Personal Development in Human Relations

Personal Development in Human Relations Robert McGregor Section I Is Human Relations (HR) an art or a science? Personally, I believe that HR is a science that must be artfully managed to utilize lessons learned and best practices for improving the well-being and effectiveness of employees within the organization. As our planet becomes interconnected, via satellites and the internet, it is now just as easy to communicate with someone across the globe as it is someone across the street. Therefore, it becomes increasingly important to gain a better understanding of the different people and different cultures that enrich our every shrinking planet. HR professionals have the very important task of gathering, training, and organizing the human assets who make the difference for an organizations success or failure. According to DeCenzo and Silhanek (2002) Human Relations is the composite of interactions that exist between people in all aspects of their personal and professional lives (p. 2). This broad and all-encompassing definition provides a general baseline for the study of HR and its guiding principles. However, it is necessary to dig deeper in order to understand the connections and relationships between the people and the organization. In doing so, it becomes possible to unlock the maximum effectiveness of both. The history of Human Relations, or Human Resources, can be traced back to England, where masons, carpenters, leather workers, and other craftspeople organized themselves into guilds They used their unity to improve their working conditions (Ivancevich, 2010, p. 5).ÂÂ   The industrial revolution brought about a significant change to the work environment and shifted the demand for the workforce. The introductions of machines in manufacturing propelled the need for workers, supervisors, and employers to build the complex new society. Time, efficiency, and productivity became the only metrics of concern in the workplace. As the population increased so did the demand for mass produced products which propelled the demand for the labor force. The people moved from rural and agricultural areas to fill jobs in the growing cities. The economic growth spurred the production requirements. As a result, in 1878, Fredrick Taylor, an engineer in Philadelphia began to study worker efficiency in an attempt to find the fastest and best way to do a job. His efforts summarized scientific management, the focus of job efficiencies (DeCenzo Shilhanek, 2002, p. 12) The manufacturing processes brought about bigger organizations which required increasing the number of workers. The workers, in turn, organized and formed unions to communicate their needs to the managers and owners for better pay, benefits, and working conditions. Ivancevich (2010) observed that in the 1920s, more firms began utilizing personnel departments to bridge the gap between management and workers. Researchers from Harvard, Elton Mayo, and Fritz Roelthisberger, started a series of experiments to research how physical working conditions affected worker productivity. Over the course of a decade, their observations led them to shift their focus to interpersonal relations among workers and management. Sundstrom et al. (2000) documented the Hawthorne studies research and found that employees needs and desires to belong to a group proved more influential than monetary incentives and good working conditions at improving employee productivity. This investigation into human factors and the work environment began human relations movement. Much like the advent of machines during the industrial revolution, todays technology pushes change to organizations and the labor force they employ.ÂÂ   The need for HR is vital now more than ever for firms that want to remain relevant in the global economy. Globalization has forced the business environment to evolve, thus strongly influencing the organizational behaviors of managers and workers of today. Laptops, iPads, and smartphones have mobilized the workplace. In addition, the immediate ability to connect has abolished the notion of managing locally. Firms now have offices around the globe and supervisors, are no longer limited to their geographic location. They must know and understand their new workforce who live in different countries, practice different religions, and come from vastly different cultures. The HR professional is key to bridging the new geographic, cultural, communication gap that now separates employer and employees. The valuable human relations information necessary to aid organizational communications both linguistically and culturally, flow is the responsibility of the HR team who must shape and develop the most valuable asset to the firm; people. Technology is forever advancing and pushing economic growth. Therefore, change will always be a part of the organizational structure. This means future workplace will be vastly different than what previous generations could have ever dreamed. Meister (2010) predicts that the next decade will usher in companies and business models that are unimaginable today, and will dramatically change how we live, work, learn, communicate and play. However, people will still be at the core of the company. HR will be needed to continue aiding in the interpersonal relationships necessary to make everything and everyone work together. Section II My coursework in Human Relations provided a solid foundation of the three primary areas of study. I found the organizational module particularly interesting and selected it as my literature area of emphasis. The organizational aspect of Human Relations provides a significant challenge to the HR professional. Large or small, simple or complex, the HR department must understand completely the company and its mission in order to recruit, train, and employ the best most efficient workforce needed. Ultimately, people make the organization and it is the job of the HR team to fit people into work an environment that will motivate them to work together harmoniously. As a field of study, there are many different facets to the organizational setting that must be considered. The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) has developed a competency model which details the knowledge requirements the HR professional needs to help meet the needs of the company (SHRM, 2016). The organizational behavior, structure, culture, strategy, diversity, and quality of life are just a few of the areas of competencies the HR team provides guidance on to the management team when they are strategically managing people as business resources. According to author Stephen Robbins (2014), the goal of studying organizational behavior is to understand and predict human behavior in organizations.ÂÂ   Several different specialties, such as psychology, sociology, and anthropology, contribute to the comprehensive literature for human behavior. While they are not as concrete as the laws of physics or chemistry, understanding these disciplines allow the HR professional to generalize about human behavior and how it will impact the organization. The organizational structure is identified by Hitt, Ireland, and Hoskission (2015) as the formal reporting relationships, procedures, controls, authority, and decision-making process. The U.S. military has a very ridged and formal chain of command organizational structure; however, human behavior still drives the culture and customs. If change is to be made within the organization, it must begin with the people. HR is one of the central vehicles for creating culture change (Grundy and Brown, 2003, p. 171). Many organizations focus on changing the organizations culture in order to improve performance and becoming more competitive in the marketplace. This is best accomplished by aligning the HR strategy with the organizations overall strategy for the business culture. Edgar Schein (2010) defines culture as A pattern of shared basic assumptions learned by a group as it solved its problems of external adaptation and internal integration, which has worked well enough to be considered valid and, therefore, to be taught to new members as the correct way to perceive, think, and feel in relation to those problems. An organization determined to change their current culture will often release a large number of employees such as CSX laying off 1000 managers or Hershey terminating 2000 employees (Utermohlen, 2017, Wattles, 2017) These drastic changes should be made with the HR team in full understanding of the personnel requirements desired for moving forward. They must get the people part right; then the strategy and execution will happen. A diversity strategy is another important consideration for todays global organizations. As companies branch out into new developing countries, it is important to consider the idea of differentiation and integrations. Morgan (2006) refers to this as requisite variety; the internal regulatory mechanisms of a system must be as diverse as the environment in which it operates (p. 44). Basically, the employees of a multinational company should reflect the suppliers with whom they work and customers whose business they wish to attract. Humphrey and Stokes (2000) predicts that twenty-first-century caliber supervisors must understand the purpose of building a dynamic team is to enhance performance and to grow a successful organization of the future. Diversity is a complex and challenging strategy for the HR leader to manage. Some of the employees within the company will be unwilling to see the need to integrate as well as to see the discriminatory nature of their actions. HR must be proactive in protecting the organization from individuals who fail to understand Federal Employment Laws and potentially jeopardizing the company with potential litigation. Employers must be careful when they treat similarly situated employees differently because discriminatory intent can be proven by either direct or circumstantial evident (Muller, 2013, p. 152). Legal ramifications due to discriminatory practices can destroy an organization. The HR professional should be proactive in training all staff members on the importance of diversity, acceptance, and inclusion as well as the dangers of discrimination. Organizations often depend on human resource professionals to help maintain positive relations with employee (Noe et al., 2016, p. 10). I believe the art of human relations management relies on the knowledge, experience, and competence of the HR team and it is a major function of what makes a business work. A stable and appealing workplace with a content workforce are more likely to attract and retain the best employees, maintain loyal customers and adjust to the ever-changing marketplace. These concepts were very apparent in the organization I was fortunate to work for during my internship. The personnel were very well trained, the work environment provided a comfortable place to work with challenging tasks that made a difference on the world stage. The communication both up and down the chain was clear and effective without being condescending or overbearing. Workers were allowed to have meaningful input on assignments and feedback from supervisors was timely and on target. The training and skills I learned both through my classroom literature and my internship experience, prepared me very well for the international relations challenges that I will discuss in the next section. The HR professional must be prepared to utilize a wide array of skills, techniques, and competencies to meet the organizations needs for a stable work environment. They should also continually add to their toolbox by remaining current in new trends in the human relations field. However, they can never forget at the end of the day, it is all about the people. The human talent that makes the company great.ÂÂ   Authors Sartain and Finney (2003) noted that companies depend more than ever on the unique contributions, passion, commitment, and heart of every single individual within them (p. 104). I am excited about the HR community and its future. Section III This country recently completed a presidential election that will have social repercussions for years to come. The shift in our new government is having a tremendous social impact, both domestically and abroad. It reverberates around the globe as so-called enemies and allies work to determine exactly how to reestablish their relationship with America. During my internship, I experienced first-hand Americas political and social interactions with many other nations; learning how critical the human element is to the negotiation and agreement on issues important to the national security of our country and its allies. Understanding and relating social theory to actual social practice is critical when working with the delicate intricacies of human relationships in a highly charged political environment. This is perfectly illustrated by the situation faced by former National Security Advisor Mike Flynn. He ultimately resigned because he allegedly overstepped in his discussions Russian leaders, and his behavior potentially violated the Logan Act (Miller Rucker, 2017). This will be discussed later. Over my 26-year military career, I have held a wide range of positions; from Dental Assistant to Helicopter Pilot. However, my brief internship in the Foreign Affairs Office for the Commander of Naval Forces Europe has had a profound impact on my understanding of human relations. In my primary function as a pilot, I naturally held leadership positions that correlated with the rank that I held. My aviation units did not have HR departments to hire, train, and help manage workers. As leaders, we simply did it all. I grew accustomed to taking care of my people and for the most part always giving orders. When a new person reported on board, I reviewed their records and arranged for the training they needed. If they had pay or benefits problems, I sent them to our administrative department to get them fixed. All basic HR functions were handled in-house. Although we had general leadership training, we did not have formal training in human social relations. I gave orders and they were obeyed, if not then the offender was disciplined. Sounds a little draconian, but military units are focused on accomplishing a mission that often puts lives in danger, not for sensitivity groups wanting to get in touch with our feelings. So I grew accustomed to dealing with people in a certain way. This mentality would rapidly change as my internship progressed. Lacking a formal HR department, I chose to do my internship with the local Foreign Affairs Office. The Foreign Affairs Officer (FAO) is a specific career path in the U.S. Navy. The officers are specially trained to for a variety of diplomatic assignments around the world. Navy FAOs maintain knowledge of political-military affairs; familiarity with the political, cultural, social, economic, and geographic factors of the countries and regions in which they are stationed; and proficiency in one or more of the dominant languages in their regions of expertise. (Navy Personnel Command, 2017) These skills I would have to learn through on the job training. The function of the FAO office in Europe is to plan and execute operations, provide liaison with foreign militaries operating in coalitions with U.S. forces, conduct political-social-military activities, and execute military-diplomatic missions. This is known as Theater Security Cooperation. I was assigned to help in the Black Sea department of the FAO office during a unique time. Russia had recently annexed the Crimean Peninsula by force from the Ukraine. Many of our NATO allies were deeply concerned that President Putin would not stop there and continue to push his forces into other neighboring nations and eventually occupy the entire Black Sea region (Treisman, 2016). The FAO office was tasked with coordinating meetings and activities to reassure our allies of Americas commitment and support to NATO. In the beginning, my role was to coordinate simple maritime interactions with Turkey, Bulgaria, and Romania. I learned to work with our embassies in those countries to set up port visits by U.S. ships. Having our troops in their cities was a big boost of confidence to our partner nations. I also organized Passing Exercises (PASSEXs), these are maneuvering drills that the ships do together to render honors to each other as they pass. This seemingly simple activity required considerable coordination as numerous messages must be sent back and forth from our commanders to our embassy over to their embassy to their commanders. However, these engagements provide a sense of comradery. In my opinion, it is reflective of the findings from the Hawthorne studies mentioned in earlier which show the strong intrinsic desire for human beings to belong to a group. We continued to plan activities to reassure our allies. I took on the daunting task of arranging and organizing a Secretary of the Defense to visit Constanta, Romania. Another task that sounds simple, however, requires a tremendous amount of preparatory work to execute smoothly. The diplomatic coordination required was astounding to me. Especially in light of the recent Russian and Ukraine hostilities. The detailed attention to social protocols and customs were particularly challenging. The visit extremely well, projecting the desired effect of NATO unity. However, I was admonished by my supervisor for failing to delegate. Due to the sensitive nature of the information, all the details were reviewed by the senior officers before approval. Trying to do everything myself, and lacking formal diplomatic training, I happen to miss a few necessary items that could have impacted the trip. Fortunately, my supervisor caught my errors before they became an issue. Official diplomatic negotiations were another aspect of the FAO liaison duties I was able to observe. The United States and Romania agreed to build a U.S. military installation in Romania. The specific details required for construction had to be discussed at length in very formal diplomatic meetings. I was fortunate to attend two of these meetings. The process is long and drawn out with extensive cultural activities that must be considered and observed. Our European hosts enjoyed visiting and drinking coffee before a meeting started. It would be offensive if we did not partake in this ritual before getting down to business. This was a big part of the social theories that I had to put into practice. It was interesting that while a lot was said during the official meeting, the real agreements were worked out during the breaks when counterparts could talk offline and come to an understanding. However, as Mike Flynn learned, you have to be very careful what you discuss during these moments. The Logan Act basically forbids any citizen of the United States, from promising or influencing any foreign government or agent thereof, any disputes or controversies without proper authority (Legal Information Institute, 2017). Our partners always want more than we are able to give and it is imperative that we refute them without insulting them. Communicating skills are vital for building successful professional relationships. My final major event was planning, directing, and executing all aspects of the Eurasian Partnership Dive exercise (EP Dive).ÂÂ   EP Dive is a multilateral interoperability event, involving over 30 Officers and Sailors from Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Romania, and Ukraine. The goal is to promote Theater Security Cooperation as well as increased maritime stability within the Black Sea Countries. This exercise demanded all of my leadership, communication, and human relations skills without being in a combat environment. I led a team of 4 junior officers. We obtained approval and funding, then planned the facility, the equipment, the translators, and the rooms. We enabled over 30 divers from different countries, with different languages, and different cultures, to conduct coordinated, military, deep sea dive exercises for a week without incident or injury. The EP Dive engagement exemplified the purpose of the Foreign Affairs Office; to build cooperation and interoperability while enhancing theater security. This is done by engaging the human element in the spirit of friendship and not battle. As an organization, the FAO office faces many challenges, however, through creative use of human relations skills, they work to resolve issues in the European community. Cooperating with diverse international staffs, U.S. Embassies, and U.S. State Department personnel, the organization meets the ever changing demands of our partner nations. It is difficult to be critical of this organization as I was completely impressed the FAO department. They are well suited to meet the needs of the international community with whom they work. The staff is exemplary, and they are managed and trained very well in the art and science of human relations.ÂÂ   It was a pleasure getting to know some of the smartest people I have ever met. I was immediately accepted as part of the team even though I lacked their formal training and language skills. My supervisor provided solid guidance while still allowing me to learn and operate independently. The demands of the job are never ending as the political climates around Europe change almost day to day. They must continually adapt to fluctuating needs of the partner nations. Therefore, my only recommendation would be for more exceptional personnel to help relieve the stress. Otherwise, they are successful at accomplishing a difficult mission. I truly enjoyed learning by doing. I made my fair share of mistakes, but I learned from them. Fortunately, the lessons I learned in Grad Studies, the techniques acquired in Stress Management, and the understanding I gained in Organizational behavior helped me adjust quickly to the international relations community. I interacted well with foreign counterparts and gained a breadth of experience in relating to a diverse community. I did not cause an international incident, so I would say this internship was a very successful venture. I can now see myself potentially working for the State Department in the future by using the human relations skills that I have learned in this program to make difference help our allies. The European Foreign Affairs Office for Commander of Naval Europe is an organization I would be happy to work for again and one that I would highly recommend as an internship opportunity to future Oklahoma University HR students. REFERENCES DeCenzo, D., Silhanek, B. (2002). Human Relations: Personal and Professional Development (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Grundy, T., Brown, L. (2003) Value-based Human Resource Strategy. Burlington, MA: Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann. Hitt, M., Ireland, R., Hoskisson, R. (2015). Strategic Management: Competitive and Globalization Concepts. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning. Humphrey, B., Stokes, J. (2000). The 21st Century Supervisor: Essential Skills for Frontline Leaders. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer. Ivancevich, J. (2010). Human Resource Management (11th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Irwin. Legal Information Institute. (2017) 18 U.S. Code ÂÂ § 953 Private correspondence with foreign governments. Cornell University Law School. Retrieved from https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/953 Meister, J., Willyerd, K. (2010). The 2020 Workplace: How Innovative Companies Attract, Develop, and Keep Tomorrows Employees Today. New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers. Miller, G., Rucker, P. (2017, February 14). Michael Flynn resigns as national security adviser. The Washington Post. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/michael-flynn-resigns-as-national-security-adviser/2017/02/13/0007c0a8-f26e-11e6-8d72-263470bf0401_story.html?utm_term=.64e02686f459 Morgan, G. (2006). Images of Organization. Thousand Oak, CA: Sage Publications Ltd. Muller, M. (2013). The Managers Guide to HR (2nd ed.). New York, NY: American Management Association. Navy Personnel Command (2017, February). Foreign Area Officer (PERS-473C). Retrieved from http://www.public.navy.mil/bupers-npc/officer/Detailing/FAO/Pages/default.aspx Noe, R., Hollenbeck, J., Gerhart, B., Wright, P. (2016). Fundamentals of Human Resource Management (6th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. Robbins, S., Judge, T. (2014). Essentials of Organizational Behavior (12th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education. Schein, E. (2010). Organizational Culture and Leadership (4th ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Sartain, L., Finney, M. (2003). HR from the Heart: Inspiring Stories and Strategies for Building the People Side of Great Business. New York, NY: AMACOM. Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). (2016). The SHRM Body of Competency and Knowledge 2016. Retrieved from https://www.shrm.org/certification/about/ bodyofcompetencyknowledge/pages/default.aspx Sundstrom, E., McIntyre, M., Halfhill, T., Richards, H. (2000). Work groups: From the Hawthorne studies to work teams of the 1990s and beyond. Group Dynamics: Theory, Research, and Practice, 4(1), 44-67. Retrieved from https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.lib.ou.edu/docview/614355706?accountid=129464 Treisman, D. (2016 May/June). Why Putin Took Crimea. The Gambler in the Kremlin. Retrieved from https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/ukraine/2016-04-18/why-putin-took-crimea Utermohlen, K. (2017, February 21). CSX Corporation (CSX) Layoffs: Company to Cut 1,000 Management Jobs. Investor Place. Retrieved from http://investorplace.com/2017/02/csx-corporation-csx-layoffs/ Wattles, J. (2017, February 28). Hersheys bitter news: Cutting more than 2,000 jobs. CNN Money. Retrieved from http://money.cnn.com/2017/02/28/news/companies/hershey-job-cuts/index.html

Strategies to Measure Poverty

Strategies to Measure Poverty Poverty is a social problem and it has been considered as a feature of inequality in society. This view is shared by Machperson Silburn (1998, 1), as they consider poverty as a cause of political and morale challenges to all societies at all times. Roll (1992, 7) defined poverty as a shortage of something which is morally unacceptable and calls for action. Or in a more official way, poverty can be defined as the number of people with incomes below an arbitrary percentage of the average Gordon et al (2000, 8). There are two types of poverty depending on the way that it is measured, those types are: relative and absolute poverty. Absolute poverty refers to the minimum physical needs that are associated with physical survival, taking account of food, clothing, and shelter (Roll, 1992, 14). On the other hand, relative poverty is usually related to social needs and as is a feature of income inequality and can be described as being a comparison to something else (Roll, 1992, 15). In other words it could be the inability to have stuff that most people in society think it is essential. To illustrate this and to understand public opinion on the subject of necessities, a survey carried out by 1500 people in 1999 produced the following results: over 90% of the population in each case perceive beds and bedding for everyone, heating, damp-free home, visiting friends or family and medicine prescribed by doctor as items which adults should have in Britain. By contrast, less than 10 per cent sees mobile phones and internet access as necessary Gordon et al (2000, 18).However, nowadays, internet access and mobile phones are considered as necessities to most people in society, so those who cannot afford them are counted in relative poverty. There are many ways to measure poverty and they could vary from country to another. The measurement of poverty aims to help develop new policies to reduce the extent of poverty, and enables politicians to determine how many people live in poverty and what the social characteristics associated with them are, such as gender and age (MacPherson Silburn, 1998, 8). Each measure of poverty has advantages and disadvantages, and has different influence on policy. For example, income thresholds approach defines poverty as being under a specific threshold level in terms of households average income or benefit levels. In the UK, it is the most common measure of poverty, and a household is said to be in poverty if its income, after taxes, is less than 60% of the UK median for that year (Aldridge et al, 2013). The main advantage of this approach is that it is simple as it does not require detailed data from people (Gordon et al, 2000, 74), and that the standard of need is implicit in the benefit levels decided by government (Gordon et al, 2000, 74). However, there are some problems with using this approach; for example, it could be argued when the thresholds based on the average income that it is measuring the inequality of income rather than measuring poverty. Also MacPherson Silburn (1998, 14) argued that the benefit rates may be set at a very low rate, well below average earning, and thus do not provide an acceptable poverty threshold measure. Low income is a major problem in the United Kingdom, as it is at the centre of poverty matters. It has short term as well as long term effects on individuals and society overall, as people who are in low income are more likely to have serious illnesses, for example Cancer mortality rates in the poorest areas (200 per 100,000) are 50% higher than average, and have not fallen in the last decade, while the average has fallen by one-sixth (Aldridge et al, 2013). Low income also affects the whole British economy, as British society has turned out to be controlled by material goods and market relationships and any shortage would have a great effect on the economy. This means, that measuring poverty in the right way would help to reduce the pattern on low income (Kenway et al, 2002, 18). The cause of the rise and fall of the number of people with low income is debatable. Some consider it to be the individuals fault because laziness and passivity. However, others see it deeper than that and put the responsibility on the governments policies as Kenway et al (2002, 18) state that the chief weapons that have been used in the assault on low income over the last few years are first, reforms to the tax and benefit system and second, the national minimum wage. For example, if the government raises taxes and cuts down on benefits, as a result, the number of people on low income will rise, as well as poverty. On the other hand, it could be argued that this weapon can be used in a positive way to decrease the number of people on low income and against poverty, by decreasing taxes and offering more/higher benefits. The same also applies for minimum wage, where it could be increased or decreased, which in turn will have an effect on the level of poverty in Britain. Thats why ther e are many measures of poverty, as each measure is used to look deeper into the problem from a different angle to try and conclude where the responsibility/blame lies and the best ways to deal and solve this problem. Another way of measuring poverty is by using consensual/social indicators. This approach is very much dependent on social surveys and on public view of necessities. Not only the UK implemented this approach of measuring poverty, but many other countries did, such as, Denmark, Sweden, Holland, Germany and Vietnam. That made it one of the most common approaches of measuring poverty. However, it has been criticised because peoples responses are firmly based on their own subjective experience, which may be far removed from the poverty level (MacPherson Silburn, 1998, 12). Budget standard is another method to measure poverty. It is based on a very basic basket of goods, the only good thing about it is, that things can be put into or taken out of a budget standard easily (Gordon et al, 2000, 75). But when it comes to weakness points, budget standard has some, for example, it only focuses on a group of people and does not cover all types of people, such as, people from various cultures, or with special needs, as Roll (1992, 39) confirms; the argument is that people have different spending patterns so that, even if they had the same amount of income from benefit, they would not spend it on the basket of goods. Because of that, this approach is not used much now to measure poverty. So, other ways of measurement had to be developed such as social exclusion. This approach is used in the UK, and it focuses on the shortage of access to the types of social relations, norms and interests (Gordon et al, 2000). It refers more to relative poverty rather than absolu te poverty. Lastly, poverty can be measured subjectively, or in other words, using subjective measures. This method is based on categorizing the poverty thresholds by society itself without any intervention from experts or the government, making it the most democratic approach of measuring poverty, which is the best thing about it. On the other hand, it could be argued that subjective poverty lines tend to fluctuate over time depending on changes in the social reference group and on period of reference (Gordon et al, 2000,73). In conclusion, poverty is a serious issue which affects the individual as well as the whole society. Many elements are involved in it such as the place, time, income, gender, health, and benefits. And in order to take all of these into account, many approaches and methods have been developed for measuring poverty, each one being applied to a specific element. As a result, this has produced measures which look into the issue of poverty from various angles, which in turn, offer policy makers the opportunity to develop new rules and regulations to minimise poverty as much as possible.

Embryo Transfer :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Embryo transfer is the process of taking fertilized embryos from one animal and inserting them into another. This is very useful today in cattle, because now it is economically feasible and it allows the producer a greater number of offspring from one cow with desirable traits. The process starts normally by artificially inseminating the cow. Exactly seven days later, the uterus is flushed, and the embryos and ova. Next, the embryos will be isolated. The embryos are then inserted into the recipient cow.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Artificially inseminating the cow is the preferred way to fertilize the eggs in the donor cow. The cow should be inseminated at least three times at intervals of twelve hours, to insure fertilization. In preparation for AI, a shot of FSH (Follicle Stimulating Hormone) should be given to the cow to super-ovulate her. This causes more eggs to drop from the ovaries, allowing more embryos. Seven days after the cow is inseminated the third time, her uterus should be flushed.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Before flushing the cow, her posterior should be cleaned up as much as possible. After this is complete, an instrument known as the â€Å"introducer† is inserted into the vagina. The instrument is much like a long syringe with a plunger going through the center. The vet then will push his hand through the anus and guide the introducer along the cervix. The instrument is pushed through the cervix and into the uterus. Once it reaches the uterus, the plunger is pulled out and a catheter is inserted into the uterus, against the uterine horn, through the center of the introducer. The â€Å"cuff,† a small balloon type object, is inflated in the cow’s uterus, and a sodium based phosphate is released for lubrication. It is then pumped back through the introducer, and filtered by an embryo filter. The liquid caught by the filter is then examined to determine the number of good embryos. At this stage, the sex can even be determined. They are graded, the n placed in straws or frozen for later use.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Implanting the embryos into the cow is done just like artificial insemination. The straw is inserted in the vagina, while the vet’s hand guides the straw through the cervix, and then released into the uterus. Success of the process can be determined one to three months later through palpation.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The embryos can be stored safely at 37 degrees Fahrenheit for six-eight hours, however implanting as soon as possible is recommended for the best results.

An Exposition on Peanut Butter Cookies Essay -- Exposition Essays

An Exposition on Peanut Butter Cookies Have you ever tried to bake peanut butter cookies, and for some reason they were a complete flap because they were dry and crunchy, too moist and crumbly, or perhaps they had a terrible taste? Well, I have discovered this cool new recipe and I have never failed at making them. Have no fear, the ultimate peanut butter cookie recipe is here. We will need the following ingredients: 1c. of brown sugar, 1c. of white sugar, 1c. of margarine or butter, 1c. of peanut butter, 2 large eggs, 1 tsp. of baking soda, 1/4 tsp. of salt, 2 tsp. of vanilla, 3 cups of flour, and 1/2 cup of white sugar. As far as cooking utensils go, we will need the following: 2 large bowls, a small cup, a microwavable bowl, a baking sheet, one set of measuring spoons, one se...

Government Welfare

Obviously not, Welfare, at the government level, is mainly monies given to promote the basic physical and material well-being of people in need. This would include survivor benefits given to the widow/widowers of service-members. I don’t feel all areas of welfare should be abolished for instance the WIC program which provides vouchers to low income mothers to assist in buying formula and healthy foods in which would not be possible without the program.The price of baby formula can be very expensive in which millions of children would suffer from hunger, unhealthy diets and other health problems in regards to nutritional factors. Sometimes, it's just a matter of helping someone who's down on their luck for a short time, and then there are cases where you've got an elderly person who is all alone and needs some assistance. However, corporate welfare should be abolished, and regular welfare should be better managed. Anyone who is on welfare should be required to work or go to sch ool 40 hours a week to get their check; welfare should be a hand up, not a hand out.I think some people definitely need help. Sometimes, it's just a matter of helping someone who's down on their luck for a short time, and then there's cases where you've got an elderly person who is all alone and needs some assistance. However, corporate welfare should be abolished, and regular welfare should be better managed. Anyone who is on welfare should be required to work or go to school 40 hours a week to get their check; welfare should be a hand up, not a hand out.The system is so bloated and unmanageable that it allows many people to abuse it. Abolishing welfare would truly be one of the most unthinkable things to do to our fellow men and women not to mention the children involved who weren’t quite as â€Å"Lucky† as many of us have been in life. The Family Support Act, America's most recent effort at welfare reform, begins to take effect this year. The new law seeks to get si ngle mothers off welfare through a combination of job training, work requirements, child care subsidies, and child support enforcement.Cutting the welfare rolls is, in turn, supposed to save the taxpayer money while enhancing the self-respect of single mothers and their children. ( http://prospect. org/article/real-welfare-problem) Some Democrats believe the 1996 welfare reform is better than the recommendations of the Obama Administration. â€Å"The House voted Thursday (September 20, 2012) to block the Obama Administration's unilateral weakening of welfare's work requirements, and political reporters are writing it off as a partisan primal scream if they notice at all.† (Unknown, 2012)All Republicans and nineteen Democrats showed their dislike of the current administrations path down the welfare reform road with an astounding 250-164 rout over welfare reform recommendations. That’s one-tenth of the Democratic caucus joining with the Republicans to say our people need welfare in its current state during these hard economic times. The Reform Act was started during the Clinton Administration in August of 1996. However, welfare has been a controversial issue since the 1960’s.It was not until the late 1980’s, when the citizens were concerned and asking for some kind of reform to the welfare system. I do think that over the years there have been many changes to welfare programs. Many of these changes have been good, although some have been bad. The current welfare program will not see any beneficial changes until someone offers a more beneficial way of doing things. Unfortunately there have been very few ideas to change the welfare system. Hopefully in the future this changes.

Evaluation of Soil Management Strategies in Two Named Farming Systems Essay

Evaluation of the soil management strategies in the India The more time goes past, the more man starts realising how the management and the way we threat soils is important to insure its preservation and conservation. Nowadays, around 9. 4 million hectares of soil, which represent the 0. 5% of the land present on our planet, is irreparably damaged and has no longer any biological function. In other words, it can no longer be used in any useful way to provide food or other elements to the earth’s tenants. There are though, two factors that influence soil degradation; the human factor and the natural one. The most impactful one is the human one, as we tend to create disequilibrium in the rate at which soil forms and at which it is eroded or degraded. This is due to the fact that farmers work the soil too frequently or misunderstand and mismanage their lands. On the other hand, erosion and degradation, which embody the natural factors, are part of nature’s cycle and over time, they do not create imbalances. In poorer countries, farmers use subsistence farming and they are in a way constricted to do so, as they not only lack of economical resources to buy machinery and conditioners, but also because the quality of the soil often doesn’t give them the opportunity to be able to work the land more intensively. In the regions of West Bengal located in the northwest of India to take an example, the density of the population is so high that farmers only can use their little land holding to produce enough in order to feed themselves and their families. This way of managing the soil is called subsistence farming and is also used in the entire southeast of India, where the soil is so degraded that the population has no other choice but to use this agricultural strategy named sedentary farming. It involves farming always at the same place, living there and getting crops relying uniquely on labour and not on any capital investments. In India we can find a very large division, varying from economical to socio-political, and even agricultural. Up in the Northwest of India, within the hills of Jaipur in Rajasthan, intensive commercial farmers are predominant as the country represents the fourth biggest agricultural power of the world. The practices and components involved in intensive farming are harmful to the soil because farmers take advantage of the resources that are available and often abuse their terrain in such way that it harms it, leading to an increase of the rate at which the land is deteriorated. But not all methods are harmful to Nature; the method used in the forests of north India by the poorer citizens has a much better environmental impact than the industrial one used by richer farmers. As equally common, this method is called shifting farming which consists in burning a piece of land so that the ashes fertilise the soil. Then the famer grows its crops for around 2 to 5 years, until the soil’s fertility starts to decrease so he moves to another place repeating the same process. After a break more or less long 10 years, the farmer can go back to the first place as the terrain supposedly had time to regain its fertility and he can so for cultivate his crops again. In fact, the material and gears used, plus the methods are much different one from another. Within the subsistence one, natural fertilizers will be more likely to be used while on the intensive one, chemicals and heavy machinery often take the lead. These different strategies used to manage the soil comprise advantages and disadvantages, to both the farmers and the land. The sustainable farming strategy is on the short term less beneficial to the farmer as it will limit his production. But this technique won’t make any harm to the soil because the method used is less intensive, and natural fertilisers such as animal rejections and organic wastes replace chemicals and fertilizers used in the intensive method. But as stated above, India is the fourth largest agricultural force on this planet and that’s when the management of the soil starts becoming problematic in accordance to its sustainability and the preservation of its quality. The choice of a farmer to opt for a specific technique rather than another relies on the income on a short period of time. Even though in India this choice mainly depends on the financial resources available, the farmers using subsistence farming will be able to use their land for a much longer period of time than those who use intensive farming. It’s also in the farmer’s benefit to use its field in a sustainable way; for environmental ssues as well as for its personal profit as on the longer term, a farmer who farms on its land in a sustainable way will be able to get an equal amount of crops over a larger period of time. To conclude, if we keep abusing the soil as they still do in certain parts of the world, by 2050 we will severely lack of available healthy soil to satisfy our needs as a result of the population’s growth rate. And even though the governments and citizens didn’t realise that before severe issues and frightening statistical data came out from the topic. We know how to prevent soil erosion from natural factors by simply planting grass or other clumping vegetation; building shelter belts and hedgerows are other examples. We can also improve the methods of cultivation, using the techniques of terracing and contour ploughing. But to prevent the abusing human activity like deforestation, I believe that the only answer is the willing and devotion of individuals of using proper pesticides and fertilizers.

Psychoanalytic and Trait Approaches Personality Assessment Essay

I have always attributed personality as being a culmination of environment first, biology second, and traits, or what my understanding of them was. I was not aware of Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytic approach, or the correct definition of the trait theory prior to beginning this class. The psychoanalytic approach to personality defines the origins of personality as being divided in to three parts; the id (unconscious), the superego (preconscious) and the ego (conscious). Each part plays a distinct role in memory, response, desire, decision making, and conscience. With all three parts interacting, conflicting, expending psychic energy, and dictating who we are. In contrast the trait theory approach describes personality characteristics that are stable and are the basis of why individuals to do something, in certain ways, consistently. The psychoanalytic approach is subjective and is not easily measured whereas the trait approach specifically identifies and measures the various tr aits that make up an individual and how they interact with each other to form a personality. Freud believed that personalities are formed in the early stages of childhood, and are a series of sexually themed developmental stages. The first stage; birth to roughly 18 months, is the oral stage. At this stage babies are all about their mouths, and their behavioral patterns originate from this area. Freud believed that during this stage if a negative experience occurs, and too much of the psychosexual energy is expended in this area, then a fixation of psychic energy can occur. The result would be the development of an oral personality as an adult. Adults with oral personalities tend to need some type of oral fulfillment; often putting their hands to their mouths, they may be smokers, or may drink too much. The second psychosexually themed developmental stage that children go through, according to Freud, is the anal stage. This stage, like the first, is where behavioral patterns can emerge depending on the amount of psychosexual energy which is expended. Here, children have to learn control over bodily functions and depending on whether the experience is positive or negative, like behavioral patterns emerge. Freud believed that a negative experience could result in an adult personality that is obsessive, and stubborn. According to Freud, defense mechanisms exist as a way for the ego to deal with things it cannot filter from the anxiety created within the superego and the id. Displacement is a classic example of a defense mechanism. Have you ever had a bad d ay at work where nothing you did would satisfy your boss? Wanting to tell your boss off or acting on the frustrations or feelings would be detrimental to your job status. Instead of acting on that frustration it stays pent up, and by the time you get home from work you explode at your child, or spouse for some insignificant little infraction. Your taking your aggression out on a person who did not pose a threat to you is displacement. A second defense mechanism is reaction formation. Freud believed that using reaction formation allows us to hide how we feel by acting the exact opposite. A good example would be a person who is extremely outspoken about gay rights. Freud would have no doubt believed that because this person’s beliefs were so extreme that this person must be fighting an internal demon; maybe this person was fighting their own secret feelings of attraction for the same sex. Hence the old adage â€Å"†¦doth protest too much, methinks† (Shakespeare, 1601). A third defense mechanism is Intellectualization. This defense mechanism helps a person to distance themselves by removing the emotional side of the circumstance which allows a person to focus from a colder intellectual viewpoint. A good example of this would be a husband that passes away and the wife, also a mother does not allow herself to feel or show her pain for the sake of the children. She reasons that if she shows her pain the children will feel worse and above all else she must protect them so she reads, learns, and concentrates on methods to help get them through it. The Big Five Factor that best describes my personality would be openness. I do have an active imagination, and am open to considering new idea’s, and am not happy in an environment that is routine. I tend to thrive in chaos, and enjoy research. The Big Five factor that least describes me is Agreeableness. I do c onsider myself to be a helpful person, and while I volunteer for many organizations, I tend not to be sympathetic or trusting. I guess I have some trouble categorizing myself as being one way or the other, or having a specific trait over another because I find that it all so subjective. I would have to say the trait theories best align with my personality. I have some trouble identifying with the psychoanalytic personality description. The core theories, though some of them make sense, do not seem to align with what goes on inside my head. I have been through some pretty traumatic things in my life, but I am conscious of all of them. Why? I am so aware of them, have had to feel them in my head, my whole life. What makes me so different from other people who have been able to shove them to an unconscious level? And, is that better? The psychoanalytic approach as found in the text says that defense mechanisms are believed to offer an instrument for the mind to be able to isolate what it cannot deal with, yet this approach does not offer any stable patterns on what makes one person less able to deal with something than another. In conclusion, it appears that no one theory easily defines what makes up an individual’s personality and so far it all appears to be subjective. Reference: Burger, Jerry M. (2008). Personality (7th ed.). Mason, Ohio: Cengage Learning.