Wednesday, July 31, 2019

Police and Lethal Force Essay

Police work entails expectedly many opportunities for misuse of authority or the excessive use of force which is not necessary when in the line of duty (Strack 1994; ACLU 1991). This is a primary issue that concerns policing and the grave and abusive conduct of men in uniform whether they are in the United States or elsewhere in the world (Police culture and behavior 2008).   There are various factors that are usually pointed at whenever this happens; police officers already in the brink of burn out are a primary reason. However, the mental or psychological state of an officer is usually in question if this use of lethal force occurs.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Why is this considered an issue? It is a given usually, that a police officer is knowledgeable of the â€Å"force continuum† (www.policetest.info) which is a kind of scale that guides an officer in graduated level with which what method or approach will he resort to under any given circumstance (see appendix A).   This shows that by his mere presence alone, the officer realizes, the suspect may be alerted or threatened and succeeding responses by the two individuals (i.e., if it involves two people only) are then again graded and evaluated by the officer according to the force continuum. Precisely because reports are aplenty concerning police brutality which happens when a suspect is frisked and/or confronted with a criminal activity and many of these instances that the persons of interest or suspects do not even have any weapon of sorts with them, nor were they in the position challenging the person in authority. The case of Rodney King in 1991 became a platform for many of these reforms that were made eventually, to respond to public clamor for justice regarding perpetrators the like of which Rodney King had suffered from.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Studies show that in most organizations where reforms have been initiated, what was important was the regular monitoring of the activities of police officers ensures that these men minimize their propensity to exercise the capability of employing lethal or deadly force against any citizen or any suspect unless merited. This is not just to safeguard any suspect or citizen whether they are coming from the expected â€Å"marginalized groups† where the most likely victims are men of color, older or aging citizens, women and children but even these same men in uniform from their own tendencies to act with anger or rage and resort to these means (ACLU 1991). â€Å"To serve and to protect† can mean both ways when interpreted in the light of these reforms: it means serving and protecting the men themselves who are employed to do the same to the general public. Affirming their code of ethics now and then may be a small thing but it is still a major part of reminding officers why they are in the force and the accountability that is necessary in the deterrence of themselves committing a crime needlessly. Appendix A    The Force Continuum More Force    Deadly Force       Less Lethal       Pepper Spray, Baton, Taser       Empty Hand Control       Verbal Commands Less Force    Officer Presence Source: http://www.policetest.info/FORCE_CONTINUUM_POLICE_USE_OF_FORCE.htm    Works cited: Strack, Lorr M.1994. Personality profile of police candidates. Journal of Clinical Psychology; 50(2):200-7. www.pubmed.gov. _____ Police culture and behavior. Accessed March 12, 2008. American Civil Liberties Union. On the Line: Police Brutality and its remedies. New York. April 1991. Retrieved March 12, 2008 < http://www.aclu.org/police/gen/14614pub19971201.html> _______ Police Oral Boards and Use of Force Continuum. Retrieved March 12, 2008

Tuesday, July 30, 2019

Yahoo Strategic Management Report

Yahoo! : Business on Internet Time Group 2: Aaron Duke Alejandro Reynoso Erin Moon Sophia Benevento February 21, 2012 Dr. Jay Lee GM 105 California State University, Sacramento Executive Summary Yahoo started out as a hobby between two Stanford students, Jerry Yang and David Filo, and turned from a simple website with categorized information to a powerful navigational tool for millions of users. It generated millions in revenue and helped shape the way the modern-day internet is used, both in terms of streaming information and streaming revenue.The U. S. military first used the internet in the 1960s as a way of safeguarding against centralized information. Decades later, it was used as a tool to help researchers share informaiton. In the 1990s, HTML language was created to help read documents easier. Within a few years, browsers, portals, and internet service providers (ISPs), along with the low price and easy access to computers had connected the world and the internet was born.As Y ang and Filo created a way to monetize the traffic created by the popular Yahoo portal, the attractiveness of the Yahoo model helped propel the global reach of the internet, and brought about intense competition, new tools, new models of monetization, and the need for new strategy. When using Porters five forces model to analyze the portal industry’s attractiveness, it is clear that attractiveness is low. The bargaining power of suppliers is high, bargaining power of the buyers is low, threat of new entrants is high, start-up costs cause high barriers to entry, alternative edia allow the threat of substitutes to be high, and the potential for revenue has saturated the industry with competitors. This competitive environment rapidly changed since Yahoo was first created. There was virtually no competition and it was able to quickly secure large market segments. Using a strategy of simplicity, independence and strategic partnerships, Yahoo created a user-friendly point-of-entry for consumers to find information on the internet while making millions of dollars. Yahoo led the portal industry from 1994 to 1998, during which its market capitalization grew to $30 billion.In 1999, the industry began to change further as mergers and acquisitions consolidated power. Media companies, ISPs, browser companies and content providers were merging and acquiring each other in a flurry of moves in order to retain competitive advantage. The strategy of independence that brought Yahoo success needed to be reevaluated. In an environment with such volatile and intense competition, what strategy should Yahoo implement? As leader of the internet portal industry, Yahoo’s position, both in terms of its external environment and internal resources and capabilities, should be exploited in order to bring about above-average returns.Both the Industrial Organization (I/O) and Resource-Based models of above-average returns can be utilized. It shows Yahoo to be in a favorable posit ion and the tools needed to effectively create new partnerships that will secure market share and long term profitability. Further, A SWOT analysis shows that Yahoo has strong brand image and opportunities for strategic partnerships, even though as first-mover in the industry, it lacked a long-term strategy and is threatened by intense competition.The story of Yahoo shows that a company’s strategy must always be evaluated for effectiveness in terms of its current external environment and its internal resources and capabilities. While effective strategy early on may bring about a favorable position in the industry, competitive forces will cause a company to seek out new strategies, new partnerships and new models in order to remain competitive and profitable. Background Jerry Yang and David Filo created the portal Yahoo in April of 1994. It was originally used as a hobby to track web addresses sent to them by friends.They were students at Stanford, but they gave up their educa tion to focus on running Yahoo. Jerry’s Guide to the World Wide Web was created by Yang and Filo as a guide to navigate though the web. These web sites were sorted into a database and thousands of users began to use their service. Yahoo officially became a business on March 5, 1995. They hired Tim Koogle as CEO, as well as a staff of six people which eventually grew. Yahoo’s operations had three separate departments: property development, marketing and sales, and international.Property development focused on production and engineering. Marketing and sales handled corporate marketing, business development, and sales. They also had customized Yahoo pages in 18 countries, which was run by their International departments. Yahoo was located in Silicon Valley, and they offered five main services (properties) to consumers such as navigation, community, personalization, e-commerce, and international. Navigation allowed consumers to find information. Community offered an addres s book, email, chat, and message boards for consumers.Personalization allowed users to personalize their web pages and e-commerce offered shopping and other online sales. International properties were designed for those in different countries and had each country’s language and local content. By 1998, Yahoo had an estimated 100 million connected consumers, 167 million page views per day, and a market value of $30 billion. By 1998, they had an increased revenue for 1. 5 years. Industry Evolution The Internet was first used in the U. S. Military for defense in 1960.In 1986, the National Science Foundation used it for transferring research files and exchanging electronic mail. In 1991, Hyper text markup language (HTML) was created by Tim Berners Lee. This language allowed documents to link to one another through a host computer, and people could view graphics, audio and text. In 1994, the first internet browser was created. This allowed people to view web documents easily. Navig ation sites, called â€Å"portals,† soon followed. Portals had two types of consumers: non-paying users and paying companies that wanted to advertise.Portal companies typically made revenue through advertising, and they often paid for information that would be exclusive to their site, such as news and sports. Click-thrus and referral fees made up a majority of their revenues from consumers, as well as targeted placements. During the 1990s, personal computers began to sell quickly for home use. Computers were sold with modems, software, a browser, and a way to access the internet. The two browsers that were commonly used were Netscape and MSN. Portals could be chosen by the consumer, but they often came included on the computers.Consumers also chose portals based on habit, quality of information, and brand. Access to the internet was usually done through the phone company, and later high-speed broadband was offered through cable providers. Internet usage began to increase at a fast pace and soon there were millions of people using the internet daily in many countries around the world. Industry Attractiveness Using Porter’s five forces model, we conclude that the bargaining power of the content providers varied depending on the relevance of the information.The bargaining power of suppliers of unique information, such as popular real-time news or sports, was high. Some of the portals paid companies a monthly rate up to $50,000 for information. However, that bargaining power of other suppliers of information such as specialized content, which was less crucial to the portal, is moderately high. This could range between $2,500 to $20,000 per month. Nevertheless, some of the smaller content providers would receive free placement in exchange for their information. Overall, the bargaining suppliers of the most important information is very high.Technology and labor were also suppliers. The threat of new entrants to the industry is high. However, the capit al requirements in order for a new entrant to compete is also very high. During the first few years after Yahoo was launched, many other entrants decided to enter the market. There would be even more entrants in the next few years. Yet, most of the companies that compete against Yahoo are not making money, they are actually losing money. There are many substitutes in the industry that users may prefer to use instead of a portal.Portals considered themselves to be media companies and not just a search engine. Some of the substitutes of portals are television, newspapers, movies, magazines, and even other non-portal websites. In addition, the bargaining power of major paying customers, those who want to advertise on the portals, is very high. In spite of this, the bargaining power of small paying customers is moderate. The smallest orders of advertisement were $1000. But all of the deals where typically negotiated. Moreover, the competitive rivalry is very intense. The only two portal s who were making money in 1998 are Yahoo and AOL.However, AOL was not only a portal, it also provided internet access, which provided the majority of their income. Yahoo was the only portal that was not also an ISP and was still profitable. In summary, the overall attractiveness to enter the industry is very low. The industry is saturated with many different types of competitors, and the start up cost for a new entrant is extremely high. Performance and Strategy When Yahoo invented the first internet â€Å"portal,† it also created the internet portal industry There was virtually no competition and it was able to quickly secure large market segments.It had the â€Å"blue ocean† at its feet as it created new demand in an uncontested market. Yahoo saw the value of creating a user-friendly Internet portal before anyone else. By moving quickly and efficiently, Yahoo was able to negotiate, and frequently dictate, pricing with partners which led to large amounts of revenue. Yahoo’s performance has been very effective, resulting in positive revenue gains leading to profitability in 1998. Yahoo chose a strategy based on forming strategic partnerships that simply added value to the company.They decidedly chose not to merge with other companies in order to retain full control of operations. This way, Yahoo executives were able to take full advantage of both its position and revenue streams and reinvest into the company. This would create value-adding â€Å"properties† and services and thus stay ahead of the competition. The strategy that Yahoo implemented proved very successful. This strategy was one of simplicity and independence compared with their other competitors. They had a maintained a business plan that was developed in 1995 and a one-year operating plan that showed their financial goals and top priorities.They did not have a detailed marketing plan. The employees worked in close quarters, although the structure of the firm was hierar chal. Employees worked in cubicles to save costs. Yahoo was the only portal, aside from AOL, to post profits in 1998. AOL’s profits were significantly larger than Yahoo’s due to the fact that they generated large amounts of revenue as an Internet service provider (ISP). By selling access to the internet, AOL gained revenue from both Internet use and access, while Yahoo generated revenue only from internet advertising.In 1998, it seemed that Yahoo was trending toward losing market share to AOL because would have been wise to invest money into becoming an ISP, however as we have seen, the dominant ISPs have become companies like AT&T and MCI, companies that control the means of communication, namely the phone lines and satellites. Yahoo has kept their basic strategy. Yahoo possesses in-house expertise in engineering. All in all, their strategy has been very successful until 1999. Mergers & Acquisitions of Competitors There were many mergers and acquisitions in the portal industry during 1998 and January 1999.Media sites such as Disney and NBC were partnering with portals such as Infoseek and Snap to gain a competitive advantage and market share. Internet service providers were also acquiring portals with the hopes of gaining more consumers and increasing their profits. For example, the service provider @Home acquired Yahoo’s main competitor Excite, while AOL acquired the very popular Netscape. The internet and portal industry was new for the public in the 1990s. Although there were billions of dollars being spent in e-commerce and by advertisers, the portal industry had only a few years of data to compare when creating a new strategy.Many companies relied on analysts’ predictions for revenue, which may not have been accurate. The strategies ranged from ISP’s hosting portals, media company mergers with portals, and portals acquiring numerous smaller businesses. While some of the strategies seemed to make logical sense, the only two portals that created a profit in 1998 were Yahoo and AOL. The problem with many of these acquisitions and mergers was the amount of money that was being spent at the risk of their stakeholders, particularly their capital market stakeholders. For example, @Home paid $6. billion for Excite, but only a few years later, @Home filed for bankruptcy (Source). These internet service providers and portals had a first-mover advantage so they were able to gain a large market share. Increased competition brought about mergers and acquisitions which consolidated power within fewer companies, in hopes of gaining more of a competitive advantage and greater market share. A Strategy Change? Koogle and his team were aware of the intense competition in the external environment and considered it’s options. Though they were successful and profitable, they were unsure of the future.Their strategy was basic and they had used one business plan, which never changed. They were an independent compa ny, unlike some of their competitors. The management at Yahoo should continue observing the market and begin to create a new business and marketing plan. The portal industry is growing and becoming fiercely competitive, and with Yahoo’s main competitor Excite flaunting their slogan, â€Å"Still with the same old Yahoo? † they should consider changing their strategy. Their high stock price has allowed them to hire some of the most skilled engineers. This, along with capital has allowed them the option to either â€Å"make† or â€Å"buy† companies.Partnering with other businesses that have interest in their company such as AT&T, MCI, Time Warner, and News Corporation may be good options. They also have the capital to acquire Geocities, which is another internet portal. They can also negotiate exclusive distribution deals with personal computer makers such as Compaq, Gateway, HP, and IBM in order to secure market share and increase its customer base. Yahoo s hould adjust their strategy because as their competitors continue to partner with other firms, their customers will likely choose to advertise with these larger companies and they risks losing millions in profits.The best option for Yahoo would be to approach News Corporation and negotiate a possible media partnership in the future. This will allow Yahoo to gain more consumers while leaving them with control of the company. It is not wise to sell because Yahoo has an estimated worth of $30 billion, and their rival Excite had just sold for less than $7 billion. (I/O) Model of Above-Average Returns Yahoo invented the internet portal industry. In 1994, the external environment of the industry was void of economies of scale and barriers to market entry.There was no need for diversification or product differentiation, and there were no other firms to compete with. Yahoo had a simple strategy that capitalized on its first-mover advantage, its access to top engineering talent in Silicon Va lley, and its vision that focused on creating a user-friendly entry point for the internet. This simple strategy was sufficient for above-average returns in the early days of the industry, but as the internet evolved and industry competition increased, Yahoo realized it needed to reevaluate their position in the industry in order to continue enjoying the same above-average returns. External Environment: Several mergers and acquisitions had consolidated ISPs, portals, media companies, and content providers. Yahoo had was the only portal not in talks with a major partner. †¢ Attractive Industry: Yahoo is still the largest portal in the industry. This position makes the industry attractive, however the growing competition makes the position unsecure. †¢ Strategy Formulation: Yahoo can no longer survive on its own. Its partnership with telecommunication giant AT&T is losing strength as AT&T looks to provide customers with web content, no longer needing the content provided by Yahoo.Yahoo needs to partner with traditional media companies, secure more distribution deals with computer companies, improve technologies that would enhance the speed and usability of their search engine. †¢ Assets and Skills: Yahoo has a reputation for independence and tough negotiations. Moving forward, executives will need to be able to build and maintain relationships with potential partners. Yahoo currently has access to the top engineering and management talent in Silicon Valley. Strategy Implementation: Meet with executives from telecommunication, traditional media, and personal computer companies with the goal of creating exclusive partnerships. This will boost brand recognition, increase customer base, increase market share and profitability. Building and maintaining these relationships will lead to future growth. Resource-Based Model of Above-Average Returns It was necessary for Yahoo to also evaluate their internal environment. Resources and capabilities were essen tial for the success of the company, as well as a competitive advantage, strategy formulation and implementation, and an attractive industry. Resources: Yahoo has the top engineering and management talent in Silicon Valley. It has a popular product with a loyal customer base. It has financial resources, a market capitalization valued at $30 billion. †¢ Capabilities: Yahoo was able to secure the position of industry leader, secure distribution deals and valuable partnerships, and create an internet portal that customers widely valued over the competition. †¢ Competitive Advantage: Internally, Yahoo’s resources and capabilities exceeds that of its competitors.Superior talent, better vision of what a portal should offer, and effective execution all contributed to Yahoo’s early success. However it needs to combine its resources and capabilities through strategic partnerships in order to maintain its competitive advantage. †¢ Attractive Industry: As the leade r in the internet portal industry, Yahoo executives can exploit opportunities to merge or form partnerships with any number of major industry companies. †¢ Strategy Formulation and Implementation: Yahoo’s early success is attributed to its executives utilizing its talent, industry position, partnerships and financial resources.Management needs to direct these resources and capabilities toward strategic partnerships with traditional media and personal computer companies in order to create value-adding partnerships, boost brand recognition, increase customer base, and increase market share and profitability. Building and maintaining these relationships will lead to future growth. The use of both the I/O model and the Resource Based Model are crucial for Yahoo to analyze and use as they formulate their strategy for earning high profits. SWOT Analysis When analyzing Yahoo, it is clear that they have many strengths.One of their main strengths is their strong brand image compa red to their competition. Yahoo is currently the second biggest business in the industry both in the United States and globally after Google. Also, Yahoo was the first business to enter into this new industry, with it’s portals, commonly known as search engines now. In addition, Yahoo built many strategic partnerships. These strategic partnerships were negotiated by the business development staff at Yahoo. One example of a strong strategic partnership was teaming up wit AT&T in order to combine Yahoo! s services with access to the Internet. Yahoo also had a few weaknesses. Yahoo was lacking a long-term strategy, and their unwillingness to embrace the changes in the industry. They also did not offer Internet access like other portals such as AOL and MSN. The company had many opportunities. For instance, they had the opportunity to do strategic acquisitions or partnerships with other companies in order to ensure that their leadership will not be taken away by other companies th at were involved in mergers and acquisitions. Additionally, Yahoo had the opportunity of the growing online advertising market.Expenditures for online advertising grew from $0 in 1994 to $2 billion in 1998, and they were expected to keep growing exponentially. A third opportunity that Yahoo had is to keep expanding to more countries. Yahoo had international properties in 18 countries, but there are many other countries where Yahoo can keep expanding. The threats that Yahoo was facing were the very intense competition and government regulations. As the Internet industry evolved, regulations became more strict and the government becomes more involved. References Cnet. Feb-21-2011. http://news. cnet. com/2100-1033-273689. html

Drama Assignment

LHE 3253 TEACHING THE LANGUAGE OF DRAMA Assignment 1 Dorothy Ting Siao Wei 153071 Dr. Habsah Bt Hussin Submission date: 19 Oct 2011 THE JEWELS OF THE SHRINE 1. One of the themes of this play is  false relationship  among family members. Quote the part(s) in the play where you can discern this theme. Throughout the play the theme false relationship among family members is seen. Firstly, it is seen in the character of Bassi. Bassi is not related to Okorie at all but is seen to be always around the house attending to Okorie. It is as if she is his wife when she is not at all. She is actually married elsewhere and have kids. This is seen in several parts where she appears. â€Å" Bassi: It is enough, Grandfather. Long talk make you tired. Come, your food is now ready. Okorie: Woman, I cannot eat. When happiness fills your heart, you cannot eat. † From here we see how Bassi would advice Okorie to stop talking and eat his meal. Her tone sounds like a wife who cares for a husband rather than a married woman of a neighbor. â€Å"Bassi (holding him and leading him to sit on the bed): You are excited. You know that whenever you are excited, you begin to forget things. Okorie: That is not my fault. It is old age. Well, but what was I saying? † Here we even see Bassi sending Okorie to bed which could be hardly seen in olden times. Bassi is a married woman with her own husband which she should be putting to bed with rather than a senile old man. But she did and she did in gently like how a wife would. Perhaps there is a sincerity of the treatment she gave but there’s no legit relationship that they have. The other place in the play where false relationship among family members is seen is when Arob and Ojuma started treating Okorie nicely just because they heard something like a great inheritance that they will get if they treat him nicely and bury him with great honour. All of these can be seen in the following excerpts of the play. â€Å"Ojima: At last, poor Grandfather is gone. I wonder if he know that we only played up just to get something from his will. Arob: Well, it didn’t matter to him. He believed us, and that is why he has left his property to us. A few months ago he would rather have thrown it all into the sea. † 2. From the language used by Okorie, Arob and Ojuma in their dialogue, what can you discern about their relationship? Give two factors contributing to the disintegration of family units and children neglecting their filial duties toward their elders. From the language used by Okorie, Arob and Ojuma in their dialogue, it seemed like their relationship is not a good one. Okorie doesn’t even call or refer to his grandsons as his grandsons but people and Arob and Ojuma didn’t speak properly or with respect all the time. In my opinion, one of the factors contributing to the disintegration of family units and children neglecting their filial duties toward their elders is, the lack of proper discipline in the family. As seen in the play, Arob and Ojuma’s father passed away earlier than their grandfather, Okorie. No one disciplined them or brought them up in the proper manner. Okorie might have even spoilt them when they were younger so there was no sense of fear and respect from both of them towards their grandfather. They cannot even see the contribution of their grandfather and appreciate him. They even took everything that is his and sold them to get whatever finances that they could get. They never had anyone to discipline them. The other factor that contributes to their misbehavior is a growing sense of selfishness that comes with the welcoming of modernity. As seen and discussed by Okorie and the stranger at the beginning of the play, it seemed like the society has been getting more and more selfish and cruel that they don’t take care of older people but mistreat them too. With the coming of new technologies, new development that first enters the city, more selfishness prevails and the people are getting crueler. They only think about their own welfare, their own happiness and they just disregard for any other people, even the older people in their own family who are flesh and blood. It seemed like all that does not matter at all anymore. Everything is about their own pleasure and comfort and no one else. MOTHER’S DAY 3. Mrs. Pearson’s difficulty in speaking her mind and communicating the truth with her family had caused her much unhappiness. Quote the part(s) in the Play where you can discern this quality in Mrs. Pearson. There are several parts in the play where Mrs. Pearson depicts her difficulty in speaking her mind and conveying the truth with her family. Firstly is when Mrs. Fitzgerald came to visit her at her house and they were talking casually when the subject of her unhappiness in her home came up. When Mrs. Fitzgerald advised her to be firm and do something about it she became apologetic saying, â€Å"That’s easier said than done. Besides, I’m so fond of them even if they are so thoughtless and selfish. They don’t mean to be†¦Ã¢â‚¬  It shows that she does love her family although they are thoughtless and selfish but she gave them too much leeway that they mistreated her by not thinking about her but only themselves. She finds it hard to speak her mind also because she doesn’t like confrontations and she is mighty afraid to make others feel unpleasant. She doesn’t know how to tell them how she felt. She only drops hints to them. This is seen later when she said, â€Å"I – keep dropping a hint†¦Ã¢â‚¬  and â€Å"†¦ But I do hate any unpleasantness. And it’s so hard to know where to start. I keep making up my mind to have it out with them – but somehow I don’t know how to begin. † It is also pretty obvious from the way she kept having pauses in her speaking and getting embarrassed and sending a sense of hopelessness that she has very low confidence which, I believe contributed in her difficulty in communicating the truth with her family. Even when she talks to Mrs. Fitzgerald, she has lots of pauses as seen, â€Å"Mrs. Fitzgerald – I know you mean well – in fact, I agree with you – but I can’t – and it’s no use you trying to make me. If I promise you I’d really have it out with them, I know I wouldn’t be able to keep my promise. 4. Discuss effective communication skills that Mrs. Pearson should inculcate in herself to make her family be respectful of her and appreciate her more. Mrs. Pearson needs to learn to speak more confidently and perhaps, be more confident about herself. If she kept bein g not confident about herself, she will not get anywhere. Her lack of confidence shows in her communication and her family, who seemed to consist of stronger personalities will take advantage of her lack of confidence and mistreat her. Mrs. Pearson needs to know her role in the family is a mother and a wife and not a servant and she eeds to realize that she needs to stand firm and strong in her role in the family as a mother and a wife by speaking more with confidence and a sense of authority and eliminate her habit of always being apologetic and trying to explain. This will help her family recognize her as she executes orderliness in her family, establishing boundaries and a sense of respect within her family. Through that, her family will respect her and she will be able to teach and perhaps train them to have proper manners and a sense of respect for people especially towards her. If she is able to establish that, her family will not step all over her and know that she is serious and not one to simply mess with. Mrs. Pearson needs to also speak clearly and directly to her family, to convey her true wishes to them so that they will know what she wants, how she feels and what she wants them to do and they will be able to understand her better and treat her well. She cannot just throw hints at them because in general, a lot of people cannot pick up hints. Only those who are sensitive and does pay attention to little details will pick up hints but these kind of people are rare unless the hints are too obvious to ignore. Mrs. Pearson also needs to eliminate her fear of confrontation and fear of unpleasant atmospheres because confrontations are necessary to convey clear messages and not at all evil. Unpleasant atmospheres cannot be avoided totally also in all relationships as each human are unique, complete with strengths and weaknesses so certain unpleasantness will come naturally once in a while and it is not necessarily bad, just depending on how one deals with it and also the cause of it. A MARRIAGE PROPOSAL 5. In this Play, conflict in the form of argument prevents Lomov from asking Natalia to marry him. Extract sample dialogues from the Play to indicate where the conflicts are. There are two conflicts that happened in the play. Firstly, Lomov got into an argument with Natalia about who owns the meadows when he was trying to propose to her. The argument went as followed: â€Å"LOMOV: †¦ and my property, as you know, adjoins your own. If you will be so good as to remember, my meadows touch your birchwoods. NATALIA: Pardon the interruption. You said â€Å"my meadows† – but are they yours? LOMOV: Yes, they belong to me. NATALIA: What nonsense! The meadows belong to us – not you! LOMOV: No, to me! Now, my dear Natalia Stepanovna! NATALIA: Well, this is certainly news to me. How do they belong to you? LOMOV: How? I am speaking of the meadows lying between your birchwoods and my brick earth. NATALIA: Yes, exactly. They belong to us†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Lomov and Natalia continued arguing and then a series of things happened and he got chased out of the house and asked to come back again to get engaged to Natalia. Then the second conflict happened when they started talking about hunting and they argued about whose dog is a better dog, Otkatai or Ugadi. The argument went as followed: â€Å"LOMOV: †¦Really? Otkatai is better than Ugadi? What an idea! Otkatai better than Ugadi! NATALIA: Of course he is better. It is true Otkatai is still young; he isn’t full-grown yet, but in the pack or on the leash with two or three, there is no better than he, even- LOMOV: I really beg you rpardon, Natalia Stepanovna, but you quite overlooked the fact that he has a short lower jaw, and a dog with a short lower jaw can’t snap. NATALIA: Short lower jaw? That’s the first time I ever heard that! LOMOV: I assure you, his lower jaw is shorter than the upper. NATALIA: Have you measured it? LOMOV: I have measured it. He is good at running though†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Their argument, yet again, went on for a while and Tschubukov came in and forced them to quickly get engaged. Right after they are engaged, they continued with their arguing. 6. If Natalia and Lomov get married, what should they do to minimize conflicts in their marriage? If Natalia and Lomov get married, they should learn the art of communication. Lomov’s speech seemed too elaborated and containing too much details which are so unnecessary and long. If he learns to communicate clearly and directly while also respecting the other, it would have lessened so much miscommunication. Natalia should also learn to be less sensitive over petty issues. Perhaps the issue of who the meadow belongs to is important for her but she could have expressed her disagreement in a gentler manner without flying off the handle and her opinions could have been easier to be taken in. Both of them should learn how to manage their anger and know ow to discuss issues or difference of opinions in a more civilized manner rather than getting heated up so fast and raising their voice at each other. They need to look at the other’s perspective and try to be more understanding. They could have responded in a more neutral manner and there would not have much conflict. They should also learn to be more selfless and put each other higher than themsel ves. From the way they have argued, they seemed rather selfish, insisting that they themselves are right instead of tolerating each other and they also go to the point of degrading the other’s opinions. They need to learn not to cross the boundary, to respect each other’s opinions and not to put down each other. They also need to work out their differences and look for each other’s similarities. Natalie really wanted to marry Lomov so obviously there is something that she likes about him and the fact that Lomov went to propose to Natalia also indicates that there is attraction. They need to focus on the good points, especially the things they love about each other and always be reminded of that and not let petty arguments get in the way.

Monday, July 29, 2019

Clean Edge Case Questions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Clean Edge Case Questions - Essay Example This functions to maintain sales and productivity for the old products while establishing a niche in the market for the new products. The idea is to avoid the new product from cannibalizing the old products while simultaneously maintaining a competitive edge for an organization’s entire product range. The customer’s sense of utility for both products should remain high for both products. There is a real threat of the new product over-shadowing the old product; therefore, it is paramount for the marketing team to have ample preparation for such an eventuality. Defects in the new product released warrants management to either recall the released products. This is a weakness, which the organization should strive to eradicate (Beckham & Quelch). Non-disposable razor use is categorized into two general types. The first is the everyday shaver, which seeks to create an ultimate shaving experience for consumers. The product’s affordability ranges from high to low-end. Conversely, the second category is the general shaver, which is available for all consumers depending on their financial capabilities. The R&D department at Clean Edge seeks to find out consumers’ frequency of use, their budget and their expectations of the product; for example, a consumer’s lifestyle determines the type of razor they require. I would recommend Clean Edge being sold as a niche positioned product, which offers the ultimate shaving experience for men who shave routinely and who seek a superior razor and performance razor. This will appeal to the functionality appeal of the consumer for a non-disposable, high quality razor. This will maintain the competitive edge that Clean Edge has and set it apart as a high quality product- a must have which appeals to the masculine in the male consumer. I would not recommend the mainstream positioning of the Clean Edge, as it would face harsh competition form the already flooded market. It could also spell the decline in

Sunday, July 28, 2019

Patient's Bill of Rights Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Patient's Bill of Rights - Essay Example He claims that the state has denied him the right to proper medical attention due to his health ramifications. The bureaucratic insurance companies have bottlenecked his efforts to access full medical cover owing to diabetic condition. The pre-existent condition suffered by John places him at a disadvantageous position in the social arena. His condition limit his ability to access affordable health insurance if he becomes self-employed, secures a job in a company that does not proffer coverage, or experience a life changing circumstances like retirement, divorce or relocation to a different state (HHS, 2011). That is when the Affordable Care Act comes to his aid. If it were, at any rate, rescinded, John would suffer a circumstantial health blow dealt by nature in the event of sickness. The Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan provides John with protection against egregious insurance companies’ discriminative health-oriented policies. ... for pre-existing condition, and Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan have been set up to cater for those uninsured but have a pre-existing condition (HealthCare.gov, 2010). Despite this preexistent health condition, the interim Affordable Care Act that the congress amended on June 22, 2010 caters for John’s health issue.. The Act provides for the safeguard of his health by enshrining health related regulations. It contains the Pre-Existing condition Insurance Plan that offers protection for John. It avails health coverage to US citizens. John stands to benefit from what the plan has to offer as meticulously elaborated in the plan. The benefits include primary and specialty care, hospital care, prescription drugs and treatment of pre-existing condition. Also, the program charge normal premiums irrespective of the medical condition and income are not the ground for legibility (HealthCare.gov, 2010). The State have several Federal-run programs that provide a legal framework gear ed towards addressing John’s health dilemma. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services effects the Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan. However, there are laid-down requirements that John must comply with for health coverage. They include documents like a letter from a health practitioner indicating his name, his medical condition, name of the practitioner, license number, state of licensure, and signature; denial letter from an insurance company licensed in John’s state; the rejected offer of the insurance coverage that says John’s condition won’t be covered in the event of acceptance of the offer and/or the premium get overcharged because he was underage or he lived in Massachusetts or Vermont. All the above documents should be dated within a one-year period (HealthCare.gov,

Saturday, July 27, 2019

A project is defined set of rules or functions that meet the Assignment

A project is defined set of rules or functions that meet the pre-defined set of objectives - Assignment Example Management refers to control the over all activities or to manage the system with respect to technical skills and philosophy. Management also refers to manage the whole team and get them together and take work from them in timely and friendly manner. Project management means set of rules that are created to manage resources (e.g. people, money) and over all organization. There are different activities that need to manage the project so that one can achieve the goal in time with the feasible money and cost requirement. PMBOK (Project Management Body of Knowledge as defined by the Project Management Institute - PMI):"Project management is the application of knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to project activities to meet project requirements." PRINCE2 project management methodology: "The planning, monitoring and control of all aspects of the project and the motivation of all those involved in it to achieve the project objectives on time and to the specified cost, quality and performance." There is a project for developing the computerize system for a National Bank. The bank has many branches all over the country and wants that one branch can communicate to other branch through the created computerized system. Basically whenever a project is going to be created it is necessary to cover its all features like used requirements, his desire outcomes, they way he wants to see the project, his thinking about project, his cost about creating the system and quality about the project. Then there should be a breakdown process which means to break the large project into sub modules. These sub modules are individual to each other and perform a specific task. This is called work break down (WBS). It also helpful for doing the task, Moreover it help to check the error and bugs into the program. There can be future enhancements or updates also done very well. If the Bank (National Bank) project is divided into sub modules then there will be: Figure: Work break down (WBS) for national Bank After these entire modules division there are some basic procedures that project team needs to create the algorithm about developing the project. Algorithm means step by step procedure to solve any problem. This means how to project can be develop. After creation of algorithm, there must be a pictorial representation of all

Friday, July 26, 2019

Hall of frame for president of us Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Hall of frame for president of us - Essay Example He is recognized for his efforts in making the country the world’s superpower during the war. He also had a vision of protecting the county’s citizens from the effects of the great depression. His legislation that guided the country through the great depression makes him a good leader (Stadelmann, 2009). Theodore Roosevelt was a great president who used his influence to the citizens to accept his ideologies. His influential ability helped him to get legislation passed in the congress (Stadelmann, 2009). He was the first president to use his influence to drive his foreign policies with other countries, and this ensured good international relations with them. William Jefferson Clinton is another great US president who is admired for his ability to handle crisis and scandals. He managed scandals effectively without letting them interfere with his leadership. I also like President Ronald Reagan due to his great communication skills; he would influence the public through his speeches and inspire the public through his messages (Bolno, n.d). President John Fitzgerald Kennedy is one of the best influential leaders that I have always admired. He is presumed to have had some leadership attributes from his father who had served as an ambassador in 1937 to 1940. He is renowned for his leadership styles, which the subsequent presidents of the United States have tried to emulate over the years. John Kennedy is best favorable president due to his leadership attributes were exhibited throughout his life. His first attribute as a great leader is charisma. This is due to his ability to inspire people through his practical choice of words. His messages motivated people to accept his leadership policies. He chose very wise words to manage crisis by demonstrating an ability to handle delicate situations amicably. The second attribute that I like about him was his visionary leadership. Kennedy was seen as a visionary leader who shared his vision and goals of the count ry with all citizens through his speeches (Colvin, 2008). This attribute creates an understanding that the future of a country depends on the leaders’ vision. As a visionary leader, he was able to show the direction which he wanted to lead the country. Hence, through this, he received great credibility and support from many people. The third admirable leadership attribute of President Kennedy was that he was able to delegate (Hald, 2007). A leader needs to delegate some powers to his subordinates who should share the same ideologies so that he can ensure that objectives are met in time. In addition, Kennedy’s administration was made up of learned scholars who were competent to take up roles. Hence, Kennedy easily delegated his authority to some of his cabinet while still exercising his control powers. This was seen by his appointment of Dean Rusk as his secretary of state (Hald, 2007). The fourth attribute of Kennedy that I like is that of inspirational leadership, a l eader should inspire his followers towards excellence (Colvin, 2008). Moreover, President Kennedy inspired other people to excel in the duties that they were assigned to, and offered support towards achieving such goals. Therefore, this encouraged teamwork and unity because people felt as part of his government. Lastly, I admire the courage that President Kennedy portrayed especially in dealing with serious issues. Since he had previously served as in the navy, Kennedy was seen to be courageous when dealing

Thursday, July 25, 2019

Obesity Annotated Bibliography Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Obesity - Annotated Bibliography Example Nonetheless, obesity is a serious problem. Undeniably, obesity is a common problem that affects both the young and old age. In as much as biologists believe it is genetically motivated, much does not exist to substantiate such claims. Nevertheless, many have failed to provide quality information on the best way to treat the complication other than awareness campaigns. According to research, children who develop overweight at a tender age fail to meet various expectations in both class and the outside environment. Additionally, obese adults also have serious health complications leading to lifestyle diseases such as hypertension. It, therefore, is imperative to conduct research in this area not only to unearth the hidden challenges but also to suggest the way forward. The annotated biography makes use of various important sources of both statistical and theoretical formation. The works examine the causes, symptoms, prevention and control of obesity. Additionally, it examines the generational growth of obesity from a tender age to adulthood. Most importantly, the world also assimilates theories responsible for proliferation of obesity. It also takes into account the important role of past studies in teaching and stering a future free of obesity. Last but importantly, the works also present clear strategies of avoiding obesity, which has become a global problem. Undoubtedly, research in obesity plays a crucial role for not only medical experts but also the public at large. Apparently, many people suffer from obesity because of ignorance. Capacity building, therefore, is a sure strategy for eliminating and controlling the complication. In this light research in obesity is not only a capacity builder but also a breakthrough into the future of obesity. Mayo clinic is a reputable health organization, which has done research and examination of obesity. This site provides access to information regarding various symptoms of obesity. Understanding

Wednesday, July 24, 2019

Joseph Papp(Theatrical Producer) Research Paper

Joseph Papp(Theatrical Producer) - Research Paper Example At the age of twelve years, Papp had already learned a gig as a soprano boy at a Sephardic synagogue in Brooklyn. Since then, he developed an interest in theatre, and to him intolerance was a greater threat than poverty (Horn 21). He was also the pioneer of the New York Shakespeare Festival and the public Theatre and he was the most important person in the American theatre during the second phase of the 20th century. Although he was not so good a student in academic work, Joseph Papp went to the Actors Laboratory Theatre College, which was situated in Hollywood where he studied acting and directing from the year 1946 to 1948. With the help of his teachers, he was able to feel a strong urge for Shakespeare (Horn 23). This made him to get a position as an assistant stage director of the national touring company of an Arthur Millers â€Å"Death of a salesman,† (Ullom, 24) two years after graduating from the Actors Laboratory Theatre. He started the New York Shakespeare Festival a fter working for closely to two years as an assistant director for the CBS in New York City. The New York Festival that he started became so different organization from other theatrical institutions in that it was able to provide free and unrestricted presentations and performances of Shakespeare’s dramas across different places within the New York City, comprising the outdoor production at the Central Park. When the company was given the Delacorte Theatre as their lasting base, JosephPapp worked for a long time with little pay just to make sure that he established the festival by remaining the decision maker of the festival while producing and directing most of the dramas and plays by himself (Epstein 33). Papp later started again the New York Shakespeare Festival Public Theatre, in 1967, whose primary function was to look upon modern and tentative dramas. The majority of its productions in the end travelled to

Outline and discuss the main features of fascist political thought Essay - 1

Outline and discuss the main features of fascist political thought - Essay Example Example of those who became Prince by abilities includes; Moses from the bible, Cyrus the founder of Persian Empire, Romulus the famous founder of Rome and Theseus, a hero of Athens. In this book he has a goal to pass a message on how principalities can be governed in the best way and stored (Niccolà ²,  Russell & Quentin 2005). Machiavelli goes ahead and adds that hereditary principalities are easier to keep and maintain than the newly acquired ones because the rules are already set on the ground to follow. In hereditary principalities it is easier to regain lost power by regaining the love of his subjects again. He also talks about new principalities and mixed principalities which can be administered to the existing ones to the subjects. New rulers come with new territories and if they are from the same culture, region and language, ruling becomes easy. However, if the language and customs are different the new ruler needs a lot of skills, ability and luck to govern the subjects. He gives an example of King Louis XII who went to France in 1499 and adds that the king made many mistakes during his reign. He goes ahead and gives the three ways of keeping principality that is accustomed to living under its own rules. One can destroy it, live in it or accept a form of free government that is friendly and then it gets credits from it. Destroying it may be the only sure way to end it otherwise living in it could enslave one. According to Machiavelli, men who have ambitions, imitate other men with greatness. For a man to become a prince by ability, he has to win over their dominions by setting up new and inventive methods of government. It is necessary to use force to start a new system for example, Savaronola. However, one has to be armed to succeed after use of force. An example of a Prince who rose to the top through abilities is Francesco Sforza, the Duke form Milan. Due to his abilities, he sustained power easily and he ended up

Tuesday, July 23, 2019

Discuss the 'politics' of Doctor Who Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Discuss the 'politics' of Doctor Who - Essay Example This essay will examine these three articles. Discussion In the article â€Å"War Without End? Utopia, the Family and Post-9/11 World in Russell T. Davies Doctor Who,† author Alec Charles (2008) explains how Dr. Who responds to the contemporary world. One of the major events of the 21st Century was 9/11, and Doctor Who is reflective of this event. In fact, the 9/11 tragedy has been reflected in popular culture, including movies such as The Day After Tomorrow, Cloverfield, I Am Legend, and War of the Worlds. All of these films feature the destruction of New York City as their motif. This has been a trend that has always been popular, explains Charles (2008), as media science fiction has always tried to not only reflect popular trends, but to predict new ones. To be on the cutting edge of a trend, so to speak, while also reflecting what has gone before. As an example of this, Charles (2008) points to Star Trek: The Next Generation, which featured a peace achievement between the Federation and the Klingons’ Evil Empire, which was reflective of the peace that was to occur between the Soviet Union and the rest of the world, at the end of the Cold War. These are a few of the examples of science fiction echoing real life, and commenting upon the political issues of the day, while looking to the future to political issues of tomorrow. It is in this context that Charles (2008) locates Doctor Who. Specifically, the new incarnation of Doctor Who is modern, where the previous version was archaic. The previous version, which ran from 1963-1989, featured an older actor playing the titular role, and the series became outmoded by the end of its run. In the new version, the titular hero is played by a younger man in a leather coat, who shares a kiss with a bisexual male companion, stirring up controversy and locating the series squarely in the 21st Century. This is not the only touch that brings it up to date. The show also features pop cultural references  œ game shows, reality TV, soap opera, news, music and politics – which puts the individual into a historical context, in that the history that is being referenced is recent history. In fact, the show also exemplifies the axiom put forth by the head show writer, Russell Davies, who believes that there it not â€Å"history, there’s just people† (p. 453). Charles (2008) states that this contextualizes Doctor Who, while putting the titular character into the New World Order. Davies has made the show contemporary by not only featuring modern storylines, a modern character, and modern popular culture relics, but also features modern political concerns. This is what ties the show to the post 9/11 culture. It is a feature of the post 9/11 culture that there is, or was, a concern regarding chemical weapons that might be used against citizens of the West. To this end, Doctor Who has featured direct storylines that echo this concern about chemical weapons, as well as our c oncern regarding internment tactics. These are not the only allusions to popular and current events. Other references concern whether America is at war with Europe – In â€Å"Voyage of the Damned†

Monday, July 22, 2019

Organizational Behavior Study Guide Essay Example for Free

Organizational Behavior Study Guide Essay Organizational Behavior – is the understanding of how organizations work and how to have people perform efficiently. It is extracted from different areas of study, and is interested in how these fields are integrated into workplace behavior. Basic Leadership Model – knowledge of OB x behavioral skills = leadership effectiveness Organizational Behavior – 1) individual level is where members make sense of the world and derive motivation. 2) how teams function. How they deal, ethical decision making, and power politics. 3) Organizational level – how the firm is structured, selecting developing talent, creating sustaining a culture, manage change. Behavioral skills – facilitate team decision making, effective communication, effective negotiation, use power wisely, and managers organization change. Organization change over time – theories become more complex and and yet more accurate but they are harder to apply since they are all based on the situation and culture limits the applicability of these theories also. Pre 20 century – work was done from home/crafts, orgs were military and church, Adam Smith division of labor and theories of use of machinery to save labor costs. 1900 – industrialism and mass production using division of labor. 1920 – scientific management fred taylor: cult of efficiency task analysis, standardization, pay by performance, training, and systemic selection. Classical management: Henry Fayle: PODSC: planning, organizing, directing, staffing, and controlling. Unity of command: one leader, specialization: doing one activity and people got good at it so replacing was easy. Scalar chain: the yields of an output TxC input multiplied by constant. Span of control: how many subordinates under control. During this time was 5 to 7 now its over 20. 1930 Hawthorne studies by Elton mayo. Findings were that interaction in the test group had increased productivity; feelings and supervision had big effect in production. Informal groups also were formed due to interaction. 1940 –group dynamics: when teams made their own decisions they required more information to be shared with employees and yet this was complex but made them have a sense of commitment to the job. Bureaucracy with Max Weber: job descriptions, specific responsibility, written rules, right of appeal, fair and equal treatment and managing became a profession to learn. 1950- Task leaders were only concerned with accomplishing the task. Social leaders were concerned with employees. Limits to rationality suffice rather than maximize. There is a limit of how much info. You can absorb. Gordon Howell: it asked for professionalism and more scientific knowledge. 1960,1970-Systems thinking environment and organization explaining and predicting behavior. Contingency thinking variables on factors. Leadership is contingent on many factors. 1980 and now – Mckribbin porter studies asked for more communication, and social skills and cultural diversity. Leader-awareness will make a better leader. Biographical traits, personality, attitudes and values, ability influences your perception and motives. And perception and motivation influence productivity, absence, turnover, and satisfaction. When hiring: skills, attitudes and values, and personality are looked at if you fit in the organization and see how well you work in teams. People who don’t fit in will have low performance high absenteeism/turnover. Age-older people are less likely to be absent for avoidable reasons and more likely to be absent for unavoidable reasons. (such as illness). Older people have les employment opportunities. Their job provides them with higher wages and pension benefits. Productivity there is no relation with age. Positive satisfaction 60+. Gender- no gender differences and no differences in productivity. Women are more likely to be absent because of children. Marital status- in general married people are more stable, brings job to be more valuable, fewer absence and turnover rates, more satisfied. Tenure – people who have been around for a long while are likely to stay and there is decreased turnover. Tenure on previous jobs help predict employees future turnover. Promotes conveys loyalty. Extra experience leads to increased productivity. Ability – skills that individual posses. Intellectual ability: mental activities, thinking, reasoning and problem solving. Those individuals who have a high intellectual ability and work at jobs that do not challenge them become bored and lack motivation. Physical ability: require physical traits for some jobs. Emotional intelligence: self awareness becoming aware of yourself and your areas of strength. Self management working without constant supervision. Self motivated ability to persist if there is setbacks or failures, social skills the ability to deal with others and their emotions, empathy ability to sense how others are feeling. Emotional intelligence affects job performance as employees can relate to each other. Cultural Values – experiences learned that shape our behavior. High low power distance: how equal or unequal you are between others in your society, u.s is low/democratic. Uncertainity avoidance: preferring structure than unstructured. Cognitive dissoance: when there is a conflicting emotion or tension after making a decision. Refers to any incompatibility than an individual might perceive between two or more if his or her attitudes, or between his or her behavior and attitudes. Personality – heredity, environment, situations determine personality. Locus of control: the degree to which people believe they are masters of their own fate. When we succeed we take credit for it, but when we fail, we blame others. Internals: in control of our destiny and are more satisfied and fewer absences. Externals: believe their lives are controlled by outside forces higher absences and less satisfaction. Extroversion: social, assertive. Introverted: reserved, timid. Machiavellianism: pragmatic, emotional distant, ends justify means, aggressive tactics. High mach’s: less persuaded, win more, manipulate more, flourish face to face and when there’s no rules. Self esteem: more confidence, higher risk takers. Self monitoring: ability to adjust to external behavior and situations. High Self monitors: aware of outside cues, and put on faces. Perceptions-input gives meaning to surrounding. Influenced by perceiver: attitudes, motives, interests, experiences, expectations. Target: motion, size, background, similarity. Situation: time, work, social. We judge people to find a behavior based on motives and interests. Attribution Theory- Attribution theory- Tries to explain the ways in which we judge people differently, depending on the meaning we attribute to a given behavior. We attempt to determine if a given behavior is internally or externally caused. Assessed by 3 factors: Distinctiveness- whether an individual displays different behaviors in different situations. Consensus- is his response unique or expected from everyone in a similar situation? Consistency- does the person respond the same way over time? Fundamental attribution error- The tendency to underestimate the influence of external factors and overestimate the internal factors when making judgments about others’ behaviors. Self-serving bias- The tendency for individuals to atribute their own successes to internal factors and blame failures on external factors. Frequently used shortcuts in judging others: Selective perception- The tendency to selectively interpret what one sees on the basis of one’s interest, background, experience, and attitudes. Halo effect- the tendency to draw a general impression about an individual on a basis of a single characteristic. â€Å"he is all good and nothing bad† or vice versa. Contrast effect- Evaluation of a person’s characteristics that is affected by comparison with other people recently encountered who rank higher or lower on the same characteristic. Ie. Someone being assessed right after an expert or someone that does a bad job will affect how you view that person. Stereotyping- Judging someone on the basis of one’s perception of the group to which that person belongs.Profiling/Stereotyping- A form of stereotyping in which a group of individuals is singed out- typically on basis of race, ethnicity- for intensive inquiry, scrutiny, or investigation.Self- fulfilling prophecy- a situation in which a person inaccurately perceives a second person, and the resulting expectations cause the second person to behave in ways consistent with the original perception. Motivation- how much effort an individual puts forth to achieve organizational goals. Performance = motivation, ability, opportunity. Learning Theory – environment determines an individuals behavior. Law of Effect(operant conditioning, or reinforcement theory) behavior is a function of its consequences. People got to learn to behave a way to get what the want. Shaping Behavior- individuals behavior is shaped by rewarding each successive step that moves them closer to a desired response. Positive reinforcement: following a desired response with something pleasant, negative: following a response by termination or withdrawal of something unpleasant. Punishment: causing an unpleasant condition to eliminate an undesirable behavior. Extinction: eliminating any reinforcement that maintains behavior. Applied: Well pay vs sick pay, lotteries, and recognition programs. Need Theory- the individual is in control of changing behavior and not the environment. Maslows Hierarchy: Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. From Low to high. 1. Physiological- food, water, shelter, bodily needs 2. Safety- protection from emotional and physical harm 3. Social- affection, belongingness, friends 4. Esteem- self respect, autonomy, recognition, attention 5. Self actualization- achieving full potential, growth As each need becomes satisfied the next need becomes dominant. A substantial satisfied need no longer motivates. High order needs: internally satisfied such as social , esteem, and self actualization. Low order needs: externally and psycho and safety needs. Extrinsic rewards such as pay tends to decrease motivation for something that was intrinsically rewarding. Extrinsic rewards given to someone performing an interesting task causes interest in the task. Two factor theory: intrinsic factors such as advancement, recognition, responsibility, and achievement, are related to job satisfaction and extrinsic factors such as supervision, pay, company policies, and working conditions are associated with dissatisfaction. Hygiene factors – these factors are conditions surrounding the job â€Å"low order needs† and people complain about and in order to motivate people on the job hertzburg suggests to emphasize characteristics that people find intrinsically rewarding. Equity Theory- comparison of outcomes such as rewards and promotions, to inputs such as effort, skills, experience, and knowledge to others in the organization and then respond to eliminate any inequities. Inequity (under rewarded) low performance and over rewarded performance will increase. Job enrichment (vertical)- is the vertical expansion of jobs, increasing the degree to which the worker controls the planning, execution, and evaluation of his or her work. Expanding jobs vertically gives employees the opportunities, responsibilities, and controls that were previously reserved for management. Autonomy, feed back results, feedback channel, and recognizes individuals desire to grow. Job enlargement (horizontal)- is the idea to expand jobs, more tasks to work with, broaden the job. Skill variety, task identity: seeing the job getting fully done, task significance allows employees to form natural work units where asks they perform create meaningful whole. Employee Involvement Programs- allows orgs to focus on areas their workers know best. Gives sense of belonging, power, information, attitudes/values, and rewards move down the org, allows high needs to be satisfied, becoming motivated, committed, performance up, and satisfied. Line of sight: things way too far away that decreased motivation. Expectancy Theory- belief that an employee will be motivated to exert effort when it will lead to good performance then reward and hence satisfy its goals. Developed by Victor Vroom. Expectancy (effort – performance) belief That effort will lead to good performance. Skills experience and performance clarity is satisfied. Instrumentality (performance – reward) belief that good performance will lead to desired outcomes. Valence (reward – personal goal) the degree to which org. rewards will satisfy your needs and how attractive they are intrinsic and extrinsic. Effort to perform = expectancy, instrumental, valance. Gain Sharing- a formula based on group incentive plan. Focuses on productivity cost saving rather than profits. Relies less on extrinsic factors. Gain can happen without profit. Skill based pay- pay levels are based on how many skills employees have. Technical, managerial, and social. Provides flexibility to perform diff. tasks and skills are interchangeable. Facilitates communication between people to gain better understanding of the jobs. Downside, no promotions and there are limitations to how much you can learn before you top out. Timed training rotation: periodic shifting of an employee from one task to another. When employee becomes not challenged the employee is changed to maintain motivation levels high. Trait Theory- differs leaders from non-leaders. By looking at personal qualities to traits. Works well when in no structure or ambiguous teams. Leaders are born not made. Emergence of leadership rather than the leaders effect on performance. They have to be ambitious, energy, honesty, integrity, high self monitors. However, the theory may not work because fails to clarify the importance of different traits. Not a clear cause and effect relationship. Behavior Theories- assumes that leaders can be trained and the goal here is to develop potential leaders. The problem with these theories is that effective behaviors do not generalize across situations. Ohio studies: 2 dimensions: initiating structure: extent to which a leader is likely to define goals and expectations. Leaders focus is task. Consideration: the extent to which a leader has a relation with employees, trust, respect for ideas, and feelings. The leader is people oriented and focused on the employees.

Sunday, July 21, 2019

Conflict Resolution and Communication in Healthcare

Conflict Resolution and Communication in Healthcare Reflective Writing on Critical Incident in the Clinical Experience with Integration of Leadership Theories in Analysis. This write up aims at exploring a conflict that occurred in an urban private hospital concerning a patient, relatives and medical team. Its purpose is to reflect and critically study and understand a clinical incident and use it as a learning episode by use of reflective model. To identify the measures put in place to manage the conflict and the type of leadership skills and leadership theories used to resolve the conflict. Gibbs reflective cycle will be used to expound on the scenario as it unfolded. This is because Gibbs is clear and thus allows description, analysis and evaluation of the experience helping me to make sense of experiences and examines my practice (Gibbs, 1988). Conflict can be defined as disagreement in which the people involved feels that their needs, interests and concerns are threatened. Health care related conflicts are complicated because the care process is ongoing and involving a lot of emotional effort and professional relationships therefore tends to occur frequently and thus interpersonal conflicts, (Johansen, 2012) Incident description I once worked in private urban hospital and while there on my practice I encountered a scenario that left me thinking on how well our patients are informed and involved in their care. On this particular day I reported to work as usual and received the report in a high dependency unit, about the unit and the patients admitted. Special report given was that there were some pending investigative procedures on two patients to be facilitated by one consultant. This investigation were requested on the previous day therefore follow up was to be done during this shift to ensure they are done. After receiving the report we went for quick unit round and assessed the patient status and then the unit manager embarked on contacting the consultant to come and do the tests, efforts to trace him were futile since his phone was not going through. The unit manager contacted the second on call for the same and said that he was out of town thus not in a position of performing the test the same day. In this particular organization the patient and relatives are appraised on daily basis of everything that it’s to be done therefore the relatives were eagerly waiting for the test result when they came back during the visiting. When the relatives came back they wanted to know the test results unfortunately they were not available because the test had not been done, the manager and the doctor covering the unit tried to explain to them in vain. They became very furious and agitated and started using abusive language. Efforts to make them understand were futile. They walked out of the unit to have a discussion among themselves and in 30minutes they were back demanding that their patient be discharged against medical advice so that they can outsource the service elsewhere saying â€Å"you people do not care about our patient but we care about him and we are ready do anything possible to facilitate this test been done†. They signed the form for leaving against medical advice and left. From this episode a crisis meeting was convened to include the medical director, director of nursing the unit in-charge and the doctor who was covering the unit then and a critical analysis and evaluation of the scenario was done and it was resolved that this particular consultant always have an issue with his patient whenever he is on call and therefore it was agreed that the director of medical services and nursing service will meet with the doctor and have a one on one discussion in order to prevent a recurrence. It was also agreed that we follow up on this particular patient and find out what was their progress and whether they went for the test and to even apologize to them and let them understand that we care and patients interest come first and only that there was a problem on that day, the patient was traced and found to be doing well and they never went for the test on that particular day they had to wait until the next since they could not get the service where they went because it’s the same consultant who doing the procedure in that facility and therefore opted to come back to our facility for readmission and they very apologetic and remorseful for the actions â€Å"we regret our action and we want to apologize for unnecessary attention that we demanded for while your efforts was to ensure for better outcome of patient. We are sincerely sorry for the disturbance and our shameful acts† we reassured the relatives and readmitted the patient for continued care. Feelings This experience made me feel like we failed no matter how we tried explaining to the client and his relatives it never seemed to be working. I also felt that we failed to meet our goal of ensuring that patients are satisfied with the services they receive, though the unit manager was very composed throughout this situation and handled the relatives with a lot of care and caution she never seemed to be worked up by their demand. This leader portrayed very good qualities that I really admired and felt that I should emulate, she had a good charisma. Felt that she was a transformational leader because she displayed charisma and we as her juniors followed her way of instituting measures in place. She was able to reason with the relatives and explain on the events as they were unfolding even though they never paid any attention or reasoned with her, she explained of the challenge we were facing in the situation. She engaged the relative by stimulating them to understand through use of logical questions and exploring on their assumptions (Hendel, Fish Galon, 2005). I also felt the manager had some qualities of transactional leader because she was able to monitor the performance and step in to correct the situations as they arose and also utilized passive management since the problem arose unexpectedly and therefore rushed in to handle the situations (Hendel, Fish Galon, 2005). Utilization of these skills gave the manager an upper hand in handling the furious relatives and creating their understanding even though they decided to leave the hospital. Convening a crisis meeting by the management was a very important step as this created an opportunity to address the issue as it happened and come up with solutions to prevent recurrence and provide steps in handling the situation in case it recurs. The affected consultant was also give an opportunity to explain what transpired and he had a genuine reason because he was in theater doing a procedure and he called back to the facility after he was done to inquire why we were calling him them. I felt that the relatives also have role to play during care of their loved by been supportive and establishing a trusting professional relationship with the health professional to establish a common working ground. Decision to withdraw the patient from the hospital was solely made by the relative and the patient felt vulnerable and tossed around since he could not make sound decision there compromising on the patient care in the name of seeking for a service. Evaluation This episode provided a learning situation for me as I experience how difficult it might be in handling clients that you have already established a professional relationship with, and with all efforts to try and let the clients understand the situation by providing them with information. What was good about this incident is that the manager was very calm and composed all through and understood the feelings of the relatives concerning their loved one. She was able to utilize her skills optimally to handle the situation. What was bad about the situation is that the investigation was not carried out and the clients felt ignored or left out and thus opted to leave the hospital and seek services elsewhere as fate would have its way they never accessed the services on the material day because most of them are outsourced and the same consultant does the procedure in the facility they went too. They were embarrassed by their behavior and even come back to apologize on the same and we reassur ed them. Eventually they brought the patient for readmission. Study done in an Israel hospital on conflict resolution on nursing managers indicated that they mostly utilized transformational leadership style because it allows for creativity and flexibility in problem solving and scrutinizing all protocols and policies set to manage situation through critical analysis (Hendel, Fish Galon, 2005). Actions to withdraw the patient and interrupt care compromised on the patient health status and even the expected outcome. Analysis From this situation the patient’s relatives were right in demanding for action because they had been explained about the test, its importance and why the result may be needed to make decision on the way forward in patient’s management. On the same case having not done the test on the same day would not have worsened patient’s condition and still medical management would still be ongoing as we awaited the test to be done. The crisis meeting organized ensured the lasting solution is availed in order to improve on patient care and therefore a ensure quality care leading to better patient outcome. To effectively resolve a conflict a better understanding should be ensured through clear communication and understanding the crisis leading to disagreement. Therefore conflict resolution becomes an important aspect in prevention of errors occurring (Sportsman Hamilton, 2007). The unit manager utilized the transformational theory and understood that followers are an important aspect to facilitate leadership and that the follower is always accountable and with skills to critiques scenarios and issues as they unfold just like the leader does. Similar to the incident the manger took control of the situation vividly which was a learning opportunity for in the unit that day as potential leaders (Daft, 2008). Conclusion From this incident it can be concluded that the health team played their part well though an element of ineffective communication is evident since the relatives were aware that the test needed to be done in order to make decision on the management therefore emphasis had been put across thus explains their fury when it was not done. Leadership experience plays an important role in ensuring or equipping the leader with skills to handle situation in future thus creating an understanding of the theories used in leadership. For one to be effective leader one must learn whom they are what are the strengths and weaknesses establish a personal philosophy and be strong to stand firm and represent what we believe in terms of patients care and skills of conflict resolution (Daft, 2008). Action plan To work as a team is an important aspect of nursing and that effective communication is paramount in ensuring that the patient and relatives are well informed on the care provided to their loved ones. This experience has been an eye opener in me and it has made me realize that I can never be ready to solve a conflict this because each occurrence is always unique and present in a different manner, therefore utilization of leaderships skills become important. This will change the current practice because more emphasis will be on passing information to the relevant bodies. References. Daft, R.L. (2008). The Leadership experience. Mason, OH: SouthWestern. Gibbs, G., (1988) Learning by doing: a guide to teaching and learning methods, Oxford Polytechnic Further Education unit. Hendel T., Fish M Galon V. (2005) Leadership style and choice of strategy in conflict management among Israeli nurse managers in general hospitals; Journal of Nursing Management 13, 137–146 Mary L. Johansen (2012 ) Keeping the peace: Conflict management strategies for nurse managers Nursing Management: 43 ( 2) doi: 10.1097/01.NUMA.0000410920.90831.96 Sportsman S, Hamilton P(2007;). Conflict management styles in the health professions. J Prof Nurs. 23(3):157–166.

Saturday, July 20, 2019

Important Issues Facing The European Union Today Economics Essay

Important Issues Facing The European Union Today Economics Essay The European Union is an integration of European states that encompasses different histories, institutions, political systems and economies. At present the EU boasts 27 member countries with a combined population of over 500 million. The creation of a single currency, the euro, has led these citizens to depend heavily on the union for the success of their respective economies. Furthermore, many others nations out with EU jurisdiction rely on the EU for trade, finance and investment aid. Political historians such as Leonard (2005) have argued that the EU has been in a state of crisis since its inception. However, despite such problems, the EU has emerged as a strong, steady and powerful force in the global political arena. The dawn of the 21st century has brought with it fresh challenges for the EU to address. Many of these issues were outlined by EU President Jose Manuel Barroso in a speech at the European Parliament in 2007. Barroso cited economic reforms, unemployment, social justice and climate change as being matters of pressing concern (2007). This essay serves to highlight these problems and explain why they are the most important issues facing the European Union today. One of the major problems facing the EU is the ever increasing levels of unemployment affecting the majority of the member states. Barroso (2007) stated that close to 20 million EU citizens were classed as unemployed. More worryingly, Barroso stressed that many of those out of work were of a younger demographic. Modigliani (2005) warned that such rates of unemployment can lead to resources being wasted, a decline in output and thus a loss in savings and investment within the economy. Modigliani also hastened to add that unemployment levels can lead to complicated and long-standing social problems as individuals affected can grow despondent and discouraged by the lack of job opportunities. Therefore, unemployment is an important issue impinging on all of the EU states. Bertola (2000) alluded to labour market participation rates, wage inequality, employment dispersion across EU regions and market performance as being the major causes of high unemployment levels within the EU. Labour market performance is guided by government and institutional policies in the EU which in turn control minimum wages, taxation and unemployment benefits. Room (2006) and Barroso (2007) argue that although there are many ways to reduce unemployment, such as wage differentiation and geographical mobility, such measures could alter the economic and political equilibrium currently in place in the EU. Additionally, Wallstrom (2007) is quick to point out that although the elimination of unemployment subsidies across the EU states would reduce unemployment levels, it would in consequence increase the poverty and crime rates thus leading to accelerated levels of social exclusion. As a result, these repercussions have raised alarming concerns for both public and politicians alike as the EU struggles to implement a programme of reform to address the situation. Access to the member states products, capital and labour resources could provide economic efficiency but the levels of regulation required would prove extremely hard to sustain. In response to the growing problems with unemployment, the EU Commission has proposed some measures designed to tackle the issue. These include a revamp of the member states growth and job strategies as well as increasing investment on research and development. It is hoped that this in turn would lead to increased economic output and thus the creation of jobs in the process. However, Wallstrom (2007) argues this could prove a difficult task given the heterogeneous social and economic structures of the EU member states. Additionally, the collapse of the world economy in 2008 has lead to a global recession and has seen employment levels in the EU increase dramatically. The Employment in Europe Report (2009) estimated unemployment levels in Europe would break the10% mark in 2010 and would continue to rise. The issue of climate change has come to the fore spectacularly in the 21st century and is another important issue facing the European Union. Changes in climate variations are occurring around the globe raising genuine concerns about the stability of the planets ecosystem. According to Schroter (2005) these deviations may have a direct affect on levels of food production and water supplies. For example, Berkhout (2005) noted harvest failure within a country can impact the price of certain food commodities in the EU due to imports. Brandt (2001) explains that these growing concerns lead to the implementation of the Kyoto Protocol an environmentally friendly policy sanctioned via the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change designed to bring greenhouse gas emissions under control in 1997. In the summer of 2003, a heat wave engulfed much of Europe resulting in record temperatures being recorded. Beniston (2004) stated that the heat wave bore a resemblance to the type of temperatures anticipated by the end of the 21 century. Beniston (2004) concluded that due to an enhanced atmospheric concentration of greenhouse gas, summer temperatures could be expected to increase by 4 degrees celsius on average. According to Christiansen Wettestad (2003), the EU generates one of the highest levels of greenhouse gas emissions and accounts for 25% of the worlds production. Brandt (2001) states the EU expects that there will be a 0.8% increase in CO2 emissions annually. Furthermore, the EU faces additional problems with its failure to persuade its members to adopt the carbon tax due to the many rules and regulations incorporated in the policy (Christiansen Wettestad, 2003). The use of fossil fuels is another factor that leads to global warming and can have a detrimental long term affect on the climate. Kruger Pizer (2004) cite that increased emission levels due to the development of the transport sector have led to further issues for the EU to address. These substantial growths in emission output can have a direct impact on allowance prices if the EU attempted to meet Kyoto Protocol targets by using offset purchases. The growing carbon market is another area of concern for the European Union. Howse Eliason (2008) argue that it is crucial levels of carbon footprint are monitored in order to reduce emissions in the air. According to Kruger et al. (2007) the European Union launched an emissions trading program in 2005 with the aim of meeting the Kyoto Protocol targets for tackling climate change. However, the complexity of the European Union Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) is causing the member states to experience various political and economic challenges as they attempt to meet the targets set by the Kyoto Protocol. Howse Eliason (2008) cite that an investigation carried out by the Financial Times concluded that a number of companies operating within EU boundaries receive unjust carbon credits and that this is causing an unfair subsidy distribution in EU states. Howse Eliason, (2008) claim this is an issue because the results do not coincide with emissions reduction. Therefore, the EU needs to devise strategies to regulate such outcomes. The issue of security is another obstacle facing the European Union. Kicinger (2004) writes that external threats to security present far greater problems than those posed internally. To put it simply, this is because these threats cannot be predicted. One such threat is terrorism. Wallstrom (2007) argues that although Europes policy of passport-free travel is beneficial for business and tourism, it allows cross-border terrorists and criminals freedom of access within the member states. Terrorism is a major issue because innocent peoples lives are at stake. Schilder Hauschild (2004) note that EU states are also used as a base to plan and devise terrorist attacks. These criminals deploy state of the art resources, have well maintained networks and are capable of resorting to horrific levels of violence. Kicinger (2004) writes that Al Qaeda an Islamist fundamental group formed in the late 1980s and renowned for its terrorist activities housed logistical cells in the EU member states of the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy and Spain. Therefore, the concentrated effort of the EU to tackle such problems is crucial. Another security concern for the EU is the technological advancements in modern arms. This puts the current security measures in place by the EU in question. Flow of trade and investment within the European states has given rise to the prosperity of the EUs inhabitants. However, in spite of the advantages that free trade has brought, it has also heightened the threat of internal terrorism. Europe is now a playground for organised crime and is rife with drug trafficking, illegal immigrants and prostitution (Schilder Hauschild, 2004). Cross-border and neighboring threats also add to the security concerns of the European Union. Disputes in Kashmir and the Korean Peninsula as detailed by Schilder Hauschild (2004) affected the EU member states both directly and indirectly. The European Union Commission has pledged to combat the security threat and via foreign policy and crisis management initiatives have made provisions for security. According to Barroso (2007), these include securing borders with member states and with international countries more effectively. Moreover, the EU is attempting to forge policies and agreements with their transatlantic partners in order to minimise any threats posed to security although this is proving a difficult task to achieve. In conclusion, since its formation in 1993, the European Union has served to address a great number of important issues. These issues are not solely confined to the borders of EU but are commonly dealt with throughout the world. This essay has highlighted the EUs growing problems with unemployment levels, focused on the pearls of climate change and has detailed the threat of terrorism to the EUs stability. These are just a few of the important issues facing the European Union today.

Latvian Jews and the Holocaust :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Holocaust seemed as if it was one mans (Adolf Hitler) determination to exterminate all Jews in Europe, but in fact this is not completely true. The Holocaust was the determination of many men and woman of different backgrounds and languages. One of which is the people of Latvia. During WWI, the was was no less disruptive to the Jews than to anyone else. They were and used for both Capitalist exploitation and Communist conspiracy. During WWII they were beaten, killed, and/or imprisoned mercilessly in camps throughout Europe, not excluding the two camps in Riga, Latvia.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Latvian Jews had a long history. In 1897 the census for Latvia, just before WWI, reported a combined number of about 200,000 Jews. At this point, Riga held about 33,000 Jews. Since Kurland became a duchy of Poland in the sixteenth century, Jews of Luthuanian Poland moved north. There, even though, routinely reguarded as outsiders, having to pay taxes and fees and fines, Jews prospered and expanded themselves in number. They engaged in commerce of every variety including leasing, brokering, and peddling. Jew were goldsmiths, brandy distillers, artisans, tradesmen, and even sometimes hired as tax collectors. Jews were the ceter of economic life. They controlled exports of cereal, flax, eggs, and timber. Tanneries, sawmills, and banks were often owned by Jews, even clothing factories and stores were owned and operated by mostly Jews. Most well known doctors and lawyers and entertainers were Jewish, but of the 5,921 civil servants, only 21 were Jews. Around fifty percent were involved in commerce and trade, as opposed to the one percent of Latvians. This was because most Latvians were engaged in agricultural production. Jew also lived mostly in the city and town areas and created strong Jewish communities. After WWI, when the census was done again in 1925, Latvia had only counted for 95,675 Jews, less than half of pre-WWI. Now the aggrivated nationalist mind was getting very dissoriented by what had happened after Soviet annexation, the people were seeing the Jew and Bolshevism as one and the same, and as before, estermination was the only answer.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The massacres of Jews began immediately after the Soviet counterattcks on June 29, 1941, before German police and officials even arrived. In Daugavpils, all Jews between the ages of sixteen to sixty were called to the down town square where they were assembled and incarcerated. At one of the main streets in Riga, Bear Slayer Street (the bear stands for the Russians) were the two Riga ghettos.

Friday, July 19, 2019

Religion is Unnecessary Essay -- essays research papers

Religion is Unnecessary Overall Introduction: What is Religion? According to Atheism.com Religion is the set of beliefs, feelings, dogmas and practices that define the relations between human being and sacred or divinity. Religion supposedly gives a person an identity and relationship. Religion deals with answers to identity-forming questions such as Selfhood - "Who am I?" "Where did I come from?" Meaning - "Why am I?" "Where will I go when I die?" Purpose - "What do I do?" "What is the purpose of life? No particular religion is ever really ONLY one type of dimension, but is rather a complex whole. The Ritual dimension is what believers DO! Rituals provide believers with a symbolic mode of communication designed to propel them out of ordinary experience and into extraordinary realities; Rituals are often based on the myths contained in a given worldview. Believers feel called upon to do what their great leaders did. Thus, Christians celebrate the ritual of the Last Supper (the Eucharist) just as Jesus did almost 2,000 years ago. And in participating in this unique, myth-based ritual, a full-on Christian is brought back into authentic Christian experience, which will be the basis of our discussion today, if such Dimension and others is necessary. My Introduction: Religion is the biggest killer of all time, with many countries being destroyed. The reason is simple. A religion that allows its faithful to "stray...