Should College Be A High School - 853 Words

To Community or to State? One of the most daunting decision a high school senior must make, besides deciding on what to wear to their senior prom and how to leave their mark in school, is to make their final decision on what college they want to go. Some have already had their decision made the moment they received their admission letter, while others spend most of their day on weighing the pros and cons of each college before making that final decision. I, however, was the student that caught in the middle between these two types of students. At one point I was committed to going to a community college like Consumnes River College and Sacramento City College. I filled out the admission form, finished an hour-long online orientation, and was able to complete a last-minute meeting with a counselor at Sacramento City College. I was all set to enter the Los Rios Community Colleges until the final day to accept admission for California State Universities. On that day, I started to wonder if I was making the c orrect decision. So I spent that entire day re-evaluating the pros and cons for both colleges. Positives of Community and State Colleges One of the most important things I worried about for college was having to pay for it. Though I signed up and was qualified to receive financial aid, I was afraid that going to the state university would cause severe problems for my parents. Going to the community college would ease the amount of money needed to go toShow MoreRelatedShould College Be High School?849 Words   |  4 PagesBefore coming to college, I was always in a rush to hurry up and graduate then enter college. During my highschool years I didn t spend any of my time with friends on school campus nor did I spent time getting to know people. I thought highschool was a complete waste of time and if i could zip through it and get good grades I would get high school over with at a fast pace. I did fairly well in high school zipping my way through, I thought that if I could do well in high school I should do better inRead MoreShould College Be High School?1287 Words   |  6 PagesWhy does our parents urge us to go to college? After high school students can decide whether or not to go college, they are adults now are they not? Either decision made, high school graduates would need a job to have the income heading their way so that they can experience the joys of being an adult in the world. Of course is that student prepared to really face the world head on, to have all the impressive characteristics that makes business’s want them or have the knowledge to start their ownRead MoreShould College Be High School?862 Words   |  4 Pages This class is one of the most major events that has happened to me so far. Choosing to take college classes while I’m in high school was a daunting decision. I’ve heard my councilors say things along the lines of â€Å"that’s really brave† and â€Å"good for you, getting a jumpstart on college†, but in reality, I’m just trying to beat the clock. In all honesty, this assignment was really difficult. The first time I read the instructions, for whatever reason, I thought we were to write a five-page memoir aboutRead MoreShould College Degree Be A High School?1841 Words   |  8 PagesCollege Degrees Just a few decades ago, having a high school education was considered a luxury and sometimes an unnecessary amount of education for some individuals. Once the amount of students attending high school rose, college seemed to be the next best course of action, however it still was not something that became absolutely necessary in our economy up until this decade. The amount of college graduates has risen, yet the number of students either dropping out of college or not even consideringRead MoreShould College Degree Be A High School Diploma?883 Words   |  4 Pagestechnology advancing each day, many jobs in today s society require more than just a high school diploma. Writer Catherine Rampell says, â€Å"A college degree, in other words, is becoming the new high school diploma: the minimum credential required to get even the most basic, entry-level job† (The Washington Post). No matter what college degree one earns, there will be better opportunities available. Having a colleg e degree helps someone develop confidence, allows someone to become better off economicallyRead MoreShould College Degree Be A High School Diploma?882 Words   |  4 Pagestechnology advancing each day, many jobs in todays society require more than just a high school diploma. Writer Catherine Rampell says, â€Å"A college degree, in other words, is becoming the new high school diploma: the minimum credential required to get even the most basic, entry-level job† (The Washington Post). No matter what college degree one earns, there will be better opportunities available. Having a college degree helps someone develop confidence, allows someone to become better off economicallyRead MoreCollege Should Be A Training Base For High School Degree1249 Words   |  5 PagesMy dad always said, the higher education changes his life trail. When he was in high school he’s grade was dragged by English, although he was good at sciences, his GPA was debased. My grandparents urged him to find a job after he graduated high school immediately, but he thought he should master a specific professional skill to apply for a better occupation in the future. He didn’t listen to my grandparents, he attended to an entrance examination of a medical university and became a dentist afterRead MoreHigh School And College Should Have A Greater Chance For Success922 Words   |  4 Pagesbetween high school and college should have a greater chance for success† (S.Hansen). Most of us spend 15 to 16 years in school to get to college. School plays a significant role in our life. We can do so much different things in school such as play sports, volunteer and extracurricular activities. High school and college are significantly different and they are also similar in some ways, for instance they are different academically and socially. College education is very expensive while high schoolRead MoreStudents Should Start Planning For College At The Beginning Of High School1443 Words   |  6 Pagesprice of high education will rise. It’s the dog that never catches its tail.† Bennett asserts that while the prices of education are rising, they are not going to start falling as a result of, the amount the government puts in (Student Loan Quotes, 2015). The average student leaves college with an average of $35,000 of debt. With this debt, students have to put off major life decisions such as starting a family or buying a house, for the reason that their debt has accumulated from their college yearsRead More High School Athletes Should Consider College Over the NBA Essay1196 Words   |  5 Pages In the last ten years many young and talented high school basketball players have chosen to enter the NBA draft. These 17 and 18 year olds decide to skip college, and instead they choose to take a big risk and enter the NBA, hoping to become stars and earn millions of dollars. In many cases, these youngsters’ careers are a failure because they don’t turn out as talented as they thought to be. They end up spending only a few seasons in the NBA because they are not good enough to compete at that

Hamlet And The Basic Human Need For Truth - 1478 Words

Hamlet and the Basic Human Need for Truth Marcus Aurelius is quoted as saying, â€Å"Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth.† This idea is examined in William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, a play full of warmly delivered lies and completely intentional deceit. Hamlet himself shows how a life full of lies and deceit breeds a desire for something real. In the beginning of the play, authenticity is introduced as a rare trait and the Ghost reveals treachery to Hamlet setting him on a path that leads to his demise. Hamlet’s actions are motivated by a search for something real and true in both his life and himself and in this search he comments on the nature of truth itself. Within Shakespeare’s Hamlet resides a strong theme of illusion and reality shown in the attention that is drawn to the seeming and being within the characters. The play itself is about acting because not only are actors required to act out the parts that are written, but also the characters themselves are acting. They put on a facade just as an actor assumes a role on the stage (Bloom 11). Rosencrantz and Guildenstern seem to be concerned friends. Instead, they are simply acting as such because they are charged by the king to find the origin of Hamlet’s peculiar behavior. Gertrude seems to be the dutiful queen that married Claudius for the benefit of the kingdom itself while she has simply failed to grieve her husband, dishonored his memory by marring so soon afterShow MoreRelatedHamlets Obsession with Death1120 Words   |  5 PagesDeath In Hamlet, William Shakespeare presents the main character Hamlet as a man who is fixated on death. Shakespeare uses this obsession to explore both Hamlets desire for revenge and his need for assurance. In the process, Shakespeare directs Hamlet to reflect on basic principles such as justice and truth by offering many examples of Hamlets compulsive behavior; as thoughts of death are never far from his mind. It is apparent that Hamlet is haunted by his fathers death. When Hamlet encountersRead MoreEssay on Hamlets Obsession with Death1065 Words   |  5 PagesDeath In Hamlet, William Shakespeare presents the main character Hamlet as a man who is fixated on death. Shakespeare uses this obsession to explore both Hamlets desire for revenge and his need for assurance. In the process, Shakespeare directs Hamlet to reflect on basic principles such as justice and truth by offering many examples of Hamlets compulsive behavior; as thoughts of death are never far from his mind. It is apparent that Hamlet is haunted by his fathers death. When Hamlet encountersRead MoreShakespeares Hamlet: compare and contrast Hamlet vs. Laertes1410 Words   |  6 Pagesuniqueness, style, and way of life. The audience witnesses this phenomenon in Shakespeares Hamlet. Lord Hamlet and Laertes experienced similar childhoods, and shared similar family attributes. They were both born into royalty and throughout their lives were treated as such. Hamlet and Laertes were reared with the same forms of schooling, and were taught to abide by the same ethics and morals. Although Haml et and Laertes seem to be twined with regard to family, royalty, and school, it is evidentRead MoreEssay about Etic vs. Emic Approaches in Anthropology1697 Words   |  7 Pagesvalued. Learning empathy/sympathy and valuing each other leads to more harmony. Harmony brings happiness. Happiness is the ultimate life goal. To achieve happiness we need to use both the etic and emic techniques. Etic-orientated studies succeed because it analyzes the culture being studied based on the basic needs of humans such as food, water, shelter, etc. This can give a reason to why a culture might be capitalist based or socialist based. It always has a reasonable well thought out explanationRead MoreWilliam Shakespeare s Hamlet - A Corrupt And Chaotic World2078 Words   |  9 PagesIn Shakespeare’s play Hamlet, a corrupt and chaotic world is illustrated through the through the portrayal of contrasting realms, the interior and exterior. Within in the play, Shakespeare illustrates the story of a Danish prince, Hamlet, whose uncle murders the Hamlet’s father, marries his mother, and claims the throne leading to Hamlet’s journey to avenge his father all coinciding with in the city of Elsinore. Simultaneously with Hamlet’s journey Shakespeare juxtaposes a seemingly healthy exteriorRead MoreRelationship Between Language And Culture1596 Words   |  7 Pagesby Bohannan, Laura and the episode of Star Trek â€Å"Darmok†. Culture refers to values, norms, and beliefs. Our culture is seen through the lens of how we experience the world and how we develop in. Thereby people use language to response to cultural needs. The Impact of language in culture was first proposed by an American linguist and anthropologist named Edward Sapir and his student Benjamin Whorf, who both wanted to understand how language influences its culture. Together they both came up with theRead More Importance of Thinking in Troilus and Criseyde and Hamlet Essay3509 Words   |  15 PagesImportance of Thinking in Troilus and Criseyde and Hamlet Troilus and Hamlet have much in common. Both have represented the quintessential tragic heroes of two literary periods. Both lovers, Troilus and Hamlet lose what they love despite their earth-shaking groans. Both are surrounded by traitors and are traitorous in kind. Both are embattled and--this is no secret--both die. But somewhere on that mortal coil on which they are both strung, they confront a similar question, a question whichRead MoreAnalysis of Hamlet Essay8190 Words   |  33 Pagesappearance are unanswered. Horatio, the scholar and the skeptic, comes to test the report given by the simple soldiers. The empirical proof that Horatio seeks is there; the ghost appears and it is seen to have a specific identity, that of the deceased King Hamlet. But the reason for his presence is not disclosed and the men on the platform, confronted by the upsetting mystery, have to guess in the dark, literally and metaphorically. Unable to offer an explanation, Horatio sees the apparition in conventionRead More A Freudian Reading of Hamlet and Titus Andronicus Essay2542 Words   |  11 PagesA Freudian Reading of Hamlet and Titus Andronicus  Ã‚     Ã‚   In 1900 the eminent Austrian psychologist Sigmund Freud produced a seminal work entitled The Interpretation of Dreams which contains the idea that dreams allow psychic exploration of the soul, that dreams contain psychological meanings which can be arrived at by interpretation. Freud states that â€Å"every dream will reveal itself as a psychological structure, full of significance, and one which may be assigned to a specific place in the psychicRead MoreThe Revenge Tragedy Of Hamlet Essay1976 Words   |  8 PagesIssara Butt Professor Abbott English 102 November 30, 2016 The Revenge Tragedy of Hamlet Revenge tragedies share some common characteristics of the play Hamlet which classify them in the group of many great stories such as The Spanish Tragedy, and King Lear. A vengeful ghost, a play within a play, and the main character who seeks revenge on an opponent and murdered (KAY). At some point in life many of us feel the need to seek revenge and never actually act upon it, but what if we did? What would be

North Face Free Essays

string(68) " papers after the financial statements and opinion has been issued\." Assignment 2: North Face Auditors are faced with the very difficult task of insuring the public, that in their opinion, the financial statements of their clients are accurate and free of any material misstatements. The problem is that materiality is a subjective figure. In the North Face case an immaterial revenue recognition entry ended up being material when compounded with additional misstatements. We will write a custom essay sample on North Face or any similar topic only for you Order Now North Face was the perpetrator of the intentional misstatements but they were concealed by the Deloitte audit advisor, Richard Fiedelman. Fiedelman allowed additional non-recognizable revenue to be posted and altered/replaced the original working papers that reported the original material misstatement. (Knapp, Rittenberg, Johnstone, Gramling, 2012) Several generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) and generally accepted auditing standards (GAAS) were violated (In the Matter of Richard Fiedelman, 2003) resulting in declining stock prices and Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) sanctions. SEC Sanctioned Richard Fiedelman The SEC requires the all registrant working papers be reviewed by a partner that is not assigned to the engagement. When the Deloitte concurring partner found the discrepancies and misstated revenue they investigated further leading to the review and the ultimate discovery of the altered working papers. North Face’s audit committee then retained a second accounting firm to investigate the accounting records which led to the SEC sanctioning Fiedelman. (Knapp, Rittenberg, Johnstone, Gramling, 2012) 1. The SEC sanctioned Richard Fiedelman for failing to document the changes that his subordinates had made in 1997 North Face work papers and for failing to exercise due professional care. Explain the SEC’s rational in making each of these allegations. The SEC found that Fiedelman violated GAAP by allowing recognition of profit margin on the second barter transition and violated GAAS 150, 230, 326, and 338. (In the Matter of Richard Fiedelman, 2003) Failing to Document Work Paper Changes Per the several GAAS violations the SEC was right to sanction Fiedelman for failing to document the changes made to North Face working papers. AU 338 (339A) directs auditors on the importance of working papers. Working papers are the â€Å"principal record of the work that the auditor has done and the conclusions that are reached concerning significant matters. † (Public Company Accounitng Oversight Board, 1982) The working papers help insure that the audit engagement has been properly planned and adequately supervised. It is also the record of the audit evidence and procedures applied to the audit. Fiedelman also violated Auditing Standard No. 3 which is very clear that any changes must be documented. â€Å"Circumstances may require additions to audit documentation after the report release date. Audit documentation must not be deleted or discarded after the documentation completion date, however, information may be added. Any documentation added must indicate the date the information was added, the name of the person who prepared the additional documentation, and the reason for adding it. † (Public Accounting Oversight Board, 2004-06) When Fiedelman revised the 1997 work papers without the proper documentation he violated Standard No. 3 justifying the SEC sanction. Failing to Exercise Due Professional Care Fiedelman violated AU 150 and AU 326, failing to execute due professional care. AU 150 states that â€Å"due professional care is to be exercised in the performance of the audit and the preparation of the report. † (Public Accounitng Oversight Board, 2001) AU 230 explains that due professional care is â€Å"employments where peculiar skill is requisite, if one offers his services, he is understood as holding himself out to the public as possessing the degree of skill commonly possessed by others in the same employment, and if his pretentions are unfounded, he commits a species of fraud upon every man who employs him in reliance on his public profession. † It does state however that no one is free of error. Due professional care does not intend work to be free of error but free of negligence. (Public Accouniting Oversighe Board, 1972) Fiedelman violated the due professional care standard when he allowed the misstatement and margin recognition to be posted. The misstatement was already noted but he himself should have been aware that the margin was not permitted and that the misstatement should have been corrected. It is also concerning that the increased sales from $90,000 to $3. 9 million was not investigated more thoroughly, again indicating Fiedelmans lack of due professional care. Fiedelman also violated AU 326 Evidential Matter. With the violations of so many auditing standards the SEC had no other choice but to sanction Fiedelman. (Knapp, Rittenberg, Johnstone, Gramling, 2012) If there is no punishment for altering working papers auditors would fear no repercussions and they would alter the papers whenever they wanted reducing the public’s assurance of financial statement accuracy SEC’s Punishment The SEC punished Fiedelman by suspending him from being involved with audits of SEC clients for three years. 2. Take a position on the severity of the SEC’s punishment of Richard Fiedelman of a three year suspension on being involved in the audits of SEC clients, support your position. The punishment was fair. The responsibility of an auditor is to insure financial statement users that they are free of any material misstatements. In this case Fiedelman made a conscious choice to allow North Face to post margin that should not have been realized, per GAAP. Fiedelman should not be allowed to practice with a public accounting firm until the SEC feels that he will not allow the same misstatements to happen again. In the Matter of Richard Fiedelman, 2003) In order to insure the public that the auditing profession is reliable this kind of punishment is necessary. Each case should be reviewed on an individual basis and if there is any question that the auditor will continue to allow misstatements they should be suspended from being involved with SEC clients. Modify Client Work Papers The PCAOB has very specific instructions that any additions or changes to audit documentation after the release date need to be documented. 3. Assuming that you are an audit manager in a public accounting firm. The engagement partner asks you to modify client work papers after the financial statements and opinion has been issued. You read "North Face" in category "Essay examples" Determine what you would do in this situation. Provide your rationale. If the partner is not asking me to hide the modification and the modification is necessary, per GAAP or audit principals, then I would make the modification. If the client partner is asking to have the papers modified without documentation, or the modification should not be done, I would not modify the work papers. Auditing standard No. 3 clearly states that any modification needs to be documented. Public Accounting Oversight Board, 2004-06) In the North Face case it does not indicate the personnel that altered the work papers were reprimanded, (Knapp, Rittenberg, Johnstone, Gramling, 2012) however as a manger if it is discovered that you altered work papers without documentation or necessity, even if there were no legal repercussions, it would hurt your reputation and ultimately affect your career. The decision analysis framework could be used in determining if it is necessary to notify another audit partner or the client audit committee about the request. I would not alter the papers but if no one is made aware of the advisor’s request they may get someone else to alter the work papers. In this case morality and ethics should be enough to prevent a manger from altering work papers, but it helps to have punishments in place to help deter unethical actions. Materiality Public accountants generally use qualitative analysis to determine the appropriate level of material misstatements. 4. Evaluate the practice of â€Å"materiality† used by public accounting firms and how accounting firms should address it with clients. Materiality is based on the assumption a reasonable investor would not be influenced in investment decisions by a fluctuation in net income less than or equal to 5%. This â€Å"5% rule† remains the fundamental basis for working materiality estimates. † (Vorhies, 2005) Since materiality is based on the fact that investors would not be influenced when immaterial misstatements are found, if the number s of immaterial misstatements are small they will not prevent an unqualified audit opinion. Large misstatements and a large number of small misstatements that could be considered one misstatement need to be corrected before an unqualified opinion can be issued. Since all misstatements are presented to management and the audit committee, how the misstatements need to be addressed should be discussed with them at that time on. If they refuse to make the corrections the auditor should refuse to issue an unqualified audit opinion. (Vorhies, 2005) It is important to remember that every misstatement needs to be analyzed for materiality. A small misstatement may not seem relevant but may be an indication of a larger aggregate or future misstatement. (Public Coumpany Accounting Oversight Board, 2010) North Face Management Auditors are not required to criticize key decisions made by their clients management team, that does not mean they should not use due professional care when analyzing management behavior. 5. North Face’s management teams were criticized for strategic blunders that they made over the course of the company’s history. Discuss whether auditors have a responsibility to assess the quality of the key decisions made by client executives. Defend your answer. When auditors are evaluating audit risks there are certain behaviors that should be analyzed. If management is refusing to cooperate, meet with, or puts unusual time constraints on the audit team it could indicate fraud. It is also important for the audit team to monitor management’s tolerance of violations of the company’s code of conduct, inconsistent accounting practices, or frequent changes to estimates for no reason. (Public Compaany Accouning Oversight Board, 2010) These can be key indications of management’s character and ethics. In the case of North Face since management established a goal to reach $1 billion in sales the audit team should have been more critical of the sales, revenue, and margin that were posted. The audit manager should have used due professional care when analyzing the fact that North Face was having a hard time mainstreaming their product yet implemented this lofty goal. If fraud was going to occur it would likely be in the revenue/sales area. The first auditor engagement partner did catch the material misstatement but had these other considerations been taken into account the misstatement may have been investigated further. Even though it is not the responsibility of auditors to assess the quality of key decisions, by doing so they can gain valuable insight into how management thinks. Conclusion When auditing firms find financial misstatements it is important that they understand the materiality and reason behind the misstatements. The good thing that came out of this case is that the system worked. When the concurring partner reviewed the audit work papers the misstatement and revision was detected. The SEC sanctioned those responsible and even though the investors were affected they should feel some certainty that the system worked. References In the Matter of Richard Fiedelman. (2003, October 1). Retrieved November 4, 2012, from U. S. Securities and Exchange Commission: http://www. sec. gov/litigation/admin/34-48578. htm Accounitng Standards Oversight Board. (1980, August). AU Section 326. Retrieved November 4, 2012, from PCAOB: http://pcaobus. org/Standards/Auditing/Pages/AU326. aspx Knapp, Rittenberg, Johnstone, Gramling. (2012). Contemporary Auditing. Mason : Cengage Learning. Public Accouniting Oversighe Board. (1972, November). AU Section 230A. Retrieved November 4, 2012, from PCAOB: http://pcaobus. rg/Standards/Auditing/Pages/AU230A. aspx Public Accounitng Oversight Board. (2001, December 15). AU Section 150. Retrieved November 4, 2012, from PCAOB: http://pcaobus. org/Standards/Auditing/Pages/AU150. aspx Public Accounting Oversight Board. (2004-06). Auditing Standard No. 3. Retrieved October 28, 2012, from PCOAB: http://pcaobus. org/Standards/Auditing/Pages/Auditing_Standard_3. aspx#retentionandsubsequen tchanges Public Compaany Accouning Oversight Board. (2010, December 15). Auditing Standard No. 14. Retrieved November 4, 2012, from PCAPB: http://pcaobus. org/Standards/Auditing/Pages/Auditing_Standard_14. spx Public Company Accounitng Oversight Board. (1982, April 1). AU Section 339A. Retrieved November 4, 2012, from PCOAB: http://pcaobus. org/Standards/Auditing/Pages/AU339A. aspx Public Coumpany Accounting Oversight Board. (2010, December 15). Aditing Standard No. 11. Retrieved Novembe 4, 2012, from PCAOB: http://pcaobus. org/Standards/Auditing/Pages/Auditing_Standard_11. aspx Vorhies, J. B. (2005, May). The New Importance of Materiality . Retrieved November 4, 2012, from Journal of Accountancey: http://www. journalofaccountancy. com/Issues/2005/May/TheNewImportanceOfMateriality. htm How to cite North Face, Essay examples

Change Management Process And Strategies †MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Change Management Process And Strategies. Answer: Introduction From the business context, thechange management process is the restructuring of the organization along with redefining the utilization of resources, allocating budget and making changes to the various operations to maintain flexibility and efficiency. The topic will illustrate how an effective framework is developed to create effects on the business processes and at the same time, ensure successful changes in the structure and culture of the organization with ease. The systematic approach toorganizational change management will make people adjust to changes and learn new skills, behaviors and knowledge and set expectations too (Hayes 2014). This will be effective for improving the communication and make sure to reduce the misinterpretation of information, furthermore remain committed to the changes without facing any issues associated with it. Change management strategies There are various organizationalchange management strategies implemented within the organizations to create good working conditions and even provide flexible benefits for the employees to perform to their potential. One of the majorchange management strategies could be agreeing to the common vision for implementing changes while a weak leader within an organization should be replaced with a person possessing string executive leadership. This would make them communicate the changes within the organization to the employees as well as make them understand the vision for implementing changes. It would also be important for the organizations to educate the employees and make them knowledgeable about the everyday activities responsible for changes and furthermore develop a concrete plan to determine the success or failure of the change process (Doppelt 2017). Through changes, the employees should be assigned with new roles and responsibilities, which could be facilitated by providing monet ary, non-monetary and social rewards to them. By implementing change management, it would be convenient for assessing and managing the risks at various levels and develop mitigation strategies based on those (Shirey 2013). Kotters change management model One of the most effective theories or models for implementing changes within the organizations could be the Kotters change management model. Eight steps are followed to implement changes within the organizations and develop a competitive workforce. The first step is to create a sense of urgency to make the individuals working at the organizations informed about what kinds of changes can be done and how to do it. This would also make the employees understand how they could be benefited, furthermore communicate with each other to form an effective team (Cameron and Green 2015). The second step is to form a team competent enough to manage the changes, furthermore obtain relevant skills, knowledge and expertise for organizing the structure of the team properly, and assign the roles and responsibilities to the employees accurately. It is important to create a vision during the change while the next step would be communicate the vision across the organization and influence people to discuss about the changes that should be implemented (Goetsch and Davis 2014). The fifth step would be to remove or overcome the obstacles and support the staffs to become resistant to changes, which could improve the team morale and performances of the employees. It to necessary to keep momentum to progress and full the requirements of the various stakeholders, furthermore allow the change to become mature with time and identify the gaps as well. Lastly, the changes should be integrated into the daily lives and working activities of the employees, which would improve the monitoring mechanisms and create a good culture where people could work in coordination and as a unit (Ashkenas 2013). Effectiveness of change management within the organization According to Van der Voet (2014), there are various benefits associated with the implementation of change management strategies and process on the public organizations, both in terms of leadership and organizational structure. The leadership could be transformational leadership and bureaucratic structure of the organization, both had been impacted due to the change management process (Van der Voet 2014). The willingness of the employees to change is associated with the planned and new change approaches while the transformational leadership style could make the companies adjust with the planned changes implemented. The transformational leadership could even create a positive impact on the change management process and allow the company to adapt to changes while the bureaucratic organizational structure could also sometimes limit the effects of transformation leadership (Hechanova and Cementina-Olpoc 2013). The implementation of change management process could also help in making the organizational adaptable to emergent and planned changes as well as create a good organizational structure and culture. According to Van der Voet (2014), the transformational leadership is influenced by the change management approach implemented and on the structure of the organization. It allows to supervise the employees and at the same time, manages planned process for change according to the change in non-bureaucratic context. Based on the responses provided by Van der Voet (2014), the leadership role of the transformational leaders could also enable changes and make the employees work together, in coordination to facilitate teamwork and accomplishment of goals and objectives within quick time and with much convenience (Van der Voet 2014). Once a change is implemented, it is important for the leader to make the employees informed about the changes and ensure successful business functioning. The transfor mational leadership should be useful for creating a future and a vision that is inspiring and at the same time allow the employees to know how to accomplish the objectives of the organization through proper change management (Cummings, Bridgman and Brown 2016). Impact of leadership in managing organizational change The transformational leaders possess a good charisma level and manage visionary leadership, because of which, the fundamental changes within the organizations are influenced and this helps in transforming the entire organization with ease and effectiveness. It is done by setting by setting a clear vision, managing social architects and developing a sense of trust and loyalty through creative deployment of own self. This would not only help in analyzing the processes and interaction, but would also empower the change agents to bring changes and improvements within the organization much more rapidly. According to Belias and Koustelios (2014), the leadership aspects have created an impact on both the change management and also on the culture of the organization. In case the organizations do not have a proper culture, improvements must be done through implementation of changes in the organizational culture to focus on transforming the entire business and improving the relationship status between the organizational members (Belias and Koustelios 2014). This would promote communication and coordination between the employees as well as manage transformation from a cultural point of view to ensure long term commitment. Belias and Koustelios (2014) stated that the transformational leadership could divide the change management process into the various areas of change to focus on specific features for the development of high quality relationships, improve the processes efficiency and maintain proper values and ethics too (Belias and Koustelios 2014). Transformational leadership could play a major role in influencing the business performance by making the employees informed about the goals and objectives, furthermore implementing new changes for rapid expansion of business along with gaining of abilities to respond to changes too. Thus, it could be stated that the transformational leadership played a major role in managing changes within the organization (Agrawal et al. 20 13). Models and theories for change management Lewins change management model The Lewins change management model could be used as it would ease down the approaches of managing changes within the organization and at the same time categorize the change process into three different stages including the unfreeze, making changes and lastly refreeze. The unfreeze stage would allow the company to understand the necessity of making changes and them unfreeze the present processes to estimate the results and how it could be achieved. The various steps along with human interaction should be analysed and it could overcome the mistakes and errors experienced in between (Verhulst and Lambrechts 2015). By unfreezing, the company would be able to perceive the upcoming changes and provide natural resistance, furthermore prepare the staffs to manage the changes and new components properly. As soon as everyone would be prepared for deploying the changes, they should be adapted to it. To facilitate changes, communication, support, acquisition of knowledge and skills are necessary for addressing the issue and adapt the new approaches. Meeting with the managers could improve the knowledge base as well as guide all throughout the process during change management. The refreeze stage would allow for measuring the effectiveness of changes and obtain constant reviews and feedbacks to ensure that the new methods are in progress (Lozano, Ceulemans and Seatter 2015). McKinsey 7S model Another most effective model for the change management process could be the McKinsey 7S model, which would analyze the effectiveness of changes managed within the company as well as highlight the changes to develop unison of approaches. The model considers the changes in strategy, organizational structure, systems, shared values, beliefs, skills and human resources. By implementing this model, the business organizations would be able to focus on the purpose and skills to be achieved for gaining competitive advantage (Della Torre and Solari 2013). This would also enable the company to become flexible and adapt to changes without creating hindrance during the progress. To maintain a proper organizational structure could help in determining the efficiency of changes in the organizational structure. This model would help in assessing the business systems through the inclusion of various business operations and processes and furthermore check whether any upgrading or new technology implem entation should be required or not (Paulsen et al. 2013). Though culture is not directly related to the management of changes, still the maintenance of a positive working culture could act as a powerful tool to link the values and culture to the changes implemented (Kash et al. 2014). It could improve the workforce efficiency and make people adapt to changes with ease and effectiveness. The staffs with relevant skills should be recruited and to implement further changes, filling the respective positions within the organizations should be done along with training and developmental programs provided to them. It could improve their level of skills, knowledge and expertise and make them adapt to the changes easily. Thus, it could be stated that the 7S model would identify the weaknesses and determine the areas where deployment of changes should be done. This would create a perfect business plan and enhance the ability of the organizations to remain flexible enough to the change management processes (Jansson 2013). Recommendations It is recommended to select the most appropriate agents at the beginning of the change management process for strengthening the communication and improving the problem solving skills. It is important to communicate the change management approaches to the staffs at various levels and ensure that the tea members work as a unit. Proper amount of time should be provided along with flexible time scheduling for making the right changes on time and implement incremental changes to make the organization function properly under pressure Recruitment of skilled and knowledgeable workers is recommended for integrating the changes and measuring progress all throughout. Employees should be informed about the changes in structure and culture and the leaders must motivate and encourage them to facilitate changes. Conclusion The report was prepared to discuss about the various aspects of change management process and how it created a positive impact on the organization through changes in structure, culture, strategy and business processes. Few of the major change management models used here were Kotters change management model, Lewins change management model and the McKinsey 7S model. All these theories and models were effective enough to make the organization flexible and adaptable to changes, furthermore could assist the organization to achieving the change management outcomes with ease and effectiveness. The transformation leadership style was managed according to situations, values, beliefs and assumptions made; rather it would allow the organization to focus on preventing failures and replicating business to create a number of choices, develop predictable situations for invention and creation of a better future. References Agrawal, H., Bassu, D., Jain, A. and Zbib, R., Tti Inventions C Llc, 2013.Methods and apparatus for implementing model-based software solution development and integrated change management. U.S. Patent 8,392,873. Ashkenas, R., 2013. Change management needs to change.Harvard Business Review,16(April). Belias, D. and Koustelios, A., 2014. The impact of leadership and change management strategy on organizational culture.European Scientific Journal, ESJ,10(7). Cameron, E. and Green, M., 2015.Making sense of change management: A complete guide to the models, tools and techniques of organizational change. Kogan Page Publishers. Cummings, S., Bridgman, T. and Brown, K.G., 2016. Unfreezing change as three steps: Rethinking Kurt Lewins legacy for change management.human relations,69(1), pp.33-60. Della Torre, E. and Solari, L., 2013. High-performance work systems and the change management process in medium-sized firms.The International Journal of Human Resource Management,24(13), pp.2583-2607. Doppelt, B., 2017.Leading change toward sustainability: A change-management guide for business, government and civil society. Routledge. Goetsch, D.L. and Davis, S.B., 2014.Quality management for organizational excellence. Upper Saddle River, NJ: pearson. Hayes, J., 2014.The theory and practice of change management. Palgrave Macmillan. Hechanova, R.M. and Cementina-Olpoc, R., 2013. Transformational leadership, change management, and commitment to change: A comparison of academic and business organizations.The Asia-Pacific Education Researcher,22(1), pp.11-19. Jansson, N., 2013. Organizational change as practice: a critical analysis.Journal of Organizational Change Management,26(6), pp.1003-1019. Kash, B.A., Spaulding, A., Johnson, C.E. and Gamm, L., 2014. Success factors for strategic change initiatives: A qualitative study of healthcare administrators' perspectives.Journal of Healthcare Management,59(1), pp.65-81. Lozano, R., Ceulemans, K. and Seatter, C.S., 2015. Teaching organisational change management for sustainability: designing and delivering a course at the University of Leeds to better prepare future sustainability change agents.Journal of Cleaner Production,106, pp.205-215. Paulsen, N., Callan, V.J., Ayoko, O. and Saunders, D., 2013. Transformational leadership and innovation in an RD organization experiencing major change.Journal of Organizational Change Management,26(3), pp.595-610. Shirey, M.R., 2013. Lewins theory of planned change as a strategic resource.Journal of Nursing Administration,43(2), pp.69-72. Van der Voet, J., 2014. The effectiveness and specificity of change management in a public organization: Transformational leadership and a bureaucratic organizational structure.European Management Journal,32(3), pp.373-382. Verhulst, E. and Lambrechts, W., 2015. Fostering the incorporation of sustainable development in higher education. Lessons learned from a change management perspective.Journal of Cleaner Production,106, pp.189-204.

The Natural Resource Curse

The natural resource curse affects countries with abundant natural resources. Studies done to investigate this phenomenon reveal several paradoxical issues relating the presence of natural resources in a country.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Natural Resource Curse specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More For instance, countries that rely on natural resources for budgetary financing seem to have an inverse economic growth in relation to the percentage of the national budget financed using natural wealth. This paper looks at the issue of the natural resource curse with a view of uncovering why some countries suffer from it, while others do not. Natural resources refer to endowments in mineral wealth, or naturally occurring plant and animal life. Mineral wealth in this case refers to mined substances such as precious metals, gemstones, or oil wealth. Some of these resources occur near the surface of the earth. In thi s case, the resource may not require mining in the conventional sense. Timber is one of the most valuable natural resources extracted from naturally occurring forests. The worldwide demand for timber is growing mainly because of increasing control and restriction on logging by authorities concerned with the conservation of nature. To a certain extent, the presence of animals such as elephants and rhinos makes a country vulnerable to natural resource issues related to the ivory trade. However, the significance of animal related natural wealth is reducing because of greater enforcement of animal protection legislation. The natural resource curse refers to the paradoxical situation where countries endowed with natural resources tend to suffer from poor economic growth, war, and poverty, more than countries not endowed with these resources. This is counter intuitive because the presence of natural resources should mean the availability of finances to bankroll development projects in a c ountry. However, many countries that have vast amounts of natural resources tend to suffer from slow economic growth, resource wars, and disproportionate levels of corruption. Scholars present various reasons for this situation that range from corruption, to weak governance.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Why Some Countries Suffer From the Natural Resource Curse There are many reasons why many countries suffer from the natural resource curse. This section examines the role of corruption, resource dependence, weak central governments, and the international business environment surrounding trade in natural resources. The nature of natural wealth is such that it is difficult to track the exact quantities produced and then delivered to markets. In addition, after the sale of the resources, it is difficult to track with accuracy the exact amount of money that eventually ends up in projects that are for the benefit of the country. Many times, governments do not control the actual mining or extraction operations of the natural resources in their territory. For instance, oil companies such as BP control mining operations in many territories around the world. This means that the governments cannot know with complete accuracy whether the quantities of oil mined by oil companies are the actual ones. It is also possible for a minister in charge of mining to collude with the company to defraud the country. Since the government trusts the minister to control and report on the operations of the company, the country ends up losing revenue. On the other end, after the mining companies extract and sell minerals in the international market, the money may not reach development projects in the country because of corruption within government. The second cause of the oil curse is resource dependence of countries endowed with natural resources. This especially affects oil-pr oducing nations. A good example is Nigeria where the country relies on oil and gas exports to fund more than eighty percent of its recurrent expenses. This overreliance on mineral wealth makes it difficult for the government to develop a sustainable tax base. Studies show that countries that do not have an effective tax net also tend to lack the capacity to address social issues in the country. Nigeria’s reliance on its oil wealth is part of the causative factors of the social challenges espoused by the conflict in the Niger Delta. In addition, Nigeria is in no position to challenge the activities of oil companies when they fail to meet environmental stipulations simply because the government relies on these companies to generate its operating revenues.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Natural Resource Curse specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More This situation, compared to the America for instance is appall ing. America took strong action against BP after the Deep Water horizon oil spill. America does not rely on oil in the same terms as Nigeria. Therefore, it had the liberty to enforce its laws after the spill. Thirdly, weak governments amplify the negative effects of the resource curse. A weak government does not have the capacity to address the social ills in the country. This usually comes from ineffective planning, or inconsistent implementation. Any government that cannot guarantee the territorial integrity of the country, or does not have the power to manage social order, is weak. Countries with mineral wealth also tend to have rebel groups seeking to control mineral rich areas. For instance, rebellion in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) takes place around mineral centers. No government in the DRC has gained control over the entire territory of the country. The fact that natural resources tend to occur in one region makes the resource rich areas easy targets of armed group s since they are easy to seize and control. Finally, the resource curse is a product of tilted international trading terms. For instance, OECD countries encourage the importation of raw material such as crude oil, but it discourages the importation of processed products. Importing processed products to the OECD is difficult because of a raft of tariff and non-tariff barriers. The net effect is that any country that wants to sell its natural resources to the OECD countries cannot establish a strong local manufacturing sector. The result is that the country remains dependent on the export of natural resources, while it imports equipment and finished products from its natural resource export destinations. How Countries Avoid the Natural Resource Curse Despite the strong indication that natural resources tend to bring more problems for some countries that solutions, there are examples of countries that seem to have avoided the curse. In this section, we look at three factors that contri bute to avoiding the natural resource curse. These factors are the presence of a strong central government, diversified economies, and diversified markets. Saudi Arabia is one of the largest oil producers in the world. Oil accounts for about fifty percent of its national budget, and is responsible for about ninety percent of its export revenues. As such, Saudi Arabia should be suffering from the oil curse. This is not the case. The country has one of the most stable governments in the Middle East.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More It did not suffer during the Arab spring and it does not have any formidable rebel groups operating within its territory. Its only exposure is from terrorists who loath the presence of American bases in the country. This is an ideological issue, rather than a resource one. The case of Saudi Arabia shows that a strong central government can avert the resource curse. The ability of the government to maintain territorial integrity is a key part of the process of avoiding the natural resource curse. It is also instructive to note that Saudi Arabia is not a western democracy. Rather it is a monarchy. Its laws are some of the harshest in the world especially in regards to issues of social harmony. The point here is that avoiding the resource curse is not a question of the type of government in place. Rather it is a factor of how strong the government is in the management of the country. The second way in which countries can avert the natural resource curse is by diversifying their economi es. A good case in point is Dubai, which is part of the UAE. Dubai struck oil in the mid twentieth century. The rulers of the city-state soon recognized that while the oil wealth was a great resource for the country, reliance on oil was not sustainable. This led to the development of economic plans that sought to transfer the oil wealth to other sectors of the economy. The goal of this move was to diversify the economic base of the country. The result of this is that Dubai is now an international trade hub, known more for its free port that for its oil. Oil is still an important part of the economic mix of the country, but even if the oil sector collapsed, the country will still be operational. Apart from its famous free port, Dubai is becoming a financial capital, a tourism hub, and a transport hub. Emirates Airlines, which is currently one of the largest airlines in the world operates from the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Apart from the diversification of the economic base of the c ountry, the UAE makes efforts to maintain social stability by ensuring all the citizens have access to quality education and healthcare. The third pillar in the effort to avoid the natural resource curse is diversifying the markets for the primary natural wealth. Diversifying the market for a country’s natural wealth makes it possible for the country to develop other sectors of the economy, and to control the prices of the natural wealth. Instead of relying on exports to regions with many tariff and non-tariff barriers, it is better to develop new markets for finished products to create jobs locally. Kenya exports processed oil to its neighbors after importing crude from the Middle East. If Kenya had its own oil, then it would have the full benefits of oil extraction. In conclusion, the natural resource curse is not impossible to deal with. However, it takes strong leadership on the part of the country endowed with natural wealth to deal with the associated issues. In this se nse, the natural resource curse is really the product of bad leadership in the midst of abundance. Works Cited Bannon, Ian and Paul Collier. â€Å"Natural Resources and Conflict: What We Can Do.† Bannon, Ian and Paul Collier. Natural Resources and Violent Conflict: Options and Actions. Washington DC: The World Bank, 2003. 1-16. Print. Chapin, Rosemary. Social Policy for Effective Practice: A Strengths Approach. New York: Francis Taylor, 2010. Print. Deloitte. 2011 Survey of the UAE Healthcare Sector Opportunities and Challenges for Private Providers. Survey Report. London: Deloitte, 2011. Print. Mwanika, Phillip Arthur Njuguna. â€Å"Natural Resources Conflict.† ISS Paper 216 September 2010: 1-12. Print. Ross, Michaeal. â€Å"The Natural Resource Curse: How Wealth Can Make You Poor.† Bannon, Ian and Paul Collier. Natural Resources and Violent Conflicts: Options and Actions. Washington DC: World Bank, 2003. 17-42. Print. Schnurr, Matthew A and Larry A Swatuk. Na tural Resources and Social Conflict: Towards Critical Environmental Security. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2012. Print. This essay on The Natural Resource Curse was written and submitted by user Brooklynn K. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Free sample - Problems Related to Bullying of Students. translation missing

Problems Related to Bullying of Students. Problems Related to Bullying of StudentsBullying of Students in Schools and Suggested Solutions Bullying of students in schools has both long ranging emotional and physical problems to both the students being bullied and the bully. The emotional problems that the bullied children encounter are quite enormous (Olweus, 1994, p.23). Some of these problems are lack of self esteem for the student since if the form of this bullying involves teasing; abuses or even physical beating they weigh down the emotions of the child leaving them feeling unworthy to live. Stress is eminent in children being bullied in school and this will always cause the child mental problems in the future if not mitigated in time to allow the child to live a normal life (Craig ,1998, p.13). The issue of stress will generate a further problem in the child where you are likely to witness diminishing academic performance. Bullying can also lead to lack of social confidence. This occurs mainly because the child will feel they lack in their social standing and that is why they are constantly bullied by their peers. They also feel that they are being silenced and that way they may not have the confidence to even face those in authority and explain what is happening to them. This fact aggravates the situation because this will give their bullies the confidence to perpetrate this vice further. Behavioral change occurs in students who constantly get bullied. this may manifest itself in all manners ranging from withdrawal symptoms, unhappiness, poor appetite, complaining of being always 'sick' so as to avoid going to school even in situations where the student had been very enthusiastic about it daily, and avoidance of using certain routes which the student used routinely (Craig ,1998, p.16). These issues will always affect the students’ ability to live a free life due to the fear of being attacked by their bullies. Being frightened is also a problem associated with bullying in schools. Students who are constantly bullied are always frightened and this will hamper the students' ability to socialize freely with the people around them. The underlying problems generally associated with bullying not only affect the bullied students but also affects the bully themselves. These behaviors may culminate in poor academic performances on these bullies since once they do it they may have a sense of satisfaction thus leading poor concentration on studies. Some of them do it to get noticed by their peers and this also gives them a sense of pride despite poor grades in school (Salmivalli, Lagerspetz Bjà ¶rkqvist, 1996, p.7). Students who bully their fellow students may carry this behavior to their adulthood leading to poor social interrelations which may impede their pursuit of fine jobs since they do not fit well at work place. These behaviors may also lead to poor relationships in adulthood and affect their ability to establish family relations and even raise one (Whitney Smith, 1993, p.11). Students who get bullied are also affected physically. The physical attack on a student will leave the student with bodily harm which may be bruises or even serious injuries such as fractures in severe cases or deep cuts to the body. Severe bullying may also leave the students’ health deteriorating day by day. This may manifest itself in form of serious body weight loss. Students who have severe stress as a result of bullying may experience loss of appetite and lead to serious health problems such malnutrition, lack essential vitamins (Whitney Smith, 1993, p.11). Poor health may lead to poor brain development depending on the age of the student and in the long run lead to poor academic performances. Early childhood development being a crucial stage in life ought to be handled carefully so as to give the child a great future (Kaltiala-Heino, Rimpel Rantanen, 2000, p.6). When the above problems are noticed in school going children, it is imperative for parents and guardians to take the first step to establish what is bothering their children (Smith, 1999, p.5). This is because knowing and understanding the causes of their children's problems will give them the next cause of action towards eliminating the causes and helping their children to heal. Firstly, talk to your children and encourage them to talk freely about what they are going through, assuring them that whatever they are going through can be solved if they reveal all the details of their problems (O’Connell Pepler, 1999, p.18). It is important that you clearly tell the child all that you have noticed them in terms of behavioral change and also assure them that whatever they are undergoing is not their own fault and therefore revealing information will lead to solving all the problems they are undergoing. As a parent or guardian it is important to get to the bottom of the matter by gathering all related information from the child. This should include who has been bulling your child, when and where this occurred and maybe what may have triggered this to happen (O’Connell Pepler, 1999, p.18). Once these details are obtained from the child it gives the parent clear guidelines on how to approach the whole situation Parents are advised to encourage children to report the matter or any form of bullying to the school authorities whenever they occur, giving all the details of the vice to the best knowledge of their child (Olweus, 1991, p.12). In cases where the child is too frightened to speak about the same .parents are advised to take up the matter firmly and go to the school authorities and give the all the details as obtained from their child. By doing so, the authorities will find the matter more serious and give it immediate attention (Olweus, 1994, p.8). Schools are also advised to partner with the government so as to formulate policies of addressing cases of bullying in learning institutions for this will set up a framework within which schools will generate policies in line with the set legal framework.

Hinduism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Hinduism - Essay Example This can be seen by their varying ideas and explanations of the world, as well as the distinct differences in their beliefs and religion systems. Hinduism is a complex, ancient religion. It is unique because it has no known founder, as with the other religions. Hinduism cannon was put together over the years and mixed with other traditions and lore, until it finally was written down in the Vedas. It is the world's oldest religion, and also the worlds third largest, falling in place behind Christianity and Islam (Hin). Often, Hinduism is confused and labeled as a polytheistic religion, when it is not as simple as that. The writings teach that there is one main deity, Brahman, who can from time to time appear to humans in many different forms and shapes. The Brahman is the supreme deity in the Hinduism religion, however it offers an interesting shape and role to the kind of divine and divinity most religions offer. The God of Hinduism is referred to as Brahman when it is referred to as the all encompassing supreme power of the world. It is one and part of the world, and is part of everything and everyone within its creation. "Brahman is often described succinctly as sacchidananda, meaning 'Truth-Consciousness-Bliss', not only possessing the qualities but also being their very essence."( Hin) showing that inside the religion of Hinduism, the Brahman is everything and anything, and is the supreme force and energy of the world. There are many different interpretations and understandings of Brahman. One such belief states that "ultimately Brahman (the impersonal God) is beyond mere intellectual description and can be understood only through direct spiritual experience, where the 'knower' and the 'known' are subsumed into the act of 'knowing'. The goal is to "wake up" and realize that one's atman, or soul, is really identical to Brahman, the uber-soul(Hin). This helps explain the idea that the Brahman unites all people, and is part of everything and the entirety of the world around us. Several different areas of thought have ideas that contradict this school of thought, and may believe that the Brahman actually has being and personality, and may associate the Brahman with one of the lesser gods of the religion, such as Vishnu, Shiva, or Shakti. All of these different interpretations of the Hindu understanding all come from its ancient history, different readings of the sacred texts, as well as different and modern interpretations of faith. There is also another understanding of the Hindu divine, this being the idea of Isharva, of a more personal idea and personality of the God figure. This is the idea of God as a supreme being, and not an overwhelming force and eternal power such as tied into the Brahman ideology. Some sects of Hinduism do not believe in this idea at all, and some of them believe in it in different forms and facets of belief. Also included in the Hindu belief system is the idea of devas, or demi-gods. It is not uncommon for a Hindu worshipper to pick one of these gods as their personal god, and this god may be passed down as part of family life, traditions, or culture. These personal demi-gods are very unique to the Hinduism religion, and a integral part of their culture, artwork, and history (Hin). Hindus also have varying thoughts and beliefs on the connection between the human and divine. The Atman is the Hindu word for "soul" or "self", and is associated with Hindu

Contemporary Theories of Political Economy Essay

Contemporary Theories of Political Economy - Essay Example The Second World War had a great impact on almost all the world economies as it led to greater spending and a need for more and more arms and ammunition. All of this led to the building of more and more industries, which made countries around the world tap and realise their industrial potential. The 1950s and 60s were a time when most economies began to understand the true power that they possessed in terms of both physical as well as mineral resources. This World War was termed as the age of anxiety – when people were running helter-skelter for their lives and wishing for their sons, husbands, and fathers to return from the war scene, as well as families growing and prospering in terms of consumer spending because of the incessant revelation of the need and desire for more and more things. Prior to the war, the country had thus been witnessing a boom in the economic sphere; this was because of the introduction of machines, tools and all kinds of equipments which were helping the primary, secondary as well as the tertiary sector of the economy to grow and develop. A number of changes were being brought into the economy as more and more women began working which helped labour and knowledge go hand in hand and get nurtured. Scientists began finding ways to implement their thoughts in terms of inventions and discoveries and with the help of machines, everything had become possible and people were beginning to realise that it was possible to achieve the American dream by just having access to some purchasing power and being able to spend money. However, it is only natural that every economic demand and supply structure can never remain a constant because the needs and wants of the people or the consumers change with time. Thus, the American economy too, began to witness a decline in the profits around the year 1968. Post the Second World War, profits related to industrialization began to see a close not only in America, but also in various parts of the world , because of the impact that the American economy had had on the various world economies. Various steps were taken in order to help the economy boost and find constancy in its establishment. For example, President Roosevelt’s ‘New Deal’ program helped to establish Keynesian economics within the American economy and stabilise it with respect to understand demand and supply of the consumers. However, since profits from industries and firms kept on decreasing, something had to be done in order to make changes and not let the economy decline to an extent that it would fall into a depression and not be able to recover from the depths of the same. In the year 1972 the then President, Richard Nixon, even took the dramatic step of pulling the American dollar off the Gold Standard; this was considered to be a very pragmatic step taken in order to move towards a fiat currency system which had been started in the 1910s. Back in the year 1933, President Roosev

Concept of courage Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Concept of courage - Essay Example Fear is a prerequisite for courage. Fear is the consequence of an insight of vulnerability, which is recognized by the accurate or inaccurate assessment or estimation of a threat as outweighing the individual resources. The only validated scale used to calculate courage was of late produced by Schmidt and Koselka in a cognitive therapy research. The Courage measuring Scale used in this study was constructed 7-item scale. The first three items used were to assess the broad-spectrum of courage, while the last four items assessing panic-specific courage. The scales do not illustrate the number of situational domains, and the third item on the three-item scale questions participants if they are fearless. Despite the fear being said to be a precondition for courage, it is rated to be in a positive direction as other items that result in two high scores. One indicating courage and the other indicating a general absence of fear. Many analysis and correlations were used to see the sights of the relationships among courage, toughness, and physical illness. Hardiness or toughness was not found to be a considerable analyst of physical illness for the participants’ Hardiness was found to be a weak predictor of physical illness for men. There are no other variables in this study that were found to be an important predictor of physical illness, and the variations of the courage scores did not enhance the relationship between hardiness and physical illness when variance accounted for by gender was controlled.

People With Dementia In Hong Kong Social Work Essay

People With Dementia In Hong Kong Social Work Essay Nowadays, day care, or nursing home is one of centers of providing stimulation to participants with dementia and scheduling relief to caregivers. However, day care did little to resolve continuing care issues that resume upon the individual returning home while it provided tremendous relief during the hours of service. So, family caregivers still provide extraordinary, uncompensated care, predominantly in the home setting (Lavretsky et al., 2010).   Unfortunately, caregivers are often placed at great risk for negative outcomes that also compromise the well-being of the patients with dementia and heighten their risk for placement in institutional settings. As a result, caregiver needs are overlooked in most clinical and service settings, which may exacerbate the issue of care of people with dementia. Challenges of family caregivers 1. Biological perspectives Caregivers of people with dementia must manage their loved-ones activities of daily living, such as dressing, toileting, and eating. Physically, caregivers are faced with demands involving assistance with daily activities and increased daytime dysfunction compared to non-caregiving controls (McKibbin et al., 2005). Besides, sleep disturbances have deleterious effects on family caregivers health, which is also documented as being predictive of heightened risks, including cardiovascular disease (Rose et al., 2008). At the same time, fatigue may contribute to the depletion of caregivers decision to institutionalize their demented spouse (Vitaliano et al., 2003). 2. Psychological perspectives The stress of caregiving in dementia has been highlighted in numerous studies, often described as an on-going stress process (Schulz Martire, 2004). At the beginning, loved one has been diagnosed with dementia, leaving many with a sense of dread, uncertainty, fear, and shame (Gorina et al., 2006). Moreover, in one study, caregivers expressed their concerns about a lack of knowledge on the cause of illness, on the treatments available for their relative, and on the types of services available and how to access those services (Wong et al., 2003). In addition, they feel frustration when having difficulty managing drug compliance and medical follow-ups, positive symptoms, such as bizarre behaviors, excessive and uncontrollable emotions, and negative symptoms of their relatives with mental illness, such as idling at home and lying in bed all the time (Wong, 2000). Later, grief might occur in response to loss of personal freedom, worry about the future, changes in roles and role conflict, and disruptions in functioning (Holly Mast, 2009). Compared with Western culture, the sense of familial responsibility among Chinese caregivers in Hong Kong exacerbates the stress of caregiving in dementia (Wong, 2000). Social perspectives Social costs are being borne by caregivers with relatives suffering from chronic mental illness (Lowder et al., 2005). Many studies have found that family members, particularly the caregivers, experience an increase in family conflicts, limited friendship and social life, financial difficulty, change in daily routines (Wong et al., 2002; Schulz Martire, 2004; Wong, 2006).Moreover, Hong Kong caregivers scored significantly higher in social costs than the Australian caregivers (Wong et al., 2002). Considering the challenges of family caregivers above, the purpose of this article is to explore the potentiality of supporting to caregivers of people with dementia in Hong Kong, in consideration of the well-being of the patients, especially of themselves. Current situation in Hong Kong Services provided in Hong Kong In Hong Kong the service provided for caregivers of dementia people is holistic. Social Welfare Department has hotline services as well as family services centers to offer counseling, support, and referral services to carers. And the carers support cernter in it and in Caritas Hong Kong also provide support services for those who need to take care of the elderly at home. Scope of service in such kind of centers are mianly skill-training and educational programs, self-help and mutual support groups, resouce corner, couseling and referral services, information giving, demonstration of rehabilitation-aid equipment and social recreational activities (GovHK, 2006). Although there are holistic intervention programs for the caregiver of dementia person in Hong Kong, we find that those programs maily focus on how to better care for the dementia people. After analyzing the challenges faced by family caregivers above, it is necessary to put emphasis on the carers as well. Secondly, prevention programs or services for carers of people with dementia which is diagnosed at the first stage are mentioned little. However, the prevention is important for carers as they may know the difficulties early and have the psychological preparation for all the possible challenges in order to provide better service for patients or supportive strength for themselves. Thirdly, the majority of intervention programs aim at primary caregivers. Nevertheless, according to the systemic family perspective (Yan, 2003), family is ecological. Although the primary caregiver is responsible for the daily care of the dementia elder, all family members will experience stresses. In ord er to establish a new equilibrium of family dynamics, roles and relationships, power and boundary restructuring are needed to be adjusted to the changing situation. Therefore, family as a system to be considered when an intervention plan is adopted is necessary and helpful to maintain a harmony and consolidate environment. 2. Policies supported Prior to World War 2, no community-based psychiatric service was available for people with mental illness in Hong Kong. These individuals were put into asylums run by charitable organizations, such as Tung Wah services (Yip, 1998). During 1960s and 1970s, very few community-based facilities, such as half-way houses and sheltered workshops for mentally ill persons were established (Wong, 2006). In 1982, the incident that an acutely psychotic person went into kindergarten, injured, and even killed a number of children created a scare in the community. As a consequence, the Hong Kong government took more responsibility in financing social and vocational rehabilitation services. In the early 1990s, psychiatric inpatient and community rehabilitation services have undergone many changes (Wong, 2006). However, there are several limitation of the mental health care system and policies. First of all is lack of direction and coordination of service. Whereas various political, social, and cultural conditions may have shaped the development and setting of different priorities in different countries, the Hong Kong SAR government still has not established an overall mental health policy to guide the development of mental health services in Hong Kong, even though various mental health acts have been legally endorsed in such countries as the United States, and Canada. Secondly, delivery of mental health services is inadequate. In Hong Kong, the dominant service delivery mode is still largely office-based, with a nine-to-five working schedule. Very few services operated on the weekends and after office hours. Therefore, when caregivers need professional help, their relative with chronic mental illness who is passive to treatment may not be able to receive timely interventions. Thirdly, ther e is a lack of community rehabilitation services. Currently, four government subsidized resource centers are available, but three of these four centers have been funded by the Social Welfare Department of Hong Kong only since October 2003. Moreover, lack of use of informal care is also a limitation. In Hong Kong, only several government-subsidized relative resource centers exist along with a few self-help groups with small memberships. The mental health care system has not fully utilized the resources available from these informal and networks (Wong, 2006). Finally, resources are lack for caregivers of people with dementia. At present, most of the resources in mental health care have been put into services for people with serious mental illness, such as schizophrenia, and very few resources have been devoted to establishing services for caregivers of people with mental illness, especially with dementia, within the misunderstanding of dementia as a normal phenomenon among the elderly . Moreover, some social workers may not have the clinical knowledge and skills in mental health to perform psychiatric assessment and counseling for caregivers and their relative with illness. Strategies on how to do prevention and intervention When to intervene? According to Rabins (1994), prevention can be categorized into three types: primary prevention, in which a disorder is prevented from occurring; secondary prevention, in which an intervention is provided early when the disorder is identified; and tertiary prevention, in which morbidity occurs, but long-term consequences of disorder are diminished after appropriate intervention (Rabins, 1994). A primary-prevention strategy would aim at families at risk and most current caregiver-intervention studies are secondary- prevention studies. They focus on individuals who have sought help from an organization. Identifying individuals who are at great risk of developing impairment due to social, financial, physical, intrapersonal, or interpersonal resources limit early in the course of caregiving could improve the use of existing services and prevent them from exacerbating more serious problems. Tertiary prevention, that is to minimize the morbidity of individuals who have clearly developed undesirable outcomes because of caregiving (Rabins, 1994). Based on the three phases, different interventions are used. Prevention programs can be applied to the family members with elderly people who might become possible patients or the caregivers of dementia people who have been diagnosed at an early stage. Public education programs about dementias can be useful to those families with elderly people. Also, people need to be encouraged to communicate with dementia patients or their caregivers to understand the possible challenges they may meet which also can be a way to support the existent caregivers. Besides, psycho-education group is another good way to help caregivers which offers support, knowledge and skills training. For the intervention plans, they are mostly applied to the carers who have already faced the difficulties and felt challenged for themselves as well as the patients during the caring. They may encounter the problems from biological and psychological perspectives. Moreover, they face the challenges of lacking family supp ort as well as social support which make them feel suffering. As a result, the following part will introduce the intervention plan for carers of dementia elderly. Different aspects to intervene a. Biological aspect It can be counterproductive for family members to continue caring for their relatives when they are under bad healthy situation, so it is necessary for family caregivers to recharge their energy by taking a break from caring for their relatives. They should be encouraged and helped to establish more fulfilling and interesting social lives or they can choose a relaxer such as aerobics, massage, watching movies with friends (Stehman, Strachan, Glenner, Glenner, Neubauer, 1996). Moreover, some skills such as Body scan (Stehman, et al., 1996) can calm the caregiver down when he or she feels stressful or has tight tension. Regular body examination is necessary for the carers as well. b. Psychological aspects According to psychological problems of caregivers, the most serious points are distress, low self-efficacy which can lead to depression and anger during the caring process (Gallagher-Thompson, 1994). When counseling with the carers, listening is valuable to them as they always need someone to listen to their feelings and experience which is a way of release (Marshall Tibbs, 2006). Moreover, using psycho-educational intervention programs can be helpful in which two programs were developed. One is Increasing Life Satisfaction, the one that focused on handling depression by increasing the frequency of engagement in pleasant activities, and the other one is Coping with Frustration which aims at anger-management skills and reducing the frequency as well as intensity of anger feelings (Gallagher-Thompson, 1994). Both of the two programs are developed from cognitive-behavioral perspective. And the duration can be last 10 sessions at three-month intervals between every three sessions. Secondly, other caregiver training programs which provide support to enhance positive emotion are always needed. The training shares two major goals: to improve caregivers ability to cope with the stress of caregiving and to empower caregivers by developing problem-solving strategies (Kaplan, 1996). The ability of solving problems when caring often relates to the cognitive status and will influence the stress level. Another pivotal aim is to increase the self-efficacy of carers. Since self-efficacy of caregivers relates to their physical and mental health and high level of depression may lead to low self-efficacy and more burden to caregivers, it is particularly significant to enhance the self-efficacy of caregivers (Fortinsky, Kulldorff, Kleppinger, Kenyon-Pesce, 2009). In a word, efficient intervention to help caregivers improve their problem-solving skills and thus enhance self-efficacy and reduce the stress as well as negative emotion such as guilty or anger is important when considering the psychological aspect. c. Family support As mentioned before, balanced family dynamics and support from other members are benefit to both the patient and the caregiver. Intervention programs that attempt to help the family members develop proper attitudes toward their relatives, acquire basic information on the day-to-day management of their relatives, improve communication skills are found to be useful. Indeed, it is necessary for the worker to see family members as partners and resources in the care of people with dementia disease. Family therapy (Marshall Tibbs, 2006) is traditionally practised in dysfunctional families and usually it is useful when families are under stress. Viewing dementia as a family problem rather than a problem for a single person, or the person and the carer, can be very constructive. In the family system, normally there are some subsytems such as siblings relationship, parent-child relationship, and marital relationship. And when one of the members have demetia problem, conflict or argument arises under the stressful environment. Under this circumstances, better communication and intimate relationship help to cope with the crisis (Quinn Herndon, 1986). The family had a clear but flexible boundary, which allowed other systems come in to provide assistance. The family members were also flexible in adjusting different roles and positioning in the family to achieve stability. So having family counseling, and involve all the possible members to discuss and share with each other is importa nt. Under the agreement, the members can support each other and the burden or emotional problem can be eased. d. Social support Caregiver support groups throughout the community to help people better cope with complex issues is necessary like the groups provided by Alzheimers Community Care (Caregiver Support Groups, 2010). Besides, it concludes one special service called 24-hour crisis line to provide crisis intervention. Such kind of intervention is quite useful because it will stabilize and coordinate emergency resources and advocate for the patient and caregiver. Moreover, it ensures the patient to achieve the optimum level of functioning, enabling the patient to remain in the least restrictive setting. Educational support group is an intervention used by the majority of the programs. The objectives are to help caregivers develop knowledge about dementia and the process of caring for someone with the disease; to assist caregivers to learn about the resources and services available to them and to support them in their experience of caregiving and in their need for self-care. Small groups of less than fifteen people can be offered to deepen and personalize the knowledge gained through the seminars. Caregivers feel more at ease to raise their concerns and questions. Moreover, workers can have the time to address concerns and issues selected from them. Enhanced Home and community services (EHCCS) program provided by Social Welfare Department of Hong Kong and Carer support Group organized by Hong Kong Alzheimer`s Disease Association offer such kind of platform for carers. Caregivers can get professional resources and emotional support from the sharing of experienced carers. Besides, resp ite care (Lawton, 1994) allows caregiver to be temporarily relieved of the responsibility for care. It qualifes as a broad generalized intervention because it supplies the wherewithal of time for the caregiver to do whatever he or she wishes-a ture open-ended intervention. Moreover, case management services provided by community help caregivers to negotiate the social services or health care system. Through this way, multiple professionals can be gethered to support and meet the needs of caregivers and patients. At last, social workers also can help through home visiting and offering couseling. During the helping process, communication skills and techniques such as nomalization, attending and miracle questions are needed to encourage caregivers to share and express their negative emotions and thus to assess the caregivers problem and help. When doing the couseling, music and art therapy can be an opportunity for carers to enjoy and improve the quality of life. 3. Suggestion for policies First of all, the provision of psychiatric care involves such different departments as health care, social services, education, and vocational training, and involves different professionals such as psychiatrists, occupational therapists, psychologists, and social workers. Different operation units have their own sets of criteria and procedures for accepting service user. It is easy to appreciate the difficulties and confusion family members face when accessing the mental health care system. Therefore, a systemic, comprehensive health care policy should be established, which provide the family caregivers with information on the various services available and secure the services for his or her relative. Secondly, since a large number of mentally ill individuals live with their family, and some these family members have taken up the caring roles, the government has the responsibility to provide resources and funding to support these family members. In essence, if family members can adequately perform their caring roles, it may reduce the chance of their relatives relapse and consequently fewer hospitalizations will occur. Finally, in order to increase the familys functioning of caring the dementia people in Hong Kong, the government needs to administer more resources to agencies that provide individual and group counseling for caregivers of people suffering from serious and mild psychiatric illness. Conclusion

Essay --

Summary 1. In your own words what are the main points and ideas of the material in the chapter? Performance measurement is the criteria for providing direction in the development of instruction. It is important to establish these measurements to determine if the learners performance is aligned with the organization's vision and strategy. Performance measurement guides us in strategically selecting and managing the instructional content and activities that will advocate learner achievement. It also provides a more systematic way of monitoring the learners performance during and after instruction has been delivered. This leads to increasing focus on learner accountability. Without performance measurement, it would be difficult for us to determine if the organization is moving in a positive direction, knowing whether the learners are improving their performance, and defining how future efforts may be enhanced. Efficient instruction loses its relevance if it does not foster positive learning outcomes. We cannot just assume that a learner will gain knowledge and improve performance because they attended a training session. How well learners perform can largely depend on their own motivation. But, we must also be held accountable for delivering the right instruction to develop their skills and enhance their knowledge. It is important to ask ourselves what we want the learners to do differently after the training has been administered. Keeping that at the forefront, we can then begin to develop the performance objectives and measurements. It is necessary for us to be cognizant of what the learners knew before the training to decipher what we want the learners to accomplish. We cannot test learners on something that we did not teach... ...ever-changing business environment. Organizations can only move as fast as their workers want to move. We can ensure that our learners keep up with change and can transfer the knowledge and skills they obtain to effectively perform on-the-job. We need to welcome the opportunity to be accountable for our performance. We should want to promote and demonstrate the value we bring to an organization with what we do. We are the ones who can create a meaningful learning experience. To me, it is exciting to have the opportunity to impact learners with new knowledge. We have the ability to be creative, solve problems, understand learning styles, and keep up with technology. Having these attributes to create engaging content that has real meaning and purpose and builds on the knowledge and skills of learners is something to be proud of and accountable for in an organization.

Animal Benefits

Much More Than Just a Friend In history there has always been the phrase, â€Å"man and his best friend†. This symbolizes the special bond shared between a dog and his master. Man and canine have been attached to each other historically by the necessity of protecting the herds and hunting for food. Man and dog originally became paired as humans were considered hunters and gathers, and both dogs and humans we're social creatures that hunted in the daytime. On the other side it has been found that dogs have a natural instinct to attach themselves to man.This longstanding relationship has been roven as † a dog Jawbone found in Iraq led scientists to believe that dogs were domesticated over 14,000 years ago' (Lear). By human nature, we seek unconditional love. Animals help enhance people's quality of life, not only by improving their physical well being, but also improving their mental state. Animals have been scientifically proven to decrease stress, lower blood pressure, d ecrease incidents of heart attacks, and improve overall mental health. There is evidence of simple facts such as, â€Å"People with pets have lower blood pressure in stressful situations than hose without pets† (Segal 1). Playing with a pet can elevate levels of serotonin and dopamine, which calm and relax which then has pet owners have lower triglyceride and cholesterol levels (indicators of heart disease) than those without pets. Heart attack patients with pets survive longer than those without again supporting the evidence of the physical affects of owning a pet. Research states that pet owners over age 65 make 30 percent fewer visits to their doctors than those without pets. † The physical benefits of owning a pet seem to be endless on so many levels (â€Å"The Benefits of Pet†).Then there are a variety of examples that are connected to the mental and physical well being ofa pet owning individual. On a daily basis owners of dogs have been found to have lower cholesterol and triglyceride levels when compared to their non-dog owning counterparts. Interestingly enough, studies have included an even match with patients evenly matched for weight, diet, and smoking habits. The study progresses with the participants taking stress tests and physical examinations. The patients who were dog/pet owners, or who were in the presence of n animal demonstrated lower heart rates and blood pressure during the test (O'Connor).The integration on animals in various forms of treatment has had an overwhelming response of shortened recovery time from children to the elderly. Most would not think that the companion of an animal may help a person physically but in many ways it does both directly and indirectly. Dogs were initially used in a mental health facility in the 1700s, and then again by the American Red Cross in military convalescent care after World War II. The Children's Hospital of Orange County stablished one of the nation's first, and leading pet th erapy programs.This hospital became one of only a few hospitals in the nation to offer such services. Currently, only fifty hospitals offer pet therapy and this is a surprisingly low number considering the proven medical benefits. However, in this instance the pets used to assist in the recovery were only used with young/pediatric patients. The therapy dogs and their owners aid children in the medical and surgical wards of the hospital, as well as in the physical, occupational, and speech therapy departments. (â€Å"Patients Appreciate Pet Partner†).The unconditional care and love given by these dogs not only raised the spirits of the sick children but it also provided time where they could escape from the daily treatments and life of living in a hospital There is also statistical data supporting the many benefits of pets and their affect on the elderly. For example therapeutic horses have been shown to have a positive impact on many individuals with a variety of disorders. à ¢â‚¬  Anna suffered a stroke and was physically sound in every way except for her speech. She could only utter one word, and then 0 seconds to a minute would pass before she could say another.But when leading her around on Lucky, I looked back at Anna and asked how she liked the ride. She said, ‘l like it Just fine. This is the first time IVe ever been on a horse! ‘ I nearly fell over! † (Barnard 2) â€Å"The Human-Animal Bond may be defined as the relationship between people, animals and their environment† (â€Å"The Human-Animal Bond†). Clearly these examples above show that no matter the age of the person, animals will have a positive effect on the quality and quickness of the healing process. Additionally, pets elp keep their owners in shape as well as assist the physically and mentally challenged.To have a dog means added responsibility such as walking, lifting, and physical grooming ofa pet, which supplies daily physical activity. Physical acti vity leads to overall improved health with leads to fewer visits to the doctor for minor health issues (â€Å"Why Man's Best Friend Is Man's Best Friend†). These are all common movements that a physical therapist would require of their patients that can be reinforced in the home â€Å"off hours† keeping the patient strong and moving. In one tory, a dog sits for hours caring for a mentally and physically disabled person while enduring immense pain but not whining due to not wanting to upset her. [V]anZante realized she had been parked on Max's tail the entire time. Max hadn't complained at all. ‘He was in pain, clearly, but he seemed to know that she had special needs, so he just sat through it,†(Carmichael 1). It is a heartfelt story that illustrates how dogs aid in the support of the handicapped. Throughout the nation, there are therapeutic riding programs design to work with physically or mentally challenged individuals to mprove their physical strength a s well as a compassion for another creature.UpReach, located in Derry, is a non-profit organization, which works with children and adults with the interaction with horses. The program is designed to improve the physical, emotional, and psychological development of these individuals. Research has found that the walking motion of the horse imitates movement of the human body. Many of the children have difficulty with gross motor skills, and riding moves the muscles in their backs and buttocks, which helps with the improvement of these motor skills. Grooming, petting, and feeding of the horses incorporate fine motor skills. The community they (UpReach) serve includes, but is not limited to, people with the following challenges: Cerebral Palsy, Traumatic Brain Injury, Autism Spectrum Disorders, Learning Disabilities, Multiple Sclerosis, Muscular Dystrophy, Visual or Hearing Impaired, Intellectual Disabilities, Down Syndrome, Sensory Integration Processing Disorder, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Youth-at- Risk† (http://www. upreachtrc. org). Patty Sexton, a volunteer at the UpReach Program of New Hampshire commented, â€Å"l have seen huge improvements while I have been here this past year.When I began, the therapist and I had to hold/position the young client the entire time. Unable to sit unassisted in the beginning, ne now sits rather well independently. The therapist spends a great deal of time alternating positions; sitting forward, riding backwards, sitting side-ways. These changes work to develop different muscles†¦ † Personal stories are written all over the world of how animals have physically changed a person's life. Pets have been found to decrease depression, increase self-esteem, and give individuals a sense of control.This area as endless research in support of the positive affects animals can have on a person. â€Å"Pet owners are less likely to suffer from depression than those without pets† (Segal 1). According toa new study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, pets offer the same emotional benefits as human friendship. Current research at the Miami University and St. Louis University surveyed 217 people looking at variables such as depression, loneliness, illness, self-esteem, and activity-levels.Individuals who had pets scored higher on all aspects of the survey and were found o have overall higher self-esteem and less loneliness. Another study was administered to look at dog owners and how a pet filled their social needs. The authors write, â€Å"†¦ to the extent that their dogs fulfilled needs related to belongingness, self-esteem, meaningful existence, and control, owners enjoyed a range of better outcomes (i. e. , less depression, less loneliness, greater self-esteem, greater happiness, and less perceived stress)† (â€Å"The Psychological Benefits of Owning Pets†).As told in the movie, War Horse, â€Å"We'll be alright Joey. We're the lucky ones , you and me. Lucky since the day I met you. This demonstrates the companionship between a man and his horse, and how it was the strength needed to overcome the hardship that the main character faced throughout the story. Pet owners with AIDS are far less likely to suffer from depression than those without pets. â€Å"The benefit is especially pronounced when people are strongly attached to their pets,† says researcher Judith Siegel, PhD (â€Å"What Are the Health Benefits of Owning a Pet†). There is also currently a program called PAWS for reading.This program allows children to read aloud to a therapy dog or cat, or even a bunny in order to improve reading and ommunication skills. Children read individually to trained therapy pets (and their handlers) in schools, libraries, or other settings so that they can feel comfortable and confident. This has also been applied to children with fears of going to a dental procedure. After all, a dog will not correct them or make them feel awkward if they stumble, unconditional love and respect seems to apply in so many different ways and applies to a variety of pet therapy programs.Animals have been proven to give mood stabilization and a feeling safety. A pet provides consistency to our lives. â€Å"[Pets ay well represent the lost relationship of the mother to infant; that is complete and total devotion, love and adoration. They can help bridge the developmental transition from infancy to childhood; from dependence to independence; from isolation to social integration at varying times and stages in our lives† (Friedmann 1). Caring for a pet can significantly affect daily routine and gives us something to look forward to each day.All of this is an important factor to include when a person is dealing with grief and death. For example in the book, Marley and Me, Marley creates a sense of security in the household emotionally. There the three of us stayed, locked in our embrace of shared grief† ( Grogan 49). Pets have been found to relax us and focus our attention away from our problems and worries. Research even suggests that a pet can be a better listener than most people.Married women teel that they are listened to better by their dog than their husband, and husbands like to talk to their dog more than their wife since they never give their opinion. This constant communication helps people problem solve and work through difficult situations. If we look back to one of the original intentions of the dog, it would be for protection. As families traveled across dangerous terrain and encountered unknown predators, the dog has given a sense of safety. It is proven that pet owners feel less afraid of being a victim of crime while walking their dog or in their home.I personally know my family has no desire to have a gun in their home since we feel confident in our dogs' abilities to protect us. This leads toa home with less anxiety as well as one of our most important emotional s tabilities of safety. From 1970 to 2010, the number of dogs and cats in homes has increased from 67 million to an estimated 164 million (â€Å"Pet Overpopulation†). The National Institutes of Health, with funding from Mars Pet Food, recently developed a to study to analyze the benefits of human-animal interaction.The program, operated through the National Institute for Child Health and Human Development, offers scientists research grants to study the impact of animals on child development, in physical and psychological therapeutic treatments, and on the effects of animals on public health, including their ability to reduce or prevent disease. The institute feels it's critical to establish a scientific foundation for the vidence that animals are good for people, even if it already seems obvious to most of the population.Our current insurance system needs to reward individuals or families that own a pet, since it is clear they can reduce health issues and improve overall physic al and mental wellness. An animal is non-judgmental, they help us feel needed and give us unconditional love and trust. They listen to our troubles and sit close through the good times and bad. In stories they have always have been our hero. All research seems to conclude that theyre numerous physical and psychological benefits of having a pet in your life.