A drama in play format Essay

Gerald is not a member of the Birling family but he is still caught in their ‘web of sin’. He found Eva in a bar where he was hoping to pick up a mistress; he found her in the clutches of Alderman Megarty. Alderman was harassing Eva. When Gerald, like her knight in shining armour, made Alderman go away, they started to talk and became friends and eventually lovers. This all happened during the time that Sheila and Gerald were lovers. This is the largest part of the immoral act committed by Gerald, which was in fact not against Eva but against Shelia. Eventually he decided that their relationship had to end so he gave her some money and they went their separate ways. It is my belief that for a time Gerald and Eva were in love, as when it sinks in that she is dead he says, page 35: ‘Sorry – I – well, I’ve suddenly realised – taken it in properly – that she’s dead. ‘ Gerald was the only member of the group to show some love and compassion to Eva. Later, Gerald appears to be indifferent to the death of Eva especially after the inspector has left and he believes it was all a hoax. Indifference is also shown to the fact that he sinned. Mrs Birling denied Eva benefits from a charity of which she was the chairman. This was for several reasons, but the main one was the fact that Eva fabricated a name when it was her turn to be interviewed by the charity’s committee. Her name of choice was Mrs Birling, this was because it was Eric who had made her pregnant, and the real Mrs Birling obviously did not know this fact, and seemed to think that Eva was personally insulting her. Eva therefore received no benefits. This was a highly immoral act, as the members of the committee are not meant to be prejudiced towards any appeal. Mrs Birling thought that what she did was acceptable because Eva had lied. However, it was in fact not a lie as it was Eric’s child, also a Mr Birling, and he did propose to marry her but she had refused, as she knew it would not work. Eric was in a bar one night and he got talking to Eva, he also got drunk. He then walked Eva home and forced himself upon her, page 52: ‘Well, I was in that state when a chap easily turns nasty’. After she told him she was pregnant he began to steal money from his father’s business to help her. This was the only unintentional act of cruelty to happen to Eva, as all the others were purposeful acts of cruelty. He was not cruel to her but still he brought her suffering. He was another member of the group actually affected by the events. As he seems to have been changed for the better by the death of Eva. The Inspector’s name is Goole. Pronounced the same as the ghost, or ghoul. This makes me think that he is a ghost or a spectre of some kind, sent to the Birling family to show them the errors of their ways. A lot like the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future from Charles Dickens’ ‘A Christmas Carol’. He appears to know about Eva’s death before it has even happened: perhaps he has some kind of sixth sense. He says towards the end of the third act, page 54: ‘And my trouble is – that I haven’t much time. ‘ Is this because he knows the real police will soon call the house to ask their questions? We know in retrospect that at this point there is no dead body at the mortuary, because Gerald Croft rings the mortuary to ascertain this soon after Goole has left. I do not believe that Inspector Goole is a real police inspector. His mannerisms are unlike those of a real police officer, although he does refuse a drink at the beginning, page 11: ‘No thank you, Mr Birling. I’m on duty. ‘ I think he says this because he is acting the role of a policeman. He becomes too emotionally involved in the situation; a real policeman would keep the questioning on an official level. For example, he says to Mr Birling, page 46: ‘Don’t stammer and yammer at me again, man. I’m losing all patience with you people. ‘ This story is told as a drama in play format. The end of each of the three acts, including the final one, is completed with a moment of suspense. The audience is left anticipating the next act, wondering what will happen. The audience also become emotionally attached to the characters and want to know whether Sheila and Gerald will remain engaged, they want to know what the Birlings will do with Eric, and will there be a public scandal? They are drawn in to the rights and wrongs of the characters’ actions, and they pass judgement upon Gerald and Eric’s behaviour, Mrs Birling’s snobbery, Mr Birling’s self righteousness. The audience listens to the moral of the story, that we are individuals in a society, who should look after each other, and not be merely out for what we can get. The final few words of the play are unexpected. We have had the feeling that the Inspector is not all he seems, but now that the real police (presumably) have telephoned, things become clearer. I wanted to see a continuation of the play, with real events, real police, and see how much the characters changed when faced with the information again. No doubt Sheila and Eric would approach the situation differently, they seem to have learned a lesson from events. On page 70, Sheila says: ‘ Everything we said had happened really had happened. If it didn’t end tragically, then that’s lucky for us. But it might have done. ‘ and on page 71: ‘You’re pretending everything’s just as it was before’. She and Eric have moved on from their original viewpoints, and this gives us hope for the future, it is to be hoped that they would not behave so badly again in their future relationships with people. Unfortunately, we are unable to know the real ending.

Comparing Religions of the World Essay

There are 3 different categories of religions that are still practiced in this world, Abrahamic, Dharmic, and Taoic. A lot of Religions are categorized by these, but they all have a specific meaning. Abrahamic means that the religions are monotheistic and trace to their origin of Abraham. Dharmic religions have a great importance in Indian philosophy and religions, and Taoic religions originate from the far eastern, often in China or India. Christianity, Islam, and Judaism are in the Abrahamic category. Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism are all Dharmic religions, where Taoism, Confucianism, and Shintoism are Taoic religions. Many of these religions are still practiced today. Many of which are very popular, and many not so much. Christianity was formed when people started believing that Christ was God’s son, even though the religion wasn’t officially formed until christian and catholic churches started teaching from the Latin Bible. Judaism, on the other hand, is not very popular. There aren’t any big Jewish cities or countries, besides Israel, but there are many Jews spread across the world. Islam was founded by Muhammad, in 622 CE. The people that believe in Allah (their God) are called Muslims. They also believe that Muhammad was a prophet or a messenger from God. Muslims worship the Koran (a Book) and Allah (a God). This religion is an Abrahamic religion, which means it is a monotheistic religion. Muslims pray facing Mecca, to worship Muhammad’s birth place. They also celebrate a world wide holiday called Ramadan, where they fast for a month. The large populations of Muslims are located in North Africa, Indonesia, and South western part of Asia. Buddhism is a Dharmic Religion, which means it is very important to Indian Philosophy. Buddhism was founded by Gautama Siddhartha, in the fifth century, in Nepal. People that believe in Buddhism are called Buddhists. Buddhists have a ritual of Meditating to find inner peace, and they read the Tripitaka, the holy book of Buddhism. Buddhists celebrate Hanamatsuri, Vesak, Band the Bodhi Day. They believe in the Four Noble Truths: life is suffering, suffering is due to attachment, attachment can be overcome, and there is a path for accomplishing this. Taoism originated in Eastern China, and was founded by Lao-Tse, which became a state religion in 440 CE. People that believe in Taoism worship the Tao Te Ching. Many people in Eastern China are Taoists. Taoists also have the ritual of meditating. Taoism and Buddhism are more beliefs than a religion. Islam, for example has rules to live by to be a Muslim, whereas Buddhism, or Taoism, only needs a person’s own belief in what he wants to follow. I learned that there are many religions in existence, also, that by many you have to, both, believe, and follow the rules, but by some you just have to believe. I learned that many religions are not passed down to an offspring, though a lot are, the person, himself, has to decide on their own. There are 3 categories religions are categorized by, and they all have their own meaning.

Critique Paper Writing Tips Essay

It is imperative to understand what a critique paper really is. When your teacher asks you to write a critique, they are asking you to analyze and evaluate, and not just summarize. A critique is rather an essay or article that criticizes literary or other work e.g. a movie. Make sure you are completely familiar with the book/movie/piece of art before critiquing it. A critique answers the few questions of how? why? and how well? A critique does not mean criticizing the work in a negative sense but rather interpreting it as you see it. It usually combines both positive and negative. †¢ The first step to take is to analyze the piece of work. Discuss the author’s main point of view and his purpose. See who is he performing for i.e. who is his audience. What arguments does the author use to support his main point and what evidence does he cite. Check for any underlying biases or assumptions in the work that the author produces. †¢ Next, you need to evaluate the author’s ideas.You need to see whether the argument he provides is logical, and the facts provided accurate. There might be jargon present in a book, so the author should have defined it and explained it or even in other works, important terms should be defined. You should check the authenticity of facts and sources cited and whether there is a sufficient amount of it. †¢ Lastly, you need to plan and write your critique. You should do this in standard essay form. In the first paragraph, you need to introduce the topic, state the thesis, make a plot summary, and give your readers a clue of what they are to expect. An introduction also includes the background of the piece of work that you are going to critique. For a book, write the name of the author and a bit of information about them that pertains to the argument. A movie introduction includes the director, the basic theme, and the names of the main actors. An art critique would include basic information on the painter and the work that you are going to examine, as well as basic features of this certain work such as its title, the art materials that have been used, and its location. In the second part of the critique i.e. the main body, start into the story. In this part, you will have to introduce the characters, setting, and give a lot of detail. Bring out the author’s important points and evaluate whether the evidence provided by the author supports his point of view. Break the thesis and different parts of the story into separate points and examine each point separately. A  very important thing that will strengthen all your arguments is giving real examples from the piece of work you are using. Conclude the critique paper with really critiquing the piece of work i.e. the good and bad, and how it made you feel. Answer any questions you raised along the way and make the final statement about the piece of work.

Mexican Beer Market Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Mexican Beer Market - Essay Example FEMSA is one of the most dominant breweries in Mexico. They were founded in 1890 in Monterrey. They continue to work to be a world class organization that generates value through a customer focused business system. Currently they have: 6 brewing facilities in Mexico 8 brewing facilities in Brazil Over 23,000 employees Served approximately 320,000 retail stores in Mexico Annual growth rate of approximately 1,000,000 people The largest beverage company in Latin America serving more than 184 million consumers FEMSA's beverage operations include: *Coca Cola FEMSA which is the largest Coca Cola bottler in Latin America and the 2nd largest in the world based on sales volume. Fanta, Sprite, and Ciel are a few of more than 70 brands offered *FEMSA Cerveza is one of Mexico's leading brewers and major exporter to the U.S. The flagship brands include Sol, Dos Equis, Tecate, and Bohemia. *Oxxo convenience stores are the largest retail network in Latin America with over 4,800 stores in Mexico FEMSA Financial Track Record for 2006: Total Revenue = $11,625 million Oxxo Stores 28% Beer 28% Soft Drinks 44% CAGR 16% Total Operating Income =$1,599 million Oxxo Stores 9% Beer 35% Soft Drinks 56% CAGR 15% FEMSA 1st and 2nd Quarter Reviews FEMSA has done pretty well for the 1st quarter of the year. They experienced a revenue growth 9%. The breakdown of growth is 7% Coca Cola sales, 3.6% beer sales, and 10.8% income from operations. International operations doubled from 2006 creating the strongest growth. The least amount of growth in the beer division was caused by several factors: Seasonal increases of expenses such as marketing and raw materials in Brazil; A softer demand environment in Mexico; and a weaker pricing environment. During the 2nd quarter of 2007, FEMSA experienced a slight decrease in financial gain with a 7% revenue growth. Coca Cola sales increased 5.9%, beer sales increased 2.7% and income from operations increased 10.5%. Once again the strongest growth comes from international operations. The revenue reports from the first two quarters of 2007 are very favorable to a steady overall growth rate. While FEMSA has had marginal increases in revenue, they are focused on long term results over short term results. Mexico is FEMSA's largest market by far when factoring sales and profits. Their consumer base is

Racial Discrimination Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Racial Discrimination - Research Paper Example The enforcement of laws under Title VII is done by The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and does not protect age discrimination or disability discrimination that are dealt by the Age Discrimination in Employment Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act. Employers under the jurisdiction of Title VII include private sector companies whose commercial operations affect â€Å"interstate commerce† and who employ 15 or more employees, Federal, state, and local government employers, Unions, Employment agencies (making hiring referrals). The law permits discrimination on religion, sex, and national origin if there is a bona fide occupational qualification (BFOQ) rationally essential for standard business operations. Organizations that are exempted from Title VII prohibitions and protections are religious organizations, scholastic institutions, or societies, employing persons of a particular religion; bona fide, tax-exempt private clubs; contracts that contain a Bona fi de occupational qualification necessary to perform the job; and aliens employed outside the United States. It is important to note that Title VII does not prohibit all discrimination. Employers are open to study factors such as experience; job knowledge, personality characteristics, provided those factors are interconnected to the job in question. Title VII remedies include reinstatement, back pay, damages and attorney's fees (Feldman, Fox & Morgado, PA). Backpay and similar retrospective support, presented to recipients of employer discrimination, is proposed to reimburse individuals for monetary losses straightforwardly traceable to discriminatory practices. Front pay is remuneration granted for lost compensation (opportunity cost) during the period between judgment and reinstatement. Similar to back pay, front pay fundamentally is the counterpart of lost incomes. A principal petitioner can recover attorney fees under Title VII, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Furthermore, main parties recover "costs" which include filing fees, transcripts, and other entries. Punitive damages exist in cases result from under Title VII (discrimination because of race, sex, national origin, and religion) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), but not the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA). These damages are created to reprimand past misconducts and discourage future wrongdoings, and the plaintiff must demonstrate that the employer acted with "malice" or in irresponsible neglect for federally protected legal rights. Elements necessary to establish a prima facie case of employment discrimination? The plaintiff must initially present a prima facie case of discrimination. A prima facie case is that minimum amount of evidence required to claim a legitimate question of discrimination (Air Force Alternative Dispute Resolution Program).

Examine citically the ways in which Marxist Theory seek to establish a Essay

Examine citically the ways in which Marxist Theory seek to establish a relationship between Law and the Economy - Essay Example From the Instrumentalist point of view, capitalism and its effects on the working class is dependent upon the ruling class’ distribution of economic power. The economic base is understood to be accountable for determining all other social institutions such as criminal law, religion and the media. The media conveys mass communications that help maintain capitalism and historical documents assume that the wisdom of any time period is generally held by the ruling class. Business owners, the rich and the government, including the judicial system, control cultural structures to maintain the status quo which enables them to retain an element of supremacy. Thus, Capitalists’ power depends on the making and enforcement of the prevailing law. Instrumentalists assert, however, that the capitalist state must be relatively autonomous in order to best serve a capitalist society. â€Å"Its relative independence makes it possible for the state to play its class role in an approximate ly flexible manner.   If it really was a simple instrument of the ruling class, it would be fatally inhibited in the performance of its role.   Its agents absolutely need a measure of freedom in deciding how best to serve the existing social order.†2 Instrumentalists contend that the state works as an intentional and planned instrument for the supremacy over society: â€Å"Instrumental exercise of power by people in strategic positions who either manipulate state politics directly (direct instrumentality) or through the exercise of pressure on the state (indirect instrumentality).†3 While Marxist theorists agree that capitalism provides for the well-being of the social elite by the exploitation of the working class, some differ in their rationalizations of how a capitalist nation accomplishes this.   Instrumental Marxism views law as a tool of the ruling class

How Do Nietzsche and Freud Differ in Their Evaluation of Civilisation Essay

How Do Nietzsche and Freud Differ in Their Evaluation of Civilisation - Essay Example This essay examines the extent the Freud and Nietzsche differ in their evaluation of civilization. Analysis There are a number of overarching considerations in regards to Nietzsche and Freud’s perspectives on civilization. One considers that in many regards both thinkers share a similar cynicism towards mass society. Nietzsche was greatly suspicious of the notion of morality and sought means of examining the underlining significance of moral actions, concluding that ultimately individuals were self-interested. Freud additionally questioned notions of selflessness (McGrath 1995, p. 111). Perhaps more significantly both thinkers recognized the prominence irrationality plays in civilization and human existence. While Freud embraced the Western scientific tradition of social progress, Nietzsche largely disregarded these notions. In addition to his disregard of society in this way, Nietzsche also believed that, to a large-extent, social reforms were useless and impossible (McGrath 1995, p. 111). Nietzsche viewed society as constricted by too many rules and regulations that hindered one’s pursuit of a richer and fuller human existence (McGrath 1995, p. 111). Freud’s emphasis on scientific progress seems conflicted with Nietzsche’s abandonment of social reform. ... While Freud’s texts more directly consider the thrust of civilization to a large extent Nietzsche focuses on the individual. One of Nietzsche’s most seminal works is ‘Beyond Good and Evil’. One of the earlier considerations in this text is Nietzsche’s condemnation of past philosophers as too readily embracing notions of truth (Nietzsche 2003, p. 20). This is a significant criticism as Nietzsche has considered that past perspectives on philosophy and civilization must be fundamentally reconsidered as based on erroneous assumptions. For instance, Nietzsche broadly criticized Socrates. Rather than constituting ‘truth,’ Nietzsche argues that these past philosophical perspectives have merely sought to emphasize a philosophical perspective as a means of advancing the moral prejudices of the philosopher (Nietzsche 2003, p. 20). For instance, rather than Socrates’ claims being a legitimate claim to moral truth, Nietzsche argues that these beliefs merely serve to bolster Socrates’ self-interested position. This is a highly significant argument as in addition to criticizing the Western philosophical tradition, it criticizes many of the very foundational elements of society. Nietzsche notes, "from every point of view the erroneousness of the world in which we believe we live is the surest and firmest thing we can get our eyes on" (Nietzsche 1996, p. 34). While civilization through the Enlightenment had previously embraced the notion that humanity was inherently good, Nietzsche is positing in these regards that individuals must think beyond traditional notions of good and evil, as they are based an invalid premises. One considers Freud’s perspective on many of these notions in his seminal text Civilization and Its

Chapters question for Essentials of Health Behavior, Social and Essay - 6

Chapters question for Essentials of Health Behavior, Social and Behavioral Theory in Public Health book Mark Edberg - Essay Example An example of a strategy that can keep an intervention going consists of a number of measures. The first measure is to ensure that those who are involved in the intervention are trained to properly implement the intervention. This is followed by incorporation of community-based stakeholders who will support the program, followed by search for necessary resources for the intervention. It is also necessary to develop a link with similar intervention programs. This strategy ensures availability of resources and technical knowledge that keep an intervention going (Edberg, p. 100). Trying to implement a school based intervention policy faces a number of political issues that needs decision making and influencing others to accept the decision. The approval of the school board is one of the political issues that affect intervention as no policy can be implemented without the board’s consent. Successful implementation of an intervention also requires support from the school. This can only be achieved by political means. Similarly, choosing from many policies is another issue because resources are limited and not all policies can be implemented at the same time. Another political issue is acceptance of the policy by external stakeholders such as the community (Edberg, p. 105). The connection between schools and their communities that might affect selection of programs is the existence of the community as the schools’ environment and as a stakeholder to the schools. Because the schools are within the community, their policies are affected by behavior among students and their parents or guardians who come from the community. Another connection is the community’s interest in its children’s affairs in schools and the community’s future generations (Edberg, p. 104, 105). The major connection between workplace and the community is their ability to affect each other through employees. Workplace

Citizen Kane Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Citizen Kane - Essay Example Citizen Kane, the movie employs a number of production features and elements thereby achieving effectiveness of communication as envisioned by the director. The director of the employs such elements as light, costume and characterization among others effectively thereby developing an appropriate context that best represents the society at the time. Produced in 1948 soon after the second world war, the film addresses themes relevant not only to the primary audience but also to other subsequent audiences including the communication 240 class, a feature that portrays the ability of the director to develop and communicate concepts effectively.Citizen Kane is yet another masterpiece in which the director employs different special film effects to earn effective communication. The director employs appropriate transitions from one scene to another thereby developing effective links through the different themes. Additionally, the director employs different camera angles and shots to reveal re lative details of the scenes, as he deems necessary. He does not use light only to illuminate his scenes but also to communicate, different aspects of the scene are lit differently with shadow balancing in order to achieve efficiency of communication. Such camera movements as tilting and panning help reveal detail in the different scenes. Italian neorealism refers to a movement in the film production characterized by using nonprofessional actors and setting the film contexts in poor neighborhoods. The bicycle film exhibits this throughout the story line as a poor father searching for his bicycle in a post war Rome.Relative film appeal arises from the level of professionalism that director employs in the development of the film and the issues that the film addresses. A film like Bicycle thieves may have limited appeal since it does not employ professionalism and addresses themes unfamiliar to the contemporary film audience unlike citizen Kane that the director strives to incorporate as many film production elements and professionalism as possible.The Birth of a Nation addresses realistic themes professionally; the director employs such features as dramatization and enabling characterization to help depict the ideas in the storyline. The effective creation of the film lies on the director’s ability to employ suc h elements as transitions, camera movement, shots, and angles to help provide detail (Mamer 33).The two films by Martin McDonagh appeared repetitive as the director employs the same stylistic features of production similarly. The lack of originality in the creation of the film thus denies them efficacy.Quentin Tarantino is a great producer who understood the business in film; he addresses themes that sell and does so effectively. His ability to infuse the violence in systematic storyline is artistic; furthermore, he uses diverse film production techniques to result in original masterpieces.

Short Essay on Ethical Perspectives on Code of Conduct Statement

Short on Ethical Perspectives on Code of Conduct Statement - Essay Example The universitys Code of Ethical Conduct borrow heavily from the state, federal and domestic regulations, the institutions guiding policies and principles, grant and contractual duties and responsibilities and the generally accepted guidelines for ethical behavior (Communications, 2015). The Universitys Code of Ethical Conduct is divided into twelve sections, all equally important. The following is a summary of the New York Universitys Code of Conduct. Every member is expected to adhere to the highest ethical levels at all times. In this regard, every member is needed to understand the guiding laws and principles to avoid contravention of the Code of Conduct. In addition, every member of the University fraternity should comply with all the contractual regulations as well as terms and conditions of the grants. These conditions are stipulated in the contractual agreements set before commencement of any task. All members of the university are needed to offer support to the institutions objectives to avert a case of conflict of interest. This entails executing the required duties and tasks while strictly abiding by the institutions guidelines on reportage. Members of the universitys research and teaching teams are required to obey the rules of integrity and honesty. Every member is expected to respect each other within the school and outside the school boundaries. The individuals involved in the medical field are required to uphold the highest medical standards in giving care to the patients. Records are required to be kept and regularly updated as part of the institutions policy. Every member is also required to conduct the universitys business with utmost respect for each other, with integrity and honesty. In the line of duty, members of the school are supposed to observe the highest safety standards, especially in preserving the environment. The Code of Conduct is enforced by the school, and any violations are investigated and

Chapter 8 mini case #350 S Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Chapter 8 mini #350 S - Case Study Example Timmy works on part-time basis and thus he does not belong to the group of employees that are entitled to annual paid leave. He is only entitled to paid public holidays over and above the off-duty time he enjoys as a part-time worker. The labour agreement that Aldrich produces to support his request for paid leave is a collective bargain that does not cover employees in his category. Employees are entitled to an annual paid leave of two weeks after working in Smedley Bottled Gas for one calendar year from the date of hiring. It is true that Aldrich was hired one year ago and that the labour agreement cover all employees. However, it would not make economic sense for an employee who reports on duty only on Friday afternoons to request for a paid leave. In this case, Aldrich should not be given the paid leave and because of his irate response, the reasons for this should be clearly explained to him. This would avoid any instance where he would think that there is discrimination and profiling in the company and that he is looked down upon by the company’s management (Society for Human Resource Management,

College Entrance Essay Essay Example for Free

College Entrance Essay Essay Over the past few years I have increasingly become confident that a career in psychology is the right path for me. I am by nature a very caring, helping person, a good listener and someone who enjoys being able to connect with others. My friends and family see me as the kind of person they can go to when they need to talk about their problems, and they know that I am someone that they can trust. To me, there is nothing more fulfilling than the feeling of reaching out and connecting with an individual, and being able to offer them support. Both my parents were clinical psychologists, and undoubtedly this influenced my desire to become a psychologist. They exposed me at an early age to psychological ideas and the practice of psychotherapy. I could see the passion they brought to their profession, and the satisfaction they experienced by helping others. I believe also that my mothers death when I was ten helped influence my interest in psychology. My mothers death was a traumatic event for me and my family, and when she passed away I had to help emotionally support my younger brothers. Our subsequent participation in family therapy showed me how important it is to talk about feelings and problems, and how families can heal and move on from even the most traumatic experiences. In order to make a career of my interest, I will need both undergraduate and graduate training in psychology. If I should choose to open up a practice, I will need business training as well. My choice of college is based on finding a strong psychology program and an environment where I can feel like I can make a personal connection with my professors and my peers. In addition to having a strong psychology department, I am looking for a college or university in New England with a small faculty/student ratio. I want to feel like I can personally connect with my professors and peers, and not be just a number in large classes. Castleton State College meets all of these requirements. To me, Castleton State seems to be more then just an  institute of learning, its a place where the students are able to experience new ideas and encounter new challenges that will later help them learn critical skills needed to be successful in a diverse and interdependent world. In addition to a good education, I feel that Castleton State is a place that will allow me to grow intellectually, socially, and spiritually. The health field, and mental health in particular, is becoming increasingly challenging and competitive. After my bachelors degree, I plan to pursue either my masters degree or my doctorate in psychology, and I know that I will need strong undergraduate training to be effective at the graduate level. I believe that Castleton State College will provide me with the training and perspective on myself and my career that I will need to be successful and to pursue my dream.

The Effect Of Gender Partiality On Employees Efficiency Business Essay

The Effect Of Gender Partiality On Employees Efficiency Business Essay The swerve of gender partiality is deep rooted in the past; however, it has become a veering trend in present day organizations. Consequently, employees across the globe are experiencing pronounced victimization of sexual partiality in one way or the other. The large scale precarious implications of the menace also entail the need for studying its repercussions in Pakistani organizational culture. Hence, this study is intended to explore and colligate various constituents and attributes of gender partiality, responsible for affecting the workforce efficiency. Primarily, two lineaments of sexual partiality are delineated in this research i.e. bias in recruitment, and rewards and promotions discrimination (independent variables). The study demonstrates the association between gender partiality and employees efficiency / productivity (dependent variable) in Pakistani telecommunication sector, narrowed down to Mobilink GSM (Islamabad and Peshawar regions as unit of analysis). The quantit ative results portray inauspicious effects of sexual bias on efficiency / productivity of the employees. The study has also been incorporated with several indicators of gender partiality and employees performance / productivity. The indicators of employees performance / productivity are perceived to neutralize the gender bias, subject to the existence of organizational justice. The study in hand encourages further exploration with regard to instituting and implementing the concept of organizational justice, so as to safeguard the endangered species of human Resource from inequalities like gender partiality. Key Words Sexual partiality, Glass ceiling, Organizational justice, Employee efficiency, Organizational productivity Type Research paper Introduction Morgan (2006) condignly observes employees as valuable assets that can lend cachet to the organizational image, provided they are given equal and appropriate grounds to contribute in the activities of organization (p. 36). Organizational productivity thus, undoubtedly entails the need for induction of quality workforce. Subsequently, to ensure sustenance of the human resource and to align their capabilities with the organizational goals, effective tanning, and conducive working environment, equilibrate grant of privileges / rewards, creation of opportunities for future growth, and equality on the basis of performance and capability are the inevitable essentials. This is possible only if equality prevails in organizations; free of all sorts of biasness and discrimination, gender partiality in particular. Gender discrimination exists in various dimensions and magnitudes, subjected to the organizational culture and managerial antecedences. Besides other aspects, sexual partiality at wor k place may comprise of recruitment discrimination, biasness in remuneration and rewards, partiality in promotions, and facilitation ascribed to gender based discrimination. Employee, being the pivot of organizational activities, if affected by gender partiality, may experience occupationalism displacing selflessness and altruism. Resultantly, big question mark appears when it comes to Organizational Justice. Injustice makes it difficult for employees to obtain valued outcomes at work. In fact, it signals to employees that they are not valued by their organization. Resultantly, important social norms are jeopardized. Thus it seems likely that organizational justice perceptions may mediate the effects of workplace discrimination on well-being and job satisfaction (Stephan, Johan, Karen, 2012). Purpose of the study The study in hand will inquire into factors resulting gender discrimination and the precarious implications of gender bias on employees productivity. This study is an attempt to establish a nexus with the past researches and reveal the vital factor of gender partiality which is significantly liable for reducing the workforce productivity. Thus providing a food for thought to different tiers of management so as to address the issue efficaciously. This study has been extended to Pakistani organizational culture to test and ascertain the effects of gender partiality. Employees (both genders) of Mobilink GSM (Islamabad and Peshawar regions) constitute the population sample for this study. The purpose of including both men and women in the sample is to eliminate the possible gender distinction in attributions to sexual partiality. From the targets viewpoint, majority of scholars and researchers centering upon gender partiality account for female as the target, and focus on women participa nts alone. Thus, in contributing to research concentrating upon gender studies, it is inevitable to examine mens attributions to sexism and that how mens and womens ascription to sexual partiality can be compared to each other. Literature Review Researchers have identified several forms of sexual partiality in organizations originating from unjust practices of the employer. In literature pertaining to organizational research, notwithstanding the fact that gender related problems were initially exposed in 1950s, but the issues relating sexual partiality were later more pronounced in organizational and management studies during 1980s 1990s. Sexism or sexual partiality World Health Organization (1998) defines sexism as a distinction, exclusion, or restriction which is made primarily on the foundation of socially built gender functions and norms. The terminology of sexual identity holds several illustrations and connections, only few of which transpire within an intergroup structure. Traditional concepts of sexual identity ordinarily refer to an early consciousness of a person as man or women. More recently, an additional notion of gender identity has emerged, one that emphasizes gender as a social / collective identity or gender-derived social identity (Sharon, Hang, Raymond, 2006). Victims of gender partiality Sexism or gender discrimination is often attributed to women; however if practically observed, the phenomenon can be seen imputed to both genders. The intrinsically prejudiced practice of sexual discrimination has affected the global markets precariously. Jennifer (2002) argues that male models of strength and authority within organizations do not have room for the meliorations female bring into the workplace, managerial level in particular. In addition, stereotyping of the female as different to male further encourages marginalizing and undermining their dominance and authority. On the contrary, several researchers grade the feminine gender more dominating when it comes to recruitment and subsequent career progressions. Similar notion has been made by James, Charles and Catherine (1998). They maintain that women have the ability to be considered more likeable than men; though this is a feature which is generally distributed among both men and women. Many of the profession progressing strategies demand for developing relationships with others. Regardless of the sexuality, an individual who is not graded high on the personality measure of likeability would have comparatively lesser likelihood of developing and maintaining relationships with the others. Contrarily, individuals with likeable personalities would have more opportunities to pursue career progressing strategies, entailing relationship building and socializing. Gender discrimination frequently can be seen in different organizations. Most of the organizations are suffering from such problem of discrimination related to gender. Though there are different laws and polices developed by different countries about gender discrimination. But there is no implication of these laws in real context. Women perceived that they are not rated in a justified manner related to training, appraisals, and career development opportunities as compare to men (Blau, 1998; Blau, Ferber, Winkler, 1998). Societal trends Gretchen Courtney (2009) are more concerned with the source of discrimination. They maintain that the responses of men and women for inquiries pertaining to sexual partiality may differ. Their responses will be subjected to whether the source of biasness is an individual or a policy decision / rule. Researchers have established that victims of gender partiality are mostly compulsive or reluctant to highlight the sexual inequality they experience at workplace. This elucidates that one of the prime reason for presence of gender discrimination is the tendency of individuals not to surface the practice of sexual discrimination. Consequently, the individuals inability to report this kind of discrimination is more pronounced in countries like Pakistan; whereby, human resource (females in particular) is comparatively less vocal. Furthermore, sexual favoritism at workplace may give birth to gender discrimination, affecting the workforce in terms of career (progression) opportunities. Antecolet. (2009) is of the point of view that both men and women are dissatisfied with their jobs who experience gender discrimination at workplace. Though according to the results, employment status of male employees is significantly connected to their marital status. On the other hand, employment status of the female is significantly subjected to their performance and productivity. Females are not discriminated on the basis of conscious decision of the management but most of the time management have some precautions about hiring of females for highly responsible posts because it is a general assumption about women that they are to fulfill their family obligations, so they are not suitable for vital designation of organizations (Crompton Birkelund, 2000; Glass, 2000; Waldfogel, 1998). Gender discrimination is not specific for female but often males are also victims of gender discrimination. It depends on the marital status, married males have more chances of getting jobs rather than females. On the other hand, unmarried females have more chances of being selected by the organization than unmarried males (Petersen Togstad, 2006). Sexual favoritism and gender partiality Sexual favoritism and gender partiality / discrimination are often similarly perceived. However, Glenn, James M., James F (2006) have befittingly differentiated the two. They delineate that sexual favoritism entangles the discerning grant of a gain or opportunity at the workplace; in contrast, sexual partiality / discrimination usually involves the restraining of benefits or opportunities dependent upon an individuals gender. At the workplace, when romance involves sexual favoritism, it is important to comprehend the cause and extent of the presence of such favoritism i.e. whether this favoritism can give way to other employees (who are not directly involved in the illicit relationship) for claiming themselves as the victims of sexual harassment. This concludes that sexual favoritism and gender partiality bear both direct and indirect implications for employees. Whether favoritism on the basis of sex remains a legitimate shape of discrimination, or whether sexual favoritism stretche s to the extent of a restricted form of sexual partiality, is an important question which can only be answered through comprehending the definition of sexual harassment. Glass ceiling during recruitment Gender discrimination is also termed as glass ceiling. Most of the time sexual partiality begins with the entry of employees (recruitment) in any organization. At the time of recruitment, men are preferred for strategic posts or decision making hierarchal levels while females are mostly preferred for support roles or for selling jobs because organizations have intent to in cash the appearance of female for enhancement of sales (McDowell, 1997). Gender bias during career progression In broader concept, gender segregation does not mean segregation in terms of gender but it means segregation in terms of incentive for performance. For instance, males and females are hired for the same post they are segregated in terms of salary and other incentives (Petersen Saporta, 2004). The connotation is that sexual discrimination is not associated to the recruitment process alone; in fact, it continues across the entire professional careers of individuals. Effects of sexual biasness Stephan, Johan, Karen (2012) have explained discrimination as the prejudicial handling of individuals. Generally, it is based on association with a certain division or group. Because of discrimination, there is a likelihood of negative effects on the employees productivity, well-being and health. They have also mentioned various grounds of workplace discrimination by calling it a systematic refusal of employees rights based upon their ethnic affiliation, religion, age, sexual preferences, gender, or other criteria. These bases for sexual partiality may consequently lead to more colloquial verbal maltreatment, making reference to the mentioned attributes. Bà ¶ckerman Ilmakunnas (2006) have effectively illustrated the adverse effects of gender partiality on the performance of employees. Clegg (1983) has also highlighted the negative impacts which gender inequality brings to the employees performance. These researchers specifically consider it critical to determine the effects of sexual partiality on the employees turnover, job satisfaction, and absenteeism, vis-à  -vis the firms performance and productivity. Generally, women are less motivated towards their jobs because of gender discrimination. They have less decision making-power, receive less training sessions and are promoted fewer than men. Sharon, Hang, Raymond (2006) befittingly sketch the precarious repercussions of sexual discrimination, whereby, employees become discontented and demotivated. They believe that when employees consider themselves as victims of sexual discrimination, their commitment to the organization would be significantly reduced. Resultantly, such individuals would be keen to leave the organization in the pursuit of jobs, where organizations can treat them with more respect and equality. Organizational justice Hilary, (2012) makes a firm argument with reference to sexual partiality by calling it differences in human capital investment and stresses upon the need for organizational justice to overcome the peril of glass ceiling / sexual partiality. Debate continues to swirl, not only around the size of the gap, but around whether the gap is unfair or fair: whether it reflects discrimination visited on women or simply differences in human capital investments that women and men bring to the workplace. In this debate, there is a concern, implicitly grounded in the tenets of an equity-based approach to distributive justice, with finding the correct, gender-neutral way to measure equal units of input from women and men so we can fairly assess whether their outcomes (in terms of pay) are equivalent. With reference to other literature available on the subject, similar notions are proposed in addressing the issues related to effective tanning, conducive working environment, equilibrate grant of privileges / rewards, creation of opportunities for future growth, and equality on the basis of performance and capability. HYPOTHESIS Following hypothesis is proposed for this study: H1: Sexism is directly associated with employees efficiency / productivity. H2: Gender partiality during induction is adversely related to the employees productivity. H3: Sexual partiality in promotion is adversely proportional to efficiency / productivity of the employee. H4: Personality and age of the employee, and societal tendency have negative influence on employees efficiency through gender discrimination. H5: Employees productivity is positively affected by his / her professional ability and motivation. Proposed Model The model illustrated below proposes relationship between independent variable (gender discrimination) and dependent variable (performance and productivity) . Gender Discrimination in Hiring Gender Bias in Rewards and Promotion Employee Performance Employee Productivity Professional ability Motivation Personality Age Societal trend Independent variables Dependent variable Indicators Methodology The study is based upon analysis of data acquired through quantitative technique of data collection; i.e. acquisition of data through questionnaires. The selection of variables is influenced by the past research studies. The analysis are applied on both independent and dependent types of variables; gender discrimination being the independent variable, whereas, Productivity is the dependent variable. Employees of the organization (Mobilink GSM) serve as the unit of analysis. Data Collection Method: In order to execute a more austere test of the proposed model, data has been acquired from diversified respondents through questionnaire. A personally supervised questionnaire has been employed for data collection. Sample: The questionnaire has been personally administered through the concerned people. Out of a total of 360 distributed questionnaires, 300 questionnaires have been received back, resulting into a response rate of 83%. The prime reason for engaging both men and women as respondents is to ensure elimination of biased responses. The varied responses received from the population sample are summarized below:- Characteristics of sample S No Items Items Frequency 1 Gender Female 163 Male 137 45.6 2 Age 21-30 31-40 260 86.7 41-50 28 9.3 51-60 1 0.3 3 Income 25001-50,000 50,001-75000 80 above 75000 212 4 Qualification Graduate Postgraduate 152 Measures: In this study, standardized instruments have been instituted to measure different variables. Multiple scales have been used to gauge the variables i.e. five likert scale, nominal scale, and ratio. All the items have been measured on a 5-point Likert scale as mentioned below: (a) Strongly Disagree (b) Disagree (c) Neutral (d) Agree (e) Strongly Agree Data Analysis: Quantitative method of data collection has been used for subsequent analysis of the research findings. SPSS Version 20 has been used for analysis of the data. Correlation: Kendalls tau correlation has been applied on the data. The Kendall rank correlation coefficient, commonly termed as Kendalls tau (à Ã¢â‚¬Å¾) coefficient, is a statistic for gauging the relationship between two measured quantities. It is a measure of rank correlation, i.e. the commonality of the data orderings when ranked. tau = frac{(text{number of concordant pairs}) (text{number of discordant pairs})}{frac{1}{2} n (n-1) } . The denominator is the total number pair combinations, so the coefficient must be in the range à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢1  Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚ ¤Ã‚  Ãƒ Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚  Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚ ¤Ã‚  1. If the relationship between two gradings is perfect (i.e. the two rankings are similar) the coefficient has value 1. However, if the disagreement amongst two rankings is perfect (i.e. one ranking is reversed to the other one) the coefficient possesses value à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢1. If X and Y are independent, then the coefficient should be approximately zero. Regression: Least squares method is most commonly used for fitting of a regression line. This method measures the best-fitting line for the acquired data by reducing the total of the squares of vertical deviations from individual data point to the line (if a point falls exactly on the fitted line, then its vertical deviation is zero). Since the deviations are initially squared and then summed, there are no chances of cancellations between positive and negative figures. Therefore, the proposed research model with control / dummy variables is depicted as following:- Y = ÃŽÂ ²0+ ÃŽÂ ² 1X1+ ÃŽÂ ² 2X2+ µ Y= Dependent Variable = Employee performance and productivity X1 = Independent Variable = Gender discrimination in hiring X2 = Independent Variable = Gender bias in rewards and promotion B0, B1, B2 = Parameters  µ = Error Term Results of the Study The quantitative tools instituted for data evaluation are correlation and regression analysis through SPSS. Descriptive analysis has been performed to present various impression of the respondents i.e., how they respond to the questions. Correlation co-efficient illustrates the firmness of relationship between the variables. The results of this study establish a linear relationship between efficiency / productivity and gender partiality. Regression analysis has been used to ascertain the cause affect relationship between the employees efficiency / productivity and gender discrimination. Correlation: Correlation statistics depicts the association between the variables. It ascertains whether the variables move in similar or opposing directions. It is observed that the employees performance and productivity (dependent variable) is highly significant but negatively associated with gender partiality in hiring and gender bias in rewards and promotion. Collinearity statistics portrays possibility c of multicollinearity of the data; however, variance inflation factor (VIF) which testifies the multicollinearity, establishes the absence of multicollinearity for the reason that all the values of VIF are less than 10 and tolerance values are below one. Bivariate Kendalls tau Correlations coefficient matrix Gen_discr_hiring Gen_bias_rew_pro Gen_discr_hiring 1.000 Gen_bias_rew_pro .383** 1.000 Emp_perf_prod -.667** -.613** * p Gen_discr_hiring = Gender discrimination in hiring Gen_bias_rew_pro = Gender bias in reward and promotion Emp_perf_prod = Employee performance and promotion Regression: The relationship between dependent and independent variables is established through the Regression test. Regression results illustrate the significance of regression model and its informative power. Three step mediation and moderation techniques have been used for data analysis. Model Unstandardized Coefficients Standardized Coefficients t B Std. Error Beta (Constant) .163 .099 1.645 Gen_discr_hiring -.525 .029 -.608 17.895 Gen_bias_rew_pro -.504 .046 -.375 11.014 Dependent Variable: Emp_perf_prod Y = 0.163-0.362X1-0.341X2+ µ Results suggest that one unit change in gender partiality in hiring is changing (0.163-0.525=0.362) units of employees performance and productivity on average. One unit increase in gender bias in rewards and promotion is decreasing the employees performance and productivity (0.163-0.504=0.341) units on average. Model R R Square Adjusted R Square F Std. Error of the Estimate 1 .932a .869 .868 984.338 .18682 The regression analysis depicts that the value of R Square is 0.869. Thus, 86.1 % variation in employees performance and productivity is explained by the variables in this research; whereas, 14.9 % variation is ascribed to the factors not incorporated in this model. The value of F is 984.338 and is considerably significant, establishing the fitness of the model. The results of the study present significant impact of the variables on employees performance and productivity. Findings of the study The results of the study justify the tested hypothesis. They establish that gender partiality is directly associated with employees efficiency / productivity (H1). Besides, gender biasness during induction and promotion adversely affects the employees efficiency and productivity (H2 and H3). The research also identifies personality and age of the employee as vital indicators of sexism (H4). However, qualification, professional ability, and motivation are suggested as the significant indicators of employees efficiency, subjected to the organizational justice (H5). Limitations of the study The quantitative method of data acquisition is considered as one of the limitations of this research since it eliminates the element of subjectivity, which is essential to cover diversified aspects and varied off-shoots through detailed responses. Therefore, future researches are encouraged to simultaneously employ both quantitative and qualitative methods of data collection for ensuring improved results with reference to this vast domain of gender discrimination vis-à  -vis employees productivity. Secondly, the study targeted employees of Mobilink GSM deployed at Islamabad and Peshawar regions as the unit of analysis. Thus, restricting the responses to comparatively non-diversified target population. This was because of the inaccessibility to locations like Karachi and Islamabad. For improved results, future work may incorporate responses from such demographically diversified locations. Conclusions The term Employee does not contain illustration of the gender (male / female). Therefore, partiality on the basis of gender must be considered as an illicit practice at all levels. Besides other factors, organizational output is primarily ascribed to the efficiency and productivity of the workforce. The study in hand clearly portrays the decline in altruistic trends and reclines in selfless behavior of the employees, if dealt with sexism / gender partiality. Therefore, it is of paramount importance for all tears of management to ensure gender equality in recruitment, rewards and promotions, and facilitations. This will surely help them acquiring and retaining the best available human resource to ensure enhanced organizational productivity. It will however, be subjected to the presence of organizational justice and equality. The study, culminating on establishing the dire need for implementation and execution of organizational justice, hence promotes further exploration pertaining to the concept of organizational justice.

Use of CBCT in Orthodontics- A Review

Use of CBCT in Orthodontics- A Review ABSTRACT Lateral cephalometric radiographs are most commonly used as a diagnostic tool in orthognathic surgery as well as orthodontic treatment. But the limitation of lateral cephalograms is its 2 dimensional nature whereas the human body is 3 dimensional. Conventional 2D lateral cephalograms have numerous drawbacks in terms of investigating the changes in the alveolar bone and roots, particularly in the anterior region, as a consequence of the midsagittal projection. Additionally its accuracy is questionable as it has projection errors. The use of computed tomography in 3D imaging of human body is available in the field of medicine since last 30 years. CT scanning is the three dimensional imaging technique giving quantitative assessments of the buccal and lingual cortical bone plates and labiolingual width of alveolar bone with elevated accuracy and precision. But the use of computed tomography in dentistry is limited because the amount of radiation exposure with this technology is very high . Since the invention of Cone Beam Computed Tomography, the amount of radiation exposure in the patient is reduced. This enhances its use in obtaining the 3D images of the craniofacial structures. This technology helps in visualizing the hard and soft tissues of the craniofacial structures from various perspectives and helps in thorough diagnosis and treatment planning of orthognathic surgery and orthodontic patients. The principles of CBCT and its use in the field of orthodontics will be discussed in detail in this paper. KEYWORDS: Cone beam computed tomography, Surgical orthodontics. INTRODUCTION Orthodontics is a field, which places a significant amount of emphasis on the modification of abnormal craniofacial growth patterns, in addition to the correction of dental malrelationships. Successful orthodontic and surgical treatment of such anomalies naturally requires efficient and reliable imaging of the structures of the cranial complex. Ever since the advent ofÂÂ   the Bolton cephalometer in 1931 [1], orthodontists have consistently used lateral cephalograms in evaluation of treatment as well as in diagnosis and treatment planning. In addition, postero-anterior, panoramic, occlusal and peri-apical views of the skull and teeth have been used as and when required to aid in the diagnosis. All these additional radiographic views add up to a significant quantity of radiation exposure to the patient, which can and should be avoided if possible. Also, the 2 dimensional nature of these conventional radiographic views imposes further limitations such as overlap, leading to lack o f visualization of individual structures, errors due to projection, as well as the incapability to identify true skeletal asymmetries when present [2]. Thus, it has been recognized for some time now that three- dimensional imaging of the skull is the need of the hour in orthodontics. 3D Computed tomography in Orthodontics The use of computed tomography in 3D imaging of human body is available in the field of medicine since last 30 years. But the high radiation exposure and the prohibitive cost of this technology have till now precluded its use in orthodontics. However, recent advances in CT technology have seen a dramatic decrease in radiation as well as in cost, making it a viable and desirable alternative to traditional imaging. The newer CT machines can now perform a complete scan of the head in just a few seconds and provide the patient an effective dose of only 50 micro-Sieverts, compared with about 2000 from a conventional CT scan of the entire head [3]. This follows the ALARA principle (As low as reasonably acceptable) for radiation exposure, of the American Dental Association. Radiation exposures are further reduced when one believes that a single CT image can replace a number of conventional radiographs that are now considered essential for almost every orthodontic procedure. Thus, the routine use of CT scans for orthodontic diagnosis may not be very far away [4]. Cone Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT): Technique and Advantages Conventional CT machines acquire image data by using either a single narrow X-ray beam or a thin broad fan-shaped X-ray beam. These X-ray beams rotate around the patient in a circular or spiral path as the patient moves through the scanning machine or as the rotating beam passes over the patient. A series of detectors register the attenuation of these X rays, and from the data gathered, the machine reconstructs the internal structure of the patients body [5]. 3D data of the patients anatomical structures is stored in the form of Voxels. These can be thought of as tiny cubes arranged next to each other. The brightness of each cube represents the density of the corresponding anatomic structure. Obtaining the final 3D object from the raw data requires a time consuming process called rendering, which is achieved using computer algorithms [6]. However, a new digital imaging breakthrough, the NewTom QR 9000 Volume Scanner (Verona, Italy) is now available for clinical practice. This CT scanner uses a cone-shaped X-ray beam that is large enough to encompass the region of interest. It produces a much focused beam, minimizing scatter, thus reducing the absorbed radiation dose to 45 microSieverts [7]. In contrast to conventional CT imaging the patient remains stationary throughout the procedure. In a single scan, the X-ray source and a reciprocating X-ray sensor rotate around the patients head and acquire 360 pictures (1 image per degree of rotation) in 17 seconds of exposure time. The 360 acquired images undergo a primary reconstruction to mathematically replicate the patients anatomy into a single 3 dimensional volume. Further, the software allows for reformatting and viewing the image data from any point of view in all 3 dimensions. Thus, from a single scan, frontal, lateral, panoramic and other views can be created. Addition ally, the anatomy can be peeled away layer by layer to locate the desired section. A major advantage of CBCT-generated cephalograms is the ability to excise unwanted structures such as the cervical spine and occiput, avoiding superimposition of irrelevant structures, and providing a remarkably clear image of pertinent maxillo-facial structures [8]. Uses of 3-dimensional computed tomography in Orthodontics Assessment of alveolar bone The alveolar bone height is particularly important in adults and periodontally compromised patients. Assessment of available bone is necessary prior to arch expansion or labial movement of incisors. Surface irregularities due to ectopic teeth, bone dehiscences, salivary gland invaginations and other abnormalities can also be visualized in three- dimensional images. A new resource for occlusal assessment is the lingual view-as if the clinician were looking from the back of the patients head into the oral cavity. Impacted tooth position Impaction (or failure of eruption) of teeth is a common orthodontic problem, which requires precise localization for the purpose of surgical exposure and guidance into the oral cavity. Conventional views such as the occlusal and periapical views cannot precisely locate such teeth. CT scans with 3 dimensional reconstructions provide an excellent means to accurately locate such teeth. In such a study done on a 21 year old girl, by Ravinder et al. [9], an impacted maxillary left canine was accurately localized, and revealed to be in a horizontal, palatal position. This was done, by obtaining various views, such as plain axial, sagittal CT slices, as well as superior, sagittal and superior- oblique views of the maxillary dentition. Walker, Enciso and Mah [10] have also reported the advantages of 3D imaging in the management of impacted canines. In addition, cysts of the jaws, supernumeraries and ectopic/buried teeth can also be visualized using this technique. Temporomandibular Joint Assessment Coronal, sagittal and axial views of the temporomandibular joint obtained from the CT scan can be correlated with the occlusal views. Functional shift of the joints can be occasionally detected as differences between the left and right TMJ views. In addition, 3D CT studies on patients who underwent orthognathic surgery, have allowed better evaluation of post surgical condylar resorption [11]. Surgical patients including syndromes and clefts Surgical planning for patients with jaw asymmetry, e.g. Hemifacial Microsomia can benefit from 3D imaging. This allows measurement of true jaw dimensions without the customary problems of magnification, superimposition and distortion, inherent in 2 D cephalograms. Use of virtual cutting tools and collision tools to plan out surgery on the 3D images, means that orthognathic surgery as well as distraction osteogenesis can be carried out with a far greater degree of precision, leading to more predictable results. [12] Facial Analysis A conventional photograph is a simple two- dimensional representation that is not correlated with the supporting skeleton. The 3D volume can provide any frontal, lateral or user-defined view of the face, and by altering the translucency of the image, one can determine the exact relationship of the soft tissues to the skeleton. This has major implications in the planning of tooth movements, orthodontic extractions, orthognathic surgery, and other therapies that could alter facial appearance. Tongue size and Posture Volume measurements of the tongue could provide a more objective assessment of size, to aid in the diagnosis of arch-width discrepancies and open bites. Airway assessment Volume measurements of the airway could evaluate patency, particularly in patients suspected of adenoid hypertrophy, mouth-breathing or obstructive sleep apnea. Turbinates and nasal morphology can also be evidently seen in CT scans. This would mark a significant improvement over the use of 2 dimensional lateral cephalograms. Root resorption 3D CT images can show areas of root resorption on central and lateral incisors adjacent to impacted canine teeth. Walker, Enciso and Mah [10] showed that incisor resorption adjacent to impacted canines is present in 66.7% of lateral incisors and 11.1 % of central incisors. A correlation was found between the proximity of impacted canines to the incisors and their resorption. Current CT machines may have too low resolution to detect early stages of root resorption as a result of orthodontic movement, but this may be possible in the future [6]. Planning for placement of dental implants Osseo-integrated implants may be used in orthodontics either for the prosthetic replacement of missing teeth, or as stationary anchorage to facilitate tooth movement. Optimal spacing as well as correct root angulations of adjacent teeth must be achieved in order to successfully place dental implants [13]. Cone beam CT scanning could be used to accurately assess space availability, root angulations, as well as the quality of alveolar bone at the implant site. This would replace the use of panoramic and peri-apical radiographs currently used for the purpose. Cephalometric Analysis Conventional 2D cephalometric measurements can also be carried out, by rendering a 2D projection of the 3 D data, resembling a radiograph. For bilateral cephalometric landmarks, the computer can calculate the midpoint between them. Certainly, new cephalometric landmarks and analyses based on 3D data shall be developed in the near future. Conclusion 3D computed tomography represents the cutting edge of orthodontic imaging and diagnostic capability. While mainstream orthodontists are still living and practicing in a 2D world, orthodontic residents in many universities are becoming 3D sense. The several distinct advantages of 3D CT imaging, with ever-decreasing radiation doses, mean that this is where the future of orthodontic imaging lies. References Broadbent B.H. A new technique and its application to Orthodontia. Angle Orthod 1931; 1: 45-66. Baumrind S. Integrated Three Dimensional Craniofacial Mapping: Background, Principles, andÂÂ   Perspectives. Semin Orthod 2001:7:223-232. Mah J.K, Danforth R.A, Bumann A, Hatcher D. Radiation absorbed in maxillofacial imaging with a new dental computed tomography device. Oral Surg Oral Med Oral Pathol Oral Radiol Endod 2003; 96: 508-13. Hatcher D.C, Aboudara C.L. Diagnosis goes digital. Am J Orthod Dentofacial Orthop 2004; 125: 512-5. Carlsson C. Imaging modalities in x-ray computerized tomography and in selected volume tomography. Phys Med Biol 1999; 44: 23-56. Demetrios. J .Halazonetis. From 2-dimensional cephalograms to 3-dimensional computed tomography scans. Am J Orthod Dentofac Orthop 2005; 127:627-637. Kau C.H, Richmond S, Palomo J.M, M.G.Hans. Three-dimensional cone beam computerized tomography in orthodontics. Journal of Orthodontics 2005;32:282-293. Huang J.H, Bumann A, Mah J. Three-Dimensional radiographic analysis in orthodontics. J Clin Orthod 2005; 36; 7: 421-428. V. Ravinder, Nikhar Anand Verma, Ashima Valiathan. 3-Dimensional Computed Tomography- A new method for localization of Impacted Canines. J Ind Orthod Soc 2002; 35: 73-75. Walker L, Enciso R, Mah J. Three dimensional localization of maxillary canines with cone-beam computed tomography. Am J Orthod and Dentofacial Orthop 2005; 128: 418-423. Bailey LJ, Cevidanes LH, Proffit WR. Stability and predictability of orthognathic surgery. Am J Orthod Dentofac Orthop 2004; 126:273-7. Troulis M.J, Everett P, Seldin E.B, Kikinis R, Kaban L.B. Development of a three-dimensional planning system based on computed tomographic data. Int J Oral Maxillofac Surg 2002; 31:349-357 Ravinder V, James Sunny P, Mariette DSouza, Valiathan Ashima. Osseo-integrated implants for maxillary lateral incisors- Orthodontic considerations. Malaysian Dental Journal 2003; 24(1):79-86.

leadership :: essays research papers

There are two broad approaches to seeking to shape values in society. One is by being "salt and light" in the world (Mt 5:13,14), where by living distinctively Christian lifestyles we seek to influence those around us, and through this the values, decisions and priorities adopted by our communities. The other approach is to confront a particular value, decision or priority which the Christian community feels is out of place, and this may require a more structured and focused campaign. This page offers a six step approach to run such a campaign, whilst click here to view some thoughts on being salt and light. The six steps below seek to help a leader put some structure around an influencing campaign. This may be related to a specific proposal within a community, or more generally trying to influence the values that the community adopts. This community may be a geographic community : neighbourhood, town or even country, or it may be another form of network eg work or interest related. 1. Know what you're trying to achieve. Â · Write down some specific aims for your influencing. If possible, make these aims measurable. Â · These may be related to a specific issue that has arisen within the community, or it may be seeking to change more general values and behaviours. Don't overload with issues - it's better to focus on one or two and achieve something, than make little progress against a broad agenda 2. Decide on your audience and message. Â · Who are the people who hold the key to achieving your objectives? This may include those with formal responsibility (councillors and MPs) , those who can influence them (respected thought leaders and influential organizations) and influential channels such as the media. Â · What is the action you want them to take, and therefore, what is the message that you need to deliver to them to persuade them to take such action? Can you write it down - physically writing the message down is very worthwhile as it ensures that there is sufficient clarity of thinking. Â · The same message can be received very differently when delivered by different people or organizations. Taking the time to identify the most credible and capable people to deliver the message is important. In some cases, you may want to focus on people with specific skills, knowledge or position who can speak with authority.

Odyssey Essay -- essays research papers

The Odyssey is an epic composed by Homer, an early Greek storyteller. This epic was the basis for Greek and Roman education. Epics are long poems marked by adventure. The main character in an epic is an epic hero. The epic hero is a figure of great stature and may be a character from history or legend. Epic heroes’ most remarkable traits are usually the ones most valued by the society from which the epic came. The main character in this epic is Odysseus. Odysseus is on a quest to find his home after a war. Odysseus is an epic hero. An epic hero exhibits great leadership qualities. One of these qualities is having aplomb in critical times. This is exemplified when Odysseus is trapped in the cave of the Cyclops, a giant one-eyed monster. The Cyclops puts a stone unmovable by Odysseus and his men in front of the entrance to the cave. While most men would have lost their composure, Odysseus remains calm and rational. He thinks of a brilliant way to escape the cave of the Cyclops in a time of tension. Odysseus, referring to an olive tree, says: â€Å"I hewed it again to make a stake with a pointed end.† He carves an olive tree into a stake as a weapon against the Cyclops. This also demonstrates Odysseus’ resourcefulness, which is another leadership quality. Odysseus comes up with a way to escape the cave with very little available. He hides under the bellies of sheep from the Cyclops as they leave to escape the cave. Odysseus’ resourcefulness helps him escape from the giant Cycl...

The Signalman Analysis

The story begins with the narrator calling â€Å"Halloa! Below there! † into a railway cutting. The signalman standing on the line below does not look up, as the narrator expects, but rather turns about and stares into the railway tunnel it is his responsibility to monitor. The narrator calls down again and asks permission to descend. The signalman seems reluctant, but assents and waits with an air of ‘expectation and watchfulness’. The railway cutting is a damp, gloomy and lonely place. The signalman seems still to be in fear of the narrator, who tries to put him at ease. The signalman appears to have seen the narrator before. The narrator assures him that this is impossible. Reassured, the signalman welcomes the newcomer into his little cabin and the two men speak of the signalman's work. His labour consists of a dull, monotonous routine, but the signalman feels he deserves nothing better, as he misused his youthful academic opportunities. The narrator remarks that the signalman seems a sane and dutiful employee at all times but when he looks to his signal bell at two moments when it is not ringing. The visitor leaves with a promise to return on the following night. Before he makes his exit, the signalman asks him why he used the words â€Å"Halloa! Below! † on his arrival; were they not suggested to him â€Å"†¦in any supernatural way†? The narrator says no. The signalman implores him to by no means call out so again. He says that he is â€Å"troubled†. The following day the narrator returns and does not call. The signalman tells him that he will reveal to him the nature of his trouble, which is that he is haunted by a recurring apparition: he has seen a spectre at the entrance to the tunnel on two separate occasions and that each appearance has foreshadowed a tragedy. In the first instance, the signalman heard the shouted words that the narrator spoke and saw a figure with its arm across its face, waving the other in desperate warning. He questions it but it vanishes. He then runs into the tunnel but finds nobody. Within a few hours there occurs a terrible train crash with many casualties. On its second appearance, the figure is silent, with both hands before the face in an attitude of mourning. Soon afterward, a beautiful young woman dies in a passing train. Finally the signalman admits that he has seen the spectre several times within the past week. It seems to the narrator that the signalman is suffering from hallucinations. During the conversation the signalman sees the spectre, and hears his bell toll out a phantom ring, but the narrator sees and hears nothing of these events. The signalman is convinced these supernatural incidents are portents of a third tragic event yet to happen, and is sick with fear and frustration: he does not understand why he should be burdened with knowledge of an incipient tragedy when he, as a lowly railway functionary, has neither the authority nor the ability to prevent it. The sceptical narrator believes that his new friend's imagination has been overtaxed and suggests taking him to see a doctor. The following day the narrator visits the railway cutting for a third time, and is struck to see a figure at the mouth of the tunnel. This figure is no ghost, however. It is a man, one of a group of officials investigating an incident on the line. The narrator discovers his friend the signalman is dead, having been struck by an oncoming train. He had been standing on the line, looking intently at something, and failed to get out of the way. The driver of the train explains that he did attempt to warn the signalman of his danger: as the train bore down on the signalman the driver called out to him â€Å"Below there! Look out! Look out! For God’s sake, clear the way! † Moreover, the driver waved his arm in warning even as he covered his face to avoid seeing the train strike the hapless signalman. The narrator notes the significance of the similarity between the driver's actions and the actions of the spectre as the signalman had earlier described them, but leaves the nature of that significance to the reader.

Comparing and Constrasting between northern and Italian Art

In Beneath the Lines of Historical Art: Comparing and Contrasting the Work of Northern and Italian Art Intro of Denver Art Museum Honestly, this was probably one of the best experiences of my entire life. I'm not the best person with knowledge about art but I definitely love to appreciate art more after this visit. Not only was I amazed how the exterior of the architecture was so imaginary and different but I was completely surprised; this was not what I expected. It was so awesome that they can create something so wonderful and stable! When I arrived I wasn't quite sure where I was to enter, but eventually I found the entrance.Exterior was not as amazing as what was inside of it! I do admit I was a little lost but I eventually found out where to go. I definitely like how they gave every painting, Its own space/territory. Instead of throwing every artwork into one wall, the paintings had their own room basically. And I would think everything was going to be old but everything was kep t clean and sanitized. The architect for the Interior was Like new and I never felt so comfortable. I loved every thing about this visit and will return In he future more times than once. Love It, love It!!Comparing and Contrasting influential artist and sculptures; Michelangelo, Leonardo Dad Vinci, Lorenz Gibber, Detonated, Udder, and many more. During the same time many unknown artist arisen and influenced change on the perspective of art or what the meaning of what art can be. For Instance, even a speck of light and shade can change the overall outcome between velvet and wool, copper and aluminum. As well as, a small item in a painting can briefly explain an entire paintings storyline and can help understand the artist even more. The Renaissance contributed to a variety of similarities and differences.But nowhere is this more apparent than in the similarities and differences we will find between the art of Northern Renaissance and Italian Renaissance which will be explained furth er on. Nevertheless, art work shall always be thoroughly observed otherwise it will be misinterpreted. Breathe Abeam was a Northern German Renaissance engraver (1502-1540) and he and his brother Seabed Abeam were also successful printmakers. In 1525 the brothers and a fellow artist were tried for their radical religious and political beliefs ND they were expelled from Nurturers in 1529.Eventually Breathe Abeam continued his work with portraits as the court artist to Duke William IV of Bavaria. One of the art works currently held at the Denver Art Museum Portrait of a Woman demonstrates how colors are an importance on indicating the texture and appearance of an object. By the use of how much detail is put into every little aspect in the illustration (looking closely, every crease in her wardrobe shows the woman's body structure/posture), and narrative because the indications of her gold rings on ere hands, the wardrobe can simply predict that this is an important, wealthy, German wom an during the sass.In this portrait painting, is a German Matron (a member of the House of Chad von Antibacterial), she emphasis her wealth and status by her luxuries garments and signifies her power/status by displaying a substantial posture with her hands held together. Beam's mastery of space reflects in his portraits; the colors of light and shade, enables him to represent so convincingly the rich fabrics worn by his noble subject and makes this woman look as if she was imaginary/perfect or â€Å"too good to be rue. But it's not Just the garments that the woman wears that makes this a remarkable piece of art but its how proudly she stands and how she holds her hands together. Outstanding posture can signify importance and strength because the hands are clearly illustrated in the center so the audience will notice it first. â€Å"Portrait of a Woman,† By Breathe Abeam (1 500 – 25), A German Northern Renaissance Engraver viewpoints of the artist. In the following Po rtrait of a Woman, Abeam tells, the person that is looking at this portrait, that this woman is no average women.Looking ruefully, she is against a plain wooden board background which brings out the color of her large fur collar on her silk coat, this is a clear indication of what her status is in the society; her gown has sleeves trimmed with velvet bands and her white head covering is wrapped around by a fine linen veil it seems. As well with the nice clothing, there is a noticeable Jewelry on her hands. These are several gold rings which is important because it signifies that this portrait in not about personality and characteristics but this is about the small petite materials involved in the illustration.Breathe Abeam uses the color of light and shade to contribute to the texture in his materials and the narrative of his entire piece. Many artist display discrete kinds' objects in paintings to Justify a storyline but all artists have brief similarities. So as you were to look a t a Northern Renaissance artist you can see similarities to an artist in the Italian Renaissances art piece. Vitro Carapaces was a Southern Italian painter of the Venetian school, he studied under Gentile Beeline.Little is known of his early life, but influences came from his astonishing work of the Beeline Family and Antinovel dad Messing. Vitro was regularly known for his individualism in his artwork, stated Giorgio Vassar, an early biographer of Renaissance artists. He produced many large-scale narrative wall paintings of religious subjects for the city of Venice. But a piece that stood out from the rest of his work, was a portrait off lady holding a book. In the sass Vitro illustrated the Portrait of a Lady with a Book, currently, belongs to the Denver Art Museum.This artwork not only brought out Aviator's individualism but showed that art can be useful, simple, and can tell a story to a few that understand it. The individual in this portrait may be a Tuscan poet Grammar Coors R amose, who also had her portrait painted by Aviator's teacher, Gentile Beeline. The lady in the illustration holds a book, possibly an indication that she was a writer. The woman's hairstyle and dress are typical of Venetian style. Her hair is held by a transparent net on the back of her head, and loose strands hang on either side of a face that is not beautiful or young, but reveals an average Venetian woman.She wears a simple Ackley (made out of rope it seems); the upper part of her dress is decorated with gold and lace trim and pearls. Similar to Beam's Portrait of a Woman it was not the background and colors that made the portrait interesting, but it was a small and not so noticeable item, the book in her hands. The novel signifies that the following lady could in fact possibly be a writer. This contributes to the opinion that the artist and the subject of the painting can be one and of the same because of their individualism. â€Å"Portrait of a Lady with a Book,† By Vit ro Carapaces (1500), A Southern ItalianRenaissance Painter Breathe uses light and shade to contribute to the color of his materials making his art individualism to an artwork that stays understandable for the world. Breathe and Vitro use a dull background in order to expose the important figure in the center (in this case the women), as well as, a way to notice the partially visible props. For instance, the Jewelry expresses immense characteristics of both women by using a simple item, the book and the German women's Jewelry. Despite the comparisons between the two, there remains a variety of divergences.One central difference is how both artworks derive from nature. In Breather's creation the color plays an increasingly large factor in whether this art derived from nature. In his piece, the woman's whole attire is accurately detailed, meaning â€Å"too good to be true. † In Aviator's visual the woman can be defined as â€Å"short and simple† considering the fact, visu ally, she signifies an average woman during the Renaissance. Another huge difference that may not seem visible to many but the way Venetian Woman and German women look at the audience. She looks away from the painting, as if she does not want to be seen.Or she is ashamed that she is a writer. But because of history, Women in the Italian renaissance were not quite comfortable of their amazing talents. And women in the Northern Renaissance had more comfort of showing their talents because Northern art was more acceptable to differences than of the Southern Italian Renaissance art. So looking back at the German women she seems more comfortable of a self-portrait than the Venetian Women below. This is a huge difference between Northern and Italian Renaissance Art. Attractiveness in Art is important because a small item can tell an entire narrative of an artwork.Breathe used light and shade in order to emphasize the texture of the German matron's wardrobe in order to understand that this is a wealthy woman. But Vitro manipulated an average woman living in the Italian renaissance and depicted only her stance and how she looked at the audience. Introducing a huge narrative about how women's talents were compared to women talents in the Northern Renaissance. Even though the two are derived from different areas of Europe they contribute almost identical strategies to display their narratives in order for us the audience to look in beneath the lines of Historical art.

Challenges faced by Uk economy

Erosion's growth forecast at 0. 8%, next year 1. 3% Global growth expected at 3. 3%, next year 3. 8%, both still termed too optimistic by MIFF, despite revising it the 2nd time this year Auk's expected growth rate 2. -3. 1%, revised from 3. 8%. 2013-14 growth was 1. 7exports. 6% growth, revision from 2. 2%. All above fgfiguresre for 2014-15 fiscal The dilemma Economy growing despite loans reducing. Shows bad state of manufacturing sector, not good in long run Key interest rates can't be increased as unemployment still hihighlandacan'te reduced as it will increase inflation Real Growth The nominal figures may fool many, so we show the growth in Real GDGAPince the start of 2013, the I-JKJconomy has experienced positive economic growth – one of the elelatedlyest performances in Europe.However, Real GDGAPs still fractionally below its pre-crisis peak of 2007. The recovery has been stronger in the service sector than manufacturing and industrial output. There are fears the I-JKJec overy is still unbalanced – relying on government spending, service sector and ultra-loose monetary policy. 0AAndhat it might worsen once the key interest rates are increased Real GDGAPs not yet back to the pre-crisis level. The fgfigureshown by us are as per the data currently available in the public domain.And so, it is worth bearing in mind that sometimes economic growth statistics get evbeviest a later stage. 0 Factors affecting growth Self-explanatory Challenges Unemployment Define and introduce the problem on your own. Explain the diagram Reasons Recession – causing cyclical, demand deficient unemployment. With falling real GDGAPfirms are producing less and therefore, there is less demand for workers. Also in a recession, some firms go out of business causing people to lose their Jobs. Structural factors. There is structural unemployment due to the fast changing nature of the economy.For example, manufacturing Jobs have been lost due to the economy becoming more service sector based. Some unemployed workers have found it difficult to get Jobs in new high tech industries because they lack the relevant skills. Problems Increases relative poverty in the UK. (Unemployment benefits are substantially lower than average wages). Unemployment is particularly stressful, causing alienation and reduced living standards. Budgetary cost. Persistently high unemployment adds to the budget deficit. The government have to spend more on benefits, and they receive lower taxes.If unemployment falls, it will be much easier to tackle the budget deficit. In August 2014, Public sector net debt (PSSANDx) was El ,432. biBillion77. 4% of GDGAPIn the short term, government debt is less pressing than the government have claimed. Since 2010, they have given indication that reducing debt levels are the most pressing economic problem. Because of debt, the government have pursued austerity leading to lower growth. I feel the government unnecessarily panicked over debt. Neve rtheless, long term spending commitments and long-term debt forecasts are a problem.With an ageing population and perhaps lower growth rates, it could be difficult to finance long-term spending commitments from current tax levels. Debt is a long-term problem rather than short-term. Reasons 2008-13 recession (lower tax receipts, higher spending on unemployment benefits). The recession particularly hit stamp duty (falling house prices) income tax and lower corporation tax. Financial bailout of Northern Rock, RBORBSLlLloydnd other banks. Interest Payments. The cost of paying interest on the government's debt is very high.In 2011 Debt interest payments were E4EYEillion a year (esest.3% of GDGAP Public sector debt interest payments will be the 4th highest department after social security, health and education. Debt interest payments could rise close to E7Beeniven the forecast rise in national debt. Higher Taxes / lower spending in the future. Crowding out of private sector investment / s pending. The structural deficit will only get worse as an ageing population places greater strain on the UKAuk'sension liabilities. (demographic time bomb) Potential negative impact on exchange rate.Potential of rising interest rates as markets become more reluctant to lend to the I-JKJovernment. Inflation CPICPnflation rate: 1. 5% (expected) Inflation is currently a relatively minor problem because it has fallen to be within the ovoverpayment'sarget. However, with rising energy prices, it could resume its upward trend in the coming months. This cost-push inflation is a problem because with low nominal wage growth, many could see a fall in living standards (causing an increase in fuel poverty). Also, savers may be adversely affected because interest rates are low.Reasons Rising energy prices Low real wages Fall in living standards Increased poverty Current Account Deficit The deterioration in the UK current account is a cause for some concern because it is occurring in a recession. Usually a recession leads to lower imports and an mpimprovementn the current account. This deterioration in the current account suggests the I-JKJould have declining international competitiveness, though it may also be a temporary situation related to EuRezonerisis. Reasons Overvalued exchange rates. Countries in the EuRezonehich became uncompetitive (e. . Greece, Portugal and Spain) experienced large current account deficits. This is imports are cheaper. This encourages domestic consumers to buy imports. It also makes it hard for exporters because they are relatively uncompetitive. High Consumer Spending. If there is rapid growth in consumer spending, then there tends to be an increase in imports causing a deterioration in the current account. For example, in the 19sassoom, we saw a fall in the savings rate and a rise in I-JKJonsumer spending; this caused a record current account deficit.The recession of 1991 caused an improvement in the current account as import spending fell. Unb alanced Economy. An economy focused on consumer spending rather than investment and exports will tend to have a bigger current account deficit. Competitiveness. Related to the exchange rate is the general competitiveness of irrimsIf there is a decline in relative competitiveness, e. g.GriRisingage costs, industrial unrest, poor quality goods – then it is harder to export causing a deterioration in the current account.Recommended Solutions Reduce consumer spending – through tight fiscal and tight monetary policy. E. g.GhiHigherncome tax will reduce disposable income and therefore reduce spending on imports (however, it will also lead to lower economic growth) Supply side policies to improve competitiveness Devaluation of the exchange rate. This makes exports cheaper and imports more expensive Poor lalaborroductivity LaLaborroductivity measures the output per worker in a period of time. LaLaborroductivity is an important factor in determining the productive potential of the economy.Reasons LaLaboroarding. (When firms hold onto workers). Unemployment has risen by a smaller amount in the '08-'12 recession – compared to previous recessions in 1981 and 1991, and now unemployment has fallen to 6. 2% . This could support the theory that firms are preferring to hang onto workers, despite lower demand. Firms may feel this prevents having to rehire and retrain workers after the recession ends. Though he length of this current recession makes this surprising, and it's uncertain why it's happening in 2008-12 more than previous recessions. Low levels of investment.The credit crunch has held back investment because firms struggle to gain finance or don't have the confidence to invest in new capital. This could hold back lalaborroductivity growth. Falling real wages. During the recession, the I-JKJas seen falls in real wage growth. If real wages are lower, firms may be more willing to employ lalaborather than capital. In other words low wage growth means lalabors relatively more attractive than usual. Therefore with lower lalaborosts, firms are willing to employ more workers and lalaborntensive production methods.Lower output Lower wages – With falling productivity, firms cannot afford wage increases. This is leading to depressed income tax receipts for the government. Lack of Infrastructure Investment The recession has seen a fall in public sector investment. This threatens long-term there are also concerns over other supply side problems, such as inflexible lalaborarkets and lack of vocational skills. External Factors Many of the I-JKJroblems are due to domestic factors: low spending, low investment, egactiveutput gap. However, because the I-JKJelies on trade with other countries, especially Europe, external factors are a potential problem.