Ethnicity and Health

Introduction A growing body of literature has pointed out that race, ethnicity and gender are characterized by strong social dimensions which greatly implicate on the health of individuals. It has been discovered that the underlying mechanisms within these ethnicities have profound influence not just on the access to primary, secondary and tertiary health care but also policies and general practices that affect the groups.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Ethnicity and Health specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Practices and beliefs by the ethnicities could be attributed to some of the greatest variability in diseases. Dindyal and Dindyal (2004) define an ethnicity as â€Å"a social group, which shares certain distinctive features, such as language, culture, physical appearance, religion, values and customs† (p. 1). In the United Kingdom, the whole population is made up of 92% whites. This includes ot her whites who are significant but non British like the Irish. Asians and Asian Britons account for 4% of Britain population while blacks and black Britons account for a further 2%. Britons of mixed descent account for 1.5% of the whole population. Although the percentages might look negligible, the total population represented by them could be extremely large. Considering that the government has, as its objective, the idea of ensuring that there is equity in health care access and provision, it is necessary that the underlying social mechanisms are understood in order to avoid some retrogressive practices that would lead to inequality. In order to come up with proper policies, it is important to ascertain whether ethnicity plays a role in inequality of health care access. Review of the Literature The Parliament Office of Science and Technology (2003) clearly argues that there is a great disparity of health and health care between ethnicities. In their report, it was identified that South Asians living in the United Kingdom had a 50% chance of suffering from heart attack and angina. On the other hand, men from the Caribbean origin in the United Kingdom run the highest risk of 50% of dying from stroke. In their report, it was ascertained that blacks and minorities had comparatively small chances of dying from cancer as compared to the white majority. According to the report, immigrant women from Asia in the United Kingdom ran a comparatively lower risk of suffering from breast cancer as compared women born and brought up in the United Kingdom. The trend in lower cases of cancer in minority groups as compared to white Britons was attributed to less smoking. The highest deaths that resulted from lung cancer were established to be from Scots and the Irish who are also found out to be great smokers. The lifestyle of women in the United Kingdom was also attributed to women’s death from breast cancer. Immigrant women had less chances of suffering from breast c ancer because they take some time to adapt to Britain lifestyle. This was consistent with Wells and Evans (2003) and Ku and Waidmann (2003) findings.Advertising Looking for research paper on ethnicity studies? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Adamson (2009) argues that socio economic factors contribute to inequality of health and health care. He argues that the lower the position on the economic ladder an individual is, the higher the chances of poor health. Unfortunately, most of the ethnic minorities tend to have the lowest incomes in the United Kingdom. This means that ethnic minorities are likely to suffer and die from diseases that they would easily control (Kuo 2001). In a study carried out on the immediacy of need for health care concerning chest pain and vignettes, it was found out that black respondents were very likely to seek for immediate health care seeking to get assistance for vignettes. On the other hand, the Br itish whites were the most unlikely to seek for this help. The result seemed consistent in several cases. This position is echoed by Lorant and Bhopal (2011) and Zimmermann, Wendy and Fix (1998) who also argue that socio economic disadvantage could lead to inability to get regular visits by the doctor. Furthermore, it would lead to inability to use the clinics regularly and the inability to purchase proper prescribed drugs. This therefore indicated that there is a clear disparity within ethnic groups. This assertion is also echoed by Fiscella, Franks, Doescher and Saver (2002) Health insurance plays an important role in ensuring access to primary, secondary and tertiary health care. Inability or unwillingness to get insured would therefore lead to disparities in health and health care. Ku and Waidmann (2003) and Mai, Cummings McIntyre (2004) argue that most of the ethnic minorities account for the highest percentages of uninsured people in several countries. As argued above, socio e conomic factors contribute to inequality of health. This is where insurance comes to question. With poverty and lack of money, it is clear that raising money for the expensive insurance could be a problem for most of the ethnic minorities. This also explains why less white Britons would die from diseases that are curable. They have enough money to seek for care from good providers. Similarly, Adamson (2003) and American Academy of Pediatrics (2000) support the same findings. Discrimination and stereotyping are also factors that lead to inequality in health and healthcare. According to Lorant and Bhopal (2011), acts of discrimination and stereotyping could subject a group of people to a low social economic status. This can also be as a result of strongly held values that tend to demean and prejudice certain ethnicities. Dealing with a case using a block approach as opposed to individuals leads to poor health for minorities. For instance, just believing that cancer is a disease for th e Irish and Scots might lead to misdiagnosis. Every individual needs to be examined as an individual (Collins, Hall and Neuhaus 1999; Ku and Matani. 2001).Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Ethnicity and Health specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Power, Davis, Plant and Kjellstrom (2009) in their report on deprivation and ill health highlight a clear fact that people living in deprived environments are most likely to have poor health. Given that several studies have pointed out the fact that minority ethnicities tend to rank lowest on the economic ladder, it then suffices to argue that they account for the highest population living in dejected and overpopulated regions in the cities in the Britain. Considering the arguments by Power et al (2009), â€Å"Living in deprived urban areas increases the risk of poor health outcomes even after controlling for individual characteristics† (p. 20), it suffices t o argue that even when other factors are controlled, dilapidated housing and overcrowding in their own rights are able to lead to poor health. For instance, their study pointed out to the fact that men living in poverty stricken neighborhoods had a 6.8% lower life expectancy as compared to the average in the United Kingdom. On the other hand, women from similar environs had 5% lower life expectance as compared to the overall rate of Britain. In contrast, men from high economy areas stand a high likelihood of living 4% more than the national average. Women in similar regions live run a likelihood of living 3% more than the average national life expectancy rate (Shaw, Smith Dorling 2005; Popkin and Cove 2007). Propositions Given the purpose of this study, it is necessary to answer certain questions in order to ensure that one attains the objective. In order to succeed, one would have to understand several factors. Is there a clear relationship between ethnicities and health? This que stion is necessary because consistent differences between ethnicities will ascertain whether there are significant effects of ethnicity on health and health outcomes of an individual. My proposition here is that ethnicity has certain social dimensions that affect greatly the health of individuals in Great Britain. Given that there are substantial differences in health and health care between ethnicities, it is necessary to identify the underlying mechanisms and dimensions that lead to these differences. In this line, one question arises, what exactly are the social mechanisms within the minorities that lead to the identified disparity? This is a necessary question because by understanding the social dimensions, the causes of the differences will clearly be established. My proposition here is that factors like socio economic status, geographical location, deprivation of all kinds, ability to get an insurance and discrimination and stereotyping among others are factors that greatly co ntribute to differences in health and health outcomes. There are some factors that would act to disadvantage some ethnicities. Their effects are hence great and could alter the results of a study. This leads to the question, if all the other factors are removed, can ethnicity as a single factor still exhibit similar results?Advertising Looking for research paper on ethnicity studies? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More These factors that expect to be put constant here are education, government policies, et cetera. The proposition here is that even when other factors like education and some government policies are constant, some typical ethnicity social dimensions would still lead to disparities in health and health outcomes. Finally, it is important to understand the role of government policies in health outcomes of individuals. This leads to the question, have government policies played any role in pushing the minorities further into misery as pertains to health? While this might not be a characteristic of health disparity from the ethnicities themselves, the effect on them is great. The hypothesis on this question is that certain government policies could assist to bridge the disparity or widen it further. Expected Outcomes As its hypothesis, this paper seeks to argue that ethnicities have varying levels of health and health care. Due to their characteristic outfit, certain ethnicities tend to h ave better health as compared to others. Whites in the United Kingdom tend to fair better in health issues as compared to ethnic minorities like the blacks and Asians. The disparity is as a result of the ethnic group’s level on the economic status ladder, discrimination caused by stereotyping, natural habits of the ethnicity i.e. smoking and excessive drinking, geographical regions of settlement of these ethnicities, nationality status i.e. native or immigrant et cetera. There are some factors that can be removed from the equation. However, some factors are typical of most of the ethnicities. For instance, language as a barrier to communication cannot be removed from the equation. It is clear that most immigrants are forced to struggle against the hurdles of communication in order to attain health. This means that removing other factors but maintaining the real characteristics of an ethnicity could still lead to the same results. Finally, it is clear that certain government p olicies push ethnicities further into poor health. For instance, failure of the government to address the issue of insurance and medical cover can lead to problems to minority ethnicities. Research Design The methodology of this research will entail the use of several ethnic groups as independent variables. There will be the whites of United Kingdom descent, the blacks from Britain, the Asians from Britain and the immigrants. In order to understand whether there is a relationship between ethnicities and health, different ethnicities will be analyzed based on a given area of health. For instance, routine check ups would be the point of comparison. As a result, the ethnicities will be the variables to be manipulated. This will be labeled t1= whites, t2= Asians of British descent t3= blacks of UK descent and t4= immigrants. Other variables will include government policies. The non-constant variables will be tested under certain government policies and also after removal of those polici es to see whether the results remain constant. Indicators of health will be the number of times that a respondent has had to be hospitalized due to any serious illness. This will be a good start in determining disparities in health and health care. To determine this, the respondents will have to respond to the question, how many times have you visited the doctor as a result of serious illness in the last twelve months? The responses will be coded 0 = less than five times, 1 = 510, 2 = 10. Another indicator of good health will be availability of health insurance. The measures of health insurance will be 1) having a private insurance, 2) depending on government programs and 3) having none at all. To identify whether a respondent has an insurance cover or not the responses will be coded as 0 = yes and 1 = No. For those who will have one, they will have to respond on the type of insurance that they have. The responses will be coded using 0 = private and 1 = government program. To get da ta from this sample, the study will employ the use of interviews and questionnaires. Respondents will be asked to respond to a set of questions that would aim towards ensuring that the research purpose is arrived at. The interviews will be carried out from the respondents’ offices. In addition, some will be carried out on the phone and through emails. In data analysis, the Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) will be used. This system of data analysis is favorable for this study because it involves more than two dependent variables that are to be assessed against the various dependent variables. This data analysis system is best fit for studies that are aimed at ascertaining whether alterations in the independent variables have significant changes to the dependent variables. It is also the most advisable method if the study intends to identify the relationship between the dependent variables and also the relationship among the independent variables. Limitations Like any other research, this one is also bound to have its limitations. The main limitation of this study will be ascertaining whether the identified factors and mechanisms within the ethnic groups were really the main causes of the disparity in health outcomes. For instance, a study carried earlier in Europe to identify whether socio economic status among minority ethnicities had effects on their health. However, it was not clear because the effect of socio economic status was found to have no effect on inequality of health in Spain. In addition, different ethnic groups under similar socio economic status tend to exhibit differences in the level of disparity. Therefore, it will be difficult to separate ethnicity and some factors like socio economic status. The relationship between the three will be tricky to separate and analyze. Significance of the Study It is clear that every country in the world has been trying hard to ensure equality in health and health care. This is also a goal of t he United Nations. By understanding the social mechanisms within an ethnicity and how these affect the health of an individual, it will be easy for the policy makers to come up with practical and functional policies that will assist the governments attain their goal of equal health for their citizens. In this case, the United Kingdom will have the opportunity to develop good policies that will assist them ensure that every citizen in Britain has access to proper health. References Adamson, Joy. 2003. â€Å"Ethnicity, socio-economic position and gender—do they affect reported health—care seeking behavior?† Social Science Medicine 57: 895. American Academy of Pediatrics. 2000. â€Å"Race/Ethnicity, Gender, Socioeconomic Status Research Exploring Their Effects on Child Health: A Subject Review.† Pediatrics 106: 1349-1351. Collins, Karen, Allison Hall, and Charlotte Neuhaus. 1999. U.S. Minority Health: A Chartbook, New York: Commonwealth Fund. Dindyal, Shiva and Dindyal, Sanjay. 2004. â€Å"How Personal Factors Including Culture and Ethnicity, affect the Choices and Selection of Food we Make.† The Internet Journal of Third World Medicine 1: 1-5. Fiscella, Kevin, Peter Franks, Mark Doescher, and Barry Saver. 2002. â€Å"Disparities in Health Care by Race, Ethnicity and Language among the Insured: Findings from a National Sample.† Medical Care 40(1): 52-9. Ku, Leighton and Sheetal Matani. 2001. â€Å"Left Out: Immigrants’ Access to Health Care and Insurance.† Health Affairs 20(1): 247-56. Ku, Leighton and Waidmann, Timothy. 2003. How Race/Ethnicity, Immigration Status and Language Affect Health Insurance Coverage, Access to Care and Quality of Care among the Low income Population. The Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the uninsured. Web. Kuo, Frances. 2001. â€Å"Coping with poverty: impacts of environment and attention in the inner city.† Environment and Behaviour 33: 5-34. Lorant, Vincent and Bhopal, Raj. 2010. â€Å"Ethnicity, socio-economic status and health research: insights from and implications of Charles Tilly’s theory of Durable Inequality.† Journal of Epidemiol Community Health 7: 1-5. Parliamentary Office of Science and technology. 2009. Strategic Review of Health Inequalities in England post-2010 Task Group 4. The Built Environment and Health Inequalities. Final Report 12 June 2009. Popkin, Susan Cove, Elizabeth. 2007. Safety is the most important thing. How HOPE VI Helped Families. Washington DC: Urban Institute. Shaw, Mary, Davey Smith Danny Dorling. 2005. â€Å"Health inequalities and New Labor: how the promises compare with real progress† Business Management Journal  330: 1016-1021. Stafford, Mai, Steven Cummings Sally Macintyre. 2004. Gender differences in the association between health and neighborhood environment.† Social Science Medicine 60: 1681-1692. Timperio, Anna, David Crawford, Amanda Telford Jo Salmon. 2003. â€Å"Perc eptions about the local neighbourhood and walking and cycling among children.† Preventative Medicine 38: 39-47. Wells, Nancy and Gary Evans. 2003. Nearby Nature; A buffer of life stress among Rural Children. Environment and Behaviour 35(3): 311-330. Zimmermann, Wendy. and Michael Fix. 1998. Declining Immigrant Applications for Medi-Cal and Welfare Benefits in Los Angeles County. Los Angeles: Urban Institute. This research paper on Ethnicity and Health was written and submitted by user Gemma Bell to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Work Family Issue

Work Family Issue Introduction The most important asset of an organization is its workforce; the organization would therefore ensure that it fulfills the needs of the workers to enable that they work effectively for the benefit of the organization. On the other hand, the most important factor that affects productivity of the workers is their motivation. Generally, highly motivated workers would have high productivity.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Work Family Issue specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More In addition, if a company were able to effectively motivate the workers while giving them the necessary incentives, the workers would be loyal to the company, while employee turnover would reduce drastically. Organizations therefore having policies that facilitate the working of the employees, rather than to control their actions, as happy employees would be able to function effectively (Halpern Murphy, 2005, p. 68) Different org anizations have different methods of motivating their employees to enhance productivity. Some organizations have a scheme ensuring that the high performing employees are rewarded (reward based performance appraisal) while denying some of the benefits to the employees who fail to meet their set targets (Grote, 1996, p. 348). In addition, companies have ensured implementation of policies, which not only consider employee who works in the company, but take a holistic approach that takes into consideration the employee as an individual who faces different other pressures related to his/her personal and domestic life (Hacket, 1998). Most organizations therefore have a family work policy that caters for the needs of employees and ensures that there is no conflict between the employees’ job and their family needs or requirements. This policy does not only target employees who have children but also employees who do not have children (Rosenbloom, 2005, p. 423). Even the US government considers the policy vital in the productivity of employees such that it allocates a certain amount of money in its annual budget to cater for family work policy of different states (Washington family leave coalition, 2010, p. 1). The work family policies of governments vary from giving cash incentive to the parents who have children, provision of care to the children or allocating leave allowance to the parents of the children in question (Lewis, 2009).Advertising Looking for research paper on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Theory Motivation and morale of the employees undoubtedly affects their productivity. These two lead to increased job satisfaction and loyalty of the employees. Organizations therefore take the issue of motivation of the employees very seriously. There are many different theories that are used to explain the motivation of individuals. These theories include: Jeremy Bentham ’s â€Å"the carrot and stick† motivation theory Abraham Maslow’s â€Å"need hierarchy† motivation theory Douglas McGregor â€Å"theory X and theory Y† motivation theory Vroom’s â€Å"Valence x Expectancy† motivation Theory However, the mostly widely accepted motivation theory is the Maslow’s â€Å"need hierarchy† motivation theory. This theory was put forward by Abraham Maslow, a psychologist, who was of the perception that the needs of individuals form a hierarchy, ascending from the lowest to the highest. Maslow was of the view that when a set of needs is satisfied, it stops being a motivator to the individual. According to this theory, the needs of individuals are as follows Physiological needs Generally, every person will primarily seek to satisfy basic needs, which are normally vital for human life sustenance; they include food, water, shelter, clothing, education, and healthcare. Maslow was of the perception that , until these needs are met, no other motivation factors can be effective (Shah Shah, n.d., part 3). Organizations therefore ensure that these needs are met to enable the employees to function effectively. Organizations would therefore provide housing, education, and healthcare to both the employee and members of his/her family. Security or safety needs Following the satisfaction of physiological needs, a person will seek to be secure physically, psychologically and emotionally. In this case, a person needs â€Å"to be free of physical danger and loosing a job, food or shelter† and protection against any emotional harm (Shah Shah, n.d., part 3). Organizations would therefore try to take several measures to ensure that the job of the employees is secure to enable them to be fully motivated. Social needs This refers to the social needs of acceptance, affection, and friendship (Shah Shah, n.d., part 3). To facilitate this, organizations ensure that they involve the employees and members of their families in various social functions some of which may not be work related to make the employees and their families have a sense of belonging to the organization.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Work Family Issue specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Esteem needs This refers to the need to be held in high esteem by both themselves and other people. This need usually arises after the person has satisfied the need to belong. This need produces satisfaction, prestige status, and self-confidence, all of which are very important to employees (Shah Shah, n.d., part 3). Organizations usually have put in place measures that ensure employees who perform better are promoted to increase their self-esteem and enable them to have better productivity. Need for self-actualization According to Maslow, this is the highest need, and it refers to the internal drive, which makes one to achieve full potential a nd self-fulfillment and aspire to become what one is destined to be (Shah Shah, n.d., part 3). This is the most important aspect that ensures the productivity of employees. All the measures that are taken by the company are to enable self-actualization of the employees, which would make them to have productivity at their best possible levels for the benefit of the organization and the employees themselves. Most managers ensure that motivation of employees is intrinsic as opposed to being extrinsic. Intrinsic motivation comes from within the person and is therefore stronger. The managers generally provide conditions that ensure employees motivate themselves. Extrinsic motivation is the motivation where the managers try to motivate the employees through different mechanisms and is generally not as strong as intrinsic motivation, as it is difficult to know what motivates each individual (Employee Motivation in the Workplace: Different Types of Motivation Theories Part 3, 2009) Literat ure There has been a general argument by many experts involved in the field of management that companies need to put in place family responsive programs to enable them retain and attract highly qualified employees for competitive advantage building. Work family conflict has been shown by research to lead into decreased productivity of the employees, loss of work time, absenteeism, job dissatisfaction, and poor morale.Advertising Looking for research paper on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More In addition, work family conflict may also lead to other family related issues such as poor parenting and depression (Brush, 1993; O’Laughlin Bischoff, 2005, p. 80). Hence, tensions between work and home life increases stress and are generally bad to the employer, employees, and their families (Kolb, Williams Frohlinger, 2009). Most people used to believe that family work issues are mainly a problem that mainly concerns women. However, organizations are slowly starting to realize that work family issues are not only concerned with the women in their staff, but it also involves men. These organizations have therefore put in place programs that would help in the reduction of work family stress to ensure optimal productivity of their employees (Worell, 2001, p. 1183). There are usually several work/family conflicts that have been shown to affect the work/family life of the employees of an organization. One such conflict is the time-based conflict, which occurs when the time pr essures required to fulfill a certain role make it impossible for a person to fulfill another role. These roles are mainly between work and family. Time-based conflict occurs mostly if the number of hours an employee is required to work in an organization to have good productivity are so many such that they deny the employee time to cater for the family related issues. Another type of conflict is the strain-based conflict, referring to a conflict in which stress of a certain role performed by the employee affects the performance of duties in another field. This strain is most common in professions that require an individual to perform several different tasks. An example is in the field of academia where lecturers engage in teaching, research, service and sometimes even private consultation i.e. private practice. This leads to the creation of family stress in the particular employee’s family. The last type of conflict is the behavior-based conflict, which occurs when the behav iors supposed to be exhibited while performing a certain role conflict with the behaviors of another role performed by the same individual. A good example of the occurrence of behavior-based conflict is when an employee works from home. The focus and energy that the employee requires in order to accomplish the work expectations is liable to conflict with the demand for attention from the children and/or spouses (Williams Alliger 1991, from: O’Laughlin Bischoff, 2005, p, 80). Models of work family issues To determine how work/family issues affect employees, different models and perspectives can be used. The models used mainly focus on the following Job type characteristics: this mainly concerns the flexibility of the job and personal control of the employee. Individual characteristics: this concerns the level of commitment and satisfaction towards the roles of parenting or the work, which the individual performs. Quantitative factors: this is mainly concerned with the time, which an individual spends catering to wok related issues, or time that he has to meet parenting or household needs (O’Laughlin Bischoff, 2005, p. 81). However, various scholars have suggested that time demands does not primarily predict the work family stress. The role of strain and work family issues have been explained to be as a result of a person being overly committed to one role while neglecting the other, hence leading to the strain in the neglected field. Greater commitment in the specific field makes the individual dedicate most of the time to the specific field hence making him/her to have less time for the performance of other roles, leading to poor performance of the neglected role (O’Laughlin Bischoff, 2005, p. 81). In most situations, the neglect is mainly in the family roles of the employees hence leading to the strain by the members of the family. The rational method clearly explains work/family related stress. According to this model, employees ma y spend many hours in meetings or at their work place to the detriment of the family roles that the employee must perform. The greater investment result in stress is one field. This type of stress is most common in women employees who are in high control positions, as they are unable to meet their domestic obligations (O’Laughlin Bischoff, 2005, p. 81). This paper will discuss work family issues of the employees of Microsoft, the global leader in computer software development. The company has among the most flexible employment opportunities available to its employees, making the company to be ranked among the 100 best employers by the Fortune magazine (Erb, 2011). The employees can work from home, design their own offices, schedule their own leaves, and have access to unlimited broadband connection if they live within the campus of the company. The company considers the work family issues a very important aspect, which ultimately determines the productivity of its employees. This paper will consider work family issues of the employees of both genders so as to get a clear picture of the work family issues of the employees. In addition, the paper will also consider the employees in different ranks within the organization as they are usually exposed to different working condition. Method To get a clear understanding of family work issues, questionnaires that were posted in the company website regarding the same were analyzed. The questionnaires were answered by employees in all the ranks of the company. An analysis of a sample that contained 200 employees, 100 of who were female was made. The employees questioned ranged in rank from the software programmers to the people who were involved in the management affairs of the company. The analysis of the results was clustered into two; gender of the employee and the rank of the employee in the organization, as this would give a clear picture of the work family issues. In addition, the respondents included both the employees who were living in the company’s quarters and those who were living outside the company quarters. Nevertheless, all the respondents asked the questionnaires were either married or parents as these are the people who are mainly affected by family work issues. The following questionnaires were posed to the employees of Microsoft via the company website. Have you ever been absent from work due to family related issues? Do you think that your job is affecting your parenting or family related issues? Does your spouse complain that you are spending too much time working from the office? Have you ever worked from home? If yes how often do you work from home? What reasons made you work from home? Do you prefer working from home? Does working from home affect your parenting abilities? Does your spouse complain you are neglecting your parenting or family roles due to working from home? Have you ever worked while you were on a family holiday? If yes was it due to pressur es on work which you knew was awaiting you or were you doing it simply because you loved the work? Have you ever requested leave to attend to family matters? If yes, were you granted the leave or not? Which company practice do you think takes into consideration the work family issues of the employees? Has the company ever involved you and your family in its social activities? How many hours do you have to engage in family or private matters? Does your boss complain that your family issues are interfering so much with your work? Does your work hinder you from performing certain family issues, which in your opinion are very necessary? Does more time to spend with your family enable you to perform your duties effectively or does it hinder you from performing you duties and produce the desired results? In your opinion, do work family issues affect your productivity? Do you think the company is doing enough to address the work family issues of the employees? If yes, does the knowledge th at the company caters for your work family issues give you motivation in your work? Do you think that having a family work policy is a privilege to the employees or do you think it is a right, which the employer must grant the employee? Results The results were presented in two different parts. The first part of the results showed work family issues based on gender of the employees whereas the second part of the results was on family work issues based on the position of employees in the company. Similar answers were clustered into one group and an analysis of the results was made based on the answers, which were most common among the employees of the company. Effects of family work issues on productivity Most of the respondents were of the view that family issues affect their productivity. In fact, almost all the respondents had missed a few days of work to attend to family issues. The employees who were mostly affected by family issues were women as they were generally considered to have the highest responsibility in catering for children. Single parents faced the most work/family related stress. The ability of the company to cater for their family issues in the employees working time made most of the employees feel motivated and loyal to the company. Most of the respondents praised the flexibility of working hours that the company offers, with the ability to work remotely from home being wide regarded as a factor that made many employees to have high productivity. However, the ability to work from home made spouses or children of most respondents to complain that they were spending less time with their family. This was made even worse by the fact that, in some cases, employees were transferring work from their office to home, making them to work even during family times. The tendency of the company to evaluate the performance of employees based on their output rather than time spent behind their desks was regarded by most of the respondents as the practice that made the employees to have time to cater for family issues. Hence, most of the employees were able to attend to family issues, which they regarded as important provided that they could create time to complete their office work. Work/family policy a right or a privilege Most of employees were of the view that the company ought to have a work family policy. The policy was not necessary a privilege to the employees. However, certain features of the work family policy enabled employees to cater for their individual needs and to have better job satisfaction. In fact, almost all the respondents were of the view that the work family policy affects their loyalty to the company. The good work family policy of the company was a motivating factor to the employees just like higher pay or recognition for achievements of the employees. Work/ family issues and employee position The position of employees was regarded as the factor that increased work/family related stress. Workers who were gen erally in higher management positions were generally under more work related stress due to the higher responsibility associated with the positions. Employee who faced the most work related stress were women who were in higher management positions. Single parents who had children in their teenage years faced the highest work/related stress, as they had to juggle between parenting responsibilities and job responsibilities bestowed upon them due to their position. Discussion The results underpin the importance of work family issues for employees and the human resource managers of most organizations. Work family issues are mainly significant if the employees of a company are mostly married or have children. Microsoft was initially a company that was mainly made up of employees who were in their twenties. However, there has been a general shift in the average age of employees of the company. Most of the employees of the company are now in their thirties. This facilitated the company to b e responsive to the family work issues, as most employees in this age group have children or are married (Work-life balance newsletter, 2004, p. 4). In addition, the company does not judge the work of the employees based on the time they spend in the office i.e. the employees do work by the clock. The flexibility of the working of Microsoft enables the employees of the company to manage their work to fit their individual needs. Employees can therefore create their own working patterns. In addition, employees are given the flexibility of scheduling their own appointments to a time which best suits them (DTI, 2004, p.14). Thus, employees are able to schedule their own time to cater for family or personal issues without having to ask for formal permission or undergo the long bureaucratic process of asking for leave, which is present in most companies. The knowledge that the company caters for the work family issues of the employees makes most of the employees to be motivated and hence enabling them to perform at their very best. Among the most important aspects that help in motivation of the employees was the fulfillment of their needs. By fulfilling some of the needs of the employees the company was able motivate the employees and have them performing at their very best. The factor that mostly catered work/family issues of the employees was the flexibility in the working hours of the employees. The company generally uses its work family policy to intrinsically motivate the employees and therefore ensure that they have high productivity. Conclusion It is obvious that most of the employees in companies involved in highly specialized activities are usually at the stage in their life where family issues affect them to a very high extent. Work family issues significant affect the productivity of the employees. Human resource managers of various organizations have come to this realization and have therefore ensured that the company puts in place policies that cater fo r the work family issues of the employees to prevent the employees working under undue stress, which may be created by either of the two. Family work policy is regarded by most of the employees as a factor, which largely influences their decision to work in a certain company. Companies that have good family work policies are able to have their employees working at their highest productivity level are also able to retain the employees. References Anon. (2004). Creating solutions for work-life balance. Work-life balance newsletter. Retrieved from dol.govt.nz/PDFs/WLB%20newsletter%200403.pdf. Anon. (2009). Employee Motivation in the Workplace: Different Types of Motivation Theories Part 3. Compensation today. Retrieved from http://blogs.payscale.com/compensation/2009/07/different-types-of-motivation-theories.html. Brush, C. C. (1993). Attitudes toward work-family issues: the human resource professional perspective. Review of business. Retrieved from allbusiness.com/human-resources/4164 91-1.html. DTI. (2004). Fathers-to-be and antenatal appointments a good practice guide. Department of trade and industry. Retrieved from: berr.gov.uk/files/file20795.pdf Erb, G. (2011). 7 Northwest companies listed among Fortunes 100 best employers. Buget sound business journal. Retrieved from: bizjournals.com/seattle/blog/2011/01/northwest-companies-named-best-employers.html. Grote, R. C. (1996). The complete guide to performance appraisal. NY: AMACOM Div American Mgmt Assn. Retrieved from: https://books.google.com/books?id=spAY7_nLHcwCpg=PA348dq=reward+based+appraisalhl=enei=itFYTYCFMsyW4gaD5uyEBwsa=Xoi=book_resultct=resultresnum=1ved=0CCgQ6AEwAA#v=onepageq=reward%20based%20appraisalf=false Hackett, G. (1998). Balance work, family issues to boost productivity. Portland Business Journal. Retrieved from: bizjournals.com/portland/stories/1998/03/30/focus12.html Halpern, D. F. Murphy, S. E. (2005). From work-family balance to work-family interaction: changing the metaphor. New Jersey : Elsevier. Retrieved from: https://books.google.com/books?id=tZ3dcdryT7ICprintsec=frontcoverdq=work+family+balancehl=enei=muhYTcPxGMiHhQe8vrTiDAsa=Xoi=book_resultct=resultresnum=1ved=0CC4Q6AEwAA#v=onepageqf=false. Kolb, D. M., Williams, J. Frohlinger, C. (2009). Negotiating work family issues. Womens media. Retrieved from womensmedia.com/balance/113-negotiating-work-family-issues.html. Lewis, J. (2009). Work-family balance, gender and policy. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing. Retrieved from https://books.google.com/books?id=Rn0_2ofBpBYCprintsec=frontcoverdq=importance+of+work+family+policysource=blots=diLz4EUeHksig=cwOi2iJF8FwMSRddc82gnoHnZbMhl=enei=YuFYTZ3ZIo22hAeFs7GcDAsa=Xoi=book_resultct=resultresnum=10ved=0CFQQ6AEwCQ#v=onepageq=importance%20of%20work%20family%20policyf=false O’laughlin, E. M. Bischoff, L. G. (2005). Balancing Parenthood and Academia: Work/Family Stress as Influenced by Gender and Tenure Status. Journal of Family Issues, 26; 79. Retrieved from http: //web.bgu.ac.il/NR/rdonlyres/D5BB74A3-0AB5-4237-AA1D-E0039B0547EF/34691/BalancingParenthoodandAcademiaworkfamilystressasin.pdf. Rosenbloom, J. S. (2005). The handbook of employee benefits: design, funding, and administration. NY: McGraw-Hill Professional. Shah, K shah, P. J. (n.d.). Theories of Motivation. Lay networks. Retrieved from: laynetworks.com/Theories-of-Motivation.html. Washington family leave coalition. (2010). Work/Family Issues in Congress. Washington. Retrieved from policyarchive.org/handle/10207/bitstreams/95815.pdf. Worell, J. (2001). Encyclopedia of women and gender: sex similarities and differences and the impact of society on gender, Volume 1. London: Elsevier.

Advantages And Disadvantages Of Capital Punishment Essay

Advantages And Disadvantages Of Capital Punishment - Essay Example This is because once criminals have been killed, they will not have another chance of committing some more crimes; also, since capital punishment is a cruel form of punishment, many potential criminals are afraid of being subjected to capital punishment and for that reason, they abstain from committing crimes. On the other hand, however, although capital punishment can help to deter crimes, capital punishment causes deep pain and loss to the family of the executed criminals. This is because, however, grave are the crimes committed by the criminals who are executed, their family members and their friends still love them, although they may not approve of the grave crimes. For this reason, therefore, capital punishment causes real emotional trauma to the family members and friends of the executed criminal. A comparison of the deterrent advantage of capital punishment and the emotional trauma disadvantage of capital punishment shows that the advantage of capital punishment far outweighs the disadvantage. This is because since capital punishment helps to prevent further commission of the crime, capital punishment helps to prevent more emotional trauma in the lives of people. This is because grave crimes cause emotional trauma to the relatives and friends of the victims of the crimes. Hence, the deterrent advantage of capital punishment outweighs the emotional trauma disadvantage of capital punishment because it helps to prevent more emotional trauma to the victim’s relatives and friends.

Cest la Vie America vs. French Lifestyles Essay

Cest la Vie America vs. French Lifestyles - Essay Example If one even questions America’s natural superiority, he is seen with disdain, and is labeled a â€Å"commie† or â€Å"America-hater.† Often, the phrase â€Å"American Exceptionalism† is thrown around like it’s a birthright. Beyond the political and historical aspects of her inherent greatness, Americans also see their superiority in American lifestyle, culture, the families and her great cities. It is time that someone stood up for that other great culture in the world: France! Just saying the name France or French makes many Americans cringe. Americans have called the French â€Å"cheese-eating surrender-monkeys,† have been derided as weak capitulators to terrorists with loose morals and an eye toward lechery, have had the† french† fry relabeled â€Å"freedom† fry. Certainly, anything French is not very popular in some circles in America today. Thus, it is only with conviction and certainty that one can assert that on the points of daily life, food and culture, the pace of life, and its great cities, one can only conclude that the French lifestyle is superior to the American lifestyle. Tres courageux! In France, one’s daily life is taken at a much slower pace and has a greater focus on leisure time and enjoying what life has to offer. It is not uncommon for business people to eat three or four-hour lunches in France, enjoying conversation and a good bottle of wine along the way. Certain French workers are given subsidies for lunch expenses and bars/restaurants that honor those subsidies are ubiquitous (Chrisafis 1). There is a focus on enjoying eating times, and although there are fast food restaurants in France, they are not iconic as in America and eating food on-the-go in France is still a cultural faux-pas, and will engender stares and snorts. There are less malls and more of a focus on local specialty shops, like grocers, meat markets, cheese stores, chocolatiers, butchers, cobblers, and similarly specialized shops. Indeed, the cafe life--sitting out at a cafe, sipping a coffee or a drink, looking at the world pass by, is one of life’s great pleasures. In America, the outside cafe is a rarity, and even if one finds one, usually one has one drink and must leave (turnover is king!). The French lifestyle is much more condusive to a leisurely and introspective approach to life. It also encourages neighborhood shopping and more interaction with one’s neighbors and a more connected way of life. Americans focus on the â€Å"Protestant work ethic† of hard work and sacrifice, and have less of a focus on enjoying life on a daily basis. Americans over-value hard work-- the â€Å"working vacation† is not uncommon but even expected in many professions. Fast food, eating on the go, quick meals, drive-thru lunches, coffee to-go, 70 hour work weeks, 2 weeks vacation a year, and shopping at the local cookie-cutter-anonymous mall are standard American life -style choices. In fact, America sees those as a point of pride in her citizens’ lives. Enjoying life less and refusing to slow down are typical American badges of honor. What do those French do with their extra time? With more free and leisure time, the French culture naturally has developed a major focus on French achievements and artistic accomplishments while America tends to remove itself from anything cultural if it interferes with her work-ethic. France takes pride in its centuries of contributions to the arts, humanities, literature, architecture, and music. This French obsession with culture cannot only be found in many great world-class museums, but on the streets and parks of her cities and towns. France shows off her great history and artists with public adornments of art and architecture that

The case of Radmacher v Granatino Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

The case of Radmacher v Granatino - Essay Example Center of discussion in this paper is the case of Radmacher v Granatino that has drawn much attention because the High Court will be finally deciding how much weight it would place on the pre/ante-nuptial agreement in the area of financial relief during divorce. Pre-nuptial or ante-nuptial arrangement is typically sought by rich families, as in the case of Radmacher formerly Granatino v Granatino, to protect and preserve the assets of the wealthy party from a claim during divorce. The terms are typically spelled out on how their assets be divided or waiver of claim through a written agreement. Pre-nuptial or ante nuptial however is traditionally viewed by English law as non-binding because it is contrary to public policy. English Courts however have discretion to how to treat ante-nuptial agreements, on what weight should be placed on them and has the power to veer away from what was agreed on the ante-nuptial arrangement. This is especially so when there are children borne out of a long marriage. There are also other circumstances when the Courts could reinterpret or set aside the ante-nuptial agreement from its original arrangement in cases where there is an indication of duress on the weaker party to agree, may cause unfairness to one party, non full disclosure of assets, or where the parties involved was not able to get independent counsel on the various implications of the ante-nuptial arrangement before entering into the agreement.... The husband was a French national and the wife is a German national. The ante-nuptial agreement was signed three months before the marriage under German jurisdiction and specified that each party will keep their assets and that the other party will make no claim against the assets of the other in the event of a divorce. The wife had considerable wealth and inheritance before the marriage while the husband was a banker at the time the agreement was signed. The husband did not have an independent counsel about the implication of the ante-nuptial agreement. The agreement also contained no provision in the event that their marriage will have children. They were married in London in 1998. After eight years of marriage, the appellant and the respondent separated. Their marriage produced two daughters. During the dissolution of their marriage, the husband embarked on a research studies and had left his job as a banker and applied to the court for financial relief. The High Court then decide d to grant him over ?5.5m which would enable him to have an annual income of ?100,000 for life. He was allowed to have a home in England so that his children could visit him. The wife appealed to the Court of Appeals where it was decided in favour of her to give weight to the ante-nuptial agreement where the financial relief should only be limited on the provision of him being a father and not for his own need. The husband then appealed to the Supreme Court. Decision Traditionally, English Courts do not put considerable weight to agreements between individuals who were getting married or already married4 (post-nuptial agreement) that specifies the contingency or terms of their separation on the grounds that this may encourage them to separate5. Such,

The Casino Hotel Industry Tourism Essay

The Casino Hotel Industry Tourism Essay The Casino hotel Industry refers to establishments primarily engaged in providing short- term lodging in hotel facilities with a casino on the premises (IBISWorld, 2012). Casino hotels provide lodging in hotel conveniences with a casino on the premises and it is seem to have phenomenal growth in the past decade. This boom in casino hotel industry provided the investor to establish a luxury and casino hotels in many region. The casino industry generates revenue from full range of services and amenities such as gaming, food and beverage, rooms, dining, retail space, entertainment, meeting facilities etc. Within the past 25 years, the commercial casino industry has experienced significant growth by operating only in Neveda and Atlantic City, New Jersey to operating 566 casinos in 22 states in 2010 (Bazelon, Neels, Seth, 2012). The prospective revenue from gaming has moved gambling from doing unlawful activity to a legitimate business and at this instant hotels are also offering casino s ervice. Due to financial crisis in 2008 and 2009, the revenue had declined as people were intending to spend less money on gambling and not taking vacation. The increasing unemployment made consumer to spend less and be more selective while spending their money. After the crisis, in 2010 and 2011 there is a huge change and the revenue in casino hotel industry went high however, it is estimate that revenue will further grow 3.9% to $47.8 billion in 2012 (IBISWorld, 2012). The introduction of Casino hotel creates employment opportunity to the local communities and generates tax revenue for the government. Casino hotel industry mainly depends on the economic condition of the country and willingness to travel which energies industry revenue growth. After the economic growth, the consumer spending has been increased where their disposable income has also been raised and so as their spending. People tend to spend their income in different variety of ways such as recreational, travelling, entertainment, gambling etc. This has become very challenging for casino industry as consumers are visiting casino more often than past. The rising rate of travelling people and consumer spending drives industry revenue growth that tends to compete with increasing global competition of casino hotel industry. Due to declining demand of Casino Hotel industry in 2007, Macau and China took the worlds largest casino gambling region over the Las Vegas. There are more openings of international casino hotel that have significantly increased the competition for the US casino hotel business. Since, consumers are more selective about their spending they would rather choose better recreational activities that can either be internationally or domestically. There are 300 land-based casinos with accompanying lodging facilities and currently it shows that Casino and gaming is overlapping the hotels and lodging industry. The trend of Casino hotel industry in luxury market is to provide the entertainment convergence i.e. is to attract more people and to provide variety of facilities as such the customers will lengthen their stay and enjoy the modern casino hotel property (Energy and Environmental Analysis Inc, 2005). Industry Growth Analysis Current Industry Trends The casino and hotel can be either standalone or comprises of both hotels facility as well as casino facility. The industry strongly depends on the current economic situation, as such people desire to travel when they have huge amount of disposable income. Due to downturn of economy in 2007 and 2008 there was a declining demand of this sectors and sales dropped way down and the reason behind is they are more concern about their financing. Therefore, Casino Industry was cutting the services like gambling and other entertainment. There is decline of domestic and international travel in United States and the performance of this industry decline as casino hotels rely more on tourists visiting. Slowly recovering economy shows that there is gradual increment of visitors as consumer spending in 2012 has been increase by 1.9% in result the consumers are visiting the casino more often. However, the competition from others such as American Indian casinos, similar casino gaming places, online gaming, and international casinos make the industry to remain sensitive. In 2012, industry profit is estimated to account for 8.2% of revenue (IBISWorld, 2012). Economy recovery support growth Over the next five years period it is estimated that the spending from each people projected to be increased. It is forecasted that the consumer spending will increase at an annualized rate of 2.8% (IBISWorld, 2012). This will lead to the improvement of the casino hotel industry that will in return create job opportunity and therefore the unemployment rate will decrease. The result of getting employment tends to make consumer to spend more money in travelling and gambling. As a result there will be a huge demand of hotel casino industry in future. Market forecast of Casino hotels shows the long-term position and future growth trend. market forecast Retrieved from: http://www.anythingresearch.com/industry/Casino-Hotels.htm The growth of industry can also see mostly in spring and summer rather than winter or fall. Tourists would like to travel during the better weather condition while spending their money. The industry will see high performance and increase revenue in better weather condition such as in spring and summer of each year. The performance of industry can be measured based upon the valuation and compare with other similar industry. In domestic market, the industry seems mature in industry life cycle therefore the major other companies are expanding the business internationally. The scope however in Macau and China is in increasing trends, as a consequence the investor would want to achieve higher growth in the revenue. Analysis of competing companies There are various industries that compete with each other. The current rivalry competitiveness in casino hotel is relatively high in nature. These competing firms are Caesars Entertainment Corporation, MGM Resorts International, Las Vegas Sands Corporation, and Wynn Resorts Limited. Retrieved from: http://clients1.ibisworld.com/reports/us/industry/majorcompanies.aspx?entid=1662 Casears Entertainment Corporation The worlds largest casino operator whose market share is 18.2%, Caesars Entertainment Corporation has grown by providing various services such as new resorts, expansion and acquisitions and currently it owns and manages the casino resorts. Caesars is able to maintain on loyalty to its customers by providing sound service and to their employee, business partners also. It shows that in 2007 it was 8.9% and due to economy recession it has dropped down to -0.2% however, it has predicted that in 2012 the revenue will be increased up to 3.9% (IBISWorld, 2012). MGM Resorts International MGM Resorts is another largest casino hotel operator whose market share is 12.7%. The company has significant holdings in gaming, hospitality and entertainment, and holds a growing number of development and management agreements for casino and non- casino resort projects (MGM Resorts, 2012). MGMs in USA have improved over the past years and consumers are trying to spend their income in recreational places. Therefore, In 2011 the percentage change shows 4.6% increment in domestic market however, it has also predict that in 2012 the percentage change will be decline but still it will be in positive (IBISWorld, 2012). Other Companies Las Vegas Sands Corporation is one of the new kinds of travel destination with the market share of 4.3%. Las Vegas Sands offers high-ends amenities, integrating them under one roof resort. Over the five years to 2012, global company revenue is expected to increase at an average annual rate of 30.5% per year to $11.2 billion, including forecast growth of 13.1% in 2012. US-specific revenue is also forecast to grow significantly at an annualized 16.0% to $2.1 billion over that same period (IBISWorld, 2012). Wynn Resorts Limited Likely, other major competitor in the industry is Wynn Resorts Limited whose market share is 2.8% and it is based on Las Vegas Corporation. It has forecast to grow 0.6% per year on average over that same period to $1.3 billion (IBISWorld, 2012). The company grew very fast in previous years beside the recession period. Industry Establishments, Sales Employment Trends Year Percent Chg. Year-to-Year 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 09-10 10-11 11-12 12-13 Establishments 367 380 388 397 406 3.6% 1.9% 2.5% 2.2% Sales ($Millions) 43,200 47,139 49,910 53,614 57,211 9.1% 5.9% 7.4% 6.7% Employment 228,451 236,755 241,274 247,310 252,835 3.6% 1.9% 2.5% 2.2% Retrieved from http://0-web.ebscohost.com.helin.uri.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=9c59b541-088a-45d0-8846-d6fbd6acad29%40sessionmgr12vid=7hid=17 5 Forces Competitive Analysis Competition from Rival Sellers The competition from rival companies is extremely high and it is in increasing trend. After the merger of Harrahs and Caesars and MGM and Mandalay in 2005, they have taken great proportion of market share in casino hotel industry (IBISWorld, 2012). MGM have direct competition with Harrahs Entertainment however, the other two competitors like las Vegas Sands Corp and Wynn Resorts are small companies and do not have direct threat in the competition. The strength of this competitive force is strong because these two casino hotel have significant revenue with high quality of hospitality and access marketing and promotional to attract the consumer. Competition from Potential Entrants There is a high and steady barrier to entry in this industry. The significance of these entry barriers is that governments have minimized the legal issue related with government regulation for the entry of new competitors. And recently, half of United States have legally operating casino including Kansas and Massachusetts. Competition from Substitute products The threat to casino hotel industry is international online casino gambling sites, casino without hotel premises, hotels and motels, resorts and lodges etc. Due to economy recession the operator have moved to expand their business in international market where potential growth is high. There is high threat of competition from substitute products; if hotel casino fails to provide better facility then the consumer would rather choose those hotel industries that provide better hospitality. Therefore by maintaining consumer loyalty and providing sound hospitality will create less threat from substitute products. Suppliers Bargaining Power The threat of supplier bargaining power is very weak. For hotel casino industry their main suppliers or raw materials used are the food and beverages where these suppliers face competition within those industries by producing their own quality product. The commodity price changes may not affect the industry as such the industry would choose to get same supply from different suppliers. Customer Bargaining Power The customers have relatively higher bargaining power. Most of the hotel casino industries are located in west side of USA. Therefore, the customers from there have no choice of choosing other than going to these places. In addition, customers have more bargaining power because it allows customer to go in standalone casino or hotel. Poor hospitality for customer coming in can lead to sift their choice in other kind of industry. Factors driving industry changes There are various factors that are driving industry change. Economic Change The prosperous health of casino hotel industry depends upon the economic condition of the country. If the disposable income of the consumer were relatively high they would prefer spending their money in recreational areas such as vacation and gambling. Due to economic downturn, people will reduce their disposable spending which was in 2008 and 2009, there was decline of such industry by 8.7% and 8.4% respectively (IBISWorld, 2012). Better economy will create less unemployment rate with proportionate of increased income that in return consumer will be travelling more often. Airline Travel and Tourism Based on US, 51.7% of these industries are located in west like most in Nevada and Las Vegas. If there is poor infrastructure it can impacts the total industry, as consumer are not being able to reach to their destinations. Since casinos are still banned in many states, those provisions have historically allowed the industry to develop and expand across these areas (IBISWorld, 2012). Due to global crisis, we can see huge downturn in tourism sector and it has negatively affected the tourism industry. This is the main reason that has reduced the amount of the tourist from different country. Legal Issues and Technology Innovation As all state do not have permit to open the casino however, it can be seen there is a huge scope in some other region. There should be a casino legislation and regulatory change that will allow new establishment in other states. Technology Innovation is another factor that drives industry to change. The gambling should be user friendly to the entire consumer using. Usually consumers comes for vacation with their family members, therefore those entertainment should be used so each of the family members can delight efficiently. A Strategic Group Map Comparative Market Positions of Selected Casino Hotel Industry Caesars Entrainment Corporation MGM Resorts International Las Vegas wynn Market Share of Casino Hotel Industry in USA Market position of Casino Hotel Industry Caesars Entertainment Corporation seems the major casino operator in USA as well as globally and primarily this company was owned under The Harrahs Caesars. The company uses its total rewards system to market promotions and to generate play across network of properties (Caesars Entertainment, 2012). Currently the data shows that the company holds 18.2% of total market share. In 2011, the total revenue earned by Caesars was $8372.5 and it has been predicted that it will go up to $8700.00 that is 3.9% higher than the last year. Therefore, it shows there is a huge potential increment of the revenue. Likewise, the second most company is MGM Resorts International, which is another company that operates globally and has covered 12.7% of its market share. In 2011, the total revenue earned by MGM is $5892.9 and it has expected to grow more up to $6040.8 in 2012. However, the percentage change in revenue has decreased from 4.6% to 2.5% respectively. In 2007, MGM had expanded their business in Macau therefore huge amount of revenue had been earned from there also. Las Vegas Sands Corporation and Wynn Resorts Limited have estimated industry market share of 4.3% and 2.8% respectively. Las Vegas Sands Corporation have earned 52.4% of total revenue from the company in Asia and in 2012, it has expected to earn revenue of $11,150. Likewise, Wynn Resorts Limited made an expansion of the company in Macau and huge revenue had been generated Strategic moves It is seen that foreign casino companies have made huge investment in Macau since 2002. In 2006 the returns from the casino boom surpassed the revenue of the US gambling mecca, Las Vegas however there is risk for Macau that they are too much relying in one industry (BBC News, 2012). In 2011, Macau gaming revenues reach to $33.5 billion, which means there is 42% increase over the period of 2010 (Stutz, 2012). The increment of revenue have been seen by various American regional gaming markets, therefore Caesars Entertainment Corp paid $578 million and expected to get the land for casino to operate casino hotel business in the biggest market however Caesars still not got the permission to build casino (WSJ, 2012). Due to healthy economy and improving business, the casino hotel companies should expand there business internationally as such MGM, Las Vegas Sands Corporation and Wynn Resorts Limited have already introduce their business in Macau where it is seen huge boom and have generated five times more revenue than Las Vegas Strip. In prospective of USA, it is seen that most of the casino hotel industry are concentrated in west part as only 38 states have legal licensed to operate the casino business. However, there is huge potential of casino business all over the US. As people disposable income has increased with the healthy economy, consumers tend to spend huge money in travelling and gambling and it is time consuming to travel in those regions where the states are permitted to run casino business. Therefore, the biggest companies such as MGM, Las Vegas Sands Corporation and Wynn Resorts Limited should look for potential market and expand their business all over the US. The huge revenue that is available from international casino hotel business can be invested in US and more focusing on the research and development of the market potentiality. The invention of new technology, new gaming, sound hospitality and facilities will help to create more potential consumer in future. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-16599919 http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204789304578088320711432556.html

Time in Jane Austens Novels :: Time Austen Essays

Time in Jane Austen's Novels Let’s think about the function of time in Jane Austen’s Emma. As it turns out, time is pretty important for Austen, but also quite problematic. For example, in Emma, Austen uses the word â€Å"time† 278 times within this 160,416 word novel. To make a random comparison, in Wuthering Heights 78,983 words, â€Å"time† is used 84 times, about half as often. Actually, that trend line is fairly representative of most of Austen’s novels. And certainly the novel Emma is fixed in time. It is, after all, the story of a year, from an October of naà ¯ve ignorance to a following October of knowledge and wedded bliss. In other words, not surprisingly, things have happened over time. Yet time is not always a happy advantage for the characters. Note, for example, some of the collocates for the word time. These are words that appear within five words of â€Å"time† in the novel. The Z-score represents a probability factor. The higher the Z-score, the less likely it is that the word is just a random occurrence or, put another way, the more likely it is that the word is directly connected with time. EMMA COLLOCATES OF TIME Collocates Sel. Collocate Type Z‑score Node Freq Freq some 38 265 15.670 at 72 1032 12.911 draws 2 3 8.574 fly 2 3 8.

Literature As A Revolutionary Tool For American

In tandem with literacy, literature has become one of the leading vehicles for social criticism in American history. It amplifies the author's voice, reverberating it throughout the nation, molding the history of America by changing the opinions of the people on certain issues. It can induce cries of hope and merriment, like John Winthrop's sermon A Model of Christian Charity, which speaks about the optimistic prospect of America as the â€Å"City upon a Hill† (Winthrop, 84). But it can also elicit the noticeable cries viciously pointing out the ignored flaws embedded in this â€Å"more perfect union† (U.S. Const. Preamble)†the existence of slavery, racism, ethnocentrism and the absence of gender equality. While reading this textbook, it is important to keep in mind the question of intention†why a certain piece of literature was written and why during that particular time period and not another. In any case, major movements in American literature leading up to the 19th Century are not arbitrary or random; they are all interrelated by a cause and effect, wherein one movement inspires the critical response of another.The arrival of the Puritans in the sixteenth century brought religious literature into the New World, more specifically ermons such as John Winthrop's A Model of Christian Charity, which grounded the principles required for this infant colony to become the â€Å"City Upon A Hill† (Winthrop, 84). Winthrop's sermon was an implicated work of criticism towards the European structure of society, where social class and bloodline would inherently determine a person's fate in life.Winthrop modeled prospective America according to everything the Old World was not†it would be a country where the â€Å"riche and mighty should not eate up the poore, nor the poore,† (81) where the people â€Å"must love one another with a pure hearte fervently†¦ eare one another burthens†¦ [and] not looke only on [their] ow ne things, but also on the things of [their] brethren† (83). This model appealed to the serfs and peasants of Europe because it promoted equality, a concept not unfamiliar but unattainable to the people belonging to the Old World.Although inequality established by the Old World caste system would later be abolished in the New World, gender inequality still remained to be a prevalent form of inequality amongst the people†notice that Winthrop calls out for equality among the â€Å"brethren† (83) and not â€Å"sistren,† which is the female equivalent of it. Over two centuries later, Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter would be published in 1850, criticizing the gender inequality within the glorified Puritan â€Å"Model of Christian Charity. Hawthorne points out this flaw by having Hester Prynne, the woman, repent for her sins by public shame and ostracization whereas Dimmesdale, the man, can successfully conceal his sins, albeit it at a great cost in the end. This disparity between the experiences of the opposite sex point out the imperfections within Puritan society as well as society in the 19th century. On the topic of inequality, ccompanied by women were black slaves who received the shortest end of the stick of equality.Following the American Independence in 1774, early 19th century American literature mainly comprised of political documents such as The Declaration ot Independence ot 1776, which was written witn the intention to â€Å"petition tor redress† (US, 1776), which in this case would be independence from the British Crown. The document itself is a social critique on the monarchial system of the British Empire. By listing the â€Å"history of repeated injuries and usurpation† (US, 1776)) inflicted upon the American Colonies, the drafters of The Declaration ofIndependence are explicitly condemning the tyrannical Imperial System that dominated Europe and the Kingdom of Great Britain throughout history. Almo st a century later, the emergence of abolitionist sponsored slave narratives in the 19th century allowed for the direct critique of America's hypocritical claim that the British Crown†the â€Å"Tyrant†Ã¢â‚¬ was unfit to be the ruler of the â€Å"free people† which†later emphasized†excluded the black community.While the fourth of July is often associated with the Joyful celebration of independence, in the perspective of prominent African-American abolitionist Fredrick Douglass, the fourth of July is eferred to as the particular day â€Å"that reveals to [the Negro]†¦ the gross injustice and cruelty to which he is the constant victim [of]† (Douglass, The Fourth of July). The â€Å"Fourth of July is yours [the white citizens], not mine [the blacks]† Douglass said in his 1852 speech â€Å"The Meaning of July Fourth to the Negro. His statement summarizes the fact that the basic rights the whites were born with were not considered as ri ghts or even privileges for the blacks†free or enslaved. Fast-forward to post civil war in 1983; Mark Twain publishes Pudd'nhead Wilson, a tragic comedy criticizing the lack of ights given to slaves. In the conclusion, the creditors of the Driscoll estate claim fake Tom as their â€Å"lawful property' (Twain, 122). This reference to â€Å"property' can be viewed as criticism towards the Supreme Court Case Dred Scott v.Stanford in 1857, where Judge Taney ruled Scott, the slave, as property and therefore cannot be freed, despite setting foot on a free state, because it would be depriving a person of property without due process or Just compensation which violates the 5th Amendment. The comic tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson, then, serves as a critical pprobrium directed upon the inequitable ways in which the slaves were treated. The philosophical movement known as transcendentalism began its short, but impactful lifespan during the 1820s and 1830s.Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry Dav id Thoreau are among the renowned icons of the transcendentalist movement. The transcendentalist movement began as criticism towards society and its institutions†particularly organized religion and political parties. Influenced by Romanticism, the transcendentalists respected the individual spirit and the natural world, believing that divinity was present in nature and each person. In his essay Self-Reliance, Emerson compares an institution to the â€Å"lengthened shadow of one man† (Emerson, 26).Self-Reliance circles itself around the idea of Individualism where â€Å"imitation is suicide† (20), so this comparison suggests that organizations teach principles based on the ideas of a single person, forcing everyone else to conform to the ideas of a man other than themselves†a concept condemned by transcendentalists. Transcendentalism also included the core belief that all men were inherently good†a belief that would later breed a completely different g eneration of writers. Herman Melville was among the writers who advocated ealism, the antithesis of all things romantic or transcendental.His novella Bartleby tells the story of a scrivener named Bartleby. Like Thoreau, Bartleby is a passive resistor. However, while Thoreau argues that his act ot passive resistance trees him, Bartlebys passivity provokes the narrator to confront him, and ultimately, his refusal to accept authority results in his self-inflicted death. Furthermore, although Thoreau considers solitude as his most â€Å"companionable† (Thoreau, 88) companion, Bartlebys loneness was the cause for his boss' comment on his â€Å"incurably forlorn† (Melville, 9) ppearance.The key difference between transcendentalism and realism isn't very far fetched†one is optimistic while the other is realistically grim†while Thoreau's passive resistance liberates him and allows him to fully express himself, Bartleby's passive resistance only affirms the authorit y and control that society has over him. Although the motives for social criticism may vary over the decades, the overall purpose of literature is to act as a vessel for social criticism in order to spark movements†for better or worse† in an otherwise monotonous society.

Battle of Cedar Mountain - Civil War - Northern Virginia Campaign

Battle of Cedar Mountain - Civil War - Northern Virginia Campaign Battle of Cedar Mountain - Conflict Date: The Battle of Cedar Mountain was fought August 9, 1862, during the American Civil War (1861-1865). Armies Commanders Union Major General Nathaniel Banks8,030 men ​Confederates Major General Thomas Stonewall Jackson16,868 men Battle of Cedar Mountain - Background: In late June 1862, Major General John Pope was appointed to command the newly formed Army of Virginia. Consisting of three corps, this formation was tasked with driving into central Virginia and relieving pressure on Major General George B. McClellans beleaguered Army of the Potomac which was engaged with Confederate forces on the Peninsula. Deploying in an arc, Pope placed Major General Franz Sigels I Corps along the Blue Ridge Mountains at Sperryville, while Major General Nathaniel Banks II Corps occupied Little Washington. An advance force from Banks command, led by Brigadier General Samuel W. Crawford, was posted to the soth at Culpeper Court House. In the east, Major General Irvin McDowells III Corps held Falmouth. With the defeat of McClellan and the Union withdrawal to the James River after the Battle of Malvern Hill, Confederate General Robert E. Lee turned his attention to Pope. On July 13, he dispatched Major General Thomas Stonewall Jackson north with 14,000 men. This was followed by an additional 10,000 men led by Major General A.P. Hill two weeks later. Taking the initiative, Pope began driving south towards the key rail junction of Gordonsville on August 6. Assessing the Union movements, Jackson elected to advance with the goal of crushing Banks and then defeating Sigel and McDowell in turn. Pushing towards Culpeper on August 7, Jacksons cavalry swept aside their Union counterparts. Alerted to Jacksons actions, Pope ordered Sigel to reinforce Banks at Culpeper. Battle of Cedar Mountain - Opposing Positions: While waiting for Sigels arrival, Banks received orders to maintain a defensive position on the high ground above Cedar Run, approximately seven miles south of Culpeper. Favorable ground, Banks deployed his men with Brigadier General Christopher Augers division on the left. This was composed of Brigadier Generals Henry Prince and John W. Gearys brigades which were placed on the left and right respectively. While Gearys right flank was anchored on the Culpeper-Orange Turnpike, Brigadier General George S. Greenes under-strength brigade was held in reserve. Crawford formed to the north across the turnpike, while Brigadier General George H. Gordons brigade arrived to anchor the Union right. Pushing across the Rapidan River on the morning of August 9, Jackson advanced with three divisions led by Major General Richard Ewell, Brigadier General Charles S. Winder, and Hill. Around noon, Ewells lead brigade, led by Brigadier General Jubal Early, encountered the Union line. As the remainder of Ewells men arrived, they extended the Confederate line south towards Cedar Mountain. As Winders division came up, his brigades, led by Brigadier General William Taliaferro and Colonel Thomas Garnett, deployed on Earlys left. While Winders artillery rolled into position between the two brigades, Colonel Charles Ronalds Stonewall Brigade was held back as a reserve. The last to arrive, Hills men were also retained as a reserve behind the Confederate left (Map). Battle of Cedar Mountain - Banks on the Attack: As the Confederates deployed, an artillery duel ensued between Banks and Earlys guns. As the firing began taper around 5:00 PM, Winder was mortally wounded by a shell fragment and command of his division passed to Taliaferro. This proved problematic as he was ill-informed as to Jacksons plans for the impending battle and was still in the process forming his men. In addition, Garnetts brigade was separated from the main Confederate line and Ronalds troops had yet to come up in support. As Taliaferro struggled to take control, Banks began an assault on the Confederate lines. Badly beaten by Jackson in the Shenandoah Valley earlier in the year, he was eager to obtain retribution despite being outnumbered. Surging forward, Geary and Prince slammed into the Confederate right prompting Early to return from Cedar Mountain to take personal command of the situation. To the north, Crawford attacked Winders disorganized division. Striking Garnetts brigade in the front and flank, his men shattered the 1st Virginia before rolling up 42nd Virginia. Advancing into the Confederate rear, the increasingly disorganized Union forces were able to push back the lead elements of Ronalds brigade. Arriving on the scene, Jackson attempted to rally his former command by drawing his sword. Finding that it had rusted in the scabbard from lack of use, he instead waved both. Battle of Cedar Mountain - Jackson Strikes Back: Successful in his efforts, Jackson sent the Stonewall Brigade forward. Counterattacking, they were able to drive back Crawfords men. Pursuing the retreating Union soldiers, the Stonewall Brigade became overextended and was forced to retreat as Crawfords men regained some cohesion. Despite this, their efforts permitted Jackson to restore order to the entire Confederate line and bought time for Hills men to arrive. With his full force on hand, Jackson ordered his troops to advance. Pushing forward, Hills division was able to overwhelm Crawford and Gordon. While Augers division mounted a tenacious defense, they were forced to retreat following Crawfords withdrawal and an attack on their left by Brigadier General Isaac Trimbles brigade. Battle of Cedar Mountain - Aftermath: Though Banks attempted to use Greenes men to stabilize his line, the effort failed. In a last gasp attempt to rescue the situation, he directed part of his cavalry to charge the advancing Confederates. This attack was repulsed with heavy losses. With darkness falling, Jackson elected not to conduct a long pursuit of Banks retreating men. The fighting at Cedar Mountain saw Union forces sustain 314 killed, 1,445 wounded, and 594 missing, while Jackson lost 231 killed and 1,107 wounded. Believing that Pope would attack him in force, Jackson remained near Cedar Mountain for two days. Finally learning that the Union general had concentrated at Culpeper, he elected to withdraw back to Gordonsville. Concerned about Jacksons presence, Union general-in-chief Major General Henry Halleck directed Pope to assume a defensive posture in northern Virginia. As a result, Lee was able to take the initiative after containing McClellan. Coming north with the remainder of his army, he inflicted decisive defeat on Pope later that month at the Second Battle of Manassas. Selected Sources Civil War Trust: Battle of Cedar MountainFriends of Cedar Mountain CWSAC Battle Summaries: Battle of Cedar Mountain

The Science of Escherichia Coli essays

The Science of Escherichia Coli essays Escherichia coli (E. coli) is a member of the family Enterobacteriaceae along with Shigella, Yersenia, Klebsiella, Salmonella, and Proteus spp. These are microbes that are normally seen worldwide in soil, water, vegetation, and even as normal flora of the gastrointestinal tract (Cohen, Powderly, Opal, Berkley, Calandra, Clumeck, Finch, Hammer, Holland, Kiehn, McAdam, Maki, Norby, Holland, Solberg, and Verhoef, 2004). The commensal E. coli normally inhabits the human intestines and may even be beneficial to man by participating in digestive processes. However, commensally and pathogenic E. coli strains can cause illnesses that manifest with mild to severe symptoms such as diarrhea, meningitis, urinary tract infections (UTI), or fatal septicemia. E. coli is a gram-negative, non-spore forming short to ovoid, rod-shaped bacteria. Like other enterobacters, its cell wall has several components: an inner cytoplasmic membrane, a peptidoglycan layer, an outer membrane that consists of an inner phospholipids protein layer and an outer lipopolysaccaharide (LPS) layer, and an additional capsule. The integrity of the cell wall is necessary to keep the organism alive. The cytoplasmic membrane regulates nutrient and metabolic products coming in and out of the organism. One should be familiar with these cellular wall components because they have antigens that distinguish E. coli from others. The O-antigen is specific for E. coli's LPS. The O-antigen may possess adhesive factors that make pathogenic E. coli cause diseases such as UTI, while other O serogroups allow for colonization factors and toxins to be released for it to cause diarrhea (Cohen et al., 2004). Other identifying antigens are the capsular (K), flagellar (H), and fimbriae (F) antigens. K1 antigen of E. coli is associated with neonatal meningitis and UTI. E. coli can live without oxygen, making it a facultative anaerobe. It is capable of fermenting lactose which is the sugar found...

Developments of China and Europe Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Developments of China and Europe - Essay Example If we analyse the history of Europe, it will come to our notice that Europe has been defined and redefined from time to time and its identity changed with the overall historical periods. (Hudson 2000). For example, a Europe of Middle Ages is different than the Europe during the industrial revolution similarly, if we assess the rise and fall of China, we will observe the same patterns in its history. Development of China also took place in a very strange and somewhat unusual manner because it flourished along the yellow river and in various city states. This simultaneous development of cities within Chinese civilization provided it necessary uniqueness in terms of its evaluation as one of the most important civilizations of the world. The era during 200-800 A.D. in Europe started with the rise of Roma as the center of world civilization. From 753 BC to AD 337, Roma or Rome dominated the European history and brought up one of the most important civilizations of the world which laid the foundations for later moderation that took place during that period. One of the most important aspects of this period was the development of political institutions in the Europe and as such modern foundations of democracy as the most preferred method of governance was laid down. (Davies 1996). On the other hand, in China, first 100 years i.e. 100 AD were marked with the invention of paper and its mass scale production was started under the direction of Cai Lun. Similarly, Buddhism also started to make inroads into the Chinese culture as missionaries of Buddhism started to gain significant influence within the Chinese society. (Ebrey 1999). If we compare the initial period of the history in these two regions, we will come to a conclusion that the both the regions were parallel to each other in terms of religious development because at one hand, Buddhism was gaining control in Chinese society in the first

Is current uk law relevant , when applied to cloud computin Essay

Is current uk law relevant , when applied to cloud computin - Essay Example void legal responsibility for security of information and endow their clients with full responsibility of retaining safety based on information they upload, the principals of the UK legislation are on the contrary to this. This Data Protection Act provides that anyone with the intention of or responsible for using data has to adhere to data protection principles recommending: fair and lawful use; use for limited, and specifically stated purposes; use in an adequate, relevant and not excessive way; accurate use; data not kept for longer than is absolutely necessary; handled in accordance to the people’s data protection rights; kept safe and secure; and, not transferred outside the UK without adequate protection. In short therefore, this Act ensures that Data controllers are bound by the law to give rights to data subjects, i.e.: the right of access to their personal data; the right to stop information processing techniques that are likely to cause substantial distress or damage; the authority to obstruct auto generated decisions; and the right to object direct marketing by any institution thereof (Data Protection Act, 1998). From a wider perspective, the European Data Protection Law (which also concerned with electronic data), stipulates very stringent controls on the entire steps involved in processing of personal data/ information, and its transfer to anywhere outside European Economic Area. Because of the uncertainties over how and where cloud vendor will probably store the uploaded data, there is a lot more potential that need to be put to ensure that customers are in breach of such laws. Therefore, a number of regulations influencing cloud computing are linked to data security. Whatever processes are involved in processing of data, and the consequent location where the data is processed is so critical. Hence, regarding data processing, the European law necessitates that appropriate techniques and organizational measures are actively taken to protect