Thursday, October 31, 2019

Manitoba unemployment rate forecast Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Manitoba unemployment rate forecast - Essay Example By the year 2010, the province’s economy experienced a 2.4% growth per year. Manitoba’s economy remained unchanged amid the slowdown in the country’s economy. The province also registered a 2.4% increase in labor income. In addition, the economy has experienced an increase in employment levels due to increased demand for skilled laborers. Consequently, the unemployment levels have gradually reduced over the years. However, there are minimal changes in the unemployment rate in the province since 2010. The province has registered various changes in the overall labor force (Marcil, n.p.). Employment in an economy represents a number of eligible individuals who are willing to work and can be engaged in full time or part-time labor at prevailing wage rates. This is because the economy needs human capital where individuals play a part in the manufacture of goods and services for the economy. At this level, the economy experiences full employment where all available labor resources are utilized in an economically efficient way. On the other hand, unemployment is the number of individuals in an economy who are ready and capable to work, but cannot find a job. Therefore, the jobless individuals who are unwilling to work in an economy are not classified in the unemployment category. Unemployment is a key measure of economic health of a region or country. There are three types of unemployment namely frictional, structural, and cyclical unemployment (Kennedy 37). The frictional unemployment is a short-run unemployment resulting from the process of searching for a new employme nt by individuals. Structural unemployment represents a persistent lack of jobs whenever the incomes in employment markets do not match up the supply and demand. Finally, cyclic unemployment refers to the short-term unemployment related to the vicissitudes of the market. The unemployment rate determines the levels of unemployment in an economy (Kennedy 37).

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Eth125 r8 stereotypes prejudice 1 Essay Example for Free

Eth125 r8 stereotypes prejudice 1 Essay Please complete the following exercises, remembering that you are in an academic setting and should remain unbiased, considerate, and professional when completing this worksheet. Part I Select three of the identity categories below and name or describe at least 3 related stereotypes for each: ?Race ?Ethnicity ?Religion ?Gender ?Sexual orientation ?Age ?Disability Category Stereotype 1 Stereotype 2 Stereotype 3 Race All Mexicans are illegal. All Asains are bad drivers. Blacks are good at all sports. Gender Women are bad drivers Men are dirty. A woman can’t work the same jobs as a man. Disability Disabled people are sick. Someone with a disability should be treated special. Disabled people will not have a fulfilled life. Part II Answer each question in 50 to 100 words related to those stereotypes. Provide citations for all the sources you use. ?What are the positive aspects of stereotypes, if any? There is no positive aspects of stereotypes in any form because judging others by sterotypes is wrong and gives people the wrong ideas about a group of people baised on looks. There is no positives in grouping people all into one category and leaving no room for individuality. ?What are the negative aspects of stereotypes? There are many negitive aspects of sterotypes and one is that a communitie is never treated as a whole because of the stereotypes given. People are labled and put into different catigories because of the sterotypes that have been labled on them. Copyright  © 2012 by University of Phoenix. All rights reserved. Stereotypes and Prejudice Worksheet ETH/125 Version 8 2 Part III Answer each question in 50 to 150 words related to those stereotypes. Provide citations for all the sources you use. ?Define stereotypes and prejudice. What is the difference between stereotyping and prejudice? Use examples to illustrate the differences. Stereotyping is when a person is labled into a large group of people instead of just their own individual category. Prejudice is when someone has a certin attitude towards a group. Prejudice is more associated with discrimination then stereotyping. Groups that are prejudice can be violent. Hate crimes are committed because of people’s prejudice and racism. ?What is the relationship between stereotyping and prejudice? I believe the relationship between stereotyping and prejudice is the same because it has the same results. Violence results from peoples ignorant views on different cultures. Sterotyping just enforces the views that racist people have. We have had to create laws just to keep people from fighting other people based on the color of there skin. ?What can be done to prevent prejudice from occurring? I think that if we educated people to not be judgemental and teach our children while they are young that everyone is equal to them and should not be judge on the ethinic background, culture, gender, sexual orentaion, and religion then prevention of prejudice will stop occurring. People learn how to be prejudice from ignorant adults who are close minded and racist. Copyright  © 2012 by University of Phoenix. All rights reserved.

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Rise Of Nazism And Consolidation Of Power

Rise Of Nazism And Consolidation Of Power Although the Nazi Party ruled Germany for more than a decade, due to a unique combination of political gift and right circumstances, their path to success wasnt an easy one. In Germany, the 1920s began with a feeling of unfulfillment, rage and dismay amongst the people due to the exceedingly harsh treaty of Versailles imposed upon them. In those same early post-war years, the Nazi Party was extremely futile in the Reichstag, even eclipsed by the Communist Party (KPD) and the Socialist Party (SPD). Stresemanns enormous successes, during his reign as Chancellor, in the form of the Weimar Golden Years as well as Hitlers imprisonment post the unsuccessful and humiliating Munich Putsch, both contributed towards the diminutive influence of the Nazis with less than 2% of the votes in the Reichstag initially. The initial cause for the unpopularity of the Nazi party in the early 1920s was the outcome of the Munich Putsch; the imprisonment of Adolf Hitler, the Party leader. Senior Party members imprisonment and the widespread exposure of their proceedings in court by the media did bring the Nazi Party along with its ideas into the limelight, but unfortunately for the unfavorable reasons. The SA, or more commonly known as the brown shirts, were formed by Hitler as a Nazi military force consisting of army officers who were unemployed due to the Treaty of Versailles, with the sole motive to protect Nazi meetings, disrupt opposition meetings and be of use during rallies. However subsequent to the Munich Putsch, the SA men were considered to be undignified hooligans and were disliked due to their violent methods of functioning. The 1920s were right after the Great War and an extremely mortifying and severe Treaty of Versailles. During this time of chaos and mayhem, the last thing the people wanted was an unstable and a fragile governing body. They sought after a leadership that ensured stability, consolidation and progressive recovery in the tenuous post-war years. The extremist and radical ideology of the Nazis was regarded as too rebellious and seditious by the general people. The Nazi idea for the German nation, in regard to their ideology, was of a nation with pure German people working mutually to achieve a flourishing and successful future. Hitler perceived the Aryans to be the most superior race in the world and the one which was at the top of the hierarchy of races. This policy of racial purity was obtained from the theory of Social Darwinism; the survival of the fittest in any struggle between the races. An important part on Hitlers beliefs was the idea to build a lebensraum, a living quarter for t he purest race; the Aryans, in the Eastern European USSR region as part of his eastward expansion. These principles, although majority of them were adopted from the manifestos of other parties, symbolized a revolutionary perspective that further ensured instability, violence and hostility, which the people firmly disapproved of. The Nazi Party was analogous to the other extremist parties, and possessed no original or convalescing ideas. Even the hard-line anti-communist approach gravely affected the acceptance of the Nazi Party by eliminating the crucial support of the workers. Furthermore, Hitlers ideas of Anti-Semitism wherein he blamed a religion and its followers as the causes of the negativity in the world were of great concern. Historians believe that Anti-Semitism acted as a self-inflicted obstacle in Hitlers political career from the beginning till the end. People did not exactly share the same enthusiasm as Hitler as far as his policies of discrimination or his extremist ideology were concerned. One more imperative cause for the lack of Nazi success in the 1920s was the extremely lucrative appointment of Gustav Stresemann as the Chancellor of the Weimar Republic. Amidst the ongoing panic and hysteria due to the Ruhr Crisis and the Hyperinflation, Stresemann still managed to recover from the situation and succeed in numerous ways to begin what were known as the Golden Years. He gained immense admiration and respect from the people due to his recovery, as well as progress in the fields of Culture, Economy, Politics and Foreign Relations. The extremely crucial and constructive economic assistance, in the form of the Dawes and the Young Plans from US, gave financial aid to Germany, put a momentary freeze on reparations and also reduced the total amount of the same. Through this support, Stresemann managed to revive German industries and work towards a more stable and prosperous economy. The boosting investment in Germany subsequent to these plans facilitated in creating more factories, jobs and hence prosperity, in terms of higher wages and increased production figures in the entire nation. In the course of this recovery, the professional life as well as the standard of living of the people in Germany drastically improved. This retrieval of an affluent German economy gave the indication that democracy was effectively functioning in Germany, which in turn, minimized the support for extremist parties such as the Nazis. The flourishing culture under the policy of Neue Sachlichkeit or the letting go of traditionalism and focusing more on the functionality of art, and the Bauhaus Movement, which paved way for modern and contemporary architecture was a great success for the republic. A new era of writers, musicians, actors and artists embarked, which was recognized all over the world and was also immensely acknowledged by the people of Germany. The minimal censorship paved way for greater innovations and encouraged new forms of expression. These advancements made Germany the center of the cultural world which in turn bought a lot of pride and honor for the German people. Furthermore, it had an effect of escalating the popularity of the amenable republic and diverted the attention of the people from revolutionary parties such as the Nazis. The Weimar Years also witnessed remarkable triumphs in the area of Foreign Relations. The pacifying approach with the allies in order to gain concessions over the commitments of Germany in the Treaty of Versailles was a major accomplishment in regard to the Locarno Treaties, wherein Germany acknowledged its western borders as part of the Treaty of Versailles, but made no agreements about its eastern borders. Post these treaties, Germany was made a Permanent Security Council Member in the League of Nations. This had the outcome of altering the viewpoint of the German people in terms of making it buoyant and optimistic. Through these proceedings, Stresemann accomplished a willful attempt to contravene the clauses of the slave treaty, which was received with high enthusiasm and admiration by the German people. These signs of not abiding by the Treaty of Versailles ensured that the Nazi Party, with its extremist ideology, could not distract the support of the republic, which consecutivel y ascended the support of the same. The Nazi Party saw grave failures in the 1920s due to no clear path or direction, lack of popularity and most importantly the success of the Weimar Republic. However, the Golden Years of the Weimar Republic did end due to its reputation (burden of lost war and humiliating Treaty of Versailles) and most importantly the Great Depression of 1929. The Depression and the need of radical solutions didnt themselves bring the Nazis to power but created an audience for the Nazi Propaganda and ensured it wasnt falling on deaf ears. Assignment 1 (Depth Study A Germany 1918-45) Topic Rise of Nazism and consolidation of power Q2. What factors enabled the growth of Hitlers power in post war Germany? (10 marks) Although the Weimar Republic was exceedingly successful by escalating the popularity for the republic during the Stresemann era, the support never grew to an extent that the general sentiments of mistrust and abhorrence could be ignored. The use of emergency powers during the end of the republics supremacy, to run the government, depicted the failure of the Weimar Republic and the democratic system itself. The proportional representation in the Reichstag resulted in no one party taking control with an overall majority, which in turn saw the failures of various coalition governments in the office. The desire of the people for a leader who ensured stability and progress remained as an aspiration during the rise of unpopular leaders and the turmoil of the republic. On one hand was the chaos and disorder of the republic, but on the other hand, extremist parties such as the Nazis seemed as worthy alternatives to the republic due to their order and discipline. There is a saying that every big economical crisis is most likely to give rise to dictatorship. This holds true in Germany also as the Nazis gained enormously through the Great Depression of 1929. This global crisis sank all major support for the republic due to the dreadfully affected working population of Germany, especially the middle class. The Nazis were amongst the few parties who opposed the US aid in the form of the Dawes and Young Plan, fearing dollar imperialism. The crisis had an immediate effect of popularizing those very parties (such as the Nazis) who expressed fear of dependency on dollar. Depression didnt itself bring the Nazis to power but created an opportunity, possibility and an audience for Nazi propaganda. It lead to destruction of the republic and popularized those with radical solutions to the economic crisis. The economic crisis left two strong parties, with radical solutions, in the Reichstag; the Nazis and the Communists. Ironically, after the Great Depression, the growing strength of communism rather helped than hindered the Nazi Party. The Nazis increased their vote bank by receiving crucial votes from businessmen and other elite people simply because of the threat of communism on their businesses. Along with the support of the middle class through the re-organization of the party, the Nazis were now popular amongst the higher class too. Along with the threat of communism, the Nazis expressed their views dramatically and gave the skeptical public someone to blame. The minority groups such as the Jews, Communists, physically and mentally disabled as well as the detested republic were blamed for the crisis. This blame later transformed into policies of segregation, which later solved the problem of unemployment caused by Depression. In this time of predicament, Hitler, through propaganda campaigns, portrayed himself and his party leaders as firm, strong and proposed several new campaigns in order to solve the crisis, which was sincerely appreciated by the people. In addition, the Nazi Party benefited immensely due to their leader; Adolf Hitler. Despite his minimal knowledge about administration and economy, he still managed to appeal to mass audiences due to his brilliant oratory skills. He was a magnificent, influential speaker and made German people feel patriotic about their nation. Furthermore, Hitler benefitted immensely through his Propaganda Leader, Joseph Goebbels, who was the true creator and organizer of the Fuhrer myth, of feeding the theatrical element in the Nazi leader while at the same time stimulating the self-surrender of the German masses through skilful stage management and manipulation. Goebbels was exceedingly successful in his mission of selling Hitler to the German public and orchestrating the party under the Fuhrer as the savior of Germany from the republic, Jews, profiteers and Communists. The strong opposition the republic had to face; in terms of the Nazis in the right wing and the KPD and the SPD in the left wing, made the decision making of the republic through a consensus and majority extremely complex. The Weimar years also saw a shift from parliamentary to presidential rule through the Article 48 which gave President Hindenburg the constitutional framework to undermine democracy. This meant that the Reichstag could be dissolved whenever the President desired it to. This process of undermining democracy through the frequent use of Article 48 and a behind the scenes deal between Hitler, Hindenburg and Von Papen gave Hitler the legal route to success in terms of bringing the Nazis to power without them gaining 51% majority in the Reichstag. Furthermore, the Weimar Republic had a reputation based on lost war and an unfair humiliating Treaty of Versailles. Hitler, during his rallies and marches, stated frequently that he wished to undo the Treaty of Versailles and was deeply disgusted with the republic for signing it in the first place. Although Hitlers accusations on the republic werent very substantial, the humiliation faced by the people was enough for Hitler to gain their support against the republic. Despite not getting a 51% majority in the Reichstag, Hitler still managed to get his Nazi Party to power. Even though Hitler wasnt destined to be the Chancellor, he got lucky with political gift (Role of Hindenburg) and right circumstances (depression). Using the absence of the Communist Party and the Socialists due to Reichstag fire as an opportunity, Hitler passed the Enabling Law in 1933. This law gave Hitler, as the Chancellor of Germany, the power to rule by decree. This law meant the end of democracy in Germany and established the legal dictatorship of Adolf Hitler. Assignment 1 (Depth Study A Germany 1918-45) Topic Rise of Nazism and consolidation of power Q3. How did Hitler consolidate his power in 1933-34? (10) Although the Weimar Republic did collapse leading to Hitler eventually becoming the chancellor of Germany in 1933, he still needed to consolidate and strengthen his position in order to fulfill his aims of a totalitarian and pure German nation. However, after being appointed Chancellor, Hitler found himself to be in a precarious situation wherein only 2 out of 9 cabinet members were Nazis. Hitlers insecurity in the form of President Hindenburgs authority over the appointment as well as the dismissal of a Chancellor, and the discontent of the army made the situation further uncertain. Viewing this, very few couldve anticipated that this man would go on to be the Fuhrer of the nation. The first extremely vital incident which took place in Feb 1933 was the Reichstag fire. The Nazis held the communists responsible for starting the fire and over exaggerated the dangers of the communist threat. The Decree for the Protection of the People and State was passed the following day, wherein President Hindenburg, using Article 48, suspended all civil rights in Germany. It gave the government the authority to arrest individuals without trial as well as the secret police to hold people indefinitely in protective custody. 4000 communists were taken into custody that very day. Hitler got supplementary powers through this decree and used it to get rid of opposition. In regard to the authoritarianism granted by President Hindenburg, Hitler took the most significant Nazi step of controlling Germany; the Enabling Law of 24th March 1933. This law meant that the cabinet, chancellor could pass any decrees without the Presidents involvement. This law needed 213 majority as constitutional amendment. Although it was an exceedingly demanding law to pass, under watchdog eyes of the SS and SA, the law passed by 441 vs. 94 in the Reichstag, with only opposition from the SPD. It was a great triumph for Hitler as he not only got dictatorship powers but was now exceptionally close to being the ultimate ruler of Germany. The Enabling Law gave Hitler immense supremacy in the form of passing laws without consulting the President or the Reichstag. What ensue subsequent to this Enabling Act were a series of laws. There was the Law of Restoration of Professional Civil Services wherein administration, courts, education purged of all alien elements; the Jews, communists. This law also extended into all public service, resulting in the elimination of thousands of Jews. This was the first instance when Hitler took a step in regard to his policy of Anti-Semitism against the Jews. Through this law, Hitler was creating the Aryan race as the superior one in Germany, which in turn was part of his aims for creating the lebensraum (living quarters in the east) for the purest race; the Aryans. Although the KPD and the socialists were forbidden from entering the Reichstag, Hitler yet again did not manage to get 51% majority in the Reichstag elections in March 1933. Following this defeat, Hitler began what was termed as the influence over the media. The government took control of the radio and press, and Goebbels was appointed as the head of the new Ministry for Public Enlightenment and Propaganda. This meant that the Nazis were now controlling what the people of Germany were viewing and hearing. On May 2nd 1933, one day after the Day of National Labour, Hitler seized all trade union offices and incorporated all unions into the newly created German Labour Front (DAF). This way Hitler cleared off all potential threats or strikes to the German industries, amalgamated all the labour unions under one Nazi led union, and also established power over the working class of Germany. In regard to politics, Hitler passed the Law against Formation of New Parties in July. The KPD and the SPD had already been banned earlier, and other small parties had dissolved themselves. Through this law no new parties were permitted to form in the Reich. This leads to the conclusion that there was only one party remaining in Germany; the Nazi Party, and hence Germany was now a single party state. This denoted that Hitler had now cleared off all resistance as well as all probable future opposition to the Nazi Party. The Nazis were now ruling Germany and although not affirmed, Germany was now under dictatorship. The opposition from the workers as well as the parties was now terminated; thus it left only one viable rebellion to the Nazi dictatorship; the church. There was a Concordat signed in July, in which there was a mutual conformity between the state and the church in regard to which the church banned all political activity and in turn the government protected religious autonomy. This was the concluding step to pave a clear path for the Nazi dictatorship of Germany. Now the parliament, workers, as well as the church were under Nazi influence. The final, but a tremendously essential, significant and successful incident for the Nazis was the Night of The Long Knives. After procuring Chancellorship of Germany, the SA had been a form of humiliation and embarrassment for Hitler due to their awfully violent approach. The SA as well as its leader Ernst Rohm also posed as a threat to Hitler due to their aspiration of a second revolution in Germany and of being the main military unit in the Nazi regime. Hitler persuaded Hindenburg by accusing the SA of plotting a revolt in opposition to the government and prepared a plan which is better known as the Night of the Long Knives in History. Hitler got rid of most of the SA leaders including Ernst Rohm, the chief of the SA. Also using the authoritarianism presented by Hindenburg, Hitler skillfully used the situation to his advantage by getting rid of major hostility, including Strasser and Schleicher, Hitlers predecessors. Although the killings took place over the weekend, this event is termed as the Night of The Long Knives due to 2000 people being exterminated in one night. This incident proved enormously successful for the Nazis as the killing of the SA officials as well as the public vote of thanks by President Hindenburg brought Hitler immense popularity. Through this happening, Hitler portrayed himself as the just leader of Germany and gave the people the impression that he will not tolerate indiscipline and offenses, may it be in his own party, by his own party members. Also Hitler pleased the army by removing their constant alarming threat of the SA through this event. All these events consolidated Nazi power over Germany and eventually established hard lined Nazi dictatorship. After the death of Hindenburg, the last political figure who could possibly oppose Hitler, in July 1934, it was time for Hitler to take the last and final step. Hitler amalgamated the position of Chancellor and President to become the Fuhrer. The army tolerated Hitlers actions and the armed forces swore an oath of loyalty to Hitler in August 1934. What followed was autocracy, under Adolf Hitler, for more than a decade in Germany.

Friday, October 25, 2019

The Battle of Stalingrad and the Battle of Normandy Essay -- essays re

The Battle of Stalingrad and the Battle of Normandy were two vital battles in World War II. Stalingrad was the site of a critical WWII Soviet victory that terminated Germany’s advance to the east. Peaceful Normandy took it’s place in history as the starting point in the triumphant march across Europe. Both these intense events were extremely significant in the outcome of the second world war. After the Germans failed to win the war totally in 1941, they decided to start a fresh effort, and hoped that this would lead to victory. This effort eventually led to the city of Stalingrad in 1942. Different from the the three pronged attack of the previous year, this one had two attack directions. One from Kharkov to Stalingrad, the other from the Crimea to Caucasus. Though, this push was still very large. It included 78 Axis divisions, almost two million men. It's main purpose was to cut Stalin's supply along the Don and Volga rivers. Therefore, cutting him off from oil in the Caucausus' and "Lend-Lease" aid from the west. This battle would last for more than a year, and could be considered one of the most important battles of the war, mainly because of two large, powerful armies meeting each other head on. Originally, Stalingrad hadn't really been an objective. It became one however after Hitler grew to have a personal obsession with it. It being named after Stalin himself, his enemy, made it a conquest he had to take on. The loss at Stalingrad could be partially blamed on Hitler himself. He withdrew into a shell during this period, concentrating on nothing more than the city. In the meantime, allowing for things to crumble around him. Fortunately for Hitler, an equally obsessive leader faced him. Stalin had a similar obsession with Moscow, and it's defense. Though it isn't debatable whether or not Moscow was an important city to be in possession of, Stalin refused to believe where the German attack would be. Even after viewing a captured copy of this plan. So, the attack began and it went on without a problem. Only in July, 1942, did this good luck begin to diminish. They were few and far between at first, but gradually built up unease at German Headquarters. There were debates as to attacks on Vorozneh, or whether a move towards the oil fields was in order. By August, Hitler decided to move ... ...tion which created, in a sense, a military base for the Allied forces managed to bring a total of 1 million troops by the date of July 1. And thus the final drive to liberate Europe was under way. The thoughts of what would of happened if Operation Overlord didn’t occur were almost to dark and fearful to bear think of. The armies of darkness have marched through Europe fearing nothing lying ahead of them and leaving nothing lying behind them. The date of June 6, 1944 will always be remembered as the beginning of the end for the Third Reich. The once peaceful beaches of France were turned into a heroic and glory filled day for the Allied troops. And though many troops died, they also will always remembered as one of the courageous and proud who brought the destruction to the most powerful and evil forces ever to exist on this great earth. The Battle of Stalingrad and the Battle of Normandy were key factors in the outcome of WWII. Both battle with it’s own significant elements. Without the victory of these battles who knows what course history would have taken.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Competency Based Recruitment and Selection

Title: – Competency Based Recruitment and Selection Theme: – Recent advances in commerce and management Introduction: Competency for any job can be defined as a set of human attributes that enables an employee to meet the expectations of his internal and external customers and stake holders. We have generally observed that only hard work, knowledge, sincerity towards work, and intelligence does not alone makes a person star performer in his/her profession. There are many other factors that actually help an individual practically in achieving success in performing job. For example we have observed that during our school or college days a star student who scores maximum marks in exam may or may not be a good leader. Similarly to this a good batsman may or may not be a good bowler in the game of cricket. The only reason behind this to be a leader requires different set of competencies and to be a good bowler requires a different set of competencies than for a good batsman. That’s why human qualities and attributes which makes a person suitable for his/her job defines competency for that particular job. A competent manager is always aware about different competencies that a person requires to perform the job effectively and efficiently. And on the basis of their knowledge about this they select and train their subordinates for that job. There are many factors such are Social culture, work environment, nature of business, Organizational structure, responsibilities, nature of process and assigned activities, attitude and motives of management affects competency require for particular job. Competency based recruitment and selection focuses on identifying those candidates that can evidence those behaviourally defined characteristics which underpin desired performance in the role you are seeking. Competency based Human Resource Management: A general objective behind hiring a candidate to perform a particular job is to get that job done effectively and efficiently. In short all organizations strive to achieve excellence in whatever business they are. To achieve this goal it is very essential that the entire jobs are performed efficiently and effectively by all the employees. To achieve excellence in performing any job by an employee it is important that an employee should be competent to perform that job. Competency based Human Resource Management helps any organization in achieving in objective. Competency based human resource management is promising as best approach in developing and preserving competent human resources. Competency based approaches to human resource management have been developed since psychologist David McClelland’s research on competency concept. He is credited with launching the competency movement through the publication of his paper titled â€Å"Testing for competencies rather than intelligence†, in which he suggested that academic aptitude and knowledge content tests alone cannot predict a high level of performance, but personal qualities, motives, experience and behavioural characteristics can distinguish most successful from less successful individuals Meaning of Competencies: The Treasury Board of Canada has defined â€Å"competencies† as the knowledge, skills, abilities and behaviours that an employee applies in performing his/her work and that are the key employee-related levers for achieving results that are relevant to the organization/s business strategies. Competency may be defined as: â€Å"The behaviourally defined characteristics which strengthen effective and superior performance†. It’s all about how the person should behave in order to achieve the objectives. According to Schroder competencies are personal effective skills which vary from more basic specialized functional skills to the generic, person based higher level competencies. Competencies allow focus process-â€Å"How things are done? † not simply on outcomes. Classification of competencies: †¢ Core Competencies The Core competencies include those key competencies that all employees in the organization must possess to achieve its mandate and vision. These competencies describe in behavioural terms the key values of the organization and represent those competencies that are core to the organization’s principal mandate. Career Stream Competencies The Career Stream competencies are those behavioural competencies that are common to the all jobs in the stream, and combined with the organization-wide (core) competencies, make up the suite of behavioural competencies necessary for success in the Stream. †¢ Technical / Professional Competencies The technical/profes sional competencies tend to be specific to occupational areas, roles and / or jobs within the Career Stream, and include the specific skills and knowledge (know-how) to perform effectively within the jobs of the Stream (e. . ability to use particular software; knowledge in particular professional areas such as finance, biochemistry; etc. ). These competencies could be generic to the Career Stream as whole, or be specific to roles, levels or jobs within the group. These are the competencies some one must demonstrate to be effective in his job/role, task or duty. Thus these competencies are job or role specific and vary from job to job. A competency model can be used to develop specific job related competencies and come out with a competency dictionary. These competencies are organization specific as roles and responsibilities may vary from organization to organization even though the job title may be the same. Generally HR department of organizations is focused on developing professional competencies and evaluating the same during recruitment and selection process. This classification of different types competencies in not all inclusive it’s an open field of research. In addition to this, competencies can be classified as Personal competencies also. Personal competency includes the various behavioral competencies apart from the knowledge and skill level of an individual. It includes personal attributes like level of motivation, adaptability, developing oneself etc. It also includes interpersonal skills like relationship building, communication ability, openness towards change, cultural awareness etc. In addition to this we can define people management competencies like Leadership, Directing, team building capacity, capacity to work with a team, counseling people, providing motivation, knowledge transformation. A Competency model: A â€Å"competency profile† or â€Å"competency model† is defined as a set of competencies and includes associated behaviours that link directly to the work to be performance, and the levels of proficiency for each behaviour. Competency profiles can cover a group of positions / jobs within an organization. I have developed following process to develop a competency model that can be used for the purpose of delivering competency based recruitment and selection in a desired way. A Competency model is the basic tool or competency based recruitment and selection. A Competency model tries to explain what and all competencies are required to perform different jobs in an organization. A competency model also tries to prioritize the competencies for different jobs. It describes these competencies in the form of indicators, which can be quantified. Each competency can be quantified on a scale on the basis of its relative importance with respect to each job. This serves as a reference for all competency management activities in the organization. Competency model is organization specific as each organization may have its own way of defining and quantifying competencies and competencies may be unique for each organization. Procedure to develop standard competencies: 1. First step is to identify the competencies to perform different jobs. Main source to identify these competencies are job description and job specification. On the basis of that a specific competencies can be identified because these throws light on duties, responsibilities, tasks involved in the job. This will work out as basic list of competencies required within an organization. . Now the next step is to find out critical competencies for all jobs, prioritizing them and to give more significance. These core competencies can be find out through discussion with immediate supervisors for the job position. They are more aware of the different competencies required for performing job efficiently. It also includes brainstorming sessions with managers. 3. After finis hing first two steps, the next is to develop the overall list of kinds of competencies required to perform a job. This includes both primary and secondary set of competencies. This can be further categorized job wise competencies also. With this step now we have a whole dictionary of competencies required. 4. Once the dictionary of competency is ready, now the next step is to prioritize and rate or provide weightage to different competency on the basis of its importance for the particular job. This will help us in quantifying competencies. 5. A model for developing standard competencies is now prepared. This can be used as a tool in competency based recruitment and selection by developing different tests to measure such competencies. Competencies are not static for any job. It is a very dynamic in nature. As the time changes and environment becomes more complicated, competencies required to perform a job also changes. Competency based recruitment and selection: Recruitment can be defined as â€Å"The process of surveying all sources of personnel, inside and outside the organization, to locate and attract the best possible candidates for new or vacated positions†. One of the most important problems in any organization is developing an effective recruitment and selection process which can choose right candidate for a right job. Many organizations have already experienced the cost of selecting a candidate who is not competent for performing job although he is qualified and knowledgeable person. Competency based approach for recruitment and selection calls for more meaningful competency based job descriptions, more appropriate job advertisements, better screening process, Specific competency based written tests like psychometric tests, Specific behaviorally based interviews popularly known as behavioral event interviews, tailored reference checks based on desired competencies of specific role. With the help of competency based recruitment and selection process it is possible to improve efficiency of the job getting done in the right way, which leads to achievement of desired results. Following diagram explains the process of recruitment and selection based on competency. [pic] Identifying Recruitment Strategy Team: Form a workgroup whose primary objective will be to develop a gap-closing recruitment plan for the company. The team should include: †¢ Key Human Resources personnel. †¢ Staff who have knowledge and responsibility for day-to-day operations. Other work units as appropriate given your agency’s size and organizational structure. Bringing together a Recruitment Strategy Team from different parts of the company offers a number of advantages: †¢ Team members may have a variety of networking contacts. †¢ Team members may bring new perspectives that result in creative ideas that surface through brainstorming. †¢ Teams members may become m ore invested in the recruitment process and support/encourage involvement of their respective organizational units. Preparation of competency dictionary: Dictionary for competency can be developed with the help of competency model discussed earlier. Defining competency based job profiles: Jobs can be better described in terms of the competencies needed for performing the various activities demanded by the job. The competency based approach defines jobs in terms competencies and this more flexible as rigid descriptions used in traditional job descriptions resulted in employees performing strictly defined tasks. Recruitment and selection methods will have to be based on competency based job profiles. Role analysis can be a better means of developing competency based job profiles. Role descriptions are more effective in identifying job related competencies and thus developing competency profiles. The competency based qualification standards can be based on whole person competency based approach, and characterized by more assessment options and easy to quantify and hence evaluate. . Recruitment Advertisement: A good advertisement is one which can convey the candidates the exact needs of the organization in terms of the basic job related competencies which are necessary for performing the job competently. The exact competencies for each job are available in the competency dictionary and this can be used for advertising purpose to tell possible candidates what knowledge, skills, and attributes they must possess to be able to apply for the job. Competency Tests: Psychometric tests are psychological tests which can provide useful information about a wide range of competencies of an individual like abilities, aptitudes, values and skills, and can function as a scientific aid in selection. These tests are based on person-job fit concept. Psychometric tests are used for several applications like selection, promotion, transfer, placement, and potential appraisal. Different types of psychometric tests can be used are: Personality tests, Occupational interest, Ability test, Value system test, etc. Competency Interviews: A Competency Based Interview is a structured series of questions aimed at eliciting evidence of a candidate's behavioural fit against specific job-related competencies. In competency based interviews, behavioral focused interviews are used. In behavioral focused interview, the underlying philosophy is that the past behavior is the best predictor of future performance. These types of interviews are generally characterized by questions that relate to specific behaviours which have been found to be linked to successful/superior performance on the job. Candidates are not asked to describe how they would respond in a particular situation or event – that is, they are not asked for hypothetical thinking and responses. But they are asked to describe what they have done, what behaviours they have used, in a certain situation or event which has occurred in the past. Interviewers halting the candidate's response to a question once they have heard sufficient evidence of the candidate's competency. A Competency Based interview process will allow for evidence based information which can then be verified with a candidate's referees. Competency Reference checks: Competency based reference checks the competencies that a candidate has actually exhibited in the past. The information can be obtained from the previous employers or the educational institutions from where the candidates have passed out. Reference checks can be designed in the form of a questionnaire which can be used to obtain information about the candidate’s previous performance levels or capacity to exhibit competencies when needed. Selection of the candidate & Training and Development Plans: On the basis of the reference checks and other competency testing we can now select the right person for the right job. Once the candidate is selected further plans for training can be prepared on the basis of the competencies required for meeting future changes in doing the job. Conclusion: From our discussion it is clear that competency based recruitment and selection can be more effective in selecting right candidate for the right job to enhance organizational efficiency. Thus organization’s need to develop a competency model which can be used as standard yard stick for implementing competency based recruitment and selection. This can not only reduce the cost of hiring the people but also enhance productivity significantly by building human resources as per the exact needs of the organization in complex business environment. Author:Nishant C. Mehta Lecturer, Shri H D Gardi MBA College, Jamnagar road, Nyara, Rajkot, Gujarat. Phone: +919227227501 Email: [email  protected] com ———————– Identify the Recruitment Strategy Team Preparation of competency dictionary Defining competency based job profiles Recruitment Advertisement Selection of the candidate Competency Reference checks Competency Interviews Competency Tests Employee Training and Development Plans

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Capstone Project Paper: Hernando County Essay

Hernando County is located in the Tampa Bay area and is surrounded by the Gulf of Mexico to its West, Pasco County to its South, Sumter County to its East, and Citrus County to its North. Hernando County has a population of 172,778 people (Hernando County Profile, 2012). According to Justia. com Hernando County is about seventy-six percent urban setting and the rest rural non-farming. The size of Hernando County is 53,927 square miles (County Information, 2012). The three major private sector employers are Wal-Mart Distribution Center, Oak Hill Hospital, and Spring Hill and Brooksville Regional Hospitals. Oak Hill Hospital, Spring Hill Regional Hospital, and Brooksville Regional are the major health care systems in the county (Hernando County Profile, 2012). The age group range of forty- five to sixty- four years old comprises the largest percentage of residents in Hernando County (Florida Charts, 2012). Five percent of the population is black people, and ninety- three percent is white people (Florida Charts, 2012). Nine percent is Hispanic, while ninety- one percent is non-Hispanic (Florida Charts, 2012). Twelve percent of families in Hernando County and fourteen percent of families in Florida are below the poverty level (Florida Charts, 2012). Eighty- six percent of the population in Hernando County greater than age twenty- five have a high school diploma. Eighty- five percent of the population in Florida greater than age twenty- five have a high school diploma (Florida Charts, 2012). Two percent of the population greater than age five in Hernando County do not speak English, and seven percent of the population greater than age five in Florida do not speak English (Florida Charts, 2012). Overview of Healthy People 2020 â€Å"Healthy People 2020 provides science-based, 10-year national objectives for improving the health of all Americans (Healthy People 2020, 2012, p. 2). † The United States Department of Health and Human Services manages the site. Healthy People 2020 was developed to improve the nation’s health among all socioeconomic groups by monitoring the effects of prevention methods, educating people on healthy lifestyle decisions, promoting healthy environments, and establishing what research should be conducted. The goals of Healthy People 2020 include: Attain high-quality, longer lives free of preventable disease, disability, injury, and premature death. Achieve health equity, eliminate disparities, and improve the health of all groups. Create social and physical environments that promote good health for all. Promote quality of life, healthy development, and healthy behaviors across all life stages. (Healthy People 2020, 2012) The Leading Health Indicators come from the list of Healthy People 2020 objectives. The Leading Health Indicators of Healthy People 2020 are the issues of our nation’s health given the greatest priority in resolving (Healthy People 2020, 2012). The Leading Health Indicators were made to communicate high- priority health concerns and measures that can be taken to deal with them. According to Healthy People 2020, â€Å"The indicators will be used to assess the health of the Nation, facilitate collaboration across sectors, and motivate action at the national, State, and community levels to improve the health of the U.  S. population† (Healthy People 2020, 2012, p. 7). The Leading Health Indicators of Healthy People 2020 are the issues of our nation’s health given the greatest priority in resolving. They include the following: access to health services; clinical preventive services; environmental quality; injury and violence; maternal, infant, and child health; mental health; nutrition, physical activity, and obesity; oral health; reproductive and sexual health; social determinants; substance abuse; and tobacco (Healthy People 2020, 2012). Healthy People 2020 suggests that organizations who are working towards making the goals a reality, submit their LHI success stories to the Healthy People 2020 website so that Healthy People 2020 can use them to their benefit. These stories can give other people and organizations hope for success to attain their own goals. Furthermore, Healthy People 2020 proposes to MAP-IT in order to implement indicators in a community or population. The MAP-IT strategy can be used in any community to ultimately achieve Healthy People 2020 goals. One must mobilize supporters, assess the needs of the community, plan how to address these needs, implement the plan, and track the progress (Healthy People 2020, 2012). Analysis of Strengths and Needs The three leading health indicators of strength for Hernando County are maternal, infant, and child health; nutrition, physical activity, and obesity; and tobacco (Indicators for county: Hernando, 2012). For maternal, infant, and child health, Hernando County is in the first quartile (most favorable) for early prenatal care (care began first trimester), infant death rate, and neonatal death rate. Hernando County is also better than the state of Florida by having less premature births, births to teens fifteen to nineteen years old, and repeat births to mothers fifteen to nineteen years old and a lower post neonatal death rate. Regarding nutrition, physical activity, and obesity, Hernando County beats the Healthy People 2020 goals of thirty- three percent of the adult population engaging in no leisure-time physical activity with a percentage of twenty- seven percent and thirty- one percent of the adult population being obese (Indicators for county: Hernando, 2012). Concerning tobacco, Hernando County is in the first quartile (most favorable) for the percentage of adults who are current smokers (Florida Charts, 2012). The three leading health indicators of need in Hernando County are injury and violence, social determinants, and oral health (Indicators for county: Hernando, 2012). In regards to social determinants, Hernando County is in the fourth quartile (least favorable) for unemployment rate and is in the third quartile for median income (in dollars) (Florida Charts, 2012). Unemployment rate is a social determinant as it describes the conditions that the community is living in. For injury and violence, Hernando County is in the fourth quartile (least favorable) for unintentional injuries age-adjusted death rate and for suicide age-adjusted death rate. Additionally, Hernando County is in the third quartile for motor vehicle crash age-adjusted death rate and for domestic violence offenses (Florida Charts, 2012). There is a need to lower the injury and violence rate in the county because as compared to the state of Florida, Hernando is one of the most violent counties in Florida (Florida Charts, 2012). In concern of oral health, Hernando County is in the fourth quartile (least favorable) for adults who had a permanent tooth removed because of tooth decay or gum disease (Florida Charts, 2012). Oral health is designated as the priority health indicator. Oral health care is extremely important because people need to prevent infections of the mouth, cavities that cause pain, and cancer. But the primary concern is periodontal disease and how it can lead to more severe diseases. Such diseases caused by periodontal disease range from diabetes to heart disease. Previously stated, Hernando County is in the fourth quartile (least favorable) for adults who had a permanent tooth removed because of tooth decay or gum disease (Florida Charts, 2012). Community Health Models Determinants of Health â€Å"are broad categories of factors that influence health and illness† (Clark, 2008, p. 66). The Determinants-of-Health Model is a combination of other models such as the producing health, consuming health care model and the mandala model. The Determinants-of-Health Model can help the Community Health Nurse develop interventions that address a population based health concern because it has different categorical determinants with topics imbedded in each determinant. The Community Health Nurse could use this model to figure out which determinant is applicable for a certain health issue and use the model to narrow down topics for immediate intervention (Clark, 2008). Human biology, the health system, environment, and lifestyle are factors that can contribute to oral health and are part of the Determinants-of-Health-Model (Clark, 2008). Human biology, like one’s gender, can predispose a person to a certain quality of oral health. A study done in South Asia revealed that women were more likely to get dental caries than men due to genetic and hormonal factors (Lukacs, 2011). The utilization part of the health system also plays a role in oral health, which is shown in research done by the National Survey of Children’s Health 2007. This research showed that children with poor oral health care are more likely to utilize dental health services when they are young, but less likely to go to the dentist when they are older than those that with adequate oral health (Bell, Huebner, & Reed, 2007). Furthermore a study in Australia proves that the addition of fluoride to public water, which is a part of built environment and the environmental determinants, has a positive correlation with the quality of oral health (Armfield, 2010). The lifestyle choice of smoking significantly lessens oral health quality, as confirmed by a study performed in Croatia (Zajc, I. , Brajdic, D. , Biocic, J. , Bosan-Kilibarda, I. , Kopic, V. , Siber, S. , & Macan, D. , 2011). Population Diagnosis The population diagnosis for the priority health issue of oral health is that large adult population in Hernando County is at risk of oral health degradation related to lack of knowledge in proper dental care, evidenced by: (a) Hernando County is in the fourth quartile (least favorable) for adults who had a permanent tooth removed because of tooth decay or gum disease, (b) Hernando county is in the second quartile for adults who had their teeth cleaned in the past year, and (c) Hernando County is in the second quartile for adults who visited a dentist or a dental clinic in the past year (Florida Charts, 2012). The Interventions Wheel The Interventions Wheel â€Å"consists of 17 identified community health nursing interventions that cross over three levels of population-based practice: individual-focused, community-focused, and systems-focused practice† (Clark, 2008, p. 75). The Intervention Wheel is supposed to integrate the idea of determinants of health as all factors that affect health, not just disease or health-related behaviors. The authors of the model also indicate that the model â€Å"emphasizes health promotion and illness prevention† (Clark, 2008, p. 7). To apply the Interventions Wheel to the previously mentioned population diagnosis, the community-focused intervention of social marketing could be utilized. By using social marketing, the county could write a grant to fund a media campaign to spread the word about the importance of dental care (Clark, 2008). Levels of Prevention â€Å"Nursing interventions for identified health needs in the population are planned within the dimensions of health care. The dimensions of health care derive from the public health concepts of levels of prevention and include primary prevention, secondary prevention, and tertiary prevention† (Clark, 2008 p. 72) If you perform an intervention that is designed to prevent a health issue from happening, then it is primary prevention. For instance, â€Å"Immunization is a protective measure for communicable diseases† (Clark, 2008, p. 73). If the intervention is supposed to fix an existing issue, it is secondary prevention. This prevention includes â€Å"screening and early diagnosis as well as treatment for existing health problems† (Clark, 2008, p. 73). When a performed intervention is designed to prevent long-term consequences of a former problem, it is a tertiary prevention. An example of a tertiary prevention would be â€Å"exercise after a broken leg†¦ to prevent muscle atrophy and contractures† (Clark, 2008, p. 73). All three of the preventions mentioned apply to the priority health issue of oral health. For instance, a primary prevention would be going to the dentist routinely for cleaning to prevent cavities and disease of the mouth. A secondary prevention would be to use fluoride after the dentist identifies the degradation of tooth enamel. A tertiary prevention would be the use of a mouth guard after a hockey player lost their tooth and got it replaced by the dentist. Evidence Based Interventions For the primary level of prevention, a community-focused intervention could be utilized in support of the priority health issue of oral health. Health teaching could be done by working at local festivals and fairs promoting a teeth cleaning campaign. The campaign would be funded by local legislators in the county. The community health nurse could have a booth set-up at these local festivals and fairs teaching the community about the importance of oral health care. An article in the International Journal of Cardiology 2011 says that oral health promotion activities seem to produce improvements in periodontal health (Lam, O. , Zhang, W. , Samaranayake, L. , Li, L. , McGrath, C. , 2011). For the secondary level of prevention, a system-focused intervention could be used in support of the population diagnosis previously mentioned. By working with local health care providers to develop systems for screening, follow-up appointments, and treatment for cavities and gum disease, the rates of tooth loss in Hernando County could be lowered. The community health nurse would meet with other health care providers and help make these services available. An article in the American Journal for Public Health 2011 states that the dental practice is responsible for screening for disease in both oral and general health (Lamster & Eaves, 2011). For the tertiary level of prevention, an individual-focused intervention could be employed in support of oral health. By working with local health care providers, the community health nurse could establish follow-up care for patients with gum disease. Compliance of the patient could be monitored by seeing how many follow-up appointments the patient attends out of the suggested amount of appointments scheduled by the dentist. The dentist could monitor the treatment effects with subsequent visits by the patient. The patient could be educated on how to better his oral health care to prevent further negative impact and the spread of the disease. According to the Journal of Clinical Periodontology 2010, people that take better care of their teeth have a greater likelihood of showing up for follow-up care (Kakudate, N. , Morita, M. , Yamazaki, S. , Fukuhara, S. , Sugai, M. , Nagayama, M. , Kawanami, M. , & Chiba, I. , 2010). Conclusion Health policy plays a direct role on the health care received by patients. Health policy develops protocols on what procedures should be performed for certain situations. The health policy proposal is a secondary level prevention with a system-focused approach. The health policy proposal is that people who have been diagnosed with gum disease should seek follow-up care during the next two years to prevent tooth loss. â€Å"Dental care is necessary to prevent and treat orofacial disease, infection, and pain, as well as restore form and function of dentition† (Policy on medically necessary care, 2011, p. 20). The health policy proposal will decrease the number adults who had a permanent tooth removed because of tooth decay or gum disease in Hernando County.

History of Algebra Essays - Ancient Greek Mathematicians

History of Algebra Essays - Ancient Greek Mathematicians History of Algebra Algebra is defined by Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary as a generalization of arithmetic in which letters representing numbers are combined according to the rules of arithmetic. This is not a good definition of algebra. It would take a thick book to really explain it. In fact, to this day it is still being added to. There are always new things to be discovered about it. It has been added to by many different people over the centuries. Algebra has a long interesting history. The first work describing algebra was called Arithmetica, a treatise by Diophantus of Alexandria. It was a collection of 130 problem and numerical solutions. Only 6 of the 13 books have been found, the others were believed to have been destroyed soon after their creation. Diophantus was known as the father of algebra. The way he solved problems algebraically was know as Diophantine analysis. He lived from about 200 AD to about 284 AD He was the first to use an algebraic symbolism, in which symbols and letters represented the unknown. He refused to believe that there was any such thing as a negative number. He reasoned this by saying it is impossible to have negative four objects. He did much work with quadratic equations and even equations with variables to the sixth power. Diophantus also seemed to know that any whole number could be written as the sum of four squares. Pierre de Fermat did some work with this but it was not proved until later when Joseph Louis Lagrange worked with it. Despite all of Diophantus's work algebra had a long way to go before general problems could be written down and solved. There were many other influential people in the history of mathematics. One such man was named Theon of Alexandria. He wrote commentaries on many other works of mathematics in his time. In many cases he added extra steps into others proofs. He never really did anything original but he added much to other mathematicians works. His daughter Hypatia grew up around mathematics. As she grew she picked up on it and eventually she even helped her father on several works. She became the head of a Plotinost school in Alexandria. There she lectured on subjects such as mathematics and philosophy. Platonusts believed that there was an ultimate reality in which humans could never fully understand. Hypatia only lived to be about forty five because she was brutally murdered by Christians who felt threatened by her scholarship. One of the works that she helped her father critique was that called Almagest by Ptolemy. This was a thirteen page treatise. This is the earliest of all of Ptolmey's works. It describes the mathematical theory of the motions of the Sun, Moon, and the planets. Ptolmey was an interesting man. He believed in the geocentric theory, that is the Sun and other planets revolve around the Earth. It was proposed by Aristotle. Another belief at the time was the heliocentric theory in which the Earth and all of the other planets revolve around the Sun. Along with this he also figured out the seasons. He discovered that every day was about 1/300 of a year. Later the exact number of days in a year, 365 1/4, was determined by Hipparchus. Ptolmey also started studying the motions of the moon. He discovered using an inscribed 360-gon that pie was 3 17/120 which is really close to pie's true value. Also using this 360-gon he discovered that a 60 degree chord with the length of radical 3 is 1.73205. Another important figure in the history of Algebra is Pythagoras of Samos. He is often described as the first pure mathematician. Pythagorus founded a philosophical and religious school. It's many members had no personal belongings and they were vegetarians. He believes that at it's deepest level, reality is mathematical in nature. He believes anything about nature relates to a mathematics law. Pythagorus had a rather odd belief that each number had it's own individual personality and the number 10 was the best number because it was the sum of the first 4 numbers. Pythagorus was best known for his famous geometry theorem. It stated that the sum of the squares of the lengths of the two sides of a right triangle is equal to the square of the length of the hypotenuse. He also discovered that the angles of a triangle add up to 2 right angles. Pythagorus is also credited with the discovery of irrational numbers. Irrational numbers are numbers that are non-terminating non-repeating decimals. Pythagorus is a very important figure when it come to developing algebra and mathematics. One of

Sunday, October 20, 2019

Qualitative Data Definition and Examples

Qualitative Data Definition and Examples In statistics, qualitative data- sometimes referred to as categorical data- is data that can be arranged into categories based on physical traits, gender, colors or anything that does not have a number associated with it. The hair colors of players on a football team, the color of cars in a parking lot, the letter grades of students in a classroom, the types of coins in a jar, and the shape of candies in a variety pack are all examples of qualitative data so long as a particular number is not assigned to any of these descriptions. Qualitative data is contrasted with  quantitative data  wherein quantitative  data sets have numbers associated with them that evaluate the quantity of an object or objects with shared features. Oftentimes, quantitative data is used to analyze qualitative data sets. Qualitative vs. Quantitative Data Its pretty easy to understand the difference between qualitative and quantitative data: the former doesnt include numbers in its definition of traits of an object or group of objects while the latter does. Still, it can get confusing when thinking in terms of statistical attributes, which include size and dimensions, which are quantitative and not qualitative data. In order to better understand these concepts, its best to observe examples of particular datasets and how they can be defined. Observe which are qualitative and which are quantitative data sets in the following examples: The cats have orange, brown, black, or white fur (qualitative).The boys have brown, black, blonde, and red hair (qualitative).There are four black cats and five orange cats (quantitative).The cake was 50 percent chocolate and 50 percent vanilla (quantitative). Even when a particular feature or attribute of an object is qualitative, such as chocolate for the cake or black for the cats, the inclusion of a number in the data set makes it a quantitative one, though this interplay is important for the study of statistics as it provides categories for which mathematicians  can then compare numerically. The Importance of Qualitative Data Whereas quantitative data is important in determining the particular frequency of traits or characteristics, the sizes, and dimensions of objects, and that sort of information about a given topic, qualitative data like the color of hair or skin of employees in a company or the healthiness of a pets coat can be important in statistical analysis, especially when paired with quantitative data about these qualitative features. Essentially, qualitative data is important because it allows statisticians to form parameters through which to observe larger sets of data. For instance, a company that wanted to determine the diversity of its workforce would want to look at a set of qualitative data like race and ethnicity of its employees as well as the quantitative data of the frequency of employees to belong to those races and ethnicities. Qualitative data provides the means for which observers can quantify the world around them- there are three blondes, two brunettes, and three black-haired women at the table or there are 16  freshmen and 15 sophomores attending the annual band trip.

Saturday, October 19, 2019

How effectively the systems and processes being deployed within the Essay

How effectively the systems and processes being deployed within the organization have aligned to deliver the organizations performance objectives - Essay Example The paper presents business operations as the function which plans and estimates the day to day activities within an organization. Operations refer to the most important functions in an organization, as it manages all the activities in the organization. Ideally, business operations ensure the following factors. ï  ¶ All internal groups are integrated into the same plan with well prescribed roles and responsibilities ï  ¶ All internal operating groups perform together as one unit, to make sure operational integrity, development of business, risk management and resource management, allocation of resources, and overall the finest practices. ï  ¶ Successful communication among other functional departments within the company. ï  ¶ Participating in business planning for developing strategies. ï  ¶ Working within the constraints of an integrated budget, and combining all fiscal practices, while following other recognized policies, procedures and controls. â€Å"While operations are generally well understood and structured in most large organizations, business operations in many small to medium sized companies tend to be less clear. It is not unusual to see functional lines or boundaries blur together or; departmental responsibility and accountability shared by many people within one organization†. The systems and processes play a very significant role in accomplishing the goals and objectives of the organization. The organizations emphasize in their reports about how much they rely on the operation and systems. The operations of business changes from organization to organization. It concentrates on the volume and character of the business. It depends, whether the company focuses on products or services, and whether the operation is small or large. Here we have accepted SAMBRO International as our choice for the organization analysis. â€Å"Sambro International Ltd is a private company categorized under Hobby, Toy, and Game Shops and located in Manchester, United Kingdom† (Sambro International Limited 2012). It has established as one of the major companies in toy manufacturing in Britain. It is a privately owned manufacturing firm, founded in 1996. The company has two different sections. 1) New World Toys 2) Stocklot. New World Toys produces and distributes their elite certified goods, and their own brand goods. Stocklot is the company which deals in clearaning stock in European and UK countries, through multiple retail channels. Stocklot mainly focuses on the trading of big brands, and children's character merchandise at very low prices. The company keeps growing with its innovative operation technologies and us e of advanced systems, to develop production processes. The processes and systems are executed to attain strategic goals of the industry. The mainly significant thing is that they should make sure that these processes are in line with the envisaged strategic goals. Emphasis on design, execution, and measure are necessary for the improvement of business operations and processes. The cycle of this process is a never ending process and an ever lasting process, as it aims at continuous improvement. Certain steps and taken in designing and executing the right technology based machineries for document supervision, project application, integration, and workflows, to assist process administration and alter process. These are the theories followed by the Sambro International for their uninterrupted flow of production. â€Å"One frequent question is how operations differ from project managers. The main difference is that, project managers are focus on the success of their projects, while the operational wing focuses on the success of the office† (Barry 2010). The Role of Operations in Business: The role of operations within an organization is

Friday, October 18, 2019

Prisons in the united states Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Prisons in the united states - Research Paper Example Furthermore, new policies on combating drug trafficking have contributed to the rise in incarceration rates significantly. Similarly, the public demand tougher actions from the criminal justice system. There is overrepresentation of people of color in American criminal justice system (parole, jail, probation). According to Clear, Cole & Reisig (2008, p.471), â€Å"African American men are imprisoned in United States at a rate more than three times higher than white males.† In addition, male population under the criminal justice system is higher than female population. The prison system in the US, especially in relation to mass imprisonment has led to collapse of the family units, as parents get imprisoned leaving behind their children. Indeed, the number of single parent householders has increased due to incarceration. Thus, this paper will compare the rate of incarceration in America and other countries, explore the factors contributing to mass imprisonment, significance of g ender and race in criminal justice system, and addresses cultural implication of mass imprisonment, conditions of confinement and what we can learn about the American society from the way it treats its prisoners. Describe the rate of incarceration in the U.S. ... According to Conrad (2005, p. 223), â€Å"the rate of incarceration for the United States is 702 for every 100,000 American citizens, the highest rates in the World.† Indeed, the rate of incarceration in the United States is 5-6 times more than other industrialized countries (Mauer, 2003, p.3). The graph below illustrates the incarceration rates in US in comparison with other countries. Source: Mauer, M., (2003). Comparative International Rates of Incarceration: An Examination of Causes and Trends. http://www.sentencingproject.org/doc/publications/inc_comparative_intl.pdf Besides, America reports more cases of violent crimes than other industrialized countries. Why does the United States lead other industrialized nations in mass imprisonment? The United States leads other industrialized nations in mass incarceration level due to high numbers of violent crimes, porous borders with Mexico, which inflates drugs trafficking, racial turmoil, criminal justice policies, and degradati on of social safety net. In addition, the criminal justice system incarcerates more minor offenders than other nations. Essentially, a large percentage of incarcerated person in the US are put behind due to drug and substance trafficking. Other countries do not impose stringent laws prohibiting drugs trafficking; hence, they have fewer inmates on trafficking grounds. Thus, the America’s measure to combat drug trafficking has led to more incarcerated persons serving longer sentences. Similarly, there is a higher rate of violent crimes related to drugs cartels in America in comparison with other countries. The US criminal justice system is also influenced by democracy; primarily, courts judges, prosecutors are elected, and hence they are subject to public

Organisation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Organisation - Essay Example Thus, with the dynamics that the human beings portray, consistency is not only incompatible, but impossible. Still, there is a need for statutes to be there. Only in regular amendments, adjustments and constant evolution is the key to the supremacy and existence of human beings, which will allow a person to better understand what the environment is all about. Accounting and governing require a certain amount of skill, just like any other profession in the world. This skill needs to be learnt, acquired and sought, through a gradual process of grooming and training. Anybody who lacks this skill is henceforth deemed unsuitable for the task. Thus, he deduces that since people make the decision in management, they at large are not skilled in the profession of accounting within a statutory environment. The lack of skill in the people who ascertain the course of governance hence renders management as an irrational choice for accounting. It might be argued that experience, might and organizational skills are essential for the accounting class. For if one lacks these traits, then controlling the population of an organization would be a sore-some task, let alone managing the budget and rations. Skill is not as important as is getting the trust of the employees. It is ironic, that if one goes for a part-time job in a grocery store, they ask for experience and expertise, but nobody asks for the same when a ruler is to be elected! The concept of majority is a more generalized concept, and cannot be left at the whims of individuals. Universal good, though is not clearly defined, yet it exists as unison. It is only for a person to explore the same in appropriate conditions and circumstances, whereby the true inner persona of the individual will come out. In the context of helping others, this is a very important stance, the fact remains,

Best Practice, Best Fit and Resource View of the firms analysis for Essay

Best Practice, Best Fit and Resource View of the firms analysis for relevance - Essay Example But these new concepts definitely did one thing, forced the organizations to focus on a neglected area. Similar is the case with "Best Practice", "Best Fit" and "Resource View of the Firms". The three concepts led to awakening which provided insights into organizations themselves on practices, organizational variables and the organizational resources respectively. Best Practice term arrived in the 1990s when the entire world of organizations were in a flux, the world became unipolar and the resources deployed hitherto for anticipated war between two poles of the world were suddenly available for better use, for business and the core of business is essentially the needs, desires of human beings and the ability to fulfill them. The geographical boundaries had suddenly collapsed and the resulting globalization created aggregation of these needs, desires and the abilities to fulfill them, unleashing a state of huge threats and huge opportunities. A plethora of business concepts arrived on the scene, quickly delivered by ICT elements across a wider spectrum of organizations. Best Practice concept was one of them. The search of reasons or factors behind a superlative performance led to a process-by-process analysis and its comparison with the more successful companies. Best practice is essentially kno... It is a quest for improvement through the use of experience behind creating a better practice by others. The comparison could be either through unstructured or structured mechanisms, documents, interactions. Benchmarking encompasses best practices and best practice results are the starting point in improvement through benchmarking partnerships. Normally two organizations enter into benchmarking partnerships and try to transfer the best practices from one context to another. It starts with regular comparison of performance measures in identified areas and when it is found that performance of some parameters is quite high, a detailed analysis is carried out to find out how it is done and what is the practice being adopted to achieve that superior result. Now the key is to understand and implement that practice, leading to closer people to people interactions, depending on the understanding and enthusiasm of the implementing organization. Another approach seen regarding best practice is industry or sector specific associations engaged in sharing and exchanging of data, experiences in seminars or workshops to facilitate the growth of the industry itself through capture of best practice and disseminating the same. The approach has definitely helped organizations to see the organizational activities in terms of a set of practices and look the process-wise comparison with others. The practice of comparison came down to the level of practices. Best Practice Blues There have been significant activities in the efforts to capture best practices from other sources and deploy in the own context. There are reasons to say that these efforts did not get a fair amount of success except the possible benefit of communicating a comparative message that someone

Thursday, October 17, 2019

The War on Terror U.S. Invasion of Afghanistan Essay

The War on Terror U.S. Invasion of Afghanistan - Essay Example Thesis statement: The U.S. initiated War on Terror and invasion of Afghanistan (Operation Enduring Freedom) is helpful to obstruct the rapid spread of terrorism, restoration of democracy in Afghanistan, and peace in the Middle East. The War on Terror The War on Terror, a military campaign initiated by the U.S. and its allied nations, primarily aims to resist rapid spread of terrorism, especially the terrorist plots like 9/11. Duffy (2005), an eminent human rights activist, writer, and the director of the International Centre for the Legal Protection of Human Rights points out that, â€Å"In the immediate wake of the attacks of 11 September 2001, the United States committed itself to a sustained ‘war on terror’, a significant component of which has involved the use of military force by the United States and its allies in several countries, notably Afghanistan and Iraq† (p.186). One can see that the origin of terrorist organizations like al-Qaeda and Taliban is inte rconnected with the growth of militant nationalism in the Middle East. On the other side, the War on Terror never hindered counter-terrorism measures adopted by the world nations. To be specific, the War on Terror aims to reduce the influence of terrorism among the world nations. ... The origin of the War on Terror is interconnected with the growth of al-Qaeda and Taliban in the Middle East. The end result of the creation of al-Qaeda by Osama bin Laden in 1980s was the rapid spread of terrorism and the origin of Taliban in Afghanistan. Gradually, Bin Laden began to control Afghani Taliban. This eventually led to the origin of terrorist networks in the Middle East and in the African continent. On the other side, the U.S. interest and influence among the oil rich Middle Eastern nations was an imminent threat to the terrorist networks. So, Bin Laden decided to intimidate the U.S. and other Western nations by attacking the officials and civilians. Soros (2007), who is the chief of the Soros Fund Management, supporter of open societies and an important critic on the War on Terror, opines that, â€Å"Bin Laden correctly identified the one aspect in which military Islam is superior to Western civilization: the fear of death† (p.108). The millennium attack in the year 2000 proves that Bin Laden was ready to challenge the U.S. and its allied nations. The immediate cause behind the War on Terrorism and the attack on al-Qaeda and Taliban is the 9/11 attack, formulated by Bin Laden. This attack infuriated the U.S. and it eventually led to the extension of the War on Terrorism to new levels. The War on Terrorism aimed to destroy the mastermind behind the rapid spread of terrorism. Soros (2007), opines that, â€Å"My emphasis on the role of the United States as the source of stability in the world and the protector of our civilization is somewhat exaggerated on account of personal considerations† (p.xviii). But, Bin Laden and other leaders of Al-Qaeda and Taliban like Abu Musab al-Zarqawi were in Afghanistan. So, the warfront gradually shifted to

Perceptions of Childhood Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Perceptions of Childhood - Essay Example The unique criteria of modern early years education gives the impression of being built powerfully on insights and practices honed from the legacy of the Montessori system. Toward the end of the 19th century Maria Montessori built on the work of Jean-Marc Gaspard Itard and Edouard Seguine to develop just such an individualized child-centered approach to education (Kramer, R. 1988:60). Maria created a program for young children in the slums of Rome which became known as the Montessori Method. The incisive outlook that Dr. Montessori brought to early childhood education was her conviction that the education of each child must start from inside the inimitable little person, and that the child must be left free to learn for itself by selecting and using resources with the least amount of adult intrusion for as long as the child is absorbed in the work at hand (Kramer, R. 1988:113). Montessori transformed the role of the educator from a simple trainer to an engaged and attentive guide of children's independent development through the promotion of autonomous activities appropriate to the requirements of each child in the secure setting of the classroom. The rudiments of the Montessori Method and variations of Montessori resources are employed broadly today in early childhood programs world-wide (Kramer, R. 1988:16). Montessori passed on enduring insight into and deep appreciation for the natural aptitude latent in every small person when cultivated judiciously. Public schooling in the wake of the Industrial Revolution centered on passive models for children's learning: the school as a factory and the child as a blank slate. Children were the raw material to be formed forthwith into productive citizens (Lillard, A.S. 2005:7). In the Italy of Maria Montessori's era the family and its social status was the primary determinant of a child's education and profession. The prospects for a young girl of that era were even more firmly determined by convention. A married woman, as wife and mother, was expected first and foremost to be the underlying nucleus in the Italian family (Gutek, G.L.2004:2). Maria's childhood experience in a local primary school adhered to the established practice of a teacher feeding information to the children through dictation, with the child repeating back material learned by rote memory. Italian primary schools generally included all the subjects, reading, writing, arithmetic, history and geography, in a single book. Generally, the educator required the child to stand at attention and correctly repeat responses tediously committed to memory from the text (Gutek, G.L.2004:3). In spite of Italy's 19th-century gender norms, at the age of thirteen in 1883, Maria Montessori opted to study engineering in a state technical school, though by 1890 she had decided to leave engineering to go into medicine (Kramer, R. 1988:34). Through quite resolute persistence she secured admission to the University of Rome as a student of physics, mathematics, and the natural sciences, and passed her final examination with an outstanding grade of eight out of ten points which made her academically eligible to study to be a

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Best Practice, Best Fit and Resource View of the firms analysis for Essay

Best Practice, Best Fit and Resource View of the firms analysis for relevance - Essay Example But these new concepts definitely did one thing, forced the organizations to focus on a neglected area. Similar is the case with "Best Practice", "Best Fit" and "Resource View of the Firms". The three concepts led to awakening which provided insights into organizations themselves on practices, organizational variables and the organizational resources respectively. Best Practice term arrived in the 1990s when the entire world of organizations were in a flux, the world became unipolar and the resources deployed hitherto for anticipated war between two poles of the world were suddenly available for better use, for business and the core of business is essentially the needs, desires of human beings and the ability to fulfill them. The geographical boundaries had suddenly collapsed and the resulting globalization created aggregation of these needs, desires and the abilities to fulfill them, unleashing a state of huge threats and huge opportunities. A plethora of business concepts arrived on the scene, quickly delivered by ICT elements across a wider spectrum of organizations. Best Practice concept was one of them. The search of reasons or factors behind a superlative performance led to a process-by-process analysis and its comparison with the more successful companies. Best practice is essentially kno... It is a quest for improvement through the use of experience behind creating a better practice by others. The comparison could be either through unstructured or structured mechanisms, documents, interactions. Benchmarking encompasses best practices and best practice results are the starting point in improvement through benchmarking partnerships. Normally two organizations enter into benchmarking partnerships and try to transfer the best practices from one context to another. It starts with regular comparison of performance measures in identified areas and when it is found that performance of some parameters is quite high, a detailed analysis is carried out to find out how it is done and what is the practice being adopted to achieve that superior result. Now the key is to understand and implement that practice, leading to closer people to people interactions, depending on the understanding and enthusiasm of the implementing organization. Another approach seen regarding best practice is industry or sector specific associations engaged in sharing and exchanging of data, experiences in seminars or workshops to facilitate the growth of the industry itself through capture of best practice and disseminating the same. The approach has definitely helped organizations to see the organizational activities in terms of a set of practices and look the process-wise comparison with others. The practice of comparison came down to the level of practices. Best Practice Blues There have been significant activities in the efforts to capture best practices from other sources and deploy in the own context. There are reasons to say that these efforts did not get a fair amount of success except the possible benefit of communicating a comparative message that someone

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Perceptions of Childhood Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Perceptions of Childhood - Essay Example The unique criteria of modern early years education gives the impression of being built powerfully on insights and practices honed from the legacy of the Montessori system. Toward the end of the 19th century Maria Montessori built on the work of Jean-Marc Gaspard Itard and Edouard Seguine to develop just such an individualized child-centered approach to education (Kramer, R. 1988:60). Maria created a program for young children in the slums of Rome which became known as the Montessori Method. The incisive outlook that Dr. Montessori brought to early childhood education was her conviction that the education of each child must start from inside the inimitable little person, and that the child must be left free to learn for itself by selecting and using resources with the least amount of adult intrusion for as long as the child is absorbed in the work at hand (Kramer, R. 1988:113). Montessori transformed the role of the educator from a simple trainer to an engaged and attentive guide of children's independent development through the promotion of autonomous activities appropriate to the requirements of each child in the secure setting of the classroom. The rudiments of the Montessori Method and variations of Montessori resources are employed broadly today in early childhood programs world-wide (Kramer, R. 1988:16). Montessori passed on enduring insight into and deep appreciation for the natural aptitude latent in every small person when cultivated judiciously. Public schooling in the wake of the Industrial Revolution centered on passive models for children's learning: the school as a factory and the child as a blank slate. Children were the raw material to be formed forthwith into productive citizens (Lillard, A.S. 2005:7). In the Italy of Maria Montessori's era the family and its social status was the primary determinant of a child's education and profession. The prospects for a young girl of that era were even more firmly determined by convention. A married woman, as wife and mother, was expected first and foremost to be the underlying nucleus in the Italian family (Gutek, G.L.2004:2). Maria's childhood experience in a local primary school adhered to the established practice of a teacher feeding information to the children through dictation, with the child repeating back material learned by rote memory. Italian primary schools generally included all the subjects, reading, writing, arithmetic, history and geography, in a single book. Generally, the educator required the child to stand at attention and correctly repeat responses tediously committed to memory from the text (Gutek, G.L.2004:3). In spite of Italy's 19th-century gender norms, at the age of thirteen in 1883, Maria Montessori opted to study engineering in a state technical school, though by 1890 she had decided to leave engineering to go into medicine (Kramer, R. 1988:34). Through quite resolute persistence she secured admission to the University of Rome as a student of physics, mathematics, and the natural sciences, and passed her final examination with an outstanding grade of eight out of ten points which made her academically eligible to study to be a

Cain Motors Information System Essay Example for Free

Cain Motors Information System Essay The purpose of this document is to define the Context of Cain Motors Information System in order to form the basis for the Information System and assessment of the success of the project. This document will allow the Project Board to ensure the project has a sound basis before making a major commitment to the project. It will act as a base document against which the Project Board and Project Manager can assess progress, change management issues, and on-going viability issues. Approval of the Project Initiation Document (PID) is sought from the Project Board, together with authorisation to proceed with the next stage of the project. here are eight main stages to using PRINCE2 Quality Management, which is the system we will be using to develop this project. Cain Motors is a small garage in the east end of London situated under the railway arches. The garage has been running for thirty years and relies mainly on word of mouth and passing trade for its business. It deals with car repairs, MOTs, servicing and insurance work. There are a total of four workers including the owner Mr Cain. Last year we were brought into update the system from a manual system to a computerised system, which we did but Mr Cain has called us back to update the system and to redevelop the existing information processing system at Cain Motors to resolve defects highlighted by users and Mr Cain, the project will also incorporate certain changes requested by users of the present information system such as to be able to produce a complete MOT history, to produce invoices, web site for advertising and booking appointments (MOT, crash repairs and servicing). Mr Cain has decided to store stock on the premises; therefore he now requires a facility for stock monitoring i. e. a stock table added to the database so he can keep track of what needs to be reordered and what has to be used. The project aims to provide an information system that will assist staff in the day-to-day operations of Cain Motors, providing an efficient computer system, which reliably and securely stores information manages stock control, customer information and MOT service history. If the aim of the project if achieved it will make the business more efficient, it will cut down on lost time, because everything should be on the computerised system, which means the company will on lost man hours. The identified defects are listed below, also the desired improvements Improvements Defects As business expands, stock details needs to be included and supplier referencing for purposes of stock control and monitoring. The supplier table is not related to any other tables within the databases, at present it is a flat file contained with the database. Web site for advertising and booking appointments (MOT and crash repairs servicing) MOT history is not recorded for each customer, when a search is entered only the last record is shown. A full history needs to be returned. Estimates were not included into database version 1 to be included in version (estimate log, costs retail date given who gave when was it given to customer, proceed or decline. How long does estimate stand) Printing details currently only tacks a screen dump and prints that off rather than a full report, which is really what is required. Delete functions used in a VB front end for the database does not delete record conation with the database table this needs to be readdressed. The stock control system will be integrated into the existing system, linking the supplier table to the database. The system will be loaded as part of a new version, data migration for the previous version will be required and data entry will be required to enable the staff to see all supplier information. Financially this change will benefit Cain Motors immensely, turn around time will increase for cars, and cars will not be held static in the garage awaiting parts thus increasing the amount of cars that can be worked on at once. Thus increasing business revenue.

Monday, October 14, 2019

Explore Travelling Constraints People Face Tourism Essay

Explore Travelling Constraints People Face Tourism Essay Various number of research studies explore travelling constraints people face. In contrast to motivations that push people towards travelling, the overshadowing constraints of traveling could prevent the travelers from engaging in travel although the motivation may perhaps exist (Page and Hall, 2003). Financial Considerations In 2007(DSS, 2008), it was presumed that the income of an individual has a relationship with the number of foreign trips made by him/her yearly. Key findings (DSS, 2005) discovered that the household income of an individual is a critical factor that influences the choice of travelers while deciding the amount of money he/she would spend in travelling for each trip. A study in consumer behavior revealed that people of higher income are likely to explore more for products/services information (Andereck and Caldwell, 1994; Runyon and Stewart, 1987; Robertson, Zielinski and Ward, 1984; Newman, 1977). Heung and Chu (2000) found that tourists with lower income are more concerned about the pricing in comparison to tourists with higher income. In Zhang et al. (2004)s research also stated that respondents with higher income considered travel cost less significant than the lower income groups. Travel expenditure patterns play a fundamental role for travel planners and destination marketers (Jang et al., 2004). The rise in international tourism expenditure had reached 5.6% (adjusted for exchange rate fluctuations and inflation) in 2007, (WTO, 2008). WTO stated that almost 80 countries received more than USD1 million from international tourism in 2007. Hong et al. (2005) revealed that monetary factors specify a notable positive correlation between income and travel spending. Nicolau and Mas (2006), suggest that at the time of selecting a destination for travelling, the motivations of a tourist pacify the effect of prices. A particular group of people is reluctant to pay more for costly places where family or friend dwells, however they are keen to pay to explore new places. According to Nicolau and Mas (2006), travelers who are opting for culture are commonly more willing to pay higher prices, while those looking for climate are less eager. Whilst the majority of travelers spend consciously, there appears to be a tendency of people choosing a destination which offers better exchange rate so more could be spend while paying less. Dwyer, Forsyth and Rao (2002) recommended that price competitiveness is a general concept covering price discrepancies coupled with exchange rate movements and qualitative factors that have an effect on the attractiveness of a destination. The exchange rate movements have largely been altered by the structure of price within respective countries, which has resulted in either an increase or drop in price in travelling segment. In addition, their study discovered that countries like Thailand, Indonesia and Turkey took the advantage from the devaluation of their respective currencies which were compensated by the increases in the consumer prices in these countries. Whereas, Zhang et al. (2009) concluded that other factors remained constant, the chief motivation for a traveler would be the decline i n currency of the domestic market. For example, the higher the US dollar to Thai baht, the more probability of tourists to choose Thailand as their destination as tourists expenditures could be a lot lesser than USA or Europe countries. Distance and Time According to Nicolau and Mas (2006), the significant influence of distance on travelers motivations is balanced out at the time of deciding the destination to travel. The research carried out in Spain concluded that the traveler has a preference for shorter distances and is not inclined towards extended and time-consuming journeys. Nonetheless, travelers favor longer trips if they are visiting their family or friend or exploring new places. While some of the likely causes of short distance travelling could be lack of time availability or economic constraints. Zhang et al. (1999)s study revealed that people with higher income have a tendency to opt for longer journeys, however the correlation is not linear and the higher the tourists perceive their incomes the longer will be the travelling distance. Safety, Security and Visa Issues Mansfeld and Pizam (2006) suggest that travelers may possibly have safety and security concerns because of issues such as war, civil unrest, terrorism, disease, crime (specifically theft), catastrophes caused by human or technical error, natural disasters, and dangerous wildlife. Beirman (2003) stated that the key determinant in travelers choices to go visit a destination is the perception of safety and security. Researchers say that episodes like the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, SARS in March 2003, Tsunami in December 2004 and Swine Flu influenza in April 2009 had tremendously damaged and threatened the travel and tourism industry. Regarding this, Dickman (2003) pointed out that the lack of confidence in an individual could be one of the possible reasons that they are expected to respond strongly on negative conditions like epidemics, disasters and terrorism. Pakistan faced the most prominent plummet in visa issuance for USA after the terrorist attack on the World Trade Centre. In 2002, the number of tourist and immigrant visas issued to Pakistani citizens fell approximately 70 percent and 40 percent respectively, in comparison to 2001. International tourism to America chopped down for nearly three years following 2001 incident. The total number of Americans who traveled internationally also decreased past 9/11, the Office of Travel and Tourism Industries reports (Jason and Dalia, 2011). Even though travel surveys time after time discover that safety and security are vital concerns among travelers (Poon and Adams, 2000), the latest research conducted by Valencia and Crouch (2008) testing travelers response to risk uncovered that 33% of the surveyed respondents would go ahead as planned regardless; 21% would decide to relocate to another safer destination and 19% would delay their trip. On the contrary with a natural disaster, 36% preferred to reschedule their trip and 19% chose to go to a safer destination and 15% would go ahead with their trips as planned. Likewise, the results in Rittichainuwat and Chakraborty (2009) carried out in Thailand, also discovered that a mean of 2.89 respondents were not put off entirely (by travel risks or epidemics but would decide to visit another safer destination (mean=3.56). Moreover, PATA and Visa (2008) study proved that out of 52% of travelers whose travel plan has been affected by the economic crisis, 75% would switch to less co stly destinations and 31% would delay their trips. In the survey by Zhang et al.(2004), Hong Kong natives identified epidemics as a main aspect while travelling, followed by safety, disaster, good value for money, political and social environments. Pakistanis face the visa restrictions when travel to USA. There is also a lot of abhorrence for USA in Pakistani society because of the losses of their lives during war on terror (Shahnaz, 2012) Edgell (1994) specifies that outbound tourists are commonly affected by different governmental policies and restrictions of various countries. Particularly rules regarding the imposition of restrictions such as limited visa grants, exit visa requirements, limited access to foreign currency and restricted allowances for foreign travel services are widespread. Socio-demographic constraints Researchers suggest that socio cultural, demographic and economic features like nature of society i.e. patriarchal or matriarchal, age, family life cycle stage, influence of family, education, profession, economic position and self-concept also influence decision making in travelling. Constraints in travelling choices are principally linked to gender, life cycle and cultural factors (Jackson, 1991; Shaw, 1994). Factors like family, work, domestic responsibilities, determine the quantity and quality of time accessible for traveling and act as constrictions for some individuals. Although constraining features affect both genders, the extent to which either gender is affected is poles apart. The limitations operate on females more than on males (Sonia, 2011). Apostolopoulos and Sonmez (2001) propose that despite the fact that womens travel patterns and trends reflect their individual societal customs and principles, cultural or religious limitations in regards to their societal positions and socio economic restrictions are expected to decide their travel capabilities and methods (Bartos, 1982; Myers and Moncreif, 1978; Schul and Crompton, 1983; Van Raaij Francken, 1984). In accordance with tourism decision making research DeCrop (2005) has explained the family as a Decision Making Unit (DMU) in which fundamental decisions of life are discussed. When it comes to travelling decisions, in addition to family, close social circles e.g. friends etc. possibly signify significant DMUs as well. The value of family and the influence of each family member are crucial in deciding the liberty that one associate exercises in making independent decisions. The findings, however, point out that females are by and large more controlled by family responsibilities and approvals than males. It is evident that lesser the limitations operating on an individual the more will be the participation in traveling (Sonia, 2011).