Scientology Another Science of Conning Essay Example

Scientology: Another Science of Conning Essay Since its inception, scientology is marked by controversy and allegations, though apparently it looks innocuous with its idea that it intends to promote or market. It has earned different identities in different countries; in US it is a legal organization who is free to practice its religion and enables tax exemption for the buyers of its commodities, while in Germany or Russia they are registered only as institutions. This obviously speaks about their inability to established them as an organization whose activities are accepted in the same light across the globe.There are many questions still unanswered, as to why its founder, after being named as one of the co-conspirator, had to go into hiding till he died in 1986. Mysterious deaths of the scientologists with defamations issued against them by the church of scientology, document stealing operations like Snow White etc. has definitely gone against the image of this organization, as these events have become known globally.It claims to be a stand-alone solution against billion-dollar psychiatry trade of medicine and treatment. They claim that only a proper dose of scientology would be sufficient to handle the problem, and it is because of such a simple solution threatening the conventional psychology and psychiatry fields, there is opposition against it in many form; in fact a concerted opposition from those who could lose their profession based on vague ideas. This over simplification of the affairs might have helped to spread over 25 countries with churches and around 40 countries with centers since the second half of the 20th Century; but this is 21st and people are raising pertinent questions relating to their intention.The Church of Scientology is accused of exploiting on misfortune and hypocrisy, let alone remaining indifferent with the deaths of scientologists who are thought to do so in failing to comply with the dictums of it, be it inability to pay the high fees or be it disagreement with the proceed ings. There are many instances published with proof, which can easily be accessible even through web. This made them to buy a battle with medias newest format: The World Wide Web. Paradoxically, their campaigns center around the word trust, which, going by the allegations of many people, they never tried to earn. In turn, to a many distant observer, they are seen as a money-spinning, power-mongering empire that intends to expand itself under the veil of scientific religion or humanitarian institution. This essay casts an independent look on this organization and the controversy shrouded around it, before arriving at a conclusion.What is Scientology?Going by its bottom line, scientology claims to purify a person by clearing the negative influences they assume as residents in a human mind and soul. It has stemmed from Dianetics (first appeared as a 40-page article in Campbells science fiction magazine Astounding, in May, 1950), a set of self-help theories, which brought both name and fame to its writer L. Ron Hubbard, earlier known as a science fiction writer. Hubbard addressed it as a technology, which addresses and handles the effects of the spirit on the body and can alleviate such things as unwanted sensations and emotions, accidents, injuries and psychosomatic illnesses (ones that are caused or aggravated by mental stress). Dianetics is a compound word, meaning through the soul (taken from Greek dia, through, and nous, soul). It is further defined as what the soul is doing to the body (Hubbard, 1997, pp. 130).In 1952, Hubbard introduced Scientology as a complete package of a philosophy which studies and handles the spirit in relationship to itself, universes and other life. Greek word scio (knowing in the fullest sense of the word) conjoins logos (study) to form the word scientology – aiming to mean, knowing how to know. According to Hubbard, Scientology is a route, a way, rather than a dissertation or an assertive body of knowledge. Through its dril ls and studies one may find the truth for himself. The technology is therefore not expounded as something to believe, but something to do. (Hubbard, 1997, pp 133-134).Dianetics starts from dividing human mind into two segments, naming them as analytical and reactive minds, then it goes on to   identify a persons mind as a reservoir of clutters that according to them, is accumulated by series of past events, even the events happened when the person is in womb, and they call them engrams (the etching events in ones memory, according to scientology parlance). Now dianetics aims to clear those engrams by transferring them to the analytical mind with proper indexation for future utilization. While Dianetics focuses on mind, scientology focuses on soul, naming it as thetan, which is embodied into our physical being, called body thetan. Scientology aims to clear thetan from the clutch of body thetan! The process starts with Auditing therapy, which comprises of sessions between the aspiri ng scientologist (termed as preclear) and an Auditor, who asks questions to the preclear to bring out the engrams from the reactive mind and pack them off to conscious mind.And what is there in that clear package?A Clear person will:Never have colds or accidents;Have a soaring IQ;Be able to totally recall of his/her entire life, from conception onwards;Be able to repair cancer and other physical deficiencies;Be able to compute in seconds what otherwise would take 30 minutes.Be able to leave the body at willBe able to communicate with other forms of life, and more, and more..!The Good Bad and the UglyThe theme behind Scientology   doesnt answer many pertinent questions about the evolution of thetans (souls), and itself based on the idea that resembles a science fiction story. However, in its doctrines, it encompasses a good many ideas covered by other religions, like Hinduisms rebirth concept, or purification concepts, which is also present in some other religions.There is another pertinent point lies in the fact that it goes on to claim that its ideas and practices are based on proven scientific principles, but it doesnt give explanations in any tangible manner, like explaining the chemical changes in a body or so. Similarly it failed to provide the instances of a clear person, though it produced various persons from time to time, who failed to justify their title.At best, scientology has made people curious about the ways of helping themselves without using chemical supplements and also brought the practices of the psychologists and psychiatrists   under scanner. It is a known fact that unfair practice in these professions is not uncommon, such as falsely claiming the advancement in treatment when it is not or prescribing series of treatment sessions when there is no need for that.The idea that adorns the facade of scientology is no doubt sounds good and positive to the ears of the unsuspecting people, but the complaints regarding their practice pushes th at idea behind, if the media reactions and personal experiences of people are anything to go by.Formation and establishing of a cult nevertheless goes against the principles of   maintaining a conglomerate society, and the modern media is blaming scientology on that ground too – the Church of Scientology   is now accused of forming a cult of infiltration, which is posing a threat to democracy.Overt propaganda with morphed pictures and tall claims about their success have also added fuel to the minds of their critics, and in no time they have come out with the proof of such forged photographs.These incidents obviously raise valuable questions to an independent mind – why an organization claiming itself as haven of purification would have to resort to lies for the sake of raising its image? Isnt it an antithesis of practice and preaching? This question even gets stronger with other evidences lying in its founders words, where he talks about attacking whoever pose as attacker to the philosophy of scientology, while prescribing meanest ways to counter its critics.Todays world is fast becoming a virtual community, where people have easy access to the information and knowledge. Under this state, the accountability factor looms large over any claim that is related to the benevolence of the society. Scientology also cannot escape this and here they are receiving more jolts, which cannot be managed even with the induction of the Hollywood stars like Tom Cruise, Ketty Holmes or John Travolta to its rank and file; people today are more conscious about what they can gain out of any idea, and not what is being whetted by celebrities as something good. This is corroborated by the million-dollar challenge thrown by a website, who asks any clear scientologist to prove his super power.The much-guarded secrets, however, could not be protected, as now it is in the public knowledge that scientology, after taking its students through various layers of operation, ultimately presents a peculiar and absurd science fiction to substantiate their effort for clearing the souls from the body.ControversiesThe latest controversy with scientologist has evolved out of their charity campaign against drug, named Narconon, where they are accused of promoting scientology under the cover of charity to more than 500 schools across Britain. According to the report appeared on The Sunday Times, dated January 7, 2007,   Narconon is treating the drug victims according to the methods prescribed in Hubbards works, which are not substantiated by scientific proof. As an after effect, Californias State Department of Education has advised the schools not to use the charity. Incidentally Narconons headquarter is in California.This incident is just a drop in the ocean of allegations against the Church of Scientology. They range from L. Ron Hubbards credentials to his motive behind forming the Church. It also points to the statement allegedly made by Hubbard himself th at the best way to make money is to start a religionAllegations also have a long trail of incidents, ranging from suicide or mysterious deaths to cheating and forgery, which led the Church to the court and its executives to jail time and again.The history of civilization contains numerous evidences where an individual or a group emerged with the desire to rule the greater part of land and enjoy the most of the resources. They used various formats for that – provincialism, racism or religion. As for scientology, a considerable portion of the media is citing it as its newest avatar in a newer format.In other words, the rise of scientology could perhaps be seen as the extension of the imagination of a science fiction writer, who dreamt of building an empire under the cover of scientology, and in the process, applied the layers of mystery to its origin and coined new words to stamp its identity, which hooked many people worldwide, before the bubble burst!There are various steps o f purification, and there is money involved to get promoted in each of them; then comes a stage which is closer to the top, when the aspiring scientologist gets access to the story which forms the basis of the scientology, of which s/he could not ask anything concerning logic or explanation.The story   goes like this – 75 million years ago from now there was a ruler named Xenu, who ruled altogether 76 planets including earth. The over population in the planets (178 billion people in an average) bothers Xenu and so he hatches a plan, in which he would paralyze and pack billions of people under the pretext of income tax inspections and send them to earth through planes resembling modern DC8..He does that and more, by stacking the paralyzed lot of people over the volcanoes on earth and then detonating the volcanoes with H-bombs, killing all of them, and then destroying some of their thetans (souls) with nuclear wind and capturing the rest with electronic beams. And he does eve n more. He packs those captured souls into boxes and sends them to huge movie halls to implant his ideas in them through a 3D movie a process called implanting.Consequently, the movie-struck souls considers one another as same and starts living in clusters within the few available bodies of earth. Now they are the body thetans and scientology aims to remove them to make our souls free from them. In the end of the story, bad ruler Xenu is punished in a unique wayHowever impossible or shocking it may seem to be, this is the story that is fed to the persons who reach to the secret level of scientology, known as OT III. Now there could be valid points in believing Hubbards genius for making people pay heavily to read such a story, but there is no denying the fact that there is a section of the society that is growing each day to campaign against scientology – the proof of which lies in the growing number of websites ridiculing or opposing it, labeling the process of scientology as a unique con-game – where spending a huge sum one gets to read a cock-and-bull story with a random timeline, where Christ exists even 75 million years ago, the souls (thetans) are taken to a movie or the conspirator-cum-ruler Xenu is put into a mountain-cum-jail that is powered by a forever powerful battery etc., etc. And how much one has to dish out to read this story? No less than $365,000 ! Yes,   that is the estimated amount which is collected step by step from the gullible, wannabe purified people!To make the proceedings look coveted, Hubbard had embarked heavily on a set of new parlance, like havingness or thinkingness – so that such jargons establish the myth in the minds of the innocents. It works the same way as it works in multilevel marketing which has in its parlance the words like diamond leg etc.; it makes people curious and drives their emotion to know what is there behind the veil. Scientology has so far cashed on in this human trait with a careful ly laid-out trap.It is also common in a person who paid a hefty sum for something absurd and yet emphatically   told that   he actually paid for something precious, s/he would at least try to believe that what s/he has done is right, and this has to have some value. The artistry of conning lies in the ability to convince people that they are getting real return against the value of their money; and this is done with such a clever manner that even if one realizes that one is conned, s/he would not tell it others to save the face.From this perspective, scientology is serving the society in a unique way – it is helping some people to the open their eyes as how systematic conning can work on the minds of the credulous and innocents lining up for salvation. Subsequently, scientologys approach is fairly simple; it doesnt have a manifesto of nationalism or racism to hold aloft; it only focuses on the money of the gullible, who, it is known would either run away dejected and stan d against it, or be a face saver with a sheepish smile. Thus this church in reality doesnt have any agenda other than raising money for it.CONCLUSIONThere is no scientific evidence backed Hubbards theories, nor they intend to go that line like every other scientific work would go: Assumption, Research, Finding and Inference.Altogether, this alluring invitation of a utopian journey and stay in a make-believe world is bound to throw a person into the hard ground of reality sooner or later. This is also evident from numerous ex-scientologists statements, who have managed to shrug off their prejudice and described the process of scientology as something like praising a naked emperor for his beautiful robe –   a matching metaphor indeed for those who are siphoned off   thousands of dollars to read a science fiction as the basis of their salvation program and now want to save their faces by praising scientology as the agent of ultimate freedom.

Abigal Adams essays

Abigal Adams essays Abigail Adams Witness To a Revolution Abigail Adams was born on November 11, 1744 at Weymouth, Massachusetts. Abigail was often referred as the wife of one president and the mother of another. Her Family was of great prestige in the colony. Her father was a Congregational minister, a leader in a society that held its clergy in high esteem. Smith was one of Weymouth's most prosperous and best-educated citizens. In the novel, she learned that it was the duty of the fortunate to help those who were less fortunate by her father. During her youth, she was small, frail child with fair skin and dark hair. Abigail was not educated but her mom wanted her to be a lady and thought education was for men. Her and her two sisters, Mary and Betsy, were vary close to each other. They enjoyed listing to people talk about French and Indian war at that time. They loved people like George Washington who were brave and young and when the governor of Virginia placed him commander of a group of militiamen. In 1761 Richard Cranch introduced John Adams to the Smiths. He thought Abby and her sister Mary were wits. Soon Abigail started to fin d something attractive to John Adams. After awhile John Adams found business in Weymouth. He and Abigail began to fall in love with each other. John started to tell Abby about his boyhood. He told her how he loved swimming and hanging out with friends like John Hancock. He told her how he wanted to be a farmer and how his father tested him if he could handle it. He said him and his father went to work on the farm. They worked all day up to their knees in the mud. Then his father asked him do you like farming John replied yes. But his father didnt like it and forced John in going to school. ...

Economics of immigration Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Economics of immigration - Research Paper Example This paper highlights different theories on economic perspective of immigration, the causes and determinants of immigration and how it is going to affect the productivity and growth of the destination.Immigration is a prominent issue in many parts of the world nowadays. Around 3% of the world’s population lives outside their country of birth. Immigration is an economic phenomenon which is part of a process referred to as globalization. As immigrants move from their source country to their destination country in search of a better living, worthy lifestyle and deserving income, the lives of the people residing in the destination countries is often affected and taken for granted (Bodvarsson and Berg 2). In the survey of 1990s, 60% of Americans thought of immigration as a bad thing and that immigration level should be reduced. After the terrorist attack on World Trade Center in September, 2001, 58% of Americans stated that they favored reducing immigration. In 2004, 61% of America ns agreed that the government was not hard on the immigration issue. Immigration is considered a big threat in every country. In 2002, when the German government recommended hiring engineers from India to fill the vacant positions of high-tech workers, the political parties opposed it and made immigrants a major issue. They were ready to prefer children over the foreigners (Bodvarsson and Berg 5). ... However, over the past decades, the issue of immigration has become prominent. Still, even now, not only economics but also people in many countries tend to agree with the fact that there should be freedom to move from one country to other; it is a basic human right (Bodvarsson and Berg 5). Immigrants are also consumers; their arrival in the country boosts demand for all factors of production, including immigrants’ own labor. Immigrants do not give a downward effect on the wages of other nationals. A key fact to consider in this whole process is that the immigrants come with knowledge and new ideas. People are carriers of innovative ideas. This spread of ideas from one country to another is a key to economic growth and productivity in the country resulting in long-term improvements in standard of living (Bodvarsson and Berg 4). Cause of Immigration Immigrants are often attracted by higher income, better career opportunities and comfortable living conditions for their children, lower levels of tax and less discrimination. The determinants causing immigration have been divided into four categories: -There could be negative incentives that might push people to migrate. -There could be positive incentives that might pull immigrants to the destination country. -There could be positive incentives that induce people to stay at home. -There could be incentives that cause people to stay away from a foreign country. When push and pull factors are strong enough as compared to stay and stay away factors, immigration will grow as observed in the recent decades (Bodvarsson and Berg 6). Economic Argument for Free Immigration This is a big issue for any country in the world whether

The First Movement of Beethovens Symphony No. 5 Essay

The First Movement of Beethovens Symphony No. 5 - Essay Example The composition of this particular piece of classical music ensured that Beethoven’s name was ingrained into the foundations of genius artistry and established what can be termed as an everlasting presence on the influence of future classical positions. The Symphony No. 5 in C minor was written by Ludwig van Beethoven was composed over time and actually took a number of years (four) to be completed(Fandel, 2007). This goes to demonstrate the amount of work and effort that was put into this creation and establish the fact that this particular composition was not just another musician playing around with his instruments but the product of an utmost professional who put 100% into his work. This masterpiece was written between the years of 1804-1808 and after its completion, it became one of the most if not undoubtedly the most popular classical pieces of music in the world. The symphony was played in a wide and vast collection of musical performances where classical enthusiast would gather together in appreciation of this beautiful work of art. It was first performed in 1808 just after its completion in a theatre in Vienna known as Theatre an der wien and soon after that the piece of music received critical acclaim around the world. Over a century has gone by since then and this piece of classical music is still being played in theatres around the world by different bands specializing in classical music and by amateurs as well(Fandel, 2007). Lovers of the classical music genre have joined together to ensure that what can be considered to be one of Beethoven’s best pieces would not fade into obscurity regardless of the time elapsed since its creation.

The Role of the HR Function Regarding the Management of People Within Assignment - 1

The Role of the HR Function Regarding the Management of People Within an Organization - Assignment Example All of these functions fall into the domain of management. First line managers in an organization are the most directly related to the workers as compared to top managers and middle managers. Quality of work is reflected in the performance of workers that are practically involved in the work, and work at the lowest level. It is the duty of first-line managers to manage their assigned groups of such lowest level workers. First line managers check the workers’ attendance, arrange transport for them, arrange for their lunch, and such other aspects. By fulfilling their responsibility of managing workers directly involved in the work, first line managers play a cardinal role in the management of people. The Director of Human Resources ensures the implementation of all HR policies and practices within an organization. The DHR provides expert advice over several matters related to HRM that include but are not limited to managing workers’ issues, developing and implementing HR policies and practices, facilitating the hiring of talented candidates, identifying training needs and taking measures to address them. Being the Director of HR, he assumes the prime responsibility of getting the HR policies and practices implemented. The DHR gets the job done by assigning specific tasks to particular Human Resources Managers (HRM) all of which make part of the implementation process of HR policies and practices. The Human Resource Manager (HRM) is responsible for the performance of employees within an organization. The process of performance management of employees comprises planning of the goals for individual employees and establishing expectations for them, supervising employee performance, improving their job conditions, reviewing and commenting on their performance, rewarding them for display of good performance and penalizing them for display of poor performance (Vitez). All of these functions fall in the domain of performance management of  employees.

The Occupational Safety and Health Act Implementation

The Occupational Safety and Health Act Implementation Construction activities and work site is considered to be a high-risk occupation, with large number of fatalities and injuries every year, this inevitable truth suggests that having safety programs and procedures in construction sites is of great importance. Following the Occupational Safety and Health Act, safety planning in construction industry has improved significantly; Nowadays most of contractors have safety programs that is Adoption of attitudes and the provisions of resources within an organization to mitigate the risks involved in any activity necessary for the achievement of organizational aims (Osama Ahmed Jannadi, October 2003) and implement them on construction sites. Safety plans include specific elements which have been proven to be effective for a safety program in order to help reduce number of fatalities and injuries and make construction sites a less hazardous working environment. It is important to notice that only having a well written and comprehensive safety and health plan is not enough to have a safe and low-risk working environment, there are other elements that contribute to this goal. Factors such as how supportive is upper level management of a company towards the safety programs, Presence of a safety manager on site to direct implementation of safety plans, and selection of subcontractors that demonstrate a history of performing safe work, etc. are also important. Upper level management usually has an intention to see the components of work as cost; Risk and safety as a means to mitigate it also can be represented in numbers related to cost. Studies show that cost of accidents as a percent of total cost of construction has been in creasing in the past decades and it can be between 8 to 15 percent of total cost of a new construction that is a significant figure (Everett Peter B., Costs of Accidents and Injuries to Construction Industry, 1995). From a construction company perspective safety programs as a means of mitigating risk involved in the work should contain a subset of these elements that is found to be more relevant and effective to the companys type of work, this is usually done based on intuitive and experience of person/group in charge of providing the program. But recently there have been studies trying to use Risk Assessment Models (RAMs) (Osama Ahmed Jannadi, October 2003) or analytical research tools such as Delphi method (Hallowell Gambatese, 2009)in order to provide better understanding (for safety managers in construction) of important factors in a safety plan. In this paper different contributing and relevant elements and issues from a construction companys perspective are investigated. Safety regulations and standards were established formally in 1970 under Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) title 29, Chapter XVII Occupation Safety and Health act. The act is broken into different parts for different industries and part 1926 covers regulations related to construction. In addition to federal laws each state may provide its own regulations for construction activities under OSH act that is applied to construction work in that state. As of now every employer who works in Construction environment that is construction, repair, alternation, painting and decorations needs to comply with the regulations specified by part 1926. OSHA requirements for safety represent minimum standards for safety and the implication for any company is that if necessary take actions towards safety that are beyond OSHA regulations, for instance in a structural steel erection to comply with OSHA standards there is no need to provide fall protection at 6 feet but many companies feel the need to prov ide such personal protective equipment and measures for their employees at 6 feet, because they know that it will help provide a less hazardous work environment and reduce risk of falling for the workers. One example is Continental Building Systems that follows these beyond OSHA programs for fall protection or working near power lines (Continental Building Systems). As a construction company it is important to recognize hazards associated with any work and try to provide the best program in order to avoid it. It is often usual in construction work sites that different crews from different subcontractors work at the same working area with general contractors workers. For these Multi-Employer sites OSHA has certain rules and regulations effective from December 1999. It is important to note that in multi-employer sites if there is a hazardous condition that is a violation from OSHA standards, First role of each of employers in the site needs to be determined, By OSHA standards employers can be creating, exposing, correcting, or controlling the unsafe conditions; The definitions of each role is thoroughly described in OSHA regulations (OSHA Directive number CPL 2-0.124, (29 CFR OSHA 1926, 2009)). If an employer falls into any of these categories in a working site the responsibility is to take sufficient actions that meet OSHAs obligations. It is important for the General Contractors that are usually controlling employer in work sites to take reasonable actions in order to protect hazardous co nditions, but not as frequent as the specialty worker crews and subcontractors that are creating the hazard or exposing their employers to it. As a construction company who hires other subcontractor a major effort to lower the risks is to investigate history of the subcontractors and try to choose subcontractors that have well executed safety plans for their work. The later with respect to safety and lowering risks has two implications. First is the extent of experience that applicant has in the field of work he or she applying for, since experience helps the person to be more able to recognize and identify hazards and also to know the steps that are to be taken in order to mitigate risk and hazard. Second implication is to have a pre-employment testing for the applicant, the extent that a company wants to have applicants tested depends on many factors such as type of work, location of job site and its conditions, size of the employer, etc. and it may include Physical Examination and Laboratory Testing (Philip D Parks). For example one of the most critical Physical problems in construction is lifting heavy items and an employee should be able to lift or carry typical construction weights if it is in his responsibilities, injuries that can be aggravated or worsen due to lifting need to be diagnosed so that employee is not exposed to such condit ions, and reduce risk of injuries and probable compensation claims. Safety Training for Employees Employee training is an integral part of any safety program; Employees who are trained and have learned safe work practices are less likely to show hazardous behavior and subsequently will result in lower rate of incidents and injuries. It is important to note that for a training program to be effective, it needs to be based on a thorough analysis of the task and safe work practices. One of major issues in job-sites for host employer is to ensure that any person who is involved in the working zone is familiar with site-specific safety issues. For construction sites with multiple subcontractors, General contractor or host employer should require the subcontractors to train and explain their employees about the hazards associated in their work and safety measures that are required to perform the work in a safe and low risk manner. Daily briefing for employees on the work that needs to be done that day and safety issues related to it has been proven to be helpful in reducing risk of incidents (Hislop, 1999). OSHA provides training programs for private sectors through OSHA Training Institute (OTI) and also extends its training reach to workers through its various Outreach Training Programs. In these programs qualified individuals who have completed OSHA trainer course and are authorized to teach other students can teach workers 10-hour or 30-hour courses on construction safety. Nowadays numerous training programs are available for construction companies to train their employees with relatively low prices either online distance education or with instructors for a live class. This makes it more affordable to have frequent safety trainings for employees at one year intervals to make sure they are up to date with recent safety issues. Qualified and Competent Person On-Site A competent person is someone who, through training and/or experience, is knowledgeable of the various Occupational Safety Health Administration (OSHA) standards that apply to their workplace, is capable of identifying workplace hazards relating to their specific operations, and has the authority invested in him or her by their employer to correct the hazards to protect workers. Therefore it is employers responsibility and based on employers judgment to determine who can be a competent person with needed skills and qualifications for a certain type of task. If a person has knowledge and experience in different construction tasks he or she can be a competent person in different types of tasks. Identifying causes of incidents include two major components; first is the Work Element that is act or condition that directly caused the incident, this direct cause needs to be identified quickly and be corrected. Second component is the Root Cause of the incident that is the failure in system that allowed the deficiencies to occur in the work element. Identifying root cause may need a more thorough investigation but seems necessary to avoid recurrence (Incident Investigation Process and Exercise). As a construction company after any incident the investigation needs to be done properly in order to identify working element and root causes of incidents and follow up on them to ensure they are corrected. Also it is important to identify any trend in incidents and accidents in job site. OSHA Recordkeeping Defined by OSHA 1904.1 all employers who are covered by OSH act have to keep OSHA injury and illness records unless they are exempt, a common exemption is for employers with 10 or less employees at any given time. Regulations require employers to keep record of fatalities, injuries, illnesses that meet certain criteria described in section 1904.4(A) by recording in log of work-related injuries and illnesses (Form 300) summary of the incident (Form 300A) and injuries and illnesses incident report (Form 301) (OSHA Record Keeping Handbook (OSHA 3245-01R), 2005). Recordable Incidents somewhat are based on companies policies, some companies may decide to record incidents that are not necessarily recordable based on OSHA regulations. This is proven to be a beneficial safety approach in order to identify trends and plan preventive safety measures (Davoudpour, 2010). Workers Compensation Workers compensation insurance was enacted in order to protect injured employees by providing medical care for any injury, and in many cases, monetary payments to compensate for resulting temporary or permanent disabilities. Construction companies are required to subscribe to insurance for workers compensation; but the premiums for construction industry is higher than most of other industries (Agarwal Everett, 1997), therefore it is an important cost issue to know how to reduce associated cost with workers compensation. The cost also varies in different states and trades and crafts. Suggested strategies in order to reduce cost of insurance are formation of industry groups for insurance and effective safety programs because cost of insurance is directly related to companys history of injuries and fatalities or in other words safety performance. There are several safety performance indicators but the most commonly used is Experience Modification Rate (EMR) as will be discussed, other safety evaluation criteria include Recordable Incident Rate (RIR), Lost Time Incident Rate (LTIR), Workers Compensation Claims Frequency Indicator (WCCFI) among others (Hancher, Carza, Eckert, 1996). Researchers have recommended different strategies in order to manage the workers compensation and its cost; these strategies include education of employees and their representatives about workers compensations effects on business, contractors taking active role in interfacing with insurance companies and medical care providers, Modifying work for injured employees in order to keep them p roductive without risk of aggravating their injuries (Hancher, Carza, Eckert, 1996). Experience Modification Rate Experience Modification Rate is used to modify insurance premium for construction companies and is in essence an incentive for companies who have a history of performing safe and low risk as opposed to companies that have safety issues and more frequent injuries and fatalities. EMR is calculated using different parameters that include: actual primary losses (sum of costs below 5000$/injury), actual excess losses (sum of costs above 5000$/injury), weight (provided in state manuals), expected excess loss, expected losses and ballast. Sensitivity analysis shows that frequency of injuries and incidents has a greater impact on EMR compared to severity of injuries; Also EMR is noticeably reduced when hourly wages and total wages paid per year are increased (Hinze, Bren, Piepho, 1996). Understanding EMR and its impact on calculating workers compensation insurances cost will help employers and companies to manage and reduce associated cost and make use of incentives as much as possible. Also it is important to consider that the cost of a serious incident or a bad year will show up after 2 years because of the way EMR is calculated and be paid off over three years (Everett Thompson, Experience Modification Rating For Workers Compensation Insurance, 1995), so companies end up paying for their own losses over the time and with some delay, this can be a management and financing factor for companies in order to split this cost in their overhead for different projects in a long period. Main goal of elements discussed in this paper has been reduction of accidents and risk associated with it by using effective safety measures and programs. In reality an accident is inevitable and it has direct and indirect cost for the company these costs vary for insured and uninsured work. Main elements of costs for insured companies include direct costs workers compensation insurance, public liability insurance, and property insurance; and indirect costs such as loss of productivity, disruption of schedules, administrative time for investigation and report, training for replacement personnel (Everett Peter B., Costs of Accidents and Injuries to Construction Industry, 1995). On the other hand in uninsured cases costs include direct costs such as product and material damage, Legal costs, Fines, medical costs and indirect costs such as lost production time, investigation time/administration, supervisors time, loss of expertise/experience, loss of morale, and bad publicity. For examp le in construction of a supermarket that is a typical construction project an accident caused a total damage equal to 700000 Â £ (8.5% of project price), in this case uninsured total costs were 11 time more than insured costs that is a considerable amount and considering bad publicity for future work, insurance is the rational way of planning for accidents and damages (Higginson). Drug Testing Drug testing in workplace is gaining widespread acceptance in the construction industry in the past 3 decades. Due to high rates of alcohol and drug use between construction workers, and nature of construction work that is sensitive to safety issues and hazardous conditions can always be present drug testing and prevention strategies are parts of a safety plan for a safe work environment. As of 2000 about 50 percent of full-time workers are subject to some form of workplace drug testing, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. As a construction company perspective, considering research results on this subject that shows that companies that use drug-testing methods for their employees experience a 51% reduction of incidents within 2 years of implementation and its significant effect in reduction of workers compensation experience modification rate, it is necessary to have drug-testing for new employees and periodical tests for workers. Indirect gains other than reduction in incidents and insurance costs is improving productivity of workers in a drug-free environment and also reducing absenteeism (Gerber George, 2001). Return to Work Policies Companies need a return to work policy for employees who have been injured to return them to employment as early as it is physically possible for the employee to continue work after the injury and the working conditions would not aggravate his or her injuries. In order to speed recovery and reduce insurance costs. In some cases, transitional temporary positions may be offered to the employee due to his or her conditions until full recovery. The job requirements should meet physicians restrictions, and the employee cannot return to his or her routine job without a release from the attending physician. Immigrants comprise an increasingly larger percentage of the total construction labor force in the United States, 2.4 million, or around 24 percent (US Census Bureau 2006), of workers are foreign born. Most of immigrant workers in construction are Hispanic, near 1.4 million (Center of Construction Research and Training 2002), with more than half of them being from Mexico (American Community Survey, PUMS 2004). Studies show that injuries and illnesses of Hispanic workers compared to other ethnicitys workers such as non-Hispanic whites and blacks are higher (Robinson, 1989). Therefore in order to have an effective safety program it is critical to consider non-English speaking workers, main factors affecting safety in job site for immigrant workers is lack of training in their mother tongue, communication problems with non-Hispanic workers especially in safety issues, and lack of understanding of safety signs and written procedures. Recent studies suggest increasing designers and engineers role in construction safety. Proposed elements to be considered in design include reviewing the designs to ensure that the designs provide a reasonable level of worker safety (since the design is usually governed by criteria such as cost or function)and creating design documents for safety such as providing points of anchorage for fall arrest systems or points of anchorage for scaffolding (Toole, 2005). In order to reach a safe design designer should become more knowledgeable in construction safety and with OSHA standards and stay current with safety issues (Richard J. Coble, 1999). Site-Layout can play an important role in safety in a construction job site. In crane operations safety protection against falling objects is required by OSHA, a further step is to plan site-layout to locate trailer and site offices and other high occupancy facilities out of the range of crane operations. Other element of safety in site-layout is location of storages for hazardous material such as explosives, toxic and flammable material or radioactive materials. Storages should be located in a manner that there is adequate separation between material or equipment that result in a hazardous combination, for example flammable material and power lines. Furthermore it is important in planning a site-layout to locate routes of equipment, vehicles and workers movement in a safe manner to reduce collisions especially at intersections (Rayes Khlafallah, 2005).

The Louvre :: Essays Papers

The Louvre T h e A r t M u s e u m s of P a r i s Paris is renowned worldwide for its art museums. There are so many, each with its own unique pieces of art, this report will only cover two of Paris’ most famous museums. Which are of course The Louvre and Museum d’Orsay. The Louvre History The Louvre was originally built in 1190 AD as a fortress for protection to the city of Paris during the Crusades. It was a fortress for nearly 500 years until it became an elegant palace. By the 1400’s France’s Royalty gathered at The Louvre to enjoy banquets and tournaments. Elaborate gardens were added along with an aviary and many wild, exotic animals. In 1415 France was captured by the British and The Louvre was ravaged by vandals. It fell into disrepair and was left unoccupied for nearly 150 years. This is when Francis the first tore down the original structure and erected an exquisite and prosperous palace. Every king since then on added an addition to The Louvre. It also served as their home until the French Revolution of 1789. The Louvre officially became a museum in 1793. The government opened it to the public which no longer meant art was only available to the upper-class. All through the previous centuries the government had collected priceless pieces of art and now displayed them in The Louvre. The collection was growing so big that more buildings had to be built to display the great and precious collection that was accumulated over so many years. This period was known as â€Å"The Restoration† as Napoleon established remodeling of the interior and exterior of the Louvre and eliminated all the shops that filled the Louvre from the 18th century. The Louvre Today Today The Louvre is one the World’s most famous Art Museums. It houses many famous masterpieces such as: The Mona Lisa Winged Victory of Samothrace Venus De Milo The Seated Scribe

Working Memory?

Write-Up The field of memory provides excellent opportunity for research, drawing theoretical models and implementing them to check their validity. Working memory, in psychology, is a memory system that holds information to perform various verbal and non-verbal (even physical) tasks. It is very important from the viewpoint of processing information and enacting it in day-to-day life. Though a simple three stage model for memory (Encoding, storage and retrieval) was proposed initially, experts like Baddeley proposed that working memory is much beyond these three phases and memory functions of short-term memory and long-term memory are very complex in comparison to what initial chunking of memory into theoretical aspects initially suggest (Becker & Morris, 1999). He introduced a novel approach to depict working memory as a not as three-part system that temporarily holds information as people perform cognitive tasks but a perennial work-desk on which information is manipulated and assembled to help us comprehend decide, and in problem-solving (Baddeley, 1996, 2003). According to Baddeley’s view of working memory, we can pictorially imagine a managerial executive (Central executive memory) with two helpers (Phonological loop & Visuo-spatial working loop) (Hamilton, Coates & Hefferman, 2010; DeRenzi & Nischell, 1975). This theory and its fractionization have neuropsychological evidence, experimental evidence and developmental evidence. A study states that left posterior hemisphere of the brain is actively involved in working memory. Other studies show that even right posterior is actively involved but in working memory but non-visual aspects. It might be involved in spatial aspects. Despite the heavy argument, involvement of different brain regions in working memory (Phonological and visuo spatial) establishes a base for neuro-psychological evidence (Vallar & Baddeley, 1984; Hamilton, Coates Hefferman, 2010). Laboratory based experiments show how visual short-term memory task is strongly disrupted by visual as opposed to spatial interference, and also spatial memory task was simultaneously more strongly disrupted by spatial interference. This double dissociation supports the theoretically proposed fractionation of working memory (Klauer & Zhao, 2004). Developmental evidence suggests that visual subcomponent of the visuo-spatial sketchpad is distinct from the spatial subcomponent as seen in children aged 5-6, 8-9 and 11-12 (Logie & Pearson, 1997). Thus, arising from strongly evidenced studies, Logie presents a distinct model of two separate systems (Visual and Spatial) (DeRenzi & Nischell, 1975). The visual storage aspect stores information about form and colour whereas spatial control takes care of aspects pertaining to locomotion, limb movements and also rehearsal of information (or series of information in visual cache) (Logie & Pearson, 1997). The proposed study explores the topic of fractionalisation of memory in lines with the above mentioned strong theoretical and research based evidence. However, the trajectory of interest is along the lines of research done by Logie and Pearson (1997) in developmental field. This study examines the visual and spatial development in children and adults. There may be many limitations pertaining to use of methodology. The visual recall of design and Corsi blocks are two distinct materials, not only in terms of format but also in terms of material to be recalled. Thus comparison of two unequal factors may raise questions about the validity and outcomes of the studies. Logie and Pearson’s study focussed solely on children of different age groups, but since it is purported to measure visual and spatial aspects of working memory under a developmental pathway, this study will use children and adults are subjects (Logie & Pearson, 1997; Klauer & Zhao, 2004). Other arguments against the reliability and objectivity of studies in this area have been in terms of usage of participants and individual, genetic, ethnic and anthropologic differences within the patterns of development. It is not possible to outline a single or a group of factors that predict the pathway of development. Our research hypothesis is designed to measure two questions. The first part of the hypothesis seeks to inquire whether according to the fractionation; the visual and spatial systems should develop at different speeds in humans. In accordance to the first part of the hypothesis, the second part inquires whether the developmental trajectory for visual system is shallower than spatial system. MethodParticipantsThe study has 139 participants in all comprising of 65 (46.8%) children and 74 (53.2%) adults. Among these participants are 56 (40.3%) males and 83 (59.7%) are females. The mean age for boys is 15.65 years and that for girls is 18.5 years.MaterialsTwo basic materials (tests) have been utilised viz: Visual recall of designs and Corsi Blocks. The recall of design is a paper-pencil task that requires the experimenter to show a particular design on paper to participants for 5 seconds and the participant recalls it by drawing it on paper (Logie & Pearson, 1997). The Corsi test presents a blue board with nine wooden cubes. The experimenter taps out a sequence of blocks (in increasing order after each successful completion) and the participant taps out the blocks in exactly the same sequence (Fischer, 2001).DesignThe variables design in a classroom based experimental condition testing factors between subjects (Adults, Children) and within subjects (Males, females) performance of Recall of design and Corsi. The visual and spatial working memory development are the Independent variables whereas the developmental trajectory is the dependent variable. Procedure In a classroom settings, both children and adult group were individually given tasks performance on Visual recall of design and Corsi block task. The scores of recall of design and corsi test were done during task administration itself. Calculated scores for each individual in the adult and the children group are put up before conducting statistical analysis. Statistical analysis Statistical analyses used can be divided into Descriptive statistics and inferential statistics. SPSS 19.0 was used for data analyses. Graphs, Histograms and Comparitive bar charts along with mean and median related data falls into descriptive statistics category. We have also conducted two unrelated t-tests; one to compare children’s recall of design with adults and the other one to compare children’s Corsi scores with that of adults. The mean score of children on visual memory is 14.17.(Mean=11.02, sd=1.727) and that of adults is 14.42 (Mean= 17.45, sd=2.765). The mean score of children on spatial memory is 11.02 (Mean=14.17,sd=2.275) and that for adults is 17.45 (Mean= 14.42, sd=2.196). The above table clearly shows that with respect to the spatial component there is a statistically significant difference between the adult mean and children’s mean (p=0.000) which is well below the 0.05 threshold. In fact from the above table it can be seen that the adult mean score is 17.45 whilst that of the children is 11.02 meaning that on average the adults scored about 6.4 more than the children. The above table clearly shows that there is a statistically significant difference between the adult mean and children’s mean on spatial component (p=0.000) which is well below the 0.05 threshold which is very highly significant The above table clearly shows that in terms of the visual component there is no statistically significant difference between adult mean and children’s mean (p>0.5) which exceeds the 0.05 threshold. It depicts how the mean difference between adults and children in relation to the visual component is very small resulting in no statistically significant difference in mean scores. Since there is high significance between the children and adult’s spatial component but no statistical significance between children and adult’s visual component, we can say that there might be a different trajectory in children and adult’s development patterns. It doesn’t however completely fulfil the hypothesis. Discussion The findings do not support the hypothesis in all earnest. There is no correlation between children and adult scores on visual component but there is a very significant relationship between children and adult scores on spatial component. It may be said that the difference has emerged because of the previously raised issue of different methods. Since, Corsi and Recall of design are two distinct tasks, it can be argued that their performance cannot be correlated. However, since the spatial component shows good correlation, it signifies that the trajectory may be well defined and that it develops more easily. However, not much light is thrown on why the results have come up the way they have. Further research may be interested in using Multiple regression to predict the possible factors that may have caused a high correlation in spatial scores and if there are any common factors in children and adults, they might as well be highlighted. However, like previous studies, this study support s the Logie -Pearson model as well as justifies the fractionation approach given by Baddeley. Memory is much beyond its’ structural and functional aspects. Though initial divisions on memory and development of theories have described functions and its’ aspects at a superficial level, this research has gone in depth to investigate difference in developmental trajectories. Since, it is a part of developmental aspect, it has many possibilities of further research (Baddeley, 2003; Logie & Pearson, 1997). References Baddeley A (2003) Working memory: looking back and looking forward, nature reviews Neuroscience, 4, 829-839 Baddeley, A (1996) The fractionation of working memory, Proceedings of national academy of sciences, 93(24), 13468-13472 Becker, J.T & Morris, R.G (1999) Working memory, Brain and cognition, 41, 1-8 DeRenzi, E & Nischell, P (1975) Verbal and non-verbal short term memory impairment following hemispheric damage, Cortex, 11, 341-353 Field, A (2007) Discovering Statistics Using SPSS (Ed:3 ), Sage Publications: London (United Kingdom) Fischer, M (2001), Probing Spatial working memory with Corsi blocks task, Brain and cognition, 45(2), 143-154 Hamilton, C; Coates, R & Hefferman, T (2010) What develops in a visuo-spatial working memory developmentEuropean journal of cognitive psychology Klauer, K.C & Zhao, Z (2004) Double dissociations in visual and spatial short term memory, Journal of experimental psychology, 133 (3), 355-381 Logie, R.H & Pearson, D.G (1997) The inner eye and the inner scribe of visuo-spatial working memory: Evidence from Developmental fractionation, European Journal of cognitive psychology, 9(3), 241-257 Vallar, G & Baddeley, A (1984) Fractionation of working memory: Neuropsychological evidence for short term store, Journal of verbal learning and verbal behaviour, 23(2), 151-161

anarchism essays

anarchism essays The aim of this essay is to explain Anarchism and to comprehend if it is a political ideology. There are a lot of anarchist thinkers and ordinary people which believe that anarchism is not a political ideology is only a theory in contradiction to the others which believe that anarchism is a political ideology because it is based upon ideas and values that a group of people believe and fight for. An ideology is more or less coherent set of ideas, which provide the basis for an organized political society. However, it is essential to go back and look at anarchism roots, ideas, historical arguments etc, to deepen into this human political theory that is connected with societal behavior and function. Anarchism is an ideology that regards abolition of government as the necessary precondition for a free and just society. The term itself comes from the Greek words anarchy (an-achy) which means "without a ruler, without authority . Anarchism rejects all forms of hierarchical authority, social and economic as well as political. What distinguishes it from other ideologies, however, is the central importance it attaches to the state. To anarchists, the state is a wholly artificial and illegitimate institution, the bastion of privilege and exploitation in the modern world. For this reason anarchism is primarily a movement against hierarchy. Also hierarchy is the organizational structure that embodies authority. Since the state is the "highest" form of hierarchy, anarchists are, by definition, anti-state; but this is not a sufficient definition of anarchism. This means that real anarchists are opposed to all forms of hierarchical organization, not only the state. The "classical" anarchists such as Proudhon, Bakunin and Kropotkin did use the word hierarchy, but preferred "authority,", it's clear from their writings that theirs was a philosophy against hierarchy, against any inequality of power or...

Actions vs. Words Essay Example

Actions vs. Words Essay Example Actions vs. Words Essay Actions vs. Words Essay Abstract There are various types of communication, the most common form of communication is verbal. Verbal communication is used on a daily basis, but there is non-verbal communication that could contradict the words being stated or written. In this paper, I will examine such contradictions in verbal and non-verbal communication in my office. I will also examine various types of listening skills important for deciphering non-verbal communication. Non-verbal Communication – Actions vs. Words Verbal communication is very important in the business world, but it is often the non-verbal language that accompanies the verbal communication that determines what is taken from the conversation. A person may verbally confirm that they are fine with a situation, but their non-verbal communication (body language) may convey otherwise. Concept To Promotion is typically a very smooth running organization, there are very conflicts among the team members. There is also limited opportunity for discipline. I was recently included in a meeting in which two team members were being reprimanded for a conflict that had been handled poorly. These two individuals have dominant personalities, which means that they both want to be in charge of the assigned task, which led to conflict among the team. The meeting included the company president, the human resource director, the individuals involved and myself. I was asked to the meeting as I am the warehouse supervisor and one of the individuals involved was a warehouse employee. These employees each thought that the work should be performed according to their own schedules without regard to the requirements of the company. The specific task assigned was a direct mailing for a large electronic corporation. According to USPS and UPS standards shipments will not be accepted for next day delivery after 5 P. M. on normal business days excluding holidays. The individual in charge of the project was to process the file, print labels and postage for the mailing. The warehouse employee was to pull the mailings and apply the labels to them in time for them to ship. The file was not being processed in a timely fashion and causing the warehouse employee to rush and still not be able to meet the deadlines. During the meeting each person was addressed individually in regards to their behavioral choices and interaction within the team. Both individuals indicated verbally that they understood the situation and how the disagreement should have been handled. I did however observe one individual rolling her eyes and crossing her arms, which indicated to me that she felt that the meeting was a waste of her time because the other individual was clearly at fault for the situation. This particular individual did not take criticism well and was offended by the conversation in the meeting. I am sorry to say that this particular individual did not take what was said to heart and was fired due to repeat issues. I believe that if this individual were pulled into a private conversation with her manager or the president regarding her non-verbal communication during the meeting and been assured that this was a serious situation. Her manager should have confirmed that this type of behavior would not be tolerated and if continued it could lead to termination. This individual would have greatly benefitted from direct communication in which the seriousness of the situation was laid out in clear terms, which could leave no room for interpretation. Listening skills are also important when interacting in a business environment. A manager must be able to not only listen to verbal communication, but non-verbal communication as well. This would help to ensure that situations such as the one outlined above be avoided. If the individual’s manager had picked up one her body language during the meeting the situation could have been dealt with more effectively. Managers should be taught how to listen to non-verbal communication such as body language, facial expression and attire in order to effectively manage subordinates. It is very important that managers pay close attention to a subordinate’s non-verbal communication in any situation, but especially in a discipline setting. By addressing non-verbal communication as well as the issue at the same time a manager can be assured that the individual understands how serious the situation is and how to handle future situations to ensure that there will be no further discipline required. Communication when dealing with subordinates should include mainly words with denotative meanings. This will help the manager be certain that the individual understands what is expected and these expectations will be met.

Book guns germs and steel by jared diamond Essay

Book guns germs and steel by jared diamond - Essay Example Logically, Diamond’s contention is predominantly based on his argument that Eurasian civilization is more of an upshot of opportunity and need, and not of cleverness or ingenuity. He argues that civilization is not derived from exceptional intelligence but crops up as a result of a series of growth and progress, both politically and economically, which are caused by some requirements or preconditions. Consistent with Diamond’s argument, the colonization of Africa by the Europeans can be attributed to â€Å"accidents of geography and biogeography – in particular, to the continents’ different areas, axes, and suites of wild plant and animal species. That is, the different historical trajectories of Africa and Europe stem ultimately from differences in real estate† (401). While it is substantial that Diamond places much more stress and importance on the role of geography in the expansive scope of the history of civilizations, his confined and contracted description of geography may present a concern towards the readers. Geography covers the sphere of humanities and the social sciences. It does not merely take in purely geographical thoughts but also, it encompasses other related fields of study, especially in its investigation and description of the relationship between societies and the environment. Providing explanation for the disparities in wealth, control, and authority among world civilizations and diverse communities over time must take into consideration the social, economic, and geopolitical links, together with their connections to environmental traits and environmental change, in an effort to connect international, district and local levels of analysis. These descriptions must also take the impact of human thoughts and imagination, as well as the socio-cultural procedures in forming the geographical and environmental backdrop. In an attempt to take

E-marketing plan Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

E-marketing plan - Assignment Example The artists have acquired more power as they have even started selling their music without the recording company. (Porter’s Five Forces- Strategic Management) Building a successful profession requires network, money and resources. Money is required to invest into finance marketing and music videos. Network is also very essential in order to sell products, markets and advertisements. Contacts and networking are required at venues and concerts everywhere the artists perform. It is very difficult to be successful and receive sufficient market share especially for a new player. With the help of the internet, people have more contacts, networks and it has become easier to sell music online. (Porter’s Five Forces- Strategic Management) Until some years back, there threat of substitutes was very low as the music was available in only one common channel. But in the recent past, there have been numerous cases of piracy which is becoming a major threat to the music industry and the recording company. (Porter’s Five Forces- Strategic Management) The format by which music is made available, the channel and the source of the music are predetermined. There are no alternate sources available for the buyers to buy the music other than purchasing them at stores. But in the recent past, there have been several cases of music privacy which provides buyers to acquire the music through other channels paying very minimal amounts o nothing at all. Information regarding the artists, purchasing of song directly from iTunes can be made directly. The song video can also be viewed from YouTube. Online downloading of music has also been a major set back for the recording companies. Consumers now can download music for free with good quality instead of paying for the CD. This means that the recording companies need to reduce their prices and have different channels for promotion, advertising and sales. (Porter’s Five Forces- Strategic Management) The