Gender Equality Essays - Gender, Social Constructionism, Free Essays

Gender Equality Essays - Gender, Social Constructionism, Free Essays Gender Equality Tyrone Cloyd Baltimore, MD Gender equality has been a social concern since man step foot on earth. When we think of gender equality discrimination against women is what comes to mind, but in recent years psychologist and sociologist have began to study how men are discriminated against. It is considered general knowledge that men still make more money a year then women, and it is true that men hold most of the position of power in society. Recent studies have concluded that there is an aspect of society that discriminates against men. This aspect of society is deeply rooted in the American culture, and it is hard to name, to discuses, and to study. Gender roles for men, then are viewed not as biological givens, but as social constructions created from the expectations of social forces such as parents, teachers, peers, and the media about what constitute masculinity (Pleck, 1995) Mahalik 1998}. Men are socialized to believe in the importance of success, power, and competitiveness. Because the male socialization experience is theorized to create negative feelings such as anxiety and shame related to all things feminine, the development of rigid traditional male roles, or male gender role conflict (ONeil, Helms, Gable, David, & Wrightsman, 1986) Mahalik 1998}. Looking at male emotional socialization from the framework of the gender role strain paradigm, many boys are required to block their feelings and restrict the expression of their vulnerable and caring emotions (Levant) Mahalik 1998}. Because of this, a man experiences any particular facet of self that he considers feminine with great conflict and anxiety, because he believes it threatens his manhood (Mahalik, Cournoyer, Defranc, Cherry, and Napolitano 1998). As a result of this fear of femininity, men are believed to over conform to traditional male roles as a coping strategy to avoid femininity (Pleck, 1995) Mahalik 1998}. Men are taught to use their roles prescribed by society as a psychological defense. When a man is confronted with an situation instead of dealing with the problem, men tend to fall back on the stereotypical masculine gender roles. Men hold their emotions inside and although they may not be immediately affected our health and well - being suffers in the long run. The improper socialization of males in American society affects all demographics of society. It affects men across socio - economic classes, and races and cultures. Improper socialization of males is an interesting topic to research and study because it affects the entire male population and it is going to take society as a whole working together to correct the problem. One way to began changing how males are socialized is to make the population aware of the psychological effects gender role conflicts. In mental health institutions, at hospitals, and colleges and universities there is an array of journals, pathlets, and articles written about how women are discriminated and socialized. With the new millennium approaching the effects of male socialization needs to be an equally important issue on the public policy agenda. More research needs to be done and published so that the message can spread throughout the country and the scholarly community. For background information two articles from the Journal of Counseling Psychology will be discus. The first, Mens Gender Role Conflict and Use of Psychological Defenses by James R. Mahilik, Robert J. Cournoyer, William DeFranc, Marcus Cherry, and Jeffrey M. Napolitano examines the way males are socialized and the way that their socialization affects how they respond in anxious situations. Specifically, the researchers are trying to determine if there is a relationship between stereotypical macho male roles and psychological defense mechanisms. There were one hundred and fifteen participants in this study. All participants in this study were males. Some of the participants were college students, others were from various clubs and organizations, and others were from church groups. The average age of the participants was 26.45 years. The participants were from a variety of cultural backgrounds, but the vast majority were white. The participants were first asked to complete the Gender Role Conflict Scale. This scale measures success, power, and competition; restrictive emotionality; restrictive affectionate behavior between men; and conflicts between work and family relations. The Defense Mechanism Inventory was used to measure the use of

Great White Sharks

Great White Sharks The white shark, commonly called the great white shark, is one of the most iconic and feared creatures of the ocean. With its razor-sharp teeth and menacing appearance, it certainly looks dangerous. But the more we learn about this creature, the more we learn they are not indiscriminate predators, and definitely dont prefer humans as prey. Great White Shark Identification Great white sharks are relatively large, although likely not as large as they might be in our imagination. The largest shark species is a plankton eater, the whale shark. Great whites average about 10-15 feet in length, and their maximum size is estimated at a length of 20 feet and weight of 4,200 pounds. Females are generally larger than males. They have a stout body, black eyes, a steel gray back, and a white underside. Classification Kingdom: AnimaliaPhylum: ChordataClass: ChondrichthyesSubclass: ElasmobranchiiOrder: LamniformesFamily: LamnidaeGenus: CarcharodonSpecies: Carcharias Habitat Great white sharks are widely distributed across the worlds oceans. This shark resides mostly in temperate waters in the pelagic zone. They can range to depths over 775 feet. They may patrol coastal areas inhabited by pinnipeds. Feeding The white shark is an active predator, and primarily eats marine mammals such as pinnipeds and toothed whales. They also sometimes eat sea turtles. The great whites predatory behavior is poorly understood, but scientists are beginning to learn more about their curious nature. When a shark is presented with an unfamiliar object, it will attack it to determine if it is a potential food source, often using the technique of a surprise attack from below. If the object is determined unpalatable (which is usually the case when a great white bites a human), the shark releases the prey and determines not to eat it. This is evidenced by seabirds and sea otters with wounds from white shark encounters. Reproduction White sharks give birth to live young, making white sharks viviparous. The embryos hatch in uteri and are nourished by eating unfertilized eggs. They are 47-59 inches at birth. There is much more to learn about this sharks reproduction. Gestation is estimated at about one year, although its exact length is unknown, and the average litter size of a white shark is also unknown. Shark Attacks While great white shark attacks arent a big threat to humans in the grand scheme of things (youre more likely to die from a lightning strike, alligator attack, or on a bicycle than from a great white shark attack), white sharks are the number one species identified in unprovoked shark attacks, a statistic that doesnt do much for their reputation. This is more likely because of their investigation of potential prey than a desire to eat humans. Sharks prefer fatty prey with lots of blubber, like seals and whales,  and dont generally like us; we have too much muscle! See the Florida Museum of Icthyologys Relative Risk of Shark Attacks to Humans site for more information on how likely you are to be attacked by a shark versus other dangers. That said, nobody wants to be attacked by a shark. So if youre in an area where sharks may be seen, reduce your risk by following these shark attack tips. Conservation The white shark is listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List because they tend to reproduce slowly and are vulnerable to targeted white shark fisheries and as bycatch in other fisheries. Because of their fierce reputation gained from Hollywood movies such as Jaws, there is an illicit trade in white shark products such as jaws and teeth.

Psychology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 21

Psychology - Essay Example The potential of machines were thought to be able to eventually encompass â€Å"an inductive and creative mind, capable of taking initiative, to which human beings could confide all their problems and obtain instant solutions in return† (Ifrah, 1997: 1679). This misconception in the early days of the computer has carried over even to today. This discussion examines the functions of the human brain in addition to the meaning of knowledge and the limitations of machines as compared to the human mind. Mechanical computers, unlike the functions of the computer-like brain do not have the capability to determine right from wrong nor can they make judgments, have no feelings and cannot think on their own. Computers cannot reason, imagine, invent, create, express thoughts, manage ideas, make judgments or possess the ability to adapt to differing situations and therefore cannot solve problems that are new to them. Unlike the human brain, computers aren’t conscious of their own being, have no concept of the world around them and cannot execute voluntary activities (Ifrah, 1997: 1616). Because machines are only able to follow directives, they do not possess the capability to be self-aware. If it is accepted that computers do not and will never become aware of their own being, then it is reasonable to ask what enables the human’s biological machine to attain consciousness while the silicon-based computerized ‘brain’ cannot. Possibly, the answer to this question is the fact that the structure of the human brain is self-organizing. It responds to the individual characteristics and the independent nature of interactions between itself and the particular environment. However other natural, biological systems such as many types of simple ‘animals’ and all plant life encompass a multifaceted, self-organizing interrelationship within its inner mechanism yet are also not aware of themselves. This indicates that though

Names are rigid designators so the description theory of names is Essay

Names are rigid designators so the description theory of names is wrong - Essay Example Some of the contributors to the development of this theory' is attributed to Kripke, Putnam and Wettstein. According to Kripke, proper names and definite descriptions are designators. That is, in every possible world they designate the same object. Kripke distinguishes the meaning of a designator and the way its reference is determined. Then he puts forth his causal theory of naming: initially, the reference of a name is fixed by some operation such as description then the name is passed from link to link. A name is not identified by a set of unique properties satisfied by the referent: the speaker may have erroneous beliefs about those properties or they may not be unique. The name is passed to the speaker by tradition from link to link. Kripke rejects the view that either proper or common nouns are associated with properties that serve to select what they are referring to. Both proper and common names have a referent. The property cannot determine the reference as the object might not have that property in all worlds. For example, gold might not be yellow in all worlds. Kripke's causal theory of names assumes that names are linked to their referents through a casual chain. A term applies directly to an object via a connection that was set in place by the initial naming of the object. A nonrigid designator is a term that changes its referent across possible worlds. The Nature of Names Consider, for example, a Biology class out on a field trip. Walking in the woods, the professor asks the students to identify the plants that they encounter. A student is asked to identify a plant. Seeing that the plant has thorns, has red flowers that are well known to be a symbol of love and lives in the wilderness, the student names the plant as a Wild Rose. Thus, the naming was based on descriptions that were learned and passed on to the student. Can we therefore say that naming, specifically proper names, are based on descriptions That is, is the Old Theory essentially correct In this paper we, argue that naming is not essentially descriptive but is actually an exercise of designating rigidly. Nevertheless, in this paper, we also argue that naming does have some degree of descriptive being. Naming Without Conceptualization In this philosophical argument, we find that there is a need to use real world examples to do away with the abstractions and complications that a discussion such as this would entail. The unifying string of this paper's argument is that a person could refer to an object by indicating its name without actually knowing the descriptions of the object that he doesn't have a concept of - no knowledge of any descriptions or whatsoever that may give the person naming an idea of the object/person being named. It would then follow that it is possible to name an object without substantial conceptualization. If it is possible to name objects without such conceptualization, then a theory of the meaning of names should not be secluded to such elements. Note that we use the word secluded. By conceptualization,

Life Transitions Counseling Essay Example for Free

Life Transitions Counseling Essay A detailed and very interesting research about the problems of classifying, analyzing and coping with life transitions in our life, was written by Lawrence Brammer, Ph.D., who is Professor Emeritus of Counselor Education at the University of Washington in Seattle. This work was published by the Educational Resource Information Center.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In his research L. Brammer introduces the concept of life transitions and presents the most common types of such transitions. After that he addresses to three theoretical models of life transitions, which are supported by tips on counseling them. And in the end of the article the author presents some attitudes and skills necessary for successful coping with changes and life transitions.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The author defines transition as a sudden and fundamental life change, which brings certain disconnection with the past. He classifies the transitions as positive and negative (painful and tragic) in respect to human reaction, as voluntary and involuntary by human factor of the cause, and as on-time and off-time transitions by expectations. Also, he defines developmental, social and political changes among the transitions.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   According to this research, there are three ways of human perception of life transitions. These approaches are based on the developments of other specialists in this field. The first approach was suggested by Bridges (1980), who offered using metaphors from classic literature when describing life transitions.   Counseling approach in such case can be focused on encouraging people to look for some meaningful metaphors when managing with their life transitions.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The second concept is called Social Interaction Model, which was created by Schlossberg (1984). This specialist offers to consider social and personal characteristics of an individual when coping with life transitions, like age, maturity, sensibility to stresses, etc. According to this model, the counseling approach will concentrate on analyzing the impact of transition on the person and looking for the inner and outer resources, which would help the person to cope with the situation.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     The third model is called Predictable Overlapping Stages, which was created by the author himself, using the works of Kubler-Ross, Parkes and Hopson. This model presents the development of human perception of hard life transitions, like sudden death of a close person, etc. The author states that there are some stages, which any person experiences when coping with a hard life transition. Firstly, there are initial feelings of confusion, discomfort and shock, followed by the stages of denial and fantasy, then very long process of mood stabilization comes, which is accompanied with depressions, mood disorders, and then one or another level or recovery comes. Counseling in this case is also focused on determination, on which stage the person is now.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In the end of the research there are some concepts about coping attitude and skills, which are mostly based on the developments in psychological literature. The author states that coping with life transitions is self-initiated problem solving, which requires development of proper and satisfactory coping resource. Also, the author offers some directions, which can be effective for creating the concept of recovery when coping with life transitions. Those are: creating support networks, cognitive reframing, analyzing personal stress responses, etc.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   This research is very constructive and useful; it reveals some interesting theoretical information about view on life transitions and the ways of coping with them. The author suggests studying the problem more thoroughly, and in the conclusion he directs the readers into the most important field of studying life transitions: learning more about particular human personalities, about ourselves and our surrounding.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Maybe the only disadvantage of this research is the absence of more practical information on coping with life transitions. Other numerous researches introduce mental (acknowledging the problem, looking for some positive sides, fighting with anxiety and depressions, etc.) and physical (doing exercises, interacting with other people, paying attention on nutrition, etc) tips, which can be very helpful in our daily activity when managing with transitions. Besides, the majority of life transitions is connected with stresses, so coping with life transitions frequently becomes coping with stress. It is also important point, which had to receive more attention from the author of this research. But in any way, the work of Laurence Brammer is very useful, especially for students and specialists, who are interested in studying the perception of life transitions and stresses by human psychology. Bibliography:  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Brammer, L. M. (2001). Coping with Life Transitions. Educational Resourse Information Center. ERIC Digest. ED350527. Retrieved December 1, 2005, from http://www.mental-health-matters.com/articles/article.php?artID=399.

Stand By Me :: Drama

Stand By Me Stand by me was the first topic we studied this term we were put into groups of six to create a short play based on the 70s film stand by me based on Stephen King's Short story "The Body", "Stand By Me" tells the tale of Gordie Lachance, a writer who looks back on his preteen days when he and three close friends went on their own adventure to find the body of a kid their age who had gone missing and presumed dead. The stakes are upped when the bad kids in town are closely tailing - and it becomes a race to see who'll be able to recover the body first. We were given 30 minutes to gather an idea in our groups about a group of friends who want to go on an adventure. We all were hot seated in our groups as our characters. We created a still image of the characters before the adventure and our play was based on a series of 6 still images. We all put our ideas in and produced a 10minute production. In our productions we used a number of dramatic devices such as monologues, still images, dramatic irony and split scenes. Character Profiles Paul- Is 12 he lives at home with his mum and dad and 5 siblings. Paul is the loud member of the group who always wants to fight and show off he is really looking forward to the adventure. Scott- ====== Is 11 he lives at home with his mum and dad and 5 siblings one of which is Paul. Scott is quietest boy in the group Scott doesn’t want to go on the adventure he is very nervous but tries to act brave in front of the rest of the group. Lauren- ======= Is 11 she lives with her mum and dad and is an only child. Lauren is the girly girl of the group she likes to be centre of attention and wants everyone to like her. She is looking at the adventure more like a holiday and planning how many outfits she should take. Amy- ==== Is 13 and in foster care she is the Tomboy in the group she is very boisterous and always wants to be with the boys she doesn’t get on very well with Lauren. She is excited about going on the adventure. Jack- Is 12 he lives with his grandma and granddad he is the leader of the

Balkan Wars

The Balkan Wars represent a historical period in Greece.   Why are these wars so important? Why did it occur in the first place? Which countries are involved, and why? Moreover, what were the political, social, cultural and economic conditions of Greece back then? The Balkan Wars consists of two battles that occurred from 1912 to 1913 (Papacosma 38).   These wars were fought on the onset of the apparent decline of the Ottoman Empire, and were founded on the neighboring countries’ desire to divide the territories (Perry 487).   In 1908, a group called the â€Å"Young Turks,† revolted in an effort to restore the empire, but to no avail (Perry 487).   After the revolt, Bulgaria and Serbia both wanted to acquire a part in the Turkish territories in Europe, like Macedonia (Papacosma 38). Thus, both countries agreed to a â€Å"treaty of mutual assistance† on March 13, 1912 (Papacosma 38).   On May 29, 1912, Greece made an agreement with Bulgaria (Papacosma 38).   In the latter part September of the same year, Montenegro also had an agreement with Bulgaria and Serbia (Papacosma 38).   Thus, the Balkan League was formed; it consisted of Bulgaria, Serbia, Greece and Montenegro. The first Balkan War occurred when the Balkan League waged war on Turkey on October 8, 1912 (Papacosma 38).   The Balkan League was successful in their endeavor, and the Ottoman Empire was forced to surrender its European territories to the Balkan League on the grounds of the Treaty of London (Papacosma 38).   This treaty was signed on May 30, 1913 (Papacosma 38). Unfortunately, the division of the territories caused disagreement among the Balkan League (Perry 487).   This disagreement was the reason for the second Balkan War.   Bulgaria objected Greece and Serbia’s claims to Macedonia (Papacosma 38).   On June 30, 1913, Bulgaria attacked its former allies (Papacosma 38).   Soon after, Romania and Turkey joined forces with Greece and Serbia to fight Bulgaria (Papacosma 38).   Bulgaria was badly defeated, and was forced to sign the Treaty of Bucharest, which removed all of Bulgaria’s newly acquired territories (Papacosma 38). The overall condition of Greece during the period of the Balkan Wars was problematic.   It was King George who governed Greece at that time, and as a result of the war, Thessaloniki became a Greek territory (Barrett).   In March 1913, it was in Thessaloniki where King George was assassinated (Barrett).   Constantine I assumed the throne soon after (Barrett).   Then there was the presence of Eleftherios Venizelos, who became prime minister three years prior (Barrett). Venizelos had many supporters, but it did not include the king (Barrett).   Venizelos resigned on June 1913, and was elected again only to be forced to resign on October (Barrett).   In Thessaloniki, Venizelos formed a â€Å"provisional government of the New Hellas† (Barrett).   Meanwhile, King Constantine's government was attacked by the French and British because they want Greece to join the war (Barrett).   This forced the king to leave Greece, and was soon replaced by Alexander, the second son of George (Barrett). The beginning of the 20th century found the navy of Greece in a poor state.   At that time, Greece only had three battleships and several torpedo boats (Barrett).   Fortunately, there was a battleship that the Italian navy purchased, but did not use (Barrett).   Greece bought the said ship, and named it after George Averof, a rich patron (Barrett).   This ship was extremely helpful during the Balkan Wars (Barrett). Greek society was unstable as well.   In 1912, villages were attacked and ransacked by the Turkish army (Barrett).   Many Greeks were killed and properties were destroyed.   The villages that were affected include those located in Didymotichon, Adrianopoli and Malgara (Barrett). Hence, amidst social distress and political instability, Greece came to war to fight the Ottoman Empire.   It was indeed victorious, not only in the war, but also in improving the current state that Greece was in. Works Cited Barrett, Matt. â€Å"Venizelos and the Asia Minor Catastrophe.† History of Greece. ;http://www.ahistoryofgreece.com/venizelos.htm;. Papacosma, S. Victor. â€Å"Balkan Wars.† Lexicon Universal Encyclopedia. New York: Lexicon Publications, Inc., 1992. 38. Perry, Marvin. A History of the World. Revised ed. Boston Massachusetts: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1989. Pounds, Norman. â€Å"Balkans.† Lexicon Universal Encyclopedia. New York: Lexicon Publications, Inc., 1992. 38. Balkan Wars The Balkan Wars represent a historical period in Greece.   Why are these wars so important? Why did it occur in the first place? Which countries are involved, and why? Moreover, what were the political, social, cultural and economic conditions of Greece back then? The Balkan Wars consists of two battles that occurred from 1912 to 1913 (Papacosma 38).   These wars were fought on the onset of the apparent decline of the Ottoman Empire, and were founded on the neighboring countries’ desire to divide the territories (Perry 487).   In 1908, a group called the â€Å"Young Turks,† revolted in an effort to restore the empire, but to no avail (Perry 487).   After the revolt, Bulgaria and Serbia both wanted to acquire a part in the Turkish territories in Europe, like Macedonia (Papacosma 38). Thus, both countries agreed to a â€Å"treaty of mutual assistance† on March 13, 1912 (Papacosma 38).   On May 29, 1912, Greece made an agreement with Bulgaria (Papacosma 38).   In the latter part September of the same year, Montenegro also had an agreement with Bulgaria and Serbia (Papacosma 38).   Thus, the Balkan League was formed; it consisted of Bulgaria, Serbia, Greece and Montenegro. The first Balkan War occurred when the Balkan League waged war on Turkey on October 8, 1912 (Papacosma 38).   The Balkan League was successful in their endeavor, and the Ottoman Empire was forced to surrender its European territories to the Balkan League on the grounds of the Treaty of London (Papacosma 38).   This treaty was signed on May 30, 1913 (Papacosma 38). Unfortunately, the division of the territories caused disagreement among the Balkan League (Perry 487).   This disagreement was the reason for the second Balkan War.   Bulgaria objected Greece and Serbia’s claims to Macedonia (Papacosma 38).   On June 30, 1913, Bulgaria attacked its former allies (Papacosma 38).   Soon after, Romania and Turkey joined forces with Greece and Serbia to fight Bulgaria (Papacosma 38).   Bulgaria was badly defeated, and was forced to sign the Treaty of Bucharest, which removed all of Bulgaria’s newly acquired territories (Papacosma 38). The overall condition of Greece during the period of the Balkan Wars was problematic.   It was King George who governed Greece at that time, and as a result of the war, Thessaloniki became a Greek territory (Barrett).   In March 1913, it was in Thessaloniki where King George was assassinated (Barrett).   Constantine I assumed the throne soon after (Barrett).   Then there was the presence of Eleftherios Venizelos, who became prime minister three years prior (Barrett). Venizelos had many supporters, but it did not include the king (Barrett).   Venizelos resigned on June 1913, and was elected again only to be forced to resign on October (Barrett).   In Thessaloniki, Venizelos formed a â€Å"provisional government of the New Hellas† (Barrett).   Meanwhile, King Constantine's government was attacked by the French and British because they want Greece to join the war (Barrett).   This forced the king to leave Greece, and was soon replaced by Alexander, the second son of George (Barrett). The beginning of the 20th century found the navy of Greece in a poor state.   At that time, Greece only had three battleships and several torpedo boats (Barrett).   Fortunately, there was a battleship that the Italian navy purchased, but did not use (Barrett).   Greece bought the said ship, and named it after George Averof, a rich patron (Barrett).   This ship was extremely helpful during the Balkan Wars (Barrett). Greek society was unstable as well.   In 1912, villages were attacked and ransacked by the Turkish army (Barrett).   Many Greeks were killed and properties were destroyed.   The villages that were affected include those located in Didymotichon, Adrianopoli and Malgara (Barrett). Hence, amidst social distress and political instability, Greece came to war to fight the Ottoman Empire.   It was indeed victorious, not only in the war, but also in improving the current state that Greece was in. Works Cited Barrett, Matt. â€Å"Venizelos and the Asia Minor Catastrophe.† History of Greece. ;http://www.ahistoryofgreece.com/venizelos.htm;. Papacosma, S. Victor. â€Å"Balkan Wars.† Lexicon Universal Encyclopedia. New York: Lexicon Publications, Inc., 1992. 38. Perry, Marvin. A History of the World. Revised ed. Boston Massachusetts: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1989. Pounds, Norman. â€Å"Balkans.† Lexicon Universal Encyclopedia. New York: Lexicon Publications, Inc., 1992. 38.

Cowen Case Study Essay

1 Introduction SG Cowen, located in the United States, is an industrial company established in July 1988. Orientated in the financial sector, SG Cowen constituted a hiring approach containing diverse steps with methods, approaches and decision criteria. To asses the job applicants and to make a decision about the most eligible candidates, we have created a standardized construct to quantify the criteria. 2 The recruiting process The recruiting procedure starts with an on-campus recruiting program by arranging team captains to these core business schools. Thereby students get the opportunity to know SG Cowen. To ensure that thoroughly, they assign one member who is the first contact person for interested students. SG Cowen certrainly tries to attract other students from noncore schools by accepting their resumes. Another resource to recruit new candidates is pre-existing, experienced analysts who get promoted without attending the university. Afterwards there is a process that supports the decision making approach of SG Cowen by going through the following steps: Informational interviews, On Campus round, and Super Saturday. 2.1 Informational interviews Chip Rae, the director of recruiting at SG Cowen is convinced that an ambitious student, compared to others, will emphasize his interest in the company to determine the attitude of a student. That’s the reason why SG  Cowen invites students to visit the workplace, to experience the entrepreneurial culture and to get a basic overview of the company and its atmosphere. This process is not evaluative but it’s a chance to create an initial perception about a potential candidate. Conversely, students get the opportunity to show themselves, to leave a positive impression and to be prepared for the feasible first round. Therefore this step is important to find out how serious or not a candidate is. 3 On-campus round The second step is the on-campus round which enables SG Cowen to learn a candidate’s requried set of skills and determine its surplus value to the company. For the final validation, various candidates participate in the on campus round. Rae estimates that experienced senior associates who have a profound knowledge of the necessary requirements needed for the jobs, should be integrated in the final interviews. They are able to appraise the candidate’s skills and requirements in an appropriate way. In addition Ray believes that success doesn’t come from defined methodologies, rather it’s more important to love the job and the challenge, so SG Cowen promotes longer working horurs and less outside distractions. 2.3 Super Saturday After a shortlist is created from the on-campus round, 30 candidates receive callbacks for the final interviews. Each of them gets five half an hour interviews with senior employees of SG Cowen with a list of goals needed. Gregg Schoenberg, team captain at Johnson School of Business at Cornell believes that selecting criteria about the right candidate should be the candidate’s personality, less what he has done. So it makes sense to look at candidate’s former job performance. The candidate’s attitude towards the company is important for the interviewer as well as for the company regarding the banking sectory, which discloses great turnovers. Kim  Fennebresque (CEO of SG Cowen) says that an employee should like the job he or she does. Concentraiting on technology and emerging markets, the potential associates of SG Cowen should have advanced knowledge in finance area and the ability to execute that. The job also demands high teamwork abilities, multiplicity, responsibility and flexibility. Therefore interpersonal skills are unalterable. Before this recruitment process begins, the company should determine the potential business schools to plan the presentation area on campus and also the positions that must be occupied. At long last, the company should know the time schedule and the amount of interviewers needed. SG Cowen has three different kinds of talent pools to find candidates that fit best in their company. The following chapter reviews and evaluates their recruitment process and describes the different types and sources of candidates they have. Candidates have the possibility either to complete three years at the firm as analysts or take part in the companies’ summer internships to be offered a vacancy. Candidates, who are promoted as analysts have for the most part no education from business schools. This source of internal recruiting offers the possibility to use internal job postings or just communicate the vacancy, instead of paying for on-campus presentations, recruiting events or advertising – therefore it is cheaper to promote people who are already familiar with the company and have already shown that they properly fit in it. The alternative is external recruiting, which focuses on the hiring of candidates from business schools. SG Cowen has multiple different core schools to which they have direct contact and offers them the possibility to communicate and provide possible hires with all the information they need, through company presentations or participating in the on-campus recruiting programs. The possibility to additionally take part in informational reviews is a good way for students to show their enthusiasm and how serious they are to get the job. At every school that SG Cowen recruits at on-campus, a team captain is assigned to provide students with a constant and familiar point of contact. The fact that these team captains are banking professionals and not human resource professionals makes them able to provide students with the information they are really looking for, but on the other hand they may be mainly looking for skills instead of personality and personal background of applicants. SG Cowen also accepts applications of candidates from non-core schools, but these candidates have a disadvantage in showing their interest and gathering information about the job. Schoenberg, who was not attending a core school described this as unfair, but describes them as great hires because they need to show more initiative, be more focused and invest more effort. All in all, the se internal and external resources provide SG Cowen with a good and wide pool of possible candidates, however there is the risk to have students with less variety when only focusing on core school applicants. After rà ©sumà ©s are collected and interviews are conducted the senior and interviewing associates have to reduce the amount of possible candidates, who can take further part in the process. This reduction could already lead to the loss of some very good applicants. Then the following on-campus round tests the cultural fit and is intended to preselect candidates for Super Saturday. On Super Saturday each applicant has multiple interviews with different bankers of the firm. These managing directors then decide for themselves whether the candidate is a good fit for the company, but this way of evaluating can result in big disagreements and disadvantages. One director may see the great attitude of an applicant as more important than his technical skills, while another would take the opposite opinion. The worst scenario for applicants would be the different personal opinions of the directors leading to a false estimation and result in disqualification of the candidate. Afterwards, there are group decisions. The biggest problem  of these decisions is that interviewers already have their impression of the applicant and it is often difficult to convince them of the contrary. Often the majority of directors vote similar, so there might be no way to discuss the outcome, if one thinks he has a candidate who is a perfect fit for the company. To summarize, it can be said that the hiring process of SG Cowen makes sure that new employees fit well and that they only want to get the best talents for their company. The evaluation of the candidate’s abilities in form of notes is a great way of remembering each candidate and to make sure everybody can participate in the following group discussions to represent his opinion about the applicant. Besides the disadvantages of non-core to core business schools this ensures that the recruiting process is fair because every applicant who participates on Super Saturday has equal chances to be offered the vacancy. The possibility to offer vacancies to people who completed an internship and analysts is also a very good alternative to hiring people from external resources because they know the company very well and have already proven to be a good cultural fit, they have learned a lot about SG Cowen and are acquainted with the current employees. In contrary SG Cowen has to contact previous employers to get to know external candidates and check if the provided information is accurate. We think the super Saturday is a bit hard for candidates as well as interviewers. The fact that there are multiple interviews distributed throughout the whole day seems very exhausting and we think it is hard to make the right decisions at the end of such a hard day of work. Also there is no guarantee that the applicant accepts the job offer. They might have other possible job offers, which they would rather like to accept and this would result in a high risk for SG Cowen regarding that they only have a fixed number of vacancies and try to fill all of them. SG Cowen declined candidates for low technical skills, so it is very important for candidates to have this skill. Therefore the knowledge of Finance & Accounting, Prioritizing, Creativitiy and Modeling are mandatory for our applicants. Our Group takes the same opinion as the company, because the training process after the recruiting would be long and expensive. Furthermore we support the decision that candidates with low skills can be eliminated earlier. In the present time work ethic is an important factor for employees, especially for a boutique Investment Bank like SG Cowen, where teamworking is invitable. This expects also a certain level of flexibility and work motivation. The statement of Fennebresque – â€Å"The type of person who does well here doesn’t want to be told what to do. He or she is far less regimented. This is not the Navy. We want the  self-starter† – shows that SG Cowen appreciates leadership. A candidate can show his/her leadership skills from previous work. Interpersonal skills are relevant in businesses, where there is a high level of contact to client and associates. Good verbal communition is especially necessary for the candidates, which should be taken with serious impact/presence. Like the most companies of the world SG Cowen wants to hire the candidates for the longterm. The best Investment banking talents are highly coveted and hard-fought in the job market. So there is a high probability that the employee could be courted from other banks. Thus it seems it is useful to estimate the commitment to the firm. The Bankers have to make a lot of decision through their professional life. The characteristics of judgment and maturity are an important criteria. In our Opinion is the utilization of this factor is appropriate. Nevertheless we have an improvement suggestion for the evaluation form. It is possible that all of the interviewer priotize the factors different. Therefore we recommend a strandarized model with fixed priotization for each skill. To Change from a subjective evaluation to a standardized and objective evaluation, we set the emphasis for the factors. The emphasis is based on our analysis of the recruiting process, the statement of Chip Rae and the evaluation form. The technical skills in the business of investment banking are a critical requirement. SG Cowen has a competitive advantage with their core competency from research. This is the reason that technical skills should get the highest   weight (35%). SG Cowen is a small boutique company, so the candidate needs to show good teamwork and also should have a high motivation to enter the company. From this reason we have given the factor work ethic 20%. Leadership is a very important criterion. As we can see in the last years, the market is changes fast and steadly. Therefore SG Cowen needs employees who can learn very fast and are self-starters. This could be picked up on the statements of Schoendberg and Fennebresque. Interpersonal skills  complement andsupport the factor Leadership. Because somebody, who can learn very fast and has also awfully good communication skills, could be assumed responsible. So we gave each of the criteria 15 %. At the end are the judgment/maturity criteria. The Banker has a lot of situations, where they have to decide. So it is also important to have a particular skill of judgment, but it is our opinion the least important criteria in this evaluation form. We gave these criteria a weight of 5 %. Further details to the criteria can be found in the Appendix. Evaluation of the four candidates Through the interviewing-process, four candidates were categorized as â€Å"maybes†, so their pros and their cons were pretty much balanced. Just two of these four candidates can be selected, because SG Cowen has only has two additional jobs left to offer. To make a reasonable decision we decided to rate them using the linear model. In this model we used the weights mentioned above according to different parameters to develop a scorecard for each of the remaining candidates.

Mr Smith Goes to Washington essays

Mr Smith Goes to Washington essays Frank Capras controversial 1939 film Mr. Smith Goes to Washington tells the story of a young, naive and inexperienced politician who is brought to Washington to replace the recently-deceased fictional Senator Samuel Foley. The film has a number of themes, but one that stands out beyond most is the idea that the press controls the publics opinion of a politician. They can make one out to be either a dedicated, hard-working public servant or a self-centered, power-hungry individual. Through the use of characters such as Governer Hopper, Jim Taylor, Senator Paine, and Chick McGann, we see how Capra views politics in Washington. When Mr. Smith (James Stewart) is appointed, he is unable to recognize why he was chosen. However, we soon find out that it is not because of Smiths desire to work in Washington that he was hired- or his values- but rather the fact that, as a young and naive kid, Hopper and Taylor feel that hell be an easy person to influence and vote for their corrupt Willet Creek Dam project. Smiths first encounter with the press turns out to be a disaster. He is asked what projects he would like to push and then takes the opportunity to reveal his plans for a summer boys camp. He also jokes around with the press by making birdcalls. The headlines in the next-mornings paper are taken out of context and are intended to make Smith look like a fool. When Smith is about to be sworn in, an opposing member of Congress appeals his confirmation because of the way he is portrayed in the papers. He feels that Smith brings shame to the office, but Paine quickly defends him. Smith later sees the paper and is outraged at how the press portrayed him. He rushes over to the Press Club and physically and verbally attacks the writers. One of them, after bringing Smith under control, says something particularly telling about the media. In response to Smith&...

Milton Obote

Milton Obote Apollo Milton Obote (some say Milton Apollo Obote) was the 2nd and 4th President of Uganda. He first came to power in 1962 but was ousted by Idi Amin in 1971. Nine years later, Amin was overthrown, and Obote came back to power for five more years before he was ousted again. Obote has largely been overshadowed by â€Å"The Butcher† Idi Amin in the Western media, but Obote was also accused of widespread human rights abuses and the deaths attributed to his governments are greater than those of Amin. Who was he, how was he able to come back into power, and why is he forgotten in favor of Amin? Rise to Power Who he was and how he came to power twice are the easier questions to answer. Obote was the son of a minor tribal chief and received some university education at the prestigious Makerere University in Kampala. He then moved to Kenya where he joined the independence movement in the late 1950s. He returned to Uganda and entered the political fray and by 1959 was the leader of a new political party, the Uganda People’s Congress. After independence, Obote aligned with the royalist Bugandan party. (Buganda had been a large kingdom in pre-colonial Uganda that remained in existence under Britain’s policy of indirect rule.)   As a coalition, Obote’s UPC and the royalist Bugandans held a majority of seats in the new parliament, and Obote became the first elected Prime Minister of Uganda after independence. Prime Minister, President When Obote was elected Prime Minister, Uganda was a federalized state. There was also a President of Uganda, but that was a largely ceremonial position, and from 1963 to 1966, it was the Kabaka (or king) of Baganda that held it. In 1966, however, Obote began purging his government and orchestrated a new constitution, passed by the parliament, that did away with both the federalization of Uganda and the Kabaka. Backed by the army, Obote became President and gave himself wide-sweeping powers. When the Kabaka objected, he was forced into exile. The Cold War and the Arab-Israeli War Obote’s Achilles heel was his reliance on the military and his self-proclaimed socialism. Soon after he became President, the West looked askance at Obote who, in the politics of  Cold War  Africa, was seen as a potential ally of the USSR. Meanwhile, many in the West thought that Obote’s military commander, Idi Amin, would be a wonderful ally (or pawn) in Africa. There was also a further complication in the form of Israel, who feared that Obote would upset their support of Sudanese rebels; they too thought Amin would be more amenable to their plans. Obote’s strong-arm tactics within Uganda had also lost him support within the country, and when Amin, aided by foreign backers, launched a coup in January 1971, the West, Israel, and Uganda rejoiced. Tanzanian Exile and Return The rejoicing was short-lived. Within a few years, Idi Amin had become notorious for his human rights abuses and repression. Obote, who was living in exile in Tanzania where he had been welcomed by fellow socialist Julius Nyerere, was a frequent critic of Amin’s regime. In 1979, when Amin invaded the Kagera strip in Tanzania, Nyerere said enough was enough and launched the Kagera War, during which Tanzanian troops pushed Uganda troops out of Kagera, then followed them into Uganda and helped force the overthrow of Amin. Many believed that the subsequent presidential elections were rigged, and as soon as Obote was inaugurated President of Uganda again, he was facing resistance. The most serious resistance came from National Resistance Army led by Yoweri Museveni. The army responded by brutally suppressed the civilian population in the NLA’s stronghold. Human rights groups put the count at between 100,000 and 500,000. In 1986, Museveni seized power, and Obote fled into exile again. He died in Zambia in 2005. Sources: Dowden, Richard. Africa: Altered States, Ordinary Miracles. New York: Public Affairs, 2009. Marshal, Julian. â€Å"Milton Obote,† obituary,  Guardian, 11 October 2005.

Climate change Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Climate change - Research Paper Example 1). The current discourse hereby asserts that deforestation is a human activity that contributes immensely to climate change and; since it is within man’s control, it could be abated and mitigate the impact of climate change. In the article written by Docksai (2013), the author acknowledged that in the simplest means, climate change could be addressed by merely focusing on the need for more trees. From statistics provided on the top 10 countries with the highest deforestation, it was revealed that Brazil topped the list with 3,446,000 hectares of forest area that was allegedly cut. This was seconded by Indonesia with 1,447,800 hectares of forest area cut; followed by Russia (532,200 hectares) and Mexico (395,000 hectares). The United States is also included in the list with 215,200 hectares of forest area cut (Compare Infobase Ltd., 2013). Evidently, the extensive amount of forest area that had been cut through deforestation has significantly affected the world’s climat e. The reasons for cutting trees in forest areas have been identified to be diverse and mostly linked to financial pursuits. According to the National Geographic, the primary reason for deforestation is actually agriculture. Trees from forests were reportedly cut to provide greater land for purposes of planting crops; as well as grazing livestock (National Geographic Society, 2013). Other causes of deforestation were disclosed to either be intentional which include logging and making way for urbanization; or uninentional such as natural causes like wildfires. The effects of deforestation were mostly noted as skewing in the negative side: the destruction of natural habitat for living species; soil erosion leading to flash floods; and of course, climate change. Trees were noted to be agents of absorption for greenhouse gases. Likewise, trees were commonly known as serving as canopies that apparently block the rays of the sun from piercing through the land; and therefore keeps the fore st soil moist. At night, these trees were also revealed to hold the heat that was apparently preserved during the day and prevents the heat from entering the atmosphere (National Geographic Society, 2013). With a great amount of lost trees, the heat pierces through the land and dries it immensely; and also allows greater levels of greenhouse gases to be expelled to the atmosphere resulting to climate change. After having identified the causes and effects of deforestation, it is crucial to acknowledge that the solution is clear and identifiable; since man could control the rate of cutting of forest trees and could design policies to prevent further devastation. As asserted, the quickest solution to the dilemma is to prevent the cutting of forest trees at such an alarming rate. Likewise, another solution that was noted included the effective management of forest resources. This allegedly entails balancing the cutting of appropriately selected forest trees to be immediately replaced by new trees (National Geographic Society, 2013). It should be emphasized, however, that the number of replanted trees should significantly exceed the number of trees that were cut due to deforestation. This method had already been implemented by Brazil, the number one country to have been identified to have deforested their land (Compare Infobase Ltd., 2013). According to Docksai (2013), Brazil â€Å"hit a milestone in 2012: Forest loss that year, at 4,500

Thesis essay on digital media Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Thesis on digital media - Essay Example Youths are consistent users of digital media than any other group in the society. It is considered a natural aspect that youths are so much integrated into digital media. For instance, almost every young person possesses cell phone. Most of these youths do not necessary make calls or send short messages. They only want to feel part of the larger population that has identified itself with the current trends of digital media. On the same note, youths unlike any other groups of the society uses phones among other digital media devices in the most diverse way. In this regard, it is right to assert that digital media is a habit for the youth. The youth has assimilated and embraced digital media quite fast. This has made them used to it, especially in the social aspects of life. Family negotiations are a critical and integral factor in the digital media-youth interaction. It has been deemed to act as a control or autonomy tool in the youth-family affairs. Digital media has made communication, data processing, sending and receiving of information easy. With this, parents and other family members can monitor their youth using digital media devices. On the other hand, the youth counts on the digital media devices as a source of freedom. Although easier and cheap means of communication are provided, ascertaining the credibility of the information given may be challenging. The youth take this advantage to lie about their whereabouts, thereby achieving their autonomy purposes. Digital media has created a whole new world for the youth. The youth expresses a crystalline awareness on digital media. In the social networks context, digital media is not only prosthesis of their body, but of their social competence as well (Aspray 153). When direct communication fails to materialize, then digital media finds its way in account for the loop. Uncomfortable and embarrassing moments for the youth have been