Analysis of proposed legislation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Analysis of proposed legislation - Essay Example he bill claims that an individual automatically commits a crime of illegal use of firearms if he or she possesses a gun while in possession of a specific amount of a controlled substance in the country. The bill is categorical and appropriate since it makes appropriate propositions that will govern the use of firearms while strengthening other existing laws that control specific substances (Webster and Jon 32). Drug abuse for example is another closely related legal aspect the bill seeks to curb. The government has categorized numerous types of drugs as controlled substances. Such drugs as cocaine, marijuana and heroin among others are example of controlled substances. Besides the hard drugs, the government regulates the use of other medicinal drugs often proposing for prescription before any form if over the counter purchase of such drugs. Such stringent legislations are responsible for the growing illegal trade on different types of drugs in the country. Drug peddling is a major social menace responsible for the rising crime rate and extrajudicial killings in the country. Drug peddlers operate in effectively structured syndicates characterized by heightened conflicts most of which result in violent use of both legal and illegal guns in the country. This validates the unique features of the law that seeks to control the use of firearms by associating guns to drugs among other types of controlled substances in the country. The bill will criminalize being in possession of a legal firearm while in possession of a specified amount of a type of controlled substance. Such is an appropriate clause that will help curb the rising number of gun violence in the country since some of the people implicated in both drug business and gun violence are always reputable business people with legal firearms. Without the bill, such individuals may readily use their guns to settle conflicts arising from the sale and use of rugs in the country. Proponents of the bill often cite the

On the side walk bleeding Essay Example for Free

On the side walk bleeding Essay In General, The things that make it difficult to read a book is being able to sit and concentrate only on that book, and actually reading it to the point where you know exactly what you’re reading and what’s going on and not forgetting what you read. To me in order to stay totally glued to the book you are reading it has to be something in your genre of choice, stuff that you like to read a lot. The things that made it difficult for me during this quarter and the books that I read was he page number in the books that I read it was almost impossible to finish the books that I had in 2 weeks. What influenced my choice in books was the type of books that I was into, I liked fictional books about street life family’s that have had it all and in the end, End up with nothing at all. Part B; Reading Rate : The total of pages that I have read over the total 8 weeks that we’ve been in school is 1151 pages, the number of pages that I averaged over a weekly reading rate was 143 pages. In my opinion my average weekly reading rate to me is pretty good to me knowing that my books had so many pages. I believe that my reading habits have improved over time from my first book until now. My homework of 2 hours of reading per week has grown a bit since I began reading the book I am on now , a plan of improvement is definitely needed if I want to reach the goal of 25 books before I graduate, My plan is to try harder on finding books that attract my attention. Part C; Thematic Reflections: One theme that I pondered while reading the â€Å"Coldest Winter Ever By Sister Souljah† Was Money is the route of all evil, I think that this is one of my themes because it shows that you can do a lot with money as far as making it, how you make it or get it or whether you can  prove how you earned it, the family in my book had it all until they got busted for spending too much money at once. They were being followed all the time whether they moved or not did not matter because the police would always know where they were, The other theme that caught my attention in the book â€Å"The Skin I’m In By Sharon G. Flake† is Don’t judge a book by its cover I chose this theme because no matter what Malika did someone was always judging her. No one ever tried to get to know her they were all just mean to her off back, bullying her. And she was the sweetest girl. Part D; Set Goals: The goals I would like to set is reading more books and not being lazy but just getting it done, with no distractions, another thing I would like to do is find more books like the books that I’ve been reading.

Performance Appraisal System Impact on Employees Apollo Tyres

Performance Appraisal System Impact on Employees Apollo Tyres 1.1 Introduction According to Mayo, 2000, Human resources management is an important function of a firm because the machines can be easily directed, repaired and utilised but employees are living beings with emotions and prejudices and cannot be easily directed, repaired and utilised. In 20th century the theoretical as well as practical aspects of the Human resources management got a scientific dimension, the consistent efforts of the management to improve the performance of the firm has resulted in the performance evaluation of human resources or employees. The employees are the building blocks of a firm and the defective block will deform the entire firm so it is the responsibility of the management to shape these building blocks according to the needs. The performance appraisal system is not new concept it has an age old history to tell but the modern appraisal system has evolved in the mid of 20th century. The performance appraisal system, which integrates many departments of the firm, is aimed at the enhancement of performance of the employees. The employees who are not scoring in the performance appraisal period are required to undergo training and skill development programme. The performance appraisal was believed to be a motivation factor but in practise many studies have shown that it is not always act as a motivational factor but sometimes has de-motivational effects on the appraised. The system which formulates the rules and regulations to motivate the employees to perform better in the next appraisal period can be called as a best suited system for that particular firm because there is no optimum method or procedure to be followed in a performance appraisal system in a firm. (Nishad, 2005) The motivation and de-motivation factors may be present in the same performance appraisal system. The appraisal may be motivational to some employees meanwhile it is de-motivating for others. The combined effect is a general thing in all appraisal system but the proportion of motivation to de-motivation factors should be high otherwise the entire objective of the Performance appraisal will be failed. (Seong and Lewis, 2009) There are many factors which affect the result of performance appraisal the main factor is the appraisal procedure and the evaluation criteria, the next important factors are social, cultural, economical and political aspects of the employees. The social and cultural aspects are known as permanent factors which cannot be nullified so it becomes the duty of the employer to plan a PA system which suits the socio-cultural aspects of the employees in addition to the due consideration for the political as well as the economics factors. (Nishad, 2005) 1.2 Background and justification of the study 1.2.1 Background of the Study Apollo Tyres Ltd is a multinational company having many divisions all around the world. It is a private sector company with limited liability. The performance track of ATL has attracted many foreign firms to initiate joint venture with this company in UK, US and African continent. The performance of this company and the varied product categories it offers to the customers are the key for its success. (Company profile, 2010) Apollo Tyres Ltd is emerging as a global tyre manufactures and it finds its strength in the availability of materials and labour at a lower price than its competitors. The annual revenue for 2009 financial year was 1.2 Billion USD. The main source of income is form the domestic production; recently the firm has acquired many other international firms such as the Dunlop Tyres in 2006 and VBBV of Netherlands as well as the Russias largest tyre manufacturing company Amtel-Vredestein NV. ATL has a direct market strategy and has 2500 showroom all over the world; majority of it are in India. There are 4000 dealerships India and more than 100 dealers internationally. (Company profile, 2010 and Stanley, 2009) The globalisation has brought many challenges to ATL as new multinational companies have entered the health care sector in India. ATL has coped with challenges with diversified product plan and for that it has invested billion of Indian Rupee, as a result the company has major market share in India. It is a matter of credit that around 10% of Tyre Products available all over world belong to ATL because of the export activities of the company. The company is so successful because of the work force it got. (Company profile, 2009) The workers are being provided by good facilities such as good working environment, good salary, flexible time schedule and holiday and festive allowancesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦etc. The Management has already providing them a contributory pension fund and insurance scheme for the employees. The educational scholar ships and education facility up to high school for the children of employees are provided by the company itself, apart from the residential facility. (Company profile, 2010 and Stanley, 2009) The annual report from financial year 2006 to 2009 has proved that the productivity has been getting decreased year by year. In 2006 it was 2.6% decrease and in 2009 it has reached the alarming 18% decrease. The management has a performance appraisal system since 1971 and counselling programme as well as skill development programmes are provided for the underperformed employees. Still the productivity graph records a downward growth. And this proposed study indents to find out the effectiveness and impact of the appraisal system on the employees and the productivity. (Stanley, 2009) 1.2.2 Justification of the study Every organisation around the world has vision and mission, whatever the philosophy behind the vision and mission there will be a common factor in the philosophy improved performance. The improved performance might bring profit to the organisation. The overall development of the organisation may be one side of the improved performance of the firm. the improved performance means the enhanced performance of the its various departments such as Human resources management, financial management, production and operations management, sales management, marketing management, customer care managementà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦etc. In all of these departments the human factor is a matter of serious consideration. The right people for the right job make all the differences. (Taylor, 2001) All the firms have some or other method to measure and analyse the performance of it. The analysis of this performance and the actions plans to be taken to improve the performance are of great importance of every firm. To manage the performance appraisal of its employees the firms have a separate appraisal department under the human resources department. The functions of appraisal department are integrated with other department such as financial department to coordinate the appraisal rewards and punishments, if any. (Qureshi, 2005) The performance appraisal is a complicated disciple of study because the appraisal result might not be the intended and assumed motivation of the employees. The studies have revealed that in many firms around world the appraisal process and remedial measures have resulted in the declined performance of the employees indicating the de-motivational effect of the appraisal system. (Nishad, 2005) The appraisal methods and criteria should be defined particularly for each firm because the appraisal results and the impact of the employees are very much depended on the external internal factor of the firm. The external factors such as socio-cultural traits of the employees, the economic and political situation of the geographical location of the firmà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦etc. The internal factors mean the nature of the jobs, the leisure and pleasure in the job, the working conditions, organisational cultureà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦etc. (Nishad, 2005) The appraisal theories when applied to the Asian countries the result may be devastating because the western appraisal theories have a great limitation in the Asian countries because of the social and cultural difference of the Asian people. So it is imperative to analyse the appraisal system on the basis of local factor which influence the management and the organisational behaviour of the employees. (Taylor, 2001and Nishad, 2005) In the proposed study, ATL- Kalamassery, in the Kerala state, India, is taken because the political and the economical situations of the state. The Kerala is world famous for the various political ideologies such as communism and socialism. The economic backwardness of the state is also factor to take this unit of ATL for the study. According to Taylor (2001) the social- cultural traits of the employees in India are very much different from the western countries. The social behaviour of Indians is sometimes unacceptable social etiquettes for westerners. The social bond and relations are different from that of the western countries. The proposed study would like to analyse the impact of the factors in the appraisal system and how far the appraisal system of ATL can manage its employees in the improvement of performance. 1.2.3 Literature Review Performance appraisal has a long history it emerged with the civilisation. When the people are interacting to each other in an orderly fashion then it may require some laws to govern the conduct of the people in the group. This preliminary law formation is called grundnorm which means the base norm, and these base norms were designed to control the conduct and also the distributed duties. The distribution of duties include various works; later on when these works required efficiency then performance of the individual and the groups were began to analyse. So it can be said that the performance appraisal was there in the primitive societies and in the course of time the application and the method of evaluation has been changed a lot. (Rajeev, 2000) According to Mayo, (2000), in the modern world, where everything is measured in time, the performance evaluation has great importance. The performance of each member of a group is important for the purpose of performance evaluation. After the industrial revolution new management theories came in to being and many of them went in to oblivion, those survived gave emphasis on the evaluation of the performance on the basis of scientific criteria. The industrial world tries to motivate its man power so that better performance can be obtained from each of the employees. The motivational aspect of the performance appraisal has been subject for deep rooted debates which are based on the many disciplines of study such as psychology, anthropology, sociologyetc. The complexity of the subject matter indicates the intricacies involved in the performance appraisal process and its impact on the employees. (Nishad, 2005) The motivational theories such as Vrooms expectancy theory and hygiene theory suggest that the employees are not motivated by giving them better facilities or salary but there is a mental dimension such as appreciation, recognition, career growth etc. The modern appraisal theory which is based on these concepts where as the classical theory of performance appraisal only support the deterrent method, that is, the employees who are performing well will be paid better and those who are not will be sacked. This approach has many loop holes such as the mental strain during the appraisal period the employees have and the lack of loyalty from the part of the employees and it was proved to be ineffective in motivating the employees. (Rajeev, 2000) The modern approach, meanwhile, support more over a lenient approach towards the employees. The basic philosophy is to understand the basic problem in the underperformance of the employees. The root cause may not be related to the employment or it may be related of some physiological problems, whatever it may the manager or the supervisor who is in charge of the appraisal process is responsible to understand it. The counselling process is designed to understand the problems and give suggestions to solve the problems of the employees. The training and improvement programmes are also conducted in many modern industries to increase the performance level of the employees. (Rajeev, 2000) The performance appraisal is usually begins with the formulation of the criteria on which each and every employee will be analysed. The criteria formation is very complex and will be unique according to the nature of employment as well as the philosophy of the management. The criteria then communicated to the employees and a time period will be given to them to opine about the criteria and after the evaluation of the suggestions from the various sources the management may change the criteria or stick on with it. The appraisal process will start and the each employee will be informed about the appraisal period. The appraisal result will be published publically and remedial measures will be taken thereafter. The remedial measures include the training and improvement programme and even the removal of the underperformance form the employment. (North, 2006) The problem with the performance appraisal begins when the employees are instructed to undergo the remedial measures. According to Nishad (2005), the social and cultural factors of the employees as well as the political strength are important factors that dictate the appraisal process. Unlike the western world in Asian countries the political strength of the employees unions is much stronger and the labour laws are much lenient to support the employees. The appraisal system in the Asian countries shall not follow the procedures of the western firms. The motivational factors and the de-motivational factors are different and contradictory in western and eastern world. The factors which motivate a westerner may a factor for de-motivation in Asian countries. According to Taylor (2001), the social-cultural aspects of the employees have significant effect on the appraisal system in the Asian countries. The trade unionism and the political inclination of these unions are other factors which will affect the appraisal system adversely. The behavioural pattern of the employees have to be analysed before the formulating the appraisal strategy. The political philosophy of the political parties in Kerala varies from leftist ideology to the rightist capitalism. The political parties strongly support one or the other political ideologies; communism and socialism are the major philosophies which are being followed in the state for more than a century. The trade unions of the state are affiliated to anyone of the political parties and the trade unions enjoys the protection of labour laws of the land. (Ashok, 2007) Situation in the ATL is not different from the political situation of the state. The political parties have a great influence on the trade unions and the lives of the employees. Every employee in the ATL is affiliated to any one of the political parties. This is basically a survival strategy for the employees as well as the trade unions. (Ashok, 2007) The collective bargaining of the trade unions and the threat of strikes hampered the growth of many industries in the state. The current situation in the firm is also same and the management have to discuss and reach in a consensus to implement any change in work schedule or in bonus or in the salary. The strength of the management is in the bargaining power and that of the trade unions is in the unity and threat to strike. (Uppal, 2009) The performance appraisal system of any industry is under the scrutiny of the trade unions, the performance criteria should be passed by the trade union so that it can be smoothly run. The remedial measures are also supervised by the trade unions and any action which will be a potential threat will be strongly resisted by the unions. (Uppal, 2009) 1.2.4 Aim The present study aims to analyse the Performance Appraisal System of the Apollo Tyres Ltd and the motivating as well as the de-motivating effects of the appraisal system on the basis of the socio-cultural and politico-economical situations and to suggest the strategies and procedures to improve the performance of the employees. 1.2.5 Hypothesis (A) Null hypothesis H0 Impact of a performance appraisal system on the employees is depended on the social, cultural, political and economic environment of the firm and the employees (B) Alternative Hyposthesis H1: Impact of a performance appraisal system on the employees is NOT depended on the social and Cultural environment of the firm and the employees H2: Impact of a performance appraisal system on the employees is NOT depended on the political and economic environment of the firm and the employees The null hypothesis is statistical hypothesis that is tested for possible rejection under the assumption that it is true (usually those observations are the result of chance). The concept was introduced by R.  A.  Fisher (Gonick and Smith, 2006) In this proposed study, the null hypothesis considers the independent variables such as social, cultural, political and economic factors of the environment in which the firm operates. The null hypothesis is assumed to be trued based on the various secondary data. The alternative hypothesis is divided in to two part one with the factors such social and cultural factors and the second one is political and economic factors. According to Malhotra (2008), the social and cultural factors cannot be separated as it is has strong influence on each other. The social factor is formed based on the cultural factor and the cultural is nurtured and propagated through social circumstances. According to Cumbler (2003), The political philosophy is always related with the economy of the country, the political affiliation is more over has direct influence on the economy of the people. It is noteworthy that the communism and other labourer favoured philosophies are flourishing the third world countries because of the poor economic conditions. Once these countries become developed nations the leftist philosophies will cease to exist in course of time. 1.2.6 Primary Objectives of the Study 1. To analyse the performance appraisal system in general and particularly in the Apollo Tyres Ltd (ATL) 2. To understand analyse the significance of the performance appraisal system in achieving the goals and objectives of a firm 3. To study and analyse the transition of performance appraisal from conventional to modern and the major factors influenced the transition 4. To understand the motivating and de-motivating effect of the appraisal system on the employees in general and particularly in the ATL 5. To analyse effect of social and cultural factors and political and economical factors of the employees on the appraisal system in general and particularly in the ATL. 1.2.7 Research Questions To fulfil the primary objective of the study the following research questions are proposed Performance Appraisal its meaning and definitions What are the significance of performance evaluation system in accomplishing the organisational objective and goals? What are the differences in the modern as well as in the conventional appraisal system? What is the relation between the motivation of the employee and appraisal system? How do the socio-cultural and politico-economical factors of the employee affect the Appraisal System in a firm? Does the performance appraisal system in the Apollo Tyres Ltd have a motivational effect on the employees? What are the strategies that the ATL follows in the appraisal process to enhance the performance of the employees in the particular socio-cultural and politico-economical background? 2. Research method and Approach 2.1 Introduction The research method and approach is devised to study and understand Performance Appraisal System in the Apollo Tyres Ltd (ATL). The study involves the opinion of the employees and the management on the present appraisal system in ATL. The interview method will be used to understand the management side of story on the Performance Appraisal system in the ATL. The questionnaire method is used to understand the employee side story. The literature reviews are depended to make a frame work on the theoretical concept of the study. Various statistical methods will be used to analyse the data and it will be explained on the basis of relevant literature. The span of the research will be six months. In the month of March, 2010 the study will be commenced and the final report will be submitted in September, 2010. 2.2 Research Methodology of the study The research methodology of the study is designed to understand the Performance Appraisal System in the ATL and the impact of present system on the employees. According to Kothari, (2002) the research method suitable for a study where the relevant literatures as well as the primary data are used the two research methods are generally used such as the exploratory methods and the constructive methods. The constructive methods are used when the subject matter of the research needs some frame of reference to handle the entire research results. For example, in international marketing research, sometimes, the cultural traits of customers have to be taken the basis or frame of reference of the study because this trait will affect all the research questions under study. 2.2.1 Exploratory research methods Exploratory research methods are wildly used in the secondary data accumulation. In this present study the literature review will be used to understand and to formulate the theoretical frame work of the entire study. The history of the appraisal system, the relevance of the appraisal system, the motivational as well as the de-motivational aspects of the PA system, the social and cultural factors as well as the political and economic factors will be extensively studied through relevant literature. The relevant sources will be explored to understand the subject matter of the study deeply thus exploratory research methods. (Kothari, 2002) 2.2.2 Constructive Research Methods Constructive research methods are used when the research result cannot be generalised due the influence of dominant factors in the study. (Kothari, 2002) In the present study the performance appraisal system is analysed based on the social and cultural aspect of the employees. The political and economical aspects are also considered for the study because all these factors have a dominant effect on the study. In other words, without taking these factors under consideration the research will be completed. The geographical location of the unit under study is in the Kerala state, India, which is an economically backward place and the political philosophies, such communism and socialism have formidable impact on the people living there. The social and cultural factors are different from the western world and the social bonds and family cohesions are very important aspects this culture. The social interaction and etiquettes are different from that of the western world so the theories applicable in the western world no longer stand good in these situations. So it is mandatory for this study to form a frame work on these factors to analyse th e subject matter of the research. 2.2.3 Questionnaire and interview method Interview and questionnaire methods are generally used to collect the data first hand (Kothari, 2002). In this study these methods are preferred to get the information on the appraisal system of ATL and the impact of such system on the employees. The questionnaires will be used to get the opinions of the employees on the performance appraisal system as well as the appraisal rewards and the methods of the PA system. According to Saunders et al., 2003 the open end interviews are useful to gather data in a larger perspective. The open end interview questions and the answers to it will give the interviewer the opportunity to ask other relevant questions to the interviewee based on the previous answer and can get more details from the interviewer. The interview questions are open end in nature and the questions will be asked to the officials of ATL. According to the answers of these officials other related questions will be asked to get more comprehensive view on the subject. This method is used to interview the officials only because there are very few in number. The questionnaire will be distributed to the employees and the responses will be collected back within one month of distribution. This method is adopted because in this unit there are 2100 employees and interviewing all them will not be possible due to time constrain. 2.3 Method of Study The proposed study requires both primary data as well as the secondary data to meet the objectives of the study. The method of study thus designed to collect the primary as well as the secondary data. The primary data will be collected from the management staffs and from the employees. The secondary data will be collected by referring books, Articles, the e-journals and paper journals, web sitesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦etc. 2.4 Primary data collections methods Primary data will be collected from the employees and the managers of the ATL directly. The employees will be distributed the self-structured close end questionnaire to be answered and 2 weeks time will be given to them to fill it and return. Managerial staff will be interview with open end interview questions. According to Saunders et al., 2003, the open end questions are very apt for interviewing a small sample in a study it also very effective because the open end questions will provide enough opportunity to ask more questions based on the answer for the previous questions and clarify the doubts on the statements if any. 2.5 Secondary Data collection methods The secondary data collection is highly recommended information gathering process in any research work. The researcher should be diligent enough to select apt resources and updated information. In management subjects the data collection should be done through updated resources and latest editions books, articles and journals because new concept and theories and its applications are emerging day by day and it is the responsibility of the researcher to find out the up dated information for his research work. (Kumar, 2005) The secondary data collection method includes access to the relevant and updated books, journals and articles. The website will be extensively used if the authenticities of the sites are known. The university library and online facility will be extensively used for this research. The data regarding the company profile will be gathered though company website and referring the ISO manual of ATL and the annual report which is available in the web site of ATL. 2.6 Method of Data analysis In the proposed study the primary data as well as the secondary data will be used to reach a conclusion and the recommendations. The primary data will be analysed with various statistical tools such as chi square test, ANOVA à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦etc and the variance analysis will be done to understand the impact of the statement with the literature review. Both the primary and secondary data will be simultaneously used to interpret the results of the research. 2.7 Scope, Ethics and Limitation of the Study Scope The proposed study is on the performance appraisal system and the impact of it on the employees. The scope of the research includes the analysis of the various factors such as the social-cultural aspects and the political-economic factors of the environment in which the Apollo Tyres Limited is operating. The social and cultural aspect of the employees will be analysed and the suitable strategy for the appraisal system will be studied. The political and economic situation of the employees will be analysed and the performance appraisal approach of the management will be studied based on these factors. The scope of the research will be on the formulation appraisal strategy which will be suitable under the various research variables. The motivational and the de-motivational impact of the appraisal system will be analysed based on the four above mentioned aspects of the employees. Ethics According to Kothari (2002), a research study will provide accurate results and will provide a valid conclusion if it has followed a research ethics. In this proposed study the permission to do the research is obtained from the management of Apollo Tyres Limited, Kalamassery Unit, Kerala state, India. The survey among the employees of the ATL will be conducted confidentially. The questionnaire will not contain any whereabouts of the employees only the service, age, gender and positions. It will not ask for any personal details such as the address, name or any name of unique post. The research will seek the written permission from the management for the interview of the Management staffs so the evidence of opinion can be adduced in the Dissertation. Relevant literature will be collected and analysed to gather the knowledge base on the subject matter so that the research should have a through theoretical support. Limitations Short span of time is problem in the research as the time period is limited to three months. The data collection and the analysis of the primary data will be done with maximum speed and there is a chance the responses of the employees is not 100% true to the fact. The literature available on the performance appraisal is numerous and reading the relevant one requires great time. The limited time may limit the number of literature that can be analysed by the researcher. The data will be gathered through research aid wing of Indian Management Association (IMA). The representative of IMA will be hired for the purpose of the data collection; the knowledge limit of the person on the research objective may prove to be a problem in translating the questionnaire to the employees. The cooperation from the part of the employees and other management staff is essential for the success of the research. The research will suffer if there is limited cooperation from the staffs of the Apollo Tyres Limited. 2..8 Conclusion and Recommendations Conclusion The trade unionism and the political inclination of these unions are other factors which will affect the appraisal system adversely. The behavioural pattern of the employees have to be analysed before the formulating the appraisal strategy. The political philosophy of the political parties in Kerala varies from leftist ideology to the rightist capitalism. The political parties strongly support one or the other political ideologies; communism and socialism are the major philosophies which are being followed in the state for more than a century. The trade unions of the state are affiliated to anyone of the political parties and the trade unions enjoys the protection of labour laws of the land. Situation in the ATL is not different from the political situation of the state. The political parties have a great influence on the trade unions and the lives of the employees. Every employee in the ATL is affiliated to any one of the political parties. This is basically a survival strategy for the employees as well as the trade unions. The collective bargaining of the trade unions and the threat of strikes hampered the growth of many industries in the state. The current situation in the firm is also same and the management have to discuss and

Essay --

Beloved The story in Beloved authored by Toni Morrison was centered on the aftermath experience of the protagonist; Sethe as a slavery escapee. The story which defied chronology was mirrored in flashbacks. The harsh experience of slavery was still patent and the memories of bitter struggles were still haunting the characters. There was an inhibition in the ability to move on. The ruination of identity by slavery and competence of language were two vital themes in the story and would be further analyzed. Ruination of identity by slavery as theme depicted the physiological, mental and spiritual burden of slavery which is inescapable as it continues to haunt the characters like Sethe and Paul D who experienced it. Slavery was accompanied with negativity on the true identity of oneself and this made story have several situations of self-denial and estrangement. For example, Paul D was unsure of whether the wailings and tears of grief, he was feeling were coming from himself or someone else: â€Å"In the boxes the men heard the water rise in the trench and looked out for cottonmouths. They squatted in muddy water, slept above it, peed in it. Paul D thought he was screaming; his mouth was open and there was this loud throat-splitting sound--but it may have been somebody else. Then he thought he was crying. Something was running down his cheeks. He lifted his hands to wipe away the tears and saw dark brown slime†. The slaves received endured inhuman conditions which included being traded as a normal good in exchange for paper money. Paul D always questioned his worth as a human and suffered from inferiority of being insecure of whether or not he was truly a â€Å"man†. Sethe also experienced the cruelty of slavery. She once intrude... ...ry when Paul D and prison inmates from Georgia sang about their past experiences and dream; â€Å"garbling the words so they could not be understood; tricking the words so their syllables yielded up other meanings†. In another case, Stamp Paid saw through the window, two backs and went to see for himself; believing that â€Å"the undecipherable language clamoring around the house was the mumbling of the black and angry dead†. The titling of the story comes down to what is regarded as language misunderstanding. At the burial of her daughter whom killed by her hand, Sethe misunderstood the minister’s address referring to the living as â€Å"Dear beloved† and interpreted it as referencing to the dead. The meaning of words depend heavily the changing interpretation of words: figures of speech rely on the capability of words to connect and disconnect with the definitions of words.

AIDS Resistance Genes :: Biology

The What AIDS researchers have recently uncovered a genetic trait that may provide protection against HIV-1. A "defect" that could account for unexplained cases of individuals that seem to have an immunity or protection against HIV-1. They are calling the trait an "AIDS Resistance Gene". What is an AIDS-Resitance Gene? This is just one of the questions our group inquired about when we began our investigations into the latest of AIDS research. AIDS Acquired immune deficiency syndrome, AIDS, is a serious disease that becomes more and more common in our nation and around the world. AIDS is defined by certain criteria established by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention based on lab evidence such as T4 cell count, the presence of certain diseases, and other conditions. WHAT CAUSES AIDS? This disease is caused by the virus known as Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 (HIV-1) (Structure of HIV), which attacks cells in the immune system, leading to the system's inability to resist harmful organisms. It damages the cells in the immune system, causing the body to lose the ability to fight off infections and diseases. During the course of infection, CD4 T-cells (a special type of infection-fighting white blood cells) are disabled and killed as their numbers decline. From 1981, when the first cases of AIDS were reported, through mid-1995, more than 476,000 individuals had contracted AIDS in the U.S. More than 295,000 of these individuals died. These numbers do not include those infected with HIV. Without symptoms of AIDS, nearly 1 million Americans have been infected with HIV through the mid-1990's. An estimated 19 million individuals world-wide have been infected with AIDS since the late 1970's. History Research has lead some to believe that HIV arose in Africa from retroviruses of monkeys. It is said that urbanization and the change in traditional lifestyles brought HIV-1 to the cities. It then spread to other parts of the world. However, it is proven that HIV-1 has been in circulation since 1959, because antibodies to HIV-1 have been detected in stored frozen blood samples taken from individuals in Zaire in 1959 and the United States in 1968. AIDS was first officially detected in the United States in 1981 in New York and California. In 1981 doctors found what they thought was a rare form of cancer called Kaposi's Sarcoma in many males. These patients also had signs of a type of pneumonia called Pneumocystits which occurs when one's immune system is not functioning well.

What the High School Educator Must Know :: Discourse Community Education Essays

What the High School Educator Must Know Consider all that a high school educator must know (or at least attempt to know). The truly good ones--the ones who motivate us, instill a love for learning, and ultimately change our lives for the better--know a great deal (salaries and public perception notwithstanding). They know their subject matter, they know and understand human motivation, they are aware of the power of interpersonal relations and how to use that knowledge to gain the most benefit from the least potential, they understand the po wer of their own rhetoric (even if they don't consider rhetorical studies an important aspect of their academic lives), and most importantly, they know how to share this knowledge with others. High school educators today (the good ones) are mentors, frie nds, counselors, coaches, researchers, sources, role models, disciplinarians, crisis managers, and on and on. With all that our really good high school educators know and do, it might seem absurd for me (a high school educator) to sugg est that we need to dig in and truly understand yet another aspect of our students' lives, and yes, even our own. But I am suggesting just that. If we don't understand the powerful impact discourse communities have on what we do, how we do it, and what we're trying to ach ieve, we are shortchanging ourselves, and more importantly, we are shortchanging our students. Just what is a discourse community though? And why are so many in the field of rhetoric bandying about this term? This "social framework regulating textual production" (Porter 38) goes by many names: it's what Stanley Fish calls "the interpretive co mmunity," what Michel Foucault calls "the discursive formation," and what Patricia Bizzell calls "the discourse community" (38). James Porter of Indiana University-Purdue University at Fort Wayne, however, seems to have generated the clearest definition of a discourse community. A "discourse community" is a group of individuals bound by a common interest who communicate through approved channels and whose discourse is regulated...[The community] shares assumptions about what objects are appropriate for examination and discussion, what operating functions are performed on those objects, what constitutes "evidence" and "validity," and what formal conventions are followed. (38-39) It is important to remember that we all are part of various discourse communities throughout our lives (each of which dictates the conventions we follow, the language we use, and the credence we give to what we hear or read).

Basseri of Iran: Past and Present Essay

Basseri of Iran: Past and Present Jonathan Hixon ANT101 Instructor Brown-Warren February 24, 2013 When the Achamenian emperors of ancient Persia built their capital at Persepolis, in a valley of the Zagros, they did so with strategy in mind. Persepolis was placed in a common â€Å"bottleneck† in the annual migration routes of several tribes from the warm coastal plains to the cool summer pastures in the north. Twice a year, several whole confederations of tribes had to pass by Persepolis with all of their wealth in sheep, goats, and horses, and he who ruled Persepolis ruled what then was Persia. One of the tribes that still use this route today is the Basseri of Iran. (Coon, 1962) The Basseri of Iran was a nomadic pastoralist society from the beginning of their existence. The Basseri are located in southwest Iran and were housed in tents. Each tent housed a nuclear family and many tents made up a camp for the Basseri. An independent household occupied every tent in a camp. The tents were arranged in groups of smaller groups that usually would put all of their flocks of animals into one unit that was taken care of by one shepherd. A shepherd was usually a younger boy or girl from different tents that took care of the smaller camp’s flocks. Some families would hire a shepherd from other tents if they did not have the means to provide a qualified shepherd of their own. Nomadic pastoralists had no permanent settlements; instead, complete households shift location with the herd. House structures were highly moveable, such as a tent or yurt, a portable, felt-covered, wood lattice-framed dwelling structure used in the steppes of Central Asia among Kazakh and Kirghiz pastoralists. Pastoralists moved for a number of reasons other than following water and forage for their herds. Herders also moved to avoid neighboring peoples and government control, thus reducing disease, insects, and competition for resources, while abstaining from taxation and circumscription into military service. (Nowak & Laird, 2010) In the past, the Basseri of Iran were nomadic pastoralists, but the Basseri have started to come into a culture of a more advanced technological culture in today’s time. The Basseri have now become more dvanced in their culture with the world we all live in today while respecting the culture they came from in decades past. The social organization of the Basseri is clearly simple, but effective as a organized system of leadership. The Basseri chief is the head of a very strongly centralized political system and has immense authority over all the members of the Basseri tribe. The chief, in his dealing with the headmen, draws on their power and influenc e but does not delegate any of his own power back to them. Some material goods – mostly gifts of some economic and prestige value, such as riding horses and weapons – flow from the chief to the headmen. A headman is in a politically convenient position: he can communicate much more freely with the chief than can ordinary tribesmen, and thus can bring up cases that are to his own advantage and, to some extent, block or delay the discussion of matters detrimental to his own interests. Nonetheless, the political power that a headman derives from the chief is very limited. Johnson, 1996) The Basseri as noted are divided into camps of tents, which may or may not have a headman present in a particular camp. If a camp does not have a headman present, then that camp will usually have an informal leader who were recognized by the other headmen, but had no formal recognition by the Basseri chief. For this reason (not being formally recognized by the Basseri chief) the informal leaders still usually answered to an â€Å"official† h eadman in another camp which could bring things up before the chief if something needed to be addressed. The head of the household (or tent) would be the person responsible for bringing things up to an informal leader or a headman for discussion with the chief when things needed to be brought to the attention of the chief for social or political discussion. This political organization is not so hard to grasp as one of a huge population like we see in the United States. In summary, one could see that there are tents that housed families, a head of household for that tent, an informal leader or headman and finally the chief (who would be over many different camps and tents within those camps). This political organization would be closely compared to, for instance, a police department chain of command in where you have the chief, then the captains (compared to the headmen), then sergeants (informal leaders), corporals (heads of households), and finally the troops (members of the individual households). This was a way I could compare and understand the political organization of the Basseri people easily. The economic function of the Basseri was that of true importance to the tents/households ability to sustain themselves. The economic function of the Basseri lies in the occupancy of pastures throughout the migratory fashion of the Basseri. Tents are the basic element of the economic unit in the Basseri community. As much as they are social units, tents are also the basic units of production and consumption. In the summer, there might have been as many as thirty or forty tents that made up a camp; however in the winter months, camps were reduced down to approximately two to five tents and were separated from other camps by three or four kilometers. The Basseri keep a variety of domesticated animals, but sheep and goats have the greatest economic importance. Other domesticated animals include donkeys for transport and riding (mainly by women and children), horses for riding only (predominately by men), camels for heavy transport and wool, and dogs for keeping watch in camp. (Johnson, 1996) Their products obtained from their flocks sustain the Basseri community. The Basseris’ most important products for trade included milk, lambskins, and wool, in that order. The Basseri spins, weave wool and goat-hair, and make their own tent poles, pack-saddles, and cordage. The rest of their equipment is bought from townsmen and gypsies, their vegetable food from villagers. Some of the Basseri own village lands from which they receive shares of the crops. (Coon, 1962) Community members trade in their milk, hides and other animal products at bazaars in surrounding towns and use this money to purchase other types of food such as vegetables, clothing and other necessities. As John Dowling argues, it is informative to contrast the Basseri with another pastoral people, the Turkana of Tanganyika. Both the Basseri and the Turkana are nomadic, both have productive organizations that are family based, both pasture their animals on tribally owned lands to which all individuals have usufruct rights, and in both societies animals are culturally ascribed to individuals property. But the orientation of the Turkana pastoralist is vastly different than that of the Basseri. The Turkana pastoralist produces primarily for consumption, the Basseri for sale. (Dowling, 1975) Dowling goes on to say that the Basseri go frequently to the market, buying material for women’s clothing, men’s ready made clothing, goods of tanned leather (shoes, saddles, etc. ), wheat flour (a staple), sugar, tea, dates, fruits, vegetables, glass ware, china, metal articles (cooking utensils, etc. ), narcotics, luxury goods such as women’s jewelry and carpets, and, for those who are able, land. The Turkana could live without external trade; they are self-sufficient subsistence producers. The Basseri are market dependent. (Dowling, 1975) Gender roles of the Basseri were clearly defined and adhered to by the members of the Basseri camps and tents. The gender roles of the Basseri are clearly defined by the community. When it comes to the tent, all authority lies with the husband (head of household). The husband was the decision-making person in the household and all were expected to adhere to the decisions made by the husband. Women had less significant power and were generally their roles were to take care of the day-to-day domestic operations of the tent or household. Women were also considered part of a man’s wealth and it was quite common for a wealthy man to marry more than one wife. Daughters had no rights in choosing a marriage partner as this decision was solely made by the husband/father and the father of the boy the daughter was to marry. Most families viewed the girl children as a means of gaining wealth since they understood that the girl would attract a certain amount of bride wealth into the family. The boy child was of more use to the community as a whole. The boys could look after the herds (even though there were cases that I read where girls were allowed to do shepherding duties as well) and protect and help the communities in the struggle between other communities. Marriage among the Basseri was arranged and it was not possible for a girl of the tent to have much of a say in who she would marry. As stated before, the Basseri of Iran have households that are referred to as tents; within a tent, there were nuclear families that had members of households headed by the husband who was considered head of his tent or household. The husband or head of the tent was the one who made all arrangements for marriages of his sons and daughters under their tents. The husbands would discuss with members of other tents who show interests in his sons or daughters and together, they would arrange marriages between the sons and daughters of other tents or households. The parties that were to get married usually had very little options but to accept what had been decided for them and accepted the marriage. The father of the bride would have to pay the bride price in the form of livestock and would also be expected to give a share of his animals to the new couple as a form of inheritance. This inheritance ould form the means of subsistence for the newly married couple/family. A married man may arrange subsequent marriages for himself, whereas all women and unmarried boys are subject to the authority of a marriage guardian, who is the head of their household. The marriage contract is often drawn up and written by a nontribal ritual specialist, or holy man. It stipulates certain bride-payments for the girl and the domestic equipment she is expected to bring, and the divorce or widow’s insurance, which is a prearranged share of the husband’s estate, payable upon divorce or in the event of his death. Johnson, 1996) Basseri are slowly becoming more and more settled in todays society and some are moving away from the traditional nomadic pastoralist ways of culture and moving towards a more modern approach to life. While there are still nomadic pastoralists today among the Basseri, many of the Basseri have begun to settle down and become a more settled culture. Poverty and debt lead a household to consume their capital in livestock; this makes them poorer, which makes it harder to make ends meet. More capital is consumed, and with no alternative sources of wealth available, settlement is inevitable. (Bradburd, 1989) Successful Basseri build up their herds, accumulating hundreds or thousands of animals. Fearful of losing their wealth to disease and the vulnerabilities of nature, herders convert this capital into an alternative form of wealth, such as land in local villages. The land is cultivated by villagers as tenant farmers, including unsuccessful Basseri who lost their herds and ended up as agricultural laborers. Nowak & Laird, 2010) Bradburd argues that not only poor Basseri settled; wealthy Basseri were driven to settle both by the risks of pastoralism, which threatened them with a return to poverty, and by the fact that the economic realities of their situation did not provide a return commensurate with their risk. (Bradburd, 1989) With increased modernization, many of the Basseri have learned of other subsistence means that are more profitable and have shifted away from the traditional Basseri culture or pastoralists. Traditionally, the Basseri of south western Iran are nomadic pastoralists and they continue to be that way in today’s time, but the number of traditional nomadic pastoralists among the Basseri people a very few. Most Basseri have begun to move towards a more modern approach in living and have settled down in villages or even more urban areas to obtain jobs that sustain life easier than their ancestors had in previous years. In the past, the Basseri of Iran were nomadic pastoralists, but the Basseri have started to come into a culture of a more advanced technological culture in today’s time. The Basseri have now become more advanced in their culture with the world we all live in today while respecting the culture they came from in decades past. Most texts agree that many of the settled people in the southwestern area of Iran either were Basseri or are descendants of Basseri. Even though there are still traditional nomadic pastoralist Basseri in the region, they have become small in number; but the one’s that exist today, value their lifestyle and don’t want to change the way they have been living for many years.