Providing child care in the workplace and its effect of woman Research Paper

Providing child care in the workplace and its effect of woman performance - Research Paper Example To live a sound life a woman must look for opportunities of sharing her duties and obligations. It cannot be denied that a modern woman is inspired to work. Women are looking forward to having a chance of self-development. On the basis of previous works and studies in this field, it has been identified that there are two main directions for a woman’s development: on the one hand, she can choose a childfree life and make an emphasis on her career, but on the other hand a woman can be inspired for having a perfect chance for self-realization both at work and in the family. Every reader of the paper will be interested in current attempts of the governments around the world to facilitate a process of a womans integration in the life of the country. There are many options for modern women and they can decide whether to make their own living and earn money or to live beyond backs of their husbands and bring up their children. Professional women can earn money and be independent or to help their families to live a sound and wealthy life. Women are looking for opportunity to find a perfect balance between their work and life. In accordance with Government Proposals on Childcare Should Improve Productivity (2003): â€Å"To the extent working women are expected to also fulfill the demands of the home, including childcare and housework, both men and women are likely to experience considerable stress in the course of seeking to achieve some sort of a work-life balance when women have less time to devote to the home† (Government Proposals on Childcare Should Improve Productivity 2003).  Joan  C.  Williams in her recent work claims that â€Å"opting out  is  a  voluntary  phenomenon† (Ibid.).  Very often ha ve to give up their work because of inflexible hours, failures of public policy, gender bias, sexual harassment etc. Williams underlines systemic opting out and discrimination of women. Thus, highly educated women prefer remaining a

Poverty and Poor Health Conditions in Africa Essay

Poverty and Poor Health Conditions in Africa - Essay Example This trend is global but it is more rampant in Africa and other third world countries. The increment of poverty in Africa goes hand in hand with poor health conditions where Africans suffer and die from various diseases due to lack of better health care, illiteracy, poor living conditions, poor sanitation and low income. The main objective of this research project is to tackle the influence of poverty on poor health conditions in Africa. This project will review international researches to identify the extent Africa is affected by Tuberculosis, HIV/aids, Malnutrition and Lack of Vaccinations due to its poverty. By analyzing, the data of the affected Africans and their links to poverty the research will discuss the way forward for the African continent to limit these poor health conditions. In addition to that, this research will explore ways to improve the development of better health conditions. Kofi Annan, who is a former UN Secretary General while addressing the 2001 World Health Assembly identified the biggest enemy of health in Africa and other developing world as poverty. He claimed that poverty makes people live in a polluted environment that comprises of poor sanitation, inadequate clean water and poor housing that increase slums in Africa. The poor living conditions are responsible for the spread of tuberculosis due to overcrowding and polluted atmosphere. In the assembly, he stated that poverty leads to hunger, that makes the poor vulnerable to diseases (World Development Indicators, 2001). The rising poverty level in Africa and the widening gap between the rich and the poor has led to the increment of TB, malnutrition and HIV/AIDS. Past research in South Africa, which is a middle economic country, proves the truth in Annan’s statement as it shows that although the country is one of the richest in Africa, most people in the country live below the poverty line. More than 52% of the citizens live below the poverty line, thus has to live

Psycho Cultural Conflict Theory

Psycho Cultural Conflict Theory According to the psycho-cultural conflict theory, identity is the most important need in the hierarchy of human needs and, when denied, results in violent conflict. The satisfaction of ones basic needs is intricately related to his/her identity. The Psycho-cultural Conflict Theory is similar to the Primordial approach to ethnicity which emphasizes the fact that peoples ethnicity (identity) is deeply rooted in their past. Irobi (2005) argues that memories of past traumas magnify peoples anxieties. This is as a result of ethnic identity which produces fear, hatred and, consequently, ethnic conflict among two ethnic groups which have a history of ethnic discrimination and stratification. Irobi posits that when an ethnic group has a history of being stereotyped and discriminated based on their ethnic identity from another group, it results in violent conflict since ethnic identity remains part and parcel of the entirety of an individual. Ethnic groups which have been discriminated against and stratified into lower class citizens always habour a feeling of marginalization of their identity and this produces strong feelings of hatred and resentment towards the other group which did the discrimination. This is what Richardson Jr. Sen (1996) call victim mentality. Irobi (2005) criticizes the inadequacy of modernization theory which holds that modernity will result in the dissolution of ethnic affiliation. H e observes that ethnicity is fixed and part of the identity of individuals and groups. Therefore, any marginalization of an ethnic group or discrimination against it based on ethnicity will receive strong resistance (conflict). This is particularly seen in the mobilizing role of ethnic identity. Psycho-cultural conflict theorists like Ross (1997) and Horowitz (1998) believe that conflicts which are caused by identity are usually dangerous, violent, intractable and highly protracted, and often very difficult to resolve. This is because identity which is at the centre of the conflict, is an unshakable sense of worth, which makes life meaningful and includes the feeling that one is physically, socially, psychologically and spiritually safe (Faleti, 2006, p. 51). When this feeling of safety (identity) is threatened, there is a defensive reaction aiming at protecting this at all costs and the result is violent conflict which becomes a matter of life and death. This tends to affect development since violence is perpetually continued affecting productive sectors of local economies. The psycho-cultural theory of conflict argues, therefore, that resolving this type of conflict is usually very difficult and tends to defy any resolution mechanism. There is always constant outbreak of violence with such conflicts despite attempts at resolving the conflict. Their resolution takes long and sometimes, it is not possible to talk of resolution, but management. This is because the issue of ethnic identity is uncompromising and its denial is a complete affront to the groups very existence. The outbreak of consistent violence as a result of this type of conflict makes life and security fragile, thereby affecting human well-being and development. Thus, the link between ethnic conflicts, their resolution and development is clearly seen. Due to the deep-seated, protracted and intractable nature of conflicts based on identity (ethnic conflict), their resolution remains very difficult and takes very long, and this produces strings of violence thereby affecting meaningful develop ment. Seymour (2003) therefore emphasized that identity influences the process of conflict and must not be overlooked when attempting to understand the origins of conflict and when planning its resolution. The psycho-cultural conflict theory has been heavily criticized by many scholars. The theory has been criticized for attributing the main basis of conflict and violence to identity based on ethnicity. Critics are quick to point out that there is a tendency for many people to label any conflict as ethnic identity based when that conflict exceedingly has a different cause (Tonah, 2007). Bowen (1996) contends that those conflicts which are said to be based on ethnic identity are products of modern politics. He argues that although people have had many identities for long, which are based on their culture (ethnicity), these people only began to see themselves as members of vast groups, opposed to each other only during the modern period of colonization. Bowen (1996) mentioned that the Rwandan, Burundian and Bosnian conflicts are politically based conflicts rather than ethnic identity conflicts, but these conflicts later assumed ethnic identity dimensions. Osaghae (2005) also argues that what is seen as ethnic conflict is not so, but elite manipulation of people to gain advantage of their political and personal ambitions. Ethnic identity, to him, is elitist manipulation of ethnicity to gain control over political power and what is seen as conflicts emanating from ethnic identity are not at all, but politically based conflicts. It is possible for elites to manipulate a group of people against each other. It is even possible for conflicts in some parts of Africa and other places to take ethnic dimensions even if the initial cause of the conflict is political, resource, religious or any other cause (Tonah, 2007). Ernest Penan (cited in Bowen, 1996) believes that ethnic identity is constructed by intellectuals for their personal interests and that ethnic identity is a set of ideas rather than peoples values in conflict. Chandra (2006) believes that ethnic identity does not matter or has not been shown to matter in explaining most outcomes of violence. Fearon Laitin (2000) also argue after an enquiry into the relationship between ethnic identity and violence that the mere observation that ethnic identities are socially constructed is not so. In conclusion, the Psycho-cultural Theory simply argues that identity based on ethnicity explains the main reason for conflicts in society. The weakness of the theory makes it imperative for this study to be able to properly identify the sources of ethnic conflict in the Bawku Traditional Area in order to devise appropriate resolution mechanisms to them. Conceptual framework It remains evident that development is meaningfully achieved through the existence of peace. Peace here refers to the absence of violent conflict and effective conflict resolution which both border on security. Ethnic conflicts, very often, are intractable conflicts which involve values, claim to status, identity, deprivation of needs and external factors such as political infiltrations (Coleman, 2000). Thus, ethnic conflicts are often protracted and remain very difficult to resolve and their continuous existence poses danger to local level development and they tend to seriously hinder security which is needed to ensure peace for development. Ethnic conflicts as shown in Figure 1 primarily result from past historical and colonial experiences which are further exacerbated by factors like lack of access to power, resources and ethnic marginalization/stereotypes which are magnified by peoples struggle for their ethnic identity. The continuous ethnic polarization through these factors leads to violence (conflict) which results in low investments in local economic activities/commerce, decreasing agricultural, educational and health standards, insecurity, high dependency ratio, loss of lives and low incomes for individuals and families. The end result of all these, as seen in Figure 1, is decreasing levels of socio-economic development. The effective resolution of ethnic conflicts can have positive implications for development. Schoeman (1998) argues that a society in which people are secure (when violent conflict is properly resolved or is absent), will: Enable people to develop their communities; Enable people to be architects of their own lives; Enable people to come together to pursue economic and other development; and Enable people to participate in the development of the society. In resolving ethnic conflicts , one needs to focus on satisfying the basic needs which have been deprived (UN DESA, 2001) and also creating a proportional equality in deep-rooted cultural and identity issues (Richardson Jr. Wang, 1993) using third party intervention and inter-group cooperation (Horowitz, 2000; Lipchitz Crawford, 1995). All of these can be done by effectively engaging the conflicting parties in mediation, inter-group dialogue and third party intervention using indigenous methods. Issues which are mostly root causes of conflict when tackled properly results in effective conflict resolution thereby trickling down to sustainable peace which has implications for local development. Effects Core Problem Low Investment due to insecurity Destruction of Property and infrastructure General Insecurity Low Agricultural Production Low commerce Refusal to accept posting Low Income Decreasing Educational and Health Standards Retarded Development Ethnic Conflict High Dependency Ratio Low Income Loss of Lives Low Income Poverty Struggle for Ethnic Identity Lack of Access to Power. e.g. Chieftaincy and Political Connections Past Historical and Colonial Experiences Ethnic Marginalization Causes Lack of Access to Natural Resources. e.g. Land Decreasing Levels of Social/Economic Development

The Great Departure :: Great Departure Essays

The Great Departure Daniel Smith’s, The Great Departure illustrates very well the United State’s evolution from a traditionally isolationist nation to an interventionist nation. WWI literally dragged the U.S. out of its isolationist shell and placed the U.S. at the forefront of international politics. The pressure to join WWI was resisted greatly by the Wilson administration and the country as a whole. Smith does an excellent job at presenting the factors that influenced the U.S. to enter the war and at conveying the mind set of American leaders during this time and the issues they faced pertaining to the war. The author illustrates the factors of interest or the eventual causes involvement in WWI in chapters II, III, IV. He offers good points to the issues and now I would like to discuss some of the issues he has mentioned. Propaganda was a tool used by Germany and the allies to influence the U.S., whether that propaganda was used to keep the U.S. out of the war or to try and draw the U.S . into the war makes no real difference. The extent of propaganda in the U.S. is shown by the Dr. Albert’s briefcase affair and the German execution of Nurse Edith Cavell and other atrocities of war carried out by either side. The author, while recognizing the importance of these propaganda stories and the heterogeneous culture of the U.S., underestimates the actual impact on public sentiment it actually had I feel. The U.S., "the great melting pot" had an enormous immigrant population, to underestimate the effect of propaganda on a population that had close personal ties to their homeland, and their ability to influence the actions of government in a democratic republic is a mistake. President Wilson was operating under this assumption that the people would influence the government when he neglected to accept any of the Senator Lodge’s changes to the peace treaty. While I agree with Smith that this is not the reason the U.S. joined the allies in WWI, I feel the heterogenous makeup of the U.S. population is possibly the major influence the U.S. had to move away from an isolationist state. Balance of Powers was another great factor that influenced the U.S. in its views of WWI. The U.S. and the world had come to rely on the principle of balance of power to ensure peace, security and trade throughout the world, and it was no doubt that a victory by the Central Powers would catapult Germany to superpower status and upset the balance of power in Europe and thus the rest of the world.

What Would You Do?

Incredulous, you replied, â€Å"You stopped? How many billions of dollars did It cost to build brand loyalty around the Taurus name? Well, you've got until tomorrow to find a vehicle to put the Taurus name on. Then, you have two years to make a new Taurus which had better be the coolest vehicle that you can possibly make. † So, in less than four hours, you made your first billion-dollar decision. It wouldn't be your last. With billions of dollars in losses, you eliminated 46,000 Jobs, sold off Gaston Martin, Jaguar, and Land Rover, and cut truck and SUB production by 40 percent.Despite these drastic moves. Ford still lost SSL 2. 6 billion your second year and $2. 7 billion your third. With losses still mounting, the first major issue you need to address is vehicle customization, that is, maximizing consumer choice by producing different cars with different parts for different world markets. Vehicle customization originated in 1967 when Ford's European operations were created t o design and manufacture cars Just for Europe. Consequently, when Ford attempted to cut costs by creating a common â€Å"world car† to be sold In Europe and the united States, It failed.The resulting cars (yes, â€Å"cars†), one designed In Detroit and the other In Germany, were completely different except for two shared parts. The second major issue is that Ford's management teams have difficulty staying on target and tracking company performance. Even with downsizing, Ford is a complex company with 205,000 employees, multiple product lines, and international operations on four continents. Surprisingly, Ford's managers only stay in their Jobs a few years. And, If you're off to your next Job and don't have to live with the consequences of your decisions, why are about whether you meet your department's or division's goals?The final Issue Is that contentious relationships between Ford's divisions have produced dysfunctional decision making. Different geographic regions and functional divisions, such as engineering, production, and sales, are more interested in doing what they want than what is best for Ford as a whole. Feelings on this issue are so strong that your management team pleaded with you to remove Fords blue logo from one of your Powering presentations so as not to â€Å"alienate† those who worked for Ford's Volvo, Jaguar, and Lincoln divisions.At the time you agreed, but now realize it was a mistake. Three years ago, you arranged for $23 billion in loans to get the company through tough times. And with Chrysler and GM in bankruptcy, and industry sales off 35 percent, you've needed every dime. But, you're 65 percent through those funds, so you've got to address these key Issues. Ford's survival depends on it. If you were the CEO AT For a, want would you 00? Questions 1 . Should Ford continue to make different cars for Europe and the United States? If so, how do you lower expenses?If not, then how do you get the company to produce the â€Å"world cars,† when it has failed to do so before? What should Ford's strategic objective be here? 2. Beyond making managers stay longer in their Jobs, which won't be popular, how will you change Ford's culture so that managers pay attention to company plans and feel accountable for meeting performance targets? 3. Finally, what will you do to address the dysfunctional way in which decisions are made, where different departments and units care more about their issues than the company's issues? Sources: M. Dolan, J. Stool, and N.

Book Analysis of Oliver Twist

1. The title of this novel is Oliver Twist and it was written by Charles Dickens. It was first published in Nov. of 1838. 2. Main Characters: First of the main characters is, of course, Oliver Twist. He was born in a parish workhouse where his mother died during the birth. A lady named Sally was present while he was born and when his mom died, she took from his mom a ring and a locket. Then he was sent to an infant farm until he was 9 years old when he was put back into the workhouse. There the orphans are mistreated and starved and when he asked for more food at super he was branded a troublemaker and they offered him to be apprenticed by anyone who wanted him. He was then apprenticed by an undertaker, but he ran away to London because he fought with the undertaker’s son who mocked his mother’s death and was beaten for fighting. There in London he lives on the streets until a boy gives him a place to stay. When he goes he is thrown into a band of thieves under a man named Fagin. He doesn’t like the crime of steeling that he witnesses and is falsely accused of. He is taken in by the victim of the theft who treats him well and cares for him until Oliver is kidnapped and delivered back to Fagin. There are many more unfortunate events in his life, but in the end it turns out good for Oliver. I believe Dickens wrote the story to show that the environment that people live in can turn them into criminals instead of the belief that people are just born that way. Oliver shows this because his environment was always trying to turn him bad, but one could clearly see that he didn’t want to be a criminal and did not agree with the lifestyle and in the end he never became one. The other main character in the book is Fagin. It is rumored that Charles Dickens was anti Semitic because of this character, but those claims are untrue. This was because Fagin was referred to as â€Å"the Jew† and many of his features were that he was ugly due to many stereotypes of the way Jewish people look. Anyway, in the book this man is a terrible person who manipulated people for his own gain, mostly for money. In the story he was always trying to manipulate Oliver into becoming one of his thieves like the rest of the children he took off of the street. I believe that out of all the characters within this book, Fagin has to be the worst of them all because of how he corrupted the minds of the children to do his dirty work. I believe that he represents what is wrong with society and he himself is influenced by his environment because he isn’t very educated and poor so the only way to get money, in his mind, is to steel it. 3. The setting of this novel was during the early nineteenth century in England. In this time the industrial revolution was taking place which caused many to move to the cities causing crowding and many people became poor and lived on the streets. There were more advancements in technology at this time and also religious uncertainty began amongst the people as well. With these aspects combined many poorer people turned to crime in order to survive. This is why Oliver Twist was thrown into the events throughout this novel. 4. This novel is about a young boy who was orphaned at birth and ran away from a workhouse to London England. There he lived on the streets until a man named Fagin took him in and tried to turn him into a criminal. Oliver resisted and got away from Fagin with the help of good people who he met throughout the story. 5. The most important conflict in the book was how the environment of living on the streets which turned many people to thievery put its influence on Oliver Twist. This conflict goes on throughout the entire novel and Oliver never allows his surroundings to influence the way he will live his life. 6. â€Å"When the boy is worth a hundred pounds to me, am I to lose what chance threw me in the way of getting safely, through the whims of a drunken gang that I could whistle away the lives of! And me bound, too, to a born devil, that only wants the will and has the power† This is a quote of Fagin and I chose it because it shows what kind of person he really is. One can see how far he goes with his greed and the way in which he uses people for his own gain when reading this statement he makes. â€Å"†¦as Oliver looked out of the parlor window, and saw the Jew roll [his old clothes] up in his bag and walk away, he felt quite delighted to think that they were safely gone, and that there was now no possible danger of his ever being able to wear them again. They were sad rags, to tell the truth; and Oliver had never had a new suit before. † This passage is important because it gives an insight to the character of Oliver Twist. Ever since he was born he has been labeled and ridiculed for the clothes that he wears and this passage shows that the chance to choose his own clothing is extremely important to Oliver. 7. The point of view of this novel was told through third person; an anonymous narrator. This allows the reader to get different perspectives of events through more than one character. . A theme that Dickens has in this novel is the affects that a social environment has on people’s morals. He shows this by describing the way in which people live on the streets; turning to crime to survive. In the book Dickens shows that the environment people live in doesn’t corrupt a person entirely because he shows that criminals within the story still have a conscience and Oliver’s morals are never corrupted throughou t the entire novel which goes against what many believe. Another idea that he puts forward in the novel is how government run charities for poor people doesn’t work. On the contrary it makes these people dependent on the government and they never are able to gain their independence and break free from the government’s hold. 9. This book reveals that the time period that Dickens lived in was one full of struggles and he questioned many aspects life such as capitalism, which in his opinion leaves people out to dry so to say, charity, and the effects that the environment has on people’s morals.