Fiction Writers of the New Millennium Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Fiction Writers of the New Millennium - Essay Example Modern fiction writers, however, have turned away from this simple construct to experiment with variations that often don’t resolve into anything for the characters. If they resolve into anything for the reader, it is up to the reader to find this meaning for themselves. Perhaps in keeping with the breakdowns in society that the authors were seeing at the time they wrote their stories, some of the major fiction writers of the past 50 years have presented stories that lack clear direction, climax or resolution. This structural approach can be found in short stories such as â€Å"Entropy† (1960) by Thomas Pynchon, â€Å"Lost in the Funhouse† (1969) by John Barth and DeLillo’s â€Å"The Angel Esmeralda† (1994). In â€Å"Entropy†, the author focuses on a scientific principle that suggests nature moves from a point of order to one of disorder (Random House, 2010). The story introduces a great number of characters with new characters arriving all the time and two characters completely separated within an isolated system. The breakdown referred to in the title is seen in every aspect of the story and stated explicitly by Callisto when dictating to Aubade that he â€Å"envisioned a heat-death for his culture in which ideas, like heat-energy, would no longer be transferred, since each point in it would ultimately have the same quantity of energy; and intellectual motion would, accordingly, cease† (Pynchon 306). This concept is acted out downstairs as communication and sharing breaks down among the party guests and the band begins rehearsing air music. Duke explains to Meatball, â€Å"if that first quartet of Mulligan’s had no piano, it could only mean one thing †¦ no r oot chords. Nothing to listen to while you blow a horizontal line. What one does is such a case is, one thinks the roots† (Pynchon 311). Taking this thought a step further, the band was rehearsing what it would be like if no sound was released, the audience just had to

Exceptionalism in All Quiet on the western Front Research Paper

Exceptionalism in All Quiet on the western Front - Research Paper Example The exceptionalism which is used remains throughout the book as an expression of the war; however, it is broken by the end of the book to show the shock and reality of war meaning more than the boundaries created by the country which one is a part of. The exceptionalism breaks enough to show that the soldiers were the exception, as opposed to the patriotism and beliefs about the war which many had. Defining Sides and Exceptionalism The concept of exceptionalism by the narrator is displayed from the first pages. The technique is used with the knowledge that the narrator is in a war for Germany and is fighting in France. While there is little reference to the patriotism held in Germany, there is a focus on the other surrounding countries and how these forces are causing the main suffering of the soldiers. For instance, the narrator states â€Å"It is true that we have no right to this windfall. The Prussian is not so generous. We have only a miscalculation to thank for it†¦.on th e last day an astonishing number of English heavies opened up on us with high –explosive, drumming ceaselessly on our position, so that we suffered severely and came back only eighty strong† (Remarque, 2). ... The approach of creating boundaries and defining exceptionalism by building a sense of mercy to the German troops is a tactic which the narrator displays throughout the entire book. The definition of exceptionalism is then seen through the eye of the narrator, which makes the reader sympathetic to the side that is being spoken about. The idea of warfare that is expressed becomes a means of protecting the country against the actions being taken from the other countries. It also associates with the reader being able to witness the actions which are taken, similar to a news related item. When reading this, the individual has knowledge only about the side of the narrator and the attacks that are causing suffering from the Americans, English or the Prussians. The division is instantly created because of the initiative to narrate and express the divisions of identity by nationality first (Atwood, 31). The division which was created according to the countries was furthered as the war contin ued, specifically by showing how Germany and France lost the battle to others who had more. For instance, the end of the book states how America and the English came in with â€Å"new† materials to fight (Remarque, 259). This approach shows how the divisions in country were based on the strategies which were used for war and left Germany and France at a disadvantage. It also shows how there was an unfair treatment and approach toward the war, specifically because these new strategies led to pointed deaths that the narrator speaks about. Each of these complexities then leads to sympathy with the soldiers in France and Germany as the exception fighting the war, despite the loss which occurred. Patriotism and the War The narrations of divisions that are against other

Elementary Education Essay Example for Free

Elementary Education Essay Reading Comprehension -The student uses a variety of strategies to comprehend grade level text; Strand: Reading Process Listening and Speaking The student effectively applies listening and speaking strategies. Informative The student develops and demonstrates technical writing that provides information related to real-world tasks. Benchmark: LA. 2. 1. 7. 3. The student will summarize information in text, including but not limited to main idea, supporting details, and connections between texts; LA. 2. 5. 2. 4. The student will listen politely to oral presentations by classmates. LA. 2. 3. 1. 1. The student will prewrite by generating ideas from multiple sources (e. g. , text, brainstorming, webbing, drawing, writer’s notebook, group discussion, other activities); LA. 4. 4. 2. 5. The student will write simple directions to familiar locations using cardinal directions, landmarks, and distances, and create an accompanying map. Grade Level: Grade 2 Objectives: 1. Using the book The Trumpet of the Swan, the class will understand the main idea of the story by reading, listening and students discussion. 2. Basing on the journals of Louis in the Trumpet of the Swan, the class will come up with their very own journal writing. 3. Using the given information in the book The Trumpet of the Swan, the class will make a map of the main characters travels and adventures. Activities: Before reading: 1. Ask the class if they know what a journal is and if they have ever written one. 2. Tell the class you are going to read them a story entitle The Trumpet of the Swan. During reading: 3. Read the Trumpet of the Swan. 4. Show a map of Canada and point important spots that are mentioned in the Trumpet of the Swan. 5. Show a sample journal and explain how to write and what to write. After reading: 6. Ask the class to read Sams poem and summarize the text and identify the main idea of the poem (Reading). 7. Ask the class to write a journal about nature (Writing). 8. Have the class make a map of Louis’ travels and adventures including all the important spots in Canada, Montana and the Northeast (Visually Representing). 9. Have the class discuss the book by having them share their favorite part and ask questions like the following: How to behave in the woods if you want to appreciate nature, what are their stand on the ethics of Louis father, why is there a need for Serena to hear the beautiful song of her mate, does anyone identify with Applegate Skinner? Or have someone recite a part of Sams poem (Talking/Speaking). 10. Ask the class to listen when a classmate recites a poem and identify the main idea of the poem (Listening). Assessment of Writing Development: The 2 ways of assessing a students writing development are Rubrics and Portfolio assessment. ? Rubrics are tools teachers and students use to evaluate and classify writing, whether individual pieces or portfolios. They identify and articulate what is being evaluated in the writing, and offer descriptors to classify writing into certain categories (1-5, for instance, or A-F). Narrative rubrics and chart rubrics are the two most common forms (UNL|FLWI, 2008). ? Portfolio assessment is the collection of students work over time reflecting their progress, efforts and achievements and teachers based it on the following items: students Projects, surveys, reports and units from reading and writing Favorite poems, songs, letters, and comments, Interesting thoughts to remember, Finished samples that illustrate wide writing, Examples of writing across the curriculum, Literature extensions, Student record of books read and attempted, Audio tape of reading, Writing responses to literary components, Writing that shows growth in usage of traits, Samples in which ideas are modified from first draft to final product, Unedited first draft, Revised first draft, Evidence of effort, Self-evaluations, Writing that illustrates evidence of topic generation (Hurst, 2009). Assessment of Grammar Skills: You can informally assess childrens grammar skills by: ? Reviewing childrens work on relevant pages in their Student Books, handwriting sentences they copied during Daily Routines, and especially their own independent Quick Writing. ? Another method is by formal graded assessments such as quizzes, selected homework activities, and in-class tests (Porter and vanDommelen, 2005). Assessment of Spelling Skills: The two ways of assessing the students spelling skills are observation and analysis of the work samples. ? Observation can be done in the classroom by observing the students as they write and as they try to use words that are beyond their ability level. It is important that observation be supplemented later with the students work samples and it should be done in a systematic way. ? Analysis of the work samples is an assessment of students spelling ability from examination of samples of their unaided writing (Westwood, 2008). These samples can be taken from students exercise books, test papers, and language arts portfolios (Fiderer as cited in Westwood, 2008). THE SPELLING PATTERNS: 1. Blends: are 2 or 3 letters combined to form a distinct spelling sound. Examples are : -br- in brown and break and -fr- in fry and freeze 2. Digraph: A group of two successive letters whose phonetic value is a single sound. For example, EA in BREAD, CH in CHAT, or NG in SING. 3. Diphthong: the union of two vowels, pronounced by a single impulse of the voice; as, ea in beat, ou in sound. 4. R-controlled vowels: When a vowel is followed by an r, it makes a special sound. These are called r-controlled vowels, or r-colored vowels. Examples are /ar/ sound as in car, /er/ sound as in butter. 5. Long vowel: a sound which is the same as, or very similar to the letter name of one of the vowels. Examples are /a/ as in gate, /e/ as in need. 6. Short vowel: Are vowels of shorter duration. Examples are short /a/ as in bat, short /e/ as in bet. 7. Contraction: is a word made up from a verb and another word where an apostrophe takes the place of any letters that are left out. It can be positive contraction or negative contraction. Examples are: arent are not and heres here is. CUING SYSTEM: 1. Semantics — the study of the development and changes of the meanings of speech forms. Semantics is also a study of the process by which meaning is derived from symbols, signs, text, and other meaning-bearing forms. 2. Syntax — the conventions and rules for assembling words into meaningful sentences; syntax varies across languages. 3. Graphophonic — Refers to the sound relationship between the orthography (symbols) and phonology (sounds) of a language. 4. Phonological awareness — The understanding that speech is composed of sub-parts sentences are comprised of words, words are comprised of syllables, syllables are comprised of onsets and rimes, and can be further broken down to phonemes. Cuing Strategies â€Å"Used by effective readers to figure out unfamiliar words and to make meaning, cuing strategies include knowledge of syntax, semantics, words and word meaning, and graphophonics (letter/sound associations). Teachers can guide students to use cuing strategies by reminding them to ask themselves, did it sound right? Did it make sense? Did the word look right? † (Teacher Resources, 2002). References Advice for Teachers: Assessing Student Writing. UNL | FLWI. 2008. 03 Apr. 2009 http://flwi. unl. edu/advice/studentwriting. html#suggestions. Porter, Patricia, and Deborah VanDommelen. Integrating Assessment with Grammar-for-Writing Instruction. CATESOL: California Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages. 2005. 03 Apr. 2009 http://www. catesol. org/Porter_vanDommelen. pdf. Hurst, Carol Otis. Portfolio Assessment in the Reading-Writing Classroom. Carol Hursts Childrens Literature Site Reviews and teaching ideas for kids books. 03 Apr. 2009 http://www. carolhurst. com/profsubjects/portfolioassess. html. Westwood, Peter. What Teachers Need to Know about Spelling. Aust Council for Ed Research, 2008. Teaching Reading: Lens on Literacy. Teacher Professional Development and Teacher Resources by Annenberg Media. 2002. http://www. learner. org/libraries/readingk2/front/otherterms. html.

Non Monetary Incentives in the Workplace

Non Monetary Incentives in the Workplace Mr. Ignacio Falgueras Sorauren conducted this research in 2000 in which he investigates the problem related to motivation in organizations. Actually this problem occurs when people tend to follow their own interests rather than firm s common goals. Primarily author try to address this problem by giving them some economic proposals but the study showed that economic proposal doesn t decrease conflict of interest and not able the people to purse firm s common goal rather than follow their personal interest. These economic proposals further create more problems but after that researcher through thorough study reveals that non-monetary incentives are most important to motivate people towards organizational goals because money is not the solution of every problem. As you can find lot of variables in this article, but with respect to my topic Motivation through monetary and non-monetary benefits help me to identify the dependent variable as organizational goal and independent variable is Employees interest towards job and their motivation towards organizational goals . So it shows that organizational goal is dependent on employee s interest towards job and their motivation towards organizational goals through some non-monetary incentives. Apart from monetary benefits there is a strong need of non-monetary benefits to purse employees towards firm common goals. Some non-monetary benefits include making job challenging and interesting so in this way they know what they are doing and produce positive results for the organization. In order to make job interesting and challenging money would not always play a big role because money is neither the motivator nor the major one. Researchers reveal that most of the time money leads to conflict of interest and the most important opposition of money is its incapability to reduce the conflict of interests born in any organization. So organization needs to set a common goal communicated with their employees, thus enables them to bring unity among their employees and in this way conflict problem has also resolve. Non-monetary incentive in shape of communicating organizational goal and setting targets for the team, make the employees to work for organizational interests rather than pe rsonal interest. This article is extremely relevant to my topic which helps me to understand that non-monetary incentives have great role to play for the achievement of organizational goals. Through these incentives inject motivation in employees to prefer organizational goals over their personal interest. Along with that the best way to motivate people is treating them as human beings because it is really essential to consider all human aspects to gain excellent results. Article 2 Judy Cameron., W. David Pierce. (1994). Reinforcement, Reward, and Intrinsic Motivation: A Meta-Analysis, Vol. 64, No. 3. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/1170677 Two Researchers Judy Cameron and W. David Pierce wrote a research paper titled as Reinforcement, Reward, and Intrinsic Motivation: A Meta-Analysis in 1994 to examine the effects of reinforcement and reward on intrinsic motivation. So in this paper they have conducted 96 experimental studies from different groups to compare rewards and non-rewards effect on intrinsic motivation. In this article I found Intrinsic Motivation as dependent variable, whereas reinforcement and rewards are independent variables. Thus, it shows that in order to bring intrinsic motivation there is need to be some good reinforcement and rewards. As I mentioned above they conducted 96 experiments and the results showed that reward does not decrease intrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation is the motivation that comes from inside the person and he gets pleasure while doing job or performing any particular task. When researcher scrutinizes the communication process he finds out that intrinsic motivation can increase through verbal praise. The reward is given to an employee on the completion of the task and it has an insignificant negative effect on intrinsic motivation as measured by the amount of time spent on the task. Because that person is self motivated so there is no need to give any rewards to that person but on the other way around concentration of employee s increases towards there job and they try to do the same task in shorter span of time and also in this way bring the efficiency in their work and higher intrinsic motivation. They further conducted five more studies about reinforcement and results reveal that rein forcement does not effect any individual intrinsic motivation. So it shows that you can reinforce your employee regarding the completion of job and that will not hurt their intrinsic motivation. In the end article leave us with one question it is not clear yet what effect reinforcement or reward have on intrinsic motivation. They consider some studies have opposing trend and not relevant because of outside of the researcher paradigm. This article is highly relevant to my study on motivation through monetary and non-monetary benefits. As intrinsic motivation does not increase when employee gets a reward but some times brings efficiency. Whereas reinforcement does not hurt employees intrinsic motivation so intrinsic motivation has a mix trend with respect to benefits. Article 3 Scott Jeffery. The Benefits of Tangible Non-monetary incentives, Retrieved from http://www.businessgroupinc.com/PDFs/The%20Benefits%20of%20Tangible%20Non%20Monetary%20Incentives.pdf Mr. Scott Jeffery the writer of the article which is titled as The Benefits of Tangible Non-monetary incentives talks about that some tangible non-monetary benefits are much more motivational for employees as compare to monetary incentives. And by doing that we can bring better reward system through which the organization easily gains their desired Objectives. One thing we have to keep in mind that in order to increase more performance, non-monetary incentive must be equal or greater than cash incentives because if you provide lower value non-monetary incentives that might be not as effective as high value cash incentives. In this important article I establish tangible non-monetary incentives as independent variable where as motivation is our dependent variable. Therefore motivation in employees is depending on your independent variable non-monetary incentives and this statement sounds true because there is high probability of bringing motivation in employee s trough non-monetary benefits. There are some very important points discussed in this article like, nowadays organizations use very small amount of tangible non-monetary benefits which are very small percentage of total employee compensation. In this research researcher discussed some explanations through which we get an idea that nowadays firms are not using this kind of incentives. Psychological process which increased motivational power of tangible non-monetary incentives is both emotional and cognitive (involves mental process). As you get to know about the power of tangible non-monetary benefits and when these two different cognitive and emotional processes gets together this mean that they toil together in decision making. Justifiability is cognitive because people have to consider the difficulty they have face in order to justify the purchase of tangible non-monetary benefits. On the other way around the nature of these justifiability concerns are more effective. The writer mentioned in this article that th e prize which is earned on the basis of good performance makes an employee to think about his achievement, consider as a cognitive process and even have a higher utility when other people get to know about your achievement. So, it shows that motivation or organizational goals are our dependent variables, whereas non-monetary incentives are independent. So I can conclude the article by saying that tangible non-monetary incentives boost employee motivation and has the ability to improve the efficiency of the organization. The article is highly relevant to my research which helps me to understand the role of emotional Psychology in order to motivate employees and how it enables the organization to achieve their desire goals. Article 4 Rizwan Saleem. (2005). A study on the effect of monetary Benefits (pay) and work motivation on job satisfaction. Retrieved from http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1529064 Mr. Rizwan Saleem from Mohammad Ali Jinnah University in 2005 wrote a research paper titled as A study on the effect of monetary Benefits (pay) and work motivation on job satisfaction . This study is conducted from the banking sector with respect to understand the effect of pay and work motivation on job satisfaction. For that they done exploratory research by developing the questionnaire in order to measure the level of pay, work motivation, and job satisfaction as well as achieve the effect of pay and work motivation on job satisfaction. In this article I discover dependent variable as Job satisfaction where as monetary benefits and work motivation is our independent variables. This means that job satisfaction is depending upon monetary benefits that employee is getting and along with that how well the employee is motivated towards the job. So the combination of both helps to achieve Job satisfaction for an employee. As the study showed about the psychology of human mind regarding job satisfaction is that person is self motivated to do that job or task and gets pleasure while doing that job. The rule of the thumb is that the more satisfied the employee, the higher the organizational performance. Further research reveals that there is a difference between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. In this article intrinsic motivation is defined as the motivation to perform an activity in order to experience the pleasure inherent in the activity. The cognitive evaluation theory says that rewards interpret an employee s competence and determine their intrinsic motivation. In this article we conclude that pay is independent variable and job satisfaction is depending upon it. Facts reveal that extrinsic incentives often crowd out intrinsic motivation which then reduces discretionary effort of workers. Research has revealed that motivation has different intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. According to Deci, Connell, Ryan intrinsic motivation can be defined as the motivation to perform an activity for it, in order to experience the pleasure and satisfaction inherent in the activity. According to cognitive evaluation theory and self determination theory it is rewards that are interpreted as information about one s competence and satisfy individuals need for autonomy, will enhance intrinsic motivation. In this article we conclude that pay is independent variable and job satisfaction is depending upon it. According to experiential facts, extrinsic incentives often crowd out intrinsic motivation which in turn reduces discretionary effort of workers. Researcher also found that overall the employees were satisfied with their jobs and have their interest in their job. By employing these two independent variables showed that job satisfaction comes automatically and study also proves that i n this way employees were more motivated to work for the organization. This article is relevant to my study in a sense that how motivation along with monetary benefits creates job satisfaction for an employee. It helps me to understand that monetary benefits also play a vital role in order to motivate employees and enhance their job performance. Article 5 Thomas Li-Ping Tang., Randy K. Chiu. (2003). Income, Money Ethic, Pay Satisfaction, Commitment, and Unethical Behavior: Is the Love of Money the Root of Evil for Hong Kong Employees?, Vol. 46, No. 1. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/25075086 Mr. Thomas Li-Ping Tang and Mr. Randy K. Chiu in 2003 through empirical study come up with a research titled as Income, Money Ethic, Pay Satisfaction, Commitment, and Unethical Behavior: Is the Love of Money the Root of Evil for Hong Kong Employees? . The research scrutinize a model involving income, the love of money, pay satisfaction, organizational commitment, job changes, and unethical behavior among 211 full-time employees in Hong Kong, China. In this article I found Organizational commitment as a dependent variable whereas pay satisfaction monetary benefits and love of money are independent variables. So pay satisfaction and good monetary benefits enable the employees to meet the organizational commitment. The study shows quite a few relation between important variables, to mention a few important ones it showed that love of money was negatively related to income and pay satisfaction and the love of money was also negatively related to ethical behavior which means that if you have a strong love for money you cannot easily resist unethical behavior. Pay satisfaction was positively related to organizational commitment. These relations show that income or money is not the cause of evil but the lust for money is the root to all unethical behavior within an organization. It has been highlighted in the article that the findings of this research shouldn t be interpreted that money is an evil as money itself is a key motivator for employees. There has been an increase regarding the importance of money as a career goal.Pay dissatisfaction has numerous undesirable consequences, e.g., turnover, theft, workplace deviance, and unethical behaviors in organizations and might have direct impact on com pany s strategic decisions and image. So there is need to provide good pay and monetary benefits to your employees in order to get the desired objectives. This article is related to my topic in a sense that by providing good monetary benefits to your employees, you eliminate the negative consequences such as high turnover, theft and dissatisfaction this further help them to meet the organizational commitment. Article 6 Hoimonti Ganguly. (Oct., 1974). Role of Status and Money as Motivators among Middle viromnmManagement, Vol. 10, No. 2. Retrieved by http://www.jstor.org/stable/27765445 Ganguly has conducted a research on the relative importance of Money and status on the motivation level of the middle managers of an organization. The study aimed at measuring the effect of both money and status separately on the commitment level of the employees and then to see which one is more important. Research revealed that status plays a more important role than money for middle managers and this is explained by the fact that the lower-end needs of the middle managers are reasonably fulfilled thus their satisfaction from the job will increase more if their status is improved as compared to the same increase in monetary reward. Money and most importantly Status are the independent variables of the research and the dependent variable is the motivation of managers towards the organizational goals. It has been observed that the correlation between status and motivation is particularly strong in case of middle managers. So it shows that in order to achieve organizational goals and motivate people towards their assigned task, there need to give them a status or position in the company that status is going to be self motivator. It has been further observed that the findings of this research hold true across all the stratifying variables like age, income, experience and qualification thereby strengthening the credibility of the research. The research also shows that younger managers are particularly sensitive to status. Managements that are trying to raise the motivation of its employees towards the organization goals should try to cultivate a corporate culture that meets the managerial needs of status. The research was further taken to define the different components of status and it was revealed that intrinsic factors like power, self-esteem, and self-actualization were important in defining status, rather than extrinsic incentives such as fringe benefits and white-collar work. Another important thing that should not be overlooked is that that status is to a great extent defined by the type of work assigned, task performed and result achieved. It has been suggested that linking status with performance tend s to improve motivation greatly. This article supports my topic in a way that motivation of middle level managers is not only depending upon the monetary and non-monetary incentives but also depend upon the higher status which is one of the non monetary reward. However it s crucial to take into consideration the different components of status which may vary from organization to organization. Article 7 S. K. Bhatia. (Jan., 1985). Job Motivation of Executives: An Empirical Study, Vol. 20, No.3. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/27768826 Increased motivation of the executives of an organization is very essential for its success not only because they make all the strategic decisions for the firm but also because of the fact that they influence and motivate all the employees working under them. S.k.Bhatia conducted empirical research on the job motivation of the executives. In the study he has aimed to identify a wide variety of factors that affects the motivation level of the executive and the importance they attach to these factors. He has conducted the research by primarily using surveys as his research tool. The article highlighted that monetary benefits, better job security, good working environment, job content, recognition, work-itself, responsibility, opportunity for growth and advancement and sense of achievement are significant factors that should be considered while making policies to increase motivation for the executives. I t has been observed that job content plays a very significant role in determining the level of satisfaction. Majority of employees who find their work duties boring and not contributing towards their advancement tend to have lower levels of motivation where as the ones who were satisfied with their job content directly derived job motivation and were more than willing to bend their energies for organization s benefit. Apart from the job content majority of the respondents answered that a positive perception of the executives is really important. Positive perception was a factor that was further researched upon by Bhatia and it was revealed that it encompasses a wide variety of factors, some of them that the employees mentioned were recognition, responsibility, opportunity for growth, work-itself, advancement, sense of doing good for the society and a sense of achievement. In this article Perception of the job is considered as a very vital factor controlling and defining the motivation of the executives thus in this empirical study it is taken as an independent variable which is determined by a wide variety of factors and vary from person to person and the variable that is dependent upon the perception of the employee is the job motivation. This means if the person changes his perception about their job and particularly if it changes in positive manner than organization performance definitely increases. Perception of the job is considered as the most significant psychological factors identified by all the Motivational theories. The findings of the research make it imperative to lay emphasis on intrinsic motivating factors identified by Herzberg in his two-factor theory. Along with that there is the marked difference in the degree of perception of executives belonging to three categories (i.e. first level, second level and middle level and above).The general trend is that higher the category of executives, the better the degree of perception of job and consequently the higher level of motivation. A large majority of executives are willing to shoulder greater level of responsibility showing their positive attitude towards the job. In the same way a large percentage of the survey population responded that they do not experience stagnation in their jobs and thus get enough opportunities for advancement in their careers which meet their need of self actualization. However on the other end of the spectrum are some respondents who said that they are over burdened and experience less opportunities for growth and advancement. Some first level executives complain that they need more training courses to improve their abilities. The executives have given useful and practical suggestions for bringing about an overall improvement in their job performance and functioning of the respective departments. Article 8 Harvey S. James, Jr. (2003). Why Does the Introduction of Monetary Compensation Produce A Reduction in Performance? Retrieved from http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=481942 Mr. Harvey S. James conducted the research in 2003through which he tries to find the answer of the question that why monetary benefits lead to decrease in performance. Through his observational study he revealed that extrinsic incentives usually crowds out intrinsic motivation. This article demonstrates that how the increase in monetary incentives starts displacing intrinsic motivation to act in the interest of principal. And basically they found out that the motivation of the person distracted when his intrinsic motivation is attacked by extrinsic incentives and in this way his preferences, objectives diverted towards incentives. In this article intrinsic motivation is our independent variable whereas explicit incentives is a dependent variable. It is observed that lot of people want to work without explicit incentives and when you increase their monetary benefits it will lead to decline in their effort. This change of effort takes place because now his motivation towards work is dependent upon extrinsic incentives e.g. lot of employees are interested towards certain job but there is a prize for one, then each and every one of them try to dominate each other and start working for personal interest rather than organizational interest. This decline in responsibility shows that there is a tradeoff people face either by intrinsically satisfied at a higher cost or get extrinsic satisfaction from being compensated. But on the other way around when the people have strong intrinsic motivation then it becomes difficult for explicit incentives to crowd out intrinsic motivation of people. Further he explains that teaching uncritically to workers in the interest of organization; incentives are also align if the workers work according to organization interest and such thing might be lead to counterproductive.Murdock s in 2002 through its analysis revealed that incentive contracts and intrinsic motivation are complementary because focusing on healthy work ethics rather than organization interest is followed by most of the organizations these days but on the other way around by giving these incentives increase the intrinsic motivation. And the major cause behind these kinds of incentives is to increase organizational efficiency and to produce the best result for the organization. This article is highly relevant to my study through which I come to know that the basic purpose of incentives is to employee s motivation towards organizational goals but most of the time it proves wrong for highly intrinsic motivated people, on the other way around author says that sometimes extrinsic incentives don t crowd out intrinsic motivation as well. Article 9 Dan Ariely, Anat Bracha, Stephan Meier. Doing Good or Doing Well? Image Motivation and Monetary Incentives in Behaving Prosocially. Retrieved from http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1010620 This article titled as Doing Good or Doing Well? Image Motivation and Monetary Incentives in Behaving Prosocially written by Dan Ariely, Anat Bracha and Stephan Meier. This paper scrutinize image motivation in which the focus is to be liked by others and treated well regarded, in their eyes. Prosocial behavior (doing good) is one of their drivers. Also determine whether extrinsic monetary benefits (doing well) have unfavorable effect on Prosocial behavior because of crowding out of image motivation. According to definition image is the presentation of ones behavior to other people. So this exclusive property showed that image is most important part of motivation to behave prosocially. Research also showed that when extrinsic motivation relate with image motivation then it is less effective in public than in private. I derive Motivation and extrinsic motivation as dependent variable whereas monetary incentives and behaving prosocially are dependent variable. It is revealed in the study that motivation is crowded out by monetary incentives which illustrates that monetary incentives are counterproductive for public prosocial activities as compare to private one. Through exploratory research researcher finds out that there hypothesis supports them because monetary incentives severely depends on visibility, monetary incentives are much more effective helping them privately rather than publicly Prosocial activities. As we know extrinsic motivation is a motivation that comes from outside of an individual and other way around people wants to be seen doing good without extrinsic incentives, these people want to be respected in the eyes of other people, they want other people to appreciates them and to consider them they are doing good job. But with extrinsic incentives there motive to work well deteriorates because extrinsic incentives makes them work for money or some other factors but they don t want people to consider that they are doing well . so in this way they are not get effective and their image value decreases. The signaling element of a product greatly influences its purchase thus if the government gives a subsidy on a particular technology that is environment friendly then the fact that whether the particular product is a publicly used product or not will greatly influence the buyers motivation to buy the product. The purchase of the environment friendly technology will confuse the buyer that how does his purchased is viewed by the public, is that made because the buyer is genuinely concerned about the environment or is it just to avail the tax benefit or is it bought just to create an image that you are a responsible citizen. Thus the government should carefully consider all its policies and should take into account the unintentional damage to signaling that their policy results in. Another option for providing the extrinsic incentive is to provide it without making it public, it will give the same effect as if the extrinsic incentive does not exists. This could be further elaborated by using the example that most of the donors for social causes do not make their identity public so that the signaling effect does not crowd outs their true cause. To conclude it is better to have less extrinsic incentives for visible Prosocial activities so that these incentives do not erode the moral aspect. This article is highly relevant to my study which gives me further knowledge about the effect of extrinsic incentives on motivation and if the person is not extrinsically motivated he wants to appreciate and considered that he is doing a good job. So different people is motivated through different ways. Article 10 Andrew Ballentine., Nora McKenzie., Allen Wysocki., Karl Kepner. The Role of Monetary and Non-Monetary Incentives in the Workplace as Influenced by Career Stage. Retrieved from http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/hr016 This article titled as The Role of Monetary and Non-Monetary Incentives in the Workplace as Influenced by Career Stage written by Andrew Ballentine, Nora McKenzie, Allen Wysocki and Karl Kepner. In the corporate environment manager these days constantly trying to create strong motivational environment in the organization through which all the workforce work towards the organizational goal together. For that they use monetary and non-monetary benefits to motivate them in workplace. There can be diverse kinds of monetary benefits which have a similar impact on associates. An example could be a mutual fund is one of monetary benefits provided through company insurance program or pension plans. Different people in an organization has different needs and there are different incentives for the employee of different age group. Nowadays organizations are replacing their traditional motivational incentives to newer ones according to the needs of younger generation. Along with that article also states that there are different monetary and non-monetary benefits at each stage of employee career e.g. a nature of an incentive is different for higher management of organization hierarchy as compare to lower level management. So I derive dependent variable as motivation, interest, and job satisfaction whereas career stage and Generation in which you born are Independent variables in this article. The basic reason of monetary benefit is to reward the employee s for excellent performance in their job by giving them money. Profit sharing, stock options, project bonuses and warrants are some types of monetary incentives. On the other way around the rationale behind non-monetary incentives is to reward the employees for excellent performance in their job by giving them opportunities. Flexible work hours, pleasant work environment and training are some of the examples of non-monetary benefits. Furthermore author also revealed that monetary and non-monetary incentives differ in the efficiency, functions and correctness depending upon the nature of incentive. Another researcher Alfie Kohn in 1993 presents his point of view that monetary incentives encourage Obedience to the work in an organization rather than risk-taking approach because most rewards are given on the basis of performance and people don t want to take risk their jobs. So in this way employees are not encouraged from being creative in work place. One of the most important aspects of the study is desired monetary incentives differ from career stage of employee and also from which generation he belongs to. Survey conducted by American Association of Retired Persons has shown that retired people are motivated to work for flexible schedules, part time hours, and temporary employment and they are known as Mature workers who were born between 1930 and 1945. Whereas baby boomers those who were born between 1946 to 1963 wants retirement planning , flexible retirement options, sabbaticals and job training as their non-monetary incentives. Further the next generation Generation X ers those who were born between 1964 and 1981 like flexible work schedule, professional development, feedback, tangible rewards and work environment as their non-monetary incentives. And Generation Y ers those who were born after 1982 wants flexible work schedules, professional development, feedback, tangible rewards and work environment as their non-monetary incentive to get motivated. This article is highly relevant to my research; it increases my understanding that motivation is different for different people. We have to give different non-monetary incentives to different generations and employees of different career stages to motivate them about specific task. Hypothesis Tentative Hypothesis: Ho: Monetary Benefits increases more employee motivation than Non-Monetary Benefits at an organization H1: Non-Monetary Benefits increases more employee motivation than Monetary Benefits at an organization Ho: there is no significant relation between communicating organizational goals and employee motivation level H1: there is significant relationship between communicating organizational goals and employee motivation level Ho: there is no significant relation

The Mission Essay example -- essays research papers

â€Å"The Mission† is a motion picture, directed by Roland Joffe in 1986, about a Jesuit mission that is threatened by greed and imperialism in the late 18th century in the Brazilian jungle. Father Gabriel, played by Jeremy Irons, climbs the mountains of Brazil to bring Christianity to the natives. He is successful and brings about a golden age among them. Mendoza, played by Robert De Niro, a slave trader, kills his brother, Felipe played by Aidan Quinn, in a fit of rage over a woman named Carlotta, played by Cherie Lunghi. Only Fr. Gabriel's leadership prevents his suicide. Gabriel brings Mendoza to work at his mission with the natives, and Mendoza finds peace and asks to become a priest. The Church, under pressure, gives the land up to the Portuguese who will allow slave traders in again. Mendoza breaks his vows and organizes the natives to fight against the Portuguese while Gabriel warns him not to fight and instead to help them as a priest. At the end of the movie Fr. Gabr iel courageously leads a procession with the Host through the battle. He is martyred along with almost everyone else. Only a few young natives are left, whom because they have been touched by God, to rebuild the community. This movie, more than most I have ever seen, demonstrates graphically, from a normal, human point of view, the net result of the union of passion and greed, where one compliments the other. The two main reasons the mission is threatened, as I have said before, are imperialism and greed. ...

The Hike Up Poly Mountain :: Descriptive Essay About A Place

The Hike Up Poly Mountain Our journey begins on a foggy and cool Monday morning in late September. The group of freshman English students wait eagerly at the gate to Poly Canyon anticipating the adventures to come. Once Professor has taken roll and explained what is in store for the impending hike, we start walking up a rocky path. Immediately I feel like I am in nature. I am reminded of all the camping and hiking trips I went on as a child and I feel at peace. But something in the sky keeps bothering me, the fog. I was expecting to be able to stand on top of Poly Mountain and see the entire city of San Luis Obispo. I brought my camera along hoping to take beautiful pictures of the city and send them home to my family. But the thick fog above my head reminds me that this probably will not happen. I try to take the ominous fog off my mind and continue examining the land. We walk past the dry creek bed of Brizzolara Creek and it becomes obvious we have not had a significant amount of rainfall in months. A fellow hiker points out several deer on the canyon side, the first sign of wildlife. I can hear birds chirping in the distance but cannot see any because of the dense fog. I am hit on the nose with a drop of dew falling from a Coast Live Oak and another drop falling from a Eucalyptus tree. The air is still and the sun remains hidden behind the fog. We walk farther into the canyon and come across several manmade structures. A small footbridge over a gentle stream and a rock arch inviting hikers into the hills are reminders of what man can do to enhance nature’s beauty. The path gets steeper and narrower and as we climb higher, the fog gets thicker. I am still hoping the fog will fade away enough so that I can experience the beautiful views I was expecting. Our hike up Poly Mountain becomes much more strenuous and we stop every few minutes to catch our breath. We are no longer hidden underneath The Hike Up Poly Mountain :: Descriptive Essay About A Place The Hike Up Poly Mountain Our journey begins on a foggy and cool Monday morning in late September. The group of freshman English students wait eagerly at the gate to Poly Canyon anticipating the adventures to come. Once Professor has taken roll and explained what is in store for the impending hike, we start walking up a rocky path. Immediately I feel like I am in nature. I am reminded of all the camping and hiking trips I went on as a child and I feel at peace. But something in the sky keeps bothering me, the fog. I was expecting to be able to stand on top of Poly Mountain and see the entire city of San Luis Obispo. I brought my camera along hoping to take beautiful pictures of the city and send them home to my family. But the thick fog above my head reminds me that this probably will not happen. I try to take the ominous fog off my mind and continue examining the land. We walk past the dry creek bed of Brizzolara Creek and it becomes obvious we have not had a significant amount of rainfall in months. A fellow hiker points out several deer on the canyon side, the first sign of wildlife. I can hear birds chirping in the distance but cannot see any because of the dense fog. I am hit on the nose with a drop of dew falling from a Coast Live Oak and another drop falling from a Eucalyptus tree. The air is still and the sun remains hidden behind the fog. We walk farther into the canyon and come across several manmade structures. A small footbridge over a gentle stream and a rock arch inviting hikers into the hills are reminders of what man can do to enhance nature’s beauty. The path gets steeper and narrower and as we climb higher, the fog gets thicker. I am still hoping the fog will fade away enough so that I can experience the beautiful views I was expecting. Our hike up Poly Mountain becomes much more strenuous and we stop every few minutes to catch our breath. We are no longer hidden underneath

The Accuracy of Weather Prediction Essay -- Meteorology

The purpose of this paper is to explain the advances being made in technology and algorithms in helping advance the accuracy of forecasting. It will contrast the forecasting methods of several decades ago with forecasting methods in use today. In discussing how errors can accumulate over time and providing simple mathematical formulas as examples, this paper intends to show how the repetition of minor errors can affect the accuracy of weather predictions. Introduction Back in the days of Thomas Jefferson and George Washington, weather observations were recorded daily but not hourly or by the minute. Such repetition of data didn’t seem useful. After the telegraph was invented which enabled information about weather data to be transmitted across the country, they still reported only once a day. In contrast to today's virtual world of weather, making 24/7 use of climate data from satellites, buoys in the oceans, the ability to record worldwide temperatures, worldwide rainfall records, track wind speeds, pressure pulses of solar wind, carbon dioxide levels, tornadoes and hurricanes...etc (Harris, 2012). An early pioneer of meteorology was Vilhelm Bjerknes, and his son Jacob, who described the lifecycle of the extratropical cyclone and shared his ideas for scientific weather forecasting. Bjerknes was disappointed over the unscientific methods of meteorology at the time, which, in contrast was making precise predictions in astronomy and meteorology as he felt, was at a standstill. His goal was to introduce scientific concepts to meteorology. According to Bjerknes, the two main ingredients in weather forecasting was knowledge of the atmosphere and accurate knowledge of the physical laws that govern it. Bjerknes identified: pressu... ...Went Wrong?.ncep.noaa.gov/nwp50/Presentations. Retrieved February 19, 2012, from www.ncep.noaa.gov/nwp50/Presentation NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory. (n.d.). NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory. Retrieved February 18, 2012, from http://www.esrl.noaa.gov/ Vanorsow. (2010, July 17). The Teaching Company User Community: View topic - 23. Prediction and Predictability. The Teaching Company User Community: Index. Retrieved February 18, 2012, from http://teachingcompany.12.forumer.com/viewtopic.php?t=3034 Weather Modeling and Prediction. (2011, May 16). NOAA's Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research. Retrieved February 17, 2012, from http://www.oar.noaa.gov/weather/t_modeling.html The Weather Research&Forecasting Model Website. (n.d.). The Weather Research&Forecasting Model Website. Retrieved February 18, 2012, from http://wrf-model.org/index.php

Goals and Expectations

Chapter III: Outcome and Evaluation Goals and Expectations A. The goal is that college and pro scouts will be able to consistently identify physical qualities AND key emotional/psychological skills that athletes need to achieve optimum success on the playing field 75% of the time. Expected Outcomes A. College and pro scouts will identify key emotional/psychological skills in athletes across various sports 75% of the time. 1. Within a three year period from the start of consistent psychological assessment use, college and pro scouts will be proficiently trained on how to utilize psychological assessment tools to select and train athletes. 2. Colleges and pro scouts will recognize the need to analyze and assess athlete’s psychological skills prior to player selection and as a vital part of ongoing player enhancement programs through various mandated training and education meetings by professionals in the field. 3. Colleges and pro teams will financially support psychological testing as part of the recruiting and selection of new players and current players on an annual basis. B. A minimum of three psychological assessment tools and/or new assessment tests that identify psychological skills pertinent to athletic sports will be used by college scouts and faculty (inclusive to coaches, athletic directors etc. ) and by pro scouts (team coaches, owners, and other staff) in conjunction with current physical quality testing and observations. 1. 95% of college and pro scouts will use the Competitive State Anxiety Inventory CSAI-2 test to identify debilitating and facilitating psychological characteristics and the frequency of these characteristics. 2. 95% of college and pro scouts will use the Athletic Motivation Inventory (AMI) to measure the following psychological constructs: drive, self-confidence, aggressiveness, coachability, emotional control conscience development, trust, responsibility, leadership and mental toughness. 3. 95% of college and pro scouts will use one or more of the following psychological assessments (or new proven assessments as they become available): a. Test of Attentional Interpersonal Style (TAIS) a test formulated to predict athletic performance based on the constructs of affiliation and conformity. b. Profile of Mood Sates (POMS) which measures six facets of emotion: tension, depression, fatigue, confusion, anger and vigor. c. Dr. Kuchenbecker’s study identifying 64 psychological and 64 physical traits needed for optimum athletic performance. C. Athletes will consistently perform better and understand how manage their game based on their physical and psychological skills. 1. In conjunction with scouts, coaches and other personnel/staff, players will receive education about how their personal psychological constructs affect their game by attending at least 30 hours of training by sports psychologists. 2. Athletes will become familiar with key psychological characteristics that influence and athlete’s winning potential as a part of their routine athletic training programs. 3. Athletes will identify their enhancing and limiting psychological characteristics on an annual basis through approved psychological assessment tests and tools, or as otherwise needed, to maximize and stay â€Å"on top† of his/her game. D. Current scouting and coaching practices will modify and improve based on current research and literature that points to the high impact psychological qualities have on athletic success. 1. 100% of college and pro scouts will use psychological assessments as an integral part of the scouting process. 2. Coaches will become familiar with players superlative physical qualities and psychological qualities and coach players in a way that takes into account both sets of characteristics. Measurements of Outcomes A. Athletes pre and post performance scores, individual observations and coach/staff evaluations will be compared. B. In team sports, both individual performance scores/observations will also be compared in conjunction with overall team performance and evaluations. C. Wins versus losses. D. Results will be presented in graph and table form. Analysis of Results A. A chi square will be used. B. Interview responses will be evaluated using qualitative methods and a Likert Scale.

Sociology 100 Final Exam

Chapter 8 Sex Distinction – the biological distinction between females and males. Incest Taboo – a norm forbidding sexual relations or marriage between certain relatives. 1960 Birth Control – New technology also played a part in the sexual revolution. The birth control pill, introduced in 1960, not only prevented pregnancy but also made sex more convenient. Premarital Sex – sexual intercourse before marriage – among young people. Sexual Orientation – a person’s romantic and emotional attraction to another person.Homophobia – discomfort over close personal interaction with people thought to be gay, lesbian, or bisexual. Prostitution – the selling of sexual service. 90k Reported Rapes – more than 90,000 women each year report to the police that they have been raped. Uneven Enforcement – enforcement of prostitution laws is uneven at best, especially when it comes to who is and is not likely to be arrested. Abor tion – the deliberate termination of a pregnancy. Chapter 9 Decent Values – Elijah Anderson explains that in poor urban neighborhoods, most people manage to conform to conventional or â€Å"decent† values.Stigma – a powerfully negative label that greatly changes a person’s self-concept and social identity. Social Inequality – who or what is labeled deviant depends on which categories of people hold power in a society. Corporate Crime – the illegal actions of a corporation or people acting on its behalf. *Arrest of Women – couldn’t find a fact to define this one! Victimless Crimes – violations of law in which there are no obvious victims. High Risk – people with high arrest rates are also at higher risk of being victims of crime.Due Process – the idea that the criminal justice system should operate under the rule of law – guides the actions of police, court officials, and corrections officers. Decline of Executions – as a public concern about the death penalty has increased, the use of capital punishment has declined, falling from 74 executions in 1997 to 37 in 2008. No Elimination of Crime – criminal justice system cannot eliminate crime. Chapter 10 Structural Social Mobility – a shift in the social position of large numbers of people due more to changes in society itself than to individual efforts.Ideology – cultural beliefs that justify particular social arrangements, including patterns of inequality. Socioeconomic Status – a composite ranking based on various dimensions of social inequality. Conspicuous Consumption – buying and using products because of the â€Å"statement† they make about social position. Davis-Moore Thesis – states not only that social stratification is universal but also that it is necessary to make society highly productive. Chapter 11 Median Income – a recent survey of families by the Federal Reserve found that median wealth for minority families.Upper Class – many upper-class people are business owners, executives in large corporations, or senior government officials. Marriage Age: 26/28 – the average age at marriage has moved upward four years (to 25. 6 years for women and 27. 5 years for men). Feminization of Poverty – the trend of women making up an increasing proportion of the poor. Homeless Mentally Ill: 25% – One-third of homeless people are substance abusers, and one-fourth is mentally ill. Chapter 12 High-Income Countries – the nations with the highest overall standards of living.Global Stratification – the full extent of global stratification reflects both differences among countries and internal stratification. 100 Million Kids Black-market – 100 million of the world’s children are orphaned or have left their families altogether, sleeping and living on the streets as best they can or perhaps tryi ng to migrate to the US. Modernization Theory – a model of economic and social development that explains global inequality in terms of technological and cultural differences between nations.

Accuracy and precision

To learn how to use a balance to weigh objects. 2. To determine the accuracy of various lab glassware as well as the precision obtainable when using each of these. II. BACKGROUND: If a person goes into a restaurant and orders a cup of coffee, how much coffee will be given to the person? Will the coffee arrive in a large, earthenware mug or a delicate, china cup? Do all coffee cups hold a cup of coffee? If, on the other hand, another person Is following a recipe that called for a cup of coffee, how much coffee will that person use?Will there be a difference in how the coffee is measured in these two situations? Recording numerical data is an important part of scientific research. The reliability of these data can Influence the conclusions drawn from the experiment. Although â€Å"accuracy and â€Å"precision† are used interchangeably in common speech, in scientific language, they mean two different things. The â€Å"true value† of any number is a philosophical idea whic h we take as a given/known thing; for example, scientists say that exactly 100. 0000 ml of water weigh exactly 100. 0000 g at 40 C (theoretically 99. 23 g at CHIC – room temperature). An â€Å"error† in data is the numerical deference between the measured value and the true value. An â€Å"accurate† result is one that agrees 100 ml of water, a weight of 100. 001 g is more accurate than 100. 009 g, and that is more accurate than 100. 01 g. â€Å"Precision,† on the other hand, refers to agreement among a group of data, but says nothing about their relationship to the true value. Three measurements of 100. 009, 100. 008, and 100. 007 g might be more precise than three measurements of 100. 009, 100. 002, and 99. 995 g, and yet may not be more accurate.In the above example, which of these methods of measuring coffee is the most accurate? If a measuring cup is used, will that always measure exactly one cup of coffee? Why or why not? What factor(s) could be sour ces of error in the user's measurement? Which of these methods of measuring coffee would be the most precise? Why? There is a variety of glassware here in the Biology Lab – beakers, graduated cylinders, Erlenmeyer flasks, volumetric flasks – that could be used for a lab exercise in which students would be required to measure 100 ml of distilled water (dhow).Because these various types of lab glassware are designed for different purposes, their accuracy and precision vary. Certain types of glassware are manufactured with greater precision than other types and/or yield more accurate agreement of volume. Knowledge of the relative accuracy and/or precision of the various types of glassware can aid in determining the appropriateness of a piece of glassware for a desired use. For example, if a student needs several identical 100 ml samples, which measuring utensil should be chosen? Why?When a scientist comes up with an answer to a question like the preceding one that might b e right yet needs to be tested to see if it is true, this is called a hypothesis (hypo under, beneath; thesis = an arranging). Any testable answer to the previous question such as, â€Å"l think that the _ glassware is more Once a scientist has formed an hypothesis, it is then necessary to figure out how that hypothesis can be tested. The scientist would need to decide what to do (procedure/methods) and what data are appropriate to gather to uphold or disprove the hypothesis.At times, scientists may end up gathering â€Å"negative† data that actually disprove their hypotheses. For this glassware, what could be done – what steps could be followed – to find out if the _ glassware really is the most precise/accurate? Is it enough to use one piece of glassware or should several kinds/styles be tried? Is it enough to take one reading on each piece of glassware or should several tests/trials be reformed on each piece? If a person places a desired amount of water into a piece of glassware, how will that person know if the container is correctly filled?How will (s)he know the container is filled the same amount every time? When viewed from the side, the surface of the water in a transparent glass container is a characteristic shape that is a clue to solving this dilemma. Because of water's affinity for glass (glass is hydrophilic, hydro = water, Philip = brotherly love), the edges of the water's surface will creep up the walls of the container slightly. Especially in small-diameter glassware, the surface of the water is, thus, tactically curved. This curved surface of the water is called a meniscus (Figure 1) (menisci = a crescent).

American Women and the Mexican Business Culture

American Women and the Mexican Business Culture For a female American employee assigned to a posting in Mexico, several key cultural differences exist. In any business context, regardless of the country, ineffective communication between employees and management often interferes with productivity, innovation and problem solving.Advertising We will write a custom term paper sample on American Women and the Mexican Business Culture specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More This paper will detail two of the key areas where an American female employee may encounter cultural differences that have the potential to derail effective communication within the workplace. The first area is physical contact in the workplace. The second area occurs in the area of sexual harassment. Mexico also tends toward traditionally female centered family values which have to the potential to clash with career-oriented American women who rate highly on the masculine index. Physical Contact in the Workplace In the Mex ican business culture, there is a warmth and familiarity between employees and management that differs greatly from the United States (Stephens Greer 1995). Mexican employees tend to be extremely warm and friendly and communicate both verbally and physically; they regularly employ what is known as the abrazo, or embrace, at the beginning of each work day (Stephens Greer 1995). This custom involves â€Å"male supervisors kissing their female secretaries on the cheek at the start of the day† (Stephens Greer 1995). In general, as one executive explained, â€Å"everyone hugs and kisses a lot more than we do in the States† (Stephens Greer 1995). On the whole the American business culture frowns on physical contact and maintains a formal physical space between employees and management. For the American female employee new to the Mexican workplace this custom may feel intimidating, inappropriate or threatening. She may also feel that she is being demeaned and may consider it a means of rebuking her authority in the public forum. However in the Mexican business culture it is considered â€Å"social protocol,† therefore resistance to it or attempts to abolish it will likely ruffle feathers (Stephens Greer 1995).Advertising Looking for term paper on business communication? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More American female employees are best served to expect more physical contact in the Mexican business culture and accept it as part of the transition from one country to another. Ethics The Mexican business culture regularly employs what would be considered corrupt and unethical business practices – not to mention in some cases criminal – in the United States. Some of these ethically questionable business practices include bribery and profiteering (Silver 2003). Whereas the American female employee new to the Mexican business landscape would likely perceive these pract ices as business problems, the Mexican business culture would perceive them as the nature of doing business and not a problem at all. Therefore the American female employee expect to meet some ethically challenging situations, and must be prepared to have a discussion with her team as to ethical business solutions to business problems using the American model. Sexual Harassment One of the most ethically distasteful situations that can occur in the workplace is sexual harassment. In the United States sexual harassment is a deeply offensive situation for female employees; many female employees have used the courts to further their cases, and these legal precedents have created an environment in the American workplace where managers who sexually harass their employees face stiff penalties, not to mention social infamy. In Mexico, conversely, sexual harassment is viewed as normal. According to Stephens Greer (1995), â€Å"there are no legal protections in Mexico regarding discriminati on on the basis of genderSexual harassment is perfectly acceptable. It is almost considered a management privilege. A young woman would never think of complaining about sexual harassment. Some even think of it as positive interest (Stephens Greer 1995). This cultural element will likely shock and dismay many American female employees, some of whom may have left previous positions for this reason.Advertising We will write a custom term paper sample on American Women and the Mexican Business Culture specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Masculinity Index the Role of Women An interesting paradox exists in Mexico; though it has a masculine culture, it tends also to operate along traditional feminine lines (Stephens Greer 1995; Borstorff Hearn 2000; Dols Gilbert Silvius 2010). Younger generations of Mexicans tend to have more gender egalitarian attitudes. According to Stephens Greer (1995), â€Å"younger women are more progressive, more proactive, [and] more career-oriented† (Stephens Greer 1995). However, many Mexican women have little interest in attaining â€Å"high-ranking positions, and arent found in them,† because home and family is considered paramount and still largely the domain of women (Stephens Greer 1995; Borstorff Hearn 2000). This occurs because many women in Mexico leave the workforce and never return once they become pregnant, and the concept of working mothers is problematic, since the cultural expectation is that mother should be home with their children (Stephens Greer 1995). American female employees with children may find themselves frowned upon or viewed with confusion by their co-workers as a result of this. Also, American female employees often find they rate quite highly on the masculine index, in that they value â€Å"assertiveness, performance and material success,† and often balance their careers with childcare duties (Dols Gilbert Silvius 2010). Also, America n female employees may find Mexican hiring practices extremely biased. Mexican employers openly prefer males, and no legislation exists to counter gender discrimination. As a result, â€Å"Mexican employers tend to hire married men first, then single men, single women and finally (and rarely) married women† (Stephens Greer 1995). Conclusion For a female American employee about to embark on a position in Mexico, the main thing to be aware of is the perceived role of women, especially married women with families. The culture is largely traditional. In the culture of the United States working mothers are considered normal, however few exist in Mexico. References Borstorff , P.C. Hearn, W.M. (2000). Going abroad: Tyson foods in Mexico. Journal of the International Academy for Case Studies, 6,(1), 87-88.Advertising Looking for term paper on business communication? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Dols, T. Gilbert Silvius, A.J. (2010). Exploring the influence of national cultures on non-compliance behavior. Communications of the IIMA, 10(3), 11-32. Silver, S. (2003, September 22). Ethics on top of the Mexican curriculum: INTERVIEW JORGE GUTIERREZ VILLARREAL, IPADE: Changing attitudes in a business culture that is often endemically corrupt is an ongoing campaign, says Sara Silver. The Financial Times, pp.16. Stephens, G. K. Greer, C.R. (1995). Doing business in Mexico: understanding cultural differences. Organizational Dynamics, 24 (1), 39-56.

why use quantum mechanics essays

why use quantum mechanics essays Quantum Mechanics is the science of subatomic particles and their behavior patterns that are observed in nature. As the foundation of scientific knowledge approached the start of the twentieth century, problems began to arise over the fact that classic physical ideas were not capable of explaining the observed behavior of subatomic particles. In 1913, the Danish physicist Neils Bohr, proposed a successful quantum model of the atom that began the process of a more defined understanding of its subatomic particles. It was accepted in the early part of the twentieth century that light traveled as both waves and particles. The reason light appears to act as a wave and particle is because we are noticing the accumulation of many light particles distributed over the probabilities of where each particle could be. In 1923, Louis De Broglie hypothesized that subatomic particles exhibit wavelike and particle properties for the same reason. The success of these theories inspired physicists to developed a way to describe the behavior of subatomic phenomena in terms of both waves and particles by means of mathematics. Newtons laws, the basis of classic physical ideas, help obtain precise information about the location of an object at any future time. Classical physics assumes all collisions and locations of particles can be measured at once. The dual wave-particle nature of electrons flew in the face of such beliefs. In a changing environment, as is the nature of the electron, classical physical attributes of position and momentum are fleeting phenomena. No atomic particle can have both of these properties at the same time. An electron cannot be observed without changing its state. The simultaneous measurement of two conjugate variables such as the momentum and position or the energy and time for a moving particle entails a limitation on the precision of each measurement. This observance is what Werner Heisenberg refereed to as the pr ...

Canal Catastrophe - A Newspaper Style Article about the problems building the Panama Canal.

Canal Catastrophe - A Newspaper Style Article about the problems building the Panama Canal. Earlier this week, French engineers were forced to abandon their work in Panama after receiving news their privately owned company ran out of money. For the past eight years, France has been trying to construct a canal that would link the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. Unfortunately, due planning errors made by the company's president, workers are not financially capable to continue with the construction.A total of 1,174 million francs ($214 million) have been spent towards the building of this canal. However, this money did not come from France's government, but from French private investors who wanted a share in the profits. In 1879, a private company was formed not only to raise money needed for the canal, but also to construct it. The president of this company was a 74-year-old Frenchman by the name Ferdinand de Lesseps, who was a former diplomat and famous for his participation in the construction of the Suez Canal in 1869.English: House of Ferdinand de Lesseps, promoter o...His fame and experience made him seem perfect for the job, but his "stubborn, vain, opinionated" attitude contributed to disaster (Source 1).From the very beginning of this project, Lesseps "believed he knew better than the engineers under his command" (Source 1). When engineers offered advice, he immediately rejected it. His plan was to run the canal south following the Changres River and then passing through the mountains. Engineers didn't argue with him about this path, but told him it was necessary to use locks to lift the ships up and over the mountains, instead of carving a gigantic hole in the mountain. Although this was a good idea, stubborn Lesseps refused to use it and insisted on building a sea-level canal. When engineers heard they were to build a 72-foot-wide, 300-foot-tall gorge in Culebra Hill, they were appalled at...

Should everyone be required to perform public service

Should everyone be required to perform public service Compulsory public service is a contentious issue. An overview of the Bill of Rights immediately shoots down the idea that the citizens of this country can be forced to serve. It is the right of every man, woman, and child to be free and to pursue happiness within the bounds of law.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Should everyone be required to perform public service? specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The only reason why there is a debate regarding this issue is due to the fact that there are misguided patriots who believed that every citizen must prove their love and loyalty to this country by doing public service. The government should not be given the power to coerce its citizens to engage in one or even two years of public service; it is against the law of the land. It would be best for the government to promote the ideals of volunteerism in order to recruit and train people that are eager to serve. The Bill of Rig hts is very clear when it comes to the limitations of the government when it comes to intruding into the personal life of a citizen. The government’s vast powers cannot be used to force a person to serve. Slavery has been outlawed a long time ago and therefore there is no justification for the use of coercion in any shape or form in order to fill up the needed vacancies in the public service sector. The government should serve the people but the people must not be forced to serve the government. Aside from violating the constitutional rights of every citizen, the concept of compulsory public service is impractical. It can be argued that there are many people that are not interested to serve in the Armed Forces and other jobs that are under the authority of the Federal government. Imagine the kind of trouble the government would have to contend with if they are authorized to compel its citizens to serve for at least a year. It would be costly in terms of manpower and litigatio n purposes. It is a terrible idea to suggest compulsive service. However, those who decide to become a public servant must be held in high esteem. The spirit of volunteerism must be stirred up and not the spirit of coercion. The government and its citizens must laud anyone who enters public service. It must be viewed as an honorable thing to do, lifting the spirits of the family members of those who chose to serve in spite of its many challenges. The government must therefore encourage people to serve. It is the job of the government to persuade people to serve in a short term or long term basis. One way to do this is to communicate clearly the positive impact to the community and the nation if one person decides to spend a few years of his or her life to serve others. A persuasive message can also be achieved by developing creative ways to reward those who are in public service. The government has limited resources and therefore cannot provide extensive monetary rewards but this mu st not stop the government form finding ways to honor and appreciate those who work as public servants.Advertising Looking for essay on government? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Conclusion There are those who contend that the citizens of this country must be compelled to engage in public service. This may seem like the most patriotic thing to do but the Bill of Rights clearly stipulates that no citizen can be forced by the government to do something. This is also an unproductive exercise because coercion can lead to defiant behavior and costly litigation. It is the job of the government to persuade people to join. The spirit of volunteerism must be cultivated. The government must demonstrate that public servants are well-appreciated. As a result there would be more volunteers that are ready and able to serve.

What is the difference between Platos and Aristotles idea essays

What is the difference between Platos and Aristotles idea essays Aristotle believed that for something to be real it had to have a substance and a form or a body and a soul. Aristotle found no difference between matter and form, relying on nature to explain itself. He believed that each person can see form differently. What makes a table a table? The way Aristotle saw it was to look at fifty different tables and you would see what makes a table a table. He believed that form and matter can only be separated in a mental exercise, not in reality. He believed that in order to learn the forms of things we had to study and examine them. He saw that in our minds we can make the distinction between tableness and wood and then combine them both into a concept of a wooden table. Form gives matter a structure to follow and matter gives form the stability. For example, wood is only a matter until the form of something gives it individual form and the form of something needing the matter to express itself. Now Plato on the other hand believed that reality is permanent and our senses cant be trusted. Plato maintains that there is a world of ideal forms, as we see material reflections of perfect forms. He constructed a mathematical system of explaining processes. He believed in a theory of forms. That is, that there are perfect ways things should be that we as humans can see but can never achieve. For example, anyone knows what a perfect circle looks like, yet we can never draw an absolutely perfect circle. Thats when Plato began to realize that real figures in geometry cannot be accurately or fully represented in this world. While talking about forms of the circle we can then refer to Figure 2.1 on how each table in the world, in all different shapes and sizes can be considered a table because to a greater or lesser extent it is in a form of a table. What Plato was trying to express was that he believed that the form of a table existed in a world of perfects forms. What h ...

History of the Colosseum or Flavian Amphitheater

History of the Colosseum or Flavian Amphitheater The Colosseum or Flavian Amphitheater is one of the most well-known of the ancient Roman structures because so much of it still remains. Meaning: Amphitheater comes from the Greek amphi ~ on both sides and theatron ~ semicircular viewing place or theater. An Improvement Over the Existing Design The Circus The Colosseum in Rome is an amphitheater. It was developed as an improvement over the differently shaped  but similarly used Circus Maximus, for gladiatorial combats, wild beast fights (venationes), and mock naval battles (naumachiae). Spine: Elliptical in shape, the circus had a fixed central divider called a spina down the middle, which was useful in chariot races, but got in the way during fights.Viewing: In addition, the spectators view was limited in the circus. The amphitheater put spectators on all sides of the action. Flimsy Early Amphitheaters In 50 B.C., C. Scribonius Curio built the first amphitheater in Rome to stage his fathers funeral games. Curios amphitheater and the next one, built in 46 B.C., by Julius Caesar, were made of wood. The weight of the spectators was at times too great for the wooden structure and, of course, the wood was easily destroyed by fire. Stable Amphitheater Emperor Augustus designed a more substantial amphitheater to stage venationes, but it wasnt until the Flavian emperors, Vespasian and Titus, that the enduring, limestone, brick, and marble Amphitheatrum Flavium (aka Vespasians Amphitheater) was built. The construction utilized a careful combination of types: concrete for the foundations, travertine for the piers and arcades, tufa infill between piers for the walls of the lower two levels, and brick-faced concrete used for the upper levels and for most of the vaults.Great Buildings Online - Roman Colosseum The amphitheater was dedicated in A.D. 80, in a ceremony lasting a hundred days, with the slaughter of 5000 sacrificial animals. The amphitheater may not have been finished, however, until the reign of Titus brother Domitian. Lightning damaged the amphitheater, but later emperors repaired and maintained it until the games were ended in the sixth century. Source of the Name Colosseum The medieval historian Bede applied the name Colosseum (Colyseus) to the Amphitheatrum Flavium, possibly because the amphitheater which had taken back the pond on the land Nero had devoted to his extravagant golden palace (domus aurea) stood beside a colossal statue of Nero. This etymology is disputed. Size of the Flavian Amphitheater The tallest Roman structure, the colosseum was about 160 feet high and covered about six acres. Its long axis is 188m and its short, 156m. Construction used 100,000 cubic meters of travertine (like the cella of the Temple of Hercules Victor), and 300 tons of iron for clamps, according to Filippo Coarelli in Rome and Environs. Although all the seats are gone, at the end of the 19th century, the seating potential was calculated and the figures are generally accepted. There were likely 87,000 seats in 45-50 rows inside the colosseum. Coarelli says social standing determined seating, so those rows closest to the action were reserved for the senatorial classes, whose special seats were inscribed with their names and made of marble. Women were separated at public events from the time of the earliest emperor, Augustus. The Romans probably held mock sea battles in the Flavian Amphitheater. Vomitoria There were 64 numbered doors to let spectators in and out that were called vomitoria. N.B.: Vomitoria were exits, not places spectators regurgitated the contents of their stomachs to facilitate binge eating and drinking. People vomited forth, so to speak, from the exits. Other Noteworthy Aspects of the Colosseum There were substructures under the fighting area that may have been animal dens or channels for water for or from the mock naval battles. It is hard to determine how the Romans produced venationes and naumachiae on the same day. A removable awning called velarium provided the spectators with shade from the sun. The outside of the Flavian amphitheater has three rows of arches, each built according to a different order of architecture, Tuscan (the simplest, Doric, but with an Ionic base), on the ground level, then Ionic, and then the most ornate of the three Greek orders, the Corinthian. The vaults of the Colosseum were both barrel and groined (where barrel arches intersect each other at right angles). The core was concrete, with the exterior covered in cut stone.

Multinational finance and accounting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Multinational finance and accounting - Essay Example 5. (the forecast of proceeds is revised downward here because the equity investment of the subsidiary is less; the buyer would be assuming more debt if part of the initial investment in the subsidiary is supported by local bank loans). 6. Required parent's rate of return 18 percent. To Find Present Payment, Given Future Required Amount Given: Interest 18 18 18 18 18 18 Number of years 1 2 3 4 5 6 Present Value Interest Factor 0.847457627 0.71818443 0.608630873 0.515788875 0.437109216 0.370431539 Initial Investment 40,000,000.00 Initial Investment in Marks at $.50 per mark 80,000,000.00 Net Cash Flow 8,000,000.0010,000,000.0014,000,000.0016,000,000.0016,000,000.0016,000,000.00 Net Cash to Parent 4,000,000.005,000,000.007,000,000.008,000,000.008,000,000.008,000,000.00 Net Cash to Parent after tax 3,600,000.004,500,000.006,300,000.007,200,000.007,200,000.007,200,000.00 Salvage After 6 years 30000000 Exchange Rate1

Bariers to the enterpreneurship in Russia Coursework - 1

Bariers to the enterpreneurship in Russia - Coursework Example Petersburg School of Management’s â€Å"Global Entrepreneurship Monitor Russia 2011† and The World Bank’s â€Å"Doing Business: Profile of the Russian Federation†. By way of analyzing the key contributions of these two works as well as drawing inference on the data therein presented, the author will seek to relate to the reader some of the salient challenges that currently face those interesting in performing business within the Russian Federation. One of the primary concerns that MNCs consider when seeking out a prospective nation to develop their company within is the overall stability of the regime. As such, the Russian Federation itself has presented the West with a fairly stable and nominally democratic regime since the collapse of the Soviet Union. However, even though the regime has experienced smooth transitions of power and regularly scheduled elections, the paperwork associated with many of the forms of business development and start up continue to represent Soviet-era difficulties. Rather than having a clear and well defined process in which would-be investors can rapidly navigate the maze of requirements that are extant, the process has devolved into something of a nightmare in which the Russian Federation languishes near the bottom of the list of nations with respect to receiving a building permit, receiving electrical service to ones building, obtaining credit, and paying taxes. With respect to obtaining a building permit, the first step of any firm that has committed itself to expanding within the Russian Federation or elsewhere, the potential investor is greeted by a situation that requires nearly a year to complete. According to The World Bank’s â€Å"Doing Business: Profile of the Russian Federation†, the Russian Federation ranks 178th out of the 185 countries measured with regards to total ease of receiving a building permit. This process is further complicated by the fact that the permit process itself is exorbitantly high and

Do Americans Prefer a Divided Government Thesis - 1

Do Americans Prefer a Divided Government - Thesis Example The matter significantly reverberates as a political theme especially when national election comes. A substantial number of electorates perceived that the present government will not reflect a divided government because President Barrack Obama inspires a one-party rule. For them, this is harmful to democratic system. Everyone was in a political hodge-podge whether or not divided government creates a necessary condition for check and balance in governance? Under one dominant party, can President and his bureaucrats sustain transparent and accountable government effectively to sustain stability? Will the Supreme Court, filled with legal luminaries, be able to check a ruling party well? Or is it necessary to maintain divided government to encourage people to be able to objectively look at issues, governance and political decision-making? The question can go on endlessly as substantial number of Americans perceived that this present administration is enjoying a free rein with his busines s in foreign policy and relations at his volition although some Republican claimed that they maintain significant influence to prevent some of the president’s foreign policy initiatives. This is a qualitative study that aims to explore how many would prefer divided government from 50 select respondents that are randomly chosen by this researcher and to know reasons or causes about their preferred/inclination with divided government. Respondents’ opinion will be gathered through an online survey questionnaire which will be consolidated using monkeysurvey, an online method of generating responses which will be saved in a data base and will be used as bases for analysis in this study. Modern sociologists have varying perceptions about Americans inclination to favor or to disagree on divided government. Republicans for instance use a divided government as a mechanism and as a power to wield opposition against the

Stateless nation Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Stateless nation - Research Paper Example In this paper, much focus will be on the stateless nation of Kurds (Natali 70). The Kurds hence are a group of ancient non-Arabs that are mostly Sunni Muslims. In terms of geographical distribution, they are sparsely distributed across several states in Turkey, Iran and Iraq, while a few others exist in Syria, Armenia, and Azerbaijan (Koohzad 180). Therefore, an annotated bibliography of the Kurds will be summarized in this paper to provide a clear picture of the stateless nation of Kurds. Aristova, T. and David Testen. "Kurds." Encyclopedia of World Cultures (1996): 234-260. In the Encyclopedia of world cultures, an overview of Kurds is provided. The paper clearly provides the population statistics of the Kurds back then in 1989 (Aristove 235). It goes forth and provides their distribution in the various regions which they occupy: USSR, Armenia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania, Estonia and Moldova (Aristove 245). The article also provides a brief overview of their linguistic affiliation. It continues father to give a discussion of their history plus their cultural relations. Furthermore, the encyclopedia also provides a brief yet detailed overview of their language, literacy, settlements, economy, religion and finally their culture (Aristove 256). Koohzad, M. "Kurds." The International Journal of Kurdish Studies (2008): 22 (1), 173-192. In this journal article, Koohzad provides an overview of the Kurdish culture and society. From various researches conducted by various people, the journal article manages to provide evidenced information in regard to the Kurds fiasco (Koohzad 183). It encompasses a detailed overview of the Kurdish language, the society and its history. In addition, much interest is drawn to it in regard to their anthropology. Furthermore, it provides an overview in regard to its stateless nature and some of the efforts put forth by Kurds in regard to nation building (Koohzad 191). Natali, Den ise. The Kurds And the State: Evolving National Identity in Iraq, Turkey, And Iran. New York: Syracuse University Press, 2005. Print. This book provides an evolutionary explanation of the Kurdish nationalism, showing that contrary to the popular beliefs and theories in regard to the Kurds, as it supports the fact that their nothing fixed or natural in regard to Kurdish identity or whatever nationalism they assume (Natali 67). The author of this book argues that the given nationalism of the Kurdish people might have been shaped through the existence of other nation states and the need to have their own. it goes further to explain the political, and cultural aspects of the Kurds in detail (Natali 69). Reynolds, James. "Defiance in Turkey's Kurdish heartland." 11 October 2012. bbc.co.uk. 1 April 2013 . In this article written by Reynolds James, an overview of the stateless region of Kurdish and its inhabitants it’s provided and a detailed explanation provided on why they were be ing defiant to the existing Turkish government. The article starts by the editor enquiring the identity of a certain child, of which refuted as saying he was not Turkish, and insisted he was Kurdish (Reynolds). It continues by providing a history into the birth of the stateless nation Kurds and

Toward a Praxis Theory of Suffering by Janice Morse Article

Toward a Praxis Theory of Suffering by Janice Morse - Article Example According to the author, there are two major behavioral states such as enduring (in which emotions are suppressed; it is manifested as an emotionless state) and emotional suffering (an overt state of distress in which emotions are released). Every individual who are suffering move back and forth between these two states based on their own needs, their acceptance of events, the context, and the needs and responses of others. The article has been important to me because it helped me realize the implications for the provision of comfort during the various states of suffering. "Nurses are the caretakers of suffering. Understanding suffering and the responses and needs of those who are suffering rests squarely on the shoulders of nurses, and easing and alleviating suffering is the heart of nursing. Nurses are at the bedside throughout the course of illness, and they are often the only support for those suffering, both patients and their families." (Morse, 2001). Therefore, understanding t he behavioral-experiential nature of suffering has a vital role in the practice of nursing and it helps one in offering the most comforting service to the patient who is suffering as well as the family which is affected. In conclusion, â€Å"Toward a Praxis Theory of Suffering† by Janice Morse has been one of the most fundamental articles which contribute to the effective nursing practice and one realizes the implications for the provision of comfort during suffering states.

Individual project Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Individual project - Research Paper Example 1). The U.S. has been attacked a number of times by terrorists. Appreciating the potential damage that biological weapons may do to the country if they landed on the hands of terrorists, the U.S. recently called for closer international cooperation to keep terrorists and biological weapons apart. The U.S. government believes that the threat of biological weapons against its citizens is growing as noted by Nebehay & Mohammed (par. 2). This is especially the case given that the ability of non-state actors and terrorists to develop biological weapons is increasing. Set against this background, a study was conducted featuring 52 respondents on the threat of biological weapons. The respondents included eight current senior policy makers (CSP), 19 former senior policy makers (FSP), and 25 experts (EXP). The data set was downloaded from the Carnegie Endowment for Peace Website. The study on the threat of biological weapons is significant considering that the development and use of biological weapons against the U.S. would possibly lead to numerous deaths and would greatly impact on the country’s healthcare system. By extension, such a threat would probably shake the country’s economy. From the statistics, it is clear that all the respondents felt that biological weapons pose at least some threat to the country. Roughly 73% of the respondents felt that biological weapons is a major threat to the country. The statistics also reveal that most of the respondents believe that the threat of biological weapons is increasing, as opposed to reducing. While no respondent felt that the threat is reducing in any way, only 17% of them felt that the threat of the weapons is neither increasing nor reducing. Given that the threat of biological weapons is real and seems to be growing according to the majority of respondents, it would be advisable for the U.S. to take active measures to prevent other countries and non-state actors from developing