Bridge Collapse in Minnesota

The collapse of bridge I-35W in Minnesota during the rush hour of August 1put tremendous pressure on the reliability and safety of our bridges nationwide. Countless investigations and precautionary measures were done to make all bridges pass standard procedures and render it safe for both the vehicles and passengers. At the same time it gave dent to our structural designers ability to come up with a truly sound structure and bridge design. In this research paper we will try to dwell into the process involving bridge design, the different design loads, proper bridge repair and the type of bridge design used by engineers on the I-35W.After the collapse, we shall also try to decipher the expert opinion on the real cause and give credence to their theory on the failure of the gusset plate. We will also discuss the implication of the collapse of the bridge to the engineering profession, particularly if the failure was caused by defective design theories. And lastly after all is said and d one, I will try to give my assessment on the matter based on the materials culled from the different websites of the Internet. The Design Process The design of a structure (buildings or bridges) follows a tedious and complex process.Bridges for example needs extra meticulous observation because it carries moving loads and design flaws could only be accurately gauged if the sequence is subjected to a computer generated simulated stress diagrams. In this way structural designers can pinpoint the areas within the structure that is most likely to suffer fracture in extreme cases of bridge overload (BridgeArt). In the case of Bridge I-35W in Minneapolis, the designer may have been correct in all his assumptions as guided by the Design Manual of the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC).From the dead load to the perceived moving loads, to the snow load and impact loads and also the necessary factor of safety were all incorporated in his design observation. Proof of the matter is the said bridge continued to thrive since its erection in 1967 and only collapsed four decades later. What may have caused the collapse of the bridge? Serious design errors could not be faulted because it should have failed at the onset – when the bridge was first used by the commuting public. Certainly the culprit could be poor maintenance procedures or bridge repairs.The Bridge Repair Data gathered from MN-DOT reveals that the bridge underwent major deck paving in 1970 and 1990. This twin repairs has already added tremendous dead load to the structure. Prior to the collapse of the bridge another paving was underway and materials were stockpiled on the deck plus the various equipment doing the repair job (Obi-Akpere). The recent resurfacing of the bridge placed an additional deadweight to the structure, roughly about 300 tons and may have triggered the demise of bridge I-35W (Obi-Akpere).The Bridge Design Design Engineers from the University of Minnesota in its report, foun d the bridge to be a non-redundant structure – meaning that all structural components act together and if one member fails the entire structure would collapse. Besides, the arched structure rests on only four pylons and failure of one especially during tremors would be catastrophic (Week III). The bridge I-35W is a typical three span continuous deck truss with a jargon of steel members and with the roadway on top.To protect the bridge from lateral movement because of extreme temperature changes (expansion and contraction), bridge bearings were used to allow the structure free movement (Week III). The Investigation From the wreckage of the collapsed bridge, investigators found several fractured gusset plates. Calculations were made on the stress capacity of the gusset plates and were found to be way deficient and the loads applied on the bridge were over their design limit. But no design imperfections were observed on the structural members (Samuel).This goes to show that fail ure of the structure emanates from too thin gusset plates, which could have been a construction error rather than a design flaw. Common sense dictates that a gusset plate should not be lesser in cross sectional area to a particular member served. In this case if proper construction procedure could have been followed, then structural failure should have been evident in the structural members (Roy). Or structure failure could be manifested in the welded joints or on the construction rivets and bolts.But such is not the case, then blame should be shouldered by the contractor for possibly undertaking stringent cost cutting measures or on his failure to notify the design engineer of the undersized gusset plates. And the MN-DOT field engineers likewise for its failure to spot the defective components installed in the structure (Gilbert). Also inspections were made by MN-DOT personnel on the bridge, but sad to say that they were unable to spot the defective gusset plates.Any ocular inspect ion would be useless unless field engineers would dutifully check each structural member by using calipers, particularly the thickness of the structural members. All the data are feed to their computer design software and only then can they be certain about their structural assessment (ArtiFactor). Implication to Engineering The collapse of bridge I-35W is a slap to the engineering profession, because it will tend to show that structural designers failed to provide safety nets to our structures not only on bridges but also buildings.It will put into question and scrutiny the methods and theories put forth by icons of the industry. For over 100 years our structural designers have practiced the profession based on the tenets of the formulas perfected by pioneers of the profession and a miscue like the collapse of the bridge will render all of these to naught. This will have a global effect, because everybody will now put to test the safety of our structures. With a disaster of this ma gnitude, people will now question the relevance of our structural design principles.Have we really made an accurate engineering theory and formula that could be fundamentally applied to bridge design? Or do we need to further hone our skills in order to come up with a design principle that will truly address such structural deficiencies? Engineers will now be irrelevant because what they have studied and practiced through the centuries will be rendered useless. It will be back to square one since all structures will now be deemed unfit for human habitation.What will now become of the human population – probably live in tents and simple lean-to structures? Development will be in a stand still as everybody will be wary of building structures, much more live in it. But initial finding from investigators is a breath of fresh air to structural designers. They only found errors in judgment in the use of materials and components not on the structural design. This will prove beyond d oubt that they have practiced sound design principles and that resulting structures are safer than ever. ConclusionIn the ensuing investigation, it is my opinion that what caused the collapse of bridge I-35W is not the design flaws (although evident) but the haphazard repair on the bridge made by personnel of the MN-DOT. Take note that resurfacing was made on the bridge for three occasions, one in 1970, 1990, and the one prior to the collapse of the bridge. Each time the bridge was resurfaced, almost 15,000 cubic feet of material was poured over it. This is only for the longest span of 458 feet and a width of 113 feet or roughly 8 road lanes, the one span directly over the river.This alone constitutes over 2,500 tons added to the original design load, and since this is done three times, the additional deadweight is tremendous. At the time of the incident equipment and materials were stockpiled making the structure grossly overloaded, no wonder the bridge collapsed (Week III). By the way repairs have been made on the bridge, it was actually an accident waiting to happen. It was never the fault of the structural designer, not even the contractor for he knew his responsibilities.But had they followed the steel design manual on gusset plate design, the structure could have survived the additional deadweight imposed on it. References American Institute of Steel Construction, Inc. 1967. Manual of Steel Construction. sixth ed. American Institute of Steel Construction: United States. Artifactor. â€Å"I-35W Bridge over Mississippi River collapsed! † Science Buzz. 2 August 2007. Science Museum of Minnesota. 4 February 2008. .BridgeArt. 2007. Long Tail Group. 4 February 2008. < http://www. bridgeart. net/software_database/>. Gilbert, Steve. â€Å"Design Flaw caused MN bridge collapse. † Sweetness and Light. 15 January 2008. 4 February 2008. < http://sweetness-light. com/archive/design-flaw-caused-mn-bridge-collapse>. Obi-Akpere. â€Å"The Critical Factor Why Minneapolis Bridge Collapsed. † NowPublic. 16 January 2008. 3 February 2008. < http://www. nowpublic. com/environment/critical-factor-why-minneapolis-bridge-collapsed>. Roy, Jennifer.â€Å"Design Flaw Identified in Minnesota Bridge Collapse. † Design News. 15 January 2008. 4 February 2008. < http://www. designnews. com/article/CA6522883. html>. Samuel, Peter. â€Å"MN/I-35W bridge collapsed because several gusset plates were grossly undersized – engineering error the cause. † TollRoadsnews. 15 January 2008. 3 February 2008. < http://www. tollroadsnews. com/node/3346>. Weeks III, John A. â€Å"Old I-35W Bridge. † John Weeks Homepage. 2005. 3 February 2008. < http://www. visi. com/~jweeks/bridges/pages/ms16. html>.

“Hunter in the Dark” by Monica Hughes Essay

Monica Hughes, a truly gifted novelist, has written a first class book titled Hunter in the Dark. I chose this gripping novel, which was published in 1982 because I have immensely enjoyed some of her other works. After reading the preview, I expected that the story would give me a greater appreciation for life, since it focused on a boy’s struggle with leukemia, and how he overcame it. Hughes uses theme to weave a well-developed plot by using her unique style of writing. Sixteen-year-old Mike Rankin is preparing for a hunting trip, with his best friend Doug O’Reilly, that he has been planning and waiting for all year. He is sent to the hospital for treatment, as a result, he misses the hunting trip. Mike’s parents refuses to tell him about his sickness for fear of hurting his feelings, and he had to discover that he has leukemia by tracking down his symptoms and treatments at the library. He becomes angry that his parents hid his sickness from him and wants to discontinue his treatment due to the fact that he feels that he doesn’t have anything to live for. He thinks about how nice it would be if he could go hunting and decides that he wants to go hunting one last time before he dies. With Doug’s help, he plans a solo-hunting trip, and prepares mentally and physically for what he could encounter in the bush. He leaves his protective house and drives into the bush. After numerous days, Mike tracks down a massive whitetail buck and prepares to fire his rifle when he suddenly has a flashback to when he was still in the hospital. He remembers when the nurse clipped a plastic tag, a badge of slavery, around his wrist, and he wonders with despair when it would be cut off. He realized he wasn’t running away to go hunting, he was running away so that he could forget about his sickness and pretends that everything was fine. He saw his life through new eyes. Mike lowers his rifle and prepares to head back home. The following passage from the novel illustrates the author’s descriptive style of writing. â€Å"The pickup was there, just where Doug had parked it. Mike had had an irrational twinge of fear that somehow it might have vanished overnight. But there it was, tan-coloured, squared and business-like, sparkling with frost under the blue lights.† You can tell that Hughes has a descriptive style of writing  because this passage is loaded with adjectives and similes. Some examples are: tan-coloured, squared and business-like and blue lights. These descriptive elements help form a picture of the pickup in the reader’s mind. Monica Hughes has written a fantastic novel, which I couldn’t put down. Hunter in the Dark has a fast paced plot that flowed from event to event. This, along with the suspenseful situations she created, impelled me to continue reading. The characters were complex and seemed as if they were real, due to the fact that their reactions and how they act were realistic. Also, the author used vivid details to form a clear picture of every scene in the reader’s mind. This book deserves to stay on the reading list because it is an outstanding novel.

MGT Week 4 SA DB Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

MGT Week 4 SA DB - Case Study Example The kid needed love and support. Sometimes people have biases when dealing with family members. The nephew was bounced around family members and did not receive the discipline, encouragement and love he needed. The entire ordeal was an unfortunate situation. In the future instead of avoiding situations it is better to deal with them head on. Choosing a university is one of the most important decisions in a person’s life. The approach used by this person of relying on word of mouth was not well thought out. Word of mouth is a good method to evaluate products, but is not well suited for selecting a university. This technique is susceptible to bias opinions. Being overconfident in the decision making process is also not good. Overconfidence can lead to mistakes (Swedroe, 2010). This person should have looked for the advice of counselors, teachers, and other professionals. Doing research online would have also

Capital Asset Management and techniques of its evaluation Essay

Capital Asset Management and techniques of its evaluation - Essay Example Although the calculation is easy to understand and simple, it still has its limitations. It ignores the benefits, or the lack of, that occur after the payback period and more importantly, the method ignores the time value of money. On the contrary The Net Present Value is an indicator of how much value an investment or project adds to the firm. The Net Present Value is a more reliable method of calculating the returns expected from investments as the method considers the time value of money. The Net Present Value compares the value of a dollar today to the value of that same dollar in the future, taking both inflation and returns into account. The technique uses discounted cash flow approach in assessing the performance of an investment. A positive Net Present Value generated from a prospective project is a good sign and should be accepted On the contrary, a negative Net Present Value resulting from projects should be rejected because the cash flows will also be negative. As such, this technique seems more reasonable in determining the returns of investments. The Internal Rate of Return is the discount rate that delivers a Net Present Value of zero for a series of future cash flows. As with the Net Present Value, this technique uses the discounted cash flow approach and is as widely used as the Net Present Value method. ... It shows the discount rate below, which an investment results in a positive Net Present Value and above which an investment results in a negative Net Present Value. It's the break-even discount rate, the rate at which the value of cash outflows equals the value of cash inflows. Moreover, the Internal Rate of Return can be found without having to estimate the cost of capital. Modified Internal Rate of Return is a similar concept to the conventional Internal Rate of Return. However, it is easier to calculate and does not produce multiple results, from irregular cash flows expected from a project, as compared with the latter. Of course the drawback of using Modified Internal Rate of Return is that it does not expect the generation of cash flows from its projects as predicted and its Net Present Value seems overstated. This is contrary to the use of Internal Rate of Return technique, since it assumes that cash flows generated from a project are reinvested within the project at the same rates of return, although they are often reinvested elsewhere within the business. The Modified Internal Rate of Return can be calculated with the use of spreadsheet package or the use of a conventional calculator. Both methods give the same results, however, the latter is more tedious and is used mainly for academic purposes. This technique uses the Present Value of investments, followed by the compounded terminal cash flow of the return phase. This is possible for more complex investments, with investment phase that stretches over several periods. The results generated by this technique are lower than the conventional Internal Rate of Return method but also presents a more realistic approach in assessing projects. Moreover, the technique uses the

Well-Being And Education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Well-Being And Education - Essay Example It is an ambiguous term used widely and frequently in public discourse. Well being can be viewed as a positive mental condition, originally embraced by some scholars as a way of focusing on satisfaction with life and health, as opposed on the focus on mental illnesses and its cures. In a dynamic way of viewing it, â€Å"Well being|† is a state in which a person is able to develop his or her creativity, productivity, potential, and work. It helps one-build positive and strong relationships with others as well as contributes largely to their communities. It is through education that an individual’s well being can enhance a sense of purpose in the society (Kennedy, 2006 45-6). Promoting well being is a legitimate aim of education. Many professionals in the education sector firmly perceive that their work makes individuals have a high self-esteem and have a positive view of their lives. Research shows that most of the adult learners gain evidently in optimism and confidence because of successful learning. Such experiences have also been realized by most practitioners in workplaces, communities, and in colleges. There are numerous justifications for considering the promotion of well being legitimate in education. Apart from being desirable in itself, it has a positive view on the future and a feeling of one’s ability to control his life are crucial to further, on-going successful learning. ... Most importantly, well being creates a focus on the emotional and social features of effective learning including managing feelings, empathy, self-awareness, social skills, and motivation. Educationists typically gauge the well-being of students in terms of test scores, academic achievement, university entrance trends, attendance records, engagement, or success in up to date accountability culture, and international league. The paper presents that promotion of well being is a legitimate aim of education in an exploration of wellness in schools to achieve an overall consideration of this issue. Well being is the foundation or basis on which academic excellence is build and the exemplary behavior is prized. It is quite logical to argue that well being and achievement of learners go hand in hand (Noddings, 1995, 41-2). Indeed, people who have received quality education say that they have the satisfaction in life and that they carry out worthwhile activities. However, it is not always tr ue that education necessarily brings about happiness. The well-being of a learner is as well affected by the way he or she feels, including the health factor. Well being as a legitimate aim of education It is a justifiable aim of education; after all, education is goal-oriented. Moreover, when it comes to parents educating their children, it is believed that well being is a goal worth of pursuit their goals. As a relatively educational, goal, well being is assumed to prepare learners to develop into independent critical thinkers as ethically responsible citizens. It is a global requirement or legal expectation of the whole world that all children get access to universal education for a common good. Education

THE AMERICAN JOURNEY IS ALWAYS A QUEST FOR IDENTITY AND AN ESCAPE FROM Essay

THE AMERICAN JOURNEY IS ALWAYS A QUEST FOR IDENTITY AND AN ESCAPE FROM REALITY. WITH REFERENCE TO TWO TEXT, THE GREAT GATSBY BY - Essay Example The tragedy of the 9/11 terrorist attack on the twin towers has just happened and the shock to the main characters is still palpable. Both books comment little on the political and economic events surrounding the story, but focus instead on how these matters affect a small selection of main characters. Material prosperity is an accepted norm in the two books: â€Å"Situated at the heart of Gatsby's story is the metanarrative central to American culture--the deeply conservative ideology of capitalism, the story of rags to riches, of power, love and fame achieved through personal wealth.† (Giltrow and Stouck: 1997, p. 477) The shady main character Jay Gatsby reflects on all that the city offers: â€Å"For a while these reveries provided an outlet for his imagination; they were a satisfactory hint of the unreality of reality, a promise that the rock of the world was founded securely on a fairy's wing. (Scott Fitzgerald, 1990, pp. 95-96) Descriptions of the furnishings and clothi ng of the main characters show a lingering fascination with the glitter and wealth: â€Å"I (= Nick) bought a dozen volumes on banking and credit and investment securities, and they stood on my shelf in red and gold like new money from the mint, promising to unfold the shining secrets †¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Scott Fitzgerald, 1990, p. 10) â€Å"Her (= Daisy’s) porch was bright with the bought luxury of star-shine† (Scott Fitzgerald, 1990, p. 142); â€Å"and Gatsby, in a white flannel suit, silver shirt, and gold-coloured tie, hurried in.† (Scott Fitzgerlald, 1990, p. 81) This brightness contrasts sharply with the atmosphere at the end of the novel when Myrtle has been killed and Gatsby also is dead: â€Å"Wilson’s glazed eyes turned out to the ashheaps, where small grey clouds took on fantastic shapes and scurried here and there in the faint dawn wind.† (Scott Fitzgerals, 1990, p. 152-153). The events in the book depict a journey from a glitzy American dr eamworld to a nightmare of death and destruction. The falling grey dust of the twin towers is where Delillo’s characters begin their particular journeys. In the broken, fragmented environment of post 9/11 New York, successful lawyer Keith is disoriented. He is lost, and his life’s journey has been savagely interrupted. He needs to re-orient himself and embark on a new and very different kind of journey. Critics point out the post-modern irony of this, as centre of world trade and finance shifts from being the last century’s American dream, where streets are paved with gold, to the nightmare of death and destruction in the new century. The journey that people now undertake is not from rural poverty to urban wealth and sophistication, but something far deeper. The focus now is on characters who â€Å"struggle to embark on an introspective process to recover their traumatized selves.† (Schmeck and Schweighauser: 2010, p. 49). It has been noted also that whil e Delillo’s view of New York society has a certain bias: â€Å"the dominant narrative focus is on the white upper-middle class† (Pohlmann, 2010, p. 53), there is also at least some attempt to portray alternative views of the world, in the depiction of Hammad and his religious zeal against empty materialism. Though the contexts of the two novels are different, and they start at different points, their

Forensic mental healthcare module. critical analysis Essay tittle-

Forensic mental healthcare module. critical analysis tittle- VIOLENCE RISK AMONG PEOPLE WITH SEVERE PERSONALITY DISORDER - Essay Example There have been violence risk assessment schemes devised to measure the risk based on common standards (Webster and Hucker, 2007, p.44). Before exploring such risk assessment tools, it is paramount to understand the causes and nature of personality disorder and also the existing psychological theories on the same. Biological aspects The earliest reported diagnostic tendency in history, linked with personality disorders was to find a connection of heredity and genetics with the said disorder. It was Patrick (qtd. in Forrest, 1994) who carried out the â€Å"first comprehensive genealogical investigations of psychopathy and heredity† (p.70). The findings of that study as well as other studies that followed have suggested â€Å"between 50 and 70 percent of psychopaths have ancestral disturbance† (Forrest, 1994, p.70). Studies that were conducted in 1980s and 1990s also have proved the same (Forrest, 1994, p.71). The studies which investigated the biological aspects of perso nality disorder included twin studies, family studies, adoption studies, and also â€Å"criminality, male homosexuality and alcoholism† studies (Russell and Hersov, 1983, p.25). But there also has existed a counter argument, which says that there is no connection between heredity and psychopathy (Cloninger, Reich and Guze, 1975). An aberration in the chromosomal pattern was identified in early research as one aspect of the biological side of a personality disorder (Forrest, 1994, p.72). A study conducted â€Å"among mentally subnormal male criminals† had found that their genetic structure has an â€Å"extra Y chromosome† (Forrest, 1994, p.72). This genetic pattern has been named as â€Å"XYY genotype† and the characteristics of the individual having this chromosomal pattern have been described as â€Å"extreme episodic violence or aggression, low intelligence, behavioral pathology, and gonadal abnormalities† (Forrest, 1994, p.72). But more recent r esearch has refuted this assumed violence risk associated with XYY chromosome (Forrest, 1994, p.72). Another approach has been to link personality disorders to â€Å"brain damage and neurologic pathology† (Forrest, 1994, p.72). This is to suggest that a personality disorder is the result of a neurological disorder (Forrest, 1994, p.72). Further explorations in this direction have concluded that the major cause of a personality disorder is the damage to hypothalamus and this in turn might be the result of â€Å"hereditary or genetic factors as well as intrauterine or post-birth head trauma† (forrest, 1994, p.72). Hare (1970) has made another interesting observation in which it is argued that a psychopath often has lesions inside the brain, which impair the psychopath’s skill to control behavior which may invite social disapproval. Psychological perspectives & theories From a psychological point of view, personality disorders can be defined as personality â€Å"s ystems that are poorly functioning and/or inefficiently adapting to the requirements of contemporary society† (Magnavita, 2004, p.3). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM- IV) has defined a personality disorder as â€Å"an enduring pattern of inner experience and behavior that deviates markedly from the expectations of the individual’s culture, is pervasive and inflexible, has an onset in adolescence or early adulthood, is stable over time, and leads to distress or impairment†

Case Assignment Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Case Assignment - Coursework Example For example: Sephora – a brand that sells cosmetics, perfume and other beauty products recently decided to enter into a contract with JC Penney upon opening a ‘store within stores’ strategy aiming to attract the young women. (MSNBC, 2007) Considering the change in the customers’ preference to shop conveniently at regional shopping malls, it is good that JC Penney has decided to open almost all new Penney store within the regional malls because that is where most of the shoppers go to buy cloths, furniture and other merchandises that JC Penney is selling to the consumers. However, opening a JC Penney store in each metropolitan area in order to create a significant presence in each market is not much of a good idea because it is not convenient for the consumers to intentionally go to a JC Penney store to buy something and go back again to the mall to buy the rest of what they need. Looking at this angle, the demand for establishing a JC Penney store separate from the regional malls is low. Giving each of the store managers the control over merchandise selection could greatly affect the quality and type of merchandises available within a specific JC Penney store outlet. In the absence of a strict centralized regulation in terms of selecting the items being sold in each store, some of the store managers could take advantage of the situation by entering into a special contract with its suppliers. This enables the store managers to make a bias judgment with regards to selecting the merchandise. Giving each of the store managers the power to price the goods could result to lack of uniformity when it comes to the selling price of the same product in each store outlets. The same is true when it comes to management of employees, the store manager will have the tendency to prioritize one employee over the other which may lead to serious management problem in the end. The funding for the local community relations will also be an issue since

Public and Private Schools Essay Example for Free

Public and Private Schools Essay There are many advantages and disadvantages to both public and private schools. As a parent, both options must be explored and the choice must be based on what is right for each particular child.   Public schools often have a larger variety of subjects available, especially when it comes to electives. However, what is learned is somewhat decided by the state because public schools need to do well on standardized testing. Private schools, on the other hand, whether parochial or private have much more freedom of choice in curriculum and can choose to make their own assessments. Because of the individualized instruction, private schools tend to do generally better on standardized testing, that is, if they choose to use it. Private schools, many times, have more demanding curricula and have a higher rate of students who go on to attend college. Public schools are larger and also have larger class sizes. Public schools also have larger student-teacher ratios. According to a web site called Public School Review, â€Å"Private schools average 13 students per teacher, compared with an average of 16 students per teacher in public schools† (publicschoolreview). However, public schools have certified teachers. Private schools typically have teachers who are not state-certified and who may not have expertise in their subject matter.   The biggest difference between public and private schools probably is that public schools are required to educate all students. They cannot deny any student admission. On the other hand, private schools have complete control about who they accept and can kick students out much more easily.   Public schools are funded by tax revenue whereas private schools are funded privately. That means private schools cost money to attend called tuition. Taxpayers pay for public schools so the payment is included in what people pay. However in private schools, the payment is upfront for students to attend. Overall, there is no one right answer for which kind of school a student attends—public or private. The decision must be made for each individual student as there are advantages and disadvantages of both. Works Cited Public School Review. Public Versus Private Schools. Retrieved Nov. 15, 2007 at Web

The Importance Of IHRM Management Essay

The Importance Of IHRM Management Essay Introduction Increasingly, companies are being wooed to expand into foreign lands and globalisation; a word so commonly hear nowadays till it seems to be a facet of modern business model. Some underlying reasons for companies to go global are technologies advancement, cost efficiency and trade specialisation. The above mentioned are just the tip of an iceberg as there are much more incentives which attract companies to globalize. However, as organisations reach outward for the market, many failed to recognise the importance of international human resource management (IHRM). Those organisations which hold little regard or no importance for IHRM often suffered setbacks and chain effect consequences. According to Stening et al (1997), while internationalisation of business has increased opportunities for organisations and staff, it has inevitability created a myriad of Human resource management (HRM) challenges related to multicultural workforce that is diverse. More then often, these challenges prove to be much complex and subtle in nature. In this essay, we will first look into the disparity between domestic and international HRM, the factors and elements that impetus the importance of IHRM and the knowledge and skill that are so relevant, yet scarce in our modern organisations structure. On top of that, we will be looking into the areas of problems and challenges that HR managers and the expatriates constantly faced. Disparity between Domestic and International HRM (IHRM) Many organisations often have a misconception when it comes to IHRM. They often think that they could simply applied domestic HRM policies overseas and attaining the same desire result back home. As a matter of fact, there is a vast difference between domestic HRM and IHRM, where the latter being much more complex and challenging. According to Stone(2008), domestic HRM is being defined as: HRM as practised within the geographical boundaries of one country. Its focus is the management of people in a single-country context While International HRM is being defined as: HRM as practised by multinational organisations. Its focus is the management of people in a multi-country context From Stones definitions, we can roughly tell the difference between domestic HRM and IHRM. Where domestic HRM is only practical in a single-country context, IHRM is applicable globally. Conceptualisation of International HRM policies Deriving from the basic of Human Resource Management (HRM), International HRM can be view as add on to the already existing HRM policies. Stone(2008), posed some valid questions with regard to developing international HRM policies. Some examples were: what kind of organisation are we looking at? Are we looking at a home country organisation, a multinational organisation or a truly global organisation? What are the organisations mission and vision? What is the organisation core business and how can the organisation be successful? And lastly, what type of culture is desired in the organisation. By answering Stone questions, HR managers can then conceptualise the basic foundation of the organisation, so as to set and streamline their HR policies to the organisation objectives. With that, we will be able to ensure that the organisation and their people are moving in the same direction. Challenges faced by International HRM Practising HRM in a different environment, culture and ethics background is sure challenging. Nevertheless, if IHRM is being executed appropriately, the reward reaped will contribute to the organisations growth indirectly. Some typical challenges that the HR managers faced are cross-cultural issues; training and development, remuneration package, performance appraisal and international staffing process. To fulfil these challenges, it is imperative that the HR managers are sensitive to the people and adaptable to the environment while their organisation establishes foothold globally. Cross-cultural issues Cross-cultural issues can turn disastrous if the HR managers are ignorant or refuse to spend efforts to understand the situations. Often so, this is the starting point where most misunderstanding and problems spawn. We will examine the few aspect of cross-cultural issues namely: communications, ethics and management style. Cross-cultural communications According to Stone(2008), cross-cultural communications occur when a person from one culture communicates with a person from another culture. Simple gestures, facial expressions and words can turn out to be very different in meaning, depending on the individual culture and priority they have for what and how things are being said or written. Stone went on further to break cross-cultural communications into two parts, high-context cultures and low-context cultures. Quoting from Stone(2008), high-context cultures can be defined as: Cultures where non-verbal communications (such as body language and gestures) and indirect language are use to transfer meaning And low-context cultures are being defined as: Cultures where verbal communications are explicit and direct. What is said is what is meant. High-context cultures can be commonly found in Asia countries where great importance is being placed in personal relationship like family relationship and friendships. It is crucial for HR managers to interpret the true meaning of what is being said over what the other party actually mean. Failure to do so will lead to unnecessary misunderstanding and confusion. Low-context cultures on the other hand are straight forward and simple. This culture is most prevalence in the western country where YES mean yes and NO simply mean no. HR managers should not beat around the bush when handling such situations. A direct and concise approach will lead to the progression of the matters on hand. Ethics Ethics can be explained as the ability to differentiate between right and wrong. It is a moral value instilled in one since young, and changes constantly due to environmental, religion influences and education level. What may seem right to you may be a big taboo to the others. As there are many grey areas where ethics is concern, extra sensitivity should always be bear in mind. This is especially so in situations where organisation do business in places where bribery and corruption are the key to business success or should organisation exploits the workers to their advantage when there is no worker union remains unanswered. HR managers should always refer back to the organisation values and direction so as to align their own judgment and ethics to the best of the organisation. Management style Management style can be greatly influence by the culture and the organisation structure. For example in Singapore Arm Forces (SAF), a military organisation; the management style has to be a top-down approach. When the commander has given a specific instruction, the rest will follow with no question asked and this management style is extremely critical especially during war time. Interestingly, this top-down approach or autocratic style is very common in Asia, mainly due to the respect and trust a subordinate has for their superiors, a clear display of cultural influence. Another management style which is a contrast to the top-down approach is the paternalistic style. This particular management style allows subordinates and their superiors to be on equal ground, allowing decision making to be distributed equally. This kind of management thrives in sectors where collative ideas are imperative to the success of the organisation. A good example will be the engineering or research sectors where there might be chances of a better idea coming from the subordinates instead. This kind of management style is widely practice in the western countries like United States, where children are taught to ask questions whenever they dont understand. Whichever management style to be apply will have to depend on the host country and their cultural background as well as the organisation core business. HR managers will have to be open minded and flexible as there is no one medicine that cure all illness. Training and development Training and development in foreign country can be a tricky issue. According to Stone(2008), diversity of the workforce, language and cultural differences will influence how the training and development program be structured. A very good example will be the language of the program to be conducted, should English or the host-country language be used? Are there any taboo topics which should be avoided? Which type of leaning style will attain the most desired result, instructional or facilitative style? These are the few areas of concerns that HR managers will tend to encounter frequently. As a general rule of thumb, new and innovative training and development can be good, but at the same time it should not deviate too much from the cultural norms. So as to ensure that the best end result can be achieve while not creating confusion and difficulties for the participants. Remuneration package National culture is an important consideration in strategic remuneration (Stone, 2008) Remuneration package will varies in different part of the world, depending heavily on the cultural environment of the host country. In places where seniority is valued, the remuneration style will be based on the rank and the number of years in service to the companies. Such remuneration style is prevalent in Asia countries and in organisation that adopt the hierarchy concept. A stark difference to this will be the meritocracy concept of remuneration package, where remuneration will be based on the individual achievement and contribution to the organisation. This style of remuneration is widely practice in the western country and in organisation where achievement and contribution can be quantified. Adopting the right remuneration package will not only spur employees to give their best but more importantly, it can retain the talents and boost the organisations reputation. Performance Appraisal Conventionally, performance appraisal was considered as a knotty problem in the HR function and internationalisation of organisation simply complicate this function further. Different cultures will have different appreciation for performance and it is virtually impossible to set a standard for performance. For example, to get a good performance appraisal in China, one will need to have good personal relationship with their superiors. (Lu et al, 1998) Knowing strong and influential people will also ensure a smooth work life. But this might not be the case in organisation where good performance simply mean high sales figure or other factors which can be quantified. Performance appraisal for expatriate is much more elaborated. The scarcity of resources available( eg. Poor infrastructure and communication) and the expatriate soft skill( eg. Adaptability and resourcefulness) must also be taken into account when doing their performance appraisal so as to establish a system of fairness to the expatriate. A reliable method to ensure that a professional and unbiased performance appraisal is being carried out is to have a set of guiding questions. These questions will act as a guide as to how a performance appraisal should be done. Stone(2008), listed a few questions which is fundamental to performance appraisal. Questions akin to definition of performance; what is the performance criteria; will the same criteria be use across all level of in the organisation and will the performance appraisal be assessed on a group or individual basis. International staffing process International staffing can also be term as international recruitment process. Organisations typically have three options of candidates namely the home country nationals, host country nationals and third country nationals. The home country nationals are the natural choice when it comes to international staffing as they are much well versed in the organisation goals, objectives and culture. Expatriate are constantly employed in global organisations. But what are the problems faced when employing expatriate? We can broadly classify the problems into expatriate selection and expatriate failure. Expatriate selection process Expatriate selection can be very complex in nature. Expatriate are constantly being expose to a spectrum of social and personal problems examples language barrier, culture differences and physical environment. If these are unanswered, it will ultimately lead to the failure of the expatriate. Organisation often perceive that a high flyer back home will do equally well in a foreign country, therefore emphasis is always on the expatriates work experience and capability rather than focusing on the expatriate ability to blend into the new environment. Stone (2008) did a survey from different HR managers all over the world. Stones survey was to determine the essential selection criteria on expatriate. Stones study revealed that different countries HR managers have different emphasis on the selection criteria, Stone went on further to suggested that this may be due to the different cultural values which the HR managers held. Stone concluded a list of desired selection criteria for expatriate and here are some of the criteria: effective communication; listening skill; stress tolerance; empathy; flexibility in dealing with foreign cultures; political skill and previous international experience. Expatriate failure Expatriate often fail due to their partner and their inability to adapt. (Stone, 2008) Adaptability seems to be the determinant factor for expatriate to make or break. Other factors include sub-standard performance, poor healthcare, safety implication and unattractive remuneration. (Insch et al, 2002) Such situations can be reduced if organisations have some pre-departure programs for their expatriates and families. Programs like cross cultural orientation where expatriate will gain knowledge of the cultural aspect of the host country so as to avoid cultural shock. Allowing the expatriates and their families to stay in the host country for about a month will enable the expatriates to adapt to the physical environment and slowly immense themselves into the countrys culture. To add on, providing a factual job scope and environment description to the expatriates will have them prepared mentally. All these will give the expatriates an expectation of the host country and avoid any unnecessary shock. Conclusion With the increasing of globalisation, international human resource management (IHRM) plays an important role in achieving the organisations goals. Organisations which recognise the importance of IHRM will definitely benefit than those who do not. They will be more ready to move their operations into another country and effectively manage their employees to achieve smooth operations of the organisations. As a HR manager, one has to be very sensitive and flexible to the cultural aspects. Besides that, having a good knowledge and positive attitude towards the host country will make the HR managers job less tedious. Organisations which rely heavily on expatriate must know the expatriate selection criteria well so as to send the best candidate out and reduce the chances of an expatriate failure. Comprehensive expatriate program must also be implemented in order to assist and prepare the expatriates for their long and scabrous journey. By preparing the expatriates adequately in terms of both physically and mentally will ensure that a pleasant job experience for the expatriate while maximising the expatriate capability and contributions to the organisation.

Fifth Business

Fifth Business In his novel, Fifth Business, Robertson Davies addresses the meaning of life by exploring Jungian archetypes. In the opening pages of the novel, Boy Staunton conceals a stone inside a snowball and throws it in anger at his friend Dunstan Ramsay. Ramsay ducks and the snowball goes on to hit Mary Dempster. Mary who is pregnant is brought prematurely into labor and delivers a grotesque unnaturally small child. The implications of this one single moment, forces the characters over the next sixty years to confront their personal devil. Likewise, in the movie, Frankenstein, Victor Frankensteins crowning achievement was to be the creation of his monster. However, once he succeeded in bringing the creature to life, Victor found that it was ugly and he abandoned it. The monster in reality is Victors â€Å"shadow† self. In each situation, these characters face their personal devil, their shadow. It becomes clear as you read through the novel and watch the movie in its entirety that in o rder to achieve the heroic life, one must face his personal devil. Dunstan Ramsay carries the weight of Paul Dempsters premature birth on his shoulders his entire life. If it was not for Liesl, an extremely elegant and intelligent woman confined inside a deformed and gigantic body, Dunstan would not have experienced happiness and ultimately a life well lived. Liesls surname is â€Å"Vitzliputzli†, which means â€Å"devil†. In Jungian terms, ones â€Å"devil† refers to ones shadow, the â€Å"suppressed part of the personality, the dark or more primitive side of the consciousness.† Thus, Liesl represents Dunstans shadow, all that he has suppressed from his ego; all that he has hidden from the public world. According to Jung, an â€Å"ego which refuses for long to recognize the existence and force of its shadow is inviting disruption.† Therefore, the shadow will invade the consciousness until the conscious recognizes the opposing force and comes to terms with it. This is one way of coming to know ones self. This is wh y Liesl is the most influential and important mentor, because she challenges Dunstan to stop suppressing his shadow so he can find out and come to terms with who he is. â€Å"But you there is a whole great price of your life that is unlived, denied, set aside. That is why at fifty you cant bear it any longer and fly all to pieces and pour out your heart to the first really intelligent woman you have met me†¦This is the revenge of the unlived life, Ramsay. Suddenly it makes you a fool†¦You should take a look at this side of your life you have not lived†¦But every man has a devil†¦you must get to know your personal devil†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (230). It is clearly evident that Liesl wants to change Dunstan for the better and from the revenge of the unlived life when she tells him to come to know his devil. â€Å"Why dont you shake hands with your devil† (213). Padre Blazon functions in Dunstans personal groups of archetypes as the image of the Wise Old Man. He is present for a reason, to aid Dunstan in his quest for wholeness. Blazon asks Dunstan to analyze Mary Dempster and ask himself the question, â€Å"Who is he in your personal world? What figure is she in your personal mythology?† (179). Dunstan confides his belief that she is a saint. Blazons response is that if Dunstan believes she is a saint, then to Dunstan, she is a saint. Why should he worry what anyone else thinks? â€Å"If you think her a saint, she is a saint to you†¦That is what we call the reality of the soul; you are foolish to demand the agreement of the world as well† (175). Blazon also states that miracles are commonplace, not rare, and that life is a miracle by itself through the act of god. â€Å"I think you are a fool to fret that she was knocked on the head because of an act of yours. Perhaps that was what she was for, Ramezay†¦.Maybe God w ants you for something special. Maybe so much that you are worth a womans sanity† (179). Through this, Blazon attempts to diminish unjustified guilt that Dunstan has been carrying with him for so long. In turn, Blazon supplies Dunstan with another vital piece of advice that serves as a fundamental stepping stone to Dunstans wholeness. He tells Dunstan to forgive himself for being human. â€Å"†¦Forgive yourself for being a human creature, Ramezay. That is the beginning of wisdom; that is part of what is meant by the fear of God; and for you it is the only way to save your sanity† (180). Boy Staunton does not feel remorse for the snowball incident that caused the premature birth of Paul Dempster. This incident acted as a basis for Boys growing shadow, and contributed to the demise of his soul and in the revenge of his unlived life. When Boy was asked if he had any recognition of Mrs. Dempster, he replied: â€Å"None at all. Why Should I?(261). Although Boy only met her once, the guilt remained suppressed inside him for the rest of his life. Dunstan realized that to live a complete life, one must rid ones self of the guilt. Dunstan dealt with his guilt by supporting Mrs. Dempster in her later years. Boy on the other hand ignored the guilt he felt for Mrs. Dempster. When Dunstan reminded Boy about the snowball incident, â€Å"It is the stone you put in the snowball you threw at Mrs. Dempster† (250), Boy realizes what he is guilty of and what he repressed for so many years. Boy could not handle this and needed to get rid of his guilt and he needed Paul to help h im, help him run away from his conscience. Boy escaped his inner shadow by the only way he could, by taking his own life. When Boy was found the morning after, a stone was found in his mouth. Boy considered the stone to represent his guilt and in the end tried to swallow the stone and his guilty conscience. Suicide was the only way out for Boy, because his shadow was much too big to confront. Addressing Boys death, the Brazen Head states, â€Å"He was killed by the usual cabal: by himself, first of all; by the woman he knew; by the woman he did not know; by the man who granted his inmost wish; and by the inevitable fifth, who was keeper of his conscience and keeper of the stone† (252). Victor Frankenstein is depicted as someone who cannot deviate from the course that he chose. Although Victor initially dedicates a large portion of his life to creating his masterpiece, he spends more of his life fearing and fighting his monster. Some critics see the creature as Victors shadow self that part of each of us that we are not always consciously aware of that contains things that may be hidden. Victor appears to disregard any responsibility he has for his creation and only feels guilt in unleashing such a monster, rather than guilt in abandoning the monster. Throughout the movie, Mr. Frankenstein repeatedly attempts to forget about his creation and continue with his life, at which point the monster surfaces to wreak havoc upon his life. One wise old man points out to him that â€Å"man shouldnt live in the shadows† (Frankenstein, 2004), for the monster becomes Victors shadow because he continually ignores him. After the monster takes the first step of revenge by ki lling Victors family, Victors unconscious self becomes a reality. It is here that he comes face to face with the monster, the shadow, who explains, â€Å"You gave me all these emotions, but you didnt tell me how to use them† (Frankenstein, 2004). As the movie progresses Victor marries Elizabeth despite the brutes promise to murder her on their wedding night. After discovering the creature had fulfilled his promise, Victor Frankenstein pledges to dedicate the remains of his life to finding and destroying the monster. Once again, the monster has prevented Frankenstein from enjoying his life; a life unlived, and forced him to be as lonely and miserable as him. Boy Staunton childhood experience played a very important role in the stableness of his soul. Guilt can only be suppressed for a limited time before it comes out in unwanted ways. Ultimately Stauntons â€Å"personal devil† prevailed and his heroic life was lost, to suicide. The same can be said for Victor Frankenstein, for if he only acknowledged the feeling of guilt and gave the monster the attention, love and guidance he needed; he would not have encountered his shadow and would of lead a heroic life. With the help of Padre Blazon and Liesl, Dunstan ultimately decides that it does not matter if others share the meaning he has found in Mary Dempster, and thus Dunstan has found his â€Å"personal devil†. He realizes that life has a different meaning for everyone. For him, life is about the search for meaning, which he comes to believe is more important than meaning itself. Dunstan lives the heroic life. One mishap in a persons life can create a â€Å"personal devil†, the goal is to â€Å"revenge the unlived life†, in order to find ones true happiness in later life.

The Second Coming :: Second Coming

The Second Coming In his poem "The Second Coming," Yeats predicts cataclysmic changes about to be wrought upon human kind. He states, "Things fall apart; the center cannot hold;/Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world," (1511). This statement is in line with Modernistic thought of this time period. Modernistic writers felt that traditional teachings left something to be desired, and that it was time for change. There was a huge upheaval in religious beliefs and current religious convictions were being challenged with new scientific knowledge. Yeats foresees spiritual changes in the words, "Surely some revelation is at hand;/Surely the Second Coming is at hand..."(1511). The Modernistic period was also a time when questions were asked about the old, established, and customary beliefs. Writers attempted to challenge people to think about archaic ways of conduct, and to check the motivations behind their beliefs. Joseph Conrad stated in Heart of Darkness, "Black shapes crouched, lay, sat between the trees leaning against the trunks, clinging to the earth, half coming out, half effaced within the dim light, in all the attitudes of pain, abandonment, and despair,"(1377). He portrays in these lines the ugliness of Europeans treatment of another culture. He is challenging his reader to adopt another attitude, but does not ever tell his reader how to feel, another defining feature of literary Modernism. Conrad tells us about a Black man with a white cloth tied about his neck. Again he does not interpret this white cloth, but leaves it open to our interpretation, "He had tied a bit of white worsted round his neck - Why?"(1377). Conrad questions the motives o f white Europeans in Africa, repeatedly referring to their greed: ". . . weak-eyed devil of a rapacious and pitiless folly..."(1377). Conrad, in his statement about their building of a railway, "The cliff was not in the way or anything but this objectless blasting was all the work going on"(1376), asks his reader to observe the violence against a country, not only its people, but the actual land.

The Successes and Failures of the Zapatista Movement Essay -- Autonomy

The Successes and Failures of the Zapatista Movement On January 1, 2004, over one thousand people in the mountain hamlet of Oventic, Chiapas, celebrated the 10th anniversary of the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN) rebellion with song and dance. Thus, it seems a fitting time to take stock of the successes and failures of the Zapatista movement in the context of its original goals. While the EZLN has been able to establish thirty eight autonomous indigenous communities in Chiapas, it has failed to weaken the Mexican government's commitment to neo-liberal economic policies. In the following pages, we will explore those factors which enabled the Zapatistas to establish regions of autonomy and extrapolate from Theotonio Dos Santos' understanding of the effects of reliance on foreign capital and Nora Hamilton's analysis of the 'limits to state autonomy' to rationalize the failure of the Zapatista's broader vision of social justice. In a letter to President Zedillo in 1994, Subcomandante Marcos of the EZLN demanded ?democracy, liberty and justice? for all Mexicans. These nationalist ideals were supplemented by practical demands to meet the needs of the impoverished and exploited indigenous peoples of Mexico. In 1993, the EZLN promoted an indigenous struggle ?for work, land, housing, food, health care, education, independence, freedom, democracy, justice and peace. We declare that we will not stop fighting until the basic demands of our people have been met by forming a government of our country that is free and democratic.? By the late nineties, the struggle for indigenous autonomy had become ?the central basis of the Zapatista movement.? Since 1994, the Zapatistas have made significant gains... ...94. ?Over 20,000 Zapatistas take San Cristobal.? http://www.nadir.org/nadir/initiativ/agp/free/mexico/2003/0103 take_san_cristobal.htm. 2/22/04 Pastor, Jr., Kevin, and Carol Wise. ?Mexican-Style Neoliberalism: State Policy and Distributional Stress.? in The Post NAFTA Political Economy: Mexico and the Western Hemisphere, Carol Wise, ed. University Park : Pennsylvania State University Press, 1998. ?Plan Puebla-Panama.? Nafinsa Securities, Inc. http://www.nafinsa.com/planpueblapanama.htm. 3/17/04 Ross, John. ?The Zapatistas at Ten.? NACLA, Vol. xxxvii, No. 3, November/December, 2003: pp. 11-16. Trudeau, Robert. Guatemalan Politics: The Popular Struggle for Democracy. Boulder: L. Rienner, 1993. ?Zapatista movement marks 10th anniversary.? http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/americas/ 01/01/mexico.zapatista.anniversary.ap/. 2/22/04.

“Gold Miss”: Single successful women in work force in Korea

Two articles that were discussed in class touched on married women in the work force in Korea, Taiwan and Japan. All of these articles examine the changes in married women’s employment that industrialized society face. Higher participation of married women’s employment compared to the past can be explained by higher labor supply and demand caused by industrialization, social structures, changes in women’s role in family, and higher women’s education. These changes not only affect married women but also single women in Asia. I would like to go delve more into and also go beyond the readings and look more into the single women in general, with specific focus on Korea. Particularly, events regarding women at work has led to the rise of the â€Å"gold miss† in Korean culture recently has created significant cultural shifts in the way the largely Confucian society views women and how these women do business. Korean Culture Korea is home to a deeply Confucian society. Under such a system, women are relegated to a lower position, wherein they have to follow the wishes and dictates of the head of the family: the father, then the husband and then the grown sons. There are strict dictates that has crossed over to national laws on succession. Korean norms have been blamed for the lack of opportunities for women (August and Tuten, 2003, p. 118). Women traditionally stay at home after marriage to take care of family. Children usually live with their parents until they are married and the eldest son is left to care of the aging parents. Women in the Workforce In their study, Rachel August and Tracy Tuten laments that only 48% of women participate in the Korean workforce. The country's labor market is highly-segregated with jobs that are meant only for men exclusively. Korean men also have a virtual monopoly on managerial and executive level jobs, where only 7% are held by women (August and Tuten, 2003, p. 109). In contrast, women in the United Kingdom have a 66% participation in the labor force, while 33% of employed women hold managerial and executive level jobs (August and Tuten, 2003, p. 109). The pay between men and women is different too, with women getting only 60% of what their male counterparts get (Yoo, 2003, p. 367). Most Korean women had to fight a patriarchal society where in everyone — from employers policymakers, and even fellow employees — prefer males over females. As such, they get jobs that pay less (Brinton, et. al. , 1995, p. 1101) The dismal situation of women is due to the fact that workplaces in Korea lack protection like laws against gender discrimination, harassment and other similar laws. Korean women are also facing challenges in terms of getting their education that would have equipped them with the skills and knowledge needed for higher level positions (August and Tuten, 2003, p. 17). This has changed in recent years, however. With the advent of industrialization in Korea, more and more women had married later and the fertility rate fell. Korean women had more time to participate in the activities of the labor market. Korean women also gained more education, and consequently more work experience, which in turn makes them more attractive to employers (Brinton, et. al. , 1995, p. 1100) Married Korean women are less likely to be involved in formal employment, as many companies also encourage women employees to resign after marriage (Yoo, 2003, p. 384). Shift in Korean Culture The increases in the number of working married women and single woman households both represent a significant departure from the traditional Korean family structure. Women are now choosing to keep their jobs even after marriage and many grown-up children are moving out of the family home to live alone and choosing to postpone marriage. More and more women are also getting higher education compared to women in the 70s and 80s. These grown-up daughters that have successful careers postpone marriage and enjoy their single-blessedness and economic independence. In the past in Korea, marriage used to be only institution frame work for women to secure stability in their lives. But now that social conditions have changed greatly and women exert more power in economic activities women are increasingly taking charge of their lives. Thus, in recent years, more and more women are staying single, earning more, and fighting societal pressures that dictate when they should settle down. They have been termed gold misses, a play of words and a corruption of â€Å"Old Miss†. Gold misses are highly successful single women who are way above the traditional marrying age of the late twenties and early thirties. According to the Chosun Ilbo, an English language Korean newspaper, the typical gold miss has a college degree, a professional job that pays at least KRW40 million (around US$43,000) annually. A gold miss go for sophistication both in looks and image (Gold Miss Among†¦ , 2007, para. 2). More than changing their looks and living upwardly in society, gold misses are changing Korean society. Whereas before, women above thirty are frowned upon as spinsters who failed to catch a husband, with all the attendant stereotypes against it. Now gold misses are seen to enjoy their independence — both personal and economic (Gold Miss Among†¦ , 2007, para. 1). They are also breaking through stereotypes that unmarried women in their mid-thirties have something wrong with them, or have been through a difficult experience, or just plain stubborn. These are women who do not rely on a husband to keep them alive, and they are enjoying it. For Ham In-hee, a sociologist at Ewha Women's University marriage for a gold miss is a choice, instead of a desperate and only means to be stable. Ham relates that women â€Å"who are financially capable,† have a tendency to marry late (Chosun Ilbo, 2007, para. 3). The view is shared by Lee Woong-jin, chief executive officer of a dating company. Ms. Lee says that gold misses think they can continue living alone because they earn enough to support themselves (Gold Miss Among†¦ , 2007, para. 2). Other changes are evident. Gold misses are known to be ‘fashionistas', and have influenced trends in Korean fashion and food (Kang, 2008, para. ). Gold misses, though a relatively new development in the conservative Korean culture, are increasing. Kang In-sun, writing for the Chosun Ilbo, reports on data released by the Korea Employment Information Service that says that there were 27,233 gold misses in 2006, an increase of almost twelve-fold from around 2,000 just five years before. The report also says that gold misses are now found in a growing range of industries and profession, securing top jobs in private institutions, filmmaking, theater, writing, broadcasting, medicine, design and management, among others (Kang, 2008, para. ). The number will rise, as 68% of women in their twenties and thirties surveyed indicated that they would like to remain single (Kang, 2008, para. 5). Meanwhile, an overwhelming 90% of girls aged 10 think that marriage is a choice, instead of a must (Kang, 2007, para. 7). The prevalence and impact of gold misses is so widespread that Korean marketers have taken note of them, and have even come up with spin-off labels like â€Å"silver miss† or single women in their 30s who are earning less than KRW30 million, and â€Å"platinum miss† or women who earn more than KRW100 million annually (Kim, 2008, para. ). As more women become more economically active and more financially-independent these days and as views on marriage have changed dramatically, these single professional women, in their thirties and forties without pressure to get married, enjoy the feeling of accomplishment at work and gain more free time for themselves, rather than doing housework and caring for children as housewives do. Having no husbands and children also increases their autonomy on spending. Gold misses are willing to and can spend on anything they want, especially on their self-development, looks, health, skills and on leisure, their changes in lifestyle and spending start to have impact on various industries such as tourism, fashion, art and music business, interior design such as kitchen appliances, and matchmaking business. As a result, the purchasing power of singles makes them an important consumer group. Kim Ji-soo, a culture editor at the Korea Times, writes that while Korean women had been slow to change in a â€Å"strongly Confucian† society, they are now taking on more and new challenges and working in professions that used to be male domain. The causes for the rise of the gold miss are varied, and touches a spectrum of economic and social factors including (but not limited to) higher labor supply and demand caused by industrialization, changes in women’s role in family, higher women’s education, and increase in voices advocating gender equality and equal opportunities at work, among other things. The Korea Times, however, proposes another cause. Bae Ji-sook relates that the cost of marriage, including childrearing, housing and education, could be the main reason why a progressively increasing number of women are opting to stay single. With the shift in Korean thinking with regards to the convention of women getting married in their late twenties or early thirties, there is less pressure to get married and risk acquiring these costs (Bae, 2008, para. 6-8). In fact, a recent survey found that 22% of Korean singles found marriage costs too prohibitive and cited that as one of the reasons not to get married. Other reasons were the prevalence of divorce, and the idea of enjoying the single life. Almost a quarter said that they haven't found the right one yet. The survey had 1,826 respondents, 70% of them were women (Kang, 2007, paras. 1-4). Traditional values of family and harmony influenced by Confucian philosophy are disappearing, new values of individualism and independence are new inflow, and women are reacting to this change by choosing to work and marry late. On to of these changes in social values, higher cost of marriage and raising children causes further departure from traditional roles for single women. Additionally, women’s success in their career will continue to emerge as a valuable consumer group in the future. With such changes in conventional idea, their economic and social power, and consumer market towards them, they seem to have less reason to get married and the increase the number of unmarried women in their thirties and forties is likely to continue. * * * The rise of the gold misses can thus be seen as a natural consequence of the Korean woman’s progress in the country’s labor market. It is an evolution that took years to unravel. With the change in Korea’s business climate and labor environment, women became introduced into its labor force, an event which led to further changes down the road and created a cyclical cause and effect. As women became more active in their participation in the country’s labor force, the more opportunities opened for them to further their education and chalk up their work experience, which in turn made them more attractive to employers and opened the doors to more jobs. The pressures of society and culture, however, remained. In time, Korean women learned that having their best interests in mind and following the norms do not necessarily go together, and thus the evolution comes to its current form: the gold misses. Combined with this realization are the changes in the country’s norms and governance that allowed for more gender equality. It can be argued then that gold misses are the daughters who are reaping the benefits that have been set up for them by women of the past. They are also blessed to be working at a time when Korean society and culture had eased and changed. But as mothers can differ from their daughters in a lot of ways, so does today’s gold misses and the traditional married working women. Married working women of the past were at most followers of society’s dictated norms of how they should act and when they should act, and at the very least, they were constrained by their culture. Career women felt the urge to get married at an age that is largely dictated by society, at a time when they should have been at their peak, professionally speaking. These women may be doing the deals in the corporate boardroom, but they come home to cook for their husbands and care for their children. Gold misses eschewed that role, and by ignoring societal dictates, they have become progenitors of a new culture. By refusing to be tied down, they have gathered enough power to create a unique culture that soon became more and more mainstream. They became a force to be considered, if only for their collective purchasing power. Without responsibilities to take care of a family, they have the luxury of thinking only for themselves. Instead of being dictated by culture, gold misses have turned the tables and are now dictating what the culture should be. More and more gold misses are stepping into roles that women of the past have not even dreamed of. The arena for male-dominated fields is shrinking as more women are invading the work force. Whereas traditional married working women were contented in defining their value by the men in the lives, and anchoring their stability on their marriage, gold misses are challenging the patriarchal traditions and Confucian hierarchies. Women in the workplace are also changing the business culture away from â€Å"alcohol-inspired karaoke fests† into something more transparent and above-board. These women are also discouraging blind loyalty towards superiors (Asiaweek, 2001, paras. 3-4). Stability is no longer anchored to the thickness of their husbands’ wallets, but their own. Culture and society are two very dynamic forces, and they affect one another. While it is evidently a much better time to be a single work woman in Korea nowadays more than ever, there is still a long way to go to achieve more independence from and equality with men. The gold miss phenomenon is a clear indicator, though, that women in Korea are on the right track.

Understand the Impact of Gender and Culture

An abstract is a brief, comprehensive summary of the contents of a paper (American Psychological Association, 2001) that runs a maximum of 120 words. It should contain a synopsis of the points in the paper, but also be readable and well organized. To use this page of the template, simply delete this paragraph and start typing. The formatting should stay the same. Negative Effects of Reality TVÂ  In today’s society many television Reality Shows have been geared for total entertainment purposes only, unlike many shows of the past that displayed family values, ethics and morals. For instance, Reality Shows are supposed to be based on real life situations and experiences. Reality Shows are built upon showing and exposing human emotions. In this aspect reality television has successfully portrayed an image that many viewers can now relate to. In reality the characters of reality television are somewhat like celebrities. There is no doubt, that reality television provides viewers with such entertainment that does not exemplify family values. In fact, reality television has influenced our society in different ways by showing loud and rambunctious behavior. These types of shows exhibit plenty of profanity, sexual content, violence and drugs. In today’s age, nearly every home has at least one television, it is easy imagine how the idea of what is real and what is fiction can become misinterpreted. The cultivation theory essentially holds that television viewing is a primary factor in cultivating a particular culture’s beliefs about the everyday world (Infante, Rancer, & Womack, 1997). George Gerbner knew that television was becoming an important part of the average citizen’s life and suspected that it was quickly replacing the importance institutions like family, school, and church in the enculturation process (Gerbner & Gross, 1976). In 1973 PBS released the first reality television show: an unintentionally breathtaking series called An American Family. The show promoted a family, the Louds, who volunteered to let PBS film their lives for seven months. During the time the show was aired the Louds, faced marital breakup of the parents, Bill and Pat and the confession of their son Lance’s sexuality. Many American viewers enjoyed viewing this reality show, in spite of the family falling apart. Reference http://www.uky.edu/~drlane/capstone/mass/cultivation.htm

Is there water and life on mars?

Unlike Earth, since there are no oceans to obscure the planet Mars, its topography is now better explored and known than that of Earth (Australian Geographic 2003). It has the largest known volcano in the Solar System, Olympus Mons, three times as high as Mt Everest, arid the longest and deepest known canyon, Valles Marineris, 4000 km long and 10 km deep (Australian Geographic 2003).Mars has no continental plate movement, so its surface isn't constantly reworked by mountain-building processes. As a result, much of the landscape is as it was billions of years ago (Australian Geographic 2003).NASA researchers are taking lessons from the debate about life on Earth to Mars. Their future missions will incorporate cutting-edge biotechnology designed to detect individual molecules made by Martian organisms, either living or long dead (Zimmer 2005).The search for life on Mars has become more urgent thanks in part to probes by the two rovers now roaming Mars' surface and another spaceship tha t is orbiting the planet. In recent months, they've made a series of astonishing discoveries that, once again, tempt scientists to believe that Mars harbors life or did so in the past. At a February conference in the Netherlands, an audience of Mars experts was surveyed about Martian life. Some 75 percent of the scientists said they thought life once existed there, and of them, 25 percent think that Mars harbors life today (Zimmer 2005).The search for the fossil remains of primitive single-celled organisms like bacteria took off in 1953, when Stanley Tyler, an economic geologist at the University of Wisconsin, puzzled over some 2.1 billion-year-old rocks he'd gathered in Ontario, Canada (Zimmer 2005). His glassy black rocks known as cherts were loaded with strange, microscopic filaments and hollow balls. Working with Harvard paleobotonist Elso Barghoorn, Tyler proposed that the shapes were actually fossils, left behind by ancient life-forms such as algae. Before Tyler and Barghoorn' s work, few fossils had been found that predated the Cambrian Period, which began about 540 million years ago (Zimmer 2005). Now the two scientists were positing that life was present much earlier in the 4.55 billion-year history of the planet. How much further back it went remained for later scientists to discover (Zimmer 2005)?In the next decades, paleontologists in Africa found 3 billion-year-old fossil traces of microscopic bacteria that had lived in massive marine reefs (Zimmer 2005). Bacteria can also form what are called biofilms, colonies that grow in thin layers over surfaces such as rocks and the ocean floor, and scientists have found solid evidence for biofilms dating back 3.2 billion years (Zimmer 2005).Fluvial Landforms geologic features putatively formed by water were identified in images of Mars taken by the Mariner and Viking spacecraft in the 1970s (Bell 2006). These landforms included enormous channels carved by catastrophic floods and large-scale valley networks s omewhat reminiscent of river drainage systems on Earth. Over the past decade, images from the Mars Global Surveyor, which has been orbiting Mars since 1997, have revealed spectacular examples of extremely small and seemingly young gullies formed in the walls of some craters and canyons. These observations indicate the past presence of liquid water on the Martian surface or just below it but not necessarily for long periods (Bell 2006). The water from the catastrophic floods, for example, may have lasted only a few days or weeks on the surface before freezing, seeping back into the ground or evaporating.Furthermore, the networks of river-like valleys shown in the Viking orbiter images do not have the same characteristics as terrestrial river valleys when seen at higher resolution (Bell 2006). The Martian valleys could have formed entirely from subsurface water flow and ground erosion a process known as sapping-rather than from water moving over the surface. The gullies observed in th e Mars Global Surveyor's images may also be the result of water seeping underground below ice or from buried snow deposits (Bell 2006). Although these features are stunning and dramatic indicators of water on Mars, they do not firmly prove that the Red Planet once had a warmer, wetter, more Earth-like environment with long-lasting lakes and rivers.In the past few years, however, new satellite images have provided much more convincing evidence that stable, Earthlike conditions prevailed on Mars for long periods (Bell 2006). One of the most exciting discoveries is a class of features that look like river deltas. The best and largest example, photographed by the Mars Global Surveyor, is at the end of a valley network that drains into Eberswalde Crater in a region southeast of the Valles Marineris canyon system (Bell 2006). This drainage system terminates in a 10-kilometer-wide, layered, fan-shaped landform characterized by meandering ridges that crosscut one another and show varying de grees of erosion. To many geologists, this feature has all the characteristics of a delta that formed at the end of a sediment-bearing river flowing into a shallow lake.Further evidence of an Earth-like climate in Mars's past comes from high-resolution images, taken by the Mars Odyssey and Global Surveyor orbiters, of the small-scale valley networks on the plateaus and walls of the Valles Marineris canyon system. Unlike previously identified valley networks that seem to have formed largely from subsurface flow, these newly found networks have characteristics that are consistent with their formation by rainfall or snowmelt and surface runoff. For example, the networks are arranged in dense, branching patterns, and the lengths and widths of the valleys increase from their sources to their mouths. Moreover, the sources are located along the ridge crests, suggesting that the landscape was molded by precipitation and runoff. Indeed, these landforms provide the best evidence to date that it may have rained on Mars.A more exploratory possibility is that these runoff features arose relatively recently, perhaps one billion to 1.5 billion years after Mars formed. To estimate the ages of Martian landforms, researchers count the number of impact craters on the feature the more impacts the region has endured, the older it is. This dating method, however, has many uncertainties; it can be difficult to distinguish between primary and secondary impact craters and volcanic calderas, and erosion has destroyed the evidence of craters in some regions (Bell 2006). Still, if these surface runoff valleys do turn out to be relatively young, Mars may have had an Earth-like climate for as much as a third of the planet's history and perhaps longer if even younger valleys are eventually identified.Yet another piece of evidence supporting persistent liquid water on Mars is the observation of truly enormous amounts of erosion and sedimentation in many parts of the planet. Making calculatio ns based on new orbital imaging data, researchers have determined that the rate at which sediments were deposited and eroded in the first billion years of the planet's history may have been about a million times as high as the present-day rate (Bell 2006).But what process could have transported the massive amount of sediment needed to bury almost everything in the Gale Crater region? (Bell 2006) Scientists believe flowing water offers the best explanation. Studies of erosion and sedimentation rates on Earth suggest that wind could have moved some of the Martian sediment in the past (just as it is doing today, albeit at a very slow pace). No viable wind-based scenario, however, can explain the rapid transport of millions of cubic kilometers of material across large fractions of the planet's surface, which apparently occurred repeatedly during Mars's early history. Flowing water, though, has routinely moved gargantuan amounts of sediment on Earth and could have done so on the Red Plan et as well.In addition scrutinizing the shape of Martian landforms, scientists have searched for hints of liquid water in the composition of the planet's minerals (Bell 2006). One of the reasons why researchers had long believed that Mars never enjoyed an extensive period of warm and wet climate is that much of the surface not covered by wind-borne dust appears to be composed of material that is largely unweathered pristine volcanic minerals such as olivine and pyroxene. If water had flowed over the surface for a long time, the argument went, it would have chemically altered and weathered the volcanic minerals, creating clays or other oxidized, hydrated phases (minerals that incorporate water molecules or hydroxide ions in their crystal structure).The emerging paradigm is that Mars had an extensive watery past: puddles or ponds or lakes or seas (or all of them) existing for long periods and exposed to what must have been a thicker, warmer atmosphere. During the first billion or so y ears of Martian history, the Red Planet was a much more Earth-like place, probably hospitable to the formation and evolution of life as currently known. The Martian environment began to change, however, as sulfur built up, the waters became acidic and the planet's geologic activity waned (Bell 2006). Clays gave way to sulfates as the acid rain (of sorts) continued to alter the volcanic rocks and break down any carbonates that may have formed earlier. Over time, the atmosphere thinned out; perhaps it was lost to space when the planet's magnetic field shut off, or maybe it was blown off by catastrophic impacts or sequestered somehow in the crust. Mars eventually became the cold, arid planet recognized today.This new view of Mars is not yet universally accepted, however. Key questions remain unanswered (Bell 2006): How long did the waters flow in the Eberswalde delta; for decades or millennia? Where are all the sediments that appear to have been eroded from Meridiani Planum and places such as Gale Crater? And were they eroded by water or wind or something else? What is the global abundance of clay minerals on Mars, and were they ever major components of the planet's crust? And, most vexing, where are the carbonates that should have formed in the warm, wet, carbon dioxide-rich environment but have not yet been observed anywhere on Mars, not even in the older terrains where clays have been detected? Acidic water could have destroyed the bulk of the carbonates but surely not all of them!Perhaps the most important question of all is: Did water or life ever exist on Mars, and if so, was it able to evolve as the environment changed so dramatically to the present-day climate? (Bell 2006) The answer depends in large part on how long the Earth-like conditions lasted. What can be deduced is that the past decade of discoveries on Mars may be only a small taste of an even more exciting century of robotic and eventually human exploration.ReferencesAustralian Geographic, (2003 ) Life on Mars. 08161658, Jul-Sep2003, Issue 71Bell, J., (2006) The Red Planet's Watery Past. Scientific American, 00368733, Dec2006, Vol. 295, Issue 6Zimmer, C., (2005) Life on Mars? Smithsonian, 00377333, May2005, Vol. 36, Issue 2

A Strange Encounter

It was a conventional evening at the Gladwyne Pharmacy. Preparing for our closure, I was organizing the register receipts from the day to save myself from ancillary labor the following morning. 6:57PM: only three more minutes before I can finally return home after an extensive, demanding afternoon. Contrary to the ordinary occurrence, our regular last-minute customers were not swarming in the door. Initially, I took this as a good sign: today may mark the first time I get off work punctually. But, lo and behold, my expectations did not match the true exposition.A man walks in: at least my height, possibly taller, and significantly stronger. He was completely unfamiliar to me; I assumed he must not be from the area. He flounced his way in my direction as if under heavy influence of drugs or alcohol. A strong scent of whiskey filled the air as he neared. Instantaneously, I knew this man would be a problem. â€Å"Give me these drugs now! † he clamors as he slams his gargantuan fi st on the counter. It unfurls to reveal a crumpled sticky note with a short list of narcotics written upon it in pencil.I briskly replied with the standard protocol response for a situation such as this: â€Å"These drugs require a proper doctor-written prescription for us to give them to you. † I could ascertain that he was not satisfied with my rejoinder. This is where my once-regular day at work began to look more on the abysmal side. With an even more irate expression on his face than before, the man reached with his other hand towards his waist. At this point he was obviously insinuating towards his possession of a weapon. Unreasonably, he demanded to speak to one of our administrators.I informed him that none of them were present, but if he so wished I could contact them via telephone and have him speak directly to them. This was outrageous to the man, and for some reason engendered even further aggravation from him. Our only pharmacist on duty that night had been eaves dropping from the beginning, and thought it necessary to call our owner. She came out and politely handed the man the phone with our owner on the line. A second later, the phone was in pieces on the ground. The man approached me again, this time with a newfound ambition in his eyes.Noticing that both of our register drawers were ajar, he enjoined that I give him all of their contents. â€Å"I’ll take all of the money or all of these drugs, or you will have a problem! † I rapidly fabricated this retort: â€Å"You, sir, are the one with a problem: the local police are en route as we speak. † Without hesitation, the man bolted out of the pharmacy, and was arrested later that night for DUI. I was commended and received a pay-raise for my bravery. That improbable night I learned never to succumb to another person’s demands, even if your life depends on it.

Participants in Policy Process Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Participants in Policy Process - Essay Example (Dye, 2001, p. 4 to 7) In this context, the participants in the public policy process may be segregated into two categories. The first are the official participants comprising of government officials, authorities as well as political players. On the other hand are the non governmental or unofficial participants who come in the form of social workers, individuals lobbying for the interests of certain pressure groups, and even the average citizen. In the course of this paper we will try and differentiate between these two groups of participants in the policy process. To do so, we will start by delving into the various aspects of the policy process. When embodied in a person's life as a profession, the policy process becomes a matter of drawing on statistical information and basing decisions on various kinds of analysis before arriving at the factors that will influence the elements to be included in a certain policy. Considering the fact that this will greatly influence a normal citizen's life in various ways, the policy maker has to be doubly sure of the facts as he is responsible for a lot of people.

The Development of Travel and Tourism On Mozambique Literature review

The Development of Travel and Tourism On Mozambique - Literature review Example In order to attain this end, the following objectives will be explored: This literature review critically evaluates and analyses elements and aspects of tourism development and how it can be applied to an African country – Mozambique. The study will critique various elements of the current situation of tourism which is steeped in mass tourism and provide an exegesis on the future development of tourism by integrating sustainable tourism and other approaches of tourism planning and development. Tourism is widely viewed as the movement of persons from their normal place of habitation to another place for a range of activities within a short period of time (Beaver, 2013). This include various activities like vacationing, leisure travel and business travel with the view of staying in a new environment and visiting places of interest (Varley, et al., 2013). Tourism provides some kind of leisure and relaxation to individuals in a given area. In the larger scope, tourism is a process through which local businesses in a tourist destination are likely to sell their products and services to persons from other countries (Wehrli, et al., 2013). This brings about some form of foreign exchange that can be used to develop a given nation or community. The differences in the way tourism benefits and revenues are distributed relates to the arrangements in the community or society. This difference is highly accentuated in relation to the tourism approach used in a community – whether there is a mass tourism system or an alternative tourism system. Sustainable tourism developed as a part of sustainable development which is a concept that examines the moderate and reasonable usage of the earth’s resources in order to ensure that future generations will also benefit from the earth’s resources (Miller & Twining-Ward, 2013; Pigram & Wahab, 2014; Pender & Sharpley, 2012).

Pediatric Growth and Development Research Paper

Pediatric Growth and Development - Research Paper Example e conflict occurs as children try to act like grown ups and takes up goals or activities which are beyond their capacity and which are in conflict with parents or family members (Shaffer, 2009, p. 42). Feeling of guilt occurs as a result and hence, achieving ‘balance’ between initiative and encroaching upon rights or privileges of others is the challenge as it leads to successful resolution of the conflict (Shaffer, 2009, p. 42). The fourth stage (‘industry versus inferiority’), in which teachers and peers are significant social agents, occur between 6 to 12 years of age (Shaffer, 2009, p. 42). In this stage, children compare themselves with peers and hence, must master academic and social skills to feel self-assured (Shaffer, 2009, p. 42). Otherwise, feeling of inferiority develops if they fail to acquire the skills which others have (Shaffer, 2009, p. 42). The fifth stage (‘identity versus role confusion’), in which the key social agent is the society of peers, occurs between 12 to 20 years of age (Shaffer, 2009, p. 42). The challenge for adolescents is to avoid being confused about their identity by establishing basic social and occupational identities (Shaffer, 2009, p. 42). The sixth stage (‘intimacy versus isolation’), in which the key social agents are lovers, spouses and close friends, occurs between 20 to 40 years (Shaffer, 2009, p. 42). The challenge is to achieve companionship through strong friendship or else loneliness result (Shaffer, 2009, p. 42). The seventh stage (‘generativity versus stagnation’), in which the key social agents are spouse, children and social norms, occurs between 40 to 65 years (Shaffer, 2009, p. 42). The challenge is to maintain ‘generativity’ by being productive or supporting young people, as failure or... The main purpose of this research paper was to describe several development theories to the reader. Firstly, the researcher focuses on analysis of Psychosocial Development theory by Erickson, who understood that people can display healthy psychological adjustment only when they are able to resolve the psychological conflicts that they experience in life. In his theory, Erikson’s proposed eight stages (or psychosocial crisis) of developments, which occur during different ages of human life. Secondly, the researcher analyzed Freud's Psychosexual Development theory. Freud discovered that the mental disturbances that his patients experienced often revolved around the sexual conflicts which were repressed during their childhood. The researcher deeply decribes each of the five stages of this theory. Thirdly, the researcher analyzes Cognitive Development theory done by Jean Piaget, a Swiss psychologist. Children’s way of perceiving and mentally representing the world is the fo cus of cognitive development theory. Four stages of this theory were discussed in the research paper. Fourth theory analyzed by the researcher and presented in the paper was Kohlberg’s Moral Development theory. The researcher describes that Kohlberg developed the theory that tried to encompass those ideas which were not addressed in Piaget’s theory. Kohlberg has explained the moral development in three levels, consisting of two stages each. The levels and the stages are described in the research paper as well.

Land lord and tenant law(english law) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Land lord and tenant law(english law) - Essay Example Under Section 8, (1), where as per the agreement between the landlord or the Tenant, or as decided by the Court, specified repairs need to be carried out, and in cases where the initial repairs need to be carried out by the landlord, due to the inability on the part of the tenant to carry out the said repairs with regard to the tenancy, the landlord, in such cases, shall be privileged to claim: 3. This payment shall be made either in instalments, or in any other method agreed upon by the parties mutually or by the Court. (Ministry of Justice: The U.K. Statute Law Database: Statutory Tenancies arising under Part I : provisions as to repairs during period of statutory tenancy ) As mentioned earlier, the responsibility of the tenant and the landlord with regard to the repairs of the dwelling house, during the period of statutory tenancy shall be as covenanted, or as determined by the Court. The matters that need to be considered would be: 3. 1. The amount to be included as payment of the accused tenant's repairs, and paid off by the landlord for the determination of the costs 2. The estimated costs that have been incurred by the landlord. 3. Whether payment for the accrued tenant's repairs should be made by instalments or through any other mode of payment, and, in the event it is made through instalments, the amount of yearly instalments, the 1st instalments due and the periodicity of instalments. 4. It shall also be made known whether there are any other obligations, with regard to repair of dwelling house during the period of statutory tenancy, other than relating to the payment of initial repairs, and if so , the nature of such obligations. (Ministry of justice, The U.K. Statute Law Database : Statutory tenancies arising under Part 1 : Provisions as to repairs during period of statutory tenancies : Under Section 9, if it is the Court that has to determine what the initial repairs need to be, the sum determined by the Court, shall be done with the permission of the landlord and the tenants, and shall not exceed "what is required to bring the dwelling-house into good repair or the carrying out of any repairs not specified by the landlord in his application as repairs which he is willing to carry out" (Ministry of justice). Further, good repairs has been construed to mean the repairs needed to make good the structure and furnishings, taking into account the useful life, construction and area, in which the premises lies. Further, it has been laid out that Court shall not impose any repair liability on the tenant, without his consent. Further under Section 9 (4), the law does not require that the place needs to be kept in a higher condition of repair, than that what expected to be, post the initial repairs, and in the absence of any agreement, in a better condition than it was when the Court had determined the liability of repair to be imposed. Coming to the aspect of this case study, it is seen that Mr Razor, who is the owner of Focal House has requested Mr. Shabby, the tenant, to