How Should Rmit University Address the Issue Free Essays

The impacts of sports support on childrens accomplishments in school - Term Paper Example Schools that give needs to the two scholastics and sports support have shown higher scholarly achievement. As indicated by various examination directed, sports improve the capacity of understudies in accomplishing greatness because of the effectively evolved industriousness. Both individual and group activities produce a praiseworthy result to scholarly greatness. Tabor (2014) directed an investigation trying to explain the connection between scholarly execution, sports, and weight order. The investigation was directed on a subset of kids in four Chicago schools in the low-pay districts. Of the absolute 129 members, 48.1 percent partook in soccer while 51 percent of the members didn't. The two-year study included the two sexual orientations and fluctuated racial classes. The sorts of sports interest were evaluated with an agenda where the guardians recorded three of the games their youngsters took part. The games were classified into two: group activities and the individual games. Th e group activities included soccer and baseball while singular games included swimming, biking, and skateboarding. The participants’ scholarly evaluation was led utilizing the teacher’s report structure and a normal rating determined by averaging comparable ranks.The concentrate by Tabor (2014) demonstrated no connection among's scholastics and weight order. In any case, the examination demonstrated varying discoveries on non-members, singular games, and group activities on scholastics. The ANOVA investigation indicated a noteworthy impact on scholastic appraisals in math and perusing.

Tips For Writing Research Papers

Tips For Writing Research PapersIf you are having trouble writing a research paper, do not worry, you are not alone. Many students want to do well in their courses and therefore find it hard to write good research papers. This can be frustrating for students because they are trying to get good grades.Students that do not know how to write a paper will not be able to get a good grade on their paper. Many times, they will give up on the course and wonder why they cannot get better grades. This is what happens when a student does not take the time to do research and learn how to write a paper. There are many different tips that you can use to help you write a paper and get a good grade.The first tip that you should follow is to research everything that you need to know before you begin writing your paper. Find out everything that you need to know about the topic before you start writing the paper. You should also take the time to search for topics online so that you have some ideas abou t the things that you will be writing about. You do not want to waste your time looking for information that you can get for free.There are some basic tips that you can follow to help you write a paper. The first thing that you should do is to organize your information properly. By organizing your information, you will make it easier for you to find the information that you need when you need it.When you organize your information, you should make sure that you break down your information into sections. Each section should be broken down as such. For example, you might use your sections to look at your strengths and weaknesses. This will make it easy for you to determine what you need to work on and will help you get organized.You should also take the time to use bullet points when you are writing your information. Try to do this because it will make your information very clear and to the point. Using bullet points also helps the reader because they will be able to see exactly what t hey need to know from your paper. Research papers that use bullet points are very effective in helping students get through their papers.One tip that you can use for help with research papers that are written online is to look for help online. Look for websites that have guides that are designed to help students write their papers and make them successful. These guides can also help students find information on subjects that they might not be familiar with. Taking the time to go online and find help online can be very helpful to students.By taking the time to research the topics that you need to write a research paper, you will be able to find the information that you need to get the information that you need. The information that you need to get the information is right at your fingertips. Take the time to research and write your research paper today.

Sunlight on the grass revision booklet free essay sample

This is worth 20% of the absolute GCSE It is 45 minutes of an hour and a half test. You should respond to ONE inquiry. The inquiry is in two sections: Part A: you react to an entry from the content Part B: you should connect this section to the entire content. Appraisal Criteria AO1: react to writings fundamentally and innovatively; choose and assess pertinent printed detail to outline and bolster translations (10%) AO2: clarify how language, structure and structure add to writers’ introduction of thoughts, topics and settings (10%) You are not surveyed on AO3 or AO4. This implies they you don't contrast the accounts or relate them with setting. The assessment poses you to pick between two inquiries. Each question will name one story and leave the subsequent option of story up to you. The inquiries are part into two sections and you need to answer the two sections. YOU DO NOT HAVE TO COMPARE THE TWO STORIES. What we will modify: Plot, account structure and the making of characterisation in each short story; Topics and thoughts identified with each short story; Language and style: the utilization of language methods to make impacts e. g. the utilization of imagery in ‘Compass and Torch’ to light up subjects and thoughts of good direction and family connections. My Polish Teacher’s Tie Plot Summary ‘My Polish Teacher’s Tie’ is about the shaping of a connection between Carla, a supper woman who works in a school and who is uncovered to be half-Polish, and her friend through correspondence Stefan, an instructor visiting from Poland. Carla anxiously participates in a friend through correspondence fellowship with Stefan, yet she decides to let Stefan think she is an educator, humiliated that she isn’t a â€Å"real professional†. They trade sonnets and we see their relationship develop, until Stefan’s visit, when there is an unbalanced break in their correspondence as Carla stresses she has misled Stefan. In contrast to the critical educators, Valerie and Susie, Carla praises his enthusiastic advantages and his exceptional character, represented by his flighty tie. They meet and Stefan sings for Carla in a snapshot of unbridled bliss and legitimate companionship. Language and Style Symbolism: apparel is a significant strand of imagery, with outfits and the eponymous tie speaking to a feeling of personality and societal position. Likewise, the flying creature in the sonnet from Stefan could represent the entanglement Carla feels due to her own feeling of deficiency (this connects to the singing toward the finish of the story, where Carla is liberated from her social tensions) First individual account point of view: we see occasions through according to Carla and the punctuation of the composing regularly emulates examples of common discourse, withcolloquialisms like â€Å"sod it† and â€Å"I scoop chips† Dialog: in a short story that is about the challenges of correspondence itself, the account utilizes exchange as a prevailing method to convey Themes and Ideas Social status: the story investigates the nerves identified with societal position and social generalizing Love: the story is basically a sentimental romantic tale that in vestigates the troubles in imparting feelings transparently and genuinely Identity: the story investigates the issues of personality and how your legacy and your activity can shape your feeling of what your identity is Key Quotations â€Å"But what was more terrible was that he would hope to meet me. Or then again not me, precisely, however the individual he’d been writing to, who didn’t truly exist. † (Lines 95-7) â€Å"It was a horrendously confident tie. † (Line 147) â€Å"He remained there clutching my hand directly in the center of the staffroom, his huge splendid tie blasting, and he sang a melody I knew. It experienced me like a blade through margarine. A Polish melody. I knew it, I knew it. † (Lines 163-66) At the point when the Wasps Drowned Plot Summary ‘When the Wasps Drowned’, by Claire Wigfell, is a first individual record of cherished recollections of a past summer where vile occasions happen. A youthful female storyteller describes her sister, Therese, being assaulted by a furious wasp hive. The remainder of the story is a messed up account of little occasions that make up the late spring, with their mom to a great extent missing, and the storyteller dealing with her kin in the hot nursery. At the point when her kin energetically delve an opening in the nursery, burrowing into next door’s garden, they discover a ring on the hand of a body that they at that point spread back up. The storyteller takes the ring, however her sister has bad dreams that seem identified with their grim discoveries. As the late spring occasions find some conclusion the youngsters are addressed at their entryway by the police about a missing young lady. They lie about their insight into the ring and what was found in Mr Mordecai’s garden. It is an uncertain completion which leaves the peruser scrutinizing the conduct of the young lady. Language and Style Imagery: the wasps themselves may represent an inert regular threat, and their stinging of Therese may seem to speak as far as possible of youth blamelessness for the kids Delayed disclosures: the finish of the main area uncovers the neighbour’s garden has been uncovered †it isn't until some other time in the story that the peruser can sort out the account pieces to work out the plot Figurative language: there are fascinating instances of non-literal language that uplift the strain and task feeling onto the portrayals from the â€Å"ache of cars† to the shouting that drastically â€Å"broke the day†. There is a genuine feeling of arousing quality to the portrayals and the feeling of horrid premonition is additionally clear in the writer’s style First individual account viewpoint: the youthful storyteller is plainly untrustworthy and the parts of recollections sort out a secretive account Themes and Ideas Loss of youth blamelessness: the arrangement of between associated recollections develop an image of ignored kids, subject to a progression of perilous occasions that eventually present this late spring as a negative defining moment Violence: the story has vicious occasions, from the wasps stinging Therese, to the suggested occasion with the body in the nursery and the abusive warmth Key Quotations â€Å"Her shouting, the manner in which it broke the day, so stunned me that I dropped the glass, which crushed on the tap and fell into the dishwasher underneath. † (Lines 24-6) Compass and Torch Plot Summary ‘Compass and Torch’ is an emotive story of a family breakdown and the particular occasion of a little youngster being taken on an outdoors trip with his dad. The dad shows up to gather his child, who is sincere and edgy for a fruitful excursion. The mother and the progression father uncover their interests about the â€Å"mad† outdoors trip that nuance uncovers the harming family breakdown. The kid brings his light, something changed into a critical chivalrous item by the kid, wishing to give bravery onto both the outing and his dad. The dad, to some degree removed, seems delicate to the uplifted feelings of his child. The dad sets up a shelter, yet acknowledges he has overlooked his light †maybe reflecting issues that affected the separation. They excursion to the highest point of the mountain and remain the night, joined by ponies encompassing the tent. These instinctual animals and their â€Å"thudding† hooves become representative for the kid in his future longs for this passionate occasion. Language and Style Symbolism: the compass and light are potential images. The light speaks to light and may introduce the love he provides reason to feel ambiguous about his dad. The compass speaks to lost heading, the separation of the family and the loss of the boy’s ‘moral compass’. The ponies, in their intuitive affectability, may speak to the normal emotions a child would have for his dad, or the crashing may allude to the unobtrusive regular peril of the boy’s family breakdown Disjointed account structure: the non-direct structure mirrors the wrecked family relations Topics and Ideas Love: the boy’s delineation of his dad changes him into a brave character, maybe not mirroring the truth Family breakdown: the story is ruled by the intense affectability of the kid, whose experience of their relationship is both delicate and delicate Nature and ‘the natural’: the story brings up issues about common paternity; about the dad/child connections and the risks identified with experience Key Quotations â€Å"The kid is purpose. Watching Dad. Watching what Dad is. Savoring it: the pith of Dadness. † (Lines 8-9) â€Å"He is turning away, burned by the sparkle of tension in the little boy’s eyes. † (Line 47) â€Å"He could feel it assembling in the darkening chill: the hurting conviction that effectively, just a single year on from the detachment, he had lost his child, his kid. † (Lines 166-68) On Seeing the 100% Perfect Girl One Beautiful April Morning Plot Summary ‘On Seeing the 100% Perfect Girl One Beautiful April Morning’ is a weird short story, proposed by the extremely eccentric title. It is a sentimental story of affection and destiny that mixes components of authenticity and dream together. The initial segment of the story has the storyteller meet his â€Å"perfect girl† by chance in the road. He recounts to somebody the story and envisions the capability of the sentiment and envisions what he would state to this individual, before thinking about some exceptionally sentimental situations. At that point, in fantasy style, he relates a short romantic tale which he would have identified with the young lady. In truth, next to no occurs, with the exception of in the creative mind of the sentimental storyteller! Language and Style Direct first individual account point of view: the storyteller has all the earmarks of being creative, changing reality into pictures of sentimental chance Fantasy and authenticity: the creator mixes reasonable components and regular discourse designs with components of fantasy (â€Å"Once upon a time† and finished ‘A miserable story, don’t y

Soyinka’s Views of Modernity and Tradition in The Lion and...

A common post-colonial struggle shows itself in Soyinka’s The Lion and the Jewel between modernity and the traditional, seen both in a transparent manner as the Western World clearly and gradually influences the play’s village of Ilujinle as well as a deeper way between two of its central characters—Lakunle representing modernity while Baroka represents tradition. However, although the struggle is brought to fruition throughout the course of the play, it seems rather evident for which side Soyinka himself is more of a prominent advocate, obvious by the way he portrays both Lakunle and Baroka, and how they conclude their roles in the play. Lakunle’s follies in the play become his undoing, whereas Baroka’s strength and titular power as the†¦show more content†¦Given the sudden freedom to choose how their country would be run, Nigerians were faced with the fact that much of the New World had its advantages, but it came at the price of affectin g (or even potentially nullifying) their cultural traditions. It seemed difficult to recognize some advantages of one culture when advocating for the other. This led much of the villagers (in both Nigeria and the play’s town of Ilujinle) to be either for modernity or tradition almost exclusively. In the beginning of The Lion and the Jewel, both Baroka and Sidi seem to be strong supporters of keeping with tradition, while Lakunle is the obvious supporter of modernity, seen as he attempts to be a â€Å"Western gentleman† by offering to help Sidi carry her pail of water. However, Sidi refuses his proposal of marriage because Lakunle will not pay the bride-price, a very traditional outlook on the situation. While Lakunle is a strong proponent of a Western romantic engagement, Sidi finds his offers of marriage without a bride-price offensive, saying she does not wish to be â€Å"a cheap bowl for the village to spit† (Soyinka 896). Later in the play, however, Sidi see ms to change her tune when she discovers her own beauty. Finding her picture on the cover of a magazine causes her to rethink her position and refuse Baroka’s offer of marriage, suddenly rejecting the traditional thought of the importance of marrying theShow MoreRelatedSummary Of Wole Soyinkas The Lion And The Jewel1617 Words   |  7 PagesFor my final paper I chose the works of Wole Soyinka and his play The Lion and the Jewel. Throughout this play there is a constant battle between tradition and modernity as well as a post-colonial struggle seen both in a exhibited in the plays village of Ilujinle. Soyinka published this play at the time Nigeria was battling for independence and freedom under the British control around the 1940’s and 1950’s. Due to this, Nigeria was struggling with whether or not it was prepared for independenceRead MoreThe Conflict Between Tradition And Western Influence On Nigeria1665 Words   |  7 Pagesbegan exploring and colonizing the land grounded in tradition and folklore, Nigeria effectively adapted and grew. Even when torn apart, Nigeria has pulled itself back together and grown stronger. There are many aspects to Nigeria’s culture that are worth considering. But one aspect of Nigeria has proven itself to be rich, transformative, and long-lasting: literature. Nigeria has produced rich literature that shows the conflict between tradition and western influence as well as dividing war. Further

The Things They Carried By Tim O Brien - 1146 Words

Jace Marzan Instructor Kucera English 100 15 July 2015 Mary Anne The Things They Carried is a war story based on the Vietnam War. One story the author, Tim O Brien tells is the story of Mary Anne, Mark Fossie’s childhood sweetheart. Mary Anne’s curiosity allows her to acquire knowledge about Vietnam’s culture and language. She wants to learn about Vietnam, the war and what they do. She also isn’t afraid and is eager to aid the casualties. One night she goes out on an ambition with the Green Berets, and the next day she and Fossie become engaged. Eventually she disappears for 3 weeks only to arrive at the special forces hut, and when seen Mary Anne is wearing the same outfit as before, but with a necklace of human tongues around her neck. She says what happened isn’t bad. In the end, she crossed to the other side never coming back, becoming one with the land. Mary Anne symbolizes war soldiers going through the war getting consumed by the darkness of the war. She was this peppy, happy girl who wanted to visit her b oyfriend, Mark Fossie. She would not want to learn how to shoot or wear a necklace with tongues when she first visits. Then, she started changing her appearance, attitude when she began to hang out more with Greenies and learned how to fight and shoot. She lost her innocence and herself because she is not the same girl as she was when she first visited Mary Anne was in Vietnam during the war which â€Å"had the effect of a powerful drug [..] she wanted more, sheShow MoreRelatedThe Things They Carried By Tim O Brien892 Words   |  4 PagesThe Vietnam War was a long, exhausting, and traumatic experience for all of the soldiers and those who came with them. The Things They Carried, by Tim O Brien illustrates the different affects the war had on a variety of people: Jacqueline Navarra Rhoads, a former nurse during the Vietnam war, demonstrates these effects within her own memoir in the book, The Forgotten Veterans. Both sources exemplify many tribulations, while sharing a common thr ead of suffering from mental unpredictability. DesensitizationRead MoreThe Things They Carried By Tim O Brien1377 Words   |  6 Pageslove to have it as good as we do. Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried discusses many veterans who experience the burden of shame and guilt daily due to their heroic actions taken during the Vietnam War. The book shows you how such a war can change a man before, during, and after it’s over.     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   As I reflect on the many conflicts America has been a part of, none can compare to the tragedies that occurred in The Vietnam war. As told in The Things They Carried (O’Brien), characters such as NormanRead MoreThe Things They Carried By Tim O Brien1457 Words   |  6 Pagesthe theme pertains to everyone regardless of their background. It conveys the same ideas to people from all across our society. Lastly, a classic is timeless, which means it has transcended the time in which it was written. In Tim O’Brien’s novel, The Things They Carried, he offers a new, intriguing way to view war or just life in general and also meets all of the crucial requirements mentioned above to qualify it as a book of literary canon. Though this book is technically a war novel, many peopleRead MoreThe Things They Carried By Tim O Brien1242 Words   |  5 Pagesâ€Å"Tim O’Brien is obsessed with telling a true war story. O Brien s fiction about the Vietnam experience suggest, lies not in realistic depictions or definitive accounts. As O’Brien argues, absolute occurrence is irrelevant because a true war story does not depend upon that kind of truth. Mary Ann’s induction into genuine experience is clearly destructive as well as empowering† (p.12) Tim O’s text, The Things they Carried, details his uses of word choice to portray his tone and bias. Tim O’BrienRead MoreThe Things They Carried By Tim O Brien1169 Words   |  5 Pagesbut are set in the past and borrows things from that time period. A story that fits this genre of literature is The Things They Carried. The story is about Tim O Brien, a Vietnam veteran from the Unite States, who tells stories about what had happ ened when he and his team were stationed in Vietnam. He also talks about what he felt about the war when he was drafted and what he tried to do to avoid going to fight in Vietnam. The Things They Carried by Tim O Brien was precise with its portrayal of settingRead MoreThe Things They Carried By Tim O Brien1004 Words   |  5 Pages Tim O’Brien is a veteran from of the Vietnam War, and after coming home from his duty he decided to be a writer. His work â€Å"The Things They Carried† is about a group of soldiers that are fighting in the Vietnam War. The first part of the story talks mostly about physical items that each soldier carries, and also mentions the weight of the items as well. Though, there is one exception to the list of physical things. Lieutenant Cross is a character of the story, and Tim O’ Brien quickly states theRead MoreThe Things They Carried By Tim O Brien896 Words   |  4 PagesTrouble without a doubt is what First Lieutenant Jimmy Cross c arried around his shoulders because he was out in war, where mistakes happen. Lost and unknown of his surroundings he had to lead his men into safety, while destroying anything they found. First Lieutenant Jimmy Cross only holds onto one thing for hope and that is Martha, the woman who he hopes is a virgin to come back to. Tim O’ Brien introduces symbolism by adding a character that has a meaning of purity and a pebble, which symbolizesRead MoreThe Things They Carried By Tim O Brien Essay832 Words   |  4 PagesSummary: â€Å"By and large they carried these things inside, maintaining the masks of composure† (21). In Tim O’brien’s The Things They Carried, the American soldiers of the Vietnam War carry much more than the weight of their equipment, much more than souvenirs or good-luck charms or letters from home. They carried within themselves the intransitive burdens—of fear, of cowardice, of love, of loneliness, of anger, of confusion. Most of all, they carry the truth of what happened to them in the war—aRead MoreThe Things They Carried By Tim O Brien1369 Words   |  6 PagesMany authors use storytelling as a vehicle to convey the immortality of past selves and those who have passed to not only in their piece of literature but in their life as an author. In Tim O’Brien’s work of fiction The Things They Carried, through his final chapter â€Å"The Lives of the Dead,† O Brien conveys that writing is a matter of survival since, the powers of s torytelling can ensure the immortality of all those who were significant in his life. Through their immortality, O’Brien has the abilityRead MoreThe Things They Carried By Tim O Brien1407 Words   |  6 Pages       Our introduction stated that in â€Å"The Things They Carried,† author Tim O’Brien tells us not directly of the soldiers of Vietnam, or the situations they find themselves in, but about the things they carry on their shoulders and in their pockets. These â€Å"things† identify the characters and bring them to life.   I find that to be true as the author unfolds the stories about war and the uncommon things one carries in to war both inadvertently and on purpose.  Ã‚  Ã‚  As it was noted: Stories about war –

I Discovered A Profound Enthusiasm For Learning About...

After the second year of my undergraduate studies while conducting fieldwork, I discovered a profound enthusiasm for learning about the lives of ancient peoples that has furthered my determination to pursue research and a graduate degree. In the summer of 2015, I already had two years of experience working on the Leon Levy Expedition to Ashkelon, Israel as a volunteer. That year I was chosen to work on a different project; I was part of a small team tasked with excavating the recently discovered Philistine cemetery. During that season and the season that followed, I not only learned about excavating human remains, but I also had the opportunity to study the lives and deaths of the deceased individuals: what they ate, their illness and injuries, their lifestyles, and their relationships with others outside their communities. Even their feelings for each other were sometimes evident. I became fascinated with understanding who the individuals were, what kinds of lives they had, and how they viewed the world, with the last question being the most intriguing. We used the small amount of artifacts buried with the deceased and previous finds from inside the city to paint a picture of their lives, but there is so much still unknown about the context in which the Philistines lived. When I returned to Johns Hopkins University, I maintained my newfound interest in ancient contexts and I began to channel it into my research. Through my classes, I conducted several projects inShow MoreRelated65 Successful Harvard Business School Application Essays 2nd Edition 147256 Words   |  190 Pages Lauren. II. Harbus. III. Title: Sixty...five successful Harvard Business School application essays. HF1131.A1352009 808.06665-dc22 2009012531 First Edition: August 2009 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 CONTENTS Acknowledgments Introduction ix xi I. Defining Moment Stacie Hogya Anonymous Anonymous David La Fiura Anonymous Avin Bansal Anonymous Brad Finkbeiner Anonymous 4 7 10 13 17 20 23 26 29 ii. UndergradUate experience John Coleman Maxwell Anderson Lavanya Anantharman Rosita Najmi Faye

Network Security and Cryptography Secure Data Storage and Transfer

Question: Prepare a report on data storage, data transfer, user authentication and network monitoring? Answer: Introduction In this report the existing network of Your Events will be analyzed from the information security viewpoint. There will be security planning for data storage, transmission etc. over the Intranet and Internet, use of different kind of authentication methods for different categories of users. Secure Data Storage and Transfer Currently, the company manages an Intranet, a central data center and related IT infrastructure for their business. They have geographically separated offices at four large cities and the head quarter is in London. At head headquarter, there is a data center for the company. There are file, print and mail servers. The sales staffs sell tickets via telephone and there is a website for the company also. Customers can purchase tickets from the website. Thus there will be transaction of customers personal information, credit card information etc. moreover, the company stores all these information at their web server. There is a backup of these data from web server to the file server. File server data are accessed for accounting activities. Now, the company collects, stores and processes huge amount of personal data and credit card information from the customers. It is the sole responsibility of the company to ensure the privacy of those data when stores and processed by the company. Also there are data protection issues. These data must be protected from all kind of misuse, unauthorized access, damage, modification etc. The security planning for ensuring secure storage and transfer of data are given as, The company should expand its network a bit. It should redesign the architecture of data storage. The web server should be dedicated for website related activities. It handled transactions from customers directly and deals with all web traffic directly. This is not a secure approach. There should be some firewall and proxy server for protecting the web server. Because, in current scenario, the web server contains sensitive credit card information and personal data from the customers. If there is some attack on the web server, then these data will be at risk. Thus there should be some proxy server to deal with all traffic. Firewall will be installed on the proxy server to monitor the traffic. (Arregoces Portolani, 2003) If possible then the company should refrain from storing credit card information of its customers. These are sensitive data and does not help in any business related work or decision making. Storage of such information adds more security issues to the company. Thus, it should not be stored permanently in the servers of the company. There should be proper backup and recovery management process. Instead of keeping back up of data from web server to file server, the company should adopt some proper backup and recovery management. This recovery management policies and infrastructure will save the company from disasters and potential data losses in the face of some fatal security attacks or natural calamities. (Harrington, 2005) While transmitting data from one center to another, there are chances of security attacks like spoofing, eavesdropping and other kind of man in the middle attacks on those data. The company should use proper encryption, decryption of those data while transmitting those. Another alternative is building some VPN or Virtual Private Network connecting all business sites. There should be proper tunneling methods for this infrastructure. (Stewart, 2013) Insider attack is a risk for the data center at head office. The data center itself should be protected. There should be restrictions on entry to the data center and operating on the data center. There should be proper user authentication techniques. The company uses several secure payment gateways for collecting payments from the customers. There are several rules, regulations and best practices to implement and use such platforms and online payment system. The company should confirm to those. Use Authentication There are different kinds of users who interacts with the IT infrastructure, information systems and website of the company. There are visitors and customers who visits the company website, makes ticket purchase over online platform. There are the sales staffs who access the system, checks status of tickets and books tickets on the behalf of the customers who purchases tickets via telephone. There are accounting staffs who access transactional information and file server, to carry on different accounting operation. However, there is lack of proper access control in the current scenario. For example, the data from web server is stored at the file server as a backup. And from there accounting staffs access those data. The backed up data includes personal data of the customers and information such as credit card information. Now, these data will not be needed for accounting. Accounting will need access to the transactional, sales, procurement, payroll etc. related data. In fact, the credit card data will not be required by the business or any other staffs. So, there should be different levels of access control and proper user authentication techniques before granting requests for accessing sensitive business, customer and customers credit card data. The access control and authentication techniques should be, For sales staff there should be limited access to the system. They will not be able to see credit card information or personal information about the customers. Also they wont be able to access accounting or other critical business data. The authentication process can be based on username password along with some CAPTCHA or security question. For accounting staffs they access more sensitive business information, thus there should be more degree of authentication. There should be biometric based authentication process. While purchasing tickets, or logging in users on the website should be asked to follow some authentication process. It may be similar to the authentication process for sales staff. There should be biometric based authentication while entering and working on data centers. All these authentication will save from unauthorized access to sensitive business data. It will also ensure availability of data to legitimate users. (Apelbaum, 2007) For transmitting data between offices, a secure private VPN channel should be created. It will build a private network for the company over the public Internet. The systems across the business sites will be able to connect to the VPN and can data securely and privately across the VPN channel. There are several benefits of using VPN in terms of security, functionality and management of the network. There will be virtual point to point connections between the systems. Also there will be virtual tunneling protocol for more secured infrastructure. The tunneling process will also help to encrypt the traffic or data transmission across the VPN. The implementation can use technologies like IPSec or OpenVPN. (Snader, 2006) For securing the data transmission from customers or user of the website over the Internet, the company needs to implement security control and implementation like SSL or Secure Socket Layer, HTTPS, Digital certificates, secure payment gateways etc. All transaction at the website will be done through SSL or HTTPS. It will help to transfer information like credit card information securely over the Internet. (Stallings, 2006) There are two cryptographic keys used in SSL. The public key is used by every customer for encrypting their data, on the other hand, the company will use a secret private key for decrypting the encrypted text. SSL creates a secure connection between client and server. On the other hand, HTTPS sends each message from user to the receiver securely. Thus SSL and HTTPS are complementary to one another. (Ciampa, 2011) The company can use digital signatures and use the same for sending any message to the customers or staffs. This will ensure that the company is sending the message, not any other person. This will help to ensure the identity of the company to its customer. For example, after sharing a credit card details, the customer need to be sure that whether the details have been reached to the company or not. The acknowledgment message and digital certificate from the company will help to ensure that. Even is worse cases, if the credit card information have been stolen from midway and used by any other attacker, then the company can prove that. Because the attacker can disguise as the company but wont have the digital certificate. (Speciner, et al., 2002) There are other kind of security mechanism for data transmission over the network for example PKI or Public Key Infrastructure. This also helps in securing data transmission over the Internet. There is also a pair of encryption keys and digital certificates. But PKI is basically used for email encryption. As the company does not use email based communication with their customers, so this technique is not very much applicable for them. (Ciampa, 2011) Vulnerability can be there in any information system or information technology infrastructure. Identification and safeguarding the vulnerabilities is a part of securing the network. It needs a constant monitoring process. There are various benefits from these vulnerability monitoring and scanning processes. Some of the benefits are, It protects the network by conducting comprehensive network monitoring and scanning. It updates the IT resources whenever needed. And the process is automated. It helps in IT auditing and reporting about the unmatched cases. The cost for data protection is reduced. There are lots of automated tools and techniques to make the network secure from hackers. Also there are different types of vulnerability scans. Vulnerabilities can come from the network of the customer or from Internet. There can be External and Internal scans that refers to scanning of private ports and LAN of the customer respectively. On the other hand there is range scanning for all external ports of a system. It checks all well-known ports, unused IP addresses etc. and finds if there is any exploitation of the vulnerabilities. (Manzuik, et al., 2006) Comments The processes, techniques etc. discussed in the report will help the company to make their current infrastructure secure for present and future. While preparing the report, it helped to learn about the networks and IT infrastructures used by the organizations, what are the different kind of threats faced by these organizations etc. Along with that, it helped to understand different countermeasures for the security risks, how those can be mitigated etc. References Apelbaum, Y., 2007. User Authentication Principles, Theory and Practice. s.l.:Fuji Technology Press. Arregoces, M. Portolani, M., 2003. Data Center Fundamentals. s.l.:Cisco Press. Ciampa, M., 2011. Security+ Guide to Network Security Fundamentals. s.l.:Cengage Learning. Harrington, J. L., 2005. Network Security: A Practical Approach. s.l.:Elsevier. Manzuik, S., Pfeil, K. Gold, A., 2006. Network Security Assessment: From Vulnerability to Patch. s.l.:Syngress. Snader, 2006. VPNs Illustrated: Tunnels, VPNs, And IPSec. s.l.:Pearson. Speciner, M., Perlman, R. Kaufman, C., 2002. Network Security. 2nd ed. s.l.:Pearson . Stallings, W., 2006. Cryptography And Network Security. 4th ed. s.l.:Pearson . Stewart, J. M., 2013. Network Security, Firewalls and VPNs. 2nd ed. s.l.:Jones Bartlett Publishers. Tipton, H. F. Krause, M., 2007. Information Security Management Handbook. 6th ed. s.l.:CRC Press.

Research Paper on Pollution Prevention

Free Essays on Twenty Years At Hull-House

Twenty Years At Hull-House JANE ADDAMS The book Twenty Years At Hull-House is the reminiscences of an extraordinary woman who has just reached another of life’s milestones. Jane Addams, the author wrote this book in her fiftieth year because she felt the efforts and accomplishments were â€Å"worthy† of literary significance and to dispel two other biographies that made her life at Hull-House seem charming and easy. Jane Addams wrote with such clarity and dignity that it was easy for this reader to see into the lives of those who sought refuge and hope at Hull-House and of those residents who fought for the civil rights. Many of the residence of Hull-House were inspired to become involved in the development of positive changes in the lives of everyone. Jane Addams was born on September 6, 1860 to John and Sarah Addams in the small town of Cedarville, Illinois. Jane’s mother died when she was very young. John was a wealthy gristmill owner and a sixteen-year Illinois state senator. Jane’s father, although remarried when she was eight years of age was her sole supervising source therefore, her greatest influence. Jane’s childhood was pleasant however, she always fretted over embarrassing her father by what she felt were her own physical flaws. Henry Steele Commager wrote the FORWORD in Twenty Years At Hull-House states, â€Å"†¦she was herself a misfit- so she felt anyway- â€Å" an ugly, pigeon-toed little girl whose crooked back obliged her to walk with her head held very much upon one side,† who was constantly afraid that she might embarrass the handsome father she adored.† Due to these concerns a strong bond grew with her accepting confidant and kind mentor, uncle James. Jane reflected back to her first experience of death at age fifteen when Polly, an old nurse who had cared for and followed her mother to Illinois to raise a second generation of children, died. During one of Polly’s annual visits to her cousins, th... Free Essays on Twenty Years At Hull-House Free Essays on Twenty Years At Hull-House Twenty Years At Hull-House JANE ADDAMS The book Twenty Years At Hull-House is the reminiscences of an extraordinary woman who has just reached another of life’s milestones. Jane Addams, the author wrote this book in her fiftieth year because she felt the efforts and accomplishments were â€Å"worthy† of literary significance and to dispel two other biographies that made her life at Hull-House seem charming and easy. Jane Addams wrote with such clarity and dignity that it was easy for this reader to see into the lives of those who sought refuge and hope at Hull-House and of those residents who fought for the civil rights. Many of the residence of Hull-House were inspired to become involved in the development of positive changes in the lives of everyone. Jane Addams was born on September 6, 1860 to John and Sarah Addams in the small town of Cedarville, Illinois. Jane’s mother died when she was very young. John was a wealthy gristmill owner and a sixteen-year Illinois state senator. Jane’s father, although remarried when she was eight years of age was her sole supervising source therefore, her greatest influence. Jane’s childhood was pleasant however, she always fretted over embarrassing her father by what she felt were her own physical flaws. Henry Steele Commager wrote the FORWORD in Twenty Years At Hull-House states, â€Å"†¦she was herself a misfit- so she felt anyway- â€Å" an ugly, pigeon-toed little girl whose crooked back obliged her to walk with her head held very much upon one side,† who was constantly afraid that she might embarrass the handsome father she adored.† Due to these concerns a strong bond grew with her accepting confidant and kind mentor, uncle James. Jane reflected back to her first experience of death at age fifteen when Polly, an old nurse who had cared for and followed her mother to Illinois to raise a second generation of children, died. During one of Polly’s annual visits to her cousins, th...

Individual report Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Individual report - Assignment Example However in 1923 his son invented a new product called ‘Mars Milky Way’ bar, which was very well received. Between 1911 and 1932 the company was relocated a number of times until Forrest Mars established Mars Limited in the United Kingdom. Over time the company has expanded into different avenues and it operates in six different business segments; food, chocolate, pet care, drinks, confections and symbioscience1. The marketing strategy of Mars incorporated is one that is geared towards the success of an industry built on the ambitions of a man who ran the company with a fanatic dedication. The following description by Joel Glenn Brenner (the only reporter ever to interview him) of Mr. Mars in New York Times (1999) explains to some extent the reservoirs of commitment and dedication with which the company has been run. He stated that there was an extremist who got down to his knees, in a praying manner, and he prayed for all the candy brands like Milky Way, Snickers, and so on. By doing so, he aspired respect of his employees and their loyalties for attaining quality, showing his will to pay salaries thrice better than the competition offerings. A noticeable point is that the pay-checks at Mars, are linked to the output and performance of the business. Higher market penetration- Initially when the company was still starting out and had few competitors, expanding market base was also accompanied by an increase in the overall market growth which meant that the Mars market share also increased rapidly. Over the last couple of decades however, competitors such as Kraft and Hershey’s have acquired a dominant presence in the candy market. Mars and Hershey’s due to their dualistic domination of the confection industry have become known as the ‘Candy Kings’ of the chocolate world (New York Times, 1999). Having a lot in common, the two companies in the initial decades

Bio-remediation of Oil Spills using Microbes Essay

Bio-remediation of Oil Spills using Microbes - Essay Example Apart from the above, people illegally may dump the pollutants such as the crude oil into the sea. Moreover, terrorists may also cause the oil spills just to destroy the country’s resources. The major victims of the oil spills occurring in the sea would be the aquatic animals and other marine living organisms which include plants under the sea. Thus, cleaning up and recovering from the oil spill are a major tasks and it is mainly based on the factors such as the nature of the oil that is being spilled, the quantity or the amount and the nature of the area being affected. There are different methods for cleaning up the oil spills which ensemble chemical treatment and Bioremediation. Bioremediation is the process of using the microorganisms to break down and remove the pollutants. â€Å"Bioremediation usually involves the use of biological agents to detoxify a contaminated environment† (Thangarajan et al., 2011). Thus, the noxious wastes of the oil spill can be effectivel y treated using microorganisms isolated and selected from the oil-contaminated environments to biodegrade the hydrocarbons in oil spill are a very promising technique for treatment of oil spills. This paper will feature the function of certain species of bacteria such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Bacillus subtilis and their role in Bio-remediation. Biodegradation by natural population of microorganisms can be considered as one of the primary mechanism by which the oil spills which are rich in petroleum hydrocarbons can be eradicated from the environment. The major success of the oil spills bioremediation mainly depends on the nature of the hydrocarbons and one’s ability to maintain and establish the conditions that favors the growth of the microorganisms in the particular contaminated environment. Therefore, the physical and the chemical characteristic of the oil and the oil spill area are the vital determinants in the bioremediation process. Thus, bioremediation encompasses the accelerated biodegradation in a natural way. Bioremediation techniques can be carried out in two different ways namely the in-situ or ex-situ methods. â€Å"In in-situ processes, the biological remediation is conducted at the contaminated site, whereas in ex-situ processes, the contaminated medium is extracted and processed off-site purification facilities.† (Rezende et al, n.d). Thus, bioremediation involves the processes of biostimulation and bioaugmentation. The Phenomenon of biostimulation comprises of addition of nutrients such as nitrogen, potassium and phosphorous and thereby enhancing the growth of the microorganisms through adjusting the environmental conditions such as the temperature, moisture and aeration etc. Thus, most of the bacterial species such as Pseudomonas, Bacillus and Cornybacterium are able to degrade the contaminants effectively under favorable environmental conditions and enriched nutrient supply. (Salami & Elum, 2008). On the other hand, the ot her phenomenon known as the bioaugmentaion where the microorganisms are able to degrade the specific oil spill contaminants namely the hydrocarbons are also being implemented. Therefore, bioremediation can be clearly understood as the phenomenon that exploits the microbial diversity and their metabolic versatility to convert noxious chemical oil spill contami

HR Strategic aspects of the labour market and Managing organisational performance Essay Example for Free

HR Strategic aspects of the labour market and Managing organisational performance Essay The economic events occurring during the last two decades provide indications and evidences that the area of human resourcing has significantly changed in response to the emerging complexities of the discipline. Perhaps, among the primary components of corporate organization, the dynamics of human resourcing appear to be the most challenging as well as complex. Experts in the area of Human Resource Management (HRM) invariably agree that the surging demand for a new organizational role for the human capital. Even the usually common terminologies used to describe the HRM processes, such as labor contracting, training and development, performance evaluation, have been recycled to outsourcing, learning and growth or performance management systems. Many even replaced, such as personnel to human resource to human capital, to describe in more sophisticated way, the new character of human resourcing. Still, HRM practitioners are of the opinion that changes will continue to pervade the HR area and may soon take or evolve into new competencies again. Torrington’s Views: The HRM discipline and the Labour market Torrington presents the burgeoning labour issues confronting many organizations as propounded by theorists and practitioners. Indeed, the complexities of human resourcing are invariably revealed in the documented HR practices compiled by the author, who has been keenly observing that the area of human resource management is beginning to undergo a form of transformative process where the task s, positions and the organization virtually mutates into its more sophisticated form. Based on data provided by the author and taken from a report, there is a general shortage of workers especially the young sector. In the area of healthcare, the National Health Service (NHS) is spending ? 1bn annually on temporary, agency and locum staff. According to Laing and Buisson, well known heathcare analysts, the demand for agency staff is expected to increase across public and private healthcare sector in response to the long-standing manpower shortages in practically every healthcare occupation. The author adds that the size of the market for manpower has risen by more than four times during the two decades commencing from 1992. Even the NHS had to triple their budget expenditures during the same period. Torrington estimates this sector is worth ? 2. 4bn in the market. However, the core of the problem has shifted to the quality of care that many temporary staff provide, thus the decision to reduce manpower outsourcing, Here, the need to get better deals from agencies is becoming paramount as new alternatives of human resourcing in this sector is being addressed. The author concludes by proposing an appropriate response system through flexible staffing solutions. Torrington highlights the strategic aspects of resourcing to respond effectively to the critical messages demanded and manifested by the labor market trends. Here, he analyzes the need to adopt certain flexible resourcing choices that will focus attention either to the ready-made or home grown human capital. The labor market trends bespeak of the dilemma faced by the human resourcing industry in general. A number of recommendations are provided to address this set of HR issues – the retention strategy. The retention indicators point to a disturbing trend at the charts. The issue of retention and its corresponding techniques and strategies has been brought into the open as a result of the need to assuage the cost of transfers, job and even career shifts. The author brings the issue of turnover rates and trends as indicative of HR instability in many sectors while exacting some forms of costs on the organization as a result of new rounds of resourcing and the need to adopt staff retention strategies. Torrington insists that organization strategies versus HR strategy issues not only should be HR-driven but primarily must mutually provide a perfect fit. The author discloses the strategic aspects of performance how these are driven by HR policies and processes as practiced. This is implied to mean that a change in perspective be made in the human resourcing function: from taking control of the employment processes to a more significant HR function of managing performance. True enough, this shift in focus may have been long wanted to smoothen human capital transitions to work excellence. This further suggests that efforts are better spent on ensuring that performance management becomes the primary driver of the HR function. A number of firms have found better insights into this form of HR shift considering that the new HR performance processes adds relevance and more meaningful roles for HR theorists and practitioners rather than just the documentary and aspect legalese of human resourcing. The author proposes the adoption of a performance management system that translates into organizational performance anchored on the knowledge and learning processes as HR initiatives. Here, the proactive roles expected of the HR practitioners are deemed directed towards gradually converting the company into a learning organization where the human capital competencies are planned, managed and nurtured. Performance management system indeed is a critical need as with the 360 degree feedback system. Conclusion Torrington proposes a two-dimensional performance appraisal system based on individual and team perspectives. He emphasizes management of employee performance guided towards organizational and personal goals and objectives and an objective appraisal system to measure extent of accomplishment based on target setting. A sequential and step-by-step approach is propounded with a component critique system based on an overarching 260 degree feedback system. A comparison and contrasting view of performance management system (PMS) and its environment of procedures indicate that the PMS has and is being widely used in organizations out to harness the potentials of its people. The degree of effectiveness indicates the variability of conceptualization and implementation, but nonetheless removes the major irritants in people management that ultimately affect the relationship as well as the performance dimensions of each of the component of the human capital sponsored primarily by senior management. Thus, the proactive nature of the PMS approach entitles it to wider adoption and desirability among organizations aiming to address many of its human resourcing issues. Subject 2 Performance Management System: Linking Organizational Goals Torrington outlines the essential factors in managing organisational performance showing how a Performance Management System (PMS)links to organisational goals. Concrete and abstract benefits and disincentives are identified and benchmarked with industry practices guided by the universal principles and theories of performance management. As practiced, performance management systems commence from the goal and target setting based on the requirements of the job. Here, employees and workers are clarified in the objectives of their positions, the requisite competence, and the learning and growth perspectives if the job as well as the compensation based on how the organization assesses the relative important of the task. The use of the PMS has been tested widely and has proven to be more effective than the traditional evaluation system. This is because of the inclusion of a compendium of measures that ensures that organizational goals are aligned with the specific tasks assigned to the employee. From the targets, agreements on the degree and how these targets are achieved under quality processes are laid down and the PMS target setting contract is accomplished. Thus, the use of the PMS allows the following benefits to accrued to both the worker and the organization: among others, expectations are clear and scope and limitations of the jobs are understood by both sectors; employees can clearly predict and manage their own levels of performance based on targets as well as the needed support to accomplish the tasks; there is an objective system of evaluation and appraisal that removes subjectivity and abstract judgments; when provided with an incentive and reward systems, PMS becomes effective as a tool and basis of rewards and incentives; and, there is a better working relationship between the worker and his superior based on earlier agreements and covenants. Likewise, PMS considers possible constraints and limitations on both sides, thus alternative measures are agreed for the degree of performance resulting from the occurrences of such constraints and impediments. For the organization, the benefits are clear in terms of stronger motivation on the worker; budgeting can be integrated into the system through measurable and appropriate inventive and rewards system; the subsequent appraisal and evaluation system allows for an ideal atmosphere for the discussion of the evaluation and appraisal results to encourage future performance based on areas that additionally needed reinforcement and support. In addition, PMS encourages both individuals and teams to be evaluated based on targets that are aligned with the organizational goals. On the other hand, the disadvantages of adopting a Performance Management System (PMS) includes the requirement for a more detailed procedures and measurement system that may prove to be too elaborate and complex for the worker to understand and appreciate. Likewise, the process of documentation in support of the performance is considered difficult and tedious. Further there is no assurance that performance can indeed by achieved as there may be unforeseen circumstances not considered during the target setting completed before the start of the performance period. (Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhart, Wright, 2008) Nonetheless, there is a need to study the organizational culture on whether the latter would help the system or otherwise. Conclusion Taking into account the benefits and disadvantages of Performance Management Systems (PMS), the absence of a more measurable, objective and comprehensive system of measuring and evaluating performance is non-existence despite the presence and utilization of good measuring tools and instruments. This is the complexity of the new HResourcing strategy that allows greater flexibility and uniqueness in the approach to managing performance. On the overall, the rationale for adopting PMS far outweighs the need to ignore the benefits provided by this new system. Often, the major constraint in adopting PMS is whether the organizational culture would allow such a change in the system. Thus, the efforts may indeed be tedious, but nonetheless, there is strong desirability in the system that will be more advantageous to every stakeholder in the PMS environment system.

The Color Purple Essay -- essays research papers

The Color Purple by Alice Walker is a very controversial novel, which many people found to be very offensive. It is basically the struggle for one woman’s independence. The main character in The Color Purple is Celie a coloured woman with little or no education at all. She is one who has been used and abused by all the men in her life, and because of these men, she has very little courage or ambition in her life. She has so little courage, that all she wants to do is just survive. Through the various women she meets throughout here life like: Shug, her sister, and Harpo’s wife, she learns how to enjoy herself, gain courage and happiness. She finally learns enough and with the final straw she could no longer bare, she leaves her husband and becomes an independent happy woman. Celie was an abused woman from all the men in her life. She was abused and raped by her stepfather and then by her own husband. This abusiveness took away all of Celie’s ambitions and drove her into a state of fear. That is why she refers to these men only known as Mister, for she had lost her feelings. She feared them so much that she would always do whatever she was told without hesitation, because she was fearful of being beaten. The first evidence comes from the opening line of the novel, You better not never tell nobody but God†¦ (P.11). That is why all her letters open with Dear God, because she fears what will happen to her if she does tell anyone. And it is because of these men, that she has ver...

Iso 9000, Service Quality and Ergonomics Stanislav Karapetrovic

To cite this document: Stanislav Karapetrovic, (1999),†ISO 9000, service quality and ergonomics†, Managing Service Quality, Vol. 9 Iss: 2 pp. 81 – 89 Permanent link to this document: http://dx. doi. org/10. 1108/09604529910257948 Downloaded on: 17-10-2012 References: This document contains references to 27 other documents Citations: This document has been cited by 3 other documents To copy this document: [email  protected] com This document has been downloaded 1952 times since 2005. * Users who downloaded this Article also downloaded: *Rujirutana Mandhachitara, Yaowalak Poolthong, (2011),†A model of customer loyalty and corporate social responsibility†, Journal of Services Marketing, Vol. 25 Iss: 2 pp. 122 – 133 http://dx. doi. org/10. 1108/08876041111119840 Harold W. Webb, Linda A. Webb, (2004),†SiteQual: an integrated measure of Web site quality†, Journal of Enterprise Information Management, Vol. 17 Iss: 6 pp. 430 – 440 ht tp://dx. doi. org/10. 1108/17410390410566724 Rabiul Ahasan, Daniel Imbeau, (2003),†Who belongs to ergonomics? An examination of the human factors community†, Work Study, Vol. 52 Iss: 3 pp. 123 – 128 http://dx. doi. org/10. 1108/00438020310471917Access to this document was granted through an Emerald subscription provided by ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY OF GAZA For Authors: If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service. Information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www. emeraldinsight. com/authors for more information. About Emerald www. emeraldinsight. com With over forty years' experience, Emerald Group Publishing is a leading independent publisher of global research with impact in business, society, public policy and education.In total, Emerald publishes over 275 journals and more than 130 book series, as well as an extensi ve range of online products and services. Emerald is both COUNTER 3 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation. *Related content and download information correct at time of download. Perspectives ISO 9000, service quality and ergonomics Stanislav Karapetrovic 1. Introduction In the last decade or so, we have witnessed an explosion of quality-related standards and regulations.As a result of the continuous quest for better â€Å"quality† of products and services offered to customers, the International Organization for Standardization introduced the ISO 9000 series of quality management and quality assurance standards in 1987. The series currently includes three models for quality assurance (ISO 9001, ISO 9002 and ISO 9003), guidelines for quality management (ISO 9004), and two supporting documents: ISO 9000 Guidelines for Model’s Selection and Use and ISO 8402 Quality Vocabulary (Figure 1). The ISO 9000 standards have been accepted worldwide, with more than 200,000 organizations already registered.The standards present a sound basis for assuring the customer of quality of products and services, as well as the processes that create them. Several other quality-related standards have since emerged, such as the automotive standards QS 9000, environmental management standards ISO 14000, and emerging health and safety international standards (Figura, 1996). The upcoming revision of ISO 9000 standards in the year 2000 (now in the form of a Technical Committee Draft) is expected to further facilitate the use of quality assurance methods the world over.Another commonly used phrase from the 1980s and 1990s has been total quality management (TQM): an integrated approach to the management of quality with special emphasis on delighting customers and improving the wellbeing of all employees in the organization. A number of articles have been written on the relationship between the ISO 9000 series and TQM (Johnson, 1993; Struebing, 1996; Wilson, 1996; Velury, 1996; Corigan, 1994; Sakofsky, 1994; Emmons, 1994), underlying the opinion of quality management professionals that the two are not quite the same.While ISO 9000 series are technical, presenting speci?cations, requirements and guidelines for quality systems, TQM emphasizes teamwork and customer satisfaction. Put another way, TQM is quality management with â€Å"a human touch†. Does this mean that ergonomic aspects of the workplace and customer satisfaction are not emphasized by ISO 9000? Does quality assurance (ISO 9000) emphasize ergonomics and 81 The author Stanislav Karapetrovic is based at the Department of Industrial Engineering, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.Keywords Ergonomics, ISO 9000, Quality assurance, Service quality, Workers Abstract This paper addresses some ergonomic issues in the ISO 9000-based qualit y assurance. Ergonomics – the study of human factors in engineering and design of systems is brie?y touched on. Then, outlines of ISO 9001 and ISO 9004 quality system models are provided, and all 20 requirements of the current ISO 9001:9004 standard are presented in an ergonomic light. Subsequently, human factors in the documentation and implementation of a quality system are illustrated.The relevance of ergonomic studies in the development of service systems is addressed. Finally, a blueprint for an ergonomic assurance system, de?ned as a set of interrelated resources and processes that function in order to achieve objectives related to ergonomic design and use of products and processes, is provided. Managing Service Quality Volume 9  · Number 2  · 1999  · pp. 81–89  © MCB University Press  · 0960-4529 Figure 1 Ergonomics – an essential element of the production and/or service systemRaw Material RESOURCES Ergonomics PROCESS PRODUCT Output Input Ergono mics COST ERGONOMICAL CHARACTERISTICS QUALITY CHARACTERISTICS occupational health and safety? In the present time of globalization of markets and internationalization of best-practice standards, such questions can and should be posed. This paper addresses some of the ergonomic issues in the ISO 9000-based quality assurance. Ergonomics, that is the study of human factors in engineering and design of systems, is brie?y touched on.Then, outlines of ISO 9001 and ISO 9004 quality system models are provided, and all 20 requirements of the current ISO 9001:9004 standard are presented in an ergonomic light. Subsequently, human factors in the documentation and implementation of a quality system are illustrated. The relevance of ergonomic studies in the development of service systems is addressed. Finally, the design of an ergonomic assurance system based on ISO 9000 is discussed. 2. Ergonomics It seems that it takes a disaster, loss of human life, or a health crisis for most of us to realize how important human factors are.Before the Three Mile Island incident, the Chernobil explosion, the Bhopal pesticide leak, plane crashes involving human errors, or ?ndings that millions of people suffer from repetitive stress injuries, it would have been hard to ?nd anyone who knew what ergonomics or human factors engineering are (not including the ergonomists themselves, of course). Today, however, we often hear about â€Å"ergonomicallydesigned computer mouse and keyboard†, 82 â€Å"ergonomic† chairs, pots, pans, door handles, and automatic teller machines (ATM).We now know that ergonomic design of products and processes is bsolutely crucial for effective and ef?cient work. Ergonomics, or human factors engineering, deals with the design for human use, as well as optimizing working and living conditions (Sanders and McCormick, 1993). The ?rst term (ergonomics) is mainly in use in Europe, while the second (human factors engineering) is often heard in North America. Th e following de?nition, modi?ed from Chapanis (1985), is provided: Ergonomics discovers and applies information about human behavior, limitations, abilities and other human characteristics to the design of systems for ef?cient, safe, comfortable and effective human use.Interested readers are referred to a classic in ergonomics, Sanders’ and McCormick’s â€Å"Human factors in engineering and design† (1993), for more information on the history of the science and a detailed study of many applications of ergonomics. Ergonomics, almost by default, is implied in quality assurance. Quality assurance encompasses techniques used to provide con?dence to customers that their requirements for quality are met. Therefore, by de?nition, human factors are involved. Assurances in the quality of products and services are provided to humans, by humans.In fact, ergonomics and quality assurance are so intertwined that it is impossible to say where one starts and the other ends. Sever al articles in ergonomics literature have already discussed the use of quality assurance techniques in human factors engineering (for instance, see Helander and Burri, 1995; Bergquist and Abeysekera, 1996). For an early account on human factors in quality assurance, the reader is referred to Harris and Chaney (1969). Hence, in the following sections, interrelationships between ergonomics and quality assurance will be addressed. 3.Quality Assurance (ISO 9001) and Management (ISO 9004) Of the three available models for quality system registration, ISO 9001 is undoubtedly the most comprehensive and most widely used. The current version (ISO 9001: 1994), includes 20 elements (requirements), to which a quality assurance system of an organization is assessed (Table I). ISO 9001 covers design, development, production, installation and servicing activities. It is aimed at providing con?dence to internal and external customers that their requirements for quality are continuously met.An organ ization’s anagement is the main internal customer, while external customers include consumers of the organization’s products and services, as well as registrars that assess the suitability and effectiveness of the quality system. ISO 9001 is a generic standard, which means that it is universally applicable to both manufacturing and service organizations, i. e. small businesses (Karapetrovic et al. , 1997), health care and education (Willborn and Cheng, 1994). Rather than focusing on speci?c products and services, ISO 9001 addresses quality systems and processes in?uencing the product throughout its lifecycle.A quality system can be de?ned as a set of processes that function harmoniously, using various resources, to achieve quality objectives (Karapetrovic and Willborn, 1998A). It is in the interaction of human, material and information resources, as well as human resources and processes, that the ergonomic aspects of the quality system emerge. Focusing on the underlyin g concept of a system will help us understand the interrelationships between the quality and ergonomic system, and provide a possibility for integration.Apart from ISO 9001, a set of guidelines numbered ISO 9004 is widely used for developing and implementing quality 83 management. The set currently consists of eight documents, ranging from the guidelines on quality management in service organizations to con?guration and project management. For the purpose of discussing an ergonomic system in services, we turn our attention to the second document in the series, namely the ISO 9004-2 (1994) â€Å"Quality management and quality system elements: Guidelines for services†).In essence very similar in scope and structure to ISO 9001, ISO 9004-2 provides guidelines for establishing quality management throughout the service life cycle, starting from establishing the need for a service, through service design, acquisition of resources, service delivery and status, as well as performance analysis and improvement. Differing from ISO 9001, these guidelines directly address interfaces with customers, including â€Å"creating a perception of the appropriate image based on the reality of actions taken to meet customers needs† (ISO 9004-2: 1994).Effective communication with customers, â€Å"listening to them and keeping them informed†, is particularly emphasized. What is also important from an ergonomic standpoint is that the guidelines provide the basis for adequate training of personnel, including motivation, staff development and communication. Although the training mentioned therein mostly involves â€Å"quality system training†, it could be expanded to environmental, health and safety, and ergonomic system training.For different strategies of using the quality system framework for developing other management systems, including environment and ergonomics, the reader is referred to Karapetrovic and Willborn (1998B and 1998C). In addition to ISO 90 04-2, another standard from the ISO 9004 series, namely ISO 9004: Part 1 â€Å"Guidelines for quality management and quality system elements†, addresses some particular ergonomic aspects. This is done in the standard’s 19th element: Product safety. Speci?cally, it is suggested that â€Å"consideration be given to identifying safety aspects of products and processes with the aim of enhancing safety† (ISO 9004-1: 1994).Steps to achieve this can include: †¢ identifying relevant safety standards; †¢ performing design evaluation tests for safety; †¢ analyzing instructions and warnings to the user; Table I Ergonomic issues and implications of ISO 9001 (1994) ISO 9001 element 4. 1 4. 2 4. 3 Management responsibility Quality system Contract review Ergonomic issues Organization ensures that the quality policy is understood at all levels Procedures and work instructions are effectively documented/implemented Customer requirements are adequately de?ned and d ocumentedImplications Quality system documentation should be designed and implemented using ergonomic (human factors engineering) knowledge Ergonomic characteristics of a product, such as environmental conditions, sensory characteristics proper handling and packaging should be determined (see Bergquist and Abeysekera, 1996; Helander and Burri, 1995; Barsky and Dutta, 1997) Products should be ergonomically designed to ensure healthy and safe functioning Quality system documents should be accessible . 4 4. 5 Design control Document control 4. 6 4. 7 4. 8 4. 9 Purchasing Control of customer supplied product Product identi?cation and traceability Process control 4. 10 Inspection and testing 4. 11 Inspection and test equipment 4. 12 Inspection and test status 4. 13 Nonconforming product 4. 14 Corrective and preventive action 4. 15 Handling, storage, †¦, delivery 4. 16 Control of quality records 4. 17 Internal quality audits 4. 18 Training 4. 19 ServicingCrucial characteristics for s afe and proper functioning of the product are identi?ed Appropriate documents are readily available at all locations where essential operations are performed Purchasing documents adequately address speci?ed requirements Adequate procedures for storage and maintenance of the product are in place Product is adequately identi?ed and traceable Suitable equipment and working environment are used Criteria for workmanship is stipulated in the clearest practical manner Records clearly illustrate the results of inspection and testing activities Suitable indicators of calibration status are identi?ed Inspection and test status of the product is identi?ed by suitable means Nonconforming products are adequately identi?ed and segregated Appropriate sources of information are used to detect and eliminate potential/ existing causes of defects Adequate handling, storage, packaging, preservation and delivery of the product is identi?ed and maintained Quality records are adequately identi?ed, indexed , ?led and storedQuality records are easily accessible Quality audits are performed to examine the suitability and effectiveness of the quality system Training needs are identi?ed and adequate training provided Appropriate identi?cation of servicing needs and customer feedback is performed Ergonomic techniques can be used to ensure clear understanding of documents Safe and risk-free storage and maintenance of products is emphasized Identi?cation of products should be performed according to ergonomic guidelines regulations For identi?cation and maintenance of the suitable working environment and hardware, ergonomic analysis and evaluations must be performed Identi?cation of products and equipment should be performed according to ergonomic guidelines and regulations (for example, see Sanders and McCormick, 1993 (part 2), and Harris and Chaney, 1070 (chapters 6-11)Ergonomical analysis of human-information interaction is helpful (for instance, see Sanders and McCormick, 1993 (part 2) Er gonomical design and analysis of handling and packaging of products should be used Ergonomic techniques can be used to ensure clear understanding of documents, and accessibility of records Ergonomic audits/evaluations, identifying areas for possible improvement of human-machineproduct-environment interactions are performed Ergonomic training should be emphasized Ergonomic characteristics of a product, such as environmental conditions, sensory characteristics proper handling and packaging should be determined (see Bergquist and Abeysekera, 1996; Helander and Burri, 1995; Barsky and Dutta, 1997)Statistical tools and techniques are used in ergonomic analysis and evaluations 4. 20 Statistical techniques The need for the application of statistical techniques is identi?ed 84 †¢ developing a means of product traceability to facilitate product recall; †¢ considering development of an emergency plan The following section will address some ergonomic factors in the ISO 9001/9004 qual ity system structure, as well as suggest implementation of this system with ergonomics in mind. 4. Ergonomic considerations of ISO 9001/9004 Quality systems depicted in ISO 9001 and ISO 9004 standards apply to all phases in the life cycle of a service, from initial identi?cation to ?nal satisfaction of customer requirements.The concept of all activities in?uencing the quality of a service throughout its life cycle is often referred to as the â€Å"service quality loop† (ISO 9004-2, 1994). Thus, a service quality system involves three main elements: (1) service; (2) processes along the quality loop; and (3) resources. Likewise, ergonomic considerations within a service quality system include: †¢ Ergonomic design and delivery of service (and/or related products). †¢ Ergonomic design and application of processes. †¢ Analysis of the interaction between human and information/material resources Using Figure 1, it is possible to explain how quality and ergonomics inte rrelate in a quality system. Each product or service made possesses certain characteristics.For example, service quality is a set of characteristics that bear on the service’s ability to satisfy customer requirements. Ergonomic characteristics of products / services provide safe, healthy and ef?cient usage and/or delivery. It is evident that some ergonomic characteristics of a product (or service) are essentially quality characteristics (such as the design of the driver’s seat in a car), and vice-versa. Also, service delivery processes have to satisfy certain requirements that may be ergonomic in nature. For example, the environment in which retail-banking services operate may be altered to provide safety for a bank teller working in it. Finally, ergonomic issues emerge when human, material and informa85 ion resources are combined to create a quality system.The current ISO 9001 quality system has a multitude of elements that are directly applicable to managing ergonomi cs and health/safety. Table I lists all 20 elements of ISO 9001 in the order in which they appear in the standard, illustrates sections and speci?c requirements which pertain to ergonomics, and provides ergonomic implications of the quality system. The implications range from adequate identi?cation of customer ergonomic requirements, ergonomically suitable design of products, services and processes, to identi?cation and maintenance of appropriate working environment and equipment.Such analysis of the ISO 9001 quality system shows that virtually every element of the system includes at least some ergonomic and/or health and safety aspects. This conclusion, however, is not surprising, since ultimately, quality is created by people, and for people. Not only does the content of ISO 9001 relate to human factors (Hansen, 1996), but also its context. A quality system must be adequately documented and implemented in order to operate effectively and ef?ciently. Quality documentation, as a pil lar of the quality system, must be understood and readily available to all persons whose work affects quality, as well as understood by all involved. Ergonomically designed documentation will undoubtedly help people understand their tasks better and improve their performance.New technologies, such as head-up-displays (Geiselman and Osgood, 1995; Karapetrovic, 1995), computer-aided communication (through electronic mail and the Internet) can greatly improve the implementation of a quality system in any organization. Examples include: †¢ Operators using HUDs for display of quality procedures and work instructions. †¢ Paperless ISO 9000 documentation, i. e. documents available on-line using HTML or Java (Clarkin and Dow, 1997). †¢ Wireless electronic mail for reporting and analysis of quality-related problems. The following section addresses the implementation of human factors engineering in services, using ?nancial services as an example, in more detail. 5. Ergonomics a nd services How do ergonomics relate to service quality systems?To answer that question, we can follow the above-mentioned â€Å"service quality loop† from the inception of the need for service, to the evaluation of whether that need has been satis?ed. In designing a â€Å"quality service†, we must ?rst identify the need for it, as well as ?nd out who would actually need such a service. Put another way, we are de?ning the user and his/her needs. For instance, say we want to open a bank branch in a specific location. Do local bank users really need a branch there? What exactly do they need? Perhaps they need investment services, or easy access to cash, or mortgage consultations. Sanders and McCormick (1993) and Bailey (1982) de?ne the identi?cation of user needs through observation, interviews and questionnaires as ergonomic activities that apply here.Psychology-based tools of ergonomics deal in particular with an effective and ef?cient determination of user needs. The service system is subsequently designed on the basis of identi?ed needs. We have determined that local users require access to money from their accounts as well as the possibility of discussing investments. Now, we need to allocate resources to required banking functions. These resources include people (bank employees), hardware (automatic teller machines (ATM), computers) and software. Which particular functions should we assign to people, and which to machines? For instance, for easy access to cash, we would assume that a 24hour ATM would be appropriate.However, what if most of the bank’s clients are seniors, who are still not accustomed to trusting machines in dealing with deposits or withdrawals, or if the bank is located in a place where people prefer customer service and contact with bank tellers rather than machines? Ergonomic studies help us in determining speci?c capabilities of people, hardware and software, and can provide signi?cant assistance in allocating system functions. Then, we can decide whether to completely automate certain functions, or to assign people to perform them, or use both machines and people. For example, a bank may decide to allow withdrawals of less than $1,000 from an ATM. If a customer wants to withdraw more than that, he/she would have to go to a bank teller. 86Once we have decided which resources the bank should have (say three ATMs, four tellers and two investment advisors), we need to perform an analysis of the required processes, activities and tasks. Put another way, we are listing the sequence of activities that need to be conducted in order to accomplish a speci?c function. Flowcharts are particularly helpful here. For instance, we can specify a procedure for cash withdrawals from the bank. This, in ergonomics, is called task description and analysis (Sanders and McCormick, 1993). Whenever we have some interaction between people and hardware or software, such as when a teller needs to input withdrawal informat ion into the database, there are ergonomic implications.For example, in the bank where I normally do my ?nancial transactions, computer monitors and keyboards are placed so low in relation to the counter, that the teller needs to bend down every time he/she inputs the information, virtually disappearing behind the counter. Just imagine how many times the teller needs to bend like that every day, every week, every month. Put another way, in designing the work space for employees, e. g. placing customer service counters and computers in determined locations, allocating space for safety deposit boxes, etc. , we inevitably in?uence the comfort, safety and ef?ciency of people working in such spaces. All these are ergonomic considerations that can in?uence the quality of the product or service.The likely reason why tellers in my bank still have to bend down to reach the computer is that it was probably never de?ned as a problem at all. The existence of an ergonomic program within the bank , with planned ergonomic audits and corrective actions, would certainly identify and rectify such a problem. But how can such a program be introduced with minimum cost and maximum bene?ts? Perhaps the solution is in the integration of the existing quality system with an ergonomic program. The integration of quality and environment management systems came naturally, since standards representing best practices were effectively established at the international level (namely ISO 9000 and ISO 14000).This should also be the case with occupational health and safety (OHS), since national and international OHS standards, dubbed ISO 20000 (Figura, 1996) are already emerging. The following section presents an approach to the development of an ergonomic assurance system on the basis of the quality system. 6. Ergonomics assurance system As was mentioned in Section 3 of this paper, the systems concept can greatly assist us in understanding the interrelationships of many production and management processes, among others, quality and ergonomics. For an excellent account of the relationship between ergonomics and the system design, the interested reader can refer to Sanders and McCormick (1993), Chapter 22. While the pplication of the systems concept to service quality is presented elsewhere (Karapetrovic and Willborn, 1998A), it can be used to propose an ergonomic assurance system. We can de?ne ergonomic assurance as â€Å"all those planned and systematic actions aimed at providing con?dence to customers, management and the general public, that their requirements and needs for ergonomically safe products and processes are met†.An ergonomic assurance system is then a â€Å"set of processes and resources that function harmoniously to achieve objectives related to ergonomic design and implementation of products and processes†.Note: Proposed EAS elements are given in bold letters, while numbers represent sections of the ISO 9004-2 Guidelines 87 Similarly to the ISO 14001:1996 environmental management system, an ergonomic assurance system can include Deming’s plan-dostudy-act (PDSA) continuous improvement circle, with the following elements: †¢ Ergonomic objectives. †¢ Planning and design (ergonomic aspects, targets, determination of system performance speci?cations, ergonomic system design). †¢ Resource acquisition and deployment (allocation of functions to people, hardware and software; task analysis, design of jobs and human-hardware-software interfaces; training). †¢ Operation (ergonomic control, monitoring and measurement).†¢ Corrective/preventive action (ergonomic audits). Improvement (ergonomic evaluations, communication with interested parties. Interested parties may include customers, for ergonomic characteristics of the product/service, and employees, for ergonomics of the workplace). Rather than adding speci?c ergonomic and safety requirements to existing quality standards (Barsky and Dutta (1997) sugg est this), a separate ergonomic system standard can be drafted, and then integrated with existing quality management systems. Using the de?nition and the model of a quality system from Karapetrovic and Willborn (1998C), proposed elements of the ergonomic management system (EMS) can be illustrated as in Figure 2.For example, the executive management of an organization should de?ne an ergonomic policy that is documented and communicated to all employees. Ergonomic aspects of all activities and processes within the organization should be identi?ed and speci?c objectives and targets set. An ergonomic management program should be de?ned and documented, and adequate resources allocated. Operation of the EMS should include a statement of responsibility and authority of people involved, identi?cation of training needs and a provision of adequate ergonomic training, and preparation of adequate EMS documentation. Corrective and preventive action to eliminate existing and potential problems sh ould be undertaken, and ergonomic audits would assist in this effort.Finally, the executive management should review the status of the EMS, includ88 ing its effectiveness, suitability, and conformance to the requirements. 7. Conclusion This paper addressed some of the ergonomic issues in the ISO 9000-based quality assurance for services. Outlines of ISO 9001 and ISO 9004 quality system models were provided, followed by a discussion of the content of the ISO 9001 standard considering ergonomics and human factors. Ergonomic implementation of a quality system was subsequently addressed. Finally, possible development of an â€Å"ergonomic assurance system† on the basis of ISO 9001 and systems theory was presented. Further research into the development of ergonomic assurance systems is suggested.

Feminism Social Work - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 19 Words: 5671 Downloads: 1 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category People Essay Type Argumentative essay Tags: Gender Roles Essay Social Work Essay Did you like this example? The emergence of feminism and its impact on social work practice This research considers the application of feminist thought in social work practise. Specific areas of consideration include the gap from social workers personal acceptance of feminist constructs and their use of such constructs in daily practise, the effects of perpetuation of hegemonic gender roles by social workers, and domestic violence victims perceptions of the effectiveness of social work based on the perspectives of their social workers as considered above. This research further describes a focus group of college social work students who are also domestic violence victims.. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Feminism Social Work" essay for you Create order It records their perceptions of social workers worldviews and the impact of such on service. Conclusions include that there is significant gap between the understanding or acceptance of feminist constructs amongst social workers and its application in daily field practise, that social workers are often likely to perpetuate hegemonic gender roles, and because of such perpetuation view domestic violence situations as individual occurrences rather than part of a greater societal pattern of oppression, and that domestic violence survivors feel best served when work with them uses a feminist theoretical framework. Introduction Feminism and social work have been associated for many years; however, although many social workers personally espouse working from a feminist perspective, the systems of social work still favour work from a traditional or patriarchal perspective. This research, therefore, seeks to first consider findings from previous study regarding this phenomenon and the theoretical frameworks for both social work and feminist thought. In this light of information gleaned from these findings, it became apparent that hegemonic gender roles, a common topic of feminist research, play a relevant part in work with survivors of domestic violence. Specifically, domestic violence survivors are often directed, either explicitly or implicitly, that their situation is personal and should be considered and dealt with from a personal and pathological perspective rather than applying the tenets of feminist thought that view such situations as manifestations of structural and power problems in our greater society. This study then seeks to document whether this gap between social work theory supportive of feminist worldviews and social work application of practise exists, and if so, how prevalent a gap it is. This is accomplished through use of a focus group of college students, all of whom have taken at least one course in social work theory and are themselves domestic violence survivors who have been served, to whatever level of quality, by social workers. Discussions within the focus group involved ideas of gender roles and social worker advocacy of hegemonic gender roles, whether explicit or implicit. The focus group then built on this foundation to consider group participants experiences with social workers and whether they presented an individual / pathological perspective of domestic violence, or whether they presented a perspective that consider the wider influence of society and its systems. This was further related to the effect of such perceptions on the understanding of and service to group participants at the time of intervention. Literature Review Feminism has emerged in the past thirty years as a viable worldview. Dietz (2000), quoting Bunch (1980), defined feminism as transformational politics that aims at the dismantling of all permanent power hierarchies in which one category of humans dominates or controls another category of humans (372). In the feminist and empowerment traditions, the personal is political, and individual change and social change are seen as interdependent (Deitz 2000,372). Feminism contends it is not adequate to simply include women in the worlds political and power systems, as these were designed by and for men and therefore favour a highly masculinised mechanism for responding to issues and require women working within these systems to-do the same (Scott 1988, Moylan 2003). Simply including women is not enough; society must give womens experiences equal time and consideration, eventually recasting the very meanings of the topics it considers (Scott 1988). Rather, feminism argues women must be engaged in both the system development and decision-making processes that shape our society (Moylan 2003). Consequently, one area where feminism has particularly challenged traditional views is in the area of gender roles. For example, Dominelli and McLeod (1989) examine the way in which social problems are defined, recognising gender as particularly important in understanding client groups, and stress egalitarian relationships between therapists and clients. Gender is also an important consideration of social work due to the patriarchal society that still dominates most of our world. This power framework rests on a basis of hegemonic masculinity (Cohn and Enloe 2003). Connell (1995) created the term hegemonic masculinity to describe the valued definition of manhood in a society. He argues that whilst there are multiple possible masculinities in a culture, only one or a few are most valued or considered ideal (Connell 1995). This gender definition is constructed both in relation to femininity and to other, subordinated masculinities, and is used to justify both mens domination of women, and the hegemonic ally masculine mans power over other men (Cohn and Weber 1999). Whilst women are increasingly being included in world systems, the systems themselves still were designed for and operate by and for men. Therefore, women who participate within the system must do so from male paradigm, even if it is sometimes at odds with their own preferences for how to go about dealing with a situation (Cohn and Enloe 2003). Feminism historically is a critique of male supremacy, the belief that gender order was socially constructed and could not be changed (Cott1989,205). Masculinity is often defined as what is not feminine, and femininity as what is not masculine, although understanding the dynamics of one requires considering both the workings of the other and the relationship and overlap between the two (Cohn and Enloe 2003). Masculine definitions are often based on strength, domination and violence, whilst feminine on weakness, nurturing, compassion and passitivity (Rabrenovic and Roskos 2001). The result is pressure omen adhering to a hegemonic definition of masculinity to view forms of addressing conflict other than a physical or masculine response as feminine and a threat to their manhood (Moylan 2003). The popular concept of gender holds that masculinity and femininity are unchanging expressions based on the chromosomal male and female bodies (Butler 1990). Gender is assumed to be hard-wired, at least in part (Hawkesworth 1997). Masculine actions and desires for men and feminine actions and desires for women alone are normal, these masculine and feminine traits are not a matter of choice, and all individuals can be classified as one or the other (Hawkesworth 1997). However, whilst our society men are considered strong and dominant, and women passive and nurturing, the meanings of male and female bodies differ from one culture to another, and change (even in our own culture) over time (Connell 1993, 75). For example, there have been periods in Western history when the modern convention that men suppress displays of emotion did not apply at all, when men were effusive to their male friends and demonstrative about their feelings(Connell 1993, 75). Masculinities and felinities are constructed or accomplished in social processes such as child rearing, emotional and sexual relationships, work and politics (Connell 1993, 75). Feminism, however, contends gender is a constructed by each culture, and as a social practice involves the incorporation of specific symbols, which support or distort human potential (Hawkesworth 1997). Gender is created through discursively constrained per formative acts, and the repetition of these acts over time creates gender for the individual in society (Butler 1990, x). People learn to act like women or men are supposed to; women are taught to behave in a feminine manner, men are taught to act in a masculine manner. This is often reinforced by authority figures, such as social workers. Barnes (2003)cites a number of studies which find social workers often assume the disciplinary gaze of notions of what and how to be woman, perpetuating traditional gender roles (149). Armed with rigid codes of gender appropriate behaviours, social workers often sought to regulate and mediate womens interactions with the social, economic, and political world (Barns 2003, 149). Feminism and social work share a number of similarities. Both believe in the inherent worth and dignity of all persons, the value of process over product, the appreciation of unity-diversity, the importance of considering the person-in- environment, and a commitment to personal empowerment and active participation in society as a means to bring about meaningful social change (Barrette 2001, 266-267). Similarly, both feminism and social work address multiple approaches to handling situations, challenging the institutionalized oppression common in manpower structures and supporting the reconceptualization and redistribution of that power (Barrette 2001, 267). It follows that one impact of feminism on social work practise is the consideration of issues from a societal rather than personal perspective. For example, this might include viewing a domestic violence situation not from the perspective that the family is dysfunctional, but from the perspective of the society that created the family. The psychology-based focus of clinical social work often leads to individualizing social problems, rather than to viewing themes the result of relations of power, primarily oppression and abuse(Deitz 2000, 369). As such, individuals experiencing such difficulties are taught that their particular experiences are inappropriate, rather than addressing the systems that created the difficulties in the first place (Deitz 2000, 369). Nominally and McLeod (1989) re-evaluate social work practice from feminist perspective, considering the functions of social work such as therapy, community interaction, and policy making not from pathological standpoint but from one of defined roles endorsed by societal conditions. As such, they contend that working from feminist perspective allows the social worker to address the causes of social issues, rather than the symptoms played out in individuals lives (Nominally and McLeod 1989). One area of difference in social work practise between those operating from a feminist framework and a traditional framework is the concept of distance. Traditionally, the patriarchal bias against relationality and connection is intended to lead to connection without harm, love without power abuse, touching without sexual abuse in psychotherapy(Deitz 2000, 377). Unfortunately, in practise it often results in power over relationships where those receiving services feel less than those providing them. Healing happens when someone feels seen, heard, held, and empowered, not when one is interpreted, held at distance, and pathologies (Deitz 2000, 377). Deitz (2000) finds that social workers often institutionalize a power over stance from professional training and discourse that constructs the identities of clients as somehow disordered, dysfunctional or impaired. Whether between parents and children; physicians and patients; social workers and consumers of services; Whites and Blacks; or heterosexuals and lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgendered persons, power over relationships give the dominant partners or group the right to define the meanings of subordinates experiences (including their resistance)and thus their opportunities for self-affirmation (Deitz 2000,373).This creates professional relationships that ignore the environmental, historical, and social contexts of the problem, discount peoples strengths and resilience in assessment and intervention, and lead to the objectification of people as diagnoses, rather than to empowerment (Deitz 2000, 370). The keys to empowerment in feminist micro practice are reconnection and transformation through political activity; survivors of oppression and abuse experience reconnection through relationships based on mutuality, collaboration, and trustworthiness (Deitz 2000, 376). Theories from social work, psychology, and particularly developmental psychology describe empowerment as primarily a process, with the personal transformation of the individual becoming empowered at its foundation (Carr 2003, 8). Barriers to empowerment and problems of disenfranchisement caused by powerlessness are primarily political, rather than psychological. Powerlessness is defined as the inability to effectively manage ones emotions, knowledge, skills, or resources; it is derived from the absence of external supports and the existence of ontological power blocks that become incorporated into a persons development (Carr 2003, 13). As such, many survivors also work to reconnect to others in their communities, often seeking political activity that emphasizes the empowerment of others, such as by organizing Take Back the Night marches or speak-outs, volunteering for crisis hot lines, seeking legislative changes, or becoming social workers or human service professionals (Deitz 2000, 376). For example, feminist work with abuse survivors emphasizes the relationship between abuse and oppressive social relations (Deitz 2000,374). On the other hand, the dominant clinical social work approach to oppression and abuse relocates the problem of oppression in victims. Psychological theories are typically employed, which locates pathology in individuals, rather than in oppressive relationships and systems, and considers the long-term effects of oppression to be symptoms of individual pathology (Deitz 2000, 374). Unfortunately, whilst many social workers have been exposed to or even personally support operating from a feminist framework, the systems in which they work prevent them from actively utilising feminist insight in their daily practise. Research Plan This research seeks to study the prevalence and impact of traditional and feminist practitioner constructs from the perspective of those served. Specifically, a focus group study will be conducted with a group of college students, all of whom are currently studying social work and therefore have some concept regarding social work practice, feminist and traditional worldviews. In addition, all students in the focus group will have experienced domestic violence and have been provided the services of a social worker in some form during their teenage years. Three areas of discussion will be undertaken by the group. These will be provided to individual group participants in writing several days before the group in order for students to have time to consider what they would like to share regarding their opinions and own experiences. The first group activity will involve creating definitions of masculine and feminine from the perspective of a typical social worker based on the students teenage experiences. Students will then be asked to discuss where, if at all, they personally feel they and their family members who were involved in the domestic violence situation(s) fit regarding these preconceived definitions. It is anticipated some students will have been uncomfortable with societal constraints they or their family experienced as teenagers. As all are studying social work, they are also anticipated to make more connections between societal power issues, hegemonic gender roles, and their influence on domestic violence than a focus group without such background. The third area of discussion will centre on how the students perceptions of their social worker(s) understanding of gender roles influenced their and their families reception of adequate service. The researcher will both tape record and take notes on the group discussions. Data gathered from the group will then be compiled and analysed. In addition, students from the focus group will be given the option to write a response to the group activity, if they so desire. These will be further included in the group data. Methodology Data collection involved four means. Prior to the group starting, each participant was given a questionnaire (see Appendix 3) to gather basic demographic information. The questionnaire also asked for brief summary of their abusive situation. Regarding data collection of the group proceedings, as described above the focus group session was tape-recorded and the researcher took notes to supplement the recording of group discussion. The recorded sessions were then transcribed into print form, with research notes added in at the chronologically appropriate points of the transcription to provide a more complete written overview of the focus group discussion. In addition, group participants had an option to write a response the group to be included in the group data. Four participants wrote responses, which were considered with the group data following analysis of the focus group discussion. Participants were provided with the three areas of group discussion several days prior to the actual focus group meeting. They were not given any directions or guidance regarding the optional written responses to the group activity. Data analysis first involved dividing and coding group data. Responses to the first topic of discussion were divided into three categories: those representing a traditional worldview, those representing feminist worldview, and those that did not clearly represent either worldview. From these groupings, overall findings regarding the worldviews typically experienced by the group participants were summarised. This was then further compared with the definitions of traditional gender roles identified by the group. Data from the second topic of discussion were also broken down into those representing a traditional worldview, those representing feminist worldview, and those that did not clearly represent either worldview. It was important to then note participant perceptions and emotional responses to these coding, and in which worldview grouping they and their families were reported to feel best served and empowered. Data from the specific discussion regarding service were then similarly analysed, and combined with previous findings to present a picture of the impact of traditional versus feminist worldviews on social work practise, emphasising work with teenage domestic violence survivors and their understanding of gender roles in society. It was anticipated at the conclusion of such research, a view could be asserted as to whether feminist perspective has a significant impact on the practise of social work as it is currently undertaken and whether this impact, if any, leads to improved service. As the focus group involved a relatively small number of participants(nine total) and data from their interactions were primarily qualitative in nature, it was decided not to perform any complex statistical analysis on focus group data. It was felt that such types of analysis would neither reveal findings that could be considered statistically significant nor provide a more accurate understanding of the issues under consideration than a more qualitative analytical approach. In consideration of space and relevance portions of the discussion were used to support conclusions in the findings and analysis sections of this dissertation, whilst an overall summary of the most relevant portions of the discussion are included in Appendix2. Implementation Project Nine students meeting the criteria laid out in the research plan agreed to participate in the focus group. They were primarily organised by one group participant, who had discovered other domestic violence survivors through classroom discussions and through participation in a survivors group in the local community. All nine students were currently studying social work or had taken at least one social work course as part of a related course of study, such as education or criminal justice. There were six women and three men, ranging in age from nineteen to twenty-seven. Racially, seven were Caucasian, one was Black, and one was Asian. All present as coming from upper working class to middle class backgrounds. All had experienced domestic violence as teenagers, making their experiences fairly recent and therefore providing a relatively current depiction of social work practise. Five students (three women, two men) had been removed from their biological parents at some point during their teenage years. All had been involved in interventions into the family by a social worker representing either a government organisation, or in the case of one woman, a local church. Some of the participants previously knew each other and were somewhat aware of each others experiences, which should be considered in group analysis. Five regularly participated in a survivors support group in the community. One man and one woman were cousins. In addition, two of the men had known each other as teenagers from intervention through the school system. Jennifer, a twenty-four year-old Caucasian woman, was chosen to be the moderator, as she had been the one who had assisted the researcher by arranging for most of the participants to become involved in the study. The group then moved almost immediately into discussion of the topics provided. The group had been provided a whiteboard for its use, which Jennifer implemented to organise individual comments and ideas. It is surmised that the easy manner with which the group undertook the discussion was based on the fact that they were all students and therefore used to having study groups, group discussions, and the like, and that all of them had at least publicly shared their experiences previously, either as part of a classroom discussion or survivors group, or both, and were therefore more comfortable in engaging in such discussion than might be typical for a focus group dealing with such experiences. Findings and Analysis The first finding of this research is that the majority of social workers in service or domestic violence survivors to not consistently employ feminist constructs in practise, despite the likelihood of having been exposed to such constructs. This manifested itself in three significant ways. First, families were overwhelming dealt with as individuals with problems. That is, the abuser was described as making poor choices or having some type of pathological issues that led to his or her decision to abuse (in one participants family, both parents were abusive). As such, the abuser was described from psychoanalytical standpoint by the social worker(s), and his or her behaviour labelled as individually deviant. The survivors of the domestic violence situations, particularly them others, as the majority of abusers from the groups experiences were male family members or boyfriends of the mother, were also reported tube consistently dealt with from an individual perspective. In this sense, their behaviour was also reported to be categorised by the social workers involved as unhealthy, pathological, and coming from some sort of unresolved personal issues, such as low self-esteem. In the case of only one participant did the social workers involved in either intervention or therapy consistently relate the domestic violence situation to broader issues of oppression, societal power structures and the related hegemonic gender roles, or patriarchal norms of society. It is of note that this participant received service from progressive women-helping-women organisation, rather than a traditional government-organised social work programme. Group participants also repeatedly described their family situations as unhealthy, and they certainly were, but from the perspective that both the abuser and abused were reacting or displaying emotion inappropriately, rather than that the motivation or norming behind the behaviour was at fault. For example, Trent described his mother as drawn to violent, alcoholic men. She always seemed to go for these guys that didnt know how to express anything except by breaking stuff, yelling, hitting, you know. His further descriptions of his mothers boyfriends indicated an assumption that if these men had been raised with or taught proper means of dealing with their frustrations and emotions, the abuse to him and his mother would have been lessened or eliminated. This idea was supported by at least one social worker, who suggested counselling for Trent, his mother, and the then boyfriend as one possible way of addressing the abusive situation. Several participants did bring feminist theory and thought into group discussion, pointing out, for example, that dominance or aggression by men in any form was unhealthy, and questioning why it was only seen as unhealthy by most of the social workers they had encountered, and bothers they knew in the community, when physical violence was actually involved. There was a related discussion, albeit brief, about the unwillingness of neighbours, relatives, and others in the community, such as members of the same church, to intervene in the domestic violence situation. Participants indicated their perception that whilst this was often due to a fear of getting involved or knowing how to help the situation, there were repeated occurrences in everyones experience where an unwillingness to intervene derived from others implications that the man of the house had some right to choose the way in which the household operated, or that he had a right to discipline his wife /girlfriend and children as he saw fit. Wendy reports hearing an aunt state Well, its his family, their kids, she wants to stay with him, and dismiss the on-going violence as therefore an acceptable family lifestyle, or at least one in which none of the rest of the family should be expected to intervene. Participants then acknowledged this and several other systemic situations that perpetuated their abuse, such as reluctance of authority figures to continue questioning when initially told nothing was wrong, and unwillingness of police to intervene repeatedly. Similarly, regarding gender roles, discussion indicated a belief by most participants that their social workers believed a traditional stereotype of what was appropriate behaviour for a man and a woman, and that these behaviours were different. There were reports of acceptance of physical response as an appropriate masculine reaction, but the level of physical response not being considered appropriate. Male participants were encouraged to talk about their experiences, but report never being given permission to express fear, or an emotional response such as crying. One male participant reported starting to cry as part of a group experience, and being discouraged rather than encouraged to continue, whilst female members of the group were allowed to and even supported in such emotional expression. There were similar reports of various hegemonic ally feminine expressions, such as crying, fear, and nurturing behaviours, being supported and encouraged by social workers for male family members but not female, as well as an acceptance or assumption of weakness on the part of adult females who chose to remain in an abusive situation. The discussion then moved to the effect of traditional and feminist perspective on social work service. Participants overwhelmingly reported feeling better served when social workers sought to empower them and their families. This did usually involve practise of methods derived from a feminist view, such as the use of reflective journaling and support groups, as well as encouragement from the social workers tithe mother that she could, indeed, survive and prosper outside the domestic violence situation, that she did have the inner reserves to address the situation and move to a healthier lifestyle, and that societal pressure to be with a man, either as a romantic partner or as a father / father-figure for children was not necessary for successful life. Participants also report feeling personally empowered by such encouragement, and therefore able to support their mothers in attempts to leave relationships. From their own study in social work theory, focus group participants were able to briefly discuss the ramifications of the patriarchal societal power structure on a womans decision to stay in a violent situation. One issue brought up included the perception that society will view a woman as a failure and undesirable if she does not have aromatic relationship with a man in her life. A number of women participants in the group reported feeling similar pressure to maintain romantic relationship with a man in their life, regardless of their other commitments or interests, and an expectation that they would not be successful women if they did not ultimately get married and have children. When questioned by other participants, the three male participants reported not feeling such pressures. Another issue raised was the mothers perception that they needed a father figure to successfully raise children, particularly boys. This was perpetuated in the life experiences of group participants even though the men occupying these roles were viewed by the male participants as destructive, rather than constructive, influences. Issues of supporting disciplining children and managing household operations were also indicated, as was the financial support provided by the bitterer. The group indicated all these issues were societal, rather than individual, and lack of addressing of them affected the effectiveness of the social services they had received. Overall, the participants were generally positive about at least one social worker with whom they had a relationship during their teenage years. Participants typically felt feeling most encouraged and best served by those social workers who did not present themselves as being distant or above the participants and their families, and who did not overly emphasise their familys issues from a perspective of individual dysfunction. These findings indicated that a feminist interactive construct, which avoids power over methods and practise is perceived to be most effective by domestic violence survivors. Recommendations It is recommended from findings of this study that social workers are first provided greater exposure to and training in feminist methods and theory as it relates to their practical, day-to-day practise. For example, all participants reported some positive experiences in response to reflective methods such as reflective journaling and survivor support groups. Considerations of ways to more greatly include such methods in typical practise are therefore indicated. Of greater concern are the systems in which social workers operate. Whilst most of the social workers in these focus group participants experiences had some familiarity with feminist theory or methods, as indicated by their emphasis on empowerment or use of specific strategies, there is something within the government-sponsored social services structure that prohibits practise truly based on feminist tenets. A sharp contrast was provided by the young woman served at a progressive, private service, where feminist theory was the obvious framework on which service was based. She was by far the most positive about her experiences and workers, and reported insights, understanding and empowerment to change not consistently reported by other focus group participants. It therefore recommended that more research be pursued as to what factors constrain social workers from functioning from a more feminist framework. Issues such as time (many social workers have far more people to see and serve than they would like to have, or often feel they can serve effectively), lack of material resources such as appropriate space, lack of effective training, or discouragement in such regards from supervisors or others in power. Specifically identifying relevant factors could then form a framework for progressing with change in social work practise within a typical government service organisation. It is further recommended that individual social workers consider what constraints they personally work under, and what constraints they place upon themselves as a result of the greater power structures of our society. Becoming aware of personal bias regarding traditional gender roles, for example, would assist the individual social worker in providing a more empowering and less conscripting environment in dealing with those they serve. The participants in the focus group, for example, agreed they were given issues to think about by the group interaction, and that greater consideration of pressures to conform in society and the assumed power of males would be items that, through analysis, could improve their social work practise. Similarly, becoming more cognisant of the far-reaching influences of patriarchy and accepted oppression of women in our society would also provide foundation from which social workers can both educate their clients and move them and others towards political action to correct such systemic issues. Conclusion In conclusion, whilst feminist theory and constructs have made evaluable impact on social work practise, those being served believe they would be better served by a greater inclusion and reliance on such practises. Social workers may personally or professionally espouse feminist framework, but are less likely to employ it in practise. This deprives both them and their clients of the most beneficial service. Social workers need to become more focused on relating the experiences of individuals to the broader power structures in our society, and dealing with their experiences in the context of these structures rather than as individual or pathological difficulties. 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