Population Epidemiology Study Designs an Example of the Topic Education and science by

Population Epidemiology Study Designs by Expert TheSmartwriter | 22 Dec 2016 Introduction Epidemiology is the study of disease occurrence and transference in human population wherein its focus involves the distribution and determinants of disease. It is frequently used in public health as a systematic and scientific approach for understanding diseases and health problems (Waning & Montagne, 2001 p.1). The essential aim of epidemiology is to establish awareness of disease causation and improve the general health conditions of the public (Woodward, 2005 p2). Need essay sample on "Population Epidemiology Study Designs" topic? We will write a custom essay sample specifically for you Proceed The paper discusses various epidemiologic study designs specifically, cross-sectional, retrospective, descriptive, prospective or cohort and randomized clinical trial or also known as randomized controlled trial. Detailed explanation and comparisons are included in the entire discussion. Discussion Cross-sectional In a cross-sectional study, the subjects are chosen irrespective of their exposure or disease status. Exposure and disease are being measured importantly at the same point in time. Another reason for this is that the time organization between the start of exposure and the start of disease is impossible to be hypothesized. Moreover, the data results from the cross-sectional study can be treated also as data from cohort study or as data from case-control study (Monson, 2001 p.59). Cross-sectional study involves the study of subjects in the population at the time of ascertainment or a representative sample of all such persons, including those who have the disease, and that has an objective limited to describing the population (Rothman but those who possess the actual conditions are ones involved. Cross-sectional studies do not include causative factors; however, it utilizes prevalence data as its etiologic inferences (p.75). However, the difficulty in evaluating data in a cross-sectional study is to decide whether the exposure led to the disease or the disease lead to the exposure (Monson, 2001 p.59). In fact, the collection of data in cross-sectional manner is not actually the defining characteristics of the cross-sectional study but the inability to formulate the exposure-disease time organization is its sole defining characteristic (p.60). Retrospective The design of retrospective utilizes population based case study that possess limitations to geographical, hospital based wherein the subjects are the admitted patients and lastly, group based wherein studies are based on local epidemics. This type of epidemiologic design is most commonly conducted since their results have immediate applications to the enhancements of health promotion and prevention (Miller, 2002 p.287). A case-control study is sometimes referred to as a retrospective study because data on the factor of interest are collected retrospectively; however, there are cases wherein subjects encounter varying inconsistencies (Smoller, 2004 p.9). The design detects a number of people with the disease under the study criteria, which is known as the case. After such, the selection of those subjects free from the disease, called controls, are involved. The cases and controls are then investigated to see which risk factors differ between them (Woodward, 1999 p.243) Retrospective studies are utilized in determining the differentiation of well group and ill group in terms of exposure proportion to specific disease etiological agent, risk factors or the pathogen. The defining characteristics of retrospective study are its comparison of the groups concerning the presence of traits, characteristic or factor that result from past activities or experiences (Timmreck, 2002 p.237). Descriptive Descriptive epidemiology is concerned with the distribution of disease, including consideration of what populations or subgroups do or do not develop a disease, in what geographic locations it is most or least common, and how the frequency of occurrence varies over time. The design study of descriptive epidemiology involves more on qualitative provision of description of disease distribution of health-related stares and phenomena by person, place, and time. This design aids in the familiarization of data, identification of community health problems, defines the at-risk population, and lastly, analyzes the traces of disease determinants (Timmreck & Merril, 2006 p.80). Descriptive design are further subpided into four categories of study specifically, ecologic studies, case reports, case series, and cross-sectional surveys. The ecologic study focus mainly on population analysis while the other designs centers on inpidual analysis. Unfortunately, the negative side of descriptive design is its limitation to test hypothesis (p.80). The descriptive studies are useful for hypothesis generation, but not for hypothesis testing. The case-control and cohort designs provide more persuading proofs to test particular hypotheses (Greenberg, p.203). Prospective/ Cohort Cohort or prospective design is pided into two categories of implementation namely prospective cohort study and historical cohort study. The prospective cohort study deals with the assembling of present and followed by future time frame while historical cohort study identifies from past records and followed forward from that time up to the present (Fletcher & Fletcher 2005 p.82). The difference of case-control or retrospective from cohort studies is that all the relevant phenomena, such as disease and exposure, have already occurred when the study starts while, in cohort studies, the exposure has occurred but the disease has not yet been present. However, there is one exemption to the rule wherein study is done through records review. Prospective design refers to the study group following forward in time from exposure to disease in contrast to the case-control design that proceeds backward in time from disease to exposure (Hebel & McCarter, 2006 p.115). Randomized Clinical Trial/Randomized Controlled Trial The study design of randomized clinical trial is another type of prospective experiment that analyzes the comparison of one or more plan of actions against a control group for the purpose of knowing the effectiveness of the interventions proposed. This design utilizes clinical trials in order to formulate the comparison of health interventions or measures given (Smoller, 2004 p.141). However, this design is faced with several ethical dilemmas involving clinical trials and experimentations. The ethical violation involves the utilization of humans as the subject for clinical trials. Reference Fletcher, S. W., & Fletcher, R. H. (2005). Clinical Epidemiology: The Essentials. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.Greenberd, S. R. (2004). Medical Epidemiology. McGraw-Hill Professional. Hebel, J., & McCarter, R. (2006). Study Guide to Epidemiology and Biostatistics. Jones and Bartlett Publishers.Merril, M. R., & Timmreck, C. T. (2006). Introduction to Epidemiology. Jones and Bartlett Publishers. Miller, E. R. (2002). Epidemiology for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Professionals. Haworth Press. Monson, R. R. (2001). Occupational Epidemiology. CRC Press. Rothman, K. J., & Greenland, S. (1998). Modern Epidemiology. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Timmreck, T. C. (2002). Epidemiology: Study Design and Data Analysis. Jones and Bartlett Publisher. Waning, B., & Montagne, M. (2001). Pharmacoepidemiology: Principles and Practice. McGraw-Hill Professional. Wassertheil-Smoller, S. (2004). Biostatistics and Epidemiology: A Primer for Health and Biomedical Professionals. Springer. Woodward, M. (1999). Epidemiology: Study Design and Data Analysis. CRC Press. Woodward, M. (2005). Epidemiology: Study Design and Data Analysis. CRC Press.

Death Penalty for Murderers essays

Death Penalty for Murderers essays Some people believe that emotional trauma, in a persons young childhood, is the main characteristic of a serial killer. The trauma, whether it be from an unstable family, a family separation or even parent abandonment, are part of the common characteristics of a serial killer and therefore, the blame should not be put on the serial killer himself, but rather society. The problem with this argument is that studies show that fifty percent of American marriages will end in divorce, yet half the citizens of the U.S. are not serial killers. This argument is similar to saying that eating meat is responsible for turning people into serial killers. If studied, close to one hundred percent, if not all, serial killers eat beef, chicken or fish on a daily, or semi daily, basis and the killer himself should not be punished for their deeds. Instead, all meat products should be banned and the American public needs to turn to vegetarianism in order to stop these killings. Many people fail to comprehend that the only person responsible for ones own action is him/herself. Since society has the highest interest in preventing murder, it should use the strongest punishment available to deter murder, and that is the death penalty. Whatever people fear most is likely to deter the most. Hence, the threat of the death penalty may deter some murderers who otherwise might not have been deterred. If one is already serving a life sentence for a crime unrelated to murder, the death penalty seems the only deterrence from stopping the inmate from killing a prison guard or even another inmate. If this did not deter them, then surely nothing else would have. Lastly, the death penalty will surely put an end to the killings of the condemned who was put to death. In death, one is no longer able to carry out such heinous acts. Capital punishment also helps the victims and their families by knowing that justice has been served and...

Alcohol Addiction and the Addiction Process

Despite the general tendency to assume that we can recognize addiction when we encounter it, the idea of addiction is not well defined.   No matter what the addiction, all addiction begins as a habit and progresses from there.   Even if there is a genetic component, the initial expression of the addiction is expressed as a habit. Some habitual addictions end up as chemical imbalances in the body, others as changes at one or more receptor sites and so on. The concept of addiction as it is often portrayed and used is unclear.   Finagarette (1988) and Davies (1992) proposed that the concept of addiction as it is generally viewed is a myth.   Other researchers have presented similar ideas. (Szasz, 1974; Peele, 1985)   Since the 1970s, some have suggested that the concept of addiction requires revision in that it combines social discourse, moral dilemmas, psychological states and pharmacology in an awkward manner. (Hammersley and Reid)   The typical view of addiction is generally viewed as a myth. (Szasz, 1974; Peele, 1985; Finagarette, 1988; Davies, 1992)   The general view of the concept of addiction may be of little value and require major revision. (Akers, 1991)   Today, terms such as â€Å"substance abuse† and â€Å"drug dependence† are subtly replacing the idea of addiction. (Edwards and Gross, 1976) Theoretically, there are at least two general classes of addiction:   1) physical dependence and 2) psychological dependence.   The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV TR) defines substance dependence as a cluster of symptoms that indicate that the individual has a pattern of impaired control over substance use. The seven DSM-IV TR criteria for Dependence can be separated into physiological dependence and compulsive use.   Addiction is considered to be the uncontrolled, compulsive use of a substance.   Physical and psychological addictions are not always easy to distinguish, especially as there is certainly some degree of overlap between the two. Each type of addiction has its own cause.   This report will focus on alcohol addiction.   We will look at the addiction process from beginning to end.   We will ask, What causes addiction or Why does addiction begin, Why does addiction persist and finally, Why does it end?   Our approach will be to take a general look at addictions so we will know and understand what we are dealing with and then to focus on one type of addiction, alcohol addiction, for an in-depth consideration and review. We will begin by looking at the concept of addiction and defining what the means and we will proceed from there.   Overall, we will discuss the general aspects of alcohol addiction and then apply what has been discussed to a hypothetical case. In what follows, we will create a hypothetical case that will exemplify the addiction process from the initial stages to addiction to treatment.   If we are to follow the Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) model, the process cannot go beyond treatment because the AA model does not allow for a cure.   Addicts are always recovering and never recover, so we will follow the AA model and its treatment throughout the life of the addict.   We will create our hypothetical addict after defining what is generally meant by the term addiction. Addiction Defined Substance abuse is widely viewed as addiction, but Hammersley and Reid (2002) point out that addiction is a dramatic, dangerous and chronic condition caused by the biological effects of drugs.   Hammersley and Reid suggest that substance use is a normal behavior with social causes and should be viewed as such without perpetuating any unhelpful moral issues and the unsuccessful solutions suggested by the myth. Hammersley and Reid suggest that the myth of addiction continues and prevails because it is functional in western cultures and can be used to deal with issues of ‘control’.   According to the generally accepted myth, addictive drugs are supposed to meet six criteria.   They are 1) supposed to lead to addiction quickly and easily, 2) force addicts to resort to crime to finance their drug habit, 3) have psychoactive effects, 4) cause serious health damage or death, 5) supplied by ruthless criminals and 6) addiction is long lasting if not permanent.   For the most part, these ideas appear to be mainly fiction. These ideas are essentially a myth based on exaggeration and distortion regarding the effects of certain drugs.   Such myths are common.   They arise, in part, because evidence counter to these ideas is ignored and individual cases of â€Å"mythical figures and events† that support the myth are commonly projected before the public. As a result of these myths, the public is led to believe that drug users started out as naà ¯ve you people who were persuaded to use drugs, then become addicted and then turn to a life of depravity and crime because they are unable to control their habit and they need to finance their drug use.   (McAdams, 1993) Although a number of drugs have been used to perpetuate this myth, cannabis is perhaps the most common and widespread example of the myth.   In the late 1960s and 1970s, many believed that cannabis use would lead to serious psychological harm.   Research failed to confirm this belief. (Johnson, 1973)   Other drugs that have been involved in this myth include heroin, cocaine and ecstasy. Research to understanding drug abuse often focuses on changes at a specific receptor site.   The studies will investigate those changes and seek to determine how to control them with medications.   However, in contrast to many other commonly abused drugs, alcohol   does not bind to specific receptors (Kranzler and Ciraulo, 2005), but it appears to modify neuronal membranes and neurotransmitter receptors embedded in those membranes in a variety of neurotransmitter systems, including virtually all the major system found to be associated with psychiatric symptoms (Kranzler, 1995) If we were to apply this information to the hypothetical case of a male alcoholic since, even though both males and females become alcoholic, males are two or three times more likely than females to become alcoholic, we would arrive at the situation of a male in his mid to late twenties who began drinking socially and quickly became an alcoholic.   Subsequently, he turned to crime to support his drinking habit. His habit is now long lasting and permanent.   This would be the hypothetical example of an alcoholic that supports the myth of addictive drugs discussed by Hammersley and Reid.   Viewed from the perspective of an alcoholic, we can see that this model would not apply well to alcoholics. Although his habit may have begun socially, and other aspects of the generally accepted myth might sometimes hold true, becoming addicted was a gradual process, the drug was legally sold at liquor stores and perhaps even in grocery stores and may even have been provided in small amounts in the community church.   No ruthless criminals were involved and the alcoholic had no need to resort to crime to finance their drug habit.   Therefore, the myth, although consistent with some aspects of reality, is misleading and inaccurate. We can see that the characteristics of alcohol addiction are sufficiently consistent with the generally accepted myth as to allow individuals to assume that it supports the myth.   However, none of the components of the myth need to occur in order for an individual to become alcoholic. Perhaps the one characteristic that may always apply is that alcohol is psychoactive, but in small amounts, not even that characteristic need apply.   Alcohol addiction is a gradual process, it   is relatively inexpensive, it is psychoactive, it has beneficial effects as well as harmful ones, is legally sold in liquor stores and in supermarkets and may even be found in the neighborhood church during communion and finally, alcohol addicted individuals are not always doomed to a permanent or long lasting addiction. Yes, each of these things can occur although the idea of a drug pusher selling alcohol is far-fetched.   Our alcohol addict is merely an individual, in this case a male but it could have been either sexual gender, who began drinking for whatever reason and then, somehow went overboard.  Ã‚   We have already touched upon causes and treatment and will now move on to those considerations below.

The search for authenticity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

The search for authenticity - Essay Example In this respect, humans have the capacity to make sense out of the world and out of situations, and through making such sense, they are able to act on their own in different circumstances and situations, if they refuse to be drawn to the usual cultural and social standards and norms that the society has established as the standardized ways of responding to circumstances. Authenticity presents the sense of being practical in addressing matters that are likely to arouse great anxiety, within the abilities of humans, and without having to depend on the spirituality or on the help that might come from outside of the man (Heidegger, 3). The social norms and cultural standards that have been established by the society have made everything in life like just a cycle of regurgitating what others have done in the past. In this sense, there lacks the difference between the current man and the ancient men, because the current man just follows some standardized norms that the society established culturally centuries ago, a concept that Martin Heidegger refers to as unauthenticity (Heidegger, 7). This has been the essence of the reference of human beings as ‘Dasein’, which has just to do with being there (Heidegger, 14). According to Martin Heidegger, humans have existed in the world more or less as a matter of being there, without doing things differently according to their own human capacities, and without depending on external forces (Polt, 54). Humans are born in the world of conformity, where everything that we say, think, believe or act has been done before by the generations that were before us (Heidegger, 22). Human beings pursue the issues they perceive to be worth of their time and effort in a manner that has already been done before, such that the life of one human can be likened to that of the other, since the past

Personal Development Planning Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Personal Development Planning - Assignment Example According to the report findings the most important part of a student’s personal development planning is the communication skills. Communication skills according to Smith, is not only about talking to fellow students and tutors but listening to them as well. Listening is a very powerful tool for a student as it is through listening that they learn the art of patience as well as end up learning more than they already know. A student has to for example, listen to the professor in class, if they are to learn the concepts of the course. Communication is a two-way process, which is listening and talking.As the discussion highlights communication skills also incorporate non-verbal form of communication. When one is communicating with classmates or others that will aid in developing their future goals or in capitalizing their strengths, they can rely heavily on their non-verbal communication to know whether they are on the right track or not. In communicating goals to mentors for exa mple, they may praise the goals verbally but their facial expressions are different and indicate otherwise. This way one learns that they need to make changes. This constant relying on both the verbal and non-verbal form of communication is what eventually leads to a student having strong reflection as well as address their weak areas as a way to have stringer future with more developed and realistic goals that can be easily attainable.  

Performance Management Essay Example for Free

Performance Management Essay William Hill employee workers in order to help the company to contribute its services. The efforts of Human Resources are directed towards improving the performance of employees and thereby enabling the business to achieve its objectives. Every business has to measure the performance of their company, this is to ensure efficiency and therefore they need their staff to perform effectively. William Hill always tries there best to recognise areas that are unsatisfactory for workers and find the aspects of weakness in the organization and do provide relevant training for individuals in order to develop this skills. They also realise that hard work has to paid off well so William Hill promote and reward good performance of employees with the use of bonus and this ensures workers tend to work better because they know that if they work well the organisation does better and further increase in pay will be awarded. Due to different hierarchical structures in companies, you will find that there are several methods to monitor performance, which do benefit these companies, and the system, which is commonly found, is the appraisal system. This is a one to one meeting with employee and manager to discuss the individuals performance between a certain periods. It is a rather good way in which to gain feedback from workers, discussing their performance to improve for the next meeting, identify what training is required if needed also to classify the potential for promotion and finally to reward performance related pay. William Hill does not find this method rather approachable due to the decentralisation of power of each subsidiary and some workers dont have a based shop but it can be used to encourage their employees to perform better because in appraisals you set targets which one would strive to meet in order to gain better financial gains. This relates with Hezbergs theory of motivator factors, one is given recognition of their efforts, which then enables a chance of improvement such as promotion due to the motivation the employee has also gained job satisfaction. Douglas McGregors theory Y can also be linked to appraisals if they met the targets that are set in the appraisal meeting then there is a good chance of promotion, this means that there is chance that workers can start enjoying work and be motivated by the job itself. McGregors theory X concurrent also that a pay increase, as he assumed that those in X are motivated by money. Abraham Maslows theory correlates with employees gaining job security by performing well, and if promotion is acknowledgeable then promotion will allow them to reach self- actualisation because their full potential has been realised. Businesses can use observation, which is when the manger watches the worker while they are working to ensure they are working efficiently and fault analysis, which is when the work is checked after it, has been finished to check for mistakes. In both incidents training can be identified and check for good performances and it indicates to the individual where they are going wrong and what needs to be done better. Training enables workers to be very familiarise with their job and will perform it to their best which according to Maslow will gain self-esteem to workers due to the confidence given by performing well. Performance through profit is when a business compares profit form previous years or to rivals to show how well they are performing. William Hill can use this in enabling them to see which area needs more work to increase workers routine such as training in needed areas to ensure that they perform rather more competitively with rivals also so that employees can be awarded dep ending how well the company does. This links with Taylor and McGregor theory Y as they all presume people are only motivated by money. Performance through productivity is when a company measures its workers output, this is done through William Hill by how much betting slips are taken by each Cashier and if targets are met then bonuses are rewarded monthly with your pay. This links with Maslow stating that rewarding workers gives them esteem as well as receiving recognition for their good performance. Performance related pay is when workers are paid according to their performance at work. William Hill can increase pay according to productivity or give the workers a bonus. This can be linked into the same theories as performance through productivity as they will be rewarded in the same way because it is financial gains that workers are gaining. Through various achievements within the organisation reward can also be given for instance when new employees go through the whole stage of induction program, William Hill will issue a certificate nicely presented to the worker, also a sense of achievement means more responsibility so they have moved from the trainee section which is related to promotion also so an increase of pay due to this. Through all of this William Hill are recognising their employees effort within the organisation which relates to Maslow theory of gaining once again esteem needs due to an increase of responsibility and Herzbergs motivator factors of achievement and recognition because the have ascertained to this level in William Hill PLC. Employees tend to be rewarded with good sales performance in William Hill through the way they demonstrate their skills, knowledge, behaviour and attitude towards customers. They are rewarded with promotion, job enlargement, job enrichment and fringe benefits that should keep them motivated to perform better at their position in William Hill. Theorists such as Taylor, Maslow and theory X believe those economic sorts of rewards are good for those who only work for the love money and this will motivate them to perform well whereas theory Y, Herzbergs motivators states that the job enrichment, enlargement and promotion are giving them more responsibility which should motivate but at the end of the day they want do the extra job with less pay that what is deserved. Long service to William Hill is also an achievement made because you have gained various skills and abilities also knowledge of William Hill to apply and allow new employees to imitate. This loyalty is rewarded with extra paid holiday allowance greater bonus at the end of each year to acknowledge also. This allows workers to feel respected and recognised by the company also part of the family. Gaining the bonus is a financial incentive and Taylor believes that is what motivates workers but Herzberg sees this as only causing job satisfaction not a motivator, the real motivator is that sense of achievement and reorganisation and this also relates to Maslow because esteem is given through respect and effort due to the loyalty the worker has given to William Hill.

Henry James Daisy Miller and Edith Whartons The Age of Innocence Essa

Both Daisy Miller by Henry James and The Age of Innocence, based on the novel by Edith Wharton are either social commentaries or love stories set in corrupt society. The male leads, Newland Archer and Winterbourne, help to show, assuming the goal is commentary, the dishonest and frivolous nature of society. Newland and Winterbourne’s stories and characters run on corresponding motives, as they are the offspring of that society. Each character has an affair. Winterbourne’s is subtle, presented more as his single interest, but it is told that his presence in Geneva (at both the beginning and end of the novel) is for the purpose of â€Å"’studying,’† but â€Å"when certain persons spoke of him they affirmed that the reason of his spending so much time at Geneva was that he was extremely devoted to a lady who lived there—a foreign lady—a person older than himself (Part I.)† As Winterbourne is â€Å"extremely devoted,† then his time with Daisy must be considered an affair, whether or not it amounted to anything more than flirtation. Newland’s affair is more obvious, as both May, his wife, and Ellen, his secret love, play major roles in the story. However, it is difficult to assign blame to either man for his affair, for each is a paragon gentleman who cares deeply about the honor of the women in his life. Winterbourne is bound by his gentleman’s manners to preserve the societal position of Daisy. In Part II, when Daisy is walking on the streets of Rome with two gentlemen, Winterbourne shows that he does care for Daisy’s honor: â€Å"’Does Mr. Winterbourne think,’ she asked slowly, smiling, throwing back her head, and glancing at him from head to foot, ‘that, to save my reputation, I ought to get into the carriage?’ W... ...e were safe with you, and always would be. Because once, when she asked you to, you gave up the thing you wanted most.’† However, though both men’s affairs are known, they are never openly criticized. Both Newland and Winterbourne are rich, proud men who have been involved in affairs. But yet, we perceive them both in a positive light. We see Winterbourne as a man carried along for an exciting journey through his affection for Daisy, and Archer as the finest gentlemen torn between two women. The attitude that is allowed by the authors suggests that men are permitted affairs, while women require the protection of the men that might betray them. High society, at the time, was polite, charming, and secret. No one spoke ill of another publicly, though each and every member of society was allowed, and seemingly encouraged, to make their own assumptions.

Social Evils of India

India, the cradle of civilization, is now beset with a number of social evils. They are so numerous that one shudders to think of them. There have been social reformers like Raja Ram Mohan Ray, Maharishi Daya Nand and Swarni Shradhanand. They fought against social evils but these evils were so deep-rooted that try as they did some of them persist to this day. We may first take the position of women. Women do not enjoy a social position equal to that of men. The constitution does allow them equal status with men but it is all on paper.In practice they do not enjoy this equality. They are still treated as inferior to men. In villages which practically constitute seventy percent of the population, women are treated as second class citizens. Although they have been granted the right of voting, yet in practice they are still under the thumb of their men. They are mostly illiterate. In cities, however, they enjoy better status. We have teachers, professors doctors, lawyers, ministers and h igh officials and it is expected that with their education they would rise still high.Of course, it is a small fraction of women but with the spread of education it is expected that their condition would improve and they would work shoulder to shoulder with men. Another great evil is the dowry system. A man with a number of daughters is a cursed creature. Whatever he has is given away in marriages and he becomes a pauper. The dowry system has done a great harm to the social growth of Indian life. A man with a number of daughters has to sell his property or borrow money at a high rate of interest so that he might give a dowry to his daughter.In case he fails to do so his daughter has to hear taunts and harassment to such an extent that the poor girl is forced to end her life. Everyday we hear of the burning of young brides because of this harassment from their in laws or husbands. The sooner this social evil is removed, the better it will be for all concerned. Another great evil whic h is the bane of Indian life is child marriage. Marriage is a sacred institution and the persons going in for matrimony should be of marriageable age and not that either the girl is married to an old men or she is married at an age when she does not understand what arriage is. We hear of this social evil prevalent in Rajasthan where girls are married off at an age when they do not understand what marriage is. Some of them become widows before they know that they had been married off. A total war against these and a few other evils like drinking and smoking is of utmost necessity. There is legislation against these evils but they can be effectively checked only if the people decide to check them.

Strategic Benefits of Effective Diversity Management

Abstract Diversity management acknowledges the reality that people are different with respect to factors such as gender, marital status, age, disability, social status, sexual orientation, personality, ethnicity, religion, and culture. If a company values diversity in its workforce, it can manage its employees in a way that creates harmony in all work practices and higher standards of collaboration and teamwork. Effective management of workplace diversity results in an innovative culture where creativity has no boundaries and ideas continue to flourish. Thus, it is of paramount importance for companies to integrate diversity in their daily operations. Introduction Diversity entails understanding, acknowledging, accepting, celebrating, and valuing differences among people based on their class, ethnicity, age, physical and mental ability, gender, race, language, religion, and sexual orientation (Hubbard 2004, p.27). In the contemporary world, effective management of diversity is essential because the work-environment is characterised by a wide range of employees from different cultural, social, and religious backgrounds. Moreover, the success of any organisation is highly dependent on how well the employees integrate and collaborative with each other at the workplace. In order to ensure teamwork and collaboration among employees, it is imperative to have effective management of diversity in the workforce (Combe 2013, p.273-277). In most cases, diversity management involves removing barriers and allowing job applicants and employees to have equal access to employment opportunities and promotion; hiring a workforce that reflects the communities wi thin which the organisation operates; empowering all workers to reach their full potential, and encouraging personal growth, as well as professional development among all employees (Paludi 2012, p.123). This paper aims at exploring the strategic benefits of effective diversity management, how diversity is handled at UKRD Group, and it provides some recommendations on how to enhance diversity at UKRD. Literature ReviewBenefits of effective diversity managementDiversity confers various benefits to companies, and as a result, many scholars suggest that it should be a feature of every aspect of an organisation including employee development, succession planning, reviews, performance management, and rewards. To start with, employees from diverse social and cultural backgrounds bring unique skills, perceptions, and experiences to the table while working in teams. Pooling the diverse skills and knowledge from different cultural and social backgrounds increases employees’ productivity, and responsiveness to varying conditions (Buhler 2010, p.91). Furthermore, in a diverse workforce, each employee possesses distinct strengths and weaknesses, drawn from their diverse backgrounds and their individuality. If a company ensures effective diversity management is in place, it is possible to leverage the diverse strengths among employees, and compliment the weakness of each employee to mak e the productivity of the workforce more than the sum of its parts (Griffin 2012, p.241). By bridging together employees from various backgrounds, businesses can market their products effectively to clients from different ethnic and racial backgrounds. This is because by ensuring the workforce reflects the region within which the business operates, it is usually easy to know the expectations, demands, tastes, and preferences of their consumers. As a result, the company will be able to produce goods/services, which conform to their client’s expectations and demands (Thiederman 2008, p.3). Moreover, effective diversity management strengthens the company’s relationship with a given category of customers by making communication efficient. This is achieved by pairing customers with customer-service representatives from their social or cultural background, making them feel comfortable and satisfied. For example, a company operating in the southwest of the U.S. can employ bi-lingual customer representatives in order to serve Spanish-speaking clients in their native language (Guffey & Loewy 2010, p.99). Companies that fail to foster diversity in their workforce experience higher turnover rates than those that treasure diversity in the workplace. This is because they portray a hostile work environment, and consequently, make most of their employees to quit. Inability to retain most of the qualified personnel leads to high turnover-related costs, which a company can avoid by embracing diversity. Losing an employee is highly detrimental to the company’s success because it results to lowered productivity; overworked remaining staff; loss of knowledge and skills; and loss of company’s time while conducting interviews (Griffin 2012). In addition, when employees are working in groups, diversity enables them to generate more and better ideas. Since the group members come from a host of varying cultures, they often propose creative and unique solutions and recommendations, unlike when they come from same backgrounds (Paludi 2012, p.93). In other words, group diversity eliminates groupthink, which is often witnessed in companies that do not foster diversity in their workforce. Groupthink makes participants in a team to think that their ideas and actions are valid, and those objecting them are either sabotaging their efforts or are uninformed. However, multicultural teams are not affected by such problems since the participants have different perspectives (Aswathappa 2013, p.769). By having a positive approach toward diversity at workplace, a company signals an ethical stand. Consequently, it can build and maintain a positive corporate image. A positive corporate image enables a company to have stronger relationships with existing clients, as well as broaden the consumer base by attracting more customers. A strong consumer base is a direct incentive to a noteworthy competitive edge, and it enables companies to face various challenges in the market such as the recession (Mor-Barak 2011). Diversity is also a key aspect in the creation of effective global relationships. Employing international talent helps in enhancing the company’s reputation through outwardly encouraging cultural diversification to a broader consumer-base. If a company hires employees from different countries, it stands a greater chance of expanding and seizing global opportunities by establishing a network of languages and cultures (Guffey & Loewy 2010). Additionally, by creating an environment of inclusion and by making commitment to valuing diversity, managers can boost employee morale and motivation. This is because acknowledging and accepting a person regardless of their social or cultural background makes them feel honoured, and as if they a part of the family ‘company.’ As a result, they will devote all their efforts toward realization of the organisation’s goals (Abiodun 2010, p.82-87).Managing diversity at UKRD GroupUKRD Group is a multi-media company, based in the U.K. The company owns and operates a portfolio of websites, a software-licensing firm, and 16 local commercial radio stations. The company has been ranked number one for three years in a row on the U.K’s top 100 best employers (Toten 2013). Diversity management is central to the company’s human resource strategic goals, which include the development of an inclusive and integrated workforce. UKRD Group acknowledges the benefits of a diverse workforce, and it invests much in ensuring that the work-environment is free from discrimination. Moreover, the company endeavours to promote the principles of diversity in all its operations with employees, job applicants, suppliers, clients, recruitment agencies, contractors, and the public (UKRD Group Ltd, n.d.). According to the company’s CEO, William Rogers, one of the key goals of the company is to build a supportive culture, based on various fundamental standards of behaviour including honesty, fairness, openness, professionalism, and fun. For instance, employees have the liberty to express their disagreement with anything the group purposes to accomplish. However, they are expected to observe fairness and professionalism when presenting their views. Having such a splendid value-based culture portrays a good image of how the company is investing in diversity management. Furthermore, the company does not have a structured human resource department. All the HR functions are outsourced. It has adopted such as strategy in order to encourage the management to have a greater responsibility for their employees. By having a structured HR department, the company’s management believes that the relationship between managers and employees would weaken, since matters such as discipline m ay be shifted from one department to another, and as a result, they may not be handled effectively. This is a viable strategy toward strengthening of the manager-employee relationship, which is key to the effective management of diversity (Toten 2013). All employees as well as anyone who acts on behalf of the company is required to adhere to the company’s set principles of equality and diversity. Any sort of unlawful discrimination in the workplace is not condoned, and the company has put in place necessary measures to prevent its occurrence. Specifically, UKRD Group purposes to ensure that no job applicant or employee is subjected to unlawful discrimination based on gender, race, sexual orientation, disability, age, part-time status, or religion. This commitment is taken into account at all aspects of employment such as training, recruitment, promotion and career-development opportunities, grievance handling and the application of disciplinary procedures, and terms/conditions of employment. Because of the evolving nature of the job market and the legislation changes, the company often reviews its policies regarding diversity, and implements relevant changes (UKRD Group Ltd, n.d.). Recommendations In order for the UKRD Group to be at the forefront in ensuring diversity prevails in all its operations, it is necessary for its management to take into consideration the following suggestions. To start with, it should ensure it has a wide recruiting base. This can be achieved by adopting tools such as online job boards, where anyone with an access to the internet can view the job opportunities being advertised by the company. The company should also have a standard evaluation form. By having a standard evaluation form, instances of discrimination will be eliminated, and it allows the hiring team to use the same criteria for all candidates (Thiederman 2008). Moreover, managers of UKRD should explain the benefits of diversity to the employees, and familiarize the new hires with the company’s culture. For instance, they can clarify the roles the new hires are expected to execute, and explain to them the values treasured in the company (Hubbard 2004, p.85). Conclusion The above discussion has explored the strategic benefits of diversity management, and examined how diversity is handled at UKRD Company Ltd. Since the market is becoming increasingly global, it is necessary for businesses to understand, acknowledge, and embrace diversity in their day-to-day operations, and in their workforce. Effective management of diversity is the key to leveraging the benefits, and reducing the drawbacks associated with diversity in the workplace. Companies reap huge benefits through effective management of diversity. For instance, pooling the diverse skills and experiences from different cultural and social backgrounds increases employees’ productivity and responsiveness to varying conditions. In addition, when employees are working in groups, diversity enables them to generate more and better ideas unlike when they come from the same social or cultural background. Based on this discussion, it is worthwhile arguing that companies should ensure diversity is well managed in order to thrive successfully. Bibliography â€Å"Diversity & Equal Opportunities Statement.† UKRD Group Ltd -. (n.d.). Available from . [14 August 2014]. Abiodun, R. A. (2010). Leadership behavior impact on employee’s loyalty, engagement and organizational performance:. [S.l.], Authorhouse. Aswathappa, K. (2013). Human resource management: text and cases. New Delhi, McGraw Hill Education. Buhler, P. (2010). Human Resources Management All the Information You Need to Manage Your Staff and Meet Your Business Objectives. Cincinnati, F+W Media. Combe, C. (2013). Introduction to management. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Griffin, R. W. (2012). Fundamentals of management. Mason, OH, South-Western Cengage Learning. Guffey, M. E., & Loewy, D. (2010). Business communication: process and product. Mason, OH, South-Western/Cengage Learning. Hubbard, E. E. (2004). The manager’s pocket guide to diversity management. Amherst, MA, HRD Press. Mor-Barak, M. E. (2011). Managing diversity: toward a globally inclusive workplace. Los Angeles, SAGE. Paludi, M. A. (2012). Managing diversity in today’s workplace: strategies for employees and employers. Santa Barbara, Calif, ABC-CLIO. Thiederman, S. B. (2008). Making diversity work: 7 steps for defeating bias in the workplace. New York, Kaplan Pub. Toten, Mike. â€Å"Employee engagement case study: UK radio group.† Workplace Info -. Available from . [16 May 2013].

Marx Karl Marx and Theses on Feuerbach Essay

Marx Karl Marx and Theses on Feuerbach Essay Marx: Karl Marx and Theses on Feuerbach Essay KARL MARX THESES ON FEUERBACH marx2mao.com/M&E/TF45.html From Frederick Engels, Ludwig Feuerbach and the End of Classical German Philosophy FOREIGN LANGUAGES PRESS, PEKING 1976 First Edition 1976 pp. 61-65. " . . . a translation . . . of the text of the German edition of 1888. . . ." Prepared  © for the Internet by David J. Romagnolo, djr@cruzio.com (January 1998) page 61 KARL MARX: THESES ON FEUERBACH I The chief defect of all hitherto existing materialism that of Feuerbach included is that the thing [Gegenstand ], reality, sensuousness, is conceived only in the form of the object [Objekt ] or of intuition [Anschauung ],* but not as human sensuous activity, practice, not subjectively. Hence it happened that the active side, in contradistinction to materialism, was developed by idealism but only abstractly, since, of course, idealism does not know real, sensuous activity as such. Feuerbach wants sensuous objects, really distinct from the objects of thought, but he does not conceive human activity itself as objective [gegenstndliche ] activity. Hence, in the Essence of Christianity, he regards the theoreti- * Anschauung in Kant and Hegel means awareness, or direct knowledge, through the senses, and is translated as intuition in English versions of Kant and Hegel. It is in this sense that Marx uses Anschauung and not in the sense of contemplation, which is how it has usually and in correctly been translated. Ed. page 62 cal attitude as the only genuinely human attitude, while practice is conceived and fixed only in its dirty Jewish manifestation. Hence he does not grasp the significance of "revolutionary," of "practical-critical," activity. Marx, Theses on Feuerbach (1845), p.2 of 3 2 II The question whether objective [gegenstndliche ] truth can be attained by human thinking is not a question of theory but is a practical question. It is in practice that man must prove the truth, that is, the reality and power, the this-sidedness [Diesseitigkeit ] of his thinking. The dispute over the reality or unreality of thinking which is isolated from practice is a purely scholastic question. III The materialist doctrine that men are products of circumstances and upbringing, and that, therefore, changed men are products of other circumstances and changed upbringing, forgets that men themselves change circumstances and that the educator himself must be educated. Hence, this doctrine necessarily arrives at dividing society into two parts, of which one is superior to society (in Robert Owen, for example). The coincidence of the changing of circumstances and of human activity can be conceived and rationally understood only as revolutionizing practice. IV Feuerbach starts out from the fact of religious self-alienation, the duplication of the world into a religious, imagined page 62 world and a real one. His work consists in the dissolution of the religious world into its secular basis. He overlooks the fact that after completing this work, the chief thing still remains to be done. For the fact that the secular foundation detaches itself from itself and establishes itself in the clouds as an independent realm is precisely only to be explained by the very self-dismemberment and self-contradictoriness of this secular basis. The latter itself must, therefore, first be understood in its contradiction and then revolutionized in practice by the elimination of the

Design a project that address a specific social issue.the project is Essay

Design a project that address a specific social issue.the project is activity day center for people ages 65 and over - Essay Example England has about four thousand six hundred adult day care centres in operation providing care to a total of 13 elderly people in England on a daily basis. Over seventy percent of these adult day care centres operate on a not for profit or public basis. Most funding for the operation of these centres mainly comes from participant fees, third party payers, and philanthropic sources. Adult day care is a service given to the frail, physically or cognitively impaired adults, seniors, and their caregivers. Some of the centres are associated with multi service entities like home care, assisted living, nursing facilities, and hospitals. Adult day care programs provide adults with services in a community based group setting. These programs are generally geared towards providing day time social and health services to the elderly who require supervised care away from the home such as transportation for daily needs, meals and snacks with provisions for special dietary needs, programs for stimulating activities, opportunities for social interaction with peers and mental stimulation, physical, occupational, and speech therapy in a non medical setting, and help with activities for daily needs. The main purpose of Veo Activity day Centre is to assist the elderly to prevent social isolation and loneliness. The reduction of social interaction difficulties that older people face, may be countered by activities that the centre will provide such as arts and craft, dancing, quiz puzzles, board games, walks and tours, singing, and flower arrangement. The aim of of Veo Activity centre will be to motivate the people over sixty five years by encouraging them to participate in the planning of activities within the centre, and to assist those with disabilities to be independent and socially integrated thus giving respite to those closer to them such as relatives and carers. Veo Activity day Centre will have a project

Sustainability - Can it have a place in todays Construction World Essay

Sustainability - Can it have a place in todays Construction World - Essay Example However, prices have been levelling off or coming down since 2004. Any drop in prices of real estate is bound to affect consumer spending, since a large amount is financed by loans taken out against the increased value of real estate. The present scenario of low interest rates, and high oil and home prices has the look of the 1970's just before the worldwide recession set in. This time the inflation may not be so bad because the governments and banks are less likely to make the blunders they did in the 1970's and also the large work force of developing economies like China and India will help hold down the labour wage rates (Woodall). In July 1998, the 'Construction Task Force' led by Sir John Egan produced its report Rethinking Construction (Duffy, 2002). The need for the Industry to improve its performance was highlighted and it was suggested that the then current thinking and practices need to be drastically changed. The report highlighted the need for application of best practices to As a demonstration of the changes, a series of 'Demonstration Projects' showcasing the changed thinking, should be undertaken. The report suggested a need for a 'movement for change' that would be a dynamic, inspirational and non-institutionalised movement to bring about a radical improvement. The report led to further action with the launch of the 'M4I' Movement for Innovation in November 1998 (Azobuild). 'Constructing the Team' was the title of the report of the team commissioned by Government and Industry and led by Sir Michael Latham. This report emphasised the need for all elements of the Industry, namely, architecture, tendering, procurement and construction to work together as a team to revitalise the Industry and to engender high quality and high efficiency (Wikipedia). In this situation it is vital to understand the problems faced by the construction Industry (Industry) and the way forward to sustainability. Research Objectives: The objectives of the research would be to analyse the problems facing the Industry towards meeting the vision of the Egan and Latham reports and to suggest ways for improvement in current practices and systems. Special emphasis shall be placed on the need for improvement in costs, time and reduction in defects. The research shall focus on the team approach where all elements of the Industry form a cohesive whole to deliver quality product at the lowest cost and in the shortest time. Scope of the Research: The research shall be confined to the Industry and its primary clients, namely the housing aspect. Other types of construction where the client commissions a building or other civil construction in order to carry on some other business activity are specifically excluded from the scope of the study. The report shall specifically address itself to the basic questions raised in the reports of the Egan and Latham committees on the industry having to readdress itself to focusing on becoming client targeted, integration into teams throughout the supply chain and developing a respect for people. Research Methods: The objectives of the research shall be achieved by following a structured approach consisting of the following steps: 1. A detailed survey