Saturday, August 31, 2019

The Barriers to Effective Communication

â€Å"A barrier to communication is something that keeps meanings from meeting. Meaning barriers exist between all people, making communication much more difficult than most people seem to realize. It is false to assume that if one can talk he can communicate† (Windle & Warren, nd). Communication is a process by which information is transmitted from one person (sender) to another (receiver).Before the message reaches the receiver, errors in transmission occur. It is estimated by psychologists that in every communication, there is approximately 40-60% meaning loss (Jenkins, 2007).It is therefore essential to know the various barriers that cause communication breakdown and possibly try to minimize these errors if we are to make our communication more meaningful. The core barriers The greatest barrier towards communicating effectively is stereotyping. This preconception on another person makes one view the other’s communication with a lot of prejudice. There is a tendency to wrongly hold a person’s views. There are stereotypes in all walks of life such as religion, gender and race.In racial stereotyping for example, a person’s believe to be more knowledgeable than the other because of skin color makes him or her disregard the other’s communication. This eventually breaks down the communication (OPPapers, 2010). There are a number of people who tend to assume that the people they are talking to know their thoughts. Such misjudgments are very dangerous to communication. An article by Effective-communicating, The importance of effective communication states that, â€Å"When you assume, you make an ‘ass’ out of ‘u’ and ‘me’ (Effective Communicating, 2008).Insufficient knowledge on the specific subject of communication can lead to errors on communication. If the person sending the message falls short of words in the information to be transmitted, the receiver is exposed to an unclear message tha t is mixed-up. On the other hand, the receiver may fail to understand information that is beyond his or her knowledge. It may be very hard for a teacher to understand scientific terms used by a scientist in any form of communication (College of Marin, nd). In relation to knowledge, language can pose a great danger to communication.There are many languages as people are from different backgrounds. Use of a language that the recipient does not understand will not pass the message. The different dialects and accents also create barriers. There may exist semantic gaps where words have same pronunciation but with a multiple of meanings. Some people tend to use inappropriate words in specific contexts and difficult vocabularies. The receiver will not be mesmerized but will be left in total confusion (Jain, 2010). Information overload is another barrier towards effective communication. A message that is too crowded with words tends to be misunderstood.Receivers tend to create barriers unde r these circumstances. A lecturer from collage of Marine on Barriers to effective communication advises that, â€Å"If you are selling an item with twenty five terrific features, pick two or three important features to emphasize instead of overwhelming your receiver (ho-hum) with an information avalanche. † (College of Marin, nd). Emotional interference leads to misunderstandings in communication. A person who is overexcited, angry, fearful, hostile, or resentful may be very much emotionally preoccupied to give or receive the right message.In case of dislike, ‘hearing’ will be a great problem. Emotional distractions create interference with creation, transmission and reception (College of Marin, nd). Emotions if given a chance will show up always and they become a barrier when they make people get overwhelmed (People Communicating, 2009). Physical distractions occur amidst communication. A noisy environment or a bad telephone line disrupts the receiver of the mes sage from hearing. Distractions are also possible with written messages especially when it is poorly formatted, has spelling errors and grammatical deficits.The physical appearance of the message will be too unprofessional and sloppy. The receiver’s concentration to such messages will be put off. Bright lights especially when one is using a computer can distract the receiver in getting the correct message (College of Marin, nd). Physical barriers can also be created by the geographical location. For example, at a workplace, employees in different quarters will have difficulty in communicating effectively (Margaritasmith, 2009). The sender may lack the basic communication skills.The receiver will greatly be affected in the interpretation of the intended message when the sender is faced with a problem in choosing the words needed and arranging them in a comprehensive manner. Others tend to rehearse on what they will say especially after scrutinizing who the speaker is. For inst ance, many students who lack good communication skills will first rehearse on what to say before meeting a teacher. On the other side of the coin, there are a great deal of receivers who have poor listening and reading skills. They have trouble in hearing and in the interpretation of messages (College of Marin, nd).Personal lack of interest can pose a great threat to communication. A person who is disinterested will carelessly listen or hurriedly read the sent message, misinterpreting the intentions of the sender. Failure of the sender to recognize the needs and the status of the receiver affects communication also. The sender should therefore prepare a message with the trait of the receiver in mind. The medicine of an angry customer is listening to his complains for some time (College of Marin, nd). Inappropriate channel also leads to breakdown in communication.For example, giving detailed procedures over the phone may be quite frustrating on the side of the decoder. A patient for instance, may choose to call a doctor to seek treatment. It would be illogical for the doctor to prescribe any treatment without a face to face encounter with the patient. The chain of communication may also affect the message; the greater the chain of communication, the higher the probability of its misinterpretation. For instance, if a sender uses a ten people chain to rely the message to the receiver, there is no doubt that the recipient will get a completely distorted message (College of Marin, nd).A very long communication chain and a poor medium selected can break up the communication (Jain, 2010). Communication is two way. The sender must get feedback from the recipient. In conversations for instance, there must be turn-taking. If the sender does not give the recipient time to respond or ask questions, he or she may pretend to understand what the sender is saying. It is also important for the sender to interpret the receiver’s non-verbal cues as they carry a lot of mea ning in any given communication. Failure to do so may cause ineffectiveness in communication (College of Marin, nd).Effective communicators, as Boulden spells out in his book, communicating for success: The seven keys of effective communication â€Å"†¦work into building relationships by asking questions and listening to the answers to gain information and use this process to reach consensus† (Boulden, 2009) Other barriers that affect communication include socio-cultural diversities such as age, gender, social status, educational level, economic status, cultural background, and religion.They as well affect communication (Jain, 2010). In different cultures for instance certain gestures are interpreted differently and therefore communication can be misunderstood (Ueeka, 2009). Conclusion Barriers of communication seem to be part of our lives. However careful we are in our communications errors in communication will always be felt. Some barriers are complex to deal with and may be beyond our capabilities.All that we need to do to alleviate this problem is to try and minimize our faults in communication.References Boulden, G. (2009). Communication for success: The seven keys of effective communication.London: Ala International Publishing College of Marin. (nd).Lecture: barriers to effective communication. Retrieved from http://www. marin. edu/buscom/index_files/Page565. htm Effective Communicating. (2008). The importance of effective communication. Retrieved from http://www. effective-communicating. com/importance-of-effective-communication. html.Jain, R. (2010). The barriers to effective communication. Retrieved from http://ezinearticles. com/? The-Barriers-to-Effective-Communication&id=1210011 Jenkins, M. (2007). Barriers to effective communication at work. Retrieved from http://www. alliancetac. com/? PAGE_ID=265 OPPapers. (2010).Barriers to effective communication. Retrieved from http://www. oppapers. com/essays/Barriers-Effective-Communication/778 41? topic People Communicating. (2009). Barriers to effective communication. Retrieved from http://www. people-communicating. com/barriers-to-effective-communication. html.Margaritasmith. (2009). Barriers to effective communication- Effective communication- Document transcript. Retrieved from http://www. slideshare. net/margaritasmith/barriers-to-effective-communication-effective- communications Ueeka. (2009).Overcoming potential barriers in effective communication. Retrieved from http://www. ueeka. com/docs/overcoming-potential-barriers-effective-communication. html Windle, R. & Warren, S. (nd). Communication skills. Retrieved from http://www. directionservice. org/cadre/section4. cfm.

Competitive Intelligence Essay

Introduction Competitive intelligence (CI) refers to a tool used for marketing used by business organizations to study the competing surrounding. The process incorporates a determined information gathering based on the operations and other factors considering the competitor that enables proper decision-making of the organization management. Gower. Moloi and Iyamu, (2013) indicates that CI is significant in making marketing-related decisions and the development of market–oriented companies. Different companies use different methods to gather competitive intelligence. Companies study an array of industry specific and general publications to provide information of the current competitive intelligence. However, the most mentioned source of industry information are monographs. Monographs refer to the grey literature that may not be disseminated through conventional publishing channels. These include academic theses, business schools, technical reports, scholarly papers, case studies, and private and public sector documents. Sometimes the monographs are published that provides the most cost-effective and comprehensive source of CI information. Industry monographs are instrumental in providing information of the industry secular progress and historical background. Profits analysis can be obtained through long-term perspective that is compost of a richer experience variety as opposed to when only recent developments are considered. However, the major downfall is that the company conference proceedings and monographs date speedily. Internet searches, and the British Library form the major sources of grey literature. According to Murphy (2005,) the press reports and features provide the source of current and retrospective understanding of the competitor. The journals such as Financial Times sectoral surveys enable a company to obtain an excellent overview of the competitor of various business lines. Likewise, it outlines the individual players’ profile and the most pressing current issues affecting the competitor. Numerous trade journals provide annual surveys of the major trends and events in their specific business line. Furthermore, Murphy (2005) writes that the regulatory authorities also provide a great quality of information may be availed at a modest cost. The studies and reports provided by the Competition Commission have plenty of significant data and analysis that provides an excellent model on the procedures of undertaking the studies of the competing industry. The public watchdogs charged with the roles of overseeing the public sector forms excellent targets of CI information. Company circulars that they have to send to their shareholders under specific conditions are also significant sources of CI. For example, material acquisition and classified information on the listing rules provides information on the size of the company. Circulars contain FSA that may require the researcher to visit the company headquarters to obtain the corporate documents. Furthermore, Murphy (2005) indicates that shareholder data that has special rules that apply to the reporting of the changes within the entire PLCs. The Companies’ Act provides that PLCs are always documented in the company annual reports. This information provides the holdings of 3 percent of the total voting share capital of the firm. The information provided in such notifications that are subjected to public scrutiny provides CI information. Murphy further writes that company patents provide mechanisms of obtaining competitive advantage and the trademarks that provides the insights that describe the company enrichments. However, some companies believe that human resource intelligence. Company investigators may use direct contact with company human resource intelligence through identifying the subjects and planning of interviews. Human resource provides updated information on the company; however, it may be difficult to secure the potential individual to approach for such CI information. A typical example of CI mentions the stock traders who analyze the data based on the price movements and prices to determine the best investments. They possess similar data to other traders, yet data analysis provides their difference with others. Moreover, Japanese automobile industry that analysed the U.S automobiles of in the 1970s based on the products and the demands of the customer (Wagner &Van 2011). The smaller families and high gasoline prices created a demand in the U.S for fuel efficient and smaller cars. Therefore, the Japanese automobiles applied CI methods to establish a trend and further made the decisions on manufacturing based on the results of CI information. The produced cars defeated the U.S Big Three in the market due to fuel-efficiency and high-quality cars. Despite the entire pool of information sources, the internet and human resource intelligence may be the most effective sources of information in terms of accuracy, ethics and cost-effectiveness. The company websites provide an array of information that can be easily assessed compared to published documents. The website provides comprehensive information on the new developments, business practices, and detailed information on strategies and tactics established by the company. Likewise, as Wagner and Van (2011) establishes, the internet can provide detailed information based on the vision, CEO statements, goals and objectives, and the overall management of the firm. The commitment of the firm to quality, consumer problems, investments and plants, structure are also provided in the web pages of the company. Likewise, human resource can be maintained for a long period once the first interview is secured. Although it is a subject of ethics, human resource intelligence will provide the most updated information on the company plans. References Gower. Moloi, R., & Iyamu, T. (April 01, 2013). Understanding the Deployment of Competitive Intelligence Through Moments of Translation. International Journal of Information Technology and Web Engineering (ijitwe), 8, 2, 33-45. Murphy, C. (2005). Competitive intelligence: Gathering, analysing and putting it to work. Aldershot, England: Wagner, L., & Van, B. J.-P. (January 01, 2011). Web Mining for Strategic Competitive Intelligence. Â  

Friday, August 30, 2019

Manchester United: Brand of Hope and Glory Essay

Identify who you believe to be Manchester United’s key stakeholders and evaluate their influence in relation to the ethical stance taken by the company. Ethical stance defined by Johnson and Scholes as: ‘the extent to which an organisation will exceed it minimum obligations to stakeholders and society at large.’Four possible ethical stances exist and are stereotypes for any organisation. The first ethical stance is short-term shareholder interests; a company who stick very close to laws and regulations which are in place. They give and do only what they are obliged to, this usually causes problems with long-term financial decisions. The second stance is longer-term shareholder interests – a company who are very focused on building and maintaining reputation in relation to its financial success. They take into consideration all stakeholders and how they can effect the organisation in the future. The third stance is multiple stakeholder obligations – relating to a company taking wide consultation with all stakeholders. This is a very slow process and not a good stance for a fast moving and growing company. The last stance is shaper of society – companies who focus on communities and want to build them up; this stance puts the financial interest second and is usually related to charitable organisations. Manchester United matches the second stance – Longer-term shareholder interests. They are focused on building reputation using players, clothing, technology, media and many other ways to promote their team and brand. They are known globally using strong marketing methods and this has greatly aided their financial goals. As a global organisation they have a number of stakeholders, each of these can be categorised into the amount of power and interest they have, using stakeholder mapping. This model is called the Power/Interest matrix (shown below) and indicates the type of relationships held or should be held between stakeholders and the organisation. INSERT DIAGRAM AS DISCUSSED ABOVEManchester United’s stakeholders can be considered as the following:†¢Managers†¢Owners/shareholders†¢Employees†¢Customers†¢Suppliers†¢Partners/Sponsors†¢Players †¢Supporters†¢Community groups†¢Investors†¢Media †¢GovernmentsStakeholders within segment A are of very little power and interest, Manchester United can keep these stakeholders informed but are not of high importance. Segment B contains stakeholders of high interest yet low power. They will need to be kept informed and also to a certain degree, need to be kept interested in the teams actions. Segment C contains stakeholders who have high power and low interest, they are at times content with what is going on but like to be kept informed, at any time these stakeholders can make a drastic change and merge with Segment D. Segment D are the key players who need to be of high importance to Manchester United, they need to be well informed and satisfied at all times. They will have very strong pulls on decisions and changes being made. Each stakeholder has individual expectations of the club and a certain degree of power. Not all stakeholders will have power or interest in the team, but they do fit into the Matrix appropriately. I will look at each stakeholder individually and stated where and why they below in the segment they are placed. Taking into appreciation that the ethical stance, which Manchester United is seen to have, (Longer-term shareholder interests) it’s easier to place each stakeholder within the matrix. Manchester United work on building a positive and well known reputation and in turn this builds their financial frontier. Manager’s this includes managers on the football pitch and in stores selling team merchandise. They may have high power within their own domain but within the wider view of the matrix they can have low power and high interest. This places them in segment B. Their interest will be related to performance in their particular areas. The main reason for this interest could be related to promotion and salary. Owners and shareholders have high interest and high power as they are the main source for profit, falling into segment D. Without the shareholders there would be very low financial statuses and they would not be able to fund their reputation. They have high power in making final decisions and are most important to influence, when looking at corporate governance. Employees can have very low power and at times low interest in reputation and management. At this stage they would be categorised as segment A. Generally the employees who would fall into this segment would be those who consider the job as a way to pay their bills. They have no real value in the job; if they didn’t work for Manchester United then they would work elsewhere. Football players as employees of the organisation have high power and interest depending on their famous status. For example in the case study David Beckham would have been placed in segment D as he is a landmark player wanted by almost every football team imaginable. He can use this to his advantage influencing decisions and other stakeholders to his way of thinking. Investors, Suppliers and community groups are seen, to be kept informed but have little if no power (segment B). Investors in particular want to know if their investment will produce a return, so at times they are not interested in using power or having much interest. Suppliers have little power as the team have a strong demand from others wanting to supply their needs. Just by them being linked to Manchester United makes them more desirable to other  companies. Customers and Supporters are one of the team’s main sources of revenue; most will pay ridiculous amounts for season passes to games home/away and will spend more on memorabilia. They have a high interest in their team and as a result of this they have high power (segment D). Manchester United knows if they make a change that customers and supporters wouldn’t support that it’s not a positive alteration to be made. Partners and sponsors want to be kept informed of the team’s progress and financial status as they are linked to the reputation of the team. Such partners and sponsors of Manchester United are Vodafone, Nike, Budweiser, Air Asia, Audi and AIG. These companies are related to Manchester United for marketing and financial reasons. They all have high power and high interest. They want them to promote their products in a good light and on a global scale, and they use the team to do so. If they see the team facing a downfall they can remove themselves and choose another team to promote. This gives them a very high power over the team and influence over decisions (Segment D)The media are highly important stakeholders to keep interested and informed at all times. Media are there to inform all stakeholders about the good and bad even though this can be manipulated at times. This results in the team keeping them very satisfied and informed at the same time (segment D). After taking into consideration all key stakeholders it’s clear to see, who have the strongest power and or interest, in relation to the ethical stance of Manchester United. Each stakeholder will have their own reasons for using their power and interest and it’s highly important for Manchester United to make sure these stakeholders are kept informed and satisfied with the way the team is managed in all areas of their ethical stance. The stakeholder mapping is can change at any time and needs to be kept in close consideration before and after alterations. Q2. Critically evaluate how the key cultural characteristics of Manchester United (including values, beliefs and taken for granted assumptions) may  have changed from pre -1990 until today. What are the implications of these changes for current and future strategies?After extensive research of Manchester United it’s clear to see a big change in their cultural characteristics from the day they began playing football, to this present day. The team began in 1878 as a group of workers from Lancashire and Yorkshire railways and they began to play for local leagues and competitions. In 1902 they became an independent organisation called Newton Heath F.C. Looking at the organisations culture past and present it can be broken down into four layers, shown below:INSERT DIAGRAM AS DISCUSSED ABOVEThis breaks the organisation the Paradigm, Behaviours, Beliefs and Values; looking at each Manchester United has changed dramatically over time. The early years seen values and beliefs built on players and local communities, concentrating on the game itself and building a reputation for winning against local rivalries. At this time their only taken-for-granted assumptions were that they could win games and not worry about finance resulting in them almost going bankrupt. From the beginning it’s apparent they loved the game itself and were clearly not financial focused. Brian Oliver commented in a newspaper article online saying â€Å"Before 1990 there was no such thing as a sports supplement, it was just about the game and the fans. It was just strong relationship between fans, their families and the players†. This comment proves the team were focused on less material objects; they were there to entertain and have fun. Their determination was proven after a number of set backs, such as one presented in the case study – The Munich plane crash. This had a huge impact on performance, but they showed they were strong-minded about the game and keeping it alive. Using the Strategy Lenses theory of Design, Experience and Ideas it’s apparent at this stage the lenses most concentrated on where ideas and  design. This was by becoming an independent team and designing the kit and colours which were then modified year’s later. Looking at the culture web of Manchester United we see a representation of the taken-for-granted assumptions of the organisation and the physical side of their culture (diagram below), this concentrates on the two inner layers of the four layer diagram previously mentioned. Come 1990 the whole culture of Manchester United changed, they became very focused on the financial side of the game. A real Madrid spokesperson commented â€Å"football clubs are marketing brands, not teams†¦it’s no longer a case of doing well on the pitch; the more merchandise you sell, the better.† Manchester United began to focus on building a global reputation through players, such as David Beckham; so to build a brand. Over the years less and less players from the local communities where being brought on the team and today most players on the team are not from England. The team no longer focused on building the local communities and their young players. As stated in the case study ‘Manchester United is now marketed as the national team – which has taken it away from the roots and its local community. Football should be a love affair otherwise you are just a business. The big clubs have forgotten their roots and are isolating themselves.’ Also comments of concern regarding the local schools and junior football teams being the next generation of players were being forgotten by the big teams. This information is related to the stories section of the culture web and shows just how the culture has moved form being relaxed to being very fast pace. The symbol of the team is their kit and logo which can be found anywhere, from online to in your local stores. From 1990 on this symbol has become one of the most recognisable symbols globally. The power structures have changed from being the team players to becoming the stakeholders which in question one fall into the Matrix in section D. These stakeholders have power over the organisation and the way they are run and how their reputation is perceived. The Organisational structure is a typical hierarchy and uses a formal structure of command. The control systems in Manchester United are focused on finance and go by a corporate governance structure. This is monitors by a number of agents and involves presenting each stakeholder with the correct information at all times in regards to shares, profits and expenditures. The ritual and routines of Manchester United before 1990 were focused on the players and the game itself, making it a family orientated sport. After 1990 the game was about raising revenue and building the best football reputation. This is well illustrated in the case study, by stating the financial figures and share prices and how they have risen. The future of the team as the case study shows, ‘plans are well advanced in new-media technology, principally the internet and mobile telephone potential.’ They have previously advanced in the service industry by using BSkyB to launch their own satellite channel (MUTV), they have produced a premiere movie, provide banking facilities, introduced sports and leisure facilities along with a clothing brand to match, opened a cafà ©, allow weddings on their own Old Trafford grounds and launched an official website. Outside of the case study the future of Manchester united looks positive, with player transfers and progressing into new markets. In conclusion the cultural characteristics of Manchester United have changed over the years has changed dramatically and in relation to the industry it has evolved very fast. They are a club who works on building a high reputation and keeping it superior to all other clubs who are seen as their rivalries. This was the main focus in the beginning of the organisation but in a different light compared to today, as discussed previously. Their future is aimed towards staying with the ideas and design culture and as for experience it seems to be held on the pitch! References BooksJohnson, G. Scholes, K (2004). Exploring Strategy Change. 2nd ed. England: Pearson Education Limited. Pgs136-138. Johnson, G. Scholes, K. Whittington, R (2005). Exploring Corporate Strategy. 7th ed. England: Pearson Education Limited. Pgs56-57, Pgs164-170, Pgs179-211. Lynch, R (2006). Corporate Strategy. 4th ed. England: Pearson Education Limited. Pg5, Pgs416-423. WebsitesMind Tools Ltd. (2007). The Cultural Web: Aligning your organization’s culture with strategy. Available: http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newSTR_90.htm. Last accessed 22 November 2007. Unknown. (2007). Stake holder mapping: Aligning your organization’s culture with strategy. Available: http://www.12manage.com/methods_stakeholder_mapping.html. Last accessed 12 November 2007. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. (2007). Manchester United F.C. Available: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manchester_United_F.C. Last accessed 11 November 2007. Unknown. (2007). Manchester United football. Available: http://www.manchesteronline.co.uk/manchester/united/. Last accessed 13 November 2007. Electronic report/articlesPeter Berlin. (1997). Survivors of ’58 Plane Crash Recall a Special Team: Manchester’s Darkest Loss. Available: http://www.iht.com/articles/1997/05/29/soccer.t_17.php. Last accessed 13 November 2007. Hamil, S. Holt, M. Michie, J. Oughton, C. Shailer, L. (2004). The corporate governance of professional football clubs. The corporate governance of professional football clubs. 4 (2), Pgs44-51.

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Platos and Aristotles view of Politics Research Paper

Platos and Aristotles view of Politics - Research Paper Example Machiavelli’s political thoughts involved reformulation of the citizenship concept in relation to liberty. Machiavelli wrote ‘The Prince’ in a time when the politics in Italy suffered from conflicts, blackmail, and violence. He gave advice on the best way of ruling. As a result, he appeared very different from earlier political writers that viewed politics as an extension of morals, and whose theories appeared impractical. Some factors highlighted in Prince Theory include Human Nature: In his formulation of advice to rulers, Machiavelli believed that most people have the primary interest in them and remain contented unless horrible things happen to them. He pointed out that friendship obtained through payments in insecure and unreliable. Virtu and Fortuna: Machiavelli acknowledged the existence of two success factors. Virtu refers to skills, wisdom, prowess, good decision making, strength, and free will while fortunate describes the random variations, probability, luck and the external factors outside a person’s control. He believes that these factors determine the success or failure, and they can be applied in controlling the human actions, with each factor carrying an equal significance approximately half of the result. Machiavelli recommends for the study of other people in order to learn from the effective points by the political leaders. Hence, the reference to lion due to its strength and ferocity and fox due to its slyness, cunningness and outmaneuvering of the enemies.

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Case Study Analysis in Change Management. Whirlpool Essay

Case Study Analysis in Change Management. Whirlpool - Essay Example In the case of Whirlpool, Whitwam understood some important elements of the business as he worked as marketing director. He identified that how Whirlpool branded itself was the main key to survival and this was therefore the basis of the transformation that occurred in the company after he took over in 1987. The actual transformation that took place under Whitwam was connected to three main aspects of business: globalization, consumer satisfaction and competition. Change in these three components were necessary for several reasons. First of all, globalization was necessary because there was the need to maintain a healthy financial position to keep shareholders interested in investing in the company, thus it became necessary to find markets outside North America to sell Whirlpool productions. Secondly, consumer satisfaction was key to survival because there were numerous innovations that were needed at regular intervals to ensure that consumers maintained their interest in the company's products. Finally, there was the need to include important adjustments to ensure that Whirlpool maintained its market share in relation to its three major competitors in the United States and also capture more market share in the international markets. This therefore formed the basis of the transformation and change that occurred in the company. ... He identified that how Whirlpool branded itself was the main key to survival and this was therefore the basis of the transformation that occurred in the company after he took over in 1987. The actual transformation that took place under Whitwam was connected to three main aspects of business: globalization, consumer satisfaction and competition. Change in these three components were necessary for several reasons. First of all, globalization was necessary because there was the need to maintain a healthy financial position to keep shareholders interested in investing in the company, thus it became necessary to find markets outside North America to sell Whirlpool productions. Secondly, consumer satisfaction was key to survival because there were numerous innovations that were needed at regular intervals to ensure that consumers maintained their interest in the company's products. Finally, there was the need to include important adjustments to ensure that Whirlpool maintained its market share in relation to its three major competitors in the United States and also capture more market share in the international markets. This therefore formed the basis of the transformation and change that occurred in the company. This paper analyzes the various changes in Whirlpool in relation to several models in change management theory and practice. It uses these models to justify the change processes that Whirlpool went through and identifies the important factors relevant to these processes. The paper concludes with an attempt to recommend how the company can proceed into the future to ensure that the change management process attains the optimum results for Whirlpool. The Change Process According to Hayes, the change process in organizations

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Registered Nurse Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Registered Nurse - Research Paper Example RNs are guided by documents published by respective professional associations and state legislations with regards to legal and safe scope of practice. The American Nurses Association, ANA (2014) observes that state law regulation administered by the Board of Nursing in different states ensures that specific acts are interpreted appropriately with regards to nursing administration. The Code of Ethics for RNs guide on nursing responsibilities being consistent with administration of quality nursing care and observing professional ethical obligations (ANA, 2014). It has nine provisions which articulate succinctly the ethical obligations and duties of RN, nonnegotiable ethical standards governing the profession and expresses the profession’s understanding of commitment to society. It covers all the moral and ethical standards expected of RNs supported by relevant nursing and ethical theories. As documented by the US Bureau of Labor and Statistics, BLS (2014), the career path to a registered nurse involves undertaking a diploma from an approved nursing program, associate degree in nursing, ADN or Bachelor of Science degree in nursing, BSN. Students should undertake courses in physiology, anatomy, nutrition, chemistry, microbiology, psychology, social and behavioral sciences and liberal arts. Whereas BSN takes four years to complete, ADN and diploma courses take between 2 and 3 years. Supervised clinical experience should be undertaken in all these programs. Additionally, there are master’s programs and programs for those with bachelor’s degrees in other fields seeking to enter the nursing profession. The Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs, CAAHP and Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education, CCNE are responsible for accrediting institutions offering courses in nursing in the US. As documented by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, AACN (2014), the BSN

Monday, August 26, 2019

Management Organization Learning and Knowledge Essay

Management Organization Learning and Knowledge - Essay Example Services provided at this call centre have direct impact on business and customer satisfaction. In order to provide good service, a variety of skills such as call handling skills, communication, learning abilities, positive attitude, leadership, motivational skills, feedback etc are required at various levels. Learning and knowledge sharing are extremely significant in such businesses where customer demands keep changing and new products are continuously launched not only to meet customer needs but also to sustain competitiveness in the market, and attract more users as well as retain existing customers. Moreover, organisational structure is a team-based structure with each team leader responsible for a team of 10-15 executives. Review of literature: Peter Drucker was the first management pioneer to emphasize knowledge management and knowledge working as the 21st century challenge (2003). Newell et al. (2004) describe knowledge workers as those individuals with good competencies, ski lls and decision-making and problem-solving abilities. Their contributions help in effective knowledge management through their contribution in day-to-day activities; hence, such activities can be carried out by employees at all levels based on their work and opportunities to apply their knowledge and skills. Ambriola et al (2003; p.192) describe call centre workers as knowledge workers by stating, ‘the basic tenet is that work in call centres has to be conceptualized in terms of distributed knowledge. This means that only part of the knowledge needed to carry out any transaction is in the mind of the operator, important knowledge has to be distributed among colleagues in the organisation, available and accessible cognitive artifacts in the work environment, and clients. The way... This essay approves that Aspects of professional growth and opportunities for growth were assessed based on questions related to promotions, skill enhancement trainings, taking on additional responsibilities and learning opportunities etc. Front line executives reported dissatisfaction in terms of promotions and additional responsibilities. Team leaders were not aware of any growth opportunities planned. Managers felt their growth depended upon expansion of business. Divisional managers did not respond. Most of the team members felt the need for skill enhancement in spheres like call handling skills, time management skills, leadership skills, writing skills, and analytical skills. Team leaders felt leadership skills would help them manage team’s performance better. No double-loop learning was reported because front line executives and team members reported lack of time to take on additional responsibilities that will help in learning other skills. Double-loop learning breeds i nnovation, critical thinking, and thus better decision making. This report makes a conclusion that knowledge management has become the key to success of most of the organisations. Knowledge intensive firms rely on human capital than other capital for success and sustenance of performance and knowledge-based firms thrive on input of knowledge and learning into their human capital. Effective knowledge management should include effective communication, leadership, HRM, and organisational systems besides appropriate integration of operational objectives with strategic goals of the organisation. Situations that identify gaps in knowledge management in the present context can be addressed by modifying few management practices.

Sunday, August 25, 2019

Article Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 12

Article - Essay Example For this matter, the article has also cited various countries where the business performance has increased as result of established relationship between culture and relationship marketing. These countries include Brazil, India, Russia, and China. This article is important especially with the dawn to globalization. The aspect of culture cannot be overlooked as it exhibits both threat and opportunity dimensions. This article is instrumental in disregarding the threat dimension and taking advantage of the opportunities. This research has been conducted to specifically evaluate the role played by various cultural aspects that determine the effectiveness of relationship marketing. Mainly, the report has described each aspect as dimensions and analyzed each of them through experiments and extensive research. In this article, Stephen, Samaha, Joshua Beck, and Robert (2014) assert that accounting for culture is essential for effective international relationship marketing. According to the results they obtain from various researches, they have provided a theoretical insight into how and when culture dimension regulates specific joints in the relationship marketing framework. Accordingly, individualism (states isolating themselves from the rest of the world in a globalized concept) is significant as it suppresses many relationship building strategies. The article has also considered the Uncertainty avoidance concept. Accordingly, this is the extent to which a certain culture feels vulnerable to unknown situations. This dimension presents itself as a barrier as it prevents acceptance of new risks and flexibility. As such, it will prevent effectiveness of integrating a particular culture in the relationship marketing. On the other hand, Masculinity to femininity was found to be independent variable as far as RM is concerned. Similarly, the model used in the article predicts

Saturday, August 24, 2019

If you were in charge of the MTA of New York, what three changes would Essay

If you were in charge of the MTA of New York, what three changes would you make that would better or improve the system - Essay Example I would also concentrate on the problem of maintenance, such as dirt and trash, food on the trains, broken elevators, dilapidated facilities, etc. For the amount that they are paying to ride on the MTA, straphangers deserve a clean and respectable place to commute. I also believe in the theory that if things look bad, they start to go bad, sometimes called the â€Å"broken windows† theory. Finally, if given charge of the organization, I would work hard to fight corruption. It is the overall assumption of the current report that by operating without secrecy and with a high level of accountability, in addition to installing measures of performance or results based management, the MTA under my tenure will be looked upon as possessing integrity and fairness in its operations, and will gain the trust of the public and increase the level of responsibility required of its own employees and society as a whole. Theoretically, it all seems rather simple for performance based management to promote this sort of behavior, backed up by an effective ethics program.

Friday, August 23, 2019

Choose a president Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Choose a president - Research Paper Example However, at least until 1949, the Russian threat was not significant in its scope and character. It assumed ominous proportions only when Russia began deploying the tool of communism influencing the people and nations of Europe. More to that, the Soviet Russia exploded its nuclear bomb that nullified the US lead over Russia. Due to changing circumstances, economic assistance was not just enough to establish the confidence in the Europe; however, the rearmament of West Germany, and military assistance in Europe became necessary to tackle soviet expansionary motives. Adding fuel to the fire, the Korean War intensified the cold war between two super powers. Truman soon realized that democratically elected governments anywhere in the world would be in jeopardy if the communist aggression having support from Russia was not resisted strongly (Gaddis, 1974). Thus, the Truman Doctrine emerged not in isolation but essentially to counter expansionary Stalin Doctrine. In 1947, President Truman, while addressing a joint session of congress, asked for $400 million economic and military aid for Greece and Turkey with an aim to contain communist onslaught in those countries (Merril, 2006). In fact, between 1947 and 1949, several policy measures were taken by the establishment that included the Truman Doctrine, the Marshall Plan, the Vandenberg Revolution, and the North Atlantic Treaty. It is important to notice that President’s doctrine for the first time had military and economic perspective to contain the soviet communism. These were mainly the psychological measures aimed at developing confidence in the minds of Europeans about democratic means and ways against the juggernaut of communism (Gaddis, 1974). Truman doctrine was hugely successful in its objectives in the sense that it halted the Soviet insurgency in Greek. Moreover, between 1948 and 1952, technical support grants, and loans extended to Europe amounting

A critique of the current arguments in the popular media regarding Term Paper

A critique of the current arguments in the popular media regarding intellectual property - Term Paper Example Issue of â€Å"copyrighted† material is on the agenda both for providers and users, as percentage of infringements in this sphere steadily grows. Discovering plagiarism in education, one should pay attention to sphere of copyright application. â€Å"Works covered by copyright include books, magazines, musical scores, motion pictures and computer software programs.† (Millonzi & Passannante 39 - 43) Writing term papers, dissertations, composing or technical projects, students require a large variety of information that must be properly cited. U.S. Copyright Office, the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), WIPO and other organizations regulate these legal matters and develop preventive measures against plagiarism of the copyrighted material. iParadigms, LLC created an online software Turnitin for detection of plagiarism in written paper of students and authors. On the international market this intellectual rights protection service is intended for schools, colleges and universities. The software assesses similarity of the works, using electronic libraries, published articles, web-sites etc. Nevertheless, Matthew Dames doubts high efficiency of the product and rejects using it in his practice, because even minimum similarities are unavoidable. â€Å"A student cannot have a genuine original thought that is independent of another’s writings. As a result, the service skews overwhelmingly toward the benefit of authors whose work and reputation already have been established.† (Dames 23 - 25) This argument is logically grounded, as search results of Turnitin are based on maximum coincidence of words and word combinations. To deal with the arisen problem in the United States, Copyright Office and Department of Education should improve assessment criteria of the written works. Firstly, tutors should provide students exceptionally with theoretic background. There

Thursday, August 22, 2019

Human factors and ergonometric Essay Example for Free

Human factors and ergonometric Essay Injuries and as well as illnesses are usual things in the workplace and back injuries is said to be about 20% of it. Around 20 to 50 billion dollars are also estimated to be lost because of back injuries per year. Due to the seriousness of the problem and its economic costs, companies are implementing different ways such as the use of back belts in order to reduce if not totally eliminate back injury cases. Today, most workers are depending on back belts, also known as back support in order to protect themselves from back injuries that may happen in the workplace. There had been some claims that the use of back belts reduces the force on the spine and increase intra-abdominal pressure that counters the force exerted on the spine. It is also said that back belts also stiffen the spine and restrict bending motion. It also helps in reminding the wearer to lift properly and thus, reduces injuries specifically back injuries in the workplace. However, according to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and health or NIOSH, these claims lack scientific support and the validity and truthfulness of these claims cannot be proven. Studies done by the NIOSH also asserts that the difference in back injury incidence between those who use back belts and those who do not have no statistical significance. NIOSH also added that the strongest risk factor is the history of back injury and that the rate of having back injury of those who have history of having back injury is almost twice as the rate of workers without back injury history. Results of the study also shows that through comparing the injury claims and as well as self-reported cases failed to show any significant difference that is associated with the use of back belts even for employees who does the most strenuous type of jobs. Thus, NIOSH does recommend the use of back belts in order to reduce the cases of back injuries in the workplace. Still, although the use of back belts lack scientific evidences that it lessen the cases or the risk of having back injuries there is also no concreter evidence that will totally prove that using back belt have no effect in the performance and safety of the workers and so I will still recommend the use of back belts in the work place to reduce such cases. It would be better than using nothing at all and it may also improve the performance of the workers because they will that the company does care for their needs and safety. In order to guard the safety of the workers against back injuries any gadget is not enough. The best way to really reduce if not totally get away with back injuries is through ergonomics program that will help the workers not just to ensure their safety but as well to maximize their capabilities. Such program may include the assessment of all work activities. This is to make sure the every task in the company can be done without exceeding the worker’s physical capabilities. It is also important to provide a surveillance program that will identify any musculoskeletal problems that are potentially work related cases. Knowing those problems that may occur in the workplace will help the workers to really be cautious in certain types of works wherein the problems may originate. A medical management program is also needed as well as to monitor the workers condition and health to ensure that the workers are in good condition and to prevent not just back injury cases but other injuries and illnesses as well. Preventing the case before it is even able to develop is still the best way to eliminate such cases. Another important step that must be taken is to have a comprehensive training for all workers regarding lifting mechanics and as well techniques not just to be able to do the job better but also to do the job in a safely manner. This is not just for those who are newly hired by the company but also for those who had been working in the company for a long time. The proper ways and techniques especially in lifting are very important to prevent cases of back injuries. The use of back may not have sufficient scientific basis for its effectiveness is reducing back injury cases but there is also no concrete evidence that will disprove the claims. Also, using back belts may not just help the company regarding the issue of back injuries but it may be able to help the company in other ways. Through the use of back belts and right practice, the cases of back injuries in the work place can surely be avoided. References CCOHS. (10, November 2005). Back belt. Retrieved January 11, 2008 from http://www. ccohs. ca/oshanswers/ergonomics/back_blt. html NIOSH. (10, June 1997). Back belts do they prevent injury? Retrieved January 11, 2008 from http://www. cdc. gov/Niosh/backbelt. html NIOSH. (February 2001). Back belts. Retrieved January 11, 2008 from http://www. cdc. gov/niosh/backfs. html.

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Heart of darkness

Heart of darkness One of the central issues that arise from Joseph Conrads Heart of Darkness (1899) is the colonialist bias used to misrepresent the African race. Whilst Conrad was not himself accountable for the xenophobic westernised image of Africa, his story maintains the damaging stereotyping of native people. By painting them as bestialised, barbaric, primitive and uncivilised, he explores the black race through the lens of a hegemonic European representation; Conrads uses of myth and metaphor supported the colonial conquest of African people on the colonisers assumption that these people were racially inferior. Nevertheless, Conrad was writing at a time when the historical representation of Africans had always been a discourse of racism. Also, perhaps Conrad failed to appropriately depict Africans because he recognized little of their culture, having primarily spent time with white men during his 6 months at the African Congo. Moreover, by undermining imperial superiority and giving satanic ref erences to the colonisers, one may contend he is similarly insulting towards the Europeans, and that his exaggerated racism seeks to ridicule Europes civilising mission, and expose the ingrained racist ideals of Victorian imperialists. Marlow, the central protagonist and narrator of Heart of Darkness, expresses old racist prejudices against the Africans: They howled and leaped, and spun, and made horrid faces, but what thrilled you was the thought of their humanity like yoursUgly. Not only does he deny the Africans a distinction of a name, he also rids them of normal human behaviour. Marlow belittles them with derogatory language, stressing that they mimic animalistic behaviour and have no methods of speech outside of violent babble and crude grunts. According to Chinua Achebe, these representations call the very humanity of black people into question. On the matter of communication, it is noteworthy that a small amount of English syllables are placed into the mouths of one or two Congolese Africans. It is in submitting to the hegemonic language of the coloniser that Conrad replaces native culture with his own, which he considers superior. It is this supposition of an advanced humanity which leads Achebe to brand Conrad a through-going racist. Nonetheless, it can be argued that Marlow is a product of a fairly racist era in history; a period in which racist discourses remained structured by Empire to legitimize its political ideology of suppression over the Africans. Like his contemporaries, Conrad is writing at a time where it was acceptable to view Africans as the other, and by overusing the words savage and nigger, he conforms to the racist sentiments of the day. Consequently, his story which was published in the Blackwood magazine, targets the conservative politics of the late nineteenth century. Furthermore, Conrad mentions in his authors note that his over exaggeration of the savage image had the purpose of bringing it home to the minds and bosoms of the reader. This admittance of a distorted characteristic account of the natives may explain his savage depiction of them. He also uses these images to make the setting realistic, accentuating the novels grave themes of darkness, and fear of the unknown. Being a victim of his time, Conrads portrayals of the African race also conform to the evolutionary trope of Charles Darwins theory of evolution. By painting Africans as the prehistoric man, and portraying Marlows voyage upriver as travelling back to the earliest beginnings of the world, Conrad integrates the temporal evolutionary trope in Heart of Darkness; he suggests that Europeans are at a more superior position, since the Africans have not yet emerged from prehistory. His repeated animalistic images of the natives place Africans at the low end of the scale: one of the creatures rose to his hands and knees and went off on all fours towards the river to drink. Linking in with Darwinism science, Conrad reduces the Africans into a subspecies between apes and Caucasians. The African here is represented as a modern ancestor, an animal, a barely human body without intelligence. Consequently, he views the Africans as prehistoric evils in desperate need of European influence and evolutio n; an outlook which reaffirms him as the personification of colonialism. Darwins views which had become entrenched in society are used here by Marlow to provide the principal ideological support for imperialism. Suggests that Europeans are at a more superior position, as opposed to the Africans since the latter has not yet emerged from prehistory Though truthful, Marlow is a prejudiced man; he is the personification of colonialism. Going into the Congo, Marlow views the natives as prehistoric evils in desperate need of white influence and civilization. Throughout the physical journey, Marlow is confronted with the natives time and time again, seeing them chained as slaves, living in a village and attacking his own steam boat. Marlow holds fast his prejudiced view of the natives, referring to them as savages or calling them by more derogatory terms such as niggers. Through his exploration, he questions the humanity of Africans. According to him this deliberate stylistic obfuscation merely aided to satisfy the racial sentiments of the day, and Conrad was only acting as the purveyor of comforting myths Counter argue that he was a polish writer who had to show his mettle with the English language However, in his authors note he writes how over exaggeration is used. Sombre theme given sinister resonance perhaps explains the extreme savage image. It can also be said Much of his animalistic language of the black race conforms to the evolutionary trope of Charles Darwin whose views became entrenched in society. African on all fours like ants. So for someone, who had little contact, he makes use of these derogatory stereotypes, and it can be said that he relies on these preconceived ideas and western baggage since they dominate his descriptions. Maintains, and justifies imperialism, and although he witnesses the horror of colonialism and suppression of the Africans, it is interesting to note his approval of efficient imperialist activity. However, his constant questioning of imperialist values, and the sham of it all, reveal his anti essentialist views. slightly flatter noses. This acknowledges that the black race is more or less equal to whites, barring a few inconsequential physical attributes. Kurtz on the other hand shows no remorse whatsoever. He holds the absolute essential view to exterminate all the blacks. He holds the ideology of making the black race extinct. Hes a ruthless ivory trader, and arranges for the dead heads to displayed on poles. The white race use crude violence, and brute force. Very occasionally the natives show resistance, but their left largely helpless against the overpowering military control of the Europeans. They have no authority or voice. The colonists have become corrupted. They are blinded by the notion that this is their sacred duty to uphold the superiority of the colonial empire and white heritage. Through Marlow disapproval, he shows and exposes the Europeans, is equally deameaning, offensive, and undermines their superiority. flabby white devils.. Critiques immoral European behaviour. Transcends such prejudice, shows him to rise above racism. Ridicules benevolent project of civilisation. Uses an ambivalent tone to show the violent colonial enterprise. Kurtz the ultimate satanic, racist. Has the heart of darkness. However if he is showing Africa to be the reason for the deterioration of the European mans morale, it merely becomes a backdrop which eliminates the African as human factor. They have become marginalised. This marginalisation shows further through Kurtz mistress. He is racist towards her, but not so to his white woman. 333 But its interesting, that Marlow does approve of efficient colonialism. Puts in a section of Brtish colonialism. It is almost with this preconceived mindset that Marlow almost succumbs to this same worst impulsive violent mindset (look at thinking lit answer bold). Going further into self discovery and realises his own heart of darkness. Paints Africa as the heart of darkness, suggesting that its wilderness and wild inhabitants drive the Europeans to insanity and violence. Takes this stance to almost show how the Dark Continent is responsible for his behaviour, thus showing it to be the cause of Kurtzs insanity. Almost blaming Africans that they hold out temptations. His racist sentiments continue throughout. However, unlike the other colonists, Marlow does show some sympathy and admiration towards the natives; a viewpoint, emphasising his forward thinking mindset. Upon his very first encounter, he praises there vitality, muscles and seems entirely at peace with them. Gives the dying man a biscuit, and becomes friends with helman. Has a remote kinship with them as opposed to nothing with Europeans. Therefore it can be evaluated that he is just brainwashed by the politics of the time, but his contemplative nature, allows him to see through the cracks, and appreciate the African race. Later descriptions thus allow for readers to see the absurdity of racism. (Cedric Watts) Conclusion Although Marlow shows himself to be concerned with the heart of humankind, and the souls of individuals, the text emerged out of the very centre of racism and imperialism, therefore Marlow can be seen as merely replicating the colonial discourses available to him. Although he criticises the extreme brutal ness of Imperialism, he discourse is grounded in political, economic interest. He simply looks at Africa through a haze of distortions and cheap mystifications. It can be said that Conrad just uses Marlow to confirm and consolidate the wildest fantasies of the African savages to his European readers. However in my opinion his racist exaggeration and imperialist critique, are used to show how absurd racism was.

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Computer Fraud

Computer Fraud Task 1 (6.c)Importance and Effectiveness of Legal Regulation in Computer Fraud Introduction In todays world due to the advancement in the modern technology there has been always problem arising related with computers especially computer fraud misuse. People who are using computers are deceived in many ways like program fraud, system hacking, e-mail hoax, auction, retail sales, investment schemes, information hacking, virus/worm attacks and people claiming to be experts on subject areas. Anyone who uses the computer with an internet connection is a potential candidate for being a victim of computer fraud. The computer fraud rate is increasing every day as the internet usage among the people increases, most of the people are using the computers and internet for a good cause but there are some people who are intentionally using the computers to bring down some organizations or business firms or to get peoples personal information. But due to the implementation of current legal regulations in each and every fields; the crime people started to get tracked down and are punished under the Computer Misuse Act, which may ultimately reduce the number of computer fraud rate in the future. Background Over the past decades the amount of financial, military and intelligence information, business data and personal information is stored on and transmitted by computers has increased by tremendous growth. All the major sectors like government and military operations entirely depend upon computers / internet for their work process and data transmission. The information which is stored and transmitted via internet will be vulnerable to attack from any unknown source; almost every organization has been affected in some way due to the computer fraud. â€Å"The British National Computer Centre reported that more than 80% of British organizations suffered security threat in the last two years† [5], most of the investigation revealed that the computer fraud occurred involves unauthorised access to computers via the internet. The current growth in the technology suggest that within a decade it will be possible for every person in the world to access all the information network including the security defence data and government departments personal information but it is in the hand of the people to make sure that they do not misuse the available information. Other than the increase in the number of computer users, there will be also increase in the number of computers per person. Each person will own and connect to hundreds of computers for information processing through network environment. In the future all the people will use computers in home appliances, phones, televisions, offices and automobiles; all these computers share the information to optimize the use of resources and to provide convenience in daily life which might result in a threat for computer fraud. In this context we will discuss about the detailed term of * Computer fraud * Causes for computer fraud * Types of computer fraud/attacks * Basic ways to prevent computer fraud apart from legal regulation. * Importance / Effectiveness of the legal regulation in computer fraud. Computer Fraud Basically computer fraud is defined as taking control access illegally or stealing information without others knowledge, computer fraud can take place in any form; it includes fraud committed by an employee of a company using the computer to steal funds or information from the work company, whereas some people use deception to gain access to individual resources. Therefore the type and the method carried out to do the computer fraud vary from people to people depending upon the need to do it. Causes for computer fraud Most of the computer fraud is done for the main purpose of gaining money either by stealing the needed information from big organizations/firms or directly stealing funds from big organizations/firms. There are few people who are not concerned about the money or information but they wanted to bring down the fame of the organization/firm so they reveal all the secrets of the particular organization and few people like hackers does the computer fraud/crime just for a fun. Types of computer fraud Computer fraud can be classified into many types depending upon the fraud committed but the major categorisations of fraud are mentioned below. All the computer crime/fraud taking place now a day comes under these main categories. o Internet auction/Bid sales fraud o Retail sales o Investment schemes o Identity theft o Phising o Credit card fraud o Information hacking o Email hoax o Virus/Worm attack o Letter scam o Ad ware All these types of computer frauds are caused mainly due to the advancement in the technology and crime is still growing around the world. Basic ways to prevent computer fraud apart from legal regulation The most important thing to do to prevent computer fraud is to be alert to the scams that are circulated over the internet so that it helps to safeguard the system and the information stored within the system, there are some basic rules to be followed in order to prevent the system from computer fraud o Users should be aware of not to publish any of their personal details on the websites or forums. o The organization/firms should not broadcast much of their business details on the internet. o Organizations/firms should ensure that they follow security policies, and procedures. o People working at homes or organization should ensure that before sending any personal information on the net should check for valid signatures. Internet auction/bid sales fraud o Understand the way how the auction/bidding works on the internet, think what is the need for the seller to sell it. o Check out what will be actions taken by the online seller if something goes wrong during transaction and shipment. o Try to find more information about the seller; if the only information you have is the business email id, check the Better Business Bureau where the seller/business is located o Examine the sellers feedback on previous sales, if the seller has good history and good feedback on previous sales; then there is no need to worry about the purchase. o Determine what method of payment the seller is asking for during the transaction. o Be aware of the difference in laws governing auctions between the U.K. and other countries like U.S, China. If a problem occurs with the auction transaction that has the seller in one country and a buyer in another country, it might result in a dubious outcome leaving you empty handed. o Be sure to ask the seller about when delivery can be expected and warranty/exchange information for the product. o To avoid unexpected costs, find out whether shipping and delivery cost are included in the auction price or are additional. o Finally, avoid giving out your social security or drivers license number to the seller, as the sellers have no need for this information. Credit Card Fraud o Do not give out credit card number online unless the site is both secure and reputable. Sometimes a tiny icon of a padlock appears to symbolize a higher level of security to transmit data. The icon is not a guarantee of a secure site, but may provide you some assurance. o Before using the site, check out the security software it uses; make sure your information will be protected. o Make sure you are purchasing product from a reputable/legitimate source. Once again investigate the person or company before purchasing products. o Try to obtain a physical address rather than merely a post office box and a phone number, call the seller to see if the number is correct and working. o Send them e-mail to see if they have an active e-mail address and be cautious about the sellers who use free e-mail service where a credit card was not required to open the account. o Do not purchase from sellers who will not provide you with this type of information. o Check with the Better Business Bureau to see if there have been any complaints against the seller before. o Check out other web sites regarding this person/company details. o Be cautious when responding to special offers. o Be cautious when dealing with individuals/companies from outside your own country. o If you are going to purchase an item via the Internet, use a credit card since you can often dispute the charges if something does go wrong. o Make sure the transaction is secure when you electronically send your credit card somewhere. o You should keep a list of all your credit cards and account information along with the card issuers contact information. If anything looks suspicious or you lose your credit card contact the card issuer immediately. Investment Fraud o Do not invest in anything based on appearances. Just because an individual or company has a flashy web site does not mean it is legitimate. Web sites can be created in just a few days. After a short period of taking money, a site can vanish without a trace. o Do not invest in anything you are not absolutely sure about. Thoroughly investigate the individual or company to ensure that they are legitimate. o Check out other web sites regarding this person/company. o Be cautious when responding to special investment offers; inquire about all the terms and conditions dealing with the investors and the investment. Importance of the legal regulation in computer fraud After all the basic discussion about the concepts and the causes of computer fraud, we are going to discuss about the legal regulation issues related with the computer fraud which tells how the legal regulations prevent or reduce the increasing computer fraud rate in todays developing world of technology, Most of the law reform is achieved by modifying and extending existing law to cope with new situations rather than by the introduction of completely new legislation.This can sometimes make it difficult to find a single place where the whole of an area of law is clearly set out. The Computer Misuse Act was enacted in 1990 and it remains the primary piece of UK legislation focusing on the misuse of computer systems. It covers computer frauds such as hacking and the deliberate spread of viruses and was created to prevent unauthorized access or modification of computer systems and to prevent criminal elements from using a computer to assist in the commission of a criminal offence or fro m impairing or hindering access to data stored in a computer. â€Å"In 2004, MPs specifically, the All-Party Internet Group (APIG) began a review of the CMA, on the basis that this legislation was created before the emergence of the Internet and therefore required updating† [5]. The Act was seen to focus too much on individual computers and not enough on computer networks. In addition some of the definitions used in the 1990 Act need updating. The final report outlined several recommendations to the government for changes to the CMA. In March 2005, APIG called for amendments to the CMA to address the threat from denial of service attacks. The Computer Misuse Act was passed in 1990 to deal with the problem of hacking/other threats of computer systems. In the early days hacking/other computer fraud related issues was not taken very seriously by the law and the impression was that it is mischievous rather than something which causes serious loss to organizations. However, with developments in technology the issue has become more serious and legislation was introduced to recognize three key offences: o Unauthorized access to computer material, Example: Finding or guessing someones password and then using that to get into a computer system and have a look at the information. o Unauthorized access with intent to commit further offences. The key to this offence is the addition of intent to commit further offences. It therefore includes guessing or stealing a password and using that to access material or services without the consent of the owner. o Unauthorized modification of computer material. This could include deleting files, changing the desktop set-up or introducing viruses with the deliberate intent to impair the operation of a computer. Effectiveness of legal regulation in computer fraud ( Conclusion) All the above mentioned computer fraud issues was not taken seriously until the legal regulation was made properly, and due to the implementation of legal law of Computer Misuse Act, the effectiveness caused a tremendous change by punishing all the illegal users of the computer system. Below example shows the consequence for an ‘Unauthorized Access to system. Incident Unauthorized Access to Communications Systems Provision Computer Misuse Act Section 1 Description Cause a computer to perform any function with the intention of securing access to any program or data held in a computer, if this access is unauthorized and if this is known at the time of causing the computer to perform the function. Sanction A fine and/or a term of imprisonment not exceeding 6 months was sentenced for the illegal user. Total number of words in the Task1 report: 2500 Signed [ ] Task 2 (2)Do legal developments in law relating to Software copyright and Patents help or harm the cause of information system security Information system security acts as the protection of information system against unauthorized access or modification of existing information whether in storage, processing or transit stage. The information system ensures to safeguard all the stored information. Information security covers not just information but the entire infrastructures that facilitate access and use of information. The primary concern to organizations is the security of valuable information which can be anything from a formula to a customer list or organizations valuable information to financial statements. Three widely accepted elements of information system security are: o Confidentiality Ensuring information is only accessed by authorized users. o Integrity Safeguarding the accuracy and completeness of information. o Availability To ensure that authorized user have secure access to information when required. Law relating to Software Copyright and Patents In early 1970s there was a debate concerning about whether there is a need to make a copyright for the softwares or not, but later on it was decided that all the developed software needed to be copyrighted and if needed it can also be patented under the UK Copyright, Design and Patents Act 1988. The UK law for copyright and patent helped the organizations from misuse of their developed softwares/concepts. Some organizations try to steal the concepts/parts of code from developed software of other organization and try to utilize them in their developing software product. But due to the software copyright and patent law, all the leading software organizations like ‘Microsoft started to make copyright for their parts of developed code, so that no other organizations can use their part of code for developing other applications, this helped most of the organizations to develop a unique software product. Legal requirement for Information Security Keeping valuable information secure is not only a matter of good organization practice it is also a legal requirement. Since 1999 in UK and most parts of the world, there is a statutory obligation on all organizations to maintain minimum levels of security. Organizations that fail to meet the minimum security requirements may face enforcement action by the UK Government via the Information Commissioners Office. â€Å"Enforcement action can take any form and the Information Commissioners powers are not limited. Organizations that want to be relatively safe can choose to implement BS7799† [2], that is a voluntary standard which helps to ensure that sensitive information is handled by an organization in a professional and secure manner, it can done by making the organization to classify the sensitivity of information and to provide necessary control access to it. Legal developments in laws relating to software copyright and patents ‘help the information system security (Conclusion) As discussed earlier, the main work of information system security is to provide a secure environment for the information storage and processing, in the past decades when there was no legal laws for software copyright and patents, hackers used to break the information system and get the needed information/softwares; they are not really afraid of anything because there was not any law stating that taking/hacking the softwares/information was a crime which caused a big problem for the software developing organizations but now due to the development of legal laws; if a person tries to hack the information system security, he can be sentenced to prison due to the current state of law. So the development of the legal laws relating to software copyright and patents did help the information system security to make a secure environment. Total number of words in the Task2 report: 500 Signed [ ] Task 3 (4)Evaluate the proposition that Data protection laws are an unnecessary burden on legitimate public and commercial data collection The Data Protection Act was originally started on 1984 but later the existing act was replaced by the new Data Protection Act of 1998[DPA 1998], the â€Å"new act of 1998 implemented the EU Data protection Directive 95/46† [3]. The DPA relates to the protection of personal information that includes names, email addresses, financial details, personal documents and photographs. Personal information is everywhere and because it is generally impossible to separate personal information from other organizations information, most observers agree that the security standards required by the Data Protection Act are the minimum that must be applied to organization IT Systems as a whole. The security of information is so important to most organizations that, regardless of what the law require, organizations generally implement levels of security that are as high as budgets and technology. Data Protection Act of 1998—Personal Data Security The main legal requirements are set out in Principle 7 of the Data Protection Act 1998 says that all organizations must take â€Å"Appropriate technical and organizational measures against unauthorized or unlawful use and against accidental loss, damage or destruction, of information.† [4] Today, all computerized processing of personal data, structured manual records, and even some unstructured manual records are subject to provisions of the DPA 1998, including the right of the individual to access the data which is held about them. Together with the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA 2000), the DPA 1998 has forced a re-think of organizations good practice in personal data handling, new approaches to records management and made organizations consider more carefully their obligations to those whose data they hold. The FOIA 2000 extends the rights of the individual to access their data which had already existed under the DPA 1998. The definition of data is widened, as far as public authorities are concerned; to include all other recorded information held by a public authority. However, there are limits to the data subject rights that apply to this additional category of data. A request by an individual for information about him or herself is exempt under the FOIA 2000 and should be handled as a subject access request under the DPA 1998. In certain circumstances such a request may involve the release of associated information in which case the provisions of sections 7(4) and (5) of the DPA 1998 should be used to determine whether it is appropriate to release the third party information. Where an applicant specifically requests information about a third party or where responding to a request for information would involve the disclosure of personal information about a third party which is not also personal information about the applicant, the request falls within the remit of the FOIA 2000. However, the authority must apply the Data Protection Principles when considering the disclosure of information relating to individuals. An authority must not release third party information if to do so would mean breaching one of the Principles. Conclusion Even though the DPA secures the users personal information/data, there are some problems/burden exist for the legitimate users/public facing the Data Protection Act, according to DPA there is no exemption for back-up of data/information. In practice it will be unlikely that a data subject want access to data back-up and there is nothing to prevent a controller confirming that a data subject wishes to access only the most recent records. The back-up data which provides that automated data processed to replace other data which has been lost, destroyed or impaired are exempt from section 7 during the first transitional period ending on 23 October 2001; but this is not a general exemption for back-up data in the traditional sense. Total number of words in the Task3 report: 500 Signed [ ] Bibliography o Andrew Terrett., The Internet, Business Strategies for Law firms, (2000, Law Society, London) o Bobbie Johnson., ‘UK computer laws are ridiculous, April 30, http://technology.guardian.co.uk/news/story/0,,1763989,00.html o ‘Computer Fraud and its Acts, April 30, http://www.itwales.com/999573.htm o ‘Concepts of Patent work, May 1, http://www.patent.gov.uk/about/consultations/conclusions.htm o ‘Data protection effect on senior management, May 2, http://www.jisc.ac.uk/index.cfm?name=pub_smbp_dpa1998 o ‘Data protection law, The key change, May 1, http://webjcli.ncl.ac.uk/1998/issue4/widdis4.html o David Icove. and Karl Seger, Computer Crime, (1995, OReilly Associates, USA) o David S. Wall., Cyberspace Crime, (2003, Darmouth Publishing Company , Hants, England) o Douglas Thomas. and Brian Loader, Cyber crime, (2000, Routledge publication , London) o ‘Facts on copyright, May 1, http://www.intellectual-property.gov.uk/faq/copyright/what.htm o ‘Fraud law reforms, April 30, http://www.bcs.org/server.php?show=conWebDoc.1149 o ‘Fraud Tips, April 30, http://www.fraud.org/internet/intset.htm o ‘Hacking and other computer crime, April 30, http://www.met.police.uk/computercrime/#SO6 o Ian Lloyd., Information Technology Law, (1997, Reed Elsevier Ltd, Halsbury, London) o Joshua Rozenberg., Privacy and the Press, (2005, Oxford university press Inc , USA) o Michael Levi., Regulating Fraud, (1987, Tavistock Publication , London) o ‘New laws for computer fraud, April 30, http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/news/article.html?in_article_id=400895in_page_id=2 o ‘Summary of Intellectual property rights, May 1, http://www.copyrightservice.co.uk/copyright/intellectual_property o Susan Singleton., Data protection The New Law, (1998, Jordans Publication , Bristol) o ‘UK Data protection laws are chaotic, May 2, http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/11/17/data_protection_laws_chaotic/

Monday, August 19, 2019

JIMMY HOFFA :: essays research papers

The day Jimmy Hoffa didn't come home By Pat Zacharias / The Detroit News On July 30, 1975, James Riddle Hoffa left his Lake Orion home for a meeting. Paroled from federal prison three years earlier, the former Teamster president had recently announced plans to try to wrestle back control of the union he had built with his bare knuckles from his protege -- now adversary -- Frank Fitzsimmons. Anthony Giacalone, a reputed captain of organized crime in Detroit, was supposed to meet Hoffa that day. James R. Hoffa as a Teamsters organizer in 1939. Jimmy told his wife Josephine he would be home around 4 p.m. to grill streaks for dinner. After 39 years of marriage, she knew Jimmy would not be late. Witnesses saw him waiting in the parking lot of the Machus Red Fox restaurant in upscale Bloomfield Township. He never made it home. Hoffa. The name alone stirs strong emotions and opinions. Was he a visionary union hero or brutal despot? Was he a labor crusader or a criminal? Jimmy Hoffa began his union career as a teenager in the 1930s. A grade school dropout, he almost single handedly built the Teamsters union into an awesome national power. His hammer-handed negotiating techniques, his alleged links to organized crime, and his bitter feuds with John and Robert Kennedy made Hoffa the prototypical labor leader of his day. Born in Brazil, Ind., on Feb. 14, 1913, Jimmy grew up fast when his coal miner father died from lung disease in 1920. His mother took in laundry to keep the family together and the children also helped with after school jobs. Hoffa later described his mother lovingly as a frontier type woman "who believed that Duty and Discipline were spelled with capital D's." In 1922, the Hoffas moved to Clinton, Ind., for a two year stay, then to Detroit to an apartment on Merritt Street on the city's brawling, working-class west side. Tagged by the neighbor kids as hillbillies, Hoffa won respect and acceptance with his fists. After school Jimmy worked as a delivery boy and finally dropped out of school in the 9th grade just as the stock market crash of 1929 and the Great Depression brought massive layoffs and business failures. A friend, Walter Murphy, told him to get into the food business. "No matter what happens, people have to eat," he said. JIMMY HOFFA :: essays research papers The day Jimmy Hoffa didn't come home By Pat Zacharias / The Detroit News On July 30, 1975, James Riddle Hoffa left his Lake Orion home for a meeting. Paroled from federal prison three years earlier, the former Teamster president had recently announced plans to try to wrestle back control of the union he had built with his bare knuckles from his protege -- now adversary -- Frank Fitzsimmons. Anthony Giacalone, a reputed captain of organized crime in Detroit, was supposed to meet Hoffa that day. James R. Hoffa as a Teamsters organizer in 1939. Jimmy told his wife Josephine he would be home around 4 p.m. to grill streaks for dinner. After 39 years of marriage, she knew Jimmy would not be late. Witnesses saw him waiting in the parking lot of the Machus Red Fox restaurant in upscale Bloomfield Township. He never made it home. Hoffa. The name alone stirs strong emotions and opinions. Was he a visionary union hero or brutal despot? Was he a labor crusader or a criminal? Jimmy Hoffa began his union career as a teenager in the 1930s. A grade school dropout, he almost single handedly built the Teamsters union into an awesome national power. His hammer-handed negotiating techniques, his alleged links to organized crime, and his bitter feuds with John and Robert Kennedy made Hoffa the prototypical labor leader of his day. Born in Brazil, Ind., on Feb. 14, 1913, Jimmy grew up fast when his coal miner father died from lung disease in 1920. His mother took in laundry to keep the family together and the children also helped with after school jobs. Hoffa later described his mother lovingly as a frontier type woman "who believed that Duty and Discipline were spelled with capital D's." In 1922, the Hoffas moved to Clinton, Ind., for a two year stay, then to Detroit to an apartment on Merritt Street on the city's brawling, working-class west side. Tagged by the neighbor kids as hillbillies, Hoffa won respect and acceptance with his fists. After school Jimmy worked as a delivery boy and finally dropped out of school in the 9th grade just as the stock market crash of 1929 and the Great Depression brought massive layoffs and business failures. A friend, Walter Murphy, told him to get into the food business. "No matter what happens, people have to eat," he said.

Sunday, August 18, 2019

Beowulf: Fierce and Compassionate Warrior :: Epic of Beowulf Essays

The epic Beowulf is one of the oldest poems written in English. According to the Norton Anthology, "the poem was composed more the twelve hundred years ago, in the first half of the eight century. Its author may have been a native of what was Mercia, the Midlands of England today, although the late tenth-century manuscript , which alone preserves the poem, originated in the south in the kingdom of the West Saxons" (Norton 21). Although the poem is of English origin, it speaks of tribes (the Danes and the Geats) that are from the "Danish island of Zealand and southern Sweden respectively" (Norton 22). The main character, Beowulf, demonstrates that he is a warrior who places heroism and bravery over his own well-being and life. Beowulf is a hero and an example of a great warrior. His actions give us a good example of the pagan warrior mentality. The pagan society is a warrior society, in which courage and bravery are extremely prevalent. Beowulf fights against monsters and dragons, and he would rather die in battle, then anywhere else. Beowulf is called upon to help defeat Grendel, who is a monster that has taken over the hall of Heorot. He is greeted with great hospitality. Hrothgar, the King of Denmark, is relived to see Beowulf. There is some skepticism by Unferth, who recalls a fight in which Beowulf lost in Battle. Unferth is wrong, and Beowulf says this great line: "fate often saves an undoomed man when his courage is good." Beowulf defeats Grendel with great ease and the people of the hall are gracious to Beowulf. With all his great achievements, he becomes king of his homeland (Geatland). Even in his old age, he still has an obligation to fight against the evils of nature. Beowulf hears about a dragon who has become extremely upset because a thief stole a cup from a treasure which he had been guarding for several years. When Beowulf asks for volunteers to fight against the dragon, all but one of Beowulf's followers run into the forest in fear. The one who stays with Beowulf, is a young warrior named Wiglaf.

Saturday, August 17, 2019

In A long way gone by Ishmael Beah

In A long way gone, by Ishmael Beah the main character ishmael struggles to good in a society that demands evil. As ishamel feels he is doing good, the lines of good and evil become extreamly blured. During Ishmael first battle, he fought angirly to avenge the dead that the R. U. F killing mercelsey as it shows in text â€Å"Every time I stopped shooting to change magazines and saw my lifeless friend, I angirly pointed my gun into the swamp and killed more people†(119). Later in the text ishmael is no longer guided by revenge nor fairness. He starts to kill without any concious what so ever, as shown when ishmael Is not protected, and is willing to protect himself by standing up for his country and fighting for rights. â€Å" Killing those they had already severly wonded†(122). In this quote it shows how ishmael is doing extra work and taking his anger out on his enemies,that where doing harsh actions to ishmaels people. As ismael becomes a full cold blooded solider he seemingly forgets the reasons he fought for the R. U. F after U. N. I.  C. E. F takes ishmael and some of his comrades, they begin to hate the thing they fought for. In the text: â€Å"They have lost every that makes them human. They dont deserve to live, that is why we must kill every single on of them†(108). To anaylze this quote, ishmael points out that the rebels dont deserve to live due to what the rebels where doing to innocent people. According to ishmael he wants to kill all of them for all of the things they where doing to his people, and show them that he has power.

Child of Divorce Essay

Divorce is becoming a norm in the society nowadays. This refers to the complete termination of marriage between the couple who demands for it. Through the dissolution of the bonds of matrimony, both parties are allowed to marry again (Gallagher, 1996). However, opposing views are prevailing regarding divorce. For those who are in favor of it, divorce can be regarded as the only legitimate remedy when happiness and affection are no longer provided in the marriage (Scanzoni 1965). For those who are against it, divorce causes psychological problems and damage to social cohesion (Diefenbach, 2007). Divorce is not just the story of the couple parting ways but it is more of a story of the children who are products of a divorced marriage. â€Å"Human children need parents longer than any other species and are totally dependent on parents for food, shelter, and protection for the first several years of life. This dependency spawns a fear of abandonment. In divorce, one of the parents leaves. When one parent leaves, the children feel rejected. The loss children feel at divorce is similar to that experienced when a parent dies. Divorce might actually be harder on children because it lacks the concrete cause and finality of death (Bryner, 2001). † This causes most of the children of divorce to be more aggressive, impulsive and develop antisocial behavior compared to children from intact families (Hetherington, 1999). Others also exhibit lower academic performance (Kelly, 1998). However, some children manage to develop without these deleterious effects of divorce. As a matter of fact, these children are found to have less stereotyped sex behavior, greater maturity and greater independence (Emery, 1995). The developmental stage of the child when the divorce of his parents occurs is predictive of the child’s behavior and reaction towards the situation. An infant or a toddler will not react at all to his parents’ divorce because he can’t still comprehend the situation. However, a preschooler will tend to blame himself as the culprit of his parents’ divorce. Because he feels guilty and fears that the remaining parent may also leave him, he becomes more possessive of his parent (Roseby, 1998). For a young school-aged child, the divorce of his parents gives him a sense of responsibility. He feels that he should bring his parents together again and think of strategies that will make his parents interact in any way (Lansky, 1996). On the other hand, older school-aged children tend to blame one parent and take the side of the other parent. They become anxious and worrisome of the situation which makes them prone to illnesses such as headaches, sleeping disorders, chest pains, diabetes and asthma (Kimball, 1994). The reaction is more deleterious with adolescents who entirely mask their reactions. They switch to other outlets such as peers, sex, alcohol and drugs because they hate being bothered by their parents’ lives (Thompson, 1998). I have a friend named Diane. Fourteen years ago, her parents separated by divorce. Back then, she was only turning three and didn’t know anything about the chaotic situation between her parents. She was left to the custody of her mother while her father was just obliged by the court to provide some financial assistance. Everything went well with this arrangement until she entered primary school where she had greater monetary needs. Unfortunately, her father had another family and was compelled to reduce the money sent to her. This was the reason why her mother was obligated to work in order to support her. Because her mother became busy in her work, Diane was always left with her grandmother whenever she was off from school. It was only through her grandmother that everything regarding her family became clear. She hated the fact that her own mother concealed their broken family from her and would always say that her father is just working in a far away place. She realized that she will never have his father back and that her fantasies of having a complete family would never be real. That time, she began to skip classes in school and whenever she would attend a lecture, she never participates in the recitation. She also failed our exams. I was really worried about the big change in her behavior because she used to be the top student of our class. I just learned about her family problem when she never attended classes for a week and her mother came to our school looking for her. One of our classmates revealed that Diane eloped with her boyfriend. I can’t forget the face of Diane’s mother crying and blaming herself for what had happened to her daughter. After that, I never saw Diane again. The last news I heard about her was that she is living with her mother again. She broke up with her boyfriend but gave birth to a baby boy, who, like her, is a child of divorce. Diane’s story is just one of the millions of stories which we can get from the life of a child from a broken family. In her case, the effects of divorce were appalling because of the lack of effective communication. It would have been better if both her parents explained to her the situation and the reasons why they should have divorce. When Diane learned that her parents were already divorced, she was very frustrated because she fantasized of having a complete family when her father returns from work. She also felt betrayal because her mother never told her what’s real. These extreme negative emotions changed her attitude and made her rebel against the situation. Also, Diane’s mother was very preoccupied in her work that’s why she was not able to keep an eye on the performance of her daughter in school. If only she did, maybe she was able to help Diane solve her emotional problems at an early stage. After all, divorce can really cause a big scar but it doesn’t really have to. References: Bryner, C. L. (2001). Children of Divorce. Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine Practice;14:201–10. Diefenbach, H. and Opp, K. D. (2007). When and Why Do People Think There Should Be a Divorce? http://rss. sagepub. com/cgi/content/abstract/19/4/485. Emery, R. E. and Coiro, M. J. (1995). Divorce: consequences for children. Pediatric Review;16:306 –10. Gallagher, M. (1996). The Abolition of Marriage. Regnery Publishing. Hetherington, E. M. and Stanley-Hagan M. (1999). The adjustment of children with divorced parents: a risk andresiliency perspective. Journal of Child Psychology; 40:129–40. Kelly, J. B. (1998). Marital conflict, divorce, and children’s adjustment. Child Adolescent Psychiatry;7:259 –71. Kimball, G. (1994). How to survive your parents’ divorce: kids’ advice to kids. Chico, California: Equality Press. Lansky, V. (1996). Divorce book for parents helping your child cope with divorce and its aftermath. Minnetonka, MN: Book Peddlers. Roseby, V. and Johnston J. R. (1998). Common developmental threats in high-conflict divorcing families. Child Adolescent Psychiatry;7:295–309. Scanzoni, J. (1965). A Reinquiry into Marital Disorganization. Journal of Marriage and the Family 27: 483–91. Thompson, P. (1998). Adolescents from families of divorce: vulnerability to physiological and psychological disturbances. Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Service;36(3):34 –9.