Patent Nonuse and the Role of Public Interest as a Deterrent to Technology Suppression Essay

Patents are contracts between the society and the inventor to encourage development in the field of science and technology. It helps the society by enabling them to utilize this technology, and the inventor by protecting his rights and rewarding him appropriately for this intellectual efforts and innovations. Once a patent is given by the patent office, the inventor has to work the invention by himself or through somebody else by means of an assignment or a license. The patent office does not look at the potential commercial value of the invention whilst giving the patent. The invention should have a specific use and should fulfill what it is meant to do. Many inventions given patents have turned to be commercial failures. However, there are several instances in which neither the patentee has worked the invention by himself, nor has he allowed others interested to do so. This is a very serious situation, because it goes against the very intention of granting the patent. The patent system grants patents only to those inventors who are willing to reveal their invention with others, so that it can benefit society. Some patentees may not work their invention due to several reasons, one of which may be to wrongfully hide or suppress technology from the public. One of the first such cases was the Continental Paper Bag Co. v. Eastern Paper Bag Co. case of 1908. In this case, the patentee had invented a machine that could make a folded paper bag with a rectangular bottom. However, he had not made his invention available to the public, thus preventing others from working the invention. At that time, this invention was a breakthrough, and many people felt bad, because the very intention of giving a patent was not fulfilled. No concrete rules regarding nonuse of patents and compulsory licenses were existent at that time, and everything was left at the mercy of the patent holder. Lower courts also found that the patentee was unreasonable. They in fact tried to draw a line between ‘reasonable nonuse policy’ (inventor unable to use his invention because or some understandable problems) and ‘unreasonable nonuse policy’ (purposefully suppressing technology). However, as no concrete rules existed at that time, the higher court had to give its decision in favor of the rightful owner of the invention. Many breakthrough technologies exist which are being currently suppressed from the public. A plastic that is strong, long-lasting, and can be utilized to make houses that last forever, was granted patents, but not accessible to the public by the owner. New rubber for tires is invented which does not blow up. If this technology could be utilized currently, the lives of many people who die in road accidents could be saved. A new material has been invented for use in toothpastes, which protects the teeth from developing cavities. These technologies are being suppressed due to the anticompetitive intentions of their owners. Some patentees may not use or license their technology so that others may be forced to infringe up on their patents. Lawsuits for infringements could be filed, which could give them earning in millions. An instance of this is a case between Minolta and Honeywell’s, in which Minolta had to pay $127 million to Honeywell for infringing their auto-focus camera patent, although the owners were not using their patent. The patent office should come up with strict rules such that all the patentees have to give an annual report of how their patent is being worked commercially, and in case it is not being worked, the reasons for the same. In case the inventor does not respond, the patent should be revoked. Instances of patent nonuse can be used as evidence in the court, against individuals who indulge in anticompetitive practices. Such practices are strictly considered unlawful under the US Antitrust Laws. The Sherman Act was one of the first such as to protect against unfair trade practices. According to this act, any individual monopolizing or attempting to monopolize, or combines with other people or with other nations to monopolize any trade business in the US, shall be held guilty of an offense under the act. Patent is a monopoly granted to the owner, but they are also contracts between the owner and the public, to permit the later to access the technology. Patent laws are likely to be misused. The exclusionary right (to prevent others from using or making the invention without the license of the owner) is limited and should be more meaningful. The patent system does not give absolute monopoly to the owners. In the case Pfizer V. Government of India [434 US 308 (1978)], the US permitted foreign nations to sue under the Section 4 of the Clayton Act. The Government of India was asking Pfizer to grant licenses for certain broad spectrum antibiotics. However, the company refused to give reasonable licenses. Several antitrust violations such as price-fixing, fraud, market-division, etc were being imposed by the Indian Government against Pfizer and group. The respondents also said that petitioners were trying to limit and monopolize the production, sale and distribution of their patents. The respondents also said that these practices had destroyed businesses. The Company said that the Indian Government could not bring this case forward, as they belonged to another nation. However, the court went on to say that foreign nations could also claim under antitrust laws. The court said that the case was similar to having a citizen having his rights under the antitrust laws being violated. In the case Remington Products V. North American Philips corporation [107 FRD 642, 1985], Remington alleged that the company Philips, a leading Dutch MNC, was indulging in anticompetitive behavior by not disclosing information needed to work the discovery. The defendant claimed that certain clauses in a Dutch statue did not permit disclosure. However, the US court granted the case in favor of Remington saying that the defendant wrongfully withheld information regarding the discovery. The plaintiff had previously approached the defendant to provide information regarding the discovery. However, the defendant refused to give this information needed saying that the information was irrelevant. In the Chevron Research Company’s patent [1970; RPC, 580], the court said that the patentee has to disclose full and relevant information regarding the patent. In the Image Technical Services V. Eastman Kodak Co. [504 U. S. 51 (1992)] provides an association between the antitrust laws and the intellectual property rights regime. Kodak Company had a patent for a photographic device. The case was alleged by companies that serviced Kodak’s products. In this case, a distinction is being made between ‘attempting monopolization’ and ‘attaining monopolizing by exploiting’. The court had to study the market situation to determine if the company was trying to control prices or destroy competition. Kodak in fact monopolized manufacture of components of its photographic equipment and even monopolized servicing of its equipment. The court had said that both patents and copyrights did not come under antitrust laws. An inventor had the right to license or refuse license of his invention. However, a patent owner may be held for developing practices against the antitrust laws (that could destroy competition). The extent to which antitrust laws could be applied to patent laws had to be determined by studying the market situation. The plaintiffs had gathered enough proof that Kodak were trying to monopolize their market situation by limiting the availability of its components to the service companies Nowadays, exclusive license holders may also try to misuse their rights by monopolizing their licensed to make or use the patent. This can be demonstrated in the Medtronic Sofamor Danek, Inc. v. Michelson case. Dr. Michelson had invented a new spinal treatment device and had given a license to Medtronic which manufactured medical equipment. However, the company did not promote his treatment device, and hence the doctor had to grant licenses to other companies that would compete with the original license holder. The company filed a case in the court claiming that the patent holder breached clauses of the contract. However, the Court felt that the company had adopted certain anticompetitive principles that did not promote the patent. Patent holders are trying to maximize their monopoly, by indulging in anticompetitive acts. Often there is a clash between patent laws and antitrust laws. Patent laws provide the holder with rights to eliminate competition, whereas antitrust laws enable protection of healthy business competition practices. A clear border line has to be drawn between these two conflicting legal regimes. In the case Illinois Tools Works V. Independent Ink, the question of the manufacturer having a market power over a patented product or process could be presumed whilst granting the patent, was being asked. A patent holder may hold so much of powers in the market such that he/she may dominate the scene. A patent holder will usually violate antirust laws if he or she feels that they are in a situation to dominate the market. In this case, Illinois printers invented a printing device and had prohibited the customers from using non-patented ink. The defendant felt that such terms were against the true spirits of competition, and were under the impression that Illinois tool works were trying to dominate the market situation. It may be difficult in such a case to determine the party that would carry the burden of proof. The patent holder had tried to extend his patent. In this manner, they had created both, primary and secondary market rivals. The primary rivals included other manufacturers of printers, and the secondary rivals included other manufacturers of printer inks. The court gave its decision in favor of Independent Ink, citing that patents could not be extended to non-patentable areas. A patent had only specific boundaries, and crossing such boundaries constituted infringement. In another case, Schering-Plough held a patent for a drug. A company that manufactured a generic version of the same drug felt that the original company’s patent was invalid. They wanted to file for a patent opposition, but Schering-Plough decided to pay the generic drug manufacturers to withdraw the case and also stay out of the market for some period. Federal Trade Commission filed a case before the Supreme Court, saying that Schering-Plough was trying to destroy all competition in the market by wrongfully preserving its invalid monopoly. The Court felt that the agreement between Schering-Plough and the generic manufacturers was invalid and was executed to destroy competition in the market. Patent laws should make it easier to obtain a compulsory license in case the patentee wrongfully suppresses the invetion from the public. A compulsory license should be given to anybody in case:- The patentee is unable to meet the reasonable requirements of the public with relation to his patented process or product. †¢ The patentee does not make the invention available to the public at an affordable cost. †¢ The invention is not being worked in the jurisdiction of the patent office. †¢ Special considerations should be given to inventions that relate to public health and nutrition, and emergency situations. Compulsory license should be a sanction (for the patentee) and a remedy (for the public); in case the patentee indulges in anticompetitive practices. The concept of compulsory licenses developed following the African AIDS crisis situation. The continent was in a crisis situation with the HIV/AIDS pandemic. A few companies such as Glaxo, Merck, etc held a patent for an antiretroviral drug which could be life-saving for people suffering from HIV/AIDS. However, these companies had indulged in several anticompetitive practices. The cost of treating each AIDS patients in Africa was exceedingly high (US$ 10,000 per patient per year). Hence, the drugs were inaccessible for many poor patients who belonged to underdeveloped nations. Cipla, an Indian pharmaceutical company volunteered to supply the drug at a fraction of the overall costs the other companies were offering (US $ 350 per year per patient). Some of the African Nations had to modify its trade laws so that parallel imports and compulsory licenses could exist. However, the original companies that held the patents for antiviral drugs began to sue for infringement. These companies had to later withdraw their infringement cases, as there was a worldwide agitation against the anti-public health policies adopted by the patent holders. Later, at the WTO conference in Doha, a comprehensive agreement to protect public health issues was adopted to prevent unhealthy practices by the patent holders (through compulsory licenses). Some people feel that the patent system can create an obstruction in the development of science and technology, as instances of nonuse often arise. Once a patent is granted, it may even prevent others from inventing around a particular invention or inventive concept. This will seriously hinder the developments in that particular field. Inventors, who tend to sit on their inventions by refusing access to the public, should be henceforth refused patents.

Credibility and Logic in Gregory Curfman’s “Diet Pills Redux”

1. Gregory D. Curfman’s piece â€Å"Diet Pills Redux† is an editorial; therefore, a reader must keep in mind that the content will focus on the author’s opinion(s) and perspective(s) about a particular situation. Having read Curfman’s piece, it does seem credible. The author is a physician, so his analysis of the situation can be reasonably assumed within his field of expertise, especially when one considers it is an editorial published in The New England Journal of Medicine. Dr.Curfman presents evidence for and against the use of fenfluramine and phentermine and seems concerned only with further exploration of a possible connection between the use of these drugs (separately or together) and heart disease (Curfman, 1997, passim).2. Curfman begins his piece with a summary of an outbreak of pulmonary hypertension that took place in Western Europe that was linked to the use of an appetite-suppressant drug. He goes on to reveal a European outbreak thirty years later which connected the use of an anorectic drug with more cases of pulmonary hypertension.Later, he discusses weighing the risks of using anorectic drugs against the individual’s need, and concludes that only those with no other recourse should be allowed to take the chance. Each of these is an example of logic without fallacy (Curfman, 1997, passim). There were fallacies in Curfman’s piece. To begin with, the events and studies he cited were missing control groups and assurances that exigent factors such as patient history had been taken into account. Technically, these might be construed as misleading statistics.Because the numbers of persons negatively effected by these drugs was so low, the potential that much of his point is perhaps a non sequitur—specifically an argument built on a slippery slope does exist. His closing remark that â€Å"succumbing to the allure of diet pills as a quick fix for excess weight may be courting disaster† presents a significant logical problem: the implication that those who suffered a cardiac crisis in connection with the use of one or more of the involved drugs fall into the â€Å"quick fix† category—this is a hasty generalization (Curfman, 1997, passim).The overall message in the piece was not that blame must be laid, nor was it a call to halt all availability of either drug, so coupled with this piece being an editorial, even fallacy did not necessarily weaken the strength of the article in my opinion as the point seemed merely to be to convince readers that there was more to be investigated. Based on what I read, I have to agree that further investigation is warranted and that consumers must be aware of the potential dangers listed by Curfman.

Nutrition and Health Worksheet Essay

Use Ch. 1 of Contemporary Nutrition, Ch. 2 of Visualizing Nutrition, supplemental course materials, the University Library, the Internet, or other resources to answer the following questions. Your response to each question should be 75 to 100 words. 1.What is nutrition? Why is nutrition essential to our daily lives? Nutrition is the science that links foods to health and disease. It includes the processes by which the human organisms ingest, digest, absorbs, transports, and excretes food substances. 2.What is the connection between nutrition and health? 3.What are the six classes of nutrients? What are essential nutrients? What are the sources of nutrients? What do nutrients do? 4.How do vitamins and minerals work? 5.What does it mean to eat a balanced diet? Why is food choice important for good nutrition? 6.What is undernutrition? What is overnutrition? 7.Why is physical activity important as it relates to nutrition and health? 8.Where might you find dietary recommendations? What are the recommended dietary allowances (RDA)? What are dietary reference intakes (DRIs)? 9.The United States Department of Agriculture created a diagram titled MyPlate. What is this diagram? Why should someone study this diagram? 10.What are some tools for diet planning? 11.What is the calorie intake calculator? What factors does this calculator take into account? 12.What are some dangers associated with dieting? 13.What is the best way to lose weight? Explain your answer and provide at least one source, formatted consistent with APA guidelines, to support your answer. Reference 14.How does exercise influence body weight? 15.Consider your personal dietary habits. What are some modifications you might make to promote good health? 16.How does today’s society affect our nutritional habits?

CD 361 - Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

CD 361 - - Essay Example Lastly, and for this paper, music have been found to help people to read, concentrate, and remain focused in their studies. This paper will evaluate the claims of various researchers who have studied the impact of music in helping student in learning. There is evidence that show that student perform better when they are educated through music. Research indicate that music education helpstudent to develop foundationalcapability to learn and achieve better understanding of other academic courses. Moreover, music education has shown to increase the development of skills, expertise, and knowledge required in the life success of a person. Therefore, music education an important lesson that thestudent should consider in order to help them develop the require skills to master the art of learning. Moreover, scholars say that music produces a unique pleasure that thehuman being cannot live without in their life. Music education enhances learner’s motor skills. Motor skills help learners can utilize the small and acute muscle in writing, typing, and enhancement of another physical movement that are essential in learning. Moreover, the brain organ responsible for motor and sensory function is developed and improved by music training. Arts Education Partnership argues that students trained in music have better sensory and motor function capability than other students not trained in music. Scientist have found that music learning help student develop capability required in solving complex math problems. Student who has studied music hove been found to perform better in maths than student who has never had music learning in their life(Arts Education Partnership 3).Music learning strengthens part of thebrain that is used in the processing of complex calculations through practicing in themusic. Scholars argue that students who studied music in their middle school perform significantly better to non-music counterparts(Arts Education Partnership 3). This is because

ECONOMICS OF warfare Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

ECONOMICS OF warfare - Essay Example Difference-indifferences estimator is used in econometrics to investigate how changes in variables in the environment affect the macroeconomics. Armed conflict is one of the factors that affect economic growth and development. A number of studies have been carried to establish the adverse effect of armed conflict on the economy of a nation. The researchers have been using the difference-in-differences idea to try to understand the significance of armed conflict on the outcome of an economy (Wooldridge, 2009). Armed conflict has serious economic implications. Historically, wars have destroyed economies that were robust and were promising. The world wars were unfortunate occurrences that brought the world economies into an economic crisis. Although most countries recovered for the fiasco, conflicts persist especially in African countries. Rwanda is one of the countries that were worst hit by armed conflict. The enmity between the Hutu and Tutsi saw the world witness one of the deadliest genocides. The two ethnic communities fled their country to go and seek asylum in neighboring countries. Property was destroyed. Lives were lost. Consequently, the within a short period, the country’s economy was on the verge of being bedridden. Intervention from the international community and other humanitarian agencies mitigated the conflict that had threatened to escalate to uncontrollable levels. Due to the intervention, salinity was brought in the country. Development partners and non-governmen tal organizations flocked the state with an objective of aiding them recover from the aftermath of the armed conflict. Furthermore, Rwanda became a case study of economists who started investigating the implication of the War on Rwanda’s economy. The World Bank is among one those development partners that examined the impact of the event. Researchers of the study used the

Cerebral palsy Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Cerebral palsy - Research Paper Example William Little in 1861 and then this disease was called little disease for a long time. After some time Little’s idea was changed to some extent by some other physicians such as Sigmund Feud proposing that even insults during pregnancy faced by the mother can cause this disorder in the child even before the birth. Major causes of Cerebral Palsy occur in parental age which is known as age from birth to first five years (Berker and Yalcin, 47-57). CP is the most common cause of the disability occurring in childhood in Western Societies. It was thought previously that increased cared during, pregnancy, infant caring system and early parental period can decrease the intensity of the disease yet it is not proved as probability of the disease increased between 1980’s and 1990’s greatly. Certain factors that are involved in the early child hood can increase the chances of CP (cerebral palsy) to occur in the children. Even presence of a single risk among all the risk fac tors involved in the aid of disease to happen can increase the chance of disorder to happen in the child as compared to the normal population of babies. Risk factors involved are divided into three main types that prenatal, perinatal and postnatal factors. Prematurity and low birth rates that exist heavily in the western countries are the two main factors that lead to CP. Postnatal risk are also a main factor that exists in rest of the world (Berker and Yalcin, 47-57). A clear relation exists between CP and birth weights. Low weight increases the risk than can result in the disease. Increase in quantity of waste products can affect the development of CNS. Multiple pregnancies can also increase the risk factor. Baby which carries these risks should be taken into extreme care by the medical professionals and parents from the time of birth to early five years which are known as parental years. Other risk factors include bleeding in the brain, brain infections, head injuries and infecti ons affecting the mother and ultimately the child during pregnancy. In some cases however the cause of CP can never be determined (Chan). Clinical analysis of the behavior of the children that are suffering with CP include impairments in CNS, muscle tone, strength and selectivity that are directly related to the damage of the baby in CNS. Secondary problems faced by the children are based on these primary problems. Tertiary problems occur due to the adaptive mechanism followed by the child to deal with primary and secondary problems. Muscles grow due to stretches that occur as a result of active movement. When a child moves and plays it results in a necessary movement of muscles that is required by them to grow properly. This leads to the fact that the child which cannot play due to poor selective control and abnormal balance is having a greater chance of carrying CP. As a result muscles do not grow result in an abnormality in the movement and posture in future (Berker and Yalcin, 4 7-57). Abnormality caused due to lack of muscle movement can result in partial or complete malfunctioning in different parts of the body shown in the diagram as follows: CP due to lack of movement muscles Source: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb73vlhbQMZvfUCpAWbypIrQkj09-hpfF1uFnZ-viDwk-BT5r51QUovjpwmlpcRnl4G15jZ2H2TAiEdbanotIn-h8xhdVypTNP2s2bfk6i0wBS-NuiPqtlXnvtDUp6tlCEDHzUzP9rhKM/s1600/cerebral_palsy2.gif The movement problem during infancy period is not apparent. It happens in the period after the infancy when the children carrying CP show delay in muscle related

Performance appraisal policies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Performance appraisal policies - Essay Example Walmart, Google and Apple are very reputed companies in the global market and hold a significant place in the list of Fortune 500 companies. Discussing about the performance appraisal of these companies this can be said that Walmart is using performance appraisal system for the purpose of evaluation. The management of this company has set four standards which are below standard, above standard, standard and outstanding performance. According to these levels they are evaluating the productiveness of their employee’s performance in the organizational activities. New joiners are received two times evaluation at the first fiscal year and other employees receive the same one time in a year. Management has decided that all employees should spend at least 6 months at their current position before getting any kind of promotion. The employees who are giving outstanding performance in the organization can receive monetary reward at any time in a financial year. Compensation and benefit are structured according to the performance evaluation of every employees and it can differ from person to person (Armstrong, 2006). Again in case of Apple Inc. this can be said that this company does not provide any kind of guarantee for lifelong employment opportunities without standard performance. So management of this company always focuses on this fact that employees should take responsibilities to achieve target growth to survive in this company. The company has set organization centric goals and target to recruit only qualified and skilled persons in the respective fields. The management of the company is doing performance appraisal of its employees on annual basis and high performers are getting exclusive rewards for their performances. The company is paying a variety of incentives to its employees such as long term care insurance, employee

The Visit to Kenya Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Visit to Kenya - Essay Example The country had a remarkable and beautiful climate. The wide distribution of green plants all over the place shocked me. The trees and birds were beautiful against clear bright blue skies, this contrasted sharply with Saudi Arabia, and I realized that Africa is so much blessed with a remarkable natural environment. They do not require artificially controlled environments in their homes. The temperatures are exceptionally cool at all times of the day, and I appreciate my cousin for insisting that I visit him in this wonderful part of the globe. I had always been fascinated by the majestic lions since I learned about them in Pre-School and I now had an opportunity to spot one in the wild. After traveling for several hours in the Tsavo plains, our tour guide suddenly told our driver to slow down, and he pointed towards a large tree. The sight was beautiful; I saw the largest lion I have ever seen resting under the tree. We saw very many other beautiful animals in the wild. The clouds opened on our way from the recreational area. It was such a superb thing with a mixture of so many pleasant smells around me. I was taken back to reality when our vehicle skidded and came to a sudden stop, and our driver declared that we were mud stuck. We alighted from the vehicle and Mabrouk solemnly declared that only a tow truck could remove the tour van from the muddy pothole. After several minutes, a number of Africans came clad in bright red clothing and after talking with the driver, for a minute, they succeeded in removing the van from the pothole.

'Employees cannot be motivated with money' Discuss Essay

'Employees cannot be motivated with money' Discuss - Essay Example from GE since as a company it has been focused on HR and committed to its employees in many ways which go beyond the norms of motivation as compared to other companies. It has an innovative way of rewarding employees who uphold the values considered important by GE and this has given the company the respect and admiration of many business gurus (Demos, 2006). While the rewards for working at GE are many, the reward selection process uses a ranking system that connects with both the process and content theories by punishes those employees who do perform up to the expected level. The overall effect of GE’s motivation techniques has been very positive and is well regarded by industry experts therefore it becomes a good example for matching with the theories of motivation. A theory based on content considers the idea that individuals are motivated by inner desires to fulfil their needs and such fulfilment can come from their work if the work they do is able to combine the rewards for working with their desires. The primary work in this branch of motivation comes form Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs which includes five levels including the basic needs of nourishment, second order needs for safety and security, third order needs for social affiliations, fourth order needs for esteem and fifth order needs for self-actualization of the individual. Clearly while the first, second and third order needs might be fulfilled by having enough money, fourth and fifth order needs might not be obtainable just by getting a salary alone. GE is one company that recognises this and uses a peer recognition system called QuickThanks! to show appreciation of the work done by one member of the company to another. Kerr (1996) gives an inside view of what happens at GE where this program is used for increasing the level of motivation of employees. Broadly speaking, this system allows employees to nominate other employees (even across departments) with a $25 gift certificate for certain

Diel Oxygen Measurements Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Diel Oxygen Measurements - Lab Report Example The water may be used in anthropogenic activity such as cooking and laundry. Measurement of diel changes in dissolved oxygen concentrations of freshwater systems is a widely accepted method of examining its productivity. It measures the dissolved oxygen concentrations twice a day (sunrise and sunset) to determine the gross productivity and respiration of the system (Van de Bogert, 2007). This is based on the carbon dioxide-acquiring and oxygen-producing photosynthesis, as well as the carbon dioxide-producing and oxygen-acquiring respiration. It is thus to be expected that the oxygen is highest during the sunset because the sunlight-requiring photosynthesis happened during the day, and lowest during the sunrise because photosynthesis does not occur to offset respiration (Hansom et al., 2003). In this light we may also expect that the surface is more productive at the bottom than at the surface, because it is more difficult for sunrays to hit deeper areas of the water. The objective of this experiment was to measure the productivity of aquatic systems in San Joaquin Marsh. Specifically, the researchers aimed to measured the dissolved oxygen concentration on the bottom and surface of the marsh, to calculate the productivity/respiratory ratio, and to assess whether the surface and bottom are autotrophic (productivity/respiratory > 1), or heterotrophic (productivity/respiratory Dissolved oxygen concentrations were measured at the surface and bottom of 8 different ponds on the site from Monday, 6:00 am sunrise and 7:45 pm sunset, to Tuesday, 6: 00 am sunrise. After data gathering, productivity/respiratory ratios were calculated as

Pulse Rate Essay Example for Free

Pulse Rate Essay The purpose of this practical is to investigate how the pulse rate of humans changes when they exercise. Someone who is physically fit can supply their muscles with enough blood, carrying glucose and oxygen, for an activity at a lower heart and breathing rate. The fitter you are the lower your resting heart rate. You and your classmates will be the humans investigated. SAFETY: If you know you have any condition that affects you doing exercise, please make sure your teacher knows before you start the investigation. In the investigation you are going to measure and record your pulse rate, before and after doing some physical activity. Work in pairs and decide who will be the ‘exerciser’ and who will be the ‘pulse-taker and recorder’. The pulse-taker takes the resting pulse of the exerciser. The exerciser should be sitting down and holding their left hand out with their palm facing up and their elbow straight. The pulse-taker puts the index and middle fingers of their right (or left) hand together, and presses the pads of their fingers lightly on the underside of the exerciser’s left wrist, just at the base of their thumb. With their fingers in this position, they should be able to feel a pulse. Once the pulse has been found, the pulse-taker starts the stopwatch and counts the number of beats in 15 seconds. To find the heart rate in beats per minute, the pulse count for 15 seconds is multiplied by 4. The exerciser exercises (jog on the spot, do jumping jacks, ste p up and down on the platform at the front of the room at a rate of 30 steps per minute) for 3 minutes. The pulse-taker counts the number of beats in 15 seconds immediately after exercise has stopped, then 2 minutes after exercise stopped and then 4, 6 and 8 minutes after exercise stopped. These rates should be taken with the exerciser sitting down. Recovery is to be assessed by calculating the ‘4 minutes after exercise’ value as a percentage of resting rates and comparing the percentage with the measure of fitness. This should give an inverse relationship i.e. the fitter the subject, the lower the percentage. LAB REPORT Date: Topic: Aim: Question: Materials and apparatus: Variables: * Independent (changed): * Dependent (measured): * Controlled (held constant): Method: numbered steps Observations and results: * Table neatly ruled up, units in header column; ensure the title is descriptive. * Graph of data summarised in table. * A concise description of other observations made, that are not given in table. * Calculation of the ‘4 minutes after exercise’ value as a percentage of resting rate. Discussion: examine the rubric in the table below closely; sequence your discussion as shown in the rubric; do not describe again how the experiment was carried out or restate the result; that is done in the ‘Method’. You will need to refer to the results in the process of explaining them. Focus on ‘Why’ i.e. the ‘Aim’ and ‘What the results indicated’ i.e. explain or account for the results; identify and explain sources of error and limitations in the experiment. Did the procedure and materials provided allow for the collection of sufficient data? Did the procedure and materials provided allow for the collection of accurate data? * Error – identify error(s) made in obtaining the results; explain how the error(s) affected the results and the objecti ves (Aim) of the investigation; describe how the error(s) could be reduced or eliminated. * Limitations (consider conditions, time, materials) explain how the limitation identified affected the accuracy of results, describe how limitation identified could be eliminated or reduced. * Conclusion: answer the question using the results Criteria| 2| 1| 0| Background knowledge| Theory or problem being investigated is fully explained; the expected results are stated| Theory or problem being investigated is not quite fully explained; the expected results are not stated| Theory or problem being investigated is not explained; the expected results are not stated| Explanation of results| Results are thoroughly interpreted| Results are fairly well interpreted| No interpretation of the results is provided; results are poorly interpreted| Sources of error| At least one well explained and valid source of error is provided| A valid source of error is provided but it is not well explained| No source of error is provided; that which is offered is invalid | Limitations | Limitations of the procedure are valid and well explained at least one limitation | At least one limitation is presented but it is poorly explained| No limitation is presented; that which is presented is invalid| Conclusion| Conclusion is related to the ‘Aim’ and makes reference to the observations (results)| Conclusion is related to the ‘Aim’ but makes no reference to the observations (results)| Conclusion is not related to the ‘Aim’; makes no reference to the observations (results)| OBSERVATION/REPORTING/RECORDING Data table 12 marks scaled to 10 Criteria| Complete| Partial| Not at all| Title a concise statement identifying the variables included in the table is printed and underlined with a single line| 2| 1| 0| A pencil and ruler are used to construct table – rows and columns ruled up so that items are distinguished from each other; table has an outer border | 2| 1| 0| Table is large enough so that all the entries can be neatly written in the available space; table is not broken| 2| 1| 0| First column is independent variable (chosen by the experimenter); second and subsequent columns the dependent variables (readings taken by the experimenter)| 2| 1| 0| Column headings include the quantity and the unit (as appropriate); accepted scientific conventions e.g. if the quantity being measured is length in millimeters column heading is to be written as ‘length / mm’; ‘length in mm’ or ‘length (mm)’| 2| 1| 0| Numerical values are inserted into the body of table no units| 2| 1| 0| OBSERVATION/REPORTING/RECORDING Line graph – 16 marks scaled to 10 Criteria| Complete| Partial| Not at all| A pencil is used for drawings in lines on graphs, labeling the axes and writing the title| 2| 1| 0| The independent variable is plotted on the X axis and the dependent variable on the Y axis| 2| 1| 0| The scales chosen for the graph axes makes it easy to read the graph, such as 1, 2 or 5 units to a 20 mm square and make the best use of the space available – half or more of the length and width of the grid| 2| 1| 0| Each axis is labeled and the relevant quantity and units stated e.g. Temperature of solution/0C| 2| 1| 0| Points are lightly drawn (but are visible on the grid) with a sharp pencil using a fine cross or an encircled dot; points are no larger than one of the smallest squares on the grid| 2| 1| 0| Where data falls on a straight line or smooth curve, and then a line of best fit or an appropriate curve is drawn in on the graph; when a straight line or smooth curve is not formed neighboring points are joined by straight ruled lines; lines of best fit show an even distribution of points on either side of the line along its whole length| 2| 1| 0| Lines are thin, drawn without kinks or breaks| 2| 1| 0| Title a concise statement identifying the variables included in the graph is printed and underlined with a single line| 2| 1| 0|

Free

Free schools Essay Are an interesting idea but the government needs to be very careful to make sure that educational standards improve for all children and that the whole community benefits. The idealogy behind free Schools are that they are non-profit making, independent, state-funded schools. They are able to choose what subjects they choose for their pupils to study and have many less restrictions imposed on them on how they choose to allocate their finances. For this very reason free schools would be varied in their nature as they would not be forced to follow for example the national curriculum. They are not defined by size or location: there is not a single type of free school or a single reason for setting them up. Free schools could be either primary or secondary schools. They could be located in traditional school buildings or appropriate community spaces such as office buildings or church halls. They could be set up by a wide range of proposers including charities, universities, businesses, educational groups, visionary teachers or committed parents who want to make a difference to the educational landscape. They might be needed because there simply are not enough school places in a local area and children have to travel too far to the nearest school. Free schools are not academically selective and open to children of all abilities. School is a defining factor in our lives and also promote a shared sense of community which is important as cohesive communities are generally more happy and safe than uncohesive ones there is no discrimination or segregation and they nurture a shared set of beliefs and values and goals, living together in harmony and mutual respect. An example of a community that lacks this is Oldham in which the races, Asians and whites were segregated and this triggered violent race riots. This happened due to the immense divide between Asian and White communities and their inability to mix and appreciate one another. This event made me think that this was very bad for the community and did nothing but encourage racial segregation. Looking at the footage of the riots of 2001 it is clear that situation could have been easily avoided had everyone learnt to appreciate one another. Community cohesion is about ensuring that all people from different backgrounds and communities feel they belong to the place in which they live. We cannot realise our ambitions by living in isolation to one another, it must be as a united city, where the differences of race, colour, and religion are embraced. A sense of community cohesion as we grow up makes us happier in general and encourages us to be unprejudiced and non-racist. Our distinctive character is developed early on in life and to be encouraged to mix with other people with different beliefs and religions helps promote a safer and on the whole a more happier and strong community. We start school within the first few years of our lives and being mixed with different people at this institution endorses a stronger community. We spend a good part of a decade at school so there is no doubt that school will be largely responsible for our values and beliefs, as well as our personality. Depending on what school we go to we are thrust into a shared community and we learn to get along and share beliefs. As stated in the Source material, Being part of a community helps us develop an identity a sense of who we are. An uncohesive community has exactly the opposite effect, and children growing up in an uncohesive community can grow up to have negative views and not feel like they belong and the can feel like they do not have a stake in society and being able to join in and influence decisions that affect their lives. When David Cameron and Nick Clegg (leaders of the Conservative party and the Liberal Democrat party) were elected to form a coalition government in 2010, one of the Conservatives policies were the Big Society which was apparently based on a model of Balsall Heath A town with low levels of community cohesion. The idea of the Big Society was that people take greater control of their communities and not rely on the government and local authorities to provide services like schools, community centres, youth clubs. This town has now been transformed and the town is now clean and tidy and people of all different cultural backgrounds mix. The most positive effects of this were that community cohesion increased in a drastic way. There is no doubt that there are some beneficial aspects of free schools such as people of all different ethnicities mixing together as a free school is not academically selective. This discourages discrimination and community cohesion. Some people may argue that the current government is trying to distance themselves from responsibility and segregate society but I believe that David Cameron is good to encourage people to take action if they are deprived of something that will be a credit to the community. Further argument counteracting this is that some people think that such people in deprived areas are not skilled or have enough knowledge to undertake a difficult project of opening a school, particularly a secondary school. A quote from a recent article of the Telegraph states These kids will be left behind, because the second point is that, if you set up a market mechanism, then there are winners and losers, but, in this case the losers are children, left behind in a sink school. The endorsement of free schools is debatable, but interesting. Nick Clegg declared on the 5th September in his speech Free schools would not become the preserve of the privileged few' which outlines the fact that he thinks free schools would in effect privatize the education system and allow the new institutions to cream off the best pupils and resources. On the other hand the Education Secretary Michael Gove who wholeheartedly believes that free schools will end the rationing of good education. He believes that free schools to replace failing comprehensives will give all children access to the kind of education only the rich can afford. He outlines this in Source 1 as well as saying free schools will cut the achievement gap between rich and poor. However , free schools could lead to social segregation as middle class parents are likely to be very keen on them, leading to a situation where middle class and working class people do not mix. This could end up with middle class children going to good schools and working class children remaining in local authority schools where there is very little funding. Another group who are really keen on free schools are faith groups and this could lead to segregation on religious grounds. Standards for school would therefore not rise uniformly for everyone which would be a big disadvantage and there would also be low community cohesion which is explained above. I personally think it is unfair that some pupils dont have the opportunity to go to a high achieving school as I went through this whole school lottery trying for three high achieving schools but I failed to get into any of them, simply because I was out of the catchment area. It is worth setting up free schools in deprived areas where children are forced to go to a low achieving school, so they have the same opportunities that wealthier children have. Michael Gove planned to branch out free schools here after apparent success in America with free schools, where 99 free schools have been established. Evidence suggests that 83% of free schools in the USA are doing no better than their conventional counterparts which brings me to question whether the opening of free schools really are beneficial and whether the opening of them would cut the bridge between rich and poor. However in further research some students in these schools feel that they are in a better position in a free school where they apply rigorous discipline and are challenging. This again makes the idea of free schools questionable. In Source 3, a group of six hundred parents expressed their desire for their children to go to a school other than the local state school. This brings about the conclusion that if this many parents are unhappy with the type of provision of state schooling institutions, something must be done. This opinion is also met with Rachel Wolfs in Source 4 who argues that hundreds of parents have suffered too long from a two tier education system one in which the wealthy can get into the excellent local school by buying a house in the right catchment area or paying school fees, while less off parents are stuck. I believe this is an extremely unfair system and one in which the wealthy seem to have it all and working class citizens are stuck in a never ending rut. In Source 5 another parents view is expressed, where she expresses her desire for a school in which most of its students could walk to and not sending their children 4 miles away. Source 6 promotes the fact that some people are planning to profit from the governments initiative seeking to profit at the expense of the taxpayer states Ed Balls in Source 8. He continues with Since free schools introduced a free schools policy the countrys education standards in maths and scince have plummeted. This Source brings about more negativity on the topic of free schools and questions the beneficial aspects of free schools. Source 7, an extract adapted from the website of the National Union of Teachers promotes an opinion of high negativity towards free schools, of which 24 have opened this September. A quote of this source is This governments attack on state education has to be opposed. Laws to create many more academies and the new so called free schools are an attack on the very existence of free, state comprehensive education which is democratically accountable. It is privatisation on a grand scale and is unacceptable. From my research many people agree with the condemning of free schools with NASUWT stating The free schools programme will be anything but free. Free schools are an unnecessary and costly gamble in educating the countrys children. The Government is simply not acting responsibly by not making clear where the money will come from to fund the free schools policy. Major education programmes have in the last few weeks been cut or frozen. The public would be right to be concerned that money saved from other education programmes will be used to fund the free schools policy. There is yet more negativity on the introduction of free schools with ATL an education union saying Parents or teachers misguided enough to set up a free school will soon find out that running a school needs a lot more than knowing pupils names and an alternative vision of education. It needs knowledge of employment law, health and safety and the admissions code. And private companies are waiting in the wings to provide these services. ATL has produced a directory listing the major organisations which want to get involved in managing state schools Englands schools: not open for business. These all show there is much negativity on free schools. Also NASUWT outlines the fact that it is not clear where the money to fund free schools will come from which brings about the conclusion that the government are taking money from existing state schools which may not benefit the majority of children in the local area. In Source 9 a blogger wrote her opinion which depicts that instead of reducing segregation free schools would in fact increase it, by being highly selective especially for parents who are forcefully ambitious in their choice of school, leaving behind children, for whom there may not be a voice. In Source 10 we look at Sweden, which already has free schools implemented but a person called Per Thulberg who analysed this said schools had not led to better results and Michael Gove contradicted this stating that if parents had more choice then existing schools would be forced to improve, but Per Thurlberg said better results simply came from students with better backgrounds going into those schools. These statistics suggest that free schools may not bring about better results and will not determine that there are better quality schools for the public to choose from which was the point of free schools being created in the first place. Free schools may simply be taking money from the local comprehensive where students may inevitably end up. Another factor which questions the beneficial aspects of free schools are the growing popularity of faith schools demands to build more faith schools in the form of free schools are reportedly growing this is a feature which some say will segregate society further and not promote community cohesion. http://www. dailymail. co. uk/news/article-2046715/Richard-Dawkins-attacks-alien-rubbish-taught-Muslim-faith-schools. html http://www. guardian. co.uk/education/2011/oct/04/alarm-over-racial-segregation-london-schools. These articles especially the second depict the racial segregation that faith schools may cause. I think personally that large numbers of faith schools in Britain will not benefit the society as a whole. In conclusion and to be fair and in all honesty it is just too soon to say whether free schools are going to be a good thing and create a more fair educational society for all of us. It is very clear that the present system is not working and puts immense pressure on both parents and children to fulfill the need to attend a good school. Once parents were allowed to see the published national league tables of which schools perform well as opposed to which schools did not, it was only a matter of time before wealthy parents were able to move to a catchment area to secure the best school places for their children leaving behind the poorer child to accept whatever was on offer. This has caused a very great divide in good and average performing schools and caused a lot of low morale for many parents in this country. If free schools can address this major issue it can only be a good thing. However, it can be argued that the odds are stacked against them. In our present times with our bleak economic outlook any system that is trying to get on its feet will gobble a lot of financial resources and one has to look at where this money is coming from and whether our already existing state schools who do not join in will suffer as a result. Competition is whole heartedly healthy generally in a society but not an unfair one where competition takes place in schools where clever kids are already creamed off and able to go to better schools. This can be a major disadvantage and in itself causes segregation of a different sort. I feel that if people are inspired to take on the opportunity of setting up a free school then they probably have a vision of a better , alternative system they are aspiring to which is a good thing as the government has set up a lot of stringent conditions which have to be passed to set up a free school. In all, apathy and not doing anything to address the issues in our schools is a worse misdemeanor than at least trying to see whether free schools hold the answer to our problems and so we can only hope for our future generations that free schools work. As in everything in life only time will tell.

Motivated You To Study Social Work Education Essay

Motivated You To Study Social Work Education Essay My motivation to study social work comes from my passion about helping people who are less advantaged. Having spent the last five years working in a social care environment helped me to realise that my passion lies in helping the most vulnerable members of our society. I found working as a Care Assistant extremely challenging but also rewarding.   Attending a multi-disciplinary care reviews gave me a great insight  Ã‚   into a social worker role. I found out that social work can help service users maintain their dignity and independence, give wider choices of support, protect from abuse as well as reduce admissions to hospital. I hope that studying social work will give me a valuable skills and knowledge needed for effective professional practice as a social worker. 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚   What type of learner are you? Last year on the Access course through the exercise on the class I have identified my learning style [Appendix 1].   Knowing and understanding my learning style helped me to learn more effectively and identify opportunities to improve my learning. According to Honey and Mumford (1982) Learning Style Model I perform strongly as a Reflector.   As a Reflector I learn by observing and thinking about what happened. I like to stand back and observe experiences from many different perspectives. I like to collect information (the more that better), and prefer to think about it thoroughly before coming to any conclusions. I prefer to take a back seat in meetings and discussions. I always listen to others before making my own point. I learn less well when being thrown in at the deep end with no time to prepare and when acting as leader or role-playing in front of others. Having identified my learning style, I now understand that as a reflector I am a slow learner and require more time to study, that is why it is important to plan my study effectively. I also need to try to get involved more in meeting and discussions instead of sitting back and listen. My preferred style of learning was also determined by completing the Learning Styles Questionnaire on C_Space [Appendix 2]. According to the questionnaire I learn best by visual way. Information presented in pictures, diagrams or charts is easily remembered.   I like to watch the lecturer closely and be able to see the teacher body language to fully understand the content of a lesson. I also like to use colours in my studies such as coloured markers to highlight information.   As a visual learner it is important to make sure that I sit always in a position in the classroom where I can see things clearly. 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚   How do others perceive your values and abilities? Recently I asked my best friend how they perceive my values and abilities. The feedback I have been given was as follow: You are sensible, cautious, careful practical. I see you as clever, gifted, or talented, but modest. Not a person who makes friends too quickly or easily, but someone whos extremely loyal to friends you do make and who expects the same loyalty in return. Those who really get to know you realize it takes a lot to shake your trust in your friends, but equally that it takes you a long time to get over if that trust is ever broken. My fellow students see me as confident, open minded and positive person. So far, the feedback form my tutors was always positive, however I am prepared to can take negative feedback. Receiving feedback is great opportunity to gain useful information and insight into what we need to develop or improve in order to grow professionally. 4.  Ã‚  Ã‚   How do you approach learning? How have you improved your skills for study (including IT)? Having developed a number of strategies and techniques on last year course enabled me to make the most efficient use of my time, resources, and potential. I approach my studies strategically and systematically by working out where to invest my time and energies. Choosing the right place to study is important as I work most effectively in a well organised study area. I like to work in a comfortable and free from distractions place with a good lighting and a room to spread my book and papers. Time management is a vehicle that can carry you from wherever you are to wherever you want to be (Tracy 2007:2) Time management in the key skill to handle my coursework and to get it done on time. Good time management skills enable me to utilise my time in a more effective way and allow me to accomplish more tasks in a shortest possible way. A study time table is an essential ingredient in effective time management. I have created a weekly time table [Appendix 3 ]   to help me organise my day-today tasks, which keeps me positive and focused on my studying, and helps me achieve my targets. I have also learned to prioritise my work by doing the small and easy tasks first and taking them out of the way, before trying to tackle larger pieces of work. I have created things to do list [Appendix 4]. I use it to set daily priorities and to reduce decision making and worry. The ability to make clear and concise notes is another important skill that I have developed through my study. Taking notes helps me to gain a deeper understanding of the subject and capture the essential points of the topic. It also helps to make sense of what is to be learned and to remember it later. Having identified my preferred learning style I know now that I work well with patterned notes, such as nuclear, spider grams, diagrammatic and mind maps. This method was described by Buzan (1992) in his book Use your head. He calls the technique Mind Mapping. Mind maps allow for greater activity when recording ideas and information, as well as allowing the note-taker to associate words with visual representations (Buzan, 1992). Patterned notes involve writing the main topic in the centre of the page, and then write related ideas around it and link them up to show their relationship to the main idea. Pattern notes are more visual, and are very active form of learning. For example of m y note taking please see [Appendix 5]. I have also learned how to read effectively by being selective, scanning, skimming and questioning as I read. Computer helps me to study in many different ways. It helps me to research online for information, make structured notes, creating charts, graphs and tables and to organise and keep track of my studies. Although I have used computer in the past there was areas that I still had to improve. Last year on the access course I have learned how to work with spread sheets, databases, and create a power point presentation, which helped me to improve my IT skills. [Appendix 6] 5.  Ã‚  Ã‚   What factors affect your learning? Having many responsibilities as an adult learner I must balance against the demands of learning. Personally, the factor affecting my learning is English as a second language I do find it hard at the times to express myself in the way that I wish to. It also lower my confidence and self esteem. Being subject to jokes about my funny accent in the past made me feel nervous when speaking in front of others. However, my confidence in that area improved dramatically since starting the course. Distractions while studying could be another area that affects my learning. I need a quiet and organised place to study without any interruption. I have learned to minimise distractions while I work by encouraging others to respect my rights to work without interruption. I keep my phone off when I am studying to avoid phone calls that could disturb my learning. Self esteem and lack of confidence.   Before I took an Access Course my self esteem as well as confidence were very low. I did not believe in my abilities and felt very anxious about going back to education after a long break. Having a positive feedback from the tutors as well as fellow students helped me to build up my self- esteem and become a confident student. 6.  Ã‚  Ã‚   How do you become an effective problem solver in your life? Problem solving is one of the key skills in social work practice. Social workers use a problem solving approach in working with individuals, families, groups and communities. As a social work student, it is very important to me to become an effective problem solver. In my personal life I have learned confronting rather than avoiding problems. I tend to solve my problems using a simple technique. The first stage is to define the problem. To understand why the problem exist and looking at the root cause of the problem. Secondly I explore the problem by looking at how does the problem affect me or others? The next step is looking for possible solutions and selecting a realistic solution that is most relevant to me. Finally I put my solution into action. It is however important to evaluate the effectiveness of my solution. 7.  Ã‚  Ã‚   How do you become more effective, independent and confident self- directed learner? Self-directed learning is a process in which individuals take the initiative, with or without the help of others, in diagnosing their learning needs, formulating learning goals, identifying human and material resources for learning, choosing and implementing appropriate learning strategies, and evaluating learning outcomes(Knowles, 1975:14). According to Malcolm Knowles (1984) adults learn differently than young people. In his theory of adult learning Knowles pointed that adults are self- directed in their learning.   As a person matures his self-concept moves from one of being a dependent personality toward one of being a self-directed human being   (Knowles, 1984:12). As an adult student I take responsibility for my learning processes, such as goal-setting, instructional design and evaluation of my learning process. Being organised helps me to manage my studies effectively. In order to become more independent learner I need to be motivated to learn, able to manage my time effectively, and reflect upon my learning. Effectiveness of learning depend on having your state of mind, space, time, and materials organised in the ways that best suit your learning (Cottrell, 2008:67). 8.  Ã‚  Ã‚   How did you work cooperatively with others I am a part of a Care team working in a care home for people with dementia. Being a part of the team I have learned how to work co- operatively with my work colleagues. As a team member I have learn contribute to achieving the goal of meeting the needs of clients. Apart from work I also work co operatively with others in group work tasks on classes. We were put to groups to complete specific task. I worked cooperatively by sharing my ideas, being and active listener, respect other people views, work together with the members of group to complete the task successfully. Working in groups gave me a great opportunity to gain confidence and develop interpersonal skills, such as active listening and questioning and communication skills. 9.  Ã‚  Ã‚   How do you relate your learning to the contemporary context of social work practice? Working in a Social Care as a Carer my role involves providing practical support, and enabling service users to maintain their independence to lead fuller and secure life. I also build partnerships with people I work with, trying to win them trust and encouraging them to cope and get most out of life. I relate my learning to the contemporary context of social work by implementing my current skills and knowledge to my work settings. Skills such as interpersonal skills help me to understand the importance of actively listening and empathising with service users in order to enter the world from their point of view.   I am also more aware about the group dynamics in my work place and importance of effective team working in order to achieve the desire outcomes.   Since doing the degree I also developed an anti discriminatory practice. I started to relate the theories to practice to understand the causes of discrimination and ways to challenge it effectively.

Beloved :: essays research papers

Beloved   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In regards to the novel Beloved Toni Morrison says, “[The novel] can’t be driven by slavery. It has to be the interior life of some people, a small group of people, and everything that they do is impacted on by the horror of slavery, but they are also people.'; Critics argue that the novel is driven by slavery and that the interior life of the protagonists is secondary. This is true because most of the major events in the story relate to some type of slavery. The slavery that drives the novel does not have to be strictly physical slavery. Morrison’s characters are slaves physically and mentally. Although they are former slaves, they are forever trapped by horrible memories.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The type of slavery the novel initially depicts does not correspond to what really happened to slaves in the 1800s. At Sweet Home, Mr. and Mrs. Garner treated their slaves like real people. Mr. Garner is proud of his slaves and treats them like men, not animals.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  . . . they were Sweet Home men -- the ones Mr. Garner bragged about while other farmers shook their heads in warning at the phrase. [He said,] “. . . my niggers is men every one of em. Bought em thataway, raised em thataway. Men every one.';1 The things that occurred at Sweet Home while Mr. Garner is alive are rather conservative compared to what slaves actually suffered during this time period.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Under the management of schoolteacher, things change dramatically. He turns Sweet Home into a real slave plantation. He treats and refers to the slaves as animals. He is responsible for the horrible memories embedded in Sethe and Paul D.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Sethe feels the impact of slavery to its fullest extent. Slavery pushes her to kill her baby daughter. She feels that is the only way to protect her beloved daughter from the pain and suffering she would endure if she became a slave. The minute she sees schoolteachers hat, Sethe’s first instinct is to protect her children. Knowing that slave catchers will do anything to bring back fugitive slaves and that dead slaves are not worth anything, Sethe took matters into her own hands.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  On page 164 Sethe says, “I stopped him. I took and put my babies where they’d be safe.'; Paul D asks, “How? Your boys gone you don’t know where. One girl dead, the other won’t leave the yard.

The Struggles of Mexicans in Mexican-American History Essay -- History

The Struggles of Mexicans in Mexican-American History Mexico’s problems originally began upon the arrival of the Spanish in 1492, as illustrated in Major Problems in Mexican American History by Zaragosa Vargas as well as in the video documentary, Chicano!. The sequence of events which date back to the precolonial Spanish days and take place in Mexico’s history eventually provoke the national movement that called for social justice and equality, especially after the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. Then came the question of group and individual identity. Those of Mexican heritage were broken up into the groups "Chicanos," which were the ‘Americanized’ Mexicans or the Mexicans born in the United States, and the actual "Mexicans," who were the native born people which were discriminated against the most. The Spaniards two main goals in invading, conquering and in the conquest of the Mexico region were to maintain political control over the Indians, which populated Mexico at the time and to convert the Indians to Christianity. As Vargas states in her book, Major Problems in Mexican American History, "the Spanish crown pursued its double goal of Christianization and Hispanicization, the world of the Indian was systematically destroyed through a sustained policy of military campaigns and forced labor; disease and malnutrition, which also took a toll on the native populations"(Vargas 91). The Spaniards were able to divide the indigenous people of Mexico and conquer them with the help of other ethnic groups occupying the Mexico region. In planning the conquest, the Spaniards would identify a group that would ally with them to further defeat the ethnic group in power. The collaboration of the Spaniards and the rival ethni... ...his essay on Mexicans, the documentary provides visual sources for facts discussed in Vargas' book (Spencer Anderson). The website is detailed in the way in which it describes the events, and lists the facts leading up to the creation of Chicano Park!. Mexicans have faced problems ever since 1492, when the expansion of the Spanish took on full force. Ever since, they have continued to encounter many more, which involve discrimination and oppression. Their history concerning Spanish conquest and colonization, and their migration into the United States was very troublesome, and it has not improved that much either. Works Cited Vargas, Zaragosa. Major Problems in Mexican American History. Boston, Ma: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1999. Chicano Park Website http://chicanopark.org "Chicano!" Documentary Series Website http://www.pbs.org/chicano/index.html

Invisibility Over Negation in Invisible Man Essay -- Invisible Man Ess

Invisibility Over Negation in Invisible Man      Ã‚  Ã‚   Early on in Invisible Man, Ralph Ellison's nameless narrator recalls a Sunday afternoon in his campus chapel.   With aspirations not unlike those of Silas Snobden's office boy, he gazes up from his pew to further extol a platform lined with Horatio Alger proof-positives, millionaires who have realized the American Dream.   For the narrator, it is a reality closer and kinder than prayer can provide: all he need do to achieve what they have is work hard enough.   At this point, the narrator cannot be faulted for such delusions, he is not yet alive, he has not yet recognized his invisibility.   This discovery takes twenty years to unfold.   When it does, he is underground, immersed in a blackness that would seem to underscore the words he has heard on that very campus:   he is nobody; he doesn't exist (143).   Hence, Invisible Man is foremost a struggle for identity.   Ellison believes this is not only an American theme but the American theme; "the nature of our society," he says, "is such that we are prevented from knowing who we are" (Graham 15).   Invisible Man, he claims, is not an attack on white America or communism but rather the story of innocence and human error (14).   Yet there are strong racial and political undercurrents that course the nameless narrator towards an understanding of himself and humanity.   And along the way, a certain version of communism is challenged.   The "Brotherhood," a nascent ultra-left party that offers invisibles a sense of purpose and identity, is dismantled from beneath as Ellison indirectly dissolves its underlying ideology:   dialectical materialism.   Black and white become positives in dialectical flux; riots and racism ... ... with Ralph Ellison.   Jackson:   U of Mississippi P, 1995. Hersey, John, ed.   Ralph Ellison:   A Collection of Critical Essays.   Englewood Cliffs:   Prentice-Hall, 1974. Jacoby, Russel.   Dialectic of Defeat:   Contours of Western Marxism.   Cambridge:   Cambridge UP, 1981. Jain, Ajit, and Alexander Matejko, eds.   A Critique of Marxist and Non-Marxist Thought.   New York:   Praeger, 1986. Marx, Karl.   The Communist Manifesto.   Ed.   Frederic L. Bender.   New York:   Norton, 1988. Osborn, Reuben.   Marxism and Psychoanalysis.   New York:   Dell Publishing, 1965. Schafer, William J.   "Ralph Ellison and the Birth of the Anti-Hero."   Hersey   115-126. Schor, Edith.   Visible Ellison:   A Study of Ralph Ellison's Fiction.   Westport:   Greenwood, 1993. Vogler, Thomas A.   "Invisible Man:   Somebody's Protest Novel."   Hersey   127-150.       Invisibility Over Negation in Invisible Man Essay -- Invisible Man Ess Invisibility Over Negation in Invisible Man      Ã‚  Ã‚   Early on in Invisible Man, Ralph Ellison's nameless narrator recalls a Sunday afternoon in his campus chapel.   With aspirations not unlike those of Silas Snobden's office boy, he gazes up from his pew to further extol a platform lined with Horatio Alger proof-positives, millionaires who have realized the American Dream.   For the narrator, it is a reality closer and kinder than prayer can provide: all he need do to achieve what they have is work hard enough.   At this point, the narrator cannot be faulted for such delusions, he is not yet alive, he has not yet recognized his invisibility.   This discovery takes twenty years to unfold.   When it does, he is underground, immersed in a blackness that would seem to underscore the words he has heard on that very campus:   he is nobody; he doesn't exist (143).   Hence, Invisible Man is foremost a struggle for identity.   Ellison believes this is not only an American theme but the American theme; "the nature of our society," he says, "is such that we are prevented from knowing who we are" (Graham 15).   Invisible Man, he claims, is not an attack on white America or communism but rather the story of innocence and human error (14).   Yet there are strong racial and political undercurrents that course the nameless narrator towards an understanding of himself and humanity.   And along the way, a certain version of communism is challenged.   The "Brotherhood," a nascent ultra-left party that offers invisibles a sense of purpose and identity, is dismantled from beneath as Ellison indirectly dissolves its underlying ideology:   dialectical materialism.   Black and white become positives in dialectical flux; riots and racism ... ... with Ralph Ellison.   Jackson:   U of Mississippi P, 1995. Hersey, John, ed.   Ralph Ellison:   A Collection of Critical Essays.   Englewood Cliffs:   Prentice-Hall, 1974. Jacoby, Russel.   Dialectic of Defeat:   Contours of Western Marxism.   Cambridge:   Cambridge UP, 1981. Jain, Ajit, and Alexander Matejko, eds.   A Critique of Marxist and Non-Marxist Thought.   New York:   Praeger, 1986. Marx, Karl.   The Communist Manifesto.   Ed.   Frederic L. Bender.   New York:   Norton, 1988. Osborn, Reuben.   Marxism and Psychoanalysis.   New York:   Dell Publishing, 1965. Schafer, William J.   "Ralph Ellison and the Birth of the Anti-Hero."   Hersey   115-126. Schor, Edith.   Visible Ellison:   A Study of Ralph Ellison's Fiction.   Westport:   Greenwood, 1993. Vogler, Thomas A.   "Invisible Man:   Somebody's Protest Novel."   Hersey   127-150.      

All I could hear was drilling; ear-splitting drilling, pounding through my head

All I could hear was drilling! Ear-splitting drilling pounded excruciatingly through my head! All morning workmen had been digging up the road outside my house and the noise was driving me mad. All I wanted to do was read my book but I couldn't even do that! I grabbed my book, stomped out of my house, slamming the door behind me! I just ran. I ran through the garden, ignoring my mother hollering at me and commanding me to return inside and finish some tedious task or other. I raced through the garden, past my neighbour's house, through the fields and finally I found peace! It was beside a little river, which was gurgling quietly by, not disturbing anyone. The setting was tranquil and precisely how I wanted it. I lay down on the grass under an old wrinkled willow tree. My only company was two large dragonflies, which hummed and hovered by the riverbank. I picked up my book; it was entitled, Encyclopaedia of Shells, by R. H. De Bruyne. I opened up the book at a random page; I glanced at the page number, 109. A beautiful shell stared out of the page at me, the Cypraea aurantium, a rare breed of the cowrie family found deep in exotic coral reefs. Each photograph was taken at a different angle of the shell, complimenting the exquisiteness of the shell's astounding beauty. Out of the dark, rusty golden mouth shone brilliant teeth, like that of a shark. However, on the topside of the shell there was the most magnificent golden hue, which resembled a giant golden pendant from ancient times. Now I understood why it was called the Golden Cowrie. I began to read about where to find this rare and stunning shell. The words drifted through my mind†¦ â€Å"The Cypraea aurantium can be found in the beautiful coral reef, off the coast of Australia; particularly upon the south east section of corals†¦ I found myself dreaming of scuba diving amongst the corals of the Australian coast. I was sitting on board a small boat, stocked up with scuba diving equipment. An old man with white, wispy hair stood at the helm, his creased skin weathered by many years spent in the salty sea air. The little boat bobbed up and down on the waves like a cork, but that didn't bother me. I loved being out at sea, whether I was swimming, diving, fishing or just relaxing on deck; I loved it. Today, I was scuba diving in search of wonderful shells, which could be found hidden in the vivid corals. I might also pick up some shards of coral broken off by passing boats, and photograph beautiful shoals of fish swimming in their natural habitat. The area of corals I was exploring was surprisingly far out to sea, 27 kilometres to be exact! It was a remote and wildly uncharted region and I hoped to be one of the first to explore it. Finally, after spending the first early hours of the morning out at the sea, we reached our destination. There were a few uninhabited islands surrounding us but they were of no interest to me. I stared down into the rippling cyan ocean. The little waves were foaming as they splashed against the side of the now still boat. After much tugging and heaving I managed to squeeze into my wetsuit. I grabbed the heavy oxygen tank and checked that the oxygen level was full. Then I slung my oxygen tank on my back, spat into my goggles, tied my equipment strap around my waist and I was ready. I plunged into the watery depths and began to swim downwards. After a few minutes I opened my eyes to behold a most breath-taking sight. Corals of every hue and shade imaginable glowed all around me like a necklace of exquisite gems catching the light. They were like no corals I had ever seen before; their colours were so vibrant, and each one uniquely and intricately formed. I was overwhelmed by the pulchritude of my surroundings, a beauty that could not be emulated my man. I felt out of place, as though I didn't deserve to be in this place of wonder. My heart swelled with emotion. I was swayed so greatly by the beauty of the corals that I forget why I was diving, I forgot that there were other wonders still to behold. Eventually, I drew myself out of the trance and I began to swim further. Tiny little fish swam past me, tickling me as they touched my exposed feet. A turtle swam past leisurely, gaping around at its watery surroundings. As I swam deeper, it gradually became darker. The ocean became inky-blue but the corals did not lose their vibrant colours. One thing that did change however, were the fish. They appeared to have a more ghostly appearance and some almost seemed to be filled with light. One particular beast caught my eye. It was shaped like a squid with long, slender tentacles. These tentacles glowed with an ominous electric blue light. It was odd. Although I loathed this beast, I felt drawn to its colourful strands of light, and found it strangely attractive. Suddenly, it darted behind a huge rock! This beast could sense danger. Something much more sinister was lurking nearby. Quickly, I dived behind the rock for cover! A shark was swimming towards me. If I didn't hide I would be torn to pieces. From my lair I could see clearly what was happening without being seen. I hastily brought out my under-water camcorder. I began filming just as the shark past only a few feet away from me. It was colossal! At least ten feet long! It opened its gigantic mouth to reveal rows upon rows of treacherous white teeth. Its gills flapped and rippled as it breathed. A massive scar slashed across its silvery-grey fin confirmed that this beast had fought and won previous conflicts. After what felt a lifetime, its streamlined body slipped out of sight. I gave a sigh of relief hoping and praying it wouldn't disrupt my exploration further. As the water calmed and cleared, I noticed a large wooden structure before me. It was old, rustic and encrusted with barnacles. A long wooden mast protruded from the helm, its bolts and harnesses rusty and creaky. From the mast, shreds of what had been billowing white sails floated faintly in the ocean, a shadow of what they had once been. Their ghostly appearance sent a chill down my spine. It appeared to be a majestic galleon, a ship from times of exploration. However, this exploration appeared to have gone foul. Intrigued by the galleons wraithlike, eerie appearance, I darted into the ship. I saw a latch and decided to heave it open. A shrill piercing voice escaped my mouth! A phantasmal figure floated up out of the stairway! The white bony corpse still had tatters of clothing on him with wisps of hair still protruding his skull. After a few moments gasping for breath and my heart racing, I regained calm and pushed it out of my way. I proceeded down into what appeared to be the captain's quarters. I gazed around the room; his chest was still intact, full of clothing (a little shoddier than it had previously been), a mahogany telescope with gold embellishments, and a Prussian blue hat. I examined the telescope, which was engraved with the name Captain E. J. Sharpe, 1581. Questions flooded through my mind. I continued in the pursuit of answers examining further areas of the ship. After exploring almost every crevice I found another chest, smaller than the previous one. I opened it slowly, wondering what surprises I would uncover. This chest did not contain rubies, emeralds or gold, but it did contain treasure of a different kind. The captain of this ship appreciated beauty of another kind; the chest was full of the most exquisite shells, gifts from the ocean. There were clams, scallops, whelks to name but only few. But in the midst of all these shells, gleamed a beautiful Golden Cowrie. After carefully packing all the shells into a sack, and a few other artefacts of interest, I proceeded to the surface laden with my treasure. I swam to the edge of a nearby island where I was to be picked up by the old sailor. After a short swim I reached the shore. I found a cave with a cool waterfall and began to change out of my wetsuit and into a change of clothing, which I kept in a small waterproof compartment on my equipment belt. I returned to the beach and lay down on the hot golden sand wearing a bikini, with a sarong wrapped around my waste, soaking up the sun. The sea spray blew cooling on my face. Gradually, the sea spray became heavier and less salty until†¦ † â€Å"Ugh! † I woke up to the sound of raindrops pelting down on me! I ran home as quickly as possible, my summer dress drenched and my hair dripping! I stepped inside the house and closed the door behind me. â€Å"Look at you! I told you to come back in the house! Now I'm going to have to wash your clothes and those mud stains will be difficult to get rid of! What did I tell you young lady†¦ † my mother scowled. Things were loud and stressful as usual. But I was contented to be back where I belonged.

Love and Loneliness

As a human, there are a lot of characteristics a human should have, but, what does it mean to be human? The most part of being human is loneliness. Humans must understand that loneliness is a part of everyone’s life, humans must learn how to cope with loneliness, and, finally, the only way to get rid of loneliness is to have love in your life. There is a book, which name is Gilgamesh, and it is written by Herbert Mason. In this book, the author teaches people how to be human from an old story, about a man who loved and lost a friend to death. This man is named Gilgamesh, his friend is named Enkidu. First of all, a human should understand that loneliness is a part of everyone’s life, and only someone goes through the loneliness, he/she can be called a human. So, Gilgamesh is a person who went through the loneliness in his life, and then he becomes a real human. In this book, Gilgamesh said â€Å" I am alone and I have longed/ For some companionship. My people/ Also have grown tired of my solitude. † (20). According to these sentences, Gilgamesh was a king of Uruk, he had a lot of power, but he was lonely, he didn’t have any friends. Also, people thought Gilgamesh was the God, he was not a human. But he was becoming a human, because he was going through loneliness at that time. Loneliness is a part of everyone’s life, especially for a human. So, at that time, Gilgamesh was going through loneliness, he was becoming a human. Besides, Herbert Mason writes â€Å" Gilgamesh’s fear at the thought of his own solitude:/ I can’t imagine being left alone,/ I’m less a man without my friend. † (47). So this sentences suggests, after Gilgamesh lost his friend Enkidu, he was lonely, and he was fear. He was going through the part a human should go through. He was becoming a real human, he was knowing that loneliness is a part of everyone’s life. So, he was not a God any more, he was trying to become a real human and learn to understand loneliness. On the other hand, human should know how to cope with loneliness also. Loneliness is a gift from God, real human can cope with loneliness and gain the courage. After lost the best friend, Gilgamesh must learn how to cope with loneliness. Herbert Mason writes â€Å" I have been through grief! Gilgamesh screamed. / Even if there will be more of pain,/ And heat and cold, I will go on! / Open the gate to the mountains! † (57,58). Well, Gilgamesh decided to find his best friend, and tried his best to get him back. To begin with, Gilgamesh was lonely because he lost his best friend, but now, he decided to get him back, he was not afraid of the heat or cold, he just wanted his friend back. He wanted to cope with loneliness, so he went to find his friend. A real human must learn how to cope with loneliness, and Gilgamesh did that, he was coping with loneliness now. Also, Herbert Mason added â€Å"He entered the Road of the Sun/ Which was so shrouded in darkness/ That he could see neither/ What was ahead of him nor behind. † (59). Obviously, Gilgamesh was finding his friend, there was darkness in front of him only, but he was not afraid. He got rid of loneliness, he was thinking of his friend back at that time, he was coping with loneliness. Humans must learn how to cope with loneliness, so now, Gilgamesh was learning that, he was not a God any more, he became a real human, because he can face the loneliness with courage. Finally, the only way to get rid of loneliness is to have love in your life. Humans’ hearts are filled with love, so they can get rid of loneliness. Gilgamesh was becoming a real human, he had love in his life. Herbert Mason writes â€Å" In the silence of the people they began to laugh/ And clutched each other in their breathless exaltation. (24). Gilgamesh was laughing at that time, as a king and a God in people’s hearts, he never felt happy before, but now he laughed, with Enkidu. He felt happy, maybe at that time, Gilgamesh’s heart was filled with love of friendship, also Enkidu’s heart also was full of love of friendship. They both had love in their life, and at tha t time, Gilgamesh did not feel lonely any more, because he had a new friend. Friendship is an important part of people’s life. So, Gilgamesh became a real human, he was an ordinary person as others, he became a human, because he had the love of friendship in his life, also in his heart. After Enkidu died, Herbert Mason added â€Å" Many years ago through loss I learned/ That love is wrung from our inmost heart/ Until only the loved one is and we are not. † (74). According to this sentences, Gilgamesh thought highly of his friend, he would not forget him, and their friendship was eternal. Love of friendship is in Gilgamesh’s life forever, even if there is no his friend in his rest life, he can cope with loneliness by himself, because the friendship is always in his heart. Gilgamesh is alone, but he is not lonely. At the end of the story, Herbert Mason said â€Å" To keep the names of friends/ Whom we have lost. (92). Well, Gilgamesh will remember his friend forever, he has love of friendship in his whole life. Now, he is a real human, he has an eternal friendship, which a real human should have. Entiku is dead though, he is alive in Gilgamesh’s heart. To sum up, in the book Gilgamesh, which is written by Herbert Mason, the man whose name is Gilg amesh becomes a real human finally. To begin with, Gilgamesh feels lonely because he is a king, no friends, no love in his life, then he loses his best friend, he is lonely still, but then he learns how to cope with loneliness, finally, he gains an eternal friendship and love. So, Gilgamesh becomes a real human, he understands that loneliness is a part of everyone’s life, he learns how to cope with loneliness, and, finally, the only way to get rid of loneliness is to have love in his life, and he gains an eternal friendship and the love. In a word, after he knows loneliness and he has love in life to cope with loneliness, he is not a God or a king any more, he becomes a real human, a human likes others.

Problem of the organization Essay

The purpose of this case is to understand the situation and the problem the organization has faced and gives possible solutions. The company is conducting work life balance concept to improve the employee satisfaction. Work life balance is intended to maintain the balance between work life and personal life. That is favorably effect to the organization as well as the employees. YTB Bank has faced high absenteeism situation. Even though absenteeism is the practice of regularly staying away from work, here I have identified the absenteeism as a main problem in the case. Therefor I have acknowledged what â€Å"Absenteeism Management† is?. There are many forms to prevent from the absenteeism. Here, I have identified a few of them. Since the organization has faced the problems regarding the absenteeism, I have identified the possible solutions to get rid from that. But there are benefits and difficulties that the manager and the employees can face. Here the implementation of work life balance has gone the wrong way. The reason is, employees do not understand the right implementation of the concept. Because of that they are requesting more flexibility from the manager. For the problem of the case, I have selected the best practices manager can implement. Apprentice employment is the best practice to solve the problem. But there are pros and cons of apprenticeship. There are financial, labor disputes and disadvantages of contract basis employment. I have given a possible solution to get rid of those problems. Finally, I recommend the possible solutions which can implement by the company. Problem Statement and symptoms The problem is four tellers out of seven, requesting leave at the same period. Mr. Gamini as regional manager is facing a problem with requests leave 4 of his tellers out of the 7 at the same time. A. One female teller (A) has already gone on maternity leave and after the cession of the said leave quota she has to report back by next week, yet since her newly born baby was a premature one still she is keeping the child in the Neonatal unit of the Colombo Hospital and meanwhile she has made written request from Mr. Gamini to extend her leave. B. The second teller’s mother has fallen in the house and fractured her leg and this teller being the one and only child of the family had to look after her (B) mother and request at least one month leave. C. The third teller (C) has two little ones in the year 1 and 3 respectively and needs to go early by 12pm to collect her little ones after school since there was no one to take care of them after school as they have come to Colombo recently and the other thing is her husband was a supervisor of a factory who is usually reaching home late. D. The fourth one (D), most competent teller to be a successor to Mr. Gamini after him with good knowledge, skills and experience as identified by Mr. Gamini is demanding to exempt herself for a few hours from daily work in order to continue her MBA. Symptoms Employees do not have proper knowledge about absenteeism. And there is no proper procedure to manage absenteeism. Polices of absenteeism is not carefully established. There is not any flexible work arrangement at the workplace. Literature Review Work-life balance is adjusting day-to-day activities to achieve a sense of balance between work life and personal life. There are benefits of work life balance management. Those have reduced stress levels, at work and at home, Greater focus and concentration, Higher levels of job satisfaction, The opportunity to participate more fully in family and social life, More time to pursue personal goals and hobbies and it is cause to Improve health of employees. Balancing the demands of a busy lifestyle is not an easy thing to do, but is best managed by regularly reviewing and assessing priorities. Setting goals around helps to identify what value highly. Managing time effectively is important. It can be done through reviewing job activities, give priorities and success factors and create a boundary between balancing work and personal time-leave work at work where possible. Build resilience and have a positive attitude is must. Avoid stress, mental exhaustion and burnout, fatigue affect to work productively. Maintain a healthy lifestyle, look after yourself, eat well, sleep well and set aside a little time to exercise or pursue an activity that can enjoy are other factors. Everyone experiences stress at some stage in their life. It is a way for us to know that something in our life is causing us concern and is affecting how we are thinking and feeling. Stress is not always bad. In small doses, it can help you perform under pressure and motivate you to do your best, but when you are constantly running in emergency mode, your mind and body pays the price. Managing stress is about making a plan to be able to cope effectively with daily pressures. The ultimate goal is to strike a balance between life, work, relationships, relaxation and fun. By doing this you are more able to deal with daily stress triggers and meet these challenges head on. Some strategies that can help to look after the mind and body, and in turn help to better control behaviors that result from too much stress. Consequences Consequences of absenteeism is not only harmful to an employee’s career, but the organization’s bottom line. Alternatively, absenteeism could be an indication of managerial issues. As an example : low employee morale and toxic work environment. Regardless of the reason, there is no doubt that the effects of absenteeism at work are resoundingly negative. Absenteeism hits the financial aspects of the organization. The absent member of staff has the potential to be paid for not producing any product. This can be 100% wages for a period of time which falls pro-rate as the absent period continues. Workers who regularly miss work or show up late risk being let go, forcing employers to go through the time and cost of hiring and training alternates. Complicating matters is the cost of having to pay an alternative employee to complete. Especially if short staffing forces managed to pay that individual over time. Administration of the cover absenteeism, rescheduling other employee, possible extra pay for others to take on the added amount of work. The added workload for peers is another problem. This adds greater pressure to others, requires a faster volume of the peers work to make time for the absent employee’s responsibilities to be covered. Frequent absenteeism can cause tension among co-workers. Employees who show up to work regularly and on time feel frustrated that a chronically late or absent employee is giving them an increased workload by forcing them to fill in. They may also pass judgment on the person’s perceived laziness. This anger can be aggravated further if no disciplinary action is taken. Great chance error due to added work load or adding new responsibilities to novice employees product quality deterioration can be brought about by work peers handling higher workloads. Dissatisfied customers may be resulted from that. Potential for other employees to become over-burdened and risk of them taking time off which of course adds to the circular effect. For those on long term absentees there is the possibility that their employment will be terminated. This requires recruitment to start, followed by interview, induction and training to bring the new employee up to that skill level of the terminated employee. Absenteeism impacts on the training and development of the employee base. If there is insufficient staff cover, employees may not be released for upskilling which adds to the poor performance of the overall organization. These are generic points, many employers will bring a wider range of issues specific to their environment If the employee is suffering personal problems, without a certain degree of flexibility and support from management, this can be even more detrimental than unexcused absences. If managers show zero tolerance for any absenteeism, workers will feel compelled to come in regularly, even if they definitely should not be there. Solutions To prevent difficulties like this, YTB Bank could have followed procedures. There are way outs which possible for the bank. A clear attendance policy. Flexible scheduling. Good documentation. Incentive programs should be tied to attendance. Tie promotions to attendants. The employee is in charge of their destiny. Look at the current scheduling guidelines. Peer pressure drives individual accountability. Let employees come up with their own schedules. Focus the real reasons for absence. Communicate regularly. Maintain contact with employees whilst they are absent from work. Take disciplinary action for unacceptable levels of absence. Include team games. Weight attendance on the scorecard. Share the statistics with departments/sections. Since the bank has introduced â€Å" Work-Life-Balancing-Dual-Responsibilities† process for the employees, managers can not restrict on the situation. Because of the he can adopt â€Å"Flexible Work Arrangements† to handle. Flexible work arrangements are alternate arrangements or schedules from the traditional working day and week. Employees may choose a different work schedule to meet personal or family needs. Alternatively, employers may initiate various schedules to meet their customer needs. There are flexible work arrangements can implement as the manager of YTB Banak. Since the teller is the employee of a bank who deals directly with most customers. There should be a proper schedule to satisfy the customers. The tellers should have experience in cash handling and should have pleasant character. To take a solution there are information to recognize. 1. How many tellers should be there at the same time – Assume at least five tellers should be there to handle customers. 2. What are the days the number of customers is high. 3. Whether there are additional employees in other sections (Internal Recruitment). 4. What is the financial position of the company at the moment. Solutions for teller A According to the case, teller A should get leave because of the unconscious situation she has faced. And she has made written request too. As a manager, Mr Gamini can not give her solution. Because of that she should be released from the problem. It is possible if manager can manage the problem with other three tellers. Pros and cons of the solution Teller A satisfied about the leave and she is happy. And she will expect to report to the work as soon as possible. Other employees also expect more flexibility from the manager. Solutions for teller B Asks teller B to take a person or relation to take care her mother. Or tell her to take her own solution to solve the problem without taking leave. Pros and cons of the solution Teller B is getting disappointed about the workplace and she will demotivate to work. Solutions for teller C The manager can introduce flexible working schedule for the tellers. Teller C expecting go early to take her children. And teller D expects few hours of a day. Therefor, it is possible if D can come to work after 12 o’clock while C can go home to take care of the children. Pros and cons of the solution C and D are happy with the solution. And the tellers can treat customers successfully. B is not happy with the solution and she is disappointing. It is harmful to organizations god will and the policies of the company. Because if the employees are going early and come in the evening is will get the bad image for the people. Ask teller C to find out a day care center near to the office for children and manager can give half hour interval to take children and placed them in a day care center. Or manager can arrange a place to keep children within the office. And she can ask her relative to come and stay with them and take care her children. Solutions for Teller D Since the teller D required few hours of the day, it is better if the manager can give her one day leave for a week. Hence, she works four days in a weak and get one day leave. Pros and Cons of the solution Even though she is happy with the solution other employees also expecting excuses. Alternative Solutions 1. Discuss with the tellers at the same time and ask them to get together, discuss and come up with a solution. And the same time inform them, at lest there should be five tellers in the office same time. Pros and Cons of the solution That is motivating employees to take decisions and understand the importance of their attendance their own. According to that manager can arrange the work schedule. Other employee’s attitudes can be changed. They will discourage of work and they will come up with solutions and the reasons for absentees. 2. Delegation the workload with other tellers in preferable schedule is another solution. It is possible arranged teller C and teller D on a roster basis for morning and evenings and B to at be home. Then to fill the blank of a teller, delegate the work with another five tellers. Pros and Cons of the solution Teller C, teller D and Teller B also happy with the solution. Other tellers are getting frustrated. Because their workload is high. Other tellers getting pressure to finish work. And there is a big possibility to make mistakes. 3. Hiring new employees is another solution for that. The situation has not been going for a long time. Because of that manager can not recruit permanent employee. Because of that, the manager can hire a person for a short time period. There are possible employment types which possible: Probationers Apprentice Fixed Term Contract Casual Employees Seasonal Employment Outsourcing Pros and Cost of the solution There is an additional cost for the company. There are hiring cost, interviewing cost, salary and other administrative cost. But it is a long term investment to the company. New spirit of the company. Recommended Solution Since the attitude and the behavior of the employees are very hard to change, it is not perfectly work above most solutions. Because of that I suggest hiring an employee is the best practice for the problem. From the above employment types, â€Å"Apprentice† is the greatest practical solution. Apprenticeship Apprentice cannot be considered as a workman or an employee. Thus there is no contract of service between an employer and employee. An Apprentice is merely acquiring the knowledge of he/she is interested in and an employer merely undertakes to train him. However some statutes including Industrial Dispute Act, EPF Act and Termination of Employment Act, have brought in an Apprentice within the definition of a workman. Taking on apprentices and trainees can provide real benefits for the company. A new apprentice or trainee can contribute significantly to the bottom line, with practical skills and knowledge acquired through their training. Taking on a new apprentice may also mean eligible for a range of government financial assistance. They can be full-time, part-time or school-based. But that is a cost for the company. Apprenticeships are available in many occupations in a broad range of industries. It can be increased labor disputes. By providing apprenticeship company can spread their good will and company can a word the certificate after the period. That is beneficial for future recruitments. Precautions Training Needs Since the newcomer is an unskilled labor there should be orientation program and training program. For that manager can allow senior employees to train new employees. Pros and Cons : That is wasting the time of experienced employee but at the same time it is an investment for the company. Administration Cost There is an administration cost which should outflow of the company. For the personal file and training documents are included to the administration cost. Pros and Cons : Even though it is a cost should pay from the company, it is increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of the operations. Moral Issues Morale and employee relations problems arise when the temps working alongside permanent employees for months, doing the same work and putting in the same hours, but not receiving the same benefits afforded their permanent employee’s co-workers. So it is better to explain the beneficial side of the apprentices and make the team work schedules. Pros and Cons : Again there is a time waste, but still the manager can make a friendly environment to each and every employee. Legal Concerns Recent court decisions have highlighted the fact that the organization must be careful how they hire apprentices. There must be no doubt about the workers’ status and about the lack of eligibility for the benefits of permanent employees. And treat temp workers with the same respect and care the permanent staff. Pros and Cons : The manager has to pay more attention to the legal remnants. And that will hit to the efficiency of the operations. But by paying more attention to those problems, managers can prevent from complex situations. Conclusion Organizations are conducting updated techniques, methods and the process maintain the efficient and effectiveness of operations. Human recourse management is one of the most important concepts of the company. Since the technological equipment and methods increase the productivity, there are arrangements to process and maintain employee satisfaction. HR Managers are responsible for making policies, designing and devising human resource strategies, contributing to the corporate plan of the organization, integrating human resource activities to the main purpose of the organization. Work life balance concept is one of the best practices of HRM. Implementation of the work life balance concept is beneficial for both parties. Efficient, innovative and motivated workforce is an asset to the company. And having a flexible work arrangement is facilitating employee satisfaction. They can easy to handle the day to day works. Before implement the process the management of the company should have proper knowledge about the concept and should identify the requirement of the employee. And they should conduct program to train their employees to implement the concept. Management should have rearranged the policies and schedules to maintain the control the concept. Then only company can increase the bottom line. Otherwise employee may expect more excuses and the flexibility and then they will miss their works. Within the work life balance environment it should be careful to maintain the absenteeism. It is better if management can get a solution from the organization without taking solutions from the outside. Job sharing, rescheduling, job expanding, promotions and internal recruitment are the internal solutions for the absenteeism. Otherwise every time organization has to pay the big cost to solve problems. Then employees will use to get solutions from out every time. They will not be serious in their work. In this case I have selected apprentice trainee for the vacancy. Because the change is a pain for employees. May be it is not effective the internal recruitment process. There is no contract with the employee and the employer in apprentice. Since the problem is for a short time period, that is the most possible solution than others. References Dayarathne N W K D K. (2007) Human Resources Management Theory and Practice, Colombo: S. Godage ; Brothers Snell. Bohlander. Vohra. (2007) Human Resources Management,Delhi:Cengage Learning http://wiki. answers. com/Q/How_can_high_absenteeism_of_employees_affect_an_organization 8/12/2013 http://www. qld. gov. au/health/mental-health/balance/lifestyle/index. html 8/14/2013 http://www. chamberscolombo. com/types_of_employment 10/15/2013 http://www. apprentice-forward. org. uk/YoungPeople/AdvantagesDisadvantages. asp 8/15/2013 http://www. businessknowhow. com/manage/hire-temp. htm 8/13/2013 http://www. hrmagazine. co. uk/hro/features/1078051/is-business-flexible 8/13/2013 http://www. hrsrilanka. com/resources/articles/81-terms-and-conditions-of-employment-in-sri-lanka 8/16/2013 https://www. whoi. edu/HR/page. do? pid=14332;ct=901;cid=2248/16/2013 http://www. inc. com/encyclopedia/flexible-work-arrangements. html8/16/2013 Appendix Case Study Mr. Gamini is the regional manager of the YTB Bank regional office Kirulapone and very recently he is facing problems with 4 of his tellers out of the 7 in the office. One female teller has already gone on maternity leave and after the cession of the said leave quota she has to report back by next week, yet since her newly born baby was a premature one still she is keeping the child in the Neonatal unit of the Colombo Hospital and meanwhile she has made written request from Mr. Gamini to extend her leave. The second teller’s mother has fallen in the house and fractured her leg and this teller being the one and only child of the family had to look after her mother and request at least one month leave. The third teller has two little ones in the year 1 and 3 respectively and needs to go early by 12pm to collect her little ones after school since there was no one to take care of them after school as they have come to Colombo recently and the other thing is her husband was a supervisor of a factory who is usually reaching home late. The fourth one, most competent teller to be a successor to Mr. Gamini after him with good knowledge, skills and experience as identified by Mr. Gamini is demanding to exempt herself for a few hours from daily work in order to continue her MBA. Early time none of these kind of request was entertained by the management of the band and from recent past the management is adopting a more flexible procedure and practice with regard to this type of work-life-balancing-dual-responsibilities of workers. Thus the new trend demands the regional manager Mr. Gamini to become a flexible