Female Correctional Officers

Female Correctional Officers Jordan Beth Stevenson Introduction to Corrections October 25, 2012 Saeler Abstract This research paper consists of brief history of how female correctional officers came to be in the system and the court cases that hindered and helped their process. It also consists of the stereotypes and struggles the officers are faced with in this line of work; such as weaknesses and home life association. Sexual harassment and discrimination is a problematic topic that is unavoidable. Statistics will also be mentioned and explained throughout the paper.Being a female correctional officer is extremely difficult and is not encouraged, but it is possible. Female Correctional Officers Women have been involved in the criminal justice system since the beginning. Females have been trying to work side by side with men in every aspect of finding and controlling justice in society. However, women have not been able to work in all of the areas of the system. The correctional off icers of prisons are extremely necessary aspects since the Walnut Street jail in the criminal justice system, yet only men were able to fill that position until the 1970s.Going through the history of how women came to be able to work as correctional officers will give an insight of the challenges and struggles they went through and still fight today due to the stigma of being a woman. The stereotypes that follow female officers cause hiring and retaining issues amongst the work ethic and daily activities of the officers. Overcoming these problems had been a difficult task and still is being tackled in institutions today. Discriminations are also a problem, especially from the male coworkers.Women face possibility of sexual harassment everywhere they go. Working in a male offender facility increases those possibilities. Dealing with the differences between males and females as well as competing for the same position as a man causes tension in the workplace and in society. All of thes e aspects are large parts of the career for female correctional officers. History Women have been in the correctional system since the early 1930s working in the administrative department and as secretary-like positions.The idea of a woman doing more than just paperwork was unheard of and it was looked down upon when a woman tried to excel in anything more. In 1977 though, the U. S. Supreme Court heard a case that forced them to address the issue of women in the correctional system as a working officer. The case of Dothard v. Rawlinson stated that a woman was denied a position as a correctional officer at a male institution in Alabama. It stated she was denied the position because of the conditions of the prison and the predatory nature of the male inmates (Seiter, 2011, p. 406).Women were not seen as equals to men, especially in this department. After this case was publicized, organizations began forming in order to change the law so women could hold the positions they wanted and d eserved. The Public Service Employment Act had only hired men to work in male facilities and women to only work in female facilities. In 1977, The Public Service Commission announced that they were going to review the justification for the restriction and try to overturn it. The commission wanted to have the opportunity for all candidates to be equal in being hired.Certain human right acts also tried to help gain equality by auditing some government agencies to assure there was no discrimination. The Employment Equity Act was formed to enforce compliance for the employment standards (â€Å"Women Correctional Officers,† 2012). With this act, women were able to fight back against the department for the chance to be hired as equals to men. In 1979, a case was presented to the U. S. District Court of Iowa, Gunther v. Iowa, which stated that inmate privacy was not a valid reason to not hire women for the positions of correctional officers (Seiter, 2011, p. 06). When this case was determined, it forced all facilities to consider all candidates for the correctional officer positions. And, if they refused to still not hire females simply because of their gender, they could face being sued and having a bad reputation. It was problematic for most institutions at the time because there was a strong stigma against women, claiming they were not able to perform as well as men. Although women are statistically proven to not be as physically strong as men, it is not proven that they are not as good of workers as men.This logic was flawed and deservingly overturned. Stereotypes and Discriminations Women have stereotypes in every aspect of life. Stereotypes sometimes have a dominating affect on the hiring process and retaining the position. Although credentials and producing good work during your hours is what should count, it does not always take prevalence. It is proven that men are physically stronger than women. That does mean that women do not know how to fight or p rotect themselves. Women are trained the same as men in order to become a correctional officer.According to MacDonald (2012), the fact that women go through a menstrual cycle and have PMS can play a role towards their ‘weaknesses’ of being a woman. Many employers see this as a weakness and that it leaves a window of weakness during that time of the month due to the typical symptoms of a menstrual cycle and PMS. Symptoms such as fatigue, headaches or migraines, menstrual cramps, aggressive behavior and mood swings are the mentioned ones. What is not mentioned is that only 30 to 40 percent of women have PMS (Premenstrual syndrome facts, 2001).So putting this stereotype on all women is statistically wrong. Not only are aspects of every woman seen as weaknesses, but there are a few extreme females who make a title against all other women harder to stand by. A woman who plays the ‘poor helpless female’ or uses the fact that they are good looking to their advanta ge has a ripple effect in opinion of all women. If a male employer falls for the act and then the female employee is not an efficient worker; he stereotypes all women to be like that one bad employee. Women also get the stereotype of being promiscuous, especially if they are attractive.If a romance were to form at work, if a coworker hears of how you act with a boyfriend, or if she is single and flirts with one male coworker, it could get manipulated into that woman being a ‘slut’. It takes a long time and a lot of hard work to eliminate that stigma. All of these features are signs of weakness to the men they work with (MacDonald, 2012). Women can be and are as professional as men can be. In fact, it is more likely for a man to be promiscuous because the hormone in which cause sexual arousal is testosterone. Men naturally produce 4 to 7 milligrams of testosterone a day.Women produce only a tenth of that daily (Kryger, 2011). So, the overall biological sex drive is much higher in male then females. On the other hand, there are the unattractive or just want to do their job and not be social, they are labeled to be a lesbian most of the time. Female correctional officers also struggle with having balancing a home life while working the long and sometime odd hours of a correctional officer. Women are reprimanded for not being more involved with their children or families lives because of the mentality the older generation still has of the women should be a stay at home mother (MacDonald, 2012).Sexual Harassment Female Correctional Officers are faced on a daily basis with the possibility of sexual harassment. When working in a male facility, women are in very close quarters with sexually deprived offenders, including sexual offenders. The sexual tension among the men is going to be high but when a woman is mixed into the tension, the situation could easily escalate. There are three main models of sexual harassment that have been found in male prisons a gainst female officers. The first model is the natural-biological model.It is best explained as harassment that is not harmful but rather brought out simply by natural sexual attraction. Just by placing female correctional officers in the facility increases this type of harassment. The next model is the sociocultural model and is power driven. Men typically feel as they are better and stronger than women both mentally and physically. So, the differences between genders in any workplace could bring out this type of harassment. The last type is the organizational model. This model is best explained by the hierarchical relations.By having a woman in power, such as a correctional officer, the male in a less powerful position want to be in power so they try to use sex to bring the female down to their level or lower. It is a manipulative attempt (Savicki, Cooley and Gjesvold, 2003). All three of these types of sexual harassment are unacceptable and instead of offering more readily availa ble programs to help sexual offenders, the solution is to take the women out of the correctional facilities. The question then lies; what happens to the women on the streets or in the homes of the offenders once they are released from prison?The inmates can find several ways to harass the female officers from simply calling them names like â€Å"sexy†, among other names on much worse levels, to actually masturbating and ejaculating on to the officers as they walk by. Some inmates will act ill or as if they are in trouble to lure the officers into or close to the cell for a chance to grab at the officer in a sexual manner (Monthly law journal, 2010). Even though the name calling seems minor and almost unimportant compared to physically being harassed in some way, both actions take a toll on the mentality of the officer.The mentality strength of both men and women are about equal. This says that if a man in a female facility were to undergo similar harassment, they too would fe el the mental stress and damage being done. Yet, men are still in female prisons and have been since the first female institution was established. Statistics Female correctional officers make up 22. 3% of all employees in the department in the United States (Ronquillo, 2008). Female correctional officers are typically single, either never married or divorced.The stress on both the woman and the spouse is higher than most careers due to the high risk of the job. It has also been shown that women are more likely to have attained a higher education than males (Savicki, Cooley and Gjesvold, 2003). With more education, it opposes a larger threat on the males working along their sides because they could more easily get a better position or be promoted. A higher education also gives an advantage as to adaptation and flexibility to a variety of different careers, including moving up from a correctional officer to a warden.Females also tend to view their job differently than men. Women are l ikely to choose a corrections position with the interest in human service or rehabilitation, whereas men primarily will seek the career of law enforcement or other security aspect (Savicki, Cooley and Gjesvold, 2003). The mindset of women, although different from most men, is still fitting for the position of correctional officer. Conclusion For women living in and trying to compete in a male dominated world seems impossible.Female correctional officers have many difficulties and challenges to overcome by not only the inmates, but by their coworkers and administrative personnel. It was a struggle to initiate being in the field of corrections and it is still a struggle today to get a position and retain that position. Stereotypes, sexual harassment and the severity of the job alone are factors a female correctional officer has to conquer. To keep the position they have to fight harder than men. It is not an easy career to maintain but that makes it even more rewarding when one does s ucceed. References 2001). Premenstrual syndrome facts, disease nutritional support strategies. Retrieved from http://www. healingwithnutrition. com/pdisease/pms/pms. html Kryger, D. (2011, February 13). Women and testosterone. Retrieved from http://www. wellnessmd. com/index. php? option=com_content&view=article&id=64&Itemid=106 MacDonald, J. (2012). Women in corrections. Retrieved from http://desertwaters. com/? page_id=733 Monthly law journal article: Civil liability for sexual harassment of female employees by prisoners. (2010). Retrieved from http://www. aele. org/law/Digests/jail137. htm

How far does this quotation sum up Priestleys aims and concerns in An Inspector Calls? Essay

‘We don’t live alone. We are members of one body. We are responsible for each other.’ How far does this quotation sum up Priestley’s aims and concerns in An Inspector Calls? Priestley’s aim in An Inspector Calls was to send out a message to the audience about the ways in which the upper and working class treated each other during the early to mid 20th century and the importance of the effects this brings about which leads to the matter of being responsible for each other and how we are all the same as individuals. The quotation strongly sums up his message which is particularly shown through the role of Inspector Goole because it is arguably thought that Priestley has used the Inspector’s character as an alter ego to express his socialist views against a family such as the wealthy Birlings, although characters such as Sheila and Eric Birling soon prove support towards Priestley’s views. By judging the character of Inspector Goole and the way he treats the Birlings, we as the audience learn that he is in fact not a Police Inspector, because his assertive and impatient manner isn’t what a wealthy middle class family or anybody would expect from him. For example, in Act 3 the Inspector says to Mr. Birling, ‘Don’t start on that. I want to get on,’ which implies he has no respect for them despite their social status and it also implies he is in hurry, but there is no reason for any Inspector to rush because usually he would take all the time he needed. It was also his foreknowledge of Eva Smith’s death which made us question who the Inspector really was in the play because since the Inspector came in to interrogate the Birlings, Eva had always been alive as Gerald had called up the infirmary asking about the death after the Inspector had left, ‘No girl has died in there today. They haven’t had a suicide for months.’ More importantly, it was the confidence in the way the Inspector talked and how much he knew about the death before which made it seem as if he knew that Eva was going to commit suicide. The Inspector could probably have supernatural powers or he could be from the future to avenge Eva’s death, but either way he is a very mysterious character. Therefore, it does not make a different what the Inspector was, because the main purpose of his role in the play is to make the Birling family realise their responsibilities in society by forcing them to confess their experiences when they disregard the need to think of others – â€Å"You have no hope of not discussing it, Mrs. Birling.† This is why he said in his last speech, â€Å"We are members of one body. We are responsible for each other.† It is Priestley’s way of warning the audience that there is a society in where we are all responsible for each other. Mr. Birling is a British conservative man and like Margaret Thatcher, he believes ‘there is no such thing as society,’ and this clearly opposes Priestley’s message. However, Priestley has used dramatic irony to create a negative first impression on Mr. Birling – â€Å"I say there isn’t a chance of war. The world’s developing so fast that it’ll make war impossible.† When we hear this as the audience, we learn that Mr. Birling is a fool who is not to be trusted as his opinions are very wrong, because the play is set in 1912 but it was first presented in 1946 so by then two world wars had occurred. From this, we can tell that Priestley wants the audience to have a low opinion of the Birlings and Capitalist politics because he believes that the society in which the Birlings represent is unfair and will lead to horrible conflicts. He has shown this by making the Birlings feel guilty and be at fault for the whole situation. This is why he downplays the roles of Mr. and Mrs. Birling and Gerald Croft because they are of the older generation who all share the same capitalist views in life, for example, Mrs. Birling does not accept any responsibility for Eva Smith – â€Å"I accept no blame for it all,† and this phrase brings out her stubbornness, ruthlessness and impertinence. None of the three particularly want to accept responsibility because they are afraid of a ‘public scandal’ which would result in a fall down the social ladder. We can tell because Gerald is continuously trying to prove the Inspector wrong – â€Å"don’t you see, there’s still no proof it was really the same girl. How do we know she was really Eva Smith or Daisy Renton?† Then Mr. and Mrs. Birling agree and so they continue to find reasons to back him up – â€Å"The whole damned thing can have been a piece of bluff.† These phrases represent how after the Inspector’s presence, they still have not learnt anything which gives an even more negative response from the audience because it shows they are so blinded by the wealthy life they live in. However, as the audience we can try to view them as ‘members of one body,’ because the Birlings are only classified as people in the upper class since they are wealthy and this is what concerns Priestley because if we take the title away we can view them as ordinary people with disagreeable personalities, so it makes no difference who they are. Priestley introduces Karl Marx’s theory through Eric and Sheila Birling, and the theory is about the ideal class where everybody is one and the same. This is more evident in the role of Sheila Birling because she changes and develops the most throughout the play into a type of person which Priestley hopes the majority would follow and understand. Firstly, when Sheila first described her time at Milwards & Co. with Eva Smith she said, â€Å"If they didn’t get rid of that girl, I’d never go near that place again.† This is an example of the type of action Priestley does not approve of because it illustrates how wealthy people think they can easily mistreat people like Eva Smith, particularly if it’s for minor reasons – she was â€Å"in a furious temper.† This is also Priestley’s way of saying to the audience that people who work in very minor jobs or are a lot poorer should still be treated with respect. Nevertheless, Sheila starts to recognise and regret her mistakes – â€Å"If I could help her now, I would/ I’ll never, never do it again to anybody.† This response is the same with Eric Birling who also realises that what he did to Eva was wrong – â€Å"It’s what happened to the girl and what we all did to her that matters.† This change of behaviour shows us that upper class people can change for the better which demonstrates how they are just like everybody else and this proves Priestley’s point in the quotation where ‘we are members of one body.’ After the Inspector left, we get the impression that Sheila is a lot more reasonable and mature than her parents and Gerald Croft, because they are not used to receiving anything but respect due to their way of living. To change things, Priestley has made Sheila and Eric become examples of the new emerging generation of a more social behaviour towards life, and this change is proven near the end of the play where Sheila talks back against her parents and takes back the respect she has given them – â€Å"I’m not being childish. If you want to know, it’s you two who are being childish – trying not to face the facts.† Like the Inspector, Sheila repeatedly reminds her family how they are responsible for people like Eva Smith – â€Å"Between us we drove that girl to commit suicide/ But that won’t bring Eva Smith back to life will it?† Priestley was a supporter of the Labour party, and he frequently made broadcasts on the radio about the merits of socialism which we can see are strongly reflected in this play. We can tell that Priestley’s concerns come across via the role of the Inspector because they both have the same point of view which is why the quotation ‘We don’t live alone. We are members of one body. We are responsible for each other,’ sums up his message. He does not tell us who the Inspector is but I believe Priestley did this intently so that the audience could be the judge and reach their own conclusions about his identity. He has proved it possible through characters such as Sheila Birling that people can change to fit in. Priestley’s concerns are even relevant in today’s society where there are still people who need to be aware of their behaviour towards others around them which therefore, is concluded by the quotation from the Inspector’s last speech.

Comparing and contrasting “The Matrix” and Plato’s “The Allegory Of The Cave” Essay

Comparing and contrasting the synopsis â€Å"The Matrix† to Plato’s â€Å"The Allegory Of The Cave† and also Descartes â€Å"Meditation I Of The Things Of Which We May Doubt† which have several similarities and also some differences. In all three of these stories the main idea is that reality is in question. In the Matrix, the human being is in a pod like machine that is controlled by a computer simulating what we think and know to be reality. Reality is not only created but manipulated to deceive what is truly surrounding you, when you are clearly in a pod unaware of what reality really is. In Plato’s â€Å"The Allegory of the Cave† this also focuses on two different realities based on what is in fact real and what is perceived. Plato’s view on the prisoners being fooled into a false reality by placing fake objects around them to trick their perception of reality and also put them in a one track state of mind, while life goes on outsi de of where they are captive. This is similar to The Matrix because in both stories the people are being manipulated to believe a reality outside of what is truly happening at the present time. In both stories, the person that has been captive for a certain period of time but then is able to experience reality outside of just manipulated perception has doubts, they are in disbelief of what they are actually able to witness for the first time. Reality, not perception but what is truly real happening and not being simulated or manipulated so that you would be fooled into believing something that is not real. In the Matrix, Neo lived a pretty normal life as an everyday human being but could not sleep well and like Plato stated that the prisoner would have to sense something, get some kind of feeling that something just was not quite right about his surroundings and the way they were existing. Another similarity is that the prisoners and pods were being manipulated to believe a false reality by people above them. They were prisoners in caves and pods. I think of course  a difference is of course time periods. Although these stories have similar ideas, the Matrix was an updated version of ideas of two difference realities. A similarity between the Matrix and Descartes is whether or not we are dreaming or if it is in fact reality and how do we know? Neo is questioned about his dreams and being able to wake from the dream and tell if he was indeed awake or still dreaming and that it was Descartes really focuses on in Meditation. Once the prisoner is set free, reality for him is shocking because now what you have been exposed to for so long was a lie. Although this false reality was a lie it was not only what was perceived as real to them but familiar. Finding out something like this can be freeing and yet disappointing and scary like it was for Cypher. Once he discovered that they were lifeless humans being manipulated in pods by computers he was terrified and wanted to erase what he found to be reality. Cypher wanted to go back to how things were before he discovered what really happening to him because he could not and did not want to deal with reality. He found comfort in the simulated life he was given. As far as ignorance being bliss or finding out the harsh reality of illusion, I feel like it depends on the person. I know some people who purposely try to live in a false reality because they just would rather live in a fairytale. They do not want to deal with the harsh realities that come along with knowing the truth. I also know others that no matter how painful or frustrating reality is, knowing what is real and understand what is indeed true is the only way they can function in life.

Plato Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Plato - Essay Example In this tragedy lies heroism and moral fortitude. Although deemed guilty by the then prevailing laws of Athens, he stands righteous in spirit. Even when given the choice between a life in exile or immediate execution, he chose the latter as a matter of adhering to principle. The following passages will elaborate this assessment. Socrates was brought to trial by the democratic Athenian jury, which had scores to settle with prominent members of the previous regime. Socrates’ association with the previous regime made him a target of persecution, irrespective of the veracity of the alleged charges. He was accused of undermining religious and state authority and for also corrupting the minds of young Athenians. But in reality, Socrates made no deliberate attempts to bring down the religious and state authorities. Instead, he encouraged his students to adopt a critical approach to moral actions, also suggesting that the Athenian rulers themselves are not exempt from such scrutiny. E ven when sentenced to death by the Athenian court, Socrates did not try to evade his fate, but rather accepted it with equanimity. Even though he is termed ‘guilty’ by the Athenian court, his rationale for accepting the verdict reveals the moral soundness of his decision, thus, in effect, vindicating his moral righteousness. (Vlastoc, 1991, p.114) For example, â€Å"At 49c-d Socrates elaborates his leading premise to 'one should not wrong any person', adding to this 'not even if one has been wronged by him'. At 49e5-7 he states a further premise 'one should do what one has agreed to do, provided that it is not wrong'. He then proposes that it follows from these premises that it would be wrong for him to escape (49e9-50a3)†. (Bostock, 1990, p.2) By reasoning in this fashion, Socrates puts principles ahead of self-interest. In this broad sense, he is really not guilty. Moreover, his concern for law and order among Athenian civilians made him put public interest ahe ad of his own. For example, â€Å"if Socrates tries to escape, he will be attempting, for his part, to destroy the Laws, and (thereby) the whole city; for a city could not survive if the verdicts reached by the courts were set aside and rendered powerless by individuals. (50a8-b8).† (Bostock, 1990, p.2) Socrates reasons that one should do nothing wrong, further adding that his own life till that point was lived in accord with this premise. Since disobeying Athenian laws would amount to doing wrong, he argues against his own bodily interest and surrenders to the court. He thus accepts the death penalty imposed on him as a matter of righteous conduct and lawful behavior. It is easy to extend this logic and come to the conclusion that Socrates thought that it would always be wrong for any citizen of Athens to disobey any law of the city. But a detailed analysis of all of Socrates’ sayings shows that this is not the case. Moreover, there is ambiguity and contradiction with in the set of Athenian law that creates sufficient doubt about the ‘guilty’ verdict: â€Å"The Laws say that if Socrates escapes he will have both failed to obey and failed to persuade (52a3-4). Now quite a natural way of taking this charge would be to suppose that it claims that Socrates has not obeyed the law against impiety and corrupting the young, and also has not persuaded the jury that he should not be condemned on this account. If that is the correct way of taking it, then our proposed third

Ancient History of Egyptian Medicines Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Ancient History of Egyptian Medicines - Essay Example Egyptians are considered to be one of the few dynasties to have lived healthy lifestyles. Their average life expectancies have been estimated to be thirty to thirty six years. A few outliers could be traced to have lived more than sixty years as well. A few prominent examples include Kings Pepy II and Ramesses II (Musso, 2005). Egyptians have for long relied on prayer, magic and a jewelry which they usually hung about the neck and thought to be a magical protection from diseases to find cure of any illness present. They have never really taken diet as a source of cure. Milk products were seldom consumed as was the seeds or oil. Moreover, their belief in magic has produced effective results not because of the magic itself but the belief that it could cure illness. Ingredients were chosen because they were devised from substance, plant or animals which resembled condition of the patient. Only because of this rationale that many patients were given strong drugs which affected their heal th in a negative direction. For instance, an ostrich egg is included in the treatment of a broken skull, and an amulet picturing a hedgehog which might be used against baldness.Egyptians doctors or more commonly known as doctor cum priest-physicians were known to specialize in treating different constituents of the body, which aligned believes about different Gods governing specific parts of the body. Usually, doctors were called as ‘sunu’, which was written with an arrow-shaped symbol.

Why me Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Why me - Assignment Example A scan pinpoints the exact position for incision thus the tape can be removed thereafter. When the surgery process sets in, the surgeon has to use a new target tape and trace the anchor points made from the previous target tape. With marks in place, remove the top grid so that the skin and the exact opening can be located with ease. Using the surgical pen, a surgeon can make corrections and make sure the incision point is marked properly. A thorough market research has been made about the intended market of the product and it was overwhelmingly concluded that there is a real need for the product for variety of reasons. First, surgical operations of which it will be used happen every moment of every day. It follows that the market is huge due to the sheer quantity of operations that is made anywhere in the world of which is its use and market. So why me? There are a variety of reasons why I should be trusted. First is I know the business and that second, I have the necessary academic preparation to succeed. While my experience may be limited, my business idea however is revolutionary that has the potential to become big in the near future. The business that I am proposing is grounded on sound economics and sound market research. I did a comprehensive study on the market and discovered that there is an actual and unrealized need for the product that I will be introducing in the market which is the magic tape. All aspects of the business had been inquired and thoroughly researched from the legality of the business to the feasibility, operations and location of the business. In short, the business is grounded on sound market research which indicates the likelihood that it will succeed in the market. I just need to capitalize on this potential by infusion of more capital to grow and serve the market. I am also a person of integrity. I can be trusted with responsibility both in

Political Scenarios in World War II Japan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Political Scenarios in World War II Japan - Essay Example For the first six months the Japanese advance was virtually invincible: Hong Kong, Malaya, Singapore, Java and the Indies, the Philippines, Burma and the Andaman Islands, New Britain and the Solomons all fell to Japanese arms. However, a grave miscalculation of the spirit and resources of the nation's principal enemies had been committed by the Japanese leaders. Allied submarines, US island-hopping strategy and superior fire-power led to a reversal of Japan's position. From mid-1944 the fate turned against Japan. By mid-1945 military collapse was about to happen. When the United States dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in the summer of 1945, a complete collapse of the empire and surrender ensued. A military occupation, chiefly by US forces, lasted from 1945 to 1952. In 1947, Japan adopted a new constitution under US direction, renouncing war, granting basic human rights, and declaring Japan a democracy (O'Brien, 2000). US General Douglas MacArthur represented all the Allies in Japan after its defeat, but the occupation was nevertheless an almost exclusively US undertaking and to a very great extent MacArthur took his own decisions, without direct reference to Washington. He rejected the view that the Japanese would be better off without the age-old institution of the monarchy.

Different forms of healing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Different forms of healing - Essay Example This research will begin with the statement that healing refers to the restoration of well-being after a state of dysfunction of the mind and body. This may occur spontaneously or over time and is subject to many different factors. These factors help to create a difference of perspective and approach to different kinds of healing. People, therefore, tend to adopt the form of healing that works best for them. This may make all them skeptical of all the other forms, but that belittling is unnecessary. One thing that all do agree in the concept of healing is the occurrence of a state of dysfunction and the subsequent attempt to remedy it. Medical healing is the newest form of healing. It involves the evaluation of a disease state of the body, and this process occurs under the watchful eye a trained physician. The physician makes an attempt of examining the signs and symptoms presented by the ailing individual. An intelligent guess follows, and a series of tests have to be done to rule o ut most of the possibilities. This aims at increasing the chances of a correct diagnosis. Since most disease conditions are elaborate from extensive study, the remedy or relevant management for a correctly diagnosed condition is always at hand. This is the mainstream form of healing that now renders the other entire forms alternative. Energy healing is a form of an alternative process of restoration to full function. Those who prefer this form of healing are rather conservative and not ready to embrace contemporary medicine. Individuals for this form of healing argue that physical pain is only a symptom of a complex or a greater imbalance. These may or may not have its causative origin within the physical body (Sternberg, 2009). Modalities of Energy Healing Energy healing has found vast application today as a form of complementary or alternative form of healing. The few forms described above give a basic concept that energy-healing modalities only differ in scope and method of delivery, whether hands-on, hands-off or even distant. The most common of these methods include Acupuncture, Reiki, Aromatherapy, Yoga, Applied Kinesiology and Hypnotherapy. However, they all tend to agree that in all these methods, an individual has to be viewed in totality and not just as a sum of his or her body parts as seen in contemporary medicine. Energy healing comes in many forms. The four principal forms can be elucidated. Pranic Healing Pranic healing is one of the highly evolved forms of energy healing. It was developed by Master Choa Kok Sui. It is a relatively cheap yet effective method of energy healing. This has a fundamental basis that is, the conviction that the body is a self-repairing living unit. This argument gives the body the ability to heal itself using the readily available prana. Prana, as explained by Master Choa, is an invisible life force or bioenergy that keeps the body alive. This bioenergy is available from the sun, air and even the ground. This form of healing is popular among people who are skeptical to contact healing. This is because it involves no contact whatsoever between the practitioner and the ailing individual or client. It suggests that the practitioner works on the bio-plasmic body and not directly on the physical body. The bio-plasmic body is the aura that as argued, tends to surround and interpenetrate the physical body. It sustains the physical body and affects emotions, how people cope with stress, affairs and even finances. Pranic healing views ailments as energetic disruptions in the aura that later manifest as physical problems and, therefore, can be reversed by manipulating the said aura (Sternberg, 2009).

Importance of Good Writing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Importance of Good Writing - Essay Example While writing could be taken as a school activity, much more writing exists in the professional and personal lives. English W130 provided important skills that shape me into a good writer appreciated by Balderrama as that person who knows how to communicate to the audience. In this essay, focus would be on the skills I learnt on development of a thesis statement, paragraph construction and persuasive writing. The good writing skills learnt would enable me to pass across the intended message through writing and consequently achieve the intended goal. Effectively constructed paragraphs need to pass across the meaning of a general theme giving examples and details. Paragraphing has been used by writers to guide the audience through a claim that would be supported by points and ideas. In a general to specific arrangement, paragraphs should be made up of a topic or general sentence, followed by primary support sentences and finally secondary support sentences. The topic sentence serves to create a familiar map in the reader’s mind with details expected thereafter. This adopts a top-down approach where multiple detail levels follow a topic sentence, visualized with the consideration of a pyramid. The primary levels and secondary levels give the topic credibility. Bailey (37) advocates for about three primary ideas in a paragraph with at least two secondary ideas for each primary idea. This paragraph provides an appropriate example of an effective paragraph that evaluates the construction of an effective paragraph. The first sentence forms the topic sentence that informs the reader that the paragraph concerns effectively constructed paragraphs. The fourth, sixth and eighth sentences give the primary ideas while the subsequent sentences give the respective secondary ideas. A thesis statement refers to a, normally, one-sentence summary of the writer’s answer to an academic problem, question or issue. It could be a mapping statement that outlines the major points, indicating how it would be developed in the writer’s argument. Therefore, the thesis statement should be an opinion and not a fact. It should be arguable as it reflects the writer’s answer to a research question or position in a controversial topic. This means that facts should support a thesis but the thesis need not be a fact in itself. Secondly, it should be focused and not broad. A focused thesis propagates its full development within the scope of the essay. Lastly, it should be specific, not vague (Bailey 6). A vague thesis would suggest that the writer does not have any important contribution to make. To construct a thesis statement, the writer would have to put across personal thoughts in the light of what has already been documented. Thereafter, it should be double-checked for being an opinion, focused and specific. This will yield an appropriate thesis statement, being an essential component of an academic essay as it summarizes the writer’s arg ument, giving the reader the context of the argument therein. In this essay, the thesis statement is focused on my opinion that I can effectively communicate through writing, specifically convincing the reader to act based on my objectives. Persuasive writing hinges on the ability of the writer to think logically and come up with a strong argument based on factual information. The writer seeks to convince the readers to agree with the arguments, values and facts shared in the essay, thus adopt the writer’s way of thinking. This would be achieved by appealing to the emotions of the readers and importantly including facts from reputable sources. Bailey (139) notes that examples strengthen the writer’s attempts to persuade the readers. Counterarguments in essays answer reader’

GORE TEX Essay Example for Free

GORE TEX Essay Gore-Tex is a multinational textile company. It was first founded by Bill and Vieve Gore as W.L. Gore Associates in 1958. The company started with serving the electronic products market. In 1969, Bob Gore independently discovered expanded polytetrafluoroethylene and introduced in the market as Gore-Tex. In today’s date Gore-Tex is more focused on electronics, fabrics, industrial and medical products. It is a company that keeps on sustain its business with innovative design and improving the quality and service by understanding customer’s need and requirement. It is one of the 200 largest privately held U.S. companies. It has also been awarded as 21st best place to work in overall â€Å"100 best companies to work for in United States† in 2013. As it is a multinational company it has revenue of $ 3 billion and overall 10,000 employees working for the company all over the world. (Gore, 2013) As we look into the company they function in a very unique way. They follow the inversion of traditional management principal through which there are no manager, bosses and fixed assigned job. They only have leaders that they have to follow as per their wish and contribute their knowledge and skills to make the project successful. At Gore-Tex people are free to come up with their own ideas and innovation. As there is no position hierarchy they are all fair to each other. They also encourage each other to grow in knowledge and responsibility as they believe growth within the staff member will help in the growth of a company. Gore-Tex Company once has hired outsider to work on project which had a negative impact on the company, they had to bring their existing staff member from other branch to help them improve. When associates are hired, they are guided by sponsor, growing understanding of opportunities and team’s goal. This all happens in an environment that combines freedom w ith cooperation and autonomy with synergy. (Gore, 2013) So, Building trust and organizing team work with the  employees is the one of the key success factor of the company. Leader at Gore-Tex â€Å"Leadership is a process whereby an individual influence’s a group of individual to achieve a common goal’’ (Northouse, 2013). At Gore-Tex Company there is fairness among all the leaders and associates. The leaders in Gore-Tex consult with other associates within the company before undertaking any action that would impact the company’s reputation. They have different types of leader some are leaders of project, some are team leader. When an individual survey was done at Gore 50% of the associates said they are leaders. Leaders at Gore are followers as well. They believe to be a leader you need to be a follower as well. Leaders can’t be leader without having any followers. As a leader when they come up with their innovative design they share with the associates and convince them to follow them. The leader can only influence people to follow them if they have earned respect with their knowledge and skills. The company believes that one should be able to convince other associates if they want to come up a leader. In other word they should earn their position as a leader. Being a leader in Gore-Tex is hard as compared to other organisation. In other companies they have their positional power as a leader. When it comes to Gore-Tex they should be able to convince their follower to maintain their position (Hamel, 2010). We can see there is a very high level of trust within the leader and associates in the organization. As today they may be the leader but tomorrow they will another leader. The leader of the team is also elected from the team member itself. The leader is not chosen to command the team members, but to act as the representative of the team and to create coordination among them to achieve goal. Leaders in Gore-Tex are seemed to be transformational leadership as they are energetic, enthusiastic and passionate and they seemed to be concerned about the growth of their team members. (Cherry, 2013) They are also emergent leaders as they are emerged with respect to the respond they get from group of employees that work in Gore-Tex. â€Å"When others perceive an individual as the most influential member of group or an organization, regardless of the individual’s title, the person is exhibiting emergent leadership†. (Northhouse, 2013) As we looked into the case study we can identify that company operates in a very distinctive way. There are no  managers or bosses in the company but only leaders and associates. When an independent survey was done 50 % of Gore’s associates said that they all are leaders. In Gore Individual employee become leader by convincing other associates about their ideas. They create their own idea and share among the associates and the people who believe in the idea will support and follow them. There are different types of leadership styles and theories like Transactional and Transformational. When we look into transactional leaders there are usually rewarding and punishment. Although the performance is based on the followers, both leaders and associates maintain their relation as give and take. When someone performs well then they will be rewarded and if they are not performing properly they will be punished. (Cherry, 2013) â€Å"Transformational leadership is the process whereby a person engages with others and creates a connection that raises the level of motivation and mora lity in the leaders and the followers†.(Downton, 1973) The concept of Transformational leader was introduced by James Burns, he explained Transformational leader are those who come up with their own creative ideas and innovation which will help to lead the top level management of an organization to achieve similar goal. It is also a process that changes, transforms people, concerns with emotion, values ethics, standard and long-term goal (Northouse, 2013). As in Gore-Tex there is no layer of positioning among the staff members. They have different team and the team are led by team members. They all show the characteristics of transformational leadership. They come up with their own ideas and strategy which they put among their associates and convince them to follow. Not only ideas, but the contribution or effort they put will help them to show the direction through which they can achieve goal. Comparing with the case study we can see that Gore-Tex influence there associates to come up with their idea and lead the group. Unlike in other company, associates in Gore-Tex do what is beneficial for the overall company. There is no pressure or fixed job assigned to the associates. So, they have to be leader when they come with their own innovative ideas. There is high level of trust among the employees within the company, which will help the leader to convince their follower. It is also said to be a leader you need to be a follower as well. We can also see when an associate come with a new idea, they share with everyone so that other employee interested in the idea will support and contribute. As a leader in Gore-Tex you should understand that their job is to unite team member and organize them to accomplish the objective. As we look into the Managerial Grid it helps us to give the idea about how leaders will help an organization to achieve its goal. This model is based on two factors that are â€Å"Concern for production† and â€Å"Concern for the people†. This theory was introduced by Blake Mouton, where they stated that leaders are likely to be successful if there is a balance between concern for people and the common objective. It can also be taken as a graphical plot where leader should evaluate the importance of task and the employees. As shown in the above figure leader’s behaviour are separated in two dimension, concern of the production fall in x-axis and concern of people falls in y-axis. It helps us to show the different leadership style followed by the leaders. The managerial grid also helps us to rate the leaders according to their orientation towards the production and the people. The leaders who values the importance of their team and is also focused in the personal growth of their team members while moving forward towards the objective belongs to the concern for people. Similarly, the leaders who are more focused towards achieving the concrete objective falls in concern for the production. There are different types of leadership style shown by the Managerial Grid. They are as follows: 1) Country club leadership (1,9) :- In this leadership style, leaders are usually focused in the maintaining their relationship with their people. They are more concerned about the creating a friendly and pleasant working environment. In this leadership style the outcome level of production in low. 2) Produce or perish leadership (9,1):- In this leadership style, leaders basically focused on their work to be completed. There are less bother about the employees need and their personal development. Their main target is to achieve the objective. In this style the production will be high and the concern for the people will be less. 3) Impoverished leadership (1,1):- In this type of leadership, leader is neither much interested in maintaining relationship with people nor concerned about the production. This type of leadership style will lead towards less production and low satisfactory level of their people. It is likely to result in failure or dissatisfaction. 4) Middle of the Road Leadership (5,5):- In this leadership style, leader tries to balance both the relation with employees and production. These kinds of leaders are average performers as they tries to maintain and compromise both the concerning factors. 5) Team leadership (9,9):- The leaders are highly focused on maintaining both the production and satisfaction level of the people. This type of leadership will lead towards high production and satisfaction level. These leaders are also successful leader as they balances the both concerning factors to the maximum level. This kind of leadership will helps organization to achieve its objective. When we look into the case study we can see that leaders in Gore-Tex are highly focused in maintaining the outcome of production and the relation of their fellow employees. They also have a strong relationship between the company and the associates. The member of the team is also focused towards reaching their target. The team leader will balance everything thing in a very high level. They will increase the production as well as help their people in the personal growth. As we know the (9,9) managerial grid explains that the employees understand the value of the organizations objective and is determined to achieve it. So, these characteristics can prove that, leaders in Gore-Tex belong to the (9,9) Team management where leaders are highly concern about the production and their people. Motivation at Gore-Tex â€Å"Getting the best from people, achieving results through individuals and teams, maintaining consistent high performance, inspiring oneself and other into action is known as motivation† (Adair, 2004) In Gore-Tex motivation has been another key factor for the success of their business. They motivate their staff members by encouraging them to work in their own interested areas. The associates are allowed to choose their own work field. If you work at Gore-Tex you are not paid for your work but for the contribution you have made towards the project. In Gore-Tex the associates will evaluate the contribution made by their colleagues and hence the earning is determined. This will lead to self-motivation where all the associates will be satisfied and there won’t be any discrimination. If Gore-Tex makes more profit than the company’s expectancy, it is divided among the leader and the associate though which can motivate staff member to be more focused towards their work. Another motivating factor at Gore-Tex is there is no restriction for anything. The information freely flows within the organization and anyone can directly contact anyone and get what they needed to be successful. (Hamel, 2010)Bill Gore was influenced by the theory of Douglas McGregor, â€Å"The Human Side of Enterprise†. It explained the theory X as the traditional view of direction and control and theory Y as the integration of individual and organizational goals. (Hamel, 2010) Douglas McGregor has developed the above theory X and theory Y based from Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. In this theory he explains that management should be aware of this given factors to motivate their employees. Both the theories have factors that belong to human behaviour, but if the management choose the theory Y rather than theory X then they will have a better result. (Adair,2004) This theory simply explains the human behaviour at their work place and towards their organization. Theory X:- Theory X explains that the human behaviour will try to ignore the work and will try to negotiate as much as possible. The reason for them to dislike or avoid the work is because they are controlled, pressurized, directed or used them to provide the adequate effort towards the organizational goal. As the employee is not willing to take the responsibility, a close supervision is required in form of supervisors and manager. When manager and supervisors take their action they mostly use directive style. In this way the employee will lose their working ambition. Theory Y:- This theory explains that supervision, punishment, control are not only the factors that will make people to add effort in their work to achieve the organizational goal. If people are committed to the work then they will be give their best without anyone supervision. It also says that average employee will not only accept the responsibility but they will look for more responsibilities. The people have their own style of creativity and understanding. Organization should be able to use people the creativity, skills as a means of resource and solve their problem. According to the case study, In Gore-Tex they are free to choose and work in their interested areas. There is no specific job assigned by their leader it’s only the contribution they make towards their work. They don’t have any form of close supervision to control them. There are only leaders and they help to guide them in moving forward towards their goal. The Gore-Tex follows theory Y as their motivating factor. People in Gore-Tex are highly motivated as there is independence in work and the environment within the company helps them to be responsible and to seek more responsibility. Groups, Teams and Team leaders at Gore-Tex â€Å"A group of individual who are united to achieve a common objective that is too large to achieve by single individual is known as team† (Boller, 2005). Team work is required in each and every business organisation. In Gore-Tex Team work Play a vital role in functioning and operating of the business. The team member in Gore-Tex plans own way of functioning, objectives and plans to achieve the goal. The team members are the ones who elect their leader. Although leaders will help them to facilitate the achievement of objective, the team member will have the knowledge of the product they are working on. In Gore- the team members will decide the earning of the colleagues according to the contribution they have made towards the project. If an employee is interested in a project and feels like they can contribute, the team members will discuss the commitment and decide their involvement in new team. The team members directly communicate between themselves easily and are aware of the changes happening in the company. Gore-Tex is a team based, Flat Lattice Organization where all team members are equally responsible to help each other to gain the objective. (Gore, 2013) Team work has always played a vital role in each and every organization. Team works helps the work to be more efficient, convenient, faster and easier. It also helps the work level to be divided among all the team members so that an individual alone will not be pressurized. An effective team work will lead an organization towards its goal. Now-a-days each and every organization is focused in creating effective teams. Teams are usually build with respect, trust, understanding and similar goals. A team can only be effective if each and every member of team contributes equally. There are different types of team according to its nature. They are as follows: 1) Functional teams 2) Cross functional teams 3) Self-directed teams 1) Functional teams: These are the teams that work on particular department with the vertical layers. These are the team that has a manager and his fellowship of a particular sector. For example, a team working on a marketing sector consists of a manager and the staff members who will be focused in marketing department only. Basically it is a layer of staff members from different hierarchy functioning together in particular sector to achieve a goal. 2) Cross-functional teams: The expertise of different department but will come and work together as a team to achieve the organization goal are known as Cross-functional team. The cross functional team are usually temporary. They have specialized skills and experience. They are bought together to achieve or complete a particular task. 3) Self-directed teams:- These are the team that works without any supervision. These team take relative action themselves to solve day to day problems. These team members also have access to information that helps them in making decision, operating day to day function and improving their operation. When we compare the different types of team with the case study we can see that the teams in Gore-Tex fall into self-managing team. They team member in Gore-Tex are self-responsible for the functioning and operating of the business. They don’t need any supervision and they are also allowed to access to all the information. The teams in Gore-Tex are also independent as they have greater flexibility. In Gore-Tex the team member has better response for their work done. It will help to increase more commitment towards their work and organization. We can also see that associates in Gore-Tex are self-motivated and they don’t depend on anyone. Recommendation Conclusion:- From the above study we can see that in Gore-Tex leaders are using transformational leadership style to lead their people. They have been successful in motivating their staff to meet the company’s objective. Although we can see that in Gore-Tex they don’t assign any particular work for their associates the company is still doing well. They believe there should be trust and understanding between the team members. The leader leading the team should be admired by their followers. The leaders also influence and help their associate in their personal development. The team members are self-motivated and help each other to function properly. We can also acknowledge that Gore-Tex has a very distinctive working environment. Although they are successful in running their business they should still maintain some rules and regulation within the organization. They should also create a hierarchy level because money is not only the motivating factor. Employee can get motivated by their job position. As there is no seniority level in the company and if they hire a new staff member they might have misunderstanding which may lead to divided teams within the organization. As Gore-Tex is multinational company and they have branches in different part of the world. So, they should adjust their company’s policy putting diversity factors in account. They should at least have a department head that should be responsible for running day- to day operation. Gore-Tex doesn’t assign any task to their associates which may lead into missing of the task that was supposed to be competed. As in Gore-Tex people get paid according to amount of contribution they make towards their work. This sometime may be demotivating as the associates may not be satisfied with the  money they received for they contribution they made to complete the task. In overall, Gore-Tex should have a layer of hierarchy. They should also maintain some regulation which should be followed by all the associates. They should also introduce some professionalism such as formal communication in their organization. They use transformational leadership which might not work in each and every situation. As they are free to choose their task, associates who doesn’t like challenges will always choose easier task. So, the task level should be equally divided. References:- Gore-Tex company information available at www. gore.co.uk Gore-Tex leadership Style available at www.gore.co.uk Peter G. Northouse, (2013) leadership: theory and practice. 6th edition, California; Sega publications Neil Thomas Ed, (2004) The John Adair handbook of Management and leadership. Thorogood Garry Hamel, (2010) Innovation Democracy: W.L Gore’s original management model available at www.managementexchange.com Kendra Cherry,(2013) transformational leaders available at www.psychology.about.com Leadership image available at www.google.co.uk

Providing Affordable Housing: Modern methods of construction

Providing Affordable Housing: Modern methods of construction So called Modern Methods of construction have been put forward as a solution for solving the problem of providing affordable housing in sustainable communities for the UK. In a report for senior managers of a major housing development company propose and justify modern methods of construction to replace traditional construction production techniques. There is growing concern in UK that housing is becoming more and more expensive. There are a number of concerns among experts that the construction industry as a whole is underperforming. This has been particularly emphasised in the Egan report (Egan, 1998), where it is also mentioned that the initial opportunities for improvements in house building exists in the social housing sector. Another concern that is very much in the lime light recently is sustainability issues. The European community and UK have agreed of environmental and energy targets that are very ambitious. Houses in UK have traditionally been built in traditional materials such as brick and concrete. The construction material and construction techniques have not changed much in centuries, despite the high level of construction know-how that exists in UK. Most of the modern construction techniques are use for high-profile prestige buildings and commercial buildings. The housing sector does not seem to have benefited from the modern methods available. This report aims at fanning-out the various modern methods of construction that can benefit the housing sector in many ways. Most of these modern methods are already used quite successfully in areas other than housing. The target will be to prove how, by means of modern construction techniques, affordable and sustainable housing can be developed. Sustainable Construction Sustainability generally means sustained ability. It means being able for longer. It means being able to benefit from resources for longer, without endangering the depletion of the resources. Sustainable construction is an approach to construction that makes optimal use of resources throughout the lifespan of a building. This includes the resources utilised for the construction of the building, its operation and maintenance, and its eventual disposal. Resources here relate to sources of material, energy, space and money. Those are the basic requirements for a building. It also makes economic sense to use as less resources as possible. So, achieving sustainability should not cost extra to the client, although it may cost extra initially to build the building. A typical building uses many times more resources during its lifespan than during its construction. So globally, it will be in the clients interest to go for sustainable methods. Sustainable construction (Stern and Knapp, 1993) could also be distinct as those buildings that have minimum adverse impacts on the built and natural environment, in terms of the buildings themselves, their immediate surroundings and the broader regional and global setting. The rational use of natural resources and appropriate management of the building stock will contribute to saving scarce resources, reducing energy consumption (energy conservation), and improving environmental quality. Environmental Approach A general strategy for environmental conscious design (Boontra, 1997) consists of three main steps: Reduce the material demand Any client, investor or governmental body should thoroughly evaluate the need for a new building activity by investigating the possibilities of reuse and renovating existing buildings. Designers should design a building as efficiently as possible by minimising the amount of resources needed. This can be done by optimising both the floor plan and construction. Application of renewable and recycled sources By application of renewable and recycled sources the life cycle of building materials can be closed. Designers should also allow for future recycling. Designing a building for dismantling and not for demolition is one approach. Select materials with the lowest environmental impact The environmental impact of materials is caused during a buildings complete lifetime. Typical environmental issues are raw materials, embodied energy, emissions, hindrance, waste, recycling, repair, lifetime. Throughout the report, it will be demonstrated that the modern methods proposed will respond positively to the above environmental criteria. Energy Approach Buildings account for the largest proportion of energy consumption in most western societies. In UK for example, (Nicholls, 2002) energy consumption in buildings account for 45% of the total UK energy consumption. Energy is widely produced by burning fossil fuel such as petrol and coal. It is also used by nuclear fission of Uranium. Both processes are very harmful to the environment. Why are Modern Methods Important for a Major Housing Developer? Sustainability Previously, sustainability was associated with environmental issues. However, in recent years it has been recognised that one cannot preserve environment at the expense of socio-economic progress. Sustainability is now being redefined in many circles as a balance of: Economic stable economic growth and employment Environment protection of environment and prudent use of natural resources Social social progress for everyone For these reasons, it is not only important that construction is clean and energy efficient, but it is also important to consider other factors such as the impact of the construction on its immediate neighbourhood and the society in general. The cost of construction has a direct impact on the cost of the housing. It is important to make housing economically viable and affordable without cutting down on our margin. Legal Developments in Sustainability There have been several recent legal developments in the area of sustainability that will have a definite future impact on our operations on the UK housing market. Most of these legal developments follow the 1997 Kyoto Earth Summit and are in line with the current governments emission and energy targets. The main developments are: UK Sustainable Construction Strategy 2000 UK Energy White Paper 2003 Sustainable Building Task Group 2003 Some of the impacts of these legal developments are already being felt. For instance, Part E and Part L of Building Regulations are already being revised and will be more demanding in terms of thermal and acoustic performance of buildings. There are several assessment methods being developed to measure quantify and rate the performance of a building in terms of how sustainable it is, and many of these measure will be taken into account for planning permission purposes. One of them is the BREEAM rating, developed by the Building Research Establishment. The BREEAM is an environmental assessment for offices, industrial and retail buildings. It consists of a checklist with scores for energy use, transport, water use, pollution, materials, land use etc. It has four ratings: pass, good, very good and excellent. Another such assessment method is the Eco-Homes, which is applied to housing sector only and therefore more relevant to us. The Sustainable Building Task Group 2003 has put forward a recommendation for a Code of Sustainable Building, which is based on the BREEAM rating but is simpler. The Code has the full backing of the government and is currently compulsory for social housing sector. Although it is not compulsory for our market yet, it is more than likely that it will become so in a near future. Another assessment method that may become important in the future is the WRAP, which measures the recycle content of a building. As for now, any building must have a minimum of 10% of recycle content. Most buildings will easily meet that requirement, even those built by the traditional methods. However, it is the intention of the authorities to steadily increase that 10% requirement in the coming years and it will become increasingly difficult to meet by traditional builds. WRAP is critical for planning permission and it is in the long term interest of the company that we start using methods that will introduce higher recycle contents in our housing developments. Health and Safety Health and Safety is becoming more and more important for the government and also for private clients. The upcoming CDM regulations 2006 will have major changes that put a lot more responsibility on the clients. Consequently, it can be expected that client will be putting health and safety high in their agenda and will chose their developers and contractors with that in mind. Also the HSE is being more and more demanding about the standard of health and safety and work and checks are done on a regular basis on sites across UK. It is therefore important to be proactive and take a holistic approach towards health and safety. Instead of simply supplying more boots and helmets to site, it will be wiser to adopt methods that are inherently safer. Traditional Methods Typically, a housing development will either consist of some blocks of flats with parking space or a series of 2 to 3 storey houses, depending on the locality and the client. In both cases, the construction process is the same, although some differences in scale of operations may occur. Substructure After the planning and survey stages, the first step in the construction process is the substructure. The substructure is that part of the building that is below the ground level. Its purpose is to safely transmit all forces to the ground. Traditionally, the substructure will consist of a series of pad foundations, strip footings, basements or even piles. Most of the old houses have basements whereas newer houses tend to have strip footings. Taller buildings such as apartments or where the building is on weaker grounds, piles may be required. All those foundations are generally formed by digging a hole in the ground and filling it with concrete. The shape, size and depth of the hole depend on the type of foundation being built. Foundations are labour-intensive and time-consuming work. All of the work has to be done on site, exposed to weather conditions. It also produces significant amount of noise and dust during the digging of the ground. Once the trenches or holes are filled with concrete, the site ends up with an excess of soil from the hole. Superstructure The superstructure is the visible part of the building, built on the foundation. The structure for houses will consist of building up brick walls from the ground, brick by brick. Each wall will consist of two leaves of brick with a gap in-between for insulation. The internal floors are generally made of heavy timber joists supporting secondary timber members and finally a plank topping, all nailed together and supported off the brick walls. The brick wall construction will continue until the roof level is reached. At the roof level, a timber roof is built in a way similar to the floor. Recently, concrete columns and beams have been used along with the brick walls. Floors and roofs in newer construction tend to be on concrete, cast in-situ on formwork, supported off the concrete frame members. These methods are very time-consuming and labour intensive and almost all the work has to be done on site. Partitions and Finishes The internal partitions are either timber frames with ply-wood on each side, or single-leaf brick walls built in the same way as the external walls. Stairs are generally of wood. Services The space heating, electricity, air-conditioning and ventilation are all built to suit the building in place. Modern Approach to Construction As opposed to the traditional method where each step of the construction is done independent of each other, the modern methods of construction differ right from the approach to the construction process. The thinking process behind the site works is done well in advance, to allow much better coordination between the various trades involved. The planning stage will think of the proposed and future uses of the building. The design stage is the most important stage of construction as decisions taken at the design stage have the highest impact of performance, economy and many other factors. The approach to modern construction is one that takes sustainability and life-cycle cost of a building right from the onset of the design stage. Many factors can be influenced if thought is given at design stage. The following chapters will now introduce modern techniques used in construction that will result in more economic and sustainable construction in the housing sector. Steel Framed Buildings The use of steel is not new in construction. It has been used for over a century now. However, its full potential has only recently been understood. Steel has the potential to radically change the building and running cost of a building as well as having a major impact on issues such as sustainability, material demand, health and safety and so much more. Developments made over the past decade in steel construction have made it the most exciting material for construction. Steels Role in Sustainable Development Steel is a completely different material from concrete and masonry. It is first of all homogeneous as opposed to a mix and is much stronger. The UK steel construction industry in a very efficient industry and steel can be used to our advantage as a modern construction material for several reasons that will be unveiled below (SCI, 2004). More sustainable Design Good design is fundamental to sustainable construction (SCI, 2004). Decisions made at the initial design stage have the greatest effect on the overall sustainability impact of projects. Steels high strength-to-weight ratio is exploited in light structures which have low overall environmental impact and often require fewer and lighter foundations than alternative methods of construction. Its long-span capabilities create flexible spaces that facilitate changes in use during the life of the building, maximising letting potential and reducing refit costs. The energy associated with the occupation of buildings (operations energy) dominates that used in their manufacture and construction (embodied energy) typically by a factor of between 4 and 10 over a 60 year design life. Reducing operational energy consumption reduces environment impact as well as saving money. Steel frames and associated composite or other type of floor slab achieve high levels of fabric energy storage, which can significantly reduce the energy bill for cooling. Steel-based cladding systems for industrial buildings and light steel-framed residential construction provide well-insulated and airtight solutions. More sustainable manufacture and erection Construction can have significant social and environmental impacts such as noise, dust, ground and surface water pollution and traffic congestions (SCI, 2004).Steel provides the opportunity to maximise off-site construction techniques. Working in a factory under controlled conditions will definitely result in more accurate products and less waste. It also provides a safer and better working environment for the workers. Computer-sided design and manufacture can be put to best use in steel construction to eliminate defects and reworks and to minimise waste. Any steel waste is generally recovered and recycled. Cost, and therefore time, remain key drivers in construction. Steel construction allows us to build fast and reliably, with minimal time spent on site. The small amount of time spent on site has many impacts such as lower noise, less time for the workers to work as height, less noise and dust, less traffic and the whole community benefits. Less time spent on site also has the advantage of fewer interruptions due to weather, which is a very important factor in the UK, because our weather is world famous! As an example of what can be done (SCI, 2004), the 1600 tonnes of steelwork in the TNT Fastract distribution centre was erected in only 21 days! Sustainability in Use Designing a building for long life maximises the payback over the initial investment and is also a key aspect of sustainable construction. In that respect, refurbishment of a building to extend its life is very important. The versatility and flexibility of steel permits the owner of the building to easily modify and adapt to changing time without having to demolish and rebuild, thus extending the life of the building and getting the most value out of it. Steel is a stable product and if protected from the environment with paint, will require little maintenance and will not deteriorate at all with time. Cladding systems associated with steel construction are also easily modified and allow easy access for maintenance. With changing times, the requirements of a building change and therefore modifications may be necessary. Steel is easy to modify and to extend to suite new needs. Sustainability at end-of-life A concrete building only has a market value as a built-entity. The material itself can hardly be reused because it is cast-in. and cannot be dismantled. The best use of demolished concrete is land-fill. However, steel buildings have a material value even after construction. Because steel buildings consist of independently prepared members joined together by bolts, these members can be dismantled and re-used if the building is no longer required. For example, when the various Paris market halls built by Baltard in 1854 could no longer satisfy the needs of the city (ECCS, 2002), their function was transferred to Rungis, and the buildings replaced by the Centre Pompidou and the Forum. Recognising the need to preserve important architectural examples from the past one of the market halls was demounted and transferred to Nogent-sur-Marne, where it was simply reconstructed. It now accommodates cultural activities. The fact that a steel building can be demolished and rebuilt using the same structural members has far-reaching advantages. The immediate advantage that comes to mind is the market value of the building. Of course, a building has a value when it is in use. But with the use of steel, the building will have a value even after its life-span. The steel members can be sold as separate entities or the whole building can be sold to be built on a different site. This contributes enormously to the cost of redevelopment and therefore can be used to reduce the cost of housing. Looking at the bigger picture, re-using the same material for a new building implies that the natural resources that would have been required for the new building have been spared. Finally, even if the steel is not re-used directly as a construction material, it can always be recycled for new steel members. Steel is 100% recyclable material. Energy in Buildings In buildings, energy is required for: Space heating Domestic hot water heating Lighting Mechanical ventilation Air conditioning General electrical services such as lifts and escalators The quantities of each of the above required vary from place to place and from building to building. Space Heating In UK as in the rest of Europe, space heating is traditionally achieved by gas-powered or electric powered hot water boilers that distribute the hot water to radiators. The envelope of the building is designed to retain as much of that heat as possible to save on energy. However, there are several innovative techniques now available that are very efficient. New Glazing Technology There are new types of glazing that allow the solar heat to go into the building, but not out. Double glazing systems have been used for many years, but now the double-glazing makes use of special glasses. The gap in-between the glasses can be filled with special gases that promote the greenhouse effect. In some cases, simply evacuating the air from the gap works marvellously in acting as a smart glazing system. There are glasses that can be switched from clear to opaque by the action of current, heat, or naturally like sunglasses. New cladding materials used on the walls are translucent. They transmit light and solar energy but act as insulants.Interactive windows and shading system are computer-controlled to change the level of shading and ventilation at different times of the day to optimise energy use. Solar Heating Direct sunlight is used to warm buildings. But solar energy can be used indirectly as well. Solar water heaters are very popular in the Southern Hemisphere. In Europe and especially in Western Europe, people have the misconception that because of the cold climate, solar water heaters will not be effective. In fact, solar water heaters are very efficient even in cold regions. It is also very cheap to build or buy one. It can be used on large scale for schools and hospitals with large roof plans. So instead of boiling water in a gas or electric boiler, solar water heaters can be used. Even if in winter the solar water heater cannot produce sufficiently hot water, it can still be used to preheat the water supplied to the boilers. Thermal Mass In many countries, space heating is required at night more than during the day. In such cases, the mass of the building can be made to heat up during the day by the solar energy methods described above. This mass will absorb this energy during the day but will only start dissipating it after several hours. Concrete floors for example will have a typical time lag of nine hours. Proper use of this thermal mass can lead to very significant saving in energy. The orientation of the building can play a crucial part as well. For example, if the south face is the one that is most exposed to direct sunlight, having more massive walls on the south will improve on the use of thermal mass. Domestic Water Heating Domestic hot water is used in almost all buildings. Solar water heaters as described previously are generally very effective for domestic hot water. Other methods can also been used, depending on the location. If a village is situated not very far from a volcano, they can usually dig deep boreholes and pump the water to the bottom of the hole where the earth temperature is quite high. They can pump back the water and use it as domestic hot water. The concept is not a new one. Thermal spa and natural hot water baths have been used for centuries. Lighting The orientation of a building can be very important to make use of as much natural light as possible. Smart glazing systems discussed before are also very useful and are used more and more now. Lightwells and atria are also more and more used both for its help in natural lighting and ventilation, but also for its aesthetic contributions. When artificial lighting is required, special low-energy bulbs can be used that give the same amount of light but consume smaller amount of energy. Ventilation Natural ventilation has always been used in houses by simply opening and closing windows as required. Commercial buildings have however opted for more high-tech methods such as fans. These can be replaced by careful planning of the openings, of the way the floors are compartmented, and by the use of features such as atria. Also, computer-controlled openings are the high-tech version of manually opening and closing windows as required. Air Conditioning Cooling is always more expensive than heating. Not only does air conditioning consume a lot of energy; it also releases CFCs, which are harmful to the ozone layer. The use of these can be minimised as well. The use of ventilation can be used to improve the comfort level of occupants. The use of the thermal mass concept can also be used in the same way. The floors are cooled at night using natural ventilation, and during the day, they are used to cool the air inside the building. Conclusion The aim of the report was to propose and justify modern methods of construction. The report has exposed the necessity to shift to modern methods of construction. It is not just an option worth considering. It will soon be the only option and unless we as a company start the shift now, we will loose a competitive advantage. Among the modern methods mentioned, steel construction comes out to be the flagship of modern, economic and sustainable construction methods. Added to that, other means such as using thermal mass, natural ventilation and natural heating and cooling can be used in combination to wonderful effect. However, the most important point to remember is not the material or any particular technique. It is the approach and the thinking process required to meet the economic needs of the company, satisfy requirements from the government and other authorities and yet be able to produce affordable and high quality and high performance housing for the future. References Egan, Sir John, Rethinking Construction, Department of Trade and Industry, 1998 David Stern and Daniel Knapp, Reuse, Recycling, Refuse and the Local Economy: A Case Study of the Berkeley Serial MRF (documented by Urban Ore, Inc., and The Centre for Neighbourhood Technology: October, 1993). Boontra Chiel, Sun at Work in Europe, Vol. 12, No.1, March 1997, p3. Nicholls, Richard, Low Energy Design, Interface Publishing, 2002 European Commission for Constructional Steelwork, Merits of Steel, 2002 http://www.szs.ch/merits/vorwort_e.html Achieving Sustainable Construction: Guidance for clients and their professional Advisers, Steel Construction Institute, 2004

Whats Plagiarism And Taking Someone Elses Work English Language Essay

Whats Plagiarism And Taking Someone Elses Work English Language Essay The word plagiarism comes from a Latin word for kidnapping. We know that kidnapping is stealing a person. Well, plagiarism is stealing a persons ideas or writing. Also, copying others efforts and imitation of the language and thoughts for someone else and show it as your own work. Plagiarism is also a form of cheating, but its a little complicated so might be done without understanding if there are mistakes. There is different thing people taking such as writing, conversation, song or ideas and present it as your own. This includes information from web pages, books, songs, television shows, email messages, interviews, articles or artworks. Whenever you paraphrase, summarize, or take words, phrases, or sentences from another persons work, it is necessary to indicate the source of the information within your paper using an internal citation. It is not enough to just list the source in a bibliography at the end of your paper. Failing to properly quote, cite or acknowledge someone elses words or ideas with an internal citation is plagiarism. plagiarism.gif kinds of plagiarism: Using another persons exact words without including quotation marks *and* citation. For example, If you use someone elses exact words, then you must cite the original source (either in a footnote or in a citation in the text), and you must enclose the words in quotation marks or else set them off from the rest of the text by indenting them from the other text. Using another persons words, but changing some of them, or rearranging them. This is plagiarism even if the source is cited. Summarizing or paraphrasing another persons words without citation. If you use what someone else has written, but you describe it or summarize it in your own words, then you dont need to enclose it in quotation marks, but you still must provide a citation to the original source, either in a footnote or directly in the text. la_plagiarism.gif Example of plagiarism: Plagiarized Version: In examining technology, we have to remember that computers are not the first technology people have had to deal with. The first technology was the primitive modes of communication used by prehistoric people before the development of spoken language. Correct Version: In examining technology, we have to remember that computers are not the first technology people have had to deal with. Frick (1991) believes that the first technology was the primitive modes of communication used by prehistoric people before the development of spoken language (p. 10). References: Frick, T. (1991). Restructuring education through technology. Bloomington, IN: Phi Delta Kappa Educational Foundation. Explanation of plagiarized Version: This example of student written work is plagiarized. The student copied, word-for-word, text from the original source material. No credit was given to the author of the text and quotation marks were not used. Also, the student didnt provide a reference. Explanation of correct Version: Note in this example that the passage begins with the author and year of the publication. Quotation marks are used to indicate that this passage is a word-for-word citation from the original document. Why be concerned about plagiarism? If you plagiarize, you are cheating yourself: You dont learn to write out your thoughts in your own words, and you wont receive specific feedback from your instructor geared to your individual needs and skills. Plagiarism is dishonest and/or misleading: because it misrepresents the work of another as your own. Plagiarism violates the Code of Academic Conduct: and can lead to Suspension or Dismissal. Plagiarism devalues others original work. Using and submitting a professionals work as your own is taking an unfair advantage over students who do their own work. It is wrong to take or use property (an authors work) without giving the owner the credit due. Further, copyright violations can result in damages, fines, o worse. The reputation of UC Davis affects the value of your degree; student dishonesty hurts UCDs standing and can diminish the worth of your diploma. How can you avoid plagiarism? Know what plagiarism is: ignorance will not excuse a violation. Intentional plagiarism, such as elaborate copying or use of anothers work without credit, submitting a paper from the Internet as ones own, or altering or falsifying citations to hide sources is very serious, likely to result in Suspension. Unintentional plagiarism may result from not knowing how to cite sources properly, sloppy research and note-taking, or careless cutting and pasting from electronic resources it is still a violation of the Code of Academic Conduct and subject to discipline. Guidelines for Avoiding Plagiarism: * Use your own words and ideas. Practice is essential to learning. Each time you choose your words, order your thoughts, and convey your ideas, you can improve your writing. Give credit for copied, adapted, or paraphrased material. If you copy and use anothers exact words, you must use quotation marks and cite the source. If you adapt a chart or paraphrase a sentence, you must still cite your source. Paraphrasing is restating the authors ideas, information, and meaning in your own words. Avoid using others work with minor cosmetic changes. Examples: using less for fewer, reversing the order of a sentence, changing terms in a computer code, or altering a spreadsheet layout. If the work is essentially the same as your source, give credit. There are no freebies. Always cite words, information and ideas that you use if they are new to you (learned in your research). No matter where you find it even in on the Internet or in an encyclopedia you cite it! Beware of common knowledge. You may not have to cite common knowledge, but the fact must really be commonly known. When in doubt, cite. Better to be safe than not give credit when you should!plagiarism_full.jpg Recourse: http://www.lib.usm.edu/legacy/plag/whatisplag.php http://www.u.arizona.edu/~rlo/482/plagiarism.pdf https://www.indiana.edu/~istd/examples.html http://sja.ucdavis.edu/files/plagiarism.pdf

Newscasters :: essays research papers

Newscasters are a big part of who and what America is today. The newscasters have a lot of influence on what America does, and when they do it. Still, it is not something that happens overnight. It takes a lot of experience to become a newscaster to the public.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A newscaster will influence the public that will make or break a morning, afternoon, or evening. The weatherman will help people be prepared for the day ahead. While, the sportscaster tells which team won or lost and who got signed and let go. On-the-scene newscasters tell what is happening right then and there. Still, the anchors bring it all together by presenting the news at5am, 6am, 7am, noon, and 5pm. When they all come together America knows what is going on, which is what you want.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In order to inform America, a newscaster must have college experience as well as on-the-job experience. When an aspiring newscaster comes out of college, they don't become a newscaster immediately. Many become journalists or studies. Some may realize that they want something else and change jobs. Becoming a newscaster and informing the public, is something that takes experience and know-how. Anything can happen, and newscasters need to be prepared.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The pressure on newscasters is very intense. They need to report the truth and many want to change the view of newscasters. The media in general have the stereotype of being pushy, annoying, and untruthful. Reporting the truth is key. The journalists who research the information are under a tremendous amount of pressure to make sure the information is correct. This way, both America is happy, and then so are the newscasters.

Dreamchild Essay -- Science Fiction Dreamchild Essas

Dreamchild How real are aliens? Do they really exist? Are they a frigment of our imagination, or something we have created in our minds to release our fears and tensions? These questions have never been proven, but several theories have been raised on their nature and existence. Literature has taken these abstract thoughts and put them to reality on paper. Science fiction is a genre of literature that is frequently misinterpreted by general readers. Aside from the stereotypes of alien invasions in science fiction, this genre uses the concepts of reality and expands on it; it deviates from the truth, reads the future, and answers the questions many humans fear. Analyzing the structure of the novel Dreamchild, and comparing Hillary Hemingway and Jeffry P. Lindsay writing style to other science fiction novelist, one can see how they stay within the stereotype of science fiction literature. The many differences in sci-fi books are exposed when reading this particular book and others of this kind. W hen reading this work of fiction, the reader gains some insight into the author's mind and his imagination. Authors who chose to write in the genre of sci-fi have the opportunity to use their thoughts and emotions and incorporate it into their novels. Anyone can conjure up some fictional tale and make it come to life in some form of literature. Some science fiction writers take the facts of today's society and plays on its fears, while others fabricate a whole new world and bring it to life. Using societies' doubt of extraterrestrial life, Hemingway and Lindsay portray the effect on society as if they truly existed. These writers focused on the traditional storyline of an alien invasion. The dream child, Max, is a hybrid, half human an... ...r intelligence intensifies, subjects like this will soon become a reality. So do aliens really exist? To my knowledge, no they do not exist. However as long as it is still a myth, books like Dreamchild will continue to be written predicting the occurrences of an alien invasion. Science fiction novels are great to read for readers that enjoy using their imaginations as they read along. For its genre and subject matter this novel was effective and detailed to an extent. Books such as this are necessary for us because we need an outside world to escape to; a world that can bring answeres to the questions we fear. Works Cited Hemingway, Hillary and Jeffry P. Lindsay. Dreamchild. Tom Doherty Assoc.; New York, 1998. Le Guin, Ursula K. "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas." Literature: Reading and Writing The Human Experience. St. Marin's Press; Boston, 1998.

Civilization of Ancient Greece

Greece produced classics in almost all genres of creative expression: literature, philosophy, music, the visual arts, and architecture. These classics advanced the aesthetic principles of clarity simplicity, balance, regularity, and harmonious proportion. As a style, Classicism is characterized by these aesthetic principles and by the related ideals of reason, moderation, and dignity (Firer 29). Greek culture is a very original culture in their way of life. A good example is the Parthenon.It towers in height with its beautifully elegant and simple design. It served as a shrine to Athena, the goddess of wisdom and war. Many people visit it each year for its history and unique structure. It had a columned design, made marble and realistic lifelike sculptures the first of its kind. Greek architecture has a specific look and feel to it that has been repeated in inspiration of many artists. It has been used as a design for many current structures, including banks, and libraries. The Iliad and the Odyssey are very unique epics that are the first of their kind.During the long period of political and social turmoil that followed, storytellers kept alive the history of early Greece, the adventures of Mycenaean, and the tales of the Trojan War, passing them orally from generation to generation (32). It was not until at least the ninth century B. C. E. That these stories were transcribed; and it was yet another three hundred years before they reached their present form. They became â€Å"national† poems of ancient Greece, uniting Greek-speaking people by giving literary authority to their common heritage (33).They tell stories that the Greeks held close and wanted to last forever within their culture. These are even used for Inspiration today in writing and poetry. Both are also taught In high school In basic literature classes. They carry lessons that we use In today's culture; for example, the concepts that everyone makes mistakes (even heroes), to follow directi ons, loyalty, and to never give up or let go for the ones that you love. All of these life lessons are very Important In our culture today. Work Cited Hero, Gloria K. Landmarks In Humanities. D deed. New York. McGraw Hill, 2013. Print Civilization of Ancient Greece By pleasantries and wanted to last forever within their culture. These are even used for inspiration today in writing and poetry. Both are also taught in high school in basic literature classes.