Lead and manage people Essay Example for Free

Lead and manage people Essay I used to work at a fine dinning restaurant, the restaurant manager there was very good. He has very strong knowledge about how to manage people. He never being aggressive or uses any inappropriate language. He never asks someone to do the job that he doesnt know how to do. He shows people how to get the job done efficiently. No matter what kind of issues or problems that staff have, he always is willing to help. He gains respect from people not only about his position but also his knowledge, skill as well as his personality. Also he has a strong knowledge about all the wines and the food that we were serving. He made the perfect matching wine list for the menu that impresses everyone who worked or ate there. People enjoy working with him, as he give his knowledge to everyone, as a model to teach people a better way to do things and improve the way we usually do. His encouragements made our target easier to achieve. We worked like a family, people took care of each others. I used to work at a Thai restaurant, the mission statement was to bring the authentic Thai cuisine to life and let people enjoy. In order to achieve this mission statement, we need to cook as authentic Thai food as possible as well as let the guests to enjoy the cuisine that we bring overseas. I think the statement is effective for the company. Cuisine changes as it moves overseas. People travel overseas and know how the authentic local cuisine is. They cannot find it in Melbourne because cuisine shifts then the flavour changes. Imagine if there is only one restaurant can keep the real authentic taste that would be the selling point. Thats what this business wanted and they succussed. They do actually follow the statement. They hire the chefs from Thai to train and monitor other chefs, follow all the steps to make dishes in Thai way, import all the necessary ingredients only from Thai, keep in touch with the authentic Thai cuisine, and always ask well known Thai chefs to taste the fo od. I will discuss this change in both formal and informal communication ways, such as via email, staff notice board, through meeting, and face to face to talk about this change. The email and the notice board are just the tools that I want staff to know there is a change to be happening in 6 weeks. Let them to discuss themselves first, get themselves well prepare for the change, and also to establish some issues to discuss in the incoming meeting, like new color against the religion, discrimination, etc. The meeting process is to formally hand out the change and receive the feedback from staffs. It may require a bit editing or more work on to suit everyone. Last for the individual problem, I will have to discuss the problem in person and try to get a best outcome. I want to delegate the job of making sauce A to Jahn, as he is the new apprentice of the job. As well as sauce A is the dairy big job for this section. In 2 weeks time, Jahn should be able to make the sauce A without any supervision and within a very short period of time. But meanwhile, I need to guide through him all the information that he needs to make sauce A. Demonstration is necessary. When he is making sauce A, I will have to supervisor the whole process, just to make sure he follows correct procedures ensure he is able to make it by himself. Sauce A is a very complex job for anyone, therefore 2 weeks training is required. After 2weeks time, people should be able to make it without supervision. We can delegate the task but not the responsibility, therefore I still need to check the correct seasoning for sauce A from Jahn’s work, also the actual time he spends on making it. If I am not at work, then other chefs will supervisor his work as well, just to make sure he keeps his work consistence. Coaching is more than just pure training and it involves more of personal relationship over time and in many ways it is like mentoring. It makes better environment for the organisation from management to the workers together to build a better workplace in order to achieve a better result. As a chef de cuisine, I would evaluate each individual’s skill and put them in the right place, such as put someone on web design or programming if he/she is good at doing computer. Then consider the current situation to establish a plan for coaching. Well explain to members about the plan, make sure they  understand and make changes for any better leads. I will also demonstrate the task to members. I need to show members that I can complete the task better not just I can’t do it therefore I have to hand out for you guys. When there is a specific skill require for the cut, I will show them how to do it, and I am willing to help to teach them and develop their individual skill level. Teach them what is the best way to do things right here. To help them to multi-tasking from my past experience.I think I will be using ‘democratic’ and ‘Laissez-Faire’ style to coach people, they are more guider and helper kind of coaching style instead of being boss to ask around. As a learner, people is willing to learn from others especially from the one who is easy to talk to, image if your teacher is very grumpy, would you ask him/her any questions? I will ask open questions rather than close questions. It is also a good way to get the feedback from people according to their answers. The recognition and promotion are my motivation at the moment. As I just started a new chef job at a different restaurant, everything starts from fresh, humbly gaining knowledge from co-workers. I need to fit in the new working environment is the priority. Within a month period, the recognition from headchef or other chef is my motivation, learning new knowledge everyday at the same time improve myself. I can see myself is improving a better understanding of the food that I make, developing the better skill that as a chef should have, etc. Those factors create satisfaction for myself in order to achieve better position to the job as well as lead co-workers feel is good to have me on board. According to Herzberg’s motivation-Hygiene theory, they are leading to satisfaction. My motivation has changed over the past few years. When I first came to this country, I just needed a job to feed myself, therefore my motivation at that time was just money, and I didnt care about the quali ty of work environment or the skill that I could improve. Then I moved to another restaurant, also I had a fair amount of money to start with, so at that time a better working environment, better pay, better standard was my motivation. It is more like Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, different stage has vary needs, as well as the motivations. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs can also explain why younger people have different motivational goals than older people. At different age group,  people are tend to have very needs, those needs result different motivational goals. For example, at age 3 you may do what it takes to satisfy your parents in order to get a lollypop. But you wouldnt do the same when you are 20. Because the lollypop wouldnt be your motivational goal at all after you already had hundred of them.Assignment activity 7 Trust-Trust employees, headchef give new staff the opportunity to run the section him/herself. Fully delegate responsibilities to new staff without micromanaging the outcome. They feel being trusted, they will work well in a soften environment. If you always doubt the ability of employee, then they are not happy, how could they work for you. Support- Do not hide the information, give employees the information they need to get the job done. Management should make itself open for the talk regards to the employee manner or dairy issues. As well as welling to help employees to solve the problems that they are facing. Employees feel loved, then they can provide a better outcome to work for you. Facilitation- Provide a happy environment for employees to work with in order to maximize the outcome. No, I dont think so. One of the previous restaurant that I worked, it doesnt have a well communication system. When we say communication, it means two ways, the message from the sender to the receiver, then the feedback from the receiver back to the sender. At that place we have staff notice board and staff communication board. But they are only use to post from the top management only. No staff feedback is needed. It doesnt work as it is only a one way communication tool, it is really hard for management to know if staff understand or award of the new ideas and so on. Within hospitality industry, two ways communication is important, well understand the message and the feedback is essential as they can improve the quality of work or service. Therefore, they should provide the feedback form for staff to fill up, management should really go down and understand what staffs really want. Email out the ideas then get the reply direct from staff may be a good way to start with. The manager at the last place that I used to work, I reckon he uses both paternalistic and democratic management styles. He understands each one of workers within the company and he talks to each one of them like family, therefore everyone calls him ‘brother’. As a ‘brother’, he takes care of each of us and releases the pressure from both workers’ family and work. He listens to people, and talks to people very gently, never use any offensive language. When there are some decisions need to be made, he always listens to all the workers’ need and try to minimize the issues would cause. Those styles were effective for him. He is happy to delegate tasks to colleagues, gaining more power by earning people’s respect. I personal believe he is a good manager as after he took over the place, the revenue was increase and less staff turnover, everyone works together like in a family.

Theories of the self in a social world

Theories of the self in a social world What shapes your self-concept of who you are? Discuss in relation to theories of the self in a social world. The question of what actually shapes the self-concept of a person is one of the most complex topics in Psychology. The self and the development of the self-concept can be broken down in a series of explanations, which also depend on a number of characteristics such as social norms, gender roles, culture and many more. The essay will comprehend a number of explanations of how theories try to analyze the driving force or reasons behind the formation of the self-concept. According to Murphy (1947) the self is the individual known to the individual. The perceptions and attitudes one holds towards oneself is what would define the self-concept. Psychologists have proposed various explanations of what the self-concept in fact is and what forms it. Higgins (1987) put forward the self-discrepancy theory which states that the difference between the actual, ideal and ought self forms the self. The actual self is the current self we are at present, whereas the ideal self strives to achieve the goals we think of as ideal and the ought self represents the self of how others would like us to be. The aim is to make ourselves feel good about us by erasing the differences between the actual self and our ideal/ought self (Dunning and Hayes, 1996). Higgins (1998) also suggested that the ought self also acts as a prevention of what not to do, therefore not expected by others. Mertons self-fulfilling prophecy (1984) showed that others expectations can indeed change our behaviour, supporting the idea of the ought self. It is also supported by research out by Steele and Aronson (1995) who found that African-American students actually reduce effort and did not perform as well as they could have, because of less academic expectations put into them. Stainton Rogers (2003) presented a similar theory to Higgins (1987) but suggested that the self can be divided into three parts which mainly are: the personal self (an individuals own conscious of oneself), the social self (classified by the social background the individual is in) and the relation self which relates to the relationships others have with the individual. On the other hand, the explanation of possible selves by Markus and Nurius (1986) state that self consists of 2 parts: the vision of the self you dream of becoming i.e. the rich, successful etc. and the one you fear of i.e. the unemployed, the poor etc. This helps in having a specific goal to motivate us and to work towards to in order to achieve it. Lockwood and Kunda (1999) carried the idea further and found that models can inspire us to choose who we would like to be but also one should make sure that the model representing is indeed achievable. The image of a future model can also motivate us to make changes to one self e.g. quit smoking. However, Baumeister (1991) feared that not succeeding in who we want to be can have a negative effect on oneself, such as high levels of alcohol consumption. Introspection is also put forward as an explanation to learn about oneself in which one privately thinks of who they are. Nisbett and Nilson (1977) emphasized on the fact that in reality we do not know why we act in a particular way in a specific situation but after the deed, we create logical theories explaining why we acted that way. It is misleading as Wilson and Kraft (1993) found that by creating reasons for their actions changed their behaviour, to match their stated reasons. As when introspecting we do not focus on the main driving force for the actions so it is likely to mislead our predictions about our actions in future. Another distinctive theory put forward by Festinger (1954) relates the formation of the self-concept to something more complex rather than the theories explained so far. The social comparison theory proposes that in order to form ones self-concept, individuals self-evaluate their behaviour by comparing their own behaviour to either a similar or dissimilar individual or to ones own behaviour in the past, which in turn helps feeling affirmative about their own behaviour therefore reinforcing it. The temporal comparison describes the comparison of ones present condition to the past. In social comparison, on the other hand, the individual compares their behaviour to others, referred to as the reference group. People mostly compare themselves to similar people to get approval for their own behaviour and to protect and boost ones self esteem (Leary, 2001). It consists of two parts: downwards comparison and upwards comparisons (Bunk and Oldersma, 2001). Downwards comparison happens when one compares oneself to someone who is not doing as well as the individual, which as a result makes the individual feel better oneself. Upwards comparisons though occurs when the reference group is someone who is doing better, but also making the individual feel better, in a way to try and improve their own situation. However, Taylor and Lobel (1989) goes against this as they said that the individual will feel depressed and anxious if the reference group will always have someone more successful, rich, clever etc. in it. Social identification theory (Tajfel and Turner, 1979) proposing that the membership of social groups affects our behaviour and relates to who we are contradicts the social comparison theory as it states that we are mainly representing our social group of how we interact and identify ourselves rather than relating each other to individuals on a one-to-one basis. Furthermore, Tajfel et al. (1979) state that identifying oneself with a social group gives one positive self-esteem. Self-esteem also plays an important part in forming the self-concept, discussed in following research. Higgins (1987) found that people with low self-esteem often give up quickly and are more likely to be depressed if they fall short of their hopes. Also, people are more likely to be anxious if they feel they fell short of what they ought to be. Similarly, low and high self esteem can be linked to low and high self-efficiency, respectively. The self-efficiency theory (Bandura, 1989) states that it is not only determined by past interactions of what we are able to accomplish but also current interactions to the environment and people. This idea is supported by Collins (1982) as he looked at children with varying mathematical skills and either were low or high self efficient. He asked them to do a mathematical task and found that those who had a high level of self-efficiency performed better and did not give up if stuck, whereas this was less true for the children with low self-efficiency levels as they gave up quickly and were slower in solving the problem regarding their skills they h ad. Furthermore, Weinberg et al. (1979) carried out a study in which they raised or lowered participants self-efficiency beliefs by giving them fake feedback on how well they performed on competitive tasks. They found that in following physical endurance tasks, those with a higher feedback did clearly better and tried to succeed even if problems aroused, whereas in the other group participants gave up much quicker and were not so enthusiastic about succeeding. This supports the self-efficiency theory and also supporting the belief that the levels of self-efficiency we have can give us a mental image of what we are and how we will act or perform. Nevertheless, the self-perception theory (Bem, 1972) suggests that we learn about ourselves by observing how we act and that self-concept is developed through social impact behaviour. If there is no force to choose a particular behaviour and one does it with their own consent, one draws conclusions that this is what we are like and therefore the behaviour reflects us. However, Markus (1977) said that it is the reflection of past experiences, which form through the self-schema model, that are useful in processing information relevant to the self. It also proposed that information learned from the treatment of people towards us, makes us perceive specific behaviour about ourselves, e.g. being funny because people laughed wherever I go. This process is called reflected appraisal. Cooley (1902) put forward the looking glass theory suggesting for developing oneself it is crucial to get feedback from others. Also, Mead (1934) called this process the reflexive self, as one observes, reacts to and plans subsequent behaviour. An important part of how we perceive ourselves also relates to gender differences, which none of the theories above mentioned. Guimond et al. (2007) stated that gender is not only important for differentiating between genders but gender also plays an important part in determining for we respond, interact and most importantly perceive ourselves. In addition, Cross and Madson (1977) noted that one of the most basic gender differences relating to self-concept is that women are more likely to develop as being interdependent, whereas men are more likely to develop independence. However, a weakness of this model is that it does not state a specific reason to why men and women differ in self-construal. Last but not least, one could argue that behaviour vary mostly among cultures so theories or explanations for the self described so far are not taking culture into account so it cannot represent everyone. As Marsella et al. (1994) argues that despite much the psychological research into the self, it is still irrelevant to a large part of the world. G.H. Mead (1934) expressed the importance of social interaction in developing the self as he belies that social interaction does form the self-concept, however, it is not only the interaction that helps, but also the social norms, personal beliefs and cultural patterns. Moreover, research carried out by Simpsons (2000) found that 85% of people believe that it is possible to be whoever one wants to be in American culture. American culture which is an individualistic society gives more value to independence and freedom, which gives it more freedom to choose how you want to see yourself. But this is less true for a collectivist society as in Korea, people rate tradition and shared practices as being more important in contrast to developing a unique self-concept (Choi and Choi, 2002), supporting the belief of how cultural differences can affect the formation of ones self-concept. Likewise, Markus (2001) supported the idea as well, as Korean ads are more likely to feature people together rather than giving importance on a personal choice or uniqueness of oneself. Also emphasizing the differences, Boneva and Frieze (2001) found that people from individualistic culture value work and achievement more, thereby giving more importance to forming a self-identity and uniqueness, when resettling in a new country rather than being interested for relationships and family. In addition, self-esteem, which leads to the formation of ones self-concept, does also vary among different cultures. Gray-Little and Hafdahl (2000) carried out comparisons of 261 studies of more than half a million of people and found that black people had higher self-esteem scores than for people. However, high levels of self-esteem can also cause problems. Baumeister, Campbell, Krueger and Vohs (2003) emphasized on the fact that low self-esteem can lead to aggression and negativity towards others wh ereas, however high self esteem can lead to bullying, narcissism etc. (Baumeister, Campbell, Krueger and Vohs (2005). Such behaviour triggered by the levels of self-esteem can result in what we are and how we perceive ourselves, thus forming our self-concept.

A Comparison of a Hobbsian World and the World of Candide Essay

The Disparity between a Hobbsian World and the World of Candide    In an anarchistic Hobbsian world, man leads a purely selfish existence, perpetually waging war against his fellow men.   In this world Nature subsists as a playing field for evolution: only the strong and cunning survives, and even survival results in life that is "nasty, brutish, and short" (Hobbes).   However, with restraints (that is, government), a Hobbsian world can blossom into society.   According to Hobbes, those who wish to subside from natural anarchy must implicitly surrender some personal freedom in exchange for societal order.    Hobbes' philosophies influenced many of his contemporaries and subsequent intellectuals, including Voltaire, demonstrated in his satire, Candide.   At first glance, Candide seems to be a strict manifestation of Hobbsian philosophy: an anarchistic world centered around war, relieved only through the yield of personal freedom for communal order-Eldorado and the garden.   Yet after a thorough examination of the work, one recognizes that the characters in Candide are not Hobbsian.   Hobbsian man is innately selfish and ambitious while Voltaire's characters are not.   Perhaps some characters in Candide are driven through their misfortunes as a result of their avarice; however, this foible can not be ascribed as innately human. Instead, avarice, in the world of Candide, arises as a byproduct of the fallibility of man-made institutions (that is, religious and educational), which are the primary targets of Voltaire's satire. Thus, the world of Candide, although structured like a Hobbsian world, contains men that are not Hobbsian.   This d... ...the inability to cooperate.   Or perhaps Voltaire suggests that the world can be controlled more effectively if the man-made institutions that he is satirizing could be somehow reorganized.   All in all, Voltaire's subtle divergence from strict Hobbsian philosophy enables him to pose perhaps unanswerable questions about mankind and our potentials. Works Cited Bottiglia, William. "Candide's Garden." Voltaire: A Collection of Critical Essays. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1968. Hobbes, Thomas. â€Å"Of Religion.† ed.Smith,Lacey Baldwin and Jean Reeder Smith. The Past Speaks. 2nd ed. 1 vol. Lexington: Heath, 1993. Richter, Peyton. Voltaire. Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1980. Tsanoff, Radoslav. Voltaire's Candide and the Critics. California: Wadsworth Publishing Company, Inc., 1966. Voltaire. Candide. New York: Viking Publishers, 1996.

Adrenoleukodystrophy and Myelin Essay -- Biology Essays Research Paper

Adrenoleukodystrophy and Myelin: Where's the Connection? Adrenoleukodystrophy. Also known as ALD. Ten years ago many people would not be familiar with this extremely rare childhood disease. But now awareness has increased as a result of the 1992 MCA Universal film, "Lorenzo's Oil". This true story movie shows the struggles of a family whose son is dying from this disease and their fight to try to save him and children like him. After seeing this movie myself I became very interested in ALD and the possible ways to cure or treat it. In the last decade there has been some amazing research done in conjunction with this disease and the few others who, like it, occur as a result from the breakdown or loss of myelin in the brain. The first step in understanding adrenoleukodystrophy is to ask what it is and how it works. According to the fact sheet put out by the National Institute of Health in Bethesda, MD in 1997, "ALD is a rare, genetic disorder characterized by the breakdown or loss of the myelin sheath surrounding nerve cells in the brain and progressive dysfunction of the adrenal gland" (1). This disorder affects fatty acid metabolism which causes the dysfunction of the adrenal glands, the nervous system, and the testes (2). This leads to progressive neurological disability and death (3). Physical symptoms include, but are not limited to, visual loss, deafness, learning disabilities, seizures, dysarthria (poorly articulated speech), dysphagia (difficulty swallowing), strabismus (crossed eyes), fatigue, disturbance in gait and coordination, vomiting, paralysis, blindness, melanoderma, and dementia (1) (2) (4). But this disease does not stop with merely physical changes, there are many behavioral changes which are parti... ...gs are almost never what you think they are. WWW Sources 1)Adrenoleukodystrophy, http://www.ninds.nih.gov/HEALINFO/DISORDER/Adrenoleukodystrophy/adrenoleuko.html 2)Adrenoleukodystrophy, http://www.healthanswers.com/database/ami/converted/001182.html 3)NCBI: Adrenoleukodystrophy, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/disease/ALD.html 4) ADRENOLEUKODYSTROPHY , http://www.kid-med.org/pedbase/adrenole.htm 5)The Myelin Project , http://www.myelin.org/ 6)TMP Newsletter , http://www.myelin.org/112698pr.html 7)Virtual Hospital: Radiology Resident Case of the Week Adrenal Leukodystrophy (ALD) , http://www.vh.org/adult/provider/radiology/RCW/012696/012696.html 8) Neurodegenerative Disorders of Childhood- Dr. Greene's House Calls , http://www.drgreene.com/21_525.html 9) Metachromatic Leukodystrophy , http://www.duke.edu/~pdrh/MLD.html

moby dick paper :: essays research papers

In the year 1891, Herman Melville, of New York City, New York, passed away, saddening a wide and diverse fan base that extended across the globe. His works can be enjoyed whether your 6 or 60, relating to everyone because his books involve real people with flaws and downfall, and basic human emotion.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Melville was an exceptional author, influenced greatly by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Hawthorne influenced Melville in such a way, it inspired him to rewrite Moby Dick, which was later inscribed to Hawthorne as a token of Melville’s admiration for his genius. The three works, Moby Dick, Billy Budd, and Benito Cyrano, all written by Herman Melville, have unique qualities and characters that all differ greatly. Although they all take place on ships at sea, you will also notice that the protagonist characters, Captain Delano, Captain Benito Cereno, Captain Ahab, and Billy Budd, appear to have very similar qualities, all of which that are entailed in every man which are strengths and weaknesses along with desire and flaws. These subtle qualities shows Melville’s signature for his distinct writing making for all these stories to be considered among the greatest works of literature. In Benito Cyrano There were two protagonists, Captain Delano and Captain Benito Cereno. Captain Delano obvious weakness may have been his behavior aboard the ship, The San Dominick. He proved to be too good-natured, and way to easily dismissing any thought of foul play. This may have also been his strength, for if he had noticed such plans to over throw the ship, he would have been easily killed.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Throughout the story, an explanation seemed to be the only thing on Captain Delano mind. He was unsure by what he saw aboard the ship and couldn’t figure out what was going on. He ordered his men to board Cereno’s ship and put a stop to the slave’s rebellion after Cereno was rescued, and also made sure that Babo and Atufal were put on trial and punished. The character of Amasa Delano, at first glance, seemed heroic, was also flawed, though it was his weakness that saved him, as many characters are in Melville’s writing. Benito Cereno, captain of the San Dominick, appears to be a weak and unstable, constantly fainting. He does not seem at all strong and seems very suspicious, but, fortunately, did not panic when approached by Captain Delano and by staying strong and maintaining his calm; playing a big role in saving both their lives.

Global Warming Essay

The Global Warming theory has become increasingly popular over the past few years. Citizens of the world are being encouraged to be more environmentally conscious by others including politicians, celebrities, and world organizations. The problem with the theory lies in the fact that it has become more and more controversial as it gains publicity and attention. The basic concept behind this theory is that the earth was made with a balance of â€Å"greenhouse gasses†. These gasses are naturally occurring within the atmosphere and they essentially make the planet habitable by keeping it warm. When the world became more industrialized, the amount of carbon dioxide that was being emitted into the atmosphere increased. In the past hundred years or so, that number has more or less skyrocketed when compared to the previous amount due to the invention and mass distribution of automobiles, aircraft, trains, and boats. The surplus of greenhouse gasses are beyond what the earth can store and are creating a pseudo blanket around the world. The earth has thence become more and more hot, â€Å"†¦the globe has heated up by about one degree Fahrenheit over the past century—and it has heated up more intensely over the past two decades. † (IPCC, 2001) To be able to correctly put that into perspective one must have the knowledge that the temperature difference between the ice age and current times is nine degrees. The potential repercussions of the increase in global temperature include more intense storms, more severe droughts, and rising sea levels. There are several ways to have a more positive impact on the environment. Everything from buying more energy efficient cars to helping control the population has the potential to help reduce the effects of global warming. One of the largest contributors to the increase in global temperature in the past century has been the ever expanding population. It is a simple math problem, if one person produces too many greenhouse gasses and then proceeds to have seven children, the greenhouse emissions with increase even more so. The more people habituating the planet, the more potential there is for emission of greenhouse gasses. In short, the basis of this argument other than years of documented research and scientific discovery is what harm could we do by being more conservative in our use of energy and other entities that produce more than their share of greenhouse gasses? The answer as it stands now is none. The harmful effects of ignoring this crisis are all but proven fact. The problem that the pro- global warming theorists have created is that of social standing and little else. While there may be scientific backing to support some of the theory, the media presents the problem with great sensationalism. Global warming and energy conservation has thus become a trend and losses some of its validity through this. The scare tactics used by the media to â€Å"promote awareness† are just that, a linguistic ploy to gain favor. â€Å"Awareness of this global threat reinforced public concern and environmental problems and thereby provided environmental activists, scientists, and policy makers with new momentum in their efforts to promote environmental protection. (McCright, 2000) This statement draws line to the potential benefits that would be received if the pro-global warming theorists were to draw enough attention to the issue. Driven by social empowerment and conviction to environmental protection, these activists misrepresent the actual threat and paint it as being much more intense and imminent than the scientific evidence concludes. The fact that the planet’s temperature is ever changing is solid, however there is no solid proof that humans are responsible for this rise. The earth’s temperature has experienced extreme highs and lows throughout its millions of years in existence and we as humans understand little about what has caused those fluctuation. If humans did not exist billions of years ago, yet the temperature still changed dramatically, then why is it that scientists’ claim that humans are the cause for this current phenomena? The answer to that question is unknown however one could make the assumption that it may be due to our lack of understanding about the way in which carbon dioxide exists in the atmosphere. The public has no easy access to this information therefore it is easily forgotten or removed from the argument. Global warming is a theory that has been wildly blown out of proportion. Media backing and celebrity endorsements combined with political scare tactics have been used to create the sense of responsibility in this matter. The true concern is being masked by the â€Å"solution† that is being presented to the world. The supposed solution to the global warming theorists is to conserve. The real issue at hand is discovery. Science must be perfected or at least further tested before conclusions can be drawn. While evidence exists on both sides, the side that acknowledges the existence of global warming at least has the appearance of more science on its side. The publicity brought to global warming can have the ability to cause people to accept it as fact rather than simply a theory. That being said, it is the belief of this writer that the pro-global warming theory is more valid than the anti-global warming theory. This conclusion was made mostly due to the distrust that this student grew for the anti-global warming supporters. The anti-side invalidates their own arguments by using some basic fallacious thinking and aggressive tactics. Many of the websites and other sources to gain knowledge about the potential non-threat of global warming are extremist and use many common fallacies. For example, here is an excerpt from just one of the many anti-global warming websites available to all on the World Wide Web, â€Å"We all know that the artificial construct known as â€Å"cap and trade† is nothing more than a fraud to get companies to pay more taxes. It will have very little, to no, impact on CO2 levels, much less global warming. † (Casey, 2009). The author assumes that the â€Å"cap and trade† issue is universally known and understood which a fallacy of hasty generalization is. The second flaw in that particular argument is that it appears to be an argument of outrage in the sense that it degrades the government and paints them to be money hungry and unconcerned with the well-being of its peoples. Websites against global warming take personal attacks at the politicians or celebrities who endorse the idea of global warming. While these personal attacks may hold some general truth, they do not address that person’s ability to become involved with an organization to create awareness for global warming. Personal attacks are used to dissuade the American public from siding with the pro-global warming theory. Celebrities are often used as spokespeople for different causes and charities, but they do not embody what they are speaking for. They are solely a resource to raise awareness to the general population. While it may be true that some scientific evidence has been withheld or not made as accessible to the general population due to its potential harm to the pro-global warming theory, this writer has not been dissuaded from her former school of thought. It is very true that there are more humans on the planet than there were many years ago. It is also true that humans now use more advanced technology that have the tendency to produce a lot of carbon dioxide. The link between what we understand about humans and their production habits and the atmosphere may be blurry, but the question remains, why not conserve? In conclusion, the moral of the global warming story is moderation. Little personal changes may affect the way in which the world climate is changing but if they do not, what harm would we have done? Riding a bike to work or walking to school not only reduces the amount of carbon dioxide being produced, it saves that person money. Global warming may not be as big a threat as the media makes it out to be, but there is scientific evidence supporting the fact that it just may be a threat. Global Warming Essay Global Warming is an issue that concerns almost everybody worldwide: it is the primary cause for the erratic and sometimes devastating weather that is experienced around the world. Global warming is causing the rise in sea level which in turn causes the flooding of coastal areas and areas with low elevation. Is global warming really happening today? Scientists with the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) believe it is so (Mank, 2005). It is indisputable that there has been a rise in the concentration of greenhouse gases (GHG) in the atmosphere during the last century, which scientists think may be one of the causes of global warming. The climate change however is not a direct result of the rise in greenhouse gases. Will global warming spell doom for our world? Scientists believe this to be so. â€Å"Much depends on what actions we take now and in the coming years. † Meteorologist Jagadish Shukla of the University of Maryland found out that deforestation would cause rainfall in the Amazon River to decline by more than 26 percent from the current 2. 5 m. to about 1. 8 m. a year (Bellamy & Gifford, 2000). At the same time, the burning of fossil fuels, particularly coal and oil, produces sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides which are hazardous to the atmosphere. Findings show that a single smokestack may produce as much as 500 tons of sulfur dioxide a day. When these gases combine with oxygen and moisture, sulfuric acid and nitric acid is formed. The rain will carry the acids to the ground (acid rain) which may cause the depletion of calcium and magnesium in the soil, elements needed by plants for the formation of chlorophyll and wood, or it may cause the release of aluminum in the soil, which are poisonous and can kill the roots of trees (Carwardine, 2000). This study intent to: (1) know the effect of global warming worldwide thus knowing the global warming and doomsday and; (2) widen our knowledge about the ozone slayer and do the humans are the reasons of causing global warming or if its just a natural process that the earth goes through. II. Literature Review Ozone is an unstable oxygen that occurs naturally in the atmosphere (also called isothermal region), the upper portion of the atmosphere above 7 miles where clouds are rare. The ozone layer absorbs the dangerous ultraviolet-B (UV-B) rays while it allows the needed safe light to pass through. Though easily broken down by other gases in the stratosphere, it is constantly being repaired by the sun’s rays. However, man is destroying the ozone layer which serves as a protective umbrella against the sun’s harmful rays. In fact, the ozone layer is destroyed faster than the sun’s rays can produce it. It is being destroyed by industrial gases like CFCs (Johnston, 2000). CFCs was discovered by Thomas Widgley Jr. , a chemist working at the Frigidaire Division of General Motors but were discovered hazardous in 1974—only after 44 years of use, used as coolants in refrigerators and air conditioners and aerosol propellants in spray cans, medical sterilizers, cleaning solvents for electronic components and raw materials for making plastic foams such as coffee cups. CFCs are estimated to account for 14 percent of global warming. It is dismaying to know that ozone depletion can be found in the south (Antarctica) and north (Greenland) poles (Dolan, 2006). According to British scientist Joe Farman, 40 percent of ozone depletion can be found in the South Pole. At the South Pole is a huge vortex with clouds composed of tiny ice particles, giving chlorine millions of tiny spaces through which it can perform its deadly dance with ozone even faster (Simpson, 2000). Both holes at the poles are seasonal, opening and closing each year. In the northern hemisphere, a more populous region, ozone depletion rate is between three percent and seven percent for 17 years, as compared previously to only three percent for100 years. On the other hand, what are the effects of Ultraviolet-B rays to human beings and the ecosystem in general? To humans, they can cause skin cancer and cataract and damage the immune system. To the ecosystem, they can kill planktons (basic element of the ocean food chain), destroy plant life and crops and change global wind and weather patterns. In 1978, Canada, Sweden, the United States and other countries banned the use of CFCs in aerosols. However, other uses of CFCs were found, effecting an increase in its production. The US still uses one-fourth of the world’s annual supply of CFCs (Turner, 2000). However, in September 1987, 24 nations cooperated for the first time to solve this environmental problem and passed the Montreal Protocol. The agreement issued a call for developed nations to freeze the use and production of CFCs while cutting 50 percent of use and production by 1999. Still, the CFCs currently rising through the troposphere will take seven to 10 years to drift up to the stratosphere. The troposphere is the portion of the atmosphere that is below the stratosphere, extending outward about seven to 10 miles from the earth’s surface (Bellamy & Gifford, 2000). III. Methodology In order to accomplish this study, the researcher used two different methods to make the investigation more informative, accurate, and successful. Aside from gathering information through internet, the researcher gathered information through statistics, charts, and observation. IV. Results and analysis During the earliest times, the life-styles of our ancestors were very simple. The air they breathed was clean. The streams were clear and free of harmful organisms. They used natural fertilizers for their agricultural crops. The surroundings were free of household throwaways. Today, there has been a tremendous growth in science and technology. Such advances have brought about changes in terms of new products, improved equipment, and more effective methodologies. Unfortunately, this same technology which made life easier for us produced wastes which are now affecting the quality of our surrounding, air, water, and land. Factories and motor vehicles send tons of pollutants into our air. Excessive air pollution poses a danger to our health and environment. It can likewise cause stunted growth and even death to our plants. Out streams are polluted by discharges from industrial plants that use chemicals. Garbage and sink wastes are carelessly thrown in our surroundings. Synthetic fertilizers and insecticides pollute our land and farm products (Johnston, 2000). At the same time, the burning of fossil fuels, particularly coal and oil, produces sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides which are hazardous to the atmosphere. Findings show that a single smokestack may produce as much as 500 tons of sulfur dioxide a day. When these gases combine with oxygen and moisture, sulfuric acid and nitric acid are formed (Jenner, 1999). The rain will carry the acids to the ground (acid rain) which may cause the depletion of calcium and magnesium in the soil, elements needed by plants for the formation of chlorophyll and wood, or it may cause the release of aluminum in the soil, which are poisonous and can kill the roots of trees. Moreover, nitrous oxide or â€Å"laughing gas’ is a colorless gas with a sweet taste and odor that is used as an anesthetic in minor surgery that H2O is responsible for about 6 percent of the human contributes to greenhouse warming. Methane or â€Å"cow gas,† on the other hand, makes up about 18 percent of human contributions to greenhouse effect. Cattle, sheep, goats, and other cud-chewing animals give off methane, in burps and flatulence as they digest (Cairncross, 2002). Experts said that what is happening right now is not a matter of adding a few degrees to the average temperature of a community. A rise of this magnitude may cause life, for without the environment, creatures on earth cannot survive (Davidson, 1999). CFCs are estimated to account for 14 percent of global warming. Experts said that what is happening right now is not a matter of adding a few degrees to the average temperature of a community. A rise of this magnitude may cause life, for without the environment, creatures on earth cannot survive With these, are we all aware of the extent of the damages brought about by modernization? Have we contributed to such environmental dilemma? What have we done to minimize such danger to our lives? How can we take care of our environment? We must undertake measures to preserve our resources and minimize utilization of energy before it’s too late. Our fight against pollution is an initial step toward conserving our environmental resources and energy. We must all join hands for this common goal. If present day emissions of greenhouse gases continue, it is estimated that the rate of increase in global mean temperatures will reach about 0. 30 0C per decade. This will mean a likely increase of 1 0C above the present level by the year 2025, and 30 0C before the end of the next century. A. Resolution a. ) Recycling and Reuse of Solid Wastes Solid wastes are now viewed as a potential resource which must be recovered and reused whenever possible. Since disposal forest resources are rapidly being depleted, recycling solid wastes offer a solution to both. Consider the element phosphorus. Mined from phosphate ores, it is manufactured into fertilizers. It enters the plant tissues and we obtain it when we eat plant as vegetable. This is later excreted and joins the sewage system. The sewage system sludge can be used directly as fertilizer or soil conditioner. Used bottles can be used over and over again. Durable plastic containers can be saved for more household uses. Tires can be recapped and used again. Old clothing materials are used as kitchen towels and bags (see Environment Matters: Industry’s Guide to the Issues, the Challenges and the Solutions, 1999). If the materials cannot be used over several times, then they can be shredded and converted into a new form. Old newspapers are repulped into new paper. Broken glasses are ground and manufactured into new ones. Tires are processed to raw rubber. Protein leftovers are manufactured into animal feeds. b. ) Conserving our Forests Every now and then we receive alarming news about our forests being denuded. Big logging concessionaires indiscriminately cut down trees without undertaking reforestation measures. Without trees, the soil is loosened and rapid erosion occurs. As a result fertile topsoil is washed away, which makes growth of other forms of vegetation almost impossible. We suffer great loss of timber, wildlife, and other forest products. But the greatest danger is the occurrence of floods and global warming that cause losses of food, properties, and lives (Davidson, 1999).

The White Underclass

The White Underclass A) What is the White Underclass, and what are the national economic changes and forces? The United States economy took a turn for the worse in 2008, and has been steadily declining ever since. The reason for the financial crisis began with the failing of the financial institutions, which threatened the global economy. The reason for the failing of the largest financial institutions can be debated, but many believe that it was due to the failure of accurately and safely evaluating the risks involved in their lending procedures.Whatever the reason, the recession had a massive impact on the country, and none were affected more than the Americans living at or below the poverty level. These people are known as the American underclass. What defines an underclass? It has been defined as the bottom of society, those who have become victims of a poverty trap. The underclass is largely made up of unemployed, young, single-parent families that are living in destitute strick en areas, areas in which the children lack educational qualifications, good role models, and social skills.This provides them little opportunity to escape the unfortunate situation in which they’ve been placed (www. BusinessDictionary. com/definition/underclass, 2012). The term â€Å"underclass† has been classified in two different ways, according to the article â€Å"The White Underclass† (â€Å"The White Underclass†, 1994). The first, simply put, is classified as areas that contain the extremely poor. The second classification gives a more detailed look as to why they are extremely poor.The second classification is areas that contain a high number of single family households, usually with women at the head of the household, and often dependent on government support. Charles Murray, an American libertarian political scientist, wrote â€Å"illegitimacy is the single most important social problem of our time – more important than crime, drugs, pove rty, illiteracy, welfare or homelessness, because it drives everything else. † (â€Å"The White Underclass†, 1994) These families are the victims of a vicious circle; the children of these families have a high dropout percentage, which often leads to having children out of wedlock.The absence of these fathers is usually due to crime, drugs, or just a lack of responsibility. Twenty-two percent of children born in 1991 were born out of wedlock, with that number increasing every year (â€Å"The White Underclass†, 1994). Many of these unwed mothers are too young and inexperienced to be more than a burden on society, which doesn’t leave much hope for the children that they give birth to. Many of these young white women that are having children out of wedlock are not in the least ashamed at getting pregnant at such a young age and without being married.They believe that having children will â€Å"give them someone to love† (â€Å"The White Underclassâ₠¬ , 1994). Unfortunately, as seen in the documentary â€Å"Culture of Hate†, our children are a reflection of what we are (â€Å"A Culture of Hate†, 2002). Financial obstacles are faced by almost everyone at some point in time, but with those that are part of the underclass, it is a way of life. It’s not poverty that is the issue, but rather the widening gap in economic classes.As learned in the most recent lecture, the median middle class makes between seventy-five thousand to one-hundred and fifty thousand dollars a year, whereas the underclass make on or under thirty thousand dollars a year, most often under (Merritt, 2012). This is quite a significant gap. The underclass is under educated, and under employed. Many people don’t think of whites when they think of those living in poverty, but the realization is that the whites are a growing group of those that are living in poverty. B) What is the White Underclass, and what are the regional (Lakeside, C A) economic changes and forces that account for its growth?Here in the county of San Diego, Lakeside California specifically, economic change is a leading factor to the growth of the white underclass. Change is inevitable in life, but that change is not always for the better. This is the case with the controversial East County city of Lakeside. Ranchers and farmers were the first inhabitants in the town of Lakeside, and the tight knit community was the proverbial picture of country living. Lakeside is a â€Å"place of many generations with deep roots, a place of hard working people with values† (â€Å"A Culture of Hate†, 2002).Many people want to hang onto the past, but things in Lakeside have changed dramatically. Dry riverbeds riddled with graffiti and litter has taken the place of where rivers once flowed. Sand mining operations have removed precious resources, only to replace them someone else’s trash. A town that was mostly rural, filled with farms and cowb oys, has turned into an urban city with widened streets that are filled with strip malls and fast food restaurants. Economic hard times have hit the working class. With the changes that came to Lakeside, changes in employment opportunities have also been effected.The majority of employment available is in the service industry; low paying, dead-end jobs that have little to no hope of making enough money to help the underclass rise out of poverty. The rate of unemployment is high, currently national rate is 7. 8%. California is significantly higher than the national average at 10. 2% (www. bls. gov , 2012). With the loss of jobs, and the high unemployment rate that plagues the state, poverty is rising and in turn, so are the numbers of the white underclass. Until the economy changes for the better, there is little hope that the numbers of white underclass will decrease.What are some of the social issues and demographic changes facing the White Underclass? America is no stranger to str uggling ethnic groups. Since the beginning of this country, others have strived to cast out groups of people that they didn’t consider equal. In the beginning, it was the Native Americans; next came the blacks. As time progressed on, white European immigrants known as the New Immigrants were discriminated against (Merritt, 2012). Now, though ethnicity still plays an integral part, any group that is at or below the poverty level is subject to acquiring the underclass status.In the mid 90’s, the white underclass were less than 2% of all whites. Black ghettos contained three to four times as many residents as the white slums (â€Å"The White Underclass†, 1994). The numbers remained constant from the 1980’s through the 1990’s. The ghettos of the blacks and whites were found to be very similar in percentages. Both had a high number of men that abandoned the work force and children that dropped out of school, however, the black underclass had a slightly higher percentage of female-headed households than the white underclass.The white underclass, however, had a higher percentage of children who dropped out of school (â€Å"The White Underclass†, 1994). The demographics are changing in the Grossmont school district as well. It has gone from having 95% white in the district, to 65% in the 2000’s (â€Å"A Culture of Hate†, 2002). This has brought on racial issues to the area that once gave little reason to worry about. There are a lot of similarities between the ghettos of different ethnic groups, but there are still very distinct differences among them.Though the conditions of the white ghettos are bad, they are still not as bad as those of the Hispanics and blacks. They tend to experience less poverty than the others, and the crimes being committed in their neighborhoods, albeit violent, are far less in numbers to that of other ethnic groups. The main substance abuse in the black ghettos is crack cocaine, whereas the drug of choice for the whites is alcohol, with methamphetamines and heroine on the rise. This is a factor that heavily contributes to the number of violent crimes and domestic abuse cases that plague the white underclass.Poor whites do not tend to face as many problems as poor blacks, and this is because discrimination has caused the blacks to be more likely to live in extreme poverty than whites. In 1990, a census showed that 30% of blacks lived in extreme poverty areas, whereas the white percentage was only 7% (â€Å"The White Underclass†, 1994). Not only are the numbers of white underclass fewer than that of the blacks, but the white underclass are also more likely to leave the slums behind. The white underclass is a growing concern.The numbers are continually raising in the white underclass neighborhoods with no sign of improving. The effects of living in these neighborhoods have ruined the lives of so many. The only hope for the underclass lies with the state of the economy. How does â€Å"White Power† affiliation address the issue of identity for the â€Å"White Power† youth in Lakeside, California? What do the signs and symbols of their affiliation represent, and what do they mean to the â€Å"White Power† youth? We’ve seen the many hardships that are faced by the children of the white underclass.We’ve seen what happens to the youth that grow up in these areas. We’ve seen them set up for failure from the moment that their parents conceive them, whether it be on purpose or on accident. We’ve seen the life choices that most of them are forced to make due to the lack of opportunity, but we’ve yet to take a look at how these young men and women choose to affiliate themselves. In the case of the youth in Lakeside, California, the youth of the white underclass have a large affiliation with â€Å"White Power†. They have â€Å"no place to belong, except in a world of outcasts† (â €Å"A Culture of Hate†, 2002).The children of the white underclass struggle with an ethnic identity. What does it mean to be white? According to Randy Blazak in the documentary â€Å"A Culture of Hate†, he believes that these youth have no ethnic identity and struggle because there is no real distinction to being white (â€Å"A Culture of Hate†, 2002). â€Å"White Power† group members seem to follow a pattern. They come from broken homes, filled with violence and drugs. They have nobody to show them what it is to be a productive member of society. This fits perfectly in line with the patterns of the white underclass found in Lakeside.The symbols of â€Å"White Power† represent a symbol of belonging to these kids that had none before (â€Å"A Culture of Hate†, 2002). Symbols like the swastika, whose meaning has been poisoned from what it once symbolized to a symbol of evil, a symbol of the desire to create a superior race of whites. Other sym bols that have a closer regional significance are the Dago bolts, which are the symbol of the local San Diego chapter of the Hell’s Angels. The Dago bolts are said to be mirrored after the SS bolts of Nazi soldiers, which ties directly to the same lineage as the swastika.The final predominant symbol that can be found â€Å"all around the edges of everyday life†, is the 4:20 symbol, which is widely known as a symbol for marijuana, but is also a reference to Adolf Hitler’s birthday (â€Å"A Culture of Hate†, 2002). To the â€Å"White Power† youth of Lakeside, these symbols represent a sense of belonging, even if they aren’t really sure why. In the documentary â€Å"A Culture of Hate†, a young boy talks about a time that he shaved a swastika into the back of his girlfriends head. When he was asked why a swastika, he answered â€Å"Why?Because. Why not? † The girl quickly responded with â€Å"Nothing else to draw. It was the first thing that popped into our heads. † (â€Å"A Culture of Hate†, 2002). Many of these youth were students in the Grossmont school district, but were kicked out due to incidents where â€Å"White Power† symbols were involved. These students were expelled from school due to a â€Å"Zero Tolerance† position that the district took, which only made matters worse by pushing these kids closer toward the only identity that they knew (â€Å"A Culture of Hate†, 2002).Disintegration of the traditional family, lack of boundaries, lack of guidance, and an unlimited amount of anger drives these kids toward a life of hate. When combined with drugs and alcohol, as it so often happens with the children of the white underclass, the perfect storm is created. Children learn from their parents, parents who choose not to invest in their futures. These fate of these white underclass children have been set, their lives have been set up for failure before they ever even bega n.