Employee Privacy Paper

The business world is rapidly changing with the introduction to new technologies and communication methods. Business corporations, both large and small, are adapting to the new norms of society and have started to apply the internet and email usage to everyday business activities. Within every business office one can find computers, internet, and other technologies that create a quicker, immediate means to communication and allow employees to perform their many tasks and duties associated with their jobs. In recent developments, businesses have begun implementing privacy policies on both employee internet and email usage at the office. Many believe that the invasion of privacy by employers is illegal, but to the contrary, many trials and court cases prove otherwise. To begin with, businesses and corporations that have offered their employees internet and email usage within the office provide a necessary and more convenient way to perform their job duties. These amenities are a privilege to employees and must be respectfully and responsibly operated. According to a recent court case, Fraser v. Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. , 352 F. 3d 107 (3rd Cir. 2003), the privacy rights of employees using company internet servers for email are negated. As ruled in the court, employers have the right to monitor all emails and internet usage by employees to a reasonable extent. If an employee sends, receives, or stores an email within the employers system, the Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986 (Friedman & Reed, 2007)a. Companies may have guaranteed the privacy rights of employees emails, but guarantees are not considered law. In the Smyth v. Pillsbury Company case, a supervisor emailed an inappropriate email to their subordinate via to a home email account. After the subordinate opened the email at home, he or she continued to send the email throughout the office using the company’s internet server. After the Pillsbury company came across the inappropriate email the subordinate was immediately fired (De Pree & Jude, 2006). Regardless to the company’s guarantee the court ruled in favor of the PIllsbury Company, stating â€Å"once the plaintiff (the subordinate) communicated the alleged unprofessional comments to a second person over the e-mail system that was apparently utilized by the entire company, any reasonable expectation of privacy was lost. Another example of the rules of internet and email privacy at the office can be explained through Dow Chemical v. Local No. 564, Operating Engineers, 246 F. Supp. 2d 602 (SD Texas, 2002). Some 254 employees working at Dow Chemicals were sending, receiving, storing, or involved with the creation of many inappropriate emails circulating throughout the office. The company had some sort of software application that took a â€Å"snap shot† of all the emails and internet activity in a given work day. After examining the many different emails, the company disciplined and terminated many of the employees involved. The court decided that the Dow Chemical company was following all laws and regulations associated with the review of company emails. Even though the advancement in email technology has increased the number of emails sent daily, companies have been increasing their privacy software to coexist. Although some of these court cases and examples may seem extreme, employers need these privacy policies to eliminate any possible negative media or lawsuits that are caused by the inappropriate emails. With todays technology, emails can be sent at incredible speeds across the internet to end up in a completely different country from its origin. It is important that employers have the legal right to overlook all emails being sent through their internet server to protect themselves from future prosecution. Implementing a software program that monitors emails in an employers internet server is inexpensive and most businesses have considered it an essential software program. Employers have the right to protect themselves and eliminate the misuse of internet and email through privacy policies because a simple inappropriate comment in an email could turn into a discrimination lawsuit with the employer at fault. Consider the employer avoids any lawsuits from discriminative or inappropriate internet usage, business must know how their employees are working. Thousands of dollars could be lost if employees take time out of their work day to tend personal email or non work related web searches. With the laws and regulations in favor of the employers and businesses, employees must recognize that their employee emails and internet usage are being monitored. Employees must assume that every activity, email, or website conducted on their office computer is being overlooked by their employer. According to Dee Pree & Jude, more than 75% of business internet connections are being monitored for inappropriate usage. Any activity that does not pertain to work or has sexually inappropriate content will be logged by the computer software and viewable to the employer. Employees must expect that their computer privacy is non existent. These privacy policies could also benefit the employees, if employees time on the internet is utilized to complete job duties. While the employer monitors internet and email activity, noticing each employees use of the internet. Employers may recognize the efficiency and effectiveness of the time spent at work and reward the appropriate employees. Currently at my profession there are not many instances when employees sit down and use the internet or the company email to send information. Moreover, there are some policies implemented in the company that prevents the employees from acting inappropriate during interviews, live games, and even in their personal social media profiles. Our organization stresses the importance of representing the organization with respect and with appropriate behavior. Our policies include using appropriate language during all interviews, never acting with poor sportsmanship or selfishness while playing a game, and making sure that you are represented well in all social media profiles. Our organization believes that we are walking representation for what values and beliefs the organization stands for, and enforces all their employees to follow accordingly. Privacy is given to each employee, but once the employee is in the â€Å"spotlight† of the public, policies are enforced to ensure inappropriate behavior never occurs. In conclusion, due to the advancements in technology in the business market, businesses can now conduct business more efficiently and effectively, but with a cost to their employees. Employers are starting to implement privacy policies to both their internet usage as well as their company email allowing them to monitor over their employees. There have been numerous lawsuits and court cases against employers invading the privacy of their employees, but only to find the rulings in favor of the employers. Employees must expect these conditions at their workplaces and review the privacy policies that are being enforced. While on the employers internet, work related activities should only be conducted, and making sure emails are appropriate for the workplace will prevent employees from being prosecuted from their employer.

Bottled Water and Tap Water Essay

The quality of water that we drink is a significant determinant of our health. Guarantee of the safety of water is a base for the prevention of diseases. Several people prefer to drink bottled or commercial mineral water in the presumption that they are safer and have quality as compared to tap water. I believe that tap water is the best choice for a few different reasons. Bottled water is very popular and easily available at most stores. Consumers spend a large amount on purchasing bottled water. People prefer bottled water over tap water because they are saved in plastic containers, which are less weighty. After consume these bottles, people discard the bottle instantly, thus removing the need to carry it around (Conis, 2008) Bottled water can acquire from springs, artesian wells or the source of municipal supply. Bottled water has different types such as natural mineral water, purified water, and spring water (Conis, 2008). Bottled water is a package item, therefore, the Food and Drug Administration regulates it. The quality standards of FDA do not need to expect that to expect that is authorized by the EPA and tap water. The processing plants of bottled water products are inspected by the FDA (www.nrdc.org/water). An important point about the bottled water is that bacteria grow best in moist and damp environments. It indicated that the environment developed by an unrefrigerated water bottle, one time the seal has been opened, is the ideal place for microorganisms to cultivate. This generates undesired risks for human health. On the other hand, tap water comes from sources of lakes or streams. People can acquire water for drink easily from taps. The availability of this water has key health benefits, since it significantly reduces the risk factor of water-borne infections. Like sulphur and iron, this water has hard minerals that give a strong taste. Fluoride is also used in it because fluoride reduces the possibility of tooth decay, which is essential for kids during the period of healthy teeth’s development. According to cruising chemistry, those areas that containing towering degrees of Calcium and Magnesium have very low death rate. Deficiencies in magnesium can create heart disturbances (www.fitsugar.com/Reasons). To make sure the quality and safety of tap water, the suppliers provides yearly report named as â€Å"Consumer Confidence Report†. Furthermore, if an impurity surpasses the EPA standards, the providers are obligated to update the people about impurity, the water supply level, and its effects on health and what initiatives can be made to avoid diseases. Municipal water is governed by the EPA â€Å"Environmental Protection Agency† (www.nrdc.org/water), requiring towns to clean and sterilize it in accordance to the actual standards, Finally, the industry of tap water normally uses chlorine to protect against re-production of harmful bacteria that may leave tap water not taste as good as it would otherwise. In conclusion, though the market of bottled water of many different companies continues to increase, but according to some research and analytical studies, the quality of bottled water is less healthy as compared to the tap water. Researchers show that the tap water appears to be examined regularly and is focused to more strict regulations, Yes, the taste of bottled water is better to some extent but this is so expensive and creates pollution in terms of plastic waste.

The Problems Of Solid Waste In Turkey Environmental Sciences Essay

AbstractionMunicipal solid waste ( MSW ) is a major environmental job in Turkey, as in many developing states. Problems associated with municipal solid waste are hard to turn to, but attempts towards more efficient aggregation and transit and environmentally acceptable waste disposal continue in Turkey. Although rigorous ordinances on the direction of solid waste are in topographic point, crude disposal methods such as unfastened dumping and discharge into surface H2O have been used in assorted parts of Turkey. This article presents a brief history of the legislative tendencies in Turkey for MSW direction and the MSW duty and direction construction together with the present state of affairs of coevals, composing, recycling, and intervention. The consequences of several researches show that about 25 million ton of MSW are generated yearly in Turkey. About 77 % of the population receives MSW services. In malice of attempts to alter unfastened dumping countries into healthful landfills and to construct modern recycling and composting installations, Turkey still has over two 1000 unfastened mopess.Reappraisal of the Turkish legislative model in MSW directionIn 1983, the Ministry of Environment in Turkey published Environmental Law 2872 as the first phase in order to better the environmental state of affairs in the state. However, there was no consensus on the best option for MSW direction in the jurisprudence. In 1991, the Solid Waste Control Regulation came into force in order to pull off solid waste. The ordinance played a cardinal function in solid waste aggregation, storage, conveyance, and disposal. The ordinance has been continuously updated. In add-on, Turkey developed ordinances for medical waste in 1993 and for risky waste in 1995. The Medical Waste Control Regulation established a basic action line for medical waste direction based on the aggregation, storage, conveyance, and disposal or reuse of the waste by its proprietor. Some types of waste, such as r adioactive wastes, were excluded from that jurisprudence. The Hazardous Waste Control Regulation set the standards for the aggregation, conveyance, and concluding disposal of risky waste, including options for land filling or incineration, every bit good as the design standard and the operational regulations for healthful landfills and incinerators. The ordinance besides focuses on the minimisation of risky waste and encouragement of recycling. By legal definition, municipal solid waste includes all the waste originating from human activities that are usually solid and that are discarded as useless or unwanted. Municipal solid waste by and large consists of waste generated from residential to commercial countries, industries, Parkss, and streets [ 1 ] . In metropoliss in Turkey, community enterprises in solid waste direction are presently being supported by the municipal governments, who guide their activities harmonizing to the statute law and policies dictated by the Ministry of Environment and Forestry ( MEF ) . The model of duty and direction of MSW in Turkey is shown in Figure 1. MSW comes from commercial services, industries, health care installations, and citizens in Turkey. Some private endeavors are responsible for the aggregation and conveyance of solid waste and for the sorting of individually collected packaging waste. After screening, the packaging waste is directed towards the recycling industry [ 2 ] . Fig. 1. Model of duty and direction of MSW in Turkey.MSW coevals and composingUntil 1994, there were merely estimations of MSW coevals in Turkey because of the predomination of unfastened dumping and the trouble of entering MSW coevals. The absence of dependable informations and statistics for waste coevals and composing makes a regional and national rating of MSW direction hard. The Turkish State Statistical Institute has compiled statistics about MSW direction since 1994 [ 3 ] . In the 1960s, 3-4 million ton of municipal solid waste per twelvemonth was generated in Turkey. However, harmonizing to the Turkish State Statistical Institute ‘s 2004 database, about 25 million ton of MSW was generated yearly ( Figure 2 ) . Fig. 2. Sum of MSW collected in Turkey. Increasing population degrees, rapid economic growing, and the rise in community life criterions will speed up the hereafter solid waste coevals rate in Turkey. The sum of MSW per capita in the summer and winter seasons from 1994 to 2004 is given in Figure 3. The coevals rate per capita varies well from the summer season to the winter season. As seen in Fig. 3, in the 1990s Turkey generated a higher sum of MSW in the summer than in the winter. MSW coevals rates in summer and in winter are 1.30 and 1.29 kg/cap/day in 2004, severally. This is a consequence of the decreasing use of fossil fuel for day-to-day warming. Fig. 3. Sum of MSW per capita ( kg/cap/day )Technologies in usage for managing and intervention of MSWCollection and transit of MSWThere are 3225 municipalities in Turkey, and 16 of them are metropolitan municipalities. A sum of 3028 municipalities have solid waste direction services. The population having solid waste services from 1994 to 2004 is shown in Fig. 4. As can be seen, the per centum of the population having solid waste services increased from 71 % in 1994 to 77 % in 2004 ( Fig. 4 ) . Fig. 4. Percentage of entire population having solid waste services of Turkey. However, the per centum of municipalities roll uping and transporting solid waste in the municipalities is 95 % . In most of the colony units of Turkey, the aggregation and transit constituents of MSW direction are by and large good organized. The municipalities spend all of their attempts and budgets for these services. There are two types of aggregation systems in the municipal countries of Turkey [ 4 ] .Collection Systems of MSW1. Curb Side PickupThis system is operated in the cardinal parts of the metropoliss and big towns. In this aggregation system, a solid waste aggregation vehicle Michigans at each edifice to pick up the garbage, either in plastic bags or in kitchen bins. Where this system is operated, the waste is collected daily or twice a twenty-four hours. Some occupants use specially produced plastic bags, but most use packaging plastic bags of assorted thickness and sizes. The kitchen bins used by the occupants of most parts are non standard, either in size or in fabric ating stuff.2. Community Bin SystemThis system is normally practiced in little colonies and the ill developed peripheral parts of urban countries. Depending on the population of an country, community bins with assorted non-standard sizes and theoretical accounts are placed on the streets, and waste from these bins is collected by assorted types of vehicles, runing from tractors to compactors. The bins are by and large emptied or replaced in some municipalities two or three times a hebdomad. Due to the addition of population and rapid urbanisation, the roads in the peripheral parts in some urban Centres are really hapless, so the aggregation vehicles can non make the community bins in these countries during rainy periods and therefore the community bins can non be emptied on a regular basis. The MSW from these countries by and large contains high concentrations of putrescent affair, which makes them peculiarly prone to do aesthetic and environmental perturbations to neighboring popul ations, particularly when the community bins or poulet bins are non emptied within 48 H of adding the garbage to the bins. Medical waste from healthcare constitutions to other risky wastes are by and large put into the community bins alternatively of being collected individually by specially designed trucks and workers. However, some municipalities individually apply aggregation and transit systems, particularly municipalities with high populations. A little sum of medical waste is disposed by firing in Turkey. The infective solid waste, together with MSW, is by and large discharged to dumping countries of municipalities. Municipalities use their ain vehicles for solid waste aggregation and transit. Both the aggregation and transit services are performed by the same vehicles. By and large, transportation theoretical accounts are non used in Turkey. The aggregation and transit vehicles are by and large trucks with capacities of 3.5-7 ton. Tractors are besides used in many countries in big metropoliss.Disposal of MSWIn many metropoliss in Turkey, lacks in the proviso of waste services are the consequence of unequal fiscal resources, direction, and proficient accomplishments of municipalities and authorities governments to cover with the rapid growing in demand for services. Methods of disposal of solid waste, harmonizing to the Turkish State Statistical Institute ‘s 2004 database, are shown diagrammatically in Figure 5. Fig. 5. MSW disposal methods in Turkey There are 16 healthful landfills, five composting workss ( three of which are being actively operated ) , and three incineration workss in Turkey. In 2004 25,013,521 ton of MSW were collected, whereas 7,002,000, 351,000, and 8000 ton were disposed of in healthful landfills, composted, and incinerated, severally. A sum of 17,661,254 ton of waste was disposed of without any control. There are typically a big figure of scavengers at garbage bins in Turkey. The stuffs collected are subjected to some degree of intermediate processing, such as separating, rinsing and drying. The rescued stuffs re so sold to decline traders, who further separate the stuffs and sell them to allow processing/ recasting Millss and mills. It is estimated that about 10-15 % of MSW is recycled by scavengers.Agreements in Management Strategies and DutiesThe conventional waste aggregation and disposal system in Turkey consists of refuse trucks and unfastened dumping. However, the tendency for disposal of MSW is tow ards implementing waste recreation and making an integrated MSW direction system. An incorporate system requires many direction options, such as beginning decrease, kerb side recycling, material recovery, waste-to-energy, healthful land filling, and composting. Physical and chemical informations can be analyzed to find the physical makeup and the chemical content of the MSW watercourse consecutive, supplying of import information for MSW direction systems. Although the physical composing analysis may straight back up the appraisal of material recovery, kerb side recycling, and composting, the energy content may greatly back up the probe of the thermic intervention potency. Bettering the criterion of direction and operation of some bing installations at much lower cost may offer considerable betterment in environmental public presentation. Additionally, puting out a plan of planned closing and redress of the most contaminated garbage dumps will represent an early measure in the devel opment of the national waste scheme [ 5 ] . Co-disposal of MSW with risky medical and industrial wastes creates a great concern for public wellness. From this point of position, the execution of solid waste direction schemes will cut down the hazard of environmental pollution. In Turkey, a negligible sum of MSW is presently being recycled. Ill organized aggregation systems for recoverable wastes, deficiency of support, and low inclination of occupants to segregate waste are factors impacting the efficiency of recovery. If there are no recycling plans in metropoliss, it is of import for waste directors to find the per centum of recyclables in the waste watercourse, every bit good as what per centum of these recyclables is marketable. If metropoliss have had recycling plans, the sum of reclaimable stuff could supply valuable information by placing the gaining control rates in recycling Centres. Municipalities are responsible for guaranting that the waste generated y their occupants and constitutions is collected and dece ntly managed. A major job is the current hapless status of the economic system in Turkey. The sum of financess available from municipal budgets for MSW betterments should be increased.Costss and Financing of MSW Collection and Recovery OperationsCost informations on solid waste direction in Turkey is normally extremely controversial and complicated due to the nature of the topic. The cost informations is farther complicated by the particulars of the Municipal Region and the cost accounting methodological analysis employed. In order to give an thought of how dearly-won the MSW intervention is, an illustration from a recent survey is given below [ 6 ] . In this case, two separate Municipal cost analyses have been conducted. The first one covered Municipal aggregation and conveyance costs whereas the other one is basically an economic public presentation analysis of two small-medium scale stuff recovery installations. The first set of information was collected from 24 selected Municipa lities from the Aegean Coast of Turkey. The set of informations includes merely the aggregation and conveyance costs of municipal solid waste ( Table 1 ) . Table 1. Cost informations for municipal solid waste aggregation and disposal Table 2. Cost appraisal for a medium sized metropolis broad recycling programme for Turkey Premises: Population: 1.0 million, MSW: 1000 tons/day, % reclaimable waste: 20 % sum recycable waste: 200 tons/day, engagement rate: 45 % , material recovery: 90 tons/day. In order to do comparative appraisal and derive some commercial penetration towards the separate aggregation programmes, cost informations has been gathered from separate aggregation programmes in Turkey. The information on cost of aggregation and sorting has been summarized in Table 2 for a medium-to-large metropolis. An mean population is estimated to be 1.0 million. Based on the elaborate waste analysis, a cost/revenue analysis for a metropolis broad recycling programme is made. The analysis given in Table 2 indicates that grosss are sufficient to cover the general operational costs of material recovery installations if operated at full capacities. Depending on the beginning composing or depending on the aggregation method employed, a comparatively acceptable commercial net income can be retained. In Table 2, costs points are categorized with different types of aggregation methodological analysis. Collections through bring-centres outputs comparatively high investing costs and low operational costs, whereas door-to-door aggregation of reclaimable stuffs by plastic bags has the lowest investing cost. However the go oning ingestion of plastic bags outputs comparatively higher operational costs.Decision and SuggestionsBased on the consequences of TURKSTAT [ 7 ] , it can be concluded that MSW direction is a major job confronting municipalities. The one-year waste coevals additions in proportion to the rise in the population and urbanisation, and issues related to disposal have become ambitious as more land is needed or the ultimate disposal of solid waste. Open mopess can be damaging to the urban environment. In malice of attempts to alter unfastened mopess into healthful landfills and to construct modern recycling and composting installations, Turkey still has over 2000 unfastened mopess. The Solid Waste Control Regulation is applied decently in the phases of aggregation and transit, but the chief job is the readying of healthful landfills and rehabilitation of unfastened mopess because of deficient funding. Currently, electricity production from waste incineration is instead low in Turkey. This is because several of incineration workss lack the capacity to bring forth electricity. Determining methods of concluding waste disposal requires an apprehension of the makeup of the MSW watercourse. A MSW decision- support system based on incorporate solid waste direction should be developed for metropoliss in Turkey. The sum of solid waste collected in Turkey in 2004 was 25,013,521 ton ; 27.99 % , 1.4 % , and 03 % of MSW is disposed of in healthful landfills, composted, and incinerated, severally. This indicates that 70.57 % of the entire sum of MSW was disposed of without any control. In Turkey, MSW is largely composed of domestic residues, and its composing varies by season. Solid waste generated by and large consists of a high organic fraction because of high ingestion of veggies and fruits. In rural countries, the ash content is higher due to the usage of ranges for heating intents in the winter. In Turkey, as in many developing states, there is a deficiency of organisation and planning in MSW direction due to deficient information about ordinances and due to fiscal limitations. In the short term, the best policy might be to go forth disposal methods without any controls, and utilize the resources available to upgrade them with environmental protection systems. In the long term, the building of new healthful landfill countries, composting, and incineration installations could be planned. Public engagement and consciousness are besides of import issues in accomplishing the ends of the suggested direction system, but it is hard and takes a long clip to do people cognizant of the importance and of the rules of the proposed direction system and to consequence their engagement. The reappraisal of municipal and family solid waste statistics in Turkey indicates that mean family waste coevals per capita is 0.6 kg/day and mean municipal solid waste is 0.95 kg/day. The composing of municipal solid waste varies by the beginning of waste ; nevertheless in all instances organic components histories for more than 50 % of municipal solid waste. Detailed cost analyses indicate that stuff recovery installations are normally self sufficient if operated at their established capacities, whereas initial investing to put up large-scale aggregation and recovery strategies still remains to be the major barrier that the municipalities have to get the better of.

Economic Policy of China Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Economic Policy of China - Essay Example The two way trade in China has grown faster than it's GDP for the last quarter of the century. (Ken Davies, 2000) After 1979 the Central - Local Relationship was made flexible: This initiated a loose and decentralized management controls over policy making, resource allocation, production issues (Ravi, 2005). The authority of local government people as well as plant supervisors in the industries were increased through the increment in the autonomy of public enterprises. This encouraged the private sector in the services as well as the light manufacturing industry. Foreign trade and investment was increased through a diversification in the banking systems, development of stock markets, and encouragement of the private enterprises (Baizhu & Feng, 2000). An example of localism is that the central government is subjected to severe budget deficits while revenue generation of local is increasing. The budget stood around -7.0% of GDP in 2006. There has been a trend of changing role of institutions. Structural downsizing of State organs, streamlining departments, and creating institutions like the 'the National Development Planning Commission', 'The State Economic and Trade Commission' and 'Ministry of Commerce' to manage the macroeconomic competitiveness that China is striving to achieve. According to the purchasing parity as it accounted for 12 per cent of global GDP. Ever since the 1980s the real income has grown approximately 400 per cent per head, and the export import has increased 11 to 13 per cent per year. The manufactured goods constitute 90 per cent of the total exports while the ratio of trade-in-goods to GDP today is around 50 per cent. (Sally, 2004) Today not only are the Chinese commodities exported to the world a large amount of foreign commodities pouring into China. During the period 1990 to 2001, the world's exports were growing at the rate of 6.3% while in China the exports experienced at 14.9% growth. The import growth rate was 6.5% on average while China had 15.5%. The Chinese products not only prove to be cheap and efficient but also the foreign companies become price competitive by producing in China. (People's Daily Online, 2003) China's trade liberalism is directly linked to the open investment policies. In 2002 the Foreign Direct Investment was $450 million from $90 million in 1990. It represented 36% GDP of China whereas 6% of the world's total. Most of the FDI stock comes from the manufacturing sector which constitutes about 7% of the world's overall manufacturing. (Sally, 2004) Despite all the good things about the openness of trade there have been some major macro economic issues that the country is currently facing today. The first is the external debt issue. In 2005 the three main indicators of external debt were way below the internationally accepted line; this is an alarming situation for a country like China. The external debt as compared to the GDP was 12.63%. Another issue is the public debt. China's public debt was 22.1% of total GDP (2006). In 2005 Standard and Poor's revised China's credit ratings saying that China had come out of the instability and made progressive reforms and successfully implemented them. The rating increased to A- from BBB+ for levels above the 'non-investment' status that shows S and P's has a more positive of China. Moody's Investors Service has rated China favorably five notches above the non investment status.

Western Art History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Western Art History - Essay Example On the end view there is reflection on the mirror on the wall behind picture of the king and queen, the paradox is clear as it can be interpreted that the artist is trying to portray the royal couple, however in in-depth view it is seen that the kings daughter was the main focus. This painting by Diego Velazquez is one of the best painting works analyzed in the western paintings because of its complexity and confusing aspects that complicates its ease of understanding. Some of the enigmatic aspects of the painting that raise more questions about the painting include; the undetermined connection between the subjects in the picture and the viewers and the question on the picture being real or just mere illusions (Kleiner 317-326). The relationship that exist between the first view of the picture and the subjects on the picture is clear and can be easily analyzed, the main subject in the painting the king’s eldest daughter Infanta Margaret Theresa is at the center of the portrait and on her side are her maids surrounding her giving out clearly the picture of her being the maid of honor (Kleiner 330-337). Behind the daughters picture on the reflective mirror is the picture of the king and the queen who confusingly appear to be left out of the picture but again seem main subjects of focus. There is provision for vision beyond the front studio with the door that is on the back wall of the painting that confuses whether the character is headed to the studio front or headed away from the studio. I agree and support the argument that the painting is a classical master piece, Diego’s painting gives confusing interpretation that makes understanding of the idea communicated in the picture complex. The artist uses techniques in painting like the use of light and the picture on the reflective mirror to bring out the technique of picture within picture these inclusions of art work makes the picture one of the

Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Assignment - Essay Example The AYP must also have its basis on assessments by the state, as well as one additional indicator of academic performance. The objectives also need to be set out with the aim of having all learners gaining at least a proficiency level in the next twelve years, i.e., by the 2013-2014 academic year (Olivert 43). The adequate yearly progress objective also need to be evaluated at the school level, with schools failing to meet the laid down objectives for two years in a row being marked for improvement. The AYP results for the mentioned special groups of children need to be reported as a separate entity, in order to determine whether the student groups were able to meet their objectives for AYP. In addition, at least ninety-five percent of every group needs to participate in these statewide assessments. Finally, states can aggregate their data for up to three years in their determination of AYP. It requires that the states provide for teachers who are highly qualified for all students. E very state also sets its specific standards as to what can be referred to as highly qualified teachers (Olivert 44). The act also requires that states set each of its students one challenging and high standard, although, the curriculum standards need to be applied to all students instead of having varying standards for various students in different areas of the state or other states all together. The Act requires that schools allow military recruiters get contacts for students unless the student does not want to grant access to these recruiters. States also regard this Act as an unfunded mandate because the Act’s main provision requires schools to give standardized tests for the entire state when the year ends (Olivert 69). If schools fail to show any significant improvement in these tests from one year to the subsequent year, they are asked to improve the quality of education that thy offer. This is through hiring highly qualified teachers and providing for private tutoring for the failing students. To continue being the recipients of federal assistance, the states will have to provide plans that show steps being taken to improve education quality in their schools. The Act mandates states to provide funds for the needed improvements and, thereafter, provide appropriate training for the teachers deemed as less qualified (Olivert 69). What are the federal rules regarding Medicaid? How is most Medicaid funding spent? How have states coped with rapid escalation in medical costs? In order to fulfill the statutory purpose of Medicaid in the provision of medical assistance to specific individuals and to participate in the program, all states are required to cover low-income core group individuals (Iritani 34). The minimum eligibility groups have expanded incrementally over time, especially to include pregnant women and children, disabled individuals, the elderly, and parents up to the income levels specified. Another rule requires that the ACA is inclusive of maintenance of effort requirement that keeps CHIP and Medicaid coverage stable until reform expands coverage. The federal government also requires that enrollees to be provided, with a core set of benefits that are mandatory and specific cost sharing protections in order to participate in this program. In addition, the states are largely in charge of determining provider payments within the limits of federal requirements. The federal government requires payments to be consistent with access, quality, economy,

Is this Religion Absolustic or Relavistic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Is this Religion Absolustic or Relavistic - Essay Example Through a reconstruction of religion, we see a way out of the impasse. AN OLD DEBATE IN THE HISTORY OF IDEAS concerns the question of the relation between religion and science. The common wisdom once was that science and religion were incompatible, with consequences such as arguments made that religion has no place in schools or the creationism versus evolution theory debated in science classes. It was often claimed that there could be no legitimate concept of a Catholic -- or for that matter a Marxist -- university: A university was concerned with critical inquiry, which is incompatible with closing off any area or domain to critical inquiry or with the specification of an appropriate methodology or test of truth that was prejudiced toward a particular view of the world. Thus, the idea that there was a peculiarly Catholic form of inquiry -- or a Marxist one -or that there was a domain of knowledge appropriate for scrutiny and a domain that was beyond question was rejected. Since the days when this common wisdom was being distilled, science itself has undergone something of a revolution in terms of our understanding of what it is. Philosophers of science and social philosophers have serious questions about it being as value free and objective as was being claimed. There has also devel- oped a related question of whether there can be such a thing as social science, and whether something other than the aims of physical science -- explanation, prediction, and control -- are more appropriate. In the latter case, there has developed, for example, verstehen analysis, and hermeneutics, which consider meanings imputed to social situations by the actors involved in them; social science is thus seen as an exercise in teasing out these meanings so that we may understand, rather than explain things. Again, teleological explanation appears more relevant to social science than does the causal explanation appropriate in the physical sciences. The

John Lasseter Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

John Lasseter - Essay Example This artist has been developing his skills of drawing cartoons from his childhood. His mother was an art teacher and John has often tried to incarnate his vision in animation. When he went to the church together with his family, he drew cartoons. He was amazed by Chuck Jones cartoons on TV and rushed home after school in order to watch these cartoons. In high school John was interested in reading the book â€Å"The Art of Animation† by Bob Thomas (Paik, 2007). Thus his decision to become an animator was growing in his heart for years. Finally, he entered California Institute of the Arts and was a student of a new animation course. He was taught by Disney’s outstanding masters, such as Eric Larson, Frank Thomas and others. His first animation films were Lady and the Lamp (1979) and Nightmare (1980) (Paik, 2007). Lasseter won prizes for his first animation films. He joined Disney but after 101 Dalmatians Lasseter claimed that it was the largest masterpiece of this Studio and suggested to introduce some innovations. In the beginning of 80s Lasseter became interested in computer graphics. Lasseter felt a great potential of computer animation and propagated the idea that computers could be helpful in making movies with three dimensional backgrounds. His guidance was the book by Thomas Disch â€Å"The Brave Little Toaster† (Paik, 2007). â€Å"Where the Wild Things Are† was the first project where Lasseter and his followers decided to introduce computer graphics innovations. Unfortunately, producers saw no benefits and Lasseter was fired from Disney. It is possible to note, that all geniuses were not acclaimed at once. A process of acknowledgement requires time and patience and hard work from genius. Lasseter followed this line and step by step reached the heights in the sphere of his dream, short film animation. Lasseter rushed into searching of co-thinker, followers and professionals from computer industry. His first animation film â€Å"The

Homework Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 8

Homework - Coursework Example There was a gradual escalation and then the South Vietnamese executed members of the secret police. Kennedy did not change his policies. 2. How did Johnson â€Å"Americanize† the war in Vietnam, and how effective was this strategy? Johnson did not want the reputation of the country to suffer by continuing involvement with Vietnam. But he did order air strikes on North Vietnam after hearing that North Vietnam military had fired on U.S. ships. He continued support to South Vietnam and the U.S. military became more aggressive. Military and economic assistance to the government and military of South Vietnam continued. Instead of Johnson having a defensive military presence, he changed it so that it was more of an offensive approach. Some of that pressure was also coming due to approaching presidential elections. 3. What different strategies and criticisms of society were offered by mainstream and radical feminists? (CH28) During Johnson’s time in office, he created a lot of reform that helped bring people out of poverty that helped male-headed households but worsened female-headed households. Many civil rights groups were created to protest Johnson’s changes. There were several new movements during this time so feminists could accomplish goals of equality. Women were involved in changing the collegiate environment so that there would be more religious studies programs. Women that were lesbians began a movement so that they no longer had to keep their sexuality hidden and there was a Stonewall Riot that resulted in more attention to gay rights. More women began to take jobs. Women realized their opportunities were not equal and they began to go to school more. The National Organization for Women was created for more civil rights for women and there was an investigation in the w orkplace where the Equal Pay Act of 1963 made it illegal to pay women less than men for the same

The Dragon's Village Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The Dragon's Village - Essay Example Interference with the three pillars that defines the country and the people China would thus lead to an automatic destabilization of the normally peaceful people as was witnessed during the Japanese invasion in the Second World War and the Sino-soviet war (Snow, pp. 44). China like most other world nations has made vibrant steps in the past in an attempt to protect itself and its people. This has been through military actions for self-defense as well as the development of policies that were geared towards reforms. Analysis of the fundamental relationships within the country China is better achieved by looking at some of the actions taken by the people of China to protect and safeguard their ways of life and livelihood (Chen, pp. 63). In this regard, this paper will analyze the China revolution of 1949 with a focus on the twin goals of the reforms of changing the fundamental nature of social relationships and reforming the ownership of land. Nevertheless, the fundamental questions in this context are the justification of the reforms and the achievement of the core grievances of the twin goals of the revolution. The Chinese communist revolution saw the turning point of the Chinese communist party drive to power. Mao Zedong on October 1949 proclaimed the establishment of the people’s republic of china and the resultant effect saw a wave of events culminating in revolutions meant to better the living standards of the people of China. By 1949, approximately 200 million Chinese were residing in the rural areas, thus prompting the communist party to declare that the Chinese problems are the rural problems and the rural problems are the land problems. In an effort to solve the rural problems, the ruling communist party of China devised a land reform that ensured land ownership was given to the agricultural tillers. The land reforms were welcomed by the majority of the Chinese rural folks who had been living under

English Composition Research Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

English Composition - Research Proposal Example Questions have arisen as to what extent society will allow unabated materials to be published on the internet. The answer varies depending on which society of the world is deciding and in what context such as the restriction of adult content to minors. Based upon its level of use in current society, it is safe to say that the internet will become even more integrated into everyday life of individuals throughout the world in the years to come. The internet is a dynamic tool for communication and an open forum for whatever material could be imagined available to anyone with a connection. It is continually evolving. Cutting edge technology of today will go the way of vacuum tubes in televisions. â€Å"The existing Internet is built on technology meant for a different age. Just as circuit switches are remnants of the past generation of communication, so will routers be remnants of a past internet† (Dzubeck, 2000). Developing countries, specifically those that don’t enjoy freedom of speech rights, will create their own internets which will likely interconnect with other networks, such as the current interest in a spider web type relationship. Email is free and instantaneous causing its use by business and individuals to grow at a phenomenal rate over the past decade. Few people write letters or read the newspaper as these are seemingly archaic methods of communication. Neither provides instant information, a too l that is today essential for businesses to compete and simply a fact of life that is taken for granted for most in the U.S. â€Å"Nowadays, we think nothing of emailing our aunts in Germany and getting an answer back within minutes, or seeing the latest streaming video full of up to the minute news† (Boswell, 2006). One of the biggest consumer trends in the 21st century is a steady increase in the number of consumers going online to make

Leadership Vision Paper Essay Example for Free

Leadership Vision Paper Essay The vision statement continues the expression of the desired service and the level of achievement necessary to achieve the mission. The values selected are those that support example of innovation-based mission, vision, and values statement (Porter-O’Grady Malloch, 2011.) My vision statement is: To treat all patients with dignity and respect at all times. To explain not only what I am about to do for them, but why. I will provide Evidence-based research, when available, for their knowledge. I will allow them autonomy, in their decisions. I will provide each patient compassion and empathy, at all times. I will remember they are a person not just a patient. We will come to understand the vision through the various sections of this paper. The sections are: Key concepts of vision, Critique of evidence, Importance in nursing and lastly, the Summary. Key concepts of vision I believe that when a patient is given the evidence-based information in a clear and concise manner, they are in a better position to make better medical decisions. While I am providing each patient with evidence-based research, I am proving them with the necessary tools to make the informed decisions. In turn, giving them the autonomy they deserve. Being respectful, showing empathy and compassion are all easy tasks to perform, when the patient is thought of as a person, not just a patient. An example would be when I explain why I am about to perform some task, not simply that I am going to perform the task. I need to ask permission of the patient, giving them the opportunity to reject the task. It may be in their best interest to have the task performed, but, if I respect them, then I will respect their decision. Critique of evidence In an article titled, Toward the ‘Tipping Point’: Decision Aids and Informed patient Choice, â€Å"there is strong evidence that patient decision aids not only improve decision quality but also prevent the overuse of options that informed patients do not value†. Which I believe aids in better patient satisfaction. Policymakers increasingly believe that encouraging patients to play a more active role in their health care could improve quality, efficiency, and health outcomes (Coulter Ellins, 2007). Another area that I have an important stance on is that the patient is a person, not just a patient. In an article by Danielle Ofri, she talks about a crowded waiting area where the medical assistant is yelling out the patient’s name, so cattle-like. â€Å"Nevertheless it feels horrible to me, so demeaning, like we’re in the DMV instead of a medical clinic. I want the environment to be more humane, more civilized, and so when I go out to call a patient, I use a much softer voice, with a tone that I hope conveys more respect.† Importance to nursing According to Lesly Simmons, a blogger for Georgetown University, the Nursing profession is the most ethical and honest profession for the 11th year in the Gallup survey. â€Å"Nurses have been the highest ranked profession for 11 out of 12 years.† So why is that? Nurses consistently capture patient and public trust by performing in accordance with a Code of Ethics for Nurses that supports the best interests of patients, families, and communities. They often are the strongest advocates for patients who are vulnerable and in need of support (Sachs Jones, 2012). Summary Treating the patient as a person shows the patient that I respect them as a person. When I respect them as a person, I have more compassion and empathy for them. When I have empathy, compassion and respect for them, I can help them make better choices. By giving them evidence-based research I am providing them with the tools so they can be more informed. By being more informed, they have a better understanding of their situation. By them understanding their situation, they will then have autonomy. Allowing the patient autonomy, gains respect from the patient for the nurse. Hence, making the nursing profession the most honest and ethical profession over the last decade. So, I continue to keep my vision statement close at hand. References Coulter, Angela., Ellins, Jo. (2007). Effectiveness of strategies for informing, educating and involving patients. BMJ 2007;335:24 O’Connor, A. M., Wennberg, J. E., Legare, F., Llewelllyn-Thomas, H. A., Moulton, B. W., Sepucha, K. R.,Sodano, A. G., King, J. S. (2007). Toward the ‘Tipping Point’:Decision Aids and Informed Patient Choice. Health Affairs. May 2007. Vol. 26(3) p716-725. Ofri, Danielle. (2012). Humanizing Medicine and Respecting the Patient. A Sweet Life. January 19, 2012. Retrieved on January 16, 2013 from http://asweetlife.org/feature/humanizing-medicine-and-respecting-the-patient/ Porter-Ogrady, T., Malloch, K. (2011). Quantum leadership: Advancing innovativion, transforming health care. Strategies to integrate and advance innovation. 3rd ed. p149. Sudbury, MA: Jones Bartlett. Sachs, Adam Jones, Jemarion. (2012). Nurses Earn Highest Ranking Ever, Remain Most Ethical of Professions in Poll ANA Urges Policymakers to Listen to Nurses on Health Care Policy, Funding. American Nurses Association. News Release December 4, 2012. Simmons, Lesly. (2011). Nurses Most Respected Profession for 11th Year. [ emailprotected] Blog. May 16th, 2011.

Wardens Five Rings | Overview and Analysis

Wardens Five Rings | Overview and Analysis Wardens Five Rings theory is a model developed by Col. John Warden. It was first applied in a real war setting in the 1991 Gulf war incorporated in the Operational Thunder offensive strategy. It was the key theory that defined Operational Thunder strategy as it was known for American Air Power in defeating Iraq air force. The concept of the five ring model revolves around five major areas of interest that must be attacked and weekend sufficiently before enemy forces can be (Warden, 1995). The five various levels are like rings of areas of influence that revolve around the core area which is leadership. The areas of influence as defined in the model have various intrinsic importances from each other and present unique values for an enemy to attack. In this model the notion advanced is that a military incursion in an enemy environment should start outwards (Warden, 1995). The idea is to peel the various layers that revolve around the core which is the leadership until eventually the enemy is left vulnerable and captured. Once leadership is captured then the enemy has fallen and is captured. The Leadership at the centre of the model refers to the top organ of the enemy. The other areas are field military, infrastructure, population and system essentials. Field military force is the outer level that the enemy has put in place. It is the first level that must be overcome which is the enemy army. The second outer level is the civilian population of the enemy state; this too must be subdued and controlled. After population the target shifts to infrastructure that will derail efficient function of the enemy further. Second last level from the core is the system essential which refers to all the sectors that support and drive the overall enemy state such as economy (Warden, 1995). The five rings system theory is considered one of the most brilliant military theories advanced so far. Its importance is in its ability to inform a systematic approach that is coordinated to subdue an enemy. In this regard it can be used to compile a list of specific military target. Choice of important enemy targets are identified using a predefined framework and does not depend on speculation of the relative advantages presented by each (Warden, 1995). This is because by defining the levels of influence the associated sectors and areas can be clearly identified as well. And more importantly the military strategists are able to use a system formula to map out important enemy to targets (Warden, 1995). The Cuban missile crisis is a historical moment and one of those few instances that the five ring model could not be applied as tactical military strategy among the Russians or the Cubans. The nature in which Cuban missile crisis unfolded was bound to involve the United States forces and more than one country, both Russia and Cuba (Allison, Graham and Zelikow, 1999). The situation was even tense since both countries were contemplating use of nuclear weapons which was at the heart of the Cuban missile crisis. Indeed any way military offensive that would have involved Russian and United States would have been like the crash of the titans. The situation was triggered by the United States satellite evidence that Russia was actively deploying nuclear capability technology and installing it in Cuba backyard in secrecy (Allison et al, 1999). Earlier on United States had increased its military presence in Europe in what Russia could have interpreted to be a threat to its existence. However diplomacy and huge degree of restraining prevailed that averted the nuclear missile crisis at the time. What is clear though is that even The 5 ring model would not have been able to be applied at a military offensive where nuclear weapon was the choice of weapons. Indeed the military brains that had advance the systematic process presented in the 5 ring model had never contemplated even once the idea that nuclear missile would ever be used in modern world military solutions, despite the vast numbers of nuclear stockpiles that America and Russia have. This is because the five ring model subdivides any military offensive to five distinct stages (Allison et al, 1999). But its a fact that use of even a single nuclear missile in enough to subdue an enemy state beyond measure. Moreover, causing an impact across all the five levels of any country to be paralyzed. Indeed it is the reason why at the height of the crisis the United States omitted a preemptive attack on Cuba due to the remote chances that a single missile might survive the attack which then Cuba would certainly use on them. Besides all this, it would have meant that United States wage war against two hostile countries at the same time which would have limited their precision to respond. It is therefore unlikely that the 5 ring model would have been used in Cuban crisis. However in Vietnam War the five ring model could be applied to guide military offensive. In Vietnam War the United States was fighting in support of South Vietnam against North Vietnam. But the U.S was disadvantaged in a position of weakness due to the huge Northern Vietnamese army comparable to South Vietnamese army. In addition the South Vietnam communist allies were powerful and provided important military support to the offensive. The U.S therefore resorted to the 5 ring model against their military offensive in Vietnam which was instrumental in their success during the war Vietnam. The gulf war that occurred in the 1991 is another example where the 5 ring model was successfully used in subduing the Iraq forces and the subsequent victory in the region. Soon after Iraq invaded Kuwait the United Nations recommended military solution. This saw a coalition force put together which applied combination of firepower and ground troops that advanced in Iraq. This military advance targeted Iraq sectors that had significance value to the country which after their capture led to the ceasefire. Use of the 5 ring model approach in the war enabled the Iraq vital economic sector destruction through sustained firepower (Bard and Mitchell, 2009). Gulf war is one of the wars that saw a lot of allies; especially those affiliated to the U.S participate in the Iraq attack. In deciding to intervene for Kuwait the reasons for United States were vested in its own interest. One Kuwait was a major oil exporter to the U.S, therefore U.S feared that war would destabilize the region and cause scarcity of oil in the region. Secondly U.S had allies in the region specifically Saudi Arabia that now felt threatened by the expanding influence of Iraq which it felt that it needed to be curtailed. Lastly it was important that Iraq dont get to control a huge stake of the oil reserve in the region or indeed be a force of influence in the gulf peninsula, which would have happened had it occupied Kuwait. In the aftermath of the war the cost of the military offensive was mainly paid by the Saudi Arabia to a total of $40 billion of the total $60billion that the war had cost. There was minimal American causalities 295 deaths due to the range of coalition forces that participated. In summary the gulf war provided the United States forces with a military experience in the region and was a successful venture. That America continues to cash on presently in more than one way. References Allison, Graham and Zelikow, P (1999). Essence of Decision: Explaining the Cuban Missile Crisis; New York: Longman Publishers. Bard, Mitchell. (2009). The Gulf War. Jewish Virtual Library. Retrieved April 18, 2010, from http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/Gulf_War.html Blum, William. The Vietnam War and The United States Lessons. Retrieved April 18, 2010, from (1995) http://www.vietnam.ttu.edu/virtualarchive/html Warden, J., A. (1995). Air Theory for the 21st Century. Battlefield of the Future: 21st Century Warfare Issues. United States Air Force. Air and Space Power, 343. Retrieved April 18, 2010, from http://www.airpower.maxwell.af.mil/airchronicles/battle/chp4.html Wayne Thiebauds Art Style | Essay Wayne Thiebauds Art Style | Essay Wayne Thiebaud is an artist that has been associated with the Pop Art culture and also was part of the realism that came out of the United States west coast. Thiebauds real life representation of his subject has been seen as one of many beginnings photorealism. Before becoming a painter, Thiebaud worked in New York City as a sign painter and also as a cartoonist. He only began to paint in 1949, incorporating skills from his former occupations. Thiebaud is best known for the paintings that are associated with the production line of objects that can be found in diners and cafeterias, such as pies and pastries and others objects of common everyday life. The Neapolitan Pie that I found in the Norton Museum embodies the techniques that he often used in his paintings. This painting with its thick paint adding to the depth and character led me to want to learn about the artist behind it. Thiebaud chose to celebrate and embrace the delights of the common place and rendered his realistic paintings with a brilliant eye for abstraction. Thiebauds painting technique can be described as a cookbook chronicling those that have added sizzle, seasoning or even sprinkle to its prolific palette What he wanted to set out to do was to create a different visual species, which he described as being the ultimate accomplishment for all painters. Thiebaud says that art needs constant movement of different aspects of itself in order to stay alive. He also states that art draws inspiration from everything around it. He is not afraid of showing in his paintings aspects from other artists who inspired him, My world is one crime I steal from every artist aroun d the world. This may be why Thiebaud completely followed artists that were before him and also artists who were painting in his time period. Wayne Thiebaud had many artists in Abstract Expressionism and artists from Pop Art that he gathered techniques from. There were artistic time periods that he borrowed aspects from and combined with others to produce his own characteristic style. In this paper I will describe all these aspects and how their combination gave rise to the famous work we know Wayne Thiebaud for today. Thiebaud was a realist painter and painted at a time between Abstract Expressionism movement and the Pop Art era. His growth as an artist started from when he was a young child and as a teenager made poster designs and on stage sets for theatre. Thiebaud worked at Universal Studios and also as an illustrator for the advertising department in New York. He later earned a degree from California State College in Sacramento and this was where he learned and became fond of the fine arts. After this he began to study art history books intensively and the paintings in them, including the transitions in the works from period to period. Thiebaud, while working, became friends with and interested in the works of art from Willem De Kooning and Franz Kline who were abstract expressionist painters. This was a American post World War II art movement. the predecessor of this art movement is surrealism, which features elements of surprise and unexpected juxtapositions. Willem De Kooning also was invo lved with action painting, whose characteristics are spontaneous, splashed, or smeared onto a canvas. Kooning states, People are always trying to break the backs of paintings by expecting things which paintings cannot doits just a painting. A God damned painting. Just a little thing you smear stuff on. You just hope in the smearing that you havent insulted people that youre asking to look at it. This statement was a great influence in shaping the thoughts of Thiebaud. He saw this as a quintessential idea for producing works of art By the early 1960s the paintings he had produced now began to gain tension, balance, and grace. He placed the forms first and objects were pushed forward and put in a relevant order. He had been making statements like this with his Neapolitan Pie for years before others but was packed together with other artists in the Pop Art period when the movement surfaced. Pop Art was a tradition that challenged the artwork at that time and wanted to show that anything the artist used, which was of mass-production of popular culture could can be connected with fine art. It was widely seen as a reaction and expansion of the dominant ideas of abstract realism, which was a spontaneous or subconscious creation. Pop Art does not refer directly to the art that they made, but the ideas that moved the whole movement itself. During this time, Thiebaud also saw works of art from the earliest pop artists Robert Rauschenberg and Jasper Johns whose paintings were based on Abstract Expressionism to Pop Art. W hat Thiebaud did was abandoned most of the ideas that Pop Art committed itself to and react against it, which is surprising since he was seen as a vital part to this period. The work that Thiebaud produced is described as nostalgic views of popular culture and the American scene with which viewers of all kinds can easily identify. Most paintings in the Pop Art period were more intimidating for those viewing the work in museums and sometimes were too harsh to appreciate. What Thiebaud said was I am not a card carrying Pop artist I dont like much of it. Pop to him was more of a business than an operation of honorable painting and he had too much respect for the original products that they played off of to be a part of Pop Art. So while this art period was taking off Thiebaud decided that he was going to move on and became a professor at U-C Davis. Another influence of Wayne Theibaud was of Abstract Expressionism, which was going on in the time he produced work, and can be seen in the thick brushstrokes and bold use of colour which was a constant theme in his works. Thiebaud began to paint images based on food that he would see displayed in windows, focusing not on what he was painting but more on the shape of the objects. What impacted his painting this way was his inclination for simple objects, borrowing aspects of layouts for ads that he did while working as a cartoonist and sign painter. His simplicity to his designs could be understood and recognized as a method that he took into his paintings. This would also be around the 1960s and Thiebaud wanted to show depictions of the everyday American life while showing a new approach to art, representational art. Artists such as Stuart Davis and his Odol Bottle and Gerald Murphy and his Safety Razor were visions of the coming pop culture era even before Thiebaud began to paint wo rk that would fit into it. As Thiebaud continued to work influences from other artists could be seen in his work like the paintings of Giorgio Morandi like his Still Life. Thiebaud long admired Giorgios work for their contemplative quiet, the palpable sense of protracted looking that they convey, and their delicate, varied effects achieved with seemingly minimal means. The influence of this was not just in how Thiebaud structured his work, but also by how he manipulated the light and the slow moving strokes to enhance the form of the object. This aspect of manipulating light also was something he used in his signs and works, making a shadow where there is none to draw the eye to areas that there would be none and giving the work depth. This aspect was also borrowed from the tromp loeil (fool the eye) painter John Peto, who painted the Letter Rack, who also was said to have an influence on Thiebaud. Due to this influence, Thiebaud would never have any space of where the object would leave the page it would be represented in its entirety showing the readers that it would not be real. He would arrange the object in his painting into a shallow space and used shadows, as previously stated, to suggest some form of depth without there actually being any depth; tromp loeil.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Neapolitan Pie and all the works Thiebaud has produced had notable influences from his background and artists whom he studied and who had an influence on what he produced. Thiebaud had a way of dragging his paint across his canvas in a smooth way that would enhance the luscious textures of oil and transform itself into the very object that he was trying to portray. This, by the artists, refers to object transference and roots can also be traced to Morandi, but also in artists such as Joaquin Sorolla. He painted objects that are common placed around any individual as those of Stuart Davis and Gerald Murphy. Thiebaud had a strong inclination in painting common objects much earlier than those of the Pop culture movement. When Thiebaud first began to paint these common objects though he found it humorous and channeled his cartoonist abilities with his row of pies: When I painted the first row of pies, I can remember sitting and laughing sort of a silly relief Now I have flipped out! The one thing that allowed me to do that was having been a cartoonist. I did one and thought, Thats really crazy, but no one is going to look at these things anyway, so what the heck. However with all of his pastry paintings he handled the paint in a way that makes his work very distinctive. His paintings bring forth a realism of complete visual delight. He made anew the representational subject matter with a bold palette and used his skillful display of brushwork acquired from the Abstract Expressionists he admired.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Wayne Thiebaud copied from the masters because he respected art so much that he wanted to learn from those greats that came before him. What he did was add his own style to it so as to expand on what he learned into a different category, so as to be seen in a new light. He delighted in the works of other art periods like Abstract Expressionism and Realism and saw it as an honour to study an be apart of the art movement. He rejected the ideas of the Pop Art movement that he was classified in because he respected the art work they ridiculed too much to make a mockery of it. He was said as feeling honoured that he was able to apply himself and that he became a force in the artistic movement that is still evolving today. His work will forever be a staple and used as a tool for artist that come behind him to study learn from and elaborate on.

The Defense Of Humbert Humberts Novels English Literature Essay

The Defense Of Humbert Humberts Novels English Literature Essay The narrator of Vladimir Nabokovs novel Lolita, Humbert Humbert, denounces himself and refers to himself as a brute, (Nabokov 193). It is all too easy for many readers to add their own condemnation; after all, Humbert is a grown man who over the course of the story lusts after and engages in sexual relations with a twelve year old girl. Yet a deeper reading of the material reveals that there may be more to the story than a simple case of pedophilia. An examination of character and symbolism in Vladimir Nabokovs Lolita provides evidence to support the theory that Humbert is a sympathetic but flawed character who is manipulated by Dolores Haze. First of all, Humbert offers an argument for his actions that allows insight into his reasoning. The relationship between Humbert and Lolita is not socially acceptable, but Humbert tries to normalize his actions, citing Poe, Proust, and Petrarch to show how norms have altered over time, (Rothstein 22). Humbert defends himself from time to time by citing historical relationships that were similar to his with Lolita, pointing out that such relationships were acceptable in certain times and places, and even arguing that many girls of Lolitas age have reached a state of physical maturity. When he states that soon I found myself maturing amid a civilization which allows a man of twenty-five to court a girl of sixteen but not a girl of twelve, it becomes clear that Humbert views society, rather than himself, as the flawed factor in this equation (Nabokov 16). Regardless of his arguments, according to the standards of twentieth century American culture Humberts relationship with Lolita is s ocially unacceptable and he remains branded as a child molester. Once more, Humbert is saved from being entirely evil. Humbert is not interested in children, and is described as having the utmost respect for ordinary children, with their purity and vulnerability, and under no circumstances would he have interfered with the innocence of a child, (Nabokov 19-20). Douglas Fowler agrees, asserting that Humbert is no deflowerer of innocent children (49). Instead, Humberts interest lies with what he calls a nymphet, or a young girl who attracts those much older than herself and who is a deadly little demon among the wholesome children, (As Nabokov 16-7). As predatory as his behavior may appear, Humbert has no intention of corrupting or harming the innocent. Unfortunately, these rationalizations lose some of their effectiveness when taking into consideration that they come from an adult who should know better. On the other hand, the argument that Humberts inner child plays into his behavior provides an alternative explanation for those actions. Near the beginning of the text, Humbert relates the tale from his childhood of a seaside romance with a girl named Annabel, which was broken off first by the interference of a pair of adults and finally by the girls death. This sad situation reflects the poem Annabel Lee by Edgar Allan Poe, with its tale of lost love. I was a child and she was a child, In this kingdom by the sea: But we loved with a love that was more than love- I and my Annabel Lee; (Poe 7-10) Humbert feels intrinsically tied to Annabel, again shadowing the speaker of the poems assertion that nothing[c]an ever dissever my soul from the soul of the beautiful Annabel Lee, (Poe 32-3). It can be argued that Humbert never entirely grew up as a result of this incident; part of his soul was stunted by his unconsummated childhood love affair. Humbert himself admits to the influence that these circumstances have on later events when he says that in point of fact, there might have been no Lolita at all had I not loved, one summer, a certain initial girl-child, (Nabokov 9). The concept that Humberts inner child influences his behavior is reinforced by yet more evidence from the story. For example, when Humbert and Lolita set off on their initial road trip he showers her with gifts and goes out of his way to entertain her, referring to himself as eager, hopeful Hum, (Nabokov 140). This reads like a nervous young boy trying desperately to please the girl whom he admires, hoping to catc h her attention and gain her favor. The fact that Humbert expresses disgust with his own adult form, which he refers to as his adult disguise, also lends support to this argument (Nabokov 39). Margaret Morganroth Gullette points out that to Humbert, [a]ll grownup characteristics over-sized frame, hairiness, smell are unnatural to the soul that feels itself to be essentially childlike, (223) and that this is a loathing which he projects onto adult women, (222). The idea that Humbert is actually a child trapped in a mans body makes his infatuation with Lolita if not socially acceptable, then at least somewhat more understandable. If the reader can find a trace of innocence by delving beneath Humberts sinister surface, an examination of Lolita exposes a surprising lack of virtue lying underneath her childlike mask. Nabokov establishes the inconsistency of her character within the very first paragraph: She was Lo, plain Lo, in the morning, standing four feet ten in one sock. She was Lola in slacks. She was Dolly at school. She was Dolores on the dotted line. But in my arms she was always Lolita (9). The girls constantly shifting name mirrors the metamorphic quality her character; in one moment she is an injured child, and in the next she reads as a calculating seductress. In many ways she seems to be an average American child, and yet she has none of the innocence that childhood implies. The truth is that she is aware of Humberts infatuation with her and torments him with lines such as [w]ell, you havent kissed me yet, have you? (Nabokov 112). Humbert may never have gone so far as to actually have intercourse w ith a nymphet were it not for his interactions with Lolita. In fact, it is Lolita who actually seduces Humbert, and then goes on to reveal a history of sexual deviancy. Suffice to say that not a trace of modesty did I perceive in this beautiful hardly formed young girl whom modern co-education, juvenile mores, the campfire racket and so forth had utterly and hopelessly depraved, Humbert comments, (Nabokov 133). Because of this previous corruption, Nabokov saves him from the act of actually deflowering precocious Dolores Haze and shifts moral responsibility away, (Fowler 149). This encounter occurs in an inn named The Enchanted Hunters, introducing the symbolism of the hunter, by which Humbert is a hunter whose plans are turned on their head by the youthful nymphet. This theme is echoed later by Lolitas involvement in a play titled The Enchanted Hunters, in which she portrays a perfect little nymph who places several lost hunters under hypnosis (Nabokov 196). Indeed, Humbert spends t he entirety of the story under Lolitas spell. Perhaps the most compelling argument in Humberts favor is that he truly loves Lolita. At first it seems that his love is based upon his view of her as the reincarnation of his lost Annabel, but while Lolitas resemblance to Annabel may have sparked Humberts attraction to her, the idea that this is the driving force behind his attraction soon loses its potency. As Humbert explains, A little later, of course, she à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ was to eclipse completely her prototype, (Nabokov 39-40). Thus, it becomes clear that Humberts love is for her, and not for a mere replacement of Annabel. The novel is filled with Humberts endearments for Lolita and his obsession with her is palpable. However, there is a difference between obsession and love, and throughout the novel the nature of his feelings for Lolita is ambiguous. It is at the end of the novel that the true extent of his love for Lolita is revealed. As Noni Tamir-Ghez writes, only at the end does he (and therefore the reader) understand that he actually loves Lolita, not the nymphet in her, (82). When Humbert finally locates Lolita after three years of searching, he discovers that his nubile nymphet has been replaced with a heavily pregnant and worn-out house-wife. Surprisingly, the man who has been disgusted by signs of aging throughout the entirety of the novel is not repulsed by this glaringly adult version of Lolita. Rather than dissipating, his love for her shows through with full force. He insists that I loved my Lolita, this Lolita, pale and polluted, and big with anothers child, (Nabokov 278). Humbert shows the most humanity when he not only discovers the true depth of his feelings for Lolita, but also takes responsibility for his part in the events in the story. He relates an incident during Lolitas absence when he listens to the voices of children and comes to realize that the hopelessly poignant thing was not Lolitas absence from my side, but the absence of her voice from that concord, (Nabokov 308). Only no w does Humberts love for Lolita overcome his need for her. This combined with his regret for his actions makes it easier for the reader to sympathize with him. Humbert attests to his own guilt and the entire novel is intended as a confession. However, if Lolita can be viewed as the victim of a child molester, then Humbert can also be seen as the victim of both his own warped mind and the manipulation of a deviant child. Without the context of the story it would be difficult to understand Humberts actions, let alone forgive him for them. However, Nabokov provides ample material to support the conclusion of Humberts vulnerability. Upon examining his character, Humbert is shown to not truly be a monster, but instead a deeply flawed individual: emotionally stunted, self-deluded, and irresistibly drawn to that which society has deemed is unattainable.

Viacom Essays -- essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Viacom formed when FCC rules had forced CBS to spin off some of its cable TV and program operations, this happened in 1971. Viacom then buys WAST-TV in 1979, in 1985 Blockbuster Video is founded, in 1981 the NAI buys majority interest ( Sumner Redstone owns this), in 1994 Viacom announces multi-transponder, multi-satellite agreement with PanAmSat. Also in 1994 Viacom and Paramount announces 8.4 billion dollar merger, Viacom then sells its 33% share of Lifetime. In 1995 Viacom spins off its cable systems for Tele-communications, in 1999 Viacom bought CBS for 50 billion dollars. There are other acquisitions and selling’s through which Viacom became so large, but I did not include every little thing.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Sumner M. Redstone has been chairperson since 1987, he did not become CEO of the company until 1996. However, Mel Karmazin became president and CEO of Viacom in May 2000. He was previously the president of CBS and he oversees all the operations of the corporation. He joined CBS in 1997 where he was chairperson and CEO and when Infinity merged with CBS radio he was chairperson there from 1981, until Infinity became a full subsidiary of Viacom in Feb. 2001.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Viacom is a leading global media company, with many positions in broadcasting cable, television, radio, outdoor advertising, and online. With programming it appeals to audiences in every category across all media, the company is a leader in the creation, promotion, and distribution of entertainment, news, sports, music, and comedy. Viacom’s well known brands include CBS, MTV, Nickelodeon, Nick at Nite, VH1, BET, Paramount Pictures, Infinity Broadcasting, Viacom Outdoor, UPN, TV Land, Comedy Central, CMT: Country Music Television, and Showtime.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Some of the Broadcast and Cable Television that were by Viacom are some of the following: CBS Television Network is the Number one most watched network with more than two hundred stations providing viewers with some of the nation’s best entertainment, news and sports programming. Popular programs include CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Everybody Loves Raymond, Survivor, the Late Show with David Letterman and 60 Minutes. Sports stations however, include the NFL and the NCAA Basketball Championship. Daytime drama The Young and The Restless leads a daytime pr... ... however promise by Viacom itself. The $50 billion merger between Viacom and CBS Corporation was completed in May 2000. Viacom is now the second largest media worldwide after AOL Time Warner, with 1999 sales of over $12 billion. The CBS-Viacom merger creates the second largest media conglomerate, controlling more TV and radio stations than any other and the feature of the announced takeover of CBS by Viacom was how little public attention it attracted. There the deal was announced by Viacom Chairman Sumner Redstone and CBS President, Viacom now has its eye on synergy, one of the world's largest media companies in the world. Viacom spans movies, television, radio, the internet, and it owns BET (Black Entertainment Television), CBS, Paramount Pictures, the United Paramount Network (UPN), MTV.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  However, Viacom productions is used everywhere in the world today, many of it’s business are dealt with motion pictures, broadcast television, cable television, radio and outdoor, retail and recreation, publishing, online, and many other things around us. Viacom is one of the best programs I think we have as far as the TV programs much more.

Journalism Essay -- Communication, News Stories, Newspaper

Journalism has become a job carrying enormous personal rewards. Indeed, it is difficult, chalenging (e.g. physically, emotionally, ethically, politically), yet again - it is fun. Journalism requires mastering a multiple range of knowledge and skills (Hicks: 2008; Brighton: 2007; Randall: 2007). This essay has the task to identify the key sources and methods I have used gathering information for my 332MC News and Features (aka. 332MC) articles portfolio, as well as give a comment to what I have learned working individually and collectively in teams in the various project tasks through this module. A critical discussion on various journalism issues, such as news values, objectivity, sources, identifying a readership, interviewing techniques and information gathering will be included (Machin: 2006: Allan: 2005). In order to build on my skills and theoretical knowledge developed through my practice in years one and two of this course, this year I tried to develop my awarness of the concept of researching and presenting news and feature arcicles in print. As McQuail says 'journalism is not produced in vacuum' (in an analogy borrowed from Harcup: 2004), but a product developed within a range structural factors and influences, as well as law constraints and market forces (Allan: 2005; Shoemaker: 2006; Machin: 2006). To begin with, one of the first and most important things I improved this year was the quality of research and the use of primary sources as a basis for my articles. People, places or organisations - these are the most vitabal part of the journalism practice (Machin: 2006; Brighton: 2007). Tony Harcup suggests that sources are where 'potential news stories originate' (Harcup: 2004: 44). 'News is what an authorit... ... finding news sotries could also be charity societies, community groups, regulatory bodies, pubs, noticeboards, news releases, hospitals, council departments, etc. Information is everywhere, all a journalists have to do is go, get it and transform it into their own 'masterpiece'(Harcup: 2004; Hicks: 2008; Shoemaker: 2006; Cole: 2010). To me, journalism seems to be one of the most exciting jobs in this world. When working as a journalist you get the chance to meet powerful, interesting and ispiring people, heroes, vilians and celebrities. Journalists indeed inform the society about itself and are concerned with 'making public that which would otherwise be private' (Harcup: 2004: 2). This profession gives a chance to be one of the first to know something and to tell the world, as well as an opportunity to indulge one's passion for writing, travel and knowledge. Journalism Essay -- Communication, News Stories, Newspaper Journalism has become a job carrying enormous personal rewards. Indeed, it is difficult, chalenging (e.g. physically, emotionally, ethically, politically), yet again - it is fun. Journalism requires mastering a multiple range of knowledge and skills (Hicks: 2008; Brighton: 2007; Randall: 2007). This essay has the task to identify the key sources and methods I have used gathering information for my 332MC News and Features (aka. 332MC) articles portfolio, as well as give a comment to what I have learned working individually and collectively in teams in the various project tasks through this module. A critical discussion on various journalism issues, such as news values, objectivity, sources, identifying a readership, interviewing techniques and information gathering will be included (Machin: 2006: Allan: 2005). In order to build on my skills and theoretical knowledge developed through my practice in years one and two of this course, this year I tried to develop my awarness of the concept of researching and presenting news and feature arcicles in print. As McQuail says 'journalism is not produced in vacuum' (in an analogy borrowed from Harcup: 2004), but a product developed within a range structural factors and influences, as well as law constraints and market forces (Allan: 2005; Shoemaker: 2006; Machin: 2006). To begin with, one of the first and most important things I improved this year was the quality of research and the use of primary sources as a basis for my articles. People, places or organisations - these are the most vitabal part of the journalism practice (Machin: 2006; Brighton: 2007). Tony Harcup suggests that sources are where 'potential news stories originate' (Harcup: 2004: 44). 'News is what an authorit... ... finding news sotries could also be charity societies, community groups, regulatory bodies, pubs, noticeboards, news releases, hospitals, council departments, etc. Information is everywhere, all a journalists have to do is go, get it and transform it into their own 'masterpiece'(Harcup: 2004; Hicks: 2008; Shoemaker: 2006; Cole: 2010). To me, journalism seems to be one of the most exciting jobs in this world. When working as a journalist you get the chance to meet powerful, interesting and ispiring people, heroes, vilians and celebrities. Journalists indeed inform the society about itself and are concerned with 'making public that which would otherwise be private' (Harcup: 2004: 2). This profession gives a chance to be one of the first to know something and to tell the world, as well as an opportunity to indulge one's passion for writing, travel and knowledge.

The Relative Impact of Recruitment/Selection, Training, and Development for Organizational Effectiveness

This paper discusses the relative impact of recruitment/selection, training, and development for organizational effectiveness. First, recruitment and selection is discussed. Job analysis is very important in the selection process because it provides a realistic job preview and it identifies relevant traits and abilities needed for the job. Furthermore, predictive validity of several selection methods are discussed from which work samples, GMA, tests, and structured interviews are appeared to be the best predictors of future job performance. Second, the impact of training on organizational effectiveness is discussed.Training design issues are discussed, and it is argued that training can increase organizational effectiveness although the effects of training are hard to assess. In addition, training is linked to recruitment and selection in which it is argued that the two HR practices are interdependent. Third, the concept development is discussed in which a distinction has been made b etween team and organizational development. The success of development is highly dependent upon employees’ support. Moreover, the concept strategic human resource management is introduced.This concept entails linking HR practices to the strategic management processes and emphasizing coordination or congruence among different HR practices in order to increase the effectiveness of HR policies. Finally, three different theoretical perspectives on SHRM are discussed; the contingency, the configurational, and the universalistic approach. Introduction Competition, globalization, and continuous change in markets and technology have caused a transformation in the role of human resources (HR) from a traditional administrative to a more strategic role (Beer, 1997).Human resource management (HRM) has become a part of the firm’s strategy and has to be minimized as a cost and maximized as value-adding component (Rogers & Wright, 1998). However, the added value of HRM has been subje ct of debate. Although latest empirical research showed that HRM has an positive effect on performance, the relationships are often weak and the results remain ambiguous (Paauwe & Boselie, 2008). So, there seem to be some indistinctness on what impact human resource practices actually have on organizational performance and effectiveness.This paper will go into this  issue and discuss the relative impact of recruitment and selection, training, and development for organizational effectiveness. First, the concerning concepts will be defined and discussed. Furthermore, the impact of the three separate HR practice on organizational effectiveness will be discussed. Finally an attempt will be made to integrate these HR practices and their effect on organizational effectiveness. Organizational effectiveness In order to discuss the impact of the three HR practices, the concept organizational effectiveness needs to be defined which is a very broad, vague concept and therefore hard to define .Effectiveness refers to the output while taking into account the preset objectives, it is clearly a goal oriented measure (Rogers & Wright, 1998). This definition of effectiveness remains very broad since there are multiple ways to assess or measure outcomes. In this paper the typology of Dyer and Reeves (1995) will be used, who distinguish between four measures of organization outcomes; human resource outcomes (turnover, absenteeism, job satisfaction), organizational outcomes (productivity, quality, service), financial accounting outcomes (return on assets, profits), and capital market outcomes (stock price, growth, returns).Logically, they argue that HR strategies were most likely to have an impact on HR outcomes, followed by organizational outcomes whereas the other two outcomes are more indirectly related. Recruitment and Selection Job analysis and recruitment The first HR practice that will be discussed is recruitment and selection, which is quite essential for organizations s ince it all starts with recruiting and selecting the right employees. An appropriate selection system starts with a job analysis in which the duties a job requires and what skills are needed to perform these duties is being analyzed (Fisher, Schoenfeldt & Shaw, 2003, chapter 4).Job analysis can provide a realistic job preview about what the job will be and therefore reduces early employee dissatisfaction and turnover (Fisher et al. , 2003). Job analysis is also important for the assessment of job performance in for example 360 degree feedback since a job analysis can set performance criteria. In this feedback subjective measures are used which are vulnerable to measurement rating errors like halo-effects (Viswesvaran, Schmidt & Ones, 2005).Nevertheless, subjective measures might be very useful to assess organizational effectiveness, especially in relation to HR practices since subjective measures are mainly used to assess HR or organizational outcomes which are more directly related to HR practices (Dyer & Reeves, 1995). Objective measures involve actual percentage figures for sales growth or profitability which measure financial and capital market outcomes and these are more distal and indirectly related outcomes (Dyer & Reeves, 1995).Once applicants with realistic job expectations are recruited the actual selection process starts. Selection is the process of choosing from a group of applicants the individual best suited for a particular position and organization (Mony, Noe & Premeaux, 2002, p. 175). The recruitment process is very important for this because recruiting the right employees with realistic job expectations has a significant impact on the quality of the selection decision (Mony et al. 2002, chapter 7).Making right hiring decisions is one of the best ways to improve productivity. Therefore, majority of managers recognize employee selection as one of their most difficult and most important business decisions (Mony et al. , 2002). The selection proc ess starts with choosing the right selection instrument. Job analysis is also highly relevant for this since job analysis can identify relevant and specific traits and abilities needed for the job which saves time by not measuring irrelevant traits or abilities (Voskuijl, 2005).The goal of the selection process is to select those applicants who are likely to perform the best on the future job. Therefore, the selection methods used in the selection process need to be valid, especially high predictive validity and/or incremental validity are relevant. Predictive validity refers to observing employee performance over a period of time to determine whether the selection method has differentiate the successful and less successful employees (Mony et al. , 2002).Incremental validity refers to whether the instrument can explain anything additional beyond other instruments. Selection methods Schmidt and Hunter (1998) performed a meta-analysis of 85 years of research in personnel selection pre senting the validity of 19 different selection procedures for predicting job and training performance. They also assessed the incremental validity of selection procedures beyond the predictive validity of general mental ability in order to assess which combinations of methods show the highest validity for job performance.Their results revealed that work sample tests (0,54), GMA tests (0,51), and structured interviews (0,51) show the highest predictive validity for job performance. Schmidt and Hunter (1998) state that GMA can considered to be the primary personnel measure for hiring decisions. More recent findings of Schmidt and Hunter (2004) confirmed this and state that GMA is of critical importance. Salgado et al. (2003) found similar results and argue that there is validity generalization and large operational validities in different occupational groups for predicting job performance and training success with GMA measures.Salgado et al. (2003) found job complexity to be a moderat or; the more complex the job is, the more GMA matters. Regarding the incremental validity above GMA tests, Schmidt and Hunter (1998) conclude that the best combination of selection methods would be the GMA test plus a work sample test (0,63), or plus integrity test (0,65), or plus a structured interview (0,63). Unstructured interviews show a lower predictive validity as well as lower incremental validity above GMA tests compared to structured interviews.According to a meta-analysis of Huffcutt, Conway, Roth and Stone (2001) the most frequently rated construct in interviews in general are basic personality and applied social skills. They also distinguish between unstructured interview and structured interview and found that structured interviews focus more on constructs that have a stronger relationship with job performance like job knowledge and skills, whereas unstructured interviews focus more on general intelligence and education (Huffcutt et al., 2001).So, it seems that unstruct ured interviews mainly measure general mental ability; intelligent people tend to do better on unstructured interviews. Nevertheless, many organizations in the United States rely solely on unstructured interviews (Schmidt & Hunter, 1998) since they have a high face validity; they are transparent and people feel like they have some influence over the results. Although the results of Schmidt and Hunter (1998) show that there are more valid methods available.Since people, as  well as the applicant as the recruiting organization, seem to have a preference for unstructured interviews, they should be used at the end of a selection process where their potential harm is minimalized since only suitable candidates are left. Another selection method which employers often use and believe to be a useful predictor whereas academics believe that they have little predictive validity, is grade point average (Roth, BeVier, Schippmann & Switzer, 1996). The meta-analysis of Roth et al. (1996) however , shows that GPA could be a more valid predictor of job performance than many academics thought.Taking a look at personality inventories as selection tools, Dudley, Orvis, Lebiecki and Cortina (2006) conclude that they are becoming increasingly popular and most researchers agree personality is important for predicting job performance. The five-factor model is the most used method to assess personality, the most important factor for predicting job performance is conscientiousness (Dudley et al, 2006). Schmidt and Hunter (1998) found a predictive validity of 0,31 for conscientiousness tests.Conscientiousness is also a construct that is often measured in interviews, as Huffcutt et al.  (2001) have found that conscientiousness is the single most rated construct in structured interviews and is a good predictor of job performance. Schmidt and Rader (1999) argue that different approaches of structured interviews all measure facets of conscientiousness and GMA which have a known generaliz able validity. There is some dissent whether facets of a broad trait like conscientiousness are also relevant to consider in the prediction of job performance. Research shows that narrow traits or facets show incremental validity above and beyond global conscientiousness (Dudley et al., 2006).Moreover, Schmidt and Rader (1999), and Huffcutt et al. (2001) argue that facets of conscientiousness like responsibility, dependability, initiative, and achievement orientation are important in predicting job performance. So, recruitment and selection have quite some impact on organizational effectiveness provided that the selection system first recruits the right employees and then, in turn the right and relevant selection methods are used to select the best suited applicants for the position.Job analysis is important in this process because it both enables providing a realistic job preview as it identifies the traits and abilities needed for the job, selection methods can be chosen based on that. The selection methods with the highest predictive validity are work samples, GMA tests, and structured interviews in which conscientiousness is a frequently rated construct. However, the predictive validity of these selection methods refers to job performance of that particular job on individual level rather than organizational performance or effectiveness.Nevertheless, choosing the right selection methods and selecting the best employees will probably also increase organizational effectiveness. Training Training design Training and employee development can be defined as ‘a systematic approach to learning and development to improve individual, teams, and organizational effectiveness’ (Kraiger & Ford, 2007, p. 281). Thus, the goal of training is to improve organizational defectiveness. The effectiveness of training programs is often hard to assess, especially at the organizational level where many other factors might interfere and influence the outcomes.Therefore, the training should be designed in such a way to make evaluating effectiveness possible. First, training criteria should be set, without these you cannot determine if the goals were met. Training criteria are classified into two levels: training level and performance level, the latter is most important for assessing the impact of training on organizational effectiveness because performance-level criteria are concerned with the person’s performance on the job rather than in the training setting (Spector, 2006, p. 181).Spector (2006, chapter 7) however, states that one should include criteria at both levels to thoroughly evaluate effectiveness, although some studies show that training is effective at the training level but not at the performance level. In order to assess the criteria a proper design should be chosen. The two most popular designs are: pretest-posttest and control group (Spector, 2006). Pretest-posttest design is intended to evaluate how much participants gained from the training by testing the performance criteria before, and after the training (Spector, 2006).In the control group design, participants are tested only once after the training and are compared with equivalent employees who have not been trained (Spector, 2006). In practice however, the most used design is the post-test with only self-report measures, which is obviously not sufficient for evaluating effectiveness because there is not comparison possible. Besides, self-report measure might not be a valid predictor of performance, as Dysvik and Martinsen (2008) show in their study that student’s subjective reactions to teaching and their consequent performance were not correlated.On the other hand, assessing training effectiveness at organizational-level is also very hard when the control group or pretest-posttest design are used. For the control group design is it hardly impossible to find an equivalent organization in order to make comparison possible. When using the pr etest-posttest design another problem might occur; other factors might emerge during the training process causing increased organizational effectiveness. In an ideal situation the trained entity should be isolated in order to exclude spurious effects, obviously this is hardly impossible too.Furthermore, Spector (2006) points out some factors that should be taken into consideration when designing a training program in order to maximize the transfer of training. Ignoring these factors might result in an training program that does not affect behavior on the job (Spector, 2006). These factors are for example; feedback, training should be as identical to real job situations as possible, and overlearning which refers to giving the trainee practice beyond what is necessary to reach the criteria (Spector, 2006). Effectiveness of training programsAccording to the previous paragraph training can have quite a big impact on organizational effectiveness, provided that the right criteria, design, and design factors are formulated. There are however, different views on the effectiveness of training programs. On the one hand there is the ‘best practice’ view that states that firms that investigate in training and development efforts outperform those who do not. On the other hand, Wright and Geroy (2001) state that ‘the belief that training leads to improved employee and firm performance is myth that equates training with goodness’ (p.586).Campbell and Kuncel (2001) support the best practice view by stating that ‘training is a critical component of effective human resource management’ and that its importance for both individuals as organizations can probably not be overstated. A point of critique to the best practice view is the issue of reverse causality, since already successful organizations tend to invest more in training and development (Tharenou, Saks & Moore, 2007).Moreover, there are studies that argue that the effectiveness of tr aining is dependent on several individual, contextual, and situational factors that might mediate or moderate the relationship between training and organizational effectiveness. Colquitt, LePine, and Noe (2000) attempt to develop an integrative theory of training motivation using a meta-analytical approach. They summarized literature on training motivation including its antecedents, situational and personality variables, and its relationship with training outcomes like declarative knowledge, skill acquisition, and transfer.They argue that more proximal variables, like motivation to learn and transfer of training, mediate between the more distal variables (in this case individual and situational characteristics) and job performance (Colquitt et al. , 2000). Findings of this study indicate that individual characteristics like locus of control, conscientiousness, anxiety, cognitive ability, job involvement, and self-efficacy are significant predictors of training motivation.Also the si tuational factor climate, which refers to trainee’s perceptions about characteristics of the work environment that influence the use of training content on the job, was a significant predictor of training motivation (Colquitt et al. , 2000). Blume. Ford, Baldwin and Huang (2010) performed a similar meta-analysis in exploring the impact of predictive factors on the transfer to training, though they examined these effects in different tasks and contexts.They found that predictor variables like motivation and work environment had stronger relationships to transfer when the focus of training was on open as opposed to closed skills (specific skills) (Blume et al. , 2010). Furthermore, their results confirmed the meta-analysis of Colquitt et al. (2000) by finding positive relationships between training transfer and cognitive ability, conscientiousness, motivation, and a supportive work environment (e. g. climate). Especially cognitive ability is a valid predictor of training succes s (Schmidt & Hunter, 1998; Salgado et al., 2003; Colquitt et al. , 2000).The main difference between these two meta-analysis is that Colquitt et al. (2000) focus on the difference between distal and proximal variables in which training motivation is a more proximal variable, and therefore indicated as a mediating variable. Whereas Blume et al. (2010) do not distinguish between distal and proximal variables, and consider individual characteristics and training motivation to be both predictors of transfer of training. What these two meta-analyses do not show it the eventual impact of training on organizational outcomes.Tharenou, Sasks and Moore (2007) examined this in a meta-analysis from 67 studies. They distinguish between human resource (employee attitude, behavior, and human capital), organizational performance (performance and productivity) and financial outcomes (profit and financial indicators). The results of their review suggest that training is positively related to HR outco mes and organizational performance outcomes, though the effect is small caused by other variables that influence employees attitudes (Tharenou et al. , 2007). In addition, training was only very weak related to financial outcomes (Tharenou et al., 2007).This partly confirms the previous mentioned research of Dyer and Reeves (1995) since Tharanou et al. (2007) suggest that the outcomes more proximally related to training show the strongest correlations. Training and Recruitment & Selection So, one can conclude that training has quite some impact on organizational effectiveness although but this effectiveness is dependent on several variables. Tharenou et al. (2007) for example suggest that the relationship between training and firm performance is mediated by employee attitudes and human capital.Employee attitude is something that can be influenced at the workplace, by for instance creating a supporting work environment, whereas human capital is much harder to directly influence. Huma n capital refers to workforce knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs). Some of these KSAs however, can be indirectly influenced by adapting the recruitment and selection process to select employees with characteristics that predict training success. Conscientiousness and general mental ability are the most mentioned individual characteristics that have shown to be good predictors of training success (Salgado et al., 2003; Blume et al. , 2010; Schmidt & Hunter, 1998; Colquitt et al. , 2000).Schmidt and Hunter (1998) argue that when employers are using GMA test to select employees, that employee will have a high level of performance as well as he or she will learn the most from job training programs and will acquire job knowledge faster from experience. This also works the other way around, Connerley (1997) suggests that one of the strategies to attract better employees is to improve the quality of recruiters by training them.This, and the earlier mentioned issue of adapting recruitme nt to select employees that are more likely to benefit from training, shows the interdependency between recruitment and selection, and training in relation to organizational effectiveness. Development The last HR practice discussed in this paper is development which is highly connected to training. Employee development has already been discussed in the previous section about training, therefore this section will mainly focus on team and organizational development.Team developmentThe changing nature of work has led to an increasing shift towards the use of teams which has implications for how teams should be designed to enhance both individual and team performance (DeShon, Kozlowski, Schmidt, Milnerz & Weichmann, 2004). Kozlowski and Ilgen (2006) define team development as ‘an informal process by which group members attempt to create effective social structures and work processes on their own’ (p. 105). They conceptualize team effectiveness as performance evaluated by ot hers, member satisfaction and viability (Kozlowky & Ilgen, 2006).Furthermore, several factors that enhance team effectiveness are pointed out; unit and team climate, team mental models and transactive memory, collective learning, team cohesion, team efficacy and potency, and team regulation skills (competencies, functions, and dynamic adaption) (Kozlowky & Ilgen, 2006). Adair, Hideg and Spence (2013) support the view that team climate, cohesion, and collective learning are important by pointing out the importance of developing shared values in teams. Furthermore, DeShon et al. (2004) examined the role of feedback towards individual and team goals and how this affects resource allocation decisions.They found that teams receiving individual and team feedback were most committed to the team goal (DeShon et al. , 2004). So, these studies mainly point out the importance of team development for team effectiveness. Castka, Sharp and Bamber (2003) go even further by stating that the use of teams is an important means in organizational change and continuous improvement (innovation activities) and that the organizational ability to mobilize their employees in teams for problem solution matters not only to managers, but also to investors (p.29).Investors attach great importance to use of teams and might base their decision to invest based on this (Castka et al. , 2003). Castka et al. (2003) introduce two arguments why organizations can gain from teamwork development. First, organizational teams can improve organizational performance through involvement, learning, and increased communication. Second, as pointed out before, organizations that develop their teamwork and improve their performance due to this increases its value for investors (Castka et al. , 2003).Thus, according to these authors, team development might also have effects on the organizational level and might even affect financial outcomes by referring to investors. Organizational development Weick and Quin ( 1999) argue that ‘from the perspective of organizational development, change is a set of behavioral science-based theories, values, strategies, and techniques aimed at the planned change of the organizational work setting for the purpose of enhancing individual development and improving organizational performance, through the alteration of organizational members. on-the-job behaviors’ (p. 363).So, according to them organizational change and development can enhance individual development as well as improving organizational performance by altering organizational members on the job behaviors. As argued before, these behaviors might be enhanced by training or by recruiting and selecting the employees that are most likely to behave in a way that enhances organizational development and performance. Other ways to alter employees’ on-the-job-behavior is using interventions like job rotation, job enrichment, and teambuilding which lead to better organizational outcomes (B uchanan & Huczynski, 2010) and it motivates employees.Piderit (2000) argues that successful organizational change is highly dependent on generating support and enthusiasm from employees for the purposed change. Grant (2011) proposes that end users can imspire and motivate employees by deliviring convincing testimonials of their experiences with the organization, whereas when leaders are the sole source of inspiring messages, they are considered as being uncredible. Organizational development is thus aimed at improving organizational performance, the effectiveness of this aim is to a large extent dependent on employees’ acceptance and support for the development.However, there is some critique on organizational development that it mainly focus on soft attitudes and values, rather than on the hard operational and financial results (Buchanan & Hyczynski, 2010). In addition, the difficulties in assessing and measuring the effectiveness that applied to training programs might also aply to organizatioanl development. Strategic Human Resource Management Although there are some conditional factors that need to be taken into account, the three HR practices discussed in this paper can have quite some impact on organizational effectiveness.The problem often is that it is very hard to assess the sheer effectiveness of these practices on organizational effectiveness. Nevertheless one can conclude that the HR practices mainly have their effect on proximal human resource and organizational outcomes like turnover, job satisfaction, and productivity which in their turn might have effects on financial outcomes. This is seen from a micro or tradition HRM perspective, which covers the sub functions of HR policy and practice.The growing importance of HR for organizational success however, has led to an increasing interest in making HRM a more integral, strategy-driven activity in organizations (Perry, 1993, p. 59). This is called strategic human resource management which ca n be defined as ‘an interdependent bundle of planned or emergent human resource activities that are intended to achieve positive organizational outcomes’ (Maler & Fisher, 2013, p. 23 ). These interdependent bundles of HR practices should be aligned in such a way to complement and strengthen each other (Gruman & Saks, 2011).This is a macro-orientated view of HRM, it differs from traditional HRM on two dimensions, as argued by Wright and McMahan (1992). The first is the vertical dimension which entails the linking of HR practices to the strategic management process of the organization. The second dimension is horizontal, which emphasis the coordination or congruence among the different practices (Wright & McMahan, 1992). An example of this, is the congruence of selection and training as earlier discussed in this paper.So,  an internal fit between the HR practices of an organization can lead to a higher added value than when the HR practices are considered as separate. T heoretical perspectives Behavioral perspective focuses on employee behavior as a mediator between HR practices and firm performances (Wright & MCMahan, 1992). So, this perspective can explain that although some HR practices might not have a direct impact on organizational effectiveness, they do enhance employees’ behavior (e. i. motivation and commitment) which on its turn affects firm performance.The bahavioral perspective has its roots in contingency theory. Contingency theory entails that an organization’s HR practices must be consistent with other aspects of the organization in order to be effective (Delery & Doty, 1996). Two other theories that are distinguished, are the configurational and universalistic theory. Configurational theories are concerned with how the pattern of multiple independent variables is related to a dependent variable rather than with how individual independent variables are related to the dependent variable (Delery & Doty, 1996, p.804).The S HRM perspective is a form of configurational theory because it is an integrative perspective which argues that patterns of HR activities, as opposed to single activities, are necessary to achieve organizational outcomes (Gruman & Saks, 2011). SHRM is also a form of the contingency perspective, because the vertical dimension of Wright and McMahan (1992) entails the linking of HR practices to the strategic management process of the organization.On the other hand, there is the universalistic approach, which is the earlier mentioned best-practice view which states that some single HR activites are always the best choice to achieve organizational outcomes. The earlier mentioned meta-analysis of Thanerou et al. (2007) found support for both the contingency and universalistic perspective. On the one hand, they found that training appeared to be stronger related to outcomes when it was matched with organizational capital intensity and business strategy (contingency), whereas on the other ha nd, they found training to be related independently to organizational outcomes (Tharenou et al., 2007).Also other studies discussed in this essay show support for both perspectives, GMA for example is found by Schmidt and Rader (1999) to be a generalizable factor , since it is always a good predictor of job performance and training succes. Salgado et al. (2003) however, found job complexity to be a moderator. Finally, Delery and Doty (1996) assessed the theoretical foundation of the SHRM literature, and concluded that each of the three perspectives can be used to structure theoretical arguments in order to explain significant levels of variation in financial performance.