From the Nature of the Education System Depicted by the Organizational Structure, Critically Discuss Problems That Can Result from Such a Structure and Suggest Solutions.

From the nature of the education system depicted by the organizational structure, critically discuss problems that can result from such a structure and suggest solutions. Introduction: Zimbabwe as a nation believes in education for all. Systems are in place to ensure everyone has access to education. This paper will examine the structure of the Zimbabwean education system, highlighting problems which may arise because of its nature, and attempt to give solutions. Two terms, education system and organizational structure, are defined. Definition of terms Education system: According to Wikipedia, ‘’Education in its broadest sense is any act or experience that has a formative effect on the mind, character, or physical ability of an individual and in its technical sense education is the process by which society deliberately transmits its accumulated knowledge, values, and skills from one generation to another through institutions’’. Wikipedia also defines a system as integrated an ‘integrated whole' which has a structure, behaviour, interconnectivity of various parts which ‘’ have functional as well as structural relationships between each other’’. The term system may also refer to a set of rules that governs behavior or structure. Education system therefore refers to the structure and behaviour as well as functionality of the entity through which children acquire knowledge, values and skills through a formalized set-up. Organizational structure: Structure is, according to wikipedia, a fundamental and sometimes intangible notion covering the recognition, observation, nature, and stability of patterns and relationships of entities. A structure defines what a system is made of. It is a configuration of items. It is a collection of inter-related components or services. The structure may be a hierarchy (a cascade of one-to-many relationships) or a network featuring many-to-many relationships. Organisational structure therefore refers to the nature, patterns and relationships within an entity or social arrangement. Nature of the Zimbabwean education system: Structure: The Zimbabwean education system is a bureaucratic system, which has a hierarchical governing structure which goes from the top to the bottom. The hierarchy begins at the head office where the Permanent Secretary and his team of directors are housed. The Permanent Secretary, is the senior civil servant, and reports to the Minister, who is a politician and is in charge of policy making. The directors are in charge of the various elements within the system, such as quality control, administration, curriculum and human resources. Below the national, is the provincial level, whose hierarchy is headed by the Provincial Education Director (PED). He has two deputies, one in charge of Quality Assurance and the other of Professional Administration. There are several provincial level education officers below them. The provincial office also houses other professionals in finance and other departments who report to the PED. At the district level, the District Education Officer (DEO) heads a team of Education Officers (EO)s who supervise education activities within the district. At school level, the head is in charge of the school, and is deputized by the deputy head. Teachers fall below him but they too have seniority levels. This body at school level is responsible for the direct teaching of the child. Other ancillary staff falls below the professionals at school level but report to the head or whoever is assigned, by the head, in the finance office. Having completed primary education, which includes early childhood elementary education, children graduate automatically into secondary school, where they are required to complete four years of schooling leading to an Ordinary Level pass. If successful at this level, they can proceed to high school where they attain Advanced Level passes and proceed to university, or choose to go to other colleges and tertiary institutions. Problems of the Organisational structure, and possible solutions: One major problem which may occur because of the bureaucratic nature of the education system is delay in the decision making process. The hierarchical structure poses the major problem associated with bureaucracy. This means that if a problem occurs at the school level or even at district level, answers have to be sought from the top, which may take time. A practical example is when partners want to carry out programmes in districts and have to wait long as education personnel seek authorization from headquarters. This can be solved however by allowing officials at lower levels to make appropriate decisions or designing mechanisms through which decisions can be expedited. The Minister, being the person in charge of policy, may choose to act without much consultation with others below him or with stakeholders. Sometimes hasty decisions are made, and these impact negatively on the ministry. When school fees were announced during the first term 2009, not much consultation was done, resulting in exorbitant fees being charged per term. The majority of parents could not afford to pay the fees for first term, which was pegged at US$150 for urban primary schools. A teacher, or any other civil servant, whose child went to these urban schools could therefore not pay. Ministers must be accountable to their constituencies, and encouraged through workshops and trainings to involve their stakeholders in policy formulation exercises. The popularity of the minister is enhanced through consultation. The problem of non-consultative policies has also occurred with policies such as that of uniforms at schools. A former minister announced a few years ago that there would be a universal uniform for all schools. This caused an uproar, and was never implemented, mostly because the modalities had not been thought out or consulted on. The country has a policy that all school children must wear a uniform, though it is the duty of the head to enforce this. There is also a policy which bars schools from exclusion a child on the grounds of non-wearing of uniforms. Such contradictions arise from non-consultation. Encouraging policymakers to have an ear for the public could solve this. Where public opinion is not sought, they can involve key stakeholders, who may be better informed. Headmasters and teachers who are on the ground, are a source of vital information on practicalities of policies. The curriculum is centralised and determined by subject panels of teachers, education officers, and representatives from the teachers' association, universities, churches, and other stakeholder groups. The Curriculum Development Unit within the Ministry of Education and Culture coordinates the subject panels. The primary school curriculum includes mathematics, English, agricultural and environmental science, physical education, social studies, moral and religious education, music, craft and art, and the indigenous languages (Ndebele and Shona). Indigenous tribal languages of the Kalanga, Tonga, Shangaan, Venda, and Nambya are taught during the first three years of elementary education within their communities. A school is not at liberty to determine its own curriculum. There has been a shift in public schools from the Cambridge based curriculum, to a local curriculum whose examinations are administered by ZIMSEC. Subject syllabi are then deduced from this national curriculum. The major flaw in this is that everyone is restricted to the same education standards, regardless of the nature of education which is academia oriented. Only recently, there has been a thrust for technical and vocational education in schools, with importance also being given to introduction of these subjects in primary school. Expanding technical vocational education can improve the quality of graduates produced from the education system. This will ensure employable and relevant people for the Zimbabwean economy which is largely agrarian. In view of recent challenges in the economy, a purely academic curriculum will not help the country. Increased and improved internet use in the education system will also ensure students produced have a wider world view in light of globalisation. The organisational structure within the education system can stifle the grievance process. A teacher is required to report grievances he or she faces through the headmaster (in the event that the headmaster cannot help him or her). The problem lies where the headmaster is the source of the teacher’s problem. It may be a case of misconduct and the same headmaster is required to forward the reports of the teacher to the DEO. This will see the process taking long. A system can be put in place, which ensures that when grievances are targeted at the headmaster, a teacher can follow-up directly with superiors. Counseling or confidence teams can also be set up at school level to cater for reporting of issues and their follow-up. The teacher may also be encouraged to seek the advice of the DEO directly. A ministry hotline can also be established to cater for this. Where partners are interested in contributing to the education sector, there have often been problems associated with the bureaucratic system. Interest is expressed but decisions or authorization takes long in coming. Non governmental organisations (NGOs) usually come with interventions in mind, and donations, whose programmes must be implemented within a specific period. Often, programmes are stalled and the NGO gets to the end of the reporting period without implementing, resulting in failure to liquidate and the funding being returned. A practical example is when one NGO implementing capacity building programmes faced challenges trying to take a senior officer at provincial level within the ministry on an exchange programme to another country . While this system fosters accountability and is ideal for easier monitoring, it can frustrate the efforts of those willing to contribute to the sector where procedures are not explained clearly, or where their efforts are stifled. A change in attitude is needed, where NGOs seize to be seen as enemies of government, as exacerbated by certain political environments. Meetings which clearly explain the operations of NGOs and targets they seek to fulfill also need to be held so as to clarify areas of concern with the ministry. Stakeholder dialogues are important as seen in Manicaland, which now holds them regularly . The education sector is an public organization which is non-profit making. Revenue comes from national treasury. As such, the system is such that remuneration of staff is within public sector standards which stipulate modest payment. Overpayment would result in an uproar by taxpayers. Problems which teachers and other civil servants are currently facing are largely because the sector is not generating profits and therefore cannot afford to pay teachers what they want. Privatization of the sector could contribute to better payment, but this is a phenomenon yet to be explored as even developed countries also have public schooling systems which are in place. The government will have to lobby with external partners to fund education programmes or contribute in the education budget. The structure of the education system in primary school has been said to be ineffective with regards expertise sharing. The structure is such that one primary school teacher is assigned to teach all subjects in a class. In high school, there are various experts specializing in particular subjects. Researchers advocating for the Sharing Teacher Expertise through Subject Specialisation (STESS) programme at primary school are lobbying for the change in system from one teacher all subjects to specialisation as practised in secondary school. In 2002, an education commission sanctioned the piloting of STESS in a few schools in each province, and the system was adopted by others who have also reported the success as seen by better results. Advocates also note that it will then be easier for children to adapt to the situation when they get to secondary school. The system requires teacher support in the form of capacity development so they keep abreast of methodologies in subject delivery. Rennie L. J (1985), explains the effects of in-service training on Science teaching and motivation in the classroom. This will go a long way is rejuvenating teaching methodology and enhance delivery effectiveness. The U. S. Agency for International Development (USAID), in cooperation with the Salvadoran Ministry of Education, has developed a training program aimed at introducing these innovative teaching methods into hundreds of schools around the country http://usinfo. tate. gov. The same can happen in Zimbabwe, if these private players are invited to do so. Conclusion: The Zimbabwean education system is hierarchical and that poses a lot of challenges with regards setting up of policies, grievance procedures, curriculum decisions, and issues of collaboration with partners such as non-governmental organisations. These challenges can be solved if decision making is decentralized, and the policy formulation process is done consultatively with stakeholders. The government can also lobby with partners so they participate by funding education programmes in the country. References: 1. Peace Corps 24 July 2007, ‘’New Teaching Methods Stir Enthusiasm in Salvadoran Classrooms’’ USAID train teachers in interactive teaching styles, 2. Web site: http://usinfo. state. gov), Bureau of International Information Programs, U. S. Department of State. 3. Rennie L. J (1985), ED280867 – The Effect of In-service Training on Teacher Attitudes and Primary School Science Classroom Climates. Research Report Number 12. 4. http://www. wikipedia

Innovative Technology: the Lead Cause of Employee Redundancy? A Literature Review

Introduction Technological developments have led to an increase in adoption of different innovative technological solutions in organisations. Several positive consequences have emanated from this, including the increase in efficiency of operations (Thompson, 2011). There have also been negative consequences, one of these being the fact that services of some employees are rendered unnecessary, leading to their possible dismissal (Klehe et al., 2011). This section intends to carry out an in-depth and critical review of literature on the adoption of innovation technology and employee redundancy. Workplace Innovation and Innovative Technologies In order to understand the need for innovative technologies, it is vital to develop an understanding of innovation at the workplace. Innovation is defined by Mumford (2012) as the process by which new ideas, methods or devices are introduced so as to provide better solutions for issues being faced by an organisation. The constant changes in the business environment, coupled with an increasing competition across all business industries have made innovation an inevitable option for almost all companies (Thompson, 2011). According to Sung and Choi (2014), workplace innovation is at the intersection of three organisational elements, which are technology, skills, and human resource management. The coexistence of these elements lies in the fact that when the adoption of technology is driven by the strategic human resource management policies, there is a likelihood of HR managers to improve organisational processes through investing in employee training programs to improve their skills. Con versely, static human resource management presents a barrier to the adoption of technology and thus, less workplace innovation (Tushman & O’Reilly, 2013). This perspective of workplace innovation clearly indicates that technology adoption plays a key role. Technological innovation is the development or extensive adoption of new and better technologies by organisations (Nordhaus, 2007). Brynjolfsson and McAfee (2011) argue that there has been an increasing pace of technological innovations, which is expected to further increase in future. There are a variety of innovative technologies, which is based on the differences in services and products that are offered by different companies. Whereas development of innovative technologies has been in place for a long time, it was accelerated by the onset of information and computer technologies in the 1960s (Teece, 2010). Often referred to as the computer revolution, it began with the initial use of computers commercially and went on t hrough the introduction of the internet and later, e-commerce (Nordhaus, 2007). Even though they may be expensive to acquire and maintain, there are several advantages that are associated with these innovative technologies (Brynjolfsson & McAfee, 2011). For businesses, one of the advantages is the reduction of costs. This is because it reduces the overdependence on employees and as a result, eliminates expenses that could be incurred in form of salaries, benefits and training costs. It also eliminates the losses associated with employee turnover and reduces wastages in operations (Davenport, 2013). For manufacturing companies, it makes it easier for them to streamline their processes and implement lean manufacturing strategies (Leiponen & Helfat, 2010). Innovative technologies also increase productivity and reduce downtime. Campbell-Kelly (2009) argues that algorithms used in computerisation of tasks in workplaces eliminate biases that are typical to humans. Whilst human have to ful fil other tasks that are unrelated to their occupations like eating, sleeping and grooming that often disrupt their work routines, algorithms are programmed to accomplish the range of tasks that it is allocated without these interruptions. As a result, it enables companies to meet demands from customers, expand their operations and increase their returns (Campbell-Kelly, 2009). Trends in Innovative Technologies In explaining workplace innovative technologies of the 21st century, Autor et al. (2003) categorise tasks into four. These are routine, non-routine, manual and cognitive tasks. Routine tasks are those that are accomplished by following explicit steps, and can be easily executed by machines. Non-routine tasks, on the other hand, are more complex, and have not been adequately understood by programmers to develop a specified computer mode for their operations (Autor et al., 2003). Both routine and non-routine tasks can then be classified into cognitive or manual tasks. Whereas manual tasks relate to physical duties, cognitive tasks relate to manual work. Historically, automation or computerisation was limited to routine manual and cognitive tasks, which are known to involve explicit activities that are rule-based. However, with the technological developments that have taken place over the years, even tasks that are non-routine are also being automated (David & Dorn, 2013). Examples of i nnovative technologies being used in present-day organisations are mobile robotics. These are widely used in the health and manufacturing sectors to accomplish tasks that were initially handled by manual labour (Gomes, 2011; Dudek & Jenkin, 2010). Other tasks, as illustrated by Autor et al. (2003), include navigation of automobiles, deciphering handwritings, fraud detections and healthcare diagnostics. In healthcare, for instance, oncologists in leading medical centres are the Watson computer from IBM to offer chronic care and diagnostics for cancer treatment (Cohn, 2013). The computer utilises data from 600,000 medical reports, 2 million pages of from medical journal articles and 1.5 million criminal trials and patient records to benchmark and recognize patterns. This enables the computer to make a near accurate comparison of a person’s genetics, symptoms and history of his/her family medications so as to come up with the most appropriate plan for treatment (Cohn, 2013). Nor mally, it could take many employees to analyse all this data in order to provide a near-accurate diagnosis and treatment prescription. The fact that all these can be executed by a single machine renders many hospital employees jobless (Walker, 2014). This is one of the examples that denote the milestones that have been reached in regard to technological innovation. Societal Impacts of Innovative Technologies There are several societal impacts that have been associated with the adoption of innovative technologies in organisations. Of interest in this study, however, are their impacts on the jobs of employees in different organisations. This concern has been raised by several researchers, including Brynjolfsson and McAfee (2011), who argue that automated or computer controlled equipment have widely contributed to the recent increase in the levels of unemployment across the world. They also state that automation is no longer limited to routine tasks in manufacturing industries (Autor et al., 2003). It is increasingly being applied on other autonomous tasks, which increases the possibility of a reduction on the demand for manual tasks. An example is the recent development of an autonomous driverless car by Google (Rathod, 2013). In another study by Beaudry et al. (2013), they also established that within the past 10 years, there has been a huge decline in the demand of manual skill as a resu lt of increased automation and dependency on computer and information technology. This is even with the increase in the number of people who enrol in and graduate from higher education institutions. This research, however, fails to put into consideration the jobs that have been created as a result of technological developments and the computer revolution. Among the industries that have prospered because of information technology and, as a result, absorbed many employees include the telecommunications sector (Leiponen & Helfat, 2010). According to Acemoglu (2011), this has resulted into a situation where skilled employees have move down the occupational ladder to take up roles that were originally handles by semi-skilled or unskilled employees. This pushes the low-skilled labourers further down the ladder, forcing some of them to move out of employment. These findings concur with David and Dorn’s (2013), who established that there are increasing proportions of skilled workers in organisations. This does not, however, mean that there is an ongoing creation of jobs for skilled employees. It means that automation has taken up most of the jobs that were originally handled by skilled and semi-skilled employees. Several questions have been raised in regard to technological innovations and employee job security (David & Dorn, 2013). One of these is the extent of unemployment that will be brought about by innovative technologies. With the on-going trends of automating tasks that were originally considered as un-automatable, even skilled employees face the risk of losing their jobs. By losing jobs, these people also lose a source of income, making the impacts to spill over to their families and dependants (Acemoglu, 2011). Even with the widely available evidence on ‘technological unemployment’ resulting from these technological innovations, there are economists who still insist that it cannot happen (Campa, 2014). They argue that even though automati on leads to the displacement of workers, it reduces operational prices in several companies, leading to reduced prices. These reduced prices trigger increased consumer demands, which require more products and services to be satisfied. As a result, more industries will have to be created, which provide a basis for hiring more workers. This argument is often referred to as the Luddite fallacy (Walker, 2014). Even though this has been more or less true for the past two centuries, it is yet to be proved whether it will still hold true with the acceleration in technological innovations that has been facilitated by the computer revolution. Governmental approaches to employee redundancy The effect of automation on employment in the United Kingdom and across the globe has raised concerns among different stakeholders (Acemoglu, 2011). As organisations continue to take advantage of technological advancements to increase their competitive positions in their various industries of operation, more employees face the risk of losing their jobs. In response to this, there are several policies that have been put in place by the government to reduce redundancy (Gov.uk, 2014). However, these policies are general and do not focus on the redundancy that may be brought about by technological innovations in the workplace. Some of the reasons that are cited for redundancy, alongside adoption of technological innovations, include changing the location of business premises, acquisition of one company by another or reduction of staff members with the aim of cutting costs in the organisation (Griffith & Macartney, 2014). In case an employee is selected to be made redundant, employers are required to provide a clear explanation for the decision. Some of the reasons that can be included as explanations for this are skills and qualifications of the employee, their attendance and disciplinary records, success/lack of success at the workplace and their overall workplace performance (Gov.uk, 2014). Reasons for redundancy ought not to be related to prejudice or discrimination. There also has to be an appeal procedure that provides employees with a platform to question his/her selection for redundancy in case they feel that the selection is unfair in any way. On dismissal, companies are also required to pay their employees a statutory redundancy pay (Gov.uk, 2014). Whereas these policies offer a slight reprieve to employees in regard to losing their jobs to technology, there has been no quantifiable argument to pinpoint their effectiveness (Griffith & Macartney, 2014). Even with the extensive research that has been carried out on innovative technologies and their effects o n employment, there is still a shortage of literature that explains the approaches that companies can use to retain employees while adopting these innovative technologies. How to find a balance between innovative technologies and employment Referring to the literature that has been reviewed on innovative technologies and the ‘technological unemployment’, it is clear that the most likely trend will be an increased adoption of innovative technologies at the workplace, with a consequent increase in technological unemployment (Huizingh, 2011; Campa, 2014). However, there are different approaches that have been suggested by researchers that will help in reducing the adverse impacts of technological innovations on employment and employee living conditions. For instance, Piovarciova (2014) suggests that governments need to introduce an unconditional basic income for the growing number of unemployed people. This will result in the continuation of the market economy as the cycle of consumer spending will be propped up. Yet, this suggestion has been downplayed by many, with some arguing that providing everyone with a guaranteed basic income will mean that the working populations will have to part with more money in form of taxes (Gajewska, 2014). Another approach was offered by Brynjolfsson and McAfee (2012) who suggested that, in order to avoid being overtaken by machines in workplaces, people need to work towards advancing their capabilities faster than the pace with which technological advancements are taking place. In addition to this, super-intelligent minds ought to develop new desires that will trigger the creation of new industries (Brynjolfsson & McAfee, 2012). However, all these suggestions may be impractical because the acceleration in development of innovative technologies that has been facilitated by computer and information technology could be challenging to catch up with. Moreover, some of the human capabilities that will have to be advanced include skills in designing and developing new and more advanced innovative technologies, which are being fought against in the first place. Mitigating employee redundancy caused by technological advancement As earlier established, there are several reasons why companies lay off employees, one of these being automation of tasks. Automation reduces costs of operation, standardises quality of repetitive processes and increases the pace at which work is done. However, not all layoffs are necessary (Bartels et al., 2012). There are several measures through which employee redundancy can be mitigated. This section intends to address some of them. Effective strategic planning All successful organisations have managers who are strategic planners and future oriented. The ability to take chances and make future projections determines if the company will survive the tough times that are the norm of a globalised and competitive world. In line with this proposition, Autor et al. (2003) state that a clear, elaborate, well-planned and structured strategic plan ensures that the organisation is prepared for any eventualities. As such, organisations need to prepare for technological advancements and make the necessary adjustments in their workforce. One of the adjustments that can be made is distributing employees who could be redundant to other departments to reinforce their operations (Gall, 2011). Hiring highly skilled employees and offering employee training Based on analysis conducted by Waters (2007), technological advancement ordinarily automates most of the functionality of an organisation that does not require highly skilled and/or specialised labour. As su ch, companies whose larger population of employees is not highly skilled are susceptible to employee redundancy in case of technological innovations in the organisation (Walker, 2014). To mitigate this while still allowing the company to grow and advance, organisations should have a highly skilled, effectively trained and tested labour force, which will still be effective after acquisition of new technological innovations. Gall (2011), who concurs with this opinion, states that organisations are expected to invest heavily in training staff that can facilitate growth and stability of the organisation. The limitation of this strategy is that not all tasks in the organisation require a high level of skills to be accomplished (Bartels et al., 2012). In addition, if skilled employees are assigned tasks that they consider not to match with their skill set, they are likely to seek employees in other companies, increasing employee turnover. Continuous evaluation of employees Even with the automations of tasks in organisations, companies will still find it difficult to dismiss employees they regard as being valuable to the organisation. There is thus a need for standards to be set to gauge the performance such as performance appraisals (Waters, 2007). Rewards can be put in place for employees who positively contribute towards the organisation’s prosperity and punitive measures for those who do not. With such measures, employees will continuously upgrade their skills and increase their value to the organization (Palaiologos et al., 2011). This will increase their chance of retention in case of an automation of tasks. Even with such measures in place, there will still be employees who will be not as effective as others. Employee cross-training Cross-training refers to the provision of training for employees to enable them improve their levels of proficiency in roles other than those of their functional areas or departments (Ramanigopal et al., 2012). An example is when an employee in the production team of an organisation is provided with training on roles in the human resource department. Whereas this is commonly done with the aim of replacing employees who might have moved to other organisations, dismissed or on leave, it can also be used to mitigate employee redundancy occurring as a result of automation. Employees whose jobs will be taken over by machines can be distributed to other functional areas, where they will effectively fit (Abernathy, 2011). Cross-training, however, has the limitation of being costly to the organisation. Planned and progressive acquisition of innovative technology Most organisations tend to apply technological advancement as a reactive measures rather than an active measure (Gall, 2011). As a reactive measure, organisations apply technological advancement for purposes such as warding off competition, subscribing to the new standards set by the government or other regulatory bodies, meeting the unexpected high demand from the clients or any other reason which was not planned but rather as a result of unavoidable circumstances. In such cases, employee redundancy is normally high and there is need to take action against it (Campa, 2014). However, this can be mitigated through planned and progressive implementation of technological advancement. When technological advancement is planned, the organization will be ready for the change and the employees will be adequately skilled to tag along with the change and still be relevant (Teece, 2010). Progressive implementation will allow for critical analysis of the impact if the technological advancement a nd thus laying down better strategies or corrective measures to mitigate the negative impacts of the technology while at the same time reduce employee redundancy (Gall, 2011). All the suggested approaches towards mitigation of employee redundancy as a result of technological innovation only provide a slight solution. This is because of the fact that whilst the current employees in the organisations will be retained, there will be a shortage of employment positions to accommodate new workers (Walker, 2014). Thus, this will only provide a shot-term solution to technological unemployment. The relationship between technological advancement and unemployment Employee redundancy that is majorly caused by technological advancement is also regarded as one of the primary contributors to the high levels of unemployment in the society (Autor et al., 2003). In order to fully understand the concepts behind the relationship between technological advancement and unemployment, one has to understand the genesis of formal employment and technological advancement. From the onset of capitalism in the society, there was need for specialised labour to ensure that the high demand for goods and services was met. The surplus production of food led to larger populations and thus higher demand for goods and services. The industrial revolution helped to set the platform on which technology was used in industries to enhance productivity and maximise on the resources available (Huizingh, 2011). The use of technology helped to automate repetitive tasks and standardise the quality of goods. The more beneficial technology was to the organisations, the more it was harnessed to ensure that capitalism prevailed and the needs of the people were met. However, the unskilled labourers lost their jobs when machines were able to do the work that they did faster and at lower costs (Antonelli, 2014). This situation led to the term commonly referred to as technological unemployment where people lost their jobs to machines. The use of machinery led to the employment of only skilled labour (Brynjolfsson & McAfee, 2011). The invention of computers was revolutionary to the way humans lived, communicated with each other and also the way they worked (Gajewska, 2014). There was more automation of functions in organisations and the skills that people possessed then were rendered obsolete. According to Ayres (2009), many organisations, such as Google, have specific departments that are focused on research and development of new technologies to make work cheaper, easier and faster. Each and every day, there is a new invention aimed at making life for humans better but the inventions could also lead to massive unemployment (Campa, 2014). The development of robotics is one of the forms of technological advancement that has led to unemployment. Robots are being used to perform the tasks that were initially being performed by people (Ayres & Warr, 2009). For example, as earlier stated, Google has recently launched a driverless car which is not prone to accidents (Rathod, 2013). These technologies require highly skilled labour to operate. However, since most of the world’s population is unskilled thus technology is leaving them jobless thus increasing the levels of unemployment (Campa, 2014). The acceleration if the digital revolution is conditioned by the basic human desire to be better. Tasks that were considered to be complex and had to be done by highly skilled professionals are also being overtaken by technology (Nordhaus, 2007). Careers, such as banking, are being taken over by automated teller machines and online banking leading to unemployment of skilled labour. The use of 3D printers and the integration of artificial intelligence in the technological advancement concepts are leading to obsolesce of skills that were considered impressive, such as surgery (Cohn, 2013). As much as technological advancement is criticised for causing massive unemployment in variou s industries for both skilled and unskilled labour, there are many jobs which may be related to the technological advancements which have been created as a result (Mumford, 2012). For instance, although the librarians and libraries are becoming less significant with the invention of computers and the internet, jobs for people who are manufacturing the computing devices have been created. In addition, other computer and information technology related industries, like telecommunications, have expanded and created more jobs (Leiponen & Helfat, 2010). Technological advancement can thus be regarded as constructive destruction where it causes unemployment in some sectors while creating employment in others. The future of technological advancement Technology has been regarded as a solution for several problems within and outside organisations. This mentality has deterred people from considering the adverse impacts that it has on society. One of the many drawbacks of technological advancement is employee redundancy, which is the subject of this study. In this regard, researchers like Brynjolfsson and McAfee (2012) are for the opinion that technology is but an improved means to unimproved ends and cannot equal social and moral progress. According to Walker (2014), as technological advancements progress, there are resulting limitations in people’s learning abilities and their flexibility in adopting new ideas. This will in turn limit their innovation and as such, the rate of technological advancement will decline. However, Gomes (2011) presents a conflicting argument, stating that technological advancement is limitless and will continue to advance as long as humanity survives. This is because of the tendency of human beings to design easier approaches to day-to-day tasks. Human beings strive on a daily basis to make their lives better and are not satisfied with the level of progress made. Even though several strides have been made, there still is need for improvement (Huizingh, 2011). This is evidenced by the recent technological innovations that have been made, included the development of smartphones and driverless cars. In addition, for all innovations, there are often flaws or discoveries of better ways tha t they can deliver their intended tasks. Thus, there is a persistent need for further improvements of previous designs (Acemoglu, 2011). One of the factors that could limit the adoption of innovative technologies in workplaces is the increasing concern of their greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption (Wheeler, 2013). However, this concern is being addressed by a further development of technological innovations that are more environmental friendly, and use sustainable energy sources like solar and wind power (Hansmann et al., 2012). Based on these findings, unless raw materials needed to facilitate technological advancements are depleted, technological advancements are expected to endless. Summary This section has reviewed a wider range of literature on innovative technologies at the workplace and its impacts on employee redundancy. A wide range of literature suggests a positive relationship between the adoption of innovative technology and technological unemployment. However, the Luddite fallacy developed by some economists states that that there is no positive relationship between the two. Other issues that have been addressed in this section include the trends in innovative technologies, the affects that they have on social life and how the resulting employee redundancy can be mitigated. In regard to whether there will be an end to technological advancements, most of the literature that has been reviewed suggests that technological innovation will progress. This argument is supported by the trends in technology innovations in the 21st century, where tasks that are non-routine and were considered as being non-automatable, are now being automated. One of the gaps that have be en identified in literature is on the measures being taken by organisations to limit employee redundancy as a result of technological innovation. References Abernathy, W.B. (2011). An analysis of the effects of selected management practices on organizational productivity and performance. Performance Improvement, 50(6), pp.39-47. Acemoglu, D. (2011). Skills, tasks and technologies: Implications for employment and earnings. Handbook of Labor Economics, 4, pp.1043-171. Antonelli, C. (2014). The economics of innovation, new technologies and structural change. New Jersey: Routledge. Autor, D., Levy, F. & Murnane, R. (2003). The skill content of recent technological change: An empirical exploration. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 118(4), p.1279–1333. Ayres, R.U. & Warr, B. (2009). The Economic Growth Engine: How Energy and Work Drive Material Prosperity. Massachusetts: Edward Elgar Publishing. Bartels, B., Ermel, U., Sandborn, P. & Pecht, M.G. (2012). Strategies to the Prediction, Mitigation and Management of Product Obsolescence. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. Beaudry, P., Green, D.A. & Sand, B.M. (2013). The great reversal in the demand for skill and cognitive tasks. NBER Working Paper. Cambridge: National Bureau of Economic Research. Brynjolfsson, E. & McAfee, A. (2011). Race against the machine: How the digital revolution is accelerating innovation, driving productivity, and irreversibly transforming employment and the economy. Lexington: Digital Frontier Press. Brynjolfsson, E. & McAfee, A. (2012). Thriving in the automated economy. Futurist, 46(2), pp.27-31. Campa, R. (2014). Technological Growth and Unemployment: A Global Scenario Analysis. Journal of Evolution & Technology, 24(1), pp.86-103. Campbell-Kelly, M. (2009). Origin of computing. Scienti?c American Magazine, 301(3), p.62–69. Cohn, J. (2013). The robot will see you now. The Atlantic, 20 February. Davenport, T.H. (2013). Process innovation: reengineering work through information technology. Chicago: Harvard Business Press. David, H. & Dorn, D. (2013). The growth of low-skill service jobs and the polarization of the US labor market. The American Economic Review, 103(5), pp.1553-97. Dudek, G. & Jenkin, M. (2010). Computational principles of mobile robotics. Cambridge: Cambridge university press. Gajewska, K. (2014). Technological Unemployment but Still a Lot of Work: Towards Prosumerist Services of General Interest. Journal of Evolution & Technology, 24(1), pp.104-12. Gall, G. (2011). Collective worker responses to redundancy and restructuring. Bingley: Emerald. Gomes, P. (2011). Surgical robotics: Reviewing the past, analysing the present, imagining the future. Robotics and Computer-Integrated Manufacturing, 27(2), pp.261-66. Gov.uk. (2014). Redundancies, dismissals and disciplinaries. [Online] Available at: https://www.gov.uk/browse/working/redundancies-dismissals [Accessed 16 July 2014]. Gov.uk. (2014). Redundancy: your rights. [Online] Available at: https://www.gov.uk/redundant-your-rights/overview [Accessed 16 July 2014]. Griffith, R. & Macartney, G. (2014). Employment Protection Legislation, Multinational Firms, and Innovation. Review of Economics and Statistics, 96(1), pp.135-50. Hansmann, R., Mieg, H.A. & Frischknecht, P. (2012). Principal sustainability components: empirical analysis of synergies between the three pillars of sustainability. International Journal of Sustainable Development & World Ecology, 19(5), pp.451-59. Huizingh, E.K. (2011). Open innovation: State of the art and future perspectives. Technovation, 31(1), pp.2-9. Klehe, U.C., Zikic, J., Van Vianen, A.E. & De Pater, I.E. (2011). Career adaptability, turnover and loyalty during organizational downsizing. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 79(1), pp.217-29. Leiponen, A. & Helfat, C.E. (2010). Innovation objectives, knowledge sources, and the benefits of breadth. Strategic Management Journal, 31(2), pp.224-36. Mumford, M.D. (2012). Handbook of Organizational Creativity. London: Elsevier. Nordhaus, W. (2007). Two centuries of productivity growth in computing. The Journal of Economic History, 67(1), p.128. Palaiologos, A., Papazekos, P. & Panayotopoulou, L. (2011). Organizational justice and employee satisfaction in performance appraisal. Journal of European Industrial Training, 35(8), pp.826-40. Piovarciova, V. (2014). Development of Economic Systems–Impulses and Alternatives. European Scientific Journal, 9(10), pp.280-4. Ramanigopal, C.S., Joy, P.A., Palaniappan, G. & Hemalatha, N. (2012). Knowledge Management Strategies and their roles. International Journal of Engineering and Social Science, 2(2), pp.51-72. Rathod, S.D. (2013). An autonomous driverless car: an idea to overcome the urban road challenges. Journal of Information Engineering and Applications, 3(13), pp.34-38. Sung, S.Y. & Choi, J.N. (2014). Do organizations spend wisely on employeesEffects of training and development investments on learning and innovation in organizations. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 35(3), pp.393-412. Teece, D.J. (2010). Business models, business strategy and innovation. Long range planning, 43(2), pp.172-94. Thompson, J.D. (2011). Organizations in action: Social science bases of administrative theory. London: Transaction Publishers. Tushman, M.L. & O’Reilly, C.A. (2013). Winning through innovation: A practical guide to leading organizational change and renewal. Cambridge: Harvard Business Press. Walker, M. (2014). BIG and Technological Unemployment: Chicken Little Versus the Economists. Journal of Evolution & Technology, 24(1), pp.5-25. Waters, L. (2007). Experiential differences between voluntary and involuntary job redundancy on depression, job-search activity, affective employee outcomes and re-employment quality. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 80(2), pp.279-99. Wheeler, S.M. (2013). Planning for Sustainability: Creating Livable, Equitable and Ecological Communities. New York: Routledge.

What Does It Take To Get Into The University of Pittsburgh?

The University of Pittsburgh’s acceptance rate is 59.3%. What does it take to get in? Located in the bustling heart of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the University of Pittsburgh (â€Å"Pitt†) attracts nearly 30,000 applicants each year. Of these, just over half get in. Self-declared a research powerhouse, Pitt is known for bringing hands-on learning to its classes and providing ample opportunity to explore one’s passions beyond classroom walls. Employers nationwide have their eye on this school, allowing Pitt to offer a valuable internship guarantee to its students. Perhaps one of the main attractions is the school’s location, however. Pittsburgh is home to a thriving economy, a vibrant art scene, and rich cultural diversity. It is fondly referred to by its residents as a hidden gem amongst cities. And Pitt, situated in the Oakland neighborhood, is at the city’s core. Interested in being a part of the University of Pittsburgh community? In this post, we’ll tell you how to stand out in a pool of thousands of applicants. Pitt employs a rolling admissions process. In place of predetermined deadlines and decision release dates, rolling admissions allows students to send their application in as soon as it’s ready. In turn, applicants will receive their decision shortly after the admissions committee has finished reviewing the application. That said, rolling admissions works on a space-available basis. That means it is to your advantage to apply as soon as possible, while more spots are available. You can apply via Pitt’s online application , The Common Application , or The Coalition Application . If you have other schools on the Common Application, we recommend the Common Application to save time. There is a $55 application fee regardless of which platform you use. Here’s a review of the steps to a complete Pitt application: Note that the priority review deadline for academic scholarships is December 15th. It is highly recommended that you apply by this date. The Regular Consideration Deadline is January 15th. Estimating your chance of getting into a college is not easy in today’s competitive environment. Thankfully, with our state-of-the-art software and data, we can analyze your academic and extracurricular profile and estimate your chances. Our profile analysis tool can also help you identify the improvement you need to make to enter your dream school. Percentage of the University of Pittsburgh freshmen who took at least one advanced course in high school: 93% The University of Pittsburgh does not have a minimum GPA for admission, but the average GPA of last year’s admitted class was a 3.97. This indicates that students are expected to be at the top of their class, with an average letter grade of A- and above. Pitt’s website states an interest in advanced level classes and a well-rounded curriculum. In other words, the admissions committee wants to see a transcript that shows you are challenging yourself to take rigorous coursework, but not to the extent that your grades are suffering. In the event that you do receive a grade lower than a C, it is recommended that you retake the class during the summer. Pitt also emphasizes a challenging senior year curriculum. As with most schools, the university values an upward trajectory in both grades and rigor, meaning a student is taking harder classes and receiving higher, or at least consistent, grades each year. This trend shows growth as a person and a persisting desire to push yourself beyond your comfort zone. Whether you choose to take the SAT or ACT, you want to be towards the top of the middle 50% range. Pitt will superscore the SAT, which means the highest section scores from multiple administrations of the exam will be combined into a new, and usually higher, composite score. It is therefore to your advantage to take the exam more than once. The University of Pittsburgh offers five writing prompts to freshmen applications. Of these, two are required application components and the other three are optional but highly recommended. According to Pitt’s website, the most effective responses are typically around 200 to 300 words per question; however, there is no official word limit and quality is emphasized over quantity. Your responses should show careful thought and consideration, as this is one of only a few opportunities on the application where you have room to let your personality shine. Regarding the optional prompts, you can respond to as few or as many as you want. That said, this is a great opportunity to tell the admissions committee more about yourself and demonstrate serious interest in the school. Responding to optional prompts shows commitment to the school, while refraining from answering may be taken for a lack of genuine interest. We encourage you to consider these prompts as mandatory in order to optimize your chances of acceptance. For a full run-down on responding to the University of Pittsburgh’s short answer questions, check out this post . Admissions is a stressful time, and for most, a dose of rejection is inevitable. In the event that you do get rejected, know that it is going to be okay. Rejection can be a hard pill to swallow, but keep it in perspective: the University of Pittsburgh is just one school in a country full of thousands! You will find your school, and it will work out. Looking for more schools?   Here’s a list of universities that are similar to the University of Pittsburgh, and whether you’ve been rejected or not, they’re worth considering.

Supply chain management - Bose Corporation case study Essay

Supply chain management - Bose Corporation case study - Essay Example Being a customer driven company, Bose has adopted a refined transport system which is deemed to be among best systems in the country. The EDI system always operates close to the real time. In addition, it supports two-way communication between every party of freight handlers in 230 terminals. Bose, therefore, performs analysis on shipping and distribution easily since information in the system is updated automatically several times in a day. Thus, with this system, the company is in a position to lower the total costs in various scenarios. Bose Corporation has an effective supply chain management system that has come a long way to lower the operational costs in the organization. The company uses the latest or rather the modern technology to develop and update these systems. Thus, it has control and can instantly monitor all the shipping of its supplies to over 200 terminals due to the effectiveness in communication between the terminals and the head office. In addition, these systems applies to all the transactions that take place between the organization and its suppliers; JIT system is functional for such transactions since the individual who can be perfect in managing inventories is the supplier himself. Strategy development process at Bose Corporation can be effectively implemented due to the company’s functional systems. Implementation of any strategy in any organization involves all the stakeholders; customers, suppliers and the organization itself. The EDI system at Bose Corporation supports a two-way communication which makes communication effective. Thus, implementation of a strategy or any changes in the organization can take effect with ease as all the company’s stakeholders can easily be reached at once. Bose Corporation’s priority is the purchased quality. Being a customer-driven company, the organization’s key goal is to deliver

Development of Tourism in Saudi Arabia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 11250 words - 1

Development of Tourism in Saudi Arabia - Essay Example The researcher tried not to choose participants who visited Saudi Arabia just once. People who visited the country twice but with short intervals (probably in months) were also not considered to be taken as participants for this paper’s survey, as this could impact the results and this could also prevent in finding out the reality. This is because, to notice the development of any country, months are really not enough. At least one and the half year is ideal to notice some of the changes. Normally, countries strive and work on several projects which take months to be finalized and to be actually executed. Operations do not just start. It takes a lot of time because each project involves a lot of finance and that financial plan or budget needs to be planned, designed, tested, approved and need to pass several stages before being operational. This point is very important. For active developers, one and the half year of a gap is considered as reasonable, while in third world coun tries with lazy executors, identical changes take more than five to seven years. For any country, the growth and the development in the industry of tourism brings a number of positive results. This, not only, includes the foreign investments but a lot more than that in a number of ways. A country receives investments when it is rich in resources. Especially, the oil reserves and the petroleum reserves are normally considered as the blessings and fortune of any country. The foreign investments open doors to the foreign engineers and to the other foreign employees. When the investment projects are a little more than the average number of projects, a country faces a lot of problems in acquiring professional services from the local workforce. Therefore, it opens doors to the foreign professionals to apply and offer their services. However, the local engineers and professionals are given priority over the outsiders in many cases. A company may acquire foreign services for a long-term or for a short-term contract.

Repealing National Prohibition in the USA Term Paper

Repealing National Prohibition in the USA - Term Paper Example However, this was not the first time that alcohol was under prohibition in America. The state of Maine was the first state in America to prohibit alcohol; this was far back in the 1850s3. The law made it illegal to possess, manufacture, distribute, consume, advertise, give, or remove alcohol or alcohol-based recipes from a residence or business premise4. The main group that facilitated the implementation of the prohibition was the Anti Saloon League (ASL), a powerful organization that had the support of a majority of the members of the Congress5. People who formulated the law thought that the law would help in reducing the vices in the society, which were associated with alcohol; however, the law elicited widespread debate on the subject. Among the people who were actively involved in the debate were the women who formed two opposing groups. One of the groups, women Christian Temperance Union (WCTU), advocated for the prohibition whereas another group, the Women Organization for Nati onal Prohibition Repeal (WONPR), was against the prohibition6. The main reason that led to the formation of organizations, which were against the prohibition, was that prohibition had led to a significant increase in crime. In addition, prohibition turned people who were previously law-abiding citizens to become criminals7. In addition, prohibition threatened to lead to the moral disintegration of the American society as the people who were supposed to enforce the law were under implication several times in corruption scandals8. Apart from the effects, the prohibition had on the crime rates it also negatively affected several sectors of the economy, which used to provide the livelihoods of millions of America either directly or indirectly. One of the sectors under great impact was the wine industry9. Therefore, for the successful implementation, the government should have first tries to build a consensus and evaluate the effects of the prohibition instead of forcing it down on peopl e10. Annotated Bibliography Behr, Edward. Prohibition: thirteen years that changed America. NY: Arcade Publishing, Inc. 1996. The book offers a comprehensive study of the prohibition of alcohol. It tries to devise reasons that may have brought about certain people to advocate for prohibition strongly. Throughout the book, the author uses temperance to explain why a certain group of people, notably, the Anti-Saloon League (ASL), successfully used temperance to show why alcohol should confront prohibition. In the book, the author tries to analyze the propaganda spread by the ASL to impose fines on certain alcohol manufacturers. The ASL sometimes played the racial cards and tried to capture the American’s hatred towards the Germans to help in the advancement of its goals of imposing prohibition. The author develops the story by showing how â€Å"the good creature of God,† (referring to alcohol) has been an integral part of America. The author even states that the founding president of America, George Washington used to spend huge sums of money on alcohol. By considering these various prominent parties, which were involved and affected, the author is able to paint a more vivid picture of this era.

Written discussions and online discussions Personal Statement

Written discussions and online discussions - Personal Statement Example In the second written discussion, my involvement was in reading the comment on constructivist views of learning and weighing the contents of the post. Although I did not comment to it, my participation was intra-personal wherein I was weighing myself where I stood in the whole of things about skill and challenge and whether I was also getting bored; and if I was, how would I think in terms of rewards or promotions. I was also debating within myself about "enjoying if I reduced my skill" and when do I do that. I guess this means going down to the level of students, but not necessarily reducing my skill. The second point that came to my mind is how "the level of challenges would be increased for teachers." How is that going to happen By administration The post has greatly challenged my thinking. I have been a thinker rather than a talker in most discussions. I don't like speaking in front of many people. I learn the content I learn in class while listening to others verbalizes their ideas. Sometime, it's not clear whether I understand certain content, but after listening to others' personalized examples, it becomes clear. Explain: If there was a 4.5, my degree of enjoyment would be it. First, I cannot afford the face-to-face presence because of some concerns. Second, I don't very much like face-to-face set ups in conversing with other internationals where the language is not mine. c. the degree to which you felt the oral discussions contributed to your learning 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Contributed Contributed Contributed not at all somewhat greatly Explain: The contribution to my learning of oral discussions is only on the level of 4, considering what I had presented earlier. I don't have the luxury of time, and I am not given to mixing in set-ups with oral concerns. Section 2: For the next questions, consider the WRITTEN (bulletin board) discussions: 3. I am interested first in having you describe how you read and understand the written comments. In particular, describe what you typically do in terms of reading comments in a Blackboard discussion. With written discussions, I open to them and read all,

CAPTCHA Thesis Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

CAPTCHA - Thesis Proposal Example This thesis will also give a proposal on the future directions of creating reliable CAPTCHAS. The main of this study is to determine the major visual visula CAPTCHAS being used and how they are created. The anti-segmentation and and anti-recognition techniques that are currently being used to make CAPTCHAS very hard for automated computer attacks and bots to segment the CAPTCHAS. This is intended to eventually help in creation of reliable CAPTCHAS. There is increased insecurity by many web users in maintaining their privacy due to many hackers being able to acquire users personal information details. This study is to impact and increase users confidence in the use of CAPTCHAS as a security tool and to help visual CAPTCHA designers to formulate the best algorithms that will be used in creation of reliable anti-recognition and anti-segmentation techniques. This will eventually make user information and use of CAPTCHAS very secure against automated computer bots. We will perform a deep analysis of the different anti-segmentation techniques that are used to prevent separation of CAPTCHAS characters in order to make a sense from them like collapsing, distortion and noise. We will also study some anti-recognition techniques like collapsing, distortion, waving and using multiple-fonts and sizes. We will be conducting a comparative research based on existing research in this area and concerns over information security. We will collect data and statistics and represent the finding in forms of tables and charts. `This study will be done through analysis and comparisons of previously researches done on the increase of security of CAPTCHAS. This will involve acquiring sample data and statistics relating to anti-segmentation, anti-recognition success rates of various visual CAPTCHAS. Comparing some algorithms used in the design of CAPTCHAS. The data in this study will be mostly acquired from previous researches done on the

International Strategic Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

International Strategic Management - Essay Example On the other hand, firms of each particular industrial sector have to align their marketing strategies in accordance with the characteristics of the specific sector but also the position of their competitors. Specifically referring to firms operating in the pharmaceutical industry White (2006, 175) noticed that ‘the pharmaceutical sector regularly forms alliances, partnerships, and joint ventures with kindred industries such as biotechnology, diagnostics, health care, and information services’. In other words, firms operating within the pharmaceutical industry should carefully review their marketing strategy as the qualities, the effectiveness and the safety claimed (through the relevant marketing messages) can have a significant effect on consumers (patients) around the world. The development of consumer-directed advertising has helped towards the improvement of the marketing campaigns of pharmaceutical firms around the world (referring not only to the qualities of the products advertised but also to the effectiveness of these products). Moreover, consumers can be better informed on the solutions available for the treatment of a specific disease. Regarding the specific issue it is noticed by Holtz (1998, 199) that ‘the increase in consumer-directed advertising has helped to foster a health care atmosphere in which it is the patient, and not the medical practitioner, who initiates a discussion regarding possible drug therapy’. The importance of consumer-directed advertising in the pharmaceutical industry has been also highlighted by Wang et al. (2004). The above researchers referred to a specific form of advertising, the 4-C model which has been found to refer mainly to the following issues: ‘First, what the customer want should be sold; second, enterprise should take every efforts to decrease the cost of fulfilling the customers demand; third, enterprise should take every efforts to give

Discuss research into different type of attachment Essay Example for Free

Discuss research into different type of attachment Essay Mary Ainsworth conducted two naturalistic observations, one in the rural community of Kampala in Uganda which lasted for two years and the other in the urban city of Baltimore which had lasted for one year. The aim of this observation was to look at a mother and infant interaction. In both study she used the same number of participants, which were 26 mothers and their infants. Using the strange situation she found three different types of attachments that were displayed by the children and the fourth found by Main and Solomon. The first study in Uganda she found that some mothers were more sensitive to their infants needs meaning that, they were more capable of providing more details about their infants. The infants of these mothers were ‘securely attached’, this means that in their mothers’ presence they cried little and were more eager to explore. This secure attachment led to the infants being more independence because they used their mothers as a secure base that they could run to in time of danger. The second observation took place in Baltimore, America. In this study she and her team did not use a behaviour checklist which means that there was not certain thing that she was looking for, for example she did not have a paper where she wrote all the behaviour that she was looking for such as anger or sorrow and ticked them off when she witnessed it, she was purely just writing what she had seen. In this observation she found that mother were more sensitive to their infants for the first three months of their lives, meaning that in the one year that she had studied them, only for the first three months the mother, who was classified as a secure base responded more to the infants needs during that time period. Learning theorist found this confusing, this is because from their understanding, responsiveness to behavioural social releasers, such as crying should act as a reinforcer and increase the crying, but this was different Anisworth predication which was that behavioural social releasers decrease the caregiver responsiveness. One limitation of these studies is that because it was a longitudinal study, which means that it went over for a long period of time, it may have caused  participant attrition, where participants drop out of the study and this may cause problems for her, such as she may not have yet found what she needed. but one strength of the study being longitudinal is that the mother may become more comfortable with the fact of someone observing them so this could led to them being more free and able to express themselves better, and this would be an advantage for Mary as she will witness the mothers true personality and behaviour. One limitation of the Baltimore study alone was that her study was not operationalised; meaning that she did not define what she was observing and this could lead to her finding irrelevant information. In the Baltimore study we saw that Mary Anisworth conducting her research using the Strange Situation. This method was used to test the nature of attachment systematically. the aim of this was to see how infants behaved under condition of mild stress and novelty, this stress was created by a presence of a stranger and by separation from caregiver; this is tests stranger anxiety and separation anxiety. The strange situation also tries to encourage exploration by placing infant in a novel situation which tests the secure base concept. This research takes place in a novel environment, this is a 99 foot square marked off into 16 squares, and this was to help mark the movements of the infants. This method consists of eight episodes, each used to emphasise certain behaviours; the behaviour that was assessed was stranger anxiety, this is the distress shown by an infant when approached or picked up by someone who is unknown to them. The second behaviour assessed is separation anxiety, this is the distress revealed by infants when separated from its primary attachment figure. And the last behaviour assessed was Reunion behaviour this is the behaviour shown by infants when reunited with their mother. The results in a strange situation are collected by a group of observers who record what the infants are doing every 15 seconds. Aniworth et al (1978) found that there are three types of attachment that infants had with their caregiver. One of the attachment found was the secure attachment, this is when an infant has a strong and cooperative interaction with their caregiver. These types of infants properly will not cry if their caregiver leaves the room, but when feeling scared they use their caregiver  as safety net that they run to seek close bodily contact and although they may not want to leave their caregivers side prematurely, they are easily soothed. They seek and are comfortable with social interaction and intimacy. The securely attached infants are more independent this is because they use their caregiver a secure base and because they know that they have this secure base they tend to explore their environment more. Another type of attachment is Insecure-avoidant, this attachment is formed of children that don’t like to socially interact with others and tend to avoid intimacy. In the strange situation, when separated from their caregiver these children show little response and do not seek proximity of their caregiver on reunion. If the infant is picked up they may show little or no tendency to cling or resist being put down. These children do not need their caregiver to be there for them to explore, they are quite happy to do it without them. They may also become quite angry because their attachment needs are not met. Furthermore another type of attachment is insecure-resistant, these are children who both seek and reject intimacy and social interaction. When separated with their caregiver they show intense distress, on reunion they may resist being picked up while also trying to maintain proximity. The last type of attachment was found by Main and Solomon (1986) when they done a re-analysis of over 200 strange situation. The fourth attachment that they found was Disorganised; this type is characterised by a lack of a consistent patterns of social behaviour. These children can show strong attachment, which is suddenly followed by avoidance or looking fearful towards their caregiver or displaying odd movements such as stumbling. In conclusion, there are four types of attachment that children display these are secure attachment, insecure- resistant, insecure avoidance and disorganised and a way to identify what type of attachment a child has is to use the strange situation method, that was first conducting by Mary Anisworth.

Study On Comprehensive Mental Health Nursing Assessment

Study On Comprehensive Mental Health Nursing Assessment A written account of a comprehensive mental health nursing assessment and plan of care for a selected client who has multiple health problems. This account must critically reflect on communication with other agencies and evidence of working with the client and or family in a collaborative manner. Particular attention should be paid to national policies in this area and evidence of best practice. In this assignment it will define and discuss a nursing intervention for a client with a long enduring mental health illness. A systematic approach will be used the nursing process and the role of the mental health nurse will be clearly identified in providing care for the client. The nursing process consists of four stages, the assessment, planning, implementing and evaluation. This problem solving approach will be adopted to structure, organise, and present the nursing intervention. A fully detailed clients profile will be given. The mental health assessment and plan process will also be addressed. The client will be involved in the whole process as far as possible in order to empower him / her, a plan that is person centred and interventions that are evidence based will be displayed in the assignment. In this profile a pseudonym (James) will be used in accordance with the Nursing and Midwifery Council, (NMC, 2002) to maintain confidentiality. The need of the Multi Displinary Team (MDT) for collaboration will be discussed in order to safe guard the patient to share skills and knowledge and to improve the quality of care. James is a 65 year old man with a diagnosis of severely depression and excessive alcohol intake. He was detained under section 3 of the mental health act (1983) at a low secure unit. James was admitted into the unit 12 months ago his index offence being physical assault and attempted suicide through an overdose with his prescribed medication for his depression and insomnia. He shares the house with four other men in the unit. James is potentially active and usually manages his day to day living activities as well as attending day care sessions without much prompting. However, he had recently become very reluctant to attend to his personal hygiene. This became worse when James started going for days without washing or bathing himself. His room was never cleaned hence having a bad odour because of his leg ulcer and he refuses the Tissue Viability Nurse (TV) to change the dressings regularly. Care Programme Approach (1991) which aims to improve the co-ordination of services and collabor ation between the various agencies, carers and service user. The introduction of the CPA in (1991) was to provide shape, coherence to what had often been haphazard, uncoordinated attempts to provide support in the care for people with severe mental illnesses (DOH1991). CPA is a statutory framework within which bio-psycho-social needs assessments is carried out (Norman and Ryrie 2004). This odour was because James would not change allowing the TV nurse to dress his leg ulcer for days. At his previous review meeting, issues around his hygiene had been viewed as hazardous to his health and also the health of staff since there were times when they would have to go into his room now and again. If James had no day care sessions to attend to he would sit and watch television. James also had a fairly huge appetite, he was observed to be frequently asking for more food at meal times. The other factor that proved he had a huge appetite was that he always asked for tea and biscuits several times between meals. This could be seen as poor eating patterns as Henderson (2001) implied that frequent binging is a factor behind poor eating patterns. Concerns about his weight gain had recently been discussed in his review meeting. James had of late become very withdrawn, wanting to be alone all the time. In an interview with him, he expressed how he felt useless and not having any fa ith in himself. He said he felt this was because his peers were looking down upon him because of his poor hygiene. James was referred to our team for five day assessment prior to facilitate discharge. James had a psychosocial assessment by the mental health nurse and the student at the day hospital. Good psychosocial assessments could be therapeutic to the client because it might be their fist time to be able to discuss different aspects of their problems or a particular problem with anyone (Rose and Barnes 2008). The assessment is important in enabling the development of a care plan that is person centred that could stabilise Jamess conditions and endeavour to improve his quality of life. Care plans and working practices should be person centred. The recover model also require a person centred approach so that clients can explore their thoughts, feelings, lives and to discover more accepting sense of self (Repper Perkins 2007). James had a high score of 19 / 21 on the Beck Depression Inventory (Beck et al 1961 cited by Norman and Ryrie 2007 pg 201,438). However, all self report inventories there is a possibility that clients may exaggerate or under-present symptoms resulting in low score to avoid further interventions (Castillo 2003). In this case the results from the inventory were therefore only be used as a guideline. The Department of Health (DOH 2001) properly targeted assessment and active care management promotes older peoples independence through preventing deterioration and managing crises. It further states that proper assessments may reduce demand for services through assessing need more accurately and by ensuring services remain appropriate to needs, such systematic assessment is also valued by the older people. Standard seven of the National Service Framework (NSF) for older adults advices professionals on treatment of depression and National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE, 2001) focused in the management of Depression NICE. These guidelines set clear proposals of tackling social exclusion, promotion of partnership working of the NHS and Social services, ensuring high standards of care and provision of quicker treatment, safe , sound and supportive services for people who suffer from depression. According to Redfern and Ross (1997) depression in elderly people is often undetected because elderly people will often complain of physical illness and physical aspects of depression rather than the depressed mood itself; moreover, they are not aware that depression is a distinct disorder which is treatable. Norman and Ryrie (2004) further state that most clinicians perceive depression as a normal ageing process and in this context the writer feels that professionals have to be more educated or increase their knowledge in recognising depression in elderly as they are the main gate keepers and misdiagnosed depression is a serious issue as most people will go untreated or undetected. The DOH (2001) could be seen to be in support with above view when they state that under-detection of mental illness in older people is widespread, due to the nature of the symptoms and the fact that many older people live alone. Depression in people aged 65 and over is especially under-diagnosed and this is particularly true of residents in care homes, mental and physical problems can also interact in older people making their overall assessment and management more difficult and mental health problems may be perceived by older people as well as by professionals and their families, as an inevitable consequence of ageing, and not as health problems which will respond to treatment.   These findings call for health professionals to be thorough when working with people with multiple health problems like James. During the assessment it became apparent that James became severely depressed following the death of his wife and losing his family and the family house. He was struggling to cope with loosing his house and moving into a residential home. He expressed feelings of loneliness and that he missed his family and neighbours. Depression in older people is under detected and under treated due to the ageists misconception of thinking its normal in this group. Symptoms displayed reflected that James was feeling depressed as according to the International Classification of Diseases (ICD 10) 1992 the key symptoms of depression are depressed mood, loss of enjoyment or interest, lack of concentration, disturbed sleep, ideas of self harm or suicide. James had made frequent remarks of ending his life but could not further elaborate on how he intends to do this when asked by staff. This is recognised as a serious risk, it is difficulty to establish these symptoms. However, older people are more likely than younger people to experience anxiety and memory loss as symptoms of depression (Pillai 1997). James lost contact with his family because they didnt want to know him due to his mental illness. There is a mounting evidence of discrimination experienced by people with mental health problems within their families and in the community (Dunn 1999). Beck et al (1998) defined health as that which includes dimensions of being, such as biological, social, spiritual and cultural. In this nursing intervention the nurse will be involved in the promotion of Jamess health and social well-being. Mathews (1996) emphasised that nurses need to follow a problem solving approach when intervening to the care of patients. The mental health nurse will use the nursing process to do a nursing intervention on Jamess care because Alan (1991) stated that the nursing process is a problem solving approach to care. The four stages of the nursing process will be followed step by step. The Maslows (1954) hierarchy of needs will be used to guide the nurse in the care planning. This hierarchy summarizes all human needs. Pillings (1991) mentioned that it is essential that peoples needs are satisfied regardless of whether they are ill or well. Abraham Maslow provides us with considerable information about human needs regardless of their well being. The rationale for using Maslows hierarchy of needs as an assessment tool is that Maslow expresses that physiological needs must be dealt with first otherwise the person will die. The nurse therefore felt that James lacked mostly the ability to satisfy his physiological needs more than his other needs. Without meeting his physiological needs, in this case poor hygiene and unhealthy eating, James would not be able to gain his self esteem. The priority needs therefore identified during the assessment process were poor hygiene, excessive alcohol intake, poor eating habits and suicidal thoughts. According to Roper et al (1983) a model is an artefact, which provides growing points for new ideas. Newton (1991) defined a model as a collection of mental images of what nursing should be like, which provides structure and direction to achieve its goal. The nursing model chosen for this intervention was the Roper, Logan and Tierneys (1983) Activities of Daily Living. This model was chosen as it uses a systematic approach and follows Maslow by looking at physiological needs first. The nurse decided to plan health promotion activities so as to improve and prevent any more deterioration to Jamess health. Kemn and Close (1995) maintained that health promotion is, among many definitions and approaches, defined as encompassing activities meant to prevent disease and illness, and improving the well-being of the community. Prior to the assessment, James was informed of the process. This was done in accordance with Newton (1991) who states that people should be given choice and autonomy and be able where possible to make their own decisions both trivial and important. The nurse worked through the four stages of assessment as required in the Roper, Logan and Tierney (1983) model. This was done by collecting information about James, reviewing the collected information, identifying Jamess problems then identifying priorities among the problems. Orems self care model (1985) could have also been ideal to use in Jamess assessment. This model emphasizes that individuals initiate and perform activities on their own behalf in maintaining life, health and well-being. As noted earlier, James needed a lot of prompting when it came to his self care therefore this model could be used to help James achieve the need of personal cleansing without much prompting. Brown (1995) stated that planning is the activity whereby nurses can decide on the necessary actions on the basis of the identified needs. When planning clients care nurses need to think of the aim, goal and objectives. An aim is a desired long-term outcome to be achieved in a specified time (Ewles and Simnett, 1999). In this case the aim was to help James understand the importance of eating appropriate food in relation to issues surrounding his weight. The other aim was to help him understand the importance of good hygiene in relation to his health and well being. Goals established in this case were to:- encourage James to adopt a healthy lifestyle by healthy eating. encourage James to prevent diseases by practicing good hygiene. According to Fawcett et al (1997), objectives should be specific, measurable, achievable, and realistic and time framed. Kiger et al (1995) stated that an objective is what the teacher intends to achieve. In this case James will:- Eat only reasonable amounts of food during meal times. In order to have a healthy body and to avoid a risk of developing diabetes. Over weight in James situation is bad for his leg ulcer. Avoid unhealthy binging between meals. Bath himself daily. Change his socks daily. Put all dirty socks for laundry. Implementation is focused at the actual way the client carries out activities and the intention is to minimise disruptions, (Newton, 1991). James will be empowered with knowledge and confidence by providing him with one to one teaching and written information. Jamess named nurse would arrange some one to one sessions so as to encourage him to eat healthy. The nurse will also refer James to a dietician concerning issues about his weight. Educative leaflets on healthy eating will also be made available to James. Staffs who work with James will need to go for training on healthy eating. This would widen their knowledge leading to them supplementing biscuits for fruits so that James binges on fruits instead of biscuits. One to one sessions will be offered every time James fails to attend to his personal hygiene. During such sessions the nurse will attempt to work in a way not to force James to attend to his personal hygiene, but encourage him instead. The nurse will also seek to obtain J amess own views about issues surrounding his personal hygiene she will achieve this by asking open-ended instead of closed questions. Understanding his own views about the issue will help the nurse work around encouraging him more effectively. James expressed a felt need when he discussed his feelings of uselessness and having no faith in himself. The nurse then decided to draw up a care plan for James. Ewles and Simnett (1992) stated that the purpose of an action plan is to detail that who is going to do what and when. Newton (1991) mentioned that evaluation is directly linked with care planning and is best defined as simply determining the extent to which goals have been achieved. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO, 1981), evaluation refers to judgement based upon careful assessment and critical appraisal of given situations, which should reach sensible conclusions and useful proposals. It is therefore apparent that evaluation is an important issue in health promotion because it assists to judge the worthiness of an activity. According to Naidoo and Wills (1994), evaluation addresses participants perceptions and reaction to health promotion interventions and identifies the factors that support on impede the activities. They explain impact evaluation as referring to immediate effects whereas outcome evaluation refers more to long term consequences. In Jamess care plan, evaluating his health promotion activity would involve the following:- Checking his weight using a body mass index was to check if he is overweight and to refer him to the dietician. Checking if James has gained any understanding about the importance of good personal hygiene. Checking if he has adopted any healthy eating habits. Get feedback from James, other staff and dietician and accept suggestions. The nurse will ask herself how the process went and what could be done differently to improve the quality of care in her future practice. According to Rose and Kay (1995), the role of a mental health nurse is a multidimensional in nature which comprises of the assessment of needs, health surveillance, enhanced therapeutic skills, developing personal skills, management and leadership, enablement and empowerment and coordination of services. An intervention is said to be more effective if it encompasses aspects like choice, empowerment and client involvement together with the client centred approach. Valuing People (2001) would be seen to be supporting this statement by emphasising on person centred planning. Applying person centred planning would help James assert control over his life hence empowerment. Throughout this intervention, the nurse maintained a good rapport with James which reflected the process of empowerment. According to the (NMC, 2002), nurses have a duty to care. In this intervention, this was practiced when the nurse identified Jamess needs and used assessment tools and methods that are highly reliable and valid. For interventions to be successful, the smart system should be applied (Brown, 1997). Smart stands for specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and teachable. This was applied to Jamess case as the process clearly had specific aims and gaols. The nurse asked open-ended questions during the one to one sessions so as to help James feel comfortable and free to say out his own views. This could also be viewed as practising in accordance with Brown (1997) who states that putting the clients feelings, way of thinking and behaviour first helps makes teaching a success. The nurse did not attempt to clean Jamess room for him but just emphasised on encouraging him. By doing so, independence was being practiced. Brandon and Hawkes (1998) emphasised that independence can be achieved through empowerment and choice. The nurse also practiced partnership working by referring James to a dietician. It could be said that by so doing, the nurse was in recognition of her limitations. A great knowledge on the different aspects of care planning was gained. This included assessment which had proved to be a vital component of care planning. In the planning stage the nurse gained an understanding of how to address clients needs and take into consideration any necessary factors. These factors included the cognitive abilities of people with mental illness. The nurse felt that her communication skills for future practice had been enhanced as good interpersonal skills are vital for delivering holistic care. The nurse gained a more depth understanding of the role of the mental health nurse which includes empowering the clients and encouraging them to engage in activities carried out by the general population and not forgetting to take into consideration important issues like their disability. This essay has detailed the different aspects of care planning. It has also emphasised the imperative role the mental health nurse plays in the health of people with mental illness. This is echoed by the (NMC 2002), which states that nurses should act to identify and minimise the risk to clients. The whole activity has shown that in a nursing intervention there are a lot of other things to take into consideration. Its been apparent that its not only the nursing process that helps achieve goals but together with all the other principles which involve the role of the nurse, consent, empowerment and multi-agency working.

Macbeth :: essays research papers

History is made up of many time periods, many of these periods had a certain norm, and a way of thinking that was accepted and adopted by the majority of the people. In the Elizabethan/Jacobean time period the notion accepted and in place at the time was that of a great chain of being. This notion in which God is at the top, then comes the planets, the angels, human kind and finally the animal kingdom. In fact, it was based on psalm 8 and placed God, the all-powerful being, on the uppermost link of the chain and gave him all the power. In order for any other being or thing to possess power he/it could do so only with the permission of God or in accordance to the will of God. In The Tragedy of Macbeth, Shakespeare, pushes the concept of primogeniture and also the fact that the king is put into power by the will of God and anyone opposing the king would not only cause a great disturbance in the great chain of being but would likewise be going against the will of God. In doing this, is Shakespeare convincing enough or is this idea hype and without substance? To explore this notion we must first look at the characters Shakespeare uses to promote this notion. An obvious character to start with would have to be the one who is king at the beginning of the play. Duncan is a righteous king, one who is greatly respected by many of his subjects. Even the man, who killed him, did so, not because of Duncan's unjustly ruling but rather out of personal greed. Before Macbeth's greed for power consumed him, he praises Duncan during his struggle with the decision of whether or not to usurp the throne and in doing so, cause great chaos according to the great chain of being. We see this when Macbeth says: "†¦ This Duncan hath born his faculties so meek, hath been so clear in his great office, that his virtues will plead like angels, trumpet-tongued, against the deep damnation of his taking off†¦." Yet in all his greatness and although chosen supposedly by God, Duncan was only human and possessed negative qualities as well. The king, Duncan, was not in battle (along side his Generals), he is at a nearby camp (I: II, p1). This suggests that the king is dependent of other for his own protection. We see the naivete that Duncan possesses when he says: "He was a gentleman on whom I built an absolute trust." (I: IV; 15-16, p.11) In fact he complete trust in a man who was in an enemy.

Murder Rationale in Dostoevskys Crime and Punishment Essay -- Crime P

Murder Rationale in Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment Feodor Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment is a murder mystery unlike most murder mysteries. In this novel the reader knows "who done it"; the mystery lies in why the murder is committed. Throughout the story, Raskolnikov gives three main reasons why he kills Alena Ivanovna. Although these reasons seem unrelated on a superficial level, there is truth in all of them. What's more, each one builds on its predecessor. Raskolnikov's first two reasons are scrutinized by Sonya one at a time as his solitary motive for murder. These reasons are then disproved on their own, leaving one ultimate motive that essentially encompasses the other two. As readers, we sometimes tend to want a direct explanation for events that have occurred. Dostoevsky gives us explanations, but they are not direct and can be confusing if we are looking for an obvious cause and effect relationship. Crime and Punishment imitates life in that the happenings do not always fit in nice neat categories. Perhaps this is one of the elements that make it such an intriguing and acclaimed novel. Raskolnikov's first reason for murdering the pawn broker is to help himself. He claims he wanted the money. He states in his confession to Sonya, "It was to rob her" (348). It is obvious that he needed money for school. Also, if he had the money to put himself through school, his mother would not have to scrimp and borrow from others to help her son. Since the death of his father, Raskolnikov's mother and sister are greatly dependent upon him to make something of himself. His mother says in a letter to him, "You are all we have, Dunya and I, you are everything to us, our only hope and trust" (25). In this same letter, his mo... ... commoners. His last reason was accepted as his ultimate motive; "Sonya understood that this gloomy creed had become his faith and his law" (353). Raskolnikov himself does not really know why he is committing murder when the murder is taking place. It is a discovery of self and of a theory that was not yet developed. He uses excuses for his reasoning in the beginning, saying that he needs the money, and, later, that he is performing a service for the greater good. These excuses are necessary and fundamental steps of Raskolnikov's journey into self-discovery. It is human nature to rationalize, which is what he is doing. Ironically, this very need for rationalization and excuse is what fails him in his quest for proof of his superiority. Work Cited Dostoevsky, Feodor. Crime and Punishment. Trans. Jessie Coulson. Ed. Goerge Gibian. New York: Norton, 1989.

Dorothy Day, Saint-Worthy? Essay -- essays research papers

Dorothy Day, Saint-Worthy? Almost immediately after her death in 1980 controversy arose about whether Dorothy Day should be canonized a Saint by the Church. Now that the Vatican has approved the late Cardinal John O'Connor's request to consider Dorothy Day's "cause," the controversy is being rekindled. After converting, she dedicated her life to New York's poor and immigrants, building hospitality homes that operated much like homeless shelters. Her endeavor grew into the national Catholic Worker movement, a social justice crusade conducted in revolutionary tones new to the church. When she died, a multitude came down to the old dwelling off the Bowery to pay their respects, the way people had come to Catholic Worker houses for soup. There were Catholic Workers, social workers, migrant workers, the unemployed; addicts, alcoholics, anarchists; Protestants, Jews and agnostics; the devout and the strident and the curious, there to see what a saint looked like. Dorothy Day died in 1980, at the age of 83. She was one of the greatest religious figures of the century, and one of the most paradoxical. She was a Catholic and she was an anarchist. She condemned poverty and she advocated it. She founded the Catholic Worker, a loose aggregation of 'houses of hospitality,' communal farms, newspapers and round-table discussions for 'further clarification of thought' - and called her memoirs 'The Long Loneliness.' The movement was wary of authority, yet revered her as its leader (Rosin). If Dorothy Day is ever canonized, the record of who she was, what she was like and what she did is too complete and accessible for her to be hidden. She will be the patron saint not only of the homeless and those who try to care for them but also of people who lose their temper. One of the miracles of Dorothy's life is that she remained part of a conflict-torn community for nearly a half a century. Still more remarkable, she remained a person of hope and gratitude to the end. Many voices are in support of the canonization process as well, citing Dorothy Day's life as an example that has inspired them to prayer and action for social justice. Her faithfulness to the Gospel, living the "preferential option for the poor" and showing that a lay person can achieve heroic virtue are oft... ...in your entire life." To a college student who asked a sarcastic question about her recipe for soup, she responded, "You cut the vegetables until your fingers bleed." To a journalist who told her it was the first time he had interviewed a saint, she replied, "Don't call me a saint -- I don't want to be dismissed that easily (Forest)." Even though she may not have wanted it, I do think that her cause should go all the way. She is a wonderful example of living the gospel message and an inspiration to regular men and women. She knew what it was to suffer for her beliefs. She was converted and reconciled. She saw Jesus in the faces of all whom she met and served. What better example of sainthood could there possibly be. Forest, Jim. Dorothy Day, Saint and Troublemaker. Guadalupe, Casa Maria October 10, 1997 Anonymous. Dorothy Day, Servant of God http://www.catholicworker.org/dorothyday/canonization.cfm Rosin, Hannah. Honoring Dorothy Day: The Dead Don’t Ever Own the Dead. The Washington Post. March 17, 2000