Special Focus On Post Traumatic Stress Disorder - 829 Words

Introduction: Anthony M. Hassan has impressive credentials including: Ed.D, LCSW, and Chief Executive Officer and President. He currently holds the title of CEO of the Cohen Veterans Network (CVN) where his duties involve overseeing the entire establishment of fifteen mental health clinics nationwide. This estimated number is projected to reach the end goal of twenty-five clinics. These clinics are supposed to service post 9/11 veterans and their families due to trying to find preventive measures of mental illness, special focus on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), through affordable and good quality care. In addition to this work, reports also credit Dr. Hassan for his efforts to try and expand the field through funded initiatives†¦show more content†¦Authentic Leadership: Emphasizes building the leader’s legitimacy through honest relationships with the followers that is built on an ethical foundation (Northouse, 2016). Dr. Hassan presents this leadership trait by having a dual role in both the civilian and military/veteran world. Emotional Intelligence: Being emotionally aware/being in tune with one’s emotions (Northouse, 2016). Dr. Hassan presents this leadership trait because Cohen, himself, bestowed this upon Dr. Hassan by giving him the blessing/confidence â€Å"to go out and play freely.† James MacGregor Burns (1978) defines transformational leadership as â€Å"the process whereby a person engages with others and creates a connection that raises the level of motivation and morality in both the leader and the follower†. The leader attends to the wants, needs, and/or motives of the followers; while at the same time the leader strives to get the followers to reach their full potential. This leadership style/approach differs from transactional leadership: where the focus is placed on the exchanges that occur between the leaders and followers (Northouse, 2016). This stage is still experimental because Anthony Hassan is still looking for competent clinicians to fill the role. According to the Strengths Based Leadership, Dr. Hassan’s five strengths fall into the domain of Relationship Building which include: Adaptability, Developer, Connectedness, Harmony, Includer,Show MoreRelatedPost Traumatic Stress Disorder ( Ptsd ) Essay1682 Words   |  7 PagesThe author is a student associated at the University of South Dakota The mind is a very interesting and special aspect of life. A person’s mind is the part of them that enables concentrated thought processes, feelings of emotion, and allows you to perceive the world in many ways. A person’s mind is always processing and receiving information of environmental stimuli, to determine what is happening around them. This is whether you are consciously trying to accomplish a task, un-consciously sleepingRead MorePaper1098 Words   |  5 PagesMental and substance use disorders account for about 7 ·4% of the global burden of disease (Whiteford et al., 2013). These mental disorders include various mood disorders such as major depressive disorder, anxiety disorders like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and substance use disorders such as alcohol abuse. A study analysing the results of the World Health Organization (WHO) World Mental Health (WMH) surveys found that post-traumatic stress disorder had one of the strongest associationsRead Mo reThe Traumatic Stress Disorder ( Ptsd ) Essay1310 Words   |  6 Pagesreach a point where we become damaged. Psychologically, if we experience more then we can handle the results of it are what’s called Post- Traumatic Stress Disorder. Post- Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD, effects a part of the brain that controls stress and nerves, which consists of the Prefrontal Cortex, the Hippocampus, and the Amygdala. Enduring traumatic stress can result in lasting changes to these parts of the brain. Damaging these parts of the brain not only effect the body physically, butRead MorePost Traumatic Stress Disorder ( Ptsd )1241 Words   |  5 PagesSiobhan McShea Mrs. Stanley Health April 14, 2014 Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Post traumatic stressed disorder is a mental illness caused by an enormous amount of anxiety felt after a traumatic or life-threatening accident or event. This event causes intense feelings of fear and helplessness. Studies have shown that about 5 to 6 million people suffer from PTSD. (Thomas ) About 30% of those people are war veterans. Most war veterans who have served for our country who have PTSD from the warRead MoreBefivfbowbofboip11296 Words   |  6 Pagesthe â€Å"Karen† intake. If I were to go back and complete an assessment with her, I would most definitely cover this topic in further detail, specifically with her traumatic event with her own personal experience with her car accident as well as losing her father to a car accident. I could always assume that she has chose to cope with the traumatic event of being in the car accident by isolative behavior as well as disengagement from social events with her friends and family; however, this would need toRead MoreThe Legacy Of Veteran Suicide1189 Words   |  5 Pagessuicide for the year of 2016 to date (â€Å"Operation Never Forgotten†). Veteran suicide is an ongoing problem because veterans enter the civilian world directly after receiving discharge from the armed forces and struggle with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and acute stress, and anxiety (â€Å"Veterans Services†). Veteran suicides have become a large concern for members of the United States Armed Forces, Operation Never Forgotten (ONF) is an organization that is helping veterans find purposeRead MoreTreatment For Veterans With Ptsd1439 Words   |  6 PagesTreatment for Veterans with PTSD Although American service members have felt the lasting effects of combat throughout the history of the nation, it was not until 1980 that Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder was formally added to the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Once referred to as â€Å"irritable heart† or â€Å"shell-shock,† PTSD made its way into the national spotlight in the years following the wars in both Iraq and Afghanistan due to U.S. militaryRead MoreChild Vulnerability and Mental Health Outcomes after Natural Disasters1170 Words   |  5 Pages Children can also have psychological sequelae from family separation, witnessing of distressing events and death, and the general loss of security. Children may be at risk of abandonment, violence, abuse and organised crime and trafficking in the post-disaster setting (Balsari et al. 2010). These physical and psychological outcomes may have immediate but also longer lasting effects on th e child. Mental health outcomes Some responses reported in children after the Thai tsunami and HurricaneRead MorePost Traumatic Stress Disorder ( Ptsd )1780 Words   |  8 Pagesmental illnesses. One such illness is post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Post-traumatic stress disorder is a mental illness that affects a person’s sympathetic nervous system response. A more common name for this response is the fight or flight response. In a person not affected by post-traumatic stress disorder this response activates only in times of great stress or life threatening situations. â€Å"If the fight or flight is successful, the traumatic stress will usually be released or dissipatedRead MorePost Traumatic Stress Disorder ( Ptsd )2002 Words   |  9 PagesPost Traumatic Stress Disorder Name: Jean-Paul Institution: TBD Professor’s name: Joseph Grande Date of submission: 8/20/2015 Introduction For a very long time, it has been recognized that stressful life can have an emotional as well as a behavioral effect in a human being. Studies show that 60% of men, 50% of females as well as 90% of the population go through a stressful event in their lives that is life changing or they tend never to forget ever (Marsh, 2014). It is however true

Boxer, Philanthropist And Social Activist Muhammad Ali

Boxer, philanthropist and social activist Muhammad Ali was born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr. on January 17, 1942, in Louisville, Kentucky. Ali showed at an early age that he wasn t afraid of any bout—inside or outside of the ring. Growing up in the segregated South, he experienced racial prejudice and discrimination firsthand, which likely contributed to his early passion for boxing. At the age of 12, Ali discovered his talent for boxing through an odd twist of fate. His bike was stolen, and Ali told a police officer, Joe Martin, that he wanted to beat up the thief. Well, you better learn how to fight before you start challenging people, Martin reportedly told him at the time. In addition to being a police officer, Martin also trained young boxers at a local gym. Ali started working with Martin to learn how to box, and soon began his boxing career. In his first amateur bout in 1954, he won the fight by split decision. Ali went on to win the 1956 Golden Gloves tournament for novices in the light heavyweight class. Three years later, he won the National Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions, as well as the Amateur Athletic Union s national title for the light heavyweight division. Olympic Gold In 1960, Ali won a spot on the U.S. Olympic boxing team, and traveled to Rome, Italy, to compete. At 6 3, Ali was an imposing figure in the ring, but he also became known for his lightning speed and fancy footwork. After winning his first three bouts, Ali defeated ZbigniewShow MoreRelatedAfrican American Impact on Sports Essay1725 Words   |  7 Pagesbaseball player to play in Major League Baseball.What would professional sports be without all the greatest black athletes such as Michael Jordan, Muhammad Ali or Jackie Robinson? Today the NBA is filled with a large majority of African American players. The NBA would be nothing without those players. Muhammad Ali was a boxer, businessman and social activist for equal rights for all races. He wanted equal opportunities for all men, regardless of color, to be successful. Michael Jordan was considered

Should Governments Sponsor Gambling Free Essays

Should Governments Sponsor Gambling? The government is now sponsoring gambling to raise revenues. By 2002 government-sponsored gambling brought in 11 billion dollars! â€Å"Winning means a life of luxury and happiness,† is only one of the many slogans the government uses to advertise gambling. Gambling has a lot of pros as to the economy and employing more citizens but it has a lot of cons as well. We will write a custom essay sample on Should Governments Sponsor Gambling? or any similar topic only for you Order Now Should governments sponsor gambling? The answer is no! Governments should not sponsor gambling because it is a total money grab, it feeds gambling addictions, and it destroys families and exploits Canadian citizens. Gambling can be an expensive waste of time. Gambling is a complete money grab. Statistics show that the average household spends about $300 per year on gaming. The chances of winning the lottery are slim to none. The government promise a greater life if you win, but with chances that are extremely low, it is highly unrealistic. Gambling is a form of entertainment that gives you hope for something. This can be dangerous as it can lead to over spending or dull judgement. Alcohol is mostly always associated with gambling. This can add to the high expense and even sway your choice to spend more and more. Many people say that the government should not sponsor an activity that can be strongly addictive. Statistics show that 3. 1 percent of Ontario’s population are Problem gamblers. â€Å"Ontario derives a huge portion of it’s gaming revenue from problem gambler’s. Therefore, government-sponsored gambling is contrary to the interest of the general populace, and therefore contrary to the purpose of the government. † Robert Williams, University of Lethbridge, Alberta, November 2004 . Government sponsored gambling feeds an unhealthy addiction that many people can have. These addictions can lead to theft and even suicide. Gambling is just like any other addiction, it completely takes over the person’s life. This can affect your family and marriage. Always being at the slots or casino’s funded by the government can make you lose quality time with your family. It can financially hurt you and hurt your family in the long run. Government-sponsored gambling is causing problems with your person life. It will exploit you for more and more money. It constantly brain washes you with it’s advertisement of the amazing times you will have and how much better your life will be. This is not true. These people chase their losses by risking more money, thinking that somehow persistence will pay off. It rarely does. They suffer from depression, anxiety, financial and family breakdown. Governments should not sponsor gambling. It is a big money grab, it is highly addictive, and it can tear apart families. Gambling has an ill affect towards canadian citizens. The government says gambling is a form of entertainment. With such a low chance of winning, how is loosing money fun? In gambling, many people inherit a sense of hope. The small chance that you might win and go out with more money than you came with. This is an unlogical probability but, everyone is driven by this hope that they might win. Gambling does bring a lot of jobs and boosts our economy, but the problem to balance responsible gambling with generating profits to the economy. Impossible maybe but, better efforts have to be made so that gambling doesn’t take over canadians. How to cite Should Governments Sponsor Gambling?, Essay examples

Nutritional Value of Food and Consuming †Free Samples to Students

Question: Dicuss about the Nutritional Value of Food and Consuming. Answer: Introduction: Nutrition is a very important factor when it comes to the well being of human health. There is a link between daily nutritional habits and the vulnerability to chronic diseases. A diet full of nutritious value can prevent the risk of such diseases and improve human health. Swinburne University will organize a workshop on nutrition which will make the students and their parents aware about the food management. This is because most of the young people in Australia are attracted towards junk food which reduces their immunity power. A survey of the students has showed that most of the students remain absent from the class due to their ill health. Renowned nutritionists and dietician will be invited to throw light on this important aspect so that the workshop can have a positive impact on the students. Thus, there is a need to address the five Ws of the topic nutrition. The five Ws of communication strategy will be taken care of while addressing the issue of nutrition in the workshop. What- nutrition is a serious issue of concern for the teenagers as they do not think twice about the food that they are consuming or what impact can it have on their health. Who- the teenagers mostly love to indulge in outdoor activities which prevent them from taking healthy home- made food management and their life style do not allow them to look after the nutritional value. Why- as a result of irregular food habits, the young people tend to fall ill more which led to absenteeism from school. When- a three- day long workshop will be held in the next month where the students, their parents, nutritionists and dieticians will be invited to answer the question related to human health and the food that is consumed. Where- the workshop will take place in the Conference Hall of Swinburne University where anyone can clear their doubts including the students, teachers, parent s and other guests. By using the communication strategy management of answering the five W questions, the young group will be able to understand the importance consuming healthy food which will reduce the risk of their illness. The parents will become cautious about the diet of their wards and they will be able to lead a disciplined life. As the recommendations will be given by professionals, so authenticity will not be a problem and resolving the dietary problems will allow the students not to miss their regular class. The target audience of the strategy will be the students of the university and their parents. Other guests and faculty members will also be among the invitees of the workshop but the main focus group or the target group of the event is the students and their parents. Young people mostly need healthy foods in their growing stage for their overall development. A diet chart will be provided to each member of the workshop according to the age, gender, food habits, and if they have any prevalent diseases or if they are under any medication, which will help them to remain healthy in the long run. Key messages The essential messages that will be conveyed through the communication strategy will be based on the nutritional value of food and the importance of consuming such eatables. Teenagers have to go through a lot of physical challenges during puberty which calls for extra nutrition to overcome these challenges. So they need to consume food from the five groups- vegetables, fruits, grain foods, reduced fat and protein. The students will be encouraged to pick fruits and vegetables and the food from other three groups for their everyday meal as those help in providing energy. Adolescence is the right time for proper physical and mental growth of the children. That is why; they need a healthy diet including the proportion of nutrients which will also help in developing a good food habit for their future. Conclusion: Nutrition refers to the relationship between food and goodness of health. Since a long time, obesity rates have been high among the school and college goers. This is because out of all the tensions in their life they do not care much about the food that they are consuming every day. If they become more selective about the nutritious value of their food, then it would be helpful for their daily life as well as for the future. A study was conducted in Swinburne University of Technology to find the reason behind a large number of absentees. It was find out that irregular food habit and deficiency of nutrients rich eatables are making them prone to diseases. To minimize the risk of young people falling ill, the institute is going to held a workshop on nutrition from 4 September- 6 September 2017 from 10 A. M to 1 P. M. This workshop will help the parents to know about the proper diet of their children from experts which will enable them to lead a healthy life.

Standardization vs. Customization free essay sample

Running head: COKE A Coke is a Coke ITT Tech PROBLEM Why do some of us have such strong soda preferences? Theres all this uproar of Coke vs. Pepsi, and really looking at the ingredients, the products arent all that different. Both are made of carbonated water, high fructose corn syrup, caramel color, sugar, phosphoric acid, caffeine, citric acid and natural flavors (Pendergrast, 2000, p. 6). The natural flavors are where they differ. Coke includes a secret ingredient known as Merchandise 7X, which sounds all mysterious and daring Pendergrast, p. ). According to Pendergrast, the slightest bit can make a big difference! But its hard to say why one person likes something while another person cant stand it. Though each soda has been around for more than a century, the two are still (and most likely always will be) competing for the worlds taste buds. Some may find it absurd to fght an ideological battle over the sodas, especially over two products whose only difference is a few chemical compounds, but for others, this is serious business. We will write a custom essay sample on Standardization vs. Customization or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Coca-Cola is a carbonated soft drink sold in stores, restaurants and vending machines internationally. The Coca-Cola Company claims that the beverage is sold in more than 200 countries. It is produced by The Coca-Cola Company in Atlanta, Georgia, and is often referred to simply as Coke or (in European) as cola, pop, or in some parts of the U. S. , soda (Pendergrast, p. 6). Originally intended as a patent medicine when it was invented in the late 19th century by John Pemberton, Coca-Cola was bought out by businessman Asa Griggs Candler, whose marketing tactics led Coke to its dominance of the world soft-drink market throughout the 20th century (Pendergrast, p. 6). The first Coca-Cola recipe was invented in a drugstore in Columbus, Georgia by John Pemberton, originally as a coca-wine called Pembertons French Wine Coca in 1885 (Pendergrast, p. 8) . When launched, Coca-Colas two key ingredients were cocaine (benzoylmethyl ecgonine) and caffeine. The cocaine was derived from the coca leaf and the caffeine from kola nut, leading to the name Coca- Cola (the K in Kola was replaced with a C for marketing purposes) (Pendergrast, p. In 1886, when Atlanta and Fulton County passed prohibition legislation, 8). Pemberton responded by developing Coca-Cola, essentially a non-alcoholic version of French Wine Cola (Pendergrast, 2008, p. 12). The first sales were at Jacobs Pharmacy in Atlanta, Georgia, on May 8, 1886 (Pendergrast, p. 12). It was initially sold as a patent medicine for five cents a glass at soda fountains, which were popular in the United States at the time due to the belief that carbonated water was good for the health.

A Bream Essay Example

A Bream Essay Example A Bream Essay A Bream Essay I was jolted awake by the noise of the vibrating alarm clock. I rolled stiffly onto my side and swiped it to the floor. I sighed and turned over to face the floor to ceiling window pane of my London apartment. I could see life scurrying below me; red buses and black cabs in a grey, uninspiring street. I closed my eyes and sank back into the memory foam, willing my heavy legs to swing over the edge of the bed.I darted around the kitchen, making toast, brewing coffee, opening letters, flicking through magazines. Glancing at my watch, I grabbed my green suede jacket, slipped on my patent heels and rushed to the glass elevator that would take me from my world to the real world.I plonked my keys, my briefcase and an over-filled Starbucks coffee cup on my desk and pushed open my laptop.‘Morning, Samantha. You look happy today.’ It was Toby; always eager to please. ‘Want anything from The Soul Kitchen?’‘No thanks. It’s a bit early, isn’t it?â₠¬â„¢Ã¢â‚¬ËœWell, no. It’s 11.30.’Was it really? I looked at my watch, half expecting it to have stopped.I sat down and looked at my desk calendar, filled with deadlines and red scribbles. What was the point of it all  The weekend had been oddly traumatic, looking through comics and childhood annuals in my old wardrobe. I began searching for a cardigan, as my mother’s house was always frigid and damp. But I found his moth-eaten, red jumper instead. Deep red, a burgundy red. A blood stain. It was all I could find. Should I wear it? The cold chill was spreading through me, fingers of ice at my ankles.‘Leave it alone! Just leave his things alone!’ Her face was contorted with anger.‘Please, I’m sorry. I was just looking for something†¦warm.’I knew it was my fault he was dead. My own brother was dead. And she would never forgive me.  I looked at the array of photos on my desk; a lovely husband standing with his arm around me o n a Caribbean beach. Two sweet little girls in school uniform smiling gap-toothed at the camera.

Transport and cultural geography of London Essay

Transport and cultural geography of London - Essay Example This research will begin with the statement that London developed the first underground railway in the world. The Metropolitan Company financed the construction of the railway that became the first to use electric engines for propulsion. Besides, the company built an escalator at Earls Court and Holloway. The underground train exists to date carrying 1.07 million passengers annually. The London underground tunnel hosts animals from deer to grass snakes. About half a million mice also dwell in these tunnels. The mosquitoes inhabiting the tunnels have evolved into a unique species for its insatiable biting. London now has seven major railway stations covering long distances. Â  Recent developments in London Heathrow airport make it the world’s busiest airports. The airport services both local and international travels. Heathrow airport has underground station served by an underground railway connecting the airport to Central London. Taxis are also available outside the airport. London also has 24 bridges over river Thames such as the Tower Bridge built in 1894. The London transport museum hosts all the developments in transportation beginning first inventions. The Roman settlers were the first to settle permanently in London. The World War II destroyed a large part of London. London has 7.5 million residents as indicated by the 2007 census. The population consists of people from different cultures and religions. The main geographical feature in London is Thames River, which runs through the city from east to southwest.

Finial exam Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Finial exam - Assignment Example ii. The wages are in accordance with the Federal minimum wage which is $7.25 per hour – the lowest pay rate offered by the company. Although, the last minimum wage increase in California was in 2008 when it increased to $8 the Federal minimum wage remained at $7.25 per hour (Bernstein 2013). Both rates are expected to increase in the near future if the Governor and the President have their way to $10 per hour n 2016 (Bernstein 2013). iii. The level of inflation which is set at 3% for expenses is considered fair as it is close to the projected inflation rate. iv. The company took liability insurance into account even though it is not a requirement in California at this time. This is an indication of the importance it places on this issue. The areas which appear unreasonable relates to vehicle expenses, amounts omitted and the amortization period for the loan. These are outlined as follows: i. Motor vehicle expenses are assumed to remain constant from one year to the next. This is highly unlikely to happen since the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for 2013 indicated that license fees and the cost of maintaining a vehicle both increased (BLS 2013). ii. The amortization period for the loan is projected at 25 years. This equates with the depreciation period of 25 years on the building. It is highly unlikely that the lender would want to wait until the asset for which the loan is intended is at the end of its useful life before the loan repayment period expires. iii. All Assisted Living Facilities in the State of California are required to be licensed on an annual basis. The initial fee is a maximum of $1,500 for the first year and $750 each year for renewal in the future. This fee although immaterial was not considered. However, small it could mean the difference between a profit and a loss Contract for Construction The contract for construction indicates that the project would be registered as a limited liability company (LLC). This means that the company and not the contractor would be liable for damages resulting from the project. This also suggests that the contractor would be free of liabilities to anyone and that his liability would be limited to his investment in the project of $100,000. Furthermore, the suggestion that the other investors will have no say is unreasonable as it means that the general contractor is responsible to no one and will be able to do as he pleases. There is a conflict of interest and the contractor needs to face any consequence resulting from his mismanagement of the project. There is nothing in the contract about retention monies or the consequences of failure to complete the project on time. These are important issues that need to be addressed in any construction contract. In fact, the suggestion that the project will only start when all monies are received without consideration of the time value of money and the cost of delays are ludicrous and needs to be reconsidered. Analysis of the Anticipated Rate of R eturn The rate of return as calculated by the return on capital employed (ROCE) will be negative in the first four years and less than 1% in year 5 and 6. However, the return increases to 1.95% in year 7; 2.73 in year 8; 3.44 in year 9; and 4.42 in year ten. This trend is expected to

Conflict Of Laws In The Banking Industry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Conflict Of Laws In The Banking Industry - Essay Example Nevertheless, a severable part of the contract which has a closer connection with another country may by way of exception be governed by the law of that other country.† The second sentence on Article 4(1) would make the jurisdiction of the transaction highly debatable as the location of the collateral would make it closer to Ruritania thus the question of whether or not the laws which will govern the disposal thereof would fall under the â€Å"severable†. In some countries, foreign entities are not allowed to own properties within its jurisdiction, which would bring about a conflict of laws on properties. Note also that is Article 4(2) of EC Convention on the Law Applicable to Contractual Obligations it is provided that â€Å"Subject to the provisions of paragraph 5 of this Article, it shall be presumed that the contract is most closely connected with the country where the party who is to effect the performance which is characteristic of the contract has, at the time of conclusion of the contract, his habitual residence, or, in the case of a body corporate or unincorporated, its central administration. However, if the contract is entered into in the course of that party's trade or profession, that country shall be the country in which the principal place of business is situated or, where under the terms of the contract the performance is to be effected through a place of business other than the principal place of business, the country in which that other place of business is situated.† The interpretation of the law is clearly enunciated in the leading case of Sierra Leone Telecommunications Co. Ltd. v. Barclays Bank Plc (1998) where it reiterated the general rule established under the case of Libyan Arab Foreign Bank v Bankers Trust Co [1989] that â€Å"where there is no choice of venue for redress or no provisions as to which law would apply is laid in the case of that the contract between a bank and its customer is governed by the law of the place where the account is kept, in the absence of agreement to the contrary† was affirmed.

The Essence Of Human Resource Management Theory Management Essay

The Essence Of Human Resource Management Theory Management Essay According to Martyn Shuttleworth (2009), literature review is a critical and in depth evaluation of research in which all sides of an argument must be clearly explainted, and areas of agreement and disagreement should be highlighted. In order to deal with the objectives and question proposed in the chapter 1, the author is going to find related theories in academic journals both online and paper, and other academic sources to provide the supervisor as well as readers a comprehensive overview of why the author is pursuing the research. In the chapter, the definition, components and practice of human resource management, human resource management in Vietnam and SMEs will be presented. In addition, the author will address the problems and find solutions to improve human resource management. 2.1: Human resource management definition There have been many lessons and also so much research both national and interational on the human resource management, which are widely applied in enterprises. And these primarily concentrate on the areas including the concept of human resource management, functions of human resource management and its applications. An debate on what is the essence of human resource management theory is still ongoing conversation. A review and research agenda put forth by Guest (1997) has endeavoured to pull all those arguments together. He indicates that there are diverse theories about human resource management including illustrative, strategic and normative. Firstly, descriptive theory states that the important inputs of an alternative of human resource management policy and practice such as creating employee influence, enforcing human resource flows and establishing incentive reward systems will influence on four key effects, which are commitment, competence, congruence and cost effectiveness. These leading to they will produce low labor turnover, loyal and faithful employees, who will commit to build up an organizations efficiency. This statement is also presented by Beer et al (1984) and Beaumont (1993). Secondly, strategic theory suggests that a good coordination between business strategy, human resource policy and practice will strengthen enterprises performance. Finally, normative theory describes a set of value that indicates human resource management practice applied to gain normative targets of high commitment to the enterprise. This will affect the performance of enterprises. Definition of human resource management is still in argument. Boxall and Purcell (2003) argue that this definition is affected by three issues. Firstly, human resource management is derived from a range of antecedents and depends on the stance and philosophy of the analyst. Secondly, it contributes to the analysis of the employment relationship, and is reliant upon context. Finally, the significance of human resource management is variable, which emphasize people, strategy, employment relationships etc. In order to emphasize human resource management, Redman and Wilkinson (2006) compare it as the utilization of individuals to achieve an organizations objectives. People management not only critical to business performance but also much more significant than priority over quality, technology, competitive strategy or RD terms of influence on the bottom-line. They present functions of human resource management, which include employee and labour relations, staffing, human resource development, compensation and benefits, safety and health. Storey (1995) states, similarly, that human resource management is a distinctive approach to employment management which seeks to achieve competitive advantage through strategic development of a highly committed and skilled workforce, using an integrated array of cultural, structural techniques. In addition, Cherrington (1995) confirms that human resource management is responsible for how people are treated in companies. It is the commitment on taking p eople into the organizations, assisting them carry their work out, compensating them for their labours, and settling issues that arise. 2.2: Human resource management functions and performance According to Mondy (2002), there are four functions in human resource management including recruitment, training and development, performance appraisal, compensation and benefits. Together they make up the human resource management system. Top management views these functions as an important tool to enhance competitiveness. Recruitment is, firstly, the process of attracting individuals on an opportune basis, in sufficient numbers and with suitable qualifications, and motivating them to apply for jobs with an organization. This process involves analyzing and forecasting the talent that companies need to execute their business plan, it is an important strategic step, enabling the organization to recognize, develop and sustain the workforce skills it needs to successfully accomplish its strategic intent whilst balancing career and lifestyle goals of its employees. Better recruit would lead to improvement in organisation productivities outcome compare to a poor recruit process. This process is very crucial to the success of the business. Failure to recruit appropriate worker will result in slow or stunted the grow of business (Boxall and Purcell 2000, p.140). The firm may then select those applicants with qualifications most closely related to job specifications (Mondy, 2002). He confirms that finding the r ight way of encouraging qualified candidates to put in for employment is extremely important when a firm needs to hire employees. Training and development is, secondly, the heart of a continuous effort designed to improve employee competency and organizational performance. Mondy (2002) argues that training provides learners with the knowledge and skills needed for their present jobs. On the other hand, development involves learning that goes beyond todays job, which has a more long-term focus. It prepares employees to keep pace with the organization as it changes and grows. Training Development activities have the potential to align a firms employees with its corporate strategies. According to Leonard Nadler (1984), training and development are ornanizational learning experiences took place in the certain period of times in order to increase the job performance and improve the development capacity of organizations and individuals. The concept emphasizes the ultimate goal of human resource development is to develop the organization, also focuses on the combination of personal development goals together with development objectives of the organization. However, the term also confirmed the development activities only increase job performance and organizational development capability since only when are employees interested in appling the learned knowledge to the work then the change will be created. On the other hand, the concept also clarified the role of direct managers in improving the job performance of employees yet definition of the concept is still in debate. Similarly, Henry J.Sredl Willam J. Rothwell (1997) defines training and development is to refer to the organizational learning experiences which are sponsored by the business ower. They are designed and implemented along with the goal of improving the job performance and enhancing the human condition through ensuring the combination of organizational and individual goals. The concept emphasizes the support of employer for their employees in the human resource development activities. On another view, Jerry W. Gilley (2002) states that training and development is the process of promoting organizational learning, improving job performance, and creating changes through the implementation of solutions (official and non-official), initiatives and management activities aiming at performance improvement, competitiveness and innovation which has more emphasis on the official and non-official remedies in human resource development activities, and also more focus on organizational management s olutions. Thirdly, according to Mondy (2002), performance appraisal (PA) is a formal system of review and evaluation of individual or team task performance. While assessment of team performance is essential as long as teams exist in an organization, the focus of PA in a number of companies remains on the individual employee. In spite of the emphasis, an effective appraisal system evaluates achivements and initiative plans for improvement, targets, and objectives. Finally, Mondy (2002) shows that compensation administration is one of managements most difficult and challenging human resource areas on account of containing quite a lot of elements and has a far-reaching impact on an organizations plans. Compensation is the total of all awards provided to employees in return for their services. Generally speaking, pay system are designed to attract, preserve, and encourage employees, to attain internal, external, and individual equity, and to keep a balance up in relationships between direct and indirect forms of compensation, and between the pay rates of supervisory and non-supervisory employees. As far as the relationship between human resource management and organizations performance is concerned, there has been increasing numbers of research. Most of them support the positive correlation between high performance as a result of human resource management practice and efficiency of enterprise performance. Poole and Jenkins (1996) examined the development of comprehensive human resource management policies by the survey of 909 firms in Britain and investigated that human resource management is one of the key factor to achieve a competitive advantage. With the general consensus, Dunphy and Stace (1992) have the same view with Poole and Jenkins. They emphasize that people themselves and their skills are the important factor to the added value of the organisation and human management will have an influence on enriching the efficiency of an organization. As a result, human resource management must be added in enterprises strategic development. The empirical study on effects of management training of Wong (1997) finds out that there are considerable impacts of management training and development on reforming performance of small and medium enterprises. In addition, Bratton and Gold (1994), Bearwell et al (1994) and Storey (1995) conclude that an organisation, which strives to improve its operations and demand for success, leads to the greater emphasis on human resource management. Hence, these studies have suggested that policies and practices of human resource management contribute to business success. Furthermore, there are several studies in which have included performance-based compensation as one of the high performance in human resource management practices. Redman and Wilkinson (2006) state that compensation is the total of all rewards provided employees in return for their services. There are two types of compensation including financial and non-financial compensation. Financial component consists of wages, salaries, bonuses, social security, health services etc. In contrary, non-financial one covers the satisfaction that an employee receives from the job itself and job environment such as teamwork, skills, autonomy, flex time and others. Huselid (1995), Delery and Doty (1996) consider compensation and benefits as the single strongest predictor of an enterprises performance. Based on empirical studies, these authors conclude that there is a positive correlation between performance-related pay and company performance. Therefore, performance-based compensation and merit-based promotions can be evaluated as important factors in incentive systems (Guest, 1997 and Huselid, 1995). At present, there are quite a lot of ways to progress the practice of human resource management. One of the key factors for the success of enterprises in a competitive market is to keep up continued competence through the development of human resources, which employee performance appraisal is a crucial tool. Borman (1991) defines that performance appraisal is a system of reviews and evaluations of an individuals or teams performance. It covers human resource planning, recruitment and selection, training and development, career planning and development, compensation programs and evaluation of employee potentials, of which compensation is widely apply in performance appraisal. A professional appraisal system could significantly improve employee performance and enterprise profitability (Robert, 1995). 2.3: Human resource management in small and medium enterprises Hill and Stewart (2000), with respect to human resource management in small and medium enterprises, state that SMEs lack resources like large enterprises, which tends to follow informal modes of operation such as short-term perspectives and the owners preferences and experience. However, many studies indicate that issues in SMEs are similar to those facing large enterprises such as the difficulty of linking investment in training with performance outcomes, the delivery of training courses and impacts of technology. Patton et al (2000) suggest that understanding the link between training interventions and achieving performance might be complicated by several variables that could impact the relationship. These factors might contain surrounding factors and particular ones to the firm, such as the owner and background of the management team, and the partnership between the training supplier and the recipient. Patton et al recommend that it could be more productive to encourage training as beneficial to the firm in the widest sense rather than attempting to reveal clear causal relationship. Huang (2001) argues that inadequacies in the definition and measurement of training have hampered attempts to show links between training and improvements in performance. Huangs study suggests that, where firms grow up sophisticated training courses with efficient management assistance, the effectiveness of the investment in training will be high (Huang, 2001). However, it might be argued that, by their very natu re, small and medium enterprises might lack the ability to build up sophisticated training programmes, with or without management assistance. There is a huge challenge in thinking up incentives for small firms to invest in formal job related training when it is often difficult to argue that it is in their short-term interests to do so. In relative terms, the effect of the owner manager in a small firm is much more pervaise and powerful than may be the case with the CEO of a big firm. In the view of Mazzarol (2003), he suggests small businesses are the product of their owners, whose personality and personal involvement dominate. The owner managers perspectives to training will be an essential hindrance or assistance in the implementation of training programmes. Hankinsons (2000) study of owner-managers found that these managers typically invested 93% of their working day inside the firm and made little deliberate attempt to up-skill themselves through joining courses or reading relevant literature as they regarded experience as the most relevant from of their continuing achievement. Managers with these views to training are not likely to encourage high rates of participation in training amongst their staffs. One response to this low regard many owner-managers have for the relevance of available training and developm ent schemes might be to develop an approach based on mentoring (Hudson-Davies et al. 2000). Sharply becoming a key issue, technology is in association with training on two sides, first the rapid development of technology coupled with the increasing pressure to keep up technical skills in order to maintain competitive, should supply an important incentive for continued investment in training and development. As McCole et al (2001) note, the generally negative attitude and low priority given to training in many SMEs is a matter for concern. Following their study of training in SMEs in Northern Ireland, McCole et al summarized that the short-term emphasis in small companies, which depresses investment in longer term masters such as training, might result in small companies experiencing a decline in their ability to keep up competitive in terms of their key human resources. The second side of technology is that new forms of electronically mediated training design and delivery should overcome several the problems of access, that have been often cited by managers in SMEs as a maj or obstacle. In spite of the importance of technology and the chances now emerging, research seems to suggest that SMEs have not been quick on the uptake. From a number of managers of SMEs, a frequent complaint is that available training programmes are not well designed for the commands of the small companies, or are difficult to adapt to the specific requirements of a firm. The issues here might be more complicated than simply a question of content. Anderson and Boocock (2002) argue that the big firm model of learning, on which the majority of formal training courses are arranged, is inappropriate for small companies in which the distinctive culture and communications systems could be more suited to learning which occurs through more informal processes. Advances on training in SMEs has to contain concern not simply for content, but also for problems of timing, location and delivery and such training might require a significant level of customisation given the heterogeneous nature of the SMEs sector. Clearly there is a problem here for SMEs as highly customized products for small clients are not an appealing prospect for training provi ders. According to Patton (2000), he points out that the relationship between training interventions and improved performance may be hindered by factors such as the owner and nature of management team, the relationship between the training provider and recipient. In addition, Mazzarol (2003) states that the influence of the owner manager in SMEs is more pervasive and powerful than ones in large enterprises. Moreover, Huang (2001) argues that SMEs are not capable of designing sophisticated training programs with the management support, which is a challenge for SMEs to invest into jobs related to training programs. 2.4: Human resource management of SMEs in VietNam Vietnamese government with the assistance from international organisations in many countries in the world has paid more and more attention to the development of SMEs since the renovation doi moi. In order to support Viet Nam along with its efforts, some donors came and joined hands to support Vietnamese SMEs as key actors in the countrys socio-economic development. A number of researchers have been implemented with the mandate to provide assistance to the development of SMEs. Almost these researches have aimed at financial issues, businessworking environment of SMEs and business services. This area has been mentioned by some reports in different aspects although there has not been any research specialising in human resources management issues in Vietnamese SMEs. Nguyen Duc Vinh (1999) indicates that the faster the growth experienced by the small firm the more likely it will experience human resource masters. The management of SMEs tends to be small and multi-functional. Often, entrepreneurs run companies dingle-handed or take a disproportionate production of the key decisions, in addition to functioning as the general interface to the outside world. Creating a larger, professional management is desirable, but until a certain size is reached it is difficult to create much division of labour and to develop specialised interfaces. These leading to management functions in a brutal cycle of overwork, which results in inability to consider and exploit externally-derived improvement opportunities, that in turn leads to overwork. The lack of specialised is completely absent. Notably, a number of small firms have no engineers and therefore no intelligent interface to technological changes and opportunities. Other key skill and resources might be abse nt. Usually, for instance, new technology-based companies have few marketing or business development capabilities. SMEs, which are trying to orient to export markets, require good entrepreneurial and management skills. However, business management skills are not up to the mark. Only a few owners are equipped with business knowledge of a market economy. Most of the proprietors run business based on their own experience. In general, entrepreneurs in the SMEs sector are often home-grown, obtianing their skills and leadership qualities in their own workplace and business environment. Beyond a certain point, this learning by doing approach becomes less useful in assisting small firms in graduating into modern small enterprises, equipped with advance models of technology and marketing skills. Furthermore, SME management rely on being experienced and being able to communicate both inside the enterprise and with outside partners. Thus, according to Tuong Lai (1999), training and support programmes might be needed to build up the quality and skills of both employees and management. In Vietnam, the facts have showed that employers are reluctant to invest in training potentially highly mobile workers. To a certain extent, the demand for technical and vocational training is being dampened by employees tendency to leave for a better job once they have been trained. Employers do not believe in contracts that require their workers to stay firm a certain period of time after training, either because the workers are not registered or because they think the contracts will not be enforced. A survey by MPDF in 89 manufacturing companies in both public and private sectors (MPDF, 2000) found that: On average, each month, firms invested three days of internal staff time in training and bought-in an average of 16 days of training services. Seventy eight percent of external training was provided by the public sector. The respondents also state that training content needed to be more up-to-date, of global quality, and localized for the Vietnamese context. Training should be carefully matched to customers demands with both basic and advanced training options. The training itself needed to be practical, not theoretical. The method of instruction needed to be designed to ensure skill transfer from the classroom back to the workplace. Fifty nine percent of the companies indicated that they were not able to get the training expertise they needed in Viet Nam. Additionally, although labour is abundant, most job seekers are unskilled staffs. While only a small number of SMEs could provide training for their staffs, government assistance in training is insignificant. Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), though, plays an active role on organising seminars and some training courses, a number of private companies do not apply such programs, nor they aware of VCCIs training services that is particularly the situation in the poorer provinces (Stoyan Tenev et al., 2003). According to a survey by MPDF, private firms, especially SMEs are the least preferred place of employment. Students and their parents think of a private employer as failing to provide suitable jobs and to ensure job security for employees (MPDF, 1999). This perception makes SMEs more difficult to attract qualified labour. In a seminar on development of SMEs under the umbrella of Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) in 2005, Dodd (2005) points to another weakness arising from the fact that smaller Vietnamese businesses tend to have the bulk of their labour force make up of family members, friends or relatives. In this opinion, good brothers do not necessarily make good associates. It is often difficult for a company leader to have a good judgement of his employees, especially when it comes to one of his skin. And even when the right judgement is made, other employees may still see the directors decision as an unfair one. Brown and Davison (1999) shared this opinion with Dodd that human resource management within family-owned and managed small firms can also be made difficult when family members hold key positions within the business or find themselves in dispute with other or the human resource manager.

Genesis Notes :: essays research papers

Genesis 1-11 Cosmological Stories Etiology- deep human question that a story answersGenesis 1: How many days did it take for God to make the earth?Seven 1. Lighta. Nightb. Day2. Sky3. Dry landLet water divide Vegetation4. Stars Genesis 2:How were man/woman created?Man from dust, Woman from ribWhy do people want to marry? They are to leave their parents to go with their spouseWhat is our purpose?To watch over the Garden and the worldAdam- from Adamah- thing from dirtRuach- God ¡Ã‚ ¦s breath, wind, spirit- makes Adam a living beingEve- mother of all living things; 1st womanEden- delight, place for Adam and EveAnthropomorphic- having human-like qualitiesImmanent- God very presentTranscendant- outside, beyond, detached from creationOmniscience- All KnowingAutonomous- free to chooseSin-1) disobedience2) pointing the finger3) blaming someone else4) don ¡Ã‚ ¦t accept responsibility Genesis 4"h Sons of Adam and Eve:"h Cain- farmer; rep of agrarian culture"h Abel- Shepherd; rep of nomadic culture"h Themes:"h Jealousy and murder"h Origins of violence"h Forsaking responsibility"h Mercy and capital punishment"h Gifts to God"h Cain- fat portions"h Abel- fruit of the earth"h God favors Abel"h Cain kills Abel out in the field"h God tries to get a confession by asking and not accusing"h Cain is the first murderer"h Capital punishment"h Penalty:"h Gets a mark for"h Protection"h Punishment"h Guilt"h Banished to land of Nod"h Land of wandering"h Form of guilt"h Settled existenceGenesis 5"h Geneology- family line "h Begins with Adam -> NoahGenesis 6:9  ¡V 9:17 Terms:"h Gilgamesh"h Babylonian myth of flood"h Gilgamesh becomes a god"h Same as Moses"h God of Babylonians can ¡Ã‚ ¦t sleep because of racket so he floods the earth"h 40"h May be a symbol for a long time"h Constantly used in the bible"h Berith"h Covenant, promise"h God makes Beriths"h Put your life in Beriths"h Hebrew tradition"h Terrah"h Saving vessel"h "h Dove"h Peace"h New Command"h All can be food for people"h Don ¡Ã‚ ¦t eat animals for food "h Except they can have life blood"h You may not kill people"h Capital Punishment"h God will ProvideGenesis 12-50 Patriarchal Stories"h Rooted in specific time/ place"h Main characters"h Are social unlikelies from the same family with which whom God makes a Berith"h All experience a theophany"h Manifestation of God"h Berith involves Land and Blessing extended to the future"h Foundation for J, C, I"h Judaism"h Christian"h Islam, Muslim"h Rich in drama and suspense"h Cliffhangers!"h Names reveal character of person, place"h Isaac means laughter"h Abraham means father"h Nomadic"h Everyone is on the move"h Ger"h Wanderer, sojourner, pilgrim"h First father"h

Concrete

The crack widths predicted by the different codes have been calculated for a range of varying parameters: Varying tension reinforcement stress (Figure 9) Varying cover (Figure 10) Varying bar spacing with constant reinforcement area and stress. (Figure 1 1) Varying bar spacing with constant reinforcement area and maximum stress to AS 3600. Figure 12) BBS 5400 results have been plotted using a Ms / MGM ratio of 0. 1 and 1. All results have used long term values where available. Larger versions of these graphs may be found on the Powering presentation associated with this paper. The following observations can be made from the graph results: The BBS 5400 results using the two different load ratios gave substantially different results, with the higher ratio giving increased crack widths. The BBS 8110 results were either approximately centrally placed between the two BBS 5400 results, or close to the lower values.The Recoded 2 results were usually reasonably close to the mean of the other results. The CUBE-Flip-1990 results were consistently the lowest for high steel stresses and high concrete cover values. Results with varying spacing were close to Recoded 2 results. The IAC 318 results were consistently the highest, being close to and slightly higher than the upper bound BBS 5400 values. All crack widths increased approximately linearly with increasing steel stress Crack widths increased with increasing cover, with Recoded 2 reaching a constant value at 70 mm cover, and the CUBE-PIP code at 35 mm cover.The other codes continued to increase more than linearly up to 100 mm cover. All codes predicted increasing crack width with increasing bar spacing and constant reinforcement area steel stress. Figure 9: Varying tension reinforcement stress Figure 10: Varying cover Figure 11: Varying bar spacing with constant reinforcement area and stress Figure 12: Varying bar spacing with constant reinforcement area and maximum stress to AS 3600.When the steel stress was adjusted to the maximum allowable under AS 3600 (I. E. Reduced for increasing bar spacing and increasing bar diameter) the predicted crack widths were reasonably uniform in the spacing range 50 to 200 mm, then tended to reduce with greater spacing. DEFLECTION The main differences in approach to the calculation of deflections are summarized low: Australian and American codes are based on the Brannon equation, using a uniform average effective stiffness value.Australian codes allow for loss of tension stiffening through a reduction of the cracking moment related to the free concrete shrinkage. Allowance for shrinkage curvature in the Australian codes is simplified and will underestimate curvature in symmetrically reinforced sections. British codes allow only a low tension value for cracked sections, which is further reduced for long term deflections European codes adopt an intermediate approach for cracked sections, tit an allowance for loss of tension stiffening.British and European code prov isions for shrinkage curvature are essentially the same Effective stiffness, calculated according to AS 3600, Recoded 2, BBS 5400, and BBS 8110, and with no tension stiffening, is plotted against bending moment for the same concrete section used in the crack width analysis. Figure 13 shows results with no shrinkage, and Figure 14 with a shrinkage of 300 Microscopic. RESEARCH ABOUT THE METHODS USED IN DIFFERENCE CONCRETE STANDARDS AS 3600 limits the maximum reinforcement stress under serviceability loads to a axiom value dependent on either the bar diameter or the bar spacing, whichever gives the greater stress.AS 5100 has the same limits, with an additional requirement to check for lower limits under permanent loads for elements in exposure classifications 82, C or U. Recoded 2 limits stresses in essentially the same way, except that the limits are presented as maximum bar spacing or diameter for a specified stress, rather than vice versa. The Recoded 2 limits are related to 3 diffe rent values of nominal crack width, 0. 2 mm, 0. 3 mm or 0. 4 mm, under pseudo-static loading. The applicable crack Edith depends on the exposure classification and type of member.Code Provisions for Crack Width Limits As well as stress limits, Recoded 2 has detailed provisions for the calculation of design crack widths, which are summarized below: The basic formula for crack width: crack spacing x (mean steel strain – mean concrete strain) makes no allowance for variation in crack width between the level of the reinforcement and the surface of the concrete, however the crack spacing is mainly related to the cover depth, and the crack width is directly proportional to crack spacing, so the depth of cover has a significant effect on crack widths.The expression for Seems – ECMA limits the effect of tension stiffening to 40% of the steel strain. For long term effects the tension stiffening coefficient is reduced by 1/3, from 0. 6 to 0. 4. The British concrete design codes specify a design crack width at the surface of the concrete as follows: The basic approach is similar to Recoded 2, except that the crack width is projected from the reinforcement level to the concrete surface. The main differences between BBS 5400 and BBS 8110 are: BBS 5400 includes a factor to reduce the effect of tension stiffening, depending on the ratio of live load moment to dead load moment (Ms / MGM).The effect of this is to reduce tension stiffening effects to zero for a load ratio of 1 or greater. The tension stiffening coefficients are differently formulated. The IAC requirements are based on stress limits derived from the Surgery-Lutz equation: The IAC 318 equation makes no allowance for tension stiffening, and predicts crack width at the upper bound of those studied in this paper. Results are usually similar to those from the BBS 5400 equation using a Ms / MGM ratio of 1 .AS 3600, AS 5100, and IAC 318 AS 3600 and AS 5100 provisions for â€Å"simplified† calculati on of deflections are identical other than a typographical error in AS 5100), and are both based on the â€Å"Brannon† equation, which is also used in IAC 318. The equation in IAC 318 is differently formulated, but will give identical results for the same cracking moment and section stiffness values. The AS 3600 version of the equation is shown below: left is calculated for the maximum moment section, and applied along the full length of the member being analyses.The calculation of the cracking moment in the Australian codes (but not IAC 318) includes an allowance for the shrinkage induced tensile stress in the unchecked section, which contributes to loss of tension stiffening: AS 3600 and AS 5100 provide a factor KC , applied to the calculated deflection, to account for the additional deflection due creep and shrinkage: KC = [2- 1. 2(ASS / East)] Note that for a symmetrically reinforced section KC reduces to the minimum value of 0. , being the effect of creep deflection alon e. 6. 4. 2 OBSESS,BBS 8110 Deflections in BBS 5400 and BBS 8110 are calculated from integration of section curvatures. The cracking moment and curvature of cracked sections allows for a short term concrete tensile stress of 1 Amp, reducing to 0. 5 Amp in the long term. Shrinkage curvatures in BBS 8110 are determined from the free shrinkage strain, and the first moment of area of the reinforcement about the cracked or unchecked section, as appropriate.BBS 5400 uses a similar approach, but tabulates factors based on the compression and tension reinforcement ratios. 6. 4. 3 Recoded 2 and CUBE-PIP 1990 (MAC 90) The European codes also provide for calculation of deflections by integration of section curvatures, but provide a different expression for the stiffness of cracked sections: Shrinkage curvatures are assessed using a similar method to that given in BBS 8110:

Immigration Analysis Essays

Immigration Analysis Essays Immigration Analysis Essay Immigration Analysis Essay For many immigration to the United States would be a new beginning during 19th to early 20th century.There were many acts and laws to limit the number immigrating to the United States.Many of these acts were due to prejudice and misunderstanding of a culture.One such act was the Chinese Exclusion Act. Form this one act many immigration laws and acts were made against foreigners.They hoped to control the number of immigrants arriving on the American shores. The Chinese Exclusion Act of May 6, 1882 was just the beginning. This act was the turning point of the U.S. immigration policies, although it only directly affected a small group of people. Prior to the Chinese Exclusion Act there was no significant number of free immigrants that had been barred from the country. Once the Chinese Exclusion Act had been in acted, further limitations on the immigration of ethnic groups became standard procedure for more than eight decades.Irish catholic, Mexican, and other races were not allowed the same freedoms that others were allowed.Even after a family had been here for generations there were not given the same freedoms. Since the arrival of thefirst Chinese Immigrants, racist hostility towards the Chinese always existed.They were predominantly male laborers, concentrated in California.They were vital to the development of western mining, transportation, and agriculture.Other races were also discriminated against, the Irish were not allowed to get jobs or live in certain areas of the cities. By 1880, the great fear of German-speaking and Irish-Catholic immigrants was over. Employers, who still sought worker-immigrants, and not just temporary workers, looked increasingly to southern and eastern Europe. When Italians, Greeks, Turks, Russians, Slavs, and Jews arrived in the United States in numbers, however, new anxieties arose about making Americans of so many different kinds of strangers.

Mandatory Death Penalty for Murder essays

Mandatory Death Penalty for Murder essays To take another persons life is horrible. It doesnt matter what crime or crimes he committed. Executing someone for committing a murder is morally wrong, because execution is equally as wrong as murder. Even if it seems that person deserve to be executed, his family and friends doesnt deserve to suffer from his loss. A person should have no excuse for murder no matter what the case is. However by killing that person youre not solving anything. By executing the murderer you could be giving him the easy way out because he might rather have a quick, painless death than to spend the rest of his life in prison. If the family and friends of the victim are going to suffer emotionally for the rest of their life, so should the murderer. Death wont make him suffer; it would only give him a painless end. Thats why we should lock him up in prison for the rest of his life: make him feel pain equivalent to the suffering of the victims family and friends. The other reason why the death penalty should be abolished is because death is final; thus it is not acceptable to make mistakes on the matter. As long as we have capital punishment, innocent people will be executed, it is unavoidable. We cant afford errors and rarely do we have complete proof that a person committed a murder. Therefore its always better to be safe than sorry. You could always release someone from prison if there was a mistake but you cant give somebodys life back. By abolishing the death penalty, it does not mean that we will be releasing convicted murderers. There are other reasonable choices such as life without parole. So even if innocent people are sentenced to life imprisonment, there is hope that someday someone will be able to prove their innocence. But once a person is executed, the opportunity for him to prove his innocence dies with him. ...

Devolution ( public law ) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Devolution ( public law ) - Essay Example 2005), has made clear that the government’s proposal to introduce a drink ban on public transport would help curb alcohol-related disorder alongside a range of other measures. With 23,000 incidents of alcohol-fuelled violence each week with relevant elevated alcohol consumption trends (Leifman, 2001), the agency has proposed that existing laws are enforced to reduce the incidence of alcohol-related violence on the streets and on public transportation. England’s objective of reducing harm caused by alcohol misuse is recognised and focuses on the prevention, minimisation and management of the harms caused by alcohol misuse. These measures addressed in its objectives aims to identify alcohol misuse and the enforcement of existing powers against crime and disorder and promotion of responsible drinking. Under the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 (CDA98) and Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships (CDRPs) the partnership of both agencies are held responsible in the consideration of crime and disorder issues in their own core activities that improve safety and security in local neighborhoods. Criminal Justice Boards and Youth Offending and the Drug and Alcohol Action Teams shall be a voluntary forum for coordination of local priorities. They are tasked to bring together the key local agencies with an interest in reducing the harms caused by alcohol misuse: the health service, the criminal justice system and the local authority. With support of the Scottish Executive for a complete ban in on alcohol consumption in public places, (The Herald, July 19, 2006) the proposal, has spawned public outburst. Festivities organizers and popular across Wales and Scotland and gaming grounds personnel rallied against the ban with arguments pointed out that such is breach on human rights while legislative proposals control the sale and purchase of alcohol (Scotland Bill on Alcohol). It is apparent that Scottish culture towards drinking in a study (SSA, 2004) has

Regulatory Interventions in the 2008 US Post-Economic Crisis Assignment

Regulatory Interventions in the 2008 US Post-Economic Crisis - Assignment Example However, there is a need to generate productivity following the series of Stimulus Funds in order to multiply the capital infused in trillions of dollars. Or the economic recovery will be transient and may return to perform another economic recession, right after funds are consumed. Regulations spearheaded by the Dodd-Frank Act are meant to make the financial institutions and big corporations more careful in their risk management. Such regulations were found to be critical after deregulation was given a chance to work for over 30 years and yet failed with its grandstanding recession. The question remaining is how funds can be effectively channelled to entrepreneurs given the past experiences wherein a greater part of the Stimulus Funds never reached the Small Business Entrepreneurs (SBEs) who can use capital to generate more productivity, hire people, and earn profits. Most of the Stimulus Funds went to social welfare and large corporation bail outs. Further study is required to eval uate the possibility of reinstating the Glass-Steagall Act for the purpose of further regulating the banks to focus on diligently supplying funds to SBEs and supporting those SBEs with sufficient guidance in order to earn successfully. This can logically stop the banks’ vested interests on Investment Portfolios since they will not be allowed to engage in other investment activities except to lend entrepreneurs what they will need in order to progress. I. Introduction Right after the economic recession declared by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) to have lasted December 2007 all the way to June 2009, the phenomenon was described as not only â€Å"the longest and deepest recession of the post-World War II era† but also the â€Å"largest decline in output, consumption, and investment, and the largest increase in unemployment, of any post-war recession† (Labonte, M. 2010, p.2). Stimulus funds from the Federal Reserve worth more than a Trillion Dollars along with the monetary policy of maintaining almost zero interest rate, facilitated the recovery. $700 billion, which was later reduced to $ 470 billion infused into the financial system was done via a program called Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP) in October 2008. The US Government purchased real estate properties that lost their values as a result of the recession, for the purpose of adding some liquidity to the banks. As of mid-2012, most programs under the TARP were reported closed. Major beneficiaries rescued were Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, AIG, Citigroup, and Lehman Brothers of the financing sector, and later included General Motors and Chrysler of the automobile sector. Saving the giant enterprises reduced the need to retrench and lay-off employees. However, there were economic

Employment Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Employment Law - Essay Example The company should complete the ET3 form so that they can be able to defend the claimant’s claim of unfair dismissal then present it to the employment tribunal within 28days from the time it received the claimants form. The Employment tribunal is mandated to listen to cases that arise in employment, concerning the employer or the employees over their employment rights. If the company does not present its ET3 form to the employment tribunal default judgment is likely to be entered against them, which will then preclude the company from taking part in the proceedings. If the respondent presents their ET3 form to the tribunal, the tribunal has the power to order for disclosure of all the relevant materials pertaining to the case. The employment rights are enumerated under the employment rights act. The act provides under section 36 that an agreement will be deemed to be terminated upon the last day of the period that is agreed upon. The company gave Jack a notice of termination o f his employment and therefore by virtue of the notice his employment was terminated upon the lapse of the period given for termination. ... When it comes to poor performance and misconduct the employment rights act stipulates under sections 38(2) and (3) that an employer shall only terminate the employee’s contract of employment if there is no other cause of action that can be taken. Further, the act states that, when there is a charge made against the employee for misconduct or poor performance the employee should be given the chance to respond to such a charge. It is after the employee has responded to such a charge that the employer can then effect his termination. Gross misconduct is whereby the employee conducts himself so badly that his behaviour ruins the relationship between him and his employer that leads to immediate dismissal. In the above case, the company did not give the employee an opportunity to reply to a charge of misconduct or poor performance. The company raised the allegations of his misconduct and poor performance after his contract had already been terminated. We see that it is only after th e termination of Jack’s contract that the employer became aware of the fact that he had a drinking problem and discovered the empty bottles of alcohol in his desk. Apart from Jack coming to work in an unacceptable condition, all the reasons were brought up after the employee had left the premises of the company that proves that he was not given a chance to respond to any charge that was brought against him and he was neither given a reason for his termination. The company acted wisely in giving the employee a notice of termination instead of instant termination. The tribunal considers instant termination seriously; it looks to see if the employer’s reasons for termination were reasonable and if it was fair considering the circumstances of the case. This will mean

The Great Gatsby Essay Example for Free

The Great Gatsby Essay In the novel, The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald uses the character of Nick Carraway as his mouthpiece, his own little spy in the lives of the characters in the novel to relate back the events happening. Because of this, there are a number of things which we need to bear in mind about his narration such as to what degree it could be biased and how the first person descriptive effects the way that we portray Nick. First being introduced into the novel, Fitzgerald has Nick Carraway talk about some advice that his father had given him when he was younger, therefore enlightening us to the way that he was brought up and how it has affected the way he is now. He still remembers the words: â€Å"Whenever you feel like criticizing any one, just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had. † This reveals to us that Nick is not of lower class and is very well educated, which is further reinforced by the fact that he went to Yale, one of the most highly esteemed colleges in the country. Nick explains how doesn’t judge a person, which has therefore â€Å"opened up† people to him as they shared their troubles with him. However, we also get the impression that he is uninterested in the petty problems of people’s lives, as the comparison of â€Å"curious natures† to â€Å"veteran bores† is used, suggesting that while some of the people who confided in him intrigued him, others may have just left him sitting there offering mild condolences, a â€Å"victim† who’s subject to listen to their inconveniences when they were â€Å"unsought†: he didn’t look for people to come and talk to him, they came to him. Whether this proves that he is a trustworthy character is debatable; if he told everyone about the â€Å"secret griefs† that he was privy to then he wouldn’t be trusted and have people coming to speak to him, and yet he frequently deceived the people who sought after him, feigning â€Å"sleep, preoccupation or a hostile levity† when they tried to speak, which makes you wonder what else he could have done in the lines of deception, and whether or not it went further than just lying to avoid people. It would seem that he is very good at getting along with people in public and on the surface, whilst analysing them in private, to us, the readers. The reader learns soon on that Nick is from the Middle West, but moved further east to West Egg where he’s living now to learn the bond business. West Egg and East Egg are both enormously wealthy suburbs of New York City, located on Long Island where they face the ocean, but there is a clear differentiation between the two. East Egg is the home of the aristocratic people with inherited fortunes gathered over generations, roots running deep in American society. These people place great value on tradition, family background, manners and social convention, and look at people who weren’t born into their kind of wealth – â€Å"old money† – with contempt. Those who live in West Egg are also very wealthy but they lack the sense of entitlement that those in East Egg have, as they earned their money and weren’t born into it. They aren’t as ‘polished’ or ‘refined’ in their manners, and can therefore never fit in with those from the East Egg; they lack the background of a well established family. Nick himself is â€Å"descended from the Dukes of Buccleuch†, so therefore has a rather esteemed lineage in his own right, and yet he lives a rather modest life in the West Egg in a small house he describes as an â€Å"eyesore† next to the large mansion next door belonging to Gatsby; he isn’t drowning in wealth himself, but he is connected to people like his neighbour, Gatsby, and Tom and Daisy Buchanan. Because of this, he has an insight in to what happens in the lives of these people, and this is what Fitzgerald will have intended: Nick relates what goes on from the inside, acting as the eyes, ears and mouthpiece for Fitzgerald. Although the intention of using Nick as the narrator may have been for him to give a rather objective viewpoint of the story’s events, that wasn’t truly the way that it was portrayed. Yes, he’s an outsider compared to the rest of the characters, having only recently moved to the West Egg himself and therefore not knowing too much about the lifestyles that these people are living, other than the fact that they are rich. However, he has former opinions of the characters he meets in chapter one which may or may not have clouded the way in which he describes them. Daisy Buchanan is his second cousin once removed, and it is clear that he is taken by her: he describes her as â€Å"charming† with a â€Å"low, thrilling voice† that was difficult to forget, which is a rather biased opinion of her; of course, we are still shown some of her carelessness and snobbish ways, but they are mainly through her actions, little things between the lines that could be easily overlooked if one didn’t know what to look for. Tom Buchanan on the other hand is introduced differently; through Nick, Fitzgerald first describes how he is a wealthy, athletic figure, listing his achievements and purchases before describing the man himself: he is portrayed as an arrogant man, having a â€Å"supercilious manner† and â€Å"established dominance†, thinking he’s superior to everyone around him and especially the black race as he describes how thinks it’s up to themselves, â€Å"the dominant race† to make sure that they keep the control and not any other races. He is generally described much more negatively by the narration of Nick, and this influences the way in which we perceive Tom as the automatic ‘bad guy’ in Chapter One. This perception is only accentuated when the reader finds out that he is cheating on Daisy with a woman in New York, and that men at New Haven (the college that he and Nick both attended) â€Å"hated his guts. † It is clear that he is a powerful man as his physique is referred to numerously, like the â€Å"enormous power† of his body and the â€Å"great pack of muscles† he had. He filled his boots until he â€Å"strained at the top lacing†, which could be likened to the saying that someone is too big for their boots – Tom is, both in the literal sense and the way in which he thinks that he is more important and powerful than everyone else. Heck, Fitzgerald even describes how Nick seems to think he radiates the â€Å"I’m stronger and more of a man than you are† vibe! Considering the fact that Fitzgerald has Nick introduce himself as an honest man who is â€Å"inclined to reserve all judgements†, we as readers don’t really get this impression from him in the first chapter. Not only does he already have – possibly subconscious – opinions of the Buchanans, he also has â€Å"unaffected scorn† for his neighbour Jay Gatsby, and all that he represents. However, he also says that there is â€Å"something gorgeous† about him, highlighting the fact that not only is he contradicting his previous statement when he said that he reserves judgements, but he’s contradicting his own opinion of the same man in only the next sentence! Because of all these things combined, it is uncertain to what degree the narration of Nick Carraway is actually reliable, as his own opinions can get in the way and make the narration biased. Overall, I think that Nick is portrayed as a fairly honest man in this first chapter of the novel, The Great Gatsby, but because of a few underlying things that could be picked up on, that may not be the full extent of his character. His opinion of things, even in the first chapter, contradicts itself; this not only puts into question which opinion we should agree with, but also makes us doubt his reliability as a narrator, which then in turn makes us wonder to what extent the story is accurate and in how much of it has had the illusion of the lifestyle the characters are living take over the actual reality.

The Media Influence on Public Perceptions of Crime

The Media Influence on Public Perceptions of Crime Introduction The publics knowledge of crime is primarily derived from its depiction in the media. The media affects the publics opinion of crime and punishment, and its perception of the police. If the media is responsible for the headlines, the conclusion is that it influences the publics attitude regarding crime incidents. (Muraskin and Domash 2007). Crime stories are covered extensively by the print-based media seemingly because they help to sell newspapers. Stories are often sensationalised with the intent to make attention-grabbing headlines that do not always represent the true facts; but do these articles play a part in needlessly fuelling the publics fear of crime? This dissertation will attempt to answer this question by conducting primary research in the suburban village of Stannington in Sheffield. Aims/Objectives/Hypothesis The objective of this research is to analyse the relationship between crime and the media, more specifically fear of crime levels and print-based media articles. Due to the geographic location in which the research will be conducted, two specific crime types have been chosen; personal crimes such as burglary and theft and community-based crimes such as vandalism and anti-social behaviour. These crime types were chosen as a result of the suburban area in which the study will be conducted. These crimes are those which are more likely to be of a concern to the respondents of the study and are therefore more suitable for this particular piece of research if I wish to collect an accurate data set. More serious crimes like rape, murder and assault are less likely to occur on a private, middle class housing estate and thus these crime types would probably not be a major concern to residents living in the area. Prior to conducting any research; the hypothesis chosen which predicts the outcom e of the research is that respondents who are female and who read print-based media more frequently will have an increased fear of crime in comparison to males who dont read print-based media articles. Literature Review Fear of crime Garofalo (1981:840) defined fear of crime as an emotional reaction characterized by a sense of danger and anxiety produced by the threat of physical harm elicited by perceived cues in the environment that relate to some aspect of crime. The definition of fear of crime can vary depending on the individual and their own personal experiences of crime; and this is in fact similar to how people have differing levels of fear. An individuals level of fear could be influenced by several factors. Personal experience of crime is one of many factors which can significantly increase the level of fear which a person has, with the fear of repeat victimisation a key issue in this. Balkin (1979) and Hough (1985) argue that a commonly accepted belief is that people who have been victimised, particularly in their neighbourhood, or who know others who have been similarly victimised, will tend to be more afraid. Similarly, a report published by the Beth Johnson foundation in 2006 looked at the fear of c rime in people over the age of 50. It found that several respondents who had been mugged and/or burgled had a particularly high level of fear of crime as a result of their previous experiences. This publication shows many interesting opinions of the elderly, however it does not take into account the opinions of a larger demographic of people with varying ages. As a result it allows an opportunity to conduct research on a broader scale to investigate fear of crime from people of all ages. Jewkes (2010:155) acknowledges that victims of crime will probably become more fearful about the likelihood of future victimization as a result of their experiences, however many more individuals will experience fear as a result of indirect contact with crime. Fear of crime has become a major social problem and although some of this fear can be accounted for by the actual amount of criminal activity, particularly in the neighbourhood (Kinsey et al.1986). People may come to be fearful of criminal victimisation because they perceive their immediate environment to be threatening, thus noisy neighbours, teenagers hanging around street corners and flats with broken windows may all signify to some individuals that their neighbourhood is threatening (Baumer 1985; Hunter and Baumer 1982), however much of it is caused by other subjective/perceptual and social structural factors. A substantial amount of research has already identified several factors which appear to make a contribution to fear. Box, Hale and Andrews (1988: 341) classify these under the following headings: vulnerability, environmental clues and conditions, personal knowledge of crime and victimisation, confidence in the police and criminal justice systems, perceptions of personal ris k, and seriousness of various offences. The research for this piece of work will be carried out by households in close proximity to each other; consequently the environmental conditions should be very similar for each respondent. However other factors, in particular vulnerably; personal knowledge of crime; and confidence in the police and criminal justice system should be different for every respondent. As a result, the findings of the research should be particularly diverse. In terms of fear of crime, the British Crime Survey offers an in depth insight into the British publics perception of crime, in comparison to actual crime statistics. The BCS is a face-to-face victimisation survey in which people inhabiting households in England and Wales are asked about their experiences of crime in the 12 months prior to interview. The 2009/10 BCS shows that a large proportion of people (sixty six per cent) believe crime has risen across the country as a whole in the last few years. There has been a large majority of respondents who think crime has risen at a national level since the questions were first included in 1996. Statistics provided by the Home Office (2010) show an actual decrease in a large number of crimes between 2002 and 2010. The total of sexual offences, robbery, burglary, fraud, drug offences, and the total of all recorded crime have decreased every year for the past 8 years. These figures would suggest that the publics fear of crime is unjust base d on the number of crimes which have fallen throughout Britain in recent years. It would appear that the publics perception of these high crime levels is influenced by more than just official statistics released by the Home Office, the most obvious contributor to this fear of crime being the media. Fear of crime and the media It is often argued that the media exaggerate the extent of crime in Britain. This includes newspapers, news and entertainment on television and radio, as well as crime fiction (Greer,2005). These exaggerations of crime stories which are in the public eye daily can have a substantial impact upon the publics perception of crime, but more significantly their fear of it. As previously mentioned, personal experiences of crime can often result in victims becoming increasingly fearful of being victimised; while accounts of crime from family, friends and neighbours may also have this effect. However as previous research has discovered; the most influential source to fuel fear of crime is usually the media. As Jewkes (2010) states numerous writers have examined the proposition that the media present crime stories (both factual and fictional) in ways which selectively distort and manipulate public perceptions, creating a false picture of crime which promotes stereotyping, bias, prejudice and g ross oversimplification of the facts. Their conclusion is that it is not just official statistics that misrepresent the picture of crime, but that the media are also guilty of manipulation and fuelling public fears. Roberts and Doob (1986) and Surette (1998) reaffirm this view of crime and the media in their analysis of how influential the media can be. The publics perception of victims, criminals, deviants, and law enforcement officials is largely determined by their portrayal in the mass media. Research indicates that the majority of public knowledge about crime and justice is derived from the media. Western society is fascinated with crime and justice. From films, books, newspapers, magazines, television broadcasts, to everyday conversations, we are constantly engaging in crime talk. In this sense; the mass media play an important role in the construction of criminality and the criminal justice system. Research conducted by Ditton and Duffy (1983) came to a similar conclusion to Jewkes in regards to coverage of crime stories in the media after their analysis of three Scottish newspapers. An analysis of the crime content of the newspapers (in terms of the numbers and page areas of crime reports) was completed and found that six per cent of the news involved crime, with forty five per cent of this being violent or sexual crime. This figure was then compared with actual police statistics which showed just two per cent of crime in the locality to be of a violent and/or sexual nature (Williams and Dickinson 1993:35). As a result of their findings, Ditton and Duffy came to the conclusion that this research exemplifies the level of sensationalism and exaggeration of crime stories which appear throughout print-based media. Consequently, they called for further research to be conducted to determine whether the misrepresentations of crime in newspapers influence the general perceptions of re aders. Despite a large percentage of violent or sexual crimes covered in the newspapers, it is arguable as to weather a percentage of just six out of the total of all articles in them is substantial enough to conclude that print-based media exaggerate and sensationalise as Ditton and Duffy suggested. This research took significant steps to examine the content of crime stories in print-based media and be regarded as a successful study, however it was conducted almost thirty years ago which means in terms of quantity and coverage of crime stories in modern Britain, it is somewhat outdated. In addition; the research fails to determine any links between media coverage and fear of crime, so with this in mind, the study which will be conducted for this piece of work primarily aims to investigate if there is any sort of correlation between print-based media and fear of crime in an attempt to come to a conclusion which Ditton and Duffy were unable to achieve. When the discussion takes place surrounding how influential the media can be on crime levels and fear of crime; the theory of moral panics often surfaces. This model made famous by Stanley Cohen in the 1970s with the publication of Folk Devils and Moral Panics: The creation of Mods and Rockers refers to public and political reactions to minority or marginalized individuals and groups who appear to be some kind of threat to consensual values and interests. (Jewkes 2010:74) By labelling certain groups as deviant; missing out key facts and extensively covering crime stories; the creation of moral panics by the British press has becoming arguably one of the more damaging aspects of crime coverage, causing unnecessary for fear and apprehension amongst the public. These fears when compared to actual crime statistics do appear to be uncalled for, but figures from the British Crime Survey suggest that they are still present in the minds of newspaper readings. The British Crime Survey has been conducted by the Home Office since its introduction in 1982 and from 2001 it has run continuously each year. The survey of around forty thousand adults is conducted to gain an insight into public attitudes to crime as well as other criminal justice issues, with the findings often used to assist the Government in their policy formations (Home Office 2010). The 2003 edition of the BCS was the first to ask respondents directly about their newspaper reading habits. The results showed that attitudes to crime are very much influenced by newspaper reports. Forty three per cent of tabloid readers believed that crime has increased a lot with seventeen per cent also claiming to be very worried by the threat of physical attacks (Guardian 2003). These findings are based on a very large scale with the respondents geographically located across most parts of Britain. They offer an accurate representation of the populations fear of crime and how this is influenced b y newspapers articles, however due to its large scale, a more appropriate approach to use in order to get a localised view on crime would be a study of households in one particular part of a city. This method then allows the researcher to investigate if the immediate area in which the respondent resides is influential in their levels of fear. Several other pieces of research have been carried out to understand fear of crime in both the elderly and in women respectively. A recent Age Concern reported entitled The Fear Factor: Older people and Fear of Street crime reported that forty seven per cent of those over 75 years of age and thirty seven per cent of those over fifty no longer take part in social and community activities after dark because of fear of street crime (Help the Aged 2006). Similarly an article in the Independent (2005) entitled Women and Crime: Fear in Suburbia goes into depth about the fear which single women have about being attacked in their own homes. In this article many women interviewed agreed that the media has a role to play in increasing womens fears despite official Home Office statistics suggesting total recorded crime is down by six per cent year-on-year (Independent 2005). Both pieces of research gain insight into two separate groups of society with valid and reliable data collection, however they fail to make comparisons of fear of crime levels with other groups of people. By conducting research from both men and women of varying ages, this allows for more in depth analysis, where comparisons and correlations can be made between all respondents to determine if age and/or sex are an influential factor in fear of crime levels. There has been extensive criticism of the empirical and theoretical validity of the claims that media images cultivate a misleading view of the world of crime (Howitt 1998; Ditton et al. 2004); and according to several critics, there is still not enough sufficient evidence to suggest that exposure to the media as well as other variables such as class, gender, race, place of residence and actual experience of crime can and do effect an individuals fear of becoming a victim of crime (Reiner 2006). Despite these criticisms; the research carried out for this piece of work will attempt to gather enough evidence to show that the media along with other variables does in fact influence fear of crime. Methodology The data collection method which will be used for this research is a cross-sectional questionnaire consisting of both qualitative and quantitative questions. The questionnaire will be given to twenty four randomly selected respondents living on a housing estate in the semi-rural village of Stannington, in Sheffield. At the last census (2001), the population for Stannington village was listed as 16,600 (www.stannington.org.uk). This number is far too large as it would require a significant amount of questionnaires to be produced which is unrealistic given the resources and time-frame available; therefore a combination of both cluster and systematic sampling will be used to select certain roads and houses within a small geographical location. Kalsbeek (1998) defines cluster sampling as: sampling in which sampling units (that is, households) at some point in the selection process are collections, or clusters, of population elements. For the primary sample group; eight roads on the housi ng estate will be selected as part of the cluster sampling process, then house numbers two; five and eight are to be chosen systematically. This approach eliminates any potential bias, allowing the validity of the research to be increased. Similarly; for the secondary sample group, four roads will be selected with house numbers one and ten chosen to receive the questionnaire if not all twenty four primary respondents decide to complete the questionnaire. In order to be courteous when addressing the respondents, the electoral register will be accessed at the Sheffield Town Hall to gather the names of those chosen to participate in the study. Doing this should allow for the respondents to be contacted formally whilst making it more manageable to record which households responded and those who declined. When the collection of data from the primary sample group commences, personal introductions will be made informing the randomly selected respondents what the research study is for and how they have been chosen. If the respondents then decide to take part in the study they will be given the questionnaire along with a cover sheet, outlining the instructions on how to complete the questionnaire and a brief letter explaining the purpose of the study. If the there is no one in at the chosen addresses; the questionnaire will be posted to the respondents and will be collected a week from that date. The decision to utilise a cross-sectional questionnaire was made because this method allows data to be collected relatively quickly and at a single point in time. These characteristic of data collection are very much suited for this type of research study due to the time and transport limitations which apply. A questionnaire is preferable over other designs such as a longitudinal survey or case study as it lends itself well to quantifiable data, allowing for variations to be established which may appear throughout the different variables. According to Bryman (2008:45) cross sectional studies are very effective in terms of replicability because the researcher can spell out procedures for selecting respondents, designing measures of concepts; administrating research instruments and analysing data. When the questionnaires have been collected from all respondents and the required amount of data has been gathered; it will then be analysed using the data analysis software SPSS. This software allows complex data to be interpreted very easily through the use of bivariate and multivariate crosstabulations as well as frequency tables. This data can then be used to create graphs which allow for patterns of correlation to be identified. SPSS was elected due to its capability to eliminate any issues regarding inter-coder reliability. It also lends itself well to quantitative closed-ended question data (which I intend to collect) because this form of data requires very little coding and can therefore be inputted into the programme with ease. Data Analysis Following the collection of twenty four questionnaire responses; the data was inputted into the SPSS software and the variable values were coded. After compiling frequency tables and crosstabulations it appears that the research has identified some interesting findings, which do not necessarily agree with the original hypothesis stated at the beginning of the study. Table 1 (below) shows how participants responded to the question Do newspapers influence your fear of crime? It appears that only 37.5% of people felt that their fear of being a victim of crime was influenced by newspapers. 50% stated that they werent influenced which is reasonably more than those that answered yes to the question; however it is not significantly high enough to suggest a majority because there were 3 respondents (12.5%) who were undecided. (Table 1) Do newspapers influence your fear of crime? Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent Valid Yes 9 37.5 37.5 37.5 No 12 50.0 50.0 87.5 Dont know 3 12.5 12.5 100.0 Total 24 100.0 100.0 When the variable of gender is factored into the same question, it appears that men are more influenced by print-based media than women. A crosstabulation of the two variables shows that 6 males in comparison to just 3 females stated that their fear was influenced by newspapers. This figure at first appears to be a surprise when compared to the Independent (2005) article (referred to earlier); which stated that the media has a role to play in increasing fear of crime levels amongst women. However when a crosstabulation was formed which analysed the gender and how often do you read national newspapers? variables; it appears that the male respondents in the study read newspapers more regularly than the females. Table 2 (below) shows that half (6) of all male respondents read a national newspaper once a week in comparison to only 2 female respondents. It also illustrates that all of the male respondents read a newspaper at least once a month in comparison to 5 females who stated that th ey never read a newspaper. (Table 2) How often do you read national newspapers? * Are you male or female? Crosstabulation Are you male or female? Total Male Female How often do you read national newspapers? Every day 2 3 5 Several times a week 2 1 3 Once a week 6 2 8 Once a fortnight 2 0 2 Once a month 0 1 1 Never 0 5 5 Total 12 12 24 With this in mind; the statistics appear to suggest that those who are subject to newspaper articles more frequently appear to be influenced by them more in terms of fear of crime. Lichtenstein et al (1978: 575) state Fear sells. Past research by Ditton and Duffy (1983) amongst others, primarily focused upon newspaper content analysis. Some evidence was found to suggest that certain crime types; in particular violent or sexual crimes appeared continuously throughout newspapers articles. This research along with several other studies has collectively suggested that sensationalism of crime stories does occur in order to sell more copies. The questionnaire given to respondents asked them Do you think newspapers sensationalise crime stories? The pie chart above shows the overwhelming majority (91.7%) of participants felt that sensationalism does occur in British newspapers. This figure is particularly high considering that 5 out of the 24 respondents stated that they didnt read newspapers. In this case the assumption could be made that those who dont read newspapers would not be fully aware of the extent to which sensationalism appears to occur. However this statis tic confirms that this is irrelevant. In a similar manner, many newspapers (and the media in general) have been accused of creating moral panics. These accusations have especially