Depends on Writer Essay Example for Free

Depends on Writer Essay Many countries, including the United States, are currently struggling with two apparently conflicting objectives, that is how to make newcomers and native minorities feel they have equal opportunity to pursue the American Dream, while at the same time convincing the native majority that policies crafted to help others are not discriminating against their own rights and opportunities. The two main policy thrusts used by governments, schools and other institutions designed to promote racial diversity and integration are race conscious and color blind. Race conscious and color blind are not mutually exclusive, but two ends of a continuum. At the one end an example of a race conscious policy would be if race was the sole distinguishing factor deciding whether one candidate is selected over another and there is a quota for members of a specified race. For example assume two candidates of different races for military promotion both meet the required minimum standard. An extreme race conscious policy would dictate that the person from the race considered disadvantaged would be promoted even if less meritorious. On the other hand under a completely color blind policy, race would play absolutely no part, and the best candidate would be promoted . In between is a situation where race is only one factor to be considered and the candidate of the disadvantaged race would be promoted only if the sum total of his merits was considered at least equal to that of the other candidate. Race was the deciding factor to break the tie so to speak Also in the middle scenario there is no set quota for those considered disadvantaged, only a vague goal that they would be in sufficient numbers that they wouldn’t feel isolated. For the disadvantaged color blind policies tend to promote the status quo in that because their color is often associated with other negative factors such as poverty, limited educational opportunities and cultural limitations, they find it difficult to compete and get ahead. Racial inequalities are thus perpetuated and racial identities more starkly contrasted. In other words the discontented tend to feel its’ â€Å"them versus us†. On the other hand, race conscious policies can make the dominant group feel that in efforts to improve opportunities for the disadvantaged, their rights are infringed. In effect they can feel they are victims of reverse discrimination. They believe their rights are threatened, and are now suffering racial inequalities because of efforts to help the previously disadvantaged. They also fear losing their status as the dominant race. The Asian American Legal Foundation brief advocated color blind policies on the grounds that race conscious policies favoring only designated races were prejudicial to the interests of groups they represent such as the Chinese in San Francisco. While accepting the goal of racial diversity, they argued as the dominant race in this area, the school placements there should reflect this reality. That is, they should not be capped at 40% in order to accommodate specifically designated and therefore preferred disadvantaged races nationwide. They argued that this was discriminating against them as the dominant race in the area, and that there was no compelling reason to assist minorities, at least not to the extent where their placements exceeded their proportion of the local population. They also argued that having separate Chinese schools was not the answer, as this was counter to the goal of racial diversity, and tended to encourage inferior facilities. Conversely, the military brief advocated race conscious policies in order to develop a racially divers officer corps. They argued that while blacks were recruited into the military in large numbers immediately after World War II, they tended to stagnate in the lower ranks because of poor education, prejudice and other reasons. Thus in the 1960s and 1970s, a mainly white officer corps was in charge of a substantially black lower ranks, resulting in low morale and racial tension. In fact this situation was considered to have a detrimental affect on the ability to fight in Vietnam. While there is now a larger percentage of black officers, the brief argues that race conscious policies need to be continued to have the percentage of black officers comparable to that of enlisted men to have a cohesive, effective fighting force. Therefore the brief argues that there is a compelling government necessity justifying the need for a race conscious policy. If the Supreme Court decides the Grutter case on the basis of the military brief, that is, that race conscious policies are justified, she would of course continue to be denied a place at the University of Michigan, and most likely this would also apply to the other perspective white students. Naturally this would fuel the notion that they were subject to unequal access and therefore suffering from racial reverse discrimination. On the other hand if the case is decided on the basis of the American Legal Foundation brief, she and many other whites would probably be accepted at the university. However, designated disadvantaged races would likely feel that their quest for equality and racial status was still not being adequately addressed. Although Gruther felt she was being discriminated against, the Court’s decision upholding Michigan Law School’s affirmative action policy for admissions, shows that it agrees with the school’s stated intention to redress historical and current discrimination, which I believe in fact was the school’s honest purpose. By considering race as only one of the factors in deciding whether to enroll prospective students, I believe this is an appropriate middle ground between a pure race conscious and color blind policy. I also believe that this policy will help realize social equality, and once people from different races achieve success roughly proportional to their numbers, the policy will no longer be necessary, hopefully within 25 years. Works Cited Nos. 02-241 and 02-516 In The Supreme Court of The United States. Grutter, Barbara (Petitioner) v. Lee Bollinger et al (Respondents)

Essay --

CAREER OPPORTUNITIES AVAILABLE FOR FILIPINO ACCOUNTING TECHNOLOGY AND ACCOUNTANCY GRADUATES A Term Paper Presented to Mr. Lawrence Briones Icasiano English Department De La Salle Lipa In Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for COMSKI2 Second Semester, Academic Year 2013-2014 By Zach Nicolai De Guzman Judy Anne D. Gatdula J1A March 13, 2014 Accounting Technology and Accountancy graduates are expecting that there will be a good work waiting for them after they finished their courses. To know the career opportunities available for Accounting Technology and Accountancy graduates we will do a research about it. For the information that we need, we conducted an interview and also done library researches. First to know is where accounting really did come from. Accounting is founded by Friar Luca Paciolo and was first published in 1494. It became influential as a profession in England in the mid-1800s. There are laws which are enacted in the year 1913 and 1917 to ensure proper tax accounting. (Wilcox & San Miguel, 1980) Accounting, it is the systematic and comprehensive recording of financial transactions pertaining to a business. Accounting also refers to the process of summarizing, analysing and reporting these transactions. The financial statements that summarize a large company's operations, financial position and cash flows over a particular period are a concise summary of hundreds of thousands of financial transactions it may have entered into over this period. Accounting is one of the key functions for almost any business; it may be handled by a bookkeeper and accountant at small firms or by sizable finance departments with dozens of employees at larger companies (investopedia.com). This statement refers that the accounting ... ... †¢ Wilcox, K.A. & San Miguel, J.G. (1980). Introduction to Financial Accounting. New York: Harper & Row Publishers †¢ What career opportunities are there with an Accounting Degree? Retrieved from http://web.olivetcollege.edu/careerdev/accounting.htm †¢ Internal Audit. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internal_audit †¢ What is external audit? Retrieved from http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/external-audit.html †¢ What is financial audit? Retrieved from https://www.bcauditor.com/node/636 †¢ Certified Public Accountant. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Certified_Public_Accountant †¢ http://education-portal.com/articles/Certified_Accounting_Technician_Salary_Requirements_and_Duties.html †¢ Title: Accounting 2nd edition Writer: Carl S. Warren, James M. Reeve and Jonathan E. Duchac Publication: Cengage Learning Asia Pte Ltd year 2012

Puma’s Ag Case

PUMA’s AG Case Adalbert and Rudolf Dassler founded puma in 1924 in Germany. The company was called Gebruder Dassler OHG, and was internationally well known. However, the two brothers separated creating Adidas and Puma, respectively. Puma had sponsored some of the worlds most famous soccer players, positioning itself as one of the most important company in soccer shoes and accessories. In spite of that, the son of the founder, Armin Dassler, take Puma to a point where all product were sold â€Å"dirt-cheap†, ruining the brand image. The high society was not willing to wear the brand.In 1993, Jochen Zeitz, became the CEO of the company, and together with Martin Gaensler, the supply chain management chief, applied 3 significant phases into the Comeback of Puma: * Aimed at making Puma profitable in order to build a strong financial foundation. * Restructuring the whole company * Focusing in core competencies: marketing, brand management, and product management. * Transform Puma into an attractive sports brand. (High- value brand in sport and lifestyle sales categories). * Sponsoring and advertisement. Puma’s major competitors 1. Adidas –Salomon AG * Headquarters in Bavaria, Germany. Production was in every continent, except in Australia, with administration, design, and marketing in Germany and France. * Production outsourced in Asia. * Only supplier covered all sports. * Main strength soccer line, sky and tennis market. * Known as a brand for the family, satisfying customer’s needs. * Sponsoring activities on huge sports events, famous teams, and athletes like FIFA World Cup and UEFA Champions League. 2. Nike * American company founded by Bill Bowerman and Phil Knight in 1964. * Outsourced part of the production to China and concentrated its skills on product design, marketing, and distribution. Located in Oregon. * Administrative activities concentrated in United States. * Europe, Africa, and Asia worked only in sales strategies . * Target group young people with the slogan â€Å"Just do it† * Marketing strategy: sponsoring events, popular teams, and athletes. * Introduction to specialized brands * Web-based Nike ID (customizing Nike products) 3. Reebok * Founded in 1895 in USA by Joseph William. * Key market: footwear industry (aerobics industry, women’s sportswear, and design street & casual footwear). * Located in 140 countries. R & D in China, Korea, and Taiwan. Distribution finished goods via traditional retailers. * Sales in Gym club trainers. * Reebok female sports shoes were the most famous. * 1992, change of strategy to American football, basketball, and soccer. * Sponsoring sport events and popular athletes. * Nevertheless, Reebok was often regarded as a fitness and exercise equipment manufacturer. 4. Fila * 1911, Italy. * Distribution in 50 countries. * Portfolio of sportswear and athletic footwear. * Focus on running, basketball, and fitness. 5. Prada * Italian brand focused on lux ury leather goods. * Founded by Mario Prada. 2003 Sportive line called Prada Sport. 6. Diesel * 1970. Casualwear or sportswear company that became a luxury brand. PUMA’s Value Chain * R&D: sourcing, production, and logistics * 80% of all production move to Asia due to raw materials and MOD * Manufactured in Turkey and Mexico * It reduces its working capital and inventory to 21% * The raw material sourcing allowing shortening the production and enabling full quality control of input factors. (Inditex’s Zara strategy) * Production partners according to quality, price, and environmental/social factors. Logistics was not a core competence. * Brand management * Turnaround new positioning of the brand itself. * 1980’s unpopular image due to heavy price decline. * Jochen Zeitz (CEO), repositioned the brand * Making PUMA desirable again * 2003, the brand was already positioned and well-known and considered as a luxury * Ensuring success, PUMA hired charismatic personali ties who could represent and understand the desired brand perception, recognition, and awareness even further. * Sponsoring several teams such as the Jamaican running team, Cameroon soccer team, and Italian national soccer team. Sponsoring Formula One, entering by the official supply of sportswear for the FIA World Rally Championship, the Ford Rally division, and freestyle motocross champion Travis Pastrana. * Quality over quantity and rely on innovation. * Following upcoming trends quickly and creating trends. * The Puma classic King was reintroduced creating a new market segment of lifestyle sportswear, having in consequence to it a significant competitive advantage over competitors from the fashion industry. * CEO understood the fashion as â€Å"the new combination of elements of the past†. * Right time for launching a new product line. Puma entered in the cricket market in Australia and Africa. * Advertising in MTV and in Hollywood movies. * Puma was perceived as rebellio us and stylish. * Distribution * Outsourcing 70% in distribution logistics. * Building up a system to develop its own network in Europe. * Retail activities * Selected partners according to the corporate message of Puma. * Sport retailer did not operated globally; only foot Locker and Intersport, Decathlon, and JJB Sports. * There was no price discrimination due to low transportation costs in Europe. * Collaboration with strategic partners and allies Acquired the Swedish company Tretorn (manufacturer of tennis balls), because of the sophisticated and broad distribution system in the Scandinavian market and a very skilled management team. Corporative Strategy: R&D and design (functionality and stylish appearance products). Launching the New Collection: sport, lifestyle, and fashion. * Trying to be innovative in every part of the process * Marketing strategy Innovation * Modernizing latest collections and re-launch them Bibliography. Kaufmann, Lutz. â€Å"Puma AG†. The WHU Otto Beisheim Graduate School of Management.

Comparative Methodological Critique

The aim of this paper is to compare two academic research papers, one informed by qualitative and another one by quantitative research designs with focus on the methodological factors. Both papers describe working lives and attitudes of gay and lesbian workers in the UK and USA, possible consequences of disclosure of sexual orientation on their working relations and organisational arrangements towards equality and diversity of working practice. These research projects add to the growing number of studies which shed light on the sensitive nature of homosexuality in the workplace and anti-discrimination policies and practices that organisations deploy to create a more inclusive working environment. Governed by the difficulty of access to gay and lesbian population both in UK and USA, and its â€Å"hidden† nature both teams chose their own strategy in unveiling the nature of work attitudes of gay and lesbian employees and demonstrating the progress organisations have made or are making towards the establishment of good practice. st paper (qualitative) The paper deals with identifying good organisational practice concerning equality, diversity and sexual orientation in the workplace, and considers any changes following the introduction of Employment equality (Sexual Orientation) regulations 2003. It also aims at addressing the gap between equality policy and practice which provides the foundation for further analysis of the significant shortfall in knowledge relating to the experience of LGB (lesbian, gay and bisexual) employees in UK organisations. Even today, the issue of sexuality still remains a sensitive one, despite the coming into force of legislation offering protection to LGB people. It is also the cause of unease for some employers in the modern world in discussing (not to mention dealing with! ) this issue, and consequential bullying, suffering and fear which make life and work unbearable for so many LGB people. So far progress has been made based on social justice and business case studies which means that this still â€Å"remains †¦an under researched area in which there have been very few case studies of particular organisations† (Colgan et al. 2007:591). Having adopted a phenomenological position in their design, the research team chose to carry out a longitudinal (2 year) qualitative study in 16 â€Å"good practice† case study organisations in the area of employment of LGB workers, to discover â€Å"the details of the situation†¦[in order to] to understand the reality† (Remenyi et a l. , 1998:35) of working relations in organisations with LGB workers. Also focusing on the ways that people make sense of the world especially through the sharing of experiences with others has dictated the use of a social constructionist framework (Bryman and Bell, 2007). The case studies involved the analysis of companies’ documentation and reports, trade union publications and websites to get an inside view of companies’ attitudes and practices. The main challenge of the project in data collection was â€Å"limited resources †¦ inability to specify a sampling frame† (Saunders et al. , 2003:170) which dictated the use of non-probability sampling. Therefore, snowballing sampling was applied as the most appropriate for this kind of research. The research team interviewed in depth 154 LGB employees who, prior to that, completed a short survey questionnaire. All completed the survey giving a complete census. However, due to â€Å"a lack of robust statistical evidence concerning the proportion of the UK population who identify as LGB† (Colgan et al. , 2007:591) and the difficulty of access to such people, it’s hard to say how representative this sample of LGB people is. Determined by these practical constraints, the research team adopted a mixed methods research strategy (case study/interviews) with various data collection methods that allowed them to have a cross-check against each other's results. Difficulty of accessing LGB employees also dictated the choice of analysis focusing only on â€Å"good practice† organisations. Hence, using survey, in-depth interview and secondary data enabled the team to combine the specificity of quantitative data with the ability to interpret perceptions provided by qualitative analysis. Though, there is evidence and justification by the research team of how respondents were selected, the project itself demonstrated a disproportioned balance of respondents not only in terms of gender (61,7% -men, 38,3% – women) but also in terms of ethnic division. This means that the balance tipped so far in terms of the depth of their research. The research team adapted an inductive research approach to accommodate the existing theories and findings as well as their own empirical studies, for example â€Å"that those in lower level and perhaps more difficult working environments are less likely to be â€Å"out†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦at work† (Colgan et al. , 2006a cited in Colgan, 2007:593). The paper also gives a good historical overview of how public and private sector organisations have made progress towards the â€Å"inclusion of sexual orientation within its organisational policy and practice† (Colgan et al. , 2006a cited in Colgan, 2007:593). This provides readers with a comparative overview of how the situation has changed following the introduction of the legislation. The research team identified the number of steps organisations took to follow â€Å"good practice† in relation to equality and diversity, at the same time outlining the differences in progress between public and private sector companies. In doing so, the authors also assert that the implementation gap between policy and practice still exists and requires further measures such as â€Å"the need to see policy championed, resourced and implemented by senior line managers† (Colgan et al. 2007). Whereas the Regulations empowered LGB people to step in and â€Å"challenge discrimination and harassment† (Colgan et al. , 2007:604), the key factor, as identified by the authors, â€Å"that prevented some respondents coming out at work †¦ the fear† (Colgan et al. , 2007) remained the main obstacle to LGB workers to blowing the whistle and reporting an incident. These findings are supported and justified throughout the paper by respondents’ statements and results of previous studies. The research team also defined the relation between the impact of the employment equality (SO) regulations, considered as independent variable, and such dependent variables like job satisfaction, being out at work, experience of harassment and discrimination, this in fact gives an idea of the existing problem in organisational practices. In terms of structure, language and appropriateness of referencing to other material this paper proves highly informative. It suggests that further research needs to be done in order â€Å"to gain a more â€Å"representative† picture of working lives of LGB employees† (Colgan et al. , 2007) as it only explored the â€Å"tip of the iceberg†, because the research project was able to examine only a fraction of the whole, and, unless an organisation adopts more effective and proactive leadership on equality and diversity, the legislation on its own will take only a small step towards the inclusivity of LGB people and the creation of harmonious equal working practices in UK organisations. The research project involved cross-sectional design that allowed the team to compare and contrast their findings derived from each of the cases. This is considered to be a great advantage of the project as it allowed the team to consider â€Å"what is unique and what is common across cases† (Bryman and Bell, 2007:64), thus facilitating an attempt to generalise their findings. The research team does not explicitly express their own opinions, allowing personal values to sway the conduct of the research and the findings deriving from it, this ensures that they acted in good faith and followed good practice. However, having conducted a survey following the implementation of (SO) Regulations 2003, this study failed to provide a sufficiently broad spectrum of opinion of how organisational culture has changed as a consequence of the legislation. Moreover, the research team did not specify whether any of the key informants or interviewees had worked in â€Å"good practice† organisations before the regulations came into force which would allow a comparative analysis of organisational practice to take place and, thereby, for data to be more representative. Much attention was focused upon good practice organisations in their study; however, there was a failure to demonstrate what was meant by â€Å"good practice†. This would have enabled readers to have a more explicit understanding of what expectations are from any organisation with LGB employees. In terms of access to respondents, although the team acknowledged the difficulty, they were not as resourceful as they might have been. Lack of robust information undermines the conclusions, arguably, brings into question the credibility of the findings as the research net was not cast widely or deeply enough. For the readership of this paper there is no ultimate enlightenment as the paper does not show any argument or advocacy that invite readers to the world of unexpected discovery; instead, it is rather a presentation or portrait. It also remains difficult to conduct a true replication of this study, even though majority of the organisations â€Å"were willing to be identified by name† (Colgan et al. 2007). 2nd paper (quantitative) This paper describes the relationship between reported disclosure of sexual orientation, anti-discrimination policies and top management support. It is also aimed at identifying work-related attitudes of gay and lesbian workers if such disclosure takes place and its effects on individual performance of gay and lesbian workers. At the time of the research very few empirical studie s had been conducted to investigate work attitude and disclosure of sexual orientation. Since the recognition of the gay and lesbian population within the workforce, inclusiveness of gay and lesbian employees in organisational diversity management policies was desperately needed. It has been argued that â€Å"an approach of workplace tolerance is needed† (Day and Shoenrade, 2000:347) which can contribute to the knowledge of human resource function when taking appropriate actions if conflict arises and to help create a more conducive environment for the disclosure of sexual orientation. Emphasising the importance of collecting facts and studying â€Å"the relationship of one set of facts to another† (Anderson, 2009:45) underpins their positivist paradigm. Focused on key unresolved questions such as â€Å"closeted homosexual workers will have a less positive work-related attitude† (Day and Shoenrade, 2000:346) the research team takes a deductive research approach to test three formulated hypotheses which together with research paper aims do not appear until well into the text. This can lead to uncertainty on the part of the readership. In terms of selection of respondents and its rationale, the research team fails to demonstrate the proportion of respondents relating to ethnics; also gender division appeared to be highly disproportioned with 485 gays and only 259 lesbians. Their chosen data collection methods (sampling, focus groups and a questionnaire) highlighted some problematic issues such as â€Å"identifying a representative sample of working lesbians and gays† (Day and Shoenrade, 2000:350) due to the sensitive nature of research and lack of current data on the lesbian and gay population. Great attention was paid to demonstrating their strategy in obtaining possibility sample. Having looked at various options, the sampling choice was justified on the basis of geographical location (USA Midwest) which it was thought would benefit in the existing research as it involves lesbian and gay population not surveyed before. A large sample would allow them to easily obtain a significant test statistic (Esterby-Smith et al. 2008), the research team sampled several resources, principally Human Rights Project (HRP), and then broadened them getting a reasonable response of 29% which â€Å"showed no statistically significant difference from the larger sample on the major variables† (Day and Shoenrade, 2000:351). However, such considerations cannot be viewed as justification for not following the principles of probability sampling and therefore team’s findings do not represent the whole gay and lesbian population of USA and cannot be generalised. In testing three formulated hypotheses the research team established three independent variables (disclosure of sexual orientation, presence of anti-discrimination policy and top management support) and 5 dependent ones (affective commitment, continuance commitment, job satisfaction, job stress and conflict between home and work) and selected a multivariate analysis to find a way of summarising the relationship between these variables and at the same time capturing the essence of the said relationship (Esterby-Smith et al. , 2008). Adopting objectivist ontology the research team aimed at analysing the relationships between these variables thus creating static view of social life (Bryman and Bell, 2007). However, there was a failure to specify which statistical test was used to demonstrate and examine interdependence between them. This, in fact, point to a lack of transparency of their project. Based on several example questions the team demonstrated it can be deduced that they were dealing with categorical data (ordinal and cardinal) and therefore the Spearman correlation test and regression analysis (linear regression model) were used to represent non-parametric data. This allowed them to measure the strength and the direction of association between the variables, and confirm whether there is any difference in the population from which the sample was drawn. The research team also used a qualitative research method. They conducted a focus-group discussion to ensure that â€Å"the construct of disclosure of sexual orientation be precisely defined and relevant to†¦ [this] population (Day and Shoenrade, 2000:351). This helped to ensure that the concept was precisely defined and relevant to the population. The lack of secondary data sources also explained the rationale of their chosen method of data analysis. However, had this data been obtained, it would have allowed to create a more comparative analysis. For each independent variable the research team demonstrated several example questions and interpretation of the results which provided readers with an overview of a critical analysis of the conclusions the research team came to. However, those who are not familiar with statistical data would find it hard to follow the argument as there was a failure to provide basic explanation of roman letters and include notes when referencing to the tables. Therefore, it is impossible to cross-check their results and to confirm their findings. Focusing on facts, and looking for causalities throughout their analysis, underpinned their positivist paradigm and reflected their research approach and strategy. Like any other quantitative researchers the team was trying to describe why things are, rather than how they are. They admit that the issue of causality should be discussed to achieve a better understanding of the relations of the variables. Nevertheless, the research team found the evidence to support portions of the three formulated hypotheses. They critically evaluated each one by giving their own suggestions and recommendations to organisations and HR practitioners on how to improve their working practice and establish the inclusiveness of gay and lesbian workers. The presence of modal verbs in the quantitative research once again emphasised the invariably implicit nature of this research often criticised by the qualitative researchers for its high level of assumptions (Bryman and Bell, 2007). Their data analysis and interpretation of their findings are well structured and presented. The ability of the research team to point out the pitfalls of their own project and critically approach their findings is considered to be a great advantage of this research paper. Conclusion The papers provide a solid foundation for further analysis in the field of equality and diversity in organisations with gay and lesbian workers. Governed by own choice for research strategy and approach to answer research questions, they were both affected by the same practical constraint during the research, extremely sensitive nature of sexual orientation and the â€Å"hidden† nature of the gay and lesbian population which led to that fact that probability sampling was impossible as there was no accessible sampling framework for the population from which the sample could be taken. Hence, one cannot confirm that both research projects were successful in generalising their findings beyond their chosen sample. Both research projects lack of robust evidence of the proportion of the UK gay and lesbian population and base their research projects on out of date information. This, in fact, stress the importance of secondary analysis to take place which would allow them to obtain good-quality and up-to-date data, and, as outlined by the quantitative research team, offer the opportunity for research to â€Å"compare an individual’ responses longitudinally† (Day and Shoenrade, 2000:361). It would also provide the opportunity to gain a more descriptive picture of gay and lesbian working lives and facilitate the emergence of a new data interpretation and theoretical ideas as new methods of quantitative data analysis are constantly appearing in the business research field. Unlike the qualitative research team which totally avoids any advice, the quantitative research team succeeded in providing various recommendations for organisations that can help them create a more inclusive environment, â€Å"this process could begin through education top management in the importance of the issue and the consequences of ignoring it† (Day and Shoenrade, 2000:360). In terms of contribution to the field unlike quantitative research the qualitative research project rather confirmed the existing findings and results of previous studies then introduced new information that would benefit and add to the existing knowledge. However, both research projects draw the parallel between UK and USA in terms of work attitude and practice in organisations with gay and lesbian workers pointing at lack of effective leadership and commitment of top management needed to create inclusive working relations in a contemporary business world. Both research teams admitted that further analysis will be required, perhaps, a combination of two research methods, as stated by the quantitative research team, â€Å"to gain a more â€Å"representative† picture of working lives† (Colgan et al. , 2007:606) of gay and lesbian workers.

The Holocaust and its Survivors Children

The Holocaust and its Survivor's Children Evidence shows that the children of Holocaust survivors, referred to as the Second Generation, can be deeply affected both negatively and positively- by the horrific events their parents experienced. The intergenerational transmission of trauma is so strong that Holocaust-related influences can even be seen in the Third Generation, children of the children of survivors. We are all born into some story, with its particular background scenery, that affects our physical, emotional, social and spiritual growth. In the case of children of Holocaust survivors, the background story tends to be either a stifled mystery or overflowing with traumatic information. In the first case, the child may feel drained and in the second case overwhelmed.Either way, a child whose background story includes the Holocaust may experience some difficulty in their development. At the same time, the child may gain from their parents experience some helpful coping skills. According to studies, the long-term effects of the Holocaust on the children of survivors suggest a psychological profile. Their parents suffering may have affected their upbringing, personal relationships, and perspective on life. Eva Fogelman, a psychologist who treats Holocaust survivors and their children, suggests a  second generation  complex characterized by processes that affect identity, self-esteem, interpersonal interactions, and worldview. Psychological Vulnerability Literature suggests that after the war many survivors quickly entered into loveless marriages in their desire to rebuild their family life as quickly as possible. And these survivors remained married even though the marriages may have lacked emotional intimacy. Children of these types of marriages may not have been given the nurturance needed to develop positive self-images. Survivor-parents have also shown a tendency to be over-involved in their childrens lives, even to the point of suffocation. Some researchers suggested that the reason for this over-involvement is the survivors feeling that their children exist to replace what was so traumatically lost. This over-involvement may exhibit itself in feeling overly sensitive and anxious about their childrens behavior, forcing their children to fulfill certain roles or pushing their children to be high achievers. Similarly, many survivor-parents were over-protective of their children, and they transmitted their distrust of the external environment to their children. Consequently, some Second Gens have found it difficult to become autonomous and to trust people outside their family. Another possible characteristic of Second Gens is difficulty with psychological separation-individuation from their parents. Often in families of survivors, separation becomes associated with death. A child who does manage to separate may be seen as betraying or abandoning the family. And anyone who encourages a child to separate may be seen as a threat or even a persecutor. A higher frequency of separation anxiety and guilt was found in children of survivors than in other children. It follows that many children of survivors have an intense need to act as protectors of their parents. Secondary Traumatization Some survivors did not talk to their children about their Holocaust experiences. These Second Gens were raised in homes of hidden mystery. This silence contributed to a culture of repression within these families. Other survivors talked a great deal to their children about their Holocaust experiences. In some cases, the talk was too much, too soon, or too often. In both cases, secondary traumatization may have occurred in Second Gens as a result of exposure to their traumatized parents. According to the American Academy of Experts in Traumatic Stress, children of Holocaust survivors may be at higher risk for psychiatric symptoms including depression, anxiety, and PTSD (Posttraumatic Stress Disorder) due to this secondary traumatization. There are four main types of PTSD symptoms, and a diagnosis of PTSD requires the presence of all four types of symptoms: re-experiencing the trauma (flashbacks, nightmares, intrusive memories, exaggerated emotional and physical reactions to things reminiscent of the trauma)emotional numbingavoidance of things reminiscent of the traumaincreased arousal (irritability, hypervigilance, exaggerated startle response, difficulty sleeping). Resilience While trauma can be transmitted across the generations, so can resilience. Resilient traits- such as adaptability, initiative, and tenacity- that enabled survivor-parents to survive the Holocaust may have been passed on to their children. In addition, studies have shown that Holocaust survivors and their children have a tendency to be task-oriented and hard workers. They also know how to actively cope with and adapt to challenges. Strong family values is another positive characteristic displayed by many survivors and their children. As a group, the survivor and children of survivor community have a tribal character in that membership in the group is based on shared injuries. Within this community, there is polarization. One the one hand, there is shame over being a victim, fear of being stigmatized, and the need to keep defense mechanisms on active alert. On the other hand, there is a need for understanding and recognition. Third and Fourth Generations Little research has been done on the effects of the Holocaust on the Third Generation. Publications about the effects of the Holocaust on the families of survivors peaked between 1980 and 1990 and then declined. Perhaps as the Third Generation matures, they will initiate a new phase of study and writing. Even without the research, it is clear that the Holocaust plays an important psychological role in the identity of Third Gens. One noticeable attribute of this third generation is the close bond they have with their grandparents. According to the Eva Fogelman, a very interesting psychological trend is that the third generation is a lot closer to their grandparents and that its a lot easier for grandparents to communicate with this generation than it was for them to communicate with the second generation. Given the less intense relationship with their grandchildren than with their children, many survivors have found it easier to share their experiences with the Third Generation than with the Second. In addition, by the time the grandchildren were old enough to understand, it was easier for the survivors to speak. The Third Gens are the ones who will be alive when all the survivors have passed on when remembering the Holocaust becomes a new challenge. As the â€Å"last link† to the survivors, the Third Generation will be the one with the mandate to continue to tell the stories. Some Third Gens are getting to the age where they are having their own children. Thus, some Second Gens are now becoming grandparents, becoming the grandparents they never had. By living what they were not able to experience themselves, a broken circle is being mended and closed. With the arrival of the fourth generation, once again the Jewish family is becoming whole. The ghastly wounds suffered by Holocaust survivors and the scars worn by their children and even their grandchildren seem to be finally healing with the Fourth Generation.

How do Piagets and Vygotskys theories of learning and development Essay

How do Piagets and Vygotskys theories of learning and development compare regarding the influences of social interactions in childrens cognitive development - Essay Example These theories include Maturationist, Environmentalist and Constructivists ones. These three schools of thoughts have different views and ideas on child development. Piaget and Vygotsky are the pioneers and representatives of the Constructivist school of thought. Both of them have similarities and dissimilarities in their views. Before discussing the three aspects of child development, it is necessary to define cognitive psychology. In the words of Anderson: Cognitive psychology attempts to understand the nature of human intelligence and how people think. The study of cognitive psychology is motivated by scientific curiosity, by the desire for practical applications, and by the need to provide a foundation for other fields of social science. (Anderson, 1990:1) The Swiss biologist Jean Piaget and Russian psychologist Lev Semyonovich Vygotsky were the theorists to advance the constructivist theory of Cognitive development in children. According to which the cognitive development starts in children with their interaction with the environment and people around them. It is necessary for a child’s development, according to them, that he must interact with other individuals of society. The theory is different from the Maturationist school of thought. The Maturationist theorists believe that the cognitive development is a biological process, and all the healthy (normal) children get it as long as they grow physically. The theorists including Arnold Gessel and others believe that the cognitive development occur naturally and automatically. DeCos has quoted their views in these words: School readiness, according to maturationists, is a state at which all healthy young children arrive when they can perform tasks such as reciting the alphabet and counting; these tasks are required for learning more complex tasks such as reading and arithmetic. (DeCos, 1997) On the other hand, constructivists are of the view that development in children is not the outcome of

The 2007 Cricket World Cup Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The 2007 Cricket World Cup - Essay Example Obtaining such funds was a big challenge, in that the organizers and the sports ministries involved had to present their governments with the requests for the allocation of funds to finance the renovations. This process took long before such funds were approved, with some countries like Jamaica almost wanting to cut down the fund proposals that were presented, claiming that spending $100 million on the cricket final hosting was not worth, since there was little observable benefit from hosting such an event to the country (Atherton, 2007). Low attendance is yet another challenge that faced the organizers of this event. The 2007 Cricket World Cup in the Caribbean was not attended by a large audience of fans. This lack of high attendance was caused by the restrictions that the organizers of the event had placed, for security purposes, which hindered any individual from bringing in outside items such as food, kits, musical instruments among other items mostly used by the fans during such events (Tyson, 2007). The organizers of the events over commercialized it, by requiring that those attending the event purchase requisite items for use from within, an aspect that killed the morale of the fans, who would have attended. The high prices charged for the ticket is yet another factor that hindered the large attendance of the fans to the event. This hindered the achievement of the set revenue target of $42 million (Jordan, 2006). Lack of good preparation is yet another challenge that faced the organizers of the events. Poor preparations led to some of the major venues where the event had to take place remain incomplete, by the time the event was kicking off (Chambers, 2007). Security concerns and the selection of incompetent jury, who caused confusion in the final match, are the other challenges that the organizers faced. There are various positive and negative impacts the 2007 Cricket World Cup in the Caribbean had on the countries that hosted the event. Among the posit ive impacts is the income generating opportunities that were presented to this countries, courtesy of the event (Tyson, 2007). With the event running for six weeks, there were many business opportunity that were open for the entrepreneurs in different industries of those countries to capitalize on. Such opportunities mostly favored the transport, the trade, tourism and hospitality industry as well as the entertainment industry. That was a period of high-income generation for such businesses, in that the goods and services they offer were in high demand due to a higher number of visitors. Improved cooperation and coordination is yet another positive impact that was brought by this event. The Caribbean countries were forced to enhance their cooperation and coordination, since the event required that all the countries in that island co-host the event, with each country hosting six matches. This being the situation, the countries were forced to coordinate and cooperate in the organizati on and management of the event, serving to enhance their relationships (Lakshman, 2008). Promotion of the region as a tourism destination is yet another benefit obtained by the Caribbean countries from hosting the event (Jordan, 2006). Since there were different people from various parts of the world who attended the event, they learnt the beauty of the region and its attractiveness, enhancing the chances of such visitors coming back to tour the region. Additionally, the focus of the media on the