Essay On Breaking Through The Great Firewall - 1304 Words

Breaking Through the Great Firewall of China Within the United States, the first amendment, freedom of speech includes the cyber-web. However, the government may try to examine personal information to protect its citizens from planned terroristic activities. Even so, these terrorists are allowed to say whatever they want, but it does not mean it will be ignored and not taken as a literal threat by the government. Throughout other parts the world, however, countries rely on communicating through means of the internet as ways to spread propaganda. In countries like China specifically, their government censors its citizens to prevent the spreading of propaganda or other radicalism. However, due to the fact that China’s strategy is so†¦show more content†¦This proves that China, at all costs, censors its citizens from accessing history the government deems potentially causing further protest. Now, many Chinese citizens are attempting to access these applications and searches without censorship by â€Å"connect[ing] to virtual private networks that provide them with communications channels to servers outside the Chinese mainland† (Bradsher 4). Though, many citizens have found loopholes in order to post their messages to these websites. For example, on Weibo (the Chinese version of twitter), if a user were to post using a specific keyword, the post would automatically be deleted, if not manually by a superior on the site if it slipped through the system. However, because the use of â€Å"abbreviations, neologisms, homophones, and homographs† by users, many political satirists, revolutionists, or regular citizens find themselves sliding through the cracks thus escaping the censoring governments reach (Wang and Mark 5). In addition, because the government also changes from time to time, a man named Yu Jia, a government critic stated that â€Å"Todays China is v ery different from Chairman Maos China. I think then, it used to be like an iron slab, and there was only really one idea. It was completely impermeable. But now, its more like a fishnet, and there are holes† (Jia, Han and Fu 4). This further proves the argument that legislation in regard to behavior online is too varied inShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of Barclays Bank And Its Effect On User Usage And Efficiency2417 Words   |  10 Pageslot of resources in security in information technology. Introduction This essay will look at research into areas of technology. It will look at security in Barclays bank. Barclays bank operates worldwide and has employed latest information technology security measures. This is to enable it cope with changing dynamics in security. Most banks employ dual factor authentication in order to deal with customers’ accounts. The essay will describe security concerns of Barclays as an area of research in anRead More The Style, Technique, and Structure of Conrads Heart of Darkness2805 Words   |  12 Pagesenigmas of the tale (Conrad 97). Conrads style is defined by his vast vocabulary and command in the English language, by the imagery he utilizes and the massive amounts of symbolism that he uses. This is what truly distinguishes Joseph Conrad as a great writer, and sets Heart of Darkness above the rest. Conrads technique is quite fitting for the story and the themes he is writing about in Heart of Darkness . There is a narrator on the Nellie who is listening to Marlow who is telling the storyRead MoreDieting Makes People Fat Essay19490 Words   |  78 Pagesmanifest as a carminative, antiflatulence and stomachic.   Kullasatree 010 3EN HOW DO YOU WASH YOUR FACE PROPERLY? The goal of face washing is to unclog pores and to dissolve dirt, makeup and remove excess oils. You may not realize that this is also a great opportunity to slough off dead skin cells by exfoliating.Lastly, have you considered the route you take? Begin washing your face starting at your forehead and work your way to your nose, then outwards to your cheeks and eventually down to your faceRead MoreMastering Graduate Studies 1e32499 Words   |  130 Pages- What do you want to be, not just do, in your career? 3. Spiritual Goals - What are some spiritual components that you would like to develop? GCU is dedicated to providing an environment connecting faith and learning. 4. Moral Goals - There is a great need for unwavering integrity today. What are some character-forming and integrity-affirming goals or practices for which you want to be known? One of the distinctive elements that sets GCU apart from many other universities is the added componentRead MoreGp Essay Mainpoints24643 Words   |  99 Pages GP NOTES 2010 (ESSAY) Content Page 1. Media a. New vs. Traditional b. New: narcissistic? c. Government Censorship d. Profit-driven Media e. Advertising f. Private life of public figures g. Celebrity as a role model h. Blame media for our problems i. Power + Responsibility of Media j. Media ethics k. New Media and Democracy 2. Science/Tech a. Science and Ethics b. Government and scientist role in science c. Rely too much on technology? d. Nuclear technologyRead MoreErp Sap Research Paper46896 Words   |  188 Pagesmaterials as a course syllabus template, chapter overviews, answers to discussion questions and case study analysis, and PowerPoint slide presentations. Each chapter begins with learning objectives and an opening real-world case to lead students through the major concepts of the chapter, and ends with managerial implica ­ tions and a closing case study to show the application of these concepts. All chapters have such visual supplements as photographs, diagrams, figures, or tables to reinforce theRead MoreStephen P. Robbins Timothy A. Judge (2011) Organizational Behaviour 15th Edition New Jersey: Prentice Hall393164 Words   |  1573 Pages250 Examples of Employee Involvement Programs 251 †¢ Linking Employee Involvement Programs and Motivation Theories 252 Using Rewards to Motivate Employees 252 What to Pay: Establishing a Pay Structure 252 †¢ How to Pay: Rewarding Individual Employees Th rough Variable-Pay Programs 253 †¢ Flexible xii CONTENTS Benefits: Developing a Benefits Package 257 †¢ Intrinsic Rewards: Employee Recognition Programs 259 Summary and Implications for Managers 261 S A L Self-Assessment Library What’sRead MoreProject Mgmt296381 Words   |  1186 Pages relevant, and current. The concepts discussed are relatively simple and intuitive. As you study each chapter we suggest you try to grasp not only how things work, but why things work. You are encouraged to use the text as a handbook as you move through the three levels of competency: I know. I can do. I can adapt to new situations. Project management is both people and technical oriented. Project management involves understanding the cause-effect relationships and interactions among the sociotechnical

Faulty Reasoning behind Testing - 1943 Words

Children enrolled in Chicago Public Schools (CPS), Kindergarten through Second Grade, are required to take at least three major exams throughout the school year; while children enrolled in Third through Eighth Grade must take four; however, those enrolled in High School must take at least three exams in addition to other optional exams every year. The scores from these exams are used to gauge the academic competency level of students compared to their peers, teachers compared to their colleagues, and neighborhood schools compared to others, locally and globally. Test scores have become so decisive to the future of students, teachers, and schools that curriculums have become test preps rather than the teaching and application of knowledge.†¦show more content†¦Cultural biases and environmental conditions are both effected by social status. When creating curriculums, Harcourt, Mc-Graw Hill, Pearson, and Thomson, does not contemplate cultural differences; therefore, the learnin g styles of most cultures are dismissed, leaving them vulnerable to comprehension complications. In addition to cultural bias throughout curriculums, exams are constructed to test knowledge based on Common Core Standards, which does not consider the culture, starting point, or environmental conditions of students when analyzing their scores. Environmental conditions especially interfere with learning. Many students within poverty stricken communities does not have access to adequate basic needs (food, shelter, and clothing) before and after school, which keeps them from excelling outside, as well as inside, the school building. Schools in poverty stricken areas, due to failing to produce high test scores, are being closed, which destabilizes communities and children’s learning environment even further, causing scores to decline even more. Neill gave the basic argument and theory of testing advocates. He revealed to Caref that â€Å"the basic argument is ‘accountability ’ for students, schools, and educators†¦ In theory, testing will show where the problems are, and sanctions will force educators to do their jobs better† (Caref 6). Advocates of testing accept as true that allShow MoreRelatedIs The Technology Behind Forensics Reliable?1654 Words   |  7 Pages Is the Technology behind Forensics Reliable? The scientific examination of evidence in criminal cases found in a crime scene is called forensic science. Forensic scientists use the same technology, tools and methods used by other scientists doing other types of research, including microscopes, computers, and lasers. As forensic science has advanced over the years, so has the ability to gather evidence and solve crimes. At crime scenes, lasers provide lighting to trackRead MoreForensic Science And The Scientific Examination Of Evidence1644 Words   |  7 Pagescan also vaporize small portions of paint specimens to determine the exact paint used on a car in a hit-and- run case. Although this science has been used for years, wrongful convictions have brought to the attention that forensic science has been faulty for decades. The chilling truth is that forensic science has contributed to convicting innocent people over the decades and will continue to do so if the normality continues. According to the Virginia Law Review, fingerprint analysis which are basedRead MoreDoes Hereditary Influence Iq Scores? Essay1530 Words   |  7 Pagesscale that sought to discover the measurement of a human’s intelligence without bringing brain size into the equation. However, IQ testing did not become popular outside of Binet’s native France until 1912 when psychologist W. Stern brought the testing to the United States. Gould recognizes the repercussions that IQ testing brought upon certain individuals: â€Å"IQ testing has had momentous consequences in our century†¦we should investigate Binet’s motives, if only to appreciate how the tragedies of misuseRead MoreThe Production Of The Ford Pinto1266 Words   |  6 Pagesexamples. Using the model for moral reasoning, I will begin by identifying the agents. In this case, Ford Senior Management team and CEO are the active agents. Ford customers, other automotive users and pedestrians, Ford shareholders and insurance firms are passive agents; they are all impacted by the decisions of Fords’ management team. Ford was faced with several choices in pre and post production. Ford had the option of slowing down the development and testing process, choosing against it on theRead MoreCognitive Psychology : Cognitive Behavioral Therapy1403 Words   |  6 Pagesinsight as to why the client is choosing to stay in a situation or their hesitation to change a thought or behavior. Cognitive behavioral therapy is a very brief treatment approach which limits how deep a counselor can explore a client’s emotions behind a certain topic discussed in counseling. Human Nature Cognitive behavioral therapists take an experimental approach to human nature. In other words, human nature is developed via social learning. Behaviors that are exhibited are seen as a functionRead Moreshould everyone go to college?1533 Words   |  7 PagesEducational Testing Service (EST) that â€Å"By age 4 the average child in a professional family hears about 20 million more words the average child in a working-class family.† (Kirszner, Mandell 674). By her addressing the facts before opinions like thus, it gives her credibility to make strong statements because she showed that she did research. Upon doing research on Charles Murray it was discovered that he went to Harvard, which may make one doubt the validity of his argument. Another faulty is thatRead MoreFord And The Government Of The Pinto Case1747 Words   |  7 Pageswould say no to any further improvements causing the price to go up even a couple dollars. Ford did all the required pre-production testing on the prototypes of the Pinto and found that the fuel system did have issues with catching on fire and even exploding when there was rear impact. As a matter of fact, it failed every rear impact test that they did for testing by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The fuel tanks as designed were not able to withstand the basic tests of the NHTSARead MoreFather: Causality and Persuasive Speech8283 Words   |  34 Pagesthan speakers with low initial credibility. 18. T F Studies have shown that speakers with low initial credibility need to use more evidence than speakers with high initial credibility. 19. T F The two major elements of logos are evidence and reasoning. 20. T F The two major elements of logos are evidence and emotional appeal. 21. T F One of the reasons to use evidence when speaking to persuade is that it can make your listeners more resistant to counterpersuasion. 22. T F Research indicatesRead MoreHow Cognitive Behavior Therapy ( Cbt ) Is Effective Approach For Clients With Post Traumatic Stress Disorder ( Ptsd Essay1769 Words   |  8 Pagescombined psychotherapies assist CBT therapists in building the client s ability to self monitor and regulate their own thoughts and emotions, recognize what situations influences specific behavioral responses, and improve emotions by adjusting their faulty thoughts and behaviors (Brewin, 2006). With that being said, cognitive behavior techniques, for PSTD, emphasizes the importance of understanding of the client s perceptions, thoughts, and conclusion after each behavior experiment, (Corsini Read MoreField Of Dreams By Karissa Melfi3266 Words   |  14 Pagesbeginning of mankind, even to the BC era during the time that Egyptians and Greeks were the leading force! The Egyptians examined the meanings behind the dreams we have and analyzed the symbols. There are a numerous amount of reasons behind our dreams. People must ask all the time, what is the reasoning behind dreaming? Why do we dream? What is the meaning behind the dream I had? In an average lifetime, approximately six years is spent dreaming. Every single person on this planet dreams and just

Babson American Culture Free Essays

Application essay ( write a letter to your first year roommate at Babson. Tell him or her what it will be like to live with you, why you choose Babson, and what are you looking forward to the most in college). Type of order: Essay Deadline: January 10, 2007 19:44 I am here because of the good reputation of Babson University in Academics, and at the same time I am also interested to understand more about American Culture. We will write a custom essay sample on Babson American Culture or any similar topic only for you Order Now While studying here, I want to represent my country, Saudi Arabia and my Religion (Islam) the right way. Especially after the events that happened in 9/11, people started to look at Islam and Saudi Arabia in a negative way. I consider this letter as an opportunity to correct this image and say that we, the Islamic People of Saudi Arabia are against Terrorism. â€Å"Islam, one of the three major world religions, along with Judaism and Christianity, that profess monotheism, or the belief in a single God. In the Arabic language, the word Islam means â€Å"surrender† or â€Å"submission† to the will of God. A follower of Islam is called a Muslin, which in Arabic means â€Å"one who surrenders to God†. The Arabic name for God, Allah refers to the God worshiped by Jews and Christians. Islam’s central teaching is that there is only one all-powerful, all knowing God. And this God created the Universe. This rigorous monotheism, as well as the Islamic Teachings that all Muslims are equal before God, provides the basis for a collective sense of loyalty to God that transcends class, race, nationality, and even differences in religious practice. Thus, all Muslims belong to one community, the â€Å"umma†, irrespective of their ethnic or national background. Code: 31436039 Page 2 Source: Dailal, Ahma, S. â€Å"Islam† Microsoft Encarta 2006 (DVD). Redmond, WA: Microsoft Corporation, 2005 This is also an opportunity for me, that for people who looks at â€Å"Islam† and Saudi Arabia in a negative way will at least have a second chance of changing their minds. Since â€Å"Islam† is also against terrorism. And terrorism have nothing to do with religion, because â€Å"Islam† is for peace. I hope I will be an instrument to show them, since I will be a student like them and will show them that I am a peace loving person. I will be like just anybody else, who looks at life positively. How to cite Babson American Culture, Papers

ICT Services Management - Free Samples - Myassignmenthelp.Com

Questions: Discuss the following question. 1. Alan Turing and the Ace computer.2. A Brief History of Google's Android Operating System.3. The next Evolution of the Internet Is Changing Everything.4. Point-to-Point Communications.5. The Great Cyber heist.6. Technology Trends.7. A brief history of Facebook.8. Data mining at supermarkets.9. How M-Pesa changed banking in Africa. (Monks, 2017).10. Drawbacks of Information systems and technology. Answers: 1. Alan Turing and the Ace computer Ward, M. (5 February 2010). Alan Turing and the Ace computer. Alan Turing and the Ace computer. Automated computing Engine was the earliest electronic stored program planned by Alan Turing. He was competent in engineering of the theoretical computer which could formalize the idea of the algorithm and the computation which can be identified as general purpose machine. He is considered to be the father of the artificial intelligence. Artificial intelligence may look like the realm of the science fiction but one might be surprised to discover that we have been using it. Virtual Personal Assistance is most intelligent digital personal assistants being used in every day operating system thus helping in gathering of useful information and also interacts with the systems one can interact with them using voices to get such directions. They are also important since they collect user information and store it and then make use of that information in recognition of the user speech as programmed by its user. Microsoft launched Contana as AI which continues learning users requirements and give assistance where required. The other artificial intelligence which is widely used is gaming they are adapting to user character which learns user behaviors and also respond to the stimuli and then responds to unpredictable ways. Other technologies invented such as smart cars, Google self-driven cars are good example of the smart cars. The car is able scan the road ahead of it hence interpreting information on what have seen thus helping to learn the process. Such technologies are being used on the road predicting these technologies will soon be implemented. 2. A Brief History of Google's Android Operating System https://www.ipwatchdog.com/2014/11/26/a-brief-history-of-googles-android-operating-system/id=52285/ Brachmann, S. (November 26, 2014). History of Googles Android Operating System. A Brief History of Googles Android Operating System. Android operating systems was not initially designed and programmed to be used mobile phones they were meant to be used in cameras as compared to other operating system on mobile platforms android has been upgraded in number of times while resulting into a web based service which has a huge comparison as compared to other operating systems. The idea of implementing android operating system in the digital cameras which could access computer services thus the team noted that they will be low demand of such kind of cameras thus the team decided to focus on the mobiles phones. Android have gone a huge and tremendous step forward when it availed the open hand set Alliance which is a consortium of technology manufacture to work together in creating an open source mobile devices. Android operating system which used to power computing devices from mobile phone to huge work station are mostly targeted and also keeps in updating on a regular intervals which enables to fix error and other technical challenges thus improving user experiences. Its quite clear that the android will remain unbeaten at the moment since it is a low cost services and it is user friendly which is attractive and compatible to the hardware makers and the operators. 3. The next Evolution of the Internet Is Changing Everything https://www.cisco.com/c/dam/en_us/about/ac79/docs/innov/IoT_IBSG_0411FINAL.pdf Evans, D. (April 2011). The Internet of Things. How the Next Evolution of the Internet. The article describes the emergence of internet and changes of modern devices. We feel better when the internet makes our lives more interesting while using smart home devices. Majority of these plug-in gadgets comes integrated with Wi-Fi capabilities with other companion applications thus making a streamlined life. Home automation or the Internet of Things most of our devices and other appliances are networked together in order to provide a seam less control over all aspects of homes and business. The idea of home automation has been there in a decade in areas of lighting, security features and other simple appliances. In the recent technology and the growth of internet idea of inter connecting devices and having full control of our homes from anywhere without necessary being there since the automation dictates what a particular device should responds in a certain manner as scheduled. Schedules are made according to our preferences hence providing conveniences, control and resources controls and the best part having smart home. The automation can also make alert of events which are key while there is absences of person such leaking water or eruption of electricity malfunction. The owner only requires to take out a smart phones are makes query desired settings of the house or report to the authority in case of emergency. In the automated home it is more convenience since each and every device and appliances are controlled remotely with or with absence of the user. There is safety since the system provides security while safeguarding homes devices such as IP cameras will make alerts in case of a possible leakage. 4. Point-to-Point Communications https://www.linktionary.com/p/point2point.html SHeldom, T. (2012). Point to Point Communication. Point to Point Communication (TCPIP). Point- to- Point connection is the one of the widely used types of the WAN connections, they are used to connect LANs to service providers and also connect LAN segments in an entity network. Its also referred to as serial connection since the serial connection is dedicated to be used by the company. This is normally done when a connection is done in between the internet service provider and while one desires to make multiple connections on the network thus the connection made or established in such connection is a Point to Point Protocol. PPP is also widely used on satellites, fiber-optic lines and the twisted pair transmission of the data. It also allows one to authenticate connections while using pre shared key. It has the following components one it has a method of encapsulating multiple protocol datagrams thus multiple network layer are simultaneously transported on the same link hence enabling compatibility of most supporting network devices. Two it uses the Link Control Protoco l which is used to propel communication over a PPP link. Every link sends packets in order to be configured and also examine data link while the link is propelled the node may be verified by authorization. Last but not the list once the link has been established the Network Control Protocol is used to inaugurate and configured single or multiple layer protocol will be used to initiate connection. 5. The Great Cyber heist https://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/14/magazine/14Hacker-t.html?mcubz=1 VERINI, J. (NOV. 10, 2010). The Great Cyberheist. New york Magazine. A night in July 2003 at mid night the N.Y.P.D detective in the streets of the Manhattan as they were investigating a series of car theft, surprisingly a suspicious looking entered ATM room and withdrew hundreds of dollars in cash, on the same time he pulled another ATM card and did the same again multiple times while the detective around noted the man was not stealing cars but stealing something. Later the guy confessed that he had programmed multiple blank debit cards comprising of stolen card numbers and he has been withdrawing a much as possible from each account. The guy was wearing womans wig but after being interrogated he politely confessed the truth he is Albert Gonzalez. After a number of interviews by the federal he agreed that he will help the government rather than facing prosecutions. The agents won his trust and decided to pay his bills while waiting for Gonzalez to work though his withdrawal of cybercrimes. Gonzalez worked with the federal for several years and was able together with his crew of hackers illegally gain access to more than one hundred and fifty million payment card accounts from the customers databases and other corporations in the United State of America. During his sentences hearing in the mid-march, Gonzalez received a two con current twenty years jail term which is the longest sentence ever handed down to American for a cyber-crime. 6. Technology Trends https://changes-of-tomorrow.hyperisland.com/technology Patrick, A. (2017). Technology Trends. Technology Trends. Social media has offered new ways of intra enterprise communication which are beneficial of creativity and the innovation of technology globally. Most of the enterprises use online social networks among clients who desegregate business interest and other important activities within the business. Companies are heavily implementing social networks to promote and collaborate to their employees. Other companies are starting to educate their stakeholders on clouding computing and SaaS, while vendors are using these trending technologies to reach most of the companies. These technologies they are added to enterprise on the social networks platforms. Then the technologies in place are being implemented in order for employees to collaborate and share ideas on how to improve the work place. Firm are using social networks in order to exchange information and data to other shareholders in the company such as trading documents done on real time. Majority of the companies have adopted social networking while creating their internal networking sites thus encouraging employees to use these platforms to either connect to other employees enabling them to solve work related issues. Social networks sites such as Facebook, Twitter are used by companies in order to get more clients based on their likes and the preferences since every companies want to gain trust to their customers. 7. A brief history of Facebook https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2007/jul/25/media.newmedia Phillips, S. (2007). A brief history of Facebook. The Gurdian Journal. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg while he studying psychology at Havard University, He had developed multiple of social networks websites for collage mates such as Course match which allowed student who are undertaking degrees would they could match and rate peoples attractiveness. Within the next day more than thousands students had signed up and within the course of the month half of the undergraduate had created a profile. The network spread to the next Universities such as Boston University, Ivy League and spread across other universities of the US.In the year 2005 it became Facebook.com and its address was purchased. By the end of September it had already started to spread worldwide reaching UK Universities and by the end of 2006 the network had grown even beyond educational institutions. Facebook remained free and anyone who has a registered email or mobile phone number could join. The sites make profits via advertising revenue and it has incorporated features such as gifts and offers free classified adverts. Today Facebook have more than Thirty billion registered users which makes it the largest social networking site for education and business purpose. With this huge number of registered users companies uses these platforms for brand awareness business on Facebook gains more exposure to clients which drive them to rate a particular product, reviewing thus increase online visits. 8. Data mining at supermarkets https://www.freshplaza.com/article/176587/Data-mining-at-supermarkets Alex, J. (2017). Data mining at supermarkets. Fresh Plaza. Super markets mostly use data mining and other business intelligence in action. Supermarkets use loyalty cards to the customers which are used to gather compressive information about particular customer for use in data mining. The supermarkets developers establish rules in to predict the customer way of purchasing such as fashions and electronics thus by looking the contents of the purchases of the customers in the troy or the baskets they can identify products which he or she uses and they can start to begin targeting promotions for the extra products to the customers. Depending on the purchase of the target customer firm start sending promotion coupons to the client and create awareness of the particular product in the store. In order for a business to stay competitive they therefor requires viable customer retention strategy and since the key success of the developed strategy rest with customer relation, business requires to identify the most profitable ways to build and maintain customer in toes. In order to achieve this implementing a data mining techniques in the business can help understand customer shopping behavior while retaining esteemed customers. In conclusion collection of data together with other social economic data supermarkets are able to make evidence based decisions when devising market operations strategies. 9. How M-Pesa changed banking in Africa.(Monks, 2017) https://edition.cnn.com/2017/02/21/africa/mpesa-10th-anniversary/index.html Monks, K. (2017). How M-Pesa changed banking in Africa . Market Place Africa. In year 2003 Nick Hughes worker at Vodafone as the head of social enterprise made a proposal to deliver a financial service over mobile phone. The idea was to be implemented in a service provider in East Africa known as Safaricom which has 0.4 per cent stake to Vodafone. He got funding from UK department for International Development to venture with one million pounds of which was matched by Vodafone in terms of cash and staff time. He worked with East Africa people and financial experts in figuring the needs of the people in this particular area. In order to manage and work efficiently on the ground he en corporate Susie Lonie who had a know-how on mobile commerce in Europe, she exercised a small scale pilot to improve micro finance loan granting and repayment. Mpesa Application was invented in 2007 with a target of more than 30000 user in the first year the decision was wise since having subscribers using Mpesa could hardly leave Safaricom thus bonding the customers. Ideally Kenyans who received loans could send to their families miles away and to ease this mobile money transfer would be efficient. Mpesa is one of the revolutions that has widely employed and empowered millions of individual around the globe. Mpesa have enhanced customer in daily lives. 10. Drawbacks of Information systems and technology https://blogs.deusto.es/master-informatica/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-information-systems/ Anonymus. (2017). Drawbacks of Information systems and technology. OPINIONS ON THE WORLD OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS. The core factor of information systems is providing information to the right people at the right time. Information system should be in place to track, store, manipulate and so to specific people. Through use of information system can contribute to high opportunities to the firms on their daily transactions giving them un upper hand whereas on the other side can result to a group of individuals jobless since most of work forces are automated such as mechanic works. With the growth of the technology tasks which were performed on hands are carried by the computers systems, thus industry personnel argues that internet has made job security challenge because technology keeps on improving each and every day. On the other information systems has raised security issues concerning online hackers who get into corporate and organization and manipulate information. Implantation of the information systems becomes another challenge to firms because they require good amount of resources such a softwares, supporting technicians, and hardwares. Workers needs to be trained on how to use the new system thus incurring other expenses to the organization. In conclusion by understanding the pros and cons of the information systems it can results effort should be put in place to make the advantages much better than the negative impacts can results in the business world and society.

Eutifron Essays - , Term Papers, Research Papers

Eutifron Eutifron je dijalog izmedju Eutifrona i Sokrata koji se vodi ispred atenske sudnice. Sokrata ocekuje sudjenje i smrtna presuda, ali on ipak nalazi vremena za raspravu o bitnoj razlici izmedju moralnosti koja se temelji na religijskom vjerovanju i moralnosti koja se temelji na filozofskom rasudjivanju. Sokrat pokazuje kako je iz ponasanja bogova gotovo nemoguce izvuci dosljedan moralni kodeks. Oni se neprestano prepiru i nemoguce je u svakome trenutku svakome od njih udovoljiti. Najvaznije je ipak to sto Platon (ili mozda Sokrat?) navodi Eutifrona da prizna jednu kljucnu razliku: "Ciniti dobro" razlikuje se od "Ciniti ono sto bogovi odobravaju". Ono sto je moralno ispravno nije nuzno i pobozno... religija se voli zato sto je voljena, a moralnost je voljena zato sto se voli. Kao i obicno, Sokrat uvlaci Eutifrona u verbalni i pojmovni labirint iz koga on ne moze pobjeci. Zabrinut zbog tog prilicno protupropisna govora ozloglasena bogohulnika, Eutifron oklijeva izvesti bilo kakve nepravovjerne zakljucke, pa nalazi izliku za povlacenje. Sokratova stajalista su, uostalom, i razlog zbog koga ga ceka sudjenje. Istinsko moralno znanje moguce je doseci samo filozofskim promisljanjem i raspravom. Eutifronu je doista lako pokoravati se vjerskim ukazima i zatim biti siguran da se ponasao moralno. Moralnost i religija su u suprotnosti. Ljudi mogu grijesiti iz religijskih razloga, a katkad moralni cin moze biti religijski nepravovjeran. Tek kad se ljudi oslobode dogmatizma i religijske iracionalnosti moze poceti istinska filozofija morala. Apologija Apologija ili Sokratova obrana navodno je prikaz Sokratovih govora na sudjenju, prije i poslije izricanja smrtne kazne. Njegovo stajaliste nimalo nije apologetsko ili pomirljivo, nego odvazno prkosno. Sudu drzi predavanje o prirodi filozofske rasprave. Tvrdeci kako je katkad, za poticanje rasprave, nuzno izloziti zamisli u koje covjek ne vjeruje. Sokrat nerado priznaje da su neki neodgovorni mladi aristokrati, koji su ga slijedili, mogli starijima i boljima od sebe dosadjivati zamornim pitanjima. No, on je cvrsto uvjeren kako je njegova trajna duznost da filozofira te govori istinu onako kako je vidi. Grijesite ako mislite kako covjek koji ista vrijedi valja trositi vrijeme na odmjeravanje ocekivanja o zivotu ili smrti. Bilo sto da cini, covjek mora razmatrati samo jedno: postupa li pravilno ili nepravilno, kao dobar ili kao los covjek Potonji su filozofi toplo docekali te blistave izjave o intelektualnoj neovisnosti i moralnoj cestitosti koje filozofe cine herojima. Sokrat je za sebe tvrdio da je apolitican, jer mu je njegov "unutarnji glas" rekao neka se kloni javnog zivota. Bio je dovoljno mudar da shvati kako ocekivani zivotni vijek mnogih atenskih politicara nije bas sjajan. "Svatko tko kani pozivjeti barem kratko vrijeme mora se posvetiti svojim privatnim aktivnostima, i okaniti se politike." Sokrat je vjerojatno posredno bio upleten u opasnu atensku politiku. Unatoc tomu, nema dvojbe da je svoju presudu prihvatio impresivnom stoickom mirnocom. Zavrsava zivot govoreci kako ce njegova smrt biti ili potpuno isceznuce ili jedinstvena prilika za susret s velikim grckim filozofima iz proslosti. Na sebi svojstven nacin, hvali se kako ce se s njima upustiti u dalju raspravu. Razgovoru nikad nece biti kraja: Tamo cu, kao i ovdje, vrijeme provoditi u propitivanju i istrazivanju ljudskoga uma, ne bih li proniknuo tko je stvarno mudar, a tko samo misli da je mudar. Kriton Kriton je zapis rasprave koja se vodila u drzavnoj tamnici tijekom noci prije Sokratova pogubljenja. Kriton uvjerava Sokrata da mu moze organizirati bijeg : Prikupili smo dovoljno novca da mozes zivjeti u progonstvu. No, Sokrat ne pristaje: Pogresno bi bilo ne postovati drzavne zakone. Kao atenski gradjanin, Sokrat je s drzavom sklopio ugovor koji mu je davao prava, ali i nametao obveze. On ce postovati pravne postupke drzave, ma koliko bili promaseni. Stovise, odlazak u progonstvo samo bi potvrdio njegovu krivnju u ocima sugradjana. Ovaj cu svijet napustiti kao covjek kojem nepravdu nije ucinio zakon, nego ljudi. Fedon Fedon je cuveni opis Sokratove smrti. Sokrat svojim ozaloscenim prijateljima nudi brojne argumente kojima opravdava vlastito vjerovanje u besmrtnost duse. Ironicno istice kako su filozofi oduvijek bili pustinjacka druzina, nezainteresirani za tjelesne uzitke, pa stoga ionako "napola mrtvi". Filozofsko je misljenje proces oslobadjanja duse od tijela: smrt je samo jos jedno odvajanje. Um ili dusa kadri su najvecom jasnocom domisliti pojmove i ideje dok je tijelo uvijek uzrok zbrke i greske. Sve sto nam se cini da znamo od rodjenja,

Thinking skills used in a lesson

Thinking skills used in a lesson Students in first grade are young children who are still developing especially brain wise. They need their teachers to be patient and understanding because different children have different rate of grasping information (Greenfield, 67). An educator dealing with a first grade student will use different techniques to teach them unlike high school or college students who are mature enough. This essay will discuss the thinking skills that students use in lessons.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Thinking skills used in a lesson specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Objective of studying the unit The unit in this discussion is germs a topic in science. There are five objectives in this lesson. They include Students will manage to learn more about germs, Students will get to know how germs develop, Students will learn how to avoid germs, Students learn how to clean off germs, Students will be able to educate others about germs. The students know about dirt, but they do not know more about germs. This lesson would help them achieve the above objectives in order to keep them safe but most of all healthy. The first rule of cleanliness is to wash hands after visiting the toilet, before meals and after coming into contact with any dirty substance (Santoro, 396). This ensures that a person is clean and healthy all the time. In order to enable students to understand, the teacher would ask some questions to the students about the places they thought they would get germs. This participation would help children to understand the areas they should avoid or the areas they should be careful in if they want to remain healthy. The teacher’s main objective was to demonstrate to the children how they got germs. She took them for a field trip around the school. They made several stops at the washrooms, the garbage, and the playing ground. These are the main areas where the children get germs from most of the time ( Santoro, 397). The teacher would show them how they get germs from the three areas then show them how to wash their hands using soaps in order to keep them germ free. After the discussion, the teacher took them to the science laboratory to enable them to see the clean student’s hands and the dirty ones. Two students, one with clean hands, and the other dirty hands would look through a microscope to check on the germs. Students found it rather disturbing as to how many germs they handle in a day. Application of thinking skills The teacher would pose a question to the whole class in order to make sure that they would think and answer the questions wisely. Of course, not all students would know the answers, but through discussion and participation, they would learn from the answers that their classmates are giving to the class. This enables the teacher to understand the knowledge that the students’ have on germs and what they do not know (Greenfield, 69).Advertising Looking for essay on education? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The teacher will emphasize on the areas that students need to understand most in the topic. The slow students can always lag behind in order to get clarification from the teacher. However, this does not mean that the teacher should focus only on the bright students, she should move at a pace in which all students will grasp information as fast as possible. After giving answers, the teacher would clarify by giving more details on the answers and explain how and where to the class in order for the rest of the class to understand. This would enable students to comprehend more about the topic and to add more knowledge to the information they had on the topic. This is significant for the successful impact of the lesson on students. In terms of the application of knowledge about the topic, the teacher took the students to the field in order to apply the knowledge a nd get firsthand experience (Santoro, 399). This enhances the students’ ability to understand because it is something they do every day. This enables the information to stick. This is because young children are growing and they have a lot in their mind. They easily forget, and that is why teachers should look for a way to enable students to keep any knowledge for long so, they do not forget. In terms of analysis, synthesis, and evaluation of the lesson, the teacher took the students to the laboratory in order to analyze the experience they have and the reality of it. This enables students to ask questions they have after comparing the information they have versus their experience in the laboratory. Through doing so, they evaluate the importance of knowledge and how it applies in real life situation (Greenfield, 70). This helps them realize that they do not just come to school to play with toys but to get the knowledge that will help them in their life. This draws their attent ion into more schoolwork than games while they are in school. Analysis of the lesson in terms of the thinking skills The lesson conduction was good bearing in mind that they are first grader students. The tour in the school compound and the visit to the lab is a demonstration of a teacher trying to help young children learn from experience, and, as they say, experience is the best teacher. At the end of the lesson, the teacher will meet her objectives, and the students will go home with new knowledge.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Thinking skills used in a lesson specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More This lesson was developmental in that at the end of the lesson the students know how to keep of germs if they are able to avoid them. They will learn how to clean themselves well in order to keep off germs. This is in a way developing their hygiene knowledge and so is their behavior. They become more students that are resp onsible because they get to know the effects of germs in their health and course, they do not want that for themselves (Santoro, 401). The demonstration of this is that students now wash their hands every time they come from the washrooms, the playing grounds and from throwing the garbage. This shows how effective the lesson was. In conclusion, the thinking skills application in class is highly useful especially to young students. They need to make their minds active by participating in class discussions, which are extremely healthy but most of all enhances the thinking capacity of the young students. They say, an empty mind is the devil’s workshop. Therefore, it is the duty of the educator to ensure that the students are active by ensuring that they use their thinking skills all the time during lessons. Works cited Greenfield, Patricia M. Technology and informal education: What is taught, what is learned. Science 323.5910 (2009): 69-71.Print. Santoro, Lana Edwards, et al. Ma king the Very Most of Classroom Read†Alouds to Promote Comprehension and Vocabulary. The Reading Teacher 61.5 (2008): 396-408. Print.

To what extent does an understanding of power enhance our appreciation Essay

To what extent does an understanding of power enhance our appreciation of the problems and paradoxes confronting the would-be ra - Essay Example The common people were but adherents of the rules set forth by those in charge, and remonstrations were subject to adverse sentences. For this reason, power was wholly desired, and at the same time a basis for apprehensions of those under it. However, when pluralism came into the picture and the United States of America initiated the crusade for democracy, many believed that power was dispersed among qualified citizens of a territory. Pluralism is the view that â€Å"in liberal democracies power is dispersed among a variety of economic and ideological pressure groups and is not held by a single elite or group of elites. Pluralism assumes that diversity is beneficial to society and that autonomy should be enjoyed by disparate functional or cultural groups within a society, including religious groups, trade unions, professional organizations, and ethnic minorities† (Encyclopaedia Britannica 2011). The above notion proposes that power is but a diminutive piece of a puzzle that wa rrants connection with the rest of its kind before it can make an influence. Power has no real value if the parties concerned do not consent its amalgamation. This tends to imply that political power is of modest roots, contrary to the general impression that the same is abusive and overbearing. In effect, political leaders are also called public servants, as they require consensus of the majority of their constituents before any legislation is put into operation. In a corporate perspective, power is bestowed upon organizational managers, not for the mere purpose of implementing policies or taking control of the employees. They are not identified as rulers, but rather leaders who are expected to set good examples to their subordinates, to facilitate coordination among all levels of the organization, to formulate decisions when the need arises, and initiate alternative courses of actions at the presence of setbacks. In other words, organizational power in the corporate world is but a ccountability in its most prestigious form. Henry Minztburg, author of The Succesful Managers, defines ten managerial roles; all embracing interpersonal, social, and decisional aspects. They include figurehead, leader, liaison, monitor, disseminator, spokesperson, entrepreneur, disturbance handler, resource allocator and negotiator (Management.atwork.com 2008). All of these roles are what makes managers a figure of power in a corporate environment with the employees acting as contributors to the cause. In his work â€Å"Top Performance†, Zig Ziglar points out that â€Å"you won’t be an effective leader or manager unless you gain the willing cooperation of others. Cooperation is not getting others to do what you want, but getting others to want to do what you want† (Business Summaries 2009). In other words, a manager or a leader is unable to exemplify true power if support from subordinates is not given at will. Renowned author Stephen Covey suggests that there a re four ingredients to a good leader: inspire trust, clarify purpose, align system, and unleashed talent (Covey 2007). He (2007) expounds that fine leadership is a product of combined character and competence demonstrated towards the benefit of not just the organization but also the people; that, an open communication is a conduit to an objective best identified. Should a leader be merited trust for the display of outstanding qualities, it is equally imperative that

Personal Statement (Martin Luther King) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Personal Statement (Martin Luther King) - Essay Example Martin Luther emphasizes the fact that a good reasoning ability is not enough for an individual to make a success of himself, but instead it is very important for one to have proper character and moral development. In Luther’s opinion, building an individual’s character helps them to have critical intellect, which would in turn helps them solve humane purposes. Exploring the dual purpose of education, Luther feels that education should be given utmost importance because it serves to ‘discipline the mind’ and channelize human life with a set of morals. According to Martin Luther, the primary goal of a good education comprises of two chief characteristics, which are 1) Intelligence and 2) Character. If either of these two is missing then education cannot be said to be complete or wholesome. Speaking on the function of education Martin Luther states that, â€Å"The function of education, therefore, is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. But education which stops with efficiency may prove the greatest menace to society." (Martin Luther, ‘The Maroon Tiger, 1947) Luther strongly felt that many people among his own circle had a misconception on the true purpose or function of education. ... This dual function of education includes utility as well as culture. He strongly felt that education is a vehicle that enables man to achieve the goals he set for himself in life through efficiency and determination. In order to achieve these goals and make a success of oneself, education has to be a sort of training ground to help man think and act quickly and effectively. Shedding light on the so called educated people, Luther states that though they are educated, they allow themselves to be carried away mentally by believing in propaganda, half truths and other prejudices and, therefore, wonders about the true purpose of education and the extent it fulfills it. In his opinion, most educated people do not think and act either logically or scientifically. The chief aim of education according to Martin Luther is that it should serve to help people sift through the morass of half-truths and arrive at only the truth and nothing else. They should be able to segregate the facts from fict ion and arrive at what is real, leaving aside things that are unreal in life. To achieve such a state in life, intelligence alone is not enough because the true goal of education is to have an education that includes both intelligence and character. QUESTION 2: Critical thinking is one of the primary goals of a good Jesuit education and there is no doubt about the values it is based on. Dr. Martin Luther King encouraged and emphasized critical thinking because he clearly understood its importance in our everyday lives. There are many definitions of what good critical thinking is. According to the NSCC (Nashville State Community College) Critical thinking is defined as ‘the careful and deliberate determination of whether

The life of Mark Zuckerberg Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The life of Mark Zuckerberg - Essay Example The aim of this essay is to sketch the darker side of Mark Zuckerberg’s personality, which is usually ignored. Mark Zuckerberg is one of the most successful young developers, along with people like Steve Jobs and Bill Gates etc. His success story, which started at a very young age and is very impressive, is however not without controversies and negativity. At one hand we see his apparently humble and simple self as he appears in public; on the other hand there is this haughty, selfish and immature side of him. Most of the times, greater focus is attached with his good and humble side, this essay however would highlight the other side of his personality. He developed his first music streaming platform, while he was still in high school. At that time, AOL and Microsoft showed interest in his creation but they were boldly rebuffed by young Zuckerberg. This gives an early example of his haughty behavior. Any other high school kid would have been very excited and rather highly indebted to those great companies for showing their interest but Zuckerberg had graeter plans. After getting into the prestigious Harvard University, Zuckerberg was a step even higher than before. His attitude with his college mates and towards college authorities is not a very impressive one. Apart from finally dropping out of college, he also had to face a lot of controversies and discipline issues while he was still at Harvard. His experiments like ‘facemash’ (a voting site) etc caused a lot of trouble, as in the case of Facemash the server of Harvard crashed and Zuckerberg was summoned in front of committee on disciplinary grounds. Thus being a student, his reckless and disastrous experiments were not much appreciated. Also his dropping out of college to focus on Facebook show his non serious and careless attitude towards studies as no sane person would like to drop out of such a prestigious Ivy League institution. The greatest controversy of Mark Zuckerberg’s

Performance Appraisal Methods On Psychological Contract Management Essay

Performance Appraisal Methods On Psychological Contract Management Essay The purpose of this dissertation is to investigate the impact of performance appraisal methods on psychological contract between employer and employee in UK retail sector ( Iceland food ltd. ). The author will attempt to achieve this by focusing on importance of performance appraisal methods in improving motivation and performance of the employees and by ascertaining whether there is clear understanding of the term of psychological contract involved in performance appraisal meeting. The UK retail market is set to increase in size by 15% over the next five years, taking its value to just over  £312bn (UK Retail Futures 2011: Sector Summary, Data monitor). However this represents a slowing down of annual growth and with operating costs and the cost of credit set to rise, the retail sector faces challenging times. The retail culture is commercially driven and as such there is pressure to perform. Working in retail is hard work and the dynamic nature of the business requires a flexible attitude. Working in a shop is very likely to involve working weekends and late nights. Work-life balance could be a very significant issue for an industry that traditionally has an image of long or antisocial working hours. The retail industry employs over 3 million people (data collected March 08). This equates to 11% of the total UK workforce (UK Retail Futures 2011: Sector Summary, Data monitor). Almost 8% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the UK is generated by the retail sector. UK retail sales were approximately  £265 billion in 2007, which is larger than the combined economies of Denmark and Portugal (UK Retail Futures 2011: Sector Summary, Data monitor). The retail industry and the jobs within it are susceptible to economic and consumer trends. Today, most organisations on the major basis have some kind of performance appraisal system in place. A study conducted by Hirsh (2006) found that only a third of the HR professionals felt that the established appraisal methods have achieved theirs objectives and that most appraised exercises could not really had helped organisations to improve their performance (Hirsh, 2006 as quoted within Fletcher, 2008 p.1). Indeed, appraisal has become an emotive word because it is either done poorly or partly as the organisations keep on ignoring the values of the performance appraisal, thereby affecting the psychological contract of the individual. There are many indicators of a traumatized psychological contract; this can later be attributed to poor performance appraisal methods. Such indicators include; high turnover, low motivation, low job satisfaction (Hiltrop, 1995). According to Fletcher (2008), The unpopularity of using performance appraisal methods can be clearly seen as most organisations use the same process with different titles such as Performance Reviews, Work Planning and Review and many others. Iceland food ltd. follow this rule as the appraisal methods in place are described. Statement of Purpose The purpose of this dissertation is to investigate the impact of performance appraisal methods used on psychological contract between the employer and employee. With an aim of examining the efficiency of the techniques used to perform the appraisal system in place. The importance of the appraisal system within Iceland food ltd. will also be established. This will be initially achieved by investigating the importance of performance appraisal methods in improving the motivation and performance of the employees, and by ascertaining whether there is clear understanding of the terms of psychological contract involved in the performance appraisal meetings. It will be important to understand how these performance appraisal methods are being evaluated. The secondary research conducted on this topic, made use of a number of academic journals, articles and books related to the subject to monitor performance of appraisal techniques. The data collection procedure involves a quantitative questionnaire issued to the employees of Icelands, and a series of semi structured qualitative interviews. 1.2 The Importance of the Study The importance of the study is to understand the effect of performance appraisal on the psychological contract of the individual employee working in the retail food super stores. The method and the aim of the appraisal process is vital in giving training, motivation, confidence and job satisfaction to the employee as well as the rewards they get out of pay review. The author endeavours to find out what are the elements of the psychological contract of employee working in the retail food industry and whether or not it is affected by good or bad appraisal system used by the organisation. The primary research is conducted on the employees of the retail store to get the exact scenario of their present working conditions and their psychological contract with a focus on the performance review policy of the organisation. 1.3 Background of the company Investigated. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ so thats why mums go to Iceland! Iceland began business in 1970, when Malcolm Walker opened the first store in Oswestry, Shropshire with his business partners Peter Hinchcliffe, Colin Harris, Thomas Duffin and John Apthorp investing  £30 each. This was for only one months rent at their Shropshire store. They were all still employees of Woolworths at the time, and their employment was terminated once their employer discovered their job on the side. Iceland initially specialized in loose frozen food. By 1975, there were 15+ Iceland outlets in North Wales, with the first supermarket-style outlet opening in Manchester a couple of years later. The firms head office moved to Deeside, Flintshire in 1979. Iceland was floated on the London Stock Exchange in 1984, by which stage it had 81 outlets. In 1989 Iceland bought its competitor Bejam which was some three times larger in terms of business. By January 2004, the combined chain had 760 stores throughout the United Kingdom. Finding the retail market more hostile in the late 1990s, Iceland pursued avenues for differentiation. In 1998, the firm began to focus on providing organic food and genetically modified-free food. This policy saw the company convert its entire frozen vegetable range to organic in 2000. In 1999, Iceland launched what it claimed to be the first nationwide, free, online grocery shopping service. This tied in with the rebranding of all outlets under the Iceland.co.uk. However, the rebranding exercise appears to have been quietly abandoned in the early 2000s, as the unadorned Iceland name is now used more widely, although some stores still have the Iceland.co.uk name on display. Iceland was renamed the Big Food Group in Feb 2002, and attempted a refocus on the convenience sector with a bid for Londis. Grimsey remained until the takeover and demerger of the Big Food Group by a consortium led by the Icelandic company, Baugur Group in February 2005. Since Malcolm Walkers return to the company, Iceland has reduced the workforce by 500 jobs at the Deeside Head Office, with approximately 300 jobs moved in September as a result of a relocation of a distribution warehouse from Deeside to Warrington. During July 2006, 300 workers took industrial action with the support of their union, blocking several Lorries from entering the depot. Despite this, the transfer to Warrington took place and the new warehouse was later outsourced to DHL in April 2007. In January 2009, Iceland announced that it would buy 51 stores in the UK from the failed Woolworths Group chain; three days after the final 200 Woolworths stores closed their doors for the last time. In April 2009, Iceland announced plans to close its appliance showrooms by September 2009 to concentrate on food retailing. Icelands sales for the year ended 27 March 2009 were  £2.08 billion, a 16% increase on the previous year, with net profits of  £113.7 million. Iceland is a successful and growing business, and to maintain our momentum we want to help all our people to fulfil their ambitions and realise their potential.   We take pride in our training and development, and our 2009 staff survey showed that 87% of our employees considered that they had all the training they needed to do their job well.   In addition to paying close attention to the results of these regular surveys, we conduct individual performance reviews designed to identify strengths, ambition and potential, and are strongly committed to providing opportunities for those who wish to develop their careers within Iceland.   Over 60% of our store managers have attained their positions through internal promotion. Currently Iceland is having over 750 stores through out the UK. And more than 18000 employees work within Iceland food ltd. Iceland have employees hand book that is handed over to the employees during the induction. This employees handbook is basically designed for the frontline staffs, which includes the entire details of the induction procedure, probationary period, performance appraisal, disciplinary, dress policy, dignity at work and grievance procedures and other important elements of the contract. The entire information on the Icelands was known to the author with the help of store manager of the Iceland food ltd. And from the Iceland food ltd website and staff hand book. AIM The aim of the research is to investigate the effectiveness of appraisal method on the psychological contract between the employer and employee. Objectives To examine the concept and theories related to psychological contract. To examine the concept and theories related to performance appraisal. To describe and compare performance appraisal methods used by Iceland food ltd. To critically analyse the effect of performance appraisal method on psychological contract. 1.6 Overview of the Study The dissertation will be presented in a series of the following chapters. Brief description of each chapter is written below with a diagrammatic representation (Figure 1.0 and Table 1.0 Overview of the study). Chapter 1 Introduction Chapter 2 Literature Review Chapter 3 Methodology Chapter 4 Results Chapter 6 Conclusion and Recommendation Introduction: This chapter gives the introduction to the study, covering the aim and objectives of the study. It includes the statement of purpose and the background of the company investigated. Literature Review: This chapter provides the critical analysis of all the secondary research conducted by the author on the performance appraisal, psychological contract followed by the discussion of the effects of former on latter. Methodology: This chapter explains the research aim and the research process undertaken by the author to fulfil the research questions outlined in previous chapter. It also includes the primary method conducted by the author to gather the research data. Results: This chapter includes the findings of the primary research conducted by the author. It also includes the charts and graphs that explain the findings of the research. Discussion and Analyses: This chapter includes analyses of the finding of the primary research. It also includes the comments of the interviews as well as analyse the outcome of the survey conducted by the author. Conclusion and Recommendation: This is the final chapter of the study which will give a synopsis of all the findings and cross refer it with the objectives stated in the initial chapter. It will also offer the recommendations for further research. Chapter 5 Discussion and Analyses CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 2.0 Introduction A literature review as defined by Fink (2005:3) is a systematic, explicit and reproducible method for identifying, evaluating and synthesising the existing body of completed and recorded work produced by researchers, scholars and practitioners (Fink 2005, p.3) AIM The aim of the research is to investigate the effectiveness of appraisal method on the psychological contract between the employer and employee. Objectives To examine the concept and theories related to psychological contract. To examine the concept and theories related to performance appraisal. To describe and compare performance appraisal methods used by Iceland food ltd. To critically analyse the effect of performance appraisal method on psychological contract. To draw conclusion and make recommendation about the effectiveness performance appraisal method on the employees of Iceland food ltd. This section therefore, attempts to review some related literature relevant to this study. Moreover this literature review seeks to justify the uniqueness of this study in the light of the works of other known scholars in the field of performance assessment strategies on the psychological contract, focusing on the performance appraisal method used by Iceland food ltd, U.K. This section is arranged into themes in line with the research objectives and questions outlined in the preceding chapter. The review will begin with the purpose of the psychological contract and the appraisal method, followed by the different types of the appraisal methods. Then the performance appraisal method used by the Iceland food ltd U.K. will be critically reviewed and how the performance appraisal affect the psychological contract between the employer and employee will be discussed. Lastly the advantages and limitations of this factor and the importance of this study will be presented. In addition, a recent view is of Conway and Briner where they define : What Psychological Contract is ? To examine the concept of the psychological contract, a review of existing definitions and research needs to be assessed. Origins of the term psychological contract derived from Argyris in the 1960s who referred to it as the implicit understanding between a group of employees and their foreman, while Schein in 1965 further developed the concept focussing on the high level relationship between the employee and the organisation (Wellin 2007). Furthermore, Kotter in 1973 (as quoted within Roehling 1997) described the psychological contract as, an implicit contract between an individual and his organisation which specifies what each expects to give and receive from each other in their relationship. (Kotter as quoted within Roehling 1997 p.210) psychological contract as, the perceptions of the two parties, employee and employer, of what their mutual obligations are towards each other (Conway and Briner (2005) as quoted within CIPD 2009) However, Rousseau (1995) (as quoted in Guerrero and Herrbach 2007) believes that the psychological contract is formulated in the minds of the employees, individual beliefs, shaped by the organisation, regarding terms of an exchange agreement between individuals and their organisation. (Rousseau (1995) as quoted within Guerrero and Herrbach 2007 p.4) Taking all that into consideration, the nature of the psychological contract can be seen as the implicit unwritten expectations and beliefs that one holds in relation to their employment relationship. These contracts can be highly subjective and what makes them binding is what they are perceived to be (Hughes and Palmer 2007). Conway and Briner (2002) state that the beliefs refer to employee perceptions of the explicit and implicit promises regarding the exchange of the employee contributions such as effort, ability and loyalty for organisational inducements such as pay, promotion and security. Moreover, Bloisi, Cook and Hunsaker (2003) supports this statement by stipulating that workers are expected to input their skills, time, effort, commitment and loyalty to the organisation in return of wages, benefits, job security, opportunity to progress their achievement, power, status and affiliations. Witte et al. (2008) clarifies further that the idea of balance is key to these mutual exchanges within this dynamic and informal contract so that the employee feels that what is offered by the organisation balances what the individual brings to the relationship. Perceived imbalance could consequently result in the perception of contract violation. The CIPD (2005) highlighted a simplified Guest model (1996) of the p sychological contract as illustrated in Figure 2.1. The influencing factors that feed into the contract include the human resource practices, organisational content and the individual characteristics of the employee. The psychological contract content can be measured in terms of fairness of treatment, trust, and the amount of which the implicit deal or contract is perceived as being delivered in reflection of a set of obligations or some sort of exchange (Guest 1996). The outcomes as a result of the content of the contract are the employee attitudes and behaviours. The CIPD (2005) found that employees attitudes of trust, fairness and delivery of the deal are major determents to gaining a psychological contract which creates employee commitment and satisfaction. Robinson (1996) (as quoted within Bosch-Sjtsema 2007) claimed that expectations are often shaped by past experience, social norms and observations that are influencing factors to the contract. It was also asserted by Rousseau (2001) that these promise based psychological contracts take the form of a mental model or schema over time. She found that an employees pre-employment experiences, recruiting practices within the company and on the job socialisation as influencing factors to the formation of these schemas which may differ the content or form that an individuals psychological contract takes. 2.1 The Purpose of Psychological Contract According to Bloisi et al., (2003; p.123) the psychological contract is considered as workers implicit expectations about what they are expected to contribute to an organisation and what they will receive in return (Bloisi et al., 2003 p. 123) In a similar way Schein (1965) defined that The notion of a psychological contract implies that there is an unwritten set of expectations operating at all times between every member of an organisation and the various managers and others in that organisation (Schein 1965 as quoted within Armstrong 2003, p 297). According to Hiltrop (1995), it has been noticed there is a significant rate of change of the economic environment in which the organisations work during the last twenty years. Increasing competition, globalisation of markets has demanded greater flexibility and productivity of organisations, as well as new strategies focused on innovation and speed. In the psychological contract the perceived responsibility of an organization influenced by employees expectation ( Cheong Kim 2009). As a result, the terms of old psychological contract has changed radically which earlier gave security, stability and predictability to the relationship between employer and employee (Hiltrop, 1995 p. 286 287). Moreover, the above definition stated by Schein (1965) was amplified by Rousseau and Wade-Benzoni (1994) who stated that Psychological contracts refer to beliefs that individuals hold regarding promises made, accepted and relied upon themselves and another. (In case of organisations, these parties include an employee, client, manager, and/or organisation as a whole.) Because psychological contracts represent how people interpret promises and commitments, both parties in the same employment relationship (employer and employee) can have different views regarding specific terms. (Rousseau and Wade-Benzoni, 1994 p. 463-89) Guest and Conway (1998) summarise stating that since the psychological contract is not written down formally it lacks the characteristics of the formal contract due to which it has no beginning and no end and which is why it cannot be enforced in a court or a tribunal. Guest and Conway (1998) also believe that: The psychological contract is best seen as a metaphor; a word or a phrase borrowed from another context which help us make sense of our experience. The psychological contract is a way of interpreting the state of the employment relationship and helping to plot significant changes (Guest and Conway, 1998 as quoted in Armstrong, 2003 p. 298). 2.1.1 The importance of Psychological Contract The importance of the psychological contract was emphasized by Schein (1965) suggests that the extent to which people work effectively and are committed to the organisation depends on the degree to which their own expectation of what the organisation will provide them and in return what the organisation expects of them; and the nature of what actually is exchanged for example, money in exchange for time at work, security in exchange for hard work and loyalty, and various combinations of other things (Schein, 1965 as quoted within Armstrong, 2003, p 299). The HR profession will have significant role to play in the management and balancing of the general or specific psychological contracts of employees. The HR function can act as a focal point for helping to discover employees expectations through collective channels or individual mechanisms, while seeking to provide for the meeting of employees expectations (e.g. Sims, 1994) (Holden and Breadwell, 2001 p. 546). The HR professionals must make sure that different facets of human resource management and the different managers shape and support the psychological contracts in consistent, integrated and balanced manner, (Rousseau and Greller, 1994 p. 385-401). If employees feel that their psychological contract has been disrupted or breached, and then they may withhold or withdraw from the relationships, consciously or unconsciously, (Spindler, 1994: 326- 327). 2.1.2 The Guest model of Psychological Contract This model was formulated by Guest et al, 1996 suggests that the contract should be measured in terms of fairness of treatment, trust, and the extent to which the explicit deal or contract is perceived to be delivered. Figure 2.1: A Model of the psychological contract Causes Organisational culture HRM policy and practice Experience Expectations Alternatives Consequences Fairness Trust The delivery of the deal Content Organisational citizenship Organisational commitment Motivation Satisfaction and well-being Source: Guest et al, 1996 The simplified Guest model of the psychological contract as illustrated above in Figure 2.1 (as quoted in CIPD 2006) defines it in terms of linkage between the inputs, being the HR practices; the employee features and the companys characteristics together with the content, being the fairness and trust and finally the outputs being the employees behaviour; work performance and delivery. ODonnell and Shields (2002) believes that Guests extended model of the psychological contract (from employee perspective) represents a particularly useful way of understanding the attitudinal and behavioural impact of employment practices at the level of the individual employee (Guest 1998: 659-60) Hiltrop (1995) states that this psychological contract has two important aims, the first for providing a gauge for employers of the type of outputs they are going to obtain from employees and secondly by employees contributing their time and effort for the level of rewards they will receive. 2.1.3 The changing nature of the Psychological Contract According to Hiltrop (1995), there is considerable evidence that shows the changing of the psychological contract in the past decades. Now the employers want to know in advance the outcome of the employees efforts and employees want to know what reward he will get in exchange of the hard work and time spend in the organisation. De Meuse and Tornow (1990) stated that since the 1970s, however, the force that connect employers and employees has become severely stressed organisations deal with the need to cut costs and enhance efficiency, have ever more compacted their workforce and eradicated some of the elements (job security, regular promotions up the corporate ladder, annual wage increases, cheap mortgages, etc.) offered as a rule to employees in the earlier decades (De Meuse and Tornow 1990 p. 203-13). Moreover, people fill in the blanks along the way, and they sometimes do so inconsistently (Rousseau, 1994 as quoted in Hiltrop, 1995 p. 287). In addition to the above context, Kolb et al., (1991) have pointed out that a company staffed by cheated individuals who expect far more than they get is headed for trouble (Kolb et al., 1991 as stated in Hiltrop, 1995 p.287). Conversely, optimistically, some organisations are trying to develop steps that can increase mutuality and to endow with scale for tangential career development and enhance knowledge and skills through opportunities for learning. It has been recognised that the organisations can no longer provide a guaranteed long term job to the employees; they have to take responsibilities to build their skills and give a path for career development. In other words they take steps to improve employability (Armstrong, 2003 p. 302). Two diagrammatic representations are given below which shows the differences between the old and new employment contract by Kissler (1994) and the changing nature of the psychological contract by Hiltrop (1995). Figure 2.2: Difference between the old and new contract. OLD Relationship is predetermined and imposed You are who you work for and what you do Loyalty is defined by performance Employees who do what they are told will work till retirement NEW Relationship is mutual and negotiated You are defined by multiple roles, many external to the organisation Loyalty is defined by output and quality People and skills only needed when required Long-term employment is unlikely; expect and prepare for multiple relationships Source: Kissler, 1994, p. 335-52 Figure 2.3: Changing Psychological Contract . FROM Imposed relationship (compliance, command and control) Permanent employment relationship Focus on promotion Finite job duties Meet job requirements Emphasise on job security and loyalty to the company Training provided by organisation TO Mutual relationship (commitment, participation and involvement) Variable employment relationship people and skills only obtained or retained when required Focus on lateral career development Multiple roles Add value Emphasis on employability and loyalty to own career and skills Opportunities for self-managed learning Source: Hiltrop 1995, p 286-294. Hiltrop (1995) also suggests that a new psychological contract is emerging which is more situational and short term that assumes that each party is less dependent on the other for survival and growth. This new contract was described by Hiltrop (1995) as a worker being employed as long as they provide added value to the company and in return they expect the right to demand interesting and important work with the freedom and resources to perform it well along with performance related pay and training and development. However Armstrong (2006) argued that this could hardly be classified as a balanced contract because employers still dictate their workers employment terms and conditions apart from cases where workers are in demand and there is little supply of skills. Mant (1996) (as quoted within Armstrong 2006) classified workers as resources that are acquired or divested according to shortterm economic circumstances, therefore having little influence over the terms of the contract that their employer offers them. Additionally Taylor (2008) claims that the new relationship is less emotional and is simply an economic exchange, thus moving from relational to transactional. Organisations that are now adopting the rationale behind the use of the flexible firm model (Atkinson 1984) will have developed diverse types of psychological contracts among their workforce. Rousseau and Wade-Benzoni (1995) (as quoted within McDonald and Making 2000) found that temporary staff usually have a transactional contract with significance given to the economic elements of the contract, whilst permanent staff are more likely to have a relational contract involving commitment to the organisation. Additionally Guest (2004) found that the content of temporary workers psychological contract is narrower, transactional and easier to manage on both the employers and employees behalf which temporary workers preferred. An investigation into the company Flexco (Saunders and Thornhill 2005) found that forced change within the company structure through downsizing changed the psychological contract of those on permanent and temporary employment contracts. After the changes it was reported that the temporary workers contained mostly transactional expectations and most permanent employees were found to have relational expectations. However, there were a few exceptions regarding permanent employees, who felt that the changes had violated their contract in terms of interpersonal treatment. These employees felt insecure, and worried that they may face a temporary contract in the future, which emphasises that they no longer felt as though their job was secure. 2.2 The purpose of the performance appraisal. Performance assessment is one of the many people management techniques that classify and order individual hierarchically (Townley, 1994, p.33). A performance appraisal is the process by which a manager evaluates an employees work performance by measurement and comparison with previously established standards (Palmer, 1991 p. 1). According to Palmer (1991), there are two major purpose of conducting performance appraisals. One purpose is to provide the information for the administrative decision making such as the increment of salary, bonuses, promotion and the administrative actions that can be brought by the work performance of the employee. This also helps the organisation to decide whether to introduce for instance, a new incentive system or to improve the present pay and promotion methods. In other words, it is a vehicle to validate and refine organisational actions. For example, it has been noticed in the appraisal data that one of the employee has constant conflicts with the fellow colleague or with the supervisor or manager. Some options can be concluded from the above case, which is, showing more importance to the interpersonal skill while recruiting the new staff or encouraging the present employee to attend the sessions on the conflict management offered by various colleges or providing the employee with one-to-one counselling (Billikopf, 2003 p. 60). The other major purpose is to provide feedback to the employees on their work performance based on the standards established on the job description and analysis. Feedback provided by the supervisor or the manager give the employees an opportunity to develop their career path within the organisation. Feedback can be positive or constructive. Positive appraisal has many benefits and beneficiar

The Theme Of Death In Othello and A Dolls House Essays -- compare cont

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The theme of death is present in many works of literature. It is given metaphors and cloaked with different meanings, yet it always represents an end. Every end signifies a new beginning, and every death gives rise to a new birth. Physical death â€Å"...is mere transformation, not destruction,† writes Ding Ming-Dao. â€Å"What dies is merely the identity, the identification of a collection of parts that we called a person. What dies is only our human meaning† (49). Figuratively speaking, death symbolizes a change, an interruption or cessation of regular routine. In this sense, death can be viewed as a more positive occurrence, because change leads to new experience, which, in turn, leads to knowledge and a better understanding of life. The plays Othello and A Doll House both encompass the theme of death. While the former deals with physical death, the latter depicts a change, a transformation of a period of time and a way of life.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Shakespeare’s Othello is a tragedy. The villain gains trust by appearing honest and, taking advantage of being undoubted, implants false ideas into Othello’s mind, causing him to believe in an illusion that portrays the opposite of reality. Shakespeare shows, by setting his plays in either antiquity or modernity, the evolution of human thought. His characters in antiquity acquire things through war and conquest, and are hasty in action and judgement. In modernity, however, the characters live in a regime that practices acquisition through trade and commerce. Logically, the characters in modernity are superior to the ones in antiquity. They prefer trade to war, and display logic through their actions. Because Shakespeare set his modern plays in Italy or England, Othello can be classified as a modern play. However, there are some elements of antiquity present in it, such as Othello’s murderous act. Not being logical, Othello looks at the imposed circumstances only through Iago’s perspective, and is completely overtaken by the lies. Emilia’s opinion on the matter doesn’t make any difference, because his mind is already made up by the time he speaks to her. Thus, Othello’s ability to reason is not very well-developed. How strong was he really, when his faith in groundless implications created such a rift in his character during the temptation scene, that he ended up murdering his... ...d fallen in love with her image of him. With this realization, Nora â€Å"dies† in the sense that she is reborn with a new understanding of herself. Death is symbolized through the end of her ignorant days, her marriage to Torvald, and the life she had known. She is reborn through enlightenment, with a desire to discover and understand herself, before anything else.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Whether physical or figurative, death adds a new dimension to Othello and A Doll House. Its presence gives the reader an eerie feeling and intensifies the depth of the plays. As readers, we wonder about the significance of death, and muse over what went on in the heads of Nora and, especially, Othello during the moment of truth. Nora believed in the illusion, whereas Othello was fooled into believing in it. They both went through a transformation, a step higher in consciousness, to a new beginning. Death is a link in the chain of life. Death as change or demise is often feared, because one doesn’t know what to expect. It is said that the best way to banish an enemy is to make it a friend. The concept of death, if understood, will unleash immortality.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  

Ethics and Philosophy of Social Research Essay

The social research shares with all scientific endeavours the necessity to balance scientific zeal with other ethical values that derive from the social context in which all social research takes place. To some degree, the research ideal of objectivity unavoidably conflicts with humanistic values. Therefore, all researchers must at some time come to grips with this conflict. The issue, however, is especially crucial for social researchers because the focus of their research is the behaviour of other people. Thus, not only the goals of the social research but the very process of data collection is subject to ethical conflicts. The paper contains analysis—the synthesis of research results across a large number of studies—and on the social responsibility and ethical requirements of the social research. The ethical issues which researchers face in their day-to-day study are comparatively consistent across methods. The ethical principles adopted by researchers should govern their actions, whether they take place in field or laboratory environment. To make this point most strongly, this paper contains a separate section, which should serve as a strong point of reference for the social researcher, rather than providing a series of ethical requirements that are spread thinly throughout the various sections of this paper. These issues include the social and ethical responsibilities and constraints connected with the conduct of social research and advancing the cumulative progress of behavioral and social science through integrating and synthesizing findings from different current investigations. The paper hopes to make clear that social research is a collective enterprise undertaken in the context of ethical values. Main body Ethics in Social Research Ethics of Research Design and Methodology Because the subject matter of the social researcher is human behaviour and the processes that are associated with behaviour, it is unavoidable that researcher interests will conflict sometimes with ethical values placed on the rights of people to privacy and self-determination. The guidelines for social research ethics set by the Social Research Association (SRA) (2003) stress the idea of recruiting participants for research on the basis of informed consent —this means that participation must be freewill and with the participant’s full knowledge of what research will include. However, it is declared that many subjects could not be researched at all if this ideal were entirely met, and that the rights of individuals must be weighed against the possible importance of the research problem. David De Vaus (1996), for example, demonstrated in a verbal conditioning experiment that a full explanation of methods and hypotheses destroyed the phenomenon they were attempting to exa mine. In cases where full explanation of subject cannot be presented, SRA recommends that â€Å"But there should, at least, be clarity about opt-in and opt-out arrangements, about the length and degree of commitment required of respondents, and about the precise goals of the research. Adequate subject de-briefing also seems essential to this last aim.† Thus, the ethical code does not present free from limitations standards that relieve the researcher of important value judgments. Rather, judgments as to the comparative significance of research programmes and researchers’ responsibility for the well-being of their participants are the primary bases of research ethics. Deception in the Laboratory The degree to which participation is entirely voluntary is in many cases disputable, depending on the social and institutional pressures to take part in research that are at times involved. But usually, participants in laboratory experiments at least know that they participate in a research study. Notwithstanding, however, the information provided to participants in laboratory investigations is usually smallest, at best, and often purposely deceptive as to the goals of the research study. To what degree this deception is justified by serving scientific purposes and the potential benefit to human welfare is a matter of considerable debate. Some critics claim that no deception is ever reasonable and that it should not be permitted in the interests of social research (Ortmann & Hertwig 746-747). Most social researchers, however, take a more temperate view, considering that there is an unavoidable compromise between values of entire honesty and informed consent and the possible value of what can be learned from the research itself. Just as the unimportant lie uttered in the interests of tact or politeness is regarded as acceptable when used in the service of good manners, so a little amount of deception may be acceptable in the service of obtaining reliable research data. However, there is also some controversy over whether social researchers have exceeded this adequate minimum in their research (Barnes 320). For some years the practice of deception in laboratory experiments was considered acceptable by most experimenters. However, an article by Herbert Kelman (1967) reflected a growing concern with accepted among many people, and evidently undisputed, use of deception in social research. Kelman’s article argued this practice on both ethical and practical grounds. Ethically, he claimed, any deception disregarded essential norms of respect in the interpersonal relationship that forms between researcher and research participant. Besides, the practice might have extreme methodological implications as participants become less naive and extreme suspiciousness begins to have an effect upon the outcomes of all research. To avoid these problems, Kelman advised that social researchers (a) reduce the unnecessary use of deception, (b) explore ways of counteracting or minimizing its negative consequences when deemed necessary, and (c) develop new methods, such as role playing or simulation techniques, which substitute active participation for deception (Kelman 10-11). Practices of experimenting with these alternative methodologies have been tried, but the results are consisting of conflicting thoughts, at best (Crespi 23). Thus, the general agreement in the social research is that some level of deception is often necessary to produce realistic conditions for testing research hypotheses. However, such deception needs to be justified by the nature and significance of the research question being studied. As James D. Faubion (2005) put it, â€Å"The social researcher whose study may have a good chance of reducing violence or racism or sexism, but who declines to do the study simply because it requires deception, has not solved an ethical problem but only traded one for another† (860). Ethical Issues in Field Research Although much of the discussion about the ethical implications of deception concentrates on laboratory experimentation, study conducted outside the laboratory often considers a number of other ethical issues and concerns. Besides issues associated with consent to participate, researchers also must think over issues of privacy and confidentiality when research data are collected in field surroundings (Boruch 102). Because a main benefit of field research, from a scientific point of view, is the chance of obtaining samples of behaviour under naturally occurring circumstances, it often is beneficial to conduct such research under conditions in which the nature of the research is concealed. Therefore, the participants may not only be mislead regarding the goals of the research, but may even be uninformed that they are the subject of research in the first place. The use of â€Å"frugal† measures highlights this strategy (Ortlieb 2002), but even more traditional methods of data collection, such as the interview or questionnaire, are often conducted in such a manner as to conceal their true goal. Some researchers consider the practice of concealed observation or response elicitation as passable as long as it is limited to in fundamental way â€Å"public† behaviors or settings usually open to public examination. Adam Ashforth (1996), for example, presented a review of settings and behaviours for which concealed research methods have been used. However, there is the question of subjective definitions of what form â€Å"public† behaviours, specifically in urban settings where social norms lead to the probability of anonymity in public surroundings. Because by definition field research includes some act of intervening on the part of the researcher in the stimulus conditions to which the uninformed participants are exposed, ethical question about hidden observation is further difficult to understand because of concern over the nature of such manipulations. Instances of practice of experimenting in field settings comprise systematic variation of the content of applicant briefs sent to potential employers (Ashforth 1996), differential behaviour on the part of salesmen regarding customers (Fairclough 2003) or customers toward salesmen (Fairclough 2003). To some degree these all fall within a â€Å"normal range† of human behaviour in public surroundings, the only difference being their methodical manipulation by the researcher. Yet, collecting data about individual behaviour in these cases evidently violates the spirit of â€Å"informed consent, † in particular when researchers conclude it is best not to inform individuals which have been observed even after the fact (Seiber 268). The Regulatory Context of Research Involving Human Participants The preceding discussion of ethical dilemmas is contemplated to present the idea that there are no easy, certain rules for deciding whether a specific research strategy or method is ethical or not. Rather, difficult enough to construct opinion is involved in weighing the possible value of the research against potential stress or other costs to research participants. Ethical decision making includes a cost—benefit analysis rather than the consideration of certain strictures and rules (Alvaro & Crano 13). Much of the responsibility for decision making falls on the individual researcher, but one person alone is not always the best judge of what is of considerable importance and necessary research and what is possibly harmful to participants. Actually, there is good evidence that biases enter into scientists’ evaluations of the quality of their own research (Kimmel 1991). Therefore, the conduct of social research that meets reasonable ethical standards and methods is not just a matter of person’s judgment, it is the law. Almost all social research that is supported by funds or conducted in educational or research institutions that receive funding (of any kind) is subject to regulations concerning the conduct of social research. The primary agency is The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) which is the UK’s leading research funding and training agency addressing economic and social concerns. ESRC provides certain principles for protecting the welfare and dignity of human participants in research and provides policies and procedures that are required of institutions in which such research is conducted. The ESRC expects that the research it supports will be conducted according to a high ethical standard. This Research Ethics Framework (REF) sets out good ethical practice in UK social research.Although REF is a mandatory aspect of social research which involves human participants, it does not absolve the researcher from any further responsibility for the ethical conduct of his or her research.