do things that scare you a little (within reason). You don’t have to go busting every piece of your status quo right now, but if you start by doing one thing every week that is outsid e your comfort zone, you’ll likely find that â€Å"status quo† expanding around you. Take on a project that is a bit of a stretch. Take a class in a new skill. Apply for that reach job. If you find yourself hesitating, ask yourself why, and what you have to lose if you go for it. And if the answer isn’t â€Å"it’s physically dangerous† or â€Å"this will cause a divorce,† then consider moving forward with it after all.4. You don’t have the resources or education.If you avoid applying for jobs because you don’t have the necessary skills, experience, or education, that feeling of failure may creep in while you’re browsing job openings. It’s hard not to feel like a failure if all you can see are closed doors.What to do about it: Take a class! Going for a new degree (or completing an old one) just may not be feasible for everyone, but there are often ways to get around the traditional â€Å"going back to school† model. For skill-building, sites like Lynda.com offer free or relatively inexpensive courses you can take on your own time. There are also many universities and colleges that offer part-time degree programs, or non-degree courses online. There are so many ways to stay academically active and keep learning, even when time or money is tight.5. You’re avoiding hard truths.Facing reality is hard. That’s why we have 8 million things to distract our attention at any given time. Cat videos, TV, social media- we all have ways of decompressing and avoiding reality for a while. Those are all temporary, though. Ultimately you’ll have to think about new and different ways of doing things, or facts that make you uncomfortable. If you’ve been avoiding thinking about your professional future because it might lead to uncomfortable realizations about the choices you’ve made and the ones you will need to make in the future, then you’re setting yourself up f or failure.What to do about it: Time for a little self-audit. Where are you in your career, what’s keeping you in it, and where do you want to be in five years? This is an exercise just for you- no one else will see or judge, so it’s important to be extremely honest about what you have, and what you want.6. You think you’re too old to make changes.We often pick our career paths pretty early in life, based on what we want to study in college, or what we think we’d be good at doing when we’re 18. And think about it: how well do many of the life decisions you made when you were 18 still hold up? How many of your hobbies and interests are the same? You’re not locked into a career that you chose because it seemed like a good idea at the time. As you change, you’re never too old to change your professional path.What to do about it: If you feel stuck in a path that doesn’t interest you anymore, think about making a change- no matter h ow significant. Think about what it is you want to be doing, and start doing real research into what it would take- like education, certification, or skills. These are all things you can work on in the meantime, before you make any big moves.7. Your fear of failure has you pinned down.Failing because you fear failure? Is that a thing? Yes, yes it is. It’s possible to back right into failure while you’re on guard against it, avoiding risky changes or proactive steps that could result in failing. This kind of failure is sneaky, because it comes right from the place you thought you were watching.What to do about it: Don’t be afraid to be bad at something, or to make a bad decision once in a while. Failure can actually be one of the great learning experiences, painful though it may feel in the meantime. By letting fear of failure paralyze you, it can kill your career progress. Your professional life thrives on both your successes and your failures.8. You’re o verestimating your abilities.Full disclosure: I’m failing at being a ballet dancer. This is because I am the biggest klutz ever, I don’t have the right body type, and†¦oh yeah†¦I have very few ballet skills. So Misty Copeland’s title is probably safe. But if I expected to be a ballet dancer at this point in my career, I’d be making a fatal assumption that I could be one in my current state. It’s one thing to be confident in the abilities you have, but another thing entirely to be confident that you’ll be good at something without the education or skills to back it up. This kind of mindset lets you get comfortable in the idea that you don’t need to learn or do new things, because you’re the best the way you are.What to do about it: Embrace your strengths, work on your weaknesses, and accept the need to be realistic about what you can do.9. You’re not setting realistic goals.If you’re not planning your car eer in a realistic way, of course you’re going to feel like a failure- you set it up that way yourself. Going from entry level to CEO in two years was never going to happen.What to do about it: Time to set up some SMART goals. That’s Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Based. Setting these career goals both in the short-term (say, for the next year) and the long-term (five years or beyond) will help you make progress that you can quantify. There are lots of apps and tools you can use to help you, but don’t underestimate the power of a good old-fashioned checklist, and the smug, well-earned sense of satisfaction you get as you check something off the list.If you feel like you’re failing, it’s never too late to stop, figure out why, and start taking concrete steps out of the muck. Understanding why you’re failing is the most important first step you can take.

Assignment 3 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Assignment 3 - Essay Example My dad and mum have asked me so many questions even from the morning. But I have not replied to any of the questions. They asked me what happened to me and my silence provoked them a lot and they kept repeating the same question. Mum and dad have concluded that I have some problems which might be psychological and need medical assistance and they decided to seek the advice of a psychologist in the evening as both of them need to attend their professional duties during their day time. They asked me to stay in the home till they arrive in the evening. But I decided to go to my college to study the responses of my teacher and my colleagues. On my way to class, so many people wished me with Hello, Hi. But I have not responded to anyone. Those who wished me have looked suspiciously at me and uttered certain words and gone. But one of my closest friends has came close to me and asked me what happened. But I have not responded. He has pat me on my shoulders and asked me even louder; â€Å"what happened to you? I have not responded and entered the class amidst the irritating comments of my colleagues. When the lecture was going on, my friends started to look at me occasionally to watch my actions. The teacher has noticed that something rather unusual has happened in the class after observing the behaviors of my friends and he enquired about it. One of my friends replied that something drastically wrong has happened to me. The teacher has asked me what happened to me. But I continued my silence amidst of some strange noises produced by my classmates. The teacher asked others to calm down and he has continued his class. After the classes, I returned home and continued my silence till my dad and mum arrived. They came back in the evening and asked me to get ready to have a consultation with a psychologist. They were so much anxious about my condition and started to make their own judgments for my peculiar behavior. I could not control my emotions for so long and

Post-Tsunami Tourism in Thailand Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5250 words

Post-Tsunami Tourism in Thailand - Essay Example According to the research in the last decade, the tourism industry in Thailand has been growing and the UNWTO has observed that tourism will continue increasing in developing countries in future. Statistics show that Thailand is one amongst world’s 50 developing countries with tourism as the primary industry sourcing foreign exchange. Regarding tourist arrivals, Thailand is estimated to have 6.9 percent growth in tourist arrivals by the year 2020, having 37 million people visiting the country. It should be mentioned that this would be almost 10 percent of the entire Asia pacific tourism market. A major contributor to Thailand in terms of tourists is Malaysia which amounted up to approximately 12 percent in the year 2005. In 2004, a major break- in for the tourism industry of Thailand happened due to the Indian Ocean Tsunami which brought massive destruction at Thailand’s coast. This was caused by an earthquake in the region which recorded 9.0 in the Richter Scale. It is supposed to be the fourth largest earthquake in the history of the world. It has been documented that waves even up to a height of 13 meters were formed at the coasts of Phang Nga. More than 5300 people died and reports confirmed more than 250000 fatalities. This is considered to be the worst of all tsunamis regarding the destruction it caused. The natural disaster largely affected the tourism industry of the country. The damage was not only limited to the infrastructural loss, it had effects on the tourism arrivals and the safety concerns of the tourists. Additionally, the vulnerability of tourism as an economic and social system has been largely highlighted by the impacts of the disaster (Calgaro and Lloyd, 2008). The coastal communities which were dependent on tourism were largely affected. However, the connection between environmental changes and tourism with reference to its impacts on the community and on Thailand as a nation must be analyzed to understand this issue in depth . According to Cohen (2008), Thailand’s successful post-tsunami recovery is due to a group of factors, not only to the driving forces of the tourism industry. Yet, there are astonishingly very few studies on the effects of natural disasters on the tourism industry in spite of the reality that a large number of the world’s most prominent and thriving tourism areas are exposed to disastrous natural occurrences or societal problems. Thus, the objective of this essay is to critically analyze the impact of the tsunami on the tourism industry of Thailand. The essay identifies the connection between tourism and natural disasters and relates it to Thailand’s context. This is important as this connection would lead to insights about appropriate marketing strategies to minimize the negative impacts of natural disasters on the tourism industry. Tourism developments in Thailand after the tsunami are also being discussed in detail. Furthermore, the essay evaluates the cur rent tourism scenario in the country in the post-tsunami context and recommends suitable strategies to effectively restore Thailand’s popularity as a tourism destination. Natural Disasters and their Impacts on Tourism The Indian Ocean tsunami in December 2004 demonstrates the hazards of natural catastrophes to the tourism industry and tourism areas. As stated by Murphy and Bayley (1989, as cited in Gossling and Hall, 2006, 286): â€Å"Tourism can be significantly exposed to natural disasters, because of its attachment to high-risk areas with exotic scenery. The lure of snow-capped peaks brings the hazard of avalanches. Tropical beaches attract tourists to the potential paths of hurricanes...† Gossling and Hall (2006) explained that the above passage simply illustrates the truth that natural disasters are no restriction to the operations of the tourism industry. In contrast, the threats of natural catas

Nursing practices on coronary diseases in the UK Essay

Nursing practices on coronary diseases in the UK - Essay Example This is important in the realm of health care, especially when the human aspect is involved in the context of nursing staff. The approach towards management of coronary heart diseases is of utmost importance, as this is one of those medical conditions wherein the treatment circumstances greatly impact the final course of healing. This topic hence entails immense significance and needs to be understood in the context of real-time problems that exist within the treatment mechanism. The research goes upfront with the hypothesis that the nursing care system can play a vital role in treatment of patients with coronary heart diseases. This can largely be speculated due to the fact that it is both an internal and an external condition. Though the internal condition can be taken care of by medicines, the external one largely depends upon the physical environment that is available over there. This is important as this acts as a vector for the study, and gives it the needed direction on order to answer the research question. The said topic was chosen because it gives a very nice converging point for a multitude of study areas, namely internal medicine, external health care, ancillary health services, nursing health care practices and physical atmospheric comforts in healthcare. An all-encompassing issue, this can give an overview about the issue and finally as to what can and is to be doe in the future on this subject. To investigate in detail the aforementioned reason, a number of recent researches on the topic were studied, to evaluate how is this issue being dealt with in real-time. Search engines of the Med-Line and BMJ were consulted for an all encompassing and international perspective on the issue, and the researches subsequently present a very thorough and diverse standing on the subject. Listing of Relevant Literature Following researches conducted on the said topic in the last decade are of significant mention: Coronary heart diseases were once viewed as an inevitable consequence of being infirm and bed-ridden. As it has been recognized that this is not the case, coronary heart diseases have come to be seen much more as an indicator of the quality of care provided, and are consequently high on the political and health agenda. This article provides an overview of the key aspects of coronary heart disease risk assessment and prevention drawn from a variety of national policy documents (Stephen-Haynes, 2004). To study prevalence of coronary heart diseases among functionally impaired patients in the community and evaluate risk factors associated with the development of coronary heart diseases in these patients. Design. Cross-sectional, observational study. Community dwellers served by the Primary Health Care Area of Rincon de la Victoria in Malaga.Participants. All patients included in the Impaired Patient Programme (n=178). Prevalence of coronary heart diseases in our Basic Health Area was 12.9%. The most important sociodemographic characteristic associated with the presence of coronary heart diseases in these patients was the educational attainment of the caregiver. Health variables of the patient were also associated with the risk of developing coronary heart diseases. Results indicate the need of diagnostic protocols with standardised instruments and prevention plans to reduce coronary heart d

Positive Discrimination and Gender Equality

Positive Discrimination and Gender Equality Positive discrimination is sometimes used to help enforce gender equality in the working place. Basic questions to be answered before analyzing the concept of positive discrimination deal with the necessity of action. What does the gender situation look like in the working place? Is there actually a need for action, for positive discrimination? Looking at employment statistics gives a direction in finding answers to such questions. Only 57.2% of the women aged 15-64 in the European Union were working 2006 while 71.6% of men were. The difference in unemployment was not so large with 9.0 % of women being unemployed compared to 7.6% of men in 2006. However, the share of part time workers in total employment shows significant differences. Of the working women 31.4 % worked only part time in 2007 while the male percentage was considerably lower with only 7.8 %. The pay gap between womens and mens earnings, another important factor to measure equality which indicates the difference in average gross hourly earnings as a percentage of mens average gross hourly earnings, was at 15 % in 2006 in the EU. All these figures show that a gender gap exists in working life. The qualitative aspect of employment illustrates the inequality even more obviously. Womens share among managers in enterprises and administrations in the European Union for example was only at 32.6 % in 2006 (all figures from the Commission of the European Communities 2008). These statistics show clearly that gender equality is by far not reached. In order to strengthen equality within the working place positive discrimination measures are introduced in different forms and places according to the legal framework. Whether such measures are indeed helpful tools in enforcing gender equality will be the main topic of this paper. In order to be as precise as possible the discussion will concentrate on the situation in Europe. The basic ideas and arguments however should be universally valid. After introducing the concept of positive action an illustrating example from Norway concerning gender quotas on company boards will be presented. Thereafter the general arguments in favor and against positive discrimination will be discussed before concluding with the legal limits of the concept within the European Union. 2. Positive Discrimination What is positive discrimination? First of all, when discussing positive discrimination, the terminology needs to be clarified. Within this discussion several terms sometimes used as synonyms sometimes used with a different meaning can be found. The most common of these terms are positive discrimination, positive action and affirmative action. As this paper will concentrate on the situation in Europe, the terms positive action and positive discrimination will be used only. Positive action is a common European synonym of affirmative action whereas the usage of positive discrimination implies that the targets of the actions receive special favors (Bacchi C.L. 1996: X). Positive action constitutes proactive programs redressing past and present discrimination of certain group members identified mostly by race and gender (Bacchi 1996: X). Sterba defines affirmative action, which is in this case a synonym for positive action, as a policy of favoring qualified women and minority candidates over qualified men or non-minority candidates with the immediate goals of outreach remedying discrimination, or achieving diversity, and the ultimate goals of attaining a colorblind (racially just) and a gender-free (sexually just) society (in Burns and Schapper 2008: 373). Although the concept is used for several discrimination features, this paper will discuss positive action in the context of gender only. Positive action can be applied in the private and the public sector. However, the latter one is more often addressed by legal regulations (Bacchi 1996: 16). We usually find two classifications of positive action: soft options that increase the possibility of promotion and recruitment for the underrepresented group, for example through training, and hard or strong options that target promotion and recruitment of the underrepresented gender, for example through quota requirements (Bacchi C.L. 1996: 16). This paper will concentrate on the latter form of positive action and refer to it as positive discrimination. Example: Gender quotas on company boards in Norway When looking at different positive discrimination measures in Europe, one regulation stands out: the legislation on representation of both sexes on company boards in Norway. The country has come up with a law forcing companies to constitute their boards in a way that both sexes are represented by at least 40%. This implies not only for state-owned companies but also for public limited companies listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange, in other words, companies in the private sector (Norwegian Government Ministry of children, equality and social Inclusion 2005). As positive discrimination usually takes place in the public sector the Norwegian initiative is quite an astonishing regulation. Also the harsh enforcement is remarkable. If companies fail to fulfil the requirement of the 40% quota, they can actually be dissolved (Norwegian Government Ministry of children, equality and social Inclusion 2005). As for the reason for such a policy the Norwegian government argued that balanced representation is a question of democracy. Furthermore it stated that making use of all the resources in a country is necessary and that the Norwegian women are equally qualified as men. Ultimately, the government believed increased diversity in the board rooms to lead to higher successes of the companies (Norwegian Government Ministry of children, equality and social Inclusion 2005). Critics of the quota claimed that the owners should decide upon the recruitment and not a quota. Furthermore they emphasized that attitudes cannot be changed by legal enforcement. Also, they pointed at the risk of not finding enough qualified women (Criscione 2008). However, another reason for the objection was the danger of losing power. The Director of Norways Professional Boards Forum, Elin Hurvenes, stated The outrage was not only about opening boardroom doors to women it was about pushing men out the same doors (in Criscione 2008). When the law came into force in 2006 the affected companies had two years to adapt to the regulation without being penalized, until since 2008 they must comply with it (Norwegian Government Ministry of children, equality and social Inclusion 2005). And they do so, as no company was dissolved so far. While women on corporate boards made up only 6 % in 2002, they reached more than 40% by the beginning of 2009 due to the quota (Winsnes RÃ ¸dland 2009). Supporters of the initiative argue that the companies had no problems in finding enough qualified women. Furthermore they suggest that the recruitment process in general has become more systematically both for finding men and women (Lindstad 2009). A study undertaken by the Institute for Social Research in Oslo stated that there is no embarrassment among women because of to the quota. The women know they would not be on the company boards without legal enforcement but at the same time they know exactly they have the qualifications for i t (Lindstad 2009). Arguments for and against As seen with the Norwegian argumentation, supporters of positive discrimination believe that diversity adds to success and that using all human capital is vital (Norwegian Government Ministry of children, equality and social Inclusion 2005, Bekkemellem 2006). This view is supported by a study of the US non-profit organization Catalyst which found out that companies who have three or more women on the board perform better on profits and sales (Criscione 2008). Furthermore supporters argue that it is only fair and democratic to let women reach positions of power because they are equally qualified as men (Norwegian Government Ministry of children, equality and social Inclusion 2005, Lindstad 2009). Missing qualification is one of the main arguments of the opponents of positive discrimination. They believe that the economy suffers from favouring women who are not qualified enough (Burns and Schapper 2008: 372). Additionally they bring forward the argument that through positive discrimination gender plays a role again, the opposite of which is supposed to be the goal of gender equality. They argue that such measures are not fair and lawful as they create another form of discrimination based on gender (Burns and Schapper 2008: 372). This view is also manifested in the terminology of positive discrimination and the sometimes used term reverse discrimination (Burns and Schapper 2008: 372). Moreover the legitimacy of favouring the rights of a group, namely the women, at the expense of the right of an individual, namely a man, is questioned (Burns and Schapper 2008: 373). Some criticism argues that it is not fair to let individuals suffer for past discrimination that was committed by others (America 1986: 73). Opponents are also against quotas in the private sector, because they suggest that the owners of companies should decide whom to appoint and that legal enforcement cannot change attitudes (Criscione 2008). They point at the perception of women as well and suggest that positive discrimination might result in negative reactions from the potential or intended beneficiaries (Taylor-Carter, Doverspike and Alexander 1995: 285). This reaction was at least not the case in Norway. As mentioned above, women felt no embarrassment due to the quota (Lindstad 2009). Another reason for objecting positive discrimination is often forwarded by the supporters of it to emphasize that the criticism is not justified: only because men are not willing to give up their power positions they fight so aggressively against positive discrimination (Criscione 2008; Burns and Schapper 2008: 374). Furthermore, supporters question the fact that recruitment is really based on qualification when men are appointed (Burns and Schapper 2008: 377). Some see the reason for appointing mainly men in the fact that the employers are male as well. Thus, they tend to favour candidates that are like them and to avoid differences, which means appointing someone from the different sex (Burns and Schapper 2008: 377). If this thesis holds, positive discrimination could result in appointing women to higher posts naturally in the long run, because women are then already included in the decision-making process as well. A final argumentation is as simple as this statement by the former Minister of Children and Equality in Norway, Karita Bekkemellem: So why then regulate this policy area by a new law? Because we realized, that the wanted development in Norway did not go fast enough! We do not have the patience to wait another 100 years! (Bekkemellem 2006). In other words, supporters believe positive discrimination measures are better than waiting until balanced representation will naturally arise. Legal limits to positive discrimination No matter whether positive discrimination is indeed helpful or not, the concept needs legal enforcement in order to be a powerful tool. While Norway for example goes very far with implementing positive discrimination measures as could be seen in the example concerning equal representation in board rooms, the situation looks somewhat different for other countries within Europe. The usage of positive discrimination policies is at the same time supported and restricted by the legal framework of the European Union. The Council Directive 76/207/EEC of 9 February 1976 on the implementation of the principle of equal treatment for men and women as regards access to employment, vocational training and promotion, and working conditions states that there shall be no gender discrimination (The Council of the European Communities 1976). However, the directive contains an article that gives some room for positive action measures. Article 2.4 states: This Directive shall be without prejudice to mea sures to promote equal opportunity for men and women, in particular by removing existing inequalities which affect womens opportunities [] (The Council of the European Communities 1976). The judgement of the European Court of Justice in the case of Eckhard Kalanke, who was denied promotion because of favouring a woman who was equally qualified, shows limits to implementing such measures. The Court declared that a measure automatically favouring an equally qualified woman is illegal (The European Court of Justice 1995). Another case brought some clarification of what kind of actions are legal. In the case of Helmut Marschall a regulation was held lawful that suggested preferential treatment in the case of equal qualification unless reasons specific to an individual [male] candidate tilt the balance in his favour (European Court of Justice 1997). With such a savings clause, which indicates no automatic or unconditional favouring, positive discrimination is lawful. It can be derived that measures of positive discrimination within the European Union are allowed only with strong limitation. It is thus not reasonable to describe positive discrimination as a perfect tool to enforce gender equality. Positive discrimination cannot be forced upon. Regulations need to contain a savings clause and such a clause allows for avoiding the promotion and recruitment of women. 3. Conclusion In conclusion it needs to be affirmed that positive discrimination can help enforce a more gender balanced distribution in the areas where implemented as seen with the example from Norway. In such cases it helps to create the intended result. However, legal limits constrain the concept of positive discrimination. Within the European Union it is a tool that can be used only with equal qualifications of the candidates and a savings clause that leaves room to avoid positive discrimination. Therefore another aspect to be considered concerns the attitudes of society. Without changing them, positive discrimination constitutes only a tool to affect the result. Real gender equality where gender plays no role in appointments is not reached through it, as positive discrimination is another form of discrimination based on gender. Nevertheless, there might be other effects than just creating a result when considering the long run. By accustoming people to a balanced gender distribution, attitudes might be changed in the long run and furthermore the decision-making process might be influenced by women resulting in equal treatment. Whether positive discrimination is fair and beneficial depends on the personal point of view. Taking all the arguments and limits into account it can be concluded that positive discrimination is definitely not a perfect tool. It is the tool with the quickest results though and can thus be described as an adequate tool if the wish for balanced gender re presentation is judged to be more important than the objections against positive discrimination. However, discussing it we should not neglect the necessity of changing attitudes by strengthening the conscience for gender equality in public, for example through the media. Furthermore, the lighter forms of positive action like increasing training measures might be of importance as well (Rees 1992: 130). In the long run this could destroy the argument of women being not qualified enough. Additionally, the question of reconciliation of work and family life should play a major role in the discussion of gender equality and the efficiency of positive discrimination. Taking into consideration the constraints imposed by family life tasks and looking for options and measures to help overcome these could prove to be of great significance.