Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Court case Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Court case - Essay Example On 26th October 2010 the accused was arrested again and jailed on several charges, namely: Grand Larceny on the 2nd and 8th of June, breaking and entering with intent on 8th June, credit card theft on 22nd January and receipt of stolen property on 18th June. Pre-sentence report was ordered on 12th November. Evidence for the preceding charges was submitted on 14th December and a true bill was issued by the Grand Jury. A review of all the charges and the case was made on 21st December and a trial was scheduled for 22nd February 2011. The case was postponed again and set on 28th March. The judicial body deciding on the case was the County Circuit Court Criminal Division. The accused was facing 30 years for 7 counts of grand larceny, 2 counts of receipt of stolen property, 1 count of credit card theft and 1 count of breaking and entering with intent to commit other misdemeanors. On top of this, the accused was already serving probation for driving under influence. Accused was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $29,328.15. Due to the number of evidence and witnesses, the accused plead guilty. Consequently, the sentence was reduced to 2 years and 8 months with supervised probation for 5 years succeeding release from prison. Because the accused had committed the same crime several times, it is the victims’ opinion that the offender did not deserve the plea bargain and subsequent reduction in prison term. Although I do not share the victims’ feeling of unfairness, I found a couple of things surprising. First is the offer for plea bargain. The accused committed seven (7) similar offenses in a span of six (6) months. Obviously, any feeling of remorse is doubtful as he seems to jump into one offense after another. Leniency in prison term does not seem to be appropriate. Secondly, I wonder about the chronological aspect of the arrests made. The first arrest was made for offenses on 15th March, 18th

Monday, October 28, 2019

Reform Essay Example for Free

Reform Essay Think about the causes of success and failure for particular movements. What causes some to become widely appealing and have major impacts on change? What causes others (regardless of the validity of their concerns) to simply wither away in the dustbin of history? Can you think of some that have evolved into stable organizations without much impact on social change? Can you identify others that have become stable enterprises of sorts, constantly selling T-shirts and other emblems without doing much? I think what causes some reforms to be more appealing than others is simply the interest of the citizens. What they want and were they see the country moving toward at the time. The only thing that I can think of that has currently come into play as a business or dispensary is the whole issues with marijuana, and whether or not to make it legal. Here in San Diego there has been an influx of medical marijuana dispensaries. I don’t know that it’s something that is stable but, it definitely has been impacting social change. Medical marijuana also attracts businessmen. California dispensaries possess great potential on the market. However, you need to have a license before you establish a dispensary and it entails several steps. Also that, medical marijuana state laws (which differs from each state) strictly implements some general rules on starting dispensary business. California allows anyone with a doctor’s recommendation to use medical marijuana, whatever their health condition. Critics claim dispensaries are often no more than drug trafficking fronts. Assignments To complete this assignment, go to this weeks Assignment link in the left navigation: Getting Involved What kinds of people tend to become involved in movements, as contributors, elders, or sympathizers? Why do you think they became involved? Has a movement organization ever asked you to donate money or time to work for a cause? Did you? Why or why not? For those you found appealing, were there barriers to your participation? What are some contemporary movements you find repulsive? Why? Two- to three-pages.

Saturday, October 26, 2019

COMPUTER SECURITY ISSUES :: Essays Papers

COMPUTER SECURITY ISSUES Computer Security Issues Facing Alsager Ltd. In upgrading the Alsager Ltd IT facilities, despite numerous advantages that the new systems brings one has to be made aware of the possible threats posing. Virus can effect the system. They are pieces of codes created by hacker to create a nuisances and to another extreme corrupt valuable data. Examples of these can be animated icons flying pass the computer screen and to another extreme can be programmes designed to delete the hard drive. The Computer Virus can be caught through a number of ways. The most highly publicised way, is through the Internet, other ways are through removable storage media, such as floppy disks and zip drives. They can also be caught through computer networks, where a third party from another machine in the network introduces the virus (accidental or otherwise) which then spread throughout the network. The most unlikely way of virus contaminating the system is through malicious employees creating them on the system but this will be discussed later on. There are a number of precautions that can be taken to help prevent this. By simply making employees not to use mobile storage media unless they know where it has been, making them aware that pirated media , shareware/freeware programmes may be potentially dangerous. A talk and leaflet distribution to employees could be useful. If the Alsager decides to connect to the Internet, this would be another potential source for virus and such like. A firewall could be placed on the system to help prevent infection. A more immediate way of preventing virus is to subscribe to a antivirus programmes, although this will not give you 100% percent protection it will help prevent the majority of known virus. An important note to this point, is the importance of getting regular virus updates from the software manufacturer. With the introduction of the IT facilities, the amount of room information takes up is drastically reduced from a whole filing cabinet to a small hard drive. Information can be easily copied and since the advent of the Internet, information does not even have to be on a psychical media to leave the building. This therefore makes it much more easier to copy and take out valuable information. All the companies details, there accounts and their customers account are prone to the risk. A single person can take out all the information on a zip disk or even a floppy disk depending on the size of the file.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Understanding Societal Wealth and Inequality Thesis Statement on What Can Help Society (Hybrid of Capitalism and Communism)

On a general basis, wealth is an accumulation of physical entities which hold great importance to us. These entities are objects such as money, land, jewelries, gold, precious stones and so much more. It is also a means were by people grade themselves or attain superiority over others. Wealth comes with power, prestige, honor, and integrity. Wealth is a very important tool in a society and that is the very means of survival in today’s world. In Charles Darwin’s evolutionary theory, he speaks of â€Å"survival of the fittest†. In today’s modern world when fittest is mentioned it actually means wisest, more intelligent or brilliant or clever. Even the strongest in a society cannot attain power without wealth. What an irony but that is the situation of the world and now people are misusing this privilege. The unreasonable use of this opportunity is what is causing inequality in a society. According to the founder or father of economics, Adam smith, he explains that the wealth of a nation is not based on land or other forms of property but on the labor gotten from the nation. What he tries to explain from this is that the amount of working power in a society gives rise to the power in terms of wealth of the nation. Even if a society has abundance in land, both fertile and unfertile, the society is useless without the working force of the society (Smith). Every human being in a society is entitled to the wealth provided by the society because when people are created they didn’t place a part of the society to them naturally. The moment people start claiming the wealth of the nation; many people will be left out. This is called private wealth which causes inequality amongst people in a community. Even if private wealth was a good thing, greed which is part of human nature makes it very bad in a society. One man wants to accumulate everything for himself and his family members and this wealth is passed down from one generation to the next. Others in the society have no way of accessing that wealth which belongs to all of them. In Jean Jacque Rousseau’s book Discourse on the origin of inequality published by Marc Michael Rey in1755, Holland, he talks about types of inequality. The types of inequality are natural or physical inequality and moral or political or ethical inequality. The natural inequality he explains that yes every one wasn’t born with the same physical structure. Some might be born strong or weak, tall or short and so on and so forth but that doesn’t mean that inequality should exist. Everyone is born with one skill or the other which enables one to survive in the society and it’s those skills that enable the society to develop very fast and well. The type of inequality that he focuses on is the moral inequality which is caused by people’s ideas which are brought forward and authorized because it favors them. This inequality is a detriment to the development of a society. People come up with the idea of private wealth and the moment everyone starts seeing things in their eyes they begin to accept it as a way of life which is not so (Rousseau). From this idea of private wealth, people who have, start taking advantage of it. They keep on accumulating more wealth from there they gain power, prestige, importance in the society and they begin to oppress others with it. Issue of superiority and inferiority start surfacing and stratification occurs. The less privileged ones become slaves to the rich people and that is how slavery starts which is a form of stratification in a society. People fall into this category because of survival. The thought of slavery is inhuman, why should somebody be a slave to another person because of material possessions? It’s not right. Slavery was initially based on debt or the violation of a more or defeat in war. Slavery based on debt is the subject matter. The rich knew that if they accumulated everything the poor or peasants would be forced to borrow from them. They went into contracts with them and the contract entailed that if they didn’t pay at the designated time with interest, they would be forced to pay up their debt with labor which meant they would become slaves to them. This was called bonded service or indentured service. This was a common psychology the rich used to oppress the poor and this continued from one generation to the next. In some circumstances if the father and the mother cannot pay up even after death, the child (ren) take the debt and work for the rich person till the ebt is paid. This occurred in the United States of America until Slavery was based on color. In some areas in Ghana when debt was not paid in time, the rich person will collect the girl child of that family and she becomes his own until he is satisfied with her probably when she is in her fifties. Nothing was done about this, girls suffered because of private wealth. People used it to their advantage and people suffered. This form of slavery con tinued in Ghana until a militant president broke the bond or contract. Now those girls who were taken from their house at an early age live in shame, they walk nude on the streets of Ghana because they have been stripped of their purity at an early age. Stratification of a society is the after effect of private wealth. Stratification of societies has evolved through the ages from slavery to caste to estate and to class system which is the modern day form of stratification. Slavery as a type of stratification system is what I have previously explained. The next stratification system is the caste system. The Indian caste system is a typical example of the intense effect of stratification. The system is ascribed meaning one cannot choose his or her class because it is given to you and it is based on religious reasons. It is a rigid system and its characteristics or features entail endogamy, it’s practically a taboo to marry outside your caste. The Brahmans being the apex of the society are the only ones that can teach other Brahman children. It doesn’t matter if you have a good education standing, your ideas or teachings are regarded as useless. Functionalist sociologists, Kingsley Davis and Wilbert Moore suggested that society must offer rewards to ensure that important social positions are filled by the most competent people (Rowell). This doesn’t look like what the functionalist theorist said about being rewarded because of your ability. The Brahmans are the richest in the society, they do no work and they get all the privileges the society has to offer. The other castes present in the system are the Kshatriya (warriors), Vaishay (merchants), Shudra (laborers/farmers), and Dalit (untouchables). This system is so rigid and it is almost impossible to change ones caste. Another caste system which existed in South Africa because of colonialism was the Apartheid caste system. We should note that colonialism was a form of amassing wealth. In this case a country is taking the wealth of another nation to add to its own wealth and they never stop accumulating wealth. It is a macro-view of man and greed when looked at properly. When I talk of macro-view I mean when a developed or civilized country oppress the underdeveloped or uncivilized people and use their scarce resources to make them wallow in poverty. At that time in South Africa, the nation was divided in four, white, colored, black and Bantu. Privileges were giving according to caste level. The people at the bottom of the caste suffered because they received less. So we now see that the problem of private wealth is an issue even amongst countries. The estate system which is another form of stratification was evident in the middle ages. In this period the political system was feudalism. There were three classes in this system namely, clergy, nobles and the commoners. The clergy and the nobles are about 1% of the society’s population and the remaining 99% belonged to the commoners which most of them were dirt poor or peasants. This system existed because the nobles owned vast amount of land and because of that they practiced feudalism which is a system of government by land ownership. This land ownership is still a form of private wealth because the nobles own the land which is the means of production and the peasants work their heads off to survive. Slavery, caste, and estate system were all means of stratification in the old era. The people were controlled by the divine rights which meant that the people were subjected to the nobles or kings because it was an authority from God to obey them and anyone that questions that authority would be put to death. The modern era of stratification has changed because people are now enlightened but how enlightened are they? The effects of private wealth cannot be left behind because as I said before, human greed is inevitable. The modern era of stratification is an open class or social class which is divided in three, upper class, middle class and the lower class. It is called the open class because it is flexible and it is achieved not ascribed, now that is ideal but not real because the elites in the society want to maintain that form of stratification they create institutions that help maintain that private wealth because even in the grave they still want to dominate. Yes it is undeniable that you should be rewarded for one’s hard work, which is where private wealth becomes positive in a society. That chance of working and being rewarded is limited to a few in the society and that few are known as the elites of the society. They pass this chance from one generation to the next in other to ensure that the system or order is not disrupted. They maintain this stratification by controlling ideas, information and use of force. All this is possible by the introduction of institutions such as, legal, educational, police and military institutions. They control the ideas through the educational system, they tell what children should believe and not question it. They also make it possible that only the rich can attend schools because if one is not literate, the chances of the person rising to a higher status in the society would be limited. The elites control the price of educational institutions in the society allowing only a limited amount of children to gain access and as the world is, the children that are given this privilege are the children of the elites. When education fails to impact what they desire, they move on to using the legal institutions. As we all know not everyone has the money to acquire a lawyer in a court case and that is why a public defendant is setup. The elites own the legal institutions especially the public ones and the moment a lower class citizen comes with a court case, he or she knows that the case has already being won by the rich or elite. They fill up these institutions with their own kind and in the course of that they protected from the law. The law was not implemented to create orderliness in a society, that’s what we all think but the real issue is that the law was placed to suppress the poor. Legal institutions are placed to justify the rich and their actions so that no one can question it. When the rich realize that a poor individual is about to gain access to private wealth, false evidence is planted to strip the poor of their right to the private wealth. Is that just? I doubt. The police institution was created by the elites to protect what they have and their lives from the poor. Mostly in nations it is noticed that the elites move around with convoys while the poor have no protection because they have nothing to lose. The police are also there to ensure that the poor doesn’t revolt on the inequality or stratification order. The moment the police isn’t effective enough they call in the military institutions. They mostly do this in times of riot and strike. In these cases they use force to maintain the stratification of the society. We see that the educational institution is used to control ideas and information while the legal institution is used to influence the behavior of the lower class and the military and the police institution is used to exert force on the people when they cannot influence or change their reasoning. In Karl Marx’s book, the communist manifesto, he suggests that the society is stratified according to those who won the means of production (bourgeoisie) and the laborers (proletariats). The bourgeois give the proletariats false consciousness and exploit them with these. He suggests that when the proletariats develop class conscious, there would be an overthrown, but it will happen violently (karl Marx). A violent revolution would take place and the society would go form capitalism to socialism and then communism. This communism entails a classless society but is achieving a classless society possible? When the former Soviet Union practiced communism it was ruthless and harsh. They misunderstood the true ideology of communism. They used violent means to achieve it and in the process tried to have ultimate power. The people of the Former Soviet Union had to give to the state a large amount of their products. During the communist the early communist period over 20 million people were killed whether by hunger or in war. There was no freedom of speech; people who revolted against it were killed immediately by a political police that was set up. The regulations were imposed by deporting people to Siberia, shooting them or provoking starvation to death. The economy failed because creativity was not enhanced. In a society, no individual will be willing to bring new ideas if they are not going to be rewarded for it. The government dictated what kind of products to produce and it was monotonous. Trade of goods became limited even the goods they had, countries were no longer interested in them because they had nothing new to offer. A classless society could not be achieved in the Former Soviet Union because the government which was 0. 5% of the society ruled and had ultimate power and the moment someone can influence your behavior without objections from the individual, it is said to be superiority and inequality comes to play. Communism led to revolutionary acts which caused a lot of victims especially in areas such as western Germany, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia in 1953, USSR in 1962, and Poland in 1956 and 1970. Resources were wasted since the government was in charge. This happened in poorly developed countries owned by the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union used up their resources to build strong armies to be able to compete with nations such as the USA. Communism would have survived but because people have greed for power, a dictatorship rule would be developed and all dictators hate competition and revolt. Massive killings would erupt because of insecurity from the dictator’s side. Another problem with communism is the income. Like in China the income was very poor. Peasants in china received $71 and 32 cents annually and the average workers and workers in state industries earned $459 yearly. Productivity reduced drastically because some accelerators for adequate production were unavailable to the people, which included fertilizers, machineries, basic farm tools, preservative equipment etc. Management activities were very poor because the amount of people handling it was very little and division of labor was not encouraged. They also suffered from inflation pressure because prices of goods rose due to expenses made on the production of the goods (Prybyla). Capitalism is what most countries practice and yes it has helped their economic standards when USA is used to compare but we should not forget that this same capitalism is what is causing the effects of the private wealth such as social class which is a type of stratification. People use capitalism to exploit others since they dictate the wages of the workers. They ensure that the wages of their workers are very low so that the profit can be very large. They enjoy but the workers suffer immensely because they can’t take care of their family and this is the reason nations are stratified. All past efforts towards a free market economy, world trade, globalization, industrialization, the pursuit of high living standards, unlimited economic growth and every other form of capitalist endeavor have benefited only a small minority; the big players† (Kumar). He explains that capitalism is has proved to be a detriment to the society by benefitting only the rich and we should note t hat capitalism doesn’t increase the economy of the nation rather the wealth of the capitalist in the society who are the elites. If capitalism increases the wealth of the society then why almost 70% of the society suffering from poverty, starvation are etc.? †¦capitalism is incapable of solving the problems of humanity, but in fact hunger, pollution, the breakdown of social fabric, human unhappiness and many other problems are caused by capitalism† (Kumar). As I have mentioned before, it is only ideal for capitalist to think they are improving the economy but the real thing is that people are exploited for their labor just as Karl Marx indicated. Now that I have established the fact that capitalism and communism cannot solve the problems of inequality in the society, it is time to establish my own solution. I believe that the two can work hand in hand and success can be achieved out of to some extent. Of cause nothing comes with a disadvantage but if it can solve 80% of the problem then I think it is a wonderful solution. A hybrid of communism and capitalism would be utmost importance. A communist government and a capitalist economy is the hybrid I am talking about. This hybrid actually means a form of communal living. No one is superior to the other but that doesn’t mean one cannot have more money than the other if he works for it. Communal living entails that everyone is entitled to the scarce resources in the land and the government has a say in the business of the citizens. A breakdown of the services and the wages are given to the government and the total money gotten from the business is calculated and estimated if the salary of the workers is not fair enough then the person doesn’t get the contract to execute the business. An agreed of the percent of the total investment or profit is dedicated to the payment of the workers. By that everyone is comfortable and living well and the poverty issue and starvation is reduced. If the opportunity is used to exploit the labor of the people then the privilege is taken from one and given from one and this is where reward is functional. This hybrid brings good reforms such as free education (primary and secondary level) to enable one to have a little experience to support ones self, subsidized health care, availability of employment for the masses and social amenities made available. All business activities executed in the nation is open to the government and they pay taxes according to what they earn since they are using the resources of the nation. The tax is used to build the society by contributing to education, health care, social amenities, and protection (police and military services). The agricultural sector is supported by the government by subsidizing cost of machineries and educating people in the agriculture to enable quality and quantifiable products. With this the issue of starvation is reduced. A good example of this idea is the Chinese political and economic system. The communist party realized that communism wasn’t working so they sent the people out to make money. China had a drastic change in economy and it happened in a short time. They experienced double digit GDP growth from 2003 to 2007 –hitting a high of 13%. In 2008, the government launched a $586 billion stimulus plan and they lifted millions out of poverty. China was established as the world’s second largest economic power (Rizzi). Once the problems associated with private wealth have been dissolved, the only problem left to worry about is man’s greed. Man in recent times has learned to control his greed and the only reason it was a major reason was because the law authorized it indirectly. Works Cited Karl Marx, Frederick Engels. The Communist Manifesto, in The Two Narratives of Political Economy. Hoboken, NJ, USA: John Wiley & Sons Inc., 2010. Kumar, Satish. Critique of Capitalism. November/December 2005. . Oracle Education Foundation. â€Å"Oracle Think Quest.† 2008. Communism- The Failure of an Utopian System. . Prybyla, Jan S. â€Å"Economic Problems of Communism: A Case Study of China.† Asian Survey, Vol. 22, No. 12 (1982, Dec): 1206-1237. Rizzi, Warren. China's Economy Dances Between Communism and Capitalism. 23 April 2012. 28 April 2012 ;http://www.policymic.com/articles/7356/china-s-economy-dances-between-communism-and-capitalism/headline_story;. Rousseau, Jean Jacque. Discourse on the originn of inequality . Holland: Marc Michael REy, 1755. Rowell, Katherine R. Essentials of Sociology, A Down-to-Earth Approach. Boston: Pearson Education Inc., 2006. Smith, Adam. An inquiry into the nature and causes of the wealth of a nations. Pennsylvania: Penn State Electro nic Classic Series Publication, 1776.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Phenomenology of Love Essay

Love is a very mysterious thing. Most of us act as though we know what it is without truly understanding its meaning and essence. This has been true of me. Before I encountered this phenomenology of love, I already had experiences of loving other people – my family, my friends, and girlfriends past and present. However, I was belonged to the people whom Erich Fromm described as believing in the popular notion of love. I emphasized the characteristics of the people I loved, why I needed them, and I mostly demanded that they love me more than I demanded myself to love them. I even viewed love in the â€Å"scientistic† way – something caused by hormones and dictated solely by the hypothalamus. My concept love was shallow. Yes, I felt it, but I knew it not. However, all that changed when I came across the phenomenology of love. It was an articulation of fundamental characteristics of love which I knew my heart was saying but my mind was incapable of putting into words. When I was reading the said phenomenology, I constantly had that weird feeling of realizing something and relating to it strongly with past experiences. I strongly agree with it. Indeed, love begins with the experience of loneliness and then grows as someone reaches out lovingly to the other. I also experienced that, but did not know its meaning in relation to the love I had. Indeed, in loving others, I always sought their love too, in the same or in even greater measure than that which I gave them. But I realized with the phenomenology that it is alright to feel that way and wish for the same, but that it should not be the motivation in my loving act. But what struck me the most was the statement that when we â€Å"love† someone without knowing our true worth, we are like making them trash bins to whom we throw ourselves. Because of this and the entirety of the phenomenology of love, I learned what loving is truly all about. Indeed, it’s a many-splendored thing.

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Null Hypothesis Definition and Examples

Null Hypothesis Definition and Examples In a scientific experiment, the null hypothesis is the proposition that there is no effect or no relationship between phenomena or populations. If the null hypothesis is true, any observed difference in phenomena or populations would be due to sampling error (random chance) or experimental error. The null hypothesis is useful because it can be tested and found to be false, which then implies that there is a relationship between the observed data. It may be easier to think of it as a nullifiable hypothesis or one that the researcher seeks to nullify. The null hypothesis is also known as the H0, or no-difference hypothesis. The alternate hypothesis, HA or H1, proposes that observations are influenced by a non-random factor. In an experiment, the alternate hypothesis suggests that the experimental or independent variable has an effect on the dependent variable. How to State a Null Hypothesis There are two ways to state a null hypothesis. One is to state it as a declarative sentence, and the other is to present it as a mathematical statement. For example, say a researcher suspects that exercise is correlated to weight loss, assuming diet remains unchanged. The average length of time to achieve a certain amount of weight loss is six weeks when a person works out five times a week. The researcher wants to test whether weight loss takes longer to occur if the number of workouts is reduced to three times a week. The first step to writing the null hypothesis is to find the (alternate) hypothesis. In a word problem like this, youre looking for what you expect to be the outcome of the experiment. In this case, the hypothesis is I expect weight loss to take longer than six weeks. This can be written mathematically as:  H1: ÃŽ ¼ 6 In this example, ÃŽ ¼ is the average. Now, the null hypothesis is what you expect if this hypothesis does not happen. In this case, if weight loss isnt achieved in greater than six weeks, then it must occur at a time equal to or less than six weeks. This can be written mathematically as: H0: ÃŽ ¼ ≠¤ 6 The other way to state the null hypothesis is to make no assumption about the outcome of the experiment. In this case, the null hypothesis is simply that the treatment or change will have no effect on the outcome of the experiment. For this example, it would be that reducing the number of workouts would not affect the time needed to achieve weight loss: H0: ÃŽ ¼ 6 Null Hypothesis Examples Hyperactivity is unrelated to eating sugar is an example of a null hypothesis. If the hypothesis is tested and found to be false, using statistics, then a connection between hyperactivity and sugar ingestion may be indicated. A significance test is the most common statistical test used to establish confidence in a null hypothesis. Another example of a null hypothesis is Plant growth rate is unaffected by the presence of cadmium in the soil. A researcher could test the hypothesis by measuring the growth rate of plants grown in a medium lacking cadmium, compared with the growth rate of plants grown in mediums containing different amounts of cadmium. Disproving the null hypothesis would set the groundwork for further research into the effects of different concentrations of the element in soil. Why Test a Null Hypothesis? You may be wondering why you would want to test a hypothesis just to find it false. Why not just test an alternate hypothesis and find it true? The short answer is that it is part of the scientific method. In science, propositions are not explicitly proven. Rather, science uses math to determine the probability that a statement is true or false. It turns out its much easier to disprove a hypothesis than to positively prove one. Also, while the null hypothesis may be simply stated, theres a good chance the alternate hypothesis is incorrect. For example, if your null hypothesis is that plant growth is unaffected by duration of sunlight, you could state the alternate hypothesis in several different ways. Some of these statements might be incorrect. You could say plants are harmed by more than 12 hours of sunlight or that plants need at least three hours of sunlight, etc. There are clear exceptions to those alternate hypotheses, so if you test the wrong plants, you could reach the wrong conclusion. The null hypothesis is a general statement that can be used to develop an alternate hypothesis, which may or may not be correct.

Monday, October 21, 2019

Human Cloning- for Heavens Sake! essays

Human Cloning- for Heavens Sake! essays Cloning has literally crossed the limits of exploitation of nature, by the human race. For centuries man has been producing, so called solutions to the problems it has, which in turn produce even greater problems. Cloning is one of the them. The most important reason for getting so much help in terms of funds and fame is that its a process of making an identical clone of a person, which really excites the people. I still dont get it how the act of making a clone of a person is ever going to benefit the human race problems. Just because it is a great bio-technological advancement, it is seen as boon to human life. From the scientific point of view cloning is not a simple process as it is portrayed. Till date human cloning is still in its infancy. Loads of research is done first on animals for experimenting the process of cloning. And once the scientists start the experimentation would produce abnormal and dysfunctional clones. The news of cloning of the sheep; Dolly was flashed across the papers like a miracle occurred. But the news of the number of abnormal and dysfunctional clones the scientists produced in the process was totally concealed. Unless cloning is banned, any lay scientist or quack would go ahead with the cloning process and even might produce totally different kind of virus. The kind and variety of viruses that are released in the atmosphere has increased since man started such advancements; especially bio-technical advancement. Talking about human ethics, cloning totally degrades the laws of nature. Cloning is totally stealing the right of nature to produce life with a right balance. The past has taught man a lot of lessons like the production of chemical, biological and nuclear weapons. These advancements were made even when their terrible effects were known. But still the scientists went ahead with it and now the present generation has to deal with the after effects. ...

Sunday, October 20, 2019

How Students Can Leverage Part-Time and Volunteer Work - Guest Post by Gary Ryan

How Students Can Leverage Part-Time and Volunteer Work - Guest Post by Gary Ryan The following is a guest post by Gary Ryan, founder of Organisations That Matter. Edited by Brenda Bernstein, The Essay Expert. Summer vacations (or â€Å"holiday seasons† as they say Down Under), are terrific for many reasons. They present an opportunity to catch up with friends and family as well as to relax. For many students, summer means a chance to earn money and/or volunteer (especially if you aren’t taking extra classes). Unfortunately, many students don’t take full advantage of their holiday work. Too often I hear things like, â€Å"I’m just a check-out operator,† or â€Å"I just work at a cafà ©,† or â€Å"I just provide meals to homeless people.† There is no such thing as â€Å"just† a part time job- not if you are prepared to consider the employability skills that you are developing while doing your work! Below is a short list of ten employability skills that part time / volunteer work develops: 1. Communication skills 2. Problem solving skills 3. Initiative 4. Teamwork 5. Technology skills 6. Planning and organizing skills 7. Service excellence skills 8. Leadership skills 9. Learning skills 10. Self-management skills Let’s look at some examples of how you might develop these skills: 1. Communication If you communicate with your boss, other team members and/or the general public, then you have the opportunity to develop communication skills. Here’s a tip: Good communicators are good listeners †¦ which also means that you are good at asking questions. So, develop your questioning skills and your communication skills will skyrocket! 2. Problem solving Problems occur all the time. In every job. A computer won’t work. Another staff member didn’t turn up for their shift. The delivery hasn’t arrived and customers are waiting for their orders. The list goes on. Each of these examples is a wonderful opportunity for you to consciously practice your problem solving skills. Not only that, but you can create a bank of stories about how you solve problems. Can you imagine any of your future employers not wanting a problem solver? Neither can I! 3. Initiative Showing initiative is doing something helpful without having been asked. Every time you see that something could go wrong (like someone slipping on a banana peel) and you take action to stop that from happening (like picking up the banana peel) you are showing initiative. Opportunities to demonstrate initiative are everywhere. Keep your eye out for them and grasp them with both hands when they pop up. They also create great stories that can be used in interviews. 4. Teamwork There is hardly a job that exists that does not involve teamwork. Even if you work alone, you are probably still part of a team. Imagine an interview when you are asked about your experience of working in teams. If you’ve covered a shift for a teammate, taught someone something, or helped out in some other way, you will have a great answer to this question! 5. Technology Technology skills don’t just include using electronic devices such as computers and scanners. Using technology can mean writing on whiteboards, driving forklifts (providing you have a license) and whatever else you have to use to do your job. If you volunteer planting trees, the shovels, picks and other tools that you use are all forms of technology. By having a range of stories about your technological capacity, you can demonstrate your adaptability and ability to learn quickly. Most students don’t even think about these things as being relevant to their future. But, they are! 6. Planning and organizing In whatever work you are doing, show up on time and meet your deadlines. Employers expect it. Practice it and practice it now. 7. Leadership For those of you who have responsibility for a team or other staff, how do you treat the people you lead? What are your mental models about leadership? How are your personal values reflected in how you lead? Conscious thought about these questions can create wonderful leadership experiences for you as well as the opportunity to make relatively â€Å"safe† mistakes. Think about your personal theory about formal leadership. Try it out. See if it works. Learn how to lead by doing it when the opportunity arises. 8. Learning Part time and volunteer work always involves learning one or more of the following: technical skills policies and procedures cash management processes customer service procedures people’s names how to work in a team how to communicate the company mission / vision This list could go on. The point is, notice what you have to learn to do your job. You’ll have a mountain of examples to share in an interview! 9. Service excellence No job is worth its salt if you aren’t able to practice developing your service excellence skills. Quite simply, service excellence is like oxygen. In any job, we can’t live without it. The simplest and best practice to adopt is, â€Å"Everyone is my customer: my boss, my colleagues and my customers.† If you wouldn’t choose to be a customer of yourself, then you need to improve your skills in this area or you will likely â€Å"suffocate† your career. 10. Self-management In order to consciously practice the above skills you have to practice self-management. You will have all had a challenging on-the-job experience. How did you handle it? How did you overcome any negative experiences? Challenges at work require a significant amount of positive self-talk, time management, problem solving and communication skills. Develop them now! Part-time and volunteer work are goldmines as far as developing your employability skills. Take full advantage of your opportunities. The gold in this sense will come in the future when you get the job that you really want. So, enjoy your time off this â€Å"holiday season†- and make it an even more valuable summer by developing yourself in the workplace! Gary Ryan is the Founder of Organisations That Matter, author of What Really Matters For Young Professionals! and creator of the Yes For Success online platform for creating and executing a life of balance and personal success!

Saturday, October 19, 2019

Management accounting and the challenge of strategic focus Essay

Management accounting and the challenge of strategic focus - Essay Example The study made use of qualitative analysis of secondary narrative data on the company subject of the case study. Through qualitative data analysis, the study employed the self-referential, â€Å"autopoietic† theory to explain the role of the firm’s management accounting system in providing control and guidance in relation to the firm’s â€Å"self-production.† The title is short and categorical, sufficient to capture the interest of a student who would be interested in an article on the general topics of either management accounting or strategic management, or the link between them. However, for one who is looking for a particular topic within the scope of either field, the title does not sufficiently convey the specific gist of what the paper is about. Either field is very broad, and the title should properly encapsulate what aspect of the link between the two subjects is discussed. Since the focus of the discussion is on autopoiesis, this single word, coupled with management accounting and strategic management, would have provided the a sufficiently concise yet informative title. The title we would suggest would be: â€Å"Application of Autopoiesis Theory in Organization Strategy† The abstract gives a concise yet informative summary of the study, identifying it immediately as a case study and therefore preparing the reader to address it as such. It also provides the reader with the theoretical underpinning of the work (autopoietic theory) as well as the eventual conclusion, which is beneficial to the reader who wants to know if the further perusal of the study would serve his purposes. Some of its vocabulary appears to be specialized and operational to the study (e.g. â€Å"self-production†), but these need not be explained in the abstract. Actually, the use of such words makes the abstract more effective in capturing the interest of the reader. Upon reading the introduction, one is immediately

Formulaic Language In Academic Writing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Formulaic Language In Academic Writing - Essay Example Development of creativity for me was something extremely difficult, but when I had known how to read, I started improving in creativity. My language teacher encouraged me and made smart remarks whenever I did well in composition writing. When I was in high school, the intensity of writing was more than when it was at the elementary level. I began writing essays, poems, formal letters, research papers and journals. These demanded much from me, as it needed a careful approach and some research using the internet and library books. Although it was difficult learning this, it has helped me in gaining crucial skills such as writing of formal letters and writing academic papers. When writing an academic paper, there are crucial steps to follow. The paper should have a title, introduction and the main body (Philip and Mathews, 3). The main body carries research questions, method used in the research, discussion and conclusions. A paper divided in this manner allows the writer to address the topic without deviating to unnecessary information in the paper. I have had to struggle so much with referencing and formatting styles such as APA, MLA, Harvard and Chicago amongst others. Referencing and formatting is mandatory in research. What has proved difficult and even still sometimes challenging in my writing, is how to reference online materials such as newspapers and journals in the various referencing styles. However, I have worked hard to overcome this by ensuring that I have samples of papers referenced according to each style that I often use in my research. I have saved them in my PC for reference in case I forget. In my righting experience, I have come to respect psychology. This is a field in which researchers give the human thought and the rare diseases that affect the affect the brain and thus impaired way of thinking.

Friday, October 18, 2019

Globalization of the Production Chain Literature review

Globalization of the Production Chain - Literature review Example As the paper outlines, technology has facilitated competence and the most efficient and cheap labor is hired due to globalization. With globalization, computer production has become global and its production is spread to over 40 countries. Dell, Microsoft, IBM etc. are brands known in every part of the world. Globalization has enabled such global brand recognition and brand awareness amongst the customers (Ding and Akhtar 2001, pp.946-65).  Ding and Akhtar (2001), claim that this industry has had revolutionary changes because of globalization and all the giant players have production chains that are spread across major regions of the world. A focus on the market leader Dell reveals the influence globalization has had on the production chain and the human resource.  Dedrick & Kraemer (2002), claim that the personal computer industry shows the impact globalization has had on the business world. However, Dell has shown remarkable growth and is the current market leader when it comes to reaping the advantages of globalization.  Dell has been able to maintain its business model even in the globalizing industry through its smart planning and strategies in line with globalization. Dell made the best use of its resources and has the most efficient supply chain and thus has been able to excel its competitors IBM and Microsoft (Rosenau and Earnest 2004). Hudetz (1998) says that initially, supply chains of the PC industry were vertically integrated and required the firms to undertake the major tasks of product design, structuring, innovation, customer relation, and operations internally. With such a production chain the costs were high and the process was time-consuming (Ding and Akhtar 2001, pp.950-65). Even market leaders like Dell initially produced complete systems and was based in the United States while it outsourced some of the components from other manufacturers (Rosenau and Earnest 2004).  According to Ardnt (2001), these were the initial phases of the PC supply chain at Dell and in the entire industry at large. IBM which was also a big brand at the time also imported minor parts from other regions and had a relatively wide supply chain network. Gradually the industry realized that importing parts from other regions and countries cut down the costs and thus intermediary firms sprouted up which supplied such parts to the industry at competitive rates (Rosenau and Earnest 2004). Although Dell was technologically more advanced and had a strategy that would enable them to pierce the global market, they could not do so. This was because their costs were high when compared to the competitors like IBM who were outsourcing supplies from cheaper, developing nations and were more cost-effective and were able to reap more profit (Dowling 1999, pp. 30-42). According to Rosenau and Earnest (2004) with globalization strategies, Dell and other MNC's including the IBM and Microsoft set up their branches within other countries. In 1990s Dell was the first to surge the global markets especially the developing countries like India, China, Pakistan, and Malaysia, paving the way for the other big brands to follow in its footsteps (Rosenau and Earnest 2004). Globalization enabled them to get the cheapest rates and a competitive quality (Arndt 1997, pp. 695-707).

Healthy Fast Food Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Healthy Fast Food - Research Paper Example Though the fast foods can be associated and blamed to the food industry, home made fast foods can be a good substitute, but if similarly uncontrolled, risk of feeding on unhealthy foods still remains. For a healthy fast food, the ingredients used need to be controlled substantially; the consumers should also plan on consuming healthily, by ensuring they eat correct portions of balanced diet in the fast foods as a healthy behavior. People should not be controlled by the flavors, sweetness or preference, but rather by making correct choices for their healthy diets. Keywords: Health, Fast Food, Junk Food, Sugar, Salt, Trans Fat, Saturated Fats, Balanced Diet, Chemicals, Additives, Ingredients, Diseases Introduction The norm of the modern society has been accessing fast foods to save time in their activities. Students and employees prefer to have meals that can be prepared and served quickly, without even paying attention to how it was prepared, the ratio, and ingredients used in the rea dy product. On top of the preparation criterion, these fast foods target a wide range of people and seem to be located in accessible places, near schools, companies, busy streets and town centers, where the population is relatively large to promote the fast food business. As a result, the fast food restaurants acquire high proportion of their product consumptions, where the customers’ preference even dictates how, what, and intensity of the products they prepare. Eating fast food once in a while is not a problem, but why the society or families cannot take time to prepare their own healthy meals is not an excuse to have reckless habits of consuming fast food. There are lots of healthy effects on high consumption of fast foods, especially problems that affect the physical health of the consumers. Although the manufactures and preparing restaurants have of recent been aware of consumer group movements, against their sales of unhealthy food, much lies with the consumers to ensur e what they consume is nutritious and healthy. Unhealthy drinks and food should be avoided for their safety. Safe Ingredients Chemicals: Most of the available fast foods on the market are prepared with additional chemicals that are dangerous to consumers’ health. The past generations could afford to make fast food without chemical additives and lead a healthy, satisfied life. Unlike the past society, the chemicals used today in the fast foods were not available and though the technology was not advanced as it is today, the meals were tasty and healthy. There are lots of foods in the fast food industry that are prepared using chemicals to make the food appealing, add flavor and even preserve them, attracting the people to buy the foods. As a result, people end up consuming processed fast foods containing lots of toxins and chemicals, such as (Monosodium glutamate (MSG), Aspertame, 2-Amino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidazo[4,5-b]pyridine (PHIP), sodium nitrate and sodium nitrite, sweete ning and coloring chemicals whose accumulation in the body have a negative effect if not flushed out (Strauss, 2012). Just because the food is appealing does not make it healthy, and given the opportunity, the society and the fast food industry should avoid preparing their food on their menus with such chemicals. Fast foods can be made healthier and appealing even without using

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Business Research Methods 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Business Research Methods 2 - Essay Example Like any other business, it is crucial for American Express Travel Agency to find out two things: 1) whether or not the customers are satisfied with the services, and 2) the nature and/or level of the dissatisfaction. Business research brings up a number of challenges for managers in a global economy. Research is a process through which information is turned into knowledge. This knowledge is vital because it is essential to the decision-making process. The amount of information available to managers to make decisions has exploded in the recent years. Business research is made up of a number of inter-dependant components. The core of the business involves serving the consumers through participating in a value-addition process with give-and-take as its essence. Therefore, business research is a function that is concerned with gathering, analysing, interpreting and reporting information so that the corporate decision makers can perform their tasks more effectively. The scope of the busi ness research is far-reaching, and the areas of phenomena that the researchers study are increasing quickly (Hair, Celsi, Samouel, Page, 2011). The main purpose of the market research is to identify the needs and wants of the customers, find out how these needs and wants can be met, and how we can distinguish ourselves from the competition (Authenticity Consulting, 2011). Often, it is seen that corporations want to know everything about their programs, services and products. The research plan that is adopted often depends on the information that needs to be collected in order to make vital decisions about the product portfolio. The more focused a company is on what it wishes to find out through the market research process, the better the results are. Also, the time taken to collect the relevant information will be shorter, as the time taken to collect irrelevant information is eliminated. There is an opportunity cost regarding the breadth and depth of the information that one wants to collect. Generally, it is seen that the more breadth the information has, the less depth one will get. On the other hand, if a company wants to research on a specific aspect of a product or service, vital information about the other aspects might be lost in the process (Authenticity Consulting, 2011). The two types of marketing research available to any business include primary research and secondary research. Secondary research focuses on gathering information or data that is already available, mostly by studies performed previously by government agencies etc. This kind of information is already available in the libraries as well as on the Web. There are a number of advantages and disadvantages of using secondary research. It might not always be relevant as it was collected for another purpose. Moreover, it might be out-dated or inaccurate if it is very old or wasn’t collected by a relevant source. However, on the upside it is not as expensive as the primary research and it provides guidelines for a customized primary research to be carried out later. Hence, it is a basis for the design of primary research. Secondary research is essential for travelling agencies such as American Express travelling agency because it can provide them with the necessary statistics that are essential for decision-making. The statistics could include the number of people who go on a holiday, their preferred destination, as well as the amount they are

Music Technology - Sound Design for the Moving Image Research Proposal

Music Technology - Sound Design for the Moving Image - Research Proposal Example Sound design has to do with pulling together the different elements of a movie, for instance, and the term itself is an offshoot of work that was done by Walter Murch, who revolutionized the field starting from his work with Francis Ford Copolla in the 1970's, and in particular the work 'Apocalypse Now'. The movies are said to be the wellspring of the discipline, and as Copolla and Murch actually made use of sound, sound design was about undertaking total responsibility for the entire track of audio for a film- dialogue, the sound effects employed, and the recording and repeat recording of the movie's ultimate track. Fast forward to the present, and creative sound design has come to be differentiated from a host of associated film sound disciplines, including sound editing, which is differentiated from sound design precisely by the element of creativity that has come to be associated with those who primarily create and adopt sound to movies. That creativity and the history of creativ e sound design itself suggests that the development of technology related to sound design are often intertwined, with the creative sound designer expected to be steeped in knowledge of current and emerging technologies on sound. Elsewhere we find in the literature that sound design is also much more than the adaptation of sound to existing movies and films that have already been done and finished, as sound design, when done in such classics as the film above and in Star Wars, is also about how sound can fundamentally alter.... ation of sound to existing movies and films that have already been done and finished, as sound design, when done in such classics as the film above and in Star Wars, is also about how sound can fundamentally alter and impact on the making of the movies themselves, in the way the movies are actually filmed and conceptualized. This view of sound design, and the merit of such a view, is said to be borne out by the way films that have been done in this fashion have come to revolutionize the way films are made, for the spectacular and beautiful results of work that view sound design as an integral and creative part of the making of movies (Thom 1999; Thom n.d.; Katz 1997; Jarrett n.d.; Buskin n.d.). The short of it is that in movies that incorporate sound in the very conception stage of the movie's development and making, rather than considered as being an add-on to the movie experience, the true nature of creative sound design is said to shine through, and the examples of the work of Cop olla, Murch and Ben Burtt, the latter in such groundbreaking movies as 'Star Wars', are testaments to the power of creative sound design done in this fashion, in collaboration with the directors of those films, who understood the power of sound in movies when they are considered in this vital fashion (Thom 1999). Others have come to term this way of conceiving sound design, as being an integral aspect of the creation of the script for instance, and of the conception of the very making of the movie, as â€Å"designing a movie for sound† (Jordan 2007; Thom 1999). Such work as Forrest Gump, as an example, benefit from such a view of sound design, according to Thom, who was able to push the idea of sound in some parts of the movie being able to help tell the story, in part because the creative

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Business Research Methods 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Business Research Methods 2 - Essay Example Like any other business, it is crucial for American Express Travel Agency to find out two things: 1) whether or not the customers are satisfied with the services, and 2) the nature and/or level of the dissatisfaction. Business research brings up a number of challenges for managers in a global economy. Research is a process through which information is turned into knowledge. This knowledge is vital because it is essential to the decision-making process. The amount of information available to managers to make decisions has exploded in the recent years. Business research is made up of a number of inter-dependant components. The core of the business involves serving the consumers through participating in a value-addition process with give-and-take as its essence. Therefore, business research is a function that is concerned with gathering, analysing, interpreting and reporting information so that the corporate decision makers can perform their tasks more effectively. The scope of the busi ness research is far-reaching, and the areas of phenomena that the researchers study are increasing quickly (Hair, Celsi, Samouel, Page, 2011). The main purpose of the market research is to identify the needs and wants of the customers, find out how these needs and wants can be met, and how we can distinguish ourselves from the competition (Authenticity Consulting, 2011). Often, it is seen that corporations want to know everything about their programs, services and products. The research plan that is adopted often depends on the information that needs to be collected in order to make vital decisions about the product portfolio. The more focused a company is on what it wishes to find out through the market research process, the better the results are. Also, the time taken to collect the relevant information will be shorter, as the time taken to collect irrelevant information is eliminated. There is an opportunity cost regarding the breadth and depth of the information that one wants to collect. Generally, it is seen that the more breadth the information has, the less depth one will get. On the other hand, if a company wants to research on a specific aspect of a product or service, vital information about the other aspects might be lost in the process (Authenticity Consulting, 2011). The two types of marketing research available to any business include primary research and secondary research. Secondary research focuses on gathering information or data that is already available, mostly by studies performed previously by government agencies etc. This kind of information is already available in the libraries as well as on the Web. There are a number of advantages and disadvantages of using secondary research. It might not always be relevant as it was collected for another purpose. Moreover, it might be out-dated or inaccurate if it is very old or wasn’t collected by a relevant source. However, on the upside it is not as expensive as the primary research and it provides guidelines for a customized primary research to be carried out later. Hence, it is a basis for the design of primary research. Secondary research is essential for travelling agencies such as American Express travelling agency because it can provide them with the necessary statistics that are essential for decision-making. The statistics could include the number of people who go on a holiday, their preferred destination, as well as the amount they are

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Absence s of trust Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Absence s of trust - Essay Example Another basis of absence of trust is conditioning; a person’s conditioning may make him to have problems trusting others. Conditioning happens when an individual gradually acquire certain behaviour patterns without realizing it. How someone was conditioned to behave in a family or friend setting may make him or her to lack trust in others (Duden, 2011). Past relationships is the other basis for absence of trust as pain and suffering from the past relationships may make it difficult for a person to trust others. Institutional corruption has been found to be another basis of absence of trust; as people lose trust in their institutions such as political or religious, they tend to lose trust at personal and organizational levels (Tan and Lim, 2009). Just like in personal relationships, trust applies greatly within an organization context. Trust determines whether an organization will meet its goals and objectives or not. Trust in an organization is broader in the sense that it relates to how employees, management, and other stakeholders rely on the ability, truth, strength, or character of each other towards realization of organizational goals (Duden, 2011). The essence of trust in organization has been captured through conceptualization of dysfunctional teams (Tan and Lim, 2009). Absence of trust has been identified as one of the five main dysfunctions of a team. This explains why organizations always work towards strengthening perceived or real trust within itself or with

Monday, October 14, 2019

Food, Inc. Essay Example for Free

Food, Inc. Essay Food, Inc. broadens the consumers prospective on the production of foods such as chicken and cattle. The documentary was convincing in regards to showing the consumer what manufacturers are afraid to show us, consumers. Nowadays, there are approximately 47 thousand products in a grocery store. That of which four producers have 70% of the market. Food, Inc. had many facts and statistics telling the viewers of todays farmers and other large corporations in the food industry. It used to be that it took three months to produce a chicken from when it hatched to the time it was ready to slaughter, now, it takes only 48 days. Farmers average a borrowing of $500,000 in which they only make $18,000 profit. Large producers are keeping farmers in debt. Rather than letting the plants and animals take the time they need to produce naturally companies are always thinking faster, faster, bigger, bigger. Candy, chips, pop, and hamburgers from McDonalds are all examples of cheaper food than compared to vegetables or fruit. Although they are higher subsidized, they are low in cost. Food, Inc. could have overlooked the value some Americans have on these cheaper meals. A Hispanic family was shown on the documentary. This family was faced with having to choose between buying medication for their diabetic father or getting groceries. Him, as well as one and a half million other Mexican farmers lost their jobs due to larger corporations and with all the debt that is due, they dont have a lot of money for the quality of food they may want. Food, Inc. however did overemphasize all the negative larger companies were doing to farmers, as well as animals. Some interesting facts are as follow: at a slaughter house located in Tar Heel, 32,000 pigs are slaughter a day; thats 2,000 per hour. If a plant is always failing the USDA testing, they are said to be shut down. However, the law never took affect, instead, the plants took USDA to court. In 2008, 90% of soybeans did not have the original seed. Although documentaries are usually biased, there were many times throughout the film where a large corporations were asked to talk, however, they declined. Large corporations could have helped their side of view by taking time to conduct an interview with the Food, Inc. crew. Food, Inc.was very intriguing, although it could have furthered explained through a corporations prospective overall the documentary was successful. The harsh facts with the jaw dropping graphics were just a bonus on the heart touching stories all of the farmers told. The graphics of reality was most bothering. The fact that companies could get away with employing illegal immigrants than do nothing when they were arrested was annoying, as well as knowing that a company could sue anybody for anything even if they knew they would lose. Something that was realized as result from watching this piece, is that to eat well in this country you need money. Questions that could be asked are how can companies like Monsanto have all of one farmers bank accounts and check written from the last 10 years. How can this company sue farmers (and win) for the farmers crops being contaminated against their knowledge. Why did patenting a seed ever become acceptable when the seed needs to be grown and consumed by millions. And why can the FDA sell food without a GMO label.

Sunday, October 13, 2019

Research Into Job Satisfaction Among Nurses

Research Into Job Satisfaction Among Nurses Nurses in most healthcare facilities have some of the highest levels of direct patient contact of any employees. Nursing force plays an essential role in achieving organizational goals and providing high quality care to the community. Hospitals are important health care and social system where nurses are the cornerstones for their effectiveness and efficiency. Many of the nurses even take on the responsibilities of the medical supervisors or the doctors in command, and this makes them a very important part of the medical system (International Council for Nurses, 200) Devoid of people, organizations can not reach their goals. (Drucker, 1999). High nurse turnover can impact negatively on an organizations capacity to meet patient needs and provide quality care (Gray and Phillips, 1996; Tai et al., 1998; Shields and Ward, 2001). At the nursing unit level, high turnover affects the morale of nurses and the productivity of those who remain to provide care while new staff members are hired and orientated (Cavanagh and Cof ¬Ã‚ n, 1992; Sofer, 1995). Jones (1990a, b) de ¬Ã‚ ned nursing turnover as the process whereby nursing staff leave or transfer within the hospital setting. This de ¬Ã‚ nition Includes intentional and unintentional, as well as internal and external turnovers. Voluntary and involuntary turnovers are not always distinguished in studies because costs are incurred regardless of whether staffs resign or are requested to leave. According to L.J. Hayes et al(2008) turnover is a product of job satisfaction and commitment and can lead to nursing shortage. Nursing shortage and high rates of nurses turnover has become a prevalent global issue (Kingman, 2001). The nursing shortage has a vital effect on healthcare system because of its negative impact on both preventive and curative care. For example, in developing countries, fewer nurses have been available for providing immunizations and prenatal care. Hospitals in many industrialized and developing countries have been forced to close units when nursing staff has not been available (Oulton, 2006,cited in sianze,Malvarez (2008).Shortages can be a symptom of low job satisfaction, poor management and lack of organizational support (Zurn et al., 2005). Shortages are resulting in heavy workload, which is a precursor to job stress, and burnout, which have also been linked to low job satisfaction. Nurses job satisfaction is an elusive concept, which is defined within its extrinsic and intrinsic values (Cowin, 2002 cited in Masroor A.M., Fakir M. J 2010). Job satisfaction is an essential elemen t that has strong effects on patient safety, productivity, and performance, quality of care, retention and turnover (Cavanagh and Cof ¬Ã‚ n, 1992; Blegen, 1993; Irvine and Evans, 1995, Murrells, T., et al, 2007). Job satisfaction refers to overall positive feelings towards a job. It is defined as, Pleasurable or positive emotional state resulting from the appraisal of ones job experiences (Locke, 1976). What in terms of job satisfaction counts the attitude of an employee towards his job? Attitude is a point of view of an individual towards an object. The object may be anything, such as, an organization, a manager, a colleague or a job. What is important about attitude is that: people make decisions based on their attitudes. When employees are satisfied with their job, they tend to stay in their job. On the other hand, people who are not satisfied with their job tend to take a decision of quitting their workplace. Workers with positive attitude are likely to be productive and effective in the organization whereas those with negative attitude have poor performance and ultimately less productive (Abu Ajamieh, A. R, 1996). Satisfied employees tend to be more productive, creative, and committed to their industry, and recent studies have shown a direct relation between staff satisfaction and patient satisfaction in health care organizations (Al-Aameri, 2000). The entire employee wants to be satisfied at their job no matter what activities they are engaged in or have the will to carry out. The significance of job satisfaction arises from the fact that the nurses whom job satisfaction is positive are not only pleased and happy within themselves but also affecting the quantitative and qualitative outcomes of the health organization in a positive way. Quite the opposite, the dissatisfied nurses are not peacefully pleasured resulting in poor performance, increased absenteeism, tardiness, burnout, turnover and qualitative and quantitative negative outcomes for the health care system. Nurses shortage and Job satisfaction should be of primary concerns to the health managers because nurses take the responsibility of many positions in the hospital and their turnover would have great impact on the employers and the patients as well. The shortage of nurses has been well recognized and extended to the long-term care services (Fletcher, 2001; Mark, 2002; Mitchell, 2003) Cited in MH 2008. In response population growth, health care organizations are facing problems in finding and keeping skillful nurses (Gohen Van Nostrand, 1995; Kassner Bertel, 1998). High nurse turnover and vacancy rates are affecting access to health care (Best Thurston, 2004) Cited in MH 2008. Continuously hiring new staff is costly and recurrent turnover influence the morality of nurses and vitiates patient care (Sofie, Belzar, Young, 2003) Cited in MH 2008. The increasing rate of turnover resulted in unfavorable physical and emotional effects on nursing home residents, leading to a greater incide nce of falls, medication errors, fear and anxiety, and feelings of hopelessness (Best Thurston, 2004; Sofie, Belza, Young, 2003). Background and significance: There are five governmental schools of nursing spread overall the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Three of them are called Institutes of Nursing (IONs) governed by the Ministry of Health (MOH). The IONs offer a Diploma degree and cover the Northern Emirates. While the Higher College of Technology and the Institute of Applied Technology which are controlled by the Ministry of Higher Education in both of Abu-Dhabi and Al-Ain graduate nurses holding Bachelors degree of nursing science. The period of study in the IONs is three years. All of the graduates are female Emiratis and expatriates and the number of graduates in the northern emirates is relatively higher that of Abu-Dhabi and Al-Ain cities. Despite all such number of graduates, the UAE like the other countries is in severe shortage of nurses related to high rate of turnover. The UAE is need for 30,000 nurses and midwives, only 23000 are available which means that the shortage is 7000 (Underwood, M, 2010). According to the MOH-secretary of the Nursing and Midwifery Council, low remuneration, low status and limited career development are all factors influencing the shortage. Therefore, the UAE must hire up to 25 to 30 per cent; 7000 nurses to overcome the shortage of nursing staff. Dr. Rifaai (2010), the Head of Federal Nursing Department, referred the shortage of nurses and midwives in the UAE to the perceived low status of the profession. The Emirati nurses account only 4% of the total population (UAE-MOH, cited Underwood, M, 2010) which does not run in parallel with the demographics population of the country. The serious nursing shortage has prompted the MOH-UAE to start a national study to identify the factors that could lead to a better workplace at the governmental hospitals. This study was in response to a previous pilot study funded by the Ministry of Health called Thinking Magnetism which revealed that low wages and Lack of autonomy to make decisions are the primary reason for nurses dissatisfaction (Khaleej Times, 23 November 2009). The outcomes of the study drove the government to start looking carefully after these phenomena particularly when the pilot study, the magnet indicators showed very low scores for ministry hospitals as compared with USA magnet hospitals. The indicators studied: nursing contribution in hospital affairs; nursing foundation of quality of care; ability of nurse manager, leadership; staffing; resources; and nurse-physician relationship. Among the 14 urgent requirements identified, the pilot study recommended: part-time jobs; flexible recruitment; promotion p olicies, and competitive salaries. Involvement in decision-making and encouragement of a healthy nurse-physician relationship was also suggested. Expatriate nurses working in the government hospitals demanded equal treatment with UAE nationals and placements according to qualifications. Suliman, A.B., (2006), stated in his study that staffs perceptions of fairness are largely based on comparison. For instance, employee may compare their payment, working hours, and incentives. If the comparison is positive, they are likely to feel positive toward their organization. Conversely, if the result is negative, they will react negatively toward the system and may challenge and oppose it. Consequently, the employees may intent to quit their job. The finding of this study may help the health care managers and policy makers to develop and institutionalize targeted nurse recruitment and retention strategies by taking into consideration the predictors of nurses dissatisfaction and turnover. The significance of the problem and the absence of related researches and statistical data about the level of nurses satisfaction, and the factors that contribute to turnover give the urge to study these phenomena. Statement of Purpose: The aim of this research is to : Explore the relationship between job dissatisfaction and turnover among registered nurses in the governmental hospitals of UAE. Find relationship between individual/ demographic variables and job satisfaction among the registered nurses in the Governmental hospital in the UAE. Give the nursing managers in the UAE hospitals clear indicators towards improving the nurses job satisfaction, retention and reduction of turnover rates. Research questions: This research is intended to answer the following questions: What is the relation between dissatisfaction factors to turnover? What is the relationship between demographic variables and job satisfaction? Literature Review Theoretical Framework: Job satisfaction is multi-faceted with many definitions and theoretical frames. According to Spector (1997), Job satisfaction is the most important variable that is frequently studied in organizational behavior research. In addition, the fundamental variable in both research and theory of organizational phenomena were ranging from job design to supervision. Moreover, the traditional model of job satisfaction focuses on all the feelings that an individual has about his/her job. Yet, being satisfied or dissatisfied does not rely on the type of the job only but also on the expectations of the individuals from their job. In another definition, Job satisfaction is defined as the degree to which employees enjoy their jobs (McCloskey McCain 1987). Job satisfaction is an enjoyable affecting state resulting from the consideration of ones job (Locke, 1976 cited in Brief, A. P., Weiss, H. M. (2001) cited in Wikipedia), an emotional response to ones job (Cranny, Smith Stone, 1992 cited in Weiss, H. M. (2002) cited in Wikipedia) and an sentiment towards ones job (Brief, 1998 cited in Weiss, H. M. (2002) cited in Wikipedia). Researchers usually relate job satisfaction to motivation. Motivation can be defined as an internal process that activates, guides and maintains behaviour over time (Pintrich 2003; Schunk 2000).There are several theories of motivation .The most important theories are Maslows hierarchy of needs, Hertzbergs dual factor theory, and. Vrooms expectancy theory. Unfortunately, none of these theories have gained adequate support or shown to be valid as job satisfiers. Nevertheless, they are based on satisfying human needs that address motivation. Maslows theory1954: Maslow suggested a hierarchy of needs and links these needs to motivation. Maslow divided human needs into three categories, the deficiency needs (physical and psychological well being) , growth needs(knowing, appreciating, and understanding), and self actualization (ones potential). Maslow pointed out that individuals will not be motivated to the second need until the demands of the first need have been satisfied. Based on Maslows theory, job satisfaction has been approached by some researchers from the perception of need ful ¬Ã‚ llment (Kuhlen, 1963; Worf, 1970; Conrad et al., 1985). The fulfillment of job related needs lead to increase satisfaction as individual moves up in the hierarchy to the highest level. An individual who reaches the self-realization will continue in his job and becomes more efficient and productive, whereas unfulfilled needs will lead to poor performance; less productivity, work related stress and eventually job dissatisfaction which might result in turno ver. Herzberg Motivation-Hygiene theory (1959): Herzberg presented a dual factor theory. He uses the needs satisfaction to explain job satisfaction. He believed that satisfaction and dissatisfaction were separate and unrelated. Intrinsic factors called motivators (i.e. related to the nature and experience of performing work) were found to be job satis ¬Ã‚ ers and included: achievement, recognition, work itself and responsibility and similar to the growth needs of Maslows hierarchy. Extrinsic factors called hygiene factors were found to be job dissatis ¬Ã‚ ers and included: organizational policy, administration, supervision, salary, interpersonal relations and working conditions to the deficiency needs of Maslow. However, the distinction between motivators and hygiene was not supported by many researches (Cronin-1977; Everly and Falcione, 1976; Gangadhraiah, et al.1990; Hutto Davis, 1989; Joiner, Johnson Crokrean, 1981; Koelbel, 1988; Munro, 1983; Simpson, 1985). Cavanagh (1992 cited in Burnard et al., 1999) noted that these theories attempt to specify particular needs that must be met or values that must be attained (p. 705) if an individual is to be satisfied at work. Figure 1: (Maslows and Herzbergs Ideas Compared, cited in Tiffany Jordan, undated) Vrooms Expectancy Theory of Motivation (1964): Vroom predicts that effort lead to increased performance (Expectancy), and performance lead to valued rewards (Instrumentality) and then these values are placed on outcomes (Valence), all three are required for positive motivation. If either of these factors were absent, performance will be altered to zero (Suliman, 2001). However several researches have supported the principles of the theory (Campbell Pritchard, 1976, Hollenback, 1979, Mitchell, 1974). However, questions remain to which extent an employee can increase his/her efforts about the corresponding organizational structure and decision making processes needed to fulfill the expectations of workers. (Expectancy Theory of Motivation (Undated), cited in Arrod, http://www.arrod.co.uk/archive/concept_vroom.php) Definitions of Job Satisfaction based on the theories: Job satisfaction is the affective orientation that an employee has towards his or her work (Price, 2001). Specter (1997) summarized the following facets of job satisfaction: appreciation, communication, co-workers, fringe bene ¬Ã‚ ts, job conditions, nature of the work itself, the nature of the organization itself, an organizations policies and procedures, pay, personal growth, promotion opportunities, recognition, security and supervision. Dentitions Related Theory The individual matching of personal needs to the perceived potential of the occupation for satisfying those needs (Kuhlen, 1963) Maslows human needs theory (Maslow, 1954 Need ful ¬Ã‚ llment, that is, whether or not the job met the employees physical and psychological needs for the things within the work situation (Worf, 1970) A match between what individuals perceive they need and what rewards they perceive they receive from their jobs (Conrad et al., 1985) A function of satisfaction with the different elements of the job (Herzberg 1959) Herzberg motivation-hygiene theory (Herzberg, 1959) All the feelings that an individual has about his job (Gruneberg, 1976) Focus on cognitive process (Spector, 1997) The affective orientation that an employee has towards his or her work (Price, 2001) (Table 1, Dentitions of job satisfaction, Hong Lu, While, A., Barriball, K.,(2004) C. Previous Research Review: C. Previous Research Review: Locke (1976) defined job satisfaction as a pleasurable or positive emotional state resulting from the appraisal of ones job or job experience. That is, it is the discrepancy between what an employee values and what the situation provides. Job satisfaction is a complex phenomenon. The current global shortage of nurses places of interest the importance of understanding the effect and interrelationships of the factors that contribute to nurses dissatisfaction and consequently turnover so that healthcare organizations may implement strategies that help to retain nurses. Sources of nurses job satisfaction: Satisfaction has been found to be related to performance within the work environment (Landeweerd and Boumans, 1988, cited in Burnard et al., 1999), so it is not amazing that the notion of job satisfaction has gained much attention. Researchers have attempted to identify the different variables of job satisfaction, measure the significance of each variable and examine what effect these variables have on the productivity of the employee (Burnard et al., 1999). A variety of quantitative and qualititative studies have been done on the sources of job satisfaction among nurses and here are the most important findings: Aiken et al. (2001) found in his global study in a sample of 43,329 nurses working in adult acute hospitals that job dissatisfaction among nurses was highest in the United States (41%) followed by Scotland (38%), England (36%), Canada (33%) and Germany (17%). One third of nurses in England and Scotland and more than one  ¬Ã‚ fth in the United States have intent to quit their job within 12 months of data collection. More striking, however, was that 27-54% of nurses less than 30 years of age intended to quit within 12 months of data collection in all countries. Opportunities for the development were the reason behind the satisfaction of the nurses in Germany (61%) while salary was the satisfier for the nurses in USA (57%) and Canada (69%). Similarly, Adamson et al. (1995) found that British nurses were more dissatis ¬Ã‚ ed than Australian nurses. He pointed that the poor insight of professional status, insufficient relationship with hospital management system and improper working environment, were found in British more than Australian nurses. Professional organization and work design, con ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å¡ict between the newly gained experience during training and the available one. Furthermore, lack of communication between nurses and physicians, feeling of being not respected by other related health professionals, hospital managers and physicians were a concern to the British nurses. Nevertheless, the perception of autonomy by the Australian and British nurses was nearly the same. Eventually Tovey and Adams (1999) came up with the main sources of nurses dissatisfaction: working interactions, mainly those with administration, shortage of staff, professional concerns about poor standards of care and external work pressure. Nolan et al. (1998) found that level of job satisfaction had remained stable. They further found in a sample of 518 nurses that 35% of nurses reported reduction in their level of satisfaction and 69% drop in their morality. Price (2002), using the satisfaction scale of Mueller and McCloskeys (1990a, b) in a sample of 141 nurses found that (58%) were generally satis ¬Ã‚ ed with their job. Highest satisfaction was related to co-workers and extrinsic rewards and most dissatisfaction was with the amount of control and responsibility they had and with professional opportunities. Nurses were most satis ¬Ã‚ ed with annual leave, nursing peers and hours worked (79%, 78% and 76% of respondents) and dissatisfied with compensation for working weeke nds and control over work conditions and childcare facilities (55%, 55% and 46% of respondents. Using the same scale, Wang (2002) found that Chinese nurses were mostly dissatis ¬Ã‚ ed with pay and job promotion. Finally, nurses job satisfaction is very essential to organizations as levels of job satisfaction would globally impact the nursing workforce. Sources of job satisfaction are relatively similar, e.g., physical working setting, relations with fellow workers and managers, salary, promotion, job security, responsibility, the recognition from managers and working hours. Effects of job satisfaction of nurses on absenteeism, burnout, turnover and intention to quit: Researchers have generally found that satisfied employees are more productive and committed to their jobs, whereas dissatisfied ones experience absenteeism, grievances and turnover (Smith 1996, cited in Alamri, 2001).Matrunola, (1996) did not find any significant relationship between job satisfaction and abscentism in a small sample of 34 nurses which makes its generalization difficult. Borda and Norman (1997) noted a signi ¬Ã‚ cant positive relationship between job satisfaction and intent to stay and negative relationships between job satisfaction and frequency of 1 day absence and short-term absence. Sius (2002) indicates that job satisfaction was an important predictor of abscentism. Job dissatisfaction is consistently linked to high levels of stress, burn-out or mental and physical exhaustion (Blegen et al. 1993, Adams Bond 2000, Aiken et al. 2002). Keel (1993) cited in Tzeng 2002), indicated that burnout affects mainly nurses, physicians, social workers and teachers. Burnout seems to be caused by stressful working conditions, disproportional-high efforts (time, emotional involvement, and empathy) and dissatisfaction with jobs. For the goals of lowering professional stress and improved satisfaction, social support and improved team cooperation could protect nurses against burnout. There is a vast body of the literature linking job satisfaction in nursing and turnover. Job dissatisfaction has been frequently identi ¬Ã‚ ed as the reason why nurses leave their jobs (Lum et al., 1998; Tzeng, 2002). Tzeng (2002) has also noted that factors such as indirect working environment (hospitals policies, bene ¬Ã‚ ts, leisure activities, housing, parking, and vacation policy), salary and promotion as very important but strongly dissatisfying and indicated that job satisfaction is a predictor of turnover. A study conducted in the United States revealed that dissatisfied nurses were 65% more likely to have intent to quit compared to their satisfied colleagues (Shields Ward, 2001 cited in Masroor A.M., Fakir M. J., 2010). Gray and Philips (1994) Examined turnover rates and relationship to age and length of service in 342,000 employees from nine staff groups in National Health Service (NHS) and explored that annual turnover rate among all NHS staff 13.6%; higher turnover among full-time than part-time; turnover declines with age, are high in  ¬Ã‚ rst year of service, remains high in second year before declining. Leveck and Jones (1996) indicated that experience on unit and professional job satisfaction were predictors of staff nurse retention; job stress and clinical service were predictors of quality of care. The variable contributing the most was management style. While Davidson et al (1997) in a sample of 736 hospital nurses cited that intent to leave predicted by perception of little promotion, high routinization, low decision latitude and poor communication. Lum et al (1998) found among 361 RNs in neonatal and pediatric Intensive Care Unit that Job satisfaction has indirect and organizational c ommitment has direct effect on intent to quit. Boyle et al (1999) recognized that managers position power and in ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å¡uence over work coordination had direct link to intent to stay. Instrumental communication, autonomy, and group cohesion decreased job stress and thus increased job satisfaction. Job satisfaction was directly linked with intent to stay. Furthermore, Hemingway and smith (1999) discovered that high work pressure was predictive of greater role con ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å¡ict and role ambiguity, and of more stress from heavy workload. In addition, poor supervisor support was signi ¬Ã‚ cantly related to greater stress from heavy workload, and lack of autonomy was related to higher role ambiguity. Larabee et al (2003) proposed that major predictor of intent to leave was job dissatisfaction, and the major predictor of job satisfaction was psychological empowerment. Predictors of psychological empowerment were hardiness, transformational leadership style, nurse/ physician collabor ation, and group cohesion. Strachota et al (2003)identified the following reasons: hours worked; better job opportunity; family; poor pay and bene ¬Ã‚ ts; poor staffing; unsupportive management; unacceptable work environment; work stress; no opportunity for advancement. Duffield et al (2004) added the following causes: leaving related to work aspects, structural aspects, professional issues, team support, salary and prestige, employer care, and legal concerns. Turnover has many consequences such as mean cost per RN turnover was $10,198, ranging from $6,886 to $15,152(Jones, 1990b, Waldman et al, 2004)), poor patient satisfaction, risk of infection increased almost 30% and the risk of hospitalization increased more than 80% (Zimmerman et al, 2002). Leiter et al. (1998)cited in Tzeng,2002) concluded that patients, who stayed on wards where nursing staff felt more exhausted or more frequently expressed their intention to quit, were less satis ¬Ã‚ ed with their medical care. This study con ¬Ã‚ rmed the importance of understanding nurses job satisfaction and intention to quit as both concepts, which would contribute to patient outcomes. Moreover, both nurses job satisfaction and patient satisfaction have been identi ¬Ã‚ ed in the Nursing Report Card for Acute Care (American Nurses Association, 1995) as two of the important nursing quality outcome indicators. Lee et al.s (2003) showed that the most common reasons for nurses turnover were work overload, rotating shifts and con ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å¡ict in interpersonal relationships. A total of 24%, 15% and 35% of variance regarding depersonalization, emotional exhaustion and personal accomplishment, respectively, was explained by the individual characteristics, job stress and personal resources were explained by the predictor variables. Turning to, Cavanagh (1990) indicated that job satisfaction was the determining factor of turnover which could be predicted by kinship responsibility, promotion, pay and influential communication skills. Wu et al (2000), found a positive and significant relation between the job stress and intention to quit. This was also confirmed in Yin and Yangs (2002) meta-analysis who revealed that the strongest factors for nurse turnover were job satisfaction, autonomy, advancement opportunity, job stress, pay, group cohesion, marital status and educational level. To sum up, researches from various countries indicate that job satisfaction is a signi ¬Ã‚ cant predictor of nursing absenteeism, burnout, turnover and intention to quit the organization and nursing profession. Related factors to job satisfaction of nurses Blegens (1993) meta-analysis found a strong connection between job satisfaction, stress and organizational commitment. Seven variables had strong correlations: communication with supervisor, autonomy, recognition, routinization, communication with peers, fairness and locus of control; and four variables had very weak correlations: age, years of experience, education and professionalism. A causal model of job satisfaction has been tested in the studies of Chu et al.s (2003) among 308 Taiwanese nurses and Seo et al.s (2004) among 353 South Korean nurses, respectively. In this model 11 independent variables included: job involvement, positive affectivity, negative affectivity, autonomy, distributive justice, procedural justice, job stress (role ambiguity, role con ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å¡ict, and workload and resource inadequacy, pay, promotional chances, routinization and social support .Moreover, four of twelve structural variables (workload, supervisory support, routinization, and pay) were found to have signi ¬Ã‚ cant net effects on satisfaction. Chu et al. (2003) found that six variables had significant impact on job satisfaction: routinization, positive affectivity, involvement, negative affectivity, role ambiguity, supervisor support which explain 45% of the variance in satisfaction. Whereas Seo et al. (2004) found seven variables had statistically signi ¬Ã‚ cant effects on job satisfaction: positive affectivity, supervisory support, pay, routinization, negative affectivity, workload and job opportunity and he found reasonable fit between the casual model and data; all the variables explained 53% of the variance. Interestingly, Packard and Motowidlo (1987) correlated job satisfaction with depression, hostility, subjective stress, frequency of stressful events, intensity of stressful events and anxiety. Knoop (1995) indicated that organizational commitment is positively related to job satisfaction among nurses, satisfaction with work, promotion opportunity, supervision, co-workers and pay among Canadian nurses. Organizational commitment refers to identi ¬Ã‚ cation with and loyalty to the organization and its goals (Blau and Boal, 1987) which Mowday et al. (1979). Commitment is characterized by three factors: a strong belief in and an acceptance of the organizations goals and values; a willingness to exert considerable effort on behalf of the organization; and a strong desire to maintain membership in the organization (Blegen, 1993; Al-Aameri, 2000). Fang, (2001) agreed with the studies of (Blegen, 1993; Al-Aameri, 2000) and cited that job satisfaction was significantly and positively relate d to organizational commitment, professional commitment, and negatively related to job stress. Organizational commitment has an incremental effect on a professionals intention to leave the organization (Blau and Lunz, 1998). Enhancing professional commitment in nursing has the potential to produce bene ¬Ã‚ ts for both the individual and their organization (Cohen, 1998; Cohen, 1999). Furthermore, professional commitment is positively related to the job satisfaction of nurses (Lu et al., 2000; Jones, 2000).Lu et al., (2002) indicates that professional commitment is more effective in predicting intention to leave the nursing profession than intention to leave the organization at 9.2 %. Lu et al., (2002) added that Job satisfaction was more effective in predicting intent to leave the organization than intention to leave the nursing profession at 8 %. Moreover, role con ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å¡ict and ambiguity are signi ¬Ã‚ cantly related to job stress, organizational commitment, job satisfacti on and intentions to leave the nursing profession (Rosse and Rosse, 1981).Dailey (1990) found that most signi ¬Ã‚ cant predictor of intention to quit was experienced job induced stress symptoms. However, Mitchells (1994) in United State study found that there was not a signi ¬Ã‚ cant linear association between a nurses job satisfaction and the correlation between work role values and actual work roles. Yet, the  ¬Ã‚ nding that workload has the second largest impact emphasizes the relative importance of job stress in determining levels of nurses job satisfaction. This  ¬Ã‚ nding is consistent with the results obtained in other empirical studies which have shown that the job stress variables have negative impacts on job satisfaction (Mathieu, 1990, 1991