Steroids in sports Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Steroids in sports - Essay Example We have witnessed suspension of different players due to the reason that they were involved in taking steroids for enhancing their performance. The steroids are unhealthy for the body and can affect the human body in several ways, and this is the main reason why its usage is unethical. Steroids are illegal and banned in countries for different reasons, but it is still imported and produced illegally. Steroids are harmful for its users and it can badly affect their health. Regular use of steroids can also become a reason of liver cancer and can cause death of the patient (Murray, 1-25). Everyone loves sport, and people want to see ethical game. Mostly youngsters consider players as their role models and ideals, and when they see players taking steroids or drugs to improve their performance, it negatively affects them. The players usually take steroids in two different forms, either in the form of pills or in the form of injections. The physicians should take proper care before prescribing any drug or steroid to their patients. It can badly affect or harm their health. As use of steroid in countries, physicians should make sure that they avoid prescribing any such drugs to their patients at any cost. Steroids damage the skin of the users and internally damage the organs of the human being. It gives strength, muscles, and excessive power for the time being, after that, the players feels worse. These steroids also have side effects, and its users can die because of it. Players should consult doctors only for their fitness and health issues, and should strongly be against any drugs or steroids that can harm their health. Physician and doctors should take blood tests of their patients, so that even if the players are involved in taking steroids, they should stop them and take measures for preventing its usage. The use of steroids is an

Uncogent Argument Essay Example for Free

Uncogent Argument Essay Abortion and the Conscience of the Nation. Human Life Review 30.3 (2004): 58-65. Academic Search Complete. Web. 26 Nov. 2012. Abortions Deleterious Effects on Women: Mental Health, Quality Of Life, and Mortality Rates. National Right to Life News 33.1 (2006): 17. Academic Search Complete. Web. 28 Nov. 2012. Chapter 4: Preventing Unsafe Abortion. Research On Reproductive Health At WHO (2002): 37-41. Academic Search Complete. Web. 12 Nov. 2012. Bachioch, Erika. Embodied Equality: Debunking Equal Protection Arguments For Abortion Rights. Harvard Journal Of Law Public Policy 34.3 (2011): 889-950. Academic Search Complete. Web. 24 Oct. 2012. Cannold, Leslie. Chapter Four: Women, Ectogenesis, and Ethical Theory. Ectogenesis. 47-58. n.p.: Editions Rodopi BV, 2006. Academic Search Complete. Web. 2 Nov. 2012. Coleman, Priscilla K. Unfathomable Lies and a Naive Public: Abortion and Mental Health. National Right To Life News 37.11/12 (2010): 24. Academic Search Complete. Web. 26 Nov. 2012. Hamblen J. PTSD in Children and Adolescents: A National Center for PTSD Fact Sheet. Accessed Veterans Administration Web site on February 10, 2006. Lopez, Raquel. Perspectives On Abortion: Pro-Choice, Pro-Life, and What Lies In Between. European Journal Of Social Science 27.2-4 (2012): 511-517. Academic Search Complete. Web. 26 Nov. 2012. Watson, Katie. The Unacknowledged Consensus on Abortion. American Journal of Bioethics 10.12 (2010): 57-59. Academic Search Complete. Web. 24 Oct. 2012. WHO (May 2011). â€Å"Reproductive Health Library.† World Health Organization. Web. 11 Nov. 2012.

Relationship between the mind and the brain

Relationship between the mind and the brain For centuries, philosophers and scientist have been trying to solve the problem of the mind-body (brain). The most prolific of the minds has wandered sleeplessly, trying to solve the mind-brain problem, yet, the mysteries behind our skulls remain hidden. This paper is an attempt to address the causality problem of the mind and the brain. Firstly, an overview over the philosophical theories will be done. Subsequently, evaluation of certain scientific findings which may hold the answer will be carried out. Finally, the essay will end with a conclusion about these findings. Part of the problem is whether one, (the mind or the brain), could plausible exist given the existence of the other. If this is the case, how are they associated? Does a relationship exist or are they two distinct realms. Many philosophers and scientists have made an attempt to explain and resolve the mind-brain problem. Two major philosophical theories have been proposed as a solution; dualism and monism. Followers of the dualistic theory argue that there are two fundamental entities mind and brain. The mind and the brain functions separately, without interchange. Conversely, monistic advocates, instead, argue that there is only one reality and the mind and the brain are formed from, or reducible to, the same ultimate substance or principle of being. The former, however, is hard to contradict and/or support scientifically and therefore is not popular amongst scientists and psychologists (Valentine, 1992). However, in recent years, a third explanation, pluralism, has emerged. Plural ism is a mix of both monism and dualism. It argues that there is one fundamental reality but it may display different aspect of the reality. In order to evaluate whether a relationship exists between the mind and the brain in the first place, we need to know if what the mind is. One explanation of the concept of mind is (1) conscious experience and (2) the system or program that governs behaviour (Valentine, 1992, pp. 21). For the simplicity, we will consider consciousness as the definition of the mind. However, we need to first explain what consciousness is. In psychology, consciousness is defined as our relative awareness of ourselves and our environments. Additionally, it is subjective for an individual, has changeable intensity and we have a sense of ourselves and our consciousness (Passer Smith, 2007). Consciousness has been studied using modern tools such as fMRI or PET. These studies have showed activation in several brain areas for a stimulus that is normally associated with a certain brain area (Dehaene Naccache 2001; Haier et al., 1992). Global workspace theory suggests that the otherwise independent brain reg ions functions as network enabled by the consciousness (Baars, 2002; Baars, 1997). Additionally, observational studies have indicated that certain brain injuries (blindsight, visual agnosia) have resulted in the loss of aspects of consciousness (Goodale, 2000; Kentridge et al., 2004; Weiskrantz, 2002). If we then assume that the mind is conscious experience, does the mind control the brain or is the mind a result of neural activity? Libet, Gleason, Wright and Pearl (1983) found that neural activity precedes conscious experience of indenting to act (the so-called readiness potential, RP). In a replication of this study by Haggard and Eimer (1999), awareness of movement followed a later module of the RP, the lateralized readiness potential (LRP). LRP represents the neural activity over the motor cortex in the hemisphere that controls the opposite side of the body. Haggard and Eimer (1999) suggested that awareness of movement may arise from neural processes linked to the selection of a n action to follow a certain goal. Additionally, part of the medial frontal cortex has been identifies as being responsible for intentional actions. Conversely, Haggard Libet (2001) note that the delay of conscious experience to the actual experience itself may be due to the P-centre phenomenon (Morton et al., 1976 c.f. Haggard Libet, 2001)., which originally refers to that the perceived onset of a acoustic words delays its actual onset, and seems to be drawn by the centre of the word. It is argued that this can be equally applied to internal events as intentions might also be extended in time. Haggard Libet (2001, pp. 7), argue that the earliest stages of that process could perhaps precede the LRP onset. However, new findings on cellular memory may oppose the notion consciousness being located only in the brain. A Japanese research group showed that an amoeba learned the patterns of a series of shocks at regular intervals and accordingly changed its behaviour in anticipation of the next one to come. Remarkably, the memory stayed for hours, even then the shocks stopped. A single renewed shock after a silent period left the plasmodia expecting another to follow in the same rhythm it learned earlier (Saigusa, Tero, Nakagaki Kuramoto, 2008). Additionally, these amoebas could also negotiate mazes and solve simple puzzles (Nakagaki, Yamada, TÃ ³th, 2000). The implications of these studies could go so far that it could be argued that consciousness may arise from some cellular or sub-cellular level of organization rather than nerve circuitry. There have been cases where organ receivers have unexplainably inherited traits which were not there prior to the transplantations. Although these cases are arbitrary and vague and there may be several other plausible explanations, the stories are interesting and may lead to some serious scientific investigation at some point in the future. On the other hand, conscious experience alone can not account for the mind as a majority of our behaviour also occur unconsciously. Jaynes (1986) listed several things such as, size, brightness, etc. that is preserved by our nervous system under widely varying environmental changes of light, distance etc. Additionally, consciousness is not necessary for learning. Conditioning, for example, is often subtly induced by some stimuli without our awareness. In fact, being conscious during conditioning hinders the effect of it once we are aware of the eventuality (Razran, 1971 c.f. Jaynes, 1986). If we, instead, discuss the concept of mind in terms of a system or program that governs behaviour (Valentine, 1993, chapter 3, pp. 20), the mind can be attributed a totally different role. It is established that the frontal lobes has a major role in our personality. The prefrontal cortex has a superior role in the neuropsychological system. It has access to a vast amount of information that is sto red and is processing in the brain. Additionally, it is able to directly and indirectly control activation of the cerebral resources. In particular, the dorsolateral region of the prefrontal cortex has been identified as being responsible for coordination, psychological control and executive functions. The motor and sensory network is closely weaved together with the area, which enables it to have full access to information about the condition of the own body and the surrounding world as well as having the opportunity to integrate with the environment. It has also a close relationship to the orbital cortex, which is associated with our thoughts, decision-making and behaviour influenced by emotional and social values of situations as it has a high number of interconnections with the limbic system. Damage to the dorsolateral region is characterized by loss of the ability to take initiative, psychological independence and integrity. The patient becomes passive, impulsive and aimless. S he is not able to mobilize and orient attention or thoughts in an organized manner. However, as prefrontal cortex is highly complicated, it has been difficult to closely investigate exactly what sort of psychological work that bark area executes, which has made this part of the brain a riddle to be solved (Eriksson, 2001). Considering these facts and the fact that the dorsolateral cortex is highly situated in the hierarchy of the brain, it could be argued that the area is the place where the mind resides. In this sense, the mind is an extension and the superior of the brain. Evolutionary speaking, this would make sense. According to Paul MacLean, three distinct brains emerged successively in the course of evolution and co-inhabit the human skull. These are, in evolutionary-time order, reptile brain, limbic brain and the neo-cortex (Holden, 1979). These three parts do not operate independently of one another; rather, they have established numerous interconnections through which they influence another (Passer Smith, 2007). In a similar way, the mind might somehow evolved in parallel with the neo-cortex. Nevertheless, in brain surgeries on monkeys showed bluntness in all of aspects of their emotion. Myers (c.f. Eriksson, 2001) noted the animals loss of noises, facial expressions and, general, all forms of communication. The animal, generally, suffers from hyperactivity, mutism and behaves like an automat. However, the idea that the prefrontal cortex is the seat of the mind lacks any real scientific support or research as it would be very difficult to determine how it is possible as the mind is a non-physical substance. Yet, future minds, with the assistance of perhaps new and more advanced technology may find a way to tackle this issue. In sum, we have first used consciousness as the definition of the mind and tried to address the relationship of consciousness to the brain. Scientific evidence has supported the notion of brain activity causing consciousness. However, these studies have had some methodological issues which need to be dealt with. Additionally, we have established that consciousness alone may not account for the mind as many of our processes also occur outside awareness. Instead, we have identified the prefrontal cortex as the seat of the mind. However, this is hard to prove and explain at present time. In conclusion, the sort of a problem the mind and brain is makes it difficult to construe and study scientifically as it is hard to conduct decent experiments on. For now, science needs to mature further in order to answer whether a relationship exists between the mind and the brain along with the direction of the relationship.

The James Wright Festival :: essays research papers

The James Wright Festival Part One   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  After reading the poem entitled â€Å"Youth†, I felt that James Wright was not only describing the life of his father but also the lives of the many other factory workers in the Ohio Valley. Many of these workers had either dropped out of school or went straight to the factories after high school, never really getting a chance to enjoy their lives as young `````adults. I think that has something to do with the title of this poem. It’s clear that Wright knew his father and the other men were not satisfied with their jobs and just chose not to speak about it. These factory workers slaved away and then came home â€Å"quiet as the evening† probably because they were content to just be relaxing at home with their families. They knew that this was their way of life and they had to do it, even if they had big dreams to someday get away. I think that Wright was also trying to make a point that these men who worked so hard every day were not valued as much as they should have been. These men did not have the education to get a higher paying job but they did have the proper skills and knowledge to work in the factories. I like that James Wright mentioned Sherwood Anderson in this poem as I enjoy his work. Anderson left his Ohio hometown for Chicago to pursuit bigger and better things because he knew if he stayed in the area, he would be unhappy. However, it is a little ironic that Anderson one day just got up and left in the middle of writing and was said to have a mental breakdown.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I can definitely see what Wright was communicating with this poem. I had a somewhat depressed feeling after reading it, but I don’t know how one could read this and NOT feel that way. I also felt a little sad because I have been around people like this all of my life. Family, friends, friends of the family- a large majority of these people worked in factories and in the steel mills. As a child, I did not realize just how hard working these people were but of course as I grew older I started to understand. No one really spoke of it, as Wright also expressed in the poem.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As far as what was important to me in the experience of the poem, I felt that the fact that I could actually relate was important. The James Wright Festival :: essays research papers The James Wright Festival Part One   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  After reading the poem entitled â€Å"Youth†, I felt that James Wright was not only describing the life of his father but also the lives of the many other factory workers in the Ohio Valley. Many of these workers had either dropped out of school or went straight to the factories after high school, never really getting a chance to enjoy their lives as young `````adults. I think that has something to do with the title of this poem. It’s clear that Wright knew his father and the other men were not satisfied with their jobs and just chose not to speak about it. These factory workers slaved away and then came home â€Å"quiet as the evening† probably because they were content to just be relaxing at home with their families. They knew that this was their way of life and they had to do it, even if they had big dreams to someday get away. I think that Wright was also trying to make a point that these men who worked so hard every day were not valued as much as they should have been. These men did not have the education to get a higher paying job but they did have the proper skills and knowledge to work in the factories. I like that James Wright mentioned Sherwood Anderson in this poem as I enjoy his work. Anderson left his Ohio hometown for Chicago to pursuit bigger and better things because he knew if he stayed in the area, he would be unhappy. However, it is a little ironic that Anderson one day just got up and left in the middle of writing and was said to have a mental breakdown.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I can definitely see what Wright was communicating with this poem. I had a somewhat depressed feeling after reading it, but I don’t know how one could read this and NOT feel that way. I also felt a little sad because I have been around people like this all of my life. Family, friends, friends of the family- a large majority of these people worked in factories and in the steel mills. As a child, I did not realize just how hard working these people were but of course as I grew older I started to understand. No one really spoke of it, as Wright also expressed in the poem.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As far as what was important to me in the experience of the poem, I felt that the fact that I could actually relate was important.

Busi 3103 Notes

ORGANIZATIONAL THEORY – STUDY LIST – KEY CONCEPTS PART ONE: INTRODUCTION TO ORGANIZATIONS CHAPTER ONE – ORGANIZATIONS AND ORGANIZATIONAL THEORY Administrative principles: closed system management perspective that focuses on the total organization and grows from the insight of practitioners – Bureaucratic organizations: organization design based on clearly defined authority and responsibility, formal record keeping and uniform application if standard rules – Change strategy: a plan to guide an organizational change – Chaos Theory: a scientific theory that suggests that relationships in complex, adaptive systems are made up of numerous interconnections that create unintentional effects and render the environment unpredictable – Closed system: autonomous, enclosed and not dependent on the external environment – Contextual dimensions: the characteristics of an organization, including size, technology, environment and goals. – Contingency: the applicable management approach to deal with unforeseen events – Effectiveness: the degree to which an organization achieves its goals – Efficiency: the amount of resources used to produce a unit of output – Hawthorne studies: studies worker productivity.Managers who treat their employees well facilitate increased employee output – Learning organization: everyone is engaged in finding and solving problems enable continuous improvement and capabilities of its own employees – Level of analysis: in systems theory, the subsystem on which the primary focus is placed; four levels of analysis characterize the organization – Meso theory: combines micro and macro levels of analysis – Open System: interacts with the environment for survival – Organization: social entities that are goal directed, deliberately structured and linked to the external environment – OB: micro approach to organizations with focus on indiv iduals in the organization – OT: macro approach to organizations that analyses the whole organization as a unit – Role: allows an employee to use their abilities to achieve outcomes and meet goals – Scientific management: claims decisions about organization and job design should be based on precise, scientific procedures – Stakeholder: any group within or outside an organization that has a stake in the rganizations performance – Stakeholder approach: (constituency approach) stakeholder satisfaction indicates the performance of the organization – Structural dimensions: describes the internal characteristics of an organization – Subsystems: divisions of an organization that perform specific functions for the survival of the organization. Functions include boundary spanning, production, maintenance, adaptation and management – System: set of interacting elements of inputs, transformation and output to the environment – Task : narrowly defined piece of work assigned to a person PART TWO: ORGANIZATIONAL PURPOSE AND STRUCTURAL DESIGN CHAPTER TWO – STRATEGY, ORGANIZATIONAL DESIGN, AND EFFECTIVENESS – Analyzer (62) Competing values model: perspective on organizational effectiveness that combines diverse indictors of performance that represent competing management values – Defender: business strategy that seeks stability or retrenchment rather than innovation or growth – Differentiation strategy: used to distinguish an organization’s products or services from others in the industry – Focus strategy: concentrates on a specific regional market or buyer group Goal approach: concerned with output and whether the organization achieves its output goals – Human relations emphasis: competing-values model that incorporates the values of an internal focus and a flexible structure – Internal-process approach: looks at internal activities and assesses effectiveness by indicators of internal health and efficiency – Internal-process emphasis: competing-values model that looks at the values of internal focus and structural control – Low-cost leadership strategy: tries to increase market share by emphasizing low cost compared to competitors – Mission: organization reason for existence – Official Goals: formally stated definitions of business scope and outcomes the organization strives to achieve (also called mission) – Open-systems emphasis: competing-values model that looks at the combination of external focus and flexible structure – Operative goals: explain what the organization is trying to achieve, with focus on the actual operating procedures – Organizational goals: desired state the organization attempts to reach – Prospector: business strategy characterized by innovation, risk aking, seeking new opportunities and growth – Rational-goal emphasis: competing-values model that foc uses on structural control and external focus – Reactor strategy: business strategy in which environmental threats and opportunities are responded to in an ad hoc fashion – Resource-based approach: organizational perspective that assesses effectiveness based on how organizations successfully obtains, integrates and manages valued resources – Strategy: set of plans, decisions and objectives that have been adopted to achieve the organizations goals – Structure: formal reporting relationships, groupings and systems of an organization CHAPTER THREE – FUNDAMENTALS OF ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE Centralized: level of hierarchy with authority to make decisions – Chain of command: formal line of authority to make decisions Decentralized: decision making and communication that is spread out across the company – Departmental grouping: structure where employees share a common supervisor and resources, are jointly responsible for performance, and te nd to identify and collaborate with each other – Divisional grouping: people are organized according to what the organization produces – Divisional structure: structuring based on individual products, services, product groups, major projects, or profit centers (also called product structure or strategic business units) – Functional grouping: grouping of employees who perform similar functions or work processes or who bring similar knowledge and skills to bear on a task – Functional matrix: structure in which functional bosses have primary authority, and product or project managers simply coordinate product services – Functional structure: grouping of activities by common function – Horizontal grouping: organizing of employees around core work processes rather than by function, product or geography – Horizontal linkage: amount of communication and coordination that occurs horizontally across organizational departments – Horizont al structure: structure that eliminates both the vertical hierarchy and departmental boundaries by organizing teams of employees around the core work processes, the end to end work, information, and material flow that provide value directly to customers – Hybrid structure: combines various structural approaches (functional, divisional, geographical, and horizontal) tailored to specific strategic needs – Integrator: a position or department that is reated to coordinate several departments – Liaison role: person that is responsible to communicating and achieving coordination with another department – Matrix structure: strong form of horizontal linkage in which both product and functional structures (horizontal and vertical) are implemented simultaneously – Multifocused grouping: a structure in which an organization embraces structural grouping alternatives simultaneously – Organizational structure: designates formal reporting relationships, in cluding the number of levels in the hierarchy and the span of control of managers and supervisors; identifies the grouping together of individuals into departments and of departments into the total organization; and includes the design of systems to ensure effective communication, coordination and integration of efforts across departments – Outsourcing: contracting out certain functions, e. g. anufacturing,IT†¦to other organization – Process: organized group of related tasks and activities that work together to transform inputs into outputs that create value for customers – Product matrix: a variation of the matrix structure in which project or product managers have primary authority, and functional managers simply assign technical personnel to projects and provide advisory expertise – Re-engineering: redesigning a vertical organization along its horizontal workflows and processes – Symptoms of structural deficiency: signs of the organization structure being out of alignment, including delayed or poor quality decision making, failure to respond innovatively to environmental changes, and too much conflict – Task force: temporary committee composed of representatives from each department affected by a problem Teams: permanents task forces often used in conjunction with a full time integrator – Vertical information system: periodic reports, written information and computer based communications distributed to managers – Vertical linkages: communication and coordination activities connecting the top and bottom of an organization – Virtual cross-functional teams: teams comprising individuals from different functions who are separated in space and time as well – Virtual network grouping: organization that is loosely connected cluster of separate components – Virtual network structure: the firm subcontracts many or most of its major processes to separate companies and coordinates their a ctivities from a small headquarters or organization – Virtual team: made up of organizationally or geographically dispersed members who are linked through advanced information and communications technologies. Members frequently use the internet and collaborative software to work together, rather than meeting face to face SLIDES ONLY – BCG matrix (10): Consider market share and growth for product portfolios PART THREE: OPEN-SYSTEM DESIGN ELEMENTS CHAPTER FOUR – EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT – Boundary spanning roles: activities that link and coordinate an organization with key elements in the external environment – Boundary scanning roles (Slide only) Buffering roles: activities that absorb uncertainty from the environment – Cooptation: when leaders from important sectors in the environment are made part of an organization – Differentiation: the differences (cognitive and emotional) among managers in various functional departments of an organiz ation and formal structure differences among these departments – Direct interlock: occurs when a member of the board of directors of one company sits on the board of another – Domain: an organizations chosen environmental field of activity – General environment: sectors that may not directly affect the daily operations of a firm but will indirectly influence it – Green environment: natural environment Indirect interlock: occurs when a director of one company and a director of another are both directors of third company – Integration: the quality of collaboration between departments of an organization – Interlocking directorate: formal linkage that occurs when a member of the board of directors of one company sits on the board of another company – Mechanistic: an organization system marked by rules, procedures, a clear hierarchy of authority, and centralized decision making – Organic: free flowing, adaptive processes an unclear hierarchy of authority, and decentralized decision making – Organizational environment: all elements that exist outside the boundary of the organization and have potential to affect all or part of the organization – Resource dependence: a situation in which organization depends on the environment, but strive to acquire control over resources to minimize their dependence – Sectors: subdivisions of the external environment that contain similar elements – Simple-complex dimension: the number and dissimilarity of external elements relevant to an organizations operations – Stable-unstable dimension: the state of an organization’s environmental elements – Task environment: sectors with which the organization interacts directly and that have a direct effect on the organization’s ability to achieve its goals – Uncertainty: occurs when decision makers do not have sufficient information about the environmental factors and have a d ifficult time predicting external changes CHAPTER FIVE – INTERORGANIZATIONAL RELATIONSHIPS Coercive forces: external pressures such as legal requirements exerted on an organization to adopt structures, techniques, or behaviors similar to other organizations – Collaborative networks: an emerging perspective whereby organizations allow themselves to become dependent on other organizations to increase value and productivity for all – Generalist: an organization that offers a broad range of products or services and serves a broad market – Institutional environment: norms and values from stakeholders that organizations try to follow in order to please stakeholders – Institutional perspective: under high uncertainty, organizations imitate others in the same institutional environment – Institutional similarity: common structures, management approaches and behaviors established by organizations in the same field. Interorganizational relationships: r esource transactions, flows and linkages that occur among two or more organizations – Legitimacy: an organizations actions are desirable, proper and appropriate within the environment’s systems of norms, values and beliefs – Mimetic forces: under uncertainty, this is the pressure to copy or model other organizations that appear to be successful in the environment – Niche: domain of unique environmental resources and needs – Normative forces: pressures to adopt structures, techniques or management processes because they are considered by the community to be up to date and effective – Organizational ecosystem: system formed by the interaction of a community of organizations and their environment, usually cutting across traditional industry lines – Organizational form: an organization’s specific technology, structure, products, goals, and personnel – Population: set of organizations engaged in similar activities with simila r resources and utcomes – Population-ecology perspective: the focus is on organizational diversity and adaptation within a community or population or organizations – Retention: The preservation and institutionalization of selected organizational forms – Selection: process by which organizational variations are determined to fit the external environment, variations that fail to fit the needs if the environment are selected out and fail – Specialist: an organization with a narrow range of goods or services or serves a narrow market – Struggle for existence: principle of the population ecology model that states that organizations are engaged in a competitive struggle for resources and fighting to survive – Variation: new organizational forms that respond to the needs of the external environment (mutations in biology) SLIDES ONLY – Agency theory (9-13): The relationship between Shareholders and Managers is dominated by this question, How can the Agent shareholder/owner make sure that the managers are acting in their best interest? – Transaction cost theory (21-25): The inclusion of all costs are considered when  making  a  decision  and not just the  market prices. CHAPTER SIX – DESIGNING ORGANIZATIONS FOR THE INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENT Consortia: groups of firms that venture into new products and technologies – Domestic stage: first stage of international development in which a company is domestically orientated while managers are aware of the global environment – Economies of scale: achieving lower costs through large volume production, often made possible by global expansion – Economies of scope: achieving economies by having a presence in many product lines, technologies or geographic areas – Factors of production: supplies necessary for production e. g. raw materials, land, labor – Global companies: no longer thinks of itself as having a home country â⠂¬â€œ Global geographic structure: an organization divides its operation into world regions, each of which reports to the CEO – Global matrix structure: A horizontal linkage in an international organization in which both product and geographical structures are implemented simultaneously to achieve a balance between standardization and globalization. – Global product structure: product divisions take responsibility for global operations in their specific product areas –Global stage: stage in international development in which the company transcends any one country – Global teams: work groups comprising MNC members whose activities span in different countries (transnational teams) – Globalization strategy: standardization of product design and advertising strategy throughout the world – International division: equal in status to other major departments within the company and has its own hierarchy to handle business in various countries  œ International stage: 2nd stage of international development where company takes exports seriously and is multidomestic – Joint venture: separate entity of sharing developments and production costs and penetrating into a new market between two or more firms – Multidomestic: company that responds to local customers and competition in each country independent of other countries – Multidomestic strategy: competition in each country is handled independently of competition in other countries – Multinational stage: stage of international development where a company has marketing and production facilities in many countries and more than one third of its sales outside its home country – Power distance: level of inequality people are willing to accept within an organization – Standardization: all branches of the company at all locations operate in the same way – Transnational model: horizontal organization with multiple centers, subsidiary ma nagers who initiate strategy and innovations for the company as a whole, and unit and coordination achieved through corporate culture and shared vision and values – Uncertainty avoidance: level of tolerance for and comfort within, uncertainty and individualism within a culture SLIDES ONLY – Core competency (5,6) – Diversification (7-11) PART FOUR: INTERNAL DESIGN ELEMENTS CHAPTER SEVEN – MANUFACTURING AND SERVICE TECHNOLOGIES Analyzability: a dimension of technology in which work activities can be reduced to mechanical steps and participants can follow an objective, computational procedure to solve problems – Continuous process production: completely mechanized manufacturing process with no sorting or stopping – Core technology: work process directly related to the organization mission – Craft technology: technology used for stable stream of activities where the conversion process is not well understood or analyzable – Engineer ing technologies: technology used when there is a substantial variety in the tasks performed, but activities are handled on the basis of established formulas, procedures, and techniques – Flexible manufacturing systems: using computers to link manufacturing components e. g. obots, machines, product design and engineering analysis to enable fast switching from one product to another – Intensive technologies: variety of products or services provided in combination to a client – Interdependence: the extent to which departments depend on each other for resources or materials to accomplish their tasks – Job design: the assignment of goals and tasks to be completed my employees – Job enlargement: the designing of jobs to expand the number of different tasks performed by an employee – Job enrichment: the designing of jobs to increase responsibility, recognition and opportunities for growth and achievement – Job rotation: moving employees fro m job to job to give them a greater variety of tasks and alleviate boredom – Job simplification: the reduction of the number and difficulty of tasks performed by a single person – Joint optimization: the goal of the sociotechnical system approach, which states that organization will function best only if its social and technical systems are designed to fit the needs of each other – Large-batch production: manufacturing process with long production runs of standardized parts – Lean manufacturing: uses highly trained employees at every stage of the production process who take painstaking approach to details and continuous problem solving to cut waste and improve quality – Long-linked technology: the combination, within one organization, of successive stages of production, with each stage using as its inputs the production of the preceding stage – Mass customization: the use of computer integrated systems and flexible work processes to enable c ompanies to mass produce a variety of products or services designed to exact customer specification – Meditating technology: the provision of products or services that mediate or link clients from the external environment and allow each department to work independently – Noncore technology: a department work process that is important to the organization but is not directly related to the central mission – Nonroutine technologies: there is high tasks variety and the conversion process is not analyzable or well understood – Pooled interdependence: the lowest form of interdependence among departments in which work does not flow between units – Reciprocal interdependence: the highest level of interdependence in which the output of one operation is the input of the second, and then the output of the second operation is the input of the first. Routine technologies: technology that’s characterized by little task variety and the use of objective, co mputational procedures – Sequential interdependence: serial form of interdependence in which the output of one operation becomes the input of another operation – Service technology: characterized by simultaneous production and consumption, customized output, customer participation, intangible output and being labour intensive – Small-batch production: manufacturing process, often custom work that is not highly mechanized and relies heavily on the human operation – Sociotechnical systems approach: combines the needs of people with the need for technical efficiency – Task variety: the frequency of unexpected and novel events that occur in the conversion process – Technical complexity: the extent of mechanization in the manufacturing process Technology: tools, techniques and actions used to transform organizational inputs into outputs SLIDES ONLY – History of commercial technology (7) – Historical context of technology – Wo odward, Perrow, and Thompson (10-30) CHAPTER NINE – ORGANIZATIONAL SIZE, LIFE CYCLE, AND DECLINE bureaucracy| An organizational framework marked by rules and procedures, specialization and division of labour, hierarchy of authority, technically qualified personnel, separation of position and person, and written communications and records (p. 30)| bureaucratic control| The use of rules, policies, hierarchy of authority, written documentation, standardization, and other bureaucratic mechanisms to standardize behaviour and assess performance (p. 336)| centralization| Level of hierarchy with authority to make decisions (p. 332)| charismatic authority| Based in devotion to the exemplary character or heroism of an individual and the order defined by him or her (p. 337)| clan control| The use of social characteristics, such as culture, shared values, commitments, traditions, and beliefs, to control behaviour (p. 338)| collectivity stage| The life-cycle phase in which an organization has strong leadership and begins to develop clear goals and direction (p. 24)| downsizing| Intentionally reducing the size of a company’s workforce by laying off employees (p. 343)| elaboration stage| The organizational life-cycle phase in which the red-tape crisis is resolved through the development of a new sense of teamwork and collaboration (p. 326)| entrepreneurial stage| The life-cycle phase in which an organization is born and its emphasis is on creating a product and surviving in the marketplace (p. 324)| Formalization| The degree to which an organization has rules, procedures, and written documentation (p. 332)| formalization stage| The phase in an organization’s life cycle involving the installation and use of rules, procedures, and control systems (p. 26)| incident command sytem| Developed to maintain the efficiency and control benefits of bureaucracy yet prevent the problems of slow response to crises (p. 334)| life cycle| A perspective on organizational g rowth and change that suggests that organizations are born, grow older, and eventually die (p. 323)| market control| A situation that occurs when price competition is used to evaluate the output and productivity of an organization (p. 337)| organizational decline| A condition in which a substantial, absolute decrease in an organization’s resource base occurs over a period of time (p. 340)| personnel ratios| The proportions of administrative, clerical, and professional support staff (p. 32)| rational-legal authority| Based on employees’ belief in the legality of rules and the right of those in authority to issue commands (p. 337)| self-control| A person’s values are brought into line with the organization’s values to control behaviour (p. 339)| traditional authority| Based in the belief in traditions and the legitimacy of the status of people exercising authority through those traditions| SLIDES ONLY – Organizational birth and early life (4,5) †“ Nandy’s Model (6-9) – Genier’s Model (10, 11,18,19) PART FIVE: MANAGING DYNAMIC PROCESSES CHAPTER TEN – ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE AND ETHICAL VALUES adaptability culture| A culture characterized by strategic focus on the external environment through flexibility and change to meet customer needs (p. 60)| bureaucratic culture| A culture that has an internal focus and a consistency orientation for a stable environment (p. 363)| chief ethics officer| High-level executive who oversees all aspects of ethics, including establishing and broadly communicating ethical standards, setting up ethics training programs, supervising the investigation of ethical problems, and advising managers in the ethical aspects of decisions (p. 379)| clan culture| A culture that focuses primarily on the involvement and participation of the organization’s members and on rapidly changing expectations from the external environment (p. 362)| code of ethics| A formal statement of the company’s values concerning ethics and social responsibility (p. 80)| culture| The set of values, guiding beliefs, understandings, and ways of thinking that are shared by members of an organization and are taught to new members as correct (p. 356)| culture strength| The degree of agreement among members of an organization about the importance of specific values (p. 364)| ethical dilemma| When each alternative choice or behaviour seems undesirable because of a potentially negative ethical consequence (p. 372)| ethics| The code of moral principles and values that governs the behaviour of a person or group with respect to what is right or wrong (p. 369)| ethics committee| A group of executives appointed to oversee company ethics (p. 378)| ethics hotline| A telephone number that employees can call to seek guidance and to report questionable behaviour (p. 79)| external adaptation| The manner in which an organization meets goals and deals with outsiders (p. 357)| heroes| Organi zational members who serve as models or ideals for serving cultural norms and values (p. 359)| internal integration| A state in which organization members develop a collective identity and know how to work together effectively (p. 357)| language| Slogans, sayings, metaphors, or other expressions that convey a special meaning to employees (p. 359)| legends| Stories of events based in history that may have been embellished with fictional details (p. 359)| managerial ethics| Principles that guide the decisions and behaviours of managers with regard to whether they are morally right or wrong (p. 72)| mission culture| A culture that places emphasis on a clear vision of the organization’s purpose and on the achievement of specific goals (p. 361)| myths| Stories that are consistent with the values and beliefs of the organization but are not supported by facts (p. 359)| rites and ceremonies| The elaborate, planned activities that make up a special event and often are conducted for th e benefit of an audience (p. 357)| rule of law| That which arises from a set of codified principles and regulations that describe how people are required to act, are generally accepted in society, and are enforceable in the courts (p. 371)| social audit| Measures and reports the ethical, social, and environmental impact of an organization’s operations (p. 83)| social capital| The quality of interactions among people, affected by whether they share a common perspective (p. 355)| social responsibility| Management’s obligation to make choices and take action so that the organization contributes to the welfare and interest of society as well as itself (p. 372)| stories| Narratives based on true events that are frequently shared among organizational employees and told to new employees to inform them about an organization (p. 359)| subcultures| Cultures that develop within an organization to reflect the common problems, goals, and experiences that members of a team, departme nt, or other unit share (p. 365)| symbol| Something that represents another thing (p. 59)| values-based leadership| A relationship between a leader and followers that is based on strongly shared values that are advocated and acted upon by the leader (p. 377)| whistle-blowing| Employee disclosure of illegal, immoral, or illegitimate practices on the part of the organization’s officers and employees| SLIDES ONLY – Deal and Kennedy – Popular Typology of Organizational Culture (12,13) – Utilitarian ethics model (27) – Moral rights ethics model (28) – Justice ethics model (29) – Forces acting on manager’s ethics moment (30) CHAPTER ELEVEN – INNOVATION AND CHANGE ambidextrous approach| A characteristic of an organization that can behave in both an organic and a mechanistic way (p. 402)| change process| The way in which planned changes occur in an organization (p. 99)| creative departments| Organizational departments that initi ate change, such as research and development, engineering, design, and systems analysis (p. 403)| creativity| The generation of novel ideas that may meet perceived needs or respond to opportunities (p. 399)| culture changes| Changes in the values, attitudes, expectations, beliefs, abilities, and behaviour of employees (p. 397)| dual-core approach| An organizational change perspective that identifies the unique processes associated with administrative change compared to those associated with technical change (p. 411)| horizontal coordination model| A model of the three components of organizational design needed to achieve new product innovation: departmental specialization, boundary spanning, and horizontal linkages (p. 07)| idea champions| Organizational members who provide the time and energy to make things happen; sometimes called advocates, intrapreneurs, and change agents (p. 404)| idea incubator| Safe harbour where ideas from employees throughout the organization can be develop ed without interference from bureaucracy or politics (p. 403)| incremental change| A series of continual progressions that maintains an organization’s general equilibrium and often affects only one organizational part (p. 394)| large group intervention| An approach that brings together participants from all parts of the organization (and may include outside stakeholders as well) to discuss problems or opportunities and plan for change (p. 15)| management champion| A manager who acts as a supporter and sponsor of a technical champion to shield and promote an idea within the organization (p. 405)| new-venture fund| A fund that provides financial resources to employees to develop new ideas, products, or businesses (p. 404)| organization development| A behavioural science field devoted to improving performance through trust, open confrontation of problems, employee empowerment and participation, the design of meaningful work, cooperation between groups, and the full use of human potential (p. 415)| organizational change| The adoption of a new idea or behaviour by an organization (p. 98)| organizational innovation| The adoption of an idea or behaviour that is new to an organization’s industry, market, or general environment (p. 398)| product and service changes| Changes in an organization’s product or service outputs (p. 396)| radical change| A breaking of the frame of reference for an organization, often creating a new equilibrium because the entire organization is transformed (p. 394)| skunkworks| Separate, small, informal, highly autonomous, and often secretive group that focuses on breakthrough ideas for the business (p. 404)| strategy and structure changes| Changes in the administrative domain of an organization, including structure, policies, reward systems, labour relations, coordination devices, anagement information control systems, and accounting and budgeting (p. 396)| switching structures| An organization creates an organic structur e when such a structure is needed for the initiation of new ideas (p. 403)| team building| Activities that promote the idea that people who work together can work together as a team (p. 416)| technical champion| A person who generates or adopts and develops an idea for a technological innovation and is devoted to it, even to the extent of risking position or prestige; also called product champion (p. 405)| technology changes| Changes in an organization’s production process, including its knowledge and skills base, that enable distinctive competence (p. 97)| time-based competition| Delivering products and services faster than competitors, giving companies a competitive edge (p. 409)| venture teams| A technique to foster creativity within organizations in which a small team is set up as its own company to pursue innovations  | SLIDES ONLY – Four P’s (10) – Leavitt’s diamond (11) – Triggers for change (12) – Forces against change (13) – Lewin’s three step change management (14) – Change management five action steps (15-24) CHAPTER TWLEVE – DECISION MAKING PROCESSES bounded rationality perspective| How decisions are made when time is limited, a large number of internal and external factors affect a decision, and the problem is ill-defined (p. 34)| Carnegie model| Organizational decision making involving many managers and a final choice based on a coalition among those managers (p. 445)| coalition| An alliance among several managers who agree through bargaining about organizational goals and problem priorities (p. 445)| contingency decision-making framework| A perspective that brings together the two organizational dimensions of problem consensus and technical knowledge about solutions (p. 458)| decision learning| A process of recognizing and admitting mistakes that allows managers and organizations to acquire the experience and knowledge to perform more effectively in the future (p. 62) | escalating commitment| Persisting in a course of action when it is failing; occurs because managers block or distort negative information and because consistency and persistence are valued in contemporary society (p. 463)| garbage can model| Model that describes the pattern or flow of multiple decisions within an organization (p. 453)| high-velocity environments| Industries in which competitive and technological change is so extreme that market data are either unavailable or obsolete, strategic windows open and shut quickly, and the cost of a decision error is company failure (p. 461)| imitation| The adoption of a decision tried elsewhere in the hope that it will work in the present situation (p. 60)| incremental decision process model| A model that describes the structured sequence of activities undertaken from the discovery of a problem to its solution (p. 447)| inspiration| An innovative, creative solution that is not reached by logical means (p. 460)| intuitive decision making | The use of experience and judgment, rather than sequential logic or explicit reasoning, to solve a problem (p. 439)| management science approach| Organizational decision making that is the analog to the rational approach by individual managers (p. 443)| nonprogrammed decisions| Novel and poorly defined, these are made when no procedure exists for solving the problem (p. 433)| organizational decision making| The organizational process of identifying and solving problems (p. 33)| organized anarchy| Extremely organic organizations characterized by highly uncertain conditions (p. 453)| point–counterpoint| A decision-making technique that divides decision makers into two groups and assigns them different, often competing, responsibilities (p. 462)| problem consensus| The agreement among managers about the nature of problems or opportunities and about which goals and outcomes to pursue (p. 457)| problem identification| The decision-making stage in which information about environm ental and organizational conditions is monitored to determine if performance is satisfactory and to diagnose the cause of shortcomings (p. 33)| problem solution| The decision-making stage in which alternative courses of action are considered and one alternative is selected and implemented (p. 433)| problemistic search| When managers look around in the immediate environment for a solution to resolve a problem quickly (p. 446)| programmed decisions| Repetitive and well-defined procedures that exist for resolving problems (p. 433)| rational approach| A process of decision making that stresses the need for systematic analysis of a problem followed by choice and implementation in a logical sequence (p. 434)| satisficing| The acceptance by organizations of a satisfactory rather than a maximum level of performance (p. 46)| technical knowledge| Understanding and agreement about how to solve problems and reach organizational goals (p. 458)| – Organizational Learning: Single and Double -Loop Learning (Slide only) CHAPTER THIRTEEN – CONFLICT, POWER, AND POLITICS authority| A force for achieving desired outcomes that is prescribed by the formal hierarchy and reporting relationships (p. 481)| centrality| A trait of a department whose role is in the primary activity of an organization (p. 488)| collective bargaining| The negotiation of an agreement between management and workers (p. 498)| competition| Rivalry between groups in the pursuit of a common prize (p. 75)| confrontation| A situation in which parties in conflict directly engage one another and try to work out their differences (p. 498)| coping with uncertainty| A source of power for a department that reduces uncertainty for other departments by obtaining prior information, prevention, and absorption (p. 489)| decision premises| Constraining frames of reference and guidelines placed by top managers on decisions made at lower levels (p. 483)| dependency| One aspect of horizontal power: when one department is dependent on another, the latter is in a position of greater power (p. 487)| domains of political activity| Areas in which politics plays a role.Three domains in organizations are structural change, management succession, and resource allocation (p. 491)| financial resources| Control over money is an important source of power within an organization (p. 488)| intergroup conflict| Behaviour that occurs between organizational groups when participants identify with one group and perceive that other groups may block their group’s goal achievements or expectations (p. 475)| labour-management teams| Teams designed to increase worker participation and to provide a cooperative model for addressing union–management issues (p. 498)| negotiation| The bargaining process that often occurs during confrontation and enables the parties to systematically reach a solution (p. 98)| network centrality| Top managers increase their power by locating themselves centrally in an organizatio n and surrounding themselves with loyal subordinates (p. 484)| nonsubstitutability| A trait of a department whose function cannot be performed by other readily available resources (p. 489)| organizational politics| Activities to acquire, develop, and use power and other resources to obtain a preferred outcome when there is uncertainty or disagreement about choices (p. 490)| political model| A definition of an organization as being made up of groups that have separate interests, goals, and values in which power and influence are needed to reach decisions (p. 79)| political tactics for using power| These include building coalitions, expanding networks, controlling decision premises, enhancing legitimacy and expertise, and making a direct appeal (p. 494)| power| The ability of one person or department in an organization to influence others to bring about desired outcomes (p. 480)| power sources| There are five sources of horizontal power in organizations: dependency, financial resource s, centrality, nonsubstitutability, and the ability to cope with uncertainty (p. 487)| rational model| A description of an organization characterized by a rational approach to decision making, extensive and reliable information systems, central power, a norm of optimization, uniform values across groups, little conflict, and an efficiency orientation (p. 79)| sources of intergroup conflict| Factors that generate conflict, including goal incompatibility, differentiation, task interdependence, and limited resources (p. 476)| strategic contingencies| Events and activities inside and outside an organization that are essential for attaining organizational goals (p. 486)| tactics for enhancing collaboration| Techniques such as integration devices, confrontation and negotiation, intergroup consultation, member rotation, and shared mission and superordinate goals that enable groups to overcome differences and work together (p. 497)| tactics for increasing power| These include entering areas of high uncertainty, creating dependencies, providing resources, and satisfying strategic contingencies  |

Dark Knight Rises Essay

The Dark Knight Rises is a 2012 superhero film directed by Christopher Nolan, who co-wrote the screenplay with his brother Jonathan Nolan and the story with David S. Goyer. Featuring the DC Comics character Batman, the film is the final installment in Nolan’s Batman film trilogy, and it is the sequel to Batman Begins (2005) and The Dark Knight (2008). Christian Bale reprises the lead role of Bruce Wayne/Batman, with a returning cast of his allies: Michael Caine as Alfred Pennyworth, Gary Oldman as James Gordon, and Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox. The film introduces Selina Kyle (Anne Hathaway), a sly, morally ambiguous cat burglar, and Bane (Tom Hardy), a mercenary bent on destroying Gotham City. Drawn back into action by new threats facing the city, an older Bruce Wayne is forced to come out of retirement and become Batman once again. Christopher Nolan was initially hesitant about returning to the series for a second time, but agreed to come back after developing a story with his brother and Goyer that he felt would conclude the series on a satisfactory note. Nolan drew inspiration from Bane’s comic book debut in the 1993 â€Å"Knightfall† storyline, the 1986 series The Dark Knight Returns, and the 1999 storyline â€Å"No Man’s Land†. Filming took place in various locations, including Jodhpur, London, Nottingham, Glasgow, Los Angeles, New York City, Newark, and Pittsburgh. Nolan utilized IMAX cameras for much of the filming to optimize the quality of the picture, including the first six minutes of the film. A variation of the Batplane termed â€Å"The Bat†, an underground prison set, and a new Batcave set were created specifically for the film. As with The Dark Knight, viral marketing campaigns began early during production to help promotion. When filming concluded, Warner Bros. refocused its campaign; developing promotional websites, releasing the first six minutes of the film and theatrical trailers, sending random pieces of information regarding the film’s plot to various companies. The Dark Knight Rises premiered in New York City on July 16, 2012. The film was released in Australia and New Zealand on July 19, 2012, and in North America and the United Kingdom on July 20, 2012. It received a generally positive critical response and grossed over $1.081 billion worldwide. The Dark Knight Rises is currently the 7th highest-grossing film of all time,  the second highest-grossing film of 2012, and the second highest-grossing superhero film of all time.

Sickle Cell Anemia Essay Example

Sickle Cell Anemia Essay Example Sickle Cell Anemia Essay Sickle Cell Anemia Essay Anemia is a condition in which there is lower than normal number of red blood cells or hemoglobin within a person, consequently decreasing the amount of oxygen being carried to the rest of the body. Causes of such a condition are usually insufficient amounts of iron, blood loss, lack of red blood cell production, or high rates of red blood cell destruction. (MNT, medicalnewstoday.com/articles/158800.php) One form of this condition is the disease Sickle Cell Anemia, an inherited blood disorder that affects hemoglobin. It occurs when a person inherits two recessive genes from their parents that results in the hemoglobin the red blood cells to be sickle hemoglobin. This sickle hemoglobin causes the red blood cells to change from being flexible and disk-shaped to stiff, sticky, and crescent (sickle) shaped. (NIH, nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/sca/) Sickle Cell Anemia can be harmful to humans, for the now stiff, sticky, and crescent shaped red blood cells can no longer move easily through the blood vessels. (MedicinePlus, nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/sca/) Consequently, they can block blood flow, which can lead to pain and an increased risk for contracting infections, as well as damage to tissue and organs. The latter is due to lack of oxygen from the impaired circulation by sickle cells and can result in disabilities, such as Aseptic Necrosis (the death of portions of bone). (MedicineNet, medicinenet.com/sickle_cell/page3.htm) There are certain demographic areas that are more prone to having Sickle Cell Anemia. These areas are certain regions of Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, and southern Europe. This is mainly due to the connection between Sickle Cell Anemia and the disease known as malaria. Due to the fact that people who are heterozygous for Sickle Cell Anemia are either immune or have increased resistance towards malaria, areas more greatly impacted by malaria contain are more prominent with Sickle Cell Anemia. That is why certain regions of Africa, the Middle East, southern Europe, and South Asia are more prone to having Sickle Cell Anemia. (RACE, understandingrace.org/humvar/sickle_01.html) Furthermore, this is the reason as to why Sickle Cell Anemia is found more frequently in people of Indian, Middle Eastern, and African heritage. (MedicineNet, medicinenet.com/sickle_cell/page3.htm) There is currently no cure for Sickle Cell Anemia, but there are basic treatments that help relieve pain and prevent further complications, such as blood transfusions. To maintain health, it is vital for people with this disease to have proper nutrition and hygiene, rest, and to avoid stress (Gene Gateway, ornl.gov/sci/techresources/Human_Genome/posters/chromosome/sca.shtml). Unfortunately, Sickle Cell Anemia is an inherited disorder and there are different types of Anemia that could affect the blood cells in the same way as Sickle Cell Anemia. Also, this disease can be influenced by other diseases, in the sense that sickle cells can be made even more severe because of the side effects of the other diseases. Additionally, there is a connection between malaria and Sickle Cell Anemia, for those that are heterozygous for sickle cell anemia are resistant to malaria. Finally, third-world countries do not have easy access to diagnostics or advanced medication that would help contain the disease. Due to this, it is nearly impossible for Sickle Cell Anemia to be completely eradicated. (Teens Health, http://kidshealth.org/teen/diseases_conditions/blood/sickle_cell_anemia.html)

Free Essays on The Most Embarasing Moment

The most embarrassing moment in my life happened in the restaurant one decade ago. I promised to four of my good friends that I will treat them with nice dinner in the best restaurant in the city if I get the promotion I was expecting. When that long awaited moment finally arrived, we all gathered on the warm summer Saturday night at the â€Å"Vesuvio†, Italian restaurant located in the heart of down town, with reputation of having the best Italian food in the whole country. â€Å"Vesuvio† was a pleasant upscale restaurant with the big hanging, mushroom-shaped lights and heavy wooden tables covered with traditional white tablecloths. We had some great time that night, telling jokes and remembering good high-school days over pasta, shrimps and pizzas. When handsome waiter brought our bill, I proudly reached for my black oversized purse to take my red leather wallet out of it. I did not find it right away, so I nervously shuffled the numerous items in my purse. I l ooked again, and again and still could not find it. I turned my purse up-side-down. At that time my Clinique make up bag landed on the table followed by the car keys, some photos, bunch of store receipts, my new sunglasses, but no sign of the wallet. After a short while I gave up and totally embarrassed and rather red-faced admitted to my friends that I accidentally left it at home. They started teasing me saying that since I invited them, I should pay even if I had to stay in the restaurant’s kitchen washing the dishes. However, the restaurant saga ended with my friends paying for the dinner. Furthermore, they never wanted me to pay them back. Even though my most embarrassing moment happened almost 10 years ago, they still tease me for that. Needless to say, I have never went back to â€Å"Vesuvio† again.... Free Essays on The Most Embarasing Moment Free Essays on The Most Embarasing Moment The most embarrassing moment in my life happened in the restaurant one decade ago. I promised to four of my good friends that I will treat them with nice dinner in the best restaurant in the city if I get the promotion I was expecting. When that long awaited moment finally arrived, we all gathered on the warm summer Saturday night at the â€Å"Vesuvio†, Italian restaurant located in the heart of down town, with reputation of having the best Italian food in the whole country. â€Å"Vesuvio† was a pleasant upscale restaurant with the big hanging, mushroom-shaped lights and heavy wooden tables covered with traditional white tablecloths. We had some great time that night, telling jokes and remembering good high-school days over pasta, shrimps and pizzas. When handsome waiter brought our bill, I proudly reached for my black oversized purse to take my red leather wallet out of it. I did not find it right away, so I nervously shuffled the numerous items in my purse. I l ooked again, and again and still could not find it. I turned my purse up-side-down. At that time my Clinique make up bag landed on the table followed by the car keys, some photos, bunch of store receipts, my new sunglasses, but no sign of the wallet. After a short while I gave up and totally embarrassed and rather red-faced admitted to my friends that I accidentally left it at home. They started teasing me saying that since I invited them, I should pay even if I had to stay in the restaurant’s kitchen washing the dishes. However, the restaurant saga ended with my friends paying for the dinner. Furthermore, they never wanted me to pay them back. Even though my most embarrassing moment happened almost 10 years ago, they still tease me for that. Needless to say, I have never went back to â€Å"Vesuvio† again....

IT Systems Strategy Of A Company Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

IT Systems Strategy Of A Company - Essay Example Current paper focuses on the IT systems strategy of Microsoft – a major competitor in the global application software industry; reference is made not to the parent firm, based in USA, but to its UK subsidiary; the current position of the firm towards its rivals is important (see also Table 1, Appendix); it seems that the IT strategy of the firm has helped towards the achievement of a stable growth; the key aspects of this strategy are presented and evaluated using appropriate theoretical framework – the PESTEL analysis. Microsoft Corporation is a global leader in the Software Application Industry; the firm entered the British market in 1982; currently the employees of the firm in UK are 1500. Since its establishment in Britain the firm has focused on the promotion of innovation in technology and the improvement of the technology available in education and in communities. In fact, as in other countries worldwide, Microsoft Corporation UK has helped the British government to improve the technology used in various social and economic activities – enhancing ‘the social and economic well-being of local population’ (Microsoft Corporation, Economic Empowerment). One of the key characteristics of the global market is the continuous increase of competition; firms that try to stabilize their performance and achieve a stable rate of growth need to continuously review their strategies; emphasis should be based on the IT systems involved in the various organizational operations. In firms that are heavily based on knowledge management specific measures should be taken; the firms that would be involved in such effort should meet the following requirements: ‘ a) to be proficient at skills and support infrastructure, to foster innovation and collaboration and to allow self-organization to emerge’ (Rud, 2009, p.38). When the organizational activities are expanded in different industrial sectors, the strategic planning

Compare and evaluate multiculturalism and assimilation as alternative Essay

Compare and evaluate multiculturalism and assimilation as alternative approaches to dealing with immigrant populations. Use evid - Essay Example The rate of immigration has doubled in the last five decades alone, accounting for the greater proportion of workers in the industrialized nations of the world (Shah, 2008, para. 4). The estimated number of international immigrants represented about three percent of the global total population. Many of these immigrants either came from Asia or Africa, and most of them are undocumented migrant workers using illegal means or channels to gain entry. Half of all immigrants are women; other than the reasons cited earlier, immigrants also choose to leave their own countries due to ethnic persecution (if they belong to a minority), avoidance of military or armed conflicts, and political harassment. A new reason recently cited as driver for increases in immigration is increased globalization, in which their original home countries suffered from open trade policies, making them losers due to greater economic inequality (ibid. para. 8). Some people also immigrate for better educational opportu nities while others do so for a good retirement place in another country, such as a warmer climate and lower costs of living. An improvement in transportation technologies, cheaper travel rates, and shorter travel times have in many ways also contributed to the heightened phenomenon of global immigration today. Discussion The United Nations considers international migration as one of the basic human rights, and the sacred right to freedom of travel and movement is included in its Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Relatedly, basic human rights apply to everybody, whether as an immigrant or not; the U. N. agency charged with carrying out this mandate is the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (or UNESCO) to encourage all member states to respect all rights of immigrants at par or level with that of its own native citizens (Ban, 2007, para. 1) and to promote the speedy, orderly, and peaceful integration of migrants to society in general. It is quite i ronic how many Western countries had previously urged Russia and China, in the past decades, to allow their citizens to move freely and migrate if they want to go, but now these Western countries are reluctant to accept more migrants and put up hindrances, controls, or new laws to limit immigration. Admittedly, there are benefits to free immigration such as lower labor costs that help the host country, contribute to cultural diversity of society, enhance mutual understanding, alleviate labor shortages, and increase the talent pool of the nation (Fassi, 2011). Moreover, countries with declining populations also benefit from new people. But on the other hand, some people resist immigrants because of competition for scarce jobs, cultural adulteration or influences, social adjustments, increased demands on social services like health care, policing, sanitation, food, housing, educational facilities, welfare and pension benefits, among others (Sterba 2009). In some European countries, a new element of the drawbacks of immigration has been added, that of cultural conflicts, social intolerance, and religious extremism. Some immigrants resist integration, and prefer ethnic segregation. Precisely due to these existing and other incipient problems related to new immigrants, various countries have tried several approaches towards achieving faster

Travel Agency HR Plan Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Travel Agency HR Plan - Research Paper Example As such the key concerns for every human resources department have always been job satisfaction, employee commitment and motivation which are the determinants of the level of performance and job growth. The resources based approach to the role of human resources management proposes that the company has a competitive advantage if it can effectively execute its human resources strategy. As such the human resources strategy serves certain functions including creating competitive advantage. The focus of the firm’s competitive edge is the potential for effective and efficient execution of the production process. This is mainly associated with the firm’s workforce and how the workforce responds to the firm’s objectives and goals. People management The organisation’s human resources strategy ensures that the employees remain objective to the firm’s overall goals and objectives. Each employee has their own personal goals and objectives which are either simi lar or different from those of the organisation. The human resources strategy ensures that the employee aims and objectives are incorporated in the mission and objectives of the organisation. Job growth. ... This acts as a motivation mechanism for the employees by driving their efforts towards a particular achievable and well laid out objective. 2. Challenges in the implementation Change management in the organisation has always presented serious concerns to the human resources department. The implementation of the human resources strategy will therefore be confronted by the resistance to change among the employees who are not as willing to adjust to the new strategy. Further the new human resources strategy will require the managers to change their systems of administration and instruction to allow for the adoption and effective implementation of the new strategy. The new strategy also requires a particular skill set that acts as the basis for the allocation of duties and responsibilities. As such not many employees bear these skills. This causes the projections of the strategy to deviate from the practically possible results. The recruitment of the new employees will also create new tr aining costs to ensure that the employees maintain a strict standard of responsibility to the strategy. Finally the production line of the travel agency has an industry best practice standard which is commonly used among the travel agencies. Any deviation from the common standards creates doubts of actual effectiveness. 3. The purpose of HR metrics and their effect on senior management Human resources metrics are the series of factors and circumstances that allow the organisation to quantify the participation of the human resources as resources to the business. The effective implementation of corporate strategy depends on the ability to effectively manage the organisation (Lawler, Levenson, and Boudreau 2004). The

Abnormal psychology-analyzing psychiatric cases Assignment

Abnormal psychology-analyzing psychiatric cases - Assignment Example Axis IV: problems with primary support group (case study does not mention that she has any friends or family), occupational problems (job loss, discord with boss). She will also be facing problems with the legal system because she will be in trouble fro grand theft because of the $250,000. The exact cause is not known. Some factors can generate depression and it can be associated with general medical conditions like diabetes, carcinomas, stroke or other problems. Some think heredity plays a part. Some research shows a change in the neurotransmitters of the brain and major life stresses. A. Major Psychiatric Symptoms: intense fear, experienced trauma at mothers hand, decrease in emotional responsiveness (school, other activities decreased), experiences where she felt "unreal", avoids mother, insomnia, suicidal ideation, taking too much responsibility for the fight with her mother (two years ago). No medical challenges have been reported for Major Depressive Episode. The DSM-Iv shows abnormalities that came from the laboratory (p. 324) which include sleep EEG abnormalities. General medical conditions can happen because of the trauma but nothing else is known about Acute Stress Disorder except in the way it works with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. The individual has so many physical complaints that it is difficult to figure them out. According to the DSM-IV physical examination has not developed objective findings for the physical ailments (p.

Description of a data data warehouse Assignment

Description of a data data warehouse - Assignment Example Data from different sources are converted into a common format in the data warehouse, therefore, each department will produce results that are in line with all the others. Furthermore, a data warehouse will be of great importance during data recovery. If a disaster occurs in the transactional database, it will be easy to restore all data, all if not all, that which is of importance, to the transactional database from the warehouse. This table is used to store information about different tables from the dimensions table, which include: CustomerKey, SupplierKey, DateKey, ProductKey, OrderID, Required_DateKey, UnitsOnOrder, ProductPrice, Shipped_DateKey, Quantity, TotalPrice, ShipperCompany, ShipperPhone, InsertAuditKey and UpdateAuditKey. The table contains key values of different dimensions tables. ProductKey, SupplierKey, DateKey, UnitPrice, UnitsInStock, UnitsOnOrder, ReorderLevel, UnitsSold, InsertAuditKey, UpdateAuditKey. The Product, Supplier, and Date keys are surrogate keys in the FactInvetory table. The InsertAuditKey and the UpdateAuditKey are foreign keys from the FactOrder table. The table contains information about keys, the SK_EmployeeKey, SK_TerritoryKey, and the SK_DateKey. All these are surrogate keys referencing EmployeeKey TerritoryKey and DateKey from different dimensions table. The table has CustomerKey as the surrogate key for the table, CustomerID as the business key. Other customer information stored in this table include: FirstName, LastName, TitleOfCourtesy, CompanyName, Address, City, Region, PostalCode, PostalCountry, Phone, Fax, Description, IsCurrent, EffectiveStartDate, AffectiveEndDate, InsertAuditKey, UpdateAuditKey. The other employee information stored in the dimension employee table include: LastName, FirstName, Title, TitleOfCourtesy, BirthDate, HireDate, Address, City, Region PostalCode, Country, HomePhone, Extenision, Notes. Other information stored in this table include: Day,

Freedom of Speech Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 3

Freedom of Speech - Essay Example The essay "Freedom of Speech" highlights that the call to convention for the purpose of devising and discussing all provisions for a constitution went out on October 16, 1786. The citizens of the new country knew that they had to have something in place that would provide for a free government instead of the loose confederation they had in place. It was realized that most of the problems being experienced by the new federation or union of states were of an economic nature and could be solved only by a common venture or government. James Madison for one read the tenor of the times and knew it was time to preserve the union they now enjoyed. A representative government was the only thing that would solve the collective problems of the union. The entire concept of a free government would have to be protected by a constitution created by elected representatives. The whole concept of a free government would have to be based on the will of the citizens who would choose representatives to a two house government which would provide for the governmental needs of the union. Something had to bind the people together for a fee government to work and that one thing turned out to be the separation of church and state. (Joseph Smith, 1987).

Abnormal psychology-analyzing psychiatric cases Assignment

Abnormal psychology-analyzing psychiatric cases - Assignment Example Axis IV: problems with primary support group (case study does not mention that she has any friends or family), occupational problems (job loss, discord with boss). She will also be facing problems with the legal system because she will be in trouble fro grand theft because of the $250,000. The exact cause is not known. Some factors can generate depression and it can be associated with general medical conditions like diabetes, carcinomas, stroke or other problems. Some think heredity plays a part. Some research shows a change in the neurotransmitters of the brain and major life stresses. A. Major Psychiatric Symptoms: intense fear, experienced trauma at mothers hand, decrease in emotional responsiveness (school, other activities decreased), experiences where she felt "unreal", avoids mother, insomnia, suicidal ideation, taking too much responsibility for the fight with her mother (two years ago). No medical challenges have been reported for Major Depressive Episode. The DSM-Iv shows abnormalities that came from the laboratory (p. 324) which include sleep EEG abnormalities. General medical conditions can happen because of the trauma but nothing else is known about Acute Stress Disorder except in the way it works with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. The individual has so many physical complaints that it is difficult to figure them out. According to the DSM-IV physical examination has not developed objective findings for the physical ailments (p.

Freedom of Speech Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 3

Freedom of Speech - Essay Example The essay "Freedom of Speech" highlights that the call to convention for the purpose of devising and discussing all provisions for a constitution went out on October 16, 1786. The citizens of the new country knew that they had to have something in place that would provide for a free government instead of the loose confederation they had in place. It was realized that most of the problems being experienced by the new federation or union of states were of an economic nature and could be solved only by a common venture or government. James Madison for one read the tenor of the times and knew it was time to preserve the union they now enjoyed. A representative government was the only thing that would solve the collective problems of the union. The entire concept of a free government would have to be protected by a constitution created by elected representatives. The whole concept of a free government would have to be based on the will of the citizens who would choose representatives to a two house government which would provide for the governmental needs of the union. Something had to bind the people together for a fee government to work and that one thing turned out to be the separation of church and state. (Joseph Smith, 1987).

Fulfilling our Potential Essay Example for Free

Fulfilling our Potential Essay The different Definitions of education are misinterpreted in different ways, but there are still ways that you can interpret what you think the definition is on education. Education is to be able to find your own path. To have a high school diploma or to have a college degree, education is to be successful in your life in whatever way that is. Trying to define education is like trying to define why the sky is the color it is or why the grass is green, there is no accurate definition of education to me. Education can mean more than one thing having a college degree but also can mean not having a college degree. Being educated to me means to be successful in your life, just because you do not have a college degree doesn’t mean you will not go far in your life or make a good amount of money. People make it seem as if you don’t have a decent degree you will just work at a fast food restaurant. If someone were to ask me what it meant to be educated I wouldn’t be able to give them an answer. My mother Julie, went to the University Of Arkansas were she had completed law school. After completing law school she got a job at JB Hunt being a contract attorney. My father Carlos, who only has a high school diploma but works for a company called South Western Energy and is a company man for two rigs out in Pennsylvania where he is very successful in what he does. I don’t think you have to have a college diploma to be the most educated person around. Do I think you would make more amount of money in certain professions? Yes. Society makes it out to be that you must be admitted to a college to be educated, but really how educated do you have to be, to be admitted into a college. Back in the day it was a lot harder to get into a college, now-a-days you can score a fourteen through a sixteen and easily get into a college and just have to do remediation classes. Being tested for an ACT, SAT, Standardized test to me doesn’t show how educated you really are. Teachers teach you for the chapter they are covering than they either expect you to continue to remember what they taught you or you forget it. On the standardized test or the A T or SAT there is information that you were taught in younger grades or that you haven’t been taught yet. So technically it really isn’t showing how educated a person may really be. Life its self-offers you an education. This lesson of education is more a hard learning education. ‘The best way to predict your future is to create It.’- Abraham Lincoln. You are not taught in school how to balance a check book, how to cook, how to pay taxes, or how to do major things in the real world. Sooner or later you will get to the point that you will graduate for high school, get your GED or even drop out, but there will come a time that you will leave your parents’ house, which then you will have to find your own path in the real world. Unless you were taught by your parents or other adults how to balance a check book, how to cook, how to pay taxes, or how to do things in the real world you won’t be an educated person on how to go about life. In life there will be times that you will come to points in life that will you will see how educated you are, or when there is times that you need to speak up or when you need to go ahead and back off from the situation. People are different and learn in many different ways some faster than others and some who remember everything easily or some who forget stuff by the time class is over. Being knowledgeable in one subject and not in the other is that consider too make someone less knowledgeable or less comprehensive than another person. When going through college to earn a degree depending on what we want to major in we aren’t taught certain subjects. When majoring in anything in the medical field you aren’t taught any type of histories because you don’t need to know it. When you want to become a history major you aren’t taught any sciences because you don’t and won’t need them. If someone was to walk up to someone and try and have a conversation with them about a certain subject or ask them for some type of help on a certain subject but the other person isn’t able to have a conversation back because they aren’t taught that subject or haven’t been taught that subject does that make them any less educated than the person asking for help. There will always be some one that is always smarter or believes to be smarter than you, but really how can you tell how smart someone is. Being successful to me is a huge part of being educated. When knowing people who have a good degree and do not do anything with their degree and make bad choices in their life and not care what anyone thinks isn’t a successful and well educated person. When you are living on the streets and have a good degree you could go and find a job even if it means starting at a fast food restaurant and working your way to the top to get a job for what your degree is. It may take time but no reason to just sit around and waste a well-educated mind as society would say. There may be as many definitions as there are defines, but it is important for people to have a clear understand of education in order to be able to define it to other people on what your beliefs are and what it means to be a well-educated person. Lincoln, Abraham. Education Quotes Edgalaxy. Edgalaxy. Techzoo, 2009-2013. Web. 17 Sept. 2013.

Democracy in Nigeria Challenges

Democracy in Nigeria Challenges NIGERIAN DEMOCRACY TODAY: THE EXPECTED DIVIDENDS AND CHALLENGES BY FRANKLINS A . SANUBI, Ph.D Abstract After a long period of military interregnum, the anxiety and high expectations which characterized the disposition of the local Nigerian polity shortly before 1999 had almost waned in barely a decade of the country’s democratic experiment due to bad and corrupt governance resulting in some fresh pessimism about the workability of democratic governmentt in the country These expectations which have been encapsulated into a new paradigm in Nigerian politics known as â€Å"dividends of democracy† have aroused some academic and policy concern about the claims of those who professed to have secured some â€Å"dividends† for their people and those who believed that such acclaimed dividends are a ruse. Using a structural-functional analytical framework in a descriptive research design, this paper presents some of the relevant arguments for and against the claim to the dividends of democracy in Nigeria, pointing out some of its key challenges. It observes among others, th at while the claim to attaining dividend of democracy may be arguable under the platform that the adoption of democratic governance in Nigeria may have secured some favourable external image for the nation in recent years, there are ample evidence that much of the claims by political actors to dividends of democracy are not supported by tangible functional structures of an enduring democracy The paper recommends among other things, a vigorous pursuit of the institutional fight against corruption and an expedited reform of the country’s electoral system. Introduction The peculiarities of a nation’s practice of democracy distinguish it from another’s. As a social process, democracy should naturally be expected to respond to the dictates of its immediate milieu while as much as possible it aspires to some universal principles or standards in its practice. From its definitions as ‘a government of popular sovereignty’ democracy permits the majority of the governed to have its â€Å"will† enthroned in governance at least in deciding who should direct its own affairs in political authority at elections. In Nigeria’s barely half-a-century of political independence, some attempts at democratic governance may have totalled up only to nineteen years of its nationhood. Of this however, much will be desired of any one to identify the boundaries of a ‘true democracy’ as defined above if any, that is existing in the Nigerian experience. Typically, a democracy is characterized among others, by a regular general election, a highly defined electoral procedure, a high degree of the rule of law (with an independent and transparent judicial structure) and a people whose human rights is optimally guaranteed by existing executive, legislative and judicial institutions. While it may be argued at some academic forum that no ideal (true) democracy can be found in any nation today, there is however much compelling impulse to associate some current western democracies with a high degree of ideal democratic phenomenon. The Nigerian democracy would, comparatively rank very low in such continuum in terms of both practice and dividends. Democratic Dividends: A Definition Our discomfort with the use of the term â€Å"dividend† in the analysis of political performance, and especially in Nigeria where self-interest seems to vehemently override nationalistic aspiration, lies not in its auspiciousness but in its origin. The term â€Å"dividends† is a business one, particularly in the area of investment. To expect a dividend in future is to invest today. Investment is seen from the point of view of economics as â€Å"part of present income spent on goods or services in order to generate a high future income†. Such goods however are investment goods as distinguished from consumer goods. This view of investment sees the process as a â€Å"risk taking† endeavour. To assure a risk-taker of a dividend is to minimize his risks elements while investing. Higher risks bring higher dividends. The most successful investors therefore belong to the class of high risk takers. By importing this process into politics, Nigerian politicians may b e described as political investors who see their attainment of political office as a management of political investment rather than a call to service for one’s fatherland. Hence, when you hear an average political office holder talk of dividends of democracy, he is implicitly referring to the size of the national cake he is able to cut for himself, albeit his people. Democratic dividends in Nigeria may therefore not be seen merely as yielding a desired purpose of attaining national good governance for the benefit of the entire polity but particularly as an expression of a competitive struggle for natural economic resources to the satisfaction of competing individuals or groups often defined in ethnocentric terms. Yet this term â€Å"dividend† of democracy has been a household one in the language registers of political actors in Nigeria. Structural-Functionalism and Democracy: A theoretical framework An auspicious social theory under which the analysis of the â€Å"dividends of democracy in Nigeria† may be comfortably made is the theory of structural-functionalism. The functionalist school believes that the understanding of a given system (under this circumstance, the Nigerian political system in the democratic dispensation) must necessarily comprise not only the understanding of the institutions (or structures) which make up the system but also their respective functions1. The adherents of structural-functionalism insist that these institutions must be placed within a meaningful and 1 Igwe, O. (2007) Politics and globe dictionary, New ed., Aba: Eagle Publishers dynamic historical context if they are to be properly understood an idea that stands in sharp contrast to the prevailing approaches in the field of comparative politics such as the state-society theory and the dependency theory. The structural-functional approach is based on the view that a political system is made up of several key components including interest groups, political groups and branches of government. According to Almond Powell, a political system performs some key functions such as political socialization, recruitment and communication2. Socialization may be seen as a process by which a society passes along its values and beliefs to succeeding generations while from a point of view of politics, socialization (and hence political socialization) may be described as a process by which a society inculcates civic virtues, or the habit of effective citizenship. Political recruitment on the other hand may be seen as a process by which a political system generates interest, e ngagement and participation from citizens while communication describes a process by which a system promulgates its values and information. A variant of structural-functionalism based on the analysis of Gabriel Almond sees all political systems as comprising four major characteristics namely: that all political systems including the simplest ones have political structures; that the same functions are performed in â€Å"all political systems even if they may be performed with different frequencies and different structures; that both the political structures of the primitive and the modern societies are multifunctional no matter how specialized they are and; that all political systems are mixed in the cultural sense†3. 2. Almond, G.A. Powell Jnr. B.G.(1966) Comparative politics: A development approach, Boston: Little Brown.. 3 Offiong, O.J. (1996) Systems theory and structural functionalism in political analysis. In A.O. Oronsaye, (Ed.) Nigerian government and politics, Benin City: United City Press. As a political system in transition (as Nigeria,) moves from one state of equilibrium to another, the various political institutions or structures should be expected to bring about a required social change in their performance of the socialization, recruitment and communication functions. A social change according to Talcott Parsons occurs through four distinct and inevitable processes namely: differentiation ( that is, the increase in the complexity of social organizations); adaptive upgrading (that is, social institutions becoming more specialized in their processes) inclusion ( where groups previously excluded from a society because of such factors as race, gender, social class etc are now accepted) and; value generalization (that is, the development of new values that tolerate and legitimate a greater range of activities) 4. The application of democratic governance in Nigeria should therefore be seen from a structural-functional perspective as a desire to effect a required social change in our political development by the various democratic institutions performing their required functions in that respect. The Nigerian democracy therefore will be not meaningful, that is, not structurally functional, if it is not performing its required social functions (or yielding the expected dividends). The Dividends of Nigerian Democracy and the Challenges If any thing else, Nigerian democracy should be directed at fulfilling the nation’s philosophical goals as expressed in the official document of its Second National Development Plan (1970-1974) namely: â€Å"the creation of a free and democratic society; a just and egalitarian society; a united, strong and self reliant nation; a great and dynamic 4Kuper, A. (1988) The invention of primitive society: Transformation of an illusion, London: Routledge economy and, a land of full and bright opportunities for all citizens†5. Expectedly, Nigerian democracy should ensure the enthronement of a national consciousness, integrity and service. There should be strong desire to build one’s own nation by its citizen rather than a plunge-it-down syndrome typical of much of our current dispensation. Democracy should provide equal opportunities to genuine service-minded individuals to express themselves in seeking political office through elections. Democracy should be a platform for the provision of political enlightenment for the teeming apathetic and economically-emasculated people of the countryside and metropolises. Democracy is expected to guarantee an un-biased allocation and application of naturally determined national economic resources for the benefit of the entire polity while providing relevant opportunities for component region or states to harness local potentials for healthy competitive development initiatives. Democracy should provide relevant safeguards against corruption and unauthorized acqu isitions of national resources by individuals and groups who see themselves high above the corporate goals of the nation. Judicial safeguards in terms of regular prosecution and punishment should especially be adequately entrenched into such a political system. Democracy should provide relevant and adequate checks and balances between the three organs of government and as much as possible a freer press as the fourth estate in the realm. The phenomenon of wanton arrest, detention of journalists and the forceful closure of media-houses whenever they purvey any information acclaimed by political authorities 5. Federal Republic of Nigeria, (1970) Second National Development Plan 1970-1974, Lagos: Federal Ministry of Information,,p.32 as inimical to their existence (albeit the corporate existence of the nation) typical of our current democratic experiment will therefore require some policy refinement and for policymakers to demonstrate subtlety. Democracy should be expected to yield the above ascribed â€Å"dividends† to Nigeria through its practice over the years. Alternatively, the Nigerian democracy has yielded few, if any, of the ascribed dividends to its citizens. The typical dividends however has remained the propagation of ethnic dominance in the appropriation of national resources through what Deutsch6 describes as aa zero-sum game approach in form of appointments to vital national and state positions, regional self determination through the core vs. peripheral perception of resource allocation7, , thus engendering a clamour for regional economic independence popularly called â€Å"resource control† by the oil bearing peoples of the Niger Delta. Notwithstanding and on the positive side, democracy may have succeeded somewhat in sensitizing the citizens in appreciating the need for good governance among political office holders. There is a growing wave of civic awareness among people in Nigeria today than it had ever been. The increasing quest for probity and accountability and the adoption of due process principles (even with its default) may be regarded as a vital recipe for the re-branding of our local democratic culture and practice. But for the seeming inadequacies such as the area of official responsibility and accountability, and electoral malpractice, the Nigerian practice of democratic governance may have helped to 6 Deutsch, M. (1973), The resolution of conflicts: Constructive process, New Haven: Yale, 7 Noel, C.L. (1969), A theory of ethnic stratification: Social problems. Journal of Sociology, Vol. 16.(2). grow the nation’s international image as a major regional power in the African sub-region. The United Nations has often called on Nigeria to lead its team in the execution of its major international (especially African regional) economic, social and military initiatives. Nigerian’s growing involvement in regional peace keeping and other humanitarian missions and the African continent derives mainly from its recognition not only primarily as an economically-endowed nation, but also as a democratic entity with abundant hope. This perhaps may be adjudged as the most important dividend of the Nigeria’s democracy so far. Much however is yet to be desired of this image as its electoral process undergoes reform. The impetus provided by Ghana and South Africa in their respective recent elections have further strengthened the national call for electoral reforms and political transparency. The relevance of such call is underscored by a growing optimism in the national popu lace about the possible workability of the democratic arrangement as a better alternative in governance after having been overwhelmed by military dictatorship (with it accompanying slow pace of economic development) for over two-thirds of its nationhood. By a tacit recognition of the â€Å"expected† and â€Å"perceived† dividends of the Nigerian democracy, it becomes a little easier to identify some of the major challenges of the Nigerian democratic experience so far. At the apex of the challenges is the issue of electoral reforms. The want of a credible independent electoral process has unfortunately created institutional safeguards for political parties (especially incumbents) to exploit the existing political machinery for their electoral advantages. The office of the president has most often exploited its advantage as the appointing institution to impact significantly on the activities of the successive electoral commissions in the country. The result is that electoral rigging have been institutionalized often with threats of arrests on credible opposition. In the 2007 state and federal elections particularly the former, this anomaly was not only typical of but also rampant. Democratic government are expected to be less prone to corruptive tendencies since there are supposedly more institutional safeguards against them than the military regime. Unfortunately, the Nigerian democracy is yet to vindicate itself as a better alternative in this respect. Phenomenally, what may be regarded as some institutional arrangement created by government against corruption and other economic crimes though looked initially very impressive and praiseworthy during the moribund Obasanjo’s civilian regime, were later overrun by the same political structure (particularly the executive and legislative arms) which had seen such an arrangement as an erosion of their political and economic ambitions. Thus, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practice Commission (ICPC) became after an initial euphoria, figments of their creator’s imaginations. Corruption still remains a major challenge to Nigeria’s democracy. The ethnocentric clamour for economic self determinism, especially by the people of the Niger Delta has aroused a new awareness about the inevitability of good governance in the area of equitable distribution of natural resources especially in a plural society like Nigeria. The hydra-headed problem of the Niger Delta crisis is a logical aftermath of governments’ inability to address the special environmental and economic needs of the Niger Delta peoples and symptomatic of the continuing absence of agreement on a workable revenue sharing formula after a trial of several sharing principles over the years. This phenomenon has created additional challenges for the attainment of the expected dividends of democracy. Conclusion and Recommendations The claim to the attainment of democratic dividends by political actors in Nigeria will remain as contestable in certain areas as there exist elements of political inadequacies in the three key theoretical areas of political socialization, recruitment, communication. By consolidating on its growing international image as a regional centre of hope, Nigerian policymakers should invest much energy on the institutional fight against corruption by allowing the relevant statutory agencies already created for this purpose to exercise their mandate without unnecessary executive intervention. The pursuit of electoral reform in an attempt to enthrone a great degree of (if not total) internal and external credibility in our public elections should be more vigorous and expeditious so that as early as 2011, fresh and enduring dividends in that aspect can be become visibly clear. Until democratic practice in Nigeria provides more functional evidence in terms of enhanced political participation, eq uitable and acceptable process of resource allocation, credible electoral practice and a political culture of national integrity and transparency, it will remain sharply contestable to lay claim to the attainment of a meaningful dividend of democracy in Nigeria. 1