Benefit and compensation system of Google Essay

Google Inc. is an American international organization that provides internet related products and services. Cloud computing, advertising technologies, and their search engine are among the most popular services that they offer. Google recently ranked 46th on the 2014 Fortune 500 companies and 1st on Fortune 500’s best places to work for. Google was founded in 1998 by Larry Page and Sergey Brin who met at Stanford University and is based out of Mountain View, California. Google began in a garage sixteen years ago and now has over 48,000 employees and is one of the world’s technology leaders. CNN Money has it ranked as number 1 on list of most popular employers by business and engineering majors. â€Å"College students worldwide dream of starting their careers at Google† (cnn.com). A large part of the reason that Google ranks so highly among lists of popular employers is due to their competitive compensation strategy. Google is known not only for their innovative technology breakthroughs but also their innovative compensation policies. Google Human Resources performed a survey to determine what type of pay is preferred by its employees such as base pay or bonuses. â€Å"We’ve heard from your feedback on Googlegeist and other surveys that salary is more important to you than any other component of pay (i.e., bonus and equity). To address that, we’re moving a portion of your bonus into your base salary, so now it’s income you can count on, every time you get your paycheck† (ibtimes.com). Managing Human Resources and compensation strategies effectively is vital to organizations within the modern and fast paced business world. Google had created a strategic compensation that gives them a competitive advantage among their competitors by attracting, retaining, and motivating highly talented employees. Google’s compensation system has all the benefits you would expect from a Fortune 500 organization such as health insurance programs and retirement plans. Google sets itself apart from the competition by offering services and discretionary benefits that are not standard. These services include perks such as employees are allowed to bring their pets to work and  transportation services that pick up and drop off employees at home. Google believes in a fun informal environment because it leads to more engaged, happy, and productive personnel and they have implemented many practices that reflect this ideology. Liane Hornsey, the Google VP of operations, believes that the work life balance is important to their employees and implements policies to ensure that workers keep a healthy balance. â€Å"Liane explains that the company is outcome focused, not detail focused. In other words, they don’t monitor what time employees arrive or keep track of sick days† (centerforworklife.com) Google offers flexible work hours, part time work options, and telecommuting for certain jobs to allow employees freedom to have a social and home life. Google has set a strategy to provide a workplace that people want to work at and have gave substantial effort to achieve this goal. Their HR and compensation practices produce impressive results of the organization’s approach which increases employee productivity. Core compensation is very important and has a large impact on employee’s attitude and performance. Google focuses on rewarding exceptional performance as well as training in weak areas for underperformers. Performance management is performed quarterly and Google puts extensive focus on this area because they are performance driven. Performance appraisals are important because Google uses pay-for-performance bonuses as a large part of their compensation strategy. Much like most other organizations there is an increase in total compensation in accordance to the levels of responsibilities and leadership. Individual incentives, group incentives, and profit sharing programs are used at Google which gives employees a financial reward when their profit goal is achieved. Payscale.com reports that Google Inc. typically pays their employees 11% above the market pay line. This is 3% higher than their direct competition in the market. Paid time off is one type of discretionary benefit that Google offers benefits above the standard in the market. They offer unlimited sick leave due to the fact that they are focused on performance and production and rely on performance reviews to determine an employee’s contributions. Google also provides employees with 27 days of paid time off after one year of  employment. They also recognize the importance of child birth and offer 18 weeks of maternity leave for an employee that has a child. Google also offers paternity leave to fathers which allow male employees to use up to 7 weeks of leave to spend with their newborn. During this time off employees receive their full annual base pay while they are at home with their child. Google offers employees health insurance programs that cover employee dependents as well. â€Å"Its health care plan is unusually generous and even pays for gender-reassignment surgery including facial feminization for transgender women† (forbes.com). Google also has a physician on site at headquarters in Mountain View, CA. This allows for employees to simply walk across the campus to see a doctor if they are not feeling well. This eliminates employees having to miss work and make a special trip to a physician when they are not feeling well. Some physical therapy services and chiropractic services are offered as well for the convenience of the employee. Google also offers employer sponsored retirement programs such as 401K and IRA. Google matches employee donations to their defined contribution plans at a rate of up to 50%. This is well above the average as many organizations only match up to 6% of contributions. Google’s HR department sends emails to employees to encourage them to set aggressive savings goals. â€Å"If you implore an employee to contribute $8,000 to his retirement rather than, say, $2,000, he’ll tend to save more, even if he can’t afford $8,000† (rd.com). This allows employees to feel secure in their future retirement income as Google helps to ensure that they will have a satisfactory retirement benefit plan. Protection programs are another form of discretionary benefit that Google offers in innovative and unprecedented ways. In addition to standard life insurance that employees are able to receive, they also receive additional life insurance benefits from directly from Google. If an employee passes away Google has created a policy that the deceased employee’s spouse will receive half of their salary for the next ten years. If the deceased employee had a child then Google will compensate that child in the amount of $1000 per month until the age of 19 or the age of 23 if they are a full time college student. The type of benefit that Google is most known for are services. This type of discretionary benefit helps companies create a competitive advantage in the market by giving perks to employees which helps attract and retain quality employees. They offer transportation services in the bay area with Wi-Fi enable trollies that pick up employees to take to work and drop them off at their residence after work is completed. Another service they offer are nap pods for the ability to relax and take brief naps at work so they are reenergized for work. Google also provides tuition reimbursement services that encourage employees to continue their education at the expense of their employer. This will continue to improve employee production and continue to increase the value of the worker which benefits the employer and employee. There is also an on-site fitness center that is complete with weights, personal trainers, and yoga instructors so that employees have the time to exercise and relieve stress while at work. The fitness center is also equipped with a full size lap pool and rock climbing wall for alternative exercise methods. There are also free recreational game rooms where employees can play games such as pool, foosball, Ping-Pong and arcade games. This promotes a social atmosphere and strengthens the team concept while relieving stress and improving morale as well. Google has Segways that are available for employees to use at any time which allows them to travel around the campus atmosphere quicker and in a more entertaining way. They also have beach volleyball games and roller hockey in the parking lot twice a week. Hair salons with beauticians and barbers are readily available any time an employee would like a haircut at work. One of the most popular services that Google offers is a free cafeteria for all employees. Workers are able to enjoy quality gourmet food for lunch at their convenience and it does not cost them anything. Google is also offers free oil changes, car washes, legal consultation among many more services that are available to any employee. These services are a unique compensation strategy that proves core compensation is not always the most important benefit to an occupation. Google has a unique vision and has implemented unique compensation strategies that have been met with overwhelming success of attracting and retaining the highest quality employees available in the market. Most employers can learn  from the strategy used by Google by making the work environment as fun and friendly as possible because that is an environment that produces highly motivated employees that will want to perform to the best of their abilities. The bottom line is directly affected by employee turnover and employee production and a compensation strategy such as Google Inc.’s has proven to affect those areas in a positive way. Works Cited â€Å"Average Salary for Google, Inc. Employees.† _Google, Inc. Company Salary Data, Average Employee Salaries_. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Sept. 2014. â€Å"America’s Top Companies For Compensation And Benefits.† _Forbes_. Forbes Magazine, n.d. Web. 22 Sept. 2014. Emerson, Ramona. â€Å"Google’s Best Benefits: The Top 7 Perks Google Offers Employees.† _The Huffington Post_. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 30 Jan. 2012. Web. 23 Sept. 2014. â€Å"Google.† _Fortune_. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Sept. 2014. â€Å"Google’s HR Practices Explained.† _Google’s HR Practices Explained_. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Sept. 2014. â€Å"Google – Overview, Company Culture And History.† _About_. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Sept. 2014. â€Å"Google’s 10% Salary Increase, $1000 Cash Bonus Part of Company’s ‘competitive Compensation Plan'† _International Business Times_. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Sept. 2014. â€Å"How Google Became the Best Place to Work.† _Readers Digest_. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Sept. 214. â€Å"How Google Motivates Their Employees with Rewards and Perks.† _HubPages_. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Sept. 2014. â€Å"Work Life Balance Elephant Theory, Logic Based Discussion on Work Life.† _Center For Work Life_. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Sept. 2014.

Hybridity

According to Bhabha, hybridity is the straddling of two cultures and the consequent ability to negotiate the difference. Bhabha developed his concept of hybridity from literary and cultural theory to describe the construction of culture and identity within conditions of colonial antagonism and inequality. For Bhabha, hybridity is the process by which the colonial governing authority tries to convert the identity of the colonized within a singular universal framework. The colonizers would look at the colonized in their own environment and judge their behavior and practices from their own frame of reference.Bhabha contends that a new hybrid identity or subject-position emerges from the interweaving of elements of the colonizer and colonized challenging the validity of any essentialist cultural identity. Hybridity is positioned as an antidote to essentialism, or the belief in invariable and fixed properties which define the ‘whatness’ of a given entity. (The Location of Cul ture 1994) According to Ashcroft, most postcolonial writing has focused on the hybridized nature of postcolonial culture as strength rather than a weakness. It is not a case of the oppressor obliterating the oppressed or the colonizer silencing the colonized.In practice it stresses the mutuality of the process. The clash of cultures can impact as much upon the colonizer as the colonized. It is proof that even under the most potent of oppression those distinctive aspects of the culture of the oppressed can survive and become an integral part of the new formations which arise. (Papastergiadis 1997) Ashcroft says how â€Å"hybridity and the power it releases may well be seen as the characteristic feature and contribution of the post-colonial, allowing a means of evading the replication of the binary categories of the past and developing new anti-monolithic models of cultural exchange and growth†.In conclusion, I believe that hybridity is everywhere. It represents in many instanc es the triumph of the postcolonial or the subaltern over the hegemonic. The resistant always appropriates the cultural onslaught and modifies its products or processes for its own purposes. Hybridity can be a history of slavery colonialism, and rape, inherited in terms of race. It is a difficult and painful history of interracial identity. It deals with issues of choosing one’s affiliations or having ones affiliations thrust upon one.

Juridical Interest Under Maltese Law Essay

Consider Briefly but Critically the Notion of Juridical Interest An interest may be defined as â€Å"the object of any human desire and the object of such desire must be distinguished from the thing in respect of which the desire is entertained† The notion of juridical interest links the substantive with the procedure in civil law, where the individual goes on with a civil action because he has a right and interest to institute the case and hopefully obtain a favourable result. Moreover, juridical interest forms part of the â€Å"presupposti processuali† that is a requirement to have in existence a valid action and in fact without the juridical interest an action cannot be instituted. This â€Å"presuppost processuali† is so important that for the action to remain valid till the end the juridical interest has to exist in the individual bringing the action or the individual responding to the action till the end. Once interest stops the action becomes defective and â€Å"locus standi† no longer subsist. Various authors have propounded different theories on juridical interest, but what is undisputed is that the scope of having a juridical interest throughout the action is to circumvent those actions which are frivolous and vexatious and therefore protect the courts from unnecessary delays. Having sufficient interest means that either the â€Å"kjamat† or the â€Å"intervenjent† is able to show that one of his rights has been violated or that one would like to get damages and the re-instatement of rights after the violation. Showing interest to get a remedy or else a declaration of righteousness is of utmost importance. Our Maltese code does not contain any provision of law defining juridical interest or setting out the requirements, but the requirements at law can be deduced from some of the articles such as: 960. Any person who shows to the satisfaction of the court that he is interested in any suit already pending between other parties, may, on an application, be admitted in statu et terminis, as a party to the suit at any stage thereof, whether in first or in second instance; but such admission shall not suspend the proceedings of the suit. 422. During the compilation of the competition proceedings, no money forming the subject-matter of such proceedings may be paid out without the consent of all the parties interested, unless the court, with a view to avoiding the accruing of interest to the prejudice of all the parties, or for any other good reason, shall deem it proper to satisfy the claim of any one of the  competitors the priority or preference of which has not been contested. In Muscat pro et noe vs Buttigieg pro et noe it was stated that juridical interest has to be direct and personal, legal and actual or immediate. Where the Court ruled stated that: â€Å"L-interess irid ikun a) guridiku, jigifieri d-domanda jrid ikun fiha ipotesi ta’ l-ezistenza ta’ dritt u l-vjolazzjoni tieghu; b) dirett u personali: fis-sens li huwa dirett meta jezisti fil-kontestazzjoni jew fil-konsegwenzi taghha, personali fis-sens li jirrigwarda l-attur, hlief fl-azzjoni popolari; c) attwali fis-sens li jrid johrog minn stat attwali ta’ vjolazzjoni ta’ dritt, jigifieri l-vjolazzzjoni attwali tal-ligi trid tikkonsisti f’kondizzjoni posittiva jew negattiva kontrarja ghall-godiment ta’ dritt legalment appartenenti jew spettanti lid-detentur. Il-Qorti sabet illi l-attrici ma kellhiex interess guridiku biex tistiwixxi l-azzjoni u b’hekk cahdet it-talbiet taghha.† An interest which is direct and personal means that it should pertain to the parties involved in the case that is the plaintiff, defendant, the joinder and the intervener, where all of these need to have a direct and personal interest to be included in proceedings. The interest needs also to be based on law; one cannot claim a breach of one’s right, when in actual fact the law does not give any right to the individual in the first place. Moreover, interest needs to be actual that is directed to a benefit which does not necessary mean money or property, but may also be directed to the seeking of god name in society. However, over the 20 years there has been a movement to accept collective juridical interest. Recently House of Parliament passed the Collective Proceedings Act, which makes provision for a group of individuals with common interest to institute an action collectively against a defendant. Although, the remit within which this law will operate is restrictive since it applies to consumers, yet it paves the way for further similar legislation on the matter. Some other legislations give a legal standing to NGOs, since they generally represent the common interest of their members, yet our law does not give locus standi to NGOs as yet.

Islamic Culture and Politics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Islamic Culture and Politics - Essay Example The similarities of the activities of these two groups is that they both aimed at instilling Sunnah (which are Prophet Muhammad’s living habits and sayings) and the Qur’an as the only points of reference for the ordering of life for all Muslim individuals, families, communities and nations (Mohammed 52). Activities by both groups fight for political reforms are driven by the belief in God (Allah) being their objective and the Qur’an the law. Funded by members’ contributions, who must assign a segment of their earnings to the movement, the Muslim Brotherhood in both the Arab and Western countries engages in political violence as they make Jihad their way of life. They believe that all Islamic countries must fight oppressors and Allah’s enemies as an overture to developing strong status as Islamic nations. For example, the Islamic Brotherhood in Egypt participated in violence, in the country, after the death of their founder al-Banna in 1949 for many years until they were suppressed forcibly and reemerged in 2011. However, the Muslim Brotherhood differs in its activities among the Arab and Western countries. In the Western world, the Brotherhood aims to end Western civilization from inside the countries they are present, and replace it with Islamic concepts. For example, in Belgium, the State Security observed that, from their presence since 1982, the Brotherhood has established an undercover structure with secretive membership that operates in discretion. Their key objective is to spread Islamic ideologies in Belgium and the surrounding regions then embed and expand a conformist Islamic syndicate in Western Europe (Sageman 74). This is in contrast to their activities in the Arab world where they have been fighting to remove the already Islamic authoritarian regimes in place. Therefore, within the Arab world, the activities usually are of a civil war nature. Examples are the recent Egyptian and Tunisian protest movements that to ppled the incumbent rulers. In that sense, it can be seen that the underlying difference is that, in Arab countries, the Muslim Brotherhood fights oppression from their governments while in the Western countries, they attempt to globalize their ideologies. Question Four Jihad is an Islamic term generally used to refer to holy war. The war is termed holy because it is believed to be a struggle for the way and cause of Allah. Both the Sunni and Shia sects of Islam believe that jihad is a religious obligation for all Muslims and have traditionally encouraged its use against non-Muslims. Both sects commonly accept two perceptions associated with jihad: that it entails a greater struggle which is an internal spiritual jihad, and a lesser struggle which is an external physical jihad. Both Sunni and Shia Muslims believe that the notion of jihad must always have an aspect of armed struggles to overcome oppression and persecution of Muslims (Sageman 92). A more contemporary understanding of jihad by the two sects is that the struggle must aim to build a better society by the Islamic community as a collective duty. This must be done by lodging valid protests for solving religious problems, acknowledgement of divine law and forbidding wrong conduct while commanding right conduct. To this end, a striking similarity between the two sects’ understanding of jihad is the way it is linked to martyrdom. They both believe that Muslims who die in the cause of executing jihad ascend into martyrdom, which gave rise to the phenomenon of suicide

Analysis of American Gun Culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Analysis of American Gun Culture - Essay Example There is too much violence today; people everywhere they go are rightly concerned of their safety at school, at the mall, at the office, at the church, at a parking lot, at supermarkets, and even along the country’s highways when simple traffic altercations can turn violent in a sudden manner as people vent their road rage on innocent fellow travelers who might cross their path unwittingly. While the debate on guns continues to rage seemingly without an end in sight, politicians, academicians, and concerned citizens who worry about the state of civil society in America today argue for stricter gun controls to reduce this violence. On the other hand, supporters and advocates of the Second Amendment assert their own right to carry guns for protection but unfortunately, this had also bred a culture of violence in which simple arguments can escalate into the use of guns. Further, a permissive gun culture is contributory to the proliferation of guns almost everywhere to the point even people who are supposedly not qualified to have guns carry these guns around with them. This situation is now spinning out of control and so many people argue for more gun regulations. This paper takes this view and argues violence can be reduced through stricter gun control laws. The right to bear arms contained in the Second Amendment has outlived its usefulness as people today now live in a modern and civilized society. This means people need not resort to the use of guns or any other form of violence to settle certain disputes. Moreover, the police are the ones who are properly deputized by law to protect citizens from harm and the Second Amendment is actually an anachronism today because it transfers responsibility of protecting the citizens from the police to the citizens themselves. In other words, the right to bear arms needs to be amended through stricter gun control laws or even rescinded

Video team paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Video team paper - Essay Example Questions on who was to be responsible for certain things arose due to need of clarity and commitment (Singh 23). Norming During this stage, members worked cohesively, with active acknowledgement of each other. The interpersonal relationships grew positively with members solving team issues together. Each member asked questions on the tasks, while at the same time, preconceived notions about each other changed due to the facts that were presented. Members shared information with each other freely and tasks concerning the race were explored without any individualism (Singh 24). Perfoming The team managed to evolve itself towards the fourth stage. Members were able to work independently while at the same time, they were able to work as a unit. Production was at the peak with individual tasks being handled effectively. Interdependence in terms of personal relations was observed. Group identity was complete, the morale and loyalty was high and also intense. Problems were solved due to th e high productivity rate (Singh 24). Adjourning During this stage, the tasks were concluded with task termination and the end of relationships. During this time, members recognized each other’s participation and achievement towards the success of the task (Singh 24). Big Five Personality traits Members of the team were observed to show their big five personality traits. Some members who were very curious, creative and ready to embrace new ideas showed Openness. Some members were aware of their feelings and their beliefs were unconventional. Team members who were organized punctual, achievement oriented and systematic showed conscientiousness. These team members were always dependable as they showed a distinct preference when it came to planning ahead of their schedule. A member who was talkative, outgoing, and social showed extraversion. The member showed constantly positive emotions full of energy and vigor. Agreeableness was quite common with some team members who were very tolerant, sensitive, trusting and warm. These members wanted to get along with others and they showed high levels of friendliness, and compromises for the team. Neuroticism was clear with a member who showed anxious and irritability and moody behaviors (Singh 37). Conclusion Working as a team was quite enjoyable and eye opening. There are several lessons that were gained from the experience. Unity was key to the success of the team. When members of the team agreed on an issue without any problem, the task ahead was successful however, whenever there were conflicts, a lot of time was wasted and this led to little achievement. Through teamwork, it was possible to learn more about others. Tolerance was a great lesson, which was achieved from this exercise. Team members had different personalities and each one had to tolerate other members to make sure that the tasks were a success. Members who were a nuisance had to be asked to cooperate to realize the task ahead. Challenges due to le adership and task allocation were common. Some members felt that the tasks that they were given were too much or too little. However, appointing one person as a leader helped to create authority over issues. Due to time factor, the team leader consulted with members to avoid any conflicts before allocation of tasks. Members were also asked to be open and frank when it came to deciding

What makes religion different from a cult Assignment

What makes religion different from a cult - Assignment Example In general, the main difference between them is that cult can be seen as an extremely closed ideological system based on strict worshiping of a leader. In contrast to the cult, religion can be viewed as a set of internal and external manifestations of human faith. In other words, any religion focuses on the internal search of the self in harmony with God or the Absolute. As is it known, any religion recognizes the value and importance of human desire to know one’s â€Å"I.† Religion can be viewed as a way for self-knowledge by referring to God or to the Absolute. Regardless of the type of religion, a believer should learn to control his/her â€Å"I.† In turn, this is possible as a result of learning the features of one’s soul, mind and psyche. Believers should open the way to their inner world, and religion is the way by which this can be done. Thus, religion is impossible without self-knowledge and the desire to understand the essence of one’s soul and nature. In fact, religion calls â€Å"to confront reality, to master the self† (Galvan). In this regard, religion cannot be identified with the cult. The cult should be viewed as a certain ritual practice, which does not aim at self-knowledge. In reality, the cult is a closed system, where the main role belongs to the leader. The task of its followers is to w orship the cult leader and glorify him. As a result, this understanding does not involve the pursuit of self-analysis and the search for one’s â€Å"I.† Any cult is based on a strict set of rules, where conformity and control play a particularly important role. As an exclusive system designed for a narrow circle of followers, the cult forbids any questions or doubts about its ideological base or leader. A person has the ability to become part of a certain cult only if he/she recognizes the ideas and beliefs underlying the cult. Moreover, religion cannot be considered as a cult for the simple reason that the concept of cult often â€Å"carries a

Richard-Campbell Sleep Questionnaire Instrument Critique Research Paper

Richard-Campbell Sleep Questionnaire Instrument Critique - Research Paper Example In the development of the instrument, studies describing critically ill patients’ patterns of sleep were used as a theoretical basis for various items incorporated into the instrument. The instrument was validated against the polysomnograph and found to be an improvement in measuring sleep quality for patients in intensive care (Richards et al, 2000). As currently used, the Richard-Campbell Sleep Questionnaire reflects five items that are used for measuring sleep quality in ICU patients. These are the depth of sleep, ability to fall asleep, number of times the patients wake up, percentage of the time the patients are awake, and the overall sleep quality of the patients (Richards et al, 2000). The Richard-Campbell Sleep Questionnaire, on top of these five items, also includes a rating for noise during the nighttime, which are scored using a visual analogue scale. The five scores for the Richard-Campbell Sleep Questionnaire is averaged, and the mean score used in determining sleep quality. Night shift nurses are required to complete the Richard-Campbell Sleep Questionnaire with regards to the sleep quality of their patients overnight, while the patients also fill in the Richard-Campbell Sleep Questionnaire after they wake up. The instrument was modified to measure how many awakenings the patient had during their sleep in order to d ifferentiate between patients who woke up frequently and those who did not wake up during their sleep. Further advances in the instrument involved the requirement that the items and directions on the questionnaire be read out to the patients in intensive care (Richards et al, 2000). This was because, while patients have been found to have little trouble in completing it if nurses read the items and directions out to them, majority of the critically ill patients had problems when completing the questionnaire without provision of assistance. However, for obvious reasons, this survey is only useful if the patients are awake and non-delirious. The visual analog nature of the Richard-Campbell Sleep Questionnaire scales means that, as a measure of the latency of sleep, it is not very sensitive in comparison to other modalities of scaling (Richards et al, 2000). For this reason, there is a need to revise the instrument. This could be done in order to improve the Richard-Campbell Sleep Ques tionnaire’s ability to predict the efficiency of sleep in intensive care patients. For example, the instrument could be revised by adding more items in an attempt to predict sleep efficiency with an improved percentage of variance. However, this will be done at the risk of decreasing the practicality of outcome measurements for patients who are critically ill (Richards et al, 2000), especially as increasing the number of items may be too much for nurses who are overworked and patients who are critically ill and may be too weak to answer them. The Richard-Campbell Sleep Questionnaire’s predictive ability could also be potentially improved by adding another section with more items for nurses. This additional section would consist of additional observations that the nurses make for the critically ill patients’ quality of sleep (Richards et al, 2000). The Richard-Campbell Sleep Questionnaire could also be revised to account for sleep characteristic

Karl Marx and Islam in Kuwait Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Karl Marx and Islam in Kuwait - Essay Example This essay will discuss the influence of Karl Max ideologies and Islam in Kuwait. To start with, several ideologies advocated by Karl Max are easily integrated to Islamic religious beliefs. Firstly, even though Karl Marx was considered to negatively criticize religions, it is evident that he acknowledged the role of religions in an economy. Karl Marx identified religion as a source of comfort for people facing economic challenges in a country. This may not necessarily imply that Karl Marx promoted atheism, but it is evident that religion played a central role in encouraging people despite the tough economic situations. Similarly, the Islamic religion promotes the principle by promoting principles that provide refuge to the poor and economically challenged citizens. It is because of this ideology of religious support that major relief organizations like Kuwait Joint Relief Committee, an International Islamic Relief Organization, were initiated in Kuwait. However, on a rather negative point, Karl Marx criticized religion as being the greatest reason why the poor were unable to face the harsh economic realities. According to Universidad de Puerto Rico, Karl Marx criticized religions for providing an ideology that did not offer permanent solution to the poor, who were being exploited by the wealthy class (n.d). In most cases, the poor community members hold tightly to their religious beliefs because they offer some sought of relief to the harsh economic realities in the world. This can be reflected to the Islamic religious beliefs in Kuwait. Being an Islamic country, majority of the population in Kuwait belief in having a better life after death if at all they follow the Islamic teachings strictly. This has affected the economic and political developments in the country because people are not free to criticize malpractices in the political system. As a result, many people have adapted to the political and economic status quo position m aking

Educational Television Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Educational Television - Essay Example These trends were caused by popularization of new medium and its advantages for common citizens. A great number of innovative educational TV programs were developed in the United States during the late 1960s and early 1970s. The major force behind many of these productions was the Children's TV Workshop (CTW), which combined the talents of educational advisors, professional researchers, and TV producers. The programs made by CTW were carefully crafted pieces of TV which were guided by detailed research among members of target audiences. "The establishment of the Carnegie Commission in 1965 was critical to the survival of ETV" (Educational Television n.d.). During the next decades, educational TV was also broadly funded in the United States, particularly by substantial grants from the Ford Foundation and later by the U.S. Office of Education. Concurrently, regional organizations attempted to promote audience selectivity when they listened to radio, including choosing "better quality" programs from circulated lists, and communicating with radio managers of stations and networks about programs (Children's Educational Television 2006). Education TV is popular because it has a positive impact on learners abilities and knowledge level. Education philosophy variously features deduction by lecture and analysis, or induction from experience and discussion, or a combination of both forms of instruction. Researches prove that how well viewers are able to learn and remember from TV can depend significantly on how the information is presented. Production practices routinely adopted by TV editors, for example, may result in programs which present too much information, too quickly, and with built-in (often visual) distractions. Under these conditions, even interested viewers may flounder. Ultimately, though, whether or not children learn from TV depends on a mixture of factors which relate to viewers' background knowledge and interests, reasons for watching TV, degree of concentration and attention while viewing, and the way that programs are produced (Razel 2001). Some of educational TV productions are broadcast as part of mainstream TV for children, while others have been specially made for schools audiences. An impressive range of schools programs has been produced over many years in the USA, although these have met with a mixed reception from teachers and children. A considerable body of research has revealed that educational TV does have potential to improve children's knowledge about a variety of subjects. Failure to fulfill this potential frequently stems from program-makers' misunderstanding of audience needs, interests and learning abilities. When audience research is used wisely, however, some very effective, as well as popular, productions have resulted. It was found that with educational TV programs that contained more than one theme, recall and comprehension levels again indicated that children can and do learn from such programs. The children correctly recalled 60 per cent and correctly understood 53 per cent of material tested fr om these programs These global figures, however, conceal significant age differences. Older children generally scored much higher than younger children. Age was also highly correlated with general knowledge (Flew, 2002). It is possible that older children have more background knowledge to call upon and better information-processing skills. Indeed,

SWOT Analysis Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

SWOT Analysis - Research Paper Example The airline is known for embracing inventive technology to advance the client experience. The company traces its origins back to 1932; an amalgamation with Star Air service in the year 1934 established the biggest airline in Alaska, which ultimately became Alaska Airlines. Contrasting the rest of the economy, Alaska has been experiencing increasing important revenues from oil dealings and tourism. Air travel is Alaska’s largest type of transportation due to the natural features of the region and weather. Alaska has above one thousand airports along with 3000 avenues of landing. The airline immensely contributes to the state’s economy through air travel because Alaskan travels constitute a large percentage of overall air travelers in the United States. Alaska Airlines is committed towards offering convenient, quality and affordable air transport services to its clients as well as service to the state, nation and vast society. Values of commitment, ethics, integrity and q uality govern the operations of the airline company and are the reasons behind its huge successes. II. Organizational Strengths and Weaknesses Alaska Airlines has a strong and reliable customer base in Alaska State, where it is a dominant player. This is among the strengths that the airline company has in the sense that the company can rely on its vast customer base to expand and introduce new products, which will be readily acceptable in the market (Gates, 2006). A strong customer base is a distinctive strength because it positions a corporation so that it can operate in the market better. Customers are the essence of any company, and a reliable pool of customers who are loyal to a company is good for the firm. Therefore, Alaska airlines can benefit from its large customer base by expanding its operation to serve other regions and countries as well as introducing new services and products. In fact, the most credible significance of this strength is that Alaska airlines can utilize customer feedback to launch its strategies and products. Alaska Airlines is a huge contributor to the economy of Alaska State – this could be another major strength of the company in the sense that it endears the airline company to the government. As a result, the airline can obtain better services. It can be considered a distinctively competent strength because it can propel the company to greater heights in the market. For instance, the airline can benefit from government support in line with its great contribution to the economy. Alaska airline has several weaknesses, which ought to be addressed to avoid any inconveniences in the process of its business operations. The airline relies so much on the geographical and climate conditions, and a majority of its customers hail from the state of Alaska. This is considered as a weakness because should other airline companies venture into Alaska, the company may lose its market share, which is primarily based in Alaska. The organiz ation can minimize this weakness by expanding into other states and countries (Ritcher & Pahl, 2009). The strategy of Alaska Airlines is targeting the passenger traffic as an indicator of its corporate success. This is considered a weakness because it could trigger an organizational failure due to lack of broader strategic planning. In essence, passenger traffic is not

Juvenile Justice System in California Essay Example for Free

Juvenile Justice System in California Essay Does the Time Fit the Crime? This is a call to action, how much do we actually know about the California Juvenile Justice system? Have we given up on today’s youth? There are more than 2,500 juvenile offender’s states wide that have been sentenced to life in prison or life without parole. They are sent to adult court in which they were convicted for their crimes. This is costing California tax payers 2. 5 million dollars a year to house each offender, and approximately 252,000 a year per youth in the CYA (Krinsky, Pierce, Woodford,p1;Kita,p1). How does this affect their psychological development? Of the different races which is most effected? Is it teaching them to be better individuals or better criminals? What effects does it have on the youth’s family? Is justice being served? As of today there are 300 youth juveniles incarcerated in the state of California that have been given life or life without parole. Does race, social, and environmental factors play a role in the sentencing phase? Does the time fit the crime? Is it appropriate for juveniles to be sentenced as adults? The Juvenile Justice Court System was designed and dedicated to the adjudication of crimes committed by juvenile youth offenders. To be over seen by the Los Angeles Superior Court Division of Juvenile Courts (Shouselaw). Their sole purpose and goal is the rehabilitation of youth offenders. In 1943 the state of California opened CYA as a reform school; but today it functions similar to the adult prisons today (Kita, p1). Youth that are prosecuted in adult court are moved out of CYA at 18 and sent to adult prison to serve the reminder of their time (Kita, p1). Fewer juvenile offenders are being committed to CYA, and more are being sent directly to adult prison. â€Å" Despite declines in juvenile confinement over the last decade, California still has the 10th highest rate of juvenile incarceration in the nation (271 per 100,000) and the fifth highest White-Black racial disparity: Black children are incarcerated at 8. 5 times the rate of White children† (Children Defense Fund). â€Å" There are many factors and statistics used in the arguments for and against juvenile sentences of life without parole (LWOP), however the statistics involving he much higher percentage, of blacks serving life sentences than whites are very rarely mentioned† (Bell,p. 2). This is further data that supports the argument that black youth has the highest ratio of incarceration. The legislature is considering bill SB399 which would allow a second chance opportunity, this shows that the state of California Juvenile System is in need of reform and structuring. Without SB399 there isn’t any way to revisit these sentences. (Krinsky, Pierce, Woodford, p. 2). What immediate changes need to take place today to reduce the number of youths, being incarceration? According to the group Reforming the Juvenile Justice System, the United States is the only country in the world that sentences young people to life in prison without the possibility of parole for crimes they committed when they were teenagers (RJJS). In California approximately 300 youth have been given this sentence – a sentence to die in prison for mistakes they made during adolescence. According to â€Å"Human Rights Watch estimates, a majority of these young people (59 percent) were first time offenders, and almost half (45 percent) were convicted of murder but were not the ones who actually committed the murder† (RJJS). What can we do as a society and community to help carve the problem within our communities to ensure our youth are being treated fairly in the juvenile system? There are several problems and issues that the juvenile justice systems face today. Allegations of mistreatment, abuse, excessive force, 23 hour confinement in their cells, locking juveniles in cages at school, not providing adequate medical and mental health services, and perpetuation of gang related violence among the youth offenders. (Shouselaw,p.? ). We as a society have to raise the question? How have these problems and issues gone unaddressed for so long? Who do we hold accountable for these allegations? Therefore, asking how this effects their psychological development and how much of it impacts their social interactions and behavior. Youth advocates have argued that juvenile youth offenders’ brains are not mature enough to fully understand the seriousness of their crimes they’ve been accused of. The organization CDFCA has stated that: â€Å"Adolescent brain development research has helped us understand the ways that youth are fundamentally different from adults. With the prefrontal lobe of the brain still developing throughout the teenage years, adolescents have more difficulty processing information, making logical in-the-moment decisions, weighing long-term consequences, and avoiding peer pressure. Given this research in adolescent brain development, policymakers and even the Supreme Court have recognized that youth are less culpable than adults for their actions and more likely to be rehabilitated. The Children’s Defense Fund – CA believes strongly that policies around incarceration and sentencing should reflect these developmental differences, and that youth should be kept out of the adult criminal justice system and given the opportunity for rehabilitation† (RJJS,p. 1). Subsequently, providing the evidence of how broken the juvenile system truly is, Richard A. Mendel wrote, We now have overwhelming evidence showing that wholesale incarceration of juvenile offenders is a counterproductive public policy† (Mendel, p. 1) Stating that the current juvenile justice system. Which relies heavily on mass incarceration of teen offenders, is badly broken? The violence and abuse within youth facilities is bad enough, but these institutions also fail to rehabilitate the youth within them. (Mendel, p. 1) Adding reinforcement that something must be done immediately to save our youth; leaving us to wonder how these effects will ultimately shape their lives for the better or the worst. There is a sense of hopelessness and despair that illuminates over these juveniles. Are the sentences handed down in these cases justified? Has justice being served in these cases? Supports of juvenile reform has provided data and research that back their claims that black youth are being sentence to much long terms than any of other race. The Human Rights Watch organization conducted research in California and found that there is discrimination when sentencing black youth offenders: † The states application of the law is also unjust. Eighty-five percent of youth sentenced to life without parole are people of color, with 75 percent of all cases in California being African American or Hispanic youth. African American youth are sentenced to life without parole at a rate that is 18. 3 times the rate for whites. Hispanic youth in California are sentenced to life without parole at a rate that is five times the rate of white youth in the state California has the worst record in the country for racially disproportionate sentencing. In California, African American youth are sentenced to life without parole at rates that suggest unequal treatment before sentencing courts. This unequal treatment by sentencing courts cannot be explained only by white and African American youths differential involvement in crime† (HRWO,p. 1). In addition to discrimination they also found that â€Å"In California alone, more than half of the youth sentenced are first time offenders with no previous criminal record. The Human Rights Watch survey of these inmates also found that many had not actually committed the murder and that their adult codefendants actually received a lesser sentence† (HRWO,p1). Therefore, pointing out that these youth offenders did not have adequate representation. The organization Human Rights Watch wrote: â€Å"Poor legal representation often compromises a just outcome in juvenile life without parole cases. Sending Approximately 227 youth have been sentenced to die in Californias prisons. They have not been sentenced to death: the death penalty was found unconstitutional for juveniles by the United States Supreme Court in 2005. Instead, these young people have been sentenced to prison for the rest of their lives, with no opportunity for parole and no chance for release. Forty-five percent of youth reported that they were held legally responsible for a murder committed by someone else. In California, the vast majority of those 17 years old and younger sentenced to life without the possibility of parole was convicted of murder. Showing that nationally 59 percent of youth sentenced to life without paroles are first-time offenders, without single juvenile court adjudication on their records† (HRWO, p1-3. ). Furthermore, this research support their claims that race, social, and environment factors play a major role in sentencing. Providing addition evidence that black and Latino juveniles are treated unfairly and justice is not being served. In conclusion, the California Juvenile Justice System is in dire need of reform. In January of this year Govern Jerry Brown, proposed is plan to end the juvenile justice division by March 2015(sfgate. com). Thus answering the questions posed there are a great deal, of problems and issues that must be addressed immediately. Like the mass incarceration of youth juveniles and mishandling of sentencing in these cases. And the harsh unfair life sentences or life without parole, which will have long term effects on their psychological development, which will impact their social and behavior interactions. This will limit their chance of ever being release. And give them an opportunity to start over with a clean slide. Furthermore, leaven a profound impact on the lives of their families. Shedding light on a decade of unfair inappropriate actions on behave of the courts. In which justice was not served in any of the cases.

The Evolution And Implementation Of Internet Banking Information Technology Essay

The Evolution And Implementation Of Internet Banking Information Technology Essay In a world moving at an overwhelming pace, technology has become the essential key driver in all aspects of our life. Internet is the catalysis without which, this would have never been possible. Now that Information Technology has been heartily accepted at home as well as at work, handling activities electronically can be envisaged (Tero et al; 2004). Bill Gates (2008) once said, Banking is essential, banks are not. By this, he meant that traditional banking will gradually disappear and electronic banking, which attracts more and more new users, will replace it. According to Alter (2002), the evolution of electronic banking started with Automatic teller machines (ATMs) and has passed through telephone banking, direct bill payment, electronic fund transfer and the revolutionary online banking, which has been selected to be the future of financial electronic transactions. Internet Banking services were introduced in the early 80s by the Nottingham Building Society and the Bank of Scotland (Tait and Davis, 1989). Unfortunately these services were discontinued as the bank customers were wary and not fully ready to accept internet banking. With the rapid growth of IT in the 90s, banks launched internet banking again (Daniel, 1998) and this time, it met such an astonishing success that these electronic services ended up becoming industry standards. Internet banking is the newest delivery channel that enables bank customers, through safe and appropriate systems, to gain access to general bank information on products and services offered and their accounts. Pikkarainen, Pikkarainen, Karjaluoto and Pahnila (2004, p.224) defines internet banking to be the internet portal through which customers can use different kinds of banking services ranging from bill payment to making investment. This happens through the banks website without any intervention or inconvenience of sending faxes, letters, original signatures and telephone confirmations (Thulani et al, 2009; Henry, 2000). Through the banks website, the bank customers can carry out activities such as balance reporting, inter-account transfers, bill payment via a telecommunication network without having to leave their work or home (Aladwani, 2001; Daniel, 1999; Mols, 1998; Sathye, 1999). With just a simple click of the mouse, Internet banking gives customers access to almost all typ es of bank transactions, apart from ultimate transaction, that is, the withdrawal of cash (De Young, 2001). Using Internet as an alternative channel for the distribution of financial services has become a necessity in order to achieve competitive advantage with the arrival of globalization and more hostile competition (Flavian et al, 2004; Gan et al, 2006). THE MAURITIAN INTERNET BANKING SECTOR Internet Banking is a relatively recent phenomenon in the country and one can assure that it has started to operate locally since 1997. Due to its diversification skills ranging from agriculture, information technology and financial services, Mauritius has experienced a rapid economic growth, thus joining the league of banks that use the internet as a distribution channel for banking services. The banking sector plays an important role in the economy, both in the reduction of unemployment and in the flow of foreign currency to the economy. The two largest local banks are the Mauritius Commercial Bank Ltd and the State Bank of Mauritius Ltd. Some of the banks offering the internet banking services are the Mauritius Commercial Bank Ltd (MCB), the State Bank of Mauritius Ltd (SBM) and the Hong Kong Shanghai Bank (HSBC). The service offered encloses mainly inter account fund transfer, transfer of fund to credit card account, payment to other account, SWIFT payment orders, recharging mobile phones, foreign transfers, cheque and credit card transactions, current statement of account issue, standing order transactions, application for various accounts, loan and credit cards, bill payments. Given the cross border implications of Internet Banking which almost eradicates all geographically boundaries, it is very important to have clear supervisory rules specifying which country supervisors have control over the internet banking activities as well as the elaboration of the applicable legal regime. To keep pace with the development in this line of business, a guideline on Internet Banking was issued to all banks in February 2001. The guideline sets out a regulatory framework for providing Internet banking services in Mauritius and establishes the minimum standards that should be followed by banks providing Internet Banking services. It further describes the requirements and processes to adopt in order to obtain the approval of the Bank by financial institutions who want to offer Internet Banking services. According to this guideline which came into effect the 2 April 2001, Internet Banking refers to banking products and services offered by institutions on the internet throu gh access devices, including personal computers and other intelligent devices. Types of Internet Banking There are different forms of online banking which are web-based banking where customers can access their accounts when they use the internet (Aladwani, 2001). A second form of online banking is where the bank customer, through a modem, dials-up to the banks server to access his bank account. This is known to be dial-up banking. A type of dial-up banking, called Extranet, is a private network between a bank and its corporate customers. Currently there are three kinds of internet banking which are employed in the market place (Thulani et al, 2009; Yibin, 2003; Diniz, 1998) and these are Informational, Communicative and Transactional. An Informational website is the first level of Internet Banking. Marketing information about the banks products and services are found on a standalone server. There are typically no path between the banks internal network and the server. A Communicative/simple transactional website allows a limited amount of interaction between the customer and the banks system. The interaction is restricted to e-mail, account inquiry, loan application or static file updates (name and address). Fund transfers are not allowed. An Advanced website allows bank customers to make queries about their accounts, electronic transfer funds to and from their accounts, pay bills, update their account information and conduct other banking transactions online. Therefore a bank who is planning to offer internet banking services, is expected to create an informational website first, then introduce a communicative website and finally an advanced transactional website where customers can perform the basic transactions. Advantages of Internet Banking Both the provider and the consumer benefit from internet banking. Online banking is considered to be the most important way to decrease cost and enhance or maintain services for consumers (Hua, 2009). From the banks perspective, it is the cheapest banking products delivery channel (Pikkarainen et al, 2004). Together with saving time and money, this service minimizes the possibility of bank tellers committing mistakes ( Jayawardhena Foley, 2000). Less staff is required since the customers serve themselves in cyberspace. Karjaluoto et al (2002, p.261) argued that time and location were no longer limiting factors in banking as all over the world, customers can now easily access their accounts 24/7. Internet makes the transactions efficiently and expertly at an unmatched speed. Internet banking offers the possibility to manage several bank accounts on one site and these sites are compatible with software such as Microsoft money. With increasing competitive pressures from existing firms and new blood on the market, competition is an important logic to be considered. Using internet banking as an alternate channel has allowed banks to target various demographic segments more efficiently, thus retaining existing customers and attracting new ones. While supplying internet banking services, banks establish and extend their customer relationship (Robinson, 2000). The concept of online banking is an uprising in the field of banking and finance as the account holder does not have to visit the bank and queue to perform the basic transactions like balance inquiry, recent transactions record, transfer fund to employees accounts in the form of salary, bill payments and phone account top up. On top of this, the interest rates are higher for online banking than with traditional banking (3.4% to 4%). Many persons like internet banking as there is no credit check. If someone has a bad banking history of financial problems, at a traditional bank, their application to open a bank account would be turned down. This is not the case with internet banking. Some banks offer the facility of online loaning where an instant loan is provided by only filling a form. Internet banking web-sites are highly performing systems, easy to understand and navigate, with simple instructions designed to answer all queries about banking. Customers also have a wide range of opportunities to invest such as stock quotations and news updates (Lee, 2009). Qureshi et al (2008) stated that it is essential to extend internet banking to customers in order to maximize the advantages for both the service providers and the customers. The navigability if the site is a very vital part of internet banking as it can become one of the biggest competitive advantage of a financial body (Ortega et al, 2007). The banking sector performance increases everyday due to the rise in technology usage. Online banking is time saving (Qureshi et al, 2008). E-banking is now less vulnerable to safety and security related issues. Secure Socket Layer (SSL), Password Based Encryption (PBE) and electronic signatures has increased the level of security. If any inconsistency occurs in an account, it can be traced easily, making internet banking more trustworthy. Avinandan Prithwiraj, 2003; Urban, Sultan and Qualls, 2000 have identified trust to be an important factor for the financial online services. Furthermore an empirical study has shown that consumers make online decisions based only on trust. In developing countries, trust plays a crucial role for customers to accept and use online banking (Benamati and Serva, 2007). Belanger, Hiller and Smith (2002) defined privacy as being the ability to control and manage information about oneself. Some banks offer real time customer assistance to customers who have trouble finding their way through the web site or the proceedings of the internet banking registration through instant messaging, email or even the telephone. Disadvantages of Internet Banking Indisputably since the emergence of internet banking, it has been playing an important role for both the service providers and the consumers. Nevertheless, this phenomenon is observed differently among customers who either accept it heartily or reject it. Those who accept it, as proposed by Clark and Mills (1993), prefer impersonal relationship, that is, exchange oriented customers. They like the 24 hour availability of services, the simplicity of the transactions, the no-queuing factor and no fixed branch-operating hours (Al-Somali et al,2009) while those who reject it look for the human touch and social benefits of traditional banking. These are known as the communally oriented customers (Clark and Mills, 1993). Those who reject internet banking are wary of the risks involved in it. Featherman and Pavlou (2003) defined perceived risk as the potential for loss in the pursuit of a desired outcome of using an e-service. The risks perceived are; Financial risk it is the constant anxiety of transactions faults causing a monetary loss suffered by customers who perform online transactions. Clearly internet banking lacks the assurance provided in traditional banking (Lee et al., 2009, p.2) and this is due to the fact that online banking is considered as an innovation which is incompatible with consumers habits (Kuisma et al., 2007, p.77). Performance risk This risk is innate from the consumers fright of losses incurred by failures of online banking websites. Customers are often troubled that a disconnection from the Internet might occur while performing electronic transactions which might lead to huge unexpected losses (Kuisma et al., 2007). This was confirmed by Sathye (1999) who claimed that Internet access is a decisive variable on which the adoption of online banking depends and by Almogbil (2005) who succeeded in showing that a significant relationship exists between the speed of Internet access and the acceptance of electronic banking. Social risk It stems from the fear of being seen in a negative way by others (Kuisma et al., 2007, p.77) or causing the disapproval of ones friends/family/work group by adopting online banking (Agarwal et al., 2009, p.4). Venkatesh and Morris (2000) approve that social influence plays a central role in determining the approval of new information technologies. Nonetheless, it is commendable to note that others opinions are particularly informative in the early stages of experience (Hartwick and Barki, 1994) when potential information technologies adopters are not sufficiently informed. Privacy risk It refers to the possible loss due to fraud or a hacker, putting at risk the security of an online customer (Lee et al., 2009, p.2). This risk is emphasized since the appearance of phishers whose hobby consists on attempting to deceptively collect personal information, such as usernames, passwords and credit card details. They not only lead to users monetary loss, but also violate users privacy (Entrust, 2008). Suh and Han (2002) point out that, unlike in offline banking, that is traditional banking, trust is a pressing need in internet banking. Time risk It is the times loss and the lateness in receiving the payment or the difficulty of navigation (Lee et al., 2009, p.2). This can be due to a disorganized Web site, to slow-downloadable pages, to the long time needed to be a PC-literate. Apart from this, the credulity of an institution must be verified before opening an account in an internet bank and entrusting the life-savings of an individual. The institution must be legitimate and must be checked against the listing of the FDIC. A major disadvantage would be that when several failed attempts have been done to login the account, after having given the wrong password, the account becomes inactive. The customer will have to go through a lengthy procedure to get it reactivated again. Weeldreyer (2002) claims that internet banking is not living up to the hype. Another problem would be the down time of internet, where no customer will be able to access hi/her bank account because there is no internet connection for hours probably. The connection could also be unstable during bad climatic conditions such as heavy rain.

Hypokalemia After Acute Acetaminophen Overdose

Hypokalemia After Acute Acetaminophen Overdose Objectives: This study intended to determine the prevalence of hypokalemia and its clinical correlates in acute psychiatric illness among hypokalemic and normokalemic patients after acetaminophen overdose. Methods: This is a retrospective cohort study of hospital admissions for acute acetaminophen overdose conducted over a period of 5 years from January 1, 2004 to December 31, 2008. Demographic data and different types of psychiatric illness were compared between hypokalemic and normokalemic patients. Hypokalemia was predefined by a serum concentration < 3.5 mmol/ L. SPSS 15 was used for data analysis. Results: Two hundred and eighty patients out of 305 admissions were studied. Hypokalemia was found in 63.6% of patients with a higher prevalence in the presence of psychiatric illness (67.7%). Hypokalemic patients were significantly associated with the presence of major depression (P = 0.04), adjustment disorder (P < 0.001), anxiety (P = 0.01), and suicidal attempts (P = 0.04). Conclusion: Hypokalemia was common among patients with psychiatric illness and acute acetaminophen overdose. Key Words: Acetaminophen; Hypokalemia; Overdose; Potassium; Psychiatric illness. Introduction Deliberate self-poisoning (DSP) is recognized as a major cause of suicide around the world.1 Acetaminophen (Paracetamol) is the most common drug employed in DSP in many countries, 2, 3 including Malaysia.4 Despite excellent safety in therapeutic doses of acetaminophen; it is also one of the leading causes of severe hepatic necrosis.5 Acetaminophen overdose may be accompanied by electrolyte disturbances including hypokalemia, and these appear to be independent of the hepatotoxic effects.6 These electrolyte changes appear to be due to the increase in fractional renal excretion of potassium, but the underlying cellular mechanisms by which acetaminophen might alter electrolyte transport are still unknown.6-9 In some cases, hypokalemia may be severe, reaching a level of 2.3 mmol/ L after reported ingestion of 48 g of acetaminophen.8 Hypokalemia, an easily identifiable and clinically important condition in clinical settings, has received little attention from researchers worldwide. Not only is hypokalemia associated with frequent cardiac and neuromuscular complications, but its effect on mental function may also exacerbate psychiatric disturbances.10, 11 Both anxiety12 and intense exercise13 increase circulating epinephrine, which induces a ÃŽ ²2 receptor-mediated influx of potassium into skeletal muscle.14 As this condition may be similar to the acute psychotic state, it was hypothesized that the decline in serum potassium concentration could be associated with the presence of psychiatric illness during acetaminophen overdose. To improve our knowledge of hypokalemia after acute acetaminophen overdose, we carried out a five-year, hospital-based study with the following objectives: 1) to determine the prevalence of hypokalemia in patients presenting to hospital after acetaminophen overdose, and 2) to investigate the clinical correlates in acute psychiatric illness among hypokalemic and normokalemic patients after acetaminophen overdose. Methods Settings and Study Design This is an observational retrospective case review of all patients with acute acetaminophen overdose admitted to a 1200-bed hospital located in the Northern region of Malaysia. The hospital provides health care and emergency treatment for all illnesses and accidents. All aspects of the study protocol, including access to and use of the patients clinical information, were authorized by the local health authorities before initiation of this study. Participants and Data Collection Data were collected from January 1, 2004 to December 31, 2008. A computer generated list was obtained from the Hospital Record Office. We identified our cases according to the T-codes of the International Classification of Diseases-Tenth revision (ICD-10). All patients with diagnostic codes T 39.1 (acetaminophen overdose) were included in the study. Specially designed data-collection forms were used to collect data concerning age, gender, circumstances of overdose (accidental or suicidal), stated date and time of poisoning to calculate the latency time (the time of ingestion to the time the patient was presented at the hospital), quantity of acetaminophen ingested, GI decontamination such as stomach wash, laboratory tests including serum acetaminophen concentration, and serum potassium concentrations during the first day of admission and after a minimum of 4 hours of ingestion. Data on serum acetaminophen concentration measurements were obtained from the hospitals therapeutic drug monitoring laboratory service. In addition, data related to the presence of psychiatric illness were obtained. psychiatric illness was defined as the presence of any disturbance of emotional equilibrium, as manifested in maladaptive behavior and impaired functioning, caused by genetic, physical, chemical, biological, psychological, or social and cultur al factors such as depression, anxiety, adjustment disorders, impulsive behaviors and stress reactions, either emotional or behavioral; these causes were noted by the hospital psychiatric specialist report. Hypokalemia was defined as a serum potassium level of less than 3.5 mmol/ L.11 Patients with hypokalemia were classified into three groups based on potassium levels: (1) mild/ grade 1 (3.0 3.4 mmol/ L), (2) moderate/grade 2 (2.5 2.9 mmol/ L) and, (3) severe/grade 3 (< 2.5 mmol/ L).15 The charts of all patients identified through the search were reviewed and the data collected. Charts were excluded from analysis for the following reasons: (1) baseline potassium concentrations were not measured, (2) if patients had taken acetaminophen but the cause of ingestion was unknown or undetermined, (3) the time of ingestion was not known or (4) the patients were on regular prescribed drugs that lead to hypokalemia, such as furosemide, and (5) the patients were children under 13 years of age. Charts of patients who had laboratory tests at or more than 4 hours post-ingestion were extracted for further analysis. Statistical analysis Data were entered and analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences program version 15 (SPSS). Data were expressed as mean  ± SD for continuous variables and as frequency for categorical variables. The Chi square or Fischers exact test, as appropriate, was used to test the significance between categorical variables. The independent samples t-test was used to compare means of continuous variables. Variables were tested for normality using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test. Variables that were not normally distributed were expressed as a median (lower upper quartiles). Statistical significance was considered at P < 0.05. Results Three hundred and five cases of acetaminophen overdose were identified. Of these, 25 patients (8.2%) were excluded. Baseline potassium concentrations were not measured in eight patients, one patient was given furosemide at admission, five patients were less than 13 years old, the cause of ingestion was unknown or undetermined in 11 patients, and therefore, the study population consisted of 280 patients (45 male and 235 female patients with a mean age of 23.4  ± 7.1, giving a female: male ratio of 5.22: 1). The majority (72.1%) of cases of acetaminophen ingestion were presented within eight hours. The median (interquartile range) quantity of acetaminophen ingested was 10 g (6 15 g). Initial management included stomach wash, which was performed in 181 (64.6%) cases. Activated charcoal was given while patients were in the Accident and Emergency department; it was given as single or multiple doses in 173 cases (61.8%). Intravenous N-acetylcysteine (NAC) was given to 140 patients (50%) after acetaminophen levels were estimated. The median (interquartile range) serum acetaminophen concentration was 55.6 mg/ L (14 120 mg/ L). During the study period, 63.6% (178 patients; 33 males and 145 females) had potassium levels of less than 3.5 mmol/ L. For the hypokalemic patients, the mean potassium level was 3.1  ± 0.26 mmol/ L, while that for the normokalemic patients was 3.76  ± 0.35 mmol/ L. Most of the patients (129) were in mild stage hypokalemia and 45 patients were in moderate stage hypokalemia. Few patients (4) were in severe stage hypokalemia. Psychiatrically ill subjects were found to have hypokalemia, and the prevalence was higher than that in non-psychiatrically ill subjects (67.7% versus 43.8%; respectively, P = 0.002) (Figure 1). The most common clinical diagnosis among medically treated suicide attempters was adjustment disorder (45.7%) followed by impulsive behavior (24.3%), major depression (10.7%), and anxiety (2.1%). Hypokalemia was significantly associated with the presence of major depression (P = 0.04), adjustment disorder (P < 0.001), anxiety (P = 0.01), and suicidal attempts (P = 0.04). However, normokalemia was significantly associated with impulsive behavior (P < 0.001), the absence of psychiatric illness (P = 0.002), and the presence of accidental overdose (P = 0.04) (Table 1). One hundred and twelve patients with adjustment disorder and six patients with anxiety were found to have hypokalemia, and the prevalence of hypokalemia among these patients was higher than that in the overall study population and in patients with other psychiatric disorders (100% and 87.5%, respectively). Similarly, their mean potassium level was lower than that of the overall study population (3.16  ± 0.41 and 3.2  ± 0.21 mmol/ L, respectively) (Table 2). Eight hypokalemic patients (4.5%) were supplemented with oral potassium medication, and 85 hypokalemic patients (47.8%) were treated with intravenous potassium chloride, and their potassium levels were normalized in the next blood test. Additionally, most of the treated patients (59) were in mild stage hypokalemia and 32 patients were in moderate stage hypokalemia. Few patients (2) were in severe stage hypokalemia. Discussion This study is the first of its kind in Malaysia and has been carried out to determine the prevalence of hypokalemia in patients presenting to hospital after acute acetaminophen overdose, and to investigate the clinical correlates in acute psychiatric illness among hypokalemic and normokalemic patients after acetaminophen overdose in 280 patients with acute acetaminophen overdose collected retrospectively from a records registry. In this study hypokalemia was identified in 178 patients, and the prevalence of hypokalemia among hospitalized patients with acetaminophen overdose was 63.6%. A previous study found that hypokalemia was common in medical inpatient settings.16 About 20% of stroke, 10% of myocardial infarction patients,17 21.2% of psychiatric disorders,18 and about one third of acute acetaminophen overdose patients suffered from hypokalemia.9 The high prevalence of hypokalemia after acetaminophen overdose might be due to multiple risk factors. The etiology of hypokalemia is complex. The level of serum potassium depends on the balance between oral intake, renal and gastrointestinal losses as well as the balance and movement between extra and intra-cellular compartments.11 A previous study found that 7.6% of psychiatric patients had nutritional problems;19 inadequate dietary potassium intake was relatively rare unless daily potassium intake was less than 25 mmol.20 This study found that it was the psychiatrically ill patients, rather than those patients with no psychiatric illness, who were more likely to develop hypokalemia. This finding is consistent with other published studies that showed that hypokalemia was common among acute psychiatric inpatients.18, 21, 22 Adjustment disorders are often precipitated by stress reactions.23 For most people, stress is associated with higher cortisol levels.24, 25 Previous studies have suggested that high cortisol levels may be the principal cause of hypokalemia.26-28 In this study, patients with anxiety were suffering from a low mean potassium concentration and a high prevalence of hypokalemia. The exact mechanism was uncertain. This finding is in agreement with another published study that has shown small decreases in serum potassium among 200 pre-operative patients who had an increase in anxiety.12 The explanation of this finding is that anxiety increases the circulating epinephrine, 12 which induces a ÃŽ ²2 receptor-mediated influx of potassium into skeletal muscle.14 In the present study, patients with major depression were suffering from a high prevalence of hypokalemia. This finding is similar to a previous work that has shown patients with major depression had lower mean serum potassium values and a higher incidence of hypokalemia than other disorders such as dysthymic disorder and schizophrenic psychosis.18 This finding may be due to changes in adrenergic drive or in sensitivity or density of the ÃŽ ²2-receptor. 18 Expected findings in our study were the low incidence of hypokalemia in the patients with impulsive behavior. These patients differed significantly from the other types of psychiatric illness and considered as a part of the normal behavior.29 This is supported by findings that impulsivity is a type of human behavior characterized by the inclination of an individual to act on impulse rather than thought.30 It has been concluded in previous study that the decreased peripheral epinephrine levels may be involved in pathophysiology of impulsive and hyperactive behaviors.31 This mechanism results in a decreased uptake of potassium by cells. In addition, this study found that it was the suicidal patients, rather than those with accidental overdose, who were more likely to develop hypokalemia. Attempted suicide is assumed to be a hyper-adrenergic state.18 A retrospective study carried out on patients with psychiatric disorders concluded that significant differences existed among the attempted suicide group with regard to hypokalemia.18 ÃŽ ²-adrenergic receptor stimulation causes hypokalemia in experimental animals and humans.32 There is little doubt that one of the mechanisms of hypokalemia is a beta 2-receptor-mediated influx of potassium into skeletal muscle, induced by circulating epinephrine.18, 33, 34 It has been demonstrated that epinephrine causes excessive activation of the sodium/potassium-ATPase pump as a result of ÃŽ ²2-adrenergic receptor stimulation.14, 33 This mechanism results in an increased uptake of potassium by cells, leading to a decrease in serum potassium levels. As the influence of the adrenergic sy stem on serum potassium is found in many psychiatric situations, 18, 21, 22, 35 it may explain why a high prevalence of the patients included in our study were presented with hypokalemia. A high percentage of patients (47.7%) were still not being treated for low potassium levels, putting their health in jeopardy. The common occurrence of hypokalemia in patients with acute acetaminophen overdose should alert all clinicians to the importance of correcting potassium loss, since most of the patients with an acetaminophen overdose might have received intravenous fluids or N-acetylcysteine in serum dextrose 5%. However, this may have altered serum potassium concentrations through endogenous insulin production induced by 5% dextrose, resulting in movement of potassium into the intracellular compartment. Nonetheless, the extensive use of dextrose may expose the patients to higher risks. This study is the first one of its type in Malaysia to investigate the clinical correlates in acute psychiatric illness among hypokalemic and normokalemic patients after acetaminophen overdose. It is also the first study suggested that hypokalemia is related to psychiatric status after acetaminophen overdose rather than the previous studious that showed a dose-dependent relationship between fall in serum potassium and serum acetaminophen at presentation.6, 9 Our study suffers from a few limitations. Firstly, further risk factors for hypokalemia were not taken into account in the analysis. A second limitation is its retrospective nature and the lack of structured interview assessment of the subjects. Thirdly, we can only suggest, rather than prove, that the psychiatric state is responsible for the high occurrence of hypokalemia diagnosed in our population. Conclusions and recommendations In conclusion, hypokalemia is highly prevalent among psychiatrically ill patients and after acute acetaminophen overdose. Therefore, monitoring of serum potassium concentration may be clinically important on emergency admission for all cases of acute acetaminophen overdoses to prevent the consequences of hypokalemia. Supplemental potassium administration should be commenced as soon as possible. Acknowledgments: The authors would like to thank the Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) for the financial support provided for their research. The assistance of the medical and record office staff is gratefully acknowledged. Conflict of interests: We would like to declare that there was no conflict of interests in conducting this research.

Manage the Cultural Differences while Working with People from other Cu

Nowadays, as we all notice that the world is getting flatter. More and more people are getting the chance to work with people from other culture. It is not only limited to the people from the developed countries like Americans and Europeans. People in the developing countries are also open to the opportunity to work with people from other culture. Understanding that culture difference is heavily rooted in people’s everyday behavior is only the first step to get to work with people. Coping the way foreigners do with the local culture is the key point to be successful in working with people from other culture. Misunderstanding the culture and behavioral difference can lead to problems and alienation, even confrontation, between colleagues and ultimately the collapse of partnership. Being self-centered and refusing to social with the local culture would also lead to the failure eventually. When people from the different culture meet or a person goes to a different country, they are expecting to have a culture clash, which includes the communication, leadership and organization and etc. The communication problem would the language barrier, but most time it is more than just the language difficulties. How to get the message across can vary and greatly impact the communication. In the video, Building the Transnational Team, it clearly shows that everybody can speak the same international English, but everyone understanding one another is the challenge. First, when the native English speaker talking with another non-native speaker, if he or she speaks too fast and uses slang terms, the non-native speaker would totally get lost and feel frustrated. Like in the video, Luis from Spain who speaks English but has limited understanding of ... ... will help people from different culture work efficiently together. The change would be in communication, leadership and organization. In the video, five people finally realize that they have to manage the culture difference before they can talk about business. They figure out the way to have a better communication by using simple English and also they could like to phone call and fax both to satisfy people from different culture. Furthermore, strategic change will be implemented which means to adapt or create organization policies which take into account cultural differences. Particular attention should be paid to policies or programs that have been developed to meet the requirements of one culture and are then imposed internationally. The key thing to work with people from different culture is to manage the cultural difference and cope to different cultures.

William Edward Burghardt Du Bois or W.E.B. Du Bois Essay -- William Ed

William Edward Burghardt Du Bois or W.E.B. Du Bois William Edward Burghardt Du Bois – known simply as "W.E.B." – was 83 when the government indicted him as a foreign agent in 1951. The only crime he had committed, however, was circulating the Stockholm Appeal, which said any government to use an atomic weapon against another country "should be treated as a war criminal." After spending six months in disgrace and paying $35,150 for his defense, the government dismissed its case against him. The old man was freed and declared himself a communist 12 years later at age 93, dying in Ghana, a country that loved him. It was a sad end for an intellectual giant whom Kim Pearson, a professor of journalism at The College of New Jersey who teaches a class on Du Bois, calls, "the premier African American intellectual of the 19th and 20th centuries." Born in Great Barrington, Mass. in 1868, during the era of Reconstruction, Du Bois’ maternal great-grandfather was born a slave and his father, Alfred, simply wandered away when he was a boy, never coming back. Du Bois was reared on a farm by his mother Mary and experienced little racism. He would later say that as a boy in Great Barrington, he had "almost no experience of segregation or color discrimination." Even though Du Bois was the only black student in his graduating high school class of 12, Principal Frank A. Horner encouraged him to prepare for college. Du Bois headed to Nashville, Tennessee to the halls of Fisk University, an all-black school. There, he declared, "I am a Negro. I glory in the name! I am proud of the black blood that flows in my veins †¦ (I) have come here †¦ to join hands with my people." He graduated in 1888 and headed to Harvard. While there, he received a grant and loan to study at the University of Berlin, where he experienced little discrimination and became fascinated by European grievances against Jews. Reflecting on his stay at Berlin, Du Bois would say, "I began to feel the dichotomy which all my life has characterized my thought; how far can love for my oppressed race accord with love for the oppressing country? And when these loyalties diverge, where shall my soul find refuge?" Du Bois earned his doctorate from Harvard in 1895 and his dissertation, The Suppression of the African Slave Trade to the United States of America, 1638-1870, was hailed as the first scientific work authored by ... ... to result in the exacerbation of prejudice and inner conflict here in America." The case against Du Bois was eventually dismissed. Du Bois did not declare himself a communist until he was 93. He finished his autobiography in 1960 and declared, "I now believe that private ownership of capital and free enterprise are leading the world to disaster. Democratic government in the United States has almost ceased to function. I shall therefore hereafter help the triumph of communism in every honest way that I can: without deceit or hurt; and in any way possible, without war; and with goodwill to all men of all colors, classes and creeds." Du Bois wrote a tremendous amount of material. Only a small number of his works have been considered in this short description of his life. In his final years, Du Bois spent his time working on an Encyclopedia Africana, which he had unsuccessfully tried to begin without financial backing in 1909 and 1931. Kwame Nkrumah, the first premier of Ghana, invited him to live out his life in Ghana and offered him funding for the final project. Appropriately, news of Du Bois’ death in 1963 reached America as blacks and whites peacefully marched on Washington.

Economics and Global Business Essay

A) Elasticity of demand is describes as the degree of percentage change in demand for a good or service due to variation in price. Elasticity measurements can be expressed by three types of demand; inelastic demand, unit elastic demand, or relatively elastic demand. To determine the percentage of change in demand for a product or service the price elasticity equation and coefficient are used. The coefficient Ed is defined as â€Å"the percentage change in quantity demanded of product divided by the percentage change in price of product X† (McConnell, Brue, Flynn, 2012, pg. 76) The three expressions of Ed are Elastic, Inelastic, and Unit Elasticity. Elastic demand occurs â€Å"if a specific percentage change in price results in a larger percentage change in quantity demanded† (McConnell, Brue, Flynn, 2012, pg. 77). For a product with inelastic demand Ed < 1. An example of elastic demand is when there is a 2% decrease in the price of chocolate that results in a 6% increase in quantity. Ed= .06/.02 = 3 Inelastic demand occurs â€Å"if a specific percentage change in price produces a smaller percentage change in quantity demanded.†(McConnell, Brue, Flynn, 2012, pg. 77) For products with inelastic demand Ed 0 .Inferior goods are goods that yield a negative income elasticity, Ei < 0. As consumer incomes increase, demand and purchases of these foods decrease. Examples of inferior goods are bus tickets, consignment clothing, and retreaded tires to list a few. D) Demand of a product will be elastic when there is a higher number of substitute available. This happens because consumers can easily swap one product for the other based on price. An example can be the purchase of soda. A consumer can go to the store to buy Pepsi but arrive and find a sale on Coke and buy Coke instead. The variety of soda a consumer can chose, makes the demand for Pepsi highly elastic. The same rule applies for inelastic demand of a product. If there is a limited number of substitute goods available the product or service is highly inelastic. An example would  be medical procedures or surgery. The alternative to surgery are very few, making medical procedures or surgery inelastic. E) The proportion of Income devoted to a good or service effects the elasticity of demand for that good or service. For goods that are of a higher proportion of income, a 15% increase in price would make the good highly elastic. But for goods that are of a lower proportion of income, a 15% increase in price would only slightly change the demand, making them lower in elasticity. An example would be a car priced at $13,000. If there is an increase by 15% the car now costs $14,950. This increase in price requires more of the consumer’s income making them highly elastic. Another example of how proportion of income devoted to a good effects elasticity of demand, is a pair shoes that cost $20.00. If there is a 15% price increase on the shoes, they now cost $23.00. The increase in the price of the shoes requires about the same proportion of income that the original price required. The lack of major proportional change to income makes the shoes elastic. F) Time is a factor that effects consumers demand elasticity of a product. â€Å"Short-run† demand for a product is often more inelastic than â€Å"long-run† demand since consumer have less time to find an alternative and normally don’t feel the effects of a price increase until â€Å"long-run.† An example would be an increase in the price of salmon. â€Å"Short-run† demand of Salmon is more inelastic since the effect if the price increase hasn’t been felt drastically by consumers. But, in the â€Å"long-run† demand for salmon will decrease making it more elastic as consumers find alternative to salmon. G) 1) Elastic demand range occurs when total revenue can be increased by decreasing price. The range for elastic demand on the graph is between $80 and $50. Total revenue increases as the price decrease. 2). Inelastic demand range occurs when total revenue can be increased by increasing price. The range for inelastic demand on the graph is between $40 and $0. Total revenue is decreasing as the price decreases. 3). Unit elastic range occurs when a  percentage change in price results in the exact same percentage change in quantity. When the price changes it does not affect total revenue on the graph. The unit elastic range for the given graph is $50-$40. References McConnell, Campbell R., Stanley L. Brue, and Sean Masaki Flynn. â€Å"Elasticity.† Economics: principles, problems, and policies. 19th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin, 2012. 76-77. Print.

Good and Evil in Lord of the Flies and Animal Farm Essay

Good and evil themes, in some form, exist in practically every piece of literature ever written. It is found in literature as old as the Bible to newer stories such as The Hunger Games. It is no surprise to find this same theme in Lord of the Flies by William Golding and Animal Farm by George Orwell. Golding and Orwell explore good and evil to show what effect morality, or the lack thereof, has on society. Both Golding and Orwell believe through their own past experiences that evil corrupts people. To portray this, Orwell and Golding use similar ideas with their characters and plot to show how fragile the idea of civilization is for us all. In Lord of the Flies and Animal Farm, the theme of evil is obvious throughout the development of the characters. In Lord of the Flies, the primary character, Jack, is truly evil. Jack is a brutal boy and he performs many violent acts during his quest for power. The best example of this is when Jack encourages his tribe to participate in the slaughtering of the angelic Simon (Golding, 140). While the tribe is having a wild, demonic ceremony, Simon crawls out of the woods disorientated after suffering a seizure. Mistaking Simon for the beast, the crazed tribe, including Ralph, brutally rips Simon apart with their bare hands and teeth. Simon falls off of the cliff and onto the beach below, where his body washes out to sea. In comparison, evil is also prominent in the story Animal Farm. The character Napoleon is the essence of evil in Animal Farm. He is the very manipulative and dictator-like leader of the farm. He performs many unspeakable acts against his fellow animals, such as taking the milk and apples for himself (Orwell, 24). After taking all of the milk and apples, Napoleon gets Squealer, a pig that he uses for propaganda purposes, to explain his â€Å"reason† for taking the milk and apples from them. Squealer states that Napoleon needs to take the milk and apples from the animals so that Napoleon has strong brain power. Squealer continues to explain that Napoleon needs to have good brain power because â€Å"the whole management and organisation of the farm depends on Napoleon† (Orwell, 32). Squealer then elaborates even more and says to the animals that â€Å"it is for YOUR sake that we drink that milk and eat those apples†¦ Jones would come back! † (Orwell, 32). These reasons are not true, as Napoleon just wants the milk and apples because he finds them tasty and not because he needs them to manage the farm. Meanwhile, the other farm animals are left to go hungry. In an effective display of pure evil, Orwell and Golding are able to use Napoleon and Jack as villainous characters in an effort to show what happens to someone with no morals. In contrast, themes of goodness are harder to find, yet evident in the characterization of Lord of the Flies and Animal Farm. In Lord of the Flies, Simon is the epitome of morality. For example, he appears Christ-like as he helps the more vulnerable children of the tribe that the older boys call the Littluns. Simon helps the Littluns by performing tasks that they cannot do, such as â€Å"picking choice fruit from branches they cannot reach† (Golding, 50). In comparison, Animal Farm also has characters that reflect merit. Specifically, Boxer is one character that shows his goodness through his actions. For example, in the Battle of the Cowshed, he sees his fellow animals being injured, so he stops the fighting by kicking a stable-lad in the head. As a result of Boxer’s actions, the humans flee (Orwell, 36). Although Lord of the Flies and Animal Farm are both predominately full of evil themes, Golding and Orwell use themes of goodness in the characterization to give the reader hope that good just may prevail. Besides the themes of evil found in characterization, there are also the themes of evil in the plot elements of Lord of the Flies and Animal Farm. Towards the end of Lord of the Flies, Simon is murdered by the rest of the boys (Golding, 142). Simon’s death is specifically the point when the evil in the story triumphs over good . Up until the point of Simon’s death, Ralph and Simon are the only characters who still have good left in them. Since Ralph participates in Simon’s murder, all of the good that exists in Ralph is gone and the last of civilization dies with Simon. A similar evil is present in Animal Farm when Napoleon tortures and executes â€Å"traitors† of the farm. The animals that are accused of treason are tortured until they admit to their crime. Once they confess, they are executed (Orwell, 69). Most of the time, these animals are not even guilty. The animals live in a constant fear; they do not know when or if they will be accused of treason and then executed. By using themes of evil, both Golding and Orwell show that a lack of morality in society may eventually result in the collapse of civilization. In the same way, themes of good appear in the plot elements of Lord of the Flies and Animal Farm. Specifically, there is a time when Jack refuses to give Piggy any meat. Simon gives Piggy his share because he believes that it is unfair that Jack did not give Piggy any meat. When Simon does not give Jack the satisfaction of eating his meat, Jack then gets extremely angry with Simon and throws meat at Simon’s feet yelling â€Å"Eat, Damn you! † (Golding, 68). Simon still refuses to eat the meat. By his actions, Simon shows that even though they were living in uncivilized times, they could still remain kind to each other. Just like Lord of the Flies, Animal Farm also has themes of goodness in its plot elements. In particular, Old Major creates a spirit of kindness and enthusiasm at the farm during his famous speech. He uplifts the animals by singing them a song entitled â€Å"Beasts of England†. The song is about animals breaking free from human control and living independently. Old Major continues to show his concern for his fellow animals when he says in his speech that â€Å"all animals are equal† (Orwell, 11). As a result of Orwell and Golding using goodness in the plot elements of Animal Farm and Lord of the Flies, they are able to illustrate their point that one can choose to be kind, no matter their surroundings. Through characterization and plot elements, Golding and Orwell use good and evil in Lord of the Flies and Animal Farm to express their fearful feelings for society. They believe that if society loses their touch of purity and goodness then society will collapse. In other words, Golding and Orwell’s message to the reader is that it is human nature to sin and perform evil, and if society is not careful, it will eventually lead to the demise of civilization. Works Cited Orwell, George. Animal Farm;. New York: Harcourt, Brace, 1954. (11, 24, 32, 36, 69). Print. Golding, William. Lord of the Flies. New York: Coward-McCann, 1962. (50, 68, 140, 142). Print. View as multi-pages