Wednesday, July 31, 2019

Religion and Terrorism

Terrorism has long plagued the existence of peace and security in society, where secular groups have resorted to violence against non-combatant targets in order to influence the policies of a governmental or nongovernmental organisation. The concept of terrorism, whilst elusive and vague in definition has been categorised into various forms of terrorism, these being dissident, state-sponsored, and religious terrorism to name a few.This paper will argue that the most dangerous form of terrorism is religious terrorism. To deliver an effective argument this paper has been divided into three sections; the first will argue that the most dangerous form of terrorism is religious terrorism by examining what it is, how it is dangerous, and why it is more dangerous than other forms of terrorism.Secondly, this paper will argue that the most dangerous proponent of religious terrorism is the organisation of the Taliban, to support this claim; an analysis of the group will be given, including back ground information, information on the Taliban’s policies and recent activities, and the threat this groups poses on the international community. Lastly, this paper will analyse and critique the current governmental policies combating terrorism, and will then provide policy recommendations which could be implemented by governments, militaries or NGO’s.The justification for this paper is simply that the validation of religious terrorism as the most dangerous form of terrorism will allow for effective international coordination towards combating terrorism. Various parameters of study were encountered in the process of this paper as there is much contention on which is the most dangerous form of terrorism, which gave way to biased opinions and misleading quotations regarding factual information on various organisations implementing terrorist tactics, namely the Taliban.Although the concept of terrorism has no definition which is universally agreed upon, the notion of reli gious terrorism has been defined by Bruce Hoffman (1999), where religious terrorism must have three factors; â€Å"the perpetrators must use religious scripture to justify their violent acts or gains recruits; clerical figures must be involved in leadership roles; and apocalyptic images of destruction are seen by the perpetrators as necessary†.Religious terrorism has arguably been an ongoing occurrence in contentious religious areas for centuries, where religious groups have resorted to violence against non-combatants in order to combat real or perceived threats to their own ideology (Alexander, 1994). Debate on the original terrorist aside, terrorism is quite a modern concept stemming from the French Revolution and the Reign of Terror prompted by Maxmilien Robespierre who targeted the â€Å"enemies of liberty† indiscriminately in the ideology of the â€Å"greater good† (Cooper, 2004).Religious terrorism is thought to be caused by the misinterpretation (or funda mentalist belief) of religious scripture, however the belief in religious scripture is not the problem; it is only when these fundamentalist individuals act on their beliefs through violent means and justify their actions using religious scripture that we encounter the potential threat of terrorist tactics (Mendelsohn, 2009). Furthermore, this fundamentalist behaviour is only worsened when a threat to the religious ideology is perceived (Mendelsohn, 2009).Religious terrorism is reasonably widespread throughout the Middle East, and Southeast Asia, predictably this may be due to the religious zeal in these regions (Alexander, 1994). A United Nations report (August, 2010) showed that 76% of all casualties (in the first six months) in Afghanistan and Pakistan were attributed to the actions of the Taliban and their associate organisations, showing the danger associated with religious terrorism.Although religious terrorism has â€Å"become the predominant model for political violence in the modern world† (Martin, p 171, 2010) it is still not the only medium for extremist violence, as nationalism and ideology still remain strong motivators for radical violence (Martin, 2010). However, religious terrorism still remains a more dangerous form of terrorism when compared to other forms, such as state-sponsored or dissident terrorism. The factors which make this form of terrorism dangerous is the potentially apocalyptic ideology of religion, and furthermore the promise of an ethereal paradise awaiting those who follow this faith completely.This factor seems to provide a motivation arguably more influential towards violent behaviour then other forms of terrorism. Bruce Hoffman (p 92, 1998) stated that â€Å"it is perhaps not surprising that religion should become a far more popular motivation for terrorism in the post-Cold War era as old ideologies lie discredited by the collapse of the Soviet Union and communist ideology, while the promise of munificent benefits fr om the liberal-democratic, capitalist state†¦ fails to materialise in many countries throughout the world†. A stronger motivation for terrorism signifies that more violent activity, and at a higher requency, is to be expected from religious terrorism than state-sponsored or dissident terrorism. In recent times, the frequency, scale of violence, and global reach of religious terrorism has been increasing, while at the same time a decrease in secular, non-religious terrorism has been occurring (Martin, 2010). The fact that religious terrorism provides a stronger motivation is more widespread, causes more casualties than any other form of terrorism, and is increasing in frequency, scale of violence, and global reach, is reason enough to argue that religious terrorism is the most dangerous form of terrorism.Evidence of religious terrorism may be seen in the various attacks conducted on non-combatants throughout 2011. For example, on the 13th of May 2011, two suicide bombers w ere responsible for 80 deaths in Shabqadar, Pakistan, the attacks were claimed by the Taliban and were labelled a response to the death of Osama bin Laden on the 3rd of May 2011 (The Guardian, 13/5/11). Another example may be seen in the terrorist attacks in Somalia on the 4th of October 2011, claiming over 70 lives and injuring many more, the Islamic militant terrorist group Al-Shabaab soon claimed responsibility for the attack.The attacks categorised as religious terrorism predominately occur throughout the Middle-East and Southeast Asia, with the most contentious areas being Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India (Mendelsohn, 2009). To examine Pakistan individually, this region has become a trouble-spot for terrorism resulting in a largely contentious area. The terrorism occurring in Pakistan is predominately religious, resulting in over 350000 Pakistani civilians killed as of 2010 (New York Review of Books, 2011).Pakistan has a long history involving religious conflict, and although m any attempts have been made by the Pakistani government to resolve these conflicts, there is no sign of the conflict coming to an end. The fact that Pakistan is not an overly wealthy nation has contributed to the effectiveness of religious terrorist recruiting, as when individuals have nothing to lose they invest in religious ideology (Mendelsohn, 2009). Although there are many religiously based terrorist organisations, the Taliban is arguably the most dangerous proponent of religious terrorism.It is important to understand the origins, policies, methods, and other information on the organisation before effective policies can be implemented to combat the Taliban’s terrorist tactics. The Taliban is an Islamist militant organisation which has had rule of the majority of Afghanistan from September 1996, however the Taliban-formed state called the ‘Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan’ only gained political recognition as a state from Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and the UAE (Mo ckaitis, 2007).However, the attacks on the USA on the 11th of September 2001 saw the Taliban overthrown during the conflict in Afghanistan. The Taliban regrouped and drafted an insurgency movement to oppose the newly formed ‘Islamic Republic of Afghanistan’, and to achieve their motives the use of guerrilla and terrorist tactics were applied (Mockaitis, 2007). Whilst in power the Taliban enforced an extremely strict interpretation of their holy scripture, becoming notorious in the international community for the poor treatment of women (Mockaitis, 2007).This fundamental following of Holy Scripture and Islam law has seen the Taliban use Holy Scripture to justify their violent actions. Whilst not much is known about the leader of the Taliban, Mohammed Omar, a 25 million dollar reward has been issued by the US department of defence for his capture. The policies of the Taliban were initially to disarm Afghanistan, end the lawlessness and heavily enforce the Islamic or Shari a law on the entirety of Afghanistan (Mendelsohn, 2009).The Taliban have been relatively successful in bringing law and order to around 85% of the country in their control, mainly by disarming or conscripting the tribes of Afghanistan (Mockaitis, 2007). Some of the Taliban’s relentless policies and unyielding nature on issues such as the treatment of Osama bin Laden have isolated them internationally resulting in non-recognition by the United Nations regarding their legitimacy, and the imposition of political sanctions aimed at denying the Taliban any funding or aid (Mendelsohn, 2009).As of yet, the Taliban have failed to develop any plan or policy to revive the state of Afghanistan should they retake political control. The methods or tactics utilised by Taliban forces has predominately been a guerrilla struggle against Western forces, however the use of terrorism has brought much notoriety to the organisation itself. However the question of funding is important, how does the Taliban receive its funding? Twelve percent of Afghanistan lives off the opium trade, which constitutes 30 percent of its gross domestic product (Schmidt, 2010).Whilst the Taliban gain finance through the sale of opium and poppy, the decrease in production of poppy would not work against the Taliban, through simple economics this organisation is able to manipulate opium prices which have seen a downward spiral over the past 5 years due to an over-supply of poppy and opium (Schmidt, 2010). Estimations show that the Taliban has stockpiled over eight thousand tonnes of opium in the event poppy production is eradicated by the US government.However the eradication of poppy in Afghanistan would for a short term aid the Taliban as prices would increase exponentially in the face of low supplies, simple economics being exploited by the Taliban (Schmidt, 2010), (UN World Drug Report, 2009). A report given in 2006 analysing the Taliban likened the organisation to a starfish (decentralised org anisation) as opposed to a spider organisation (centralised) (Brafman, Beckstrom, 2006). â€Å"The spider and the starfish both appear to have a number of legs coming out of one body, but that is where the similarity ends.In the case of the spider, what you see is a clear â€Å"head’s head and a leg’s leg. † However, a starfish is entirely different from a spider because the head is not even in charge of anything. In fact, a starfish does not even have a head. If a starfish is cut in half, it does not die. Instead, what you get are two starfish. The long-armed Linckia starfish can even replicate itself from just one piece of an arm. Unlike the spider, having no brain to give the affirmative on anything, the starfish functions as a decentralized network. (Schmidt, p 72, 2010). A table from this report gives a description of the comparison: (See below) The events which occurred on the 8th of August 1998 are evidence to show the danger and lethality of the Taliban and its policies. On the 24th of May 1997 the Taliban occupied the northern town of Mazar-i-Sharif and on the 8th of August 1998 were responsible for an attack which killed over 8000 people of different nationalities including Uzbekistani, and Shiite Iranian (Kelling, Saludin, Von-Feigenblatt, Alis, Shuib, 2010).In this attack the Taliban also attacked the consulate of Iran killing 10 Iranian diplomats, which incidentally generated Iran’s opposition on the political legitimacy of the Taliban (Kelling, Saludin, Von-Feigenblatt, Alis, Shuib, 2010). The Taliban has taken responsibility for countless attacks on both combatant and non-combatant targets, with no signs of a decrease in the frequency of attacks; the Taliban is an extremely dangerous advocate of religious terrorism.The failure of allied forces to subdue the Taliban as of yet has left Afghanistan coloured with destruction, death and poverty. An article in the International Journal of Interdisciplinary Social Sciences accused the US of â€Å"ignoring the hope and prospect of Afghanistan†, by being oblivious and promoting victory over the Taliban in order to justify the war on Afghanistan (Kelling, Saludin, Von-Feigenblatt, Alis, Shuib, 2010).The US policy to use military power against the Taliban and other terror organisations has made it more difficult to find a conclusive solution to the violence in Afghanistan; additionally the weakness of the United States’ new government in Afghanistan failed to bring stability and therefore enhanced the terrorism from the Taliban (Kelling, Saludin, Von-Feigenblatt, Alis, Shuib, 2010). The question left is how we stop the terrorism?Through government, military and NGO policy development, political, management, financial and administrative â€Å"mechanisms† arranged to reach explicit goals. This paper will therefore examine various responses to terrorism, and the policies put in place by major international actors. After September 2001, t he member of the Security Council (UN) adopted a set of comprehensive measures to combat terrorism; they did so under Chapter 7 of the UN charter, thereby making all decisions compulsory for all members (Boulden, Weiss, 2004).Two resolutions were particularly important, these being â€Å"Resolution 1368 of September 12†, which legitimised all military action against a terrorist organisation; and â€Å"Resolution 1373 of September 28 2001† which broadened the scope of international responses (Boulden, Weiss, 2004). Resolution 1373 stated that â€Å"all states should prevent and suppress the financing of terrorism, as well as criminalize the willful provision or collection of funds for such acts†.The purpose of this resolution was to minimize the financing of terrorism and to encourage member states to deny safe haven to known terrorists, assist states in need of anti-terrorism measures, and to accelerate the exchange of information regarding terrorist activity; i n other words this resolution deeply encouraged international cooperation in combating terrorism. While the resolve of the Security Council (UN) is to be commended, four problems are still to be addressed.First, although member states of the UN agree on the importance of combating terrorism, member states continue to have different views on the precise nature of these threats, and different opinions on the appropriate responses to these threats (Boulden, Weiss, 2004). The US should take responsibility and forge a consensus on the nature of the terrorist threat and what an appropriate response would be.If the US takes consideration of other states and develops a genuine international response effort, then this should convince other states that the US is not only concerned for itself but for the international community as a whole (Boulden, Weiss, 2004). Secondly, the long term implications for the Security Council’s resolution regarding the legitimization of force against terro rist organizations are problematic. Permission to use military force without a proper criteria for reason has been seen as handing a â€Å"blank check† to the USA.Although the US argues preemptive action and covert military action is necessary to combat terrorism, the absence of an international agreement on a definition for terrorism can lead to the possibility of abuse of this â€Å"blank check† (Boulden, Weiss, 2004). To solve this issue, the UN should engage member states in a discussion to answer the important questions, â€Å"when are terrorist acts the equivalent of armed attacks? †, â€Å"Do imminent threats of attack always justify a military response? † (Boulden, Weiss, 2004).Third, the issue of finance always seems to plague attempts at combating terrorism. The implementation of the UN’s counterterrorist measures will therefore continue to be difficult unless financial assonance is given by member states. A solution to this problem would be the investment of funds into the Counter-terrorism committee (CTC), this committee would thereby invest funding into state counter terrorism agencies who lack the financial capacity to effectively fight terrorism (Boulden, Weiss, 2004).Fourth, the war against terrorism has been labeled as the â€Å"long war†, and it is true that the effort against terrorism will take time and finance, however there must also be an effort against the root causes of terrorism; poverty, disease, social disorder, unstable governments, etc (Boulden, Weiss, 2004). The UN has a promising track record when dealing with these problems, therefore the investment into social development programs will allow for significant advancements in the effort against terrorism (Boulden, Weiss, 2004).This paper will now offer a list of policy recommendations. In order to combat terrorism effectively, Thomas Mockaitis (2007) suggests there should be elements of four broad tasks present. 1. Anti-terrorism to prote ct military forces, installations and personnel and to assist member nataions in protecting their citizens and infrastructure from terrorist attack. 2. Consequence management to aide member states in mitigating the effects of an actual terrorist attack. 3. Counterterrorism to take offensive action against terrorist organizations, personnel and facilities. 4.Military cooperation with civilian institutions, government and private, to defend against terrorism. Evidently this system of counter-terrorism has been drafted as a military doctrine labeled the NATO Concept, which provides an excellent framework for organizing an effective response against terrorism (Mockaitis, 2007). Below is a chart which illustrates the three core measures of combating terrorism. ‘Consequence management’ refers to the measures taken by local, state, and national departments to prepare for and if necessary respond to a terrorist attack (Mockaitis, 2007). Counterterrorism’ and ‘Antit errorism’ is the offensive military enforcement of operations against terrorists (organisations, networks, and individuals), and the economic, social, and diplomatic measures to combat the root causes of terrorism (poverty, civil unrest, etc) (Mockaitis, 2007). All three tasks require effective cooperation and rely on the intelligence which lies at the centre of the three and helps organise the effort (Mockaitis, 2007). This paper has argued that the most dangerous form of terrorism is religious terrorism.In order to deliver an effective argument, this paper was divided into three sections; first, it was argued that religious terrorism is the most dangerous form of terrorism by examining defining it, examining how it is dangerous, and discussing why it is more dangerous than other forms of terrorism. Secondly, this paper argued that the most dangerous proponent of terrorism is the organisation of the Taliban, supporting this claim was an analysis of the group, giving backgrou nd information, information on the Taliban’s policies and recent activities, and the threat this organisation poses on the international community.Lastly this paper analysed and critiqued the anti-terrorism policy of the UN, and provided policy recommendations for all member states to implement, namely the policies currently implemented by NATO forces. This paper was written in order to legitimise religious terrorism as the most dangerous form of terrorism, thereby allowing for more effective international cooperation towards combating terrorism. This paper can therefore conclude that the most dangerous form of terrorism is Religious Terrorism. References: Alexander, Y. (1994).Middle east terrorism: Current Threats and Future Prospects. International library of Terrorism. England: Dartmouth Publishing Co. Brafman, O. , & Beckstrom, R. (2006). The Starfish and the Spider: The Unstoppable Power of Leaderless Organizations. New York: Penguin Group Hoffman, B. (1998). Inside terr orism. New York: Columbia University Press. Kelling, M. , Saludin, M. , Von-Feigenblatt, O. F. , Alis, M. , &Shuib, M. (2010). Taliban: How it Emerged and why the U. S and Pakistan Failed? International Journal of Interdisciplinary Social Sciences. Martin, G. (2010).Understanding terrorism: Challenges, Perspectives, and Issues. (3rd Ed). UK: Sage Publications Mendelsohn, B. (2009). Combating Jihadism. London: University of Chicago Press. Mockaitis, T. (2007). The â€Å"new† terrorism: Myths and Reality. USA: Greenwood Publishing Group Inc. Schmidt, F. (2010). From Islamic warriors to drug lords: The evolution of the Taliban Insurgency. Mediterranean Quarterly, 21(2), 61-1. doi: 10. 1215/10474552-2010-005 The Guardian. (May 13, 2011). Pakistan suicide bomb kills 80 as Taliban seeks revenge for Bin Laden. Retrieved November 20, 2011 from http://www. uardian. co. uk/world/2011/may/13/suicide-bombing-revenge-osama The New York Review of Books. (2011). Why they get Pakistan wrong. Retrieved from http://www. nybooks. com/articles/archives/2011/sep/29/why-they-get-pakistan-wrong/ United Nations. (August, 2010). Afghan civilian casualties rise 31 per cent in first six months of 2010. Retrieved from http://unama. unmissions. org/Default. aspx? tabid=1741&ctl=Details&mid=1882&ItemID=9955 United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). (2009). World Drug Report. Received from www. unodc. org/unodc/data-and-analysis/WDR. html

Tuesday, July 30, 2019

Our Environment: the Sum Total of Our Surroundings

I. Our environment is the sum total of our surroundings A photograph of Earth reveals a great deal, but it does not convey the complexity of our environment. Our environment (a term that comes from the French environner, â€Å"to surround†) is more than water, land, and air; it is the sum total of our surroundings. It includes all of the biotic factors, or living things, with which we interact. It also includes the abiotic factors, or nonliving things, with which we interact.Our environment includes the continents, oceans, clouds, and ice caps you can see in the photo of Earth from space, as well as the animals, plants, forests, and farms that comprise the landscapes around us. In a more inclusive sense, it also encompasses our built environment, the structures, urban centers, and living spaces humans have created. In its most inclusive sense, our environment also includes the complex webs of scientific, ethical, political, economic, and social relationships and institutions t hat shape our daily lives.From day to day, people most commonly use the term environment in the first, narrow sense—of a nonhuman or â€Å"natural† world apart from human society. This connotation is unfortunate, because it masks the very important fact that humans exist within the environment and are a part of nature. As one of many species of animals on Earth, we share with others the same dependence on a healthy functioning planet. The limitations of language make it all too easy to speak of â€Å"people and nature,† or â€Å"human society and the environment,† as though they are separate and do not interact.However, the fundamental insight of environmental science is that we are part of the natural world and that our interactions with other parts of it matter a great deal. II. Environmental science explores interactions between humans and our environment Appreciating how we interact with our environment is crucial for a well-informed view of our place in the world and for a mature awareness that we are one species among many on a planet full of life.Understanding our relationship with the environment is also vital because we are altering the very natural systems we need, in ways we do not yet fully comprehend. We depend utterly on our environment for air, water, food, shelter, and everything else essential for living. However, our actions modify our environment, whether we intend them to or not. Many of these actions have enriched our lives, bringing us longer life spans, better health, and greater material wealth, mobility, and leisure time. However, these improvements have often degraded the natural systems that sustain us.Impacts such as air and water pollution, soil erosion, and species extinction can compromise human well-being, pose risks to human life, and threaten our ability to build a society that will survive and thrive in the long term. The elements of our environment were functioning long before the human species ap peared, and we would be wise to realize that we need to keep these elements in place. Environmental science is the study of how the natural world works, how our environment affects us, and how we affect our environment.We need to understand our interactions with our environment because such knowledge is the essential first step toward devising solutions to our most pressing environmental problems. Many environmental scientists are taking this next step, trying to apply their knowledge to develop solutions to the many environmental challenges we face. It can be daunting to reflect on the sheer magnitude of environmental dilemmas that confront us today, but with these problems also come countless opportunities for devising creative solutions.The topics studied by environmental scientists are the most centrally important issues to our world and its future. Right now, global conditions are changing more quickly than ever. Right now, through science, we as a civilization are gaining know ledge more rapidly than ever. And right now, the window of opportunity for acting to solve problems is still open. With such bountiful challenges and opportunities, this particular moment in history is indeed an exciting time to be studying environmental science. III. Natural resources are vital to our survivalAn island by definition is finite and bounded, and its inhabitants must cope with limitations in the materials they need. On our island, Earth, human beings, like all living things, ultimately face environmental constraints. Specifically, there are limits to many of our natural resources, the various substances and energy sources we need to survive. Natural resources that are virtually unlimited or that are replenished over short periods are known as renewable natural resources. Some renewable resources, such as sunlight, wind, and wave energy, are perpetually available.Others, such as timber, food crops, water, and soil, renew themselves over months, years, or decades, if we are careful not to use them up too quickly or destructively. In contrast, resources such as mineral ores and crude oil are in finite supply and are formed much more slowly than we use them. These are known as nonrenewable natural resources. Once we use them up, they are no longer available. We can view the renewability of natural resources as a continuum (Figure 1. 1). Some renewable resources may turn nonrenewable if we overuse them.For example, overpumping groundwater can deplete underground aquifers and turn a lush landscape into a desert. Populations of animals and plants we harvest from the wild may be renewable if we do not overharvest them but may vanish if we do. In recent years, our consumption of natural resources has increased greatly, driven by rising affluence and the growth of the largest human population in history. IV. Human population growth has shaped our relationship with natural resources For nearly all of human history, only a few million people populated Earth at any one time.Although past populations cannot be calculated precisely, Figure 1. 2 gives some idea of just how recently and suddenly our population has grown beyond 6 billion people. Two phenomena triggered remarkable increases in population size. The first was our transition from a hunter-gatherer lifestyle to an agricultural way of life. This change began to occur around 10,000 years ago and is known as the agricultural revolution. As people began to grow their own crops, raise domestic animals, and live sedentary lives in villages, they found it easier to meet their nutritional needs.As a result, they began to live longer and to produce more children who survived to adulthood. The second notable phenomenon, known as the industrial revolution, began in the mid-1700s. It entailed a shift from rural life, animal-powered agriculture, and manufacturing by craftsmen, to an urban society powered by fossil fuels (nonrenewable energy sources, such as oil, coal, and natural gas, produce d by the decomposition and fossilization of ancient life). The industrial revolution introduced improvements in sanitation and medical technology, and it enhanced agricultural production with fossil-fuel-powered equipment and synthetic fertilizer.Thomas Malthus and population growth   Ã‚  Ã‚  At the outset of the industrial revolution in England, population growth was regarded as a good thing. For parents, high birth rates meant more children to support them in old age. For society, it meant a greater pool of labor for factory work. British economist Thomas Malthus (1766–1834) had a different opinion. Malthus claimed that unless population growth were controlled by laws or other social strictures, the number of people would outgrow the available food supply until starvation, war, or disease arose and reduced the population (Figure 1. ). Malthus’s most influential work, An Essay on the Principle of Population, published in 1798, argued that a growing population would eventually be checked either by limits on births or increases in deaths. If limits on births (such as abstinence and contraception) were not implemented soon enough, Malthus wrote, deaths would increase through famine, plague, and war. Malthus’s thinking was shaped by the rapid urbanization and industrialization he witnessed during the early years of the industrial revolution, but debates over his views continue today.As we will see in Chapter 8 and throughout this book, global population growth has indeed helped spawn famine, disease, and social and political conflict. However, increasing material prosperity has also helped bring down birth rates—something Malthus did not foresee. Paul Ehrlich and the â€Å"population bomb†   Ã‚  Ã‚  In our day, biologist Paul Ehrlich of Stanford University has been called a â€Å"neo-Malthusian† because he too has warned that population growth will have disastrous effects on human welfare.In his 1968 book, The Populat ion Bomb, Ehrlich predicted that the rapidly increasing human population would unleash widespread famine and conflict that would consume civilization by the end of the 20th century. Like Malthus, Ehrlich argued that population was growing much faster than our ability to produce and distribute food, and he maintained that population control was the only way to prevent massive starvation and civil strife. Although human population nearly quadrupled in the past 100 years—the fastest it has ever grown (see Figure1. a)—Ehrlich’s predictions have not materialized on the scale he predicted. This is due, in part, to agricultural advances made in recent decades. As a result, Ehrlich and other neo-Malthusians have revised their predictions accordingly and now warn of a postponed, but still impending, global crisis. V. Resource consumption exerts social and environmental impacts Population growth affects resource availability and is unquestionably at the root of many envir onmental problems. However, the growth in consumption is also to blame.The industrial revolution enhanced the material affluence of many of the world’s people by considerably increasing our consumption of natural resources and manufactured goods. Garrett Hardin and the â€Å"tragedy of the commons†   Ã‚  Ã‚  The late Garrett Hardin of the University of California, Santa Barbara, disputed the economic theory that unfettered exercise of individual self-interest will serve the public interest. According to Hardin’s best-known essay, â€Å"The Tragedy of the Commons,† published in the journal Science in 1968, resources that are open to unregulated exploitation will eventually be depleted.Hardin based his argument on a scenario described in a pamphlet published in 1833. In a public pasture, or â€Å"common,† that is open to unregulated grazing, Hardin argued, each person who grazes animals will be motivated to increase the number of his or her animals in the pasture. Ultimately, overgrazing will cause the pasture’s food production to collapse (Figure 1. 4). Because no single person owns the pasture, no one has incentive to expend effort taking care of it, and everyone takes what he or she can until the resource is depleted.Some have argued that private ownership can address this problem. Others point to cases in which people sharing a common resource have voluntarily organized and cooperated in enforcing its responsible use. Still others maintain that the dilemma justifies government regulation of the use of resources held in common by the public, from forests to clean air to clean water. Weighing the issues:| The Tragedy of the Commons| Imagine you make your living fishing for lobster. You are free to boat anywhere and set out as many traps as you like.Your harvests have been good, and nothing is stopping you from increasing the number of your traps. However, all the other lobster fishers are thinking the same thing, and the fishing grounds are getting crowded. Catches decline year by year, until one year the fishery crashes, leaving you and all the others with catches too meager to support your families. Some of your fellow fishers call for dividing the waters and selling access to individuals plot-by-plot. Others urge the fishers to team up, set quotas among themselves, and prevent newcomers from entering the market.Still others are imploring the government to get involved and pass laws regulating how much fishers can catch. What do you think is the best way to combat this tragedy of the commons and restore the fishery? Why? | Wackernagel, Rees, and the ecological footprint   Ã‚  Ã‚  As global affluence has increased, human society has consumed more and more of the planet’s limited resources. We can quantify resource consumption using the concept of the â€Å"ecological footprint,† developed in the 1990s by environmental scientists Mathis Wackernagel and William Rees.The ecologica l footprint expresses the environmental impact of an individual or population in terms of the cumulative amount of land and water required to provide the raw materials the person or population consumes and to dispose of or recycle the waste the person or population produces (Figure 1. 5). It measures the total amount of Earth’s surface â€Å"used† by a given person or population, once all direct and indirect impacts are totaled up. For humanity as a whole, Wackernagel and Rees have calculated that our species is using 30% more resources than are available on a sustainable basis from all the land on the planet.That is, we are depleting renewable resources 30% faster than they are being replenished—like drawing the principal out of a bank account rather than living off the interest. Furthermore, people from wealthy nations have much larger ecological footprints than do people from poorer nations. If all the world’s people consumed resources at the rate of N orth Americans, these researchers concluded, we would need the equivalent of two additional planet Earths. VI.Environmental science can help us avoid mistakes made by past civilizations It remains to be seen whether the direst predictions of Malthus, Ehrlich, and others will come to pass for today’s global society, but we already have historical evidence that civilizations can crumble when pressures from population and consumption overwhelm resource availability. Easter Island is the classic case (see â€Å"The Science behind the Story†), but it is not the only example. Many great civilizations have fallen after depleting resources from their environments, and each has left devastated landscapes in its wake.The Greek and Roman empires show evidence of such a trajectory, as do the Maya, the Anasazi, and other civilizations of the New World. Plato wrote of the deforestation and environmental degradation accompanying ancient Greek cities, and today further evidence is acc umulating from research by archaeologists, historians, and paleoecologists who study past societies and landscapes. The arid deserts of today’s Middle Eastern countries were far more vegetated when the great ancient civilizations thrived there; at that time these regions were lush enough to support the very origin of agriculture.While deforestation created deserts in temperate regions, in more tropical climates, the ancient cities of fallen civilizations became overgrown by jungle. The gigantic stone monuments of the Angkor civilization in Southeast Asia, like those of the Maya in Mexico and Central America, remained unknown to Westerners until the 19th century, and most of these cities remain covered by rainforest. Researchers have learned enough by now, however, that scientist and author Jared Diamond in his 2005 book, Collapse, could synthesize this information and formulate sets of reasons why civilizations succeed and persist, or fail and collapse.Success and persistence , it turns out, depend largely on how societies interact with their environments. I. People vary in their perception of environmental problems Environmental science arose in the latter half of the 20th century as people sought to better understand environmental problems and their origins. An environmental problem, stated simply, is any undesirable change in the environment. However, the perception of what constitutes an undesirable change may vary from one person or group of people to another, or from one context or situation to another.A person’s age, gender, class, race, nationality, employment, and educational background can all affect whether he or she considers a given environmental change to be a â€Å"problem. †   Ã‚  Ã‚  For instance, today’s industrial societies are more likely to view the spraying of the pesticide DDT as a problem than those societies viewed it in the 1950s, because today more is known about the health risks of pesticides (Figure 1. 6). At the same time, a person living today in a malaria-infested village in Africa or India may welcome the use of DDT if it kills mosquitoes that transmit malaria, because malaria is viewed as a more immediate health threat.Thus an African and an American who have each knowledgeably assessed the pros and cons may, because of differences in their circumstances, differ in their judgment of DDT’s severity as an environmental problem. | Different types of people may also vary in their awareness of problems. For example, in many cultures women are responsible for collecting water and fuelwood. As a result, they are often the first to perceive environmental degradation affecting these resources, whereas men in the same area simply might not â€Å"see† the problem.As another example, in most societies information about environmental health risks tends to reach wealthy people more readily than poor people. Thus, who you are, where you live, and what you do can have a huge ef fect on how you perceive your environment, how you perceive and react to change, and what impact those changes may have on how you live your life. In Chapter 2, we will examine the diversity of human values and philosophies and consider their effects on how we define environmental problems.II. Environmental science provides interdisciplinary solutions Studying and addressing environmental problems is a complex endeavor that requires expertise from many disciplines, including ecology, earth science, chemistry, biology, economics, political science, demography, ethics, and others. Environmental science is thus an interdisciplinary field—one that borrows techniques from numerous disciplines and brings research results from these disciplines together into a broad synthesis (Figure 1. 7).Traditional established disciplines are valuable because their scholars delve deeply into topics, uncovering new knowledge and developing expertise in particular areas. Interdisciplinary fields ar e valuable because their practitioners take specialized knowledge from different disciplines, consolidate it, synthesize it, and make sense of it in a broad context to better serve the multifaceted interests of society. Environmental science is especially broad because it encompasses not only the natural sciences (disciplines that study the natural world), but also the social sciences (disciplines that study human interactions and institutions).The natural sciences provide us the means to gain accurate information about our environment and to interpret it reasonably. Addressing environmental problems, however, also involves weighing values and understanding human behavior, and this requires the social sciences. Most environmental science programs focus predominantly on the natural sciences as they pertain to environmental issues. In contrast, programs incorporating the social sciences heavily often prefer using the term environmental studies to describe their academic umbrella. Whic hever approach one takes, these fields reflect many diverse perspectives and sources of knowledge.Just as an interdisciplinary approach to studying issues can help us better understand them, an integrated approach to addressing problems can produce effective and lasting solutions. One example is the dramatic improvement in one aspect of air quality in the United States over the past few decades. Ever since automobiles were invented, lead had been added to gasoline to make cars run more smoothly, even though medical professionals knew that lead emissions from tailpipes could cause health problems, including brain damage and premature death.In 1970 air pollution was severe, and motor vehicles accounted for 78% of U. S. lead emissions. But over the following years, engineers, physicians, atmospheric scientists, and politicians all merged their knowledge and skills into a process that eventually resulted in a ban on leaded gasoline. By 1996 all gasoline sold in the United States was unl eaded, and the nation’s largest source of atmospheric lead emissions had been completely eliminated. III.Environmental science is not the same as environmentalism Although many environmental scientists are interested in solving problems, it would be incorrect to confuse environmental science with environmentalism, or environmental activism. They are not the same. Environmental science is the pursuit of knowledge about the workings of the environment and our interactions with it. Environmentalism is a social movement dedicated to protecting the natural world—and, by extension, humans—from undesirable changes brought about by human choices (Figure 1. ). Although environmental scientists may study many of the same issues environmentalists care about, as scientists they attempt to maintain an objective approach in their work. Remaining free from personal or ideological bias, and open to whatever conclusions the data demand, is a hallmark of the effective scientist. We will now proceed with a brief overview of how science works and how scientists go about this enterprise that brings our society so much valuable knowledge.

Monday, July 29, 2019

Bipolar Disorder

Bipolar Disorder Essay The phenomenon of bipolar affective disorder has been a mystery since the 16th century. History has shown that this affliction can appear in almost anyone. Even the great painter Vincent Van Gogh is believed to have had Bipolar Disorder Essay. It is clear that in our society many people live with bipolar disorder; however, despite the abundance of people suffering from the it, we are still waiting for definite explanations for the causes and cure. The one fact of which we are painfully aware is that bipolar disorder severely undermines its victims ability to obtain and maintain social and occupational success. Because bipolar disorder has such debilitating symptoms, it is imperative that we remain vigilant in the quest for explanations of its causes and treatment.Affective disorders are characterized by a smorgasbord of symptoms that can be broken into manic and depressive episodes. The depressive episodes are characterized by intense feelings of sadness and despair that can become feelings of hopelessness and helplessness. Some of the symptoms of a depressive episode include anhedonia, disturbances in sleep and appetite, psycomoter retardation, loss of energy, feelings of worthlessness, guilt, difficulty thinking, indecision, and recurrent thoughts of death and suicide (Hollandsworth, Jr. 1990 ). The manic episodes are characterized by elevated or irritable mood, increased energy, decreased need for sleep, poor judgment and insight, and often reckless or irresponsible behavior (Hollandsworth, Jr. 1990 ). Bipolar affective disorder affects approximately one percent of the population (approximately three million people) in the United States. It is presented by both males and females. Bipolar disorder involves episodes of mania and depression. These episodes may alternate with profound depressions characterized by a pervasive sadness, almost inability to move, hopelessness, and disturbances in appetite, sleep, in concentrations and driving.Bipolar disorder is diagnosed if an episode of mania occurs whether depression has been diagnosed or not (Goodwin, Guze, 1989, p 11). Most commonly, individuals with manic episodes experience a period of depression. Symptoms include elated, expansive, or irritable mood, hyperactivity, pressure of speech, flight of ideas, inflated self esteem, decreased need for sleep, distractibility, and excessive involvement in reckless activities (Hollandsworth, Jr. 1990 ). Rarest symptoms were periods of loss of all interest and retardation or agitation (Weisman, 1991).As the National Depressive and Manic Depressive Association (MDMDA) has demonstrated, bipolar disorder can create substantial developmental delays, marital and family disruptions, occupational setbacks, and financial disasters. This devastating disease causes disruptions of families, loss of jobs and millions of dollars in cost to society. Many times bipolar patients report that the depressions are longer and increase in frequency as the individual ages. Many times bipolar states and psychotic states are misdiagnosed as schizophrenia. Speech patterns help distinguish between the two disorders (Lish, 1994).The onset of Bipolar disorder usually occurs between the ages of 20 and 30 years of age, with a second peak in the mid-forties for women. A typical bipolar patient may experience eight to ten episodes in their lifetime. However, those who have rapid cycling may experience more episodes of mania and depression that succeed each other without a period of remission (DSM III-R). The three stages of mania begin with hypomania, in which patients report that they are energetic, extroverted and assertive (Hirschfeld, 1995). The hypomania state has led observers to feel that bipolar patients are ;addicted; to their mania. Hypomania progresses into mania and the transition is marked by loss of judgment (Hirschfeld, 1995). Often, euphoric grandiose characteristics are displayed, and paranoid or irritable characteristics begin to manifest. The third stage of mania is evident when the patient experiences delusions with often paranoid themes. Speech is generally rapid and hyperactive behavior manifests sometimes associated with violence (Hirschfeld, 1995). READ: Englands Greatest Poet And Playwright Was Born At Essay When both manic and depressive symptoms occur at the same time it is called a mixed episode. Those afflicted are a special risk because there is a combination of hopelessness, agitation, and anxiety that makes them feel like they ;could jump out of their skin;(Hirschfeld, 1995). Up to 50% of all patients with mania have a mixture of depressed moods. Patients report feeling dysphoric, depressed, and unhappy; yet, they exhibit the energy associated with mania. Rapid cycling mania is another presentation of bipolar disorder. Mania may be present with four or .

Common Aspects in the Articles The Effect of Television Viewing on Term Paper

Common Aspects in the Articles The Effect of Television Viewing on Adolescents Civic Participation and Not Necessarily Not the News - Term Paper Example In The Effect of Television Viewing on Adolescents’ Civic Participation, Hoffman and Thomson have vividly analyzed how the trend of political activeness among the younger generation has been twisted by media in the recent past. Aaron McKain, in Not Necessarily Not the News, has also been able to distinguish between the parody news and the conventional counterpart. These two articles have shared various ideas concerning the parody of The Daily Show to a great extent. However, the two also display some disparities in their findings on the youth and political participation.   An overview of both the Effect of Television Viewing on Adolescents’ Civic Participation and Not Necessarily Not the News reveals the two share some common grounds. On clear agreement between the two is that the late-night comedy news has gradually increased political participation, including the voter turnout among the youth. For example, with the relentless effort of Stewart, the host of The Daily Show, about 75% of the young adults volunteered for civic participation in the year 2001 (Hoffman, 3). However, the Effect of Television Viewing on Adolescents’ Civic Participation does not only focus on Stewart’s show; it attributes the increase to other similar late shows and comedies that portray the political situations in the nation. McKain seems to go in the same direction as Hoffman and Thomson. He states that in 2004, there was a significant increase in the number of politically active young Americans. The increase was estimated at 23% (McKain, 1). A similar instance was noticed in 2000 when over 39% of the young people aged between 18 and 29 claimed that they had received the news of campaign from the late night comedy shows such as The Daily Show.

Sunday, July 28, 2019

Prevention against African American Male Drop outs in high school Research Paper

Prevention against African American Male Drop outs in high school - Research Paper Example Education, therefore, remains an important tool by which many persons become empowered and the social, economic and private well-being of the people in particular country increases. A high rate of drop-outs in a country decreases the number of qualified citizens from varied backgrounds who eventually enter the political and professional ranks that make significant public policy decisions. Educating students and equipping them to become responsible, knowledgeable, socially skilled and contributing citizens should be a mission for every school. The fact that very many students never complete their high school studies has a deep and a broad impact on the long-term economic goals of U.S. The education department in U.S, the NCES (National Center for education statistics) states that the central income of people of ages eighteen to sixty-seven who had not finished high school was estimated around twenty-five thousand in 2009. Currently, a significant section of the same population is beli eved to remain in poverty while a global scale of competitiveness of the American struggle lags behind.A certain percentage of the number of students enrolled in private or public high schools in a particular year demonstrate this. For example, four percent of the total number of students enrolled in high school both in public and private school in the year 2008 left school before their second year was completed. An equivalent number of students drop out of school before the completion of their high school course.... There was not a significant difference on the year 2009 event for the rates of drop outs for both females and males. With respect to age, twenty to twenty four years aged students are more affected than the fifteen to seventeen aged students. A big question lies on the event of school drop outs with respect to why a greater percentage is made for the African American students. Although dropping out from school has been a disaster which strikes many students indiscriminatevely, the African American students are found to be greatly absorbed in the ruin. This poses a question which seeks to find out WHY or to determine the reasons behind this issue of school drop outs. This document is meant to determine the problems associated with school drop outs with respect to the African American boy child. The African American boys are greatly affected with this event since they are found to be the most affected with dropping out of school. According to researches, there are some associated reaso ns behind the problem of dropping out from school in America. This has been determined by carrying out many researches relevant to the problem. The research has been conducted through the use of certain qualitative and quantitative research methods. On the quantitative analysis, the paper describes the expected number of school drop outs in America. This includes carrying out an estimated or actual numbers of the school dropouts with respect to the race, color and age. As it has been depicted earlier, there are some varied percentages of the students who drop out of school in America. This has been analyzed with accordance to race and age. Broken down by race, the rates of the estimated event drop outs were recorded

Saturday, July 27, 2019

What Is Poverty Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

What Is Poverty - Essay Example But look at it this way, if America which is considered as one of the wealthiest nations in the world has this problem, how much more in other developing economies? The article might seem like an exaggeration of what poverty is. Yet at the eyes of Africans and Asians, this is just a minute detail of the life they are living. The article defines poverty as being dirty, tired, cold during winter and having insects all over you in summer, asking for other’s people help, remembering how you are treated rudely, and having no access to what the rich call basic necessities. In a way, this definition of poverty encapsulates how it is to be poor in comparison to the rich people around you. The article has been right to point out that poverty devoids people of a chance of being clean since there is no money to buy soap and sometimes even water. Poverty also makes one susceptible to the cold in winter and the insects in the summer. Because of our culture of measuring and accepting an individual based on his social status, the poor also struggles with the lack of social circles and being constrained in their immediate environment. Lastly, it means having to be sick, uneducated and remain poor the rest of your life. It also is giving up your relationships because it burdens you more. This account of poverty from a person in the US is nothing compared to what is experienced in third world countries. In these nations, poverty goes beyond not having a decent home and decent clothing—poverty means having no roof to shield you from the sun and rain and no clothes to cover your body. It also means living in dumpsites and collecting garbage with the hope of finding thrown away food. It is asking for help and desperately stealing to fill your stomach. Yet, in third world countries, poverty and good relationship is much more honored than riches without the people you love. At most instances, poverty

Friday, July 26, 2019

( Ontological Arguments ) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

( Ontological Arguments ) - Essay Example The conceptual analysis of the cause of the universe based on cosmological argument helps in establishing the important facts about the existence of the universe and its being. The argument starts from three premises; Premise (1) is notably true since something cannot come out of nothing. According to metaphysical intuition there has to be some cause for the existence of something. It is thus very reasonable to argue that there is a requirement of a causal explanation for the existence of the universe even for the atheists. This is because if they believe that the universe began at the Bing Bang, then the universe must have had the potentiality to exist in the first place. And since there is nothing that had existed prior to the Bing Bang, then the potentiality of the universe’s existence rested in the power of God who made it possible. As such, this premise is true as we can confirm it in our realities and also the scientist naturalists can sense in it. Premise (2) holds that an actual infinite cannot exist. This is because as infinite temporal regress of events causes intolerable absurdities and therefore it cannot exist. History is made of events leading up to each other sequentially and, therefore it is very possible to add to history making its existence potentially infinite. However, it can only be potentially infinite as opposed to being actually infinite. This argument is frequently objected on the basis of the second premise which is deemed problematic both scientifically and philosophically. This is because opponents state that if the universe has an infinitely distant starting point, then one should be able to transverse from the starting point to the present. The common logic is that if there is a finite distance which connects sequential events in the past, then it can be easily transversed, which is not the case here. This objection is further worsened by the fact that the cosmological argument presupposes

Thursday, July 25, 2019

Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 1

Assignment - Essay Example The act dictates and enforces two major responsibilities to any authority, which are to deny or confirm the availability of information whenever required. Whenever the authority admits to having the information as required, the act requires that the authority confer access to the information to any person in need of it. However, there are exceptions to the access of information with certain groups of persons being accorded full rights to accessing the information while some having some restrictions and subject to test by public interest. The act is driven by basic objectives and principles which include maximizing openness, ability to present information in a more open and comprehensive manner as well maintaining an up to date register or inventory system for the available information. Moreover, the act requires absolute observance of the commercial confidentiality of the public, prompt response as well as maintains the lowest costs possible in dispatching the information; informatio n to be provided free wherever possible2. Public tendering process is often a procedural process, which involves among other process the placement of the tenders’ information for interested contractors to apply. This has lead to devising of the tendering mechanisms such as the competitive tendering and the negotiated procedures of procurement by both the private as well as the public domain besides the open and the closed tendering procedures. The public procurement often involves customized discussions that involves many bidders and, applied in complex procurement procedures. The competitive dialogue method3 is characterized of two basic stages where the contracting authority starts by advertising the opportunities. Interested participants apply and gives the information through which the contracting authority determine the competitiveness of the applicants for the contracts and thus few of the qualified applicants are shortlisted for the second phase which is the actual com petitive dialogue. The dialogue entails thorough discussions with the shortlisted participants and the contracting authority stops to engage when it is assured of proposals that will meet its requirements. After the dialogue, the authority then invites tenders for the contract and the evaluation of the tenders stick to the formula of most economically advantageous. On the other hand, negotiated procedures involve the negotiation of procurement by procurer (contracting authority) and the potential bidders where the most cost effective bidders get the contract award4. The competitive dialogue pass through the two stages as with the prior procedure with the difference notable in that within the negotiated procedures the contracting authority requires proposals from the shortlisted participants before engaging in negotiations. In the analysis of procurement through competitive dialogue as well as the negotiation procedures, the most outstanding thing is that both the procurer and the su pplier has information that the other has not and is important for the tendering process to be efficient as well as successful. The success of the negotiated as well as the competitive dialogue procurement procedures rest on the ability for the parties involved to use the information at hand convincingly to win the contract award. The two procedures therefore run hand in hand and

Wednesday, July 24, 2019

Social Worker Skills Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Social Worker Skills - Essay Example As the report declares self-awareness is major requisite for every individual. People who are successful in their occupations know themselves. Successful people recognize their own abilities and their areas of weakness. Successful people are also self-confident. Because they see themselves as capable people, able to do a number of things well, employers and co-workers also tend to see them in this way. This paper stresses that social work is emotionally and intellectually demanding and being comfortable with oneself is vital in order to deal with clients. In this field, they will encounter more individuals who are stressed and often act as sounding boards and shock absorbers. It is imperative that the social worker is able to understand what creates stress for them and develop means of reducing stress where they can. This involves self- assessments of their own physical and mental health, and establishing a lifestyle that promotes their personal well-being. Part of this process is to understand one's own personality characteristics. This would enable the workers to conduct a personal self-assessment and determine how their own identities, beliefs and prejudices may affect their social work practice. The social worker must know how his/her values, attitudes, beliefs, emotions and experiences and how they cloud her judgement of his/her thinking, behaviour and relationships. The worker must be retrospectively be willing to examine and amend her attitude if it will be an impediment to effectively getting the job done.

Tuesday, July 23, 2019

Write an analysis on the story barn burning by William faulkner Essay

Write an analysis on the story barn burning by William faulkner - Essay Example Compelled by his habit, he gets annoyed with De Spain’s attitude and he drops some horse droppings on his very expensive carpet. De Spain asks him to give him 20 bushels of corn against the charge of the rug. Furious, Abner sues him and the court orders to give De Spain 10 bushels of corn instead of 20. Abner still furious decides to set the De Spain’s barn on fire. Sarty stops his father from doing wrong but when he does not listen, he warns De Spain and runs away and never looks back towards his family again (Wilson 434). The story has been one of the best selling of its time. It was also adapted to a short film in 1980, which was very much loved around the world. The story basically gives the idea of believing in what is right and never standing by lies and falsehood. It is pretty much proven that the Snopes’ family completely relies on each other in right or wrong decisions. The family seems to be living in their own world which is outside society values and even outside law, rather than on traditional values of right and wrong. Even though it’s your own father, one should stand what is right always even if they are standing alone. Family loyalty is very important but what is more important is that you never give anybody a chance to questions your honesty, integrity and truthfulness. This will make you away from your family once in a while, but there will come a time when the family will be reunited and you will get the reward of your good deeds. The story has decently listed characters, the main being the father, Abner Snopes and the son, Sarty Snopes. A peace demanding judge is mentioned twice at different occasions. The first person who complained was named Mr Harris and the second was the person that was sued who also was the new landlord De Spain. Mentioned only one are Sarty’s mother, his two sisters, his brother and his aunt. The characters have not been over done by the writer.

Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest Essay Example for Free

Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest Essay 1. What does the play say about marriage? The play says many things about marriage.   One is that marriage can be quite complicated when there is deceit even if the feelings involved are genuine.   Another is that there are so many trivial things that society considers â€Å"important† that disregards the true meaning of marriage.   Another is that parental consent and money still play an important role in matrimony. 2. What is the significance of the names? The word Earnest means sincere. However, the play showed how that sincerity is downplayed by the many trivial things that society expects from individuals.    Ms. Prism’s name is also significant because it was her character that finally shed light on the true background of Jack – who later became truly Earnest. 3. Suggest some of the things that Wilde is poking fun at in this play. Wilde made fun of the way women can be so assuming of relationships as can be seen with Cecily’s account of how she and Algy became engaged and how Gwendolyn fled from her mother to go to Jack.   The author also made fun of the way society can be deceived by many aspects of a person beside his true self (e.g. names and money).   This was especially evident in the way the name Earnest became so important that Algy and Jack had wanted to be re-baptized with it. Marriage was also funny because it gave too much importance on money and family background before it considers the true person. 4. What is your favorite character and why? I loved the character of Ms. Prism because at first she seemed to be only a minor character but in the end, the story actually centered on her misgivings.

Monday, July 22, 2019

Impact of Patient Confidentiality on Carers of People Who Have a Mental Disorder Essay Example for Free

Impact of Patient Confidentiality on Carers of People Who Have a Mental Disorder Essay Patients disclose important information to their attending physician or health care professionals because of this patient-physician confidentiality. This information should not be divulged as much as possible so that the patients would continue trusting their attending physician. With this confidentiality, carers are hindered to get the needed information about their patients. The article, â€Å"Impact of Patient Confidentiality on Carers on People Who Have a Mental Disorder,† authored by Dianne Wynaden and Angelica Orb, is about the effect of absolute confidentiality of patients’ pertinent health information. With the help of 27 carers, the authors were able to justify the not-so-good effects of health care professionals not sharing the health information of patients with mental disorder to their carers. Summary Sharing information is necessary. Health care professionals value the legality of patient-physician confidentiality agreement. However, carers need information about their patients in order to help carers attend to the needs of the patients. Health care professionals and carers must work together in order to assist or guide their patients. Regarding legality, the authors suggested to have the patient-physician confidentiality agreement reviewed in order to include the rights of carers to know the pertinent health information of their patients. Generally, carers find it difficult to ask assistance from health care professionals. Carers are not usually health care professionals. Carers are anyone interested or willing to provide assistance to patients. They can be family members, friends, or neighbors. For this reason, health care professionals must be willing to share information to carers. Analysis Psychosis is one mental disorder. It affects the way an affected person’s perception, cognition, mood, personality, behavior, and movement. Hallucinations or seeing things or hearing sounds that are not really present characterize hallucinations. (Psychosis 2006) Symptoms of psychosis include disconnected thoughts, difficulty in concentrating, mood swings, and having thoughts of death or suicide. (Psychosis Mental Health Fact Sheet 2001) A person with mental disorder needs special care and attention. Normally today, these persons are â€Å"confined† inside their houses and there are carers attending to their needs. Carers could be their family members, friends, or neighbors. Most likely, carers have little or no background at all in providing medical aid to ill persons. So, health care professionals must guide carers in attending the needs of their patients. One help health care professionals could offer is the pertinent health information of the patients. However, due to the existing patient-physician confidentiality agreement, carers could not get the health information they need to know about their patients. To substantiate the effect of not sharing vital information to carers, the authors had interviewed 27 carers. The results of the interview were identical making the findings credible. The carer participants have related almost the same stories in terms of acquiring information from health care professionals. They have experienced difficulty in getting information from health care professionals. Carers believe that there are important pieces of information that should be shared to them in order to perform their tasks well. Because limited bits of information are provided to carers, they could not attend to all the needs of their patients. Worst, their patients’ recovery is at stake because of unshared information. Why is it so hard for health care professionals to share information to carers? Again we go back to patient-physician confidentiality agreement. In legal terms, the parties or persons involved in the confidentiality agreement must abide by it. This means no information must be divulged to anyone, even to carers. No one must breach the agreement, in respect to both parties. This is the reason health care professionals are hesitant in giving information to carers about their patients. In ethical means, not sharing information to carers could worsen the condition of the patients. Since carers have no complete information about the real condition of their patients, carers could miss some important details that could affect the health of their patients. Applying ethics, we need to stand firm on the agreement. No matter what, the parties involved must respect what they have agreed upon. Applying ethics also, both the health care professionals and the carers must consider the recovery of their patients. They must help one another. Conclusion Patient-physician confidentiality agreement is both guarded by legal and ethical issues. But one thing is important—how to help the patients with mental disorder? Since carers have difficulty in acquiring information for their patients due to patient-physician confidentiality agreement, patients must be informed of the importance of sharing information to carers. Health care professionals must work together with carers in order to provide the needs of their patients. The patient-physician confidentiality agreement must be reviewed so that information could also be shared to carers. Patients should be informed that carers could attend best to their needs if they are well-versed of their condition. Also, carers can adapt fast to the patients’ needs when all information are properly accounted for. Patients are important. Sharing information between health care professionals and carers is also important.

Sunday, July 21, 2019

Recruitment and Selection Strategies in HRM

Recruitment and Selection Strategies in HRM Strategies are made according to objectives of an organization. These are set of activities towards objectives. Corporate objectives These are the statement of intent that basically provides a firm direction for the activities an organization performs in the pursuit of its mission. Usually in organizations there is confusion and overlapping between the terms, objectives and the company goals. This confusion is easy o solve only if the company tends to think of the objectives as a statement of intents and the goals as the quantifiable targets. Sales Strategies Sales strategy can be defined as the planned approach to the account management policy formation, prospect identification and qualification, sales presentation, and order generation aimed at achieving a firms sales quotas or targets. Following are sales strategy Objectives: Helps in improving client loyalty Increases the closeting ratio by knowing clients hot buttons Helps in shorting the sales cycle with outside recommendations. Proper sales strategy helps in offering best solutions to outsell the competitors Helps in targeting and penetrating the most promising and profitable sectors and markets Helps in refining and maximizing the competitive advantage and product differentiation to increase the market margin and share. Helps in establishing a specific plan to strengthen and enhance the lead generation  source: (Businessdictionary) P-9: Devise appropriate recruitment and selection procedures. Recruitment: It is the process of attracting, screening and selection qualified people for the Job. Selection process: Screening Applicants Read all applications submitted. The selection of the top candidates for interviewing must be based on the Job Description and specifications. New criteria cannot be introduced to assess the candidates at this stage as it would be unfair. It is the responsibility of the persons conducting the interviews to complete the short-listing and to ensure the process remains free of unlawful discrimination. If a committee is used, the entire committee should agree on the short list. If a committee is not used, it is desirable that a second person also participate in the short-listing process. The criteria used to select the top candidates and all appropriate notes must be returned to Human Resources and Employee Development for filing and are retained for a period of 6 months. It is good practice that all employees that apply for a position within their department be interviewed. Former employees who have been dismissed for misconduct cannot be considered for appointment. Former employees who have since retired must meet certain qualifications due to their retirement status. If there is a question about whether an applicant can or cannot be considered contact Human Resources and Employee Development. Arranging the Interview The persons responsible for the interviews is responsible for scheduling dates and times for interviews directly with the short listed candidates and notifying the candidates of any selection tests that will be used. Federal law prohibits certain questions in an employment interview and the application for employment has been developed to comply with Federal guidelines. Examples of such illegal questions might refer to the applicants age, disability, religion, ages of children, etc. Interviewing guidelines are provided to the employing department upon referral of applications. To assure consistent treatment of each applicant, a patterned interview might be developed by the department. Such might include specific questions of job related functions, skills required, and how the applicants educational background, previous experience, etc. might be useful in the position if selected for employment. The Interview The purpose of interviewing is to appoint the best person for the job based solely on merit and suitability. The Valdosta State University recruitment and selection process achieves this using methods that are systematic, thorough, fair, unbiased and based on rational, objective, job related criteria. At the interview, each candidate should be treated consistently. To achieve this the panel should: Ask the same initial questions of each candidate Supplement their understanding of the candidates responses by following up questions as appropriate Be consistent in allowing access to presentation material, notes and so on Not allow any discriminatory questions, harassment, or any other conduct which breaches the equal opportunities policy or code of conduct Ensure that in the case of disabled candidates, the necessity for any reasonable adjustments that would be required on the job are explored in a positive manner. Assessment of disabled candidates should be based on their expected performance in the job, given that any reasonable adjustment required was provided. Keep in mind that information obtained throughout the selection process is treated as confidential and is known only to parties involved in the selection process Keep records of interviews and the reasons for decisions each question should receive a grade, and a grade for overall impression. The candidates will be ranked from highest to lowest based on the scores given and the position negotiated or offered to the highest ranking candidate. The scoring sheets and all documentation of the interviews must be given to Human Resources and Employee Development for filing Panel members must be aware that it is their responsibility to ensure recruitment/interview documentation is stored securely and confidentially whilst in their possession. Selection Tests Where selection tests are a valid method of assessing a candidate (i.e. effectively measures the job criteria, is relevant, reliable, fair and unbiased also considering the predictive capacities of tests), they are an extremely useful tool and are recommended for use. Supervisors should seek advice from Human Resources and Employee Development on the use of such tests. Hiring Decision In selecting the successful candidate, the panel must make a decision based on the merit and eligibility of the candidates as judged by: Content of application and qualifications Performance at Interview Outcome of any selection tests Reference Checks As part of assessing the merit of each candidate, persons selecting candidates must satisfy themselves that the information the candidate gives is authentic, consistent and honest. This includes being satisfied about information regarding the candidates: application work history qualifications (where a qualification is a requirement, supporting evidence or certification must be obtained from the candidate and recorded) evidence presented at interview Reference checks; references must be called and information recorded for the file a) Identify yourself immediately, explain your position within the organization and tell the person why you are calling about the applicant. b) Ensure confidentiality c) Ask if he or she is free to discuss the situation d) Try to establish rapport e) Tell the person the position the candidate is being considered for f) Let the person talk feely g) Ask the references the same questions for each of your candidates h) Always end the call with: would you rehire this person? Should any of these not meet the required standards, Human Resources and Employee Development must discuss the issue with the Supervisor/Director. Use the Employment Reference Check and Education Verification form located in Appendix 10 and Appendix 11. Criminal Background Checks. In an effort to provide a safe and secure workplace, to comply with Board of Regents Policy and to minimize the potential litigation associated with negligent hiring processes, Valdosta State University will require background checks on the top two candidates for the position. Employment shall be conditioned upon the execution of a consent form for criminal record disclosure and upon consideration of ones criminal history. The Valdosta State University Police Department, upon receipt of the Consent to Criminal History Release Form, shall conduct the background check and report results to the Department of Human Resources. The department will notify the applicants whose criminal history report prevents their employment. The applicant can be referred to Human Resources and Employee Development if they have questions on the process The applicant is allowed seven calendar days to initiate corrective action of any inaccurate report. Proof of an error in reporting shall not disqualify the applicant and the position will not be filled until this time period has expired. If no action is initiated, and if the report is factual, the hiring department may resume the employment process. P-10: Evaluate the role of motivation, remuneration and training in enhancing sales performance. Role of Motivation in sales performance. Whether you are a sales person or someone in a position who manages sales people, you need to know the importance of motivation. Although many it would be great to just hire self motivated people who dont need any help from you to take action and make sales, you need to realize that sales is a tough job and that there are people who can really become great at it with some encouragement. Being in sales can either pay you very well or can make you go broke. The better you are at sales, the more money you will make. So where does motivation come into play? Well, the main reason that most people dont like sales is because of having to deal with rejection. No one likes to be rejected but if youre in a sale, thats all part of the game. The more rejections you get, the closer to a sale you will be. Now just because you expect your sales people or yourself to go out there and make those sales calls like a machine, it doesnt mean motivation should be neglected. If you are a sales person, take the time to read and listen to motivation material. By doing this, you will constantly be feeding your mind with positive and encouraging thoughts that will help you get through those days where everyone prospect seems to be in a bad mood. For sales managers, providing your team with motivation is critical. Just look in the world of sports. Those athletes are the best in the world at what they do yet when they are losing and feeling discouraged, a simple pep talk from their coach can fire them up to the point to turn the game around. This same thing can be used on your sales people to help them see more of themselves instead of beating themselves up mentality for not making as many sales. Motivation is important because it causes people to take action. Without action, nothing happens. The key to achieve any goal is to take action. The more action you take, the closer to your goals you will be. In order to continually take action, you will need to come up with ways to motivate yourself to do what you need to do everyday in order to reach those goals. So whether you need to motivate yourself or your team, motivation plays an extremely important role in building success. Source (Wikipedia) Role of Remuneration in Sales Performance Remuneration is wages or salary, typically money that is paid for services rendered as an employee. How do you decide what remuneration packages to adopt? How do you ensure that your Remuneration packages incentives and motivate the right people? How do you make sure that the amount of pay helps your staff with their lifestyle requirements? These questions are vital ones to anybody trying to run a sales team or customer service team, when you have a look at how you can actually reward personal effort as well as maintain service. In looking at any remuneration package, its worthwhile to consider a set of scales. In any job description, there is an opportunity to analyze the work required into service aspects whereby these things have to be done to maintain the client, or maintain the client relationship, such as receiving orders, implementing orders, handling queries, general items of customer service, and also perhaps even merchandising or helping with displays, as well as ensuring that stock levels are adequate, these can be called service areas or service responsibilities. On the other hand, a sales person or customer service representative could influence the  value of the sale through their personal sales skills, personality, and training, to either make the sale happen, add value to the sale, or sell some specific items that are on special or on bonus, at the point of communication, either by phone, by web, or face-to-face. This particular activity is known as personal contribution. A relatively easy formula to follow is by adopting the scales of remuneration, you can then analyze the input from the people involved. If there is high service requirements and service levels in the performance of the job, and little opportunity to add personal influence, then a wages or base salary system will be the most cost efficient to make the results work. If there is a high personal input, whereby the sales person can strongly influence the amount of the sale or the profitability of the sale, then you can reward that personal effort by special commissions, sha re of profits, special incentives, and special rewards, for the sales as they occur after the event, and lessen the base salary or wages that need to be paid by increasing the risk factor, which of course the personal touch will overcome. Role of Training in Sales Performance The term training refers to the acquisition of knowledge, skills, and competencies as a result of the teaching of vocational or practical skills and knowledge that relate to specific useful competencies. It forms the core of apprenticeships and provides the backbone of content at institutes of technology (also known as technical colleges or polytechnics). In addition to the basic training required for a trade, occupation or profession, observers of the labor-market recognize today [update] the need to continue training beyond initial qualifications: to maintain, upgrade and update skills throughout working life. People within many professions and occupations may refer to this sort of training as professional development. Source (Wikipedia) P-11: Describe two techniques used to co-ordinate and control sales output. Sales out put control Outputs can be triggered manually or automatically in the sales document. Automatic determination requires maintenance of output condition record. Print programs and layout sets control content which Should be displayed in the output. controls output determination using condition   Technique. Output determination procedure is determined on the basis of sales document type (sales order type, delivery type, billing type). Standard output determination procedure for sales order (OR), Delivery (LF) and Billing (F2) is V100000. Output procedure contains output types, which can be processed when that sales document is created. One document can have Output types like Delivery note and Packing list in delivery. Output controls Medium (Like Print, Fax, EDI) Time of sending the output -e.g. immediately or in a batch Which partner function of Business partner it can be sent Language Criteria for which output condition record can be maintained for automatic output determination It offers flexibility of changing the key controls in the Sales documents. Example If order confirmation for a customer is scheduled to be printed in a batch but the customer wants it immediately then time of dispatch control can be changed in the sales order. P-12: Use given information to recommend appropriate organization structures and procedures. Team One of the newest organizational structures developed in the 20th century is team. In small businesses, the team structure can define the entire organization. Teams can be both horizontal and vertical. While an organization is constituted as a set of people who synergize individual competencies to achieve newer dimensions, the quality of organizational structure revolves around the competencies of teams in totality. For example, every one of the Whole Foods Market stores, the largest natural-foods grocer in the US developing a focused strategy, is an autonomous profit centre composed of an average of 10 self-managed teams, while team leaders in each store and each region are also a team. Larger bureaucratic organizations can benefit from the flexibility of teams as well. Functional structure Employees within the functional divisions of an organization tend to perform a specialized set of tasks, for instance the engineering department would be staffed only with software engineers. This leads to operational efficiencies within that group. However it could also lead to a lack of communication between the functional groups within an organization, making the organization slow and inflexible. As a whole, a functional organization is best suited as a producer of standardized goods and services at large volume and low cost. Coordination and specialization of tasks are centralized in a functional structure, which makes producing a limited amount of products or services efficient and predictable. Moreover, efficiencies can further be realized as functional organizations integrate their activities vertically so that products are sold and distributed quickly and at low cost .For instance, a small business could start making the components it requires for production of its products instead of procuring it from an external organization. But not only beneficial for organization but also for employees faiths. P-13: Identify and give three examples of the differences in the nature of sales tasks and skills in a variety of context. Sales Skills Effective communication Ability to listen Ask revelent questions Problem solver Well-organized Self starter and self finisher Positive self image. Well mannered and courteous Naturally Persuasive Person of Integrity Sales Task Specified amount of sales that a management sets for achieving or exceeding within a specified timeframe, and allocates required resources. Sales targets are apportioned among different sales-units such as salespersons, franchisees, distributors, agents, etc. Three Types of Sales Task Personal Sales Task A salesman of Jazz has to sell 100 connections/Sims per week Team Sales Task Peshawar region has to sellout 2000 connections in a month Organizational Sales Task Ufone has to cover 5 cities per year. P-14: Explain the role of sales staff operating in an international environment. International sales staff have very important role in an organization. To improve firms image To improve brand image Bring International talent to domestic market Bring new Ideas and knowledge Create good relationship between nations To integrate the different cultures Brining International harmony while working with different people of the world Bringing new skills and talents With all above international sales staff is the sign of Globalization. P-15: Explain the purpose of trade fairs and evaluate their contributions. Trade fair A trade fair (trade show or expo) is an exhibition organized so that companies in a specific industry can showcase and demonstrate their latest products, service, study activities of rivals and examine recent market trends and opportunities. In contrast to consumer fairs, only some trade fairs are open to the public, while others can only be attended by company representatives (members of the trade, e.g. professionals) and members of the press, therefore trade shows are classified as either Public or Trade Only. Purpose of Trade Fairs Generating sales leads Generating actual sales at the show Enhancing your image and visibility Reaching a specific audience Establishing a presence in the marketplace Improving the effectiveness and efficiency of your marketing efforts Personally meeting your customers, competitors and suppliers Prospecting for new customers Introducing new products and services Demonstrating your product in ways not possible using other marketing channels Recruiting distributors or dealers Educating your target audience. Contribution of trade fairs to Firms Establish meaningful goals, masterfully plan your strategy, and measure your return on investment. Implement powerful marketing initiatives before, during, and after the event that engage potential buyers and generate sales. Choose the best exhibit display booth that meets your marketing needs and budgetary requirements. This includes evaluating different sizes, designs, and configurations of trade show displays. Identify the most effective graphic elements for your exhibit that portray your key messages and fulfill your brand communications needs. This includes establishing design parameters for banners, custom exhibition stands, brochures, and other materials. Learn about unique and appealing booth ideas that create buzz on the exhibition floor and attract visitors to your trade show display area. Effectively use exhibit accessories, signage and lighting techniques to heighten visibility. This includes selecting quality booth materials, high-impact portable display boards and booth fixtures that support your brand positioning. Select cost-effective giveaways and promotional products that have high-perceived value among your target prospects and complement your company image. Ensure team members who are staffing your booth project a professional appearance and are well-trained to represent your company, generate leads, and secure sales. source: (Businessdictionary) M-4: Evaluate the recruitment and selection procedure of the selected organization. Recruitment at Ufone Before recruiting a new employee, management checks whether there is a need to hire a new employee for that particular job or whether it can be incorporated into an existing employees job. Recruitment in Ufone may be of internal or external nature. Internal Recruitment In the case of internal recruitment people from within the organization are promoted to fill the vacant vacancy. The HR department and the relevant department in which the vacancy exists, analyze whether there an employee within the organization exists, who most appropriately meets the requirements of the particular vacancy. If more then one employee is eligible for the vacancy; then that employee is chosen who has the most outstanding record. After the promotion the employee may be sent for further training. The effect of internal vacancy is that it motivates the employee to perform their best and produce maximum output. It also creates a healthy competition amongst the employees. The hiring from within may have a trickle down effect i.e. the opportunities spring not just from the first vacancy but from the vacancy created when a person in the company fills that vacancy. External Recruitment If the organization feels that none of their current employees can fill out the new vacancy then they hire from external sources. In this case the human resource management considers other departments in the organization that might be interested in the appointment in order to make it a joint effort. They talk to relevant supervisors and especially to the people the new person will work with. A set of expert panelists is then selected from each relevant department to interview applicants Direct Applicants Ufone maintains a data base system i.e. HRMS (Human resource management system) for its internal employees as well as the employees which they will recruit in near future. In some case certain some people just drop their CVs at the head office. And whenever there is an opening or a vacancy occurs, the organization may call them for an interview. Referrals By advertising a post internally Ufone gains an added benefit, which is; the current employees may pass the information on to any interested friends and relations. Word of mouth is also a valuable recruitment method for them and they draw on all appropriate contacts they have Advertisements Since most of the posts are of a specialist nature, they intend on advertising in the journals of professional bodies and the trade press. Their next step is to find out how much adverts cost for varying amount of space and decide what they can afford. The HR management has hired the services of Interflow, an advertising agency, to propagate their service and company for them. They are also using the services of a web designer, Eveready media, to post the advertisement of the company on the Internet. Private Employment Agency The private Recruiting agencies collect information from unemployed as well as employed people about their skills and experiences. These agencies attempt to find some one suitable using its computerized inventory database of suitable individuals. These agencies charge Ufone for the referrals. Through Vendors (Outsourcing) Ufone also do outsourcing for the purpose of recruitment they hire firm, which will provide employee Ufone to work in the organization, but the employee will remain employee of that firm not Ufone, and this is the most common method followed by most of organization these days. Lower management at Ufone is comes through outsourcing. Electronic Recruiting The growth of information superhighway has opened up new vistas for organizations trying to recruit talent. Ufone is make full fledge use of this new technology, and it uses its own web page to advertise for new job openings. Another aspect of the electronic recruiting is that individuals dont have to physically go to the head office to drop their CVs. They now can simply use the e-CV format provided by Ufone on its home page. The e-CV is then transferred to the relevant database or the HR department. Recruitment Procedure The HR management decides on the length of the short-list, which includes five or six people at the most. Following the advert they need help to sift through the applications. Everything is computerized and on-line which makes it easier to handle large numbers of replies. In case they run short of time, they get the help of other staff, supervisors and managers in the organization. Apart from the question of time, they do this to get second opinions. They look out for the following when reading an application: How well-matched is the candidate to the requirements Any unexplained employment gaps The quality of presentation How tailored the reply is to the particular job and Ufone as an organization. Replying To Candidates The candidates that do not match the job are contacted as quickly as possible and dealt with courteously since the HR management believes in the philosophy that these people, and their relatives and friends, may be future customers or acquaintances of potential, future applicants. Those that match the job are called over to undertake an on-line evaluation test. Scheduling Interview The candidates that pass the on-line evaluation test are then called for interviews. A date and a time are arranged and the candidate appears for the interview. The questions of this interview are designed especially for gauging the personality and ability of the candidate. Screening Process The results are screened by a set of panelists in order to minimize chances of error in selecting the candidates. The HR management sometimes keeps a small number of candidates in reserve. M-5 : Highlight the motivating factors being used by the selected organization also determine the remuneration and training programs used by the organization for enhancing sales performance. Training at Ufone Training Development involves improving the knowledge, skills and abilities of the individuals. A continuous training is conducted inside Ufone to improve the performance of the employee. There are two types of trainings conducted at Ufone: In-house Training External Training In-house training is customized training which is only for Ufone employees. External training is carried out through trainers in training institutes. Employees at Ufone are usually trained through Rameez Allahwalla (in  Karachi), Possibilities and Intec (two well-known training institutes). Before training Training Need Analysis (TNA) is conducted by the manager  of the department. And after the training feedback from the employee is  taken. Motivating Factors at Ufone A very effective way to retain an employee is to give him compensation Benefits and Motivating factors at Ufone which is mentioned below: Medical Facility to employee and his/her parents Paid Vacations Food Allowance Trips Promotion on Performance Remuneration at Ufone There are about 150 employees who are working in the Ufone Head Office and 1500 employees serving nationwide. All of them are very devoted as they are given a wonderful learning environment to work, pay offered to them is also very attractive and ample chance of progress motivates them to work more. The job analysis is done on targets assigned and daily routines. The employees are indeed very satisfied and motivated. Ufone is basically equal employment opportunity organization. Almost 70% of its employees are male and 30% are female. The job description of each and every employee is predefined. Performance appraisal is done on annual basis. Average age of Ufone employee is 32 years. This shows that they prefer young and energetic people for their middle and lower level management. High profile well experienced persons are considered for top level management. Average Salary is 12000 for a Ufone employee. Salaries are increased as the federal government of Pakistan announced the percentage. M-7: Compare the sales tasks and skills being used by the two selected organization. Ufone Sales Task Skills: Successful companies have long known that a well-trained, highly motivated and efficiently connected field force is critical to their continued growth and success. Ufone realized that to stay ahead of the competition, they must replace traditional paper based systems with mobile solutions that enable access to key information directly from the field. Today, Ufones sales team is armed with Psion Teklogix WORKABOUT PRO hand-held with GPRS and a software application built on the Microsoft CE Framework; the team retrieves data from the companys accounting stock system through an Oracle database and uploads new data in the same manner. Known internally as U SFA (Ufone Sales Force Automation), this application allows sales staff to create orders, add details, fill in electronic outlet cards,