Outline the Cosmological Argument for the Existence of God (21)

Outline the cosmological argument for the existence of God (21) The Cosmological argument is an argument that attempts to prove the existence of God, it is also known as the causation argument which argues that as all events require a cause, if the universe is an event it must have a cause and that cause is God. The argument is a posteriori because its based on evidence that already exists in the universe. The cosmological argument is also inductive because the conclusion is what is most probable, it is also synthetic because the truth can only be determined by experience. Cosmological’ comes from the Greek words ‘kosmos’ and ‘logos’ translated as ‘cosmos’ synonymous with ‘universe’ and ‘Logos’ meaning ‘blueprint’ or ‘plan’. Therefore, ‘cosmology’ refers to the ‘blueprint of the universe’. The Cosmological argument originated from Plato and Aristotle however it was mainly later developed by St. Thomas Aquinas. Their arguments both began with the idea that motion needs a prior agency. Plato then identified the first cause of the chain of events as the need for an unmoved mover which started off the chain.Aquinas' main argument is well known as ‘Aquinas' third way'; the argument from contingency and necessity. The first of Aquinas' ways was ‘from motion,' this follows the idea that all objects move and a change of quality is movement. Nothing can move itself, which then leads to the idea of a chain of movement but the chain cannot be infinate, therfor there must be an unmoved mover to begin the chain. This first mover is God. The second of Aquinas' ways was ‘from efficiant causes,' this follows the idea that all things are caused by something else because they cant cause themselves or they would exist before themselves.However this would mean that there cant be an infinite chain of causes, meaning there must be a 1st cause that caused all causes, then this 1st cause is God. The third of Aquinas' ways is ‘from contingency and necessity. This follows the idea that everything is dependant of factors outside itself, therefor everything is contingent. If this is correct then there must be a necessary being upon which everything is dependant on. The necessary being is God.Another part to the cosmological argument is the Kalam argument which was developed by Al Ghazali and recently developed by Craig. The Kalam argument rejects the idea of an actual infinite because an actual infinite past of the universe is impossible. Craig developed the Kalam argument and added that it is logically unsound to propose an infinite series because for this to actually occur we would have to have travelled an infinite length of time and so still wouldnt be in the present yet.However, some would critique Aquinas’ theory, for example; Hick pokes holes in aquinas's ‘three ways. ’ Hick says that Aquinas p resent us with two alternatives; that the universe is either â€Å"a fact†, or there is a ‘first cause’. Aquinas' argument can only be proven if there is evidence of a first cause of the universe. (ii )Consider the view that the strengths are more convincing than the weaknesses (9) Leibniz argued that there had to be a sufficient reason for the universe to exist which supports Aquinas's theory.Leibniz says that even if the universe had always been in existence, it would still require an explanation for its existence so we can establish that there is something rather than nothing. Since there is nothing within the universe to show why it exists the reason must therefor exist outside of it. However Hume disagrees with Aquinas and observes that to arrive at the existance of god from the premises of the cosmological argument, this requires an inductive leap which ineffectively guesses without having actual evidence that allows for the assumption to be made.This then means that you cannot make an inductive leap about the universe because we cannot make conclusions about something outside our exerience. In contrast to Hume copelston suports Aquinas' rejection of infinite regress based on the idea that an infinite chain of contingent beings would only consist of contingent beings therefor meaning they could never be able to bring themselves into existence. However like Hume, Mackie disagrees with Aquinas' inductive leap by stating hat ‘ everything at some time must exist' to ‘at some point sometime everything does not exist' here there is a clear overlap of things that just dont make sense to put after eachother as there is clearly something missing in the middle. Taking these points into consideration we can make the assumption that the weaknesses are in actual fact stronger than the strengths because the strenghts agree with the inductive leap aquinas has made, however the leap clearly looks as if something in the middle is missing a s you just cant make an assumption on something bigger than us that we have no expience of.

‘Macbeth’ English Coursework Essay

1. The scene opens with Lady Macbeth speaking in soliloquy; as a director I would tell the actress to look agitated, maybe wringing her hands and pacing the stage, quite near the back of the stage so it looks as if she is almost trying to hide. In the first soliloquy she seems less powerful compared to when she is with Macbeth. Lady Macbeth begins to imagine noises that represent bad omens, for example, ‘the owl shriek’d’. She probably didn’t hear that noise but an owl shrieking is a symbol of evil and she knows she is doing wrong. She then begins to go over the plans as if she is reassuring herself of what to do and wondering what is going on and how the plan is doing. Lady Macbeth obviously wasn’t that confident because she even says that she needed an alcoholic drink to calm her and make her brave again. Then when Macbeth enters, still in soliloquy, she panics that Macbeth hasn’t committed the murder, that they woke up and caught him and she expresses her doubts very obviously as shown in this quotation, ‘I am afraid’ this shows how she lacks confidence and proves that she wasn’t ‘bold’. Then when Macbeth and Lady Macbeth begin to talk to each other they are both very nervous and jumpy but slowly Lady Macbeth begins to regain control again and she can then comfort and sooth Macbeth who is very shocked and seems almost hysterical. Then Macbeth’s concerns worry Lady Macbeth but she still remains in control because she starts to command and order Macbeth around. For example, ‘give me the daggers’, ‘get on your nightgown’; Lady Macbeth regained her calm and Macbeth has become worried. Lady Macbeth gets worked up because of Macbeth’s doubting and worrying and she is almost shouting in rage at him when she says ‘infirm of purpose’ and as a director I would definitely say to be bossy and very angry towards Macbeth. She then begins to insult him which shames him as he is supposed to be a brave warrior when she calls him a ‘child’ so she has definitely regained her control and is ‘bold’ at the end of the scene. 2. In lines 16-31 Shakespeare creates lots of tension and anxiety by showing Lady Macbeth who is supposed to be very brave and someone who would rather ‘bash her baby’s brains out’ than show cowardice being nervous and jumpy. Lady Macbeth says that she couldn’t do it herself and doubts that Macbeth has the willpower to do it as well. Following this there is a very jumpy quick exchange between them in lines 22-30. The punctuation in this section is very short like full stops exclamation marks it is very quick answering, they almost finish off each others sentences. This would make the audience think whether they were going to get away with it? Would they be found out? Could they cover it up? Lie about it? So this creates a lot of anxiety as the audience want to know what is going to happen to them. 3. Macbeth is in a state of shock when he returns from Duncan’s Chamber. He hears sounds which frighten him so he appears very shocked and upset when he enters the scene. He is concerned that they will be found out and in that era the punishment would have been death for high treason. When he talks to Lady Macbeth they have a very quick and nervous exchange. During this exchange he begins to realise the seriousness of what he has just done and Macbeth then begins to feel guilty. He doesn’t seem to be able to focus on one thing at a time but the two dominant things he talks about is that he won’t be able to get spiritual forgiveness and he won’t be able to sleep. He then starts to talk about two lodgers praying and the fact that when they said ‘Amen’ he couldn’t because he had gone against God and broken the Divine Right of Kings. The Divine Right of Kings is an ancient belief system that was the eldest son of the king or queen would become the next ruler of the country. Macbeth had killed the king and taken his place so broken this spiritual belief. So Macbeth knows that he has disobeyed God and cannot get forgiveness. This is shown in lines 37-44. In these lines a very strong metaphor is used to show just how guilty he feels. The metaphor is: ‘Hangman’s hands’. This is comparing his hand to those of someone who kills frequently so this means that Macbeth’s guilt is so strong that it feels as though he has killed more than one person. The second dominant topic is that Macbeth sleep has the power to heal and nurture people who are troubled and weary but he has lost the right to sleep and will never sleep again. Lines 47-52 use a lot of good personification which further shows the guilt that Macbeth is feeling. He refers back to the witches in this extract:’ Glamis hath murder’d sleep, and therefore Cawdor Shall sleep no more; Macbeth shall sleep no more.’ this suggests that the witches are on his mind and how their prophecies have driven him to treachery. He then begins to question why he is jumpy; why his guilt and regret is so great; why he can’t go back in the room or even look at his hands. 4. The scene starts off with Macbeth in control because Lady Macbeth couldn’t commit the murder but after Macbeth did he couldn’t re-enter the room and face what he had done. Their relationship is very interesting because they have a large reliance on each other. Lady Macbeth needs Macbeth to commit the murder and Macbeth needs Lady Macbeth to drive him and push him so he has courage to commit the crime. Macbeth looses all his control in the relationship after he commits the murder because he is so haunted and shocked by what he has done and he then needs Lady Macbeth to calm him and make him feel at ease. You can find this change between lines 20-79. Lady Macbeth is in complete control at the end because she begins to call Macbeth names to make him feel ashamed of his cowardice and uses very commanding vocabulary to make him hide what they know and she is in some ways scared in case he can’t pretend that he doesn’t know anything. 5. The main themes of the play are nearly all mentioned in this scene. To me the most significant theme is that this story is about a man who potentially could have been great, powerful and strong but has been corrupted by darkness, witches and greed. Witchcraft is the theme that got them to this stage and is what really drives Macbeth to commit the murder. The witches’ prophecy drives him to killing anybody who got in his way especially Macduff’s family in Act IV Scene 2. Macbeth is constantly referring back to the witches and seems to have complete trust in them. An example showing that they are on his mind is in Act II Scene 2 when he is distraught about the murder in lines 55-57. Lady Macbeth also refers to witchcraft when she hears bad omens like the ‘owls’ scream’ so witchcraft and darkness is a main concern and theme of this particular scene. The theme of deception is carried on throughout this scene; at a more physical level than the deception of the witches with their contradicting language. In this scene, Act II Scene 2, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are putting the blame of the murder on the King’s guards and appearing to be unaware of the situation. Bloodshed and guilt is another key issue especially with phrases like ‘Hangman’s hands’ and they very graphic visual image in lines 76-79. This theme is referred to throughout the rest of the play and eventually until Lady Macbeth’s death. The guilt is so strong that it causes her to take her own life and the guilt rules Macbeth into decisions and causes a lack of sleep which is another key theme. His lack of sleep is because he has ruined his own equilibrium. Macbeth knows that he has disrupted the Divine Right of Kings so therefore upset God. So Macbeth finds that he is unable to pray and has lost the right to sleep which is ‘nature’s healer’ which is a theme which continues right from the murder to the end of the play. He becomes mentally disturbed. The final topic in this scene is the power shifting in the relationship between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. They both rely on each other to be strong.

Security and Justice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4500 words

Security and Justice - Essay Example here it untenably treats the prevention of the intentional violations of human rights via other agents over the promotion of human rights and protecting human rights in the instance of suffering initiated by natural causes or the influence of human institutions. So to say that the â€Å"Responsibility to Protect† is a demonstration of global humanity is somewhat illusory. The Responsibility to protect - known as R2P - talks about the duty of states toward their populations as well as all populations that might be at risk of genocide and other mass atrocity crimes. R2P lays down three pillars of responsibility: Pillar One - The responsibility to prevent by addressing root causes of internal conflict. The ICISS deemed this to be a key obligation. Every state has the Responsibility to protect its populations from mass atrocity crimes specifically: crimes against humanity, genocide, war crimes and ethnic cleansing. Pillar Two - The responsibility to react by responding to situations of compelling human need with appropriate measures that could lead to first sanctions, then prosecutions and then finally resort to military intervention. The widespread international community has the obligation to urge and assist individual states in meeting that responsibility by severe means as well. Pillar Three - The responsibility to rebuild, in case a state is noticeably failing to protect its inhabitants. Then the international community should be efficiently prepared to take suitable mutual action by delivering full assistance with reconstruction, recovery and resolution, all in a well-timed and definitive fashion as per the UN Charter. These tenets devised in a report of the International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty during 2001 and were approved by the United Nations General Assembly in the 2005 World Summit Outcome Document paragraphs 138, 139 and 140. In January 2009, the UN Secretary-General published a report on application and adherence to the

Technology adoption of e-government from the perspective of citizens Article

Technology adoption of e-government from the perspective of citizens - Article Example Various governments across the globe have initiated e-government programs with a view to offer speedier and convenient ways for their citizens to access information regarding government services. However, in order for e-governance to work successfully and effectively, as planned, it entails a comprehensive study of factors which may influence its use. Trust – is one such factor which plays a key role in e-commerce, and more specifically e-government, adoption since trust between the government and the citizens is inevitable for this technology to function effectively (Bhattacherjee 2002; Carter and Belanger 2005; McKnight et al. 2002; Pavlou 2003; Warkentin et al. 2002). Hence, if the level of trust displayed by citizens on the government is high, it will lead to high level of involvement in e-government as well. However, trust in e-government or any sort of web-institution for that matter, is greatly influenced by ‘disposition to trust’ since individuals who trust others will generally trust institutions involving people (McKnight et al., 2004). When viewed, from the e-government perspective, the disposition to trust has invariably resulted in an increased level of trust in e-government by the citizens (McKnight et al., 2004) In order to effectively apply any given technology and ensure its widespread acceptance, its antecedents must be taken into consideration. With respect to technology; privacy concerns assumes relatively higher significance and hence needs to be probed thoroughly to ensure wider acceptance. The level of privacy afforded by the media used, across all age groups is directly related to its usage since privacy risks rank highly on the users concerns list (Jacko, 2009). Parents are highly concerned about the privacy protection tools provided to ensure the safety of information accessed by their children. Various studies conducted so far, have reaffirmed the role of privacy in influencing the technology usage. This is

Email and Privacy and how Cyber Law Protects User Rights Research Paper

Email and Privacy and how Cyber Law Protects User Rights - Research Paper Example After the discovery of the internet, electronic communication has rapidly evolved and hence the internet has grown to a complete unregulated and an unplanned phenomenon. The inventors of the internet and the World Wide Web never anticipated that it could lead to extreme undesirable consequences (Bazelon, 2001). The growth rate of the internet has been expanding at an alarming rate where recent studies indicate that the population of internet users is doubling after every three months due to the emergence of social sites as well as development of e-commerce. Many people are turning to electronic means of communication being offered by the internet, especially e-mails which can pass, store, and retrieve information from a database provide by an Internet Service Provider (ISP). However, as the internet becomes more useful day after day, it has been blamed on various sandals of money laundering, moral decay, as well as several legal issues related to privacy and hence the emergence of cy ber laws which contain all the regulatory and legal aspects of the world wide web and the internet(Bazelon, 2001). The Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution deals with the issues concerning searches and seizures which may in one way or the other compromise an individual’s privacy and one case that involved such a violation was United States v. Warshak (Trout, 2010). Warshak was enjoying the reasonable expectation of privacy of his e-mails from his Internet Service Provider, Nu Vox until government agents compromised his rights by ordering the ISP to preserve and issue his emails without first obtaining a warrant which was to be based on probable cause, thus in accordance to the Fourth Amendment, the government agents had violated the privacy rights of Warshak. However, the agents depended on good faith with reference to the Stored Communications Act even though this exclusionary rule was not applicable in such a case (Trout, 2010). In another case involving United States v. Bynum, Mr. Bynum gave his information with the expectation that ISP would protect the privacy of his int ernet and phone subscriber information. However the internet service provider violated the Fourth Amendments by releasing personal information of Mr. Bynum to the FBI without them first obtaining subpoenas (Schwartz, 2009). Another similar case involved the U.S v. Councilman, in this particular scenario Councilman retained his client’s personal information especially his competitors through Wiretap in violation of the Wiretap Act. The interception and seizure without consent of his customers was contravention of the Fourth Amendment. Thus there was an urgent need to amend the Wiretap Act to have a broad definition of the word â€Å"intercept† to include electronic communication temporary in transit because the previous definition only encompassed the e-mails on electronic storage in computers. Congress amended the definition on 22nd July 2004 (Bazelon, 2001). Discussion During the case of United States v. Bynum, 08-4207, the court failed to accept the argument from the defendant that the use of subpoenas by the government in an effort to get subscribers information from his ISP was a violation of the Fourth Amendment rights of privacy (Trout, 2010). The court ruled that there was lack of evidence that â€Å"†¦the defendant had a subjective expectation of privacy in his internet and phone subscriber information†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Later he voluntarily accepted that he had freely given his personal data to his ISP and phone company and as a consequence, he had assumed the risk that theses companies could reveal his information to the authorities without his jurisdiction (Trout, 2010). Additionally, the court noted that Bynum was capable of demonstrating a subjective expectation of privacy with regard to this information, and then the information was subject to reasonableness test.

Strategic Human Resources Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 1

Strategic Human Resources Management - Essay Example This paper declares that the work of human resource department is considered as a distinctive philosophy in organization because of the fact that human resource managers often face a relatively new and unique situational cases related to the proper way of handling employees. When dealing with different scenarios, human resource managers are responsible in conducting a logical reasoning as he/she develop a new strategic solution that will address the main problem within the business organization. Human resource managers should be able to adopt a more flexible scheme and rewards since most of generation Y employees strongly believe in their own worth and has adopted the ‘speak-your-mind’ philosophy. This report makes a concuson that based on the first case scenario presented in this study, we have clearly seen some ways on how the human resource manager could logically address organizational problems related to internal conflicts which may arise due to merger and acquisitions between a medium- and large-scale busineses. As part of the first case, the study shows how the human resource manager could develop and implement a new organizational culture that could promote open commnucation among employees as well as a long-term learning, development, and performance culture. In the second case, proper ways on how to develop a universal motivational scheme for a business organization that is composed of baby boomers and generation Y employees was discussed.

Biology1project2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Biology1project2 - Essay Example DNA molecules make individual copies of themselves by replication. Before a cell divides, each strand of genetic information makes a duplicate. During cell division the duplicates separate, so each cell has a complete set of genetic information. That single cell then divided many, many times to turn into the 50 trillion or so cells that make up a human being. Almost all of the cells in human body share the same DNA as was found in that first cell. DNA contains all of the information needed. This information is stored in the over 20,000 human genes found in almost all your cells. To get at the information, a gene must be turned on (expressed) and the information turned into something useful, a protein. Once made, that protein goes out into the cell and performs some set of specific tasks. For a cell to work, 1000s of these proteins must be made, each doing its particular job. The traits of a living thing depend on the complex mixture of interacting components inside it. Proteins do mu ch of the chemical work inside cells, so they largely determine what those traits are. But those proteins owe their existence to the DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid). DNA consists of four different sugars that interact with each other in specific ways. A much longer piece of DNA can therefore be the equivalent of different words connected to make a sentence, or gene that describes how to build a protein. And a still longer piece of DNA could contain information about when that protein should be made. The entire DNA in a cell gives us enough words and sentences to serve as a master description or blueprint for a human. Active stretches of DNA must be copied as a similar message molecule called RNA. The words in the RNA then need to be "read" to produce the proteins, which are they stretches of words made up of a different alphabet, the amino acid alphabet. "Central Dogma" of heredity--that the DNA code turns into RNA message that has the ability to organize 20

Tessellation Pattern Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Tessellation Pattern - Essay Example With vivid lines and basic definite shape, I find it conducive to come up with a tessellation of the ‘barking dog’ for its concrete details can be readily visualized to end up with sharp geometric tessellated form. It is more convenient I suppose to tessellate with straight rather than curved edges of the model in the process. Using MS Paint of the Windows accessories, I first cropped the image to make a barking dog-pattern then copied and pasted the same pattern in a row. The initial transformation would be to translate each common figure vertically then reflect it about the vertical axis so as to show a row of barking dog images on top and at the bottom of the one bearing the original pattern. In this manner, the tessellation design consists of rows in original and reverse positions of the barking dog image alternating each other in two shades – brown and pink. By horizontally flipping a line of mass generated figure with a row of the first orientation placed on top of the second, there emerges ease in yielding a sight of the entire object. Monotonousness is further reduced in this technique since transforming by means of translating reflections creates spatial balance at least, if not symmetry. It would feel as if the tessellated product is less complex in view especially that in between the sol id pink and the solid brown, an external structure cut-out that traces the source pattern also alternates in solid shades of maize and blue gray on application of the same transformation scheme. Lei, Bonita (2000). â€Å"Keith Haring.† Great Modern Pictures. Retrieved from http://www.picsearch.com/imageDetail.cgi?id=U06MIagCZy2p1KI3r14v5Q1HSVXUKX7PubEXbzY8Wgc&width=1007&start=1&q=Keith%20Haring on July 3,

Perceptions of Female Student Pilots Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Perceptions of Female Student Pilots - Article Example According to the research findings, it can, therefore, be said that the lack of sufficient female pilots is a very vital concern that the aviation industry must study and research. A good starting point for the lack of female pilots can be by having academic programs of flight in which future pilots are introduced to the industry of aviation. Since these programs are considered a starting place for pilots in the aviation industry, environmental surroundings must be taken into account as to the low ratio of representation of female pilots. The purpose here is to now carry out a national research of the perceptions of female student pilots in the aviation industry. If these academic flight programs have the potential to improve the enrollment of female flight students, this program then would create a ripple effect in the industry and would help increase female pilots in the aviation industry. This study can be considered as a quantitative study. The author is trying to find out why th ere is a shortage of female pilots. With the usage of study methodologies, this case is researchable, and the author feels that it offers vital information. This study’s limitations were centered on sensitization of the program. The author has provided a five-chapter layout. This review literature is fairly comprehensive. The author gives the main outlines as well as elaborating on the research and literature findings where need be. The aviation industry historically has not been a career for women. All through history, women have been turned away while male pilots have sabotaged those that succeeded. Despite these constraints, a number of brave women have broken through the barriers with personal determination and passion in their quest to fly.

Principal of business Leadership Research Paper

Principal of business Leadership - Research Paper Example Business leadership is a process of organizational influence in which a single person or a group of people can enlist the support and aid of others in the business organization so as to accomplish its common goals and objectives. Leaders may not have formal authority but have the power to drive people to do something so as to achieve a common goal or task. Any business, no matter the size, requires effective leadership. For this reason, many scholars have come up with numerous principles to guide business leaders on how they can be effective in their leadership roles and responsibilities. This essay will discuss the principles of business leadership that effective business leaders should abide by. This paper will focus on how to be an effective business leader. There are very many scholarly and non-scholarly sources that talk about what makes an effective business leader (Frey, Kern, Snow & Curlette p 212). Most sources that are reviewed in this essay link the success and performance of a business organization with effective business leadership. The performance of a business organization is also closely associated to specific leaders of that particular organization. Hersey, Paul, Blanchard, Ken and Johnson (55) argue that the influence of effective business leaders is very powerful and can never be ignored. Business leadership requires individuals who have the capacity to influence others positively towards the realization (Kaiser, Hogan and Craig p 96). That is why effective business leaders are guided by business leadership principles as they execute their leadership roles. This principle calls for a business leader to be clear on what they want to ‘be’, ‘do’, ‘have’ and ‘know’. In being clear on what a business leader want to be, he or she should know what he/she is. This means that he/she should identify his/her beliefs and values so as to understand

New and Better Knowledge After a Trip to The Evans Group Essay Example for Free

New and Better Knowledge After a Trip to The Evans Group Essay A visit to â€Å"The Evans Group, a fashion development and production house catering to various designers have changed so much beliefs that I had before. As a Fashion Design student dreaming to have my own fashion production company someday, that trip that we had made me learn many things that as a sophomore student like I do not have enough knowledge of. I used to think that fashion designing is all these efforts I am putting into my studies but I was proven wrong with what I have observed when I have seen the reality at The Evans Group. All along I have thought that if one is a very good fashion designer, it is all what it takes and it is all what one aspiring designer needs. Again, I was wrong.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Evans Group (the Company for brevity) offers services to clients such as design developments, first patterns, samples, duplicates, production patterns, gerber pdm tach packs, yields, grading, marking, hand finishing, small volume production (20-300 pcs/style), trimming, fabric sourcing and wolf dress form rentals.. The company was named newsmakers of 2007 and has a new production facility in Los Angeles and a development studio in San Francisco.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   With the many things that we have seen and learned from the Company, I am writing here the top ten that I strongly believe need to be shared and worthy to be taken into consideration by designer students like me.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   First, I have learned that a very good system and organization what makes such a business grow and stay in existence. When I have seen that the company takes care of the specific requests of each designer customer it made me realize that a very meticulous attention should be given to each request. A poorly followed instruction may mean a lost client and a lost income. In the factory, I learned that each company has different policies for their orders. Even it is as unnoticeable as the label and the hemline structure, they are as equally important.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Second, I used to think that patterns are such an old fashion style when experts are doing the cutting. But NO! Patterns are still very important and they serve a big role in the success of each cut fabric and design.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Third, Budgeting is very applicable and useful in the factory. A knowledge of fashion designing alone would not make one designer successful outright. A knowledge of little economics, little of budgeting and much of common sense are the very basic ingredients that go with the fashion designing talent. At The Evans Group, if they have a plaid fabric, the staffs match the quality with the budget allowance required. Greater budget allowed means better quality.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Fourth, technology nowadays are indeed inevitable. I have seen that Tukatech, the company’s computer arm plays a big role in the success of the business. It is a computerized designing arm capable of making the designs.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Fifth, like any other discipline, the world of fashion have their own set of â€Å"jargons†. In the factory, they used the terms such as unit to identify a piece of work. Moreover, I have seen and learned what a fusing machine is.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Sixth, a knitted fabric shrinks. Tthus, it needs block fusing. Unlike ordinary fabrics that simply needs piece fusing.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Seventh, I and my group have observed about cross cutting. Cutters cover the roll of fabric with nylon then they place rolled fabric in a machine where a   ruler is attached and they can cut that in sizes like one inch or in any size they want. Eighth, .management is also important in fashion industry. In The Evans Group, they have various departments like cutting, sewing, printing among others. Only a properly managed company with good department leaders, managers or supervisors can stay long in the business. Ninth, marking the fabrics for cutting is very important. A marker must not go wrong with this job. He or she must consider the sizes that have been given by designer client: for instance, 2S, 2M, 2L,2XL when that client have specified an amount of fabric to use. Arithmetic and proper geometric talents are needed here. Lastly, I appreciate the visit to The Evans Group. It made me learn so much. Indeed, learning is not limited inside the four corners of a classroom. The best way to learn is to experience!

Integration of the Grading System Essay Example for Free

Integration of the Grading System Essay I. Introduction Informatics Education Group, founded in 1983, has more than 600 colleges in 52 countries. It is a corporation dedicated to provide quality education to its students. It offers courses in higher education for corporate productivity and Business solutions. Informatics’ commitment to giving quality education encompasses all aspects from course design to student assessment or examination and staff training. This commitment to excel beyond customers’ expectations by providing quality services to its students has pushed the proponents to create a system that will help the school administration and faculty to produce accurate class cards and transcript of records for its students. With the increasing number of students in Informatics college manila also increases the workload of the school administration specifically the registrar’s department and faculty members. In order to provide a better service to the students, the proponents are motivated to create a system that will assist the school administration and faculty to minimize the time spent on managing, submitting and producing the grades of each student. Also, the purpose of the proponents in creating a grading system is to lessen the queue during enrolment with the help of a system that will assist the Informatics College Manila in releasing of the students’ grades. II. Background of the Study This study, which is fundamentally aimed at assisting the Registrar Department of Informatics College Manila, attempts to create a grading system with transcript database system that is integrated in the Informatics College Manila Enrolment System, providing an efficient way of serving the students during enrollment and releasing the grades. The proposed system shall lessen the laborious manual process in student grade assessment, releasing of transcript of records of graduate students and releasing of student class cards. Getting their official transcript of records would then be easy since the database of the grading system will be shared with the database of the transcript database system. The Registrar Department is the only department within the school is in charge of creating, accessing, and processing the releasing of grades and transcript of records. This department headed by the Registrar, who is in charge of supervising the processes. After of enrolling, the student can get there from the registrar. The processes for the grading system are as follows: (1) In the existing grading system, the lecturers will input all the grades of the students using Microsoft Excel, (2) The lecturers will submit the grades of all the students for that term, (3) The registrar will encode the submitted grades in the database for ease of access such as printing if the student wants to have a copy of their grades. Now when getting the transcript of records, the students must fill out the request form. Afterwards, the registrar will summarize the grades of the student who requested for a copy of the transcript of records. III. Statement of the Problem The Proponents would like to enhance the current enrollment system of Informatics College Manila. The proponents intend to include a grading system that would improve the current enrollment system. A. General Problem The Problem that the proponents of this study would like to address is to enhance the current Enrollment System of Informatics College Manila by including a grading system to have a better service to the Informatics College Manila students. B. Specific Problem The proponents have determined the following areas: 1. The workload of the registrar and lecturers are increasing resulting to deficiency in the students grades. 2. Preparing students’ academic records can be time consuming. 3. Retrieving old records of students who stopped for a long time can be difficult. 4. Releasing of grades during enrolment leads to a long queue. IV. Objective of the Study The proponents of this research have identified the following objective as checklist in the enhancement of Enrollment System by adding a grading system. * To have a grading system so that the students can rely on having an accurate grade and speed up the manual process of releasing the grades. * To build a monitoring system that can keep track of the submission of grades of each lecturer. * To improve the delivery of services especially the issuance of academic records like the transcript of records for those students who are requesting. * To develop an efficient and effective record-keeping and retrieval system of the student records. * To maintain and preserve the academic records of the students of the school. VI. Significance of the Study The Integrated Enrolment System and Student Grading with Transcript Database System will provide Informatics College Manila with a more accurate and timely way of giving out class cards and transcript of records of the students. The results of this study may prove beneficial and useful to the following individuals: REGISTRAR– the system will help him/her release the class cards and transcript of records with ease. This will also help him/her provide a better service to the students by lessening the queue during enrolment. ACADEMIC HEAD – this will assist him/her in compiling the students’ grades. LECTURERS – this project/system will help lecturers focus more on their lesson plan. This will also help them to submit the students’ grades on time. STUDENTS – this system will provide ease in getting their grades. The students will also be assured that their grades are accurate and are properly documented on the database. INFORMATICS COLLEGE MANILA – the system will provide the whole institution with a systematic way of handing out grades and transcript of records. FUTURE FIELD RESEARCHERS – the system may be helpful and useful in providing contribution to future researches. V. Scope and Limitation of the Study In this study, the proponents gathered information regarding the proposed system, which is a Grading System, if it is viable asset to the Administrators, Managers, Professors, and Students of Informatics College Manila in terms of its existing methodology and how it is organized. The study also aims to record all the grades of the students of informatics College Manila into a database. This will provide efficient access of grades for the registrar and an organized, accurate and timely submission of grades of the lecturers. The proposed system will serve as an enhancement of the current enrolment system of Informatics College Manila so that most of the students’ records will be consolidated into one database, keeping it organized and easy to manage. First, the super administrator or database administrator account, which will contain the features of: * Creating of new accounts

Impact of Absenteeism on Productivity

Impact of Absenteeism on Productivity Employees of different establishments are entitled to a given number of leaves like sick and local leaves among others according to the law. Therefore, all organisations can expect a certain degree of absence and illness. However, it can be observed that more and more people in organisations are having frequent absences and many cases of illness have been recorded. In 2007, Confederation of British Industry/AXA Absence Survey has set the cost of absence to employers in the UK at more than  £13 billion a year, while cost per employee is  £659 annually. According to Williams (2003), in Canada also billions of dollars are lost each year due to absenteeism. Sickness absenteeism and sickness is therefore a growing major global problem affecting thousands organisations. High level of absenteeism is a serious problem for both large and small organisations, since they are costly to both individual establishments and economy as a whole and adversely affecting efficiency, productivity, and profitability. Sickness absenteeism and sickness can be an indication of fundamental organisational problems. Therefore, it is important to establish the cause and find out solutions through the examination of organisations policies and activities. There are several reasons why employees might be absent or fall sick. These reasons might be poor working conditions and relationship with management, no motivation, and no scope of self-development, a culture within the organisation and no career opportunities, too much stress at work among others. Thus, it is recognised that it is becoming necessary to find social and institutional remedies. When employees are absent and ill, it leads to poor productivity. And therefore, costs of the organisation rises as the goods and services are of poor quality. In the United States according to the Commonwealth Fund, about $260 billion are loss in output due to health-related problems. Hence, it is crucial for an organisation to understand the causes of sickness absenteeism and sickness and their impact on the organisation. Therefore, it is both the legal and morale duties of the employer to prevent people in the organisation from being made ill with their respective jobs. This is because, a healthy worker in both public and private organisations is important, as the corporate objective of organisations largely depends on health and as well non-health issues of its population. That is, happy employees are efficient and productive employees. Problem Statement The problem of high level of sickness absenteeism and sickness at work is an existing problem at Air Mauritius, affecting productivity. These are most frequent among staffs working on shift hours. The sickness absenteeism rate at Air Mauritius is illustrated as follows: Year Sickness Absences (man-days) 2006 12457 2007 14654 2008 17323 2009 15418 Out of the sickness absences recorded, an average of 23.5% is registered on week-end. In addition, a research of the non-communicable screening exercise carried out at the Head Office and the SSR International Airport among 1100 employees illustrates that an average of 50% of the persons are pre-diabetic or diabetic, have high risks of suffering from cardiac arrest and are either obese or overweight. Therefore, the above information gives a clear indication that the prevalence of health problems, absenteeism problem which is quite pronounced among employees of Air Mauritius Ltd. That is why, absenteeism and health issues have to be closely monitored and supported else it would have a serious effect on the performance of employees. Hence, the study will be based on finding the reasons of a high sickness absence rate and find ways to help employees to remain in good health. 1.3 Research Objectives Identify the causes of sickness absenteeism and sickness at Air Mauritius Ltd. Does sickness absenteeism and sickness impact on productivity at Air Mauritius Ltd. Give Air Mauritius Ltd employees incentives to be more productive and regular at work. Establish an absence management policy at Air Mauritius. 1.4 Proposed Methodology Data collection includes primary sources and secondary sources. The primary source includes an interview with the Human Resources department and the Health Safety department to find out the rate of absenteeism and sickness reports in the ground operations, engineering and cabin operations departments. Discuss with employees and collect data through questionnaire which will be administered to a sample of employees. Secondary sources consist of data collected from the companys website, magazine articles, journals records like Emerald, EBSCO among others and various books about human resources absenteeism and productivity. 1.5 The layout of the dissertation The subject under study will be presented as follows: Chapter 2: Literature Review Under this chapter, a literature review has been done concerning the nature of sickness absenteeism, sickness and productivity, their costs, the factors leading to sickness absenteeism and sickness and the possible solutions to reduce sickness absenteeism and sickness and increase productivity at work. Chapter 3: Company Profile This chapter set an overview of the company Air Mauritius Ltd. The business in which it operates, its products and its customers are described. Its work environment, management and staff population and its evolution are as well presented. Chapter 4: Research methodology This chapter explains the methodology that has been used to get an insight in the subject and discuss the limitations of this project. Chapter 5: Survey findings and analysis Here the findings that have been generated from the survey are presented using graphs, charts and they are analysed in relation to this project. Chapter 6: Recommendations and conclusion After the survey findings are analysed the shortcomings in the project are noted and recommendations are made. Annex 1: Sample questionnaire given to employees. 2 Literature Review 2.1 Definitions 2.1.1 Absenteeism In general absenteeism is defined as the failure to show for work or any other habitual duty. This usually disrupts work schedules adding workloads to those who are at work which might lead to low morale among employees. Therefore, absenteeism obstructs the good functioning of production and efficient running of an organisation. Lokke A.K, Eskildsen. J and Jesen. T. W (2007) similarly reported that the traditional definition of absence is about not being physically present at the place and time the employee is expected to be. Davey. M.M, Cummings. G, Newburn-cook. C. V, and Lo. E. A (2009) have defined absenteeism as the failure to appear to work when planned, and according to them absence is measured by frequency or amount of work days missed. The Entrepreneur (http://www.entrepreneur.com/encyclopedia) described absenteeism as an employees deliberate or habitual absence from work. Everybody misses a day of work now and then. But its a problem when an employee misses too many days of work. Not showing up for work can cause serious problems when other employees have to cover for the missing worker or, worse, the work simply doesnt get done. Another definition by Nicholson (1977, p. 237) said that Absence, in the language of economics, is an unpredictable variation in the firms labour supply and in labour-intensive and technologically primitive settings which can produce costly concomitant variations in output. Furthermore, Harvey and Nicholson (1993), p. 841 recognized that absenteeism was the major cause of lost productivity in business and industry. In a similar vein, Buschak. M, Craven. C and Ledman. R (1996) stated that absenteeism is a difficulty that every organisation or business faces creating costs and productivity problems. Thus, leading to a heavier work load on the majority of employees who have shown up for work. This type of situation tends to create dissatisfaction, frustration, stress and fatigue among employees 2.1.2 Types of Absenteeism There are two main types of absence voluntary and involuntary. Hackett and Guion, (1985) have defined voluntary absences as what is in the control of the employee. These can take form of short-term, casual and illegitimate absences which is based on the motivation of the employee. On the other hand, involuntary absences are what are beyond the control of the employee; they are usually due to sickness or family responsibilities. 2.1.2 Sickness Reijenga. F. A. (2006) defined sickness as all types of health problems or disabilities. As mentioned before there are two types of sickness, short term sickness for example influenza and long term sickness such as diabetes which is classified as a chronic disease. Tabaluyan, T., Kuswadji, S (1996) reported that sickness absence is defined as not being able to work due sickness or injury, that is, the incapability to work. In the same way, Employers Organisation, (2005) elaborated that sickness absence should include industrial injury, part days absence, and other self-certificated absence which is not explicitly ascribed to be an acceptable reason other than sickness. However, M. Borritz, R. Rugulies, K. B Christensen, E. Villadsen and T. S Kristensen (2005) indicated that sickness absence is a complex phenomenon that can be caused by individual, work related, organisational, and societal factors. Sickness absence has been discussed as a consequence of ill health,  a coping mechanism, behaviour of social equity, a reaction to organisational injustice, or a consequence of exposure to adverse work-environment factors. Furthermore, Whitaker S. also agreed with the fact that sickness absence is influenced by many factors like social causes other than health issues. 2.1.3 Productivity In an economist point of view productivity is a ratio of some measure of output to some index of input use, according to Eatwell and Newman (1991). Therefore, productivity is nothing more than the arithmetic ratio of amount produced to amount of any resources used in the course of production. An online definition by http://business.yourdictionary.com, stated that productivity is the efficiency with which output is produced by a given set of inputs. Productivity is generally measured by the ratio of output to input. An increase in the ratio indicates an increase in productivity. Conversely, a decrease in the output/input ratio indicates a decline in productivity. However, definitions of productivity in the above context are meant to the manufacturing sector. 2.1.3.1 Productivity in the Service Sector Rutkauskan. J and Paulaviciene. E (2005) have studied the concept of productivity in the service sector and they aroused that productivity, efficiency and effectiveness are terms that should be used together. This is because to be productive one should be both efficient and effective. The analysis of productivity is a difficult task in the service sector. As the productivity concept in the service sector involves both the organisation and the customer. According to Tolentini (2004) productivity depends on the value of the products and services and the efficiency upon which they are produced and distributed to the customers. Similarly in the research work of Maroto-Sanchez. A (2010) productivity is about being both efficient and effective. He described effectiveness as to how an organisation meets the active needs and expectations of its customers. Hence it can be seen that, to be productive in the service sector employees have to be both effective and efficient. Therefore, employers have to ensure that their employees are effective and efficient enough to provide a good service to their customers. 2.2 Causes of sickness absenteeism and sickness There are various factors that affect sickness absence and sickness. Factors affecting sickness absence in the aviation sector can be classified as health related issues such as injury at work such as musculoskeletal pains stress and fatigue and so on, and non-health related issues like organisational commitment, job satisfaction among others since according to Whitaker. S. research, sickness absenteeism is influenced by a variety of factors non-related to health. Testimonials that have been gathered among employees at Air Mauritius have proved that sickness absenteeism is mostly related to the non health-related issues. However, it is only after the analysis of the questionnaires that we will be able to understand the real causes of absenteeism and its impact on productivity. 2.3 Non Health-related issues 2.3.1 Organisational Commitment Organisational Commitment is typically measured by items tapping respondents willingness to work hard to improve their companies, the fit between the firms and the workers values, reluctance to leave, and loyalty toward or pride taken in working for their employers (Maume, 2006, p. 164). Similarly, Boolaky. M and Gokhool. D, p. 73 defines organisational commitment as the degree to which a person is committed to the organisation he or she is working for. The person is proud to be associated to the organisation and is committed to work towards the objectives and goals of the organisation. Many studies have reported that there is a relationship between organisational commitment and absenteeism. Gellatly, 1995 and Somer, 1995 studies have concluded that organisational commitment is negatively related to absenteeism. That is, when an employee is not committed to its organisation, this will tend to impact negatively on absenteeism. A research carried out by Meyer and Allen (1991) reported that commitment comprises three components namely affective, continuance and normative. Where affective commitment refers to the individuals emotional attachment to the organisation her/she is working, that is the individual participates in the organisations activities because he/she wants to. Continuance commitment is when someone realises that too much energy or time have been devoted to leave the organisation or that they would not be able to find another job. And normative commitment is when an individual feels that he/she has an obligation to participate in the activities of the org anisation and that it is the right thing to do. Meyer (1997) found that affective commitment was strongly linked to absence behaviour. However, normative commitment according to Meyer (1993) was negatively related to absenteeism on the other hand Somers (1995) has found no relationship between the two. And at last, Mayer and Schoorman (1992) concluded that continuance commitment did not have a strong relation with absenteeism. 2.3.2 Job Involvement Job involvement commonly includes identifying with the job,   actively participating in the job, and perceiving job performance to be important   to self-image (Blau. G. J, 1985; Rabinowitz Hall, 1977). Robbins (1998) defines job involvement as the degree to which a person identifies with his or her job, actively participates in it, considers his or her performance important to self-work. That is, job involvement refers to the extent to which one is committed and participates in his or her job. The direct relationship of job involvement to absenteeism is very ambiguous. Blau. G. J (1986) review of the studies carried out at that time, found that the studies had different conclusions; this is because there are differences in the measurement and samples taken. Taunton et al. and Cohen (2000) showed that there is a negative relationship between job involvement and absenteeism. However, job involvement and productivity have a positive relationship. That is, as job involvement increases, productivity increases and vice versa. According to W. H. Weiss (2006) employees who are involved in their jobs, that is, they have the know-how of why they need to carry out certain tasks and how does these contribute to the organisations goals are the most productive workers. Therefore, it can be noted that job involvement is necessary to increase productivity of employees. 2.3.3 Job Satisfaction Job satisfaction refers to an emotional state of mind that reflects an affective reaction to the job and the work situation, whereas the focus of organizational commitment is on a more global reaction (emotional or non-emotional) to the entire organization (Dipboye et al., 1994; Farkas and Tetrick, 1989; Lance, 1991; Russell and Price, 1988). (Falkenburg. K and Schyns. B, 2007, p. 710) Job satisfaction is defined as the extent to which people like (satisfaction) or dislike (dissatisfaction) their jobs (Spector, 1997, p. 2). This description implies that job satisfaction is a broad or global emotional reaction that individuals hold about their job. Researchers and practitioners have evaluated different facets or dimensions of satisfaction. Examining these facets is usually useful for assessing employee satisfaction with critical job factors. Traditional job satisfaction facets consist of: co-workers, pay, job conditions, supervision, nature of the work and benefits  (Williams). Studies have found that job satisfaction can also be an independent variable affecting both productivity and absenteeism. (Boolaky. M and Gokhool. D, p. 75). There have had many theories on the relationship between job satisfaction and absenteeism. Most of these studies concluded that as job dissatisfaction increases, self-reported absenteeism increases (Taunton et al. 1885, Drago and Wooden 1992). In 1982, a study made by the Business Roundtable stated that job dissatisfaction affects absenteeism to a great extent. Employers should understand that the companys goals and quality supervision are necessary for job satisfaction. It has also been noted that as size of job increased, job satisfaction decreased. Furthermore Hinze et al. (1985), report that identified the relationship between absenteeism and job satisfaction describe that absenteeism was lower among those who had strong cohesiveness that is, team spirit, and when management criticised workers for being absent it was observed that absenteeism was lower, employees who regarded their work as mentally inspiring had fewer absences. Moreover Hausknecht, Hiller and Vance. (2008), defined job satisfaction as the sense of enjoyment that individuals derive from their experiences on the job and within the team they work with. Therefore, according to this report high attendance is expected in working environment where there is high satisfaction. This is because, the members of the team have this feeling of belonging and support among themselves. Moreover, it can be observed that in a working environment where there is high satisfaction it increases the level of productivity. P. Valdes-Flores and J. A. Campos-Rodriguez (2008) describe job satisfaction as a set of favourable or unfavourable feelings for the employees to perceive their work and that determine the possibility of a major disposition to achieve higher performance, consequently, job satisfaction refers to an individuals general attitude towards his or her job. Link between involvement and commitment Blau (1986) had developed the interaction of job involvement and organisational commitment and how this affected absence behaviour. Moreover, Blau and Boal (1987) refined the idea. The study reported that there are four level of contribution of high and low of job involvement and job commitment. When job involvement and job commitment are high, employees are not likely to be absent and if they happened to be absent this could be due to genuine sickness. This type of employees is called institutional stars. Those who experience a low job commitment but high job involvements are absent because of career prospects or due to working environment, these persons are called lone wolves. Individuals with low job involvement and high organisational commitment called the corporate citizen respect their co-workers and also abide to the norms and goals of the organisation they work for. Those could be absent from work in according to the organisations lawful absence rules. And lastly the apatheti c employees identify themselves having a low job involvement and organisational commitment, they have highest rate of absence. Link between organisational commitment and job satisfaction Many studies have reported the association between organisational commitment and job satisfaction (Meyer et al, 2002). According to Levison and Moser, (1997) employees tend to be lethargy without job satisfaction, which reduces organisational commitment. Furthermore, a study carried out by Steers and Rhodes (1978) stated that job satisfaction and organisational commitment play a big role in determining employee attendance. Griffeth et al (2000), indicated that organisational commitment was a better predictor of absenteeism than job absenteeism. However, as job satisfaction is more about the emotional state of mind, it is influenced by daily events rather than organisational commitment which cover the organisation as a whole and develops over time (Sagie, 1998). Link between job satisfaction and job involvement Wegge. J, Schmidt. K, Parkes. C and Dick. R. V (2007) found that events at work impact on how employees feel at work thus determining job satisfaction. Furthermore, job involvement measures the importance of the job to ones self opinion and therefore represents personality differences. Job satisfaction is situational variable and job involvement personality in our reasoning. Thus, they both interact. That is, if job satisfaction is low, job involvement will negatively affect absenteeism. However, when job satisfaction is high in any situation it will overcome the impact of job involvement on absence behaviour. Job satisfaction therefore has a moderate impact on job involvement and absence. To be more precise, when job satisfaction is low, job involvement is negatively related to absenteeism whereas, when job satisfaction is high, job involvement is not associated to absenteeism. 2.3.4 Organisational Culture Morgan. G has described organizational culture as: The set of the set of beliefs, values, and norms, together with symbols like dramatized events and personalities, that represents the unique character of an organization, and provides the context for action in it and by it. Another definition of organizational culture by Schein. E a pattern of shared basic assumptions that the group learned as it solved its problems that has worked well enough to be considered valid and is passed on to new members as the correct way to perceive, think, and feel in relation to those problems.   Norms influence everyone in an organisation; they are unwritten and usually tell things like they are influencing everyones perception in the organisation and they contribute to the norms and support them. Nowadays, we live in an absenteeism culture. According to Smit (2000), absenteeism and culture are negatively related. That is, employees encouraged and supported by the society to call a sick leave. However, employers do support absenteeism as a cultural phenomenon. That is, when people take sick days when they are not sick, employers accept this as a cost to the organisation. (Allen. R. F, Higgins M. 1979) 2.3.5 Motivation Robbins and Coulter (1999) have defined motivation as the willingness to exert high levels of effort to reach organizational goals as conditioned by that efforts ability to satisfy some individual need. Luthans (1998) stated that motivation is the process that arouses, energizes, directs, and sustains behaviour and performance. That is, it is the process of stimulating people to action and to achieve a desired task. One way of stimulating people is to employ effective motivation, which makes workers more satisfied with and committed to their jobs. Money is not the only motivator. There are other incentives which can also serve as motivators. Steers Rhodes (1978), developed the most common model of absenteeism. They depicted that attendance is determined by the employees motivation to go to work. However, Lee (1989) evaluated the theoretical facts of the Steers Rhodes Model (1978) and found that motivation is not strongly related to attendance. Nevertheless, the study of Burton. J. P, Lee. T. W, Holtom. B. C (2002), claimed that sickness absenteeism was related to ones motivation to attend work. That is, according to some theories sickness absenteeism is not only due to illness but it may be voluntary, Brooke (1986). Employees might use sickness as an excuse not to go to work, where there are other causes of this particular behaviour, Martocchio (1996). Moreover, the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) suggested that in order to reduce absence, the best way was to ensure that employees are well-motivated by their jobs. And to motivate employees, employers have to keep them informed of their behind-the-scenes strategies for survival during recession, Anne Fairweather (2009), head of public policy at an organisation. Motivated employees can be productive employees. Recognition, working environment and work achievement are factors that can keep employees motivated thus highly productive. Employees who achieve the goals directed by their supervisor are usually well-motivated. And expect recognition after the long hours of hard work, for instance an increase in salary, bonuses or promotions. According to a research carried out by Personnel Today (2008), employees were more productive when they received recognition for their work and praise from management. Working environment is another factor to motivate employees in being productive and need to be provided with a pleasant environment to work. Therefore it can be noted that motivation is necessary to increase productivity. Personal Issues Every employee in any organisation has to go through personal issues. It can be observed that facing these issues most of the time and energy of that particular person is focused on their personal issue they are dealing with. Personal issues can take the form of family problems, ill parents or young children to take care of, drug abuse, drinking problems, sexual orientation and many more distracting one from his or her job. According to Ericson (2001) issues like child and eldercare, single-parent families are those characteristics that might lead to an impact on absenteeism at any level in an organisation. Furthermore, Goff et al. (1990) found that when ones work and family issues are conflicting there is a greater frequency of absenteeism. It has also been noted that management in most organisations are lenient, staffs make excuses of being sick so as not to attend work, consequently, recording a sick leave. This is also common in the aviation sector especially among staffs having odd working hours; they find it easier to register for sick leave so as to be able to manage their own issues. Shift work influence the working choices of parents and to be able to retain shift workers child-care services should be offered, P. D. Brandon and J. B. Temple (2007). Employees have to make sure that they do not bring their personal issues into the office. Therefore, organisations must be able to provide a pleasant environment where employees would not think about their personal issues instead of concentrating on their work. Some company might also provide psychological help to their staffs. As personal problems can lead to a fall in productivity. Health Related Issues Health promotion seems to impact positively on employees health, morale, level of sickness absenteeism and productivity. Unfortunately it is noted that the necessary structures and facilities to promote health are not available at Air Mauritius, however, management has shown its intention to change the situation and has establish wellness and fitness centres. Chronic Diseases Chronic diseases do have an impact on employees sickness absence and sicknesses at work, example of chronic diseases are diabetics, cancers among others. The productivity of the organisation is also affected when the employee is ill. For example an employee suffering a particular form of cancer will have various complications and might not be able to attend work for a few days. This will lead to a lack of staff, thus increasing the workload of others. Therefore, organisations can exercise some control over illnesses by ensuring a safe and healthy workplace, proper ergonomic design, health and safety management 27policies/practices to address absenteeism in the workplace (Ericson, 2001). These can facilitate healthier working environments and provide favourable conditions to reduce absenteeism and enhance satisfaction and productivity. Fatigue and Stress According to the New Grolier Webster International Dictionary of English Language fatigue is defined as the tiredness of a persons physical or mental energy. More precisely it is described as a specific reaction of our central nervous system and muscular system due to exertion (S. L. Smith et al., 2009). That is, the exhaustion of strength due to continued stress. Stress on the other hand is identified as factors causing mental or emotional strain or tension to a person (New Grolier Webster International Dictionary of English Language). Khodabakhsh Ahmadi and Kolivand Alireza, (2007) stated that stress is often used to describe the bodys responses to demands placed upon it, whether these demands are favourable or unfavourable. In this context however, stress is related to the work place where due to unsatisfactory work organisation, management, environmental design and differences between the efforts put into work compared to the rewards received (S. L. Smith et al., 2009). The level of work-related stress has increased consequently during the past few years in the aviation sector. C. Kelleher S. McGilloway, 2005, claimed in a research carried out for an Irish airline that the level of work-related stress among stress is high. Khodabakhsh Ahmadi and Kolivand Alireza, 2007, have found that the level of work stress among military pilots has also increased. The report of the ITF 2009, indicated that there has been a serious increase in stress and fatigue since 2000. There are various causes of work-related stress and fatigue in the aviation sector. The odd and long hours of work which usually results in overtime, drain staffs both emotionally and physically. Fatigue and stress is also caused due to the lack of rest. Airline staffs working in different time zones and odd hours are the ones experience chronic sleep deprivation. A rise in the level of flights and passengers has led to uncontrollable work load due to high work demands causing stress and fatigue among staffs. The tradition of overbooking flights in almost all airlines is the cause of various problems. Passengers who find themselves left behind due to the lack of seats on the flights are usually furious and tend to shout at staffs using abusive language thus stressing them. People working in the aviation sector have experience a consequent rise in the stress level at work (S. L. Smith et al., 2009). Hence this impact on sickness absenteeism and sickness thus affecting the productivity level of employees. Injury at work An organisation must make sure that it provides the proper safety equipment to its employees. This is because accidents can happen where employees could be injured. This would cause sickness absenteeism due to the employees inability to attend work, leading to a fall in productivity due to the lack of employees and increased work load on those present at work. Also the costs

Essay --

Living in Another’s Dream Gig, edited by John Bowe, Marisa Bowe, and Sabin Streeter, is a book with a collection of interviews of people describing what their job is like. One of the interviews deals with a film development assistant, Jerrold Thomas. This interview in particular raises questions which leads readers to ask why he stays at his current job and what opportunities are in the future for him. He hopes to become something bigger in the film industry and even went to film school, but is now stuck as an assistant. It is surprising to see him working for someone who treats him so badly, but yet still not leave. â€Å"The Meaning of Ethics† by Philip Wheelwright is an essay that explains seven different phases used in a moral deliberation. Each of them have their own purpose and help us make ethical decisions. Wheelwright’s assertion that an ethical person has to rationalize the consequences and imagine themselves into a predicted situation helps explain why Thomas continues working as a film development assistant even if he is being treated unfairly and is hoping opportunities for him arise. In â€Å"The Meaning of Ethics†, Wheelwright shows us different characteristic phases that can be perceived in a moral deliberation. There are many solutions to a problem but Wheelwright believes one should follow these phases. In Phase ii: Rational elaboration of consequence, Wheelwright says, â€Å"As this step involves predictions about a hypothetical future, the conclusions can have, at most, a high degree of probability, never certainty. The degree of probability is heightened accordingly as there is found some precedent in past experience for each proposed choices† (265). In other words, Wheelwright wants us to explore our options in every pos... ...ly, but he doesn’t want to admit the truth to himself and that is what is keeping his hopes up. Thomas knows that without Brads help, it will be much more difficult to become a producer, but he shouldn’t wait for something that has a chance of never happening. These phases may change people’s perspectives on how they will approach certain situations. It would help if everyone could apply these phases in their daily lives because it would eliminate tough situations where there is no time to think. Wheelwright gives his readers a better understanding of what an ethical person should think like. In Gig, Thomas uses two out of wheelwright’s phases, but even then he still wasn’t satisfied with the result. It all depends if these phases are applied in our lives correctly. They may not work one hundred percent correctly, but they will help make our lives a little easier.

Liberals :: Liberalism Politics Political Philosophy Essays

Liberals Ronald Beiner, Professor of Political Science at the University of Toronto investigates liberalism by considering the communitarian critics of it and different opinions of liberalists. He describes the critics of liberalism of Michael Sandel, Charles Taylor, Michael Walzer, and Alasdair MacIntyre. These community defenders think that all experiences of communtiy aren’t so morally desirable, but if people are looking at the world only in an individualistic way, they find themselves on a narrow horizon of experiences. Beiner also makes us understand the difference between left and right liberalists. Beiner is against the opinon that the liberalism refers to a particular relation between the state and the individual and he thinks that it’s a view of human life, which leaves people alone to do what they want freely, and in that sense the one in which society doesn’t guide people to give meaning to their life. He gives the painting example stating ‘the world without furniture’ as the main point. I believe that Beiner’s understanding of liberalism is wrong and I will tell you what a liberal is, what liberals wa nt and what they expect from the government. Liberal means ‘favorable to or in accord with concepts of maximum individual freedom possible, especially as guaranteed by law and secured by governmental protection ofcivil liberties’ (Kennedy, pars. 3-4). John F. Kennedy states that â€Å"liberal is not someone against the government and who is uncorned with the taxpayer’s dollar. It means someone who looks ahead not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of people† (pars. 1-2). Liberals want to change things to increase personal freedom and tolerance, and are willing to empower government to the extent necessary to achieve those ends. This is against the idea of Beiner about what liberalism is. They want to help individuals to take more control over their own lives. This requires environment where choices are not arbitrarily removed. Also enough information should be offered so that choices can be understood and made intelligently. Alan Brinkley states that â€Å"this also requires giving people responsibility and encouraging self-reliance within a social framework† (par. 8). Liberals see the role of government as providing a framework within which individuals can develop their lives and contribute to society.

My Philosophy on Education Essay -- Learning Personal Teacher Essays

My Philosophy on Education â€Å"Wake up! It’s time to get ready for school.† I loved those words as a child but grew to hate them as a teen. As a child, school consisted of hands-on activities, mingling with others, and enticing lessons. As a teen, school consisted of being forced to remain seated, reading a chapter, answering the questions at the end of the chapter, and completing a worksheet. I found school to be boring and excessively routine. Therefore, I never aspired to be a teacher. I cringed at the thought of that routine! After graduating from college with a degree in recreation and spending ten years in wonderful jobs that always led me back to children, like working at a child-care center for the abused, a children's museum, and a youth organization, I’ve finally stopped resisting what I’ve now considered to be the inevitable. I’ve embraced the idea of being a teacher. Unlike the cookie cutter approach, I want education to be a different experience for stude nts than what my experience was. Education can be and should be so much more. Education should include acquiring knowledge, processing knowledge in order to become a critical thinker, having book sense as well as common sense and thinking skills, using a variety of techniques, curriculums, and/or structure, and measuring results through testing as well as application. No matter what the stage in development, whether prenatal, toddler, early childhood, middle childhood, or adolescence, I believe that given the right tools, every child can learn. My husband is a special education teacher of students with many different handicaps, including the behavioral or learning disabled. Our conversations often include: â€Å"There is something that can touch each one of... ...t teachers, we enter the profession for the child not for the money, prestige, or rank. I plan to acquire teaching certification for Language. Whether English, Reading, Sign Language, or Journalism, I believe that communication, written and oral, is key to student success. I’d also like to combine Language and Journalism with my recreation degree in order to teach Travel WV and to pursue various writing possibilities such as travel writing and children's literature. I’ve helped create a traveling exhibit on WV Writers. I’ve attended several Children's Literature Conferences. I’ve written various curriculums, press releases, manuals, agendas, and evaluations for workshops, camps, and classes. Upon certification, I’ll continue to be involved with WV Writers and Young Writers, will be affiliated with WVEA and the NEA, and will pursue my Masters degree.

Fyodor Dostoyevsky: Genius or Not Essay

What makes a person a genius? Is it thru the lessons that are taught by teachers or is it a natural phenomenon that we are born with? Some believe that Fyodor Dostoyevsky was a genius because of his epileptic medical condition. We will explore different opinions on the matter and debate if epilepsy could have contributed to his creative mind. Dostoyevsky was a Russian novelist who used his psychological interpretations to create dramatic and dark overtones to his stories. It is argued that the dramatic events in his life, which included his mock execution, imprisonment in a Siberian jail, and his epileptic seizures, put him in a state of mind that helped him to create his greatest characters. He began to have his epileptic episodes while in prison is Siberia. It has been argued that this experience contributed to his new way of thinking about his personal beliefs and how he viewed the world. Could the epileptic episodes have touched on part of the brain that he had never used before? Could it have produced new signals in the brain that created a deeper and more philosophical interpretation of the world he was in? People with epilepsy have an increased risk of poor self-esteem, depression, and suicide. It is not uncommon for people to develop emotional and behavioral problems related to this disease. In his era, epilepsy was not well known about and its characteristics. Many argued about what type of epilepsy that he had. His wife Anna witnessed some of these fits and wrote about it in her biographies. Dostoyevsky used his illness and suffering as a theme to his some of his stories. It influenced many aspects of his work and enabled him to understand and feel things in such depths which would not have been possible had he not suffered from the disease. Dostoyevsky had an intense connection into the human psyche. He was more than a writer. He was a psychologist and a philosopher. He did not have any interest in math, science or any type of engineering degree but he did enjoy architecture and drawing. Art was the main driving force that he tapped into. Could art be a foundation of someone being a genius? Two particular terms are relative to y analysis of Dostoyevsky; genius and epilepsy. What is the definition of genius? â€Å"Genius is a ‘natural talent’, a ‘natural endowment’, which cannot be learnt by anyone precisely because it ‘requires to be bestowed directly from the hand of nature upon each individual. † (Aiello 663) Two meanings of the term are as follows: â€Å"Extraordinary intellectual power especially as manifested in creative activity and/or a person endowed with transcendent mental superiority; specifically: a person with a very high IQ. † (Webster, Genius) What is the definition of Epilepsy? Epilepsy is a â€Å"neurological disorder caused by paroxysmal malfunction of neurons in the brain (seizures). It is characterized by strange movements or sensations in parts of the body, odd behaviors, emotional disturbances, and sometimes convulsions and momentary lapses of consciousness. Seizures may result from abnormal electrical activity in most or all of the brain (generalized), or they may originate in a specific brain area (partial). † (Webster, Epilepsy) Epileptic people have different parts of the brain that can be affected. There are three main types of seizures: petit mal, grand mal, and focal. Petit mal seizures are typically called an â€Å"absence seizure. † They usually are brief lasting around 15 seconds or less. Grand mal seizures usually involve the whole body. People with these types of seizures have vision, smell, taste, hallucinations, sensory changes and dizziness. Focal seizures are considered partial. They can be characterized as simple or complex. Simple ones do not affect awareness or one’s memory. Complex seizures affect awareness or memory. They can interfere with the events before, during or immediately after the seizure. They can also affect behavior. He had a rare form of temporal lobe epilepsy named â€Å"Ecstatic Epilepsy†. Seizures which occurred in the daytime were often preceded by an ecstatic aura, which has led neurologists to theorize that he had temporal lobe epilepsy with secondary grand mal epilepsy. In the four following novels, his characters had epilepsy: The Possessed, The Brothers Karamazov, Insulted and Injured and The Idiot. Sigmund Freud, who was a trained neurologist, described Dostoyevsky’s state as â€Å"an organic brain disease independent of the psychic constitution. † Is an epileptic brain wired differently? Did this attribute to Dostoyevsky’s dark world? Was this the source of his â€Å"genius? † â€Å"Dostoevskii was generally presented as a ‘genius’, whose talent, however, resided in something other than his artistic accomplishments. † (Aiello 660) His unusual type of thinking was attributed to his seizures. Aiello believed that his epilepsy was the main cause of his creative works and not a genuine stance of genius that he was born with. Dostoyevsky’s characters displayed atheist behaviors. The worlds of heaven and hell are all around him and he described seeing the universe imitate the unnatural forces of the universe. He shows how the devil can erase his identity from the human conciseness. â€Å"When translated into abstractions, Dostoevsky’s psychology is as unimpressive as his political theory. It is merely a derivative of theories propounded by German writers about the unconscious, the role of dreams, the ambivalence of human feelings. What makes it electric in the novels is his ability to dramatize it in scenes of sudden revelation; in characters who in today’s terminology would be called split personalities, in people twisted by isolation, lust, humiliation, and resentment. † (Dostoevsky 544) â€Å"Dostoevsky further held that the spiritual world of the modern individual, now deprived of the reference points of reason and torn by antipodal strivings, collides not only with the chaos of the social unit but also with the general natural order of the words, the ontological abysses. (Gurvich-Lishchiner 22) Could this phrase be an accurate measurement of how his mind works? The synapsis of his brain not colliding in perfect harmony, reflect them in different directions which create an alternate reality in which he thrives off of? According to Freud, â€Å"what is generally believed to be epilepsy in men of genius are always straight cases of hysteria. † The reality that he delved into, between God and Satan, exists in a lot of his work. â€Å"This brought the writer back to the globally creative task of confirming that God exists, even in a chaotic and wicked world. (Gurvich-Lishchiner 23). Satan is an abstract basically hiding in plain sight. His perception of how Satan works in the earthly realm seems to be twisted and unjust. According to Hooten, â€Å"Dostoevsky propose a dualistic rivalry between God and Satan, but they both acknowledge Satan as a reality manifested by human pride. † (Hooten 118) He creates these characterizations of the devil as a symbolic way in which he believes a human being thinks and feels. The darkness that empowers him is a fascination that we all explore in our own selves. We fight the good and the bad in our daily lives and with his personal experiences he does the same. â€Å"It is indubitable that Dostoevsky, like all figures in science and the arts, was engaged in a search for his faith, and that this process was the basis of his creative development as a philosopher and man of letters. † (Barsht 37). He uses metaphors of the devil to confirm that God really does exist in our chaotic world. He creates this metaphor by having the devil compel us in unthinkable ways and by not allowing us to see or identify the devil but allowing us to hear him and his suggestions. Science and religion are viewed in two entirely different ways thru Dostoevsky’s eyes. Science needs evidence to determine if something is true or not. Religion is having a greater sense of self and feeling in what you believe. The mind is a complex thing and we need to understand it better. When someone is born are they instantly a genius or does the brain develop over time and introduce things that help to establish the physical description of it when they become of age to identify it? Science demands that the personal life position of the individual be integrated into the known set of hypotheses concerning the structure of the world, which form a sort of dynamic paradigm (â€Å"scientific tradition†). † (Barsht 40) It is documented that he attended seances to investigate in the spiritual world and to see if it really does exist. â€Å"It seems that Dostoevsky went to the February seance in order to verify his conjectures through personal experience. † (V initsky 103). I believe this is what began his quest in determining how to fit the devil into his own world and how he could relate to the spiritual side. Dostoevsky believed if a devil doesn’t exist, that we then create him in our own image. He was a very spiritual person and it seems that when he used the Devil, he brought out the good and contrasted it with the bad in his writings. As stated earlier, Dostoevsky thinks that the devil can be created from man’s pride. Pride is a state of being that we all have dealt with and can relate to. Pride can create a downward spiral of someone’s character and produce tragic results. He created these types of works that entered into the human psyche and pulled out these characteristic traits. But can someone’s pride be altered? Did his health affect this part of his personality? So to help understand him better, we look at his epileptic nature and wonder if it affected his thinking or how he perceived things. The mind works in mysterious ways. It is documented that when a person has problems with the brain it could alter their state of mind in which they annot relate to people or things on a â€Å"normal† basis. We can define â€Å"normal† as someone viewing the world the same way that we do or who identifies with our own religion and doesn’t question it or its intentions. But when someone does seem abnormal we instantly criticize that person and wonder what that person is about. What pushes them into the things they do, see, or hear? All these questions are still being asked of Dostoevsky today. He is criticized for his works and sometimes has been labeled as a gothic writer and others have called him a true genius in which other famous writers are compared to him. Art differs from science in its mediated formation of a vision of the world not out of the sensually perceived material of immediately accessible reality, as in the natural sciences. † (Barsht 43) Instead of being seen as â€Å"abnormal† the term â€Å"art† comes into play. We use the term so loosely that we can make it fit into any category that we choose. So, if Dostoevsky had seizures could his art of writing be contributed to this part of his talent? If he didn’t experience seizures in his life, would he still possess the same thought provoking ideas and creations in his work? There is a great debate in whether Dostoevskii’s epilepsy was considered a form of mental illness in which he fostered his ideas from or was his genius a true part of his nature in which he used and pulled from and was the basis for his writing skills. â€Å"Science demands that the personal life position of the individual be integrated into the known set of hypotheses concerning the structure of the world, which form a sort of dynamic paradigm (â€Å"scientific tradition†). † (Barsht 40) Authors are debating and establishing guidelines when authenticating an author. This debate will go on when deciding the true meaning of genius.

Does Divorce of Parents Harm Children?

separate has be vex prevalent, merely what atomic number 18 its set up on nipperren? Many researchers began studying this research in the 1970s, and they discombobulate seeed a great repugn about youngsterren and divorce. virtuoso thing researchers have learned is that we moldiness distinguish between childrens initial or short-term reactions to marital disruption and their long-term (more than two old age) adjustment. Childrens long-term reactions vary greatly, depending on how the parents respond to the child during and after the legal separation.In particular, the most important factors that shape long-term adjustment are (1) the amount of maternal(p) conflict children are exposed to and (2) the step of parenting or childrearing competence they receive. In accessory to these two factors, childrens reactions are affected by social or environmental factors much(prenominal) as living in a neighborhood with high crime and violence. scotch factors are an important as pect of divorce, as most single-parent m a nonher(prenominal)s have more economic stress and preempt provide fewer resources and opportunities for their children following divorce.Economic stress leads to increase family mobility and an unwanted decrease in affinity net make fors and family support systems. This becomes especi wholey problematic when it deprives families of grandparents and different kin who can help parents postulate in the aftermath of divorce. Yes Judith S. Wallerstein, from Growing up in the divorced family Clinical affable Work Journal (Winter 2005) Clinical psychologist Judith Wallerstein argues not only that children are harmed when their parents divorce but also that these negative side effectuate continue into their adult lives.Wallerstein claims that adolescents of divorce families a good deal become involved with drugs, alcohol, and versed practise earlier than adolescents of intact families. And once they are adults, she claims that these childr en suffer from acute anxiety when attempting to heat and form permanent relationships. Parent- Child relationships not only change at the breakup but continue to change during the days to follow. When this bond is broken by divorce, a wide range of passions spills all over into all domains of the family.These emotions, as noted, have the power to bound parent-child relationships that were in place during the intact family. wiz immediate consequence of these chronic uncertainties in the post-divorce family is the eruption of persistent anxiety in the child, setting into motion a hyper brisk tracking of each parent. They grow up insecure. They worry about another difference or sudden change in their family or household. They worry for many years about their parents vigorous being.The central conclusion of our study is that, adulthood, the experience of having been through paternal divorce as a child impacts detrimentally on the capacity to have sex and be respectd within la sting, connected relationship. At young adulthood when love, sexual intimacy and commitment and marriage gravel center stage, children of divorce haunted by the ghosts of their parents divorce and terrified that the same raft awaits them. In addition to overcoming their fear of failure, they have a great deal to learn about the give and transfer of versed living with another person, about how to deal with differences and how to resolve conflicts.Children recover, typically within a 2 year period, and then borrow their normal developmental progress, if three conditions control 1) the parents are able to settle their differences without bit 2) the financial arrangements are fair and 3) the child has continued contact with two parents over the years that follow. Our findings are that where parents got along both maintained caring relationships with their children of the first marriage, unmitigated by their post-divorce relationships, and where both parents were doing reasonab ly well in their personal lives, the childhood and adolescence of the children were wear protected.Personal Evaluation Are peck just similarly selfish to compel commitments or care about others anymore? Have throng become too lazy or unwilling to work on the problems that exist in each relationship? I study citizenry still are capable of fashioning mistakes. Its not that divorce is such a bad thing its more that people are making the mistake of pelt along into marriage for whatever reason and ultimately coming to grips with reality. Divorce is not questioned, in my opinion, when one of the spouses is abusive an adulterer, or other legally or morally unlawful issues. I moot that divorce can harm children.However, I also believe that God can heal those wounds and He can teach them how to live respectable lives. In my opinion, divorce leaves a mark. a desire(p) the withstands says impacts detrimentally on the capacity to love and be loved within lasting, affiliated r elationship. At young adulthood when love, sexual intimacy and commitment and marriage take center stage, children of divorce haunted by the ghosts of their parents divorce and terrified that the same helping awaits them. I do agree with what the book says. I also come from a broken family and its been hard to come to the place where I know and believe in commitment of marriage and love.In my case, my adoptive family had to do a bunch with my healing process and the role regulate they were to me. A loss of family identity much makes one feel inadequate, inferior or incomplete. And thats how I felt at the beginning but the truth of the offspring is none of us are, whether we come from a broken home or not. Bibliography Slife, Brent. pickings Sides- Clashing views on Psychological Issues. 15th ed. Boston McGraw Hill Companies, 2006. Newton, Lee. Divorce is like a Death in the Family. About. com. 1 Mar. 2009