Child Labour in the 19th Century

As the numbers of factories are growing in the country, many people who live in the countryside seem to be moving to towns and cities to look for better paid work. It seems to be the case that wages of a farm worker are a lot lower than in factories. The city of London seems to be over flowing; now around one-fifth of Britain’s population live in London. Most of the workers houses are usually near the factories.They are very cheaply made, mostly around 2-4 rooms, one or two rooms downstairs and the same for downstairs. There is no running water or toilet. It seems to becoming a problem that many parents are un-willing for their children to work in the new textile factories. This is becoming a problem as there is a shortage of factory workers. Factory owners seem to be buying children from orphanages and workhouses, these children are known as pauper apprentices.These children have to sign a contract with virtually makes them the property of the factory owner. In Cotton Mill fa ctory the children are being told that they will be transformed into ladies and gentlemen; that they will be fed on roast beef and plum pudding, be allowed to ride their masters’ horses, and have silver watches, and plenty of cash in their pockets. Many of these children are parish apprentices until they have reached the age of 21.Punishments in these factories are appalling. The children are made to work long hours to the point where they are very tired and are being hit with a strap to make them work faster. In some factories children are dipped head first into a water cistern. Jonathan Downe quotes â€Å"When I was seven years old I went to work at Mr. Marshall’s factory at Shrewsbury. If a child was drowsy, the overlooker touches the child on the shoulder and says, â€Å"Come here†.In a corner of the room there is an iron cistern filled with water. He takes the boy by the legs and dips him in the cistern, and sends him back to work. † Children are pun ished for arriving to work late. Joseph Hebergram pointed out â€Å"if we were five minutes too late, the overlooker would take a strap, and beat us till we were black and blue. † One hospital reported that every year it treated nearly a thousand people for wounds and mutilations caused by machines in factories.Michael Ward, a doctor working in Manchester told a parliamentary committee in 1819: â€Å"When I was a surgeon in the infirmary, accidents were very often admitted to the infirmary, through the children's hands and arms having being caught in the machinery; in many instances the muscles, and the skin is stripped down to the bone, and in some instances a finger or two might be lost. † Some people have been known to get their whole bodies entangled in the machinery. It is an outrage that children are made to do such horrific jobs in such poor conditions.

Jetstar Airways Essay

Jetstar Airways is an Australia low-cost carrier airline based in Melbourne, Australia. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Qantas Group. Qantas established Jetstar in 2003 as a response to main competitor airline Virgin Australia (formerly known as Virgin Blue). Despite its low cost, Jetstar operates an extensive domestic network and is the world’s largest long-haul low cost carrier. Jetstar operates to destinations in Asia the Pacific Ocean, with future plans of expanding their services throughout Europe. Jetstar currently offers a limited number of connecting services without through baggage checking, and it became the first Australia airline to allow customers to select their seat upon booking. The airline, which participates in the Qantas Frequent Flyer Programme, operates a fleet of Airbus A320-family and A330 aircraft. Mission Statement Jetstar’s mission is to offer all day, every day low fares to enable more people to fly to more places, more often (Jetstar, 2012). Company Objectives  Jetstar is part of the Qantas Group’s two-brand growth strategy, where Qantas competes at the premium and business market and Jetstar focuses on leisure markets. The Jetstar Group is a value based, low fares network of airlines operating in the leisure and value based markets. Jetstar aims to have Australia’s lowest fares on all the routes it operates on. Jetstar has backed its airfares with a Price Beat Guarantee. If any customers find a lower fare elsewhere online, provided it is on the same day, the same route and at a within the same time frame, Jetstar will beat the quoted fare by 10 per cent. Slogan – Low fares, all day, everyday Market Overview Definition of the market Jetstar operates in the low-cost carrier market within Australia. Their target market is the general public, who seeks cheap and accessible airfares and flight availability to travel within Australia. Major competitors include Virgin Australia and Tiger Airways Australia. Market Size Jetstar is currently the third largest domestic Australian airline (by market share) and fifth largest international airline (by capacity share) serving international routes to-and-from Australia (Jetstar, 2011). Jetstar shares its parent’s strong competition with Australia’s biggest low-cost carrier Virgin Australia. Domestic travel accounts for 75% of the airline industry revenue in Australia (Taylor Woodings, 2011) Market Potential The market is currently in the decline stage. From 2007, Australian domestic air travel started with buoyant demand for air travel and high fuel prices boosted ticket prices. However, domestic airlines faced major hurdles when the global economic downturn hit. Higher unemployment and a decline in discretionary income slowed demand for air travel in Australia. In particular, business travellers abandon air travel in favour of teleconferences and e-mail. Demand also weakened as Australians have started to plan travelling internationally. Market Structure The domestic flights market can be considered as an oligopoly. The 3 main companies that have the most market share are Virgin Australia, Jetstar and Tiger Airways Australia. Trends Demographic: Australia is an underpopulated country and is also an ageing. However, over the years the numbers of migrants have been increasing. With the rising number of migrants, there will most likely be an increase in the number of domestic flights demanded since they may want to visit other cities Economic:  Australia currently has the strongest economy in the developed world and it is expected to outperform all comers for at least the next two years, according to the International Monetary Fund (2012). The IMF also forecasts Australia’s unemployment rate to remain low at 5. 2 per cent in both 2012 and 2013. With the Australia having an unemployment rate of only 5. 2%, it can be assumed that people are more likely to have surplus cash and may have plans of flying domestic, whether it be for a holiday or business. Natural: Australia’s changing natural environment has had an impact on the customers, nvestors and Jetstar. Jetstar is committed to minimising its impact on the environment and has introduced various initiatives to address this important issue. On 19 September 2007, Jetstar introduced a passenger Carbon Offset scheme facilitated through the Australian Government’s Greenhouse Friendlyâ„ ¢ initiative. Through the Carbon Offset scheme, Jetstar’s passengers can choose to make their journey carbon neutral by purchasing carbon offsets on all domestic and international services via a seamless single step process at the time of booking at Jetstar. com. Jetstar’s Carbon Offset program is now one of the most successful programs in the Australian airline industry and has raised almost $600,000. About 12 per cent of all passengers booking at Jetstar. com currently choose to offset their share of flight emissions. Jetstar’s Carbon Offset program has proven to be particularly successful on a number of domestic routes, including Sydney-Ballina Byron, which in 2008 has averaged 24 per cent of passengers booking via the web opting to carbon-offset their flight, Melbourne-Ballina Byron (20%), Adelaide-Melbourne Avalon (16%), Melbourne- Hobart (15%) and Sydney-Melbourne Avalon (14%). Our carbon offsets are purchased through Climate Friendly, who has been ranked as the number one carbon offset provider in Australia by the Carbon Offset Watch and is a founding member of the International Carbon Reduction and Offset Alliance (ICROA). Technological: Technology plays a vital role in both the airline industry. In order to have a competitive advantage, it is required that the technology used is up to date. Jetstar is equipping its fleet of A320 and A321 aircraft with the latest satellite-linked navigation system to improve safety and on-time performance. Aircraft fitted with the system known as Required Navigation Performance (RNP) can safely navigate around cloud-shrouded mountains, through valleys and over high terrain when low visibility would increase the chance of flight disruptions. Air Services Australia reported those 4,200 minutes of flying time and 17,300 nautical miles was saved during 1,612 RNP assisted approaches. As a result more than 200,000 kg of jet fuel was saved and carbon emissions were reduced by 650,000 kg. The new navigation aid reduces the time spent circling due to bad weather, which helps passengers arrive on time and cuts our fuel use. Political/Legal: Over the years the rising carbon tax in Australia has affected future plans of Jetstar. Maintaining and running an aircraft is bound to produce a lot of carbon dioxide. As a result Jetstar has started to reduce the amount their carbon footprint by introducing new technology.

Peace and Conflict Essay

While the term conflict generally is associated with negative encounters, conflict itself is neither inherently good nor inherently bad. In fact, engaging in conflict can have positive effects on relationships and organizations. Conflict among people, institutions, organizations, nations and in all relationships are a normal, natural and inevitable part of life. In itself, it is to a great extent a necessary tool that enhances development and can be regarded as normal and a prerequisite under certain conditions. In view if this, this paper will labor to clearly examine the conditions in which peace is said to be a normal phenomenon. The term conflict will exhaustively be defined from different school of thoughts and its kinds or types outlined, followed by cited conditions that advocate for the presence of conflict as being normal. Thereafter, a comprehensive conclusion will be drawn from the entire discussion. Conflict can be defined in many ways and can be considered as an expression of hostility, negative attitudes, antagonism, aggression rivalry and misunderstanding. It is associated with situation that involve contradictory or irreconcilable interests between two opposing groups. The term conflict is derived from a Latin word that means to clash or engage in a fight. It is a confrontation between one or more parties aspiring towards incompatible means or ends, Miller (2005). ‘’Conflict is a multi-dimensional social phenomenon which is an integral feature of human existence, essential to the ongoing processes of history, to social change, and transformation,’’ International Alert et al. 1996, 3). Swanstrom and Weissmann (2005) define conflict as being the result of opposing interests involving scarce resources, goal divergence and frustration. This is outside the traditional military sphere and is based on behavioral dimensions. The process begins when one party perceives that another party has negatively affected, or is about to negatively affect, something that the first party holds in great esteem or importance. In the same sense three forms of conflict have been identified. This implies that it has levels to influence namely; Interstate, which is the disputes between nation-states or the violation of the state systems of alliance; Internal conflict, is type of dispute that happens within a given society or part of the given society such as territorial disputes, and civil and ethnic wars; and State-formation, this is the battles over control of government. These are internationally recognized as challenges, which to some extent have been classified as a normal phenomenon as people are heterogeneous in their interests and desires, Wallensteen (2002). Differences in interpretation of the conflict result from different orientations in an effort to resolve and overcome conflicts. One thing that different approaches agree on is that conflicts are essentially clashes among people. These clashes arise from differences of values and interests of opposing parties, those parties being individuals, groups or entire organizations, (Adler, 2002). Conflict also has a positive dimension as normal forms of social interaction which may contribute to the maintenance, development, change and overall stability of social entities. Many social scientists hold that periods of change, be it economic growth or decline, political transitions, or social innovation are associated with conflict. A Dutch scholar by the name of Bonger, believed that theirs is a causal link between conflict and economic and social conditions. Existing institutions come under pressure and may be unable to control or integrate new forces, demands, and collective actors. Change is likely to be uneven and to create a sense of relative deprivation, injustice, and threat among the losers. A recent example is the pressure mounted on the government of Chad in ensuring there is proper accounting procedures in the management of the country’s oil revenue. The activities of these organizations have been both positive and negative. From the positive side, they have been able to curb some of the excesses of governments in many developing countries, (African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes [ACCORD], 2008). Traditional human rights theories seldom took conflict theories to exam the conflicts between different rights and social movements. Under conditions that human rights are violated or a particular class in society feels their rights are not fully being exercised, conflict can be seen as a normal phenomenon. In 1997, the Taiwan feminism movement was separated by the sex worker’s issue. The major feminism groups denied sex could be seen as a right to work, but more tended to see it as a product by exploitation. To those support sex workers, they addressed sex workers have their rights to use sex or body as a work, and even further claimed that sex work is a radical sexual movement, (Ho, 2005). In such a situation, conflict is normal and beneficial as it acts as a podium of debate and its advantages of fostering an awareness of problems that exist and leading to better solutions is clearly seen. Above all the norms of society are readjusted. The more diversified and heterogeneous a society becomes, the greater the probability of more frequent conflict as subgroups who live by their own rules break the rules of other groups (Best, 2004). Conflict is a natural part of relationships. While relationships are sometimes calm and predictable, at other times events and circumstances generate tensions and instability. This phrase suggests that life gives us conflict, and that conflict is a natural part of human experience and relationships. Rather than viewing conflict as a threat, the transformative view sees conflict as a valuable opportunity to grow and increases our understanding of others and ourselves. Conflict helps us stop, assess and take notice. South Africa for example has a multiracial and multiethnic population. â€Å"Blacks constitute 77% of which the Zulu make up 22. % of the overall population,† (ACCORD, 2008, 15). The liberation struggle during the years of white minority rule cemented the Blacks, Asians and coloured people together. The unity forged by the blacks, Asians and colored people under white oppression collapsed when state power was to be competed for by all groups. The conflict of power here is seen as a means of uniting these different groups for the purpose of achieving a common goal, (ibid, 2008). Furthermore, conflicts with some groups bring about fraternity. It maintains and revises the balance of power among antagonists. When conflict breaks out, the former accommodation between the parties involved is rejected, the relative war of each group is tested and a new equilibrium can be established. Such arrangements in the balance of power thwart any one group from being dominant over other groups. As long as their power is continually challenged, members of the ruling group will be blocked from exclusive control of the social system. In most African states where the fight for independence was intense, most ethnic groups worked together to secure independence. Conflict continually creates new norms and modifies old ones. It bringing about situations to which the usual rules do not apply, conflict stimulates the establishment of appropriate guides to action. Moreover, the threat of attack, preparation for war or any hostile challenge from outside can strengthen a group’s solidarity and cohesiveness (Galtung, 1990). Conflict within and between social groups disturbs habits of thought and behavior and creates an atmosphere for innovation and creativity. This is another positive attribute of conflict that can be regarded as normal is that it facilitates the ovement or flow of one generation to the next. This is achieved in that society evolves over a period of time as values and norms of people continue to class and oppose each other within society. The changes may be positive hence benefiting humanity at large though in most cases these benefits are unanticipated and long-term. Finally, Weber contended that it will always exist, regardless of the social, economic, or political nature of society, and that it was functional because of its role in bringing disputes into the open for public debate. Even though individuals and groups enjoying great wealth, prestige, and power have the resources necessary to impose their values on others with fewer resources, Weber viewed the various class divisions in society as normal, inevitable, and acceptable (Curran & Renzetti, 2001). However, it must be noted that if conflict is not managed, it pauses a great danger to humanity. If conflict is to be accepted as a normal phenomenon, it has to be managed or resolved quicker and more efficiently than letting it fester. For Mial and Wood House (2001), by conflict resolution, it is expected that the deep rooted sources of conflict are addressed and resolved, and behavior is no longer violent, nor are attitude hostile any longer, while structure of the conflict has been changed. Desmond Tutu, the Anglican Archbishop emeritus of South Africa, is reported to have commented from within the situation of social revolution in South Africa that â€Å"without reconciliation, there is no future† (Wustenberg, 1998, 5). It is therefore now right to conclude that peace is a normal phenomenon but not when it is poorly managed or resolved. Issues such as the rearrangement of the balance of power, readjustment of group norms and the maintenance of group unity have been examined as the product of conflict even though conflict can be destructive in nature. Contemporary understanding of conflict represents a belief that conflict is not only a positive force of one group, but it is also absolutely essential for achievement of the efficiency of the group.

Functions of Unions in Modern Australian Industrial Relations Research Paper

Functions of Unions in Modern Australian Industrial Relations - Research Paper Example The formal amendments in the formation of industrial relations have also been escorted by dramatic shifts in the organization and operation of trade unions (Hawke and Wooden, 1998, pp. 74-76). Trade union membership has dropped down from around 50 percent of the labor force in the mid of 1970 to 31 percent by 1996. Trade union formations have also altered. Ten years ago there were above 300 different trade unions, most of which were too small and occupational- or craft-based. Today, only some of these small craft-based unions still subsist. Union membership is now focused in a handful of huge industry and multi-industry unions. Another demonstration of the varying nature of industrial relations arrangement in Australia has been the fall in the rate of trade union membership. The union members symbolized more than half the total labor force during the mid-1970s. Since then, the ratio has fallen by about nineteen percentage points (Bodman, 1996). Trade union formation has also been put through vast change. To a certain extent in response to the turn down in membership, the trade union group has vigorously followed a policy of incorporations and rationalization (Leigh, 2004, p.174). Australian Bureau of Statistics values specifies that in 1970 there were 347 vigorous trade unions in Australia and by 1990 this figure was changed to 299. Over the succeeding six years, however, this figure fell dramatically and found to be only 132 at 30 June 1996. Moreover, only 46 of these unions were enrolled under the Federal Industrial Relations Reform Act. Union Reaction to Change All through this century, the primary objective of trade unions has been quite straightforward, that is, to get improved remuneration and stipulations for its membership. In attaining this objective, the union movement arranges and found support in three major macroeconomic policies - centralized remuneration determination, protectionism and essential mediation, and the White Australia immigration policy - all of which assisted to protect the labor market from the vagaries of the market, and particularly foreign markets. By the end of the twentieth century, however, the union movement emerges to have identified that Australia can no more afford not to consider of itself as a fundamental part of the world economy. To do so will inexorably mean declining living standards corresponding to the rest of the world. This has been echoed in a vigilant shift in policy away from conventional 'laborism' towards what has turned out to be known as strategic unionism.

VoIP Vs Cell Phone (revsion) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

VoIP Vs Cell Phone (revsion) - Essay Example What is more, to use VoIP, a user needs to have at his or her disposal, several equipments installed. These equipments reduce portability and make the cost of usage generally expensive. As competition grows in the provision of communication services, such inhabitations as portability is likely to cause users to switch from the use of VoIP to other available services that renders them freedom with service provision. Quality of service: As far as capability is concerned, VoIP is known to undoubtedly over greater capacity that generally ensures quality of service. For instance Tierney (2009) observes that â€Å"reportedly, mobile VoIP can offer up to 120 percent more voice capacity than a circuit-based mobile voice service, the report said.† Nonetheless, there are certain challenges with VoIP as far as quality of service is concerned. ... power outages and the service provider may not offer backup power† and again, â€Å"not all VoIP services connect directly to emergency services through 9-1-1.† Reliability: The greatest challenge with reliability of the VoIP is the fact that its function depends largely on third party service providers. Gagner R.P (2005) argues for instance that â€Å"VoIP is as reliable as the network it is connected to; whether it is connected over a private IP intranet, or a Frame Relay or ATM network, or to an ISP where it is connected over the Internet.† As much as Gagner talks of the fact that VoIP is as reliability as the network it is connected to, it also implies that VoIP may be as unreliable as the network is it connected to. Researchers have argued that whenever communication technology is made to depend on third party service providers, reliability becomes suspect. This is because the parent software and service providers hardly have any say and authority over the re gulation of the activities of the third parties. The third parties work as independent institutions whose mode of work can hardly be questioned by the parent service providers. This is a condition that puts reliability to a suspect in the use of VoIP. Spam over internet telephony: As long as VoIP continues to depend on the internet for service, the issue of spam can never be ruled out. There is also the issue of hacking, virus and other over-the-internet threats. It is not surprising therefore that Gagner (2005) reiterate the fact that â€Å"the reasoning behind this statement is because the public Internet is accessible by anyone leaving us vulnerable to hackers, viruses and denial of service attacks.† As long as it remains impossible to trust internet users and the threats they may carry, users of VoIP will

Googling Out of Control Case Study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Googling Out of Control Case Study - Essay Example In the modern day context, culture has a major role to play supporting different business organisations to fulfil their respective predetermined business targets. The significant concern of organisational culture is regarded as a valuable aspect that includes norms, rules, values as well as working systems of the organisations. The behaviour of employees is considered to be the other vital aspect that is included in the culture of an organisation. It has been apparently observed that every organisation has its own approach towards building an effective workplace culture. Organisation culture is directly responsible for enhancing the overall performances of the organisations by a greater level. In this regard, the example of Google Inc. will depict a clear picture based on the above mentioned facts. It has been viewed in this similar background that Google possess a working culture in its workplace that gives maximum liberty to its employees concerning dress, eat and behave as well as to perform in accordance with what they desire. This can be regarded as one of the vital and the major reasons for the effective performance of the company throughout the globe. With this concern, this paper intends to elaborate and critically analyse the organisational culture and â€Å"Googley way of working†. Brief Overview of the Company (Google) Google Inc. is popularly known as one of the most widely used search engines of the world. It was established in the year 1998 as a global technology company which mainly focuses on improving the approach through which people acquire relevant information about any subject matter or topic. In the year 201, the company shifts its area of focus on search and advertising through which the company succeeded to attain substantial revenues. It has been learnt that the company was founded by the duo of Sergey Brin and Larry Page who were students in Stanford College. The prime motto of the company is to organize and provide all the information and make accessible to all people throughout the entire globe. The company has its official headquarter in California and operates in almost different corners of the globe. It has gained the reputation to be called as the leading search engine of the world (Google, 2013). Critical Analysis of the Organizational Culture of Google and its Way of Working Organisational culture is regarded to be one of the vital aspects that directly impose significant impact upon the overall performance of the companies by a considerable level. The notion i.e. organisational culture is typically regarded as the collective behaviour of the people belonging to any particular organisation. It has been viewed that cultures of any organisation encompasses values, norms, beliefs and working system among others. An organisation is identified from its culture which needs to be effectively organised. Organisational culture may be defined as shared value that preserve by members of any organisation so that it can present itself differently from other organisations. Different organisations possess dissimilar sorts of organisational culture. There pertain numerous characteristics that can be observed to be involved in the formation of an effective organisational culture. In this similar context, innovation and risk taking approach of the employees is amid the v ital characteristics of an organisation’s culture. Detailed analysis of a particular task is another feature of organisational culture. The degree to which the employees of any organisation give attention in every detail is also a part of organisation culture. Furthermore it has also been noted that working in teams and delivering desired results are

Industrial society and native culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Industrial society and native culture - Essay Example With most of the industrial world following capitalist means of running their economies, the exploitation of natural resources in an unsustainable manner is the norm. However, an almost intuitive understanding of the manner in which nature functions enables native cultures to utilize natural resources in sustainable ways. The Brazilian Amazonian tribes follow methods of living that enable one to infer their respect for the environment. At first glance, the method of agriculture that they follow, slash and burn agriculture is done in a manner that the ecological balance of the area is not upset. Moreover, different plants are planted at different points of time, which not only ensures a constant supply of food but also efficient use of the soil’s fertility. This also provides the land an opportunity to replenish itself. The Yanomami is a tribe that follows these methods of farming to great effect. Initially, when the Europeans came to the Amazon, they were surprised at how the area was able to support the number of people that it did. This is possible because of the manner in which the Yanomami and other tribes in this area understand the ecology of the area and attempt to live in harmony with it (Hutchison 159-63, 2007). The needs of the present day Brazilian industrial society, is however, different. With a much greater population and corresponding needs, the Brazilian industrial society usually requires a greater yield than what slash and burn agriculture is able to provide. As a result, it has to follow scientific methods of agriculture that suit the needs of the urban populations of Brazil. A concerted effort in the past thirty years has enabled the Brazilian state to increase its agricultural production and achieve a food surplus (The Miracle, 2010). It has managed to surpass the problems that have plagued the management of environmental issues

Proposal Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Proposal - Assignment Example SpeakEasy ® technology is published in several professional journals. We have improved performance for over 100 companies through our workshops. This technology will work for you. Each day begins at 9 AM and ends 3:30 PM. Workshop attendance is limited to 6-12 participants for individualized instruction. Attendees are encouraged to bring laptops and PowerPoint software. Attendees will receive the videotape, a workbook and a certificate of completion. SpeakEasy ® offers mentorship and consulting by email or telephone for six months after attending a workshop. Discounts are available for future workshops. Just like the food business, we cherish repeat customers. Your people deserve the very best training; in a family business, 70 years and three generations is amazing; they are your most precious asset. We will call you this week to set a time to schedule a workshop at your convenience; and weekends are

Finance Literature review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Finance - Literature review Example he larger it grows, the management therefore has an important decision to make on whether to pay the shareholders their dividends presently or hold onto the money and make a payment of an increased amount. Besides the two, a firm may opt to pay its shareholders in terms of stock dividends; this unlike cash does not offer liquidity but ensures capital gains by the investors. These and many other issues related to the payment of dividends make dividend policies of significant relevance to the management of the firm. For example, the expectation of the dividends by the shareholders, aid determines the value of the firm’s shares. Firms can choose from a number of dividend policy forms and theories to use in the management of their dividends. However, the choice depends on a number of factors key among which is the capital size of the firm (Stickney, 2010). Smaller companies may not have the financial advantage to pay hefty dividends to its shareholders yet still stay operational; they therefore require those policies that consider its market share and the overall level of the return on investment. Additionally, the market factors all of which in a way affect the business operations of the firm must also have adequate consideration before the payment of dividends. This explains the every fluctuating amount paid to shareholders after every financial p eriod. In a summary, dividend arises from the profits made in every financial period. After operating, the firm determines its profit, which is often after deducting the cost of conducting business and that of maintaining the business (Dyck & Neubert, 2010). The firm therefore divides the resulting amount to the shareholders based on the amount of shares each possesses. However, the investors do not share the losses of the company. It is therefore obvious that every operational factor in the market that affects the profitability of the firm directly affects the resultant dividend value and subsequently the share value.

3 levels of analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

3 levels of analysis - Essay Example Some homicide forms do not constitute acts that are criminal but murder is criminal homicide (Simon 2009). The circumstances that surround a killing are the determinants if it was criminal or not. In earlier days, homicide was divided into two categories; non-felonious and felonious. The latter was premeditated and deliberate killing and was therefore termed as murder. The former included excusable homicide, which was not classified as a crime, and justifiable homicide, which was a crime, but the offender was pardoned. The classification has since changed with the modern statutes. There are two categories namely manslaughter and murder. Murder is further classified into first degree that involves a killing intention that is premeditated and second degree whose intention to kill is not premeditated (Malmquist 2006). The most important elements in first-degree murder are intent and premeditation. Intentional crimes are committed purposely and knowingly. Crimes that are intentional are organized in advance. In the mentioned elements’ perspective, such homicide is neither an accident nor a moment’s incidence. Another form of first-degree murder is felony murder, since it applies in circumstances where a person dies as a felony is perpetrated. This is so even though the death was entirely unplanned or accidental. The difference between the first and second-degree is that, even though the guilty person kills intentionally, there is no prior plan and the crime is not given forethoughts, because acting is often on impulse (Simon 2009). Manslaughter involves unintentional killing, which results from criminal negligence of a person, or human life disregard that is reckless. Manslaughter is classified as voluntary and involuntary. The former is used in the designation of acts secondary to provocation or passion crimes. The killing is intended as much as there was adequate provocation encountered by the

Training and Development Initiatives in an Organization Essay Example for Free

Training and Development Initiatives in an Organization Essay Training and development refers to the process to obtain or transfer knowledge, skills and abilities (KSA) needed to carry out a specific activity or task. It includes not just factual and explicit KSAs but also incorporates KSAs that are often difficult to articulate. Training and development will assist employees in the use of new technologies, and communicate and function better in improvised work systems. In order to meet the current and future challenges, training and development assumes a wide range of learning actions, such as training of the employees and knowledge sharing, which would then expand individual and organizational effectiveness. Thus, this would then allow the organization to fully utilize employee’s tacit and explicit knowledge and expands individual, group and organizational effectiveness. Why is Training and Development Important? Organizations are experiencing great, rapid changes due to new technologies, corporate restructuring, continuous rising competition and globalization. These factors have increased the importance of learning and capitalizing on human capital in order to have a sustained competitive advantage over the competitors. Tracey (2003) defined human capital as ‘the people that staff and operate an organization as contrasted with the financial and material resources of an organization. ’ Tracey (2003) also states that human resources refer to the organizational function that ‘deals with the people who manage, produce, market and sell the products and services of an organization. A comprehensive training and development program helps in the consideration of the knowledge, skills and attitudes that are needed to achieve organizational goals and to create a competitive advantage. (Peteraf 1993) Training and development process has assumed a strategic role in organizations. (Stavrou et al. 2004; Apospori et al. 2008). Apospori et al. (2008) had deduced that there is a considerable impact of training on employees’ performance. With the right training and development strategy, rganizations can benefit though enhanced innovation, efficiency, productivity and improvement in the quality of products and services they will be able to provide to their customers. This will yield higher financial gains and it will definitively enhance the organization’s reputation and allow the organization to compete competitively in its industry. Organizations that are consistently and extensively creating new knowledge implements it quickly within its organization through the adoption of new technologies. These activities determine a learning organization, which realize that creation of new knowledge through training and development is becoming the key to success (Vemic, 2007). Training and Development Initiatives: How and why the relationships are expected? Given that human capital play an enormous role in an organization’s competitiveness, training and development initiatives are designed in a way that will help the organization successfully implement its strategy and reach organizational goals. Training is regarded as critical to employee skill acquisition and has been shown to improve productivity at organizational and individual levels (Bartel, 1994). Training and development does increase employment duration and continuity (Gritz, 1993) and managerial advancement. Organization managements have also realized that training and development is an imperative procedure that can contribute to employees’ increased work morale as well as increased motivation and job satisfaction. With an increased motivation and job satisfaction, this would ultimately improve employees’ performance in the organization. Studies have also shown positive relationships between training and development strategies and employees’ performance and work morale (Vemic, 2007). This is especially so as the relationship between the organization and the employee has changed tremendously over the years. There is a greater importance and value attached to employees’ contributions. In today’s society, employees play a key role towards establishing a successful organizational performance. Training and Development has Positive Impacts on Employee’s Work Morale/Motivation Studies have also found that the success of training and evelopment is directly related to the degree of employees’ motivation (Colquitt, LePine and Noe, 2000). This is because employees’ motivation/work-morale is derived from the training and development opportunities, which allow them to enhance their skills and move up the corporate ladder. Employees consider training and development a non-monetary incentive or a form of reward for an employee. (Fischer and Nunn, 1992) In addition, when employees are selected for training and development programs, it increases employees’ post-training organizational commitment, self-efficacy and training motivation. Employees tend to feel a higher job satisfaction and empowerment in their workplace. Thus, the higher the training motivation, the more the employees are willing to participate in future training and development programs and the better the employee’s work morale/motivation becomes (Tharenou, 2001). Training and Development has Positive Impacts on Employees’ Performance Training and development allows organizations to achieve management objectives, resolve issues and align cultures to their mission and values. With training and development, employees learn new skills and knowledge, such as specialized skill training, which not only increase safety and productivity but also leads to improved employees’ performance. Studies have also found that it increases efficiencies in organizational processes and an increased capacity to adopt new technologies and methods. In Chart’s (2000) Exploratory Benchmark Survey, 70% of the respondents have agreed that training and development has a positive impact on their work performance and organization’s ability to improve occupancy and overall financial profitability. In addition, well-trained employees are also happier with their jobs and are more likely to stay, hence increasing the retention rate in the organization (Berta, 2001). Theoretical Gap: Training and Development can have Negative Impact on Employees’ Performance and Work Morale However, training and development can also have negative impact on employees’ performances and work morale. In every organization, there are underrepresented groups who have fewer hours of training and development than others. Some are even deprived of training and development opportunities. For example, research has found that women are likely to gain fewer hours per year of training and development than men because they are at lower managerial levels. It could also be due to the fact that mostly female employees are having additional responsibilities from their families. Similarly, those with disabilities and from non-English-speaking backgrounds are found to have less training and development opportunities. Secondly, studies have also suggested that employees who are not selected for training and development programs will feel a high and intense level of deprivation in the organization. When employees are deprived of training and development opportunities, they tend to reflect on the loss and the valence of the outcome. This reflection leads to thoughts about how their outcomes could have been different if they were given the opportunity to participate in the organizations’ training and development programs (Epstude Roese, 2008). This would then lead to the recognition and resentment of this deprivation. Deprived employees will then start evaluating the unfairness and their disadvantaged situation. As a result, it further decreases their intention to participate in future training and development initiatives, as they feel resentful. Therefore, deprived employees may perceive unfairness in the organization’s structure and this will negatively affect and impact on their work performance and work morale/motivation. Lastly, training and development can also have negative impact on employees’ work morale/motivation especially when employees have participated in the training and development courses but there is no sense of self-efficacy in the workplace and employees feel alienation. In this case, employees’ work-morale/motivation is measured at a higher level such as the responsibilities given to the employees, the avoidance of routine tasks and the employees’ participation in organization’s decisions and strategic planning. Instead of feeling motivated after training and development, if the employee is not given the recognition or the desired opportunities to take up distinguished leadership roles in the organization, they become resentful, which will then affect their work morale and result in negative work performance (Pettigrew, 2002). Conclusion Overall, this research takes a step towards better understanding of the extent to how training and development initiatives in an organization can impact on employees’ performance and work morale/motivation. As the global economy becomes increasingly knowledge based, the acquisition and development of human capital has become increasingly essential to firm’s sustainability and success. Organizations often carefully select workers who are willing and eager to participate in training and development initiatives. However, organizations must have a better understanding about what their employees want to learn and improve in (Maxey, 2002). In addition, organizations should also provide equal and fair advancement opportunities to all employees within the organization, regardless of factors such as gender and work experience. Based on the above analysis, future research should focus on employees’ motivation for training and development. This would allow organizations to better identify the various reasons their employees are motivated to attend training and development programs. With a better understanding in this area, organizations can utilize these motivational factors to increase employees’ willingness and desire to participate in training and development programs. As such, this can then improve their work-morale and work performance. In addition, future research should focus on how to establish a fair training and development procedures as these procedures are important cues to employees about their worth within the organization and it also communicates respect and value to their employees (Smith Tyler, 1996).

Public School System Essay Example for Free

Public School System Essay Abstract The public school system in America is a topic that is surrounded by great debate. There are many questions that surround this topic. The research question for this paper was, is the public school system failing to prepare our children for the future? And, what solutions are available if the system is failing? The methodology the researcher used in this paper was literature review, and he also conducted an interview with someone working in the field. In this paper the researcher explains how the public school system is failing to prepare our children for the future. The paper also explains how the teaching styles are out dated. The researcher also explains the solutions that are already in place and the possible solutions for the future. Introduction For several decades, the public school system has been a topic of great debate. There are many questions surrounding this topic, such as: Is the public schools system failing to prepare our children? Who should make the curriculum? Who should make the policies? And what role and say do the parents have in their children’s education? These are just a few examples of the questions that may come up with the topic of public education. This topic is important to me because of the diverse educational background I come from. I started out my educational experience in regular classes and then was moved to advanced classes and finally, after failing, I ended up at an alternative school. That is why I ask the question, is the public school system failing to prepare our children for the future, what are the problems, and if it is what is being done to fix it? Due to my educational background I do believe that the public school system is failing to prepare our children. I also believe there are many contributing factors, such as, the school staff, the government, the teachers union, and even the parents. I also believe that there are many ways to fix the system, like new union and staff rules, changing the curriculum, and involving more educators than politicians when forming policies. This topic is important for all children in the U.S. public school system, because if the system is successfully improved, their learning experience will be greatly enhanced. It will also benefit the teachers, because they will have the opportunity to truly serve the community rather than just going to work. This has become a very complex topic but after reading the research ahead you will see that the answer is relatively simple. Review of Literature There is an idea that our public schools are failing to prepare our children for the future. This future could be four year college, technical school or directly into the work place. It is the job of our public schools to prepare each student for all of these futures. However, it seems that the idea that their failing has become the reality and it is a concerning thought that America is producing children less prepared for the world than are other countries. The National Center for Education conducted a study in 1995 involving students from forty one countries. They tested skills in math and science for students in fourth, eighth, and twelfth grades. What they found at the fourth grade level was that the students were above the international average in mathematics and science. At the eighth grade level they found that the students scored below the international average in mathematics, but above the average in science. At the twelfth grade level they found that the students scored below the international average among the lowest of the participating nations. (Calsyn, Gonzales, Frase, 1999) This seems to be the trend with our students in America. They tend to level off instead of advancing like students in other nations. Part of this problem is due to the teaching that the students receive. This is described in the 1995 study by the National Center for Education; â€Å"eighth grade U.S. mathematics teachers’ typical goal is to teach students how to do something, while Japanese teachers’ goal is to help students learn how to do something and also understand mathematical concepts so that they can solve future problems.† (Calsyn, Gonzales, Frase, 1999) Some teaching was said to be boring and out dated. The students sometimes seem like drones listening to the person in the front of the room rather than grasping the whole idea. Mike OConner described in his interview. (OConner, 2012) The documentary Waiting for Superman also talked about the case of the bad teacher. Which, if your school has one, it was said that you would be stuck with it? This is mainly because of the union benefit called tenure that protects teachers from being dismissed for the wrong reasons, but also makes it very difficult and sometimes impossible to dismiss the bad teachers. (Guggenheim, 2010) Teachers are not the only problem and should not be the only source of blame. There are higher positions to the school system than just teachers such as principals, administrators, and city officials that all play a role in the failing system. The article Dependant teachers, Ineffective Principals, Failing Children describes the differences between having good administrators and bad. The article goes on to say that if a school has a good administrator they will attract good teachers. Then it talks about bad administrators and their need for power and control. This in turn will attract teachers who have dependency needs and do not tolerate independence. (Muschel, Fall 1979) In other words, if you have bad leaders you get bad followers. This article also describes how through the use of rules, regulations, paperwork, and language an administrator can control the staff. They do this to give themselves job satisfaction, but it ultimately stops the teachers from effectively engaging in the classroom. (Muschel, Fall 1979) The government officials also play a role in the way our schools’ lesson plans are laid out. The article Needed: Educational Philosophy as a guide for Decision Making in the Public Schools touches on this. (Klein, Spring 1977) The article talks about how the endeavors of our politicians change our schools curriculum. It also states that the direction our country is going in comparison with other nations changes our curriculum. One example of this is during our endeavors to beat Russia into space our children were required to learn complex and abstract science and math disciplines. (Klein, Spring 1977) Another example of the politics behind education is the No Child Left Behind act of 2002. This act by congress states that each state set up a standard that each student has to test at. It also gives the parents the right to pull a child out of a failing school and put them in a better one. In addition it holds the state accountable for its education. The article Conflicts over Directing the Education of Children: Who Controls, Parents or School Officials, talks about this act. It says that the schools are more accountable for a student’s yearly success. It also states that the schools need to use researched based methods of teaching. It also talks about how the act is somewhat of a control of parental rights; in the manner that it is up for the individual to seek education. Overall, it mainly talks about how the act should help improve students who are in economically disadvantaged areas, but does not touch on the failing children in the more economically fluent areas. (Russo, 2005) Mike O’Conner also talked about the No Child Left Behind act in his interview. He mainly said that it is a good idea, but it is about twenty years too late. He said this because of the times we are in. He also described how this is the technology and information age, it is time we start teaching in that capacity, rather than make provisions that still support our old system. (OConner, 2012) One other problem which was touched on by the film Changing Education Paradigms. This problem was the fact that children are medicated for ADHA too much and too quickly. It was described that children now are being bombarded by information from every technological device around them. This, in turn, distracts them from the information on the blackboard, which appears boring. To deal with this the students are medicated to calm them down and making them pay attention. It also showed that the prescriptions are given more frequently as you head east across the states. (Robinson, 2010) That is just some of the problems with public education today. There are many more like attendance issues, and the children’s home environment. These are just some of the main points surrounding our public schools problems. Now it is time to address some of the solutions to these problems. As the problem of the failing public education system grew so did the demand for a solution. Educators and others came up with one solution which has mixed reviews. This was the invention of the alternative, or charter schools. These schools are set up for the student to ultimately succeed in today’s curriculum, with more ease and confidence. The article An Oasis of Hope: the Power of Thinking Developmentally (McCarty Quirk, 2003) talks about how the public schools have placed some children in low quality, control based programs which give them limited outcomes. It goes on to say that these children need to be put in alternative programs that follow positive guidelines. These guidelines should follow these principles: All children must have opportunities for success based on efforts which are celebrated by significant adults. All children need to be seen for their strengths. All children must have opportunities to develop qualities which follow a healthy developmental progression. All children have the right to live and learn in contexts relevant to their real lives and dreams. (p. 106) The article also describes how to use these principals in the framework for alternative schools for special needs children. (McCarty Quirk, 2003) The idea of alternative and charter schools is in our own backyard of Milwaukee. â€Å"Wisconsin ranks among the leaders in education,† according to the article Alternative Education Programs in Milwaukee. (Howard, Summer 2003) The article states that, â€Å"in 1990 the state of Wisconsin legislated mandatory alternative education programs for children at risk of not graduating from high school.† Howard states that the legislation set parameters that qualify the children as at risk such as; one or more years behind their age group in the number of high school credits attained, habitual truants, adjudicated delinquents, and parents. (Howard, Summer 2003) The article also says that by August fifteenth of each year the schools must have a plan in place for each student who is at risk. It goes on to describe the classes as a fifteen to one student to teacher ratio, which allows personalized time with each student. (Howard, Summer 2003) Howard also talks about three different alternative schools which are Silverspring Neighborhood Academy, Shalom High School, and Cornerstone Achievement Center. Each school has a different approach to the alternative setting, but they all share equal success with their students, according to the article. (Howard, Summer 2003) The video documentary Waiting for Superman is a great example of the successes of charter schools. This documentary talks about several schools across the country. Most of these schools are in the larger cities, but some are in the suburbs. It talks about the great success stories that each school has where the public sector is failing. It also stated that the students graduating from the schools shown were adequately prepared for college. The film also showed the demand for the schools in the failing districts, because the students had to be placed in a lottery just to get in. According to the film, almost all the students who attended the charter schools were successful and most went on to college. Another way the school system can improve is by completely restructuring the way the children are taught. According to Mike O’Conner, in his interview, the schools were designed to educate children fifty years ago. He states that the schools need to â€Å"personalize learning† and base the education on â€Å"competency rather than credits.† One example of this would be not having â€Å"archaic technology bans such as cell phones and I Pads.† Also, with the competency rather than credit program, a child could start school and finish at their own pase, rather than six years of elementary, two years of middle school, and four years of high school. An example of that is two students start their freshman year; one student finishes school in three years, the other in five. Mike also says that part of the â€Å"solution is pacing, relevancy, and refocusing on creativity† which will help keep children involved and help them develop their passions. This is the focal points of what he is trying to do at his school. He also states that although these are great solutions, he does not see it at the state or national level yet. Additionally he thinks that if the school system does not act soon on these ideas, America’s dropout rate and failure rate will rise drastically. (OConner, 2012) Discussion As the research shows the public school system is failing to prepare our children. There are many contributing factors to this. The way I see it is there are too many people trying to be in charge. The schools are controlled by federal, state and local governments. First of all, none of these bodies are education experts. Second, each of these government bodies has their own interests in mind, not necessarily the well being of the children. Third, the three different bodies of government seldom see eye to eye with each other. This is why I think the state and local government need to step out completely in the areas of curriculum not in the areas of budgets. I think if this happened the school system will be on one united front, which would be a good start. They could make teaching a federal job then, and at that point they could abolish the teachers union, and the teachers could still get union like benefits. With this they could make the teaching jobs more performance based. This would also abolish the idea of bad teachers and administrators, because if they have bad performance they would no longer be working in that field. That is just part of the problem. The bigger problem at hand is our outdated curriculum and teaching style. I experienced this, my whole life in school, until my senior year of high school when I was placed in an alternative program. The idea of alternative and charter schools is great, because it gives children a chance, and it promotes competition with the public sector. I think the charter schools are on the right track, but if they do not keep continue with innovative ideas, they will be in the same situation as the public sector. I think the best way for all to benefit is to restructure the whole teaching curriculum and learning environment. I think we need to structure it as if our current time was 2025 and not 2012, because if we do that we will not be starting out dated from the get go. Conclusion Public education is an important role in our children’s lives. It is there to help them develop learning and life skills for the future, so that they may go on and play vital roles in society. It is unfortunate that the research shows that our current public school system is failing to prepare our children for the future. It also shows that there are many reasons for this such as, the government, the design of the curriculum and teaching styles, school staff, the parents, and, in some regard, the teachers union. There is hope however, the invention of the charter school is helping children graduate and preparing them for college. There are also some acts that the government has put in place to have some accountability for the children’s success. It is hopeful because there are others out there trying to reshape our whole education system to benefit today’s needs. Our current system is failing. We are behind in almost all subjects when compared to other nations. This is a scary thought when you think of a global economy. Our children are not as prepared as children in other countries to fulfill job needs on a global scale. This means that our children currently are less likely to have the skills to make the new inventions that will carry our nation into the future. This potential is that America, as a whole, will fall behind other nations in all aspects, and it could all be due to education. All of these are frightening thoughts and if we do not act quickly and make changes now it is only going to get harder. Education is one of the most important parts in building society. In our country we are provided the opportunity to have somewhat free public education. Our system seems to be failing; this failure provides a great opportunity. There are many ways to repair it and it is time that we stop crawling with the issue, and start making leaps and bounds. If we start working together we can rebuild the corner stone to a successful society, which is education. References Calsyn, C., Gonzales, P., Frase, M. (1999). Highlights from TIMMS. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Education. Guggenheim, D. (Director). (2010). Waiting for Superman [Motion Picture]. Howard, T. (Summer 2003). Alternative Education Programs Milwaukee. Reclaiming Children and Youth , 121-123. Klein, D. S. (Spring 1977). Needed: Educational Philosophy as a Guide for Decision-Makeing in the Public Schools. Education , 290-293. McCarty, B. C., Quirk, C. A. (2003). An Oasis OF Hope: The Power of Thinking Developmentally. Reclaiming Children and Youth , 105-107. Muschel, I. (Fall 1979, Fall). Dependent Teachers, Ineffective Principals, Failing Children. Education , 06-12. OConner, M. (2012, February 2). A Principals Point of Veiw. (D. Miller, Interviewer) Robinson, K. (Director). (2010). Changing Education Paradigms [Motion Picture]. Russo, C. J. (2005). Conflicts over Directing the Education of Children: Who Controls, Parents or School Officials? The Journal of Education , 27-40.

Business Ethics And Surrounding Theories Philosophy Essay

Business Ethics And Surrounding Theories Philosophy Essay Business ethics for quite some time now has been a global issue as the case maybe in business deliveries. Business ethics may be defined as way managers take decision that will make their business reputation to be morally sound in business transaction. It entails that transparency is involve in decision making, ethical issue in business delivery is very vital to protect the image of the company (Boatright 2007). Business ethics helps managers to take the right decision in business transaction in other to keep their business moving at a rapid growth in the economy (Nash 1990) Ethics can also be defined as the study of how morality are involve in human decision to build their business reputation (Borland 1999).Ethical solution to business transaction has a lot possible solution to make business to deliver it objectives. The term ethics also has another, quite different use as the case may be which is to denote the field of moral philosophy. Every manager has a way to show transparency and accountability to the business approach, in other to make the right decision in business. ETHICAL THEORIES Teleological frameworks: these are the conduct of an individual or the outcome of an individual action.(mill, 1864).Ethical egoism entails that the decision that individual take will be in mutual interest of the organisation and balance it to be mutual beneficial in business transaction. Ego is derived from a Latin word meaning self, ethical egoism allows for self-interests to play a role in the actions of the individual as long as there are also positive benefits for others. The level of rationalization may evolve into the justification that pursuing a person self- interest is necessary to generate a positive outcome for others.(Beauchamp and Bowie 1997). Deontological frameworks: This aspect focuses whether the action is right or wrong on ethical issues. The duty of the person taking such decision is highly considered as the case may be in ethics. Ethical theories; these theories involves the way or approach which are linked with philosophical empiricism and utilitarianism.(George 1999). The act of utilitarianism deals with the decision that one will take which will make him feel relax in business transaction and the outcome of the business will be positive depending on the application. The rule utilitarian states that the decision the managers will result in potential rules of action. (Graham 1990). Business reputation in the context of business to business, deals with a way manager relate with other vital issue which will protect the image of the company. If adherence to the rule produces more positive result than otherwise, it is a rule that morally will be highly considered. The distinction between act and rule utilitarianism is based on the outcome should be highly considered in calculating the effect on business related issues. UTILITARIANISM: According to utilitarianism, our obligation or duty in any situation is to perform the action that will result in the possible balance of good over evil. ln classical utilitarianism, pleasure is taken to be more beneficial to compare with pain and harms which are evil. Rule or outcome of utilitarianism stipulated some issue which are questionable in its conduct in decision making process, in some specific circumstances the outcome is not favourable. Rule utilitarianism add, however that some times their are level of consideration in decision making that managers will take in other to make the right decision in business delivery. However, within rule utilitarianism there is a distinction between the strictness and absolutism of this particular branch of utilitarianism. Strong Rule Utilitarianism is an absolutist theory, which frames strict rules that apply for all people and all time and may never be broken. According to John Stuart Mill that managers should be keen in taking decision that will produce a positive output in business transaction. An example would be utilitarian might say do not lie, if the decision will yield profit that managers should consider the decision. EGOISM: All philosophical egoism holds that there are relationships between how people react to business decision that will influence them positively. The psychological egoist entails that managers will hide some decision because they have interest on it. PSYCOLOGICAL EGOISM: these entail the psychoanalysis that are involved in human actions and how managers take a positive decision in business transaction (Derry, 1987). The psychological egoist might reply that some such of the decision that managers will take are for the best interest of the company. After all, the manager did what he most wanted to do, and so must have been pursuing his perceived business decision that will make him to maximize profit. In one sense, this is true. If self-interest is considered with the satisfaction of all of ones preferences, then all deliberate action is self-interested at least if intentional actions are always explained by citing the reason why such decision is taking in business transaction. Psychological egoism turns out to be the way managers behave and relate their decision in business delivery. They intend an empirical theory that, like other such theories, it is at least possible to refute by observation in business decision (Freeman 1993). The psychological egoist entails why the decision of managers always influence the outcome of the company output in business transaction because they have interest. Perhaps as infants we have only self-regarding desires; we come to desire other things, such as doing our duty, by learning that these other things satisfy our self-regarding desires in business transaction . We pursue the other things for their own reason or effect because the reason why the are considered are vital in decision making. Even if this picture of development is true, however, it does not defend psychological egoism, since it admits that we sometimes ultimately aim at things other than our welfare because of business reputation. Business decision that are volatile should not be taking for granted because it will tarnish the image of the company or their reputation. The managers decision should be at a level that will be fair in business transaction, even if he would not have to negotiate but let the outcome o f the decision be positive (Freeman 1993). RATIONALIZING UNETHICAL BEHAVIOURS Ethics is about being and doing the right thing, not just presenting the right idea. When a corporation made some decision it might be ethical or unethical depending on the situation. Managers may try the short cut in other to raise their share prices, ultimately trying to satisfy or please the shareholders and increase their own bonuses.(Murray 2004). The institute of business ethics has a three cardinal point that deals with ethical test that are involve in business decision making. According to the statement that business reputation has being on the down ward trend means that the level of business transparency has been reduced drastically. Transparency: these involves sharing idea to others in the process of decision making .it also means making ones actions known to others when discussion are going on in a critical manner. It also entails that the more open a person in discussing his or her action to others, the more comfortable the person who are involve will feel that the decision is right in business transaction.(Bentham 2008).Effect: these are the impact the decision has on individual or parties that are involved. Decision makers will always be involve or aware of who will be directly or indirectly influenced by their actions. The decision taken may be ethical or unethical business standard depending on the application.(Ban tam 2008). Fairness: these involve making a decision that are fair to all in an ethical ways and even considering unethical ways. All the ethical theories above shows that business reputation needs a total overhaul as the case may be in business delivery.(Bentham 2008). EXAMINING REPUTATION IN BUSINESS ETHICS Business reputation has been on the downward because of ethical violation which the decision makers thought to be small. The decision makers have to consider the corporate code of ethics, professional will feel the small ethical violation is all right and will begin to justify all ethical lapses, no matter the size (Kant 2004). Moreover, business reputation in the market place should be a positive reputation. A lot of companies are trying all they can to protect the image of their company. Business reputation is a precious commodity, a lot of companies work hard to protect or maintain the image they have created. Many companies have realized that ones these image has been tarnished that is always difficult to restore. As an applied discipline, business ethics can be viewed as a way doing business in a responsible manner. Business operates on the underlying value of trust. it takes only one choice to change or tarnish the image of a company business reputation (Boatright 2007). CASE STUDIES Mr Cameron is trying to breathe a new life into an initiative which he believes is often misunderstood and unfairly mocked. He said is vision is to restore the broken society with the big society. David Cameron chief policy adviser Steve Hilton has been trying to stop him from doing deep think stuff at the moment and also tried to reduce or induce the prime minister vision or idea on big society.(Easton,2011).According to Easton has announce his extra cash for charities, more places in the National citizen service and new details of creating a big society bank with  £200 million. Cameron quotes that their are three key strands to the big society: 1. Encouraging social and voluntary action. 2. Decentralising power. 3. Reforming public services. Analysing Camerons quote in the big society with Deontological frameworks. These are the application of deontological approach in dealing with a volatile economy. Deontological focuses on whether the decision is favourable or not, it focuses on the duty or obligation in determining whether the action is right or wrong. (Stawick 2010).He focuses more on cuts and the other hand encouraging social and voluntary action. Under the above analysis of the prime minister on big society, he is using deontological approach on the society at large. According to Nigel carshew who ask a very vital question why is the big society bank not a social enterprise? The statement shows that the level of transparency in business reputation of big society is questionable. One of the effect is that the money which is been invested is a public money and at the same time use it to enrich the shareholders pocket.(Cohen ,2011).There is increasing evidence that council are choosing to slash grants rather than hit frontline services. Everyone assume its the cuts that are damaging us. But, letting local authorities do what they want with money is hurting us just as much (Collins 2011). ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLAND According to Philip (2011) he stressed that a lot of bankers are paid above their average pay while the Bank of England deputy governor said that bank should be allowed to fail without the tax payers money (Philip 2011).Royal bank of Scotland has been allocating bonuses and paying their staff above normal average pay which made the bank to go bankrupt in business delivery. This is an ethical issue in business reputation because they are using tax payers money for their personal use. Bankers were busy sharing money in the boom years and the tax payers are now paying for the cost of their failure. (Tucker 2011).The bank has shared above  £280 million pounds on bonuses to their bankers which has led to a collapse in the banking sector. CONCLUSION: The ethical business standard that is involved in business delivery above shows that business reputation is a precious commodity. According to David Rosser quote that Business reputation has been on a downward trend for too long and is a concern to growing number of business leaders. Dr Barry morgan,the arch bishop of Wales quote that MBA graduate should be taking a hypocritical oath upon completion of their degree. According to Dr Barry Morgan, he is pointing his view based on religious aspect not in business transaction that MBA graduate should play it according to the rules upon the oath taken like the medical doctors. Business reputation has two sides one is ethical and the other is unethical depending on the application in business transaction. Business reputation has been on the downward trend for too long because managers of business has being taking ethical issues for granted in their business to business transaction. Under the above assumptions on big society, business reputation has been reduced in the area of transparency and accountability. Royal Bank of Scotland decision to give their staff bonuses with depositors funds have jeopardized their business reputation and at the same time make the managers decision questionable.

I Will be an Agent for Social Change Essay -- Education Teaching Essay

I Will be an Agent for Social Change I arrived at Harvard eager for the world of experiences ahead. Yet as an Air Force Reserve Officer's Training Corp (ROTC) student, much of my academic world had been set up over the summer. My roommates poured over course guides, but my schedule was already laid out before me: math, economics, chemistry, Spanish and ROTC. My first college dilemma wasn't to find the right professor or class size, but to put together my uniform correctly. This being the case, I have had less time to stumble, but more time to focus on my other life choices. Despite working on a thesis, taking social studies tutorials, attending four-hour long weekly drill practices, doing Physical Training at dawn, and holding leadership positions within the Air Force, my calling has been community service. Through Education 4 Action (E4A), a social justice organization, I have facilitated discussions on race relations, led rallies to bring union picked grapes to campus, and engaged speakers to discuss gender issues. Also, through the First-Year Urban Program, I led incoming first-years and introduced them to public service in Boston. I derived great satisfaction from these projects and realized I wanted to do more. Community service has become my passion and is an activity I want to pursue further. So far, my journey has been twofold in nature: as an agent for social change through various nonprofits, and as an agent for my country's needs through Air Force ROTC. Today I face a choice. I must decide whether my upcoming Air Force commitment should be geared towards a lifetime career, or should be a stepping stone to the world of nonprofits. I believe the Michael C. Rockefeller Fellowship would provide the perfect oppor... ...tion of domestic abuse, and create an educational program we will implement in the community. I would also like to create an educational booklet on organizing with members of the ELC. I will use it to introduce similar youth based education programs in the other halfway houses across Trinidad and Tobago. I am committed to making this project work. With my practical background in social action and community education, I am excited for the chance to further grow, mature, and change. I want to become a public servant, but that will only be possible after I resolve my own uncertainties about my career decisions and cultural heritage. Because of the circumstances in my life, because of my experiences in college, and because of my desire to serve, I am certain that working in Trinidad under the Rockefeller Memorial Fellowship would help illuminate my future endeavors.

Concusions in Athletes Essay examples -- Sports

In recent studies, it has been found that concussions resulting from athletics are becoming increasingly dangerous while at the same time given less consideration. Sports related mild traumatic brain injuries in children have increased by sixty percent in the last decade. Approximately 173,285 cases of mild traumatic brain injuries relating to sports are treated each year in U.S. emergency departments (CDC). One may ask just what exactly a concussion is. A concussion can be defined as a clinical syndrome characterized by immediate and transient impairment of neural function, such as alteration of consciousness, disturbance of vision, equilibrium, etc., due to mechanical forces (Roy/Irvin, 142). The brain is made up of a â€Å"tofu-like† substance which can impact against the rigid walls of the skull, causing a change in neurological function and more. Basically, a concussion is when the head or body suffers a blow and the brain gets â€Å"sloshed† around causing it damage (Roy/Irvin, 142). There are many ways that a person can obtain a concussion. Concussions could be a result of a car accident or an unexpected fall. In sports, they are usually caused by a direct blow to the head. This can happen when a bat, hockey stick, or any type of ball strikes the head. It can also happen when a player comes in contact with another player, as in tackling during football. A concussion could also be a result of colliding with a stationary object, such as a post or wall (Children’s Memorial Hospital). The most important and also the most difficult process of a concussion is recognizing one. Some athletes will experience obvious signs and symptoms of a concussion and others will have none. Each human brain is very different which makes recognition ver... ...p://www.childrensmemorial.org/depts/sportsmedicine/concussion-in-sport.aspx>. Faul, M., L. Xu, and VG Coronado. "CDC - Traumatic Brain Injury." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2011. Web. 01 Feb. 2012. . Gupta, Sanjay. "Sports Concussion - Protecting Youth Athletes from Concussions..." SportsConcussions.org | Concussion Testing Made Simple. 2011. Web. 12 Jan. 2012. . McBride, Tiffany. "Concussions in Sports." E-mail interview. 19 Jan. 2012. Roy, Steven, and Richard Irvin. Sports Medicine: Prevention, Evaluation, Management, and Rehabilitation. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1983. Print. Valovich McLeod, Tara C. "Concussions: Cognitive Rest." Athletic Therapy Today 2010: 1-4. Web.

weapons of the weak :: essays research papers

In James Scott’s novel Weapons of the Weak: Everyday Forms of Peasant Resistance he plainly describes what can only be viewed as the worsening of the lives of the village poor in Sedaka, Malaysia. He attributes the increase in economic inequality to Malaysia’s green revolution. Consequently, Scott analyzes the impact of these changes on the poor, sighting several causes.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The green revolution began in the 1970’s in Malaysia. It was brought about by an advance in technology, a new form of high yielding seeds. These new seeds led to the ability to double crop, or have more than one crop yield per season. Also, many of the large farmers opted to bring in combine harvesters to increase the speed at which they could harvest, making it easier for them to double crop. These new technologies may seem economically beneficial to all if viewed by the untrained observer. However, those who benefited were few. These new developments only benefited the wealthiest in society, consequently leaving the poor even poorer for many reasons.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  More than anything the combine harvesters led to the increased troubles of Sedaka’s poor. â€Å"Combine harvesting has meant, then, a loss of nearly half the wages previously received for paddy work by the poorer strata of Muda’s peasantry (76)†. Combine harvesters were valued by many large farmers as brilliant new technology. It allowed for them to eliminate the need of a labor force for cutting and threshing. â€Å"By the irrigated season of 1979 †¦ they (combine harvesters) were harvesting fully 60 percent of Sedaka’s patty land. A year later they were harvesting more than 80 percent (115)†. Transplanting was the only work left for patty workers in Sedaka. Thus a problem presented itself for the one-quarter of Sedaka’s population who subsisted solely from wage labor. Combine harvesters also allowed for large farmers to take up the practice of broadcasting, which took work away from those who helped with the pre-season planting. The lack of work led to a decrease in the need for laborers. Since there was less demand for laborers, the price of wages went down. This greatly affected those who did not have enough land to provide year round subsistence for their families. This group of poor who farmed less than 3 relong, in other words those considered below the poverty level, had to struggle to survive. Some peasants had to move temporarily or permanently to larger cities to find work to provide for their families.

The baby boomer in the midst of the economic crisis

Most of the baby boomer generation were imbibed with the stereotype perception on the facets of work, employment and success. In a typical scenario, that â€Å"best† schedule would connote that a baby boomer would go to work on a regular schedule, 8-5, working from Monday to Friday schedule. Most of the time would be spent in the office, taking a daily commute to and from the office, with some time being taken by overtime, some work to be done on the weekends, and some other tasks to be accomplished at home.Success was also easily defined, with the person attaining the highest position in the corporate ladder becoming the epitome of that standard of success (Brad Harrington, Douglas Hall 98). Many of the people, baby boomer and others, believe that the current recession is about to end and that more prosperous times are about to return are, what observers state, is sadly suffering from a near sighted view of the present economic crisis.In reality, since the peaking of the 2005 United States housing crisis, the continuing barrage of the sub-prime financial crisis in 2007,and the resulting economic slowdown in the American economy in December of the same year, its has been observed that the United States economy, and to a certain degree the global market, has entered into an era of prolonged adjustments, with expected periods of growth, but the severe economic restructuring currently being put in place is believed to continue for the next years. What is believed to be the main driver of these developments is the baby boomer generation.It is assumed that the previously mentioned financial crisis is also contributory to the current financial morass, but the imperative reasons is that what is considered as the largest demographic in the history of mankind, the baby boomer generation born after the Second World War, has overreached its spending power (Professor Rodrigue Tremblay). What is seen to be the immediate effect of this development is that there must b e a realization that the exhaustion of the spending power of the baby boomer generation is irreversible.In this regard, the solutions cannot be found overnight; the remedy will be decades of readjusting of corporate spending, reduced spending and increased savings, and liquidating massive mountains of debt. The ramifications of this development will be seen to reverberate through the entire economic structure, as seen in the downturn of the automobile industry, and the increases in the health care sector, as the baby boomer continue to age (Tremblay).What is considered as a significant public policy issue is the potential load that a society that is reaching its twilight years will place on the nation's health provider system and the government expenditures. The â€Å"2030† issue is about addressing the challenge that by that time, there will be adequate and an efficacious system will be in place in three decades time, when the elderly sector in society will be double the pre sent population. By the year 2030, it is expected that many of the baby boomer generation will be between the ages of 66 to 84 years, and they will comprise 61 million individuals.Apart from these, the number of the older baby boomers, will be more than 9 million by 2030 (James Knickman, Emily Snell). The present structure of the long term care sector is constructed around the provision of the service by private providers, which can be categorized as non-profit and some for profit outfits. When the available resources increase, the development of new services can accelerate at a faster pace. Inversely, when available resources decrease, it is also expected that the capacity of the sector will diminish.Taking the example of home health care as a point of reference, the growth in the yearly expenditure rate increase went from ten percent in the period of the 1980's reaching into the 1990's, plummeting to a negative three percent in just two years, from 1998 to 1999 (Knickman, Snell). The Congressional Budget Office (CBO), in a 1999 report, calculates that expenditures related to long term care needs was approximately $120 billion in 2000, more than half (59 percent) addressed by the private sector.The balance of the expenditures were covered by individual expenses, with the private long term sector just covering one percent of the long term health care expenditures. In the conservative estimation of the CBO, the total amount for long term health care will rise an average of 2. 6 percent above inflationary levels annually over a span of three decades, totaling more than $150 billion in 2010, close to $200 billion in 2020, and a colossal $ 230 billion by the year 2030 (Knickman, Snell). In the composition of the Federal budgetary outlay, three government dominate the bulk of Federal spending; Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security.Federal outlays for these programs in 2004 reached more than $960 billion, exclusive of receipt offsetting of Medicare premiums. In tot al, these three programs totaled more than 40 percent of the entire Federal budget. It is be noted that the Federal government is contemplating on implementing sweeping changes in the mechanism of the Social Security system. The changes in the Social Security structure is inclusive of proposals to divert a portion of their tax payments to private investment tools (United States Congressional Budget Office 9).One piece of advice that the boomers might give serious contemplation to is the fact that there exists now a need to increase levels of savings rather than increased spending. All the events the last few years have sent a clear signal to the aging sector to turn to savings and restrain spending binges; but these acts of saving on the part of the boomers would mean a decrease in the levels of consumption and reduced spending, so that they can liquidate their liabilities, and that will increase the personal net income of the boomers.But what does that spell for the economy, if the largest spending sector considers more saving and reducing their consumption? It will translate to a comprehensive deceleration in economic growth and some excruciating adjustments in broad sectors in the economy (Tremblay) . In this light, it is expected that the effects of the current financial crisis hounding the global economies will be magnified and increase in its intensity, and the magnified effects of the crisis will continue to be felt in the decades to come.The economic doldrums will not be continuous, as there will be some short lived gains and increases, but will quickly return to the state of economic stagnation. To cite an example, in the last decade, Japan suffered a period of stagnation induced by the elderly demographic buffeted the nation's economy for the entire nineties. Even to this day, Japan is still trying to finds its way out of the economic morass it suffered during that time (Tremblay). Many of the countries whose population practices a very high standard of savings patterns will be able to export much of that capital to other countries.During the baseline year for model simulations, 1997, it was seen that many industrial states were exporting more than $60 billion in net investments to some low and middle level nations, amounting to 1. 1 percent of the gross domestic product of the nations that receive these outflows of capital. In that year, only nations in East Asia region were seen to be net exporters of capital. But in the year 2015, the recipients of the outflows of the industrial nations will be the ones exporting capital, and the industrial nations currently exporting the capital will be the ones importing the capital (World Bank 40).In the years not covered by the data released by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the continued aging of the baby boomers, compounded with increasing costs related to health care, will create a significant shift in the financial situation of the Unite States. It is expected that in the nex t three decades, the population of Americans at or over the age of 65 will jump 100 percent, while the number of people that are under the age of 65 will only increase by 15 percent. What is more alarming is the rate for the increase for health care expenditures is expected to outstrip the pace of economic growth during the same period.If the costs continue at a pace of 2. 5 percent, the Federal government will increase its budgetary allocations for Medicare and Medicaid, from 4. 2 percent at present more than 11 percent by the year 2030 (Congressional 10). Budgetary allocations for Social Security is expected to increase in the next thirty years by an average of 40 percent under the operation of the present laws. The share of the allocations for Social Security will rise from the 4. 2 figure at present to at least 6 percent in 2030.By comparison, the revenue projections for Social Security is expected to be static during the period, hovering at around 5 percent of gross domestic pr oduct (GDP). All combined, these pressures will exert significant amounts of stress on the budget that growth in the economy is unlikely to fully satiate (Congressional 11). Works Cited Harrington, Brad, Hall, Douglas T. Career Management and work life integration: using self assessment to navigate contemporary careers. Los Angeles, USA: Sage Publications 2007. Knickman, James R. , Snell, Emily K. â€Å"The 2030 Problem: Caring for Aging Baby Boomers†.Health Research and Education Trust 2002 August, 37(4), pp. 849-884 Tremblay, Rodrigue. â€Å"The Great Baby-Boomers Economic Stagnation of 2007-2017†. United States Congressional Budget Office. The US Budget and Economic Outlook 2006- 2015. P. O. Box 416, Old Chelsea Station New York NY: Cosimo, Inc. 2005 World Bank. Global economic prospects and the Developing countries, Volume 13. 1818 H Street, NW, Washington, DC: World Bank Publications 2003.

Endangered Languages Essay

Languages that are threatened with the loss of natural generational transmission are referred to as endangered languages. Language endangerment generally occurs in the later stages of language shift, that is, when a speech community moves away from their earlier variety, dialect, or language to a new one or new set thereof (Fishman, 1991). While the processes of endangerment and extinction have likely been constant throughout the history of human language, the scale and the pace of this loss—whose cumulative effect is the reduction of linguistic diversity—in the modern era appears to be uniquely intense, with up to half or more of the currently estimated 5,000–6,000 languages spoken today expected to be lost within a century or so (Hale et al. , 1992). Both the nature of this loss and its consequences are complex and involve deep psychosocial factors as much as purely linguistic ones. Two common reactions to language endangerment include language revitalization and linguistic documentation, both of which present extensive challenges and opportunities for applied linguistics. The sources of language endangerment are not uniform, but do generally present recurrent themes on both the broader external social/political/economic and the narrower community-internal and individual scales, corresponding in broad strokes to what Grenoble and Whaley (1998) refer to as macro- and micro-factors. From the macro-factor perspective, language shift can occur from sheer population loss of a speech community, due to war, disease, famine, or rather commonly, economically motivated outmigration, that is, dispersal into a diaspora that makes daily use of a given language no longer practical or meaningful/effective. Demographically stable communities, however, experience language endangerment just as readily when they are induced to shift for other reasons. Loss of prestige is a very common factor: It can be introduced through schooling, often reinforced by physical or social/emotional punishment of young speakers, or simply as a social contempt expressed in adult society by speakers of the dominant to the minority. As dominant languages are typically those spoken by the socioeconomically dominant, language shift is very often rationalized—both on the part of the speech community itself, or by outsiders—via ideological narratives of economic practicality, or homogeneous national identity. Hence, while there are exceptions, language endangerment is most typically experienced by minority and socioeconomically marginalized populations. In addition to psychological internalization of the above factors, the internal or microfactor side of language loss has as a primary component the local disruption of the social spaces in which the language has normally been used, and the shrinking of the range of such spaces. As most endangered languages have a primarily oral tradition (or no written tradition at all), full acquisition and rich ? uency depends entirely on personal experience with other speakers. Reduction of the range of domains in which an individual can be exposed to the language commonly results in a feedback effect: otherwise ? uent speakers who have knowledge or performance gaps are judged as imperfect speakers by more broadly experienced speakers (typically though not exclusively elders), leading the former to avoid situations of language use even more, and so intensify the process of contraction. As the factors affecting transmission are very ? uid, languages can shift from stable to endangered extremely quickly, often within the space of one generation. For the same reason, endangerment is often not salient even as it happens, as since three coexisting generations of grandparent, parent, and child can represent complete ? uency, intermediate competence, and complete non-speaker status. One still-living full generation of ? uent speakers can and often does give the illusion that the language is not seriously threatened; even more so if the majority of the community are ambivalent or antipathetic with regard to maintaining the language. Language loss is not uniform, either. During the process of language shift, competence in the language can range from various degrees of ? ency, to â€Å"remembered† speaker (full ? uency from childhood but fallen into disuse), to rusty speaker (substantial but limited competence due to an early shift from the threatened language to another), to semi-speaker (characterized by imperfect acquisition of the complete earlier form of the language, due to limited exposure) (Sasse, 1992). From this can also emerge â€Å"young people’s languages†: complete but markedly distinct variants of the source language used by younger generations that have been substantially altered by these sorts of incomplete transmission processes (Schmidt, 1985). Even after a speech community is reduced beyond even one notional native speaker, a language or features thereof can persist: in more or less full lexicogrammatical form as a liturgical or literary language, or both (as in the case of Hebrew, Latin, and Classical Greek, among others), or as a set of rote-memorized ceremonial phraseology, or as features in? uencing the variety of the replacing language(s) now spoken by descendants of the former speech community. The lexical, phonological, and syntactic in? ence of Irish Gaelic on varieties of English now spoken monolingually in Ireland is a frequently cited example. Semantic and pragmatic features of the earlier language too may cross over. Mixed languages may also persist after a community has shifted away from an original contributory language. Michif and Media Lengua—results of contact between French and Cree, and Spanish and Quechua, respectively—for example, have replaced the indigenous source language in some commu nities; such mixed languages can and do also exist alongside populations continuing to speak their source languages. Complete language loss itself can be problematicized. The notion of dormant or â€Å"sleeping† language has been developed for languages that have experienced complete disruption of natural generation-to-generation transmission, but that persist in substantial enough recorded form to permit the possibility of revival as a useable linguistic instrument (Leonard, 2007). Wampanoag and Miami represent two (Algonquian) languages currently being actively revived by descendants of the original speech communities, to the extent that children are being raised with the revived language as one of their ? st languages. Israeli Hebrew is perhaps the most famous case of a sleeping language subsequently revived as a full-? edged daily use language. Zuckerman (2009) and Leonard (2007) offer thorough discussions of the relationship between such revived languages and their source(s), particularly the ? rst languages of their revivers. Finally, the application of the terms endangered and extinct have both been called into question as inherently stigmatizing and, particularly when the latter is applied to dormant languages, inaccurate, and disenfranchising (Rinehart, 2006). The current intensity of language loss can be attributed both to essentially technological factors such as increased mobility (physical, social, and economic), telecommunications, popular media, education, and also to ideological and political factors such as the spread of the notionally homogeneous nation-state and cultural imperialisms of various kinds. Language endangerment is thus strongly connected to other types of sociocultural dislocation. With the loss of a given language also ripple out a host of ancillary losses. While loss of traditional language need not entail complete loss of traditional culture, language loss is more often than not accompanied by loss of bodies of knowledge traditionally passed on via the language, ranging from the ceremonial/religious, historical, literary/rhetorical, technological, medical, and so on (Harrison, 2007; Evans, 2010); it is often observed that the loss of a language results in the loss of a whole unique worldview implicitly and explicitly encoded in language-speci? c form and usage. For discussion of how language loss affects and re? cts the broader questions of biocultural/intellectual diversity, see Fishman (1982), Maf? (2001), and Dalby (2003), as well as Harrison (2007) and Evans (2010). Often generational transmission of social norms and values is affected when languages are lost; as is coherent community identity. A traditional language frequently functions as a pervasive and potent marker of membership therein: both emotional and intellectual connections to previous/ancestral generations can be rendered much more tenuous with its loss. Sheer grief (and at times even shame) at the loss of a cherished part of personal, familial, and community heritage is a situation-speci? c but very common experience, salient and wrenching to its affectees, even as it can be missed or underplayed by strictly materialistic/utilitarian approaches to the role of language in human life. For linguistics and related cognitive sciences, what is lost is the opportunity to investigate the full diversity of human linguistic potential. This is particularly crucial in the testing of universal claims about possible versus impossible human linguistic systems. Currently endangered and recently extinct languages have all offered unique contributions to the understanding of human language and by extension, human cognition. Damin, an auxiliary language traditionally used among the Lardil of Wellesley Island, North Queensland, Australia, for example, uses several phonetic mechanisms not found in any other known languages (and the only known click systems outside of southern Africa). It also exhibits an unparalleled intellectual creation: a carefully semantically abstracted lexicon of approximately 200 elements that can express the full range of the everyday Lardil language’s much richer system (Hale, 1998). Many other features of human language which are evidently quite common as possible grammatical options remain under-researched and poorly understood because they are, by historical accident, chie? y only found in languages that are currently endangered/threatened: among others, these include polysynthesis, switch reference, and complex evidential contrasts. At present there are two frequent active responses to language endangerment (i. e. , beyond simple acceptance): language revitalization and language documentation. Both pose interesting challenges for applied linguistics. At the time of this writing, there is an emergent consensus (though see Newman, 1998, for an alternative view) that it is incumbent upon linguists (and policymakers) to support language revitalization, namely, active efforts to recover and restore an endangered language to active daily use in a speech community (Hinton & Hale, 2001; for introductory handbooks, see Hinton, 2002, and Grenoble & Whaley, 2006). Simultaneously, an effort has emerged to document as many features of endangered languages as possible before their potential or even likely disappearance. Currently several institutions have been established that speci? cally support language documentation (see Online Resources). While language documentation of course can contribute substantially to language revitalization, the priorities of each do not necessarily overlap completely. Since unambiguous examples of thoroughly successful language revitalization efforts are still quite rare, focusing on documentation rather than revitalization can, particularly in academic circles, be seen as a more realistic use of limited resources to address language loss (see Bowern & James, 2010, for a challenge to this view). That said, documentation and revitalization efforts more often than not go hand in hand, particularly because endangered language speech communities typically expect documentation (still most often done by outsiders) to contribute substantially to revitalization efforts.