Developing Yourself as an Effective Team Member (M2.34)

DEVELOPING YOURSELF AS AN EFFECTIVE TEAM MEMBER (M2. 34) Understanding teams and teamwork The difference between a team and a group is that a team is internally organized, with specific roles for different members of the team. They all have the same aim and goal. A group is just a collection of people with something in common but each individual has a different goal.The  Forming – Storming – Norming – Performing  model of  group development  was first proposed by  Bruce Tuckman  in 1965, who maintained that these phases are all necessary and inevitable in order for the  team  to grow, to face up to challenges, to tackle problems, to find solutions, to plan work, and to deliver results. A group will become a team when the members understand the value of being together, personally and professionally, individually and organisationally. Their aims and objectives become one and it becomes well known that their goal will be best achieved through mutual support.Likewise, these factors also indicate when a group will become a team: * each team member’s viewpoint is respected and considered * regular meetings are held between team members and progress is observed * there is the feeling of trust and members are encouraged to apply their individual skills and talents to the task * sense of ownership is inculcated in all members * conflict is viewed as an opportunity for new ideas, creativity and improvement An example of when a group will become a team:A group of people walk into a lift. They all have different goals and agendas for being on the lift. The group becomes a team when the lift breaks down. Now they all have the same goal: Get out of the lift! The characteristics of a good team are: a clear, elevating goal understood by all, a results-driven structure, competent members who trust the judgement of others, unified commitment, a collaborative climate, and standards of excellence, principled leadership and members willin g to take risks.The advantages of working in a team are a combination of strengths you can get a good range of abilities, fields of expertise and personality types, a range of opinions: a group meeting is often very useful for ironing out flaws in a plan, testing it out, spotting pitfalls, divided responsibility: the team structure allows those who have strengths in a particular area to take more responsibility for that area, team spirit, opportunity to learn from others and to share ideas, motivation and a sense of belonging. Importance of communication within a teamTeam communication is significant because it has the  ability  to either build the team or tear it down. When communication is absent or ineffective in a team, the team unity will suffer. There will be lack of vision, motivation and purpose for existing. Where there is effective group communication, the group operates with one mind, spirit and common goal. Without team communication there is confusion, misunderstand ings and unhappy members. Group communication allows members to freely express themselves, and can provide accurate and comprehensive information.Communication in a team creates an environment of safety and security. Communication barriers: Language Language may act as a barrier to communication  even when communicating in the same language. The terminology used in a message may act as a barrier if it is not fully understood by the receiver. For example, a message that includes a lot of specialist jargon and abbreviations will not be understood by a receiver who is not familiar with the terminology used. DeafnessIn many instances hearing people will not take the time or make the effort to communicate with deaf people effectively. This is possible because they feel embarrassed or have no understanding of deafness. The deaf person feels frustrated and isolated from using vital services and support that have a right to access. Cultural Cultural barriers are a result of living in an e ver shrinking world. Different cultures, whether they are a societal culture of a race or simply the work culture of a company, can hinder developed communication if two different cultures clash.Deal with conflict in a team Some examples of behaviour that cause conflict in a team are: * putting the blame on someone else for your mistakes * force your own ideas on people * interrupt people when they are talking One method of reducing the first type of behaviour is admitting when you are in wrong or when you make a mistake and apologise to the rest of the team. Review own performance as a team member Belbin’s team roles are used to  identify people's behavioural strengths and weaknesses in the work place.This information can be used to: * Build productive working relationships * Select and develop high-performing teams * Raise self-awareness and personal effectiveness * Build mutual trust and understanding * Aid recruitment processes My team role is a co-ordinator and I feel I do fit my role when working in a team. I think I do perform well because I am confident and can express my ideas and viewpoints clearly. I do not hesitate to challenge or pick out the flaws out of other team member’s suggestions.What I do well is I am able to take control and lay down some discipline and order, I can listen to everyone’s opinions and ideas and I can include all team members. What I could do better is to be a little less demanding, less intimidating and control my temper as I get impatient with team members who are not willing to contribute. I could reduce my impatience by adopting a more calm; gentle but firm approach towards those team members who are not contributing as well I would want them to.

Cherokee Removal

The Cherokee people were forced out of their land because of the settler’s greed for everything and anything the land had to offer. Many Cherokee even embraced the â€Å"civilization program,† abandoning their own beliefs so that they may be accepted by white settlers. Unfortunately for the Cherokee though, the settlers would never accept them as an equal citizen. A quote from historian Richard White says it very well, â€Å"The Cherokee are probably the most tragic instance of what could have succeeded in American Indian policy and didn’t.All these things that Americans would proudly see as the hallmarks of civilization are going to the West by Indian people. They do everything they were asked except one thing. What the Cherokees ultimately are, they may be Christian, they may be literate, they may have a government like ours, but ultimately they are Indian. And in the end, being Indian is what killed them. † The Treaty of Hopewell was set up in 1785 and was made with all the good intentions, but nobody to enforce the rules. It was set up to start setting up friendly relations with the Cherokee, but also to define the Cherokee borders.It gave the Cherokees the right to expel of any unwanted person that was on their land. Even with this treaty though people of both Georgia and North Carolina moved onto the Cherokees land, taking as they pleased. This caused there to be battles between settlers and Cherokee. There was a big racial issue when it came to battles though. Whenever the settlers would win a battle it was called an Indian war, but when the Indians would win, it was called a massacre. Henry Knox soon stepped into the picture and he came believing that it was inevitable that both â€Å"civilized† and â€Å"uncivilized† peoples should fight so much.In order to ratify this he implemented a â€Å"civilization program. † As a part of this program, in order to be considered â€Å"civilized† one had to dr ess, think, act, speak, work, and worship the same way. Knox felt the Cherokee just needed some time to learn these ways. Knox set up the Treat of Holston in 1791 where it stated, â€Å"That the Cherokee nation may be let to a greater degree of civilization, and to become herdsmen and cultivators, instead of remaining in a state of hunters, the United States will, from time to time, furnish a gratuitously the said nation with useful implements of husbandry. For the Cherokee this meant leaving many of their traditions behind and embracing the American way of life in order to keep their land. In order to be â€Å"civilized† Cherokee men had to cease hunting and attend to either the fields of herd livestock. This was due to the view by the settlers that the Cherokee men were lazy because the settlers viewed hunting as fun and a sport. Because many felt that working in the fields was something that is a woman’s job many turned to herding livestock as an alternative. Chero kee women were told that they could no longer work in the fields but should work in the household as a subservient.Many of the Cherokee had a hard time with this as well because they felt that the women settlers were lazy and they did not want their women to be the same way. Soon though many Cherokee women began working in the household, cooking, cleaning, or sewing. The main way Cherokees could be considered â€Å"civilized† was to accept Christianity. The U. S. government sent missionaries into Indian Territory to build schools. At these schools though they not only taught literature, math, and English, but they also taught young Cherokees how to read using the Bible and also taught them how to pray.Many Cherokees ended up accepting Christianity with a select few not willing, but that was no different than how many white settlers were. Due to the â€Å"civilization program† many Cherokees became extremely wealthy and even ended up purchasing slaves to do field work. These Cherokee men became key political leaders for the Cherokee nation. They would end up writing and applying their very own â€Å"Constitution of the Cherokee Nation† which was made very similar to out very own constitution. The main concern for most of the Cherokee was land and due to that it was the first thing to be outlined in the Cherokee Constitution.In Article 1-Section 1 it states the boundaries they now posses because of the treaties made with the U. S. and also states that those boundaries shall forever be their land. Cherokees made another important law about the selling of land as well in order to keep their borders, â€Å"The Cherokee Nation Council advised the United States that it would refuse future cession requests and enacted a law prohibiting the sale of national land upon penalty of death. † Even with these laws in place a small group of Cherokee set out against the rest of the Nation.Major Ridge, John Ridge, and Elias Boudinot, signed a removal treat at the Cherokee capital of New Echota without the authority of Principal Chief John Ross or the Cherokee government. The Treaty of New Echota required the Cherokee Nation to exchange its national lands for a parcel in the â€Å"Indian Territory† set aside by Congress, in what is now Oklahoma, in 1834 and to relocate there within two years. The federal government promised to remit $5 million to the Cherokee Nation, compensate individuals for their buildings and fixtures, and pay for the costs of relocation and acclimation.The United States also promised to honor the title of the Cherokee Nation's new land, respect its political autonomy, and protect its tribe from future trespasses. Even though it was completed without the sanction of the Cherokee national government, the U. S. Senate ratified the treaty by a margin of one vote. Presidential Chief John Ross tried to prove that it was done without majority consent by getting 16,000 Cherokees to sign a document against the treaty. Ross tried to fight against the treaty till 1838, when the U. S. army was sent into the Cherokee Nation.In October, the Cherokees were herded into wooden stockades with no food, water, blankets, or sanitation. Most of them were barefoot and had no coats or blankets, yet they were forced to cross-rivers in sub-zero weather. There was about 22,000 Cherokees that were forced out of their homes on the Trail of Tears and a total of about 5,500 died along the way of exposure, starvation, and disease. A guard wrote, â€Å"I fought through the War (Civil War), and I saw men shot to pieces and slaughtered by the thousands, but the Cherokee Removal was the cruelest work I ever knew. †Despite everything the Cherokees did†¦changing all of their traditions, trying to negotiate, and finally trying to protect themselves with laws†¦it did not matter. All the settlers wanted from the beginning was to manipulate and take every bit of land they could from the Cherokee. The Ch erokee followed the â€Å"civilization program† and settlers only thought that, no matter what; an Indian could never be â€Å"civilized. † As the historian Richard White put at the beginning, â€Å"And in the end, being Indian is what killed them. † Cherokee Removal President Washington and Mr.. Knox did not take into consideration owe the United States people would feel about the Cherokee; they felt that no matter what the Cherokee were taught that they would never fully be equal because of race. The Cherokee accepted some of the changes and resisted others, eventually this led to the forced removal of the Cherokee. After several failed treaty attempts, the Cherokee finally accepted that they would have to leave when soldiers arrived.The final negotiation was for the Cherokee to be able to move alone in the winter or 1838-39 and this would become known as the â€Å"Trail of Tears† because so many Cherokee died along the way. Becoming Civilized† meant changing the ways that the Cherokee were accustomed to. Cherokee women would be more homemakers and the farming that they had done in the past would now fall to the men who had once been the hunters of wild game. The experiment would have the Cherokee taking on more cattle, hogs and th ey would also begin to raise sheep.In addition to planting corn they would also plant, cotton, wheat and flax. This also changed how some Cherokee viewed themselves and the way they looked at family. One example of that change would be Young Wolf, whom after he died and his Last Will and Testament dead showed how the views of the Cherokee had started shifting. Before Cherokee traced themselves through their mothers; this meant that when Young Wolf died his land and other possessions should have gone to his sister's children.This however did not happen; he left his estate to his son. â€Å"A Cherokee view of civilization† had begun early with Cherokee chiefs' sons' moving about the white community easily. They had been educated, were now living in regular housing, had started growing crops such as cotton, and were becoming involved with politics. One such son was named John Ridge, â€Å"he became involved in national politics as a promoter of civilization and as a patriot who helped to execute the unscrupulous chief Doubleheader for an illegal land sale† (Purdue and Green, 32).John Ridge was a big promoter in the â€Å"civilization† process, he was also â€Å"particularly interested in charting culture change among the Cherokees† (Purdue and Green, 34). In order to reach the Cherokee people the United States government had â€Å"Christian missions† become involved, as the agent that the government had placed among the Cherokee had not fulfilled the Job. Missionaries took on the role of civilizing the Cherokee, â€Å"they set up schools, model farms and served as the United States postmasters.This peaceful partnership of missionaries and government agents had a relatively brief tenure† (Purdue and Green, 45). With the missionaries immersed with the Cherokees they would prove to not only be education teachers but also teachers of manners and dress; and some would also begin to side with the Cherokee people. The United Sta tes government wanted a way to keep track of the Cherokee so in 1835 they would begin â€Å"quantifying Cherokee civilization†. They wanted to know as much as they could about where and what the Cherokee were doing.The government looked at the makeup of the Cherokee family within each home; this included whether or not the family had full blooded, squadrons, half-breeds or whites that were related by marriage. This was not all that the government concerned themselves with, they also took note of the style of homes, crops raised, acres farmed, closeness of mills and ferries. The Cherokee were growing tired of how the governments, both federal and state, were treating them so they adopted â€Å"the Cherokee Constitution of 1827†³ which s similar to that of the United States constitution but it also had some differences as well. The men who convened at New Echoed, the Cherokee capital in the summer of 1827, were no more representative of the Cherokees than the United State s founding fathers were of the Americans. They were more likely to be wealthy, literate, and Christian than the average Cherokee† (Purdue and Green, 58). The Georgia governor did not like the fact that the Cherokee were trying to put together their own constitution and asked President John Quince Adams to step in however, President Adams would not.Since the President would not step in â€Å"the Georgia Laws† were created to try and force the hands of both President Jackson and the Cherokee Nation. These laws were designed to let both the United States and Cherokee Nation know that Georgia meant business and if need be they would take the land that the Cherokee people occupied by force because that land belonged to her. The testing of both the Cherokee Constitution and the Georgia laws would come when â€Å"Georgia and the Supreme Court† went to battle over the Georgia Guard arresting George Tassel a Cherokee citizen.Mr.. Tassel was arrested and convicted under Ge orgia law for murdering another Cherokee within the Cherokee Nation. The Cherokee Council went to the Supreme Court and challenged this ruling because they stated that Georgia law had no meaning in the Cherokee Nation. This however did not prevent Georgia from executing Mr.. Tassel and it also didn't prevent them from creating more laws to make life even harder for the Cherokee Nation. The goal of Georgia from the very beginning had always been â€Å"dispossessing the Cherokees† so they could have Cherokee land.Georgia wanted the Cherokee gone and they thought they had found way when â€Å"a federal agent realized that many of the wealthiest, including Principal Chief John Ross, had accepted reserves (individual or personal reservations) under the terms of the treaties of 1817 and 1819† (Purdue and Green, 84). To politicians within Georgia this meant that the Cherokee had no right to the land that they had acquired within the Nation in Georgia. Soon people who had star t coming into Georgia and the Cherokee Nation and were considered the â€Å"white intruders† because they would push the Cherokee people out of their homes and off of their land.This was because Georgia had passed more laws were making it okay for people to Just come in and push the Cherokees off of their land. The Cherokee Nation was surveyed and plotted into lots; lotteries were held for males, widows, orphans all of whom could obtain one ticket, however a veteran could obtain two tickets. Once the lotteries were held, names drawn and small fees paid those that won that piece of land could then go in and take it from the rightful Cherokee owners. In Defense of the Cherokees: the William Penn Essays† were actually works of â€Å"Jeremiah Averts, hive administrative officer of the large interdenominational missionary consortium the American Board of Commissionaires for Foreign Missions† (Purdue and Green, 103). These essays were in defense of the Cherokee and wha t Georgians people were doing to them; it was also a way for other people to let the President and Congress know how they felt about the treatment of the Cherokee people and the forceful removal that the Cherokee faced.These essays led to â€Å"American women organize against removal† with the lead role being taken by Catherine Beechen, who was not only an educator but a writer as well, she wrote anonymously on behalf of the Cherokee people. With her Journal articles â€Å"she called for women to petition Congress to defeat the impending Indian Removal Act† (Purdue and Green, 110-11). â€Å"Opposition to Indian removal, therefore, politically empowered women in the United States and provided them with a public voice despite their disfranchisement† (Purdue and Green, 111).However, â€Å"Lewis Sacs Justifies removal† because he was presumed to be the leading figure for United States Indian Policy; this is because of his experience with the Great Lake Indian s. Mr.. Sacs believes that if the Indians do not become civilized and remain uncivilized that they will perish. This led to Mr.. Sacs writing his opinion of why he thought it necessary to remove the Cherokee from Georgia; the Cherokee would not honor Georgia law. The Cherokee felt that they need only to obey Cherokee law; Mr..Sacs disagreed with that thought and let it be known that the Cherokee would need to be removed if they could not follow state law. â€Å"Congress Acts† like a bunch of overbearing bullies; Georgia finally gets what it wants and the â€Å"Indian Removal Act† is passed on May 28, 1830. The â€Å"Indian Removal Act† was not pretty in the fact that there was a bunch of bitter, emotional and exhausting arguing going on in both the House and the Senate. However, evil won out over good in the fact that the Bill passed and the President still refused to stand up for the Cherokee against Georgia.This is when â€Å"Andrew Jackson applauds the Remov al Act† in his State of the Union address, December 8, 1829. â€Å"Andrew Jackson's address publicly clarified his recognition of the sovereign rights of the states over the Indian country within their borders† (Purdue and Green, 125). President Jackson ever felt as if the Cherokee or any Indian would or could be civilized. â€Å"The Indians, therefore, had two choices: They could emigrate beyond the Mississippi or submit to the laws of those States† (Purdue and Green 125). â€Å"Women and removal† in 1817 and 1818; had on two separate occasions Cherokee women choosing to speak up.They spoke up when it came to the removal and the allotment of lands. They did not want to move and they did not want any more land to be sold; they felt as if they had done everything that they possibly could to follow what the President had wanted them to do. They had â€Å"become farmers, manufactured their own clothing, to have our children instructed. To this advice we have attended in everything as far as we were able† (Purdue and Green, 133). So then Alias Biotin's editorials in The Cherokee Phoenix† took up the cause for the Cherokee people.The newspaper was for anyone who subscribed, so not only Cherokee, but United States citizens and British could read about the plight of the Cherokee people; the paper would go into detail about Cherokee removal, correspondence from the President, Secretary of War and Principal Chief as well as the position of the Cherokee on removal. â€Å"The Treaty of New Echoed† was drawn up and it involved Alias Button, John Ridge, and other Cherokee leaders after the realization that they would probably never receive the justice they deserved.This realization finally came after missionaries that had sided with the Cherokee had been ordered released by the Supreme Court and Georgia refused to do so. This new treaty set up provisions for the Cherokee; they would receive pay for their losses and provisions for the move. However, the â€Å"the opposition continues† with John Ross, Principal Chief for the Cherokee, trying everything that he knew to do to try and prevent the injustices that were being aired out against the Cherokee.He not only tried to get the Treaty of New Echoed thrown out because he claimed that the Treaty Party, â€Å"behaved unethically, illegally, and undemocratically and he believed they had subverted the incontrovertible will of the people† (Purdue and Green, 153). John Ross also tried his best to get more money for the land in the East, title to the land in the west guaranteed, alternatives to removal, and possibly emigration into Mexico so that the Cherokee people would be finished with the United States once and for all.None of these worked for John Ross o he took to writing about the injustices done to the Cherokee people not only by the United States but also by the Treaty Party, with the help of a friend John Howard Payne. â€Å"The Treaty Pa rty's Defense† was taken up by Alias Button who along with the others whom had formed the Treaty Party believed that the only way for Cherokees to get out of their current situation was to give up land. The Georgia Laws prevented the Cherokee from holding any type of elections or debates regarding the removal process and so therefore Button could not voice his opinions or concerns for the Cherokee people.The only way that Button had to get his point across was to start writing about what he felt the Cherokee people needed to hear in other publications. Button also felt that most Cherokee would and could not make rational decisions when it came to removal. This all led up to â€Å"enrollment† for the Cherokees which was not only a slow process but one that not many would take into consideration. The Cherokee that did enroll would revoke their citizenship and then there was the matter of discouraging others from signing the enrollment forms. With Georgia being so mad abou t the slowness of the move, President Jackson appointed n 1831 Benjamin F.Currency as chief enrolling agent. Mr.. Currency wanted to make the lives of the Cherokee Indians so bad that they would take to the move without further stall. However, â€Å"forced removal† would come to the Cherokee in the end; they were forced into stockades in which many died before the move even began. Some of the missionaries whom had been with the Cherokee and had taken up their cause went along with them to the stockades. This move would prove to the Cherokee Just how much the missionaries cared for them and the situation that the United States had put the Cherokee people in.Even Jones was one of those missionaries and he would be placed in charge of one of the many detachments of Cherokee people when they finally start moving along the Trail of Tears. Once the move began the Cherokee people would be â€Å"waiting to cross the Mississippi† because of huge chunks of ice which made the dan gerous river even more so. Some of the detachments of Cherokee would camp along the river as they waited for the thaw to occur; this waiting was unbearable, extremely cold and very damp. These conditions were another reason some of the Cherokee would not make it to the new Cherokee Nation.The removal to the new Cherokee Nation was not only difficult for the older Cherokee but also to the Cherokee children. â€Å"Removal through a child's eyes† was a very difficult thing to swallow; the children see that their lives are not being valued by the United States. They are being forced to move once again from land that is rightfully their peoples; some of them are also being separated from their families. For them it is probably difficult to understand the full extent of what is happening and some of them were told of what happened as they grew up because of their young age at the mime of the removal.Once the Cherokee finally reach their destination it is time for â€Å"rebuilding the Cherokee Nation† which still consists of political turmoil; however, the resilient Cherokee people are starting to rebuild their lives. Not only are they building homes, but they are farming, sending their children to school and attending council meetings. It is as if things are starting to become normal for them again; they want to forget the past and look towards their future. â€Å"Removal 150 years later† is still something that should be taught and talked about. As you read of the things that theUnited States people did to the natives of this great country it is Just horrendous to think that this is how this country began. In reading the Cherokee Removal it teaches you Just the kind of trials and tribulations that the Cherokee people went through. To think that the people of the United States called the Cherokee or other Indians uncivilized is a laughing matter; if anyone in this country was uncivilized it would be the people who came in and took over what righ tfully belonged to the natives. Cherokee Removal is something that should have never been allowed to happen; hey were here first.If the Cherokee rebelled they had every right to do so, they were losing everything that they had worked for to people who hadn't lifted a finger to do so. This brings me to a whole new realization that the great United States and her people back then were not so great, they were bullies, many of which would not stand up for what is right in this world. They wouldn't take a stand to those who thought that they could Just come in and take over a land that did not belong to them. People of power sometimes Just need a good cold lesson in manners and hat's right and what's wrong.

Alumni Tracking System

To provide a systematic method to monitor and track the level of engagement and satisfaction the alumni body has for USED. Survey will provide more than a simple percentage satisfied, it will provide diagnostic information about what is driving satisfaction and engagement, where there are strengths and weaknesses, and what level of engagement the alumni are reporting. The data would be broken down and analyzed by segment (class year, geographic location, activity level, etc. ).On an on-going basis (biennially), this measurement tool will provide USED and the Alumni Association with a old, fact-based means of identifying where progress is being made and where deficiencies need to be addressed. Method: Online survey conducted by sending an email invitation to email addresses of USED alumni. Survey would be conducted on a biennial basis. Survey window would be open for approximately 2-3 weeks when alumni could respond and provide their ratings. Rather than expend resources to develop a survey tool, the Alumni Office will contract with a professional, independent organization utilizing an existing survey. The use of the independent organization will give additional weight to the survey. Using a survey that has been developed over the past decade by alumni professionals around the country will help with benchmarking toward the development of best practices. Identifying trends and motivators will help target programming and communications more effectively, deepening the level of engagement with alumni. Sharing this data with administrators, faculty, and other staff across campus will help in the effort to increase awareness Of, and build support for, alumni engagement efforts.

Incarceration of the Mentally Challenged Term Paper

Incarceration of the Mentally Challenged - Term Paper Example Recently, it has been a common practice of the mentally challenged being locked in the prisons which has forced many to argue on the best practice of this incarceration. Mostly this has happened without the prior scrutiny of the culprits and their disorders (Grob, 243). It is a common knowledge that the mentally disabled persons have various and highly demanding needs which need be addressed in the best way possible. Significantly, other than pushing to protect the society they live in, the mentally challenged have the need to be cured of their illness which compels them to break the laws. Remarkably, the mentally ill persons are not in the position of making the right decisions due to their abnormalities. They commit themselves to actions without the prior knowledge or awareness of the emergent repercussions and consequences they will suffer as result. Notably, in the absence of their mental disorder these persons would be upright and function normally as the other healthy people. I n view of this, exemplary procedures and measures must be established by the concerned authorities to safeguard the incarceration of this suffering group of human kind (Grob, 245). Although the number of persons with mental retardation is minimal an increasing population of this has fallen within the jurisdiction of the criminal justice system. For a long time, the issue of locking the mentally challenged in the prisons has not been the best practice. As a fact, in many states little or no provision has been made for the mentally ill offenders accruing to inequitable harsh dispositions which are very expensive to the states (Grob, 245). More over many mentally challenged persons have been incarcerated for offences they have never committed. In the course of their arrest and subsequent prosecution, many are the times the perceived offenders confess of doing what they never did. This has been occasioned by their childlike ways of thinking and fear of the authorities leading to little long term perceptions. Essentially, such acts and confessions have forced the mentally retarded to wave their rights without a clear knowledge of what they are really doing (Larson et al. 240) In addition, the mentally ill are bound by numerous misfortunes. These people are jobless and as a consequence they make no income. During the pretrial incarceration only those who can afford bails which are typically accorded to the employed or with stable and secure living conditions are saved the unjust and cruel treatment in the prisons. Remarkably, by virtue of the retarded lacking bails condemns them to unfair incarceration (Larson et al. 244). Another challenge faced by the mentally ill is in the issue of securing a plea bargaining during the court process and ultimate sentencing. Though unaware, these persons provide the prosecutors with highly incriminating evidence against themselves than the normal persons. This makes them less successful in bargaining for their punishment within th e law. Furthermore, aggressive prosecutors are continuously lowering the credibility of their testimonies which makes them highly unreliable. Factually, the mentally retarded are serving long jails and high rate sentences since they cannot be accorded probations. This has been necessitated by the inequalities of the justice system which advocates granting probation to those of sound mind and possessing great education and work backgrounds (Larson et al. 246). Notably, the

What issues involving straight women have been resolved since the Essay

What issues involving straight women have been resolved since the 1920s in the United States, and which have not - Essay Example Yet, business enterprises did not easily accept the notion that women deserve equal remuneration as that of their male colleagues. While the magnitude of the disparity had eased up during the subsequent decades of the century, the issue is not satisfactorily resolved. The disparity is not just confined to the realm of business. Even in interpersonal relations, starting from courtship, men prefer women who earn lesser than they do. Toward the end of the twentieth century, where a small but significant number of Fortune 500 Chief Executive Officers are women, there is no apparent change in the mentality of men. Hence, while the law affords equal economic opportunities for men and women, deep-rooted prejudices and cultural norms have thwarted further progress for women. The status of women as second class work-force is at no time better expressed during economic crisis. In the history of the United States since the 1920s, in each episode of economic recession, more women lose jobs when compared to men. While the reasons given by employers are ‘rationalization’, ‘right-sizing’ or ‘redundancy’, it is obvious that gender is a significant factor in the equation. These tendencies are best exemplified by the film Nor th Country starring Charlize Theron as a working class single mother. But, all is not doom and gloom for women. Laws pertaining to marriage, divorce and child custody have been amended time and again in favor of women. This is a crucial victory for American women and serves to symbolize the break down of the conventionally patriarchic justice system. The percentage of the ex-husband’s wealth that the ex-wife is legally entitled to has increased multiple times in the last fifty years or so. The 1960’s civil rights movement, which originated from agitations by the Black American community, has had a spill over effect on other areas of

Discuss the usefulness and problems with contingency theories in Essay

Discuss the usefulness and problems with contingency theories in understanding organisational structure. How relevant can they b - Essay Example It is relevant to consider development of contingency theory and its application to organizational structure in order organizations’ managers had an opportunity to develop flexible approaches to organizational structural development. Therefore, contingency theory is an alternative for organizations looking for solution of their current problems and tending to structural changes. A basic conceptual framework of contingency theory is a phrase â€Å"it depends† (Donaldson, 2001). Therefore, any managerial solution should be made with regard to the external factors of a certain situation in an organization. Moreover, a great role in establishing organizational structure plays nature of the environment of organization. In accordance with the contingency theory: â€Å"there is no one best way to organize; any way of organizing is not equally effective† (Galbraith, 1973). In case a perfect relation between nature of organization, external environment and organizational characteristics is established, an organization is on the right way to performance. Such kind of match is called a ‘contingency theory’ or ‘contingency perspective/view’ (Donaldson, 2001). Studies of organizational structures in relation to external conditions of organizations’ operation resulted in studies based on the contingency theory. ... In the study made by Burns and Stalker (1961) mechanistic and organic principles of organizations were discussed. In organizations, where mechanistic principles prevailed, top managers developed a policy. Such kind of organizations was characterized by inflexible policies and rigid decision making. Luthans (1973) develops the idea of relation of contingency theory to management theory. Before theory developed by Luthans management theories were not related to each other. For example, process theory was based on planning, organizing, directing, and controlling (Donaldson, 1996). In order to find a perfect balance between management theories, contingency theory was a unifying approach defining interrelatedness and mutual dependence of all integrative parts of management theories. This approach was broadened and resulted in a â€Å"theoretical model of Structural Adaptation to Regain Fit (SARFIT)† (Donaldson, 1987, 2001). This model can be interpreted in the following manner: in case an organization finds a best relation between internal and external resources, it reaches high performance levels. It is a right way to reach size growth, introduce innovations and diversification (Hamilton and Shergill, 1992). Contingency variables may lead to organizational misfit to external factors. As a result, levels of performance are decreased and structural changes are introduced (Chandler, 1962). SARFIT theory implies consideration of structural contingency theory as relation between divisionalization changes and strategic changes. Bums and Stalker (1961) are focused on â€Å"discussion about changes in mechanistic and organic structures with regard to technological and market change in the external conditions† (Bums and Stalker, 1961).

Project Management Organizational Structures Paper Research

Project Management Organizational Structures - Research Paper Example Each form of organizational structure has its strengths and weaknesses, and is able to handle particular projects based on the context. Functional organizational structure involves divisions based on major functional areas such as marketing, finance, human resource, manufacturing, and so on (Meredith and Mantel, 2012). Functional organizational allows flexibility in staff planning and resource allocation because functional divisions can act as the administrative base for a project. Further the functional unit may be specialized to tackle the project thereby providing the technical expertise required to successfully complete the project. Additionally functional structure allows the technical expertise and know-how to be concentrated in the units and hence available to work on different projects. The staff can be shifted from one project to another while the functional division continues to provide a pool of experiences and specialized staff (Meredith and Mantel, 2012). The functional division acts as the center of specialists which ensures availability of specialized staff to work on different projects. The presence of experienced staff also enables the relevant expertise to be channeled into the project for successful execution and completion of the project. Lastly, the functional organizational structure organizes the specialists in a unit so that the arrangement not only helps in project execution but also in the advancement of the appropriate talent. A downside to functional organizational form is that it puts clients at the backseat. Often client interests are not the focus but functional units focus more on the work and how the expert staff is allocated to the projects (Meredith and Mantel, 2012). This sometimes leads to client interests to be ignored. The fact that the functional organizational form deals with functional areas means that the form is more inclined towards the activities involved in the project completion. It is

The Grand Rapids Michigan Furniture Strike of 1911 Essay

The Grand Rapids Michigan Furniture Strike of 1911 - Essay Example Grand Rapids workforce was within a few ways in advance of to a large extent of the state in provisos of manual labor categorized & division awareness. The fundamental manual labor assemblage, the  Knights of Labor, embarked on management in Grand Rapids in 1883 & was prominent in receiving Grand Rapids to be solitary of the primary metropolis to commemorate May Day following the  1886 Haymarket mutiny. The KOL too acquired associates nominated to the Grand Rapids municipality charge at the closing stages of the 19th  Century & near the beginning fraction of the 20th  Century. Next toward the identical era the workforce were systematizing, the home production privileged were in addition running on top of conduct to engender further affluence and opinionated have power over all through the metropolis. The furnishings corporation proprietor were a rigid interlace faction that engaged a propos one third of the labor force in the near the beginning part of the 20th  Century & h ad initiated their personal furnishings maker organization in 1881 trailed via an owner society in 1905 that had notice certificate on each employee in the furnishings production. Additionally, the furnishings mugger magnate had as well instigated to be in charge of a vast deal of the neighborhood bank and intertwined structure of to be in command of inside the furnishings manufacturing amid proprietor sitting additional panel of administrators of apiece other corporations (Powell, 2007).  In truth, the intertwined scheme of industrial unit proprietor & the neighborhood depository arrangement was therefore so noteworthy that they were below examination pro infringement of antitrust act. The rampant affluence of the furnishings tycoon & the mounting manual labor strife around the state that was belligerent pro an eight hour exertion daylight hours, improved earnings, improved functioning environment & the desire to organize was the ideal framework for a colossal clout in 1911. Pres ently there are incongruity above the definite numeral of workforce who went on the clout, bar nearly all historians give the impression in the direction to place the figure at 4,000 originally & while numerous as 7,200 next to the conclusion of the four month clout. Workforce jointly sauntered off the post on April 19, 1911 in remonstration in opposition to the furnishings proprietor deficient of rejoinder to employee demand. April 19 was in addition the date subsequent to the furnishings manufacturer organization had in print a reaction to the workforce pronounce so as to that they wouldn't consent to communal haggle. The clout swelled rapidly & integrated the prop up of the Mayor & the Catholic Church underneath the headship of Bishop. Ultimately the furnishings proprietor pulled in strike breakers to endeavor to maintain the industrial unit unwraps and generating. Subsequent the objection on 19th April 1911, manufacturing entity landowner akin to Harry Widdicomb warren within th eir heel, & implemented their preeminent to preserve make up via means of conveying within supplementary physical employee. Umbrage elevated amid the conspicuous labor force. Anxiety flew into a rage on 15th May subsequent to Widdicomb shot to pressurize industrial action breaker in the route of the workplace all the way through a mass of a propos 1,200 protester & followers amassed on the John Widdicomb Co. on Fifth Street NW. That belatedly daylight, populace poured

Being Clear on What Is and What Should Be Queer. This Essay

Being Clear on What Is and What Should Be Queer. This Conceptualization Of Queer - Essay Example It is inferred from Harding’s essay that because of heteronormativity, queer includes fat women, whose only chance of experiencing sex is by being raped. In The Trouble with Normal, Warner examines the dilemma of determining and pursuing what is normal. Being normal casts negative shadows on what is queer, which is why Warner thinks it is wrong for the Mattachine Society to toss aside the issue of sex to gain respectability and normativity. Two definitions of queer emerge because society defines it as having sexual norms that are against heteronormativity, something that is sinful and pathological (or what queer should be), while Harding and Warner describe it as composed of variations to the norm, where everyone has equal sexual agency (or what queer is). Society defines queer as opposite to acceptable heterosexual norms and practices. Sex is central to the concept of queer, but society, in its heterosexual morality, seeks to undermine queer sex as improper, immoral sex. Hard ing and Warner question the dominant social definition of queer as a negative sexual attitude and behavior just because it is outside heteronormativity. Who defines what is queer? For Harding, the hypermasculine culture defines queer vis-a-vis its sexual and political interests. She asserts that society conditions women to live for their â€Å"primary obligation†: â€Å"to make [themselves] pretty for heterosexual men’s pleasure† (68). Queer women, by sexually desiring the same sex, are clashing with their predominant obligation. Furthermore, queer is defined not according to what the defined actually feels, but how heterosexual society describes it should be. Harding criticizes society and the media for having a skewed understanding of beauty and attraction, which is the basis of political and social roles, functions, and boundaries. After discussing how society and the media pressure fat people to be thin, Harding notes that it is clear that: â€Å"†¦fat is Not Hot† (74, capital letters from original text). Beauty is reserved for the thin, and people are supposed to be attracted only to thin people. Queer is unattractive to heterosexual norms. Another definition from mainstream society is that queer is abnormal and must be concealed or changed to suit heteronormativity. Warner criticizes the efforts of some gay organizations to desexualize their struggles because the essence of being queer is being sexual and being open about it. He stresses that homosexuality is central to the fight for gender equality: â€Å"It is hard to claim that homosexuality is irrelevant as long as you feel the need to make the claim† (46). Sex and sexuality are political centers of the aspiration for personhood. Warner argues that sex is politics and queer is political. In 1953, the Mattachine Society’s new leaders assert the importance of â€Å"integrating† as a way of showing the public â€Å"new maturity† (Warner 46). T o integrate is to be non-sexual and to be non-sexual is to forget that sexuality is a political struggle for the queer. And to forget that queer is sexual and political is to say that queer is dead and must remain so. Warner’s point is that by desexualizing the queer movement, the queer are accepting the social definition that they are not acceptable because they are not the norm. Queer is abnormal and must remain hidden in the bathrooms and bushes. Fat women are queer too because their physical characteristics put them at the fringes of physical attraction. Harding points this out persuasively, as she analyzes the heterosexual norm, where: â€Å"

A key issue that was faced by the New Testament Church Essay Example for Free

A key issue that was faced by the New Testament Church Essay Examine a key issue that was faced by the New Testament Church (Prostitution). Could these arguments used in the first century be used by the Church of today for this problem? Prostitution is the performance of sexual acts solely for the purpose of material gain. Persons prostitute themselves when they grant favours to others in exchange for money, gifts or other payments and in so doing; use their bodies as commodities. In legal terms, the word prostitute refers only to those who engage overtly in such sexual-economic transactions, usually for a specific sum of money. Prostitutes may be of either sex, but throughout history, the majority have been women, reflecting both the traditional socio-economic dependence of women and the tendency to exploit female sexuality. Although prostitution has often been characterised as the worlds oldest profession, the concept of women as property, which prevailed in most centuries until the end of the nineteenth century, meant that the profits of the profession most often ended up in the hands of the men who controlled it. Men have traditionally been characterised as procurers and customers, but during the latter half of the twentieth century, they are increasingly being identified as prostitutes themselves, who generally serve male customers and sometimes impersonate women. The Torah (Law) had little to say on the subject of secular prostitution. It prohibited parents from dedicating their children as sacred prostitutes, but there is nothing to tell us whether its authors would have objected equally to the ideas of a master making his slave-woman a secular prostitute or even a father doing so with his daughter. There are two references to secular prostitution in the Old Testament, which offer any details as to how it was regarded. In both cases, an unmarried women is understood to have chosen this course of action on her own and thereby brought disgrace on her father. In one passage, a priests daughter who plays the harlot is condemned to be burned for having profaned her father (Leviticus 21:9). One may think that she is part of her fathers household, either as not yet married or as a divorced or widowed woman. Her activity threatens the state of purity vital to the household, since its food comes largely from the altar of the temple. In Deuteronomy (22:13-21) a man charges that his wife was not found to be a virgin on her wedding night. If this were true, she would be stoned for having played the harlot in her fathers house. In other words, she has engaged in sexual intercourse when she ought to have been guarding her virginity carefully in order to be a suitable bride. In the process, she has exposed her father to shame of having misrepresented her state in negotiating her marriage. It is not clear from the passage that she actually receives payment for her services; the point seems to be, rather, that she has deprived her father and her prospective husband of their rights in her. What was wrong with prostitution, from the perspective of ancient Israel, was not so much the giving or receiving of payment for sexual intercourse as it was the removal of sexual intercourse from the framework of property and hierarchy which normally contained it and ensured that it was placed at the service of the family. Such an interpretation is made explicit in a more extensive critique of prostitution found in Proverbs. After warning the reader against the wiles of the loose woman, the author contrasts the positive ideal of possessing a wife with a negative prospect of wasting ones resources on a courtesan (Proverbs 5:15-23). Having said that, one cannot treat wisdom literature as if it were the same genre as legislation. It is clear that Proverbs agrees with the Torah in understanding prostitution, as violation to Gods will, not merely as something to be avoided for prudential reasons. Still, the justification offered for the prohibition is intrusive as to the ethical framework in which the prohibition itself belonged. Prostitution was wrong because it stood outside the normal patriarchal system in which the male head of the household owned one or more women as sexual partners. As such, it threatened the interests of the family. The man might feel that he had received full value for his expense, but the family gained nothing at all from his patronising of the prostitute. His action, therefore was a betrayal of his responsibilities, since he existed not to gratify his own desires but to maintain and enhance the fortunes of his fathers house. What the Torah and Proverbs agree upon then is the condemnation of those who place personal gratification ahead of family duty. The Torah condemns the unmarried woman who prefers sexual pleasure above her obligations as a good daughter of the household who must preserve her marriageability, which is, indeed the familys investment in her. Proverbs condemns the man who spends family resources on private pleasure. He should marry a woman and be content with the sexual pleasure he receives from her. Proverbs was concerned to make the prostitute sound as unscrupulous and unattractive as possible. The Torah was speaking to the woman who was trying to behave as an unattached individual in pursuit of pleasure while still remaining under the protection of her father. According to the Torah, prostitution, though a slightly less serious crime than adultery, was wrong insofar as it represented the triumph of individual gratification over against the principle of subordination to the family. The matter of prostitution receives very little attention from the Gospel writers, but it appears in a significant pronouncement of Jesus. The tax collectors and the prostitutes, he said, were entering the Kingdom of God ahead of respectable religious leaders (chief priests and elders) because they believed the preaching of John the Baptist (Matt 21:23-32). Since John preached repentance (Matt 3:2) one may suspect that prostitutes ceased to be such when they came to believe the message. It proves difficult, however, to be certain. The tax collectors presumably did not cease to be tax collectors (In Luke 19:1-10, the tax collector Zacchaeus, upon his conversion, gave half of his property to the poor and made amends to those he has defrauded). A prostitute would have found it singularly difficult to emerge from her low place in the community. We know little about them in Jewish times. In the contemporary Gentile world, however, most of them were slaves, who could not legally abandon their status. Even free prostitutes, if poor, would have had only the most limited of options, since they would not have been acceptable as wives. Our own presuppositions, then, may perhaps dictate whether we think of these women as giving up prostitution or not. Luke 7:36-50 sees Jesus anointed by a public sinner. While she is not labelled as a prostitute, it is one conclusion that could be possibly said about her. Jesus accepts her intentions, contrasts them favourably with those of her host, the Pharisee, and finally says, Her sins, many as they are, are forgiven because she has loved much (7:47). This does not tell us what Jesus preferred prostitutes to do, but it does suggest that he did not make grace conditional on prostitutes escaping her place in society. The most significant thing is that Jesus held them up to the religious leadership as a model of repentance for them to follow, thus implying that the respectable are not unlike the prostitutes in respect to sin. Since Jesus held them up as a religious example, we may guess that although he took prostitution to be ethically wrong, he followed the example of Proverbs in appointing blame to the man who visited the prostitute more than to the prostitute herself. Paul has little to say about sexual ethics in his main doctrinal statement, the Epistle to the Romans, except the forceful identification of sexual immorality with humanities alienation from God (Romans 1:24-27). However, in his letters to the other churches he is forced to address the topic because of the behaviour of certain individuals in those churches, particularly at Corinth. The Christians at Corinth produced highly divergent interpretations of what the Gospel demanded in the way of sexual ethics, ranging from libertinism to a complete rejection of both marriage and sexual intercourse. It is probable that the libertine party at Corinth had adopted slogans such as All things are permitted and Food is for the belly and the belly for food (implying that sexual intercourse is as uncomplicated an expression of natural desire as eating is). Paul argues that the body of a Christian belongs to Christ. Therefore, all sexual expression, then, must take Christs ownership into account. Sex with a prostitute might seem to establish no relationship at all beyond the brief one required for the sanctification of desire. Paul claims that every sexual act between man and woman established a union of flesh, like that of marriage. In other words, the prostitute and the man, who has used her, actually belong to each other for the duration of their sexual intercourse, though not beyond. In Pauls own terminology, the relationship thus established is one body; but in the terminology of Genesis, it is a relationship of one flesh. Paul insisted that the man who had intercourse with the prostitute was not unchanged by that act. However, it was destructive of ones spirit; the relation to Christ and to God: Every sin that a person commits is outside the body, but the man who uses harlots is sinning against his own body. (1 Corinthians 18-20) It is evident that where Proverbs discourages a man from using prostitutes because he belonged to his family, Paul discouraged it because he belonged to God. The body, the person as a whole, is the spirits temple, into which other forms of worship must not be introduced. One might well ask, then, whether the implication of this line of reasoning is not, finally, to forbid sexual intercourse altogether.1 From whichever interpretation or opinion one adopts, as a Christian, or more to the point, as human beings, it should be understood that the use of prostitutes or the actual act of prostitution is both morally and ethically wrong. It is a sin against God, in that it undervalues the gift of love, through intercourse, given to us by God, and moreover, it shows a lack of respect for the body and minds of others. BIBLIOGRAPHY Cave, S The Christian Way, Nisbet and Company Limited, 1963 Countryman, L.W Dirt, Greed and Sex, Fortress Press, 1988 Hays, R.B The Moral Vision of the New Testament, Harper Collins Publishers, 1996 Manson, T.W Ethics and the Gospel, SCM Press Limited, 1960 1 Countryman, L Dirt, Greed and Sex p205

Rise In Russian Military Power Politics Essay

Rise In Russian Military Power Politics Essay Military power was central to the USSRs position as global power. The Soviet Unions military strength was its prime achievement and it had learned that military power generates international respect and deference. The Soviet Union was a superpower largely because of its ability to generate enormous military power [à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦] Russias power is no longer the centre of international concerns, the threat of its military might no longer grips us obsessively, and the global order is no longer defined by alignment with or against Moscow.  [2]   2. Nevertheless, Russias military policy and power remain a major consideration in Eurasia and its nuclear component retains global significance. The disintegration of USSR in 1991, also led to decline of Russias military power along with a crippled economy and political leadership. The successive governments were more concerned in resolving Russias domestic problems rather than on retaining a global position. Thus over a period of time major down fall was seen in overall military capability of Russia. It was in 2000 when Vladimir Putin became president; a fundamental shift was seen in Russian politics, economy and in its military capability. Putin always regarded the collapse of the Soviet Union as the greatest geopolitical disaster in 21st century. Once he came to power, he was able to inject a new belief that it was Russias right to be a great power and the military power being the ultimate symbol of that status. 3. Over a period of time, Russia has changed its military doctrines, policies and also downsized its military forces. The military power was used effectively to handle the Georgia conflict in 2008. After this war, Russia made major plans to reform and modernize its armed forces by 2020. In April 2009, U.S. Director of National Intelligence Denis Blair said in unclassified written answers to the Senate Intelligence Committee that the ongoing reshaping of Russias ground forces will enable it to militarily dominate most of its neighbours. RUSSIAN DEFENCE POLICY Structure of Decision Making 4. President of the Russian Federation is Supreme Commander in Chief (CIC) of the Russian Armed Forces. He is the executive authority for the formulation of defence policies and military doctrine. Minister of Defence comes next in hierarchy and is appointed directly by the President. Minister is responsible for readiness, overall deployment of the military and also the formalisation of the State Armament Plan. For the first time in recent Russian history In March 2001 then President Putin appointed a civilian defence minister with a mind set that that military reform can only be achieved with civilian oversight. Subsequently Putin also introduced a new State Law on Defence with an aim to give more powers to Ministry of Defence.  [3]   5. In 2000, under National Security and Foreign Policy Concept the threat assessment for Russia in the 21 century was carried out and based on this, Military Doctrine was formulated. The main threats to Russias national interests were identified as economic disintegration of Russia, ethnic separatism, increase in crime rate, reduction in powers of OSCE and the UN, weakening of Russias influence in political, economic and military matters, the rise of various military-political blocs and unions, eastward enlargement of NATO and militarisation of areas in close vicinity of Russias borders. 6. Based upon these threat assessments, the foreign policy priorities of Russia were to strengthen Russias sovereignty and territorial integrity; to regain its lost status of great power; ensure regional stability in adjacent areas and to counter the perceived dominance of the United States. As per military policy the main aim was as the deterrence of aggression of any scale against it [Russia] and its allies, including with the use of nuclear weapons. A RE-ASSERTIVE RUSSIA 7. Over a period of time Russia has become more confident and assertive in its foreign and military policies. This could be observed during Russian military response to Georgian conflict in South Ossetia in August 2008; Russias stand over NATO expansion and US missile defence proposals in eastern Europe. Thus Russia has been using military as a diplomatic tool in the war of words between east and west. Russia is aware that their opinions have been ignored over Iraq, Iran, Kosovo and NATO expansion at the world stage. But in spite of these, at certain aspects Russia has shown its firmness and has stool tall even to take mighty US head on. Some of these aspects have been covered in the following paragraphs. 8. Missile Defence. When US came up with the plan of deploying its ballistic missile defence in Poland and the Czech Republic, it was vehemently opposed by Russia. The Russian government continued to believe BMD plans as a threat to national security. The radars station in the Czech Republic would have seen practically entire western front of Russia. Russian Armed Forces Deputy Chief of Staff, General Anatoly Nogovitsyn, even suggested that this missile agreement could force Russia to carry out nuclear strike against Poland if need arise.  [4]  Even President Medvedev in his address to nation on 5 November 2008 announced that the Russia might go ahead with the deployment of the Iskander short-range surface-to-surface missile system in Kaliningrad to neutralise the BMD system and would also electronically jam the components of US BMD. The deployment of Russian naval assets in the Baltic Sea was also considered for the same purpose. However US have been confirming that these missil es have limited capabilities and would have no impact on the Russian strategic offensive forces. 9. The assertive stance of Russia has forced USA administration to reviewing its missile defence plan, thus Russian Government has also suspended the deployment plans of its Iskander missiles in Kaliningrad. This move of Russia and response from US highlights that the fact that Russias powers are on rise and it can still avert the US decision when its own integrity or safety is concerned. 10. Strategic Bomber Patrols. The rise of Russian armed forces was most symbolically demonstrated when military forces paraded in Moscows Red Square. In the summer of 2007, strategic bombers of Russia carried out patrols in international airspace over Atlantic, Pacific and Arctic Oceans for the first time, since the end of the Cold War. In March 2009 Russian military aircraft reportedly did fly past just 500 feet over two US navy warships while these were participating in a joint military exercise with South Korea in international waters in the Sea of Japan.  [5]  This used to be a common occurrence during the Cold War era. These bomber patrols were conducted to demonstrate military might and also to test the air defence reaction times of NATO countries periodically. Such patrols were stopped in 1992 after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Similar incidents were also observed over UK and Norwegian air spaces in 2007 and 2008. Russian government officially acknowledged in August 2 007 that these missions were intended for pilot training, in particular air-to-air refueling. Japan has also reported an increase in the number of exercises and patrols by warships of the Russian Fleet, along with strategic bomber patrols. The timing of these incidents has been regarded as a sign of renewed Russian confidence on the international stage. 11. The Arctic. Russia has also increased its military activity in the Arctic region in the same period and this has been linked to Russias increasingly vocal claims to large territory in the region and also to vast areas of untapped natural resources. In 2004 Russia announced the creation of a new Arctic Directorate for this region and in aug 2007, about 20 Russian strategic bombers carried out five days of exercises over the North Pole.  [6]  Time and again these facts have been acknowledged by the Russian Defence Ministry. In September 2008 President Medvedev Janes Defence Weekly: A greater stake in the Arctic is intimately related to Russias increasingly assertive regional behaviour. Moscows recent incursion into Georgia was a bellwether of sorts for the concept of a Greater Russia and the outward expansion of the countrys territorial borders [à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦]  [7]   Expanding Russias Military Footprint 12. Russia has expanded its military co-operation with Latin and South American countries, in particular Venezuela. Since 2003 Russia has reportedly supplied $4-5bn worth of arms including combat helicopters, Su-30 fighter aircraft and the Tor-M1 air defence missile system to the Venezuelan government. In 2008 Russia had temporarily deployed two TU-160 Blackjack strategic bombers in Venezuela. 13. In December 2008 Russian naval flagship, the missile cruiser Peter the Great and the anti-submarine destroyer Admiral Chabanenk, visited Cuba and then Venezuela to take part in a joint naval exercise in the Caribbean Sea. This was the first deployment conducted in the region by the Russian navy since the break up of the Soviet Union and was seen as the emerging trend in the increased activity by the Russians. In July 2008 Russia also hinted that if US plan to station its BMD systems in Eastern Europe, than Russian aircraft and submarine fleet may also once again be stationed in Cuba. An article in Janes Intelligence Review commented that the Russian-Venezuelan naval exercises served as a neat counterpoint to Washingtons decision to base its missile defence system in Poland and the Czech Republic, in Russias near abroad.  [8]   Russias Military Capabilities 14. Russian military is currently the fifth largest in the world considering total active personnel, exceeded only by China (2.18m), the United States (1.54m), India (1.28m), and North Korea (1.1m). However, if Russias reserve contingent (approximately 20 million Personnel) is taken into account, Russias military becomes the largest. Over all Russias military power is third behind US and china.  [9]  In spite of such a large military which is being able to address all potential threats across the combat spectrum, the Russian Military Doctrine still have reliance on nuclear weapons. Some experts believe that Russian nuclear capability is one which makes Russia as a military superpower. The military capabilities of Russia can be seen as follows. (a) Conventional Capabilities. As per the Conventional Forces in Europe Treaty, there are limits on the numbers of combat aircraft, tanks, attack helicopters, combat vehicles and artillery pieces that one country could held within Europe by NATO and the states of the former Warsaw Treaty Organisation (Warsaw Pact). However these limitations apply to Russian military equipments which are deployed to the West of the Ural Mountains. The treaty did not impose limitations on the overall conventional capabilities of any nation. The Russian military strength as on 2008 is as indicated.  [10]   PERSONNEL Total Population:  140,702,096  [2008] Population Available:  73,239,761  [2008] Fit for Military Service:  50,249,854  [2008] Reaching Military Age Annually:  1,602,673 Active Military Personnel:  1,245,000  [2008] Active Military Reserve:  2,400,000  [2008] Active Paramilitary Units:  359,100  [2008] ARMY Total Land-Based Weapons:  79,985 Tanks:  22,800  [2005] Armored Personnel Carriers:  9,900   Towed Artillery:  13,585  [2005] Self-Propelled Guns:  6,010  [2005] Multiple Rocket Launch Systems:  4,350   Mortars:  6,100  [2005] NAVY Total Navy Ships:  526 Merchant Marine Strength:  1,074  [2008] Major Ports and Harbors:  8 Aircraft Carriers:  1  [2005] Destroyers:  15  [2005] Submarines:  61  [2005] Faes:  19  [2005] Patrol Coastal Craft:  72  [2005] Mine Warfare Craft:  41  [2005] Amphibious Craft:  22  [2005] AIR FORCE Total Aircraft:  3,888  [2005] Helicopters:  2,625  [2003] Serviceable Airports:  1,260  [2007] (b) Nuclear Capabilities. Since 1949, when Soviet Union tested its first atomic weapon it is recognised as a nuclear state. USA and USSR (Russia) went through number of treaties such as INF treaty (Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces), START (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty) and SORT (Strategic Offensive Reduction Treaty) so as to reduce nuclear weapons of both the countries. Still Russia is estimated to have an active 5,200 operational warheads and approximately 8,800 intact warheads awaiting dismantlement thus a total of 14000 warheads(highest in the world).  [11]   Assessment of Current Military Capability 15. The actual assessment of Russian military capability is very difficult since these have not been deployed in conflict beyond their borders. Therefore the assessment of the ability of the military has been theoretical and based on various assumptions. There have been doubts about ability of the Soviet-era military-industrial complex to keep technological pace with its military peers, particularly the production of sophisticated weaponry. 16. Many analysts believe that the majority of Russian equipments are ageing, as due to financial crisis after cold war Russia had stopped buying new military equipments. In March 2009 the Russian Defence Minister, acknowledged that most of Russias weaponry was obsolete and old and modern equipment were just 10% of the armys existing capabilities. While US and other western countries have learnt during Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan war over the last decade, the Russians have had no such experience. 17. However, it is also acknowledged that Russian military does possess small amounts of state-of-the-art advanced weaponry. Air force has bought Su-34 combat aircraft, the Iskander theatre ballistic missile system and the S-400 air defence system. The SU-35 aircraft is also expected to be inducted in 2010-2011. Although western media claims otherwise, Russias armed forces still remain the most powerful and effective land force across Eurasia. They still possess state-of-the-art main battle tanks, multiple-launch rocket mortar system, heavy artillery and close ground tactical air support. Prospects 18. The increased military power, overt posturing on the international stage in recent years along with massive structural reform are the signs of the Russian resurgence. What has to be seen is that does it have longevity and what will be its implications? Russia in it self is having a strong sense of national pride and full belief that it can get back to its lost great power status. But to achieve this other than military power it needs political and economic stability. 19. In its present state the Russian Armed Forces would be able to defend its territories and national interest as in Georgia but at global level certainly they will not be able to formulate a power projection like United States. The prospects of the Russian military therefore lie primarily in the success of its modernisation plan and structural reforms. These can be achieved by strong economy but that is affected by ups and downs of global energy prices. 20. On the other hand Russias military-industrial complex has also not been able to revive completely, to cope with the technological demands of the modernisation programme. As per the reports a $50m contract has been done with Israel for UAV. Along with this there is need to upgrade their blue water navy fleet with aircraft carrier as well. However it is certain that the modernisation of Russias conventional armed forces will not come at the expense of its nuclear capabilities. Certainly Nuclear weapons will be given the priority over conventional weapons as former gives them a clear cut edge over other nations. As Jonathan Eyal succinctly noted in his October 2008 piece on Europe and Russia: A Return to the Past: The Russian military can cause difficulties. Many of Russias neighbours are far poorer and weaker, so the Russian armed forces are still a potent threat to them, as the example of Georgia showed [à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦] 21. However, the reality still is that Russias challenge to the US is hardly military. The Russians have no chance of emulating the Soviet Union, which tried to match Western technology weapon-for-weapon. Nor is there any ideological glue to underpin such a confrontation: most of Russias current allies are fair weather friends. [à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦] it cannot divert the huge resources required to build a modern military away from civilian consumption. So, the main purpose behind Russias military muscle-flexing remains political and no new Cold War is in the offing.  [12]  

The Ghost of Toni Morrisons Beloved Essay examples -- Toni Morrison B

The Ghost of Beloved One of the most engaging arguments about Toni Morrison’s book Beloved is centered around the nature of the girl Beloved. The argument is whether Beloved is simply a young woman who herself had suffered the horrors of slavery, or the ghost of Sethe’s crawling already? baby girl. The evidence shows that Morrison intended Beloved to be the ghost of the crawling already? girl. It has been said that there are basically two reasons why ghosts walk: they have either unfinished business to attend to of have died a very violent death. The crawling already? girl fits both of these profiles. She died without growing up, without knowing why she died. As a result, she has unfinished business with her mother, Sethe. The crawling already? girl’s death was also horribly violent. Her mother cut her throat with a saw in the cold shed, rather than have her and her children be brought back into slavery. Many of the clues that indicate Beloved is actually the ghost of the baby girl are within the passages where she first arrives at the house on Bluestone Road. Each of these things put together support the idea that Toni Morrison intended Beloved to be the ghost of the crawling already? baby girl. The first clue is that she "had what sounded like asthma", meaning that her breathing was labored. If Beloved is the ghost, it would make sense that she would have trouble breathing; after all, because the windpipe is found in the neck, and Beloved’s neck was nearly severed, her windpipe would have to have been severed also. She would have quick, raspy breathing, as people with asthma have when they can’t hold a breath. Earlier in the book, Morrison talked about how the ghost slammed Here Boy into ... ...of the bread that Baby Suggs gave her. The burnt bottom pieces of the bread could have reminded her of the river that they crossed to get to 124. The river could have looked black because they crossed at night. When all of the information is tallied up and the clues counted, all of the evidence points to the fact that Beloved is not a real woman, but the spirit if the baby girl come to life. She could have reanimated the body from the hunter’s cabin that Stamp Paid made a passing reference to, or maybe she created the body herself, and that’s why she was so worried it would fall apart. That doesn’t matter. What does matter is that all of the evidence points to the fact that somehow, Beloved did come back to life. She is truly the ghost of the crawling already? baby girl. Works Cited: Morrison, Toni. Beloved. New York, Penguin Books USA Inc, 1988.

Jealousy in William Shakespeares Othello Essay -- William Shakespeare

Jealousy in William Shakespeare's Othello In the play Othello, jealousy and envy are prominent themes from the beginning to the end. As the play slowly unfolds it is evident that jealousy is the cause of most of the dramatic actions which take place in the duration of the play. It is described as the "green - eyed monster." "Green" representing the colour of envy, and "monster" shows how destructive and how vicious it can be. This quotation is said by a character named Iago. Iago has a strong manipulative mind. He is the first of all the characters in the play to be attacked by the "green - eyed monster." This is very ironic, Iago is warning Othello to be aware of jealousy, however what Othello does not know is that Iago is the one that is building up the resentment within him. As the play opens we see that Iago is already feeling jealous as he says "That never set a squadron in the field, nor the division of a battle knows" this portrays Iago's bitterness and towards Cassio. The reason for this is, Cassio has just been promoted to lieutenant and Iago thinks that he is the wrong man for the job. Iago thinks that he deserved it more than Cassio. This quotation states that Cassio is not an experienced or practical soldier and should not have the job. However the main character that is affected by the venom of the "green - eyed monster" is the main character in the play, Othello. In Othello's situation, the poison of the jealousy grows slowly as the play proceeds. Unlike Iago whose jealousy fires up as soon as he hears about Cassio's promotion. The jealousy that Othello experiences changes his whole character. Othello has a transformat... ...f the jealousy. In conclusion, it is fair to say that Iago did "enmesh" the characters in his net of jealousy and did so successfully. However, Iago's lies caught up to him, as in the end, Othello knew what he had done, as he "strikes" Iago. He used carefully structured sentences to achieve this. "Ha. I like not that" is a very good example of this. It is clear that Iago is also capable of portraying what he wants in what ever character he pleases to do so in. he uses evidence that is not proper proof and makes it seem as real as reality. And example of this is "the handkerchief." After noticing what jealousy is capable of, it is clear why Iago says that jealousy is a "green - eyed monster." Jealousy did not only acquire dead bodies like Desdemona, but ruined the true love that Desdemona and Othello shared.

Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder ( PMDD ) Essay -- Biology Essays Resea

Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder ( PMDD ) Everyone experiences some unhappiness in his or her lifetime whether it is a specific situation or not. It becomes more serious when the cause is a form of "depression." It is a fact that women experience depression about twice as much as men (1). These causes specifically for women can be complex and so are the solutions (3). A common syndrome affecting an estimated 3% to 8% of women in their reproductive years is called Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD) (4). PMDD is specifically known as a mood disorder of severe depression, irritability, and tension with symptoms worsening a week or so before a woman's menstrual period and usually settling out afterwards (5). PMDD can be devastating to all areas of a woman's everyday life, including family relationships, friendships, and the ability to work or go to school (3). Many people still believe that the emotional symptoms caused by PMDD are not real, and that a woman should be able to shake off the symptoms if only she tried hard enough. Because of these inaccurate beliefs, women with this depression either may not recognize that they have a treatable disorder or may be discouraged from seeking or staying on treatment. Often, women's concerns regarding their condition are not taken seriously which leads to feelings of self-doubt, frustration and hopelessness (6). Feeling sad or stressed during a menstrual period doesn't necessarily mean a woman is suffering from PMDD. This is a common assumption made by women who are confused about their emotional state. As a female suffering from PMS monthly, I can admit that PMDD has become questionable in my mind. There have been many times that I have suffered anything from constant tiredne... ...uffering so women can continue to live prosperous and fulfilling lives without the burden of PMDD's awful symptoms. Sources 1) Did you know? Depression, http://www.depression-net.com/dep.html 2) Information and Treatment for Depression, http://www.psychologyinfo.com/depression/index.html 3) Women and Depressive Episodes, http://www.womens-health.com/health_center/mental/depress_pms.html 4) Recognizing the range of mood disorders in Women, http://mentalhelp.net/articles/women.htm 5) Health Advice For Women, http://health.indiahit.com/ 6) Quick Self-Test, http://www.womens-health.com/health_center/mental/depress_pms.html 7) Symptoms and Treatment for PMDD, http://my.webmd.com/content/article/39/1663_52557 8) Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder, http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/bb/neuro/neuro01/web2/www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010221/msgs/55293.html

Why Harry Potter Should Be Taught in School

Grace Farrow Scott English 1301. 18 October 31, 2012 Why Harry Potter should be read in college classes. â€Å"Happiness can be found in the most darkest of places, if only one remembers to turn on the light. † – Albus Dumbledore. (Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban). The most dynamic series of books and movies of all time is Harry Potter. I, like many other students, am taking both high school and college classes at the same time. In doing so I have a lot of homework.The one book I have found that I and many others read in the very little spare time we have, is Harry Potter. Many people say that Harry Potter is â€Å"bad† because it has witchcraft throughout the story line. Many say that it is a series written for younger adults. Many people say that the settings, characters, and plot lines in Harry Potter are unrealistic and childish. Many books such as The Hobbit, several works of Shakespeare, and the classics such as Dracula, Frankenstein, and Gulliver' s Travels are unrealistic but are required reading in many college classes.Harry Potter covers much of the same ground as the classical stories, and the students would be more interested in reading the story instead of just the Sparknotes. Harry Potter is one of the most read and talked about series of all time. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows alone had 8. 3 million copies sold the first day of its release, not including the pre-orders. Mine was pre-ordered so it was not counted in that figure. Four hundred and fifty million dollars, is the amount of money the books have made just from their respective release dates put together.Harry Potter is a major world wide phenomenon. From 2001 to the present day researchers have found that â€Å"Children who had previously read short chapter books were suddenly plowing through more than 700 pages in a matter of days. †, (moviefone. com). Harry Potter has been beneficial to my generation as we have grown up. Now many colleges are incorporating the Harry Potter books into their lessons. This is helping many students understand more of what they learn in class because the topics are interesting.Also â€Å"Colleges and University professors from all over have begun teaching the literature of J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series in the classroom. And for those who grew up reading the seven book series, professors are finding that students are able to better understand and appreciate the classic literature of Charles Dickens,† (Mugglenet. com) according to a Washington and Lee University English professor. A generation that enjoys reading long books, talking about books with other students, and better appreciating classical English Literature with the likes of Shakespeare and Charles Dickens.While it is interesting that college students themselves are still reading the books, what is most surprising is how readily universities are embracing the books and incorporating them into courses. I know that i f my college professors decided to incorporate Harry Potter into the literature that my class reads, I would be more apt to read and interact with discussions in class because it is fun and interesting. Right now English classes read books like Beowulf, Hamlet, and Macbeth, these books are classics and should be read but not only these books should be read in the classroom.Books such as Harry Potter, Twilight, and The Hunger Games are books that interest young adults, and should at least be incorporated so the students will want to participate. Many students in both high school and college say that Harry Potter brings them a nice break from all of the books they have to read for school. The students still like the fantasy elements in Harry Potter. High school and college students can understand the challenges that Harry had to go through during his school years.Even though the books have very unrealistic angles, like magic and wizardry, young adults can still understand what he is g oing through. The loss of his parents, the hidden love between Ron and Hermione, and the teachers that Harry does not like, and then the ones that do not like Harry. The unrealistic magical way that Harry gets through his problems offer an escape for those people reading the book, who are going through the same problems as Harry. Harry Potter has no age limit- my parents read them, my sister read them, and my niece is reading them.If you have not already read them, do so. Harry Potter offers romance, action, and magic, it is the book for all audiences. The next time you find yourself in a book store just pick the first one up. They are amazing. And who knows you might find it in your literature classes next semester. Rowling J. K. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Askaban New York: Scholastic, 1999. Print. â€Å"Harry Potter Numbers Trivia. † Moviefone. com. 13 July 2007. Web. â€Å"Harry Potter in Literature. † Mugglenet. com. 02 February 2012. Web. Why Harry Potter Should Be Taught in School Grace Farrow Scott English 1301. 18 October 31, 2012 Why Harry Potter should be read in college classes. â€Å"Happiness can be found in the most darkest of places, if only one remembers to turn on the light. † – Albus Dumbledore. (Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban). The most dynamic series of books and movies of all time is Harry Potter. I, like many other students, am taking both high school and college classes at the same time. In doing so I have a lot of homework.The one book I have found that I and many others read in the very little spare time we have, is Harry Potter. Many people say that Harry Potter is â€Å"bad† because it has witchcraft throughout the story line. Many say that it is a series written for younger adults. Many people say that the settings, characters, and plot lines in Harry Potter are unrealistic and childish. Many books such as The Hobbit, several works of Shakespeare, and the classics such as Dracula, Frankenstein, and Gulliver' s Travels are unrealistic but are required reading in many college classes.Harry Potter covers much of the same ground as the classical stories, and the students would be more interested in reading the story instead of just the Sparknotes. Harry Potter is one of the most read and talked about series of all time. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows alone had 8. 3 million copies sold the first day of its release, not including the pre-orders. Mine was pre-ordered so it was not counted in that figure. Four hundred and fifty million dollars, is the amount of money the books have made just from their respective release dates put together.Harry Potter is a major world wide phenomenon. From 2001 to the present day researchers have found that â€Å"Children who had previously read short chapter books were suddenly plowing through more than 700 pages in a matter of days. †, (moviefone. com). Harry Potter has been beneficial to my generation as we have grown up. Now many colleges are incorporating the Harry Potter books into their lessons. This is helping many students understand more of what they learn in class because the topics are interesting.Also â€Å"Colleges and University professors from all over have begun teaching the literature of J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series in the classroom. And for those who grew up reading the seven book series, professors are finding that students are able to better understand and appreciate the classic literature of Charles Dickens,† (Mugglenet. com) according to a Washington and Lee University English professor. A generation that enjoys reading long books, talking about books with other students, and better appreciating classical English Literature with the likes of Shakespeare and Charles Dickens.While it is interesting that college students themselves are still reading the books, what is most surprising is how readily universities are embracing the books and incorporating them into courses. I know that i f my college professors decided to incorporate Harry Potter into the literature that my class reads, I would be more apt to read and interact with discussions in class because it is fun and interesting. Right now English classes read books like Beowulf, Hamlet, and Macbeth, these books are classics and should be read but not only these books should be read in the classroom.Books such as Harry Potter, Twilight, and The Hunger Games are books that interest young adults, and should at least be incorporated so the students will want to participate. Many students in both high school and college say that Harry Potter brings them a nice break from all of the books they have to read for school. The students still like the fantasy elements in Harry Potter. High school and college students can understand the challenges that Harry had to go through during his school years.Even though the books have very unrealistic angles, like magic and wizardry, young adults can still understand what he is g oing through. The loss of his parents, the hidden love between Ron and Hermione, and the teachers that Harry does not like, and then the ones that do not like Harry. The unrealistic magical way that Harry gets through his problems offer an escape for those people reading the book, who are going through the same problems as Harry. Harry Potter has no age limit- my parents read them, my sister read them, and my niece is reading them.If you have not already read them, do so. Harry Potter offers romance, action, and magic, it is the book for all audiences. The next time you find yourself in a book store just pick the first one up. They are amazing. And who knows you might find it in your literature classes next semester. Rowling J. K. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Askaban New York: Scholastic, 1999. Print. â€Å"Harry Potter Numbers Trivia. † Moviefone. com. 13 July 2007. Web. â€Å"Harry Potter in Literature. † Mugglenet. com. 02 February 2012. Web.

Ethical Conduct in Psychology Essay

Professional ethics is associated with doing what is right, both morally and legally. Although many professions are associated with a code of ethics, it is more relevant in the field of psychology. In psychology, this requires the practitioner to conduct himself or herself in accordance to several laid down moral principles. These principles attempt to promote honesty in teaching and practice of psychological science, and in executing their social responsibilities. The contribution of psychologists to the society is generally based on trust. The public trusts psychologists to use their scientific knowledge and services for the development of individuals and the society. The legal system trusts psychologists to offer specialized subject testimony without undue bias or favor. Client’s trusts psychologists to maintain confidentiality. However; the public trust in psychology to deliver is eroded when psychologists violate confidentiality or practice in areas outside their training and competency, or when they publish false results. When the conduct of a psychologist can be interpreted as a breach of ethics, the matter can be brought to the person’s attention through an informal resolution. When an informal resolution seems inappropriate, the ethical violation may be reported to committees on professional ethics. The role of ethics is more stressed in mental health and psychology, much more than in most other fields. This is mainly because the diagnosis and treatment of mental diseases is different from physical illnesses. The direct influence of the mental health professional or the psychologist in producing a desired treatment outcome independently, is considerably limited and much depends on the patient’s ability to cooperate with the treatment. As mental diseases are understood by the observation of behavioral pattern of Ethical Conduct in Psychology 4 an individual, technological intervention cannot aid these professionals, like that in physical health care, where blood tests and other sophisticated scan systems and analysis conclusively pin point the diseases which are then appropriately followed up for treatment. Specialists in other areas of medicine have benefited from the development in biological sciences, where disease progress mechanisms have been more detailed and specific. Mental health professionals including psychologists do not presently benefit from laboratory testing to confirm the presence or absence of psychopathology. This is mainly because, the underlying processes associated with mental disorders in still unknown. Mental health professionals cannot benefit by prescribing tests for genetic defects or brain lesions, for evaluating a mental disorder. Clinical psychologists depend on the observations of an individual’s behavior, personal experience and history to make diagnosis and treatment decisions. This intrusion into the life of a client, gives the psychologist immense data on the individual, which is intended to be used to improve the life of the client. Thus the methods used to seek data, the interpretation of the data, the susceptibility of the client as a result of revealing, the validity of the interpretation and conclusions reached, are all of immense importance to the client. The misuse or abuse of the client data can have serious consequences. Therefore, the treatment by psychologists is associated with safeguarding the information of the client, while using it beneficially for the client. There are situations when this confidentiality should be breached too. There are several ways in which the psychologists can interpret and use this data. The psychology practice thus throws up several situations for pondering; to think and decide, to separate the right from wrong. Thus psychology is involved with dilemmas and ethics. Ethical Conduct in Psychology 5 To ensure that psychologists stand up to the responsibilities and expectations associated with them, the American Psychologists Association (APA) has formulated its own ethics; the APA Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct. This APA Ethics Code provides guidelines to both, general ethical conduct and specific situational conduct. The code helps psychologists to face ethical problems and dilemmas. However, in the course of the practice of psychology, psychologists often come across complex ethical situations, for which reliance to APA ethics code alone, do not show the right way. Sometimes an ethical dilemma can have several solutions compatible with all ethics; however the most appropriate solution is selected by critical thinking. Sometimes by following one particular standard, psychologists may breach another standard. When making decisions associated with their profession, psychologists must consider all applicable laws and regulations of the psychology board, in addition to the Ethics Code. Psychologists can also look to guidelines that have been endorsed by other scientific or psychological communities, apart from their own conscience. When the ethical conduct is in confrontation with the law or regulations, then the psychologists must show their commitment to the laws, while taking steps to resolve the conflict, responsibly. Fischer suggested an eight-step model for decision making, based on critical thinking; which meets ethical standards for testing and assessments (Fischer, 2003).