Stress is a rising concern in corporate world

Stress is a rising concern in corporate world Stress is a rising concern in corporate world. In fact, repeat increase in percentage of workers in global economies experiencing a rise in workplace stress. According to survey by Northwestern National Life One-fourth of employees consider their jobs as the number one stressor in their lives. Job life is the most important part of employee life but on other hand it is one of the key reason of stress. Job atmosphere contain with competitive nature that why people in the world are more center in achieving job related goals and ignoring the stressors which influencing their work and life. (Ahsan, Abdullah, Gun Fie, Alam, 2009).Due to stress an organization can suffer serious crisis such as reduction in employee productivity, increase in employee turnover, inferior motivation levels and augment between employee conflicts. The main object of this article is establish a comparative analysis on employee characteristics versus working conditions and identifies the primary cause of job stre ss. Most researchers have the same opinion on certain factor highly stressful in work environment for example organizational culture and function can be stressful due to poor communication, lack of support in problem resolving and higher management failure in defining organizational goals lead to stress. Under or over promotion, poor pay, nature of job causes stress regarding employee personal career development. If management fails to identify the employee roles in organization then role ambiguity and role conflict generate stress. Lack Interpersonal relationships at work, conflict in demands work to home and work overload also multiply the stress effect on employee (European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, 2002) There is multiple Job condition that may lead to stress. Long working hours, infrequent rest break, hectic and routine tasks in shift works, lack in employee skill utilization little sense of control at work place these all work condition can be categorized in design of task which leads to stress. Management Style can causes stress for example lack of employee participation decision making, poor communication hierarchy in the organization, excessively tight controls by the managers creates negative stress among the employees. Depressed organization environment, lesser amount of support from coworkers and deficiency in providing help by supervisors reduces the interpersonal relationships and increase the chances of stress. Role overload with uncertain job expectations and too much work to home responsibility creates stress which leads to role conflict. Rapid changes in political, economic and technology extend stress and increase job insecurity and jamming the opportunity for employee growth. Symptoms of physical stress are headaches or backaches, muscle tension, diarrhea or constipation, nausea, dizziness, Insomnia, Chest pain, rapid heartbeat, weight gain or loss, skin breakouts (hives, eczema), Loss of sex drive and frequent colds. (The Texas AM University System, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the County Commissioners Courts of Texas Cooperating, 2009) Signs and symptoms of stress can also be caused by other psychological and medical problems. The prime focus of this article is to identify employee behavioral symptoms during stress and how they affect employee physiological wellbeing. Employee behavioral symptoms during stress can be define as increased absenteeism, tardiness, and intentions by workers to quit their jobs-all of which have a negative effect on organizational performance. If the role in an organization is not clear or unclear boundaries of responsibility due to this situation interpersonal friction between the persons involved. Unfortunately, the conflict often categorizes as interpersonal conflict rather than role conflict, and resolution is then complicated and misdirected. (Fisher, c. 1977, Rev. 1985, 2000.) Role conflict is a type of social conflict it is due to when an individual being require to perform more than one role and these role are highly incompatible from each others. In individual case a person responsibility is being torn between multiple roles with in organization or groups or outside the organization. When an employee has to carry out multiple management roles with in one department it can case conflict between supervisor and co-worker roles. In journal role conflict occur due to overlapping of responsibility and obligations to different group. With an organization point of view role conflict can be define, when individual employee have to perform numerous conflicting responsibilities. Role conflict can also be build up within organization boundaries, when employees require to generating more production and on other hand managers demands supervisors for more improve quality controls. Responsibility of results, without sufficient authority to achieve unrealistic objectives leads to role conflict. Employee life can also suffer from work to family role conflict which reduces the organizational commitment. Increase competitive pressures on organizations for increase outcomes and requiring more time for workforce results in less time available for the employees to be with their families. Finding indicates that there was a major contribution of work-family role conflict to organizational commitment. (Akintayo, 2010) Work-family role conflict generates due to various reasons and these can be unique to each individual situation. Source for Work-family Role conflict can be time-related, strain-related or behavior-related and the outcome of role conflict can be in shape of both psychologically and behaviorally stress. Employee feels guilt about spending less time at home due to work overload at work place, lack in social communication with co-workers at work place or family members at home. Work family conflict affects unenthusiastically employee work and family life quality. It is difficult for employee to carry out responsibility in work domain at the cost of neglecting responsibility and time at family domain. Employee inability to socialize due to work load, responsibility of results without sufficient authority and unrealistic objectives leads to stress with the outcome of role conflict effecting employee productivity. Telecom industry in Pakistan has shown rapid growth and proven its importance in economic growth. Many foreign investments are being invested in Pakistan in telecom industry total of 1438.60 million US $ foreign direct investment in telecom sector in year 2007-08. GST/CED Collection from Telecom Sector is Rs. 44.53 billion in 2007-08. Telecom sector share in GDP is 2 % in 2005-06. (Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, 2009) Reason why employee facing stress is due to nature of their job attending non-stop mobile calls, direct interaction with customers and achieving the target within limited time line make the employee stressful (Dollard, Dormann, Boyd, Winefield, Winefield, 2003). Employees have to produce quality through resolving the customer problems so they can remain satisfied while increasing the quantity to reduce the cost by following preset standards. (Suri Rizvi, 2008) There is great rivalry among telecom companies in attempt to gain a larger market share. Due to the enormous competition among different companies, employees are obliged to increase productivity and provide better quality under unrealistic quality controls. This is the ideal situation where stress can easily generates and cause its negative effect on employee productivity. The nature of call center job also posses necessary ingredients which are identify by the scholars for role conflict. This article provides the information how an employee effect by stress which cases role conflict. Another objective is to identification of key factor which cases stress, role conflict and their relationship with employee productivity. Testing relationship among these factors and there outcome with the help of quantitative tools. This research can provide benefits to company owners, CEO, managers and supervisors, how they can develop the stress free workplace culture. It can also be use as a guide line in prevention and control of the causes of job stress and role conflict. The outcome of this research can be low employee turnover, reduction in workplace conflict and increase in productivity. Organization can reduce the impact of stressors by minimize the role conflict and role ambiguity by developing such policies which gave employee more authority, so they can perform their work activities. Stress affects the performance of employees for last three decades comprehensive work has been done in this regard. The source and outcome of stress are dissimilar in every individual case that why its hard to held responsibility of stress on few stressors. Rising development and expansion in markets and businesses establish the need for more research on stress, how work related stressor effect performance and predict the effect of workplace stressor. Researchers are keen to build up intervention designed which reduces the possible negative impact of stressor on job performance. (Gilboa, Fried, Shirom, Cooper, 2008). Study has point out the following familiar sources of job stress with in organizational environment which can affect employee wellbeing. Role ambiguity is the vague categorization of rite, duties, responsibility and limitation that describe employees job. Work relationships such as employee relationship with its coworkers and mangers. Employee communication gap with its coworkers can cause stress. Employees feels that they have proper training, resources, equipment and tools to perform their task. Career advancement refers to employee expectations and prospects to growth within organization. Lack of opportunity in growth increases the stress. Insecurity of losing job and uncertainty about the future also cultivate stress. Lack in decision making, authority and control at work sturdily correlate with stress. Work-home interface also cause the stress, when work responsibility spill over with employee home life. This can create complexity in employee relationship outside the work specia lly when employee experiencing lack of social support. Workload refers to when employees are unable to produce or fulfill the work requirement according to what is ask to them. When employees are expected to perform more with in limited time or resources allocate to them, in the result employee experience stress at workplace. Compensation and benefits gives employee the feeling of self-worth and their value to the organization. The nature and structure of job can cause stress job such as how much physical working is require, what would be the working conditions, how much challenging and experience would be drive from the job and type of tasks. (Coetzee Villiers, 2010). Work-related factors can be formulate due to work over load when job is requiring more output and attention in limited duration or underutilization of employees skills and they start feeling that their knowledge and experience is ignore and wasted. When employee starting to realize that his job is boring or tedious. (Green, et al., 1995). Job or role ambiguity creates stress when job requirement are not formally designed and worker are uncertain about their responsibilities and duties. (Beehr, 1985). Role ambiguity negatively correlated with employee creativity but role conflict when mediate by self-efficacy show positive link with employee creativity. Future more self-efficacy and job satisfaction provide weak mediators link between role conflicts. Conversely lone job satisfaction provide weak mediator link between role ambiguity and creativity. (Tang Chang, 2010) Employee has to manage the numerous roles at the same time. Whenever time dedicated at work make difficult to fulfill his family roles requirements then work to family conflict generates and the outcome of this conflict is stress. (Greenhaus Beutell, 1985) Employee has to develop their professional skills in order to meet the changing requirement due to advancements in technology. In the absence of advance knowledge individual feels job insecurity. These technological advancements make the workplace more complicate and stressful. (Tse, 2010) In service provider occupation lack in professional aspect (autonomy, client satisfaction and collegiality) and greater Bureaucratic Conditions (formalization and reutilization) leads to work overload and role conflict which is correlate with unmet expectation. Higher unmet expectation linked with higher job stress. Unmet expectations play important role in organizational-professional conflict because in bureaucratic structure organizations employees consider that their skills and abilities are being run over which harms employee expectations and case stress. (Lait Wallace, 2002) Individual with strong internal locus of control are less effect by work stress as compare the one with an external locus of control. Support from coworkers and supervisors are beneficial in reducing workload stressors. Work stress is positive correlated with depression and resource is negatively correlated with depression. Resource consider as a coworker and supervisor lend a hand in workload and strength the individual internal locus of control. Supervisor support narrowed down the prediction for role conflict. (Stanley, Muramatsu, Heller, Hughes, Johnson, Valles, 2010) In Meta analysis seven stressors have been identified (job performance: role ambiguity, role conflict, role overload, job insecurity, work-family conflict, environmental uncertainty, and situational constraints) and they show negative correlation with job performance. Investigation of moderators relationship is highly negative correlated with role overload with performance in managers as compare with subordinates. (Gilboa, Fried, Shirom, Cooper, 2008) Autonomy at work reduce the role conflict and positive link with job satisfaction (R u y t e r, W e t z e l s, F e i n b e r g, 2001). The consequences of stress within organization are increase turnover, absenteeism and employee low productivity. Employee productivity is interlink with work environment .Employer should articulate work environment in such manner that the challenging task can be accomplish in a productive way. Encouraging work environment motivate employees and bad working conditions contribute to low productivity of employees. (Taiwo, 2010)

Outline for Paper on The Importance of Accelerated Reading

A. Purpose of the Study â€Å"Reading is the motivated and fluent coordination of word recognition and comprehension† (Leipzig 2001). In the educational system, pupils are encourage to read books because of the belief that one becomes better at a skill based on the amount of time dedicated to that particular skill. Pupils must practice the skill learned and receive â€Å"frequent feedback (Samuel and Wu).† Practice is most effectual when it is individualized and accompanied with instruction (Renaissance Learning Inc 2007). Individualized practice, allows the pupil to work at his/her individual ability. It challenges the pupil instead of frustrating him/her. Accelerated Reader (AR) program provides individualize practice to each pupil to maximize academic success. The purpose of this study is to examine the affect of AR on first grade students’ comprehension scores on the End of the Year Assessment. B. Significance/Importance of the Study Accelerated Reader is a program used in several schools in the United States with the belief that each child has a prescribed practice based on hi/her reading ability. AR program is usually used in addition to the school’s core Reading Text. The AR program is said to increase students reading skills and â€Å"reduce achievement gaps† (Advance Learning System 1997). The program is a computer software that allows students to read a textbook and then take a computerize quiz on that textbook. Students are then given an immediate feedback of their score. It allows students the opportunity to view the items that were marked incorrect. Researchers believe that immediate feedback is very important for student achievement (Samuels and Wu). Being that many of our schools use AR, it is safe to assume several believe ... ...lace a sticker next to his or her name on the chart in the classroom, which will be visible to all. The researcher will also monitor the students’ progress on AR. The researcher will have bi-weekly discussion with the teachers regarding students’ progress. At a later time, students will take the EOYA. The researcher will follow the same procedure that was followed for the MYA. F. Research Questions/Hypothesis Does the use of AR increase first grade comprehension scores on the End of the Year Assessment? G. Methods of Data Analysis The researcher will record the raw scores and calculate the standard deviation for both the pretest and the posttest. A dependent T-Test will be used at the .05 level of confidence to decide if there is statistically significant difference between the mean scores of the two tests given.

Selling The Invisible: A Field Guide to Modern Marketing Essay

Selling The Invisible: A Field Guide to Modern Marketing Book Review: Harry Beckwith is the founder of Beckwith Advertising and Marketing. He has worked with four of America’s best 100 service companies, nine Fortune 500 companies, and many smaller business and venture-capitalized start-ups. Beckwith divides the book into eleven main topics and ends it with a â€Å"summing up†. The book mainly talks about what the marketers need to know to sell their services. This book begins with the main problem of service marketing. It then suggests how to learn what you must improve, with examples of techniques that work. Later it talks about the service marketing fundamentals: defining what business you really are in and what people really are buying, positioning your service, understanding prospects and buying behavior, and communicating. Chapters are made in short format, they are intended to convey one point and free of jargon. The author summarizes the point in one sentence in boldface italics. Hints and tips cover the conventional four P’s of marketing, which are product, place, price and promotion, in an irreverent and iconoclastic manner, nothing is sacrosanct. The first part of the book is about how to get started. Here Beckwith emphasizes that the core of service marketing is the service itself. A company needs to make sure that they offer the best service quality before they spend more money on promoting the company. Beckwith says that a company needs to let their customers set the quality standard. Moreover, to stay in the competitive market, it is not enough for a company to just think how to do better in the future. They also have to think different. The services that they offer have to be different from their competitors. Beckwith says: â€Å"Create the possible service; don’t just create what the market needs or wants. Create what it would love.† A company needs to differentiate itself clearly from the other companies. Thus, since more company try to offer a service that meet the customer needs, we need to offer a service that can catch customer’s attention and a service that a customer would love. Part Two is about survey and research. For a company to be able to improve its services is by asking everyone about it, by doing a survey. However, to have a significant result from a survey, ... ...lue to any organization in which business relationships are less then desirable. Everything he suggests combines common sense with a sensitivity to others’ needs and interests. Indeed, almost everyone in almost any organization must constantly be â€Å"selling† various services to others within and beyond that organization. First, they must establish credibility, then trust, and finally obtain agreement to cooperate. Beckwith examines them with in business context however, in process suggest wide and deep implication relevant to all other areas of human experience. What I like about this book is the fact of how this book is being structured. It contains short anecdotes about how other services have effectively marketed themselves. This type of structure makes it easy and interesting to read. The book gave concrete examples of how others succeeded in marketing something that was not a product. The downside of this book is that it does not go into details. Aside from showing how other did it, the author rarely tells how to specifically apply it to your situation. However, in overall, I can say that it was an inspirational read. It gave me a whole new perspective about marketing.

Report on Classroom Observation Essay

Introduction Internship teaching is the culminating experience of the first degree program in education. It provides the opportunity to apply theoretical knowledge on pedagogies in the actual classroom setting and gain the experience. The internees are exposed to an environment where they encounter learners for the first time and face them with multitude of ideas, approaches, techniques and processes. During the internship period I got ample opportunities to demonstrate the art of teaching in actual situation and participate in all activities at the school level. The duration of internship was one semester. I tried to perform the assigned responsibilities in Azimpur Girl’s School and College under the direct management and control of the heads of respective school and under the supervision of two subject-supervisors and a school co-coordinator, assigned by Institute of Education and Research, University of Dhaka. Aim Teaching is in the center regarding all educational issues. So as a student of Institute of Education and Research, we should have an experience in teaching at the field level. Before starting teaching face to face it helps a practice teacher to acquaint themselves with the process, method of teaching if they observe a class of a certain level before entering in a class as a teacher. I have observed 3 science classes of grade 8. I have analyzed those classes and gave a brief description of one of the classes below. Azimpur Girl’s School and College Class: 8Sec: B Time: 11. 45-12. 25 Date: 29. 08. 05 Period: 2nd About the lesson The class was on physical science on â€Å"Work, Power and Energy†. The lesson contains discussion about the following topics: 1) Work and the mathematical expression of work 2) Different types of work 3) Power Description I had to observe the physical science class of Md. Shamsul Alam sir. I was waiting in front of his classroom. When he came I asked him politely if he could give me the permission to observe his class. He told me to sit in the class. When the teacher entered the class all the students’ stood up and when he told them to sit, they took their sits. At first he declared the lesson. Then he started his lecture by relating the lesson with practical experiences. Then he showed the mathematical expression in the black board. He explained the different types of work and to do so he dropped the duster from his hand and so also took a book higher from the desk. Now he told that if any student is more curious to know more about this he could go through the text book of higher secondary level, but this is adequate to write down in the exam paper. Then he asked the class â€Å"what is power? † one of the students answered. He agreed with him. Then he discussed on the unit of power. After that, he discussed with the students on energy, its unit and different forms of energy. He sometimes asked some examples and the students’ participated. While continuing the class he also told students to co operator with me. He left the class before the due time to let me introduce myself in the class. I talked with the class about their class times, syllabus, hobbies etc. when the bell rang for the next class, I left the room. Main features of the lesson observed: A. Physical facilities: †¢ Location of the class: The class is in the middle of the 2nd floor in the main school building. †¢ Shape of the class: The shape of the class room is almost square. †¢ Doors and windows: All the windows are in the right side of the class and the only door is in the left side of the room. The door is not very much spacious. †¢ Students’ bench and table: Every 23 students sit in a bench. The bench and the writing table are joined together. There is a long wooden string in every two sides of bench. There are columns and every column has rows with only one bench. There are 4 columns and 5 rows of benches in the classroom. The benches are not that much congested. Students have space to easily move. †¢ Blackboard: The blackboard is put in the wall of the class. It is not portable but fixed. It is not in the middle of the front wall. So all of the students cannot see easily what is written in the board. †¢ Lighting and ventilation: The natural lighting is not quite adequate for the class. The cross ventilation is not available in the classroom. †¢ Provision of artificial lighting and ventilation: There are 4 electric fans and lights in the class. But this is not quite adequate for the room. As there is no generator in the school and power failure being a common problem, sometimes students face problems as they suffer from the hot summer and cannot concentrate to their lessons. There is another problem of the artificial lighting as it is reflected in the blackboard and the front right side of the class cannot see the right corner of the board. †¢ Teachers table and chair: The wooden chair and table are in the front side of the class. The table is spacious but its drawers are hardly movable. The chair is quite ok as we should use in not for a long time to sit there while teaching. †¢ Color of the class: The colors of the walls are white but fade. It should be brighter. †¢ Other furniture: There are no other furniture except the above mentioned desk and benches for the students and the chair and table. B. Evaluation of the teacher’s proficiency: †¢ Dress up: His dress up was suitable for the class. †¢ Teaching method: His teaching method is good. When he was working out the problems, he asked the students for its possible solution. It shows that he applied the participatory approach. Sometimes he feels the need for recalling. So he asked the students to write down the important notes. He relates his lessen with real life. He told the students about he group of problems which had an equivalent solution and then worked out one or two from that group of problems. †¢ Teaching materials: He used no other teaching material except the black board. †¢ Learning environment: He learning environment was come and quite which was obvious for science lesson. But the environment was not fear free because of his way of punishment. †¢ Use of teaching materials: Except the blackboard he did not use any other teaching material. †¢ Use of black board: He used the blackboard neatly. His writings were legible and could be seen from even the last bench. He also did not stand parallel to the board making the students facing his back, but stand making angle with the board. But he did not look at the students while writing on the chalk board and the students took the advantage for side talking. Before going out of the class he wiped the board. †¢ Students’ involvement and participation: Students’ involvement and participation is not very high. Moreover most of the participants the conventional good students. †¢ Classroom questioning: After finishing a problem, he encouraged classroom questioning. But to arouse interest he did not asked any question to the students. †¢ Punishment and reward: His quantity of rewards was less than the quantity of punishment. Moreover his way of punishment did not suit to the child psychology. †¢ Classroom control: His classroom controlling power is really strong. No student disturbed in the class while he gave his lesson. Only few students talked in the class while he was using the blackboard. He used a nice technique while calling the rolls. †¢ Teacher student relationship: Teacher student relationship is not friendly, but grim. He maintained a big distance with them. Students were afraid of him. The teacher was caring but not frank. †¢ Way of expressing: He explained the steps of the solution clearly to the students with agile expression. †¢ Expertise in his particular lesson: He had a good expertise on his subject. He can answer the students’ questions proving his sagacity and he had other knowledge related to his subject beyond the text book. †¢ Beginning of the lesson: He didn’t make any specific motivation for the lesson. But his starting was quite good. †¢ Class work observation: He observed the given class by walking and watching the activities of the students entering the passages between the columns. He also gave individual feed back to some students. He did not collect the class work copies from the students. †¢ Home work: He gave homework at the end of the class and at the beginning of the class collected the homework copies. He corrected every copy and gave back the copies that day. But he did not give any feedback according to homework. †¢ Wittiness: Hardly ever he created suitable funny situation in the class making the students laugh. But obviously it is related to the lesson. He used some different words in the class, like he said that if anyone feels any pain in his mind meaning that if they had understood the topic. †¢ Voice and tone: His voice is suitable for the class. It can be heard from the last bench. The changing tone of his voice creates some special situations or attention in the class which is something urgent. †¢ Confidence: His face, behavior, talking shows that he is confident, confident about his expertise and controlling power. It is proved from the situation when students ask him questions and he answered in a very smart way. †¢ Punctuality: He was punctual. He started the class at the right time and finished before 5 minutes for me to introduce myself to the class. †¢ Discipline: The students were disciplined through out his class time. †¢ Cleanliness: He maintains cleanliness in every step. C. Strengths of the teacher: †¢ Good controlling power over the class. †¢ Appropriate voice and flexible tone †¢ Tries to relate the lesson to everyday life. †¢ Maintains the rules of using black board. †¢ Asks the students about the possible way of solving problems to enhance student participation. †¢ Punctual. †¢ He can clarify the salvation of a problem clearly. D. Weakness of the teacher: †¢ Does not give attention to classroom participation and student involvement. †¢ Does not give much emphasis on girls. †¢ Cannot crate a friendly, fear free classroom situation. †¢ Emphasizes on negative reinforcement rather than positive reinforcement. †¢ Bad way of punishment and scolding. †¢ Does not use any other teaching material but the blackboard. †¢ Does not make a specific and effective motivation towards a specific lesson. †¢ He didn’t check the class work copies. E. Possible ways of improving the lesson: †¢ He could use a poster with the necessary algebraic formulas, in this lesson. That poster could hang on one corner of the black board thus the students could remind the formulas in a friendly and effective way. †¢ To be confirmed about the students’ class performance the class work copy of every student can be collected and corrected. And basing on it the teacher can keep a record by grading them about their class work copies. †¢ He could do something at the beginning of the lesson to motivate the students. †¢ If he could check the class work copies of all the students it would help the students to do his class works more sincerely. Conclusion This class observation helped me a lot to improve myself in teaching and learning. In this sense I will ever greatful to the administration of Azimpur School and College for giving me the unique opportunity. Tamanna Kalim Material Developer BRAC Education Programme Bangladesh.

Lester Brown Who Will Feed China Study Guide Essay

1. Who will feed china looks at china specifically but does so in a way of how things happening in china impact the rest of the world. 2. After releasing the article, china gov’t initial response was a disagreement to brown’s hypothesis. They said by 2025 they would double their grain production so it wouldn’t be a problem. But then grain prices soared and they started to have to import grain so then they asked for brown’s help. 3. People understand that the standard of living in the US could not work for the entire world. 4. The earliest constraints in attempting to make this transformation are food supply. 5. Resource constraints are grain and grain production. As well as water supply and quality. 6. In China, if internal constraints are faced by producers, what solution will the state most likely pursue? They are most likely to import scare resources. Is their historical precedent for such a solution? Japan, Taiwan, and S Korea did this but they have nowhere near the populatoni and people to feed as china does. What impacts can be expected from such an approach both internally and globally? Prices will go up around the world! 7. The gov’t wants to keep prices on grain high enough to keep the farmers on their land but low enough so people in urban areas can afford to eat. Based on your reading of Brown, from the standpoint of China discuss the relationship between industrialization, farmland, consumers, and international trade. 8. 6. In some detail discuss the precise relationships between grain lands and industrialization in China. How does this relate to Brown’s statement that grain production will fall not as a result of agricultural failure, but from industrial success. 9. What is the â€Å"wake-up call†? China’s emergence as a massive grain importer will be the wake-up call that will signal trouble in the relationship between ourselves, now numbering 5.7 billion, and the natural systems and resources on which we depend. It may well force a redefinition of security, recognition that food scarcity and the associated economic instability are far greater threats to security tha n military aggression is. 2. Another Half-Billion  Describe the population trends in China between 1990 and 2045. What will the impacts be of these trends on agricultural land? Population will peak in 2045 at 1.66 billion then start to decline slowly. 1990 they hit 1 billion. In Asia compared to Europe, way more people per hectare. And Europe pops have stopped growing while Asia’s go up and up. Population and birthrate declined with the famine but soon got back up again. More people will be depending on agricultural land. 3. Moving Up the Food Chain How does â€Å"moving up the food chain† affect agriculture in China? Discuss this in some detail. As people acquire more wealth, they go for more variety in their diet which is usually more expensive and puts more stress on agriculture. This also means consuming more livestock. Much more grain is used, a lot of the time as feed for livestock. Can also be used for beverages like beer, scotch, vodka†¦ and of course breads, pasteries†¦growth in meat consumption is one of the best indicators of china’s transformation economically. Mostly pork, not as much beef as the US. More meat = more grain needed. Starting to import grain, sugar, and soy/vegetable oil will put pressure on world supplies and increase prices everywhere. 4. The Shrinking Cropland Base What trends are occurring in China’s total agricultural land and why? Cropland is decreasing due to infertile soil, farmers switching to other crops not grain, construction of industry going up in spots where crops once were, and no longer doing multiple crops. What historical precedent exists to understand these trends? In Japan, Taiwan, and S Korea; those countries had dense population and then turned to industrialized nations. Farmland vs. industries. Need more room for housing, highways,(increasing automobiles means more roads, parking lots†¦) more people more room for their stuff. 5. Spreading Water Scarcity What are the causes? Water use has increased greatly. Due to population growth, irrigation expansion, rising affluence, and industrialization. There are depleting aquifers in northern china. Lots of irrigation to china’s cropland. Very land intensive. Originally came from dams but now it is coming from ground water as well. Farmers need water for their crops, but now they are having to turn to less intensive/profitable crops. Instead of rice they might plant a stable crop like millet, while this uses less water it also is not as good. The increased need for grain import is only going to increase. They are tapping into ground water, but the aquifers can’t replenish fast enough. Is there any hope? The need for water is only going to increase. Agricultural, industrial, and residential needs are all there. Poor distribution throughout the country. Where there is cropland, there is no water (N. China) and where there is water (Yangtze River) there is not as much cropland. This makes water scarcity even more of a problem. Likely to deline the grain production there even faster. Proposed building a canal to bring water to Beijing but it would be very expensive and cross a lot of rivers and streams. 6. Raising Cropland Productivity Is there much room for increased productivity? They need to increase rice, wheat, and corn production. With new technologies they can do it and have somewhat but there doubt that any increases will be very dramatic. Reached a point where farmers using too much fertilizer so not making as much of a profit, much like what happened with the US. As noted earlier, the central question is whether future rises in land productivity will be sufficient to offset the loss of cropland to nonfarm uses as industrialization progresses. Barring some dramatic new technological breakthroughs, this now seems unlikely. 7. Growing Grain Deficit What was the Japanese experience? Loss of grainland due to land being used for other purposes like industry. Wages climbed for non ag. Jobs and so more people moved into the city and out of rural areas. Causing a reduction in multiple cropping. Results in steady decline of grain production. Japan went down 1% per year. Consumption went up and so did import rates. How could the Japanese experience affect China? China will need to import much of it’s grain if it continues to industrialize. But china doesn’t have seafood it can feed it’s people with. It also has shortages in water that japan didn’t have to deal with. So it china’s impact on the world grain market will be much stronger than japans. 8. Competition for Grain What might world markets look like in the near future? Price of grain would rise, but even if it doubled china would be able to pay for it. However there isn’t enough grain available to supply them with of all countries put together. Consumption would likely decrease around the world.

Assignment 005

Assignment 005 Task D i) Safe Working Practice We seek to provide a safe and supportive environment, which secures the well-being and the very best outcomes for the children in our care. It is our duty to ensure that children are safe and protected from harm whilst within our care and we have policies and procedures in place to promote safe working practices and a clear understanding of what to do if abuse is suspected or disclosed. Our underpinning principles are that the welfare of the child is paramount.All children without exception have the right to protection from abuse regardless of gender, ethnicity, disability, sexuality or beliefs. We are responsible for our own actions and behaviour and should avoid any conduct, which would lead any reasonable person to question their motivation and intentions. We have received current child protection training and we have been made aware of possible symptoms of children at risk and are aware of their responsibility to report concerns acco rding to the Child Protection Procedures, a copy of which is kept on the premises.Concerns must be kept confidential to as few people who need to know. We must work, and be seen to work in an open and transparent way and records are always to be made of any incident, and of decisions made and further actions agreed. The minded children and parents are informed of the policy and procedures as appropriate and all concerns, and allegations of abuse will be taken seriously by us and responded to appropriately – this may require a referral to children’s services and in emergencies, the Police.We also have a commitment to safe recruitment, selection and vetting to ensure the safety of all children within our care and there is a legal entitlement to obtain a CRB check. iii) Child Protection Procedure If we have a concern that abuse has occurred or is likely to have occurred we are required to contact as soon as possible one of the following agencies, but the first point of co ntact should always be a local social services child protection team duty social worker using the telephone numbers below:Child protection team duty social worker Local Police Station An officer of the National Society for the prevention of Cruelty to Children We agree to liase with and co-operate with social services following an allegation of abuse or neglect. We will request guidance form the duty social worker as to whether we are able to contact the parents of the children in question following a referral or allegation of abuse. We are aware that social services may not wish a child’s parents to be contacted in certain circumstances.If we are informed by a child that they or another child is being abused we will: Show that we have heard what they are saying, and all allegations will be taken seriously. We will encourage the child to talk, but will not prompt or ask leading questions. When the child is talking we will not interrupt whilst they are recalling significant ev ents, and we will not make a child repeat their account.We will always explain carefully, in a way that the child will fully understand according to their age and stage of development, to inform them of the actions that we must take. We will record exactly what we have been told, using exactly the same words where possible. We will record the time, date, place and people who were present at the discussion. We will then report our concerns immediately to the duty social worker. This will enable somebody with the experience and responsibility to make a proper assessment of the situation.Following our referral to Social Services we will only inform the registered body in accordance with the National Minimum Standards. iv) Benefits of a Multi-Agency Approach From birth, there will be a variety of different agencies and programmes in the community involved with children and their development, particularly in relation to their health and education. Multi and inter-agency work is to safegu ard and promote children’s welfare as soon as there are concerns about a child’s welfare, not just when there are questions about possible harm.Having a multi-agency approach to safeguarding children means we have an understanding of a child within the context of the child’s family (parents or caregivers and the wider family) and of the educational setting, community and culture in which he or she is growing up. The ultimate aim is to understand the child’s developmental needs within the context of the family and to provide appropriate services, which respond to those needs.

Race, Class, & Gender

Danielle Karkkainen Prof. Shaleen Seward SOC. 301, Race/Class/Gender Writing Assignment December 4, 2012 â€Å"I am an American,† says over 308,745,538 people in the United States this year (â€Å"2010 Census Data. â€Å") These people originate from everywhere; America is a â€Å"melting pot† of culture, and that can unfortunately cause social inequalities to arise through the Matrix of Domination, a theory that mirrors the intersectionality of race, class, and gender, as coauthor of Race, Class, & Gender, an Anthology Patricia Hill Collins claims (Andersen, and Collins xi-xiii. These two terms give label to the commonplace phenomena of race, class, and gender work within a system of social relationships. The understanding of people from other cultures has grown in many ways over the history of the United States. America is starting to realize that the ethnocentric, or judging of others culture through the values of their own, is no longer an acceptable way to approa ch others. There is still a long way to go to more firmly develop a country with a general appreciation of diversity and inclusive thought.Knowledge is the power that will keep populations in peaceful, cultural awareness and harmonious equality. Anderson and Collins share many views of American life and morality through the different cultural perspectives of its citizens (and noncitizens. ) These articles prove that race, class, and gender all play separate, dynamic roles in the interrelated origins of discrimination. In the article, The Culture of Black Femininity and School Success, the realization that black women have historically been raised to consciously be more aggressively determined to succeed as they had the least amount of power in the education system.The conflict between young, black females and school officials usually ended up in a positive social change because the understanding that their race, class, and gender is constantly pinned up against them (Lewis, Mueller, and et al 187-193. ) In our patriarchal society, women lack power. In addition to that, these women are African American, which creates more issues in fighting against discrimination from those who have more power, such as a potential employer. Speaking of employment, black women in America generally come from a lower-class background, which works against them in gaining power to change their status in life.The people with power in America are generally the ones who don't have issues obtaining wealth or status. This social construct has perpetuated many centuries, and today, it is seen most clearly by the white, educated males who are educated to become those with the power, that is, the white-collar employers and employees. On the flip-side of this case, minorities are educated in technical schools often, those with blue-collar or lower status jobs. For this, America has adopted laws like Affirmative Action as a protective measure to eliminate discrimination issues in the workplac e.Some people think this law is unnecessary as â€Å"America means equality for all† however, this color-blind approach keeps those with the white privilege in ignorance (Gallagher 91-95. ) Inclusive thinking is necessary from a young age to create a more accepting atmosphere and society within the United States. To teach these concepts, the hidden agenda initiated from toddler-age on, which keeps the powerless under the thumb of the powerful must be eliminated. Understanding and accepting differences will be the easiest and most valuable, long-lasting way to boost the position of the powerless, i. . the minorities of America. Only when an equal percentage of minorities and Caucasian people obtain degrees and sufficient income will equality be a tangible possibility. American educational facilities have adopted the â€Å"Black History Month† as a role model for inclusion, however, why a single minority of a population have a single month of history created to what seem s like a pacification of the lack of recognition of the importance of African Americans in America since the country's birth. The hidden curriculum keeps social constructions of discrimination alive in our schools.We have a long way to go, as author Jeanne Theoharis proves in her article, â€Å"I Hate It When People Treat Me Like a Fxxx-up† the students of color in one school (as well, assumed in other schools) received unequal treatment, services, and materials because school officials believed the students did not care about their education. However, the minority students kept a journal of how important their education was and the tolerance of the unfair treatment toward the minorities was exposed and corrected (Theoharis 409. The idea that minorities, particularly African American, do not care about their education or are a â€Å"problem population† because of their race, and the typical disadvantages that come along with that is primitive. From the days of Harriet Tubman and slavery, to the powerful resolution of Rosa Parks, to the incredible civil rights acts in the 1960's, to the most wealthy woman in America being African American, black people have changed their face and the face of our history throughout time. African Americans have a type of double consciousness created by society.The majority (white people,) have created a belief shared amongst much of the black population on some kind of level. This perspective is that of an acceptance of a secondary race and not as worthy as Caucasians. The other perspective that may be what powers the young, black female in particular as aforementioned is that of strength and faith. The African American community has always had a strong connection with one another, yet excluded from the mainstream of America. In the days of slavery, the seeds of this double consciousness were planted in the African American culture.Upon rowing on overcrowded ships, ill with plague, and maliciously beaten by the whit e man, Blacks began to see themselves as white people did- property. This was the lowest point in African American history, and many black people rose as a type of â€Å"Over-Man† in order to save their people's culture and lives. Harriet Tubman saved hundreds of different African Americans from slavery by hiding them in an underground tunnel to the more free North, which was the first step in abolishing slavery by the African American population.Many years after slavery of African Americans ended, Jim Crow laws still segregated the minority group from the rest of society. Jim Crow laws were not necessarily legal, nor written, but they were implied, and explicitly enforced. These laws kept the less powerful African Americans away from and in service to white Americans. In the 1940's and 1950's, America's law of the land was â€Å"Separate but Equal,† meaning there were separate areas for facilities, separate lines for tickets, restricted seating, etc. This was further obvious through the lack of proper education for African Americans.If Jim Crow laws were broken, African Americans were severely punished. This could have mean hate beatings, lynching, or imprisonment. Representation of African Americans was entirely lacking and causing a rising tension between the rivaling African Americans and white Americans. With rising violence and aggression, leaders such as Malcolm X and Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. arose with two separate types of action calls for African Americans. Muslim activist Malcolm X proposed progression at any cost.Linked with the Black Panthers, a lower-class black activist group, violence was encouraged if peace did not reap reward and cost this leader his life. This caused many riots, resulting in police brutality and discrimination towards people of color. The Hammurabi-like code â€Å"an eye for an eye† approach does not work when attempting for understanding and acceptance. For this, Martin Luther King proposed a so lution to the racial discrimination to end. This was to keep a steady, calm head and proceed with absolute resolution to positive social change and peaceful rioting.This approach seemed to work better, although only with complete determination and self-control. After many marches, protests, and exchanges, as well as Dr. King's assassination, the power of black Americans was starting to be recognized by the world. The Equal Employment Opportunity Committee was created in 1967 to assist minorities receive the jobs they deserve, reviewing and protecting applicants from employer discrimination. This created over 4,000 injuries in ensuing riots and a revived call to action for equal treatment of minorities (â€Å"Jackson Sun. ) This was the result of yet another attempt at equality for all American citizens. However, this attempt joined forces with the Affirmative Action law President John F. Kennedy created in order to stop racism bleeding into the employment world. Giving black Americ ans more power, the social class of African Americans rose for a decade before hitting a bump in the progression of African American historical timeline when crack cocaine hit the streets along with the influx of HIV/AIDS. African Americans were amongst the hardest hit by these two pandemics.Bringing African American morality down, and degrading back to the poverty lifestyle, gangs boomed, creating a family unit and source of income for many urban African Americans. In the 1990's, gang violence skyrocketed. In direct opposition, so did police brutality, particularly of African Americans. The teachings of gang members grew exponentially through the powerful words of American rap by gangsters like Tupac Shakur and Biggie Smalls, who both grew up in the slums of opposing American coasts and shared the horrific life occurrences they witnessed or took part in.Not only did these artists glamorize the thug lifestyle, but the women in the music videos of these artists created a further degr adation of females as sexual objects, not humans to be respected. Tupac addressed these issues with his poetry: â€Å"I see no changes wake up in the morning and I ask myself Is life worth living should I blast myself? I'm tired of bein' poor & even worse I'm black My stomach hurts so I'm lookin' for a purse to snatch Cops give a damn about a negro Pull the trigger kill a ***** he's a hero Give the crack to the kids who the hell cares One less hungry mouth on the welfareFirst ship 'em dope & let 'em deal the brothers Give 'em guns step back watch 'em kill each other It's time to fight back that's what Huey said† (Changes. ) This is an explicit example of the war-like lifestyle African Americans maintained in the streets of urban centers. Police officers and government officials were discriminating against African Americans more than any other minority. The consistent oppression of black people lead by police roused many riots. Perhaps the most well-known of all instigators of civil rights call to actions is the infamous 1992 Rodney King beating.Four police officers beat Rodney King, a mad guilty of a DUI until he had broken 11 facial bones, among other injuries (â€Å"Rodney King. â€Å") Americans were outraged by the unnecessary brutal treatment of this man and deemed it an extreme example of police discrimination. This tension between African Americans and police officers created 53 deaths, 2,383 injuries, more than 7,000 fires, damage to 3,100 businesses, and nearly $1 billion in financial losses (â€Å"Rodney King. â€Å") Finally, African Americans were making their case for equality known.The United States has just re-elected Democrat, Barack Obama for a second term in office. This man is half African American, half Caucasian. It is almost unfathomable that we finally have a man of color in the Oval Office upon seeing the constant failures of activists who desire to see equality for all. These â€Å"failures† are not what they seem, as collectively, they catapulted African Americans to a much more comfortable position in the United States. Just because our President is half black does not mean the fight for African American equality is over.Unfortunately, there are still plenty of hate crimes heard in the headlines are the country to this day. African Americans are gaining status in society now that there are much more firm laws in place deterring employers, instructors, or officials to discriminate based on race, class, gender, or orientation. In the near future, the minorities of America will no longer be considered the minority as our global as well as country-wide population is ever-changing and increasingly becoming more well-rounded.Hopefully, this will assist in eliminating the hate crimes, prejudice, and discrimination against those who do not have the luxury of inherently obtaining the white privilege. Understanding that race, class, and gender all works for and against us constantly due to social constr uct will create a more positive awareness of the importance equality and the beauty of each individual's unique qualities, experiences, and characters. Race, class, and gender still remains unequal amongst American individuals, so teaching positive social change and appreciation of a multicultural society will always remain a necessity.Works Cited Andersen, Margaret, and Patricia Collins. Race, Class, & Gender. 8th ed. . Belmont: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2010. xi-xiii. Print. Gallagher, Charles. â€Å"Color-Blind Privilege. † Trans. Array Race, Class, & Gender. Margaret Anderson and Patricia Collins. 8th ed. Belmont: Wadsworth & Cengage Learning, 2010. 91-95. Print. Lewis, R. L, Jennifer Mueller, et al. â€Å"The Culture of Black Femininity and School Success. † Trans. Array Race, Class, & Gender. Margaret Andersen and Patricia Collins. 8th ed.Belmont: Wadsworth & Cengage Learning, 2010. 187-193. Print. â€Å"National Civil Rights Timeline. † Jackson Sun [Jac kson] 2003, n. pag. Web. 2 Dec. 2012. . â€Å"Rodney King. † 2012. . Shakur, Tupac, writ. Changes. 1998. Song. 1 Dec 2012. Theoharis, Jeanne. â€Å"I Hate It When People Treat Me Like a F&up. † Trans. Array Race, Class, & Gender. Margaret Andersen and Patricia Collins. 8th ed. Belmont: Wadsworth & Cengage Learning, 2010. Print. United States. U. S. Census Bureau. 2010 Census Data. Washington, D. C. : , 2012. Web. .