Monday, September 30, 2019

Cultural Oppression Essay

Both African Americans and Asian Americans have suffered racial discrimination, slavery, persecution, difficulty in receiving citizenship even though their children were born in the United States and challenges in demonstrating their cultural identity. They experienced difficulty in classifying themselves as purely American because of their outward appearance. Moreover, they always tend to feel insulted that white Americans will always judge them by stereotypes, not by what they really are. African Americans have suffered dual consciousness in the United States, always struggling to receive social and economic equality, both as a Negro and an American. Although political equality has been granted to African Americans, they still suffered inequality in terms of achieving social and economic wealth. The effects of cultural oppression on African Americans have put them at high probability of suffering continued hindrances to achieve societal empowerment and affirmation. However, the richness of African cultures that place importance on collective lifestyle has helped African Americans to be accepted in the United States. Asian Americans were pressured to learn how they could assimilate themselves into different cultural society in the country. The cultural oppression suffered by Asian Americans has helped them to establish their own community in order for them to become self-sufficient. The impact of the Eastern philosophies, Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism, on Asian culture has helped families to become paternally oriented and hierarchical. The notable reason why some Asians have the tendency to avoid debate and discussion or to appear indecisive is because of these philosophies that teach them principles of harmony, balance and peace. This Asian culture has provided them to act in a positive way and to learn the importance of having self-knowledge about how others behave towards them. Reference Information on Specific Cultural Groups. Retrieved April 17, 2009, from http://education. byu. edu/diversity/culture. html.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Jrotc Mission Essay

That’s why is to motivate young people to be better citizens. And it also teaches you mapping Skills at first I was thinking why I’m learning these but you well some point In your life. Also It Gives you more respectable as you rank up In doing that you In toured well be looking for you to set up In take charge. As you get promoted it’s not because of your teacher it’s because you Work hard and you showed that you earned it. In you showed great leadership skills. Another Reason Is Jot wants you to seek self-improvement out yourself it’s not just another class you Just take but you are becoming a part of a family. By being a part of these program it also Teaches you to be responsibility and to take responsibity for your actions. Then every cadet has To take a physical fitness test it Is required. You may say to yourself that I can do It or I’m not Going to do well. But that’s why Jrotc mission Is to motivate young people to be better citizens. The Key word is motivate by having your ins tours there in your friends In other cadets there You won’t even think about can’t do It that would be the last think on your mind. It as well Teaches your deplane skills you may think I don’t like people yelling at me but there not yelling. They Just helping you by bring out the best In you. In By doing all these things you be able to Teach the next class of cadets behind you. That’s how Jrotc builds character

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Early Childhood Curriculum Essay

In Early Childhood Education you use philosophies to help you succeed. You also make sure that you look into the NAEYC position and standards to make sure you are running a classroom that is within the standards. These are two critical factors in an Early Childhood classroom and you have to know how to implement them in your teaching. John Dewey was an American educator and philosopher. He helped develop the idea of pragmatism. He felt that children should explore and discover. â€Å"Dewey and other progressive followers suggested a curriculum for young children that focused on the situation and challenges that children faced as members of a democratic society† (Eliason & Jenkins pg. 5). Maria Montessori is best known for her teaching method that has her name the Montessori Method. She believed that the scenes were the source of intellectual growth and development. â€Å"She emphasized the importance of the schools and families working together† (Eliason & Jenkins pg. 5). Jean Piaget is known well for his cognitive development theory. â€Å" Programs that incorporate Piagentian theory emphasizes that children learn through experimentation and initiative and construct their own knowledge and understanding through adaptation o the environment† ( Eliason & Jenkins pg. 5). There are many different ways to teach. Some of the goals of teaching are: â€Å"1. understanding the nature of development and learning. 2. Know what to teach, how to teach, and know how to access what children have learned. 3. Create a caring and responsive learning environment. 4. Establish positive mutual relationships of trust and respect with families 5. Pursue professional training and knowledge. 6. Treat every child with respect, dignity, and positive regard† (Eliason & Jenkins pg. 13). â€Å"The NAEYC is dedicated to improving the well-being of all young children, with the focus on quality of educational services for all children birth to age eight† (NAEYC. ORG). NAEYC position statements are their position to issues related to early childhood education. Some of the issues are: anti-discrimination, code of ethics, developmentally appropriate practice and early childhood curriculum, assessment, and program evaluation. â€Å"Naeyc’s first commitment is to the rights and interest to all children† (NAEYC. ORG). They believe that one should be hired on their competence and qualifications to perform their designated duties and that it should not be based on gender, race, national origin, religious beliefs, age, marital status, disabilities, or sexual orientation. The NAEYC code of ethics â€Å"offers guidelines for responsible behaviors and set fourth a common bias for resolving the principal ethical dilemmas encountered during early childhood care and education† (NAEYC. ORG). It also does not allow educators, doctors, and nurses to deny services to children. The developmentally appropriate practice is to â€Å"to promote excellence in early childhood education by providing a framework for best practices† (NAEYC. ORG). It promotes quality of care and education. The NAEYC â€Å" constructs comprehensive systems of curriculum, assessment, and program evaluation guided by sound early childhood practices, effective early learning standards and program standards are a set of core principles and values, belief in civic and democratic values† ( NAEYC. ORG). They make sure that children are active, and engaged curriculum goals are shared by all and that curriculum is evidence based. â€Å"Early childhood classrooms should communities of inquiry, problem posing, and problem solving, where children perceive that in math lessons they are expected to offer their thoughts about questions posed and to find resolution to these problems† (Eliason & Jenkins pg. 319). Teachers need to incorporate problem solving and math in the curriculum to do this teachers must avoid gender bias regarding math. They should recognize different opportunities during the day to teach math and also to make sure that early math is concrete and manipulative. † The focus in early childhood is in understanding numbers and the number system and understanding operations specifically addition and subtraction† (Eliason & Jenkins pg. 323). Children are counting all their life. They learn by playing different games or things such as climbing stairs. Repetion helps the child to memorize the sequence and sounds of numbers. When you are doing songs or finger play the children are learning their numbers and the correct order they should be in. â€Å"The basis of a high quality program in early childhood is promoting feelings or self esteem and dignity in each child† (Eialson & Jenkins pg. 143). Teachers have to help the children build their self esteem. Some ways to help strengthen a child’s self esteem would be to make sure you are honest, sincere, and consistent in expressing feelings. Teachers should make sure they value the children’s work and effort. If a child has a problem you can help in anyway that you can. Violence is not good for young children. â€Å" Violence results in children believing that there is no safe place, that their protectors can no longer protect them â€Å" ( Eliason & Jenkins pg. 149).â€Å"This can influence their  emotional development. â€Å"Stress develops when we can not cope with either external or internal demands† (Eialson & Jenkins pg. 148). Some external sources of stress would be hunger, pain, illness, fatigue, shyness, and emotions. External stress would be divorce, family separation, hospitalization, and death. Teachers can help children deal with stress in many ways such as: encourage the child, praise the child, ect. â€Å"Development in cognitive language and literacy allows young children to construct meaning and build understanding† (Eialson & Jenkins pg. 189). Teachers should make language and literacy development in all curriculum. â€Å"Literacy development begins in the very early stages of childhood, even though the activities of young children may not seem related to reading and writing† (Johnson, D. ). When you are helping your children with their literacy development you need to help to encourage them. Some ways to help encourage them would be: To provide many opportunities for talking, make sure you listen, ask the children questions, make sure they are in a comfortable relaxed atmosphere, and recognize and help correct if the child use grammatical errors. Sharing stories and poetry are good activities to help support language development. â€Å"The primary factors influencing the development of language appear to be 1) The child’s innate ability to learn language,2) The quality of the model or the early stimulation and variety provided by the model. 3) The ability of the caregiver to expand or extend the Childs language† (Eialson & Jenkins pg. 204). â€Å"Children’s development in semantics, or the meanings of words, is directly related to the experience and interactions that they have† (Eialson & Jenkins pg. 193). If a child hears a word they have never heard before they will not be able to use it, but they can use sentences they have never heard before. Books help expand their language meanings and vocabulary. â€Å" It is very important that adults constantly share, converse, extend, exchange language, and provide labels for words as children have experiences at zoos, grocery store, park, school, home, in the car, in the classroom, or in any setting† ( Eialson & Jenkins pg. 193). Children tend to learn to read different signs that they see constantly over and over even before they can actually read. These signs include ones such as stop signs, McDonalds, burger king, ect. â€Å"Syntax is the set of rules for creating or understanding a sentence† (Eialson & Jenkins pg. 193). When children first begin to use words there is no evidence of syntax but as the child turns four you can start to here this with the children. The children learn to imitate sentences when they are first learning and this is how they learn syntax. You can also help the child learn by expanding what the child says till they learn to add this in themselves. As teachers we need to make sure that we speak ton every child using correct grammar. â€Å"As children grow, they gain increased facility with syntactic structure, leading us to believe that maturation is a variable in syntax growth† (Eialson & Jenkins pg. 194). â€Å" Through music and movement young children express themselves, explore space, develop language and communication skills, increase sensory awareness, and express themselves through rhythm, gesture, time, and space† ( Eliason & Jenkins pg. 353). Adding music to your curriculum is important because it helps children learn about different cultures as well as about their own culture. Through music they express their emotions and it helps them release their feelings. Depending on what music you are listening to it can either calm, or help soothe troubled feelings. It can help the children enhance their self worth. Music also helps with children’s listening skills, attention span, and their memory. Language and language concepts can also be developed through music. â€Å"Research supports the notion of the physical and psychological advantages of music on the body and mind† (Eialson & Jenkins pg. 354). â€Å"Young children have a natural curiosity about the world, and this is where science education should begin† (Eialson & Jenkins pg. 237). Science should be taught as hands on learning, it should be a natural part of the everyday curriculum. â€Å"Language and literacy development are strongly supported when science activities are included throughout the curriculum† (Eialson & Jenkins pg. 239). Science is taught through observing, manipulating, problem solving, and engaging with science activities. They learn to classify, compare, define, measure, listen, ect. When they are learning science. Early childhood education is a very critical time in a young person’s life. This age has a big influence on their learning for the rest of their lives. The government developed The No Child Left behind Act to make sure that all children have an equal opportunity to a good quality education. The government designed grants to help all children succeed. The Special Education Preschool Grant â€Å" provides formula grants to states to make available special educated and related services to three to five year  old children with disabilities† ( ED. GOV). They also have grants to help with high poverty communities to help improve their knowledge and skills. â€Å"Currently American schools and early childhood programs focus on standards-based education† (Eialson & Jenkins pg. 17). Some of the qualities o0f effective childhood teachers are: Caring, enthusiastic, flexible, and creative. Early childhood teachers must be willing to be patient and help these children learn so that the children will be ready for their future. Philosophies are an essential part of early childhood curriculum. They help the teachers to help the children to learn in different ways. The NAEYC standards are implemented to help teachers understand what the proper way they should teach the children. They help the teacher set up their classroom and understand the way the children should be taught. â€Å" Early childhood educators must strive to be learners who are willing to continually study, grow, and change to think and solve problems† ( Eialson & Jenkins pg. 19).

Friday, September 27, 2019

Ideal Community Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Ideal Community - Essay Example To construct such a community we need individuals with specific traits and qualities who work for the task assigned to them beyond their personal beliefs. Such individuals work solely for the purpose and cause of constructing an ideal community with its underlying principles focused primarily on service of humanity. An ideal community has to be perfect in many ways that it shouldn’t be only ideal for the individual that house in it but also for others who view its system and functioning from outside aswell. For this following facts are needed to be considered and worked upon The individuals settling in my ideal community can belong to any age group, sex and ethnicity. The individuals residing in the community shall hold ownership of homes as this gives assurity of their activities and actions as they reside permanently in the community. Interested renters with family shall have chances of occupying residence in the community. Residents should be have an adjusting, respectful and accepting attitude. The community shall be located at a place which should be safe from much pollution, crimes and other hazardous activities while at the same time have all the important resources required by the occupants nearby like grocery stores, bus stands, subway stations, health care centers, congregation sites, cafes and recreational centers nearby. The residents of the community should take part in the direct voting process and vote for the good of the nation rather than their individual benefits. The community should work with the government and support its step which benefits the nation as a whole. Community will have facilities that shall promote recreational activities of the residents. Various recreational centers shall be established furnishing the needs of majority residents. This way the residents will have chance to interact and develop relationships. Residents are supposed to adhere to the laws of the country along with observing

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Security protocols Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Security protocols - Case Study Example Currently, all company servers (file, email, data, web, radius and FTP servers etc.) are located in the server farm at its head office in Birmingham. The other two sites are connected to the head office through leased lines. We will address identified security threats to the current network by categorizing them in to two categories: External Threats: Virus, Trojan, Worms, Spyware, Cyber-attack, Denial of Service Attack, Distributed Denial of Service Attack Residual Threats: Vulnerabilities within the RADIUS server. Only Firewall is implemented on the edge router with packet filtering enabled. 2 Feasibility for the Cloud The Cloud computing helps to provide advantages in terms of reducing cost related to the hardware, software and human resource. On the other hand, various controversial issues such as individual’s privacy, security control risks and data sharing are still in need for a better solution. Similarly, in order to provide cost benefit analysis while practicing risk a ssessment, better development techniques, less cost, high scalability with next generation architecture will be utilized for EEC. However, the open source is considered in providing core facilities in cloud computing in order to enable the cost reduction input or cost free structure for cloud service providers. In fact, the cloud computing service can use the open source in order to gain power and control to launch next generation proprietary platforms which can be similar to Web 2.0. The Linux operating systems are also utilized for cloud computing, as company’s ecommerce site is run on a UNIX based web server. Moreover, if there is no license cost such as Microsoft operating system than Linux operating system is likely to use cloud computing services. In fact, it is visibly stated by IBM in the economics of scale that â€Å"one of the primary drivers for expanding the cloud is open source.† The application or the software in any computing environment is believed as a core element, however it is expensive. The open source is not all the time successful because they are partially present in some organizations. A number of open source applications are related with the cloud and is accessed through a variety of obligations. These obligations include open source license and other relevant stuff. Similarly, an efficient compliance procedure related to address issues and diminish risk, a software license is required. Moreover, new risks are not initiated by the cloud computing. However, the services that are linked with cloud computing generates risk. The applications that are associated with the operational tasks along with cloud computing are distributed as compared to other software applications. In fact, reduced visibility along with no evaluation or calculation of the industry is present. Therefore, it cannot be characterized as the obligations incorporating copy license. In order to access cloud computing online services through web browser, you need an updated computer that can support all the necessary features regarding current Web browsers. Moreover, fast Internet connection is also required in order to experience sheer clod computing features. Including an updated workstation along with all the needed updates are installed. An old workstation is update to Windows 7 will cost about $70 but on the other hand, Windows 7 or Vista does not support all the VGA drivers and there are hardware compatibility issues are also present. In

Pappper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Pappper - Essay Example Specifically, the firm required the participants to take more time to the website before matching (Mariotti & Glackin, 2012). Notably, this helped in distinguishing between the serious partner-seekers and the jokers. In effect, the firm reduced the speed of forming a relationship by ensuring the interested parties provided adequate information to help in making a match that would lead to a long lasting relationship. As a late entrant with a rigorous process and time-consuming to know the applicants, the firm faced high competition from the established businesses. In addition, clients were unsure about the trustworthy and effectiveness of the company (Mariotti & Glackin, 2012). Therefore, the company experienced a low rate of application forcing it to strategies a campaign to create awareness and attract clients. Forgratch believes the first radio advertisement worked for two primary reasons. First, the resulting turnover was promising as the company recorded an increase in revenue that reflected in the promotion costs that reached $20 million by 2004. Secondly, the use of Dr. Neil Clark Warren was efficient as he was a household name in the marriage therapy (Mariotti & Glackin, 2012). In addition, his distinctive voice, credibility, and a meaningful message worked to the advantage of the enterprise. The eHarmony business uses a service promotion concept in which it sells the services it offers to the public. Therefore, this direct action advertising strategies focuses directly on the potential clients. The firm achieve the success using real customers who have benefited from the company in an attempt to gain credibility and increase the number of paying customers (Mariotti & Glackin,

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

The Orthodox Jews Total Way of Life Research Paper

The Orthodox Jews Total Way of Life - Research Paper Example Also known as erub or eiruv, an eruv is an enclosure in which Orthodox Jews can push or carry objects on the Sabbath, to escape the violation of the Jewish Law which prohibits carrying things except within the home setting.   An eruv, therefore, serves the purpose of a home, and in it, things such as house keys, nappies, prams, crutches, food and beverage, extra clothes essential medicines and handkerchiefs may be carried. Differing Interpretations of Eiruv among the Different Jewish Denominations. On the one hand, Orthodox Jews accept the use of an eiruv to serve as a house, to cushion them from contravening the Jewish Sabbath Law. Reformed Jews on the other Reformed Jews do not regard an eruv as an unnecessary mechanism which encourages separateness and works against assimilation (Diamond, 490). Taboos in Orthodox Judaism emanate from the Torah and the oral interpretation of the Torah and the codification of the Torah [the Talmud and Mishna].   These laws in the Torah became th e total way of life for Orthodox Jews. Again, the same laws became a total way of life for Orthodox Jews because they were believed to have originated from God, through Moses, as is shown in the Torah. In respect to the foregoing, all food taken by Orthodox Jews must be kosher, meaning, proper for consumption. For instance, Orthodox Jews may neither take milk and beef nor cheeseburger because of their observation to Deuteronomy 14:21 and Exodus 23:19. These taboos cover the Orthodox Jew’s total way of life and therefore govern even business dealings.  

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Balanced Budget Controversies Republican vs Democrat Solutions Essay

Balanced Budget Controversies Republican vs Democrat Solutions - Essay Example Recent developments which have resulted from the effects of the Economic Recession have led to an increase in the controversy surrounding the amendment to include provisions of a balanced budget into the US constitution. The divide has been particularly pronounced between the Democrats and the Republicans. These debates while launched from allegedly economic perspectives have undertones of political policies which these parties are trying to protect. There are three main arguments in the balanced budget debate; the traditionalist approach; the Ricardian view; and the view that a balanced budget does not represent an accurate measurement of fiscal policy. The traditionalist view argues that budget deficits at present will lead to a weakening of the economy in future lading to lower investment, higher domestic interest rates which affect exports and ultimately a reduction in longer term economic growth. The Ricardian perspective takes a trade in perspective on the balanced budget issue . The logic of the Ricardian view is that budget deficits today represent higher future taxes. The perspective assumes that since citizens acknowledge future higher taxes they adjust their savings and spending accordingly leading to little effect on long term growth. The third position believes that while the government may influence spending saving and investment, the effect of the budget deficit is not the only measure of the fiscal policy effect on these variables (Joyce 122). While the two main sides in the debate accrue to the various fiscal debates, the truth is more rooted in political considerations. Both the two parties are interested in winning over or retaining their voting districts through the offering of tax breaks, and incentives. The issue of the budget deficit has different interpretations by think tanks and political Parties. The Republican Party is the most vocal in calling for an amendment that would put forth a constitutional cap on federal spending in order to match expenditure. The suggested amendment put forth by the Republicans is to restrict government expenditure to 18% of income (Jansson 268). The view of the Republican Party takes the traditionalist view in assuming that higher taxes have a negative effect on longer term economic growth by reducing national savings, investment and exports. The main thrust of the Republican Party argument is mainly on the effect of the increase of a budget deficit on future generations. The thrust of the argument is that since a budget deficit reduces investment, it results to a decrease in future productivity impacting long term economic growth (Joyce 139-141). Republicans are thus for the scaling down of social programs or their total abolition as they deem them unnecessary burdens on the economy. The Democratic Party on the other hand adopts both the Ricardian and fringe approaches regarding a balanced budget. The argument of the Democratic Party is that citizens acknowledge the effects of a budg et deficit and hence save and spend accordingly. The Democratic Party also does not believe that the budget deficit is the only variable in fiscal policy outcomes. The Democrats are for cuts in the budget which are distributed over a span of ten years as opposed to the fixed cap (Jansson, 21-219). The perspective believes in the crowding in effect whereby the expenditure by government leads to output demand leading to capital investment. While the Republicans argue that

Monday, September 23, 2019

Consider how economics of law can provide helpful insights into Essay

Consider how economics of law can provide helpful insights into controlling an increase in crime rates - Essay Example According to Bodell & Kerton (1995) â€Å"The higher the cost of being detected, the lower is the expected profit† (Bodell & Kerton, 1995) This refers to the notion that offenders are always at risk, therefore they expect higher profit with greater rate of risk involved in committing crime. Thus they might use an accomplice to watch for police, buy more sophisticated equipment to break into cars more quickly, etc. On the other hand, some potential offenders find that the expected reward from crime is less than the expected cost. Similarly, if the opportunity which knocks at the door of offender which costs his devoted time to criminal activity, potential offenders are likely to reduce their criminal activity. The greater the opportunity, the higher would be the cost, thus we expect the supply of crime to decrease when good jobs in the legitimate sector are plentiful, and to increase when unemployment is high. In fact, several studies have confirmed this theory, by showing that crime rises and falls with the business cycle and the ups and downs of the economy. What about the â€Å"demand† side of the market? Potential victims can take costly actions such as installing burglar alarms, taking cabs instead of walking in high-crime areas, purchasing defensive firearms, and taking lessons in self-defence. All of these activities might affect the potential victim’s chances of being victimised. Although potential victims do not actually â€Å"demand† crime, they do demand-and devote considerable resources to trying to achieve-reductions in their chances of being victimised. This is the reason for why they â€Å"demand† less crime. However according to Kopcke et al (2004) â€Å"Workers react this way even if demand declines temporarily† (Kopcke et al, 2004) refers to the notion that even if the local authorities go on with penalties and punishments, that would not completely deter offenders.

Sunday, September 22, 2019

How Small Coffee Shops Can Succeed Using Social Media Essay Example for Free

How Small Coffee Shops Can Succeed Using Social Media Essay Everyone has a local coffee shop that they consider to be their favourite. That one place where they know they’ll be welcomed with open arms and the people behind the counter know their name (or at least their face). The place that even if their coffee costs almost double as much as Tim Hortons (Starbucks); that this is the place they’ll always recommend to their friends. A few years ago, it was nearly impossible for a local coffee shop to compete with the deep pocket coffee shops. Today, even the smallest cafe with the a very little marketing budget can compete. All they need – is a story worth telling and of course, a coffee worth brewing. If they have those, the clients will keep coming back – the main concern is usually getting them there in the first place. Here are some ways that social media can be used to help local coffee shops compete with the big players. Two Tweets and One Sugar As I write this post, twitter has become one of the biggest buzzwords of the year. However, the buzz isn’t unwarranted. Twitter is one of the largest social networking channels in North American consisting more than 15Million accounts. And while its still in its infancy; it provides businesses an unparalleled opportunity to communicate with consumers and current customers in real-time. So what does this mean for coffee shops? It means that they can communicate more effectively than ever with consumers. If that means setting up a search that tracks their brand and sending a simple thank you or going as far as taking a pre-order, so be it. Twitter gives these brands a chance to create a personal connection with their consumers and make their brand worth talking about. By being active in the twitter community an opportunity exists for coffee shops to offer their space for events such as tweet ups. Hosting these live events at your venue not only gaurantee that you’ll be selling your products, but also guarantees some buzz (tweets) about your brand. On top of that, some of these new customers were probably never in your shop in their life; however, because you got involved in twitter and hosted this event you were able to attract new customers to experience your shop. What more can you ask for? I’m glad you asked. How about 1 Blog Latte While blogging can be an important part of a social media strategy, its not worth having if you don’t have a strategy behind it. If your main goal is to develop an online community; it might be in your best interest to blog about different beans or maybe do a Wine Library TV segment – Coffee Style. However, if your strategy is focused around getting more butts in your cafes seats, it might be in your best interest to discuss offers on the blog. As great as a blog can be for an organization it can also be their downfall. A company that views their blog as being a great way to only talk about their brand and how great they are will never find readers. Well maybe they’ll have their spouse and employees; but customers won’t be interested. If you can provide your readers with something of value they will return. I often tell people looking to start a blog to try and offer the three E’s of Social Media. Entertainment, Education or Engagement An Extra Large Facebook Facebook has become the grand-daddy of them all when it comes to social networks. It has recently gone from being a questionable place to have your brand, to a necessity for many companies in the food industry. With its most recent changes to the facebook pages; it has become obvious that brand experience on facebook is back. Brands are now able to create facebook pages with more customization than ever and truly deepen their relationship with their customers. The frazzle-dazzle applications aren’t the only way for a local coffee shop to set itself a part from other stores. It can also use Facebook to promote other content that they have created. This means they can post links to their blog, videos, pictures and even coupons; reaching an audience that may not be present on the other social networking channels. With that said, we can’t forget the meat and potatoes that Facebook was built upon. The ability to get your message out to a number of people is one of the key reasons why businesses have found such success on facebook. Those tweetups we discussed earlier can easily be cross-promoted using a Facebook event. The opportunities available on facebook are great – its up to you, to turn them into something remarkable. Whose your Manager Mayor?! Foursquare is the new kid on the block in the social media world. It will be the most talked about social networking platform for the rest of this year and will definitely be playing a big part in several social media plans. James Hoffman explains on his blog why, You have people competitively visiting you, talking about you. More than that there is a pretty sensible business model in there too, meaning that foursquare could well be around in a few years. Coffee shops seemed pretty quick to embrace twitter, and it will be interesting to see if that experience has soured social media for them, or if they’ll embrace foursquare too. Something tells me that they’ll embrace foursquare like a seat-belt embraces impact. Mayorship TechCrunch One of my favourite tactics that coffee shops can use in Foursquare is promoting the idea of becoming mayor. The basics behind this tactic is that you tell the consumers that if they become the mayor of your shop they get their beverages for free. Seeing that there is an incentive now for going to the shop more and more – You’ve ultimately created a competition that will keep the people swarming your shop. The whole idea of providing customers with rewards for loyalty has been going on for years. This race to be the mayor however, takes customer loyalty, flips it upside down and turns it into a competition. Lets not get our Mochas in a Bunch With all that said, you must always remember your companies core strategy and goals. These channels discussed above may take a similar route as hi5 or geocities in a few years time. For that reason, it is important to not put all your eggs into one basket. Facebook is already talking about their new function that will be the â€Å"Foursquare Killer.† (Keep your eyes open) Finally, remember that the value you provide your customer in the store will always out weight the value you can provide them with a social networking tool. While its important to do things to get your customers in the door – its just as important to make sure they’ll want to come back.

Saturday, September 21, 2019

The UK Pension System: Overview of Changes

The UK Pension System: Overview of Changes The aim of this essay is to perform an analysis of the UK pension system, understanding its foundation and working. The core focus is to assess the statement the UK pension statement is fatally flawed and requires that we make fundamental changes in the way we save for old age, by referring to the Pension Commission Reports, and the relative proposals that have been made recently. The essay provides an introduction to the pension system, before tackling the issues that make the system troublesome and flawed. Detailed analysis of the reports, including the Pension Act 2007 and 2008, are used as evidence of various issues with the current setup, and the proposals are judged to see if they will provide the necessary changes to improve the system in the coming years. The generic understanding of the term pension is the arrangement by which people who are no longer in employment are provided a form of income. It can also be considered as a form of savings, in which one accumulates funds without any taxes, to utilise later as retirement income (Blake, 2006). The chief difference between pension and a severance package is that the former is paid in regular instalments, while the latter is paid as lump sum at the time of departure from employment, or shortly thereafter. Where pensions are granted at the time of retirement from the workforce, they are referred to as retirement plans or superannuation. The flexibility of the retirement plan is that it can be set up by employers, insurance companies, government or trade unions, to cater for the needs of the workforce upon its exit from employment due to reaching the maturity age that is pre-decided as the point to move out. This is normally at 60 years, although recent changes have pushed it to 65 years (Blake, 2006). Pension is referred by different names in different countries; the Americans call it a retirement plan, in Australia it is known as superannuation, and in the UK it is regarded as pension scheme (Blake, 1997). Types of Pensions In order to analyze the pension system objectively in light of the documents, it is important to understand the different types of pensions. There are three common types of pension in practice around the world (Blake, 2006). These are: Employment-based pensions: Often regarded as a deferred form of compensation, this is primarily an arrangement between the employer and employee, aimed at providing a steady income to the employee once they are no longer in employment due to reaching maturity or retirement age. Both employer and employee make regular contributions to this fund during the period of employment. Social / State pensions: These are funds created by national governments for the benefit of their citizens and residents. Contributions into these funds are made by the nationals of the country throughout their working life, and the benefits they end up receiving after retirement are based on the contribution history. Two known examples of this type of pension are National Insurance (NI) in the UK and Social Security in the United States (US). Disability pensions: A more specialised form of pension that is designed to provide a regular payment if the member suffers a disability. In some cases, social pensions contain a disability clause which ensures a regular income to individuals should they have to retire earlier than normal, in the event of some disability. Determination of Benefits Pension or retirement plans can be classified into two main types, on the basis of the benefits that they provide: defined benefit plans and defined contribution plans. The defined benefit plans follow a traditional set formula for calculating the benefits that a member will receive after retirement. It takes into account the individuals salary and years of employment (Blake, 2006). There are variances in the salary level taken; some plans take an average of the salary over the period of employment, others take the final salary as the determining value. The defined benefit plans also have a provision for early retirement; this allows employers to let go of workers who are close to the retirement age by offering supplemental benefits to the payout that will received. These benefits are paid till the time of actual retirement age being reached. The benefit for employers is that they can hire younger workers at lower pay to handle the workload. Defined benefit plans are composed of unfunded and funded plans. In unfunded plans, there no assets set aside and the benefits are paid out through the workers contributions and taxes. Funded plans use investment vehicles to place funds in, at the present time. Benefits are paid out of the return on investment that is made in the future. However, since the return is not known, the level of benefits that will be given out is also unclear (Blake, 2006). The defined contribution plans provide a payment at retirement based on the contribution made by the member during the time of employment. The contributions are maintained in an individuals account, with the amount being invested in a fund or the stock market. Returns made from the investment are credited back to the individual (Blake, 2006). The risks of the investment made are approved by the individual, with no responsibility held by either the employer or the sponsor. However, the administrators of the fund selecting the investment options are held responsible to a certain degree to ensure accountability. Additionally, defined contribution plans allow workers to decide the amount that they wish to regularly add to their retirement package, in addition to the contribution made by the employer. Pensions in the UK The UK Pension Provision can be divided into three main categories: state pensions, occupational pensions, and individual or personal pensions. The states main aim is to ensure some form of basic pension provision as a preventative measure against poverty in old age. The retirement age currently stands at 60, but is under plans to be raised to 65, and be equalised for men and women (Blake, 2003; DWP, 2009). The UK state pension dates back to the early 1900s, when it was introduced as Old Age Pension. The qualifying age at the time for receiving this benefit was 70, and there was means test that needed to be cleared prior to any payments being released (Blake, 2003). The state pension is made up of three elements: basic state pension (BSP), additional pensions and pension credit.BSP is also known as state retirement pension (SRP), and is a contribution based plan. The benefit that an individual receives is based on their NI contribution history (Budd Campbell, 2000). Additional pension relates to schemes that the government introduced to provide extra provision to the nationals, in addition to BSP. This includes the graduated retirement benefit, state earnings-related pension scheme (SERPS) and state second pension (S2P). The graduated retirement benefit ended in 1975 and the SERPS was ceased in 2002. The current S2P follows the basic principles introduced by SERPS, by taking into account the individuals NI contributions and providing benefits where earnings are below the low level identified by the state. The additional pension schemes are voluntary and individuals can opt out of making contributions to it. Pension credit was introduced in 2003 and is a means tested benefit that aims to lift a majority of retired people out of poverty. The benefit is paid after the individual reaches the age of 60, and their income from savings is below a certain level. Those with some form of savings doubly benefit when they reach the age of 65, with a second provision of the scheme kicking in, known as Savings Credit (Blake, 2003). The occupational pensions are administered by employers to provide benefits to their employees after they retire. These can be defined benefit or defined contribution schemes run by the employers, or an arranged third-party. Typically, the UK occupational schemes are jointly funded by both employer and employee, where employees contribute around 6% of their gross salary into funds that invest into equity, and provide a return of that investment to the individuals account for the future (Budd Campbell, 2000). The third category of UK Pension Provision is personal pensions. This is when individuals make arrangement with a provider like an insurance company, to make regular contributions in a scheme, similar to occupational pensions (Blake, 2003). Like the other plans, the contributions are made by the individual throughout their working life, with benefits of pension being released after retirement. The process of these benefits being released can vary; in some cases, the provider purchases a pension plan prior or at retirement for the individual. Challenges to Pensions The most important challenge faced by most nations, including the UK, is the aging of the population. With birth-rates slowing down and life expectancy increasing, a larger percentage of the population is elderly. This means that the ratio of workers to retirees is growing, meaning there are less individuals each year earning and contributing to the pension system, while there are more beneficiaries being registered each year. The current system is normally referred to as pay as you go (PAYG), in view of how it is funded and utilised (Blake, 2003). This challenge is harder to address with individuals seeking to look for alternatives to ensure a better lifestyle after retirement for themselves, than the bigger picture of a nation with a large portion of retirees falling below the poverty level. Another challenge faced is the reduction in investment into private pensions. Employers have cut the contributions they had been making as a response to the current business climate (Budd Campbell, 2000). This means that the amount available or due to be available for retirees in the future will be lesser than initially forecasted, ending up with further disparity between the need and provision of the benefits at that stage. The complexity of the UK pension system has made it harder for changes to be implemented effectively, resulting in more patch-up than complete reforms. This complexity has given rise to a sense of despair among the workforce on the ability of the state to cater to the demands of the citizens, and offer solutions that are viable and feasible in the long-run. Pensions Commission Formed in 2002, the Pensions Commission was a public body in the UK that did not come under any governmental department, but reported to the Secretary of State for Works and Pension (Pensions Commission, 2007). Its sole aim was to review the system of private pensions and savings in the nation, and make recommendations as it saw necessary on whether changes needed to be made for the future. The changes were primarily linked to the voluntary contributions made by individuals and organizations. The Commission published two reports, in 2004 and 2005. The reports provided a detailed analysis of the UK pension system at the time, its evolution over time should it remain unchanged, and recommendations on steps that were needed to formulate a new policy that was more in line with the future demand (Pensions Commission, 2007). The UK compared to the rest of Europe With limited accessibility to data from current years for the pension schemes in Europe, an analysis of a survey conducted during the late 90s shows some interesting information, highlighting the plight of the UK pension system, and the drastic need of reform in the present age (Blake, 2006). It was discovered that on the whole, 57% of the workforce in the UK who were in paid employment contributed towards a pension. This is the voluntary contribution that occupation pensions allow. The data of European Union (EU) workers showed that 79% of the contributed to a pension plan. This disparity shows the resulting imbalance in benefit payments and contributions for the UK, as well as a defining reason for a high percentage of pensioners falling below the poverty line (Blake, 2003). When the comparison was done for self-employed individuals, it was discovered that 59% of men and 47% of women in the UK contributed to a pension scheme. However, this pales in comparison to the 73% and 72% of men and women, respectively, in the EU who contributed to a pension plan (Blake, 2003). This is an addition to the point stated earlier, that signifies the growing income equality setting into the social system in the UK, and is a reflection of the divergence of income among workers. On the organization front, more employers have changed their schemes in the UK, requiring individuals to fend for themselves, and be more responsible for the provision of pension. The state has taken a backseat, to become more of an enabler and regulator (Blake, 2006). However, with increasing concerns from the citizens, the UK government in the last few years has started to investigate changes to the current system, in hope of bring improved benefits in the long run. The Turner Report In 2005, the Pensions Commission published the Turner Report, after its exhaustive research of the prevalent pension system in the UK. The report was aimed at providing the government a course of action with recommendations on steps that needed to be taken to bring a radical shift in the contributory habits, as well as the structure in place for the pension system (Pensions Commission, 2007). One of the recommendations from the report as linked to combating the population ageing challenge faced by the system. It was of the view that the retirement age be increased so that the contributory workforce numbers are improved to supplement the needs of the pensioners (Pensions Commission, 2007). Also, the age for receiving maximum benefits should be changed so that these are only available to older nationals, with others needed to invest into private pensions as a means of supplementing their retirement income. Another recommendation was for the formation of a National Pension Savings Scheme (NPSS), a semi-compulsory contribution scheme that offered individuals a set choice of investments within a constrained range of investment options (Pensions Commission, 2007). The creation of such a scheme would allow UK workers to enjoy supplementary retirement benefits without any reliance on employers to act as sponsors. However, sceptics have argued recently on the viability of such a scheme to be cost-effective or the governance policies for it to remain efficient and reactive to the changing financial conditions domestically and internationally. The National Pensions Debate The work of the Pensions Commission and the resulting Turner Report gave the UK government a wake-up call on the needs for change in the pension system. The first steps towards reform were taken in the step of opening the debate to the public. The focus of such a step was to involve the citizens into the process of deciding what was needed, as they were the chief beneficiaries of the system. The National Pensions Day, organised on 18 March 2006, brought together thousands of UK nationals on a uniform platform, to share their views and offer alternatives, in terms of the reforms needed to be auctioned by the government to have a lasting effect on the pensions system (DWP, 2009). As well as a coordinated public event through internet link-up, the UK government used an online survey to grasp a broader understanding of the mindset held within the nation on the delicate nature of the current pensions system. From the input gained due to the debate and the report produced by the independent Pension Commission, the UK government took two initiatives; it published two white papers to cover the proposals that it believed were compulsory to implement for positive change to come into the system (DWP, 2009). The first white paper, titled Security in Retirement: towards a new Pension System, outlined the governments proposals that were designed to revamp the pensions system provided they met with the requirements set within personal responsibility, fairness, simplicity, affordability and sustainability (DWP, 2009). After having formulated and published this white paper, the government brought together key business leaders and organization figureheads to offer consultative advice on the reforms that were being proposed. This collective arrangement was a means of ensuring minimum barriers to the process of change for the long term. The second white paper was titled Personal Accounts: a new way to save, was published by the government proposing the setup of a new national system of low cost personal accounts. The ideology here was to introduce a habit of saving among the UK nationals and residents, which would help in providing income after retirement. This time, the government proposed a period of public consultation on the matter, wanting to address any queries and reservations from the audience that would most be affected by it (DWP, 2008). Having gained a major consensus towards the auctioning of these reforms, the Government moved ahead with the implementation process. The process however was long-term oriented and phased, in order to allow the change to be effected positively and have long term benefits for the nation. The Pensions Act 2007 The reforms proposed to the state pensions system in the first white paper were transformed into law by this act. The changes proposed covered three key areas: the Basic State Pension (BSP), the State Second Pension (S2P) and the qualifying conditions set out for both (DWP, 2009). Some of the key changes are: The qualifying years for receiving full BSP was 39 for women and 44 for men. Effective 2010, this would be reduced to 30 for both. The annual cost of living component in BSP was linked to prices in terms of increases. This would be changed to link with earnings from 2012, provided the fiscal position allowed affordability. Easing the conditions for contribution to BSP, so that everyone can build up some entitlement, instead of those meeting the tough qualification process. From 2010, introducing national insurance credits in relation to S2P, essentially for those individuals who suffer from long term disabilities and those who have caring responsibilities, allowing them to build up some additional pension entitlement. However, one major change that was proposed linked with the issue of the ageing workforce. For long term affordability of the state pension system, it was decided necessary to implement a gradual increase in the state pension age for both men and women. The important part of this change would be the pace at which the increase has been proposed. The period for this increase was between 2024 and 2046; with the age being increased to 68 by the end of this term (DWP, 2009). The Pensions Act 2008 In continuation to the proposed reforms that were deemed necessary after the commission investigation and public debate, this act put into law most of the actions advised in the second white paper. The aim here was to encourage greater private pension saving, so that individuals were not solely reliant on the state to meet their living costs after retirement (DWP, 2009). Some of the key changes of this act are: Automatic enrolment of eligible workers into a qualifying workplace pension scheme, with effect from 2012. What this means is that workers would have to take a decision not to be part of the pension scheme provided by the employer. If any such decisions have not been made actively by the worker, he or she would be enrolled automatically to the workplace pension scheme. A minimum of 3 per cent contribution by the employer to the employees pension account, based on the earning band. This was as a supplement to the 4 per cent contribution that would be made by the employee, and the almost 1 per cent in tax relief provided by the government. 2012 would see the introduction of a new low cost savings vehicle, named as the National Employment Savings Trust (NEST). This scheme is aimed at the medium and low earners, with low charges and simplicity. The Process of Reform When analysed against the pension systems in the developed world, the prevailing UK system has shown serious flaws that have increased over time. The key factor to consider here is the ageing population. While this factor is prevalent in other developed nations running state pension systems, the problem seems less influencing for a few reasons. Canada and Australia have a lower population and a higher percentage in the active workforce. The US being the largest economy in the world has a significant pensioner population, but its higher rate of immigration has allowed it to have a workforce that contributes heavily to the pension system. The UK, however, seems in neither of these areas. It has a significant portion of its workforce nearing the retirement age in the coming decade. With immigration being tightened, the number of foreign workers entering to contribute to the pension system is not as high as required (Butler, 1997). The above point, however, points a serious flaw in the PAYG system, where the current working individuals contribute in the present day, to pay the benefits of those already retired, expecting the same for themselves when they move out of the employment age bracket. The example can be referred to as a bucket of water with a hold in the bottom. There is little accumulation, as water flows out, and the inflow is a slow stream. The need for an understanding to be developed in the public for being more responsible towards their individual needs in retirement is important. Taking personal responsibility during the working age will in turn help avoid a large number of pensioners falling below the poverty line later. Additionally, a supporting but steady role of the employer in terms of contribution to pension schemes for the employee is a step forward. Superannuation schemes in Australia have been following this model for a number of years, with new changes allowing more flexibility to the employee to choose their investment vehicle, but restricting access to the funds till retirement age (Blake, 1997). The recent financial crisis too has impacted the pension system in the UK, as most schemes had invested in several schemes and stocks that have since fallen in value or collapsed. This has resulted in a write-down for many pensioners, furthering emphasizing the failings of the government to provide better protection to pension plans. The state of economy and its stability, therefore, becomes an important factor in the overall effectiveness of the pension system in the United Kingdom. The underlying message in the reform is an acceptance of the drawbacks existing in the pension system of UK, and taking steps to rectify it. Its main aim is to introduce the concept of savings among the public, by offering simplified processes to include more of the working population in the contribution to the state plans, as well as to individual and organizational plans, thereby diversifying the sources of income after retirement. With the reform commencing in 2010, the outlook remains positive. With public involvement in the decision-making process, it is likely that the changes under implementation will be accepted without much resistance. However, critics still argue over whether there is going to be a lasting effect once all variations are completed. One of the most important factors in this would continue to be the economic condition and the sustainability of stability shown.

Friday, September 20, 2019

Transformational, Transactional and Laissez faire Leadership

Transformational, Transactional and Laissez faire Leadership Healthcare organizations nowadays are facing many complex issues that affect theirs success like providing best health care within affordable cost and staff retention. Lack of job satisfaction among nurses and increase the rate of staff absenteeism and turnover, consider other critical issues that have great impact on the organization continuation. Those challenges need well prepared leader who adopt an effective leadership style to mange and over come them. Leadership style affects the development and employees commitment (Spinelli, 2006). Many scientists and researchers are interested nowadays in leadership and management field. Leadership define as the process of motivating people to work together collaboratively to accomplish great things or the capacity to influence others. Effective leader help to increase the followers commitment and interest in the organization goals Different leadership theories and styles were tested to study their effectiveness. Early studies and researches in leadership was based on belief that the leader should have or born with specific general personal trait and he the ones who mainly set the rules and the responsibilities and the follower accomplish them. But with the time, the value of the collaboration and teamwork increase especially in the health care setting different which lead to contemporary theories to evolve. Contemporary theories consider that effective leadership is a certain skills that can be taught, trained or adopted by the leader. In this paper we will compare between th ree contemporary leadership theories: The transformational, transactional and the laissez-faire leadership what they mean and which one is more effective (Vroom Jago, 2007). Transactional Leadership Style Burns (1979) developed the transformational and transactional leadership theories and later Bass (1985) applied them to study their effectiveness in the organizations (Spinelli, 2006).Transactional leadership is an exchange process that identifies needs of employees and provides rewards to meet those needs in return for expected performance. A transactional leadership style consider as replacement of the autocratic leadership because both of them generate a level of predictability and order. The transactional leadership is more practical in nature because of its emphasis on meeting specific targets or objectives and focused more on daily basis task. Subordinates of transactional leaders are not expected to be creatively because they are monitored and evaluated on the basis of predetermined criteria (Aarons, 2006). Burns (1978) believed that transactional leadership is based on bureaucratic authority. Transactional leaders focus on work standards, assignments and task-oriented goals. In addition, he believed that transactional leaders tend to focus on task completion and employee compliance. Those leaders influence employee performance by using the organizational rewards and punishments. The transactional leader described also, as an agent of change and goal setter; a leader that works well with employees resulting in improvements in productivity (Emery, College, Barker, Fredonia, 2007). Bass and Avolio (1987) transactional leadership can be divided to there model: passive, active and contingent. Passive transactional leadership or management-by exception (MBE) means that status will remain as its unless things go wrong, in this case leader practicing passive management-by-exception will take actions that often have a negative implication. active transactional leadership involves an interaction between leader and follower that stress more on a more positive exchange; for example, providing appropriate rewards when followers meet objectives. Through that the leader will emphasizes on acceptable accomplishments and increase the followers motivation. Finally contingent style is where the leader focused on clarifying the rules and requirements for the followers and then rewards them due to fulfilling the obligations (Murphy, 2005). Transformational Leadership Style The transformational leadership theory is a cooperative, process-focused networking where the leader motivates his followers to create, inspire and influences changes in them. Leader of this style act as role model for his followers, attend their needs and involve them in the decision making process. The main point in this theory is to encourage the followers to perform to their full capacity and meet the expectations. Transformational Leader need to have a base of transaction qualities to establish his style successfully. Transformational leadership is not a substitute for transactional leadership, but it develops and enhances it (Tomey, 2004). The transformational and transactional leadership consisting of seven dimensions.(Bass, 1985; Avolio, Bass Jung, 1999) developed an instrument that include all those seven dimensions and used to measure the components of transactional, transformational leadership and laissez-faire leadership styles. This instrument, called the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (Gumusluoglu, Ilsev, 2009). Transformational leadership is measured by four dimensions: idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation and individualized consideration. In Idealized influence the leader does the right thing, take risks and act as role model for his followers which make him trusted and respected from his followers. . Inspirationally motivating leaders has high expectations and they are trying to inspire and motive their followers by changing their thoughts to achieve their leaders visions and expectations. Intellectual stimulation involves providing a supportive environment in the work which will encourage the employees to be more creative, accepting challenging tasks and involve in decisions making process. Finally, an individually considerate leader treats each employee as a unique person with respect to their differences, spends time coaching employees and appreciate their achievements with continues feed backing. (Arnold, Turner, Barling, Kelloway, McKee, (2007). Laissez-Faire Leadership Style Laissez-Faire leadership can be described as a nondirective, passive and inactive style. Leaders of this style believe that internal drives and believes motivate the follower to act .The leader in this style sets few rules for processing the issues in the organization and then delegates them to the subordinates. The leader needs to know very well the level of knowledge, competence and integrity of his followers to be able to delegate the tasks. This style helps the follower to invest their talents and abilities to the maximum. Its more effective if used with very mature and autonomous employees, but mostly it not effective or productive style. The risks here arise when the leader mistaken in choosing the suitable employee to accomplished the delegated tasks. Lack of clear vision and direction for the organization lead the followers to adopt different goals and objective, increase the stress level among the followers and decrease the productivity and the quality. Laissez-Faire leader do not influence the organization culture due to minimal interactions between him and his followers. Finally Laissez-Faire leadership style mainly can be used in small business not for big organizations like health organizations (Daly, Speedy Jackson, 2004). The Effectiveness of Transformational, Transactional  and Laissez-Faire Leadership Many researches and studies done to test the effectiveness and the consequences of adopting different leadership styles on the employee and the organization itself. For example, a study done in 2008 include of 447 staff working in a care center for the elderly in large Danish local government. This study used a longitudinal survey design and questionnaires. Transformational researchers here were testing three hypotheses one of them is the direct relationship between leadership and wellbeing in the followers. The study shown that the there is a strong relation between using the leader the transformational leadership style in dealing with his employees and their well being and decreasing their level of the work stress (Gumusluoglu et al., 2009). Other study done by Berson and Linton in 2005 conclude that the leader who follows the transformational leadership style in dealing with his employees will help them to be more creative and enthusiastic, increase their commitment in the job In 2006, a research done that involve subordinate managers from five hospitals in northeastern Pennsylvania.101 surveys were been distributed in five hospitals in northeastern Pennsylvania .The survey instrument used was the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) that developed by Bernard Bass and Bruce Avolio (1997). The scientists want here to test the relation between the transformational, transactional and laissez-faire leadership styles of healthcare CEOs and their subordinate managers satisfaction with them, their willingness to exert extra effort, and perception of their leaders effectiveness. The study shown that the more CEOs followed the laissez-faire style in dealing with their subordinate managers, the lesser subordinate managers reported exerting extra effort and expressed satisfaction with the leader, and disbelieved in the efficiency of their leader (Spinelli, 2006). Employee job satisfaction is often consisting of the following elements: the job itself, supervisor relationship, management beliefs, future opportunity, work environment, pay/benefits/rewards, and co-worker relationships. According to Morriss research, employee job satisfaction is a critical factor in the satisfaction of the customers. In a study of customer satisfaction at a major Midwestern hospital, the correlation between the nurses job  satisfaction and the patients willingness to recommend the unit was .85, in the same study the nurses them self shown more satisfaction if their head managers developed transformational behaviors (Emery et al., 2007). Many studies encourage health care mangers to use both the transformational and the transactional leadership skills in their setting. Aarons (2006) did a study include 303 mental health providers working in 49 mental health programs for youths in California where involved in a study aim to examine the relation between leadership and mental health providers attitudes toward adopting evidence-based practice. The study shown that both transformational and transactional leadership were positively associated with providers having more positive attitudes toward adoption of evidence-based practice, but in transformational leadership the employees found no difference between their current practice and evidence-based practice which may affect the application of the new practices in the organization. The researchers recommend in this study that the mental health service organizations may benefit from improving transformational and transactional leadership skills in preparation for implementing evidence-based practices. McGuire and Kennerly (2006) mentioned that the leader needs to have a balance between transformational and transactional skills in his management, create effective plan that meet his employees needs. Conclusion Effective leadership styles and theories has been thoroughly studied and tested by scientists due its importance in the success of the organization. Leader in transactional style focused on tasks and reward the employee and recognize them if they meet the agreed objectives. Transformational leader act as role model for his followers inspires and motivate them and meet their needs. Laissez-faire leader provide no visions or directions for his followers, tend to delegate the tasks and avoid decision making. Many studies support the transformational style because its provide supportive environment where the employee work creatively, show commitment and meet the expected requirements. Some studies encourage leaders to make combination between the three styles in their management, because different situation need the style. Transformational and Laissez-faire styles are more useful in encouraging the employees to work independently and creativity. Transactional style is more effective when the leader want to set new practices and need to implement them within specific time.

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Love and Lust in Play-By-Play, Sex without Love, and Junior Year Abroad

Love and Lust in Play-By-Play, Sex without Love, and Junior Year Abroad      Ã‚  Ã‚  Lust is an incredibly strong feeling that can prove to be almost uncontrollable, leading it to commonly be mistaken for love. Due to the relative closeness of these emotions, both are often confused, and even when one is in love he or she does not recognize it. Many think that love just comes knocking on one's door and one will know when it does, but they don't realize that for love to occur a relationship has must be worked out. Love is described by some as fireworks, tingles, and butterflies in the stomach; but it is lust that can cause these things to happen, and it is these that mark only the beginning of a relationship. After a while, these feelings die out, and this is when the honeymoon period is over; it is from this point on that the relationship will either end or get stronger and eventually lead to true love.    Lust is the main idea behind the poem "Play-By-Play" by Joan Murray. The tale being told is of older women well past their sixties admiring much younger men playing softball from up on a terrace over-looking the field. The women are gawking at the flex of a batter's hips before his missed swing, the wide-spread stride of a man picked off his base, the intensity   on the new man's face as he waits on deck and fans the air. (Murray 837)    The poem goes on to tell of the women, who "...haven't put aside desire/ but sit at ease and in pleasure,/ watching the young men" (Murray 837). This work obviously shows how the women lust after the attractive young men, and clearly are not in love; any one of these men could have been replaced with another attractive man and would have m... ...ediately, and she would have realized the mistake she had made. In this poem the main character is lustful of both the new man she has met in Paris as well as the man she left behind her homeland, although she was under the false perception that it was love.    The often confused words 'love' and 'lust' are becoming used interchangeably more and more every day. Indeed, many definitions are being loosened up and many words are used improperly. When people use the words 'love' and 'lust', they should be more careful which word it is that they mean to say. WORKS CITED Meyer, Michael, ed. Thinking and Writing About Literature.   Second Edition. New York: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2001. o Joan Murray, "Play-By-Play". Meyer. 837-838. o Sharon Olds, "Sex Without Love". Meyer. 838. Barbara Rebecca, "Junior Year Abroad". Meyer. 839.

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Dulce et Deorum Est Essay -- English Literature Essays

Dulce et Deorum Est Wilfred Owen wrote Dulce et Decorum Est about the first World War, in which he had personally fought. It was addressed to Jessie Pope, a writer of other poems concerning the War. Specifically he wrote the poem to counteract her poem â€Å"Who’s For The Game?†. Owen felt that Pope did not comprehend the seriousness of the war in her portrayal of the battle as a rugby game. Pope conveyed the participants of the ‘game’ were admirable and those who sat on the sidelines shunned and disregarded. His poem seems very depressing and gloomy, particularly in comparison, but is it not more realistic? Owen was a soldier himself, would he not know more about the horrors that war brings than the female poet, who could only be permitted to watch from the outside of her competitive yet carefree game of rugby? Personally, I think he would. At the time, Owen was put into a psychiatric hospital because the war had so badly affected him, broken his character. It was there that he met Siegfried Sassoon, who had been put into psychiatric care for writing poems that the authorities thought put the war into a negative light. It was Sassoon who encouraged Owen to become a poet, and they became good friends. The way Owen writes is very much sane and some would say he was quite an influential character. So how does Owen compare the horrors of war? From the very first line you become aware that the poem is not likely to be as light and cheerful as Pope’s poem. The line is; Bent double, like old beggars under sacks which is already a rather miserable tone. We see how Owen has begun to set the mood for his piece already. He describes the soldiers’ crooked stance and compares them to old beggars, uncomfortable and undesirable. In the second line he goes on to say that the men are knock-kneed and compares their coughs to those of hags. Again the undesirable, slightly unpleasant note is illustrated through the diction. The soldiers sound unwell, probably due to their harrowing lives in the trenches, which makes them dirty, sodden and more prone to illness. In the third line the poet describes flares, long flames often used for signalling, as ‘haunting’ to the soldiers. This suggests that they are sick of the war and hate the constant reminders of it. Obviously they cannot get away from the war and the monotonous, dire lifestyle they faced every day in the ranks. E... ...e grotesque lines he has just written, saying that the woman would not tell of the war with enthusiasm if she had experienced it first hand or had witnessed such loathsome episodes. His last two lines are the main subject of the poem and include the title itself. Although these lines are not separated from the rest like the ones discussing how the man reappeared in his dreams every night, they are the most memorable as they are the last and the finality is extrusive within them. The final lines are: The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est Pro patria mori ‘The old Lie’ is connected to how he views Jessie Pope’s impression of the war, which he feels is captured in the Latin expression. The Latin itself translates directly as ‘It’s sweet and glorious to die for your country’. Pope’s entire poem is focused on the accuracy of this statement, whereas Owen’s entire poem is focused on contradicting the statement. The poems are in sharp contrast to each other, but Owen’s holds first hand experience and in my view is far more impacting. The lines are a relevant end to the poem and leave the reader with the thought in their mind that perhaps war really isn’t as glorious as they’ve been told.

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Golf Equipment Manufacturing Industry

Henrietta Koramoah What I learned-Poison Gas used in World War I I learned a lot about World War I and a lot about poison gas during this assignment. First I learned that poison gas was used as an accessory that killed a lot of people. I learned that the use of poison gas was started by France. They used poison gas against Germans in the war. Then Germans started using poison gas against most of the other country and their allies. The poison gas used was phosgene gas, mustard gas, chlorine, Asphyxiate, and Lachrymator (tearing agent).Most of these gases contain toxic and a harmful bacterium that can cause damage to humans immediately. Secondly I learned that for first time in the war; poison gas was like a weapon but only used to frighten soldiers. Even though the soldiers had their mask on, some were still injured. In 1917 when the United States joined the war, after defeated by the Germans most countries like the British got mask for their soldier and used poison gas as a respond t o their enemies such as the Germans.Thirdly I learned that, France and British made more mask to protect them from the pain of poison gas. The Germans defeated a lot of countries with the help of poison gas. Even though poison gas did injured and hurt a lot of people. The number of damages caused by poison gas was low to the damages caused by machine guns. And lastly I learned that Germans were blamed for the damages caused in the war, I thought that was a little bit unfair but I thought Germans had it coming. So in conclusion this is what I learned about poison gas in my I-Search assignment.

Monday, September 16, 2019

Environmental Control and Pollution in Nigeria Essay

Civilization has been overwhelmed with fearful reports that mankind is steadily working towards self – destruction through the process of uncontrolled pollution of the environment. A casual look at our surroundings shows reckless attitude of people towards environmental preservation. Due to this development, regulations and standards have been set to ensure cleaner and safer environment. These regulations are enforced by agencies like National Environmental Standard and Regulation Enforcement Agency (NESREA), Federal Environmental Protection Agency (FEPA) and State Environmental Protection Agencies (SEPAs). There are environment regulations currently in place which include regulation on noise, erosion, flood, for manufacturers of beverages and tobacco, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, electrical, electronics, sanitation, emissions that that have to do with air pollution. There are also regulations on pollution, hazards, waste, air, soil, surface and subsurface water that constitute contamination of the environment. We have major forms of pollution such as water, noise, air, land/soil and thermal pollutions which sources include natural disaster, industries, motor vehicles, generation sets amongst others. Without pollution control, the waste products from extraction, production, distribution, heating, agriculture, mining, manufacturing, transportation and other human activities, whether they accumulate or disperse, will degrade the environment. In the hierarchy of environmental control, pollution prevention and minimization of wastes are more desirable to pollution control. Most industries and individuals in this country have erroneously claimed that why they are not able to treat or control their wastes or reduce pollution is that government has not provided the necessary facilities for the management of such wastes. Apart from the basic facilities the government has to provide, each waste generator is responsible for the safe disposal of his or her waste, except when government insists on a particular system. No government builds toxic waste incinerators or chemical treatment plants but all the government can do is to encourage entrepreneurs interested in such ventures by granting special concession, tax relief, removal of duty on imported pollution control equipment. The purpose of setting environmental regulations is to reduce or eliminate health and environmental hazards that induce harm. ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION What is an Environment? The African Centre for Environmental Protection (ACEP) defines environment as the totality of surrounding condition and its features. Scientifically, it is described as the combination of physical, chemical, biological and social factors in which a living organism exists that affect the organism, community and influences its development or existence. Environment can simply be considered as the surrounding in which we live, work and enjoy leisure, which consists of air, soil, surface and surface water, providing habitat for mankind and other animals, plant species and serving as a source for food, water, fuel, raw materials and breathing air. Environmental Problems Environmental imbalance gives rise to various environmental problems. Some of the environmental problems are pollution, soil erosion leading to floods, salt deserts and sea recedes, desertification, landslides, change of river directions, extinction of species, and vulnerable ecosystem in place of more complex and stable ecosystems, depletion of natural resources, waste accumulation, deforestation, thinning of ozone layer and global warming. Environmental Pollution Environmental pollution is defined as the undesirable change in physical, chemical, and biological characteristics of our air, land and water. It can also be described as ‘the deliberate or accidental contamination of the environment with waste that is created by human action’. As a result of over – population, rapid industrializations, and other human activities like agriculture and deforestation etc., earth became loaded with diverse pollutants that are released as by-products. A pollutant is a substance or effect which adversely alters the environment by changing the growth rate of species, interferes with the food chains, is toxic or interferes with health, comfort, amenities or property values of people. Pollutants are introduced into the environment in significant amounts in the form of sewage, waste, accidental discharge, or as a by-product of a manufacturing process or other human activity. The damage caused to the biosphere may be briefly summarized as follows: 1. Damage to human health caused by specific chemical substances present in the air, food, water and radioactivity materials 2. Damage to the natural environment which affects vegetation, animals, crops, soil and water 3. Damage to the aesthetic quality of the environment caused by smoke, chemical fumes, dust, and noise, the dumping of solid waste and waste water 4. Damage caused by long term pollution effects which are not immediately apparent. The dangerous effects are caused by low level pollution absorbed into the body over long periods of time, for example carcinogenic substances, radioactivity and excessive noise Types of Pollution (a) Water Pollution Water pollution occurs due to the presence of dissolved inorganic materials, organic materials such as proteins, fats, carbohydrates and other substances found in domestic and industrial waste waters. It also gets polluted due to physical factors such as turbidity, colour, temperature of effluent, associated radioactivity etc. Organic pollutants Organic pollution is due to the presence of high molecular weight compounds such as sugars, oils and fats, and proteins obtained from distillery, canning, sugar and other food processing industries. They impart a high Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) load to the liquid waste. These organic compounds are readily degraded in aqueous medium by soil and microorganisms present in the sewage. During this process, Dissolved Oxygen (DO) in the stream is used up. When the DO is reduced below a certain limit, aquatic life is affected adversely. Oil spillage from tankers and ships leads to the pollution of beaches. Some wastes from pharmaceutical and petrochemical industries and coke-ovens contain phenols which are toxic to fish, microorganisms and other aquatic life. Liquid effluents from industries manufacturing drugs, dyestuffs, pesticides and detergents can also be toxic. Usage of anionic detergents which are not biodegradable leads to a lot of foaming and frothing. Inorganic pollutants and heavy metal pollution Alkalis, acids, inorganic salts and other chemicals formed during processing lead to inorganic pollution. Besides being the cause of corrosion of metals, these chemicals are toxic to aquatic life. Industries like paper and pulp, tanneries, textiles and coke-ovens among many others, discharge these chemicals. Inorganic chemicals such as free chlorine, ammonia, hydrogen sulfide and other sulfides, salts of metals like Cr, Ni, Zn, Cd, Cu, Ag etc. are usually found in metal plating liquid wastes, alkali producing units, polyvinyl chloride, coke-oven and fertilizer industries. Pharmaceutical industries also produce large quantities of free acids and neutralized chemicals during different unit processes. Chromates, phosphates, ammonia and urea are typical chemicals found in effluents from fertilizer industries. Pollution due to mercury in chloro-alkali industries has forced to switch from mercury to diaphragm cells although there are many operating difficulties in the latter. Eutrophication is a phenomenon that occurs due to the presence of inorganic matter in the water. Though it is a natural process in lakes and rivers, human activities can accelerate the rate at which nutrients enter these water bodies. Inorganic pollutants containing nitrates and phosphates are essential for plants. When these compounds are present in excess in water body there is an over growth of plant matter creating an imbalance in the aquatic environment. Apart from these factors, effluent waters can have pathogenic micro organisms and harmful substances like organochlorides, phenolic and benzenic compounds that cause various types of acute and chronic diseases among living beings. Therefore, it is most desirable that industrial liquid effluents are pretreated or reduced with undesirable chemicals before being thrown on the land and in rivers, seas or public sewers. If discharged into public sewers they can corrode the pipe lines and treatment equipment as well as reduce biological activity due to the presence of toxic materials. (b) Air Pollution Apart from natural causes, pollution of air occurs due to increased industrialization and urbanization. In nature, thousands of tonnes of dust, sand and obnoxious gases are carried from one place to another by wind, cyclones, volcanic eruptions and forest fires. A healthy man inhales about 16.5 kg air/day. If this air is polluted, intake of oxygen is reduced. Corrosion of materials by acid mist and acid gases like SO2, CO2 and oxides of nitrogen can be very significant. Pollution of air occurs from process industries such as sulfuric acid plants, power station boilers, nitric acid plants, cement plants, foundries, chloro-alkali industries and plastics industries among many others. It is broadly due to particulate matter dispersed in it or gaseous pollutants completely miscible with it in all proportions. Dusts refer to coarser sizes of solids (1-100 microns) that are carried away due to the turbulent forces of flow. Aerosols refer to particles smaller than 1 micron. Smoke is obtained during incomplete combustion of organic matter. The sizes of particles vary between 0.01-1 microns. Fumes, mists and fog are other forms of pollution which could occur due to various operations in chemical industry. Gaseous pollutants are gaseous solutes such as SO2, Cl2, NOx, CO2, CO, mercury or organic vapour dispersed in air. Another source of ambient air pollution is the emission from automobiles. The pollutants in this case are CO, NOx, hydrocarbons, particulate matter and trace quantities of SO2, formaldehyde and lead. Effects of air pollution Global warming (Green house effect) – This is the observed increase in the average temperature of the earth’s atmosphere and oceans in recent decades. The increased amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases (CH4, O3) are the primary causes. They are released by the burning of fossil fuels, land clearing and agriculture, etc. and lead to an increase in the greenhouse effect. ï‚ ·Ã¯â‚¬  Acid rain (SOx, NOx) – Acid rain occurs when sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides are emitted into the atmosphere. These substances undergo chemical transformations and are absorbed by water droplets in clouds. The droplets then fall to earth as rain or snow. This can increase the acidity of the soil, and affect the chemical balance of lakes and streams. ï‚ ·Ã¯â‚¬  Depletion of the ozone layer (CFCs, HCFCs etc.) – Ozone layer prevents most harmful UV wavelengths (270- 315 nm) of ultraviolet light from passing through the earth’s atmosphere. The decrease in ozone is due to the production of CFCs and ozone depleting chemicals such as carbon tetrachloride and trichloroethane. It is suspected that a variety of biological consequences, including, for example, increases in skin cancer, damage to plants, and reduction of plankton in the ocean result from the increased UV exposure due to ozone depletion. ï‚ ·Ã¯â‚¬  Photochemical smog & air borne toxic substances – Photochemical smog is due to the chemical reaction of sunlight, nitrogen oxides (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOC’s) in the atmosphere, which leaves a yellow brown haze that reduces visibility. Nitrogen oxides are released in the exhaust of fossil fuel-burning engines in cars, trucks, coal power plants, and industrial manufacturing factories. VOC’s are vapors released from gasoline, paints, solvents, pesticides, and other chemicals. (c) Land Pollution The greatest land pollution by far occurs due to urbanization and concentration of population, garbage, waste paper, packing materials and rejects from households and industries form solid wastes. Land pollution also occurs when deforestation is carried out on a large scale; agricultural operations are extended to forest and mountainous areas, large areas covered with green vegetation are submerged in water by the construction of dams. It can also get polluted when coal, oil, ores, stones, sand and other construction materials are mined and transported. All these operations adversely affect ecological aspects of the environment. Ever increasing demands for paper, fuel, furniture and packing materials due to exploding populations combined with increasing urbanization have aggravate the unhappy situation. The result is that we now live in a rapidly changing environment, the effects of which are not easily predictable. (d) Noise Pollution Of all the pollutions, it is the most insidious and a menace in thickly populated areas. There is ample medical evidence that it affects speech, hearing and the general health and behavior of people exposed to it over extended periods of time. The measurements designed to determine noise levels include the intensity and frequency of noise periods of exposure and duration of noise. The community noise levels are expressed as a weighted sound-pressure level in decibels dB. The sources of noise in environs of industries include metal fabrication processes, high pressure burners in furnaces, rotary equipment like turbines, compressors, pumps etc. pipelines carrying high velocity fluids and solids and vibrating and grinding equipment among many others.

Sunday, September 15, 2019

IPSec Policies Essay

IPSec protocols facilitate encrypting data that is being transmitted over the network thus enhancing security and confidentiality of the data. First, it is important to note that IPSec is regularly employed at a Group Security level and it is not generally compatible with all the available operating systems. IPSec is compatible only with Windows operating system series: 2000, XP and 2003. Windows operating system basically consists of three built-in IPSec policies according to Posey (2004). First, is the Server Policy which in other words is called Request-Security Policy. This means that wherever it is applied, the system requests IPSec encryption so as to allow communication between another computer and the main machine. Besides, if that other computer does not support IPSec encryption, the session is allowed to remain encrypted. Second is the Client Policy which in other words is called response-only policy as it does not at all ask for IPSec encryption. Nevertheless, when another device in the network asks for IPSec encryption, a system that applies Client Policy responds by permitting encryption of sessions. Third, is the Secure Server Policy which calls for IPSec encryption for all incoming link requests made to the server. Thus, it does not sustain non-encrypted sessions. However, this policy exempts ICMP traffic to allow connect without any encryption requirements (Posey, 2004). In Win2k3, IPSec facilities in provision of security-in-depth against cyber attacks propagated by hackers and/or un-trusted devices in the network. Internet Protocol security shields devices against attacks in environments such as virtual private network (VPN), host-to-host, secure server and site-to-site or router-to-router. IPSec applies cryptography and packet filtering to secure networks. These features ensure user authentication, data privacy and integrity as well as reliable communication. In this regard, a few requirements which must be met while setting-up IPSec policies in Win2k3. First, in case a system entails ‘Active Directory –based IPSec policy’, then group policy and active directory have to be configured properly, necessary trusts defined, and application of necessary permissions. Second, every device in the network must be assigned IPSec policy compatible that of others in the network. Third, authentication procedures have to be built up properly and identified in IPSec policy to allow for mutual authentication amid IPSec peers. Fourth, routers and additional filtering devices need to be configured properly to allow IP Security protocol interchange on various parts of the shared network. Fifth, all the computers must have IPSec-supportive operating system and incase they have different operating system, compatibility issues of the IPSec policies have to be addressed. Sixth, IPSec-based connections have to be sufficiently sized besides maintaining the amount of IP Security policies at a minimum. Finally, it is necessary that all system administrators are provided with proper training so as to be able to configure the IPSec policies (Microsoft Corporation, 2010). To successfully implement IPSec in Win2k3, the above steps have to be carried out or seen to be done effectively. It is therefore important to ensure they are observed to the latter although certain distinct procedures have to be observed while implementing IPSec policies. To start with, Bird (2007a) writes that the functionality of IPSec is provided on a Win2k3 via IPSec Services. Therefore, while initially configuring IPSec, it is important to ensure that it is operating in the server. This can be done by checking for IPSec functionality withinn the Services MMC. Besides, the Services MMC is accessible via the Administrative Tools menu in the domain controller. The service is put together so that it starts routinely by default. The second important process during implementation of IPSec policy is to choose and assigns a proper IPSec policy. Once IPSec policies are assigned, it is in order to define the specific actions to be executed on arriving network interchange which meets or does not meet a specific criteria. Both IPSec components and policies are configured via IPSec ‘Policy Management MMC snap-in’. Accordingly, Bird (2007a) in his work states that there is no other way to access MMC in Administrative Tools menu and one has ‘to open a blank MMC’ before adding a snap-in. Consequently, the author argues that to access properties of a prevailing rule, so as to modify or change it, one can do this ‘by double-clicking the rule from within the IPSec Security Policies snap-in’. Such page of properties for default policies appears as in the below diagram. Fig. 1 Server Properties NB: Bird, 2007a. Implement IPSec on Windows Server 2003. The IPSec policy consists of regulations that stipulate the type of traffic entailed in the policy and methods used for authentication procedures. Additionally, an IPSec policy encompasses traffic occurrences in cases where it meets specified criteria or not (Bird, 2007a). Thirdly, another important procedure during implementation is referred to as filtering action. It entails specifying whether or not the defined IPSec rule applies to the entire network connections. For instance whether connections emanating from the Local Area Network and/or from remote links. As Indicated in the figure above, the policy consists of three distinct rules. The first rule stipulates that security needs to be called for all the existing IP traffic and that it should Kerberos requires to be applied to enhance encryption (security and privacy) and authentication procedures. Second rule stipulates that the entire ICMP traffic for instance tracert and ping should be granted access without any requirement for security measures. Third rule which is also the default rule stipulates what happens to the network traffic that does not match to any of the rules (Ibid, 2007a). As earlier stated that there exists three distinct IPSec policies, Client policy (Respond policy) is more common although one can be required to create an IPSec policy from scratch. Therefore, for the purpose of this document it is only an overview of Client and Server Policies implementation that are considered. Bird (2007b) in his work takes a closer look at implementation of Client policy on Win2k3 and argues that it distinctly moderate compared to the others. In this environment, when a client applies for an IPSec connection, it is awarded based on security request. It is important to note that authentication procedures in Win2k3 and Active Directory encompass Kerberos as the default method. However, IPSec on Win2k3 supports pre-shared keys as well as digital certificates as alternative methods for authentication. As earlier mentioned, successful IPSec implementation process consists of three processes basically: assigning, configuring and monitoring. In assigning IPSec policy, you first select it in the IPSec Policy Management MMC snap-in, right-click and then activate it. It is only one policy which can be assigned at any given time without necessarily refreshing the policy manually. However, while assigning IPSec via Group Policy, a manual refresh is necessary. At such point, Win2k3 is sufficiently prepared to respond to any requests for inward bound IPSec connections (Bird, 2007b). Configuring or enabling the functionality of IPSec can either be done manually or via Group Policy in case of deployment on sizeable number of clients. In manual configuration, IPSec policy is configured simply by via Local Security Policy MMC in the Control Panel Administrative Tools menu. IPSec policy snap-in is included into the Administrative Tools menu by default. Alternatively, the Control Panel Administrative Tools menu can be accessed by clicking Start, Run and then typing Secpol. msc in the field. It is in the IPSec policy snap-in where one makes use present policy and/or builds a new one. For instance, where Server policy is implemented on workstation, ‘requests to non-IPSec enabled hosts’ are allowed without IPSec and on the other hand, ‘connections to hosts that do support IPSec’ uses encryption. Subsequently, Bird (2007b) writes that up on configuration of IPSec it is in order to monitor and validate the performance of IPSec traffic. This is usually done by using IPSec Monitor MMC snap-in via navigating through the Statistics folder in the system. These statistics consists of the data quantity received or sent in encrypted format as well as number of existing security associations. Furthermore the author states that IPSec acts as a supplement to the network troubleshooting. Hence, at any point in time where connectivity matters arise, one must examine the source of the problem in either the basic network structure or the IPSec. It is important to note that where security of the data is a key consideration, one can comfortably assign, configure, and monitor the IPSec via using Microsoft tools and software.