Sports Gambling free essay sample

Over the last 100 years there have been many great sports players such as Babe Ruth, Larry Bird, Bo Jackson, Tim Tebow and others. They all loved the games they played so much, and so have the fans. A nice and fun thing about sports is how fans can talk statistics, talk strategies and of course bet on the teams which they think could win. Many players, who have had a major impact on the sport they played, have gambled on games and have been banned from the sport which they play, and are debarred from the Hall of Fame. Gambling on the professional and collegiate levels by athletes should be permitted as long as it does not involve fixing games. Those who oppose allowing athletes to bet on sports argue that gambling on sports games can change the outcome of the game or result in players throwing games to win the bet. We will write a custom essay sample on Sports Gambling or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page There have been cases that have been proven in which players do in fact get caught. These players are fined heavily, and are prohibited from participating in their sport. However, in some cases players are never fully charged with what they have been accused of, but they are still banned from the sport. In Pete Rose’s case, Rose was accused of gambling on games he did not play in, but he was never found guilty of gambling on his own games. According to the Dowd Report itself, no evidence was discovered that Rose bet against the Reds. (Wikipedia). He was still banned from all of Major League Baseball and most importantly, the Hall of Fame. Secondly, most people that gamble do it for the fun of it, especially athletes. These people get a thrill, an excitement, a gambling high. They find this activity entertaining. The rush they get when they win, the sorrow when they lose. Athletes use it as a stress reliever. It helps with the stress of their games and stress of the season. As Danny Sheriden said, a writer for greenhaven press, â€Å"betting is a widely accepted form of recreation in this country and has been an integral part of our history. † Next, it gives gambling athletes a nice profit. Since they make a lot of money, their wages are higher than most. When they win, the money in return is greatly increased. The gamblers know about the risk and are ready for a loss, but the return definitely makes up for it. Professional organizations such as Major League Baseball, the National Football League and the National Basketball Association should allow athletes to gamble, but control the bets and set up rules for gambling. If the organizations are in control, games will not be thrown. This way, games will never be fixed.

Understand and Prevent Memory Leaks in Delphi

Understand and Prevent Memory Leaks in Delphi Delphis support for object-oriented programming is rich and powerful. Classes and objects allow for modular code programming. Along with more modular and more complex components come more sophisticated and more complex bugs. While developing applications in Delphi is (almost) always fun, there are situations when you feel like the whole world is against you. Whenever you need to use (create) an object in Delphi, you need to free the memory it consumed (once no longer needed). Surely, the try/finally memory guarding blocks can help you prevent memory leaks; its still up to you to safeguard your code. A memory (or resource) leak occurs when the program loses the ability to free the memory it consumes. Repeated memory leaks cause the memory usage of a process to grow without bounds. Memory leaks are a serious problem if you have a code causing memory leak, in an application running 24/7, the application will eat up all the memory available and finally make the machine stop responding. Memory Leaks in Delphi The first step to avoiding memory leaks is to understand how they occur. What follows is a discussion on some common pitfalls and best practices for writing non-leaking Delphi code. In most (simple) Delphi applications, where you use the components (Buttons, Memos, Edits, etc.) you drop on a form (at design time), you do not need to care too much about memory management. Once the component is placed on a form, the form becomes its owner and will free the memory taken by the component once the form is closed (destroyed). Form, as the owner, is responsible for memory deallocation of the components it hosted. In short: components on a form are created and destroyed automatically Examples of Memory Leaks In any non-trivial Delphi application, you will want to instantiate Delphi components at run time. You will, also, have some of your own custom classes. Lets say you have a class TDeveloper that has a method DoProgram. Now, when you need to use the TDeveloper class, you create an instance of the class by calling the Create method (constructor). The Create method allocates memory for a new object and returns a reference to the object. varzarko : TDeveloperbeginzarko : TMyObject.Create;zarko.DoProgram;end; And heres a simple memory leak! Whenever you create an object, you must dispose of the memory it occupied. To free the memory an object allocated, you must call the Free method. To be perfectly sure, you should also use the try / finally block: varzarko : TDeveloperbeginzarko : TMyObject.Create;tryzarko.DoProgram;finallyzarko.Free;end;end; This is an example of safe memory allocation and deallocation code. Some words of warning: If you want to dynamically instantiate a Delphi component and explicitly free it sometime later, always pass nil as the owner. Failure to do so can introduce unnecessary risk, as well as performance and code maintenance problems. Besides creating and destroying objects using the Create and Free methods, you must also be very careful when using external (files, databases, etc) resources.Lets say you need to operate on some text file. In a very simple scenario, where the AssignFile method is used to associate a file on a disk with a file variable when you are finished with the file, you must call CloseFile to free the file handle to begin used. This is where you do not have an explicit call to Free. varF: TextFile;S: string;beginAssignFile(F, c:\somefile.txt) ;tryReadln(F, S) ;finallyCloseFile(F) ;end;end; Another example includes loading external DLLs from your code. Whenever you use LoadLibrary, you must call FreeLibrary: vardllHandle : THandle;begindllHandle : Loadlibrary(MyLibrary.DLL) ;//do something with this DLLif dllHandle 0 then FreeLibrary(dllHandle) ;end; Memory Leaks in .NET? Although with Delphi for .NET the garbage collector (GC) manages most memory tasks, it is possible to have memory leaks in .NET applications. Heres an article discussion GC in Delphi for .NET. How to Fight Against Memory Leaks Besides writing modular memory-safe code, preventing memory leaks can be done by using some of the third-party tools available. Delphi Memory Leak Fix Tools help you catch Delphi application errors such as memory corruption, memory leaks, memory allocation errors, variable initialization errors, variable definition conflicts, pointer errors, and more.

6 Powerful Reasons to Quit Your Job

6 Powerful Reasons to Quit Your Job In any job, there will be things you need to put up with. Personality differences, questionable lunch choices in an open-plan cubicle environment, the coworker who clips his nails at his desk- all are things that likely need to be endured (or at least ignored) in the interest of workplace harmony. However, there are definitely some serious workplace issues where you shouldn’t adopt the â€Å"suck it up† policy. Here are 6 powerful reasons you should quit your job.1. Being asked to do something morally or ethically wrongWe all have core personal morals and values, no matter what job we’re doing. If your job asks you to do something you know is wrong, or that you believe to be wrong, this is not a job you should keep. The request may be something small, something you could push through and look the other way, but that small thing could grow into a larger ask or a series of requests that make you feel uncomfortable. Very few jobs are worth having panic attacks- even fewer are worth sacrificing your core values.2. Being asked to do anything illegalThis is even less of a gray area. It’s not just you thinking this is wrong, it’s the law. In real life, illegal activity isn’t always caught like it is in the Hollywood-ized version- but if your company (or your boss) is ever caught and scrutinized, do you really want to be the one holding the bag? â€Å"I was just doing my job† sounds awfully weak in court, so why put yourself in that position? If your job is asking you to do things that are illegal, that opens up a whole host of consequences that you need to consider carefully. Unless you’re ready to deal with those consequences, it’s time to hand in your notice.3. Harassment or bullyingBullying is something that happens only in kids’ lives, right? Surely professional adults would never stoop to that kind of behavior. Sadly, no. Verbal abuse is never okay, whether it’s from senior employees to junior ones, or colleagues who think it’s funny to belittle others. Basically, you should never be made to feel uncomfortable in a work situation- and if you are, it’s okay to speak up and say so. All of you are professionals, and deserving of respect- no matter if you’re the CEO or the assistant. You shouldn’t assume by default that you’re just being thin-skinned; Human Resource departments are trained in how to handle situations like this effectively and discreetly. If that doesn’t work and it becomes a pattern, it’s time to move on.4. Giving up a personal life.This is a pretty common refrain, ‘cause it’s true: no one gets to the end of a career and wishes that he or she’d worked more hours instead of spending time with friends and family. Many jobs, especially ones outside the 9-to-5 template or ones that work on deadlines, make it challenging to balance work and personal life.If you find that your personal life is being crowded out altogether due to your long hours or answering emails 24/7, it’s definitely time for a priority re-evaluation. If you don’t see the situation getting better, then don’t wait for the Ghost of Christmas Past to come along and remind you of everything you missed by staying at your job. Start looking for a new job (or even a different career path) that works with your personal goals as well as your professional ones.5. Jobs that hurt you physicallyMost jobs are up front about physical demands†¦must be able to lift 50 pounds or more, must be able to stand for hours at a time. If you find yourself performing physically demanding tasks that you didn’t know you were signing on to do, you don’t have to suck it up and pop painkillers to get through your day. Or even if you knew ahead of time, but you’re less able to cope with the heavy lifting and standing than you used to be, it’s time to think hard about what youâ⠂¬â„¢re doing. Your health is not worth losing for one job.6. Sexual harassmentThis can be one of the toughest dealbreakers to handle, because often it’s not the job itself that is the problem- it’s a person in your workplace. Again, you should never be made to feel uncomfortable at work. However, in reality, identifying it and doing something about it can turn into a complicated mess of â€Å"he said/she said,† and the person reporting it can be made to feel like they’d have negative career repercussions for doing so. If someone at your job (any gender, any seniority level) is making you feel uncomfortable by making inappropriate comments or advances, that’s just not acceptable. The stress of the situation may well undo any positive career progress you’d get by staying, so it’s important to take a serious look at other job options and opportunities. You should never, ever feel obligated to stay in a role where you’re treated s o unprofessionally. And more importantly, you should never feel like you need to hide it and keep going for the sake of the job.There are always other jobs out there. That can be tough to imagine in a tight job market, but a job that asks you to violate any number of personal boundaries is likely not a job that would make you proud and fulfilled later on in your career. Sometimes it’s best to walk away, with your best self intact, and search for the next opportunity.

No topic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 25

No topic - Essay Example Teamwork is the new individualism in most organizations and industries and hence all employees or employees to be are expected to be able to understand the dynamics of team work and work well with the team members to increase productivity and do so within the provided time frame. Working in teams is not as easy as it may sound as each team member has different personality and a combination of all this may either crash or empower the team in general. What is important to understand is the personality of each team member and how this personality can improve the efficiency of the team for example extroverts can negotiate deals. Leadership of the team is also important as the chosen leader should be assertive, good listener, dedicated to the team and the work, and should be a risk taker and do both leading and following. The team should be able to understand each other as well as find ways to remain motivated and solve their differences if it is to remain together and succeed. Ethics are another important issue in any work environment as breach of ethics may result to negative consequences such as getting fired, lack of promotion among other negative consequences. Every company and industry has its own particular set of ethics and ethical conducts expected from people in that industry. The presentations covered some of these ethics and also shed light that these ethics are the solution to any dilemma that is work related. Thinking outside the box is not as easy as it sounds as it involves doing more than just mediocre thinking which is what many people engage in. It involves not just everything at face value and trying to seek the meaning and reason behind it. It also requires an employee to seek solutions to problems even those that seem impossible through thinking of alternative solutions and different approaches to understand the problem better. These three

Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 6

Management - Essay Example And third, this essay identifies bad effects of HRM and leadership failure to live within such a modern theory of HRM. By definition, Human Resource Management is the strategic process of sourcing manpower through recruitment, selection, and hiring, followed by rewarding, developing with training and assessments, relationship building and sustaining. (Rowley, C. and Jackson, K. 2011, p.xxvi). It normally takes time and financial investments to build up good relationships with employees on top of just training them to perform well in their jobs. This is very important to derive positive attitude and wholesome cooperation from employees. If they work hard enough, the company derives more benefits from them. But employees need to be engaged with their part of the functions, duties and responsibilities, in order to be highly desirable in their behaviour and highly productive in their share of the works to achieve objectives. The benefits of training and development over the years are rea lized in achievements of goals through good performance. Whenever a company has to retrench manpower by reason of force majeure, e.g. in times of economic crisis, the company actually loses not only qualified manpower but also the training and development investments incurred to make employees perform better. In the HRM Theory of Engagement, the term â€Å"engagement† refers to a mental attitude with positive behaviour, emotions, and thoughts about a job for the organization to meet the required high performance of manpower capabilities in achieving company objectives. (Holbeche, L. and Matthews, G. 2012, p. 12) A very good example in connection with applying these two theories was reported by the CEO of SRS Real Estate Partners, Chris Maguire. The economic crisis that started in 2008 forced him to sell a part of the real estate business which was supposed to be the â€Å"bread and butter† of SRS in the USA (Fehrenbach, P., 2012) even while he wanted to maintain his ma nagement and staff because of their years of being together. How to maintain their morale and work performance obviously became a major problem. From depending on the big market for real estate and construction industry, SRS shifted to the retail sector or the smaller market in an attempt to find transactions for their survival. One of his leadership skills which paid off eventually was the willingness to be transparent to the people he managed. All members of the organization knew what was happening to the organization. Involvement was high for the survival of the entire manpower resource. This implies the depth and extent of knowledge by the employees that they had to scramble for transactions in the retail sector of the industry in order to find transactions for SRS. Also implied in the situation of SRS were the treasured training, relationship building, and maintenance of good leadership-employee relationship in good or bad times. From the viewpoint of the leadership, retrenchme nt in operations was necessary for survival. Although the story does not give details about what happened to employees connected to the sale of major assets tied with the big chunk of its real estate business, it can be imagined how employees were either transferred to the accountability of the new owner, Jones Lang La Salle, or probably transferred somewhere else. In an economic crisis, where people would

Flight of the Kittyhawk Essay Example for Free

Flight of the Kittyhawk Essay The case showed that HP valued technical innovation as a key to the business success. From the beginning, HP had employed a management by objective (MBO) process that motivated its people to focus on the potential paths of innovation and strategy to achieve its goals. Hence, when the idea for the Kittyhawk project came up, Spenner received the support of Hackborn , and Rey Smelek , the same people who promoted Spenner to General Manager of the Disk Memory Division (DMD) and supported Spenners â€Å"concept-driven thinking. The project also received executive support from the top ranks of HP despite the hesitation of some of the RD section managers in view of the unclear market of the proposed new product. HP seems to have done everything right. They had set up an autonomous project team, and gave the project heavy senior management support. It was then easy for Spenner to create the team for the development of the project. The Kittyhawk team was not governed by the divisions traditional development processes and was given autonomy to develop the drive, find new markets and cultivate its customer base. Seymour and White, both with reputations for â€Å"quick-thinking and action,† led the R;D and marketing divisions, respectively. The Kittyhawk managers carefully selected their staff of exceptional employees from within HP, composed of risk-takers that would be more excited by the market potential of a 1. 3-inch drive than by its technological capabilities. HP has never been a pioneer in the disk-drive business, and Kittyhawk was considered a pioneering effort by the company. HP concentrated its efforts on the most productive stages of the NPD process. The core team for the development of the 1. -inch drive came from within the company. The whole process of development was done within the company but the project team outsourced the manufacture of the drive to an external supplier with proven expertise in miniaturized manufacturing Japans Citizen Watch Corporation which designed and built an automated production line for Kittyhawk. Initial market research was undertaken by S eymour and White but to give Spenner reassurance, the team contracted a highly reputable research firm that specialized in high tech markets to independently gauge the magnitude of Kittyhawks opportunity. However, as no clear market was evident yet, the research firm ended up deriving their conclusions from the Kittyhawk team. As a result, the results of the independent study only mirrored the thoughts of the team. This may have contributed to the error in the target market of the Kittyhawk. HP provided adequate resources and focused R;D funding to the project team which were critical to the success of its NPD process. Eventually, the Kittyhawk project failed to meet its goals but HP still acknowledged its value.

A Wind from a Foriegn Sky :: essays research papers

A Wind from a Foriegn Sky A Wind From a Foreign Sky is a very interesting novel. It is full of magic, knights, witches and all sorts of unknown evil. In the beginning of the novel, Gaultry, the heroine, is in the town on market day, she's attacked on her way home, but is saved by a knight, sent by her father. Martin, her rescuer, was sent by Gaultry's father to protect her and her sister, Mervion. Gaultry soon finds out that the Chancellor is set to kill Mervion on their holy night, they decide to rescue her. Their travels were plagued by many mishaps, some of which Gaultry's powers provoked. Gaultry begins to notice a strong feeling for Martin, who is also feeling the same for her. They have fallen in love with each other. After many days of travel, they reach the Prince's kingdom in the town of Princeport. Gaultry uses her Magic powers to save her beloved sister, and like any good story, everyone lives happily ever after.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I think if I could meet anyone of the characters in the novel, I would like to meet Gaultry. Gaultry reminds me of myself in many ways. She is smart, but she does not always think until it is too late. She always gets herself into trouble by not thinking before acting. Like in the near beginning of the novel when she was attacked by a group of men, instead of using her cunning, she ran. She was almost raped and beaten because of her quick reaction to a situation that might have been avoided. Gaultry is really an everyday hero, she is not stronger, smarter, or braver than any other character in the novel.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I think I would like to live in the time and setting of this novel. It does not exactly state what time everything occurs, but from passages like the following, I was able to assume it was during a medieval time and place. The worn leather of the scabbard had gone clear as glass and the mighty sword that lay beneath the battered casing could be clearly seen. Six runes power winked out along its blade embossed into the metal like evil, shifting eyes.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Although this passage does not clearly state what period, using text clues I figured it had to be medieval. The place where everything occurs is not anyplace that ever existed, but a place very similar to England or Ireland.

The Role of Civil Society in the

THE ROLE OF CIVIL SOCIETY IN THE DEMOCRATISATION PROCESS IN BOTSWANA INTRODUCTION One of the approaches to democratization is the fostering of civil society organizations. Botswana`s civil society organizations have a role to play in the country’s democratization process. As stated by Maundeni (2005) the argument is that the non-partisan character of Botswana’s civic organisations has not prevented them from participating actively in democratising the public space.In fact civil society has been portrayed as the prime catalyst for promoting democratisation process in developing countries, Africa in particular. This paper attempts to examine the above assertion in Botswana and posits the roles and contributions of civil society to democratisation process. CONCEPTS AND DEFINITONS WHAT IS CIVIL SOCIETY? The issue of defining what constitutes Civil Society is very controversial; it is defined in various ways. Indeed, the use of these terms in many instances depends on place and time, country and the existing legal framework for registering civil society organizations.Other factors include membership, mission, and form of organization and levels of operation. The World Bank defines civil society/NGOs as: â€Å"An association, society, foundation, charitable trust, non-profit corporation, or other juridical person that is not regarded under the particular legal system as part of the governmental sector and that is not operated for profit — viz. , if any profits are earned, they are not and cannot be distributed as such. It does not include trade unions, political parties, profit-distributing cooperatives, or churches. According to the Commission of European Communities â€Å"Civil society includes the following groups: trade unions and employers’ organizations (social partners); organizations representing social and economic players which are not social partners in the strict sense of the term†¦ non-governmental organizations which b ring people together in common cause, such as environmental organizations, human rights organizations, charities, professional associations, grass roots organizations; organizations that involve citizens in local and municipal life with a particular contribution from churches and religious communities.At one level, civil society can be described as all organized activity not associated with major institutional systems: government and administration, education and health delivery, business and industry, security and organized religion. They include religious/faith based organizations, cooperatives, trade unions, academic institutions, community and youth groups (Judge 1996). Civil societies are therefore created in the public interests and can do things which neither of the other national development actors-the government and the corporate sector-can do on their own.Civil societies would have as their main objective the improvement in the lives of the poorest and disadvantaged. This is where there is a role for the state: Harriss & de Rienzo (1997) suggest that the role played by civil society organizations will depend on the wider political setting, and on ways in which inequalities of power and resources are dealt with in the economic and political arena. DEMOCRACY The word is derived from the Greek word demos, which mean people rule. It can be defined as a system where the authority has its legitimacy in the will of what the people have expressed.Democracy at the same time puts demands on how the people’s will should come to expression. Two principles should apply political equality and principles of freedom. The first principle defines political citizenship and focuses on who should be involved in the political process. The second principle concerns freedoms of all kinds of political opinions that may be expressed during the political process. Democratic government aspires to serve under â€Å"the people† rather than ruling over them. Implemen ting some form of a voting system, usually involving indirect representation pursues this ideal.It shares links with the concept of a republic. DEMOCRATIZATION Like Civil society, the definition of democratisation has consistently been subjected to analytical scrutiny by social scientists, in particular, the political scientists. In his definition, Conteh-Morgan (1998) argues that democratisation is an increase in political equality and a decrease in coercive rule. Others argue that democratisation is synonymous to democratic consolidation and or the deepening of democratic practices (Diamond et al; 1995). It implies a process through which a political system becomes democratic.It is a process that is made up and caused by different factors; these can be connected with political or socio-economic structures and political institutions in which they act. It is a transition to democratic political systems, where democratic systems are taken to be those approximating to universal suffra ge, regular elections, a civil society, the rule of law and an independent judiciary. CIVIL SOCIETY AND DEMOCRATIZATION PROCESS IN BOTSWANA Civil society can be regarded as organisational life that is voluntary, self-generating, self-supporting, and autonomous from the state, and bound by a legal order or set of shared rules.It consists of a vast array of organisations, both formal and informal: interest groups, cultural and religious organisations, civil and developmental associations, issue-oriented movements, the mass media, research and educational institutions, and similar organisations. The difference between these groups and other society groups is that they are concerned with and act in the public realm, relate to the state (without seeking to win control over it), and encompass and respect pluralism and diversity.Civil society consists out of individuals from different groups who are seeking change within a society. Through organising themselves in various forms of protests to show that they demand their rights, civil society has proved to be powerful when a few societies have transformed from non-democracies into democracies. This implies that the functioning of democracy requires a strong civil society, but a civil society that is politicised, and interacts with the state through concrete participation in decision-making processes.TYPES OF CIVIL SOCIETY AND THEIR CONTRIBUTIONS TO DEMOCRATISATION Research and Advocacy Groups: these are few without a membership base but effective think-tank research and policy advocacy NGOs. They have easy access to the Botswana policy makers and have established cordial relationship with the foreign donors. Some of these organisations do not only participate in drafting key policy documents for the governments, they also consult for the present regime on governance, economic, security and development issues.They have contributed significantly through research and advocacy to deepen democratic practices under the pres ent government. In his 2005 edition, Maudeni outlined the role of Democracy Research Project (DRP consisting of a academics) in the democratisation process. He showed that the DRP brought together different stakeholders in a way creating a platform where debates would be initiated and set in motion discussion about ways in which Botswana`s democracy might be improved. Maundeni reckons thus,the non-partisan DRP seeks to spark a democratisation debate nationally and infact has done so on past occassions.It has brought together politicians, academics, civil servants, journalists and traditional chiefs were brought together in a forum in which government politicians and officials did not exercise control over its proceedings. Human Rights and Democracy Advocacy Groups: Women NGOs These organisations advocated for the equality and recognition of women in the society, they were headed by a group of educated and committed women who provided leadership and who have worked as volunteers to b ring these organizations to where they are today.The groups include Young Women Christian Association, or Botswana Council of Women. Somolokae (1988) relates that these organisations have been dealing with purely welfare matters for decades and they enjoyed a good relationship with the state. Then during the mid-1980s, radical women’s groups entered the political scene. Examples here included Emang Basadi, and Metlhaetsile. From the onset, these organizations set out to challenge the state on policy issues. Emang Basadi was formed in 1984 to pressure the government to repeal all legislations which were discriminatory against women.At first, the reception was bad. Overtime, Emang Basadi together with other NGOs, began to network and push as a united front. When not much progress was being made, the groups under the leadership of Emang Basadi switched focus to a political agenda. The organization came up with a political education project to sensitize women about their politica l rights, encouraging them to vote for candidates who are committed to addressing the issues and concerns of women. This strategy seems to have worked as more women than ever showed interest in political power. Ditshwanelo – Botswana Center for Human RightsThe Botswana Centre for Human Rights was established in 1993 and since then has remained the only organisation in Botswana dealing with all aspects of human rights. It advocate for changes in laws, policies and practices, and to raise public awareness of rights and responsibilities and also provide paralegal services to those earning less than the minimum wage. Ditshwanelo also targeted its campaigns on the death penalty. In its recent statement commemorating World Day against the Death Penalty on October 10 2012, the NGO remains opposed to the death penalty vows to continue to campaign for its abolition in Botswana. t states that it is particularly concerned about the secretive and arbitrary conduct by the Government of Bo tswana, in its administration of the death penalty. The group also has partnership with other rights-focused organisations in Botswana, such as those focusing on gender equality or the rights of those affected by HIV/AIDS, complementing the work of its partners, and focusing on issues least supported by others, including the Basarwa / San (Bushmen), sexual minorities and domestic workers. Trade Unions These are organisations established to influence policies in favour of their members.They are very active in influencing economic and less of political policies. One of the leading and effective members of this group is the Botswana Federation of Public Service Union BOFEPUSU,it is popular in mobilizing workers to go on strike when the need arises and the government is aware of this strength as experienced in 2011. Inaugurating a New Trade Union Education Centre at Gaborone, Botswana on July 10, 1971, President Seretse Khama discussed the role of trade unions – present and futur e – in his country.He states â€Å"Free trade unions are an essential instrument of participatory democracy. It is through such unions that the workers can not only defend their interests but also make a positive contribution to national development. And if this contribution is to be effective trade unions must be free. They will not be an effective instrument of participatory democracy if they are manipulated by government, or by a political party or by any external agency. A trade union movement must seek to maintain the confidence of all its members irrespective of party affiliation.It must not become the agent of a political party. We in Botswana have given trade unions freedom to represent their members' interests and to guide the aspirations of our workers so that they make a productive contribution to national growth. We have not given them freedom to promote the interests of political parties or external powers. † In summary, below are the four broad roles that the civil society has been playing to deepen its contribution to the democratisation processes. Monitoring Role- This varies from one programme and organisation to another.The monitoring of the executive and legislatures for accountability and good governance for instance are most prevalent among the specialised research and advocacy NGOs while census, elections and budget implementation monitoring are common among the Network and coalitions. They have been performing this role, pointing to mistakes and how governments can overcome such mistakes. Capacity Building Role- Training and sensitization of citizens on their democratic and human rights and how these rights can be protected e. g. he rights of the citizens to hold accountable the elected representatives etc. This capacity building is not restricted to the citizens alone, the elected representatives have also benefited from such trainings e. g. , democratic control of military and security establishments, the making of partic ipatory and gender sensitive budgets etc. Another remarkable, although, ongoing contribution of civil society to the process of democratisation in Botswana; is the campaign for a new constitution for the country through the convocation of a sovereign national conference.Disciplinary Role- finally, the civil society has also been mobilising the citizens and call on government to discipline some of the elected representatives and bureaucrats for misconduct while in office through recalls and dismissal (though they have not been successful in this role). More efforts and capacity building- training and fiscal resources are needed to be successful in this role. The challenges of civil society Usually they represent only those sections of the population that are strong and self-aware.The viewpoints of civil society sometimes are conflicting and contradictory and there is a high possibility of susceptibility to foreign governments or foreign groups particularly if the CSO/NGO receives Int ernational funding. Sometimes, people working or serving in civil society are drawn to this sector due to the potential incomes they expect to receive rather than the ideology. This is particularly true with people working in NGOS. CONCLUSIONThe paper critically analysed the roles and contributions of civil society to the process of democratisation in Botswana and argued that the types of civil society and its advocacy strategies to a large extent determine the level of civil society’s contribution to democratic process. Investing in civil society groups whose activities have found resonance with the population is one way to promote the democratization of politics and the full participation of the citizenry in public life.The civil society must continue to employ a collective advocacy role to mobilize consensus for a national agenda of democratization, peace building and national reconciliation. Moving away from individualized, fragmented and disorganized advocacy to collecti ve advocacy is essential to becoming a strong countervailing force. It can also be concluded that civil society plays a critical role in strengthening democracy in that, it brings about the movement from a bureaucratic administration to a more representative administration.Civil society brings about active co-operation and an on-going commitment in the process of policy formulation and implementation between politicians, senior management, frontline workers, and citizens. Civil society encourages the divergence from the traditional regime-driven policy process to one where there is a multiplicity of negotiated determinants of the problem identification, formulation of policy principles, setting of objectives, development of options according to agreed criteria, and the formulation of an implementation strategy.The manner in which this is done and the contribution at various stages in the process characterize democracy. The dynamism of linkages underscored above ascribes to democracy as being about partnerships of all stakeholders in an endeavour to bring about synergies of efforts and resources. The civil society also strengthens democracy through fostering of complex relationships, not only among different institutions of state, but among all the stakeholders, from the most powerful titans to the poorest and most vulnerable people on society's marginsREFERENCES I. Commonwealth Foundation (1995): â€Å"Non-Governmental organization: Guidelines for Good Policy and Practice,† London. II. Conteh-Morgan Earl (1997), Democratization in Africa: the theory and dynamics of political transitions, Preager Pub. Westport, USA III. Diamond, L; Linz Juan; and Lipset Seymour (1995) Politics in Developing Countries: comparing experiences with democracy (Second Edition), Pub Lynne Rienner, London. IV. Emang Basadi (1998) Political Education Project: A Strategy that Works Gaborone: Lentswe la Lesedi. V. Judge, A. 1996) Interacting fruitfully with uncivil society: the Dil emma for Non Civil Society Organizations, (Transnational Associations, Washington DC, ) VI. Holm J. (1996) â€Å"Development, Democracy and Civil Society in Botswana,† in Leftwitch (ed). I. Policy Press, U. K. II. Maundeni Z. (2005) 40 Years of Democracy in Botswana 1965-2005 III. Somolekae G. (1998) Democracy, Civil Society and Governance in Africa :The Case of Botswana IV. The World Bank (1997): International Center for Not-for-profit Law, 1997. Handbook on Good Practices Relating to Non-Governmental Organizations, Washington

Is It Ok To Cry At Work, Case Study Essay

1 What factors do you think make some organizations ineffective at managing emotions? A There are many factors that make organizations ineffective at managing emotions. The first factor is the complex human thinking. Not everyone think and act in the same way to a particular situation. So the organization faces difficulties when handling their employees. The problem is even worse if the organization is very large. If the organization is large it means it is diverse. The employees belong to different background and different culture which makes even more difficult for the organization to understand emotions of the employees. Some organizations even think that emotions are disruptive and they will interfere with the employee’s ability to work. They don’t let their employees to expresses their feelings and emotions. The managers should be given training to understand the emotions and feelings of others. The organization should be in regular contact with the employees so that they could understand the feelings and emotions of the employees. Emotions are the psychological responses to a particular incident. This is very hard to expect. When you can’t expect a thing how can you manage it? So we can’t blame organization for not managing emotions effectively. References: Text book and my understanding of the subject. 2 Do you think the strategic use and display of emotions serve to protect employees, or does covering your true emotions at work lead to more problems than it solves? A. Covering of your emotions can sometimes ensure a work is done smoothly and perfectly. However covering your emotions will lead to mental stress. So it is better to display true emotions at work. What does it mean? You shout at your manager if you are not happy? NO. You should be expressing your emotions depending upon several factors. Some of those are what are your emotions? Waiting for the right time and right place. I would like to state an example where displaying emotions in a strategic way  can help you .My brother works as solution engineer at VCE. Recently during the Christmas time he had a week off after three months of heavy schedule and was planning for a vacation. But suddenly his manager has called him and assigned some work to him and told him to complete in a week. He was very disappointed but he has agreed to do the work and even completed the work. He had to work even during the holidays. After two weeks he went to the manager and spoke to him that he is overloaded and needs a break. The manager saw his record and granted him 2 weeks of all paid trip to CALIFORNIA. So I feel that employees should display their emotions in a right way and at the right time will definitely help them. 3 Have you ever worked where emotions were used as part of a management style? Describe the advantages and disadvantages of this approach in your experience. A. I have never worked in an organization where emotions are used as part of a management style. Hence I will consider that I work in an organization that uses emotions as part of a management style. For this I will consider my classroom as an organization to explain my understanding. Here, I will consider me and my classmates as employees and my professor as the manager. Considering myself in this environment and noting that this organization(classroom) uses emotions as a part of the management style, I can sense the following advantages and disadvantages. Advantages: i.When my manager is in a good mood he can help me with my work. ii. I can discuss any problems that I have with my manager freely and get his suggestion iii. When everyone is in a good mood, work progresses more effectively. iv. Everyone would be comfortable in discussing their problems with each other. Disadvantages: i.When the boss is in a bad mood the employees would have to handle all the consequences. ii. The work pressure would seem to be higher than it is with the boss scolding the employees. iii. Because of that, the work progress of the employees will become low. iv. As discussed in class, the job satisfaction will be reduced. v. As a result the employees will sometimes  want to quit the job. 4 Research shows that acts of co-workers (37 percent) and management (22 percent) cause more negative emotions for employees than do acts of customers (7 percent). What can Laura’s company do to change its emotional climate? A From the research it is clear that act of co-workers cause more negative emotions for employees followed by management and lastly act of customers. To change the emotional climate the organization should hold some kind of activities to strengthen the relationships. They should introduce a reward system for good behavior, excellent and etc. Also, the manager should be taught to control his emotions and make him understand that by showing his anger in the employees he is actually causing loss to the company, as the employees are feeling manipulated and do not want to continue in that office. I have studied in chapter 1 that it is the manager’s responsibility to motivate the employees and make sure that they are working efficiently to contribute to the progress of the organization. Also they should Improve communication between staff and managers. By this they can be friends and work together in a better way. The organization should get involved with the employees seek to understand and try to solve their problems. They should avoid displaying negative emotions like scolding, shouting as far as possible so that they could be a positive environment. Last but the most important thing is trying a bit of humor here and there whenever it is possible. With these there will be a positive environment in which the employees are inspired/motivated to work and show better results.

Entropy vs. Atrophy

Entropy vs. Atrophy Entropy vs. Atrophy Entropy vs. Atrophy By Mark Nichol Entropy is the uncertainty or disorder in a system. In a technical sense, it is the gradual breakdown of energy and matter in the universe; in casual usage, it refers to degradation or disorder in any situation, or to chaos, disorganization, or randomness in general. The stem -tropy, from the Greek word trope, means â€Å"change† or â€Å"turn.† It’s easily confused with a similar-sounding but unrelated word: atrophy, which refers to physical or psychological decline: Atrophy, which serves as a verb as well, stems from the Greek word trephein, which means â€Å"to nourish†; the prefix a- indicates antonymic form, as in apolitical or atheism. Atrophy can also mean poor development or loss of a part of an animal or plant, and in that sense it’s related to dystrophy, which in general refers to a condition resulting from poor nutrition, though it’s more familiar as part of the phrase â€Å"muscular dystrophy†; that, by contrast, identifies a hereditary disease that results in wasting away of muscle tissue. Trophy, however, meaning â€Å"a prize† or â€Å"a memorial,† is despite the ph spelling from trope, not trephein. (It evolved from a second sense of trope as â€Å"a rout, a victory.†) It’s related, therefore, to the English word trope, which refers to a figure of speech or a clichà © (a â€Å"turn† of phrase); the primary sense of that word is â€Å"a device or theme,† as in a common and perhaps trite plot element in a war movie or a tearjerker. Trop- features at the head of other words, too: tropic, referring to the two parallel lines of latitude that cross over the tropics, and tropism, which means â€Å"a tendency, inclination, or propensity.† The syllable also appears in numerous medical and scientific terms, such as autotropism and somatotropin. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Misused Words category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:"Based in" and "based out of"How to Punctuate Descriptions of Colors20 Tips to Improve your Writing Productivity

Understanding the Visible Learning Theory

Understanding the Visible Learning Theory Educators struggle with a number of questions regarding teaching methods, including: What educational policies have the greatest impact on students?What influences students to achieve?What are best practices for teachers yield the best results? Roughly 78 billion is the estimated dollar amount invested in education by the United States according to market analysts (2014). So, understanding how well this enormous investment in education is working requires a new kind of calculation in order to answer these questions. Developing that new kind of calculation is where Australian educator and researcher John Hattie has focused his research. In his inaugural lecture at the University of Auckland as far back as 1999, Hattie  announced the three principles that would guide his research: We need to make relative statements about what impacts on student work;We need estimates of magnitude as well as statistical significance – it is not good enough to say that this works because lots of people use it etc., but that this works because of the magnitude of impact;We need to be building a model based on these relative magnitudes of effects. The model he proposed in that lecture has grown to become a ranking system of influencers and their effects in education using meta-analyses, or groups of studies, in education. The meta-analyses he used came from all over the globe, and his method in developing the ranking system was first explained with the publication of his book Visible Learning in 2009. Hattie noted that the title of his book was selected to help teachers become evaluators of their own teaching† with the objective of giving teachers a better understanding of the positive or negative effects on student learning: Visible Teaching and Learning occurs when teachers see learning through the eyes of students and help them become their own teachers. The Method Hattie used the data from multiple meta-analyses in order to get a pooled estimate or measure of an effect on student learning. For example, he used sets of meta-analyses on the effect of vocabulary programs on student learning as well as  sets of meta-analyses on the effect of preterm birth weight on student learning. Hatties system of gathering data from multiple educational studies and reducing that data into pooled estimates allowed him to rate the different influences on student learning according to their effects in the same manner, whether they show negative  effects or positive effects. For example, Hattie ranked studies that showed the effects of classroom discussions, problem-solving, and acceleration as well as studies that showed the impact of retention, television, and summer vacation on student learning. In order to categorize these effects  by  groups, Hattie organized the influences into six areas: The studentThe homeThe schoolThe curriculaThe teacherTeaching and learning approaches Aggregating the data that was generated from these meta-analyses, Hattie determined the size of the effect each influence had on student learning. The size effect could be numerically converted for purposes of comparison, for example, an influencer’s effect size of 0 shows that the influence has no effect on student achievement. The greater the size of the effect, the greater the influence. In the 2009 edition of Visible Learning,  Hattie suggested that an effect size of 0,2 could be relatively small, while an effect size of 0,6 could be large. It was the effect size of 0,4, a numerical conversion that Hattie termed as his â€Å"hinge point,† that became the effect size average. In the 2015  Ã‚  Visible Learning,  Hattie rated influence effects by increasing the number of meta-analyses from 800 to 1200. He repeated the method of ranking influencers using the â€Å"hinge point† measurement which allowed him to rank the effects of 195 influences on a scale. T he Visible Learning website has several interactive graphics to illustrate these influences. Top Influencers The number one influencer at the top of the 2015 study is an effect labeled â€Å"teacher estimates of achievement. This category, new to the ranking list, has been given a ranking value of 1,62, calculated at four times the effect of the average influencer. This rating reflects the accuracy of an individual teachers knowledge of students in his or her classes and how that knowledge determines the kinds of classroom activities and materials as well as the difficulty of the tasks assigned. A teacher’s estimates of achievement can also influence  the questioning strategies and the student groupings used in class as well as the teaching strategies selected. It is, however, the number two influencer, collective teacher efficacy, that holds an even greater promise for improving student achievement.  This influencer means harnessing the power of the group to bring out the full potential of students and educators in schools.   It should be noted that Hattie is not the first to point out the importance of collective teacher efficacy. He is the one who rated it as having an effect ranking of 1.57, almost four times the average influence. Back in 2000, educational researchers Goddard, Hoy, and Hoy advanced this idea, stating that â€Å"collective teacher efficacy shapes the normative environment of schools† and that the â€Å"perceptions of teachers in a school that the efforts of the faculty as a whole will have a positive effect on students.† In short, they found that â€Å"teachers in[ this] school can get through to the most difficult students.† Rather than rely on the individual teacher, collective teacher efficacy is a factor that can be manipulated at a whole school level. Researcher Michael Fullen and Andy Hargreaves in their article Leaning Forward: Bringing the Profession Back In  note several factors that must be present including: Teacher autonomy to take on the specific leadership roles with opportunities to participate in making decisions on school-wide issuesTeachers are allowed to collaboratively develop and communicate mutual goals that are clear and specificTeachers are committed to the goalsTeachers work as a team transparently without judgmentTeachers work as a team to collect specific evidence to determine growthLeadership acts responsively to all stakeholders and show concern and respect for their staff. When these factors are present, one of the outcomes is that collective teacher efficacy helps all teachers understand their significant impact on student results. There is also the benefit of stopping teachers from using other factors (e.g. home life, socio-economic status, motivation) as an excuse for low achievement. Way at the other end of the Hattie ranking spectrum, the bottom, the influencer of depression is given an effect score of -,42. Sharing space at the bottom of the  Visible Learning  Ladder are the influencers mobility (-,34) home corporal punishment (-,33), television (-,18), and retention (-,17). Summer vacation, a much-beloved institution, is also negatively ranked at -,02. Conclusion In concluding his inaugural address almost twenty years ago, Hattie pledged to use the best statistical modeling, as well as to conduct meta-analyses to achieve integration, perspective, and magnitude of effects. For teachers, he pledged to provide evidence that determined the differences between experienced and expert teachers as well as to assess the teaching methods that increase the probability of impact on student learning. Two editions of Visible Learning are the product of the pledges Hattie made in determining what works in education. His research can help teachers see better how their students learn best. His work is also a guide for how to best invest in education; a review of 195 influencers that can be better targeted by  statistical significance  for billions in investment...78 billion to start.

Construction organisations have adapted themselves to address change Essay

Construction organisations have adapted themselves to address change and the growing complexity of the construction industry.Pre - Essay Example One of the key characteristics of the construction industry is its high complexity; the projects developed across this industry are depended on a series of factors, including technology, climate conditions, suppliers’ and employees’ efficiency and responsibility, local regulation and so on. Therefore, for the firms that operate in the particular industry the full achievement of their goals is a challenging task; in fact, the research on the industry’s characteristics and performance has led to the conclusion that operational and strategic failures are common phenomena in this industry. This issue is discussed in this paper; it is concluded that the above failures can justify the argument that in modern market no single ideal organization can exist. The aspects and the explanation of this argument are presented in this paper referring, as an example, to the challenges and the performance of firms operating in the construction industry. 2. Change and increase of co mplexity in the construction industry - characteristics, responses and consequences - discussion of the premise that there is no single ideal organization. ... The value of the construction industry for economies worldwide cannot be ignored. For example, in USA, one of the most competitive construction markets globally, the value of the construction industry for the domestic product has estimated to 9% - referring to 2005 (Atallah 2006). Despite its size, the construction industry in USA is not well structured – a high fragmentation has been identified; more specifically, most of the industry’s firms are small and operate within their local area – about 2.1 millions of the relevant businesses are self-employed (Atallah 2006). This fact limits the potentials of these firms to face the challenges set by the globalization. The above phenomenon is common in countries worldwide. Firms in the construction industry are usually established and operate in the context of the development of particular construction projects; in many cases, the end of a construction project can set the survival of a construction firm in risk. In oth er words, there is no expansion of the activities or tasks allocated to the employees. Rather, the operation of each construction firm is depended on the successful development of a particular construction project; it is for this reason, that most of firms in this industry are self-employed – the number of employees is low. This trend is reflected in the figures released in the study of Bennett (2003); in accordance with the above study, the construction firms in Italy have been estimated to 482,000 (for 2002), a number extremely high taking into consideration the potential number of construction projects developed across the country/ compared to the country’s size and relevant needs (Bennett 2003). Moreover, in accordance with a