Thursday, October 31, 2019

How does paid employment affect your identity Your answer should Essay - 3

How does paid employment affect your identity Your answer should include discussion of theory and concepts covered in Term 1 of BEM2004 - Essay Example ancial transactions that is earned but also the conditions under which it is earned taking the factors from the employer’s point of view, the security of the work environment and the prospect for progress and expansion among others (Edwards, n.d.). In the paper, the conception of paid employment which affects particularly the identity of the employees has been elaborately discussed. In this connection, various aspects like the importance of study in the organisations, understanding organisational behaviour, reason behind the purpose of work of the employees with their entrepreneurial identities and a brief idea regarding the existing organisational culture will also be taken into concern. Apart from these aspects, certain other dimensions such as the significance of power and politics within the management, the concept of bureaucracy and globalisation process, organisational ethics, developmental factors of management and organisational behaviours, effective leadership along with organisational knowledge and learning will also be taken into account in the discussion of the paper. Basically, the purpose of learning organisational behaviour is motivated by curiosity. The study helps an individual in order to get inside the organising processes to reveal the different organisational patterns that eventually make an organisation understandable. The study of organisational behaviour helps to analyse the complicated situations prevailing within the organisations and also to create useful means in order to handle those difficult situations (Robbins & Judge, 2009). In order to recognise the different perception of organisational behaviour, initially it is necessary to understand the concept of organisational behaviour. ‘Organisational behaviour’ is the study of an individual’s activity in the organisational environment along with their interactions within the organisation (Delta Publishing Company, 2006). In this connection, there are different views available

Monday, October 28, 2019

Salt Sugar Fat dialectical journal Essay Example for Free

Salt Sugar Fat dialectical journal Essay Responses (interact with the text through analysis, predictions, evaluation, and connections, but don’t just summarize) 1. â€Å"On this count, most of the men in the room could rest easy. They had personal trainers, gym memberships, and enough nutritional awareness to avoid diets that were heavy in the foods they manufactured† (11). This just confirms a horrible truth: the food companies are very much aware of the lack of nutritional value in their products, yet they continue to sell them to the less informed public. While Moss says the business men are able to â€Å"rest easy† when it comes to their weight, I find it difficult to believe that all the people in the room can â€Å"rest easy† morally. Do they realize that they are taking advantage of people who do not know any better than to eat what is placed in front of them at their local grocery stores? How can the middle and lower classes possibly resist the delicacies wrapped so artfully in packaging specifically designed to grab their attention? It’s like taking candy from a baby. Only in this scenario, the food giants are feeding the baby candy. The baby would represent the denizens of America, although I’m sure there are literal babies out there who are being affected by the obesity crisis. I find it upsetting to think that while America is being diagnosed with heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, and cancer (just to name a few illnesses caused by a poor diet) the individuals responsible are out with t heir personal trainers, rewarded for the increase of diseases by receiving an increase in their income. 2. â€Å"Even gout, an exceedingly painful and rare form of arthritis once dubbed ‘the rich man’s disease’ for its associations with gluttony now afflicted eight million Americans† (18). I was intrigued by this disease because of its dubbed name. Food was a resource that was not necessarily easy to come by until this past century. To get a lot of food you needed to have a lot of money. That is why gluttony and wealth went hand in hand, meaning you had to be pretty well off to get gout. Now food is not scarce. The typical American has some kind of grocery store or supermarket within a few miles of their home. That, and the addition of fast food, has made obesity a much easier feat then it was back when people actually hunted for their meat. In my freshman year, I took AP human geography. One of the units we spent a lot of time on was food. I learned that in today’s American society the lower classes are actually becoming more overweight than the  up per class because of the highly processed fatty foods being made available for extremely low prices. When a pound of apples costs about two dollars and barely fills you up whereas McDonald’s boasts a dollar menu with actual meals, it is easy to see why gout isn’t associated with just the affluent anymore. People will sacrifice their health for the least expensive option. 3. â€Å"With limited funds from the government, the center had begun soliciting monies from food companies, keeping them apprised of research that would interest them† (41). What I took from this quote is that the research centers are corrupt. They are basically taking bribes from the food giants to conduct specific studies that will give sugar and other ingredients some positive publicity. This is the food industry trying to keep consumers in the dark about what they are really eating so that they continue to buy. I had assumed food companies went to great lengths to keep the true nature of their ingredients and processes hidden, but I never would have guessed that they could sway a research center. I guess money really does control the world. 4. â€Å"The most recent data, from 2006 to 2008, shows that obesity among kids aged six to eleven jumped from 15 to 20 percent† (46). I have an eight-year-old brother who is overweight. It’s easy to look at the statistics for obesity until it affects someone you know—especially a child. You think it would be easy to prevent that from happening. Just make him run outside with his friends more or don’t let him eat so much right? It isn’t that simple. The playdate dynamic has shifted from making forts and riding scooters up and down the street to sitting indoors playing games on various devices. The rise in technology correlates with the rise in obesity. In a society where it is considered normal for elementary school students to own an iPad, it is easy to see how the rates jumped up from 15 to 20 percent in a two year span. How can childhood obesity be controlled? The way I see it, it can’t. The last thing any parent wants to do is strip their child of their innocence by making them conscious of their weight. You can’t simply take away one kid’s Nintendo either because then he is left out of the group. Adults must choose the path for their offspring. Which is the worst option, a physically unfit child or an alienated one? 5. â€Å"Its most rabid devotees proudly call themselves Peppers, belong to a club called the 10-2-4—so named for one of the early advertising campaigns, which encouraged people to drink three Dr Peppers a day, at ten, two, and four o’clock—and  make pilgrimages to Waco, Texas, where a pharmacist at Morrison’s Old Corner Drug Store invented the drink in 1885† (48). After reading this I couldn’t help but draw parallels between Peppers and Muslims. Both groups were built around the worship of one element. For the 10-2-4 this item is Dr Pepper, while Muslims worship their god Allah. Islam and the 10-2-4 also both have a destination where followers are encouraged or required to make a pilgrimage to. Peppers are invited to visit Waco, Texas where their beloved soft drink was first created, and Muslims must complete the Hajj as one of their five pillars of faith. Another similarity between the assemblages is their daily rituals. In the Islamic re ligion people must pray five times a day (Salat). The Peppers try to enjoy their favorite soda three times a day at specific times of the day. I find it interesting that a fan club made for a carbonated beverage could have anything in common with a religion that has been practiced for over millennia. The power of sugar does not cease to amaze me. 6. â€Å"†¦a mega-brand that epitomized the American culture, but one that was also in grave danger of falling behind: Jell-O pudding† (68). Moss makes a bold statement when he says that Jell-O â€Å"epitomized the American culture†. How exactly does Jell-O, one food brand among millions, embody the land of the free? Jell-O has never been anything special to me. It is interesting in structure but overall very artificial. Perhaps that is exactly what Moss is trying to convey about the ways of this country. Americans celebrate the superficial. We worship movie stars, models, and other glamorous aspects of life. While it looks appealing, in reality there is no real substance to it. It is a synthetic snack that still leaves you feeling empty inside. 7. â€Å"And when he went to see his boss, the section head of desserts, Clausi was told that the rules have been changed, public fears be dammed† (70). What prompted this sudden shift of opinion on chemical additives? One minute artificial ingredients are bad, and now it is suddenly okay for food to be made of unpronounceable components. Despite the public’s wariness of synthetic concoctions, the food industry decides to barrel ahead anyway. The risk paid off though, that is the depressing part. Instead of fighting against this artificial snack, America embraced it. And if the consumers are consuming, it is no wonder the food companies didn’t stop there. This quote signifies the beginning of the end of natural foods.

Saturday, October 26, 2019

Behaviourism And The Psychodynamic Approach Psychology Essay

Behaviourism And The Psychodynamic Approach Psychology Essay Behaviourism is mostly about observable behaviours and views how learning is through association, seen in Classical Conditioning and through behaviour reinforcement, as in Operant Conditioning (B F Skinner, 1938). The Psychodynamic Approach (Sigmund Freud, writing between the 1890s and the 1930s) views all behaviours as being controlled by thought processes of the mind. (Cardwell et al. 2004) Behaviourism primarily looks at behaviours that can be seen, and states that we are born with a mind like an empty wipe board (tabula rasa) and all of our behaviours are acquired from what goes on around us in our environment (McLeod. 2007). The following outlines two learning theories. Classical conditioning is a type of learning that occurs through association. An unconditioned stimulus results in an unconditioned response, and the theory is that the same response can be evoked by a conditioned stimulus. (Learning Theories Knowledgebase. 2012). Operant conditioning is about learning through reinforcement (positive or negative rewards and punishment) from the environment. Learning is a progressive activity that starts by rewarding behaviour that is associated to any wanted outcome (Cardwell et al. 2004). This happens quite naturally without any awareness, for example in praising children for milestone achievements like using the potty. One key research study of learning theories is classical conditioning and Ivan Pavlovs Dog experiment (1927). This involved investigating how the dogs learnt through association. The following stages were used, with the repetition of the unconditioned with the conditioned stimulus being used together. In the first stage, before conditioning, when the dogs are given the unconditioned stimulus (dog food) this results in salivation, the unconditioned response this is a natural response. In the next stage, the conditioned stimulus (the bell) was introduced with the unconditioned stimulus (dog food) and the dogs salivated, the unconditioned response. In the final stage, once the conditioned stimulus (the bell) was introduced without the dog food, the dogs still salivated, the conditioned response not a natural response for a bell being given at meal times instead of food (Atherton. 2011). Generalisation can also be seen in classical conditioning, as the conditioned stimulus, the bell in this case, could be changed to a bell with a different sound and the conditioned response would remain; although it would however weaken over a period of time, if the bell continuously changed (Gross. 1988). An example of everyday classical conditioning would be through the use of advertising. An advertisement comes on the television for a bar of chocolate which you love. This arouses a feeling of hunger and craving for some chocolate. One of psychologys most important contributions of behaviourism was the theory of classical conditioning. Behavioural therapies came about in the 1950s as a result of this and many treatments are used today for mental health; behaviour moderation; phobias, and anxiety related conditions (Cardwell et al. 2004). Positive and negative reinforcement in operant conditioning has also been extremely useful when working with children who have additional needs or autistic spectrum disorders, as it enables maladaptive behaviour to be modified or reshaped. Government guidelines implemented within policies and procedures in childcare settings, have been based around the perspectives of behaviourism (Tassoni et al. 2010). However, as the scientific experiments applied the use of animals in controlled laboratory conditions, this limits findings relevant to the real-life situations of humans, so is reductionist. Behaviourism does not take into account actions of the mind either, so psychology as a science is unable to analyse anything it cannot openly observe. (McLeod. 2007). Other arguments are that some therapies will fail once treatments stop, as in aversion therapy, and in the treatment of flooding the individual needs to be in good health and if they were to be removed from treatment too early, it would lead to further reinforcement of the phobia they went in for in the first place (Cardwell et al. 2004). .The psychodynamic approach (Sigmund Freud 1856 -1939) believes that behaviour is part of unconscious thought processes and is imbedded by our childhood experiences. Stricker and Widiger (2003) talk about layers of the mind; the conscious, imagined as the smallest part the tip of an iceberg, where all present awareness is; the preconscious, a larger part just below the water line of an iceberg, where memories and thoughts can be accessed easily by the conscious, and the unconscious, the largest part of an iceberg that is well immersed below the water, where repressed memories and inappropriate desires are held unavailable to us. Freud describes personality as being structured in to three different parts: Id, present from birth, works on instinct and the principals of pleasure; Ego, at age one three years, keeps in touch with the real world and satisfies the Id in a realistic, appropriate way; and Superego, age three six years, where our morality oversees our personality in relati on to our environment. According to Freud, another key aspect of theory is that of psychosexual development. The stages of this theory are the Oral stage, where the mouth is the first area of pleasure; the Anal stage, where the second area of pleasure is the anus this stage is important around toilet training, and the Phallic stage, where the focus of pleasure is with the genitals. This stage also encounters gender identity development and the Oedipus complex (where boys become attracted to their mothers and fearful of their fathers). If too much or too little satisfaction is received through these stages, we become obsessed and persist with the same demands during the rest of our life, resulting in neurotic behaviours (Cardwell et al. 2004). One key study by Freud (1909) was on Little Hans, the child of a friend of Freud whom he never actually met. He was five years old. He became fearful of horses to the extent that he would no longer go in to the street. White horses, that wore blinkers and had black colouring around the mouth, were feared most. As Hans was in the phallic stage of his development and therefore in the Oedipus Complex, according to Freud, the belief was that he was actually afraid of his father not the horses. This assumption was reached as Hans father wore glasses; these could be associated with the blinkers, and he also had a moustache; this could represent the black around the horses mouth. (Cardwell and Flanagan. 2004) The progression of Psychotherapy has been a substantial contribution of the psychodynamic approach, as Freuds psychoanalytical therapy, which sees mild psychiatric disorders in adults such as anxiety and eating disorders, and some depressions, as deeply hidden childhood problems. Patients are helped by creating an ideal environment in which to draw out these concerns into the conscious mind, where they can then be explored, tackled and resolved. Disadvantages of psychodynamic therapies are that treatment can be over many years and is therefore expensive and unrealistic. Therapies are not suitable for all psychological disorders, mainly just those that come under neuroses. Also, uncovering the past can cause more emotional stress than the current problem holds for the patient. Behaviourism has contributed to therapies that we still use today. One of the therapies based on classical conditioning is Systematic Desensitisation (Wolpe. 1958). This method helps with phobias and anxieties by using deep relaxation and replacing a fearful reaction with a response that is unable to exist with fear. Another therapy is Implosion and Flooding where the individuals phobic object is revealed with no reduction in anxiety and no relaxation. The purpose is that high levels of anxiety cannot be maintained for a long period of time, so start to diminish along with the realisation that nothing bad has happened to them, so the fear should dissipate. A technique called Aversion Therapy is also based on classical conditioning and is used to remove unwanted behaviours like alcoholism, smoking and drug addiction. These behaviours are associated with an unpleasant stimulus in an attempt to remove them. For instance, a cigarette may have a nausea-inducing substance which in turn pai rs the feeling of nausea with tobacco. Cognitive-Behaviour Therapy is widely used and elements of it originate from behaviourism. It looks at the individuals beliefs and rational or irrational thought patterns and then the consequences of these, if desirable or undesirable emotions come about leading to desirable or undesirable behaviour. Once these have been recognised, the therapist and the client work on the issues together. (Gross. 1987) Contributions of the psychodynamic approach include Free Association, in which the individual allows feelings, thoughts and images to free-flow, with the therapist out of sight who will interrupt occasionally to get reflections with the implications of the associations. The theory is that the internal conflict will reveal itself in the associations. Boker (1992) believes psychodynamic therapy is also helpful to patients will schizophrenia, whilst taking phenothiazines, as this medication enables them to be more available (Cardwell et al. 2004). Another contribution is Play Therapy, characterised by Sweeney and Landreth (2003) as child-centred play therapy. The therapists objective is to allow the child to release their inner disturbances by bringing out the experiences through play rather than being the victim (McMonigle. 2008). It can be seen therefore that behaviourists treat existing problems; whereas in contrast, the psychodynamic approach wants to find the route of the problem. Both of these approaches have influenced modern practices.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Regression Results :: Research Analysis

3.3.4. Results For the purpose of finding a suitable function for benefits transfer, different meta-regression models become specified: (i) different functional forms (e.g., a simple linear form versus semi-log form); (ii) a fully specified model including all independent variables and a restricted model on grounds of statistical significance or econometric problems (e.g., multicollinearity); (iii) robust consistent standard errors to correct for heteroskedasticity. As shown by the test for heteroskedasticity (see Table 3.7), a simple linear form has heteroskedasticity. There are several ways to correct for heteroskedasticity (e.g., GLS, WLS, robust consistent errors, and data transformation). For this study, robust consistent standard errors and data transformation (e.g., the log transformation of the dependent variable) are utilized. All independent variables initially are considered, even if later dropped on grounds of statistical significance or econometric problems (e.g., multicollinearity). Some variables (e.g., MSW and ACTIV) are dropped because the variables have multicollinearity and/or are statistically insignificant at the 20% level for optimizing the meta-regression transfer model (suggested by Rosenberger and Loomis (2001, 2003). A wide range of diagnostic tests has been conducted on each regression for benefits transfer (suggested by Walton et al. 2006). The R^2 for the overall fit of the regression, hypothesis tests (F tests and t tests), and diagnostic works (e.g., skewness-kurtosis normality test, Ramsey’s RESET test for the specification error bias, heteroskedasticity test, and multicollinearity assessment) are reported. The F test assesses the null hypothesis that all or some coefficients ( ) on the model’s explanatory variables equal zero i.e., ã€â€"H_0: ÃŽ ² ã€â€"_1= ÃŽ ²_2=â‹ ¯= ÃŽ ²_k=0 for all or some coefficients (Wooldridge 2003). A linear restriction test on some coefficients is useful before dropping the variables when some variables are unreliable due to multicollinearity (Hamilton 2004). An important issue when handling small samples is the potential for multicollinearity which has a high degree of linear relationships between explanatory variables (Walton et al. 2006). The high correlation between estimated coefficients on explanatory variables in small samples can produce possible concerns: (i) substantially higher standard errors with lower t statistics (a greater chance of falsely accepting the null hypothesis in standard significance tests); (ii) unexpected changes in coefficient magnitudes or signs; and (iii) statistically insignificant coefficients despite the high R^2 (Hamilton 2004). A number of tests to indicate the presence and severity of multicollinearity exist (e.g., Durbin-Watson tests, VIF, Tolerance, and a correlation matrix between estimated coefficients). One test is the variance inflation factor (VIF) which measures the degree to which the variance and standard error of an estimated coefficient increase because of the inclusion of the explanatory variable (i.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Children in Foster Care Essay

Statement: Upon ageing out of the foster care system, foster kids end up either dead, homeless or incarcerated due to lack of independent living skills and lack of knowledge about programs in their communities! Due to many children being so displaced and neglected, it is hard to provide for children because foster homes are overcrowded. Due to lack of financial stability roughly 20,000- 100,00 children in the United States are discharged to live on their own while approximately 1,100 young adults are discharged and left to fend for themselves throughout the country.† Having reached the age, they are presumed to be productive, self reliant and fully self sufficient† (Retrieved January 2, 2013, from www.childrenaidsociety.org). Unfortunately, these young adolescents are looked at as a failure before even given a chance in society due to not growing up under the best circumstances. Already troubled by their childhood experiences of neglect, abandonment and abuse, the vast majority of young people leave the system without knowledge, skills, experience, habits and relationships that can engage them in connective and productive programs within their communities. With this in mind, it also stops them from being connected members of society. According to statistics â€Å"foster children that age out of the system are far more likely to encounter poverty, homelessness, compromised health, unemployment and incarceration† (Retrieved December 29, 2012, from www.angelsfoster.org). Having access to both resources and programs during and aftercare can help alleviate alot of tension that children in the system encounter when trying to maintain and survive on their own. If the United States government help foster care agencies foster more programs and provide adequate funding in the right areas, then foster children would have more knowledge and skills when it comes down to independency. Without any friends, social workers, or dependent foster parents to turn to for help or assistance, these young people are pre dominantly at greater risk of becoming homeless, jobless, incarcerated or dead. According to statistics, young people discharged to themselves in different states have high numbers of poor preparation and independent living skills. â€Å"12-30 percent struggled with homelessness, 40-63 percent did not complete high school, 25-55 percent were unemployed and those employed had earnings far below the poverty line. 31-41 percent were arrested, 18-26 percent were incarcerated 12-18 months after leaving the system† ( Retrieved January 2, 2013 from www.whitehousetaskforceondisadvantagedyouth).

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Influence of Boron on the Hot Ductility of TWIP steels The WritePass Journal

Influence of Boron on the Hot Ductility of TWIP steels 1.0 Introduction Influence of Boron on the Hot Ductility of TWIP steels 1.0 Introduction2.0 Literature Review3.0 Aim Method of Contribution3.1 Gannt Chart Project4.0 ReferencesRelated 1.0 Introduction The demand for crude steel has increased worldwide according to World Steel Association the steel production in 2010 was 1414 million tones.   This shows an increase 15% when compared to the total in 2009 where production was 1229 tonnes. What is interesting is that China accounted for 44% of this total, if China was excluded the annual total increased by 20% when we compare this to 2009.   The steel production in December for 66 countries increased by 7.8% to 116 million tonnes [1]. To meet these production demands, casting is engaged as the chosen fabrication process as it is more economically viable for high production rates than forming operations.   In particular, the technique of continuous casting is favored as a primary hot-rolling operation that produces slabs or thin sheets of steel.   These are a convenient entity that can then undergo secondary metal-forming operations. The conventional way to improve the strength and impact behavior of steel is to add small amounts of micro-alloying elements such as Al or in our case B to benefit grain.  Ã‚   Micro-alloying additions enable tensile strengths of over 500 MPa to be achieved [2] as the micro-alloys formed fine precipitates that would attach the austenite grain boundaries from moving as well as to provide strengthening via precipitation hardening.   It is important to note that these beneficial mechanical properties engineered into steels are only applicable to the finished product, where the steel is employed at room temperature as automobiles.   This point is applicable before the finished steel is even utilized, as at the high temperatures of the continuous casting operation, the steel has undesirable properties. Over the past forty years, the difficulty in casting some steels has led to great efforts in understanding the science behind the cracking processes.   The continuous casting process can to some degree be simulated using a simple laboratory hot tensile test.   Investigating the hot ductility of the steel under these laboratory conditions does give great insight into the viability of producing continuous cast steel free from transverse cracking.   It has been quantified that after straining a steel sample to failure, a ductility displayed as a reduction of area (R of A) value of greater than 40 % will allow for successful casting in industry [3].   These findings are further enforced with visual probing techniques such as microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM).   These allow insights into the influence of grain size, precipitation hardening, cooling rates, strain rate and composition on crack propagation which are all import ant in explaining failure modes and preventing failure.   New steel types need to be tested under laboratory conditions before steel companies have the confidence for mass production in industry. 2.0 Literature Review 3.0 Aim Method of Contribution The major problem with TWIP steels is the difficult in casting it; this is because during the continuous casting operation, the cast has to be straightened as it is being cast in a curved mould.   The straightening process puts the surface and the edges of the slabs into tension and this causes cracks and this can be propagated easily into fragile steel grades this is what TWIP falls into. The aim of the project is to do a hot ductility test in which a tensile specimen is melted and then cooled to the straightening temperature which ranges from 1000-700 °C as used in the commercial casting operation.   Following this the specimen is strained to failure by using the strain rate used in the unbending operation as this is a good indicator of a steels likely hood to crack. There have been indications that that by adding a small amount of boron in our case (0.001%) that this will improve the hot ductility of the new TWIP steels and this would make them easier to cast [3] As mentioned the experiment involves the ductility test in which a tensile specimen is melted and then cooled to the straightening temperature which ranges from 1000-700 °C from this we will get a hot ductility curve.   Following this I will perform microscopically and scanning electron microscope examination of the fractured surfaces to find out the mechanism of this improvement. I have 12 specimens which have been provided by POSCO. The machine used for the tensile test is the Hounsfield Tensometer which is situated at City University. 3.1 Gannt Chart Project 4.0 References [1] ISSB: World Steel Review (Iron Steel Bureau, February 2011) [2] Abu Shousha, R., I: Hot Ductility of Steels (PhD thesis, City University) [3] – Discussions with   Prof B.Mintz