Tuesday, November 26, 2019
How we can get more women in NASA Professor Ramos Blog
How we can get more women in NASA ââ¬Å"In 1935, the first group of female human computers were hired. Before electronic computers, all mathematical equations and computations would be done by hand by people, often known as human computers. With the advent of World War II, many male employees at NACA left to fight overseas. More and more women were needed to fill their roles, and soon African American women were hired to help with the shortfall.â⬠(Howat). In 1964 Jeanette Scissum joined Nasaââ¬â¢s team in Marshall Space Flight Center as the first African-American woman. She was a mathematician who co-wrote a computer program and benefitted NASA and helped to ââ¬Å"predict where the Apollo lunar module should land, and publishing a report that proposed new techniques to improve the forecasting of a sunspot cycle, spots on the outer shell of the sun that temporarily appear darker than the surrounding areasâ⬠(artsandculture.google.) Kathyrn Peddrew graduated in 1943, she tried to apply at another compan y but could not get in because they did not accept women positions. She then later got accepted at NASA, but still had to work in a segregated work area because she was black. Mary Jackson became the first female black engineer to work at NASA, she worked towards improving the aerodynamics in airplanes. She then went on to ââ¬Å"achieving the most senior title within the engineering department, she took a demotion in order to work in the Equal Opportunity Specialist field, to make changes, support and highlight women and other minorities in the fieldâ⬠(artsandculture.google.) Or in more recent news Katie Bouman was the woman behind discovering the algorithm of the black hole photo. The list of women in NASA goes on and on for numerous reasons. However ââ¬Å"the percentage of women who work in NASA today is 37%â⬠said by NASA associate administrator Lori Garver, who also wants to expand on women working in NASA. The core of women joining NASA and getting into the STEM pro gram is important for women to recognize and contribute to. According to Moira Forbes the key elements to achieve this traveling to schools in a women STEM program to encourage young women to join STEM, and three main points to success is to Bust the math myth, spark curiosity, and recognize the role of role modeling (Forbes). The ââ¬Å"math mythâ⬠is a myth that depicts women or females to be naturally non-talented at math, and naturally better at subjects like English. This myth discourages young women that they cannot be in any mathematical majors because they simply arenââ¬â¢t good at the subject. There are many examples and studies to prove that myth wrong such as this article, where it states ââ¬Å"A study of how both men and women perceive each others mathematical ability finds that an unconscious bias against women could be skewing hiring decisions, widening the gender gap in mathematical professions like engineering. The inspiration for the experiment was a 2008 study published in Science that analyzed the results of a standardized test of math and verbal abilities taken by 15-year-olds around the world. The results challenged the pernicious stereotype that females are biologically inferior at mathematics. Although the female test-takers lagged behind males on the math portion of the test, the size of the gap closely tracked the degree of gender inequality in their countries, shrinking to nearly zero in emancipated countries like Sweden and Norway. That suggests that cultural biases rather than biology may be the better explanation for the math gender gap.â⬠(Bohannon). Or as Albert Einstein once said ââ¬Å"Everyone is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.â⬠This myth also includes that you have to be good at math in the first place to initially be a part of STEM, which is required by NASA. STEM, how ever, isnt just math based. STEM stands for ââ¬Å"science, technology, engineering and mathâ⬠which only embodies one-fourth of the math input, so why is it a common mistake to think that STEM is only math associated. To be in NASA doesnt just mean computer science, there is a wide number of jobs that vary even outside of STEM itself. A factor that contributes to the math myth but also reconciles on its own would be that being an astronaut or part of science, or NASA as a whole is a ââ¬Å"mans jobâ⬠or not feminine. Or something as simple as it doesnt interest females, just like stereotypical sayings like ââ¬Å"women like English, not mathâ⬠, which was obviously wrong. Going into schools and talking to everyone, making sure both girls and boys are inclusive about learning about NASA careers and employment, can spark curiosity into girls, and make them interested in the subject and ultimately a career choice. This is a very promising way because women are often told in society what they should be interested in, but by only offering information and sparking curiosity into them, it helps contribute to having NASA careers as an option. While also holding important information that tells them the increase in women and how far theyââ¬â¢ve come in NASA to motivate their curiosity ââ¬Å"Women have been an integral part of NACA/NASA operations since 1922. They have played important roles such as mathematician, computer, astronaut, engineer, and supervisors. They have made lasting impacts and helped land a man on the moon. As of 2012, women made up one-third of all employees including 30% of supervisors and 20% of engineers. As of 2017, 37% of new hires are female and 50% of the newest class of astronauts were women. While these numbers may sound small, this is a significant increase in female employees at NASA compared to the last few decades.â⬠(Howat) Showing the numbers and improvement over the years can make spark questioning and researching, valuing, or become more invested in the outcome. Showing and proving role models for women is important because throughout history the hierarchy for social classes indicate that women were at the very bottom of the system. Which didnt just happen in one society, but almost all of them. And in this day and era, when seeing a role model to young girls and then comparing it to previous areas of time, we are astonished, because women never got to experience it. The way to approach this matter would be to recognize that ââ¬Å"The lack of visible female role models continues to be a major problem. In my opinion, though, the real problem is that the women working within STEM are hiding in plain sight. One way to overcome this would be to spotlight examples of actual women succeeding in STEM which could inspire young women by giving them real-world examples to model themselves after. Itââ¬â¢s important to highlight that itââ¬â¢s not necessary to be a multimillionaire corporate celebrity to have an impact in STEM.â⬠- (Emily Muggleton). If we introduce the hundreds of females whoââ¬â¢ve worked at NASA and how committed and wonderful they are at their job, and how theyââ¬â¢ve accidentally comabtted against men to achieve what theyââ¬â¢ve achieved, other young women may start seeing themselves in their shoes and want to be such just like. There was a study conducted to see how influenced a classroom was when a strong female role-model was talking to the class on economics. They found that ââ¬Å"The effect of strong female role models was even stronger among high-performing female students who had a grade point average of 3.7 or higher. For them, researchers saw a 26 percentage point increase in enrollment in the next-level economics class. Having career women speak in front of the class had no effect on male students. This suggests a lot of things: Perhaps it may mean that male students already enjoy enough role models in economics, or that male students dont see women as role models.â⬠(IKE M) and it concluded and confirmed the idea that ââ¬Å"female students are more likely to enroll in an upper-level economics class if they have encountered successful women role models in that field.â⬠(IKEM). But names wont do it alone, you would need to explain and examine the roles those women took in a male-dominated atmosphere and how they achieved what they achieved. Such as how they contributed to the aspects of science, math, engineering, astronauts, and many, many more career choices. Overall, women are in high demand for STEM roles, and the more contribution towards encouraging young women to chose that path, the more they can contribute to the world. STEM is dominated by men, scientifically speaking women and men tend to think differently. So speaking from that point of view, we would get perspectives from a whole other eye, as women can expand and breech what they never couldââ¬â¢ve in the past, now there is nothing holding them back. So, its important as a society to recognize that women were put in educating organizations for centuries, and over the years theyââ¬â¢ve done wonders for demonstrating the ability to teach. With that same mindset, if we put women into STEM and NASA imagine the kind of wonders they would do for those organizations. citation Ikem, Chinelo Nkechi. ââ¬Å"The Importance of Female Role Models in the Classroom.â⬠à Pacific Standard, 30 Jan. 2018, psmag.com/education/the-importance-of-female-role-models-in-the-classroom. ââ¬Å"15 Game-Changing Women of NASA Google Arts Culture.â⬠à Google, Google, artsandculture.google.com/theme/PAKinN4pTOJg. Forbes, Moira. ââ¬Å"How To Inspire More Young Women To Enter STEM In 2018.â⬠à Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 5 Jan. 2018, forbes.com/sites/moiraforbes/2018/01/04/how-to-inspire-more-young-women-to-enter-stem-in-2018/#37e7336c1cd7. Moskowitz, Clara. ââ¬Å"NASA Needs More Women, Top Official Says.â⬠à Space.com, Space Created with Sketch. Space, 30 July 2013, space.com/22175-nasa-needs-women-sally-ride.html. ââ¬Å"The Women of NASA.â⬠à National Womens History Museum, womenshistory.org/exhibits/women-nasa. BohannonMar, John, et al. ââ¬Å"Both Genders Think Women Are Bad at Basic Math.â⬠à Science, 10 Dec. 2017, sciencemag.org/news/2014/03/both-genders-think-women-are-bad-basic-math.
Saturday, November 23, 2019
Top Soft Skills Employers Seek
Top Soft Skills Employers Seek The experts at The Savvy Intern polled members of an organization calledà the Young Entrepreneur Council to see what specific soft skills they look for in their team members and which traitsà every aspiring new hire should work to develop. Here are the top results of their survey:Curiosity, Teachability, and DriveDavid Ciccarelli of Voices.com wants someone whoââ¬â¢s curious and hasà a passion for learning.Motivation, Attention to Detail, and a Positive OutlookOrange Mudââ¬â¢s Josh Sprague says these qualities represent such potential for excellence, they can even vault a worthy candidate past the entry level gig they originally applied for.Communication, Adaptability, and a Proactive MentalityThe ability to express yourself, the flexibility to embrace new challenges, and a willingness to go above and beyond are what count at Recruiter.com, according to Miles Jennings.Energy, Positivity, and HeartObinna Ekenzie, formerly of the NBA and currently with Wakanow.com, looks fo r the same attributes in his employees as he used to see on the court. Youââ¬â¢ve got to want it and have the vitality to go after it.Empathy, Curiosity, and AttitudeFor Perks Consultingââ¬â¢s Lauren Perkins, itââ¬â¢s all about the willingness to understand other people, bring in your own perspective, and see opportunities where others see only obstacles.Comb through your job and life experiences to find anecdotes that illustrate your abilities in each of these soft-skill areas, and youââ¬â¢ll be an unbeatable asset to any company lucky enough to have you.
Thursday, November 21, 2019
Discussion question Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 10
Discussion question - Essay Example This part of information security is recognized as computer security where professionals try to secure computers from being manipulated in order to obtain ensure that the information that is secured on these computers remain safe (Smith, 2000, p.101). Therefore, the security of computers is a part of the information security and these two terms should not be used interchangeably although they are commonly used to refer to each other. In case of information security, the professionals aim at securing the information of an individual as well as an organization and they do so by securing all the places where information is stored and used. In the case of computer security, professionals try to secure various parts of a particular computer as on these parts the information of individuals and organizations is secured. These parts may include: hard drive, website, USB and CD ROMs. While securing information as well as computers, the professionals try to figure out vulnerabilities in the co mputer system and then they try to cover these gaps to make sure information is not
Tuesday, November 19, 2019
Evaluation of a Weight-Loss Plan or Program Assignment
Evaluation of a Weight-Loss Plan or Program - Assignment Example SENSA is a product that you sprinkle on your food prior to eating. It works on the concept of smell, triggering the brain that you have had enough and making a person want to eat less. It is advertised as containing no stimulates or diuretics. It is made up of only FDA approved ingredients and is said to keep the food cravings and the feeling of hunger away (http://dm.trysensa.com). One of the concepts is to make bland food taste better making it more appealing for people to eat (www.sciencedaily.com). This is supposed to cause people to eat healthier because SENSA makes the food taste better. The research done on this product, through clinical trials, shows that SENSA users average 30 pounds of weight loss as compared to control groups who only lost two pounds over six months (http://dm.trysensa.com). However, there is some question about the credibility of the study that was conducted. Other researchers question how the participates were selected and the range of weight that was actually lost by the participants (Woolston, 2011). Another concern, stated by Alan Hirsch, MD, the director of the SENSA study, is that the amount of food that the participants ate was not tracked (www.sciencedaiy.com). The program is flexible in that the product can be put on any food that a person wants to eat. It is easily transported, so it can easily fit into the most active personââ¬â¢s lifestyle. It is simple to use in that anyone can sprinkle the product on their food no matter if they are eating at home, at a party, at a business function or at a restaurant. The product itself does not provide variety, but the user can eat any food they want, thus getting all the variety they desire. A downfall to SENSA is that there is not a plan for maintenance after the initial weight los. In fact, no where on the SENSA website promoting their product is maintenance mentioned. Their focus is simply on losing weight, not
Sunday, November 17, 2019
The Effects of Government Intervention Essay Example for Free
The Effects of Government Intervention Essay What is the government? What is the role of the government? How does the government influence the economy? What can we say about the effects of the government influence in Romania? These are some of the questions that weà will try to answer during our case of study. We are citizens of a society, and our society is based on proper rules enacted and enforced by the high powers of our states. We need to act responsibly and inform ourselves, as much as we can, regarding this problem. The people from the government, how did they get there? How is the government organized? How are they elected? By which criteria are these people elected? What are their attributes and what are their initiatives? We must know if they directly influence our lives, our economy! Taxes, import and export restrictions, tariffs, wholesale interest rates are only a part of the governmentââ¬â¢s duties to be established. Is the governmentââ¬â¢s money, in fact our money? And if they are our money, how do they spend it, on what, and why? These are some things that must concern us. And now, we should focus on our country, Romania, and, of course, on ourselves. Even though Romania is a country of considerable potential in most of the fields, its economy is very fragile. Our economy is strong related to the European economy, and some of these connections between our economy and the international economy are made by the government. Most of the people tend to blemish the president, the government, the parliament etc. for the fragility of our economy, and to us it might seem not to work, but we have to bear in mind that this is the effect of the whole nationââ¬â¢s actions and of the worldââ¬â¢s as well. In the pages that follow we presented subjectively and objectively our ideas concerning the effects of the governmentââ¬â¢s influence on Romaniaââ¬â¢s economy, starting with explaining that is the government and which is the governmentââ¬â¢s role in the economy. The Government Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized. Government is the means byà which state policy is enforced, as well as the mechanism for determining the policy of the state. A form of government, or form of state governance, refers to the set of political institutions by which a government of a state is organized. Synonyms include regime type and system of government. The word government is derived from the Latin verb gubernare, an infinitive meaning to govern or to manage. The Government is the public authority of executive power that functions on the basis of the vote of confidence granted by Parliament, ensures the achievement of the countrys domestic and foreign policy and that exercises the general leadership of public administration. The Government is appointed by the President of Romania on the basis of the vote of confidence granted to the Government by Parliament. Objectives The Government has the role of ensuring balanced functioning and development of national economic and social system, and its connection to the world economic system while promoting national interests. The Government is organized and operates in accordance with constitutional provisions, on the basis of the Government program approved by Parliament. Organization The Government consists of Prime Minister and Ministers. Prime Minister leads the Government and coordinates the activities of its members, in compliance with their legal duties. The working apparatus of the Government is composed of the working apparatus of the Prime Minister, Secretariat General of the Government, departments and other similar organizational structures with specific tasks set by Government Decision. Legislative process The Government adopts decisions and ordinances. Decisions are issued for law enforcement organization. Ordinances are issued under a special enabling law, within the limits and conditions specified by it. The decisions and ordinances adopted by the Government are signed by Prime Minister, countersigned by the Ministers who are duty bound to implement them and are published in the Official Gazette. The non publication entails the absence of a decision or ordinance. Decisions with military character shall be conveyed only to the institutions concerned. Legislative initiatives The following public authorities have the right to initiate draft public policy documents and draft legislative acts for adoption / approval by the Government, according to their tasks and activity field: Ministries and other specialized bodies of central public administration, subordinated to the Government, and autonomous administrative authorities; specialized bodies of central public administration subordinated or coordinated by Ministries, by the Ministries under whose subordination or coordination they are; Prefects, county councils, the General Council of Bucharest, according to the law, through the Ministry of Interior and Administrative Reform. Governments Role in the Economy While consumers and producers make most decisions that mold the economy, government activities have a powerful effect on the Romanian economy in at least five areas. Stabilization and Growth. Perhaps most importantly, the federal government guides the overall pace of economic activity, attempting to maintain steady growth, high levels of employment, and price stability. By adjusting spending and tax rates (fiscal policy) or managing the money supply and controlling the use of credit (monetary policy), it can slow down or speed up the economys rate of growth in the process, affecting the level of prices and employment. The government could affect the economy in multiple ways, but the most common changes that can be made to influence the economy are: (1) Taxes; (2) Import Restrictions; (3) Wholesale Interest Rates; and (4) Government Speeding. TAXES Taxation understandably affects the economy by redistributing money from consumers and producers to the government coffers. The higher the tax, the less people have to spend, the less aggregate demand [total demand] there is in the economy. IMPORT RESTRICTIONS When a country uses protectionism to shield domestic producers from their own inefficiency and inability to compete with foreign firms, they may enact quotas or tariffs. A quota is when there is a maximum amount of a good that can be imported into the country, where imports that exceed the limit have either the responsible parties prosecuted for breaking the law or the goods being turned away. Tariffs are when the price of imports is artificially inflated with a tax, in order to make them less attractive to consumers that are price sensitive. The higher the quotas and tariffs, the higher the prices of those penalised goods in the economy, which in turn will negatively affect aggregate demand. WHOLESALE INTEREST RATES Wholesale interest rates are the rates at which the central bank loans out money to retail banks, which in turn loan out their money to consumers and producers at a higher rate (the difference, in a very basic sense, is their profit margin, or revenue minus costs). If the wholesale interest rates are increased, then retail banks must also increase their rates, otherwise their business would become less profitable (or unprofitable). For large purchases, producers (e.g. investments) and consumers (e.g. buying a home) need loans, since they do not have sufficient cash on-hand. Interest rates are effectively the price of borrowing money and hence affects the Consumption and Investment components of GDP (Consumption + Investment + Govt. Spending + Net Exports). (A small caveat, however, that central banks are created by legislation but are not run by government their actions are independent of politicians agendas.) GOVERNMENT SPENDING Government Speeding (revenues taken from taxes, mentioned above) creates what is known as the Spending Multiplier. When the government consumes, called Government Spending, it is demanding goods and services in the economy. However, that demand in turn generates more demand than a single consume, because of not only the size of the demand (the government has a lot more money than you do) but also the type of demand (e.g. building infrastructure benefits everybody, as opposed to building a private mansion); government spending affects aggregate demand. The spendingà multiplier, or how much additional demand is generated from each dollar of government spending, is calculated as follows: Change in Equilibrium divided by Change in Investment. Case Study ââ¬â Romania Romania is a country of considerable potential: rich agricultural lands, diverse energy sources (coal, oil, natural gas, hydro, and nuclear), a substantial industrial base encompassing almost the full range of manufacturing activities, an educated work force, and opportunities for expanded development in tourism on the Black Sea and in the Carpathian Mountains. The Romanian Government borrowed heavily from the West in the 1970s to build a substantial state-owned industrial base. Following the 1979 oil price shock and a debt rescheduling in 1981, Ceausescu decreed that Romania would no longer be subject to foreign creditors. By the end of 1989, Romania had paid off a foreign debt of about $10.5 billion through an unprecedented effort that wreaked havoc on the economy and living standards. Vital imports were slashed and food and fuel strictly rationed, while the government exported everything it could to earn hard currency. With investment slashed, Romanias infrastructure fell behind its historically poorer Balkan neighbours. Since the fall of the Ceausescu regime in 1989, successive governments sought to build a Western-style market economy. The pace of restructuring was slow, but by 1994 the legal basis for a market economy was largely in place. After the 1996 elections, the coalition government attempted to eliminate consumer subsidies, float prices, liberalize exchange rates, and put in place a tight monetary policy. The Parliament enacted laws permitting foreign entities incorporated in Romania to purchase land. Foreign capital investment in Romania had been increasing rapidly until 2008, although it remained less in per capita terms than in some other countries of East and Central Europe. Romania was the largest U.S. trading partner in Eastern Europe until Ceausescus 1988 renunciation of most favoured nation (MFN, or non-discriminatory) trading status resulted in high U.S. tariffs on Romanian products. Congress approved restoration of MFN status effective November 8, 1993, as part of a new bilateral trade agreement. Tariffs on most Romanian products dropped to zero in February 1994, with the inclusion of Romania in the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP). Major Romanian exports to the U.S. include shoes, clothing, steel, and chemicals. Romania signed an Association Agreement with the European Union (EU) in 1992 and a free trade agreement with the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) in 1993, codifying Romanias access to European markets and creating the basic framework for further economic integration. At its Helsinki Summit in December 1999, the European Union invited Romania to formally begin accession negotiations. In December 2004, the European Commission concluded pre-accession negotiations with Romania. In April 2005, the EU signed an accession treaty with Romania and its neighbour, Bulgaria, and in January 2007, they were both welcomed as new EU members. Romania suffered through a deep economic recession beginning with the 2008 global financial crisis, but should return to positive if very modest growth by the end of 2011. Due to rapidly deteriorating economic conditions, a ballooning budget deficit, and large external imbalances, the Romanian Government was forced to conclude a 2-year, $27 billion financial assistance package with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the European Commission, and the World Bank in March 2009. Under the terms agreed with the IMF, the Romanian Government embarked on a difficult austerity program to reduce the budget deficit, cut public sector employment, and restructure local and national government agencies. Austerity measures included a 25% cut in public sector wages, a hike in the national value added tax (VAT) rate from 19% to 24%, and thousands of layoffs. GDP declined by 7.1% in 2009 and a further 1.3% in 2010, but the government succeeded in meeting IMF-agreed deficit targets despite strong op position to the austerity measures from labour unions. In late 2010 and early 2011 the government also pushed several important pieces of reform legislation through Parliament, includingà pension reforms, an overhaul of public sector pay systems, and modernization of the labour code. The final IMF review under the 2009 agreement, conducted in February 2011, declared the agreement a ââ¬Å"successâ⬠in stabilizing the economy and setting the stage for a return to growth. A new 2-year ââ¬Å"precautionaryâ⬠agreement between Romania and the IMF, effective March 2011, focuses on deepening structural reforms and restructuring or privatizing unprofitable state-owned enterprises. Privatization of industry was first pursued with the transfer in 1992 of 30% of the shares of some 6,000 state-owned enterprises to five private ownership funds, in which each adult citizen received certificates of ownership. The remaining 70% ownership of the enterprises was transferred to a state ownership fund. With the assistance of the World Bank, European Union, and IMF, Romania succeeded in privatizing most industrial state-owned enterprises, including some large state-owned energy companies. Romania completed the privatization of the largest commercial bank (BCR) in 2006. Two state-owned banks remain in Romania, Eximbank and the National Savings Bank (CEC), after an attempt to privatize CEC Bank was indefinitely postponed in 2006. Four of the countrys eight regional electricity distributors have now been privatized. Privatization of natural gas distribution companies also progressed with the sale of Romanias two regional gas distributors, Distrigaz Nord (to E.ON Ruhrgas of Germany) and Distrigaz Sud (to Gaz de France). Further progress in energy sector privatization has been delayed as the government is contemplating the creation of two integrated, state-owned energy producers. However, this ââ¬Å"bundlingâ⬠scheme has been challenged in court and is also under review by the Romanian Competition Council and by competition authorities at the European Commission. Romania has a nuclear power plant at Cernavoda, with one nuclear reactor in operation since 1996 and a second one commissioned in the fall of 2007. The return of collectivized farmland to its cultivators, one of the first initiatives of the post-December 1989 revolution government, resulted in a short-term decrease in agricultural production. Some four million small parcels representing 80% of the arable surface were returned to originalà owners or their heirs. Many of the recipients were elderly or city dwellers, and the slow progress of granting formal land titles remains an obstacle to leasing or selling land to active farmers. Financial and technical assistance continues to flow from the U.S., European Union, other industrial nations, and international financial institutions facilitating Romanias reintegration into the world economy. The IMF, World Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), and European Investment Bank (EIB) all have programs and resident representatives in Romania. U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) programs were phased out completely in 2008, except for Small Project Assistance Grants, which are still available through the Peace Corps. According to the National Office of the Trade Register, which measures foreign direct capital registered and disbursed to firms, between 1990 and November 2010 Romania attracted a total of $37.91 billion in foreign direct investment, of which the U.S. represented 2.59%. The actual level of U.S. investment, however, is underreported as much of it flows to Romania through European subsidiaries of U.S. companies. After years of consistently high inflation in the 1990s, Romanias inflation rate steadily decreased through 2004, only to rise again along with high GDP growth rates of 4% to 8% through 2008. The deep recession beginning in late 2008 dramatically reduced inflationary pressures, but the VAT tax hike from 19% to 24% imposed in mid-2010 reversed that trend and pushed prices higher. Stoked also by rising global food and energy prices, inflation hit an annualized rate of 8% at the end of 2010, the highest in the EU. The IMF has been critical of Romanias low rate of tax collection and poor enforcement mechanisms as a medium- to long-term impediment to growth. Tax arrears are slightly decreasing, but Romania still has one of the lowest percentages in the EU of revenues collected, at 33% of GDP in 2010. The current account deficit had been a concern, as it reached 13.6% of GDP in 2007 and 12.4% of GDP in 2008. However, due to the recession, the current account deficit dropped to 4.2% of GDP in 2010. Deteriorating education and health services and aging and inadequate physical infrastructure continue to be seen as threats to future growth. Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words Conclusion As a conclusion we can say that governmentââ¬â¢s intervention in the economy can have both a positive and a negative influence on the market. Government intervention does not always end up the way it was intended or the way in which economistââ¬â¢s theories say it would. A fascinating part in the study of Economics is that the law of unintended consequences often comes into play ââ¬â events can affect a particular policy, and consumers and businesses rarely behave precisely in the way in which the government might want! We will consider this in more detail when we consider government failure. One important thing to remember is that the effects of different forms of government intervention in markets are never neutral thus financial support given by the government to one set of producers rather than another will always create winners and losers. Taxing one product more than another will similarly have different effects on different groups of consumers. A concret example of too much government intervention is the following. Letââ¬â¢s assume that in a time of recession, a government makes and agreement with the banks to lower interest rates and people will start buying houses and other goods on loan. As time goes by, government debt also rises and thus they will be obliged to print out their own money. Printing their own money has a negative impact on the inflation rate and money value will go down. Also, after the recession, the interest rates will go up again and people will end up losing their previously bought goods. Nevertheless in most cases, the governmentââ¬â¢s intervention proved to be efficient and actually helped the market economy. It all depends on the people that take the decisions and they need to take into consideration any factors that can influence the result of their decision. The European Union provides me the best opportunity to connect with people Europe and to develop my ability of communication. I think is very important to get in touch with different people from different cultures and different countries.
Thursday, November 14, 2019
Sense And Sensibility Themes Essay -- essays research papers
"Sense and Sensibility" In Jane Austenââ¬â¢s Sense and Sensibility there is a theme that runs along with males in the novel. The first born sons are forced to deal with the promotions and abilities that come along with the laws of primogeniture, yet even with all they get they do not lead an altogether happy life. The men that are "first-born" are in fact too swayed by the power and obligation that comes with their estates. In the novel the first sons are viewed in a negative light, yet the second-born sons have less responsibility to be what society wants them to be and are allowed to be his own. Although Edward Ferrars, is a firstborn, his mother disinherits him because of his lack of focus and ability to be all she wants him to be; as John Dashwood remarks "Robert will now to all intents and purposes be considered as the eldest son." We know that Colonel Brandon is a second son because he has an older brother who married his old sweetheart, Eliza, many years before the novel's plot begins. And whereas these characters are the heroes of the novel, all the eldest sons are cast in a negative light, including John Dashwood, Robert Ferrars, and Colonel Brandon's older brother. In Austen's day, the eldest sons were the ones who inherited all the family property according to the laws of male primogeniture. However, in spite of these inheritance laws, it is the second sons who ultimately find happiness in the novel; thus they make content lives for them...
Tuesday, November 12, 2019
Into the Wild Essay
Jon Krakauer, the author of Into the Wild, and Chris McCandless, the main character, share very similar stories and personalities. The best was in which these similarities are depicted is in chapters 14 and 15, when Krakauer inserts himself into the story. In these chapters Krakauer highlights a lot of parallels between himself and McCandless and through these highlights we can look at Krakauer as a credible biographer because he has a deeper understand for McCandlessââ¬â¢s motivations. Krakauer and McCandless have very similar obstacles and backgrounds which is exemplified in chapter 14. Both men at one point in life sought isolation, and more specifically, sought isolation with nature. Both thought they had something to prove, may it be to themselves or those around them. ââ¬Å"I was twenty-three, a year younger than Chris McCandless when he walked into that Alaska bushâ⬠(Krakauer, 135). They are both two young men going out into the wilderness trying to live on their own and accomplish their own desired feat. Krakauer believed that since they shared similar challenges and characteristics, that their emotions and thoughts may have been the same too. No one really knows what McCandless was thinking at the time but Krakauer believes that he felt some loneliness from time to time. Krakauer once believed that he could live without people and friends just like McCandless though, but Krakauer admits that every once in a while he felt lonely so he infers that McCandless must have felt this same loneliness during his time in the wilderness. Krakauer also wants to elicit the comparison of their relationships with their fathers. ââ¬Å"My father was a volatile, extremely complicated person, possessed of a brash demeanor that masked deep insecuritiesâ⬠(147). Both have fathers that they did not quite get along with and had tough relationships with. This also adds more credibility to Krakauer as a biographer as he shares yet another thing in common with McCandless. The motives of both characters are another important connection that must be made; both characters shared resilience and were determined to succeed. Krakauerââ¬â¢s own account is now made even more crucial to the book as we now see that both characters shared similar motives and mindsets. After being denied once by Devilââ¬â¢s Thumb Krakauer is still determined to climb to the top. ââ¬Å"In truth my escapade on the north face had rattled me, and I didnââ¬â¢t want to go up the Thumb again at all. But the thought of returning to Boulder in defeat wasnââ¬â¢t very appealing eitherâ⬠(146). This can be compared to McCandlessââ¬â¢s strong belief in his ability to survive. McCandlessââ¬â¢s journey had not been an easy one and he had not been very successful, yet he was still determined in his abilities and would not give in. The fact that Krakauer also shares a similar mindset as McCandless makes his verdict about McCandlessââ¬â¢s life that much more credible. Krakauerââ¬â¢s most important claim is that McCandless did not commit suicide. Even though McCandless states in his final postcard to Westerberg that he may never make it out alive, he still strongly belives in his own abilities. McCandless was under the false notion that, if he was able to survive everything so far, then he could survive the rest of his journey.
Sunday, November 10, 2019
Project on Motivation of Nurses Essay
The most traumatic and stressful moments of an individualââ¬â¢s life are when he or she is taken ill. Nurses are synonymous with care and attention in times of need such as these. In a world mostly driven my personal ambition and corporate profit, nurses with their commitment to patient welfare and selfless service, provide a contrasting study. A nurse acts as a savior in distress and is often called upon to make great personal sacrifices in the discharge of her duties. The profession of nursing, is therefore, not merely a ââ¬Ëjobââ¬â¢ and the potentially powerfully insights about commitment to work that they could provide encouraged us to choose them as our subjects of study. As part of the Phase I of the project, we interviewed four nurses who were diverse in the amount of experience each had, the hierarchy in which they were working in the hospital and the backgrounds from which each of them came. This was done to study the commitment of employees towards an organization and understand the various factors which cause the same we have selected a study of nursing staff in hospitals. From the interviews, many broad themes emerged, all of which point correlate positively with their high commitment level to the organization. These points logically lead us to our hypothesis as to what keeps them committed to their place of work. à However, there were some key themes which we noted across all four of our respondents. All the nurses were very excited by the kind of recognition that the hospital was willing to give them. They seemed to treat this as a reward for their hard work and dedication and were motivated by it. All nurses were also impressed by their working relationship with their superiors (Head Nurse/Doctor) in the hospital who treated them as members of a family and with much respect. Nurses were also willing to stay on with the hospital because it provided them with opportunities for personal development. Accordingly our hypotheses are as follows: * There is a positive correlation between the amount of recognition that the nurses receive for their work and their commitment to the organization * There is a positive correlation between the positive relationship between the doctors/supervisors and the nurses and the commitment of the nurses to the organization * There is a positive correlation between the opportunity for learning and personal development that the organization provides and the commitment of the nurses to the organization RESEARCH METHODOLOGY Based on our earlier survey of 4 respondents, we determined that the following three variables play a key role in determining the commitment of nurses to their respective hospitals: * Recognition * Relationship with superiors * Learning and Development We have then tried to identify whether these three variables actually affect commitment levels of nurses at various nursing organizations. For the same, we carried out a survey of 30 nurses with diverse backgrounds (a detailed description of the respondents is covered in the following section) and questioned them on a scale of 5 to 1 (5: Strongly Agree, 1: Strongly Disagree) on 24 questions. Since our hypothesis determines 3 variables as affecting commitment, we tested the existence of each these three independent variables by framing four questions for each variables. Similarly, we determined commitment levels of the nurses through a set of 12 questions. By using a 5-point scale, we have captured not only theà existence, but the extent of existence of these variables. Since we found the responses to be reliable, we determined the correlation between the three independent variables and the dependent variable ââ¬Ëcommitmentââ¬â¢ to see whether our hypothesis of is correct. Hospitals chosen for the survey We surveyed nurses from 4 different hospitals to ensure diversity. The organizations range from a large hospital located in a city like Bangalore, to mid-sized hospitals located in Tier-2 cities like Ajmer and Allahabad and a focused surgical-specialty hospital located in a smaller town like Varanasi. This selection lends diversity to our respondents through differences in location, specialization of hospitals, daily footfall (reflecting magnitude of work for the nurses), number of departments etc. Refer Appendix 1 for a description of the hospitals used for out survey. General Profile of the Nurses We have ensured diversity in our respondents while choosing nurses at all of the survey hospitals. The diversity ranges age, number of years worked at the organization and departments worked in. QUESTIONS IN THE SURVEY The questions in the survey were aimed at understanding the extent to which each of our three independent variables and our dependent variable ââ¬Ëcommitmentââ¬â¢ was present in these organizations. We captured the different parameters relating to these variables by framing questions addressing various facets of these variables. Refer to Appendix 2 for detailed discussion on questions used for the survey. ANALYSIS OF RESULTS OF THE SURVEY Reliability of scales Reliability is used to check the consistency of the question set under consideration. In this survey we are testing if the 3 hypothesis that we have come up with are explaining the commitment of employees towards organization. Reliability in a survey is measured by lot of ways and here we are checking internal consistency reliability which indicates reliability within the survey for the responses of similar type of questions. Reliability of dependent variable * Affective Commitment: In affective commitment the questions that are all trying to test for one feature- Attachment to Organization. The questions are direct and straight forward bringing out the required feature thus making it a set of good reliability. We have obtained a reliability scale of 0.6 for this set which is the highest amongst the 3 different commitments scales that we have obtained. * Continuance Commitment: In this set we are trying to test the commitment by knowing the dependence of the person on the organization and how much of a change it would mean to him to switch jobs. The reliability that we obtained for this set is 0.53 which is a high value for a one time survey result. This is a good indication of question set focusing on the same core question. * Normative Commitment: This question set mainly tries to identify the belongingness the person has towards the organization. The question set is clear in conveying the same objective but this attribute is not so direct and easy to understand from an individualââ¬â¢s perspective. Hence the survey respondentsââ¬â¢ answers in this set have a lower value reliability of 0.39. Reliability of independent variables For first and third variables (recognition and learning & development), the reliability is low at 0.46 and 0.47 respectively while for the second variable (relationship with superiors), the reliability is relatively high at 0.66. Recognition and Learning & Development Itââ¬â¢s easy to see why responses to questions around Recognition and learning and development score so low in reliability. They are quite different from each other and same person can have very different responses to each of them, if they interpret the different questions to indicate different things. In comparison the questions related to relationships were fairly interrelated and are able to fetch more consistent responses. Overall reliability of all the responses is still lower than 0.7 which can be attributed to the fact that no pilot study was done, which could have been used as input for framing questions in a better way as to improve reliability of responses. Relationship with superiors We obtained highest reliability for responses for this hypothesis. Reliability for this was found to be 0.66, which is near acceptable range. The reason for higher reliability in this question set (Appendix 2) is attributable for ease of understanding the questions. Every person has a fair idea about relationships and these questions although quite different from each other give a fairly good direction the responder in terms of what is being asked. So they maintain consistency and hence higher comparative reliability. Correlation between predictor and dependent variables a) Affective Commitment ââ¬â According to our expectation before the actual test results we came up with all 3 predictors are going to affect the Affective commitment. Recognition was one factor because the appreciation helps the employee (nurse) develop a connect with the organization. Also opportunities for personal development and training opportunities to assist this makes employees feel good which is essential to improve the commitment levels. Good relationships with superiors definitely help people develop an emotional bond with the organization. b) Continuance Commitment Continuance commitment describes how the employee feel about staying longer in the organization and for this one of the most important reasons is economic considerations which are to some extent explained by rewards and recognition. The recognition obtained will motivate them to work better and stay longer in an organization. Also constant opportunities for growing and training will help them stay committed to organization. c) Normative Commitment This form of commitment mainly explains the sense of giving back to the organization and the predictor which we identified was most important was the relationships with supervisor (Head nurse/Doctor). Training and developments reflect investment done by organization on employees, so employees feel an obligation to stay committed to organization to pay ità back, which increases their normative commitment. Actual results: Statistical Significance of correlations With the acceptable alpha level being 0.05 for social science research and no. of responders being 30, (Dof = 28) gives critical value of correlation as 0.361. When compared with the results we obtained we notice that out of 9 correlations, 3 are not significant (value less than 0.361) and 6 are significant (Value higher than 0.361). When itââ¬â¢s significant we reject null hypothesis of no relationship and accept alternative hypothesis of existence of relationship. Hypothesis 1: From the results itââ¬â¢s apparent that hypothesis 1 is partially supported as only one correlation is significant out of 3. That is with affective commitment. So we can interpret that Recognition affects affective commitment but not the other two types of commitments. Hypothesis 2: For second hypothesis 2 out of 3 correlations are significant so itââ¬â¢s also partially supported. Relationship with doctors is not related to continuance commitment but related to affective and normative commitment. Hypothesis 3: Hypothesis 3 is completely supported as all the correlations are significant i.e. higher than 0.361. It means learning and development is related to all the dependent variables and affects all three dimensions of commitment i.e. Affective, Continuance, & Normative which are considered here. Plausible explanation of variations between correlations Recognition: Recognition showed the highest correlation with affective commitment, while significant correlations were not established with the continuance and normative commitment. When nurses are recognized by the organization they tend to develop an emotional connect with the organization. They feel happier working in the hospital and a sense of belonging is nurtured within them. The appreciation received for the work translates into an attachment with the organization. This explains theà correlation with affective commitment. The recognition is mostly in the form of awards and words of praise not monetary in nature. Therefore a significant continuance commitment has not been established. Similarly, recognition for work does not lead to a feeling of obligation towards the organization. Rather, the positivity generated by the appreciation of work manifests itself as an emotional attachment towards the organization, which is reflected in the correlation with affective commitment. Relationship with superiors: This independent variable showed highest correlation with normative commitment and lower correlations with affective commitment, while correlation with continuance commitment was insignificant. The nurses tend to view the exceptionally good relationships with the doctors as being facilitated by the hospital. They therefore feel indebted to the hospital for providing them with an excellent working environment, which would be missing at other places. The moral obligation that they feel towards their hospital for the respect and dignity with which doctors and supervisors treat them is translated into a high correlation for normative commitment. Learning and development: It is seen from the results of the survey that learning and development has a high correlation with Affective Commitment to the organization and comparatively low correlation with continuance and normative Commitment. Intuitively we expected high correlation between learning and development a nd normative commitment to the organization. This is because employees would feel an obligation towards an organization that invests time and resources to train its employees and ensure their personal development. However, we realize these may not necessarily hold true once we take into account the atypical nature of the nursing profession. Nurses feel sense of duty towards their patients and ethical and moral obligation to serve the sick to the best of their capacity. In fact, nurses who have been trained well, dealt with varied patient cases and experience a great deal of learning would perhaps experience higher motivation to the society. Hence perhaps they would experience low moral responsibility to staying back in the organization. We believe existence of a caring and people centric management could be the reason for the high correlation between affective commitment and learning and development. An organization that has caring and people friendly management would earn emotional loyalty from its employees due to care and good treatment given to employees. Such anà organization would also take efforts to ensure that its human resources constantly learn and develop so as to contribute to the success of the organization.
Thursday, November 7, 2019
Free Essays on The Roots And Reason Of Fascism
What exactly is fascism? Where did it come from? What on earth is it good for? Nowadays, fascism is most popularly associated with Mussoliniââ¬â¢s Italy between the years 1922 to 1943, and Hitlerââ¬â¢s Nazi Germany between the years 1933 to 1945. However, making Nazism synonymous with fascism would be a mistake: fascism has spawned into many forms, and although they share similar features, different nations have customized fascism to a point of significant differentiation. Between 1922 and 1945, fascist parties arose throughout the world. They included the Fatherland Front, led by Engelbert Dollfuss in Austria, the Falange founded by Jose Antonio Primo in Spain, the Cross of Fire, renamed the French Social Party led by Colonel Francois de La Rocque, the Gentile National Socialist Movement and the South Africa Fascists, both in South Africa, the Ku Klux Klan in the United States, and the military dictatorship of Admiral Tojo Hideki in Japan (RoSo, 2002). Even Mussoliniâ⠬â¢s and Hitlerââ¬â¢s fascist states - allied Axis forces in World War II ââ¬â were far from identical. Up to and including the year 2002 fascist states and groups continue to exist all over the world. This makes fascism all the more intriguing to study, as unlike Communism, for example, it has no distinct author of one ideological abstraction. There was no Karl Marx of fascism, who exported his theories worldwide. Instead, fascism seems to be a condition that states let themselves fall into, and then upon which they fervently cling. Fascism grows up from out of the ground and is incubated in each nation individually: consequently, the ingredients are the same but the flavor is unique. This phenomenon occurs because fascism, for as long as it has been known, is rightly considered an ideology of negatives. For example, it is vehemently anti-Marxist, anti-democratic, and anti-liberal. This makes it difficult to define what exactly is ââ¬Å"pureâ⬠fascism. Its origins hav... Free Essays on The Roots And Reason Of Fascism Free Essays on The Roots And Reason Of Fascism What exactly is fascism? Where did it come from? What on earth is it good for? Nowadays, fascism is most popularly associated with Mussoliniââ¬â¢s Italy between the years 1922 to 1943, and Hitlerââ¬â¢s Nazi Germany between the years 1933 to 1945. However, making Nazism synonymous with fascism would be a mistake: fascism has spawned into many forms, and although they share similar features, different nations have customized fascism to a point of significant differentiation. Between 1922 and 1945, fascist parties arose throughout the world. They included the Fatherland Front, led by Engelbert Dollfuss in Austria, the Falange founded by Jose Antonio Primo in Spain, the Cross of Fire, renamed the French Social Party led by Colonel Francois de La Rocque, the Gentile National Socialist Movement and the South Africa Fascists, both in South Africa, the Ku Klux Klan in the United States, and the military dictatorship of Admiral Tojo Hideki in Japan (RoSo, 2002). Even Mussoliniâ⠬â¢s and Hitlerââ¬â¢s fascist states - allied Axis forces in World War II ââ¬â were far from identical. Up to and including the year 2002 fascist states and groups continue to exist all over the world. This makes fascism all the more intriguing to study, as unlike Communism, for example, it has no distinct author of one ideological abstraction. There was no Karl Marx of fascism, who exported his theories worldwide. Instead, fascism seems to be a condition that states let themselves fall into, and then upon which they fervently cling. Fascism grows up from out of the ground and is incubated in each nation individually: consequently, the ingredients are the same but the flavor is unique. This phenomenon occurs because fascism, for as long as it has been known, is rightly considered an ideology of negatives. For example, it is vehemently anti-Marxist, anti-democratic, and anti-liberal. This makes it difficult to define what exactly is ââ¬Å"pureâ⬠fascism. Its origins hav...
Tuesday, November 5, 2019
The Basics of Narrative Voice
The Basics of Narrative Voice The Basics of Narrative Voice ââ¬Å"Narrativeâ⬠refers to how a story is told. A ââ¬Å"narrative voice,â⬠then, is a voice that tells a story. This makes it important for authors to understand the basics! In this post, therefore, weââ¬â¢re looking at key aspects of narrative voice. Grammatical Person One key element of narrative voice is point of view. This is reflected in the grammatical person used. In most narrative writing, this will either be first person or third person: First-person narration tells a story from the point of view of the narrator (i.e., using ââ¬Å"Iâ⬠or ââ¬Å"weâ⬠pronouns). This will often be the main character in the story, but it could also be someone else recalling what they witnessed or a story they heard. In third-person narration, the narrator isnââ¬â¢t the main focus of the story. They may be part of the story, such as an onlooker giving their version of events. But a third-person narrator may also be the disembodied voice of the ââ¬Å"authorâ⬠telling the story. Either way, they refer to characters with third-person pronouns such as ââ¬Å"he,â⬠ââ¬Å"she,â⬠and ââ¬Å"they,â⬠but not ââ¬Å"Iâ⬠or ââ¬Å"we.â⬠While not impossible, it is unusual to use the second person in narration. This is because it involves addressing the reader directly, as if you were telling a story about the person reading it! What Does the Narrator Know? A narrator can be either limited or omniscient. A limited narrator knows only what they would know within the bounds of the story (e.g., a character recounting their version of events). An omniscient narrator knows everything that is happening in the world of the story. First-person narrators are usually limited since first-person narration is subjective. But third-person narrators can be either limited or omniscient depending on their relation to the story itself. Narrative Reliability Another element of narration is how trustworthy the narrative voice is. A reliable narrator provides a straightforward, credible account of events. An unreliable narrator, on the other hand, tells a story that should not be taken at face value. This may be because the narrator is lying, misinformed, or even insane. The point of this is to: Make the reader question what they are being told Show the reader something about the narrator For example, an unreliable narrator may be trying to persuade the reader to sympathize with an unsympathetic character, such as Patrick Bateman from American Psycho. Or it can be used to show us how the world appears to the narrator, such as in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, where the story is told from the point of view of an autistic child. Both good books, albeit in very different ways. Combining These Elements in Narrative Voice You can combine the elements above in various ways. As mentioned, for example, a third person narrator can be either limited or omniscient. You can also use different narrative voices in different parts of a story. Try experimenting with telling your story in different ways. They key is finding a voice that works for you. To work out what type of narration to use: Think about what you want to reader to feel and think as they read Consider how you want the reader to relate to the narrator Work out what type of voice will let you achieve this Whateverà you choose to do, though, remember that narrative voice is an essential part of storytelling.
Sunday, November 3, 2019
Improvement of Wheel and Joint of Luggage Assignment
Improvement of Wheel and Joint of Luggage - Assignment Example This paper relates to the process of identifying the best materials for use in luggage wheels. Its aim is to investigate and propose alternative materials that can improve the durability of luggage wheels at competitive cost. Trends in Development of Wheeled Luggage Wheeled luggage is one of the innovations created to ease travel. Over the last one hundred years, there has been an increase in the number of people travelling across the world. This is because of technological breakthrough in aviation, sailing, and motor vehicle engineering. Travelers include students, tourists, and business executives. Wheeled luggage makes traveling very convenient. It makes it easy for travelers to tow their luggage easily without straining their backs. Today, there are various versions of wheeled luggage, which include duffel bags, carry-on bags, backpacks, and totes. They all aim at making travelling easier for people. Most of them have telescopic arms that allow travelers to tow the bag without be nding. The design of the luggage wheels is the weak link in the luggage design. Once the wheels are out of service, the luggage becomes cumbersome to carry. Most of them do not have features that allow travelers to carry them easily. The choice of material for the luggage wheels determines the degree of durability of the luggage. A well-designed luggage may become useless if its wheels break down regardless of the durability of the luggage. In this sense, the life of luggage depends on the durability of the wheels. Performance Specifications of Luggage Wheels There are three key conditions that luggage wheels need to meet in order to perform optimally. These are the ability to support the weight of the luggage, ability to handle torque and friction during motion, and the capacity to carry the full weigh of the luggage without collapsing. When the luggage is in motion, the entire weight of the luggage rests on the axles of the wheel. This means that the wheels require the capacity to support this weight without breaking. The popular models of the luggage have two wheels located axially. The design of the axle must take into account the forces acting in the wheels. Poor design or poor choice of material for the axle predisposes it to sagging. In this situation, the wheels can lose their alignment leading to increase in frictional forces leading to quicker wear and tear (Ashby and Jones 418). The second performance issue is that the wheel must be able to handle torque when the luggage is in motion. The specific requirement here is the capacity to retain rigidity (Ashby and Jones 419). The wheel must also handle the shear forces on the surface and body of the wheel without losing consistency. The third aspect that the wheel must handle satisfactorily is friction between the wheels and the axle. A poor design or choice of material for the wheel may lead to enlargement of the centre of the wheel. In summary, apart from environmental factors, a luggage wheel must mee t the following performance specifications. 1. Ability to support the entire weight of the luggage 2. Ability to withstand frictional forces at the axle 3. Ability to shear forces on t
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