High Employee Turnover Among Travel Agencies in Malaysia Essay

1.0 Introduction The tourism industry in Malaysia has grown immensely due to its potential and unique competitive edge. The sector has increased its importance within the Malaysian economy, since the 1990’s according to Bashir, M. and Ahmad, N., et al. (2008). It carries on to be a leading foreign exchange achiever, continually acting as a crucial contributor to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth, business and employment opportunity, investments, and empowering the balance of payments account. Within the last decade, the tourism industry has made rapid progression and this progression is reflected in the increase of tourist arrivals and receipts. Tourist arrivals have increased significantly by almost 59% from 10.22 million in 2000 to 25.03 million in 2012 (Corporate.tourism.gov.my, n.d.). Tourism receipts in Malaysia contributed 56% of the total services receipts average between 2008 and 2012, generating a surplus in the country’s balance of payments accounts (Cor porate.tourism.gov.my, n.d.). The tourism sector has become the second-largest contributor towards economic growth of currency exchange (Table 1). Table 1. Tourist Arrivals & Receipts to Malaysia Source: (Tourism Malaysia, 2013) In a recent study, Mazumder et al. (2011) concluded that tourism not only impacts service sectors but contributes substantially to all sectors of the Malaysian economy. The economic after-effect of tourism exists extensively within the expansion of the globalization process; this in turn increases the industry’s development worldwide. Furthermore, it not only generates a ripple effect but boosts the intersectoral links within the economy, through these links; international tourism consumption will impact nearly all sectors of the economy. Therefore, looking at how important this industry is for the economy, this report aims to find methods to retain employees in various sectors of the travel sector with the main focus towards travel agencies. 1.1 Issue The main issue being assessed in this report is focused on high staff turnover. However the main component of this research is strongly related to â€Å"turnover intent†, rather than turnover itself. 1.2 Study Aim In today’s competitive world, the travel industry has proved to become one of the most unique tools used for economic progression. Along with that, it has also helped improve social incorporation and multinational interpretation and understanding of diverse cultures. This allows travel agencies to expand target markets. Moreover, also in this unstable business environment, travel agencies that wish to succeed need to be accepting of change. They need to be able to not only meet but also surpass the threats and opportunities presented to them by their competitors. Numerous researches have been carried out to study the relation between turnover intent and job satisfaction. However, little interest is given to travel agencies, although they make up an important part of the tourism industry. When turnover intent occurs among service occupations such as those of the travel industry, there is not only a negative impact on the management and firms but also on the servic e and products quality, hence this may show a negative result in customer satisfaction. This research discusses how travel agencies need to focus on employee management and retention. The main issue being assessed is focused on high staff turnover intent among employees in travel agencies. 1.3 Research Objectives 1) The factors that influence turnover intent among newcomers in travel agencies. 2) To provide recommendation that could prevent or at least reduce this issue. 1.4 Purpose of study According to Kennedy and Berger (1994), turnover rate is generally at its highest among those employees who are newcomers in the company, and occurs within the duration of the first four weeks on the job. Therefore, the first objective is to identify factors that influence turnover intent among newcomers in travel agencies. However, every problem also normally has a solution or at least if there is no specific solution, there are various methods that can be applied to ‘control’ the problem. Hence, understanding the methods that can either solve or control turnover intent is the second objective of this research. 2.0 Literature Review Employee turnover is deliberated as an obstacle to attaining high levels of productivity and efficacy in business jobs or operations (Deery & Shaw, 1997), especially in the travel industry, where the relationship among employees and customers is crucial. A high employee turnover rate is a major factor that reflects a decrease in customer satisfaction; this in turn impacts a loss in repeat customers and reputation of being a good business. Prior researches state that the more work experience an individual has, the less likely they are to leave (Boles et al., 1995). It was also said that hiring individuals who have experience within the travel industry could reduce turnover intent among travel agencies. 2.1 Defining job turnover intent Turnover can be defined as the decision to withdraw from current jobs by taking part in a series of psychological steps (Mobley, 1977): ââ€" ¡ Evaluation of job ââ€" ¡ Experienced job dissatisfaction ââ€" ¡ Thinking of quitting ââ€" ¡ Evaluation of expected utility search and cost of quitting ââ€" ¡ Interaction to search for alternatives ââ€" ¡ Search for alternatives ââ€" ¡ Evaluation of alternatives ââ€" ¡ Comparison of alternatives vs. present job ââ€" ¡ Intention to quit/stay ââ€" ¡ Quit/Stay 2.2 Factors influencing job turnover intent There are a number of factors that have been associated with turnover intent in studies that have been conducted in the past. However, most researches have mainly focused on personal differences, age, education, knowledge, income, gender, and job level to name a few determinants that have been identified to influence job satisfaction (Fournet et al., 1996). Researchers believe that age, tenure, job level, and income are associated with job satisfaction (Herzberg et al., 1957). Mei-Chih et al. (2007) showed there is a relationship between job satisfaction and age. According to De Vaney and Chen (2003) age has an effect on job satisfaction. Results from several studies indicate that there is a relationship between sex and job satisfaction (Bilgic, 1998; Lumpkin & Tudor, 1990; Goh & Koh, 1991 and Oshagbemi, 2000). Some studies conducted by Lumkin & Tudor (1990) and Stedham & Yamamura (2003) showed that female managers are given less pay and ar e hence, surely less satisfied with their compensation, promotions, and overall work satisfaction. Studies established that job occupancy has been determined as a factor related to job satisfaction (Herzberg et al, 1957; Lee & Wilbur, 1985; Schuh, 1967). Sokoya (2000) instituted that there is a major difference between job occupancy and job satisfaction. Raymond and Elizabeth (1985) demonstrated that job occupancy has impact on job satisfaction. Cotton & Tuttle (1986) focused their theory on the supplements of turnover and then into their factors: (1) external correlates; (2) structural or work-related factors; (3) personal characteristics of employees. In a different, more recent study conducted by Griffith et al. (2000), gave a more comprehensive explanation about antecedents of turnover. These antecedents were classified into four groups, these include: 1) Demographic predictors 2) Job satisfaction, organization factors, work environment factors 3) Job content, external environment factors 4) Other behavioral predictors 3.0 Methodology The research conducted for this study is qualitative, using the probability method for selection of candidates. The primary method was interviews conducted focusing on focusing on the factors that influence ‘turnover intent’ among employees. Whereas, the interviews helped grasp knowledge as to why employers/managers think ‘turnover intent’ occurs and what sort of precautionary measures can be implemented to control or better reduce turnover intent. Then secondary information was gathered on previous studies regarding the same issue i.e. turnover intent among employees in travel agencies. This information was found through books, journals, and reliable websites. 3.1 Interviews Technique The survey was conducted amongst employees of five different travel agencies. The employees were selected at random to avoid any biasness. The interviews on the other hand, were conducted amongst people at the top of the food-chain in the tourism and travel industry in Malaysia. Interviewees were selected at random to gain perspective from various individuals regarding the same issue. 3.3 SIZE OF SAMPLE As mentioned previously, the survey was conducted among employees from five different travel agencies in Malaysia. Within each of these travel agencies, 7 employees from any department were selected to fill out the survey at random. The total number of survey samples analysed were 30, although the total number of survey forms distributed personally were 35. The reason was that every respondent may not fill in the form completely and correctly and therefore, out of 35 survey’s 30 properly filled out surveys were carefully examined to ensure validity of results. The survey was also made available online on surveymonkey.com to gather results in a convenient and fast method. This information gave insight for the thoughts of employees from different regions and states in Malaysia. The interviews were conducted with five individuals who are managers or CEO’s at the five travel agencies from where the employees were surveyed. 3.4 SAMPLING PROCEDURE There are different methods of distributing the surveys; by post, e-mail, or personally. For this particular research the surveys were distributed personally and also conducted online to receive results from travel agencies that are out of reach. Also a higher number of responses increased the accuracy of results. 4.0 Findings and Discussion 5.0 Recommendations So many questions arise as to what factors cause turnover intentions among employees in travel agencies, one of the questions is: Could the problem possibly root from the tourism education and training itself? Since, the operations of travel agencies are not very precise and adequate (i.e. there is no exact procedure to be followed in jobs of those working in travel agencies), it may be possible that students who graduate with a diploma/degree in tourism related studies are not well-prepared to deal with globalization and the effects it has on the tourism industry. Therefore, training and development has an important impact on the development of skilled professionals prepared for the business operations taking part in travel agencies on a daily basis.

Macro environment Essay

Our product and all of the other actors operate in a large macro environment of forces that shape opportunities and pose threats to the company is known as macro environment. Six largely uncountable external forces influence our product’s marketing activities. And also it influences decision making, and affect its performance and strategies. These factors include the economic, demographics, legal, political, and social conditions, technological changes, and natural forces Elements of Macro-Environment: Demographic Environment Demography is the study of human populations in terms of size, destiny, location, age, gender race, occupation and other statistics. The demographic environment is of major interest to marketers because it involves people. Economic Environment Marketers require buying power as well as people. The economic environment consists of factors that affect consumers’ purchasing power and spending power patterns. Marketers must pay close attention to major trends and consumers’ spending patterns. Natural Environment The natural environment involves the natural resources that are needed as inputs by marketers or they are affected by marketing activities. Environmental concerns have grown steadily during the past three decades. Marketers should be aware of several trends in the natural environment. Technological Environment The technological environment is perhaps the most dramatic forces now shopping own destiny. Technological environment involves forces that create new technologist creating new product and marketing opportunities. Political Environment Marketing decisions are strongly affected by developments in the political environment. Political environment consists of laws, government agencies, government itself and pressure groups that influence or limits various organizations and individuals in a given society. Cultural Environment The cultural environment is made up of institutions and other forces that affect a society’s basic values, perceptions, preferences and behaviors. There are few cultural values which affect marketing decision making. These are persistence of cultural value, shifts in secondary cultural value, people views of organization and others. â€Å"Environment factors that affect our green product† Demographic effect: I. Population growth and age structure. Changes in demand patterns of products. II. Family structure changing. Changing household’s patterns. People are thinking of saving time, Increasing dual income families. Multiple tasks at one time. Part-time jobs and business. III. More education Knowledgeable people are tending to use more inconvenience and useful things. Economic effects: Lawproductexportsnewgrowth price & service opportunities of GNP Social and cultural effects: Social organization such as family, school, temple and culture of the society shape, beliefs, norms, values, and behavior of people should take into an account before the launching of our product. Majority of people are influenced by their culture. Therefore when we trying to satisfy customer needs have to consider these factors and objectives should match with them. Technological effects: ObsoletethereforeProduct’s features should be up to date. Flexible Durable Efficient Effective Political – legal effects: Business regulations influence and limit the behavior of Rules individuals and organization. Government Policies Laws Governments bodies Pressure groups Conan is a green product Law tax rate Public acceptance Easier to launch Emphasis on ethics & social responsibility Natural effects: Natural environment: Impending of storage of raw material Increased cost of energy Increased levels of pollution Government intervention in natural resources management Conan is a green concept which provides energy saving system and lightning system without any capital expenditure. This encourages deployment of energy – efficient products. And also it is a disposable product.

Why Smoking Should Be Banned in Public

Smoking should be banned in all public places to protect people from second-hand smoke and stop promoting the visual to minors. The cigarette is a small but deadly habit enjoyed by 45. 3 million Americans. Smoking is illegal inside most public restaurants and buildings as well as on school property. But, why should cigarette smoking be banned in all public spaces, including outside public establishments? The most obvious reason is second-hand smoke and the damage it causes to others who don't want to be exposed to cigarette smoke. A ban on all public smoking would improve the air quality in each town, spare people from smoke exposure, decrease the overall amount of smoking, and make it less visible to children and teens as an accepted norm. The negative effects of second-hand smoke are scientifically documented and provide a valid reason for banning all public smoking. This proposal would likely upset many people since it may seem a bit constraining and overly invasive at first. Why are people not allowed to drink alcohol on the streets, walking throughout a town or city? If someone were to do this they would get a ticket or arrested for public intoxication. It is unhealthy for the person drinking and dangerous for everyone else around the person drinking. The same principle applies for smoking cigarettes. It is unhealthy for the person smoking and for everyone around them that happens to be outside. The people who aren’t smoking deserve the right to clean air and the right to not be exposed to harmful chemicals found in nicotine. This individual right outweighs the individual right to smoke in an outdoor, public place. The smoking addiction is undoubtedly just that, an addiction. If people truly grasped what they were doing to their bodies, then everyone would quit smoking unless they wanted to die young. This addiction, like any other addiction, needs outside action taken to prevent the person in addiction from further harm. In this case, each state and/or city should enact a ban on smoking in outdoor public places. This ban should exclude peoples homes or personal property but it should includes all buildings, establishments, streets, parks, and anywhere else that people gather. The only exception to banning someone from smoking in their own house should be if they have children. It may seem like an invasion of privacy and too much government control but the more important issue here is the safety of children. If there are children under the age of 18 living at home then it should be illegal to smoke in the house or car or within a certain distance of them, even at home. The second-hand smoke that these children are inhaling is not their choice and they are being subject to life-threatening disease and illness. In addition to being exposed to harmful chemicals, children who are around smoking will become more likely to smoke themselves. The deadly cycle will continue and more people will become addicted to smoking cigarettes. Without government intervention, this is an issue that will not change and lives will continue to be lost due to the negative effects of cigarette smoking. Portland, Oregon is taking this issue seriously. Public smoking is banned within 25 feet of a playground or picnic table. This city understands the health concerns for people who choose not to smoke. The beauty of living in a free country is that any individual may choose whether to smoke cigarettes or not. An individuals choice is taken away from them when people are allowed to smoke on streets and in outdoor public spaces. A law that prevents people from smoking in any public space, whether indoor or outdoor, would truly give non-smokers the choice not to inhale cigarette smoke. At a professional sporting event, even an outdoor one, smoking is banned almost everywhere. It is accepted as the social norm not to smoke while sitting in your seat and watching the game because it might bother another person sitting nearby. This same concept should be used to ban smoking while walking on a sidewalk or standing outside a building. One of the biggest and most important reasons to ban all public smoking is the safety of children. Our government and states have made extensive laws, and rightly so, to protect children from abuse and neglect. This includes entering some ones private home if there is reason to believe the child is in danger. Children have no say whether or not to be abused and no child wants to or should be. No child wants to be addicted to cigarettes or chooses to have the lasting, harmful effects that cigarettes bring on a person. Our government seems to be taking small steps in the right direction but is still focused on only one part of the issue. According to the FDA, â€Å"Every day nearly 4,000 kids under 18 try their first cigarette and 1,000 kids under 18 become daily smokers. Many of these kids will become addicted before they are old enough to understand the risks and will ultimately die too young of tobacco-related diseases. FDA is working to protect the health of America’s children and ultimately reduce the burden of illness and death caused by tobacco use. † (â€Å"Save†) The stats are alarming as to how many children are smoking. A public ban on smoking would reduce the amount of cigarettes smoked and the amount of people who begin smoking due to lack of public exposure. Every time someone smokes a cigarette they are giving free advertising to the tobacco industry. If you watch an old movie you will notice that smoking was socially accepted and even a part of being sophisticated. We have come a long way since the 1930’s and 1940’s but still have a large room for improvement. The visual aspect is the greatest one to overcome. If we can eliminate public smoking, it will decrease the amount of people who being smoking while also creating a healthier environment for everyone to enjoy.

History of Nursing Higher Education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

History of Nursing Higher Education - Essay Example Distance education has made it possible for those who wish to go into the nursing field to acquire their degrees-at least partially-and to attend classes in their field from home or from wherever there is an Internet connection. Nursing students do not need to live in the same area as the school in order to attend, which is definitely a huge change from traditional nursing education. The infusion of technology that has accompanied distance education has also brought other benefits to nursing education. Nursing students now have better equipment to practice on, such as more advanced patient simulators and patient care devices, and better resources from which to obtain knowledge, such as the Internet and vast online libraries. According to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (2008, pg. 2), "Technological advances are increasing opportunities to improve dramatically the quality of and access to nursing education. Further, technology affords increased collaboration among nursing faculties in teaching, practice, and research. Careful use of technology in education may well enhance the profession's ability to educate nurses for practice, prepare future nurse educators, and advance nursing science in an era when the number of professional nurses, qualified nurse faculty and nurse researchers is well below national need. To take full advantage of technology in education, several factors need to be addressed by nursing and other leaders in education and health care institutions, as well as by external funders and policy makers." Distance education has also made it possible for people from all over the world to become nurses that might not have been able to otherwise. This means that it necessarily increases the multicultural aspects of the field. It opens the doors of opportunity into the field for those who want to become nurses, but may not have the time to study at a traditional institution. Many distance learners are working adults who are very concerned with aspects such as time management when it comes to advancing their careers (White, 2003). Nursing Shortage According to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (2008): The United States is in the midst of a nursing shortage that is expected to intensify as baby boomers age and the need for health care grows. Compounding the problem is the fact that nursing colleges and universities across the country are struggling to expand enrollment levels to meet the rising demand for nursing care. The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) is concerned about the shortage of Registered Nurses (RNs) and is working with schools, policy makers, kindred organizations, and the media to bring attention to this health care crisis. AACN is working to enact legislation, identify strategies, and form collaborations to address the nursing shortage. A nursing shortage means that there is a serious need for recruitment into nursing schools. This can be challenging with biological scares such as MRSA, which will be discussed in the subsequent section of this assignment (Goold, 2006). MRSA According to Replidyne (2008, pg. 1), "Methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) is a type of Staphylococcus aureus resistant to certain

HISTORY OF AMERICAN CAPITALISM Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

HISTORY OF AMERICAN CAPITALISM - Assignment Example Because of the American culture; our teaching methods and the fact, the winner holds the reins few if any one realizes that the South is still under reconstruction; is still at war and still at the mercy of the North. A very famous Southerner before he died said, â€Å"Surrender means the history of this heroic struggle will be written by the enemy that our youths will be taught by Northern School teachers learn from Northern school books THEIR version of the war†. 3. What was the background to the creation of the 2nd Bank of the United States? What was the main responsibility of the bank? What role did Nicolas Biddle play? What were his main policies? What was Andrew Jackson’s policy concerning the bank? In the early 1800s, the United States government did not print paper money but instead minted gold and silver coins called specie. The value of these coins was determined by the value of the metal in the coins themselves. People wanted a safe place to keep their savings of gold and silver coins, so they stored them in banks, which had strong vaults and other measures of security. One area of particular concern among bankers, businessmen, and government leaders was banking on the frontier. Frontier land was cheap, and speculators would buy large tracts expecting the price to go up as settlers entered the region. In order to finance their investments, speculators borrowed as much as they could from â€Å"wildcat† bank that sprang up to cater to this demand (Mansel and Kerr, 17-26). Jackson’s presidential term ended in 1836. Popular with the people to the end, his immediate economic legacy was fiscal instability for the country, which resulted in the Panic of 1837 during his successor, Martin Van Buren’s, presidency. His unshakable opinion remained, however, that over the long term an immensely powerful national bank held in private hands was a danger to democracy. Revenue Tariff for revenue pays interest on debts and funds within the government while

None Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 3

None - Essay Example The family is met with a severe accident but all of them are saved to be killed at the hands of the serial killer, Misfit. This story is one of those in which complex and comprehensive themes are presented in clear and plain language. This is a simple story like a picture which is able to speak a thousand words. The major themes in this story include faith, morality and self conscience along with other religious connotations. Another major theme revolves around trust, mistrust and faith which the author has portrayed specifically during the first stop of the family at The Tower with their owners. The owner, Red Sammy Butts and his wife get engaged in a conversation with the family. During this conversation, the owner and the grandmother talk about the reality of the world and the moral ethics and codes which were ignored by people in everyday life. They talk about how no one in the world could be trusted anymore. Red Sammy Butts shares his experiences of mistrust about how he helped some people and gave them something on credit and never saw them again. This conversation leads to the ugly truth of the world, the presence of good and evil and the ultimate reality that no one can be trusted. The title of the story itself portrays the theme of the story that good men are hard to find this world, those who live, not for themselves, but for others. The author has tried to describe the shortcomings of the traditional meaning of good and bad. This traditional concept states that people can either be good or bad but in this story, O`Connor has tried to depict that both good and bad can exist within a single person. The author enforces that a person can find both good and bad but it just depends on the way he searches for it. Similarly, the initial story is portrayed in such a way that the reader would think that the story shows a good family and a bad convict, misfit. However, this is a false impression which is corrected at the end of the story. After the accident, th e grandmother and the whole family meets misfit and his gang. The grandmother`s judgmental nature results in a serious conflict between her and misfit which results in the death of the entire family. The grandmother thought that the only thing that will save her from the killer was her supposed good deeds and good nature. However, the story initially shows that the grandmother is a self serving person and she is clearly a racist and this is shown by her comment about the street children as she says, â€Å"Little niggers in the country don't have things like we do† (A Good Man is hard to find, Web). This clearly shows that the grandmother was a racist and during her encounter with Misfit, she thought she was good and her goodness will save her from the convict. She even called Misfit and â€Å"alleged criminal† and tried to enforce her superior position which further worsened the conflict between them. However, Misfit had more power than the grandmother at that time and he decided to end her life. Faith is a person`s belief in something whether it be God, a religion or even a personal trait, for example. The Misfit did not have any such belief in any religion but he seems to have faith on himself. The grandmother even tries to bring in religion and Jesus to change Misfit`s mind. She tries to save herself by bringing in Jesus’

Cultural Beliefs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Cultural Beliefs - Essay Example This paper describes the perceptions in the PEN and how affects the sub-African Saharans behavior regarding their health problems. Cultural Beliefs Culture is a set of rules and beliefs, traditions among other things like art and religion, that is shared by a society. It is where values and behavior is rooted and it is therefore enough to influence perception, judgment, and of course, behavior. AIDS is one of the prevalent diseases in the Sub-Saharan Africa with the rate of 6.1%. It is in fact, one of the worst diseases in the continent, affecting 22.5 million people (HIV positive). AIDS is caused sexually, and sexual practices are behavioral. Since behavior is cultural, it is therefore logical to conclude that one can actually control certain behaviors through culture. In this case, the PEN-3 model, which was created to address and integrate culture in the development, implementation and evaluation of health programs. The PEN-3 model is composed of three domains. These three domains are also composed of another 3 sections each. The three domains are: cultural identity, relationships and expectations and culture and empowerment. Culture and empowerment is a domain that is composed of three more factors which are positive, existential and negative perceptions. They represent all the good and bad facets of culture, hence the positive and negative perceptions.

Apple innovation and strategy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Apple innovation and strategy - Essay Example The intention of this study is innovation as fundamental prerequisite for competitiveness and economic well-being. In major industries, to innovate has almost become less risky and since both consumer and industrial markets have come to expect regular changes and improvements in the products, most firms find it profitable to make innovation their grand strategy. Apple Inc., the American Multinational company that was established by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne in the 1970s, has emerged as one of the most successful Fortune 500 companies; and perhaps the best known for innovation. It designed, manufactured and marketed personal computers, portable music players, software, computer peripherals and a number of different kinds of electronic products, through its own retail stores, online stores and sales force or third party sellers. Apple Inc. has been able to create and establish a strong brand name for the company through a number of strategic and innovative steps such as Macintosh, iPod, iPad, iMusic, iTunes, iPhone etc. As Kerin, Hartley and Berkowitz pointed, Apple Inc. has always been thriving on innovation. Its history showed that it has ignited the personal computer revolution during 1970s with Apple II, and it reinvented the personal computers in 1980s and gaining a brand loyalty with iMac in 1990s. It has alter been able to discover increased opportunities through iPod, Apple iPhone and 3-G iPhone in recent years. Apple Inc. has thus become academically important and practically an effective model since it has made use of technology and considered innovation as the central to its strategies. Milestones in Apple’s History Apple has been thriving on innovation, which in turn has helped it gain sustainable competitive advantages. Apple’s innovation strategy is very evident from its innovation designs, product differentiation, own-store retailing and brand loyalty focus. These strategic developments are detailed below: The Innova tion Strategy of Apple Inc. Product Designs Innovation can be of different forms and at different stages of product designs and development. A firm may innovate in manufacturing, or planning or designing, R&D, distribution, marketing etc. When it comes to Apple’s case, the main success factor was its innovation in product designs. Betz (2002, p. 194- 195) argued that Apple Inc. hasn’t long been coasting on borrowed innovative technology and it wasn’t a technology creator until the mid of 1990s. Apple’s CEO Steve Jobs then realized that an organization can never stay long on a technology leader strategy unless it becomes a technology creator. In 1997, Steve Jobs cut Apple’s total product lines to four such as laptops for consumers, laptops for professional users, desktop for consumers and desktops for professio

Lan Design Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Lan Design - Assignment Example The network is only meant for administrative purposes and specifically, it is designed for office staffs. CPA LAN is designed to achieve a number of business and operational objectives. To start with, the network is designed to provide a secure administrative and computing service for every department in the firm. Physically and functionally, the network is designed to be restricted from non-employees of the CPA firm; no outsider can gain access to the firm’s network thus it minimizes the risk of unauthorized access. Secondly, the network is meant for versatile processing of information. It will enable its users to process, retrieve and store texts in form of non-ASCII and ASCII, video, graphics and audio from all the connected computers in the firm. Lastly, the CPA firm LAN will combine all the capabilities and powers of various facilities across the organization so as to develop a collaborative medium which will enable the users of the network to combine skill and ideas rega rdless of their locations in the building (Campbell, 1995). Moreover, the primary users of this LAN will be 6 administrators, 6 secretaries, 10 members from the department of curriculum development, 8 members from the human resource department, 6 members from the finance department and 3 members from the computer and technology department. All the remaining workers will be secondary users of the network in a way that they will be receiving information which is produced or rather extracted from the network; they will not directly access the network. The assumption of this design is that the firm will have a firewall to protect all its relevant information from getting into and leaking from the network. Requirements of the Network Data type: The type of data to be served by this network will comprise of accounting information, bulletins, personal profiles, reports and web pages. Most of the data will be stored in non-ASCII and ASCII formats. Sources of data: The data will be developed and used at all points or stations of the network. It will be created by software applications which are compatible with Microsoft Windows 2007; primarily Microsoft Office 2007 (Excel, Access, Word, Outlook and PowerPoint), Dream Weaver, Photoshop, Media Player and Notepad. Number of users at various levels: From the major departmental offices, administration, human resource, finance and accounting, curriculum development and computer and technology extension, thirty one regular primary users will be served. The priority levels to be supported by the network include management, user and background. They range from top, medium to bottom respectively. A crucial point to note here is that the three levels are not corresponding to administrative levels in the firm; they are the LAN service levels. This implies that the network management procedures will receive the top most priority, followed by most network procedures which will receive the medium priority and finally few procedures w ill receive a low priority. A point to note here is that the CPA LAN management will be consuming smaller amounts of bandwidth available; they will enjoy an identical support (Hricik, 2008). Requirements for speed transmission: The CPA LAN will be transparent to all the users. This means that all the remotely executed procedures, files transfers and applications should appear to operate quickly. An average of 25mbps per user

Google Books Essay Example for Free

Google Books Essay The Google Books project has been a working progress ever since Google was created. The co-founders of Google, Sergey Brin and Larry Page had been working on a research project that was supported by the Stanford digital Library Technologies Project in 1996. Google intends to scan every book ever published and make all of the text searchable so that people can find the relevant information they need about book. They want to make books more accessible to the public and create an easy mechanism of sorting a book’s content and relevance to a subject. In 2002 a secret â€Å"books† project was launched and research was underway to identify the challenges that lay ahead of them. Over this period, Googlers discovered a quick and harm free way to scan books and began to meet with Libraries to begin the digitalization of books. In December 2004 Google announces the launch of the â€Å"Google Print† Library Project thanks to partnerships from Harvard, The University of Michigan, The New York Public Library, Oxford and Stanford. Together it is said that these libraries exceed 15million volumes. In 2005 Google Print is renamed Google Books which is a more fitting title as it better explains it’s use. With the launch of Google Books and its fast development many will argue of the advantages and disadvantages of the site. The whole project seems a little bit overly ambitious and it obviously has many flaws in its system. It is a timely process to scan hundreds of millions of books and the pivotal question here is â€Å"Are Google books doing it right? † Scanning books is an extremely time consuming process so once Google books have done it, it seems unlikely that the books will be rescanned. If some of the books are not scanned properly, important literature and information could become obscured or lost through the process of digitalization. Geoff Nunberg (2009) published an article Google books: A Metadata Train Wreck and pointed out many errors in the system. One example being that he googled the name of an author and restricted the search to the works published before their year of birth. It was found that 182 hits came up for Charles Dickens alone. The Chief Engineer for Google Books, Dan Clancy claimed that the incorrect dates where the fault of the libraries. However, when the matter was investigated further it shows that the first ten full read books published before 1812 and that mention Charles Dickens are correctly dated in the catalogues that they had come from. Although one can argue that the correct information is given on the title page, there have been some other inexcusable errors too. Google Books has classified many of its books incorrectly and once again Dan Clancy has claimed that both the libraries and publishers where to blame because the classifications were drawn from the BISAC codes that is given to booksellers. BISAC codes have only been around for about 20 years meaning that any book that was put in the wrong category before this time is a mistake of Google themselves. Google have decided to take on an extremely large project but it seems apparent that they are not doing it very well. They are quick to push the blame on others and the whole project is based more towards commercialism rather than to help make knowledge available to the world. Project Gutenberg was one of the first â€Å"digital† libraries and was created by volunteers. This project seems to focus more on the importance of literature and the quality of the books available are much greater than those on Google Books. The books are proof read by human beings and their workers are not paid which is a clear sign that they actually care about making books more available to people. Google Books produces books in a much larger mass but they should be aware that people will value â€Å"quality over quantity† most. Google quickly scan these books and it’s obvious that they rarely check them for errors. In Paul Duguid’s (2007) essay Inheritance and Loss? A Brief Survey of Google Books, He addresses the Google books system hands on by using Laurence Sterne’s The Life and Opinion of Tristram Shandy as an example. He choose the first link that appeared in the search engine and claims his results were as follows; The book he was examining did not start with the word â€Å"wish† meaning that the left hand side of the page that had the word â€Å"I† was missing. On page seventeen the left hand side of the page is not legible because the gutter of the book is blocking the first few letters and by page twenty-seven, Sterne quoted Hamlet’s phrase â€Å"alas, poor Yorick! † and inserted a black page of mourning. However the version that is on Google books has left out this page and is somewhat ignorant to the fact of how iconic it is to the astute reader. On further investigation of Duguids essay I clicked on the links that were given to the book and realised that it was no longer a link to the book. I then searched Tristram Shandy just had Duguid had done into Google Books. I clicked on the first link which is the same Harvard edition that Duguid was referencing and discovered that the first page had the word â€Å"I† before â€Å"wish† and page seventeen was now fully legible. Although some corrections had been made the black page that was to follow on from page twenty seven has still not been inserted. This is perhaps due to the fact that the people scanning these books are not scholars themselves. It is very easy to recognise a page with a missing word or one that is not fully legible but many would mistake a black page as an error in printing. Another flaw in the digitalization in books is the actual book itself. There is something so pleasant about flicking through a book and holding it in your hand while you read. The book in its own physically is magnificent, depending on how old it is it could have been passed on from generation to generation. The book itself is a story in its own right. Throughout its lifespan the book can acquire various annotations, signatures and other interesting characteristics. There has also been a lot of conflict with regard to the publishing industry and the digitalization of books. Google has offered to provide a search engine what they aspire to be every book ever published but for those which are copyrighted and cannot be viewed online, Google provides the option to purchase them online through sites such as Amazon or Barnes. In January 2007, Google held a conference on the future of the publishing industry. The conference quoted Charles Darwin and projected it on a screen: â€Å"It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor is it the most intelligent, but the ones most responsive to change. † Toobin (2007) states in an article Google’s Moon Shot: â€Å"As Laurence Kirschbaum, a long time publishing executive who recently became a literary agent, told me at the conference, â€Å"Google is now the gatekeeper. They are reaching an audience that we as publishers and authors are not reaching. It makes perfect sense to use the specificity of a search engine as a tool for selling books. †Ã¢â‚¬  This statement has a lot of truth because since the growth of technology, the popularity of books has fallen drastically. People in the 21st century care more for mindless television shows and tacky magazines than a good well written piece. Reading books challenges the mind and fuels the imagination and by incorporating literature with technology it is a great attempt to try and revive such an excellent thing. Despite Google’s attempts, it looks as if they are not doing a good job. Many authors and publishers filed a lawsuit against Google Books claiming that Google has violated their copyrights by scanning the books, creating an electronic database and displaying short excerpts without their permission. The Authors Guild filed a lawsuit against Google Books alleging copyright infringement and after four years of discussion a settlement was finally reached in 2009. It was decided that Google was allowed to copy, display and sell millions of books that were out of print but still in copyright. However the agreement was reviewed several times and was summarily rejected in March 2011. This gave organizations a chance to voice their concern about the privacy policy for users of the system. Google claims that it has reviewed its privacy policy and that an advance policy has been created for Google Books but it seemed that the policy still left a large number of gaps and something appeared to be quite vague. On September 4th 2009 the Electronic Privacy Information Centre (EPIC) entered a motion to intervene in the Google settlement case to help the readers of Google Books regarding their privacy online. EPIC states that readers will be required to part with particular information that will be stored in a database to create detailed profiles of preferences of the reading with regard to their purchases and browsing. Marc Rotenberg appeared in court on February 18th 2010 and stated that: â€Å"A person at any library or any university in the United States that attempted to retrieve information from Google’s digital library would be uniquely tagged and tracked. There is simply no precedent for the creation of such power†. The court rejected the settlement but it did however state that Google should review it’s privacy policy to better protect its users. Google should not have the right to disclose any information to government or third parties and secure browsing should be a priority. Many people do not realise that these profiles are being created or that their privacy is being invaded. If this is supposed to be the library of the future, then it should be dealt with in the correct manner. People should be able to browse through books anonymously and have their own thoughts kept private. Google Books seem to have rushed the whole process of scanning such a vast amount of literature and by doing so they seemed to have forgotten about â€Å"quality over quantity. † It seems that the dream of creating a digital library will remain one for the foreseeable future due to the numerous flaws that the system has. Whilst Google Books are trying to correct their many errors it is apparent that the whole project was done quite carelessly and insufficiently. It is evident that Google Books motive leans more to the commercial side of things rather than making knowledge available to a wider audience. This is particularly clear with regards to their privacy policy. Google will suggest recommended pages and sites by analysing all of your browsing. The option to purchase a book that is not available online makes Google Books more of a digital bookstore rather than a digital library. The concept of Google Books is a great one and though it has some advantages, the disadvantages outweigh the good. Bibliography: †¢Duguid, Paul. Inheritance and Loss? A Brief Survey on Google Books. N. p. , Aug. 2007. Web. 12 Nov. 2012. . †¢Nunberg, Geoff. Language Log. A » Google Books: A Metadata Train Wreck. N. p. , 29 Aug. 2009. Web. 11 Nov. 2012. http://languagelog. ldc. upenn. edu/nll/? p=1701 †¢McSherry, Corynne. Good and Bad in Google Book Search Settlement Decision | Electronic Frontier Foundation. Good and Bad in Google Book Search Settlement Decision | Electronic Frontier Foundation. N. p. , 23 Mar. 2011. Web. 11 Nov. 2012. . †¢Rogers, T. Google Books: Good for Knowledge, Bad for Privacy. Information Privacy Law. N. p. , 28 Mar. 2011. Web. 12 Nov. 2012. http://www. brianrowe. org/infoprivacylaw/2011/03/28/google-books-good-for-knowledge-bad-for-privacy/ †¢Google Books. Google Books. N. p. , n. d. Web. 11 Nov. 2012. .

Arguments For and Against Compulsory Voting

Arguments For and Against Compulsory Voting Graham McGuire Introduction The position adopted in this essay is that voting in elections should not be compulsory. Australia is one of at least twenty countries which compel their citizens to vote in Federal, State and most Local government elections. Australia forced its compulsory voting (CV) laws on its citizens in government elections was quite early in its history. It started with making enrolment for federal elections compulsory this was introduced in 1912. Then Queensland was the first state to force their citizens to vote in state elections compulsory in 1915 with all other states following at a later dates. With the Federal government introducing CV laws for their citizens in 1924 (Australian Electoral Commission 2011). . Arguments used for or against compulsory voting Arguments in favour: It is a civic duty to vote similar to other citizens duties e.g. taxation, jury duty Demonstrates the values of political participation Parliament should reflect the entire electorate in policy management and formulation Political candidates can manage their electioneering resources on other issues rather than having to persuading voters to be present at the poll The voter is not required to vote for anybody as voting is using secret ballot. Arguments against: It is not democratic to compel people to vote it’s an infringement of liberty The uninformed and individuals with no interest in politics are compelled to vote It increases the amount of informal votes and donkey votes It increases the amount of safe, single member electorates so as political parties can concentrate on more marginal electorates Resources have to be allocated to ascertain who failed to vote or who have valid reason not to vote (AEC 2011). The AEC didn’t include ‘Turn Out’ in its arguments, yet the main reason given on most of the reading on this subject of CV is that Governments are worried about poor turnout of voters. There are other reasons for and against CV but the AEC arguments are a fair representation of the pros and cons. Turn Out Supporters of CV say that it improves turnout, so it helps to legitimise governments in Australia. They claim that in countries where voting is voluntary, a lot of political party activity in elections is assigned to getting citizens out to vote (Parliament of Australia 2005, 3). CV can’t be defended by claiming that the government’s legitimacy was formed with a low turn-out is very questionable, for the amount of numbers doesn’t add any credibility in this regard. Making citizens vote doesn’t improve the quality of democracy, it’s the enabling of the citizens in how rules of a community should be determined. The misunderstanding is that democracy doesn’t permit citizens to do everything, along with entitlements also comes responsibilities. Citizens that are not concerned about politics shouldn’t vote (Moraro 2012). Which is preferable: a high turnout, where voters decide on bad or good looks of the leader of the party or flipping a co in, or low turnout where voters decide on issues or performance of the political party? Arguably it’s the latter. Voters who are less interested and less informed are the first to not vote. Consequently, if turnout is low the quantity of political sophistication is high. From the viewpoint of elections as implements of democracy, nonparticipation of these voters would be contemplated as desirable. Therefore low turnout obtains a more informed outcome (Rosema M 2007, 612-622). Low voter turnout suggests we aren’t taking democracy as earnestly as certain people would like to, but this does not require that we must substitute democracy with something else (Brennan J 2009, pp. 535-549). The candidates no need to encourage voters to vote with CV Both major political parties have supported CV as it relieves them of the task encouraging their supporters to vote. It is generally accepted that without CV that voters of a lower socioeconomic status would be less likely to vote. This would disadvantage the ALP? This would force the major parties to also pitch their messages to the young and those in the lower socioeconomic strata that there is a definite need to vote (Woodward 2010, 198-199). But would this not be a good thing to force political parties to prepare policies to vie for the votes of the underprivileged, the feeble or the marginalized. A voluntary voting system persuades political parties to focus policies at the underprivileged in order to persuade them to turn out and vote (idebate.org 2012). Compulsory voting worldwide There are only five democracies which Australia is one of in the world, where voting in elections is compulsory. A Federal backbencher proposed the Bill, there was very little debate before it was passed by both Houses of Parliament (AEC 2010). Australia is now only one of about twenty nations which force their citizens to vote at elections. Five countries are in Europe (they are moderately minor countries of Cyprus, Belgium, Luxembourg, Greece and Liechtenstein), ten in South and Central America, two in Oceania, and one in Africa. Yet, Australia continues to be the only main advanced industrialised democracy that voting is still compulsory. The Netherlands, had CV from 1917 and 1971 and then decided to become voluntary, their average turnout went from 94.6 to 81.5 per cent. If Australia was to change to a voluntary voting system a comparable drop would most likely to occur here (Quadrant Magazine 2013). Our leaders should inspire and motivate citizens to vote with ideas not with thr eats of fines. Voluntary voting in the long term will improve voter participation. Presently we have 81% voter turnouts but this would be lower if not for the blind guesses and donkey votes (Hirst J 2009). Australia is a liberal democracy that values individual rights, it may have a lower turn out with voluntary voting but it would make it right rather than a duty. Making Citizens Vote When They Shouldn’t Vote A western democratic citizen has a political entitlement to vote, which is established on justice and must be legally protected. But the right to vote doesn’t mean they should vote. Under the right of free speech they can advocate slavery, but it would be morally wrong to do so. When CV makes citizens vote there is a moral obligation not to vote shoddily and without any regard to the outcome. Voters shouldn’t be obliged vote but if they do, they owe it to themselves and others to vote rationally, just, unbiased and informed concerning their political beliefs. Correspondingly, we aren’t obligated to be parents, but if we do, we ought to be conscientious, good parents. If we aren’t then we ought not to be parents likewise not vote. A good liberal democracy makes citizens safe in their position as equal and free citizens that they could freely choose to avoid politics. Liberal democracy is a significant public good and everyone should do their part to maintai n it. A person can do their part by bowing out. A good vote is cancelled by a bad vote. A good vote is a contribution to society, and then evading a bad vote would also be a contribution to society (Brennan J 2009, pp. 535-549). Voting not required with CV as voting is using secret ballot The argument against CV is that casting your vote can be an onerous burden placed on citizens. Against this Mr Christopher Bayliss stated, in a proposal to JSCEM[1], that: All our voting system requires is for a voter to attend a polling booth and mark some papers as they wish, approximately once every three years. This does not seem to be an insurmountable burden to be part of a democracy(Australian Electoral Commission 2006). Many other people have said that you don’t have to vote all you have to do is go to a polling booth and have your name crossed of the roll and you don’t have to cast a vote and will not have to pay the fine. If you wish to break the law this most likely would work. It is your duty as a citizen and especially as a professional with professional responsibility not to break the law. The Commonwealth Electoral Act, states It shall be the duty of every elector to VOTE at each election. The actual duty of the elector is to attend a polling place, have their name marked off the certified list, receive a ballot paper and take it to an individual voting booth, mark it, fold the ballot paper and place it in the ballot box†(Electoral Act 1918 (Cth) s 245(1)). Strict liability applies to this offence (Electoral Act 1918 (Cth) s 245(15) (A)). Undemocratic to Force Citizens to Vote The case for democratic freedom would imply that CV is essentially undemocratic as the freedom of choice must certainly incorporate the democratic freedom not to choose as democracy extremely values individual freedom (Lever, A. 2009, 66-67). It is fundamental to liberal-democratic tradition. Ciccone contends that it is a guarantee of a free democratic society that its citizens are unrestricted to formulate their own selections including if to vote or not to vote in any election. Ciccone maintains that the rational inverse of the entitlement to vote, is an entitlement not to vote and because it is just as essential as the entitlement to vote, it should be given the equivalent respect and draw the same aims of strict legal scrutiny when its threatened (Ciccone, 2001-2, pp. 347-8). CV is accused with violating fundamental human rights, namely the freedom of religion, conscience and thought[2]. However, in the case of X v Austria[3] the court found that CV didn’t violate fundamen tal freedoms, as Austria’s legislation only required attendance at a polling booth and not having to vote was not compulsory (Malkopoulou A 2011 p 247). In Australia the legislation states it is the duty of each elector to vote not just get your name crossed off[4]. Justice Blackburn stated that casting an invalid vote was a violation of the Act (Australian Electoral Commission 2013). â€Å"The claim that compulsion violates the liberal-democratic principles of choice and freedom is without doubt a valid one† (Hill, L. 2007, 5). Kevin Borick QC stated the Australian constitution maintains that all Australians have a right to vote, yet the electoral act maintains that it is a duty. The constitution over rides the electoral act the CV structure is an undemocratic violation of personal freedom and of free will (News. Com. Au. 2011). Conclusion There are no issues that the electoral procedure is a very important function of democratic culture. There is also no issue that voting is a moral responsibility of every voter in a democracy. The issue is if a person can be forced to vote in contradiction of their own conviction in the interest of democracy. There is no argument that there are advantages of compulsory voting as experienced in Australia and how this has influenced higher voter turnouts. Yet, the evaluation of democracy mustn’t be diminished to the point of only electoral participation. Voting, regardless of its importance is only one part of democratic participation, as experience has shown, but not an exceptionally convincing one. Governments have been ousted; leaders have been replaced despite claims of legitimacy. Electoral participation is important because it allows citizens to select from amongst candidates that are deemed the finest to lead the country. Democratic societies value individual freedom, inc luding the freedom of not having to vote. Voting is a realistic choice that a voter resolves to exercise when it is in their best interest to do so. Compelling them to do so is undemocratic. The greater turnout rates in countries with CV might not be necessarily good. It has been shown that countries with CV also have high protest or invalid votes. Democracy can’t be enriched when citizens have to vote because they are compelled to in order to avoid penalties. It is only when citizens freely choose to participate in the electoral procedure can their votes be truly and authentic thoughtful of their inclination. Liberal democratic government is a complicated system that respects not only electoral involvement but provides opportunities for citizens to express their equality, freedom, choice and reasoned judgment. Bibliography Australian Electoral Commission 2006, Compulsory voting in Australia, prepared by Tim Evans, viewed 18 April 2014, http://aec.gov.au/About_AEC/Publications/voting/index.htm>. Australian Electoral Commission 2011, Compulsory Voting, viewed 8 April 2014, http://www.aec.gov.au/voting/Compulsory_Voting.htm >. Australian Electoral Commission 2013, Understanding Australian electoral legislation, viewed 4 April 2014, http://www.aec.gov.au/voting/Compulsory_Voting.htm>. Australian Electoral Commission 2014, Should voting be voluntary, viewed 4 April 2014, http://www.aec.gov.au/faqs/voting_australia.htm>. Brennan J 2009, Polluting the Polls: When Citizens Should Not Vote, Australasian Journal of Philosophy Volume 87, Issue 4, December 2009, pp. 535-549, viewed 16 April 2014, online at: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/. Ciccone, A, 2001-2. ‘The Constitutional Right to Vote is Not a Duty’, Hamline Journal of Public Law and Policy, 325, 325-357, viewed 23 April 2014. Electoral Act 1918 (Cth). Hill, L. 2007, Compulsory Voting in Australia: History, Public Acceptance and Justifiability, Paper presented to the ECPR Joint Sessions Workshop on â€Å"Compulsory Voting: Principles and Practice†, May 7 – 12, Helsinki, Finland. Hirst J 2009, Why Australia Should Abolish Compulsory Voting, viewed 12 April 2014, http://www.thoughtbroker.com.au/why-australia-should-abolish-compulsory-voting-with-john-hirst/ >. idebate.org 2012, This house would make voting compulsory, viewed 13 April 2014,http://wwww.idebate.org/debatabase/debates/politics/house-would-make-voting-compulsory>. Lever, A. 2009, Is Compulsory Voting Justified? Journal of Political and Moral Philosophy, Public Reason 1 (1): 57-74, viewed 23 April 2014. Malkopoulou A 2011, The History of Political Debates on Compulsory Voting, viewed 24 April 2014, https://jyx.jyu.fi/dspace/bitstream/handle/123456789/37907/978-951-39-4759-0.pdf?sequence=1>. Moraro, P 2012, Why Compulsory Voting Undermines Democracy, Living Ehtics, Issue 88 viewed 9 April 2014, http://www.ethics.org.au/articles/why-compulsory-voting-undermines-democracy>. News. Com. Au. 2011, Fight for Right to Not Vote, viewed 24 April 2014, http://www.news.com.au/national/fight-for-right-not-to-vote/story-e6frfkvr-1226317057696>. Parliament of Australia 2005, Compulsory voting in Australian national elections, viewed 8 April 2014, http://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/search/display/display.w3p;query=Id%3A%22library%2Fprspub%2F06SH6%22 >. Quadrant Magazine 2013, How Compulsory Voting Subverts Democracy, viewed 12 April 2014, http://quadrant.org.au/magazine/2013/09/how-compulsory-voting-subverts-democracy/ >. Rosema, M 2007, Low turnout: Threat to democracy or blessing in disguise, Department of Political Science, University of Twente, viewed 11 April 2014, http://www.utwente.nl/mb/pa/staff/rosema/publications/key_publications/article_rosema_electoral_studi.pdf >. Woodward, D, Parkin, A Summers, J (eds.) 2010, Government, Politics, Power and Policy in Australia, 9th edn, Pearson, Frenchs Forest NSW. 1 [1] Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters. [2] Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights. [3] Application No. 4982/71) in 1971, the European Court of Human Rights. [4] Electoral Act 1918 (Cth) s 245(1).

Theories of Personality Development: An Evaluation

Theories of Personality Development: An Evaluation Introduction On Personality Development The development of personality across individual life can be observed from three different views, such as behaving, striving and present from a person (McAdams and Olson, 2010). In additional, Mc Adams and Olson, 2010, explained the evidence in infancy, a wide differences in social action patterns have predicted in the long term developmental which, clearly explained the transition from early temperament into adult dispositional traits. Personality Development is an important factor, as it concerned with the systematic transformation of individuals and personalities as they move through their lives (Graziano, 2003). hence, psychologist have been interested in studying the way of human developmental process basis of an early stage in the life course, which will influence both long term stability and change. Freudian Theory On Personality Development In the founder of personality development theory, is the Freudian psychoanalytic theory (PAT). (Freud, 1940/1969), linked personality with id, ego and superego, he mention that id is an important part of our personality because as newborns, it allows us to get our basic needs, it is also known as our pleasure principle, id instinct demanding immediate gratification rather for a later reward, which the term is also known as delay gratification, while ego acts as a balance between id and superego, which is known as the reality principle, ego helps to people to understand their needs and desires, that could also harm them in a long run, and finally superego, the component of personality composed of our internalized ideals that we have acquired from our parents and from society, it provides guidelines for making judgments. Freud psychoanalytic theory was widely debate and enhance further by other theorist. (Magnavita, 2003), address that issue into two categories, the normal type of peop le and people who are dysfunctional. In Magnavita theory, he presented an integrative relational model that blends psychodynamic, cognitive, and systems theory to analyse and understand the behaviours , feelings and emotions, as well as techniques and modalities, especially for personality dysfunction before any proceeding any further treatment. The reason being is that Freud research, changes people concept of thinking about children’s experiences in early childhood†(Brooks, 2010). Freud believed that the symptoms of anxiety occurs in many adults were establish during their childhood experiences (Brooks, 2010). In other words, a child’s development would directly influence how one behaves as an adult. The way that the adult behaviour, as well as the way they doing things, may directly link to something that happen in their childhood, especially when the feeling of fear and anxiety (Brooks, 2010). Psychoanalytic theory has also given psychologists a number of helpful concepts, such as the unconscious, the ego, and identity, which have become a part of every language as well as theory (Cramer, 2000). Apart from knowing how personality is developed through individual needs as a child, and how it will affect them in a prolong period of time. In the next part of the essay, other theorist is going share about their own point of view on personality development, such as Erik Erikson psychosocial, and Alfred Adler, birth order development, as well as, how it can contribute towards personality development. Erikson And His Theory Of Personality Development In the late 1920s, Erik Erikson, helped to develop a program to teach art to children of Freuds entourage. Erikson wife Joan Serson, who study psychoanalysis, convince him to join her in the same path (Cloninger, 2003). Erikson started off as a lay analyst because of his non medical training, not long after, he became part of Freuds inner circle. Due to the fear, increased in anti-Semitism, Erikson and his wife decided to leave Germany for United States to expand his career (Cloninger, 2003). In Eriksons model of the stages of human development extends beyond childhood and adolescence to include middle and old age despite the adult years, from roughly 20 through 60, were described by only two ego stages ( Erikson, 1963). Erikson believed the individual progresses through eight psychosocial stages to establish new orientations to self and the social world over time ( Hiller and Barrow, 2010). (Dunkel and Sefcek, 2009), in the table of Erikson eight stages of psychosocial, it shows the period in life, such as infancy ( Trust vs Mistrust), Toddlerhood (Autonomy vs Shame), Preschool ( Initiative vs Guilt), Childhood ( Industry vs Inferiority), Adolescence ( Identity vs Role confusion), Young adulthood ( Intimacy vs Isolation), Can I Love?, Middle adulthood ( Generatively vs Stagnation), and Late adulthood ( Integrity vs Despair). The sequence of stages in Eriksons theory is based on the epigenetic principle, which means that each psychosocial strength has its own period of particular importance, and may produce either a positive or a negative resolution of the challenge, and the ego resources that individuals gain or do not gain on completion of one stage are brought with them to the next stage of development ( Kail and Cavanaugh, 2012). Compare Freuds Theory with Eriksons Theory Sigmund Freuds psychosexual theory and Erik Eriksons psychosocial theory are two well known theories of development. Erikson was influenced by Freuds ideas, but his theory are differed in a number of important ways. Like Freud, Erikson believed that personality development in a series of predetermined stages (Smith, 2000/2007/2010). Unlike Freuds theory of psychosexual stages, who proposed that if the child experienced sexual frustration in any of the five stages of psychosexual developmental stage, he or she would experience anxiety that would persist into adulthood as a neurosis, a functional mental disorder while Eriksons explained further from what Freud have left with the impact of social experience across the whole lifespan which is also known as psychosocial personality development, (Smith, 2000/2007/2010),. The first 5 stages of Erikson is similar to Freud psychosexual development ( Dunkel and Sefcek, 2009). Eriksons last three stages deal with early, middle and later adulthood. According to Dunkel and Sefeck, 2009 studies, they undermine the importance on the last three stages of Erikson Personality development, in the early adulthood the main issue of growth and development of identity is intimacy, which involves relationships in friendship, sex, competition and cooperation that are emphasized, and in middle adulthood, is the ability to support others and in doing so to create a legacy is the primary developmental task, during this stage generatively involves a concern for the welfare of society rather than contemned with self absorption ( the ability to create, care for, and to share are the positive outcomes of balance in middle adulthood ), the later adulthood, which is the integrity versus despair ( the sense of fulfilment throughout their life or a sense of regret and despair over a life misspent). Alfred Alder Personality Development Alfred Alder, an Austrian psychiatry, who joined Freuds discussing groups in 1907. He wrote papers on organic inferiority, ( when, individuals tries to compensate for their own defect or weakness, if the effort of compensate fails, it could lead to an inferiority complexity ) and childrens feelings of inferiority, which he claim that the child development of inferiority is due to the basic helplessness of the human infant ( Adler, 1917). Alder examine personality development around the same time as Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud, as they work hand in hand with some theories until the day when Alder reject Freuds keep on linking personality solely on sex factors, and maintained that personality difficulties are rooted in a feeling of inferiority deriving from restrictions on the individuals need for self assertion ( Fisher, 2001). (Adler, 1927) emphasised the other factor that contribute factor to personality development would be the birth order, calming that it contributed significantly to the development of an individuals style of life. where each children is treated uniquely within the family, depending on their order of birth, such the ( first child, the elder child, the second child, the middle and youngest child, etc). Adler expanding many of his studies toward application in educational models ( Palencik, 2011). His theories on birth order was later further study other theorists. From the perspective of the media, it explained that if the child is first born, he or she is orderly and likely to become a leader ( Lampi and Nordblom, 2008 ). In addition Lampi and Nordblom, 2008 say that individual who think that the only child, who childhood was always never going to surpassed by any of their brothers or sisters, would be more eager to achieve successful than others as they grow up, while the last born, who go through his or her entire upbringing and could not achieve as much as his or her older siblings, would not have the same equal concerned with the relative position. (Sulloway, 1996) claims that the first borns are more conscientious than later borns at the same time as, later borns are more agreeable and extraverted, while Freese, Powell and Carr Steelman (1999), find that small differences in social attitudes between first borns and later borns. However Saroglou and Fiasse (2003) argue that it is important to recognize between middle- borns and the youngest and not simply treating both groups as later borns. Moreover, Beck, Burnet and Vosper (2006) find it a within family study that first borns score higher on dominance and later borns are more towards sociability. Comparing Alfred Alder Personality Development Theories With Freud ( Fisher et al 2012) The similarity of Alder and Freud is, Alder believed that humans are motivated by a unconscious forces and that these forces create conflict; this conflict provides the motivation for personality formation and change. In contrast to Freud, Adler did not believe that people are primarily driven by sexual and aggressive instincts. In addition, Fisher and the other theorist says that Adlers theory of individual psychology focus on the role of each individual person in their attempts to seek success in relation to their individual experiences in the world. In retrospection, the specific personality qualities of an individual, which lead to individual differences between people, are not fully based on evolution, however, there are many products on the developmental factors. The developmental study of individual differences in personality provides a variety source of data for the researcher and practitioner alike to use in understanding and predicting behavior. Without the study of individual differences, there would be no clear explanation on an analysis or explanation of why people often behave or develop very differently under seemingly equivalent environmental conditions. This essay had show that, different theorist have their own way of explaining on how personality is being developed, such as Freuds psychoanalytic theory, the stage of development, Erikson psychosocial and the 8 stages of personality development and so on. Till recent years, personality development is widely interested by many theorist, which still lead to an endless debate. (1790 words ) Reference Adler, A. (1917). The neurotic constitution: Outline of a comparative individualistic psychology and psychotherapy. New York: Moffat. Alder, A. (1927). Understanding human nature. New York: Greenberg. Beck, E., Burney, K. L., Vosper, J. (2006). Personality and individual differences. Birth-Order Effects On Facets Of Extraversion, 40, 953-959. Brooks, J. (2010). The process of parenting (8th edition) (ISBN 13: 9780073378763; ISBN 10: 0073378763). Cramer, P. (2000). Defense mechanisms in psychology today: Further processes for adaptation. American Psychologist, 55, 637-646. Cramer, P. (1999). Ego functions and ego development: Defense mechanisms and intelligence as predictors of ego level. Journal of Personality, 67, 735-760. Cloninger, C. R. ( 2003 ). Completing the psychobiological architecture of human personality development: Temperament, Character, Coherence. Understanding Human Development: Dialogues With Lifespan Psychology, 159-182. Dunkel C.S., Sefcek J.A. (2009) Eriksonian Lifespan Theory and Life History Theory: An Integration Using the Example of Identity Formation. Review of General Psychology, 13(1), 13-23. Erikson, E. H. (1963). Basic Books. Youth: change and challenge (ISBN 13: 978-0465093519, ISBN 10: 0465093515). Freud, S. (1940/1969). An outline of psychoanalysis. New York: Norton. Fisher, M. (2001). Alfred Adler. Muskingum college department of psychology. Retrieve from http://elvers.us/hop/index.asp?m=3a=65key=117 Freese, J., Power, B., Carr Steelman, L. (1999). Rebel without a cause or effect: birth order and social attitudes. American Sociological Review, 64, 207-231. Fisher, H., Freeman, M., Mitchell, L., Reed, S., Upton, A. (2012). Theories of human psychological functioning: a comparison. University of Phoenix. Graziano, G., W. (2003). journal of personality. Personality Development: An Introduction Toward Process Approaches To Long-Term Stability and Change in Persons, 71(6), 893-904 Kail, V. R., Cavanaugh, J.C. ( 2012 ). Essentials of human development. A Life-Span View. Retrieve from http://books.google.com.sg/books?id=nLMF-0JBNekCpg=PA10lpg=PA10dq=erikson+psychosocial+eight+stages+built+on+one+another+2010source=blots=8COktoHu7ssig=dQBORquQiaU7NjrNVRM1EKr8ROMhl=ensa=Xei=YuQLVIniDpK9uATisIKYAgved=0CDcQ6AEwAw#v=onepageq=erikson psychosocial eight stages built on one another 2010f=false Lampi, E., Nordblom, K. (2008). Working papers in economics. Money and Success Sibling And Birth-Order-Effects On Positional Concerns. Retrieve from https://gupea.ub.gu.se/bitstream/2077/9989/1/gunwpe0299.pdf Magnavita, J., J. (2003). handbook of personality disorders. Theory And Practice. Retrieve from http://books.google.com.sg/books?id=jhtvBV3i0rkCpg=PA68lpg=PA68dq=magnavita+presented+an+integrative+relational+model+that+blends+psychodynamic,+cognitive,+and+systems+theorysource=blots=vljW9Y9i87sig=FrjKAExOtY3jCpRATo0BlhNHr28hl=ensa=Xei=C5UCVJCHConY8gXQ2ICwAwved=0CBwQ6AEwAA#v=onepageq=magnavita presented an integrative relational model that blends psychodynamic, cognitive, and systems theoryf=false McAdams, D.P., Olson, B.D. ( 2010). annu rev psychol. Personality Development Continuity And Change Over The Life Course, 61, 517-42. Palencik, J. (2011). Noncognitive affect: a study of mind and emotion. Proquest Dissertations and theses, Retrieve from http://ezproxy.utas.edu.au/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/854341352?account id=14245 Smith, I. (2000/2007/2010). Freud complete works. Retrieve from http://www.valas.fr/IMG/pdf/Freud_Complete_Works.pdf Sulloway, Frank J. (1996). Born to rebel: birth order, family dynamics, and creative lives. New York: Pantheon. Retrieve from http://www.sulloway.org/Holcomb.pdf Saroglous, V., Fiasse, L. (2003). Birth order, personality, and religion: A study among young adults from a three-sibling family. Personality and Individual Differences, 35, 19-29

Treatise on Happiness by St. Thomas Aquinas Essay -- Treatise on Happi

In the history of the western world, few men have made a greater impact on humanity’s learning that Thomas of Aquino. Having written dozens of different publications, including his famous Summa Theologià ¦, on subjects varying from the angels to philosophy; from law to theology, Thomas has secured himself a permanent place in academic history. Although never writing directly on the subject, Thomas also influenced the field of ethics, especially through his â€Å"Treatise on Happiness,† which are found within his Summa. In these treatises, Thomas details the nature of happiness, and how happiness is obtained. In the field of ethics, this work is important because it embraces the Aristotelian ideal how a happy person is just, or ethical. Thomas embraces the ideas of Aristotle throughout his work, and goes on to comment on, and Christianize many of Aristotle’s original ideas, including how happiness affects our senses and faculties. One of the most interesting dev elopments in the â€Å"Treatises on Happiness† is the combination of the concepts of Aristotelian happiness, found in Nicomachean Ethics, and Augustinian idea that happiness is not available in this life. In this essay, I will highlight the importance of Thomas’ â€Å"Treatise on Happiness,† and recognize its importance in the context of philosophers who preceded Thomas, namely Aristotle. Before proceeding, it is important to recognize how Thomas defines happiness, and how this is contrasted with those philosophers who predated him. Aristotle wrote extensively on happiness in his Nicomachean Ethics, and argued that: â€Å"happiness is an exercise of the vital faculties in accordance with perfect virtue or excellence,† . In this, Aristotle means that happiness is the use of man’s reason, will... ... be used to practically move towards happiness. Works Cited Aristotle. Nicomachean Ethics, Translated by F.H. Peters, M.A. 5th ed. London: Kegan, Paul, Trench, Truebner & Co., 1893. Accessed November 22, 2014. http://oll.libertyfund.org/title/903. Challoner, Richard., ed. The Douay-Rheims Bible. Douay: Kellah, 1750. Accessed November 22, 2014. http://www.drbo.org/ DeYoung, Rebecca Konyndyk, Colleen McCluskey, and Christian Van Dyke. Aquinas’s Ethics. Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 2009. Plato. The Republic, Translated by B. Jowett, M.A. 3rd ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1888. Accessed November 22, 2014. http://oll.libertyfund.org/title/598. Thomas. Summa Theologià ¦, Translated by Fathers of the English Dominican Province. New York: Benziger Bros., 1947. Accessed November 22, 2014. http://dhspriory.org/thomas/summa/index.html.

Argument that Autism is Characterized by the Lack of Theory of Mind Ess

Autism is a rare developmental disorder that affects approximately four in every ten thousand children (Baron-Cohen, Leslie & Frith, 1985). Employing a clinical perspective, Kanner (1943) (as cited in Sachs, 1995) was the first to provide a description on the disorder of autism. However, in the 1970s, Wing (1970) (as cited in Sachs, 1995) applied a cognitive perspective in describing the mental structure of autism. This essay will therefore argue that autism is characterized by the lack of theory of mind (Premack & Woodruff, 1978, as cited in Baron-Cohen et al., 1985), which is a cognitive mechanism. It will further outline empirical evidence derived from the review of two studies, collectively known as false belief tasks. The Sally-Anne task and the Smarties task, in particular, will be discussed and interpreted in support with the arguing thesis. There is no true causal definition of autism at a biological level, however, autism has been recognised to be a developmental disability affecting cognitive processing (Frith, 1997). The key behavioural deficits that characterises autism are, the inability to interact in social situations, impairments with comprehending verbal and non-verbal communication and the lack of understanding pretend and imaginative play (Wing, 1970, as cited in Sachs, 1995). Other behavioural characteristics contributing to the diagnosis of autism are, engagement in repetitive automatic movements and activities, preference to be alone, displays of self-destruction and aggressive behaviour, sensitivity to external stimuli, attacks of anxiety, and some display savant abilities (Sachs, 1995; Frith, 1997). Baron-Cohen et al. (1985) applied Wimmer and Perner’s (1983) puppet play paradigm to test the hypothesis that autistic children are unable to attribute beliefs to others and are incapable of representing mental states. The participants comprised of 20 autistic children, 14 children with Down syndrome, and 27 normal preschool children. The procedure for this false belief task included setting up two doll protagonists, Sally and Anne. Initially, a naming question was asked to ensure participants could distinguish between the dolls. Sally then placed a marble in her basket. Sally exited the scene, and Anne takes the marble from Sally’s basket and placed it in her box. Sally later returned, and the test question asked by the experimenter... ... results, it is shown that four-year-old normal children understood the concept that if a person like them, has not been exposed to the situation yet, they will give the obvious answer like them. However, autistic children, based on the fact that they lack the ability to represent mental states of others, and therefore not pose a theory of mind (Premack & Woodruff, 1978, as cited in Baron-Cohen et al., 1985) would assume that everyone else knows what they now know. The result of this study hence supports the thesis argued in this essay. Possessing a theory of mind is fundamental for social interaction with others. For those who do not have this cognitive mechanism, it is merely impossible for them to understand other people’s beliefs, wants and desires. It has been shown that autism is characterised by the lack of this cognitive mechanism, theory of mind. In addition, research studies have supported this theory, that individuals with autism lack ability to comprehend other’s beliefs from their own. Future research should aim at applying a clinical perspective to help autistic individuals overcome this lack of theory of mind in order for social interaction to be less complex.

New Play Plan Essay

1. Is the company at the point where it should be setting up a formal salary structure based on a complete job evaluation? Why? Yes, by setting up a formal salary structure is being fair to the employees because the salary being paid based on the job task rather than pay the salary based on gender. When the salary structure being fair, it leads satisfaction among the employees and as a result the turnover will be at low rate. Besides, the company also can control their financial operation by doing budget allocation planning for their business operation. Moreover, the formal salary structure will make the employees clear on the amount pay for his or her job position. Thus, it can make easier to the related manager to do a process of salary payment. 2. Is Jack Carter’s policy of paying 10% more than the prevailing rates a sound one, and how could that be determined? First of all, First of all, according to this case, carter does not make any formal surveys, it is a correct action for Carter. Carter should pay more attention to the requirements of employees for building a formal pay policy. Secondly, Carter Company should pay different salaries for different job department rather than gender. Thirdly, it can determine a job’s relative worth by job evaluation. However, Jake has no enough evidence for building a pay policy. In our opinion, Carter may choose a job evaluation commitment to ensure right pay policies. As far as we concerned, Jake Carter’s policy of paying 10% more than the prevailing rates is sensible. There are five steps for making a rational pay plan. Primarily, employer conducts informal salary survey and formal survey. Then employers use salary survey to know what others are paying. Secondly, Carter chooses job evaluation methods to determine the worth of one job. Thirdly, the company pays the similar salary for similar jobs. Fourthly, Carter can use a wage curve to help assign pay rates to each job. Then it is easy to price jobs with a wage curve. Lastly, we know Carter does not develop pay ranges. Therefore, it is important for developing pay ranges to motivate high performance employees. At the same time, Carter needs to  correct out-of line rates. In this case, we disagree that men and women have different salary, it is unfair. Thus, Carter must ensure that men and women are paid comparably for essentially the same work. Jack Carter’s policy of paying 10% more than the prevailing rates a sound one because he believes that within the higher payment he could reduce the turnover among the employee and also at the same time can fostering the employee loyalty to organization. It could be determined by providing facts that Jack pays the 10% more to the worker. Besides, it’s very much better, if the payment done to the workers that are showing the loyalty to the organization. 3. Similarly, is Carter’s male-female differential wise? If not, why not? Our opinion, the answer is no, Carter’s shop does not have male-female differential wise. And they are also equal to their employees. Because Carter Cleaning Centers do not make a formal and legal wage structure to their employees, and at the same time Carte Cleaning Centers also does not use a good compensable factors to their employees, it will cause some bad effects to their employees and it also bring about different treatment. Wages rates are based mostly on those prevailing in the surrounding community. According to the Equal Pay Act of 1963, it requires that men and women who do the same job in the same organization should receive the same pay. The term `same pay` refer to no difference is acceptable. In addition the law, also defines that one consider as doing the same level of job if they are equal in term of skills, effort, responsibility and working condition. However, the Equal Pay Act of 1963 includes four exceptions that allow employers to pay another gender more than another. Some of those exceptions are like more seniority, better job performance, greater quantity or quality of production and lastly certain other factors like paying extra to employees that working the night shift. Back to this case study, there is no such exceptions includes in the reason provided by the Jack as to justify why he decided to pay 20% more than woman to men workers. The reason provided by him is they are stronger and can work hard for longer hours and also they all have family to support. This justification is the one that can’t be acceptable at all if refer to the law  and it also show discrimination towards the female worker. This is because, according to Equal Pay Act 1963, rather than the four exceptions as mention above, female and male workers should receive the same amount of payment if they hold the same job that are substantially equal. In addition, this unwise decision of Jack Carter’s policy will result in many negative effects such as increase in turnover among female worker, job dissatisfaction. Besides, there will be also more arguments in order to get an equal pay rate and lastly it will lead to an unproductively result to the organization. Question 4: Specifically, what would you suggest Jennifer do now with respect to her company’s pay plan? For the development of the company, there are several suggestions from us to Jennifer do now with respect to her company’s pay plan. More details about the suggestion will be discussed in the following paragraph. First, in the question 1, we had mentioned this point, setting up a formal salary structure. Based on this point, for the employees, they will feel more fair and unambiguous about how much they can get and it also makes the managing easier and more clearly for managers, there are strict certain structure to avoid the unfair things happen. Second, make a necessary formal survey in order to determining the amount that company should pay at what type of job responsibilities in order to avoid the mistake such as imbalances of salary payment. No matter what careful we are, we also would make some errors, so recheck the results are very necessary and important. In the case, the company conducts informal surveys among friends and cleaners trade associates. By doing this, it would reduce the cost and it is good for getting vast and direct information. But the independent information source could give great risks to the company in the future. Therefore a formal survey to the employees is more effective rather than informal survey in order to get feedbacks from employees regarding the pay system. Third, about the policy of paying 10% more than the prevailing rates, as a company, profit is the first thing. Although, this policy can foster employee loyalty, but to the long-term, the employees will accustom this situation and cannot motivated them to do better. Changing the policy like rewarding the outstanding employees with this policy, not all, this not only can reduce the cost, but also can motivate employees to get the higher prevailing rates. Fourth, abolish the policy of paying men about 20% more than women for the same job. Although her father’s explained that men are stronger and can work harder for longer hours, and besides they all have families to support, this policy considered bias to the men employees and of course it can course dissatisfaction to the women employees and they will feel unfairly treated. In pay system, it is better to have an official approved procedure on determining the right employees who’s qualify to be rewarded on the bonuses or salary increment and it should be based on the employees work performance. Don’t do like that, regarding somebody who work hard and better is effective method.

Biology Assignment, Types of Wounds and Quick Treatments

5 Types of Open Wounds: Abrasion – Abrasions are wounds caused by traumatic scraping and loss of skin. Falls occurring while in motion frequently lead to skin abrasions. Extensive skin loss may occur with high-speed motorcycle or similar accidents. Thorough cleansing and bandaging of abrasions involving small/limited skin loss should be done as first aid. Extensive or deep abrasions require a bigger treatment, which, in the most severe cases, may include skin grafting (used to permanently replace damaged or missing skin or to provide a temporary wound covering). Lacerations – Lacerations consist of cuts to the skin caused by sharp objects.Broken glass, knives, and other sharp tools are what commonly cause/started skin lacerations. In â€Å"Common Simple Emergencies,† thorough cleansing of a laceration wound is important in preventing wound infection. Adhesive strips, tissue adhesive, skin staples or stitches can be used to close a laceration wound. How to close a laceration wounds depends on the location, shape, size and the severity of the wound. Punctures – Puncture wounds result from forceful, deep skin penetration by slender objects. Accidentally stepping on a nail or other sharp object is a common cause of puncture wounds.Punctures wounds provided bacteria with an entryway into the deep layers of the skin where they can grow. The risk for tetanus, an infection caused by the bacterium Clostridium tentani, in simpler words meaning, infection from dirty metallic objects may provide health concern. Puncture wounds can be treated through cleansing and making sure you are up to date with your tetanus vaccination. Puncture wounds associated with animal, such as bees or most commonly dogs and human bites may require some medicine/antibiotic treatment because of the high risk infection to the bone and flesh.Animal bites may require rabies vaccination if the animal has rabies, or if their current status is unknown. Incision – Rarel y occurs, unless when handling knives, or bumping into something sharp, incision is almost like a scratch except deeper and more serious. More like a cut in the skin caused by a sharp object such as a knife, broken glass, scissors or surgeon's scalpel. Incision wounds are also â€Å"neat† (does not affect a large amount of area with little wounds) and the edges of the skin are usually smooth (not damaged, more like split)Avulsion – An injury in which a body structure is forcibly detached. It most commonly refers to a surface trauma where all layers of the skin have been torn away; exposing the underlying structures (e. g. subcutaneous tissue, muscle, tendons). This is similar to an abrasion but more severe, as body parts such as an eyelid or an ear can be partially or fully detached from the body. (Simple form: the forced removal of all of layers of the skin, the Epidermis, Dermis and Hypodermis, revealing tissues, muscles, tendons and sometimes bones underneath)

Chapter 29 The Dream

It comes down to this,† said Hermione, rubbing her forehead. â€Å"Either Mr. Crouch attacked Viktor, or somebody else attacked both of them when Viktor wasn't looking.† â€Å"It must've been Crouch,† said Ron at once. â€Å"That's why he was gone when Harry and Dumbledore got there. He'd done a runner.† â€Å"I don't think so,† said Harry, shaking his head. â€Å"He seemed really weak – I don't reckon he was up to Disapparating or anything.† â€Å"You can't Disapparate on the Hogwarts grounds, haven't I told you enough times?† said Hermione. â€Å"Okay†¦hows this for a theory,† said Ron excitedly. â€Å"Krum attacked Crouch – no, wait for it – and then Stunned himself!† â€Å"And Mr. Crouch evaporated, did he?† said Hermione coldly. â€Å"Oh yeah†¦Ã¢â‚¬  It was daybreak. Harry, Ron, and Hermione had crept out of their dormitories very early and hurried up to the Owlery together to send a note to Sirius. Now they were standing looking out at the misty grounds. All three of them were puffy-eyed and pale because they had been talking late into the night about Mr. Crouch. â€Å"Just go through it again, Harry,† said Hermione. â€Å"What did Mr. Crouch actually say?† â€Å"I've told you, he wasn't making much sense,† said Harry. â€Å"He said he wanted to warn Dumbledore about something. He definitely mentioned Bertha Jorkins, and he seemed to think she was dead. He kept saying stuff was his fault†¦.He mentioned his son.† â€Å"Well, that was his fault,† said Hermione testily. â€Å"He was out of his mind,† said Harry. â€Å"Half the time he seemed to think his wife and son were still alive, and he kept talking to Percy about work and giving him instructions.† â€Å"And†¦remind me what he said about You-Know-Who?† said Ron tentatively. â€Å"I've told you,† Harry repeated dully. â€Å"He said he's getting stronger.† There was a pause. Then Ron said in a falsely confident voice, â€Å"But he was out of his mind, like you said, so half of it was probably just raving†¦.† â€Å"He was sanest when he was trying to talk about Voldemort,† said Harry, and Ron winced at the sound of the name. â€Å"He was having real trouble stringing two words together, but that was when he seemed to know where he was, and know what he wanted to do. He just kept saying he had to see Dumbledore.† Harry turned away from the window and stared up into the rafters. The many perches were half-empty; every now and then, another owl would swoop in through one of the windows, returning from its night's hunting with a mouse in its beak. â€Å"If Snape hadn't held me up,† Harry said bitterly, â€Å"we might've got there in time. ‘The headmaster is busy. Potter†¦what's this rubbish, Potter?' Why couldn't he have just got out of the way?† â€Å"Maybe he didn't want you to get there!† said Ron quickly. â€Å"Maybe – hang on – how fast d'you reckon he could've gotten down to the forest? D'you reckon he could've beaten you and Dumbledore there?† â€Å"Not unless he can turn himself into a bat or something,† said Harry. â€Å"Wouldn't put it past him,† Ron muttered. â€Å"We need to see Professor Moody,† said Hermione. â€Å"We need to find out whether he found Mr. Crouch.† â€Å"If he had the Marauder's Map on him, it would've been easy,† said Harry. â€Å"Unless Crouch was already outside the grounds,† said Ron, â€Å"because it only shows up to the boundaries, doesn't -â€Å" â€Å"Shh!† said Hermione suddenly. Somebody was climbing the steps up to the Owlery. Harry could hear two voices arguing, coming closer and closer. â€Å"- that's blackmail, that is, we could get into a lot of trouble for that-â€Å" â€Å"- we've tried being polite; it's time to play dirty, like him. He wouldn't like the Ministry of Magic knowing what he did -â€Å" â€Å"I'm telling you, if you put that in writing, it's blackmail!† â€Å"Yeah, and you won't be complaining if we get a nice fat payoff, will you?† The Owlery door banged open. Fred and George came over the threshold, then froze at the sight of Harry, Ron, and Hermione. â€Å"What're you doing here?† Ron and Fred said at the same time. â€Å"Sending a letter,† said Harry and George in unison. â€Å"What, at this time?† said Hermione and Fred. Fred grinned. â€Å"Fine – we won't ask you what you're doing, if you don't ask us,† he said. He was holding a sealed envelope in his hands. Harry glanced at it, but Fred, whether accidentally or on purpose, shifted his hand so that the name on it was covered. â€Å"Well, don't let us hold you up,† Fred said, making a mock bow and pointing at the door. Ron didn't move. â€Å"Who're you blackmailing?† he said. The grin vanished from Fred's face. Harry saw George half glance at Fred, before smiling at Ron. â€Å"Don't be stupid, I was only joking,† he said easily. â€Å"Didn't sound like that,† said Ron. Fred and George looked at each other. Then Fred said abruptly, â€Å"I've told you before, Ron, keep your nose out if you like it the shape it is. Can't see why you would, but -â€Å" â€Å"It's my business if you're blackmailing someone,† said Ron. â€Å"George's right, you could end up in serious trouble for that.† â€Å"Told you, I was joking,† said George. He walked over to Fred, pulled the letter out of his hands, and began attaching it to the leg of the nearest barn owl. â€Å"You're starting to sound a bit like our dear older brother, you are, Ron. Carry on like this and you'll be made a prefect.† â€Å"No, I won't!† said Ron hotly. George carried the barn owl over to the window and it took off. George turned around and grinned at Ron. â€Å"Well, stop telling people what to do then. See you later.† He and Fred left the Owlery. Harry, Ron, and Hermione stared at one another. â€Å"You don't think they know something about all this, do you?† Hermione whispered. â€Å"About Crouch and everything?† â€Å"No,† said Harry. â€Å"If it was something that serious, they'd tell someone. They'd tell Dumbledore.† Ron, however, was looking uncomfortable. â€Å"What's the matter?† Hermione asked him. â€Å"Well†¦Ã¢â‚¬  said Ron slowly, â€Å"I dunno if they would. They're†¦they're obsessed with making money lately, I noticed it when I was hanging around with them – when – you know -â€Å" â€Å"We weren't talking.† Harry finished the sentence for him. â€Å"Yeah, but blackmail†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"It's this joke shop idea they've got,† said Ron. â€Å"I thought they were only saying it to annoy Mum, but they really mean it, they want to start one. They've only got a year left at Hogwarts, they keep going on about how it's time to think about their future, and Dad can't help them, and they need gold to get started.† Hermione was looking uncomfortable now. â€Å"Yes, but†¦they wouldn't do anything against the law to get gold.† â€Å"Wouldn't they?† said Ron, looking skeptical. â€Å"I dunno†¦they don't exactly mind breaking rules, do they?† â€Å"Yes, but this is the law,† said Hermione, looking scared. â€Å"This isn't some silly school rule†¦.They'll get a lot more than detention for blackmail! Ron†¦maybe you'd better tell Percy†¦.† â€Å"Are you mad?† said Ron. â€Å"Tell Percy? He'd probably do a Crouch and turn them in.† He stared at the window through which Fred and George's owl had departed, then said, â€Å"Come on, let's get some breakfast.† â€Å"D'you think it's too early to go and see Professor Moody?† Hermione said as they went down the spiral staircase. â€Å"Yes,† said Harry. â€Å"He'd probably blast us through the door if we wake him at the crack of dawn; he'll think we're trying to attack him while he's asleep. Let's give it till break.† History of Magic had rarely gone so slowly. Harry kept checking Ron's watch, having finally discarded his own, but Ron's was moving so slowly he could have sworn it had stopped working too. All three of them were so tired they could happily have put their heads down on the desks and slept; even Hermione wasn't taking her usual notes, but was sitting with her head on her hand, gazing at Professor Binns with her eyes out of focus. When the bell finally rang, they hurried out into the corridors toward the Dark Arts classroom and found Professor Moody leaving it. He looked as tired as they felt. The eyelid of his normal eye was drooping, giving his face an even more lopsided appearance than usual. â€Å"Professor Moody?† Harry called as they made their way toward him through the crowd. â€Å"Hello, Potter,† growled Moody. His magical eye followed a couple of passing first years, who sped up, looking nervous; it rolled into the back of Moody's head and watched them around the corner before he spoke again. â€Å"Come in here.† He stood back to let them into his empty classroom, limped in after them, and closed the door. â€Å"Did you find him?† Harry asked without preamble. â€Å"Mr. Crouch?† â€Å"No,† said Moody. He moved over to his desk, sat down, stretched out his wooden leg with a slight groan, and pulled out his hip flask. â€Å"Did you use the map?† Harry said. â€Å"Of course,† said Moody, taking a swig from his flask. â€Å"Took a leaf out of your book, Potter. Summoned it from my office into the forest. He wasn't anywhere on there.† â€Å"So he did Disapparate?† said Ron. â€Å"You can't Disapparate on the grounds, Ron!† said Hermione. â€Å"There are other ways he could have disappeared, aren't there, Professor?† Moody's magical eye quivered as it rested on Hermione. â€Å"You're another one who might think about a career as an Auror,† he told her. â€Å"Mind works the right way. Granger.† Hermione flushed pink with pleasure. â€Å"Well, he wasn't invisible,† said Harry. â€Å"The map shows invisible people. He must've left the grounds, then.† â€Å"But under his own steam?† said Hermione eagerly, â€Å"or because someone made him?† â€Å"Yeah, someone could've – could've pulled him onto a broom and flown off with him, couldn't they?† said Ron quickly, looking hopefully at Moody as if he too wanted to be told he had the makings of an Auror. â€Å"We can't rule out kidnap,† growled Moody. â€Å"So,† said Ron, â€Å"d'you reckon he's somewhere in Hogsmeade?† â€Å"Could be anywhere,† said Moody, shaking his head. â€Å"Only thing we know for sure is that he's not here.† He yawned widely, so that his scars stretched, and his lopsided mouth revealed a number of missing teeth. Then he said, â€Å"Now, Dumbledore's told me you three fancy yourselves as investigators, but there's nothing you can do for Crouch. The Ministry'll be looking for him now, Dumbledore's notified them. Potter, you just keep your mind on the third task.† â€Å"What?† said Harry. â€Å"Oh yeah†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He hadn't given the maze a single thought since he'd left it with Krum the previous night. â€Å"Should be right up your street, this one,† said Moody, looking up at Harry and scratching his scarred and stubbly chin. â€Å"From what Dumbledore's said, you've managed to get through stuff like this plenty of times. Broke your way through a series of obstacles guarding the Sorcerers Stone in your first year, didn't you?† â€Å"We helped,† Ron said quickly. â€Å"Me and Hermione helped.† Moody grinned. â€Å"Well, help him practice for this one, and I'll be very surprised if he doesn't win,† said Moody. â€Å"In the meantime†¦constant vigilance, Potter. Constant vigilance.† He took another long draw from his hip flask, and his magical eye swiveled onto the window. The topmost sail of the Durmstrang ship was visible through it. â€Å"You two,† counseled Moody, his normal eye on Ron and Hermione, â€Å"you stick close to Potter, all right? I'm keeping an eye on things, but all the same†¦you can never have too many eyes out.† Sirius sent their owl back the very next morning. It fluttered down beside Harry at the same moment that a tawny owl landed in front of Hermione, clutching a copy of the Daily Prophet in its beak. She took the newspaper, scanned the first few pages, said, â€Å"Ha! She hasn't got wind of Crouch!† then joined Ron and Harry in reading what Sirius had to say on the mysterious events of the night before last. Harry – what do you think you are playing at, walking off into the forest with Viktor Krum? I want you to swear, by return owl, that you are not going to go walking with anyone else at night. There is somebody highly dangerous at Hogwarts. It is clear to me that they wanted to stop Crouch from seeing Dumbledore and you were probably feet away from them in the dark. You could have been killed. Your name didn't get into the Goblet of Fire by accident. If someone's trying to attack you, they're on their last chance. Stay close to Ron and Hermione, do not leave Gryffindor Tower after hours, and arm yourself for the third task. Practice Stunning and Disarming. A few hexes wouldn't go amiss either. There's nothing you can do about Crouch. Keep your head down and look after yourself. I'm waiting for your letter giving me your word you won't stray out-of-bounds again. Sirius â€Å"Who's he, to lecture me about being out-of-bounds?† said Harry in mild indignation as he folded up Sirius's letter and put it inside his robes. â€Å"After all the stuff he did at school!† â€Å"He's worried about you!† said Hermione sharply. â€Å"Just like Moody and Hagrid! So listen to them!† â€Å"No one's tried to attack me all year,† said Harry. â€Å"No one's done anything to me at all-â€Å" â€Å"Except put your name in the Goblet of Fire,† said Hermione. â€Å"And they must've done that for a reason. Harry. Snuffles is right. Maybe they've been biding their time. Maybe this is the task they're going to get you.† â€Å"Look,† said Harry impatiently, â€Å"let's say Sirius is right, and someone Stunned Krum to kidnap Crouch. Well, they would've been in the trees near us, wouldn't they? But they waited till I was out of the way until they acted, didn't they? So it doesn't look like I'm their target, does it?† â€Å"They couldn't have made it look like an accident if they'd murdered you in the forest!† said Hermione. â€Å"But if you die during a task-â€Å" â€Å"They didn't care about attacking Krum, did they?† said Harry. â€Å"Why didn't they just polish me off at the same time? They could've made it look like Krum and I had a duel or something.† â€Å"Harry, I don't understand it either,† said Hermione desperately. â€Å"I just know there are a lot of odd things going on, and I don't like it†¦.Moody's right – Sirius is right – you've got to get in training for the third task, straight away. And you make sure you write back to Sirius and promise him you're not going to go sneaking off alone again.† The Hogwarts grounds never looked more inviting than when Harry had to stay indoors. For the next few days he spent all of his free time either in the library with Hermione and Ron, looking up hexes, or else in empty classrooms, which they sneaked into to practice. Harry was concentrating on the Stunning Spell, which he had never used before. The trouble was that practicing it involved certain sacrifices on Ron's and Hermione's part. â€Å"Can't we kidnap Mrs. Norris?† Ron suggested on Monday lunchtime as he lay flat on his back in the middle of their Charms classroom, having just been Stunned and reawoken by Harry for the fifth time in a row. â€Å"Let's Stun her for a bit. Or you could use Dobby, Harry, I bet he'd do anything to help you. I'm not complaining or anything† – he got gingerly to his feet, rubbing his backside – â€Å"but I'm aching all over†¦.† â€Å"Well, you keep missing the cushions, don't you!† said Hermione impatiently, rearranging the pile of cushions they had used for the Banishing Spell, which Flitwick had left in a cabinet. â€Å"Just try and fall backward!† â€Å"Once you're Stunned, you can't aim too well, Hermione! â€Å"said Ron angrily. â€Å"Why don't you take a turn?† â€Å"Well, I think Harry's got it now, anyway,† said Hermione hastily. â€Å"And we don't have to worry about Disarming, because he's been able to do that for ages†¦.I think we ought to start on some of these hexes this evening.† She looked down the list they had made in the library. â€Å"I like the look of this one,† she said, â€Å"this Impediment Curse. Should slow down anything that's trying to attack you. Harry. We'll start with that one.† The bell rang. They hastily shoved the cushions back into Flitwick's cupboard and slipped out of the classroom. â€Å"See you at dinner!† said Hermione, and she set off for Arithmancy, while Harry and Ron headed toward North Tower, and Divination. Broad strips of dazzling gold sunlight tell across the corridor from the high windows. The sky outside was so brightly blue it looked as though it had been enameled. â€Å"It's going to be boiling in Trelawney's room, she never puts out that fire,† said Ron as they started up the staircase toward the silver ladder and the trapdoor. He was quite right. The dimly lit room was swelteringly hot. The fumes from the perfumed fire were heavier than ever. Harry's head swam as he made his way over to one of the curtained windows. While Professor Trelawney was looking the other way, disentangling her shawl from a lamp, he opened it an inch or so and settled back in his chintz armchair, so that a soft breeze played across his face. It was extremely comfortable. â€Å"My dears,† said Professor Trelawney, sitting down in her winged armchair in front of the class and peering around at them all with her strangely enlarged eyes, â€Å"we have almost finished our work on planetary divination. Today, however, will be an excellent opportunity to examine the effects of Mars, for he is placed most interestingly at the present time. If you will all look this way, I will dim the lights†¦.† She waved her wand and the lamps went out. The fire was the only source of light now. Professor Trelawney bent down and lifted, from under her chair, a miniature model of the solar system, contained within a glass dome. It was a beautiful thing; each of the moons glimmered in place around the nine planets and the fiery sun, all of them hanging in thin air beneath the glass. Harry watched lazily as Professor Trelawney began to point out the fascinating angle Mars was making to Neptune. The heavily perfumed fumes washed over him, and the breeze from the window played across his face. He could hear an insect humming gently somewhere behind the curtain. His eyelids began to droop†¦. He was riding on the back of an eagle owl, soaring through the clear blue sky toward an old, ivy-covered house set high on a hillside. Lower and lower they flew, the wind blowing pleasantly in Harry's face, until they reached a dark and broken window in the upper story of the house and entered. Now they were flying along a gloomy passageway, to a room at the very end†¦through the door they went, into a dark room whose windows were boarded up†¦. Harry had left the owl's back†¦he was watching, now, as it fluttered across the room, into a chair with its back to him†¦.There were two dark shapes on the floor beside the chair†¦both of them were stirring†¦. One was a huge snake†¦the other was a man†¦a short, balding man, a man with watery eyes and a pointed nose†¦he was wheezing and sobbing on the hearth rug†¦. â€Å"You are in luck, Wormtail,† said a cold, high-pitched voice from the depths of the chair in which the owl had landed. â€Å"You are very fortunate indeed. Your blunder has not ruined everything. He is dead.† â€Å"My Lord!† gasped the man on the floor. â€Å"My Lord, I am†¦I am so pleased†¦and so sorry†¦.† â€Å"Nagini,† said the cold voice, â€Å"you are out of luck. I will not be feeding Wormtail to you, after all†¦but never mind, never mind†¦there is still Harry Potter†¦.† The snake hissed. Harry could see its tongue fluttering. â€Å"Now, Wormtail,† said the cold voice, â€Å"perhaps one more little reminder why I will not tolerate another blunder from you†¦.† â€Å"My Lord†¦no†¦I beg you†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The tip of a wand emerged from around the back of the chair. It was pointing at Wormtail. â€Å"Crucio!† said the cold voice. Wormtail screamed, screamed as though every nerve in his body were on fire, the screaming filled Harry's ears as the scar on his forehead seared with pain; he was yelling too†¦Voldemort would hear him, would know he was there†¦. â€Å"Harry! Harry!† Harry opened his eyes. He was lying on the floor of Professor Trelawney's room with his hands over his face. His scar was still burning so badly that his eyes were watering. The pain had been real. The whole class was standing around him, and Ron was kneeling next to him, looking terrified. â€Å"You all right?† he said. â€Å"Of course he isn't!† said Professor Trelawney, looking thoroughly excited. Her great eyes loomed over Harry, gazing at him. â€Å"What was it. Potter? A premonition? An apparition? What did you see?† â€Å"Nothing,† Harry lied. He sat up. He could feel himself shaking. He couldn't stop himself from looking around, into the shadows behind him; Voldemort's voice had sounded so close†¦. â€Å"You were clutching your scar!† said Professor Trelawney. â€Å"You were rolling on the floor, clutching your scar! Come now. Potter, I have experience in these matters!† Harry looked up at her. â€Å"I need to go to the hospital wing, I think,† he said. â€Å"Bad headache.† â€Å"My dear, you were undoubtedly stimulated by the extraordinary clairvoyant vibrations of my room!† said Professor Trelawney. â€Å"If you leave now, you may lose the opportunity to see further than you have ever -â€Å" â€Å"I don't want to see anything except a headache cure,† said Harry. He stood up. The class backed away. They all looked unnerved. â€Å"See you later,† Harry muttered to Ron, and he picked up his bag and headed for the trapdoor, ignoring Professor Trelawney, who was wearing an expression of great frustration, as though she had just been denied a real treat. When Harry reached the bottom of her stepladder, however, he did not set off for the hospital wing. He had no intention whatsoever of going there. Sirius had told him what to do if his scar hurt him again, and Harry was going to follow his advice: He was going straight to Dumbledore's office. He marched down the corridors, thinking about what he had seen in the dream†¦it had been as vivid as the one that had awoken him on Privet Drive†¦.He ran over the details in his mind, trying to make sure he could remember them†¦.He had heard Voldemort accusing Wormtail of making a blunder†¦but the owl had brought good news, the blunder had been repaired, somebody was dead†¦so Wormtail was not going to be fed to the snake†¦he, Harry, was going to be fed to it instead†¦. Harry had walked right past the stone gargoyle guarding the entrance to Dumbledores office without noticing. He blinked, looked around, realized what he had done, and retraced his steps, stopping in front of it. Then he remembered that he didn't know the password. â€Å"Sherbet lemon?† he tried tentatively. The gargoyle did not move. â€Å"Okay,† said Harry, staring at it, â€Å"Pear Drop. Er – Licorice Wand. Fizzing Whizbee. Drooble's Best Blowing Gum. Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans†¦oh no, he doesn't like them, does he?†¦oh just open, can't you?† he said angrily. â€Å"I really need to see him, its urgent!† The gargoyle remained immovable. Harry kicked it, achieving nothing but an excruciating pain in his big toe. â€Å"Chocolate Frog!† he yelled angrily, standing on one leg. â€Å"Sugar Quill! Cockroach Cluster!† The gargoyle sprang to life and jumped aside. Harry blinked. â€Å"Cockroach Cluster?† he said, amazed. â€Å"I was only joking†¦.† He hurried through the gap in the walls and stepped onto the foot of a spiral stone staircase, which moved slowly upward as the doors closed behind him, taking him up to a polished oak door with a brass door knocker. He could hear voices from inside the office. He stepped off the moving staircase and hesitated, listening. â€Å"Dumbledore, I'm afraid I don't see the connection, don't see it at all!† It was the voice of the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge. â€Å"Ludo says Berthas perfectly capable of getting herself lost. I agree we would have expected to have found her by now, but all the same, we've no evidence of foul play, Dumbledore, none at all. As for her disappearance being linked with Barty Crouch's!† â€Å"And what do you thinks happened to Barty Crouch, Minister?† said Moody's growling voice. â€Å"I see two possibilities, Alastor,† said Fudge. â€Å"Either Crouch has finally cracked – more than likely, I'm sure you'll agree, given his personal history – lost his mind, and gone wandering off somewhere -â€Å" â€Å"He wandered extremely quickly, if that is the case, Cornelius,† said Dumbledore calmly. â€Å"Or else – well†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Fudge sounded embarrassed. â€Å"Well, I'll reserve judgment until after I've seen the place where he was found, but you say it was just past the Beauxbatons carriage? Dumbledore, you know what that woman is?† â€Å"I consider her to be a very able headmistress – and an excellent dancer,† said Dumbledore quietly. â€Å"Dumbledore, come!† said Fudge angrily. â€Å"Don't you think you might be prejudiced in her favor because of Hagrid? They don't all turn out harmless – if, indeed, you can call Hagrid harmless, with that monster fixation he's got -â€Å" â€Å"I no more suspect Madame Maxime than Hagrid,† said Dumbledore, just as calmly. â€Å"I think it possible that it is you who are prejudiced, Cornelius.† â€Å"Can we wrap up this discussion?† growled Moody. â€Å"Yes, yes, let's go down to the grounds, then,† said Fudge impatiently. â€Å"No, it's not that,† said Moody, â€Å"it's just that Potter wants a word with you, Dumbledore. He's just outside the door.†