Tuesday, May 26, 2020

The Fantastic in Dracula - Literature Essay Samples

The fantastic [] lasts only as long as a certain hesitation: a hesitation common to reader and character, who must decide whether or not what they perceive derives from reality as it exists in the common opinion. At the storys end, the reader makes a decision even if the character does not; he opts for one solution or the other, and thereby emerges from the fantastic. If he decides that the laws of reality remain intact and permit an explanation of the phenomena described, we say that the work belongs to another genre: the uncanny. If, on the contrary, he decides that new laws of nature must be entertained to account for the phenomena, we enter the genre of the marvelous. Tzvetan Todorov, The Fantastic, p. 42 Bram Stokers Dracula belongs to all three genres mentioned by Todorov. The first few chapters exemplify the fantastic; but as the narrative progresses the characters try to realize the uncanny truth about the events overtaking them, events which ultimately give way to the marvelous. Chapter I is a fine example of the fantastic the narrator is at a loss to make sense of his surroundings. He uses his Victorian wisdom to rationalize the events, but ultimately hesitation and bafflement obscure his rational thinking. Lets pretend we dont know what is going to happen in the subsequent chapters; lets also pretend we have no knowledge of what the Count really is. I say pretend because pretension is necessary in order for us to share in the characters fantastic observations of the incidents from his journey from Bistritz through the Borgo Pass to the castle of Dracula. In Chapter I Jonathan is presented as a naÃÆ'Â ¯ve narrator, putting every detail of the East and its customs in his journal; but there are moments when his unquestioning naÃÆ'Â ¯vetÃÆ'Â © faces an eeriness that defies explanation. This results in an uncomforting feeling of something that disturbs both Jonath an and the reader. For example, when the landlords wife puts the rosary around his neck, he feels what Todorov calls hesitation, the characteristic feeling of the fantastic: Whether it is the old ladys fear, or the many ghostly traditions of this place, or the crucifix itself, I do not know, but I am not feeling nearly as easy in my mind as usual. We as naÃÆ'Â ¯ve readers are equally unsure regarding the cause of this feeling of the fantastic. To create a sense of the fantastic the author often makes the central character ignorant of things the other characters know because it is through the character that we witness the events. But this is not dramatic irony in that dramatic irony requires the audience or reader to know more than the character does; in fantastic irony, on the other hand, the reader is just as ignorant as the character. Thus, on his journey from Bistritz to Borgo Pass, Jonathans fellow passengers seem to know more about his impending fate than he or the read er does. Characteristically, no one tells him about the real danger of daring to meet Count Dracula. Their obscure gestures of warning, punctuated by their frequent acts of crossing themselves, only add to the fantastic nature of his journey. The fantastic is the major component of any thriller, literary or cinematic, and the ending of a thriller is either uncanny (weird but ultimately explainable by natural laws, as in Hitchcocks Psycho) or marvelous (out of the world and explained only by means of something more than simple human reason, as is the case with any decent horror flick). The fantastic arouses a feeling that numbs the faculty of drawing straight conclusions, and the characteristic expression associated with the visual fantastic is a gaping mouth. In the literary fantastic the character as well as the reader is made to wait with what Jonathan calls a sick feeling of suspense while various contradictory conclusions are drawn until the truth is revealed. This seemingl y random drawing of conclusions is reflected in the use of simile, a comparison between two distinctly different things by means of like, as, as if, etc. (Interestingly, metaphor, which is a atronger, more direct comparison, is often employed by Van Helsing, a more knowledgable character in Dracula). In Chapter I Jonathans hesitation about the true nature of the strange events becomes linguistically patent in his frequent uses of like or as if and their verbal equivalent, seem. Todorov also says that the literature of the fantastic has still greater extension: this is the effacement of the limits between subject and object (42). This in part is due to the phantasmagoric nature of the fantastic which all but dissolves the separation between the perceiving mind and the thing perceived for it is in dreams that we become what we see: I think I must have fallen asleep and kept dreaming of the incident, for it seemed to be repeated endlessly, and now looking back, it is like a sor t of awful nightmare. Throughout the journey Jonathan is in a kind of trance, and even his optical illusion of seeing the faint blue flame through the driver may well be attributed to this dissolving of the barrier between mind and matter. The fantastic generates a kind of compelling hallucination that urges the reader to read on. This is one of the many powers of the literary fantastic: instead of arousing a sense of loathing for the unexplained horror, it encourages the reader to enjoy the hallucinatory effects of the actual act of reading. This has obvious Freudian connotations explainable in terms of the selfs longing for the macabre. From a technical point of view however, this spell-binding effect is produced by the grimly romantic descriptions of nature, a nature which is no less human than the characters that populate it. Consider the following excerpt: Soon we were hemmed in with trees, which in places arched right over the roadway till we passed as through a tunnel. And again great frowning rocks guarded us boldly on either side. Though we were in shelter, we could hear the rising wind, for it moaned and whistled through the rocks, and the branches of the trees crashed together as we swept along. As we can see, nature is personified, described as acting like a human that both frowns and guards[s] boldly, and moans and whistles like a sick child. The fantastic, as Todorov observes, leads a life full of dangers, and may evaporate at any moment (42). The volatility of the fantastic is exemplified by the characters gradual understanding or at least an attempt at understanding of the weirdness of her or his surroundings. The natural supernaturalism of the fantastic is substituted by the explainable supernaturalism of the uncanny or the accepted supernaturalism of the marvelous. In Chapter I this dissolution of the fantastic into the uncanny/marvelous is hinted at when Jonathan is overcome by an uncanny fear that almost immobilizes him. He must now equip himself either to explain away this fear by his Victorian rationality or to subscribe to the beliefs of the superstitious peasants. Failing to do either would result in his loss of sanity. Works CitedStoker, Bram. Dracula. W. W. Norton Company, 1997. (All quotations are from Chapter I of this edition)Todorov, Tzvetan. The Fantastic: A Structural Approach to a Literary Genre. Cornell University Press, 1975.

Monday, May 18, 2020

Adam And Nimrod Are Not Just Characters From Dante s Work

Adam and Nimrod are not just characters from Dante’s work. They both have origins in Christianity. Genesis 3 is about Adam’s sin, the first sin; disobeying the Lord caused the fall of man. Genesis 11 is about Nimrod’s sin. Nimrod was the first ruler â€Å"in the land of Shinar† (Gen 10.10). Men, migrating east, settled in Shinar and planned to construct a tower so tall, that it would reach the sky because this would â€Å"make a name for [themselves]† (Gen. 11.4). When the Lord noticed this tower, he â€Å"scattered them . . . all over the earth,† as well as â€Å"[confusing] the speech of all the world† (Gen. 11.8-9). I agree with V. Stanley Benfell; Nimrod’s sin, resulting in the fall of the language, is similar to the first sin that caused the fall of man. Sins in the Hebrew Bible To start with, the first man, Adam, is responsible for the original sin. Genesis 3 introduces the last creature the Lord made, the serpent (Everts 253). Though not clarified in Genesis 3, Revelations 12:9 considers the serpent to be â€Å"the devil.† The serpent tempts the first woman, Eve, to disobey the Lord. The serpent chooses Eve instead of Adam, because she is easier to manipulate (Everts 254). The Lord had allowed Adam and Eve to eat from any tree, except from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil (Genesis 2.16-17). Eve gave the fruit from the forbidden tree to Adam (Genesis 3.6). When the Lord discovered that the two humans had eaten the fruit he forbade them from eating, he made the serpent eat only dust, made

Saturday, May 16, 2020

Quantitative Research Publication Critique. The Perceptions

Quantitative Research Publication Critique The perceptions of being restrained for some intensive care unit (ICU) patients, may not be memorable, but for others, the experience can be traumatic (Clukey, Weyant, Roberts, Henderson, 2014). Historically, patients were primarily restrained as a safety precaution or to prevent inadvertent tube and device removals (Zun, 2005). Hevener, Rickabaugh, and Marsh (2016) conducted a quantitative study centered on reducing the use of restraints by incorporating the use of a â€Å"decision support tool† (DST) (p. 479) to assist the clinical staff in deciding which patients may be appropriate to safely remain without restraints. The authors documented the study in an article entitled â€Å"Using a Decision†¦show more content†¦Methodology The quasi-experimental research design was used in this study by Hevener et al. (2016), to explore the cause and effect relationship of the DST on the reduction in the number of restraints used in the ICU. The scope of this study included the participation of all 32 clinical staff members assigned to an eight-bed ICU at a major trauma center in California (Hevener et al., 2016). The study participants completed a checklist each shift documenting the use of the DST, the outcomes related to restraint use, and any adverse effects noted related to medical devices (Hevener et al., 2016). Once the control data was collected, the study participants received online as well as individualized education related to the use of a DST, the indications for restraint use and alternatives to use prior to the use of the restraints (Hevener et al., 2016). Data Collection, Analysis, and Reporting As part of the data collected in this study, researchers gathered questionnaires completed by the participants, documenting their perceptions and beliefs related to the use of restraints and DST, both, prior to the start of the study, and at the conclusion of the study (Hevener et al., 2016). During the first month of the study, the participants completed a questionnaire for each patient, documenting every shift whether a medical device was inadvertently removed andShow MoreRelatedEvaluation Of A Research Article From A Professional Journal Using A Critiquing Framework1480 Words   |  6 Pagesassignment is to critically review a research article extracted from a professional journal using a critiquing framework. The essay will attempt to analyse and evaluate the validity and rigour of the research study and will unitise the critiquing framework for quantitative research papers devised by (Steen and Roberts, 2011, p56-57), while also taking time to reflect upon the research studyà ¢â‚¬â„¢s value and influence on practice. The article ‘Women’s perception of the term ‘obstetrician’ (Kenyon, HillsRead MoreQuality of Life, Research Critique Essay845 Words   |  4 PagesRunning head: QUALITY OF LIFE, RESEARCH CRITIQUE Quality of Life, Research Critique Lisa Spann Grand Canyon University Introduction to Nursing Research NRS-433V Professor Anna Auler October 04, 2012 Quality of Life, Research Critique As the ability to prolong chronological life advances, the question is when is the effort enough or too much? The term coined â€Å"quality of life† or QoL is thrown out to be a point of reference. The certain point at which determined the efforts are no longerRead MoreWhat Strengths Does The Quantitative Approach Contain Inherently?875 Words   |  4 PagesWhat strengths does the quantitative approach contain inherently? What strengths does the qualitative approach contain inherently? I feel that the greatest strength of the quantitative approach is the degree of perceived reliability it provides (Pole, 2007, p.2). I have found that the majority of people suffer from some degree of math phobia or anxiety, therefore, they are hesitant to negatively critique quantitative approaches. I think that many people are of the mindset that if they don’t understandRead MoreQualitative Research : Quantitative Research1442 Words   |  6 Pageslevel, qualitative research involves an interpretive, naturalistic approach to the world. This means that qualitative researchers study things in their natural settings, attempting to make sense of, or interpret, phenomena in terms of the meanings people bring to them. (Denzin Lincoln, 2005, p. 3) Different from quantitative research that collects and analyzes numerical data, qualitative research deals with non-numerical data such as interviews, participant observations, audio and visual imagesRead MoreQuantitative Critique1662 Words   |  7 PagesQuantitative Research Critique: Responsibilities of Public School Nurses Grand Canyon University: NRS433V Quantitative Research Critique: Responsibilities of Public School Nurses Nursing has many roles, allowing for a diverse field to choose from upon graduation. One of those choices is the responsibility of a school nurse and consequently that of the entire population of the public school for which he/she works. School Nurses in New Jersey: A Quantitative Inquiry on Roles and ResponsibilitiesRead MoreQualitative Research Article On Pressure Ulcers980 Words   |  4 PagesQualitative Research Article Critique According to Stockhausen Conrick (2002), â€Å"Learning how to critique research articles is one of the fundamental skills of scholarship in any discipline† (p. 38). Burns Grove (2011) found â€Å"An intellectual critical appraisal of a study involves a careful, complete examination of that study to judge its strengths, weaknesses, meaning, credibility, and significance for practice† (p. 419). The extent, amount and nature of publications accessible today by differentRead MoreDetermining the Relationship between Postnatal Depression and Peer Support2287 Words   |  10 PagesCHAPTER 4 4.1 Search Strategy The main purpose of the study was to determine the relationship between postnatal depression and peer support by way of reviewing primary research articles. The search strategy adopted for this study can be broken down into several steps. The key concepts and terminologies for the study were identified. The synonyms of the terms were then determined which were also included within the search terms. Boolean operators were the chosen search features. Databases from whichRead MoreFdsc Critique2784 Words   |  12 Pagespractice Assignment – Critique of research article, â€Å"life after cancer; Living with the risk† Word count 2500 (excluding refs) Submission date – 6th July 2012 The purpose of this essay aims to provide a critical evaluation of a research article titled life after cancer; living with risk (Wilkins and Woodgate, Cancer Nursing 2011 vol 34, no 6, P487-494) it will be structured according to the recommendations of the critique guidelines of Parahoo, 1988Read MoreQualitative Critique2521 Words   |  11 Pagesqualitative research on Pregnancy and protection: Perceptions, attitudes and experiences of Australian female adolescents to determine designs and methods used and to discover emergent themes across study. Most of the study reviewed was described as qualitative or phenomenological by design and included samples comprising of Australian females participants exclusively. Based on analysis of the collective primary findings of the sample research studys, three themes were identified: (a) Perceptions, (b)Read MoreA Comparative Econometric Analysis Of Museum Attendance By Locals And Foreigners2225 Words   |  9 Pageslisteners make their deci sions to attend and how they critique or respond to performances. Secondly, their approach is correlational that to seek qualitative insight on the experiences of the EJBF audiences. Lastly, they focus on attendances’ perceptions and observe behavior by participating in the events and gaining first hand experiences. Broadly speaking, the authors conduct qualitative research although there are still small amounts of quantitative data of showing ages of respondents and previous

Wednesday, May 6, 2020

Social Theories Gang Violence - 1704 Words

Social Theories: How It Relates to Gangs Gang Violence By Stuart Brown Criminology is a complex subject chock-full of theories that attempt to explain crime and criminal behavior. Each base theory has several branches of theory which expand upon and compliment their predecessors. Even some of the sub-theories have branches of theories. This paper is going to discuss two social theories; social structure and social process. It is also going to cover some of the branches of those theories; disorganization theory, strain theory, cultural conflict (deviance), social learning theory, social control theory, and social reaction theory. It will go into some of the branches and thoughts within these†¦show more content†¦Social process theorists would agree that people join gangs because they do not have good influences in their life or ties to different organizations that would keep them out of trouble. Social learning theory simply states that humans conduct themselves in an illegal manner because all they have been taught is criminal behavior. This criminal behavior is learned through interacting with other human beings that behave criminally. Differential association theory falls under the social learning theory. The creator of the differential association theory, Edwin Sutherland, believed that people became deviants because of being overly exposed to others with bad attitudes and delinquent values. Differential association assumes that criminal behavior is learned, the techniques required to commit crime are learned, the learning process involved in learning crime is the same as learning anything else, and that a person’s perceptions of the law determines how a person behaves. Differential association theory explains gang violence as a person’s exposure to existing gangs within their neighborhoods. Neutralization theory is another theory that falls under the sub-theory social learning theory. Neutralization theory states that criminals learn techniques that allow them to offset values of society as a whole and go back and forth between conventional and criminal behaviors. This theory was created onShow MoreRelatedThe Is A Gang And His Article Develops A Convincing Argument1640 Words   |  7 Pages Ludeke believes MLO is a gang and his article develops a convincing argument. According to the STEP Act, a gang is: Any ongoing organization, association, or group of three or more persons . . . having as one of its primary activities the commission of one or more of the criminal acts enumerated in paragraphs (1) to (25), inclusive, or (31) to (33), inclusive, of subdivision (e), having a common name or common identifying sign or symbol, and whose members individually or collectively engage inRead MoreViolence Tends To Threaten The Organization Of Society.1648 Words   |  7 PagesViolence tends to threaten the organization of society. In today’s society violence is permeated in almost every aspect of our daily lives. Violence in our society enters our homes, workplace, and schools and especially in the media. Violence is the intentional action or inaction causing physical, sexual and psychological injury, including battering, pornography, sexual assault, incest, child abuse and sexual harassment. Advertisers use sex to get our attention and they make claims about their product’sRead MoreThe Influence of Geography and Social Networks on Gang Violence1520 Words   |  7 PagesGang violence is becoming a known threat in our country. Gang violence is defined as a group of people by repetitive socializing individuals or close friends with recognizable influence and inner coordination. These gangs will claim full control over a region in a community, town, or specific area which will lead to the involvement of violent crimes and unlawful behavior as a group or even by oneself. Since these gangs are increasing in size in communities, citizens of certain areas are beginningRead MoreCharacteristics Of A Criminal Street Gang1212 Words   |  5 Pagescriminal street gang. Not only does MLO fit the definition of what a reasonable person would believe a street gang to be, but most importantly it fits the definition of a criminal street gang as it is defined in the California STEP act. According Ludeke’s article, MLO has been responsible for nearly killing a young man, beating another, and threatening witnesses with death if they went to the police. While he recognizes that MLO is not as big a threat or as notorious as other well-known gangs, it doesRead MoreSummary : Youth Gang And Violence1615 Words   |  7 PagesMarch 27, 2016 Analytic Essay Youth Gang and Violence Delinquent Behavior â€Å"Gang† â€Å"Youth Gang† and â€Å"Street Gang† are just labels used to describe young people consisting of three or more individuals organized to achieve a typical objective and who share a common identity. There is no single and universally accepted definition of gang, gang member and gang activities in the United States, however, the Federal Definition according to National InstituteRead MoreThe Problem Of Violence And Violence1702 Words   |  7 Pagesthe UK’s Government has reviewed the existence of gangs and the extent of violence caused by these gangs. An intensive prevention strategy has been put into place and has been running for a small number of years. Failing to evaluate the effectiveness of the project; the Home Office have spent over  £10 million on their ‘Ending Gang and Youth Violence’ programme (House of Commons, 2017). It is paramount that a unified definition of the term ‘gangs’ is understood by the Home Office and Police forcesRead MoreThe Sociological Theory Of A Gang Membership And Gang Violence1615 Words   |  7 PagesIn recent years gang membership and gang violence have increased. Why are the youth in America turning to gangs and why has violence increased within the gangs? Is it based on their socioeconomic status within their neighborhood? Is it the need to belong? Is it the need to establish who is in control of the neighborhood? Or is it the lack of good parental role models within the home? The sociological theory that I’m basing my research on is functionalism. Functionalism is a framework that definesRead MoreSubcultural Inequality Theory921 Words   |  4 PagesJewish Swiss who developed theories that represent extensions to the theories of strain, social disorganization, and differential association. He was also a student of Robert Merton and Edwin Southerland. Cohen argues that middle-class children experience strain and status frustration to which the y respond to adopting one of three roles: college boy, corner boy, or delinquent boy. Cohen also developed the theory of subcultural delinquency. 2-Diffential Opportunity Theory: Developed by Richard ClowardRead MoreGang Violence : A Serious Problem1561 Words   |  7 PagesGang violence is a serious problem in America today, and it is also prevalent in the other countries in the world. â€Å"According to a national gang survey, the most recent estimate indicates that there were about 760,000 gang members in 24,000 gangs in the United States in 2004† this just supports the statement that it is a huge problem in the United States (Cooper, 2009, p. 1). Unfortunately, the Youth of America and these other countries have been a large demographic of these gangs for many yearsRead MoreThe Death Of Gang Research1637 Words   |  7 Pagesterm â€Å"gang† was associated with groups in socially disorganized and deteriorated inner-city neighborhoods: It was applied to juveniles who engaged in a variety of delinquencies, ranging from truancy, street brawls, and beer running to race riots, robberies, and other serious crimes (Regoli, Hewitt, DeLisi, 2011). There were several gangs within the United States, which included street gangs, prison gangs, motorcycle gangs, and organized crime gangs that still exist today. The word â€Å"gang† is derived

Teamwork And The Value Of Human Resources - 1350 Words

Throughout the process of this project I have taken away several key lessons on both teamwork and the value of human resources. My team established a rhythm and stayed consistent and through this everyone on our team was held accountable for meeting deadlines. In this way, teamwork is valuable because it prevents procrastination. Teamwork also builds comradery and strengthens culture. Prior to taking this course, I had very limited knowledge on the business value of the HR function. This project taught me that the HR function helps make the company an EEO employer, staffs the organization, manages talent, and compensates employees. Personal Team Insights The key to our team’s success was consistency. Our group of five settled into a†¦show more content†¦We would consistently submit each paper on the same day of the week at approximately the same time. At the beginning of the semester we took personality tests and compared results to get an idea of the type of individuals we had on our team and better understand who would fill each role. On that test I was decently well-rounded but my largest role was â€Å"Dominance.† I was then aware of my dominant personality and prepared to utilize it when necessary and also not let it negatively affect our team. Throughout the semester our team worked so equally together that I do not believe any individual (including myself) ever felt dominant over the others. The only time I asserted my dominance was at the end of the project while creating the poster. I felt strongly about how I wanted the layout of our poster to look. However, nobody on our team was particularly opposed to my idea so there was no debate. I would say that my role did not change over time as I respected my team members’ intelligence from the start and did not feel the need to take control of any situation to avoid receiving a poor grade. This project taught me a valuable lesson about both teamwork and myself. I learned that teamwork can help prevent procrastination because everyone was held accountable for completely their assigned part before the deadline so that time would be available to compile the final copy of the paper. Our team completed and submitted each paper on the Thursday before the

Global warming and the greenhouse effect Essay Example For Students

Global warming and the greenhouse effect Essay The Greenhouse Effect and Global WarmingRecently, global warming has moved to a serious scientific issue. Because sunlight is constantly falling on the earth, the law of physics say that the planet has to radiate the same amount of energy back into space. Infrared radiation is sent out by the earth through the atmosphere, where molecules (carbon dioxide) hold outgoing radiation for a while, warming the surface.1 The molecules are kind of like glass in a greenhouse which is why this process of warming is called the greenhouse effect. The greenhouse effect has been operating since the beginning of time. Without the effect, the surface of the earth would be -20 degrees Celsius, oceans would have frozen, and there would be no life on earth.The Washington Post has reported that the earth is warmer than it has been in 1,200 years.2 Recently, the summer of 1999 set records for heat in much of the United States. The average world temperature has increased one degree Fahrenheit over the last 120 years, making the world hotter than it has been in 100,000 years. From the beginning of the industrial revolution, concentrations of carbon dioxide have increased by 30%, concentrations of methane have doubled, and nitrous oxide has risen by 15%. The increases of these chemicals have enhanced the heat trapping capability of the atmosphere of the earth. Sulfate aerosols, cool the atmosphere because they reflect light back into space, but sulfates do not live long in the atmosphere. Scientists still do not know what exactly is heat ing up the earth. Some say the earth is going through a natural cycle because the earth has gone through cold periods as well as hot periods. Mounting evidence is saying that humans are to blame for the rise in temperatures over the past 120 years. When we burn fossil fuel, oil, gasoline, and natural gas to run power plants, cars, and heat homes, we produce carbon dioxide. An increase in carbon dioxide magnifies the greenhouse effect. All this energy accounts for 80% of society’s carbon dioxide emissions, 25% of methane emissions, and 20% of nitrous oxide emissions. In 1994, the U.S. emitted one fifth of all the greenhouse gases in the earth. Carbon dioxide amounts are now 360 parts per million today, verses 315 per million parts in 1958, when modern technology started, and 270 per million parts in pre-industrial times. Scientists cannot actually predict what the climate will be like in the future, though. James E. Hansen, a director of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Spa ce Studies, says that scientists know too little about the climate to make accurate predictions.The forcings that drive long-term climate change are not known with an accuracy sufficient to define future climate change, Hansen wrote in a journal, The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Many people believe that carbon dioxide is nothing to worry about. And many scientists are turning away from the debate about whether human-induced global warming is taking place. It is true that Earth’s ocean, plants, soil, and animals naturally release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. And other gases such as methane and water vapor trap solar radiation like the way a greenhouse traps the sun’s warmth. Human activities are adding more carbon dioxide to the atmosphere than are being naturally recycled. This is what scientist believe is causing global warming. And what are the effects of global warming? Rising temperatures are expected to raise the sea level and change local climate conditions. By changing these conditions, the climate could alter forests, water supplies, and crop yields. This could also threaten human health, and harm many ecosystems of animals. Deserts could expand into range lands and many National Parks could be altered. And many of the most important impacts depend upon whether rainfall will increase or decrease. The rate of climate change is also much more important than how much the change will be because the rate will determine whether humans and ecosystems can adapt to survive. A decreased day and night temperature and night warming may happen when an increase of atmospheric greenhouse gases takes place. Emissions are a major problem contributing to the greenhouse effect. These gases are called volatile organic compounds (VOC’s) and consist mostly of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen. These gases react in sunlight with nitrogen oxides to form photochemical smog. A lab experiment was done to simulate typical outside conditions. Stems of fescue grass and white clover were cut and tested for VOC content and researchers found that emissions of certain VOC’s spiked immediately after cutting, while others continued at a high rate for the next two days. Uncut grass also gives off VOC’s and cutting grass makes it worse. In a city like Los Angeles, mowing accounts for 10% of the VOC’s in the atmosphere, say researchers. Autism EssayDeforestation is another issue that is often discussed as a problem contributing to global warming that can easily be stopped.Deforestation has many negative effects such as ecological imbalance, bio-diversity loss, and climate change.Most areas in which deforestation is a problem are located in 3rd world countries. Deforestation leads to a massive extinction of species as well as vascular plant species, such as trees. When this happens, atmospheric carbon dioxide is increased because the carbon in forests is higher than in the agricultural areas which replace them. In conclusion, global warming is an increase of the Earth’s surface temperature and the Earth’s lower atmosphere. Atmospheric greenhouse gases (water vapor, carbon dioxide, and other gases) trap outgoing energy, and retain heat like the glass panels in a greenhouse. Many people believe that humans are causing the problem with emissions from things such as cars and trucks. Others say that the wa rming is just part of a trend and that the world goes through warm and cold periods. If the planet continues to warm, there could be many harmful side effects.

Tuesday, May 5, 2020

Organizational Behavior for Selection Methods and Leadership

Question: Discuss about theOrganizational Behavior for Selection Methods and Leadership. Answer: Introduction This case study report is a study of organizational behavior (OB) and how it can help in the management of contemporary organizations and push them towards reaching their strategic goals with the help of their people by means of understanding the way of explaining, predicting and influencing the behavior of individuals and teams. The case study deals with Australian-based Dominos Pizza Enterprises and their upcoming recruitment drive. The organization has decided on upsizing the workforce and their remuneration packages. The organization is going to use their centralized recruitment website for bringing in the new workers, along with word-of-mouth and the local connections. Their already strong brand reputation helped in reducing the recruitment time for team members. The main areas that this report would be covering are team effectiveness and recruitment, organizational culture and leadership, and conflict and stress in teams. Factors affecting group effectiveness, selection methods , leadership styles/behaviors, types of group conflict and their impact would be discussed in details, with the help of academic literature and proper analysis, while addressing the main areas in the report. Recommendations of effective techniques would be provided for the proper management of teams, related challenges and conflicts, recruitment and communication challenges. Discussion Teams and Recruitment The most important factors that impact group effectiveness for creating a list of team-member selection criteria for selecting a Dominoid for Dominos are discussed as follows: Cohesiveness: The first important factor for consideration is the way members are cohesive with one another. A cohesive team pushes the members towards willingness and commitment for striving for excellence. Team cohesion influences the extent to which members get along with each other, like one another, and respects and trusts ones opinions and abilities (Ohland et al. 2012). Communication: Effective communication mechanisms are vital for the development of effective teams. For understanding the scope of a goal and agreeing upon a path for reaching that goals, it is necessary for teams to develop an effective communication method (Nelson et al. 2012). Groupthink: Groupthink is the inclination in decision-making teams for suppressing contending viewpoints for preserving group harmony. This can occur as individual team members possess an overwhelming wish of being accepted and teams wish to reduce conflicts. Homogeneity: Homogeneity is the degree by which team members are similar or dissimilar. At the time of evaluating team homogeneity, managers can consider similarities and dissimilarities in individual characteristics, skills, education, capabilities, cultural background, generational backgrounds and income levels. Homogenous teams have an inclination of being highly cohesive and can effortlessly develop effective communication approaches that help in reducing conflict. However, excessive homogeneity leads in the direction of greater examples of groupthink (Levi 2015). Role Identity: Role identity is the degree to which the members of a group have the capability of assuming different roles all across the team structure, therefore diversifying exertions and developing subject matter experts. The diverse range of knowledge and skills that each of the members bring to the team offer a large range of capabilities required for achieving goals. Stability: The extent of stability amongst members and leaders largely impacts team performance. Managers get the option of evaluating the extent to which members are securely autonomous with one another that comes with steady and trusting relationships. Team Size: By assessing teams size, managers have the capability of maximizing productivity for ensuring high levels of team performance. For evaluating whether a team is extremely large or small, managers need to consider the effectiveness and harmony by which the team members work together and if the necessary tasks are getting effectively accomplished by every member of the team (Mueller 2012). Selection or sourcing methods that can be used for selecting team members, making sure of validity and acceptability are as follows: Internal sourcing: Internal sourcing the method of promoting a fresh or lately vacated position inside an organization for existing employees. This situation arises when the employees who are presently working in an organization are departed to another department or promoted to a higher position. If the performance of the employees is good and up to the mark they are provided with the opportunity of occupying a higher level from their current position. If additional skills are necessary, at times the organizations are prepared for providing training. It is one of the easiest way of selecting applicants as their performance is already under the notice of the senior management. Some methods of internal recruitment are promotions, internal advertisements, contract to temporary, temporary to permanent, and so on (Brunswicker and Vanhaverbeke 2015). External sourcing: The external sourcing method of recruitment is the way of conducting employee candidate searching with the help of external recruitment tools, like newspaper advertisements, job boards and trade publication announcements. External employees always feel fresh, innovative and young for their new job, more motivated and active enough for finding any business issues and then fixing it. Even though recruiting external applicants might become difficult for the organization, however, that has more positive influence on the business in comparison with the internal source. External sourcing helps in creating better and new opportunities for the job seekers. It assists in externally increasing branding and in turn improves business strategy. The new innovative ideas and advancements helps in bringing high productivity (Brunswicker and Vanhaverbeke 2015). Interviewing: Interviewing is a selection procedure that is designed for the prediction of future job performances based on the candidates verbal responses to verbal inquiries. Interviewing method must only be used if it is known that there will be an uninterrupted time for reviewing the applicants resume and conducting an insightful interview. Interviews are useful in the determination if the candidate possesses the required communicative or social skills that might be necessary for the position. In this method the interviewer gets the option of obtaining supplementary information about the candidate. This method can be put to use for selecting amongst equally qualified applicants. It even makes it possible for the applicant to ask questions for additional information (Tarzia et al. 2013). Culture and Leadership Todays business landscape is defined by globalization and diversity. The intermingling workforce has made it necessary that the leaders have the capability of managing the culturally diverse workforce in an effective manner. In a succinct approach, leadership inside a culturally diverse workforce is a hurdle and it hard to mention any single leadership style or behavior that would be the most suitable (Bordas 2012). Therefore, an optimal mix of different leadership styles and behaviors would be discussed for finding what fits the atmosphere. Transformational Leadership: Transformational or charismatic leaders have the ability of inspiring and motivating followers, not from exercising any authority but from the dint of their personality. That is why this style has been hypothesized by many as being universally effective across cultures. This form of leadership is encouraging, motivating, dynamic, confidence building, and excellence oriented. This hugely supports the transformational approach, completely substantiating it. The influence of charismatic behaviour has been proved universally positive across cultures. Cultures that are less traditional in nature are more receptive towards transformational leadership style, making the implication that some nationalities embrace this style more enthusiastically than their other counterparts (Avolio and Yammarino 2013). Team-oriented Leadership: this form of leadership undertakes an organizationally competent leader who concentrates on the achievement of one common purpose and objectives tactfully. Team orientation is considered very vital for leadership effectiveness across a lot of nations. Team sense is largely entrenched in collective cultures, making the scenario that it might not end up as one separate element for being noticed. This form is more embraced by females than males at any workplace. There exists a negative correlation of this form inside culturally individualistic societies, and even after that this form is worthy of being given the vote in current day business scenario (Dorfman et al. 2012). Participative Leadership: Managers across majority of the nations in this world espoused participative leadership, even though they have a small voice when discussing their subordinates capabilities of taking part in decision making. Even though this form is considered by managers as being suitable across some of the major cultures, its contribution towards effective leadership in an organization is different across cultures. The leadership form in itself is efficient in a culturally diverse setting. However, its functionality might lessen if the subordinates do not possess the necessary potential of taking art in decision making (Lam, Huang and Chan 2015). Supportive Leadership: this form of leadership is positively associated with job satisfaction of employees along with their leaders all over the world. A supportive or humane-oriented leader displays the due significance towards the workers that they deserve and that matters, and its outcomes are displaying universal applicability. Humane-oriented leadership have strong and sharp cultural variations backing it (De Vries 2012). Conflict and Stress Conflict and stress in organizations stop individuals from giving their best. Stress gets caused by a number of different factors and that can lead to serval consequences. Stress has become a frequent outcome of conflict and conflict increases stress. In case of workplace conflict, that can arise from different interpersonal relationships, from different intergroup relationships and among organizations and their environment. Workplace conflict is dangerous for peoples physical and emotional wellbeing. Conflicts in an organization brings in increased levels of stress for everyone who is contact with it, irrespective of whether they are directly or indirectly involved. With the increase in stress levels among workers, productivity suffers and absenteeism rises. Workers who are dealing with the impact of stress are more probable of fueling existing conflicts as their capability of objectively dealing with emotionally charged situations reduces (DeTienne et al. 2012). For further adding to the complexity, even intense conflict might become so much ingrained in the processes and the regular interactions of any organization that it might mix into the background, so that the steps for remedying the situation might not be noticeable amidst the pessimism. This continuous cycle of conflict and stress not just has an impact on the mind but also on the body and even contributes to injury rates. It has been widely understood that making the body suffer under extended or chronic stress might be leading it to illnesses like ulcers and heart diseases. However, the combination of conflict and stress could also put the body at the risk of injury. People get less focused on the mechanics of their tasks, make mistakes that can lead to injuries and this has led organizations in looking at "mind-body" programs as a broad way of preventing and managing conflict, stress and injury. Stress and conflict directly influences the organization, as a result of which performance declines and withdrawal behaviors like turnover and absenteeism occurs. People even start exhibiting poor attitude when they are under too much stress. Even burnouts happen from stress and general feeling of exhaustion that might arise when any individual is under excessive stress (Rubenfeld and Clment 2012). It has been seen that workplace tension and disagreements happen from communication breakdown (Beheshtifar and Zare 2013). Poor ineffective communication, in which people send mixed messages, say something and do something else, or do not listen or follow results in conflicts. Conflict cannot always be considered as a negative force - at times it helps push an organization towards findings solutions for something which they would never have come up with in any other time. Most of the time workplace conflict is all about innovation and creativity attempting at taking place (Serrat 2017). For solving conflicts that arise because of communication issues at Dominos, the following recommendations can be followed: Addressing issues openly and immediately: It is important that whenever any conflict arises amongst the team members immediate action must be taken up for resolving it quickly. With all the parties it must be addressed as soon as possible. If it is ignored by the leader it can aggravate and then corrode the reliability of the leader and the culture of the organization. Setting clear expectations: Good management of expectations - in terms of what is expected from others and what is expected from the leader - is one of the most crucial thing that can be done by the team for facilitating better communication. Anything that is needed from one another needs to be properly defined and expressed. At times managers fail explaining or communicating clearlywhat is expected in terms of deadlines, format, quality or any other key factor. Build listening skills: Listening is a very undervalued skill that can have an actual influence on the way conflicts arise and the way that can be avoided. Especially at times of conflict resolution, it is very important that communication is clear and honest, and what others are attempting at communication is listened to. There is a need of a culture that is created where people are actually listening to one another. Conclusion On amalgamating the discussion, analysis and synthesis of the ideas extracted from the report and case study analysis, it can be said that strategic goals can be met with the help of the people inside the organization by means of understanding the way of explaining, predicting and influencing the behavior of individuals and teams. Factors affecting group effectiveness, selection methods, leadership styles/behaviors, types of group conflict and their impact was discussed in details, with the help of academic literature and proper analysis, while addressing the main areas of organizational behavior. References and Bibliography Avolio, B.J. and Yammarino, F.J. eds., 2013. Introduction to, and overview of, transformational and charismatic leadership. InTransformational and Charismatic Leadership: The Road Ahead 10th Anniversary Edition(pp. xxvii-xxxiii). Emerald Group Publishing Limited. Beheshtifar, M. and Zare, E., 2013. Interpersonal conflict: A substantial factor to organizational failure.International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences,3(5), p.354. Bordas, J., 2012.Salsa, soul, and spirit: Leadership for a multicultural age. Berrett-Koehler Publishers. Brunswicker, S. and Vanhaverbeke, W., 2015. Open innovation in small and medium?sized enterprises (SMEs): External knowledge sourcing strategies and internal organizational facilitators.Journal of Small Business Management,53(4), pp.1241-1263. Chou, S.Y., 2012. Millennials in the workplace: A conceptual analysis of millennials' leadership and followership styles.International Journal of Human Resource Studies,2(2), p.71. De Vries, R.E., 2012. Personality predictors of leadership styles and the selfother agreement problem.The Leadership Quarterly,23(5), pp.809-821. DeTienne, K.B., Agle, B.R., Phillips, J.C. and Ingerson, M.C., 2012. The impact of moral stress compared to other stressors on employee fatigue, job satisfaction, and turnover: An empirical investigation.Journal of Business Ethics,110(3), pp.377-391. Dorfman, P., Javidan, M., Hanges, P., Dastmalchian, A. and House, R., 2012. GLOBE: A twenty year journey into the intriguing world of culture and leadership.Journal of World Business,47(4), pp.504-518. Gandolfi, F., 2012. A conceptual discussion of transformational leadership and intercultural competence.Revista De Management Comparat International,13(4), p.522. Lam, C.K., Huang, X. and Chan, S.C., 2015. The threshold effect of participative leadership and the role of leader information sharing.Academy of Management Journal,58(3), pp.836-855. Levi, D., 2015.Group dynamics for teams. Sage Publications. McCleskey, J.A., 2014. Situational, transformational, and transactional leadership and leadership development.Journal of Business Studies Quarterly,5(4), p.117. Mueller, J.S., 2012. Why individuals in larger teams perform worse.Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes,117(1), pp.111-124. Nelson, D., Quick, J., Wright, S. and Adams, C., 2012.ORGB. Cengage Learning. Ohland, M.W., Loughry, M.L., Woehr, D.J., Bullard, L.G., Felder, R.M., Finelli, C.J., Layton, R.A., Pomeranz, H.R. and Schmucker, D.G., 2012. The comprehensive assessment of team member effectiveness: Development of a behaviorally anchored rating scale for self-and peer evaluation.Academy of Management Learning Education,11(4), pp.609-630. Rubenfeld, S. and Clment, R., 2012. Intercultural conflict and mediation: An intergroup perspective.Language Learning,62(4), pp.1205-1230. Serrat, O., 2017. Harnessing creativity and innovation in the workplace. InKnowledge Solutions(pp. 903-910). Springer Singapore. Tarzia, L., Bauer, M., Fetherstonhaugh, D. and Nay, R., 2013. Interviewing older people in residential aged care about sexuality: difficulties and challenges.Sexuality and Disability,31(4), pp.361-371.