Thursday, November 28, 2019

Top 100 Research Paper Topics to Help You Get Started

What pops up in your head whenever you hear the word "research paper";? We can almost see you yawning. Scientific documents seem to be a very dull task. At least, the vast majority of students think this way. However, it is not so. You do not have to be a mad-cap scientist to enjoy writing fundamental works. Besides, you learn so many new and exciting facts while working on such papers that the process you view as a burden turns into an interesting activity after all. If you do not enjoy working on this paper, then you might either have chosen a bad topic, or you did not follow a correct structure which leads the readers to a point throughout different stages. How to choose a correct topic for a research paper? Before we show you an extensive list of 100 great topics for a scientific paper, you need to understand what makes some topics better and some worse for you. So, how can you choose the topic that fits you best? You need to have certain level of expertise in this area. Ideally, when you choose topics to write about, you must have a clear understanding of what you will be working on. You will definitely have to spend time developing the theme, building up the structure and editing the text for hours. So, the fact that you know exactly what you are working on can help you choose something you will find easier to work with. Write about things you are passionate about.It is better to spend long hours in the library exploring the new depth of a topic you are genuinely interested in. Thus, instead of feeling empty by the end of the day, you will be inspired and encouraged. And what can be better? Choose for a topic not too broad, yet not too narrow.You need to opt for a theme that gives you room for fresh ideas and bright perspectives. If you choose a concept that is too broad, you will stay on the surface without touching the bottom line at all. Talk about something not too old.You should also select a theme that allows you to be creative and look at things at a different angle. Otherwise, you will be old news, and no one will ever want to read your paper. So, once you study these guidelines on how to choose a good topic, check out our extensive list of suggested ideas for the main theme of the scientific paper. We are sure you will be able to find something for yourself among those theme! Research paper topics What causes discrimination in society? The nature of abortion. The history of relationships between church and the state. Should children enter school after reaching some age limit or according to their social maturity? The history of birth control. What are the most common types of discrimination at schools? Is multilingual education good for children? Who is responsible for children's education - schools or parents? Should all the Internet content be controlled more strictly? What is the principle of SE work? Good research paper topics Is it fair that students have to pay for their education? The danger marijuana brings with it. Vaccination: risks and benefits. Is dieting a good idea when it comes to weight loss? The notions of ADHA and Asperger Syndrome. Anorexia: the latest statistics. The history of steroids in sports. Should the government make corporations have physical activities as a part of a working day? Why sleep disorders are so common? The main causes of obesity and its effects. Argumentative research paper topics Are vegetarians more ethical than other people? How can one prevent aging? Learning disabilities statistics. What people are at risk of becoming sociopaths? How technologies affect our communication today? What are the latest marketing trends? Should school day start with a prayer? Equal pay and ways to achieve equality. Alcoholism: the causes and effects. Drinking age in the United States. Easy research paper topics The psychological effect of sports in schools. Should college admissions policy be changed? The notion of cyber security. Should people uploading porn to the Internet be punished? Fast food restaurants and obesity. Bullying in schools. Is distance education effective? Why do we get so much spam daily? Should people be prosecuted for using piracy copies of books and other materials? Computer viruses. Psychology research paper topics Why do people use plastic surgeries? Should there be a "no touch"; policy on campuses? Reasons why people start using drugs. Domestic violence and ways to control it. What do Freud, Marx, and Jung have in common in their philosophies? How is psychology different from sociology? How helpful are psychotherapies when it comes to peer pressure issues? What psychological issues push people to eating disorders? What is mob mentality? The concept of human will. College research paper topics What pushes people to become terrorists? Should prostitution be considered a profession? How does freedom of speech affect citizens? Child pornography: psychological issue leading to it. What rights do religious citizens have in America? Should both parents have parental leaves? The most well-known terrorists of all times. Should unemployed people still pay taxes? How should country government treat illegal immigrants? Solutions to massive homelessness. Interesting research paper topics How to help poor countries overcome poverty? Religious perspective on the homosexuals. Should colleges have gender studies on their curriculum? Should the state allow homosexuals get married? The history of the United Nations. How can we protect the environment? Should lotteries be outlawed? Gun control issues: causes and effects of stricter laws. EBooks vs. printed press: what will survive? The definition of child abuse. History research paper topics European Union: the foundation and core principles. WWI and WWII in numbers. Renaissance in literature: main motives and themes. The leading writers of the last century. Holocaust throughout different countries. The influence of Christian beliefs on different areas of life within the country. The development of education in the USA. Armed Force of the USA. The history of ISIS. 9/11: terrorists, motives, and conclusions. Controversial topics for research paper Animal rights and medical testing on animals. Should abortions be outlawed? Are parental control services on the Internet legal or they interfere with a right of children to have private space? Donald Trump vs. Barack Obama. Should chemical sprays be outlawed? Air pollution throughout different states. Poor sanity in the Third World countries. Global warming: causes and effects. Should students carry guns on campuses for protection? Should students be paid based on their performance? Criminal justice research paper topics Are men discriminated when it comes laws and punishment? Should the United States have tougher laws on drug control? Should smokers pay higher taxes? Is cyber-bullying a matter of criminal justice? Copyright law. What is invasion of privacy? Politicians that broke the law. Is taking steroids really a crime? Should farmers be prosecuted for creating poor conditions for animals on the farms? Should bribers be sentences to capital punishment? These are examples of great question to think of and explore. Take your time to pick something you are particularly interested in, select a topic that was not studied too much years ago and start working on your scientific paper writing. You will enjoy the process if you do everything right.

Sunday, November 24, 2019

Cosmopolitan essays

Cosmopolitan essays In todays world, we have magazines for all different areas. We have Playboy, Hunting and Fishing, Highlights, Sports Illustrated, Better Homes and Gardens and many other magazines for many different types of people. We have all these different magazines because there are a vast variety of people and opinions. I chose to write on Cosmopolitan. Cosmopolitan focuses mostly on the female public. It has articles on topics from makeup and perfume to wrinkle cream and sex drive. This is a magazine that focuses on women, and the validity of this statement will be proven in the following information. Cosmopolitan carries many advertisements throughout its pages. The majority of these articles are for womens perfume. The magazine has articles for Clinique Happy, NOA, Goodlife, jadore, and Organza. These are just some of the many perfume advertisements in this one issue of Cosmo. Women, who are the focus of Cosmopolitans publication, see these articles and just like many people become interested in the product being advertised. Marketing personnel for these companies make millions because they know that to get their message to the people who will buy the product, they need to put the advertisement in places where its users will see it. In Cosmo advertisers see it to be wise to advertise products such as makeup and other body cosmetics, such as wrinkle creams and hair treatments. They see it to be wise because Cosmopolitan is a magazine that is generally for women, and these are feminine products. The makeup colors range from the lightest of skin tones to the African-Ame rican persuasion. These articles assure that no one is left out of the advertising blitz. The stories in Cosmopolitan are more focused on women that the advertisements. Stories such as, You know he loves you when... and How to touch a naked man stand out as two female directed articles. C ...

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Service Product Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Service Product Marketing - Essay Example To assist with process of analysing this statement, definitions of experience, services and goods are set out below. There are of course variations of the definitions available to describe experiences, services and goods. Another consideration is the relationship between experiences, services and goods plus whether each is clearly distinctive from the other especially if one considers how closely related they are to each other. Where it has been considered relevant political or economic backgrounds have been included to give this work greater depth. Experiences are what people have felt or feel when they use goods and services providing the basis for future purchases and behaviour. Providing good experiences can be the key to commercial success. People can buy goods and services because they want to do so or because they have to. The portrayal that some goods and services can provide certain kinds of experiences can make people think need rather than just want goods and services (Ison, 2000, p.48). Economists used to concentrate almost exclusively on the economic experiences of companies and manufacturers rather than the experiences of the consumers of services and goods. It was generally believed that the experiences of companies were distinct from any services and goods that they offered. However the economic experiences of firms should be analysed to make the delivery of services and goods more effective and cheaper to provide. The link between using experiences to lower costs and pass on the savings to customers in the form of lower prices was appreciated by aircraft and car makers during the 1920s, and if Henry Ford’s adoption of mass production method is taken into account earlier than that. In other words it is a different slant on the theories relating to economies of scale (Schnaars, 1998, p. 45). More recently economists, market researchers and

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Family Theories Paper Research Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Family Theories - Research Paper Example Not only are they traumatized for an extended period of their life (as will become apparent in the literature review), they face life with the same fear and are known to instil it into their children. It is a vicious cycle that must be broken. Literature Review According to Hague, children in households where their mothers are abused suffer greatly from distress, mental abuse and are prone to exhibiting adverse reactions in social situations. Even if the children are not being abused, many academics and intellectuals term this as indirect abuse (Mullender & Hague, 2002). â€Å"It is only recently that researches have focused on the children being affected by families suffering from domestic violence† (Fantuzzo, 1999). Not much literature had been written on children suffering in families with domestic violence, especially on a national basis. However, the need for such researches has been felt and is now being carried out by academics and governments increasingly. Nonetheless, quantifying the intangible effects of domestic violence on children is proving to be hard as the methodologies are, as yet, still weak. The article, in the year 1999, focused on finding worthy methodologies. Then in 2000, the department of paediatrics of the University of Arizona carried out a research. According to their findings, domestic violence in a child's home was more frequent â€Å"if the mother had experienced physical abuse during childhood (65 %,) than if she had not (48 %)†, (Bowen, 2000). These statistics can be explained by Levendosky’s findings on the parenting in battered women a year later (USA). They found the women were depressed, had low self esteem, and felt powerless to do anything. In addition to this, â€Å"an increasing number... There is an obvious need for more research on this topic. Many aspects that arise from domestic violence in families with small children remain untouched. And while there are many solutions now available for members of such families to pursue, there is little that the children can do to safeguard themselves. They must depend on their parents and/or elder siblings. This leaves no choice but to uproot the problem, so that it never harms the children or other members of the family again. However, little has been done to prevent issues of domestic violence from arising in the first place compared to what has been done to solve the problem in this day and age. While the problem that is occurring IS being addressed, the main focus has been on how to stop it, not to eradicate it from the society completely. Small children form the future generations of this world. They are pure in their thoughts and heart, bear no malice for others, and love unconditionally. However, they are dependent on o thers. In exposing them to the violence in their families, parents/guardians ensure that the children grow up to be either, traumatized and socially underdeveloped, or to follow their examples. They may become the abusers when they grow up, or end up in abusive relationships. Awareness and prevention campaigns must be carried out on a wide scale as well as more research into this issue.

Monday, November 18, 2019

Whole Foods Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Whole Foods - Essay Example However, evidence reveals that effective and cognitive components usually do not always match the behavior of a person. Instrumental values are usually permanent in nature and they are mainly comprised of individual character traits. Terminal values are some of the things that can be worked towards so as to satisfy a thing. The things that Mackey said about wild oats are part of his instrumental values; however, the act of him wanting to acquire the company was in an attempt to satisfy his terminal values. The reaction by FTC and SEC were based in Mackey’s instrumental values. From my personal perspective, John Mackey did not act ethically. According to professional ethics, the attitude of a person should not be publicized in a manner that is like to change the perception of people towards a company. The comments by Mackey may have influenced the attitude of many people towards wild oats and that is not an ethical thing to do. John Mackey is operating at the conventional morality level. This is because he is trying to develop interpersonal relationships that are good by defending his comments and he is also trying to maintain a social order so as to justify his words and his alleged intentions for his comments (DiBella, & Nevis, 1998).   The attitude that is provided in regard to Mackey is that of hate and that makes him to try to protect his comments towards wild oats. The values that are portrayed concerning Mackey are those of one trying to maintain a social status. That is because he is trying to be little wild oats so that his company can appear to be more superior and that is not an ethical behavior in the business world. As a responsible leader who is ethical, Mackey’s behavior should fit in the 3rd level of moral development which is the post conventional morality level. This is true because he has to attempt to protect rights of individuals, and to settle disputes in a manner that

Friday, November 15, 2019

Analysis Of Buck And Pulleyn Strategic Change Management Management Essay

Analysis Of Buck And Pulleyn Strategic Change Management Management Essay Leadership and Organizational philosophy is one of the most strategic organizational assets which provide means to devise an efficient strategy for gaining a sustainable competitive advantage in the marketplace. We identified in our training presentation that organizations needed change to survive in the marketplace due to change in customer needs, competitors strategies and change in political, economic, social and technological conditions surrounding the organizations. Organizations need to undergo a strategic change process in which the stakeholders and employees of the organization play the most crucial role. In this paper, assuming the role of a consultant to a business advice organization, the material of Buck and Pulleyn which is an American advertising agency has been selected for discussion. This case was written by Professor Louis B. Barnes in 1995 and it is one of the most prominent examples of strategic change management that how this organization has to undergone change. The discussion about the organization revolves around the following important points and it provides important insights about the strategic change management. Develop systems to involve stakeholders in the planning of change and develop a change management strategy with stakeholders. Evaluate the systems used to involve stakeholders in the planning of change. Explain what systems and processes would need to be/have been developed to ensure involvement of the stakeholders in the change, and justify choice. Create a strategy for managing resistance to change. Review the effectiveness of management actions to overcome any identified instances of resistance Describe the most important features in the successful implementation of organizational change, drawing upon at least two organizational models Plan to implement a model for change and develop appropriate measures to monitor progress. The case was published by Harvard Business School in 1995 for class discussion. (The case study can be accessed online at: http://gwu-emse-211.wikispaces.com/file/view/Buck++Pulleyn.pdf) Summary of the Analysis of Buck and Pulleyn Strategic Change Management This case focuses on the issues faced by Buck Pulleyn which includes restructuring of the organization, employees motivation and stationing of Creative Director, Robert Massimilian, as the president because of the conflicting feedback from different stakeholders. For Analysis, I have applied and reviewed Lewins Three-Step Change Model in this case. Firstly, in Unfreezing, Chris came up with a new structure which was formed by the consensus of all the employees and stakeholders. The resulting structure was less formalized and highly decentralized. In the Moving phase, the new structure was enriched with greater employees and stakeholders involvement and it consisted of external and internal teams to manage the strategic change process. The basic focus of change in organizations structure was to anticipate the dynamic environment with changing needs/wants of customers and clients (The most important asset for any organization). The issue of conflict between cost and quality, issues re garding expertise database and concerns related to compensation according to the new system structure were also addressed. Review compensation group had to deal with a couple of issues such as the process, merits, implementation and criteria for the compensation plans. Now the organization is facing the problem to re-freeze the change process at an optimal point and this is the main problem for the case. After analyzing the case, I would like to make some recommendations which are: Buck and Pulleyn need some visionary leadership to anticipate change with greater employee consensus and involvement. The compensation plan by team needs some more compliance and focus. The Roberts management practices should be reviewed. There is a need for making sure that the organizational values and philosophy should be compatible with the new organizational structure because these values and philosophy are the building blocks of leadership and a sustainable competitive advantage. (Barnes, 1995) Problem Statement: The Buck and Pulleyn needs major organizational structure changes due to changing environmental context and needs/wants of consumers and clients by keeping productive human resources enriched with motivation and enforcement of organizational philosophy and vision. The organization is looking to refreeze the change process at an optimal point Analysis: The basic problems faced by this organization were poor leadership, inefficient decision making and cultural resistance. At the start, when the need for change in organizational structure realized by Chris, the efforts failed because of old cultural norms of organization and lack of confidence on the top management by the employees and stakeholders; a factor which had lowered the motivation level and increased the reluctance to change among the employees and shareholders. I have arrived to this conclusion by applying, a well-known approach for managing change that requires organizations to go through three separate processes. It is called Lewins Three-Step Change Model. The three steps are unfreezing, movement, and refreezing. First step unfreezing was done by understanding the need for organizational change due to change in environmental context and customer needs. In the 2nd step discussions were held with all the stakeholders to change the existing style of leadership and strategy but employees showed some resistance for organizational change. During this step, employees were a little uncomfortable, and there was a need for some strategies to encourage them for participating in decision making process in order to engage employees in decision making about the new system. Finally during refreezing, some issues arose due to poor leadership techniques, inefficient decision making methods and lack of confidence on the top management by the employees. (Barnes, 1995) First of all, I would like to analyze the case with Lewins Three-Step Change Model to understand the change process and then I would generate some arguments to get understanding of issues to arrive at a conclusion of the case study with some recommendations. It is advised that the reader of this paper must read the case study originally published by Harvard business school. (Barnes, 1995) Lewis Three Step Change Model: Unfreezing: The initial stages related to the restructuring of the organization were met with some problems, including the negative reaction of the employees when the first memo for the restructuring of the organization was sent. The employees were engaged in selective perception and believed that their feedback or participation in the new structure of the hierarchy would be insignificant, despite the continuous effort of the top management to involve them in the structural reforms through various procedures including group discussions. Stakeholders were involved in the strategic change management process by group discussions and training sessions to discuss the change in environment and to implement a strategy for gaining a sustainable competitive advantage in the marketplace. The approach to change was good and being in the place of Chris Pulleyn, I would not like to change differently from Chris because the approach used by Chris opened the way for stakeholders involvement to increase their m otivation and to change their selective perception. Unfortunately, this effort to engage stakeholders was not very successful due to confusions among the stakeholders about the strategic change management. My argument supports this approach because despite this approach did not succeed but it provided some edge or initiative for change or in other words it worked as a slipping point to bring a change in the organization. All the remaining process of change in The Buck and Pulleyn started from this initiative. Therefore, the change management strategy was defined in such a way that different tools and systems were developed to involve all the stakeholders in the change management process such as training sessions, group discussion and seminars across the organization as has been mentioned in the case. (Barnes, 1995) Moving: The failure of the first memo was followed by the introduction of group discussions for all the employees a factor which resulted in a relatively more positive increase in the response of the employees/stakeholders and motivated participation in the strategic change process, but still it did not meet the required objectives. The restructuring task force process resulted in formation of controlled command groups on intra-departmental basis, and as noted from the performance and the orientation of the external and the internal teams, especially the red team, it seems that the five-stage model had been adopted in the group development model. Problem solving teams both internal/external (red, green and blue) had been formed and the team leaders were selected by the team members themselves, thus increasing the cohesiveness amongst the teams and increasing the possibility of positive effect of performance expectations. Membership in the three external and three internal teams had been est ablished. Each team was developing and clarifying its responsibilities and new working relationships, with the Red Team far ahead of the others. Most Red Team members had previous experience in one of Buck and Pulleyn earlier multifunctional teams. The Blue and Green teams were still in their early stages of formation. The Transition Task Force was also under way, had a mission statement, and planned to dissolve itself after a three-month work span. Robert Massimilian had agreed to spearhead the cost/quality initiative and another staff member was in the process of establishing an expertise database of internal resources for the coaching/consulting problem. The approach was successful because it motivated employees/stakeholders to take part in the change process and increase in response rate of employees is a clear indicator of this success. (Barnes, 1995) Refreezing We need to do something about this! The time constraints in the decision making process had been relaxed to some extend by Chris so as to ensure optimal decision making. The process of rational decision making would have been used to get a better and much quicker solution. The organization is attempting to anticipate and refreeze the change process but still some concerns from the employees and stakeholders side exist. Moreover, some more brain-storming is required to refreeze the process as the new system is not fully mature (as mentioned in the original case study). For example, Domains for teams are being defined and teams are still developing their working relationships and therefore the process is actually in progress. Red teams may have some experience but the blue teams and great teams are in early days of their formation. Cost-quality constraints are being considered and new staff is being developed for expertise database etc. The current structure is different from organizations previous structure and there ar e some contradictions which are confusing the company in efficient decision making and leadership. For example, now the compensations are to be paid on team performance basis while in the past compensations were paid on individual basis. In simple words, similar problems like the controversy between the old individual based performance values and new team based performance values are creating problems and a proper solution is required before re-freezing the change process. Some other problems like the issue of Creative Director need some immediate solution to complete the refreeze process. My point here is to explain that the organization is unable to re-freeze the change which it has implemented because of some problems and an immediate solution is required to address these problems before re-freezing the change process. Therefore, it is the basic problem faced by the organization in this case. (Barnes, 1995) Argumentation The focus of the various teams in Buck Pulleyn was on customer retention and satisfaction, and this could be attained through highly motivated and highly satisfied teams. Also, smooth coordination and cohesiveness would be needed among the various team members. Scarce resources should be efficiently allocated amongst the teams to result in optimal performance through the formation of a comprehensive database for resource detection and an effective compensation policy to go along with both these factors. The factors highlighted by the Restructuring Task Force were related to the compensation and bonus of the employees, as well as job promotions and possible career expansions. Compensation plans would have a positive effect on the motivation and the productivity of the employees if they would be tied to both the team and the individual performance, with periodic reviews of the team members for allowing better performance. (Barnes, 1995) Looking at the team effectiveness model, the teams had all the four components of Context, composition, work design and process and were moving to the path of success. Better teams would be made, with the passage of time, by providing training to the employees. (Barnes, 1995) The organization had come out of the conflict process successfully. The conflict related to cost and quality was good for higher efficiency of the organization because the employees would have focus on using the optimal production procedures for the maximum output. Looking at the issue faced by Chris regarding the nomination of Robert as the president, we can see that there was a conflict only in the opinions of the employees. (Barnes, 1995) If we see the above events which happened in the last then these events clearly support my conclusion given at the start of the discussion. For example, there are clear evidences of poor leadership techniques, inefficient decision making methods and lack of confidence on the top management by the employees. We can consider the start of this change process when employees declined the change process indirectly. Then at the moving phase, some conflicts arose. Finally at the case of Richard, some contradiction occurred. All the employees needed a unified line of command with motivation and leadership for strategic change management. This supported my point which I described in the presentation that leadership and organizational philosophy is the most significant and strategic asset of an organization and it is crucial for employees to understand the organizational philosophy to efficiently take part in the strategic change management process. (Barnes, 1995) Recommendations: Based on all our analysis, I would make the following recommendations for Chris in order to solve various issues: Ensure that the company has string leadership, with a strong support from the employees. The compensation plan, dealing with all the issues highlighted in the report given by the Restructuring Task Force, is needed to be considered in the light of the new system. The organization has a very strong culture and employees are reluctant to change. This should be kept in mind before establishing any further change policies. The company will now have a decentralized decision making and a horizontal hierarchy, in which the reliance will be on the decisions made by the team leaders rather than the top management. They will be in direct contact with the customers and therefore, they are the most valuable asset for the company if it needs to prosper. Therefore, I would like to recommend that for the external teams, motivated and customer friendly employees should be hired. Moreover, the teams should also be given training to strengthen the team dynamics. As a result, in the long run, they will generate very positive outcomes for the company. The methods used for the compensation plans should be efficient and employee oriented like peer surveys, etc. The final decision should rest with the compensation team, while the bonuses should be given on both team and individual performance basis. The career paths and possible promotions should be made clear in the new structure by the top management to increase the motivation level of employees and to hire the best talent for internal and external teams. Any policies which are radical, or are providing a deviation from the general norms or practices, need to be carried out with caution and precision. This is because as was seen in the restructuring process, the organization wasnt very supportive of the change in the structure of the organization. Any change or major decision needs to be carried out with precision and in accordance with the possible reaction of the employees. It would be better for the organization to have the confidence of the employees or the team leaders before and during the implementation process and decision making of policies. All the changes made should be tested empirically that whether these changes are compatible with organizational structure or not. Because organization philosophy and vision are the building blocks of organizations structure, a proper brain-storming and activity mapping should be done to check the feasibility of change process. This is because organizational vision and philosophy are transferred from leadership and supports the activity systems of organizations. Any change away for these constraints will cause is poor leadership with organizational collapse. Conclusion If we clearly analyze the above the case of Buck and Pulleyn, then it is obvious that every strategy to undergo a strategic change management was efficient but the only problem faced was lack of leadership and organizational philosophy in strategic change management. The same recommendations were given in the training slides other than the report. The organizational philosophy and leadership the most the strategic assets to undergo and manage the strategic change management process in organizations. The organization must enforce organizational and leadership philosophy to align the personal goals of employees with organizational goals to accomplish its goals and objectives with an effective and efficient strategy.

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Briefer and Deeper: A Comparative Analysis of Depth-Oriented Psychother

Briefer and Deeper: A Comparative Analysis of Depth-Oriented Psychotherapy Introduction The use of psychotherapy in decidedly time-limited contexts is the hallmark of modern trends toward maximizing effectiveness and minimizing costs in the realm of health and mental health treatment. Although clients have historically utilized therapy for brief intervals (an average of 8 sessions), the use of models designed for this purpose is comparatively new. There is an ever-widening breadth of approaches - both formerly long-term designs modified to require fewer sessions and those born with the goal of brevity. Despite the diversity in brief psychotherapy (BPT) approaches, each therapy tends to be based on similar fundamental assumptions and general themes. For example, it is widely believed that a skillful therapist can affect useful changes in the lives of clients - changes that continue to build long after the treatment ends (Messer & Warren, 1995). These therapies also include root metaphors or ideas of where human difficulty arises, a set of curative factors, and an image of what it means to be mentally healthy (Borden, 1999). Finally, in an effort to address client issues briefly, the articulation of a clinical focus is seen as essential and can range from present day relational problems to underlying struggles with drives and anxiety - depending on the theoretical orientation. In comparison, Bruce Ecker and Laurel Hulley's Depth-Oriented Brief Psychotherapy (DOBT) model presents a slight variation to what has become the customary brief approach. DOBT is composed of techniques organized around the idiosyncratic, unconsciously held meanings of each client. Thus, there is no set formula or core dilemma to be address... ...ard theoretical pluralism in clinical practice. Most importantly, however, is DOBT's reassuring techniques which allows its clients a new, more coherent knowledge of themselves which leads to a deep and exquisite form of healing. References Borden, W. (1999). "Pluralism, pragmatism, and the therapeutic endeavor in brief dynamic treatment. W. Borden (Ed.) The therapeutic endeavor in brief dynamic treatment: Theory, research, practice, commentary. Haworth Press, New York. Ecker, B. & Hulley, L. (1996). Depth-oriented brief therapy: How to be brief when you were trained to be deep and vice-versa. Jossey-Bass Publishers, San Francisco. Ecker, B. & Hulley, L. (1999). Depth-oriented brief therapy. [Online]. Available: www.dobt.com Messer, S. & Warren, C. (1995). Models of brief psychodynamic therapy: A comparative approach. The Guildford Press, New York.

Sunday, November 10, 2019

Scholary vs Popular Media Focus on Sexuality Paper

It’s a Quick Way to Get What You Want†: A Formative Exportation of HIV Risk Among Urban Massachusetts Men Who Have Sex with Men(MSM) Who Attend Sex Parties was an article retrieved from the AIDS Patient Care and STD Journal it was published in October of 2010. The authors of this article are Matthew J. Mimiaga, Sari L. Reisner, Sean Bland, Kevin Cranston, Deborah Isenberg, Maura A. Driscoll, Rodney VanDerwarker, and Kenneth Mayer. The main focus of the research was to investigate the HIV sexual risk behaviors of MSM who reported attending and/or hosting sex parties in Massachusetts in the past 12 months. Men who have sex with men at these sex parties are at greater risk of receiving HIV or an STI due to the fact there are other factors involved like alcohol, drugs, higher mean of anonymous partners, and unprotected sex(Migiaga, 2010). This study took place at the Fenway Health a health care and research facility. There were 40 preselected participants who completed an in depth, semi structured qualitative interview and an interviewer-administered comprehensive quantitative assessment series for a hour and a half. The study/interviews were conducted by one of two trained interviewers. That asked questions like†¦ How would you define a sex party? When did you begin hosting/attending sex parties? Describe the sex parties you attended/hosted? Are condoms and lube available at these parties? What kind of sexual behaviors do men engage in and what HIV and STI risk behavior do you see happening? Do you participate or organize these parties? Any rules involved in your parties? While asking these questions they also assessed psychosocial factors like depression, anxiety, problematic alcohol used and history of drug or alcohol abuse, and the trauma history (like childhood sexual abuse). Results/conclusion of the study suggested that the men who attended these parties are at great risk of acquiring or transmitting the HIV due to the reasons explained throughout the article(Migiaga, 2010). â€Å"Party, Play—And Pay† was an article recovered from the Newsweek Journal that was published in February of 2005. This article gives a very detailed brief account of what a sex party full of men on crystal meth is like other wise known as â€Å"Party and Play†, or PnP for short. The authors describe the sex party scene as a room full of about 30 to 40 men paying 20 dollars a piece to the host of this party, they put all their belongs in hefty bags for safe keeping while they walk around in the nude having sex with multiple partners unprotected and using illegal drugs. The authors mention several factors that were putting these men at risk such as drug usage, multiple partners, and unprotected sex. They talk about how one person on meth and having hundreds of unsafe sexual encounters could have been the result in a powerful drug-resistant strain of HIV. Leaving health officials and the community leaders to take a long look on how crystal methamphetamine is playing an enormous role in the spread of the AIDS Virus and HIV(Jefferson, Breslau, Darmen, Childress, & Juarez, 2005). The authors depict how crystal meth leaves its users with a euphoric and hypersexual feeling, leading in binges with multiple partners for several days. In the article, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, men that are high on crystal meth are four times more likely to engage in unprotected sex than those who are not high. The article also reveals that many men pop Viagra to counter temporary impotence. This mix of drugs makes users more open to unsafe sex, thus leading to a greater risk of contracting HIV. They concluded the article with an interview on someone who has lived the life of the â€Å"Party, Play—And Pay† and how they lost everything!  Both of these articles are referring to the great epidemic that is infecting the gay community-HIV. They talk about how behaviors like attendance of private sex parties, drug usage, sex with multiple partners, and use of unprotected sex are assisting in the growth of HIV amongst the gay community. Even though these articles are providing a lot of the same information, they are very different. The scholarly article compared to the public media article is a lot more in depth and have factual numbers that were taken from the direct study. The authors of a scholarly article seem to leave â€Å"no stone unturned† and no question unasked. The scholarly article encompasses an abstract-giving a description on the whole study which then leads to the introduction, methods used for example the design and the setting where the study took place and they how data was collected, how the candidates were chosen to participate. It also discussed how the qualitative interview was preformed and they questions that were asked, the article gave a quantitative assessment and the approach that was taken to retrieve the information, thus ending in results, conclusion and the discussion. The scholarly article provided information, numbers, percentages, and averages about the demographics, sexual behavior, and psychosocial characteristics of the men who were interviewed and surveyed in this study. It is written in a very formal tone, in great detail, displayed the authors’ findings to be displayed for other experts and students in a specific field to study and review. All of the authors who wrote on the scholarly were experts with degrees. Most of the scholarly articles found consisted of more then just one or two pages and they have specific guidelines. The authors cite their sources though out the article and they also include a list of references at the very end. Graphs and data were included. Once the study is completed and the article is written it goes through a â€Å"rigorous† peer review process (Unknown, 2009). The public media article gave an informal tone (Unknown, 2009) to the whole â€Å"HIV, drugs, gay men, and sex parties. They used information, facts, numbers, and percentages from different sources like the â€Å"Centers for Disease Control and Prevention† and other various resources instead of conducting their own control study, survey, or interviews researched amongst a trained research team. Scholarly and popular media both provide a great amount of information, just presented differently. Scholarly articles seem to provide you with a more intellectual approach(Unknown , 2009) to the topic or what you are trying to learn and can be used perfectly in an academic environment, but unlike the popular media article its just numbers, demographics, facts taken from a research and its subjects. It lacks the real stories and visual pictures of human beings and how they are being affected by this epidemic. Talking about how some people lost their jobs, homes, family, and life to the life-style that lead them to AIDS or HIV, as a result hitting a little closer to home and how it’s affecting today’s gay community and what they are doing to counter act these behaviors. Professors like to advertise scholarly and peer reviewed articles simply because it is an array of factual information written by the subject matter experts in a very formative way. Sex is something that is not formally studied often and that’s why people have many different perceptions of what sex is really like. Sometimes these perceptions can lead to a lot of misleading information. Sex can be common to some but not so common to others due to the fact there are many aspects to sex like bisexuality, homosexuality, and heterosexuality. No one knows it all when it comes to sex and this is why you should leave it to the experts. This is perhaps why scholarly articles are preferred and â€Å"hyped up† by professors. Scholarly and public media articles can be very reliable depending on the source and their credentials. Conducting this review of the differences of a scholarly/peer reviewed article and the public media had shown me the pros and cons to both types of articles. If you are looking for an article that is reliable academically and that has been reviewed by many of subject experts-scholarly articles are what you’re looking for. If you are looking for informal information with very little statistics but reliable information on the subject matter you can read a public media article. In conclusion, if you really want to know more about the subject, look up both the scholarly and in public media articles just to gather a wide assortment of information from different variable resources.

Friday, November 8, 2019

How Great Writers Develop the Theme of a Story - Freewrite Store

How Great Writers Develop the Theme of a Story - Freewrite Store What is the theme of a story? Today’s guest post is by  Matt Grant.  Matt is a Brooklyn-based writer and editor.  His  work has appeared in  Literary Hub,  Book Riot,  HuffPost, and  BookBrowse.  Find Matt  online, or follow him on  Twitter  and  Facebook.       For many writers, upon hearing the word â€Å"theme,† our eyes tend to glaze over and our mouths grow slack-jawed. The word may set off flashbacks to high school English, in which teachers forced us endlessly analyze a story’s theme, images, and motifs when all we wanted to do was enjoy the writing and the characters. â€Å"Can’t a story just be a story?† we might have cried out as we did our homework, shaking our fists at the heavens. Whether we like it or not, the idea of themes in literary compositions is ubiquitous and is certainly not going anywhere. But rather than something to be wary of, developing a strong theme in your work can actually set it above the rest. In her 2000 â€Å"Writers on Writing† article in the New York Times, Pulitzer-Prize nominated novelist Diane Johnson says the term â€Å"theme† â€Å"Seems like a holdover term from high school English class, useful for discussing novels, but not very relevant to the process of writing them. There's something too close to ‘thesis’ about it; the idea of imposing a preconception is anathema to a novelist who likes to imagine she is observing life and manners without any didactic intention and without forcing her characters to follow a plan.† And yet the best writers embrace themes in their work and throw themselves headlong into crafting one. This is because every writer makes his or her writing about something, intentional or not. That something, the essence of the story, is its theme. What is the theme of a story? Don’t let the academic-sounding term throw you off. The â€Å"theme† of a story simply refers to its main topic or central idea. This can be as simple as monosyllabic words like â€Å"love,† â€Å"friendship,† â€Å"family,† â€Å"revenge,† or â€Å"loneliness,† or as complex as â€Å"man versus machine,† â€Å"coming of age,† â€Å"the toxicity of nostalgia,† or â€Å"the danger of unchecked ambition.† â€Å"I suppose the major theme of a given work is the sum of all its ideas,† Johnson writes. â€Å"That's implicit in those joke contests on the Internet about Merged Novels, in which people compress the essence of two books into one, like ‘The Maltese Faulkner.’ (‘Is the black bird a tortured symbol of Sam's struggles with race and family? Or is it merely a crow, mocking his attempts to understand? Or is it worth a cool mil?’) Or ‘Catch-22 in the Rye.’ (‘Holden learns that if you're insane, you'll probably flunk out of prep school, but if you're flunking out of prep school, you're probably not insane.' But every novel is a ‘spongy tract,’ as E. M. Forster put it, a tissue of ideas so dense and various it would be impossible to tease them all out.† Luckily, you don’t need to tease all of your ideas out, just the major ones. Whether you like it or not, your story has a theme, because all stories ultimately have one major idea. This is because we as writers are fueled by ideas. â€Å"Of course a writer, like anybody, has a set of general ideas: the inhumanity of man to man or that life is a struggle, or that nature is beautiful,† Johnson writes. â€Å"Some of the ideas will be received ideas; some may be original or idiosyncratic or even suspect, as was said of Ayn Rand's, for instance, or some of T. S. Eliot's, or Pound's. Taken together, a writer's themes are thought to typify the writer despite him- or herself, except for protean geniuses like Shakespeare, invisible in the dense thicket of their contradictions.† Whether or not you invest time and energy in developing and thinking about your theme is up to you, but your story will only be improved if you do. The stronger a story’s theme, and the more attune with that theme the writer is, the better the story. Identifying the theme Before you even begin work on your novel, you should identify what your story’s theme is. Ask yourself what, underneath all of your plots and subplots, your characters and your descriptions, your story is really about. Is it a story about how love conquers all? Is it about the complicated relationship between mothers and daughters? Good versus evil is a common theme. Is your story about how evil never triumphs and good always wins? Is it about how evil triumphs despite good? Any of these make excellent examples of themes. Of course, your story may have more than one theme. But you should at least identify one â€Å"main theme,† or major idea, that your story will focus on. It may also help to identify the â€Å"spine† of the story, or the main narrative thread. The spine is usually just one sentence that summarizes what the story is mostly about. This will help you retain your central idea throughout the work and prevent you from getting sidetracked by subplots, secondary characters, and long passages that don’t relate. For instance, for a book like The Great Gatsby,the spine might be â€Å"a wealthy American tycoon in the Jazz Age discovers that money can’t buy happiness,† and the theme might be â€Å"The decline of the American dream.† These might sound like oversimplifications. That’s okay. The theme is supposed to be a simple summary of your story’s main point. Once you have your theme and spine identified, try to find all of the ways your characters and your plot connect to that theme, both implicitly and explicitly. Which scenes relate your theme through your main  character’s interactions? How do your description and your settings bolster the theme? Everything that doesn’t, in some way, connect to your theme is worth considering whether it should be included at all. How to build a theme The question then becomes how, exactly, do you build a theme into your work? Other than your characterization, the main way is through motifsand symbols. Taken together, these three things are powerful tools when it comes to making sure your theme is easily understood and constantly present in your story. Let’s look at each one in turn. A motif is a recurring structure, symbol, or literary device that helps develop and inform your theme. The more a motif turns up in a story, the more prominently it will factor into your theme. For instance, taking The Great Gatsbyas an example once again, some of its motifs include geography (the East Coast represents decadence and cynicism, while the West represents more traditional, straightforward â€Å"American† values) and the weather (the changing weather patterns reflect the shifting tone and mood of the characters and the story).   A symbol, on the other hand, is an image, a character, an object, or figure that represents something beyond whatever is just on the surface. At the end of the first chapter of Gatsby,the narrator, Nick Carraway, observes Jay Gatsby emerging from his mansion at night. Carraway considers calling out and introducing himself, but thinks better of it: â€Å"I didn't call to him, for he gave a sudden intimation that he was content to be alone- he stretched out his arms toward the dark water in a curious way, and, far as I was from him, I could have sworn he was trembling. Involuntarily I glanced seaward- and distinguished nothing except a single green light, minute and far away, that might have been the end of a dock. When I looked once more for Gatsby he had vanished, and I was alone again in the unquiet darkness.† This green light makes several appearances during the novel, most notably again at the very end: â€Å"Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us.† Clearly, the light resembles something more than just a green light. It represents Daisy, who in turn represents Gatsby’s unattainable American dream. Further, green is the color of money and envy, two things that Gatsby struggles with throughout the novel. The light is a symbol, deepening the story’s themes. So, a series of recurring symbols (rain, light, color, etc.) build into a motif(the weather, geography), and a series of motifs build into a theme (the decline of the American dream). How themes relate to character In addition to symbols and motifs, your characters are your biggest avenues for relaying your theme to your readers. Characters can represent different aspects of a theme, or in some cases, represent the theme altogether. We’ve already shown how Daisy represents the American dream to Jay Gatsby. She is a full character herself, the target of his romantic ambitions. But just as their relationship is doomed from the start, Daisy also represents an aspect of American life that will forever remain unattainable to Gatsby. Characters can also have discussions, thoughts, and behaviors that relate to the theme without expressly representing the theme themselves. Nick Carraway is a narrator, and yet it’s through his eyes that we see Gatsby’s symbolic green light analyzed. But Nick himself also wrestles with being drawn into the glamorous life of the West Egg nouveau riche. The attractive and â€Å"incurably dishonest† Jordan Baker tantalizes him. So even as a seemingly â€Å"secondary† character, Nick Carraway mirrors Gatsby’s theme of the lure of the American Dream. In addition, Johnson insists that the writer herself will influence her characters. Your themes will always reflect a part of who you as a writer are. â€Å"Can the novelist entirely control the ideas in her text, or conceal herself among them?† she asks. â€Å"There's the phenomenon well known to writers whose characters, given their head, take off and do or say things the writer did not foresee. The writing has a Ouija board will of its own. On the other hand, there are the covert operations of your own character your personal obsessions, perhaps that ordain that, however you start out, you end up with the sort of novel only you would write. (Obviously, these two are functions of each other: the unexpected crops up out of some less conscious realm of your self.) There's age, birth order, geography. Nationality is certainly part of the imperatives of our natures, something that we can't help and that has programmed us.† Working with multiple themes A story will often have more than one theme, especially if it’s a novel as opposed to a short story. Short stories, due to their length, tend to only have one major theme, while a longer novel has time to elaborate on several themes at once. To return to our example, The Great Gatsbyhas several themes. In addition to the decline of the American Dream, there are also the themes of â€Å"money doesn’t buy happiness,† and â€Å"the allure of forbidden love.† It’s fine for your story to have multiple themes, just be careful of giving it too many. â€Å"Too many themes and the novelist risks committing a ‘novel of ideas,’ a term that can conceal a note of reservation,† Johnson writes. â€Å"As a phrase, ‘novel of ideas’ is gathered from what seems now a somewhat dated typology used to categorize all novels as ‘of ideas,’ or as comedy of manners, or action, romance and so on, depending on the general effect. These were also shorthand ways of saying serious, boring, comic, moving account of personal anguish, love story, etc.† What the author wants to avoid is the appearance of â€Å"moralizing† or proselytizing in a story. Your theme will relate your own beliefs and worldview, but it’s not a moral. If the reader thinks that all you’re trying to do is convince them of your way of thinking rather than just telling a good story, they’ll run for the hills. Themes must be intentional Building a theme doesn’t happen by accident. F. Scott Fitzgerald clearly thought long and hard about the themes and symbols he wished to infuse into The Great Gatsby,and the result is one of the best examples of modern American literature. Finding your theme will take time and effort, but it will be worth it in the end. If you try to think of your theme before you start writing and you can’t, that’s okay. Don’t get so caught up in theme that you neglect good storytelling. Sometimes, your story’s theme won’t be apparent until you’re several drafts in. That’s okay, too. As a general rule, you should focus on the story first and then worry about the theme. â€Å"Novels are never about what they are about; that is, there is always deeper, or more general, significance,† Johnson writes. â€Å"The author may not be aware of this till she is pretty far along with it. A novel's whole pattern is rarely apparent at the outset of writing, or even at the end; that is when the writer finds out what a novel is about, and the job becomes one of understanding and deepening or sharpening what is already written. That is finding the theme.†       Which themes do you find most compelling? How have you worked themes into your novels? Let us know in the comments!    Matt Grant  loves to write about writing, business, and all forms of popular  culture – books, film, and television. Matt started writing DVD reviews for  Pop Matters  in 2012, and in 2016, he followed through on a life-long dream by launching a part-time writing business at  www.mattgrantwriter.com. Since then, Matt’s work has appeared in  Literary Hub,  Book Riot,  HuffPost, and  BookBrowse,  and he has several ongoing clients.  His first personal essay,  Swimming Lessons,  is being published in LongReads at the end of August. Matt is also currently hard at work on his first novel, a comedic take on fantasy tropes for young adults. When not writing or reading, Matt works in youth development as an after-school program director  for one of the largest middle schools in Manhattan. Matt lives in Brooklyn with his wife, Katelyn. You can find him online at  www.mattgrantwriter.com, on  Twitter  @mattgrantwriter, and on Facebook  @mattgra ntwriter.

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

Empire of the Sun Essays

Empire of the Sun Essays Empire of the Sun Paper Empire of the Sun Paper Essay Topic: Film Steven Spielbergs film The Empire of the Sun, based on J G Ballards novel, follows the experience of James (Jim) Graham during the siege of Shanghai by the Japanese during the Pacific War of the 1940s. The film utilises a number of cinematographic effects so as to create atmosphere and depth, and successfully reaches viewers emotions. The film successfully employs imagery as a means for creating atmosphere. Throughout the film, underlying parallels can be observed, linking situations to other similar scenarios, which occur earlier in the film. In addition to imagery, music and sound affects are also central to the viewers overall appreciation of this film, and constitute an important part of the overall result. Characterisation, as could be expected, is also important for the viewers understanding of this text. In terms of filmic devices, a particularly important scene from this movie is that of coffins floating along the Yangtze (Yellow) River. This scene, which is accompanied by Suo Gan, involves the depiction of a number of coffins, presumably containing corpses, slowly drifting along the river in Shanghai. Although the viewer cannot be sure that these coffins are in some way connected with traditional custom, the theme of death and a definite end to life, involving the river, and the theme of the river as serving as some form of path towards an alternative existence is revisited, during a later stage of the film. Towards the conclusion of Empire of the Sun, Jim throws a suitcase into the Yangtze, in a symbolic gesture of putting an end to the past and allowing objects indicative of his past life to float along the river, towards an unknown end. The suitcase was another example of a filmic device employed in this movie. Jim often refers to it and appears to treasure its contents as providing some form of proof of his existence prior to his being taken by the Japanese. For Jim, the suitcase represented a link between the frustration of life in the camp and the relative serenity of his past existence. In addition to the underlying themes presented in this movie, cinematic affects also constitute an important part of the films overall ambience and charisma. The image of Jim alone in a deserted house, in an area of Shanghai occupied by expatriate taipans, is important for character development, as well as the development of a level of empathy towards this character on the part of the viewer. Jims relative inability to care for himself, as well as his childish response of taking advantage of his parents absence through riding a bicycle inside the empty house, shows to the viewer something of his vulnerability and innocence. His mad obsession with aeroplanes, which had already been highlighted prior to his parents disappearance, draws even more attention to his innocence and childishness. The frequent repetition and return to themes already explored in the film highlights to the viewer something of the way characters develop in their changed environment. The scene of Jim riding his bicycle indoors is repeated towards the end of this text, as he rides through the deserted rooms of the Japanese war camp. The intention of this scene is perhaps slightly unclear. The director could be attempting to highlight Jims resilience in the face of change and hardship, or perhaps his ability to retain childhood despite the ordeals against which he has come. Jims obsession with aeroplanes is in no way diminished by his experience of the Japanese war camp. He still holds pilots, even from the Japanese forces, in high regard, and this is well emphasized through the inclusion of a mystic sequence, put to the music of Suo Gan. The sequence involves the depiction of a commissioning ceremony for kamikaze pilots. Jim, presumably moved by the solemnity and dignity of the ceremony, sings loudly. The use of camera angles in this sequence is original and successfully highlights to viewers the bizarre yet somehow touching significance of the sequence. The symbolism of the red setting sun as the kamikaze pilots fly towards the horizon could be seen as being indicative of the looming sunset on Japanese Imperialism. The mystic sequence comes abruptly to an end with an American air raid on the prison camp. The scenes of devastation which follow the air raid, and the exodus of former prisoners flooding from the camp towards a brighter future are well depicted in this film. The particularly memorable usage of camera angles so as to draw attention to the large number of ex-prisoners leaving the camp is successful. Another significant theme of this movie is the confused and sentimental encounter between a Japanese soldier who had befriended Jim during the war and Jim himself. The two meet in the derelict and devastated surrounds of the former prison camp. Now able to show their mutual respect for each other, the Japanese soldier draws his sword, with the intention of assisting Jim is slicing a fruit. Misinterpreting this gesture, the rather hasty and rash figure of Basie, an American who assists Jim during the war, draws his gun and shoots at the Japanese soldier, mortally wounding him. Jim, horrified by this event, attempts to resuscitate the dead Japanese prison guard, whilst repeating I can bring everyone back in a fatigued yet compulsive manner. Throughout the movie one aspect, which could perhaps be improved, is that of dialogue and inter-character relations. Speech between characters is sometimes awkward and incredible. The relations between Basie, Frank and Jim are at times frustratingly badly constructed. At times Jim acts too foolishly and childishly for someone of his age, and this is particularly apparent through his loud outburst upon seeing B51 aeroplanes during an air raid on the prison camp in which he is detained. Mrs. Victor and her partner are sometimes too cold and sterile to be believed, especially as one considers the hardship and adversity faced by these two figures. Jims bizarre ability to be able to tame the anger of the Japanese guards is also hard to believe at times. Dialogue within the British community, as depicted in the commencing scenes of the movie, is well constructed and readily believable. Relations between Jim and his parents are very well depicted. Camera angle and music are especially well employed in the scenes of street life in Shanghai, as well as at the costume party attended by Jamies parents. Filmic devices are, for the most part, well suited for transmitting important themes and successful in achieving a high level of empathy between viewers and characters. In conclusion, director Steven Spielberg successfully uses images, sound, music and dialogue to develop the story line of the film and to create a believable and human atmosphere in this movie.

Monday, November 4, 2019

International Scholarship Candidates Selection Essay

International Scholarship Candidates Selection - Essay Example Further, RasGas may choose candidates who will fail to complete their chosen educational programs and create a sunk cost loss for RasGas. The use of an objective rating scale linked to organizational goals and future performance can limit these potential losses and increase the chances of securing productive employees post graduation. In order to create a winning proposition, one of the focus areas for RasGas is the 'development of its employees and the organisation', which can only be realized when the company is in a position to objectively rate the performances. Motivational factors arouse a need, propelling a person to channelise his efforts and energies in the direction of fulfilling those needs. These needs are aroused in the employee of an organization to increase the output, provide quality, increase efficiency, maintain industrial peace etc. An effective management must understand the fact that there are at least two ways by which the behavior of employees could be directed towards the productive pursuits in the organization. One is by changing the personality, i.e. the internal psychological structures of the person, which is a long-drawn and uncertain process. Another strategy is to modify the characteristics of the situation prevailing around the employees. These situational factors have tremendous influence in shaping one's personality. Providing suitable ambience and opportunities for career development and education hold the key in setting the process in motion. 2. Aim: To design a Success Predictability Scale for scholarship candidates Objectives: Analysis of the present policies of RasGas to encourage the talent. Analysis of the levels of motivation and urge for pursuing higher studies amongst the existing staff by conducting interviews and by observing them on the job. Analysis of the internal reports and other data about RasGas available in the public domain. Establishing a documentary link between scholarship awards and degree fields that supports the long-term goals and objectives of the organization. 3. Benefits to the Organization: The benefits to RasGas for using an objective success potential scale linked to organizational objectives for scholarship candidates are: Enhance the reward potential of opportunity costs associated with a scholarship candidate. Lower potential and actual economic losses associated with the scholarship program. Increase the chances of successful degree completion by scholarship candidates. Saving of as much as $500,000 US on candidates who are less likely to complete their assigned programs and make contributions to the organization that exceed the organization's investment in their education. Motivated employees, who in turn help the company more efficient and competitive. Motivation and encouragement leads to lesser attrition rates and turnover ratios, which in turn saves lots of costs associated with recruiting a team of new person time and time again. RasGas considers its workforce as one of its greatest assets and with people from over 36 different nationalities working together within the organisation, encouraging career development

Friday, November 1, 2019

San Diego Geologic History and Natural Hazards Summary Research Paper

San Diego Geologic History and Natural Hazards Summary - Research Paper Example The contact experienced between these geologic regions is irregular and this reflects the ancient area topography before being buried by the thick sequence of Tertiary and Cretaceous sedimentary rocks that was deposited by ancient seas and ancient rivers over the last 75 million years (Abbott, P, 23) Both these rocks with their existing biological record such as the fossils, document the biological and geological evolution of this western North America part. It is recorded that at a certain point in time, there was an ancient oceanic crustal plate consumption that created volcanic islands archipelago and also this same plate subduction generated massive magma volumes which in the later stage congealed in the crust that resulted to plutonic rock. It is also observed that local rocks record an early period when erosion unroofed and tectonic forces uplifted the plutonic rocks that were deeply buried forming a rugged and steep mountainous coastline. This is similar to the one present today along the west coast of South America. Also recorded are periods of subtropical climates and higher rainfall that supported coastal rain forests with exotic floras and faunas; relentless erosion, drowned coastlines periods and great rivers; periods of extreme renewed and aridity volcanism; widespread crustal shear and faulting periods and the new seaways formation (Bergen et al, 34). The above are just some of the stories of geology preserved in the San Diego County. Deciphering the biological and geological record is a process that is ongoing and every year brings new insights and new discoveries. Geographical regions of San Diego affected by Natural Hazards The processes of natural geology which represent a hazard to health, property or life are taken to be geologic hazards. Natural geologic hazards which affect property and people in San Diego County include earthquakes that can result to ground shaking, liquefaction and surface fault rupture, expansive weathering soils, and phenomena mass wasting such as rockfalls and landslides (Bray and Kelson,5).The hazard of surface rupture has been identified as Alquist-Priolo Earthquake Fault Zones (AP Zones). Two major AP Zones extend to southeast from northwest across the northeast half of the County, the San Jacinto and Elsinore fault zones; present the highest fault-rupture threat in the unincorporated San Diego County part (Anderson et al,13).Liquefaction primarily occurs in loose, saturated and fine to medium-grained soils in places where the groundwater table is basically at most 50-feet below the surface. There may be a potent ial for liquefaction within the County in areas with loose sandy soils together with a shallow groundwater table, that are typically located in floodplains and alluvial river basins/ valleys. Previous landslides together with landslide-prone sedimentary formations are located in western unincorporated County portions( Bowman,21). However, it is known that landslides can as well take place in the granitic terrain in the eastern County area, despite the prevalence is so minimal (URS, 2004). Most of the landslides that are significant have happened along coastal bluffs and other areas within incorporated County parts (URS, 2004). Existing landslides reactivations can be triggered by situations that include irrigation or heavy rainfall, seismic shaking or grading. Particular clay soils types normally shrink when dried