Wednesday, July 31, 2019

Basic Ecological Concept

Basic Ecological Concept Levels of Organization Cells- are composed of Cell Membrane, Nucleus and Protoplasm. Tissue-is an aggregation of cells performing a common function or functions. Organs- is the aggregation of tissues usually forming a definite shapes, and performing a definite function within an organ system. Organ System-is a group of organs that perform coordinated functions together to keep the organism alive and functioning well. The scope of the biology includes the study of all these and may extend to the level of the organism such as behavior, and the organism mechanism for interacting with its environment.Ecology started from the study of the organism-a group of organisms that is similar in appearance, behavior and genetic make up belong to the same species. The biological species concept state that members of a species are those individual that are genetically related enough to be able to interbreed and produce fertile offspring. Population The group of the individua ls belonging to one species and is found together in a define area at a certain time.A population possesses characteristics that more empirically describe the group such as: population Density, Dispersion, Natality, Mortality, Growth, Age Distribution, and Reproductive potential. Population Density Describe the degree of crowdedness of a population in a given area. Crude Density may be computed from the number of individuals or the total population biomass per unit space. Ecological or specific Density describes the number or biomass per unit of space that is actually available to the population. Dispersion The distribution of organisms over the space where they are found.Three pattern have been observed: clumped, random, and uniform. The clumped Distribution is the most common type of pattern since the soil or medium on which organisms are found in nature are not uniform. Random Distribution is rare in nature, occurring only where the soil is generally rich so that the plants can g row and thrive anywhere. Uniform Distribution is found in artificial cultivated areas. Natality/Morality Natality corresponds to what is termed in humans as birth rate or the number of new individuals produced in the pupolation for a period of time.Morality is known as death rate in human demographics, or the number of deaths in a given time period. Growth Is an important feature of a population since the increases or decreases of population size determines its interaction with other populations in the community and its impact on the environment. Age Distribution Is classifies the population according to age brackets or to general age groups such as prereproductive, reproductive and postreproductive. Reproductive PotentialThe Reproductive potential of a population is its theoretical capacity to produce the maximum number of offspring in ideal conditions. Community The community has properties that may be used to further clarify its composition and its interaction with the environmen t. Like species dominance, diversity, relative abundance, species richness and evenness. Dominance Is attained by a species in a community by virtue of a greater number of individuals, or by size such as the overwhelming sizes of sequoia trees, or any other attribute that enables the species to control the community. DiversityDiversity is the opposite of dominance, a case where no single species has greater number or biomass or other relative importance than other species in the community. Ecosystem The basic unit of ecology because it includes the living and nonliving components. The setting includes necessary nonliving components such as soil, water, air, and the cycles that keep and renew them, which are collectively called the biogeochemical cycles. Bioenergetics Energy is necessary for maintaining the life processes of organisms. The sun is the source of all the energy that goes into the ecosystem. The solar ystem is radiated on to the earth where a tiny fraction of it is tappe d by plants and used in photosynthesis. Solar energy released in the form of light waves called photons. Herbivores are organism that feed on plants. Carnivores are organism that feed on other organism. Omnivores are organism that consume both plants and animals. Food Chain The sequence of eating and being eaten may be described by food chain. It also indicates the role, the feeding mode and rank of each organism. Food Web A food web shows the various possibilities of the sequence of eating and being eaten in the ecosystem.There are two major types of food webs in the ecosystem: the grazing food web is the more conspicuous type because it is usually composed of large plants and animals that are familiar. Law of Energy First law of thermodynamics stated that energy is never created nor destroyed but is transformed from one form to another. Second law of thermodynamics states that as energy is transformed it degrades or diminishes. Biogeochemical Cycles Substances that organisms need to survive are called nutrients such as water, carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, and sulfur.Nutrients move through the ecosystem in cycles called biogeochemical cycles where bio refers to the living organism, geo refers to the inorganic molecules such as those found in rocks, air, and water, and chemical refers to the interactions of the elements between them. Water cycle Evaporation-the heat of the sun, or solar energy makes water vapor, which is water in gaseous form, continually rising from water bodies and from the land. Condensation-it brings water into the atmosphere where the water molecules clump together. Precipitation-the clumps get too big and too heavy, they fall back down to the earth.In the form of rain, snow, hail or sleet. Water cycle is the movements of several chemical substances through the ecosystem. Carbon cycle-During photosynthesis plants use up carbon dioxide, combining it with water to form sugars particularly glucose. Consumption of these sugars breaks them down re leasing CO2. Nitrogen Cycle-Nitrogen is an important component of proteins, the building block of all living matter. Fixation- the process of converting nitrogen from the gaseous state, N2 to the usable ammonia, NH3, and nitrate NO3.Mineralization or ammonification-involve the breakdown of dead organisms and their proteins and nucleic acids are further broken down into amino acids. Nitrification-where the bacteria such as the nitosomonas use ammonia to produce their energy needs by converting it. Denitrification- is the process by which nitrogen is returned to the atmosphere. Phosphorus cycle-the sedimentary rocks which contain phosphorus in the form of the mineral apatite comprise a pool phosphorus. Phosphorus is released when these rocks weather naturally, which takes along time, or when human mines these rocks to release phosphorus which is used to fertilizers soap.Sulfur cycle- a basically sedimentary nutrients cycles through air, soil and water. The sulfur cycle involves the th ree spheres as it cycle through the soil, waterway, and atmosphere. It originates from the crust and mantle of the earth and is spewed out during volcanic eruptions. It is found in the volcanic rocks and many minerals. Limiting Factors and the Law of Tolerance Law of the Minimum- states that when there is not enough of a certain nutrient in the environment, the growth of organism that needs that nutrient will be severely limited.Studies also show that too much of any nutrient will likewise limit growth, giving rise to the Law of limiting Factors. Sunlight and Temperature are two important physical factors that limit the distribution and abundance of organism. Species Interactions The population of two species may positively or negatively affect the existence of one another in the community. Mutualism- refers to the interaction between two species where both are benefited. Competition- is an example of a positive negative interaction when two species of the same species strive to obt ain the same limited resource.Predation- is an example of a positive negative interaction wherein the predator eats the prey. Parasitism- is another type of positive negative interaction wherein the hosts provide nourishment to the parasite. Commensalism- is a form of positive zero interaction wherein in the commensal also referred to as hitchhiker attaches itself to the host while the host is neither help nor harmed by the interaction. Amensalism- is an example of a negative zero interaction wherein one organism is inhibited while the other is not affected.

Tuesday, July 30, 2019

John Locke the State of Nature Essay

In the chapter five of The Second Treatise of Government and A Letter Concerning Toleration, John Locke expresses his opinion about property. According to the Bible, all human being is the descendants of Adam and Eve, which mean that this world is common to all humankind. However, in order to that the property is significant to people, the property must be your own private property. The individuals are different from the land and other properties. Everyone is entitled to the private rights; the personal private property may be obtained by the working, and the personal private property is out of the scope of the public property. Therefore, through manual labour, the public properties become privatization. Nevertheless, the privatization of public property is limited; the way to obtain the private property is only in the situation that does not damage others will be accepted by others. Only under such situation that people have provided appropriate resources to others, can they gain own properties to achieve their satisfactory goals through contribution and work. God gives treasure to humans, but does not look forward to seeing humans using it improperly. God expects humans to share and use the treasure in proper way and by their own work. How much treasure people should earn should be decided according to how much they contribute and need. However, it is not ethical to get properties by violating others. When people cannot implement or distribute natural resources in proper ways, others turn such resources into their own properties via ethically appropriate implementation. The right of gaining property from work is prior than land’s public-owned status, since most of what people gain is via their hard work instead of natural resources. Above all, if people are willing to work on and properly implement public-owned resource properly, such work will give property as a return. In addition, John Locke indicates that the reason why currency came out was people was making efforts on storing some resource which tended easily to go bad, and making them better use and higher profits. Currency does not have actual value, but its value is from the exchange of other resources. It is pointless to occupy extra property which exceeds the actual need and ability of using it, and is not honest either.

Monday, July 29, 2019

The law should be changed in order that compensation for personal Essay

The law should be changed in order that compensation for personal injury accidents is not based on the proof of fault - Essay Example There are three types of damages available under the tort law i.e. nominal, compensatory and punitive damages. Nominal damages are a symbolic reward and are awarded to the plaintiff where no actual harm is proven but liability for a tort is established. Punitive damages are awarded to punish and discourage egregious behavior. These are mostly awarded when a tort is proven to be committed with malice. The compensatory damages are awarded as indemnification for personal injury, property or an economic harm sustained by the victim. Compensatory damages have been under great criticism and are a topic of constant debate as there is no monetary equivalent for mental distress and pain. The â€Å"proof of fault† is an important element of tort law. It is an issue that requires attention and review. Before discussing it in detail, some problems of the law of tort are briefly discussed because the change in the system of â€Å"proof of fault† might be able to do away with these p roblems too. One of the major problems is that of lack of adequate damages. It is justifiable to award damages in respect of an economic loss because it is calculable. But there is no scale on which damages for pain and suffering can be calculated. It is probably due to this fact that the Courts award huge sums as damages in such cases. But these damages become excessive liabilities on the defendants. In Young v. Glasgow Tramway and Omnibus Company (Limited)3, the claimant was granted such damages which seemed excessive to the defendant. His motion for a new trial was denied and it was held that the damages were not excessive. In this case, Lord President Inglis explained that in order to grant a new trial for excessive damages, it must be established that the damages awarded are so extravagant that no other jury would repeat it.4 This was not the case here. In this case, it is very difficult for a third party to determine whether justice is served or not because there is no scale w hich can make a pecuniary measurement of the pain and suffering of a person. Cooter and Porat discussed the issue as to what should be the procedure of measuring the compensation for negligence by doctors and drivers.5 According to them, the Courts often follow a system of probability and percentage. The probability pertains to the probability that harm might be caused. The types of potential harms caused by the two parties are very different from each other as there is a contractual relationship between the doctors and patients and there is no such relation between the drivers and the victims. According to Cooter and Porat, there is a need to bring externalities into consideration while determining the amount of compensation. There is a possibility that there may be some externalities that prevent the defendants from the performance of their duty to care. The

Sunday, July 28, 2019

Aristotle's Concept of Happiness Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Aristotle's Concept of Happiness - Essay Example Aristotle uses Nicomachean Ethics in his theory of happiness to defend the view he takes on happiness. He begins by creating a big illusion that all things aim at some good. By saying that all things aim at some good, Aristotle means that everything has some aim or end to be achieved and the restricted good which every activity intends to achieve actuates the nature of that activity. Aristotle gives an example of health and the practice of medicine, the main aim of medical science is to attain health for everyone and health is in itself a good. Therefore the aim of medical science is good. Activities carried out in the real world achieve something desirable otherwise they would not be practiced. According to Aristotle, activities are hierarchically related to other activities and ends to ends (Broadie 11). Some ends are therefore subordinate to others. Hedonists and non-hedonists would disagree on what is subordinate to what between virtue and pleasure. Aristotle’s approach fo cuses on subordination-relations to cover individuals with different ethical attitudes. Subordination-relations are apparent to all who appreciate how diverse activities in a society are organized and the fact that all these activities aim at some common good. Aristotle argues that some end is ultimate for an activity and concludes that the ultimate is the good and the best but some activities may lead to others or each to various ultimate ends. Broadie states that â€Å"what is ultimate is not uniquely supreme, but it seems logically and ethically harmless, there could be conflict not resoluble by argument since it might not always be possible to act for the sake of one end without passing up an opportunity to act for the sake of another† (14). Since realistic people can avoid having different ends becoming adversaries’, anarchy or imposition of unreasonable decisions can also be avoided. Aristotle argues that knowing if there is a best should come before deciding wha t is the best. For him identifying a knowledge or skill first cultivates a good identification of the object or end. As far as ethics is concerned, the good is happiness. Despite the fact that everyone is mainly concerned for his own happiness, Nicomachean ethics does not ascertain or presume that a person can or should seek only his own good. It rather concentrates on activities and crafts in general. Aristotle argues that to form good decisions and carry them out, individuals need to understand impulse and not just apply philosophical ethics. â€Å"Lectures on ethics cannot act up for moral discipline.† (Broadie 20). It is not just enough to believe in theory; practicing things believed is a sure way of making progress. There is need to desire and act in congruence to reason. Reason does not just refer to philosophical light gained through studying ethics but rather to a progressive pursuit of the good life. According to Broadie, the pursuit is realistic not just for being established from an understanding of principles but because a good life is the kind of good that can only be achieved if individuals place some desires as secondary to others (21). This gives an individual a sound mind to choose what to do and discard what he may have felt like doing. In

Saturday, July 27, 2019

Management Accounting assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Management Accounting - Assignment Example Cost is the most important factor which influences the management decision. The management needs to maximize its cost by different policies such as just in time, target costing etc but should not compromise on the products quality (Straus, 1989).. Target Costing: Target costing is one of the new costing techniques used by managers to minimize its cost effectively. Target costing is cost based pricing. Target costing enable the managers to manage the business most effectively in a competitive market place. It enables the managers to plan and manage the cost in the early stages of design and development cycle. Hence maximize the profit with no compromise on product. Target cost is selling price less desired profit. As in target costing the cost limit is specified first which may lead to omission of essential costs leading to loss. It can also be expected that the calculation of target cost is not accurate leading to mismanagement and increasing the risk of failure. This strategy requir es exclusive coordination and cooperation. This may reduce the quality of the products due to cheap components whose quality maybe inferior (Carlsson-Wall, 2011).  . Total Quality Management: Total quality management is a policy to continually improve the quality of products and processes. It is the management of organization’s all resources both human and material in most effective manner to achieve the objectives of the organization. In this the management uses the strategy of involving all the employees in the improvement of the quality of products and processes focusing on customer needs and their satisfaction. Customers are willing to pay high prices also for good quality products which the competitors are not providing them. The quality of processes can be improved by eliminating unnecessary steps resulting in efficiency of the processes and reducing the time wastage. All these improvements attract the customers towards our products and making the organization more pr ofitable by increased sales and good market share and repute (European Society For Organisational Excellence, 1990).  . The cost of introducing the concept of total quality management is high and staff needs to be trained without disrupting the process of production which may lead the organization to face loss by increasing the expense. The improvements process is continual which may not be maintained for many years. The employees maybe resistant to change leading to demotivation. Throughput Accounting: Throughput Accounting is a management approach. It provides managers with support for decision making for improving the organizations profitability. It is a process of identification of constraints for an organization in meeting their goals. Throughput focuses on generating more output unlike typical cost accounting approaches of cutting costs for maximizing the profit. It speeds up the rate of output by eliminating the constraints of the organizat

Friday, July 26, 2019

Undecided Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 4

Undecided - Essay Example ysis will consider the core components that defined the way in which the system evolved and held on to power only to eventually decline as all systems are bound to do in one form or another. As a further function of such an analysis, it is the hope of this author that the reader will be able to gain some very clear insights as to the reasons why and ultimately how this power evolved and eventually declined as a means of providing key insights into the nature, growth, and decay that all forms of governance will ultimately experience over the course of time. With respect to the creation of Gaddafi’s modern Libya, this was fundamentally centered upon the fact that a highly tribalized Libya was not effectively governed by the monarchy that loosely held sway over the various and far flung groups that defined the Libyan state. Longing for a sense of purpose and sensing the fundamental shifts that decolonization had effected on neighboring regions within the Arab world, there was a strong sense of unease and dissatisfaction that pervaded the society of the time; making it ripe for systemic change. Sensing the weakness, Gaddafi and others were able to organize a coup with a core cabal of willing individuals that had formed key and strategic alliances with many of the tribes that constituted Libya (Hauslohner 39). A further human need that was seemingly sought to be recognized within the context of the revolution was the ability of the individual citizen to have a say with regards to the way in which government undertook the process of governance. This right to self-determination has long been a central and key role in undermining existing systems of government; however, as was seen in the case of Libya, the extent to which this self-determination was ultimately realized was quite limited. As a means of creating the power that could seek to congeal this non-uniform and highly tribalized representation of a nation into a single unit, a unique coalescence of Islamic

Paper for the legal environment of business and online commerce Essay

Paper for the legal environment of business and online commerce - Essay Example Legal and illegal migrants are around 2.2 million people. It attracts a small percentage of expatriates or emigrants from Western developed countries. Thailand is a devout, Buddhist country. The national religion is Theravada Buddhism, practiced by over 94.7% of the people in Thai. Muslims consist of 4.6% of the population. The final 0.7% of religious practices belongs to other religions. India influences the culture and traditions in Thailand, Burma, Laos, and Cambodia. Thailand’s international disputes have forced border closures because of the separatist violence in predominately Muslim, southern provinces. The disputes are strengthened with control over Malaysia to stem terrorist activities. Thailand is a Constitutional Monarchy with a Monarch acting as the head of state. The government style is written or codified, unwritten or un-codified, and a blended constitution. Thailand’s Constitutional Monarchy Government is dissimilar from an Absolute Monarchy, the sole source of political power in the state. It is not legally bound by another constitution. The Chief of State is King Phumiphon Adunyadet, reigning since June 9, 1946. His advisor is the Privy Council. The Prime Minister is Abhisit Wetchachiwa, reigning since December 17, 2008. The Deputy Prime Ministers are Korbsak Saphawasu, Sanan Kachornprasat, and Suthep Thueaksuban. They have been the deputy prime ministers since December 22, 2008 (Saphawasu), February 7, 2008 (Kachornparsart), and December 22, 2008 (Thueaksuban). The elections of the monarch are hereditary. The selection of the prime minister is from the members of the House of Representatives. The king appoints the prime minister based on the leader of the party who organized the majority coalition. The term limit is for two four-year terms. The Bi-Cameral National Assembly, known as Rathasapha, consists of the Senate or Wuthisapha with 150 seats.

Thursday, July 25, 2019

Discuss or debate the Renaissance belief that harmoniously Essay

Discuss or debate the Renaissance belief that harmoniously proportioned buildings produce ideal Citizens - Essay Example The fanaticism and mysticism that are imprinted into the European mind brought about by the Middle Ages has been gradually debunked by the resurgence of rational thought of the period. Reason and not a blind following of the imposed doctrines by the church became the yardstick of the beauty, morality, and rightness of a principle or a thing. Rigid rationality and mathematical exactness has also been manifested in the artistic pursuits during this period. The beauty of balance and symmetry became evident in the artistic masterpieces that were produced herein. Having the notion that the ideal works of art should follow the strict logical and mathematical guidelines, artists in this era produced almost perfect symmetrical, proportional and balanced works of art. Renaissance architectural masterpieces were towering proofs of this artistic principle. According to Art History 361: Summary of the Renaissance: â€Å"A harmony of all parts with symmetry and order of geometric proportions and designs using Classical architectural elements† characterize Renaissance architecture. The intricacy of the designs during the medieval times was toned down to simplicity cleanness of design. Architectural beauty was a by-product of mathematical exactness. Claude Fayette Bragdon critically discussed the relation of the artist’s personal beliefs and lifestyle to his works, in his book The Beautiful Necessity. For him, â€Å"art is an expression of the self in terms of sense.† Art then is physical manifestation of one’s self—one’s ideology and tenets. Since art is a medium of expression, it subliminally evokes messages that create an effect in a person’s consciousness. Just as a writer can affect the psychological status and character of his reader, artists, such as architects, also can affect the psyche spectator of his magnum opus. If writers use meticulously chosen words, sentences, and paragraphs to evoke effective messages to influence his readers, we can also

Wednesday, July 24, 2019

Explaining the role of Analytical Review Procedures in the audit of Essay

Explaining the role of Analytical Review Procedures in the audit of financial statements - Essay Example These include the use of analytical review procedures. In this paper, we will specifically focus on analytical review procedures; define what they are, examine their role in the process of financial audit, highlight examples and lastly give their merits and demerits. Analytical review procedures or techniques can be generally be defined as the most important and valuable tools of trade an auditor possesses. Specifically, they can be defined as vital processes auditors use to give a precise evaluation of financial data presented to them by a business client. They are used to offer a comprehensive review of business financial information. This is through the analysis of relationships that exist between the business’s financial and nonfinancial data (Rodgers, 2012:45). The primary role of analytical review procedures is to act as an early warning to the business under audit review. This means the primary role of these procedures is to identify risks, which are inherent and specific to the business. These risks are identified throughout the audit process, but mostly in the first stage of an audit process, referred to as the risk assessment procedure (Rodgers, 2012:56). The audit process normally has three stages. The other two stages involved are the substantive analytical procedures stage and the final analytical procedures stage (Johnstone, 2013:30). In all the three audit stages, analytical review procedures are used. In order for analytical review procedures to be effective in any audit process, they need to follow certain guidelines and best practices. These include being able to give a determination of the trends that are useful to the business and developing sensible relationships derived from historical operations of the business that will serve as guidelines in identifying future changes. Examples of these analytical procedures include the comparison of business revenue for a period of ten years and the

Tuesday, July 23, 2019

Philosophy of Hans Jonas Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Philosophy of Hans Jonas - Essay Example Hans Jonas studied the philosophy of biology and at some point made the whole theory belong to him, this resulted in many philosophers following suite. It is for this reason that the philosophy of biology has become an independent subject of its own and this was realized fifty decades ago. Hans Jonas’s thought of biology in terms of life and this made his work willingly easier. For him, life was not just a living presence but also a cognitive science of a living being. Many philosophers of biology ignored to cover the traditional mechanism of life in a living being and instead covered the theory of modern biology. Philosophy of Hans Jonas Hans Jonas discovered the phenomenal origin of life in relations to biology, and this quickly changed into a venture of philosophy. Hans Jonas justified the thought between God’s creation and the existence of life on earth. From the introduction of Deoxyribonucleic acid (D.N.A) to the study of psychology, biology has become an importan t aspect in life. Hans Jonas examined that the philosophy of biology can sometimes be interpreted in the same concept as theoretical biology. This is because of the mathematical concept involved in the study of medicine in theoretical biology. Hans Jonas made the study even more related to the philosophy of biology by using genes to examine both theories of biology. According to Hans Jonas, the main issue facing many scientists is doing a research on the living beings without the experimental exploitation. Hans Jonas stresses out that the main solution is putting across and explaining the individual rights to biological theories. The medical experts have attributed outbreak of various diseases to lack of human experiments. Hans Jonas examines the philosophy of biology and reflects on the justification of medical experiments on human beings. Hans Jonas also ponders on life as an experience that might have biological experiments of its own. According to him, not all aspects of life re quire biological attention as some human beings justify life as an experience. Though some philosophers have linked the two to biology, Jonas has come out to differentiate the two as stemming back to the traditional examination of biology. Hans Jonas has used this approach to differentiate the biblical theory of life from the philosophy of biology. Though Hans Jonas does not criticize the biblical concept attributed to life, he acknowledges the biological concept as an easier understanding of life. Hans Jonas has categorized life in three aspects and this has enabled many philosophers to understand biology more easily and as a result put it in their own understanding. Being is the first classification that Hans Jonas used to examine life. He acknowledged that without life, there would not be in existence any living being. He ponders this theory of life as a mortal tension between being and nonbeing. According to him, the idea of death causes trauma in the minds of every being. Birth is more an intellectual theory of life than death and Han Jonas examines that all beings would welcome the idea of birth more than death. Self and world is the second classification that Hans Jonas used to relate life to biology. Hans Jonas ponders into the idea that once an individual is born then he considers himself to be alone in this world. According to him, alone would mean owning your own life and not the physical self. He examines the fact that an individual has an access to his own life and therefore

Monday, July 22, 2019

Isolation and Resentment in Mary Shelleys Frankenstein Essay Example for Free

Isolation and Resentment in Mary Shelleys Frankenstein Essay Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein, deals with two very distinct individuals: the young-but-foolish Victor Frankenstein and his creation, the â€Å"Monster†. Victor is the main focus of the novel for the beginning chapters, while the rest of the work focuses more on the development and actions of the Monster. The characters of Victor and the Monster are first brought together during the Monster’s creation in Chapter 4 (34). It was Victor’s isolation from both his family and his peers that ultimately lead to his creation of the Monster, and it was the Monster’s feelings of isolation and resentment towards Victor that lead to his violent episodes. While these feelings are evident in both characters’ actions throughout the majority of the novel, it was during the Monster’s statements to Captain Robert Walton towards the end of the story that drives home the fact that the Monster’s actions were products of his repeated rejections when he attempted to be accepted by society and as such are not indicative of his inherent nature. It was these feelings of loneliness and resentment that drove both Victor and the Monster to their actions, and it is safe to assume that some of Shelley’s personal feelings of abandonment and resentment towards her mother bled through into her characters. These feelings are made evident by way of the diction of the characters, both elements of and deviations from the Gothic stereotype, the development of the characters throughout the story and the lack of any definite closure to the text. Shelley’s use of eloquent and elaborate language by the main characters could be construed as ironic, in that such well-spoken characters have sunken into committing the most terrible of sins, namely those of murder and hubris. It is this irony that makes the isolation and resentment that Victor and the Monster feel stand out in the reader’s mind; two characters that are so articulate in their speech are reviled for their differences from the rest of society. The sophisticated diction of the Monster in the final pages of the novel helps to lend a feeling of bitterness and remorse to the text. However, the Monster’s eloquent speech does not sway the Captain, as evidenced in the first line â€Å"I was at first touched†¦indignation was rekindled within me. † (154). This shows that no matter how well-spoken an individual is and how sympathetic that person might be, normal society tends to shun those that are viewed as different, whether these differences are physical or in the way that they communicate. Such eloquence, as evidenced in the Monster’s speech â€Å"Once I falsely hoped to meet†¦thoughts of honor and devotion† (154), is a direct product of how a person was raised; those that are raised in an environment where they are kept isolated, whether by choice or through the influence of society tend to develop such oratory skills as a way of hopefully being accepted by those around them. However, more often than not, such well-defined articulation of one’s thoughts leads to such a person being further isolated from society, and as such feeds feelings of isolation and resentment. It was due to realistic depictions of societal reactions like these that helped to solidify Frankenstein’s place as a Gothic novel. Shelley uses many common elements of the Gothic novel in Frankenstein, and the themes of resentment and isolation can be connected to the characters through these elements. Victor is depicted as a â€Å"weak hero†, whose isolation from the world in the development of his creation leads him from an otherwise successful career as a scientist. It could be inferred that Victor’s resentment towards his creation, whom he subsequently abandons, stems not only from his disgust with himself and what he has created, but also from the opportunities denied to him as a result of his irresponsible pursuit of bestowing life upon that which should remain lifeless. Although Victor knew that creating life through artificial means would be considered taboo by his peers, he decided to proceed with the project regardless, letting his scientific curiosity overtake his rational intellect. After he brought the Monster to life, he was realized the irresponsibility of his actions. During this time, Victor had severe difficulties connecting to other people, and he gradually worked to further distance himself from the rest of society, which lead him into an extremely depressed state (. Although there were points in the novel where Victor was able to experience a very temporary reprieve from his mental torments, in his mind he would never be able to fully experience mental peace until one of them was dead. In contrast to Victor’s rather weak characterization, the Monster could be depicted as the â€Å"hero† of the story, in that even while he is committing murders that should sicken the reader, he is still portrayed as a sympathetic character, whose actions are driven by his feelings of abandonment, betrayal and resentment that Victor engenders in him through his various actions, as well of those of human society in regards to the Monster [i. e. The Monster’s episode with Felix]. It is understandably unclear if any the characters can be definitively labeled as a hero or villain, for even though they both have committed acts worthy of abhorrence and disgust, in a sense, they could be considered to be victims of abuse and neglect as well. Due to this, it can be argued that both Victor and the Monster are accurate representatives of the Gothic hero/villain. A final example of Gothic elements that Shelley incorporates into her novel is that of the heroine in distress, in this case Elizabeth. Elizabeth is a good example of a heroine because she is a strong female character who is independent and dedicated, especially to the Frankenstein family after Victor’s mother dies. However, she breaks the classic Gothic mold of a heroine by the fact that she is a patient woman who almost never takes action for herself, and it is for this reason as well as Victor’s negligence on their wedding night that she ends up being killed by the Monster in the novel. Victor’s neglect towards Elizabeth on their wedding night could be due to his isolation during his developmental years, and as such was not comfortable in being tied down to Elizabeth. Victor appeared to have developed in a fairly normal manner, due to the fact that he had experienced a childhood that would be considered normal for the noble class in that time. This continues to be the case until he takes it upon himself match the power of God and attempt to bestow life. From this point, his experiments and eventual creation become his only obsession, and he can no longer interact with other people, even those that he sees on a daily basis while at the college. Victor is unable to communicate with other in any meaningful way during this time, as his mind is always preoccupied with thoughts regarding the monster he is responsible for giving life to. Based on this behavior, it gives credence to the question if Victor ever matured any further as an individual once he arrived at the college. In contrast, the Monster’s experiences during the period of his mental and emotional development were always abrupt and sometimes violent. This occurred when he realized that he would forever be rejected by the human race, as his physical appearance was so ghastly that all those that came in his presence were immediately stricken with fear as evidenced by Even his creator, Victor, who to the Monster’s understanding should love him even if others refused to, was so terrified of the Monster that he refused to fulfill his romise in making the Monster a companion. It is understandable that from that point on, â€Å"all joy was but a mockery† (116) to the Monster, and he decided that the sole purpose in his life was to destroy any and all the things that brought pleasure or comfort to his creator. These events are similar because they both represent periods in which these characters no longer are able to have significant social interactions with those around them. Dur ing his development, the monster was able to have many of the same experiences as a human would. For example, he was able to feel a wide range of emotions, from pleasure to hate, even pride and remorse; he developed intellectually through both his learning from books and his [unpleasant] interactions with society; he learned [much in the way that a child does] to use his physical senses to tell him about his environment. However, because of his grotesque appearance, he was made to feel that he would never accepted as a member of human society, and many of his interactions with humans gave no reason to dissuade him from such a belief. In Captain Walton’s final letter to his sister (154), he recounts the words that the monster speaks to him over Victor’s dead body. The eruption of angry self-pity the Monster displays brings into question the injustice of how he has been treated and compellingly captures and portrays the feelings of isolation and resentment he has experienced in regards to his interactions with society, providing both Walton and the reader a glimpse into the suffering that has motivated his actions. It was these feelings that lead the Monster to disappear with Victor’s corpse, presumably to avoid contact with any others of mankind until he eventually dies; however, the ending of the text is rather ambiguous, so it is possible that the Monster decided to return to revenge himself upon mankind. At the closure of Frankenstein, Shelley does not provide a well-defined ending. The last line, reading â€Å"He sprung from the cabin-window†¦lost in darkness and distance† (156), leaves the reader responsible for deciding how they believe the story concluded. The ending can be regarded as having been left open because although the story does provide a conclusion [in that it may be assumed that the creature took his own life after departing Walton’s ship], there is not enough concrete evidence provided in the text to prove beyond a doubt that this is indeed what occurred. It is entirely possible that the Monster would be unable to let go of his hatred of Victor, and by extension, mankind due to his isolation. Just because his â€Å"creator† died does not necessarily mean that he could let his emotions go, and it is this possibility that shows just how differently people view things; the reader can make of the ending what they will, but they will never know for sure how Shelley would have ended it otherwise. Through the speech of the characters, the Gothic elements applied in the text, the characters’ developments and the rather obscure ending of Frankenstein, it is evidently clear that Mary Shelley believes that isolation and resentment play key roles in how people relate to others, and how they develop their own behaviors. It is through the medium of her novel that allows her to express these beliefs, and she provides plenty of evidence in her text to back up these beliefs. The feelings of isolation and resentment that Victor and the Monster both felt towards society were key aspects of their personalities, and were the main driving forces behind their various actions made through the course of the text.

Rachel Nickell The Investigation of Colin Stagg

Rachel Nickell The Investigation of Colin Stagg In July 1992, Rachel Nickell was attacked and murdered, her throat was cut, and she was stabbed 49 times then sexually assaulted. The sensitivity and cruelty of this case from the beginning, police faced pressure from the public and media to solve it. The investigation was carried out by Scotland Yard officers of the Metropolitan Police. After collecting evidence from a crime scene, there was no DNA found, which means that there was no forensic evidence to link any suspect with the crime scene (Evans 1992). The Metropolitan Police reached for help and advice from Paul Britton, a criminal psychologist, as profiling is mostly used in those cases where police have just a few clues (Britton 1997). It uses combination of psychological processes and theories with investigation to create offender profiling, geographical analysis of the crime location and offender, advises on interaction with media and providing interview strategies (Stelfox 2009). The work of Paul Britton can be criticised on the basic grounds, as it looked like he was leading the investigation or had too much powers form investigators instead of just offering the help to investigators to profile unknown suspect. Paul Britton was accused of breaching the British Psychological Societys code of conduct when he helped the Metropolitan Police detectives to design and conduct the operation Ezdell, a honey trap (Morris 2002). Paul Britton gave a detail description of a suspect and directed the investigation to Colin Stagg. However, the main aim of profiling is not to provide information for the police about who exactly committed a specific crime as mention earlier, but to make predictions and suggestions about the most probable characteristics, social and psychological assessment of the offender (Ainsworth 2001, Holmes and Holmes 1996). Paul Brittons work and involvement in this case can be criticised according to Gudjonssons statement, that criminal psychologists tend to work on probabilities, suggestions and predictions, whereas police operate in terms of quilt or innocence, it is like a black and white scenario. It also means that the person labelled a suspect, Britton provided profile of Colin Stagg labelled as a potential suspect, will be presumed guilty until proven innocent (Gudjonsson 1992). Honey-trap: The Metropolitan Police carried out the covert operation just to see if Stagg will eliminate or incriminate himself. An undercover police woman from the Metropolitan Polices Special Operation Group played role of covert human intelligence source (CHIS). She had to establish and maintain a relationship with Stagg to collect information about his sexual and violent fantasies (Stelfox 2009). Due to his psychological profile of a murderer he was supposed to confess and revel his deepest secrets (Roberts and Zuckerman 2004). In his letters he talked about violent fantasies and over the phone described that he enjoyed hurting people. During the covert operation Stagg never admitted to murdering Rachel Nickell. However, Britton was confident about Staggs guilt and received an advice from Crown Prosecution Services lawyers. Once again Brittons role went beyond making predictions and suggestions about most possible characteristics of the suspect (Ainsworth 2001, Holmes and Holmes 1996). He leaded the investigation. Police also believed that those evidences would be sufficient in court and guarantee conviction, after consultation with Britton. Colin Stagg was arrested and charged with Rachel Nickells murder in August 1993 (Evans 1992 and Cohen 1999). The case of Colin Stagg was seen as a textbook example of the unethical use of profiling and the abuse of powers (Turvey 2008 and Ormerod 1999), because the investigation was concentrated on finding the suspect and then constructing the investigation instead of investigating the crime scene and conducting investigation. In the other words, thats an example of a case construction to charge the suspect (Maguire and Norris 1992). However, the entire and sophisticated psychological trap was created by Britton. Stagg was manipulated, entrapped, enticed and promised an affair with a beautiful woman only if he would confess. Simply speaking, the aim of the operation was to trick Stagg into confession. Brittons way of constructing the covert operation, hints during the interview and analysing his reactions were unethical (Cohen 1999, Evans 1992 and Morris 2002). Also an undercover operation was seen as misconceived and the Metropolitan Police tried to incriminate a suspect by deceptive and unprofessional conduct to receive a confession, entrapment and profiling evidence were excluded and the case was withdrew by the prosecution (Ainsworth 2001, Cohen 1999, Evans 1992 and Johnson 2006). Arrest and interviewing: An introduction of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 determined many illegal activities of British detectives and introduced basics changes in approaching and interviewing suspect in the interview room. It is necessary to remember that inappropriate interviewing techniques may result that a genuinely innocent person will make a confession (Ainsworth 2001 and Cherryman, Bull and Vrij 2002). In Colin Staggs case, Paul Britton, gave specific advice to the police about the best way to conduct an interview with a suspect and how to approach him. Those advices were concentrated on the way how to persuade a suspect to confess. Staggs interview lasted for three days and during the interrogation suspects behaviour was contradictory and sometimes confusing. According to Britton, his denials were suggestive his basic intelligence level, it did not go through his mind that the suspect may be innocent (Ainsworth 2001). Stagg was detained in custody for interviewing for three days, however a suspect cannot be detained in the custody for longer than 24h without being charged, or it can be extended to 36h with the authority of police superintendent. If there is not enough evidence to charge the suspect, he/she need to be released on bail. According to those three scenarios, Staggs detentions in custody would be unlawful, but in case of murder charges, a suspect may be refused release and remain in the custody until the trail (Home Office 2010). Trial, conviction and eventual acquittal: There was no forensic evidence linking Colin Stagg with a crime scene, witness said to the police that saw him or a man very like him on the day of Rachel Nickells murder that seems to be enough for the Metropolitan Police to tag Stagg as a suspect. The Metropolitan Police officers were under high pressure from the media and public to get a conviction and tend to misused powers of the science of criminal profiling. They examined and rejected 547 suspects but still have no idea who killed Rachel Nickell. Undercover female police officer tried to get Stagg to confess to Rachel Nickells murder, by encouraging Stagg to talk about his sexual and violent fantasies, promising to have sexual intercourse with him if his was the one who killed Rachel Nickell. Months of undercover work produced nothing, Stagg never admitted to murdering and stabbing to death Rachel Nickell. The police decided to make an arrest and charge Colin Stagg with a murder based on the intelligence collected during the undercover operation. Prosecution withdrew the case and Stagg was acquitted in 1994 (Ainsworth 2001, Cohen 1999). Cold case review and new suspect: In 2002, the Scotland Yard police used their cold case review team to have another look at the Rachel Nickell killing. Officers analysed witness statements, checked files for potential suspects and search for a connection between other crimes. They also compared Rachel Nickells injuries with other victims and contacted Forensic Science Service about new methods of DNA matching techniques (Tendler 2007). Latest techniques were used to take microscopic particles of victims DNA from the clothing and tested them in the laboratory to produce a match. The match did not belong to victims partner or son. Sample was helpful to eliminate some of the suspects, but was insufficient to provide identification (Leppard 2007). In 2006, the Scotland Yard team interview convicted sex killers in Bradmoor Hospital. Robert Napper was interviewed was interviewed three times by the murder squad. Year later, Nappel was charged with Rachel Nickells murder and he pleaded not guilty (ONeill 2007). In 2008 Robert Nappel was found guilty of manslaughter of Rachel Nickell on the grounds of diminished responsibility (Leppard 2007 and Dodd 2007). Robert Nappel and series police errors: Robert Nappel was also known as Plumstead Ripper, was suspected of up to 40 violent raped, but has never admitted to them. Police started their gross errors in judgment in 1989 where they failed to deal with Nappels mother claim who reported that Nappel admitted to raping a woman (Casciani 2010). Police officers could have arrest him before he assaulted and murdered more woman, but instead just ignored the claim (News London 2010). He was eliminated as a suspect from Rachel Nickells murder because he was not often in that area of London. However, Metropolitan Police did not checked Nappels past and current activities or involvement. In fact he knew the area well because he was attending for the psychiatric treatment in the nearby clinic. That was another mistake made by police which could save womens life. There were few situations where Metropolitan Police officers did not joined the dots and saw Napper as a suspect. He was asked twice to give a blood sample for examinations in 1992, after phone calls from neighbours that Napper looks like a wanted rapist. Every time, Napper failed to turn up and after few weeks he was eliminated from the suspects because his height did not fit the description. After few months he was arrested for stalking a woman from the local police station. The police searched his flat and found pistol, ammunition, information about how to restrain someone, maps of London, and his private diary which included addressed of previous victims. If the police would link Nappels belongings found in the flat with Rachel Nickells murder, other local murders, then Nappel hopefully would be arrested quicker. Nappels victims were restrained, their addressed were in his personal diary and he also knew how to commune to their houses. However, Napper was only given short custodial sentence and during the trial, references about his mental state were made. No further actions were taken and he walked free from the police again. Year later, he attacked innocent women again, raped and stabbed her to death. After 6 months his finger prints were found in victims flat, but according to Britton and his perfect policing skills, the scenario was different and he was free again. In 1999 he was arrested for the above murder on the grounds of diminished responsibility. The Metropolitan Police failed to stop Nappel from committing terrible killing many times as shown above and he remained free for years. That was an example of catalogue bad decisions and major errors that allowed Nappel to murder innocent women. The police did not link few dots together to see overall picture of paranoid schizophrenics actions (BBC News 2008, Dodd 2007, Leppard 2007, Laville 2008, Laville, Siddique, Percival and Sturcke 2008 and Sinclair 2010). The Independent Police Complains Commission (IPCC) IPCC released a report in June 2010 about the actions of the Metropolitan Police Service in relation to handling the Rachel Nickells murder. Their actions were described as catalogue of bas decisions which allowed Napper to kill his victims. Police failed to react when Nappels mother called to report that her son raped a girl, he simply continued to walk freely on the street s and pick new victims. They missed serious and clearly visible opportunities to question and arrest real killer, committed dreadful mistakes that resulted in innocent women being murdered and several women suffered violent sexual attacks (Holden 2010 and Maynard 2010). References: Ainsworth, P. B. (2001) Offender Profiling and Crime Analysis, Willan Publishing BBC News (2008) Man admits Rachel Nickell killing, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/7783796.stm (accessed on 17/10/2010) Britton, P. (1997) The Jigsaw Men, Banton Press Casciani, D. (2010) Analysis http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10216328 (accessed on 17/10/2010) Cohen, N. (1999) Cruel Britannia: Reports of sinister and preposterous, Verso Cherryman, J, Bull, R. and Vrij, A. (2002) How police officers view confession: Is there still a confession culture?, Paper presented to the 10th European Conference of Psychology and Law, Limassol, Cyprus, 12-14th April Dodd, V. (2007) Man charged with murder of Rachel Nickell 15 years ago after new investigation of case, http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2007/nov/29/ukcrime.vikramdodd (accessed on 17/10/2010) Evans, C. (1992) A question of evidence: The Casebook of great forensic controversies, from Napoleon to O.J, John Wiley and Sons Gudjonsson, G. H. (1992) The Psychology of Interrogations, Confessions and Testimony, Wiley Holden, M. (2010) IPCC says police must apologise over Nickell murder, http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE6521OH20100603?pageNumber=2 (accessed on 03/11/2010) Holmes, R. M. And Holmes, S. T. (1996) Profiling Violent Crimes: An Investigative Tool, Sage Home Office, (2010) Police: Custody, http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/police/powers/custody (accessed on 03/11/2010) Johnson, B. (2006) Colin Stagg shows why trial by judge, not by media, is right, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/borisjohnson/3625868/Colin-Stagg-shows-why-trial-by-judge-not-by-media-is-right.html (accessed on 16/10/2010) Laville, S. (2008) Nickell case: Missed clues allowed Napper to kill again, http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2008/dec/18/robert-napper-clues (accessed on 17/10/2010) Laville, S, Siddique, H, Percival, J. And Sturcke, J. (2008) Rachel Nickell killing: Serial rapist Robert Napper pleads quilty, http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2008/dec/18/rachel-nickell-robert-napper-murder-guilty (accessed on 17/10/2010) Leppard, D. (2007) Met to charge Robert Napper for Rachel Nickell murder, http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article2890944.ece (accessed on 17/10/2010) Maguire, M. And Norris, C. (1992) the conduct and supervision of criminal investigations, RCCJ Research Study 5, London: HMSO Maynard, K. (2010) Its too late to bring misconduct proceedings for the police failure to apprehend Robert Napper before he murdered Rachel Nickell and others, http://www.hickmanandrose.co.uk/Press-Releases/3-june-2010-its-too-late-to-bring-misconduct-proceedings-for-the-police-failure-to-apprehend-robert-napper-before-he-murdered-rachel-nickell-and-others.html (accessed on 03/11/2010) Morris, S. (2002) Honey trap case collapse, http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2002/oct/31/ukcrime.stevenmorris (accessed on 16/10/2010) News London (2010) Police errors led to Rachel Nickell killing, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10216328 (accessed 17/10/2010) ONeill, S. (2007) Robert Napper charged with Rachel Nickell murder after DNA breakthrough, http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article2961956.ece (accessed on 17/10/2010) Ormerod, D. (1999) Criminal Profiling: trial by judge and jury, not by criminal psychologist, in Carter, D. And Alison, L. (eds.) Interviewing and Deception, Ashgate Publishing Roberts, P. and Zuckerman, A. (2004) Criminal Evidence, Oxford: Oxford University Press Sinclair. L, (2010) Police failures led to Rachel Nickell murder, http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/UK-News/Rachel-Nickell-Catalogue-Of-Errors-by-Metropolitan-Police-Led-To-Murder-Says-IPCC-Report/Article/201006115642717?f=rss, (accessed on 17/10/2010) Stelfox, P. (2009) Criminal Investigation: An introduction to principles and practice, Willan Publishing Tendler, S. (2007) DNA errors led to murder case review, http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article1421333.ece (accessed on 17/10/2010) Tong, S, Bryant, R. P. And Horvath, M. (2009) Understanding Criminal Investigation,Wiley-Backwell Turvey, B. E. (2008), Criminal Profiling: An introduction to behavioural Evidence Analysis, Third Edition, Elsevier

Sunday, July 21, 2019

Positive Attitude Towards Job Psychology Essay

Positive Attitude Towards Job Psychology Essay Job satisfaction in regards to ones feeling or state of mind regarding nature of their work. Job can be influenced by variety of factors like quality of ones relationship with their supervisor, quality of physical environment in which they work, degree of fulfillment in their work, etc. Positive attitude towards job are equivalent to job satisfaction where as negative attitude towards job has been defined variously from time to time. In short job satisfaction is a persons attitude towards job. Job satisfaction is an attitude which results from balancing summation of many specific likes and dislikes experienced in connection with the job- their evaluation may rest largely upon ones success or failure in the achievement of personal objective and upon perceived combination of the job and combination towards these ends. According to pestonejee, Job satisfaction can be taken as a summation of employees feelings in four important areas. These are: Job-nature of work (dull, dangerous, interesting), hours of work, fellow workers, opportunities on the job for promotion and advancement (prospects), overtime regulations, interest in work, physical environment, and machines and tools. Management- supervisory treatment, participation, rewards and punishments, praises and blames, leaves policy and favoritism. Social relations- friends and associates, neighbors, attitudes towards people in community, participation in social activity socialibility and caste barrier. Personal adjustment-health and emotionality. Job satisfaction is an important indicator of how employees feel about their job and a predictor of work behavior such as organizational citizenship, Absenteeism, Turnover. Job satisfaction benefits the organization includes reduction in complaints and grievances, absenteeism, turnover, and termination; as well as improved punctuality and worker morale. Job satisfaction is also linked with a healthier work force and has been found to be a good indicator of longevity. Job satisfaction is not synonyms with organizational morale, which the possessions of feeling have being accepted by and belonging to a group of employees through adherence to common goals and confidence in desirability of these goals. Morale is the by-product of the group, while job satisfaction is more an individual state of mind. CHAPTER NO. 2 JOB SATISFACTION DEFINITIONS OF JOB SATISFACTION Different authors give various definitions of job satisfaction. Some of them are taken from the book of D.M. Pestonjee Motivation and Job Satisfaction which are given below: Job satisfaction is defined as a pleasurable, emotional, state resulting from appraisal of ones job. An effective reaction to ones job. Weiss Job satisfaction is general attitude, which is the result of many specific attitudes in three areas namely: Specific job factors Individual characteristics Group relationship outside the job Blum and Naylor Job satisfaction is defined, as it is result of various attitudes the person hold towards the job, towards the related factors and towards the life in general. Glimmer Job satisfaction is defined as any contribution, psychological, physical, and environmental circumstances that cause a person truthfully say, I am satisfied with my job. Job satisfaction is defined, as employees judgment of how well his job on a whole is satisfying his various needs Mr. Smith Job satisfaction is defined as a pleasurable or positive state of mind resulting from appraisal of ones job or job experiences. Locke 2.2 HISTORY OF JOB SATISFACTION The term job satisfaction was brought to lime light by hoppock (1935). He revived 35 studies on job satisfaction conducted prior to 1933 and observes that Job satisfaction is combination of psychological, physiological and environmental circumstances. That causes a person to say. I m satisfied with my job. Such a description indicate the variety of variables that influence the satisfaction of the individual but tell us nothing about the nature of Job satisfaction. Job satisfaction has been most aptly defined by pestonjee (1973) as a job, management, personal adjustment social requirement. Morse (1953) considers Job satisfaction as dependent upon job content, identification with the co., financial job status priding group cohesiveness One of the biggest preludes to the study of job satisfaction was the Hawthorne study. These studies (1924-1933), primarily credited to Elton Mayo of the Harvard Business School, sought to find the effects of various conditions (most notably illumination) on workers productivity. These studies ultimately showed that novel changes in work conditions temporarily increase productivity (called the Hawthorne Effect). It was later found that this increase resulted, not from the new conditions, but from the knowledge of being observed. This finding provided strong evidence that people work for purposes other than pay, which paved the way for researchers to investigate other factors in job satisfaction. Scientific management (aka Taylorism) also had a significant impact on the study of job satisfaction. Frederick Winslow Taylors 1911 book, Principles of Scientific Management, argued that there was a single best way to perform any given work task. This book contributed to a change in industrial production philosophies, causing a shift from skilled labor and piecework towards the more modern approach of assembly lines and hourly wages. The initial use of scientific management by industries greatly increased productivity because workers were forced to work at a faster pace. However, workers became exhausted and dissatisfied, thus leaving researchers with new questions to answer regarding job satisfaction. It should also be noted that the work of W.L. Bryan, Walter Dill Scott, and Hugo Munsterberg set the tone for Taylors work. Some argue that Maslows hierarchy of needs theory, a motivation theory, laid the foundation for job satisfaction theory. This theory explains that people seek to satisfy five specific needs in life physiological needs, safety needs, social needs, self-esteem needs, and self-actualization. This model served as a good basis from which early researchers could develop job satisfaction theories. 2.3 IMPORTANCE OF JOB SATISFACTION Job satisfaction is an important indicator of how employees feel about their job and a predictor of work behavior such as organizational, citizenship, Absenteeism, Turnover. Job satisfaction can partially mediate the relationship of personality variables and deviant work behavior. Common research finding is that job satisfaction is correlated with life style. This correlation is reciprocal meaning the people who are satisfied with the life tends to be satisfied with their jobs and the people who are satisfied their jobs tends to satisfied with their life. This is vital piece of information that is job satisfaction and job performance is directly related to one another. Thus it can be said that, A happy worker is a productive worker. It gives clear evidence that dissatisfied employees skip work more often and more like to resign and satisfied worker likely to work longer with the organization. 2.4 IMPORTANCE TO WORKER AND ORGANIZATION Job satisfaction and occupational success are major factors in personal satisfaction, self-respect, self-esteem, and self-development. To the worker, job satisfaction brings a pleasurable emotional state that can often leads to a positive work attitude. A satisfied worker is more likely to be creative, flexible, innovative, and loyal. For the organization, job satisfaction of its workers means a work force that is motivated and committed to high quality performance. Increased productivity- the quantity and quality of output per hour worked- seems to be a byproduct of improved quality of working life. It is important to note that the literature on the relationship between job satisfaction and productivity is neither conclusive nor consistent. However, studies dating back to Herzbergs (1957) have shown at least low correlation between high morale and high productivity and it does seem logical that more satisfied workers will tend to add more value to an organization. Unhappy employees, who are motivated by fear of loss of job, will not give 100 percent of their effort for very long. Though fear is a powerful motivator, it is also a temporary one, and also as soon as the threat is lifted performance will decline. Job satisfaction benefits the organization includes reduction in complaints and grievances, absenteeism, turnover, and termination; as well as improved punctuality and worker morale. Job satisfaction is also linked with a healthier work force and has been found to be a good indicator of longevity. Although only little correlation has been found between job satisfaction and productivity, Brown (1996) notes that some employers have found that satisfying or delighting employees is a prerequisite to satisfying or delighting customers, thus protecting the bottom line. 2.5 WORKERS ROLE IN JOB SATISFACTION If job satisfaction is a worker benefit, surely the worker must be able to contribute to his or her own satisfaction and well being on the job. The following suggestions can help a worker find personal job satisfaction: Seek opportunities to demonstrate skills and talents. This often leads to more challenging work and greater responsibilities, with attendant increases in pay and other recognition. Develop excellent communication skills. Employers value and rewards excellent reading, listening, writing and speaking skills. Know more. Acquire new job related knowledge that helps you to perform tasks more efficiently and effectively. This will relive boredom and often gets one noticed. Demonstrate creativity and initiative. Qualities like these are valued by most organizations and often results in recognition as well as in increased responsibilities and rewards. Develop teamwork and people skills. A large part of job success is the ability to work well with others to get the job done. Accept the diversity in people. Accept people with their differences and their imperfections and learn how to give and receive criticism constructively. See the value in your work. Appreciating the significance of what one does can lead to satisfaction with the work itself. This help to give meaning to ones existence, thus playing a vital role in job satisfaction. Learn to de-stress. Plan to avoid burn out by developing healthy stress management techniques. 2.6 FACTORS OF JOB SATISFACTION Hoppock, the earliest investigator in this field, in 1935 suggested that there are six major components of job satisfaction. These are as under: The way the individual reacts to unpleasant situations, The facility with which he adjusted himself with other person The relative status in the social and economic group with which he identifies himself The nature of work in relation to abilities, interest and preparation of worker Security Loyalty Herberg, mausaer, Peterson and capwell in 1957 reviewed more than 150 studies and listed various job factors of job satisfaction. These are briefly defined one by one as follows: Intrinsic aspect of job It includes all of the many aspects of the work, which would tend to be constant for the work regardless of where the work was performed. Supervision This aspect of job satisfaction pertains to relationship of worker with his immediate superiors. Supervision, as a factor, generally influences job satisfaction. Working conditions This includes those physical aspects of environment which are not necessary a part of the work. Hours are included this factor because it is primarily a function of organization, affecting the individuals comfort and convenience in much the same way as other physical working conditions. Wage and salaries This factor includes all aspect of job involving present monitory remuneration for work done. Opportunities for advancement It includes all aspect of job which individual sees as potential sources of betterment of economic position, organizational status or professional experience. Security It is defined to include that feature of job situation, which leads to assurance for continued employment, either within the same company or within same type of work profession. Company management It includes the aspect of workers immediate situation, which is a function of organizational administration and policy. It also involves the relationship of employee with all company superiors above level of immediate supervision. Social aspect of job It includes relationship of worker with the employees specially those employees at same or nearly same level within the organization. Communication It includes job situation, which involves spreading the information in any direction within the organization. Terms such as information of employees status, information on new developments, information on company line of authority, suggestion system, etc, are used in literature to represent this factor. Benefits It includes those special phases of company policy, which attempts to prepare the worker for emergencies, illness, old age, also. Company allowances for holidays, leaves and vacations are included within this factor. 2.7 REASONS OF LOW JOB SATISFACTION Reasons why employees may not be completely satisfied with their jobs: Conflict between co-workers. Conflict between supervisors. Not being opportunity paid for what they do. Have little or no say in decision making that affect employees. Fear of loosing their job. 2.8 EFFECTS OF LOW JOB SATISFACTION HIGH ABSENTEEISM Absenteeism means it is a habitual pattern of absence from duty or obligation. If there will be low job satisfaction among the employees the rate of absenteeism will definitely increase and it also affects on productivity of organization. High low low High Job satisfactin Rate of turn over and absences A B Fig.no. 1 Curve showing relationship between job satisfaction and rate of turn over and absenteeism. In the above diagram line AB shows inverse relationship between job satisfaction and rate of turn over and rate of absenteesm. As th job satisfaction is high the rate of both turn over and absentiseesm is low and vise a versa. 2.HIGH TURNOVER In human resource refers to characteristics of a given company or industry relative to the rate at which an employer gains and losses the staff. If the employer is said to be have a high turnover of employees of that company have shorter tenure than those of other companies. 3.TRAINING COST INCREASES As employees leaves organization due to lack of job satisfaction. Then Human resource manager has to recruit new employees. So that the training expenditure will increases. 2.9 INFLUENCES ON JOB SATISFACTION There are no. of factors that influence job satisfaction. For example, one recent study even found that if college students majors coinsided with their job , this relationship will predicted subsequent job satisfaction. However, the main influences can be summerised along with the dimentions identified above. The work itself The concept of work itself is a major source of satisfaction. For example, research related to the job charactoristics approach to job design, shows that feedback from job itself and autonomy are two of the major job related motivational factors. Some of the most important ingridents of a satisfying job uncovered by survey include intersting and challenging work, work that is not boring, and the job that provides status. Pay Wages and salaries are recognised to be a significant, but complex, multidimentional factor in job satisfaction. Money not only helps people attain their basic needs butevel need satisfaction. Employees often see pay as a reflection of how managemnet view their conrtibution to the organization. Fringe benefits are also important. If the employees are allowed some flexibility in choosing the type of benefits they prefer within a total package, called a flexible benefit plan, there is a significant increase in both benefit satisfaction and overall job satisfaction. Promotions Promotional opportunities are seem to be have avarying effect on job satisfaction. This is because of promotion take number of different forms. WHAT IS THE IMPACT OF JOB SATISFACTION? Many managers subscribe to the belief that a satisfied worker is necessarily good worker. In other words, if management could keep the entire workers happy, good performance would automatically fallow. There are two propositions concerning the satisfaction performance relation ship. The first proposition, which is based on traditional view, is that satisfaction is the effect rather than the cause of performance. This proposition says that efforts in a job leads to rewards, which results in a certain level of satisfaction .in another proposition, both satisfaction and performance are considered to be functions of rewards. Various research studies indicate that to a certain extent job satisfaction affects employee turn over, and consequently organization can gain from lower turn over in terms of lower hiring and training costs. Also research has shown an inverse relation between job satisfaction and absenteeism. When job satisfaction is high there would be low absenteeism, but when job satisfaction is low, it is more likely to lead a high absenteeism. What job satisfaction people need? Each employee wants: Recognition as an individual Meaningful task An opportunity to do something worthwhile. Job security for himself and his family Good wages Adequate benefits Opportunity to advance No arbitrary action- a voice a matters affecting him Satisfactory working conditions Competence leadership- bosses whom he can admire and respect as persons and as bosses. However, the two concepts are interrelated in that job satisfaction can contribute to morale and morale can contribute to job satisfaction. It must be remembered that satisfaction and motivation are not synonyms. Motivation is a drive to perform, where as satisfaction reflects the individuals attitude towards the situation. The factors that determine whether individual is adequately satisfied with the job differs from those that determine whether he or she is motivated. the level of job satisfaction is largely determined by the comfits offered by the environment and the situation . Motivation, on the other hand is largely determine by value of reward and their dependence on performance. The result of high job satisfaction is increased commitment to the organization, which may or may not result in better performance. A wide range of factors affects an individuals level of satisfaction. While organizational rewards can and do have an impact, job satisfaction is primarily determine by factors that are usually not directly controlled by the organization. a high level of job satisfaction lead to organizational commitment, while a low level, or dissatisfaction, result in a behavior detrimental to the organization. For example, employee who like their jobs, supervisors, and the factors related to the job will probably be loyal and devoted. People will work harder and derive satisfaction if they are given the freedom to make their own decisions. CHAPTER NO. 3 MODELS OF JOB SATISFACTION MODELS OF JOB SATISFACTION There are various methods and theories of measuring job satisfaction level of employees in the orgnization given by different authers. List of all the theorise and methods measuring job satisfaction level is given below: A MODEL OF FACET SATISFACTION Affect theory(Edwin A. Locke 1976) Dispositional Theory( Timothy A. Judge 1988) Two-Factor Theory (Motivator-Hygiene Theory) (Frederick Herzbergs) Job Characteristics Model (Hackman Oldham) Rating scale Personal interviews action tendencies Job enlargement Job rotation Change of pace Scheduled rest periods 3.1 MODEL OF FACET OF JOB SATISFACTION Perceived personal job inputs Skill Experience Training Efforts Age Seniority Education Co loyalty Past performance Perceived amount that should be received (a) Perceived inputs outcomes of referent others a=b satisfaction a>b dissatisfaction a Inequity Discomfort Level Difficulty Time span Amount of responsibility Perceived job characteristics Perceived outcome of referent others Perceived amount received (b) Actual outcome received Fig.no.2 Model of determinant of facet of job satisfaction Edward E.lawler in 1973 propoed a model of facet satisfaction. This model is applicable to understand what determines a persons satisfaction with any facet of job. According to this model actual outcome level plays a key role in a persons perception of what rewards he recieves. His perception influenced by his perception of what his referent others recieves. The higher outcome level of his referent other the lower his outcome level will appear. This model also focus on his perception on reward level. 3.2 AFFECT THEORY Edwin A. Lockes Range of Affect Theory (1976) is arguably the most famous job satisfaction model. The main premise of this theory is that satisfaction is determined by a discrepancy between what one wants in a job and what one has in a job. Further, the theory states that how much one values a given facet of work (e.g. the degree of autonomy in a position) moderates how satisfied/dissatisfied one becomes when expectations are/arent met. When a person values a particular facet of a job, his satisfaction is more greatly impacted both positively (when expectations are met) and negatively (when expectations are not met), compared to one who doesnt value that facet. To illustrate, if Employee A values autonomy in the workplace and Employee B is indifferent about autonomy, then Employee A would be more satisfied in a position that offers a high degree of autonomy and less satisfied in a position with little or no autonomy compared to Employee B. This theory also states that too much of a p articular facet will produce stronger feelings of dissatisfaction the more a worker values that facet. DISPOSITIONAL THEORY Another well-known job satisfaction theory is the Dispositional Theory it is a very general theory that suggests that people have innate dispositions that cause them to have tendencies toward a certain level of satisfaction, regardless of ones job. This approach became a notable explanation of job satisfaction in light of evidence that job satisfaction tends to be stable over time and across careers and jobs. Research also indicates that identical twins have similar levels of job satisfaction. A significant model that narrowed the scope of the Dispositional Theory was the Core Self-evaluations Model, proposed by Timothy A. Judge in 1998. Judge argued that there are four Core Self-evaluations that determine ones disposition towards job satisfaction: self-esteem, general self-efficacy, locus of control, and neuroticism. This model states that higher levels of self-esteem (the value one places on his self) and general self-efficacy (the belief in ones own competence) lead to higher work satisfaction. Having an internal locus of control (believing one has control over herhis own life, as opposed to outside forces having control) leads to higher job satisfaction. Finally, lower levels of neuroticism lead to higher job satisfaction 3.4 TWO-FACTOR THEORY (MOTIVATOR-HYGIENE THEORY) Frederick Hertzbergs Two-factor theory (also known as Motivator Hygiene Theory) attempts to explain satisfaction and motivation in the workplace. This theory states that satisfaction and dissatisfaction are driven by different factors motivation and hygiene factors, respectively. Motivating factors are those aspects of the job that make people want to perform, and provide people with satisfaction. These motivating factors are considered to be intrinsic to the job, or the work carried out.Motivating factors include aspects of the working environment such as pay, company policies, supervisory practices, and other working conditions. While Hertzbergs model has stimulated much research, researchers have been unable to reliably empirically prove the model, with Hackman Oldham suggesting that Hertzbergs original formulation of the model may have been a methodological artifactFurthermore, the theory does not consider individual differences, conversely predicting all employees will react in an identical manner to changes in motivating/hygiene factors.. Finally, the model has been criticised in that it does not specify how motivating/hygiene factors are to be measured] 3.5 JOB CHARACTERISTICS MODEL Hackman Oldham proposed the Job Characteristics Model, which is widely used as a framework to study how particular job characteristics impact on job outcomes, including job satisfaction. The model states that there are five core job characteristics (skill variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy, and feedback) which impact three critical psychological states (experienced meaningfulness, experienced responsibility for outcomes, and knowledge of the actual results), in turn influencing work outcomes (job satisfaction, absenteeism, work motivation, etc.). The five core job characteristics can be combined to form a motivating potential score (MPS) for a job, which can be used as an index of how likely a job is to affect an employees attitudes and behaviors. A meta-analysis of studies that assess the framework of the model provides some support for the validity of the JCM. 3.6 MODERN METHOD OF MEASURING JOB SATISFACTION In this method of measuring job satisfaction the comparision between various orgnizational terms and conditions at managerial level and also the orgnization at a large. SATISFACTION WITH HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT POLICIES OF THE ORGANIZATION: 1. Management has a clear path for employees advancement 2. Decisions are made keeping in mind the good of the employees 3. Management is extremely fair in personal policies 4. Physical working conditions are supportive in attaining targets 5. I nnovativeness is encouraged to meet business problems. SATISFACTION WITH SUPERVISION 1. I feel I can trust what my supervisor tells me 2. My supervisor treats me fairly and with respect 3. My supervisor handles my work-related issues satisfactorily 4. I get frequent appreciation of work done from supervisors 5. I get enough support from the supervisor 6.Individual initiative is encouraged SATISFACTION WITH COMPENSATION LEVELS 1. Overall I am satisfied with the companys compensation package 2. I am satisfied with the medical benefits 3. I am satisfied with the conveyance allowance 4. I am satisfied with the retirement benefits 5. I am satisfied with the reimbursement of the expenses as per the eligibility 6. I am satisfied with the holiday (vacation) eligibilities SATISFACTION WITH TASK CLARITY 1. Management decisions are Ad Hoc and lack professionalism (reverse scaled) 2. Rules and procedures are followed uncompromisingly 3. My job responsibilities are well defined and clear SATISFACTION WITH CAREER DEVELOPMENT 1. I have adequate opportunities to learn and grow 2. I get opportunities to handle greater responsibilities 3. My skills and abilities are adequately used at work From all above we can conclude level of job satisfaction of our employees. 3.7 RATING SCALE It is one of the most common methods of measuring job satisfaction. The popular rating scale used to measure Job satisfaction is to include: Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaires: It helps to obtain a clear picture of pertinent satisfactions and dissatisfactions of employees. Job Description Index: it measures Job satisfaction on the dimension identified by Smith, Kendall, Hullin. Porter Need Identification Questionnaires: It is used only for management personnel and revolves around the problems and challenges faced by managers. 3.8 CRITICAL INCIDENTS Fredrick Hertz berg and his Associates popularized this method of measuring Job satisfaction. It involves asking employees to described incidents on job when they were particularly satisfied or dissatisfied. Then the incidents are analyzed in terms of their contents and identifying those related aspects responsible for the positive and negative attitudes. 3.09 PERSONAL INTERVIEWS This method facilitates an in-depth exploration through interviewing of job attitudes. The main advantage in this method is that additional information or clarifications can be obtained promptly. 3.10 ACTION TENDENCIES By this method, Job satisfaction can be measured by asking questions and gathering information on how they feel like behaving with respect to certain aspects of their jobs. This method provides employees more opportunity to express their in-depth feeling. In his study on American employees, hoppock identified six factors that contributed to job satisfaction among them. These are as follows: The way individual reacts to unpleasant situations. The facilities with which he adjust himself to other persons. His relatives status in the social economic group with which he identifies himself. The nature of work in relation to the abilities, interest preparation of the workers. Security. Loyalty. Because human resource manager often serve as intermediaries between employees management in conflct.they are concern with Job satisfaction or general job attitudes with the employees. Philip apple white has listed the five major components of Job satisfaction .as Attitude towards work group. General working conditions. Attitude towards company. Monitory benefits Attitude towards supervision Other components tha

Saturday, July 20, 2019

The Mammy :: essays research papers

The Mammy   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Irish tale depicts the life of a woman named Agnes Browne. The cards have fallen more than once for her, but with the love of her 7 children and faith, Agnes never losses her strength. The author, Brendan O’Carroll, adds elements of humor, tragedy, and love to this novel, which makes it hard to stop reading. Follow me as I talk about The Mammy and how her culture plays a part in her everyday life in the late 1960’s, in Dublin, Ireland.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The book begins with the death of Agnes Browne’s husband Nicholas Browne, whom gets hit by a car. Agnes is now a widow and single parent to 7 children (6 boys and 1 girl), whom all range in ages 14-3. All of her children attend strict Catholic schools. Although her oldest son wants to drop out of school to help his mother support the household, she wants him to stay and continue. Agnes does not want him to end up like his father was, an abusive drunk, who worked as a janitor for more than 15 years. Though Nicholas Browne beat Agnes, he was never to touch the children. She was very protective of her children and everyone in Dublin knew it.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Now Agnes has to raise the children with the money she gets from the social service office, her stall where she sales her fresh produce everyday, and her Catholic belief. Agnes has a best friend by the name of Marion Monks. The two are very close and do everything together. They go to the local pub all the time and gossip and drink alcohol. The pub they hang out in everyone knew one another and were all very friendly, the neighborhood is very tight. With her very busy life Agnes does find time to daydream about her favorite singer named Cliff Diamond. She loves to listen to his records and relax. Agnes daydreams of him all the time wishing she could have one dance with him.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Then tragedy hits Agnes once again when Marion dies of cancer. She is saddened by the sudden death of her best friend, but she has such strong strength, she knows Marion is looking down on her. At the end of the book Agnes’ dream comes true when she is surprised with a visit from Cliff Diamond and looks up in the sky to thank her friend Marion for watching over her.

Friday, July 19, 2019

Free College Essays - The Motif of the Sun in The Stranger by Albert Camus :: The Stranger The Outsider

The Motif of the Sun in The Stranger In Camus' novel The Stranger the predominate motif of the sun has been variously interpreted by many critics as a symbol of Meursault's repressed emotions. This is an interpretation I simply cannot accept, for I have always regarded the sun as symbolic of the superego - the force of society within Meursault. Like the sun, society is generally thought to be a positive thing. People usually regard a good strong society that instills its members with a strong, unified code of morals as something to be desired. In the same way, people tend to think of a bright, warm, sunny day as something good and positive. However, both the force of society and theforce of the sun can become overpowering. They beat down on people, smothering and suffocating them, just as the sun beats down upon Meursault throughout the novel. The sun is present whenever the force of society is strong within Meursault. At the funeral the sun bears down on Meursault as society smothers him with expectations that he will grieve his mother's death in a typical manner. At the beach when he kills the Arab the sun is ever present and overpowering, making Meursault disoriented and confused. In the same way the power of society suffocates and confuses Meursault as it bears down on him with its views on morality. The sun is also present at the trial, just as is the force of society which claims to possess the right to judge people. The force of society is absent in the prison, likewise the sun is absent from Meursault's dark cell, and because the overpowering force of society has been removed, Meursault is finally able to "[open himself] to the gentle indifference of the world." At one point Meursault leans from the window in an attempt to feel the sun's last

Comparing Women by Henry James and Charlotte Perkins Gilman Essay

Comparing Women by Henry James and Charlotte Perkins Gilman In American literature, women have been portrayed differently depending on the sex and race of the author. Henry James who wrote â€Å"Daisy Miller: A Study† (1878) characterized Daisy as a tramp who breaks expatriate social customs. When a male writes about a woman, she is sometimes portrayed as a troublemaker and often up to no good. On the other hand, in Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† (1892), the narrator is trapped by domestic life. When a woman writes about women, they are usually victims of their society. James and Gilman each seem to display women differently because of their own sex, personal preferences, and experiences. Henry James, a white male, shows the reader what happens to a young lady when she isn’t conservative and goes around town with men without supervision. Daisy Miller was perceived as a tramp because of her actions and the society during this time period. The main character of â€Å"Daisy Miller: A Study† (1978) is Miss Daisy Miller, an American girl, who is traveling with her mother and brother in Vevey and Rome. Throughout her traveling, Daisy’s actions were considered inappropriate for a young unmarried woman. During her first visit to Vevey, she began to converse with Winterbourne, an American male that is visiting his aunt in Vevey, without a chaperone. In Vevey at this particular time, it was very inappropriate for a girl to talk to a man unattended by either a chaperone or her mother. James states, â€Å"In Geneva, as he had been perfectly aware, a young man was not at liberty to speak to a young unmarried lady†¦he wondered if he had gone too f ar; but he decided that he must advance farther, rather than retreat† (471). Ev... .... Works Cited Dock, Julie Bates, Allen, Daphne Ryan, Palaris, Jennifer, and Tracy, Kristen. â€Å"‘But One Expects That’: Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’ and the Shifting Light of Scholarship.† PMLA 111 (1996): 52-65. JSTOR. Penn State U. 7 April 2005. Gilman, Charlotte Perkins. â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper.† Ed. Nina Baym. The Norton Anthology of American Literature. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2003. 832-844. ---. â€Å"Why I wrote ‘The Yellow Wallpaper.’† Ed. Nina Baym. The Norton Anthology of American Literature. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2003. 844-845. James, Henry. â€Å"Daisy Miller: A Study.† Ed. Nina Baym. The Norton Anthology of American Literature. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2003. 468-506. Ohmann, Carol. â€Å"Daisy Miller: A Study of Changing Intentions.† American Literature 36 (1964): 1-11. JSTOR. Penn State U. 3 Feb 2005.

Thursday, July 18, 2019

Large Schools vs. Small Schools: Which perform better?

Small schools perform better than large schools in more than one aspect. A study finds that small rural communities with a school have significantly higher housing values, more new housing, smaller income variability, fewer households receiving public assistance, lower poverty and child poverty rates, more workers in professional and managerial jobs, and more workers employed within the community. (1) The existence of schools even in small rural areas proves many benefits, but there is a larger question posed, would it be more beneficial to have a small school or a large one? This paper aims to find which category offers more to the quality of students. It may be true that large schools may have grander facilities like television and radio stations but there is more than behind the curtain of facilities. An extensive body of research demonstrates numerous positive benefits of small schools and small learning communities, especially for those students who are at greatest risk of educational failure. Indeed, in a synthesis of research on small schools, Raywid (1997/1998, p. 35) concludes, â€Å"there is enough evidence now of such positive effects—and of the devastating effects of large size on substantial numbers of youngsters—that it seems morally questionable not to act on it.† (2) This is more or less the same stand that this paper takes. In a small school there would be more benefits. As you will see throughout the paper, there have been studies that point out the benefits of a small school over that of a large one.   There is almost 40 years of existing research and literature on small schools which indicates that students in small schools have higher attendance and graduation rates (1), fewer drop-outs, equal or better levels of academic achievement (2), higher levels of extra-curricular participation (3) and parent involvement, and fewer incidences of discipline and violence (4). (3) Wasley, et al (2000, pg 4) says small schools increase student attendance across all types of small schools: schools-within-schools (SWS), freestanding small schools, and multi-school small schools. Lakhman (1999), on the other hand found that between 1988 and 1998, DeWitt Clinton high school developed 10 small schools. During that time, they reduced their dropout rate by 8.5% and increased their on-time graduation rate by almost 50%. Thus, proving that small schools have the ability to improve attendance and graduation rate. Moreover, researchers observe that the effects of smallness on achievement are indirect, being mediated through other small-school features as quality of the social environment and students' sense of attachment to the school. Mitchell (2000) reminds us that in the studies conducted by Howley and others, school size had such a powerful positive effect on the achievement of poor students that it even trumped the beneficial effects of class size (Cotton, 2001). This can also be credited to the fact that in a small school, they can focus more on the need of each student. Sometimes, students does not need a large school with lots of reference books but a school that encourages a lot of help, from peers and teachers. There are several studies whose findings reveal that students at all grade levels learn more in small schools than in large schools. Several researchers have also examined middle-grades schools with interdisciplinary teams and found that students in this type of small learning community outperform similar students in schools without such organizational arrangements (Mertens and Flowers, 2003; Mertens, Flowers, and Mulhall, 2001; George and Lounsbury, 2000; Lee and Smith, 2000; Felner et al., 1997; Lee and Smith, 1993). (2) In addition from improved attendance, higher graduation rates and improved academic achievement in small schools, another factor that is considered is the students’ level of participation.   Take for example Mitchell’s (2000) observation where in a school of 2,000 students, only the most talented will be recruited for the basketball team or the drama club. The result is that a small number of gifted students dominate the sports and activity rosters, while the vast majority are relegated to spectator status. In small schools, sports teams, musical groups and clubs depend on broader participation. The number of extracurricular opportunities does increase with school size. But a twentyfold increase in population produces only a fivefold increase in opportunities. That is, as the school expands, an increasingly smaller percentage of students are needed to fill the available slots. In short, more students produce less participation. Most students will not be required to participate because there will be others who would. In a small school every student will have the opportunity to hone and improve their talents and interests. Researchers point out that, in small schools, everyone is needed to populate teams, offices, and clubs; thus, even shy and less able students are encouraged to participate and made to feel they belong. In addition to the factors mentioned, another advantage of a small school over a large one involves more personalized approach where levels of parent involvement and parent satisfaction are greater in small school environments than in large ones. Communication between parents and teachers tends to be more substantive given the fact that the teachers often know the students better in the smaller learning environment (Cotton, 2001). This is a positive reinforcement of discipline for the students.   In a smaller learning environment, the students’ activities can be monitored and can be reported to parents, whether a violation or a perceived improvement. Among the advantages mentioned, the fewer incidence of violence is perhaps the most important. â€Å"There is less violence in small schools, less vandalism, a heightened sense of belonging, and better attendance,† the KnowledgeWorks report states. (4)   Another research also showed that â€Å"In urban schools with less than 300 students, 3.9% of the schools reported serious violent incidents compared with 32.9% of schools over 1,000 students (Gregory, 2000).† Small schools are better positioned to detect and help hurting students, and to address disruptive behavior before it escalates into tragic violence and abuse. When teachers know virtually all students in a school community by name, it fosters a culture of belonging, accountability, and support. The Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (2000) studies show that small learning environments are characterized by fewer incidents of violence and disruptive behavior, less school graffiti, lower crime levels, and less serious student misconduct. The association attribute this to what they term as â€Å"human-scale schooling† which reduces isolation and increasing the sense of belongingness. Indeed, a closer community will bring more familiarity and less hostility. Hence, with all the aspects considered in the paper, it can be deduced that in a school of smaller quantity, we can focus more on the students’ quality. From this standpoint, the performance of a small school is better. Even policy makers have noted these benefits leading to   the development of some new rules. These includes: Florida Small School Law which recognizes the benefits of small schools and prohibits, as of July 2003, the construction of large schools. As of that date, new elementary schools will be limited to 500 students, middle schools to 700, and high schools to 900. Another is the Vermont Funding for Small Schools which in 1997, Vermont adopted a new system of funding education under Vermont Act 60 – The Equal Educational Opportunity Act (EEOA). Unlike most states, Vermont choose to provide additional funding to cover the higher costs of the state's smallest school districts. An extra $1 million per year was allocated to districts with fewer than 100 students. (5) This paper believes as far as, the future can depend on small school more than large ones, and to borrow Daniel Kinnaman’s title, the future will be filled up by small schools (with) big benefits.