Feasibility Analysis Paper Research Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Feasibility Analysis - Research Paper Example This paper includes critical and impartial look of the Good Addict venture through feasibility analysis study. Product/ Service Feasibility Analysis Product/ service feasibility analysis involves an assessment of the general appeal of the product or service that is proposed. It is necessary to ensure that a product offered actually satisfies the customer’s wants and that it serves as what the customers want. Product/ service desirability as well as product/ service demand. Green Addict services make a lot of sense and are very reasonable. Currently there have been a number of diseases and disorders that can be attributed to the food people eat. Most would want to maintain a healthy body and this does not come easily (â€Å"Report Linker† Web). Many restaurants do not pay attention to the need for organic food thus limiting options for retailers of choosing green organic food while relaxing in an environmentally friendly place. A number of people would definitely desire to enjoy life longevity and minimize their medical expenses. Green Addict offers exactly what the customers want. Their product and services are unique and appealing to a large number of people who are health conscious. It is apparent that the consumers will get excited when they are served organic food in a cool and environment friendly restaurant (Nusra Web). Green Addict takes advantage of an environmental trend of global warming and the publicity of environmental issues. Most people are aware of the dangers of genetically modified food and the carbon production. It is apparent that even small children are aware of the going green concern because of media publicity (â€Å"University of Minnesota† Web). Green Addict idea of using recycled materials is vital in the eye of the public who are already trying in their own level to reduce carbon emission. Green Addict therefore feels the environmental gap that is currently experienced in the market place. The introduction of serv ices by Green Addict is timely because it comes at a time when almost everyone around the world is worried about global warming. Green Addict will be offering services that many consumers would want to buy because of the consciousness of saving environment and staying healthy. Everyone asked about the importance of organic food will definitely give a positive response. Offering organic meals and a completely healthy environmentally friendly experience will therefore lead to a competitive edge in the market thus increasing the chances of the business idea to be successful. Customers that are health and environmental conservation conscious will even be willing to pay higher because of their understanding of the quality of services offered (Nusra Web). The product design and services offered at Green Addict may have a challenge of obtaining raw material as well as other organic supplies because they are very limited and extremely expensive. Offering organic foodstuffs is very costly an d the customers may not be willing to pay the higher cost of services. It is also likely that Green Addict may incorporate a few ingredients, which are not organic such as cheaper cooking oil that may contain food additive and chemicals that may turn away the consumers. Maintaining a purely green and organic product may therefore not easy to maintain unless the customers targeted are willing and able to pay for the higher costs associated with the product and services. Industry/ Target Market Feasibility Analysis It

Curbing Child Labour In African Countries Young People Essay

Curbing Child Labour In African Countries Young People Essay 1.0 Definition of Child Labour The International Labor Organization (ILO, 2004) defined child labour as work that deprives children of their childhood, their potential and their dignity, and that is harmful to physical and mental development. It refers to work that deprives children of their childhood, their potential and their dignity, and that is harmful to their physical and mental development. Also, child labour refers to any working activity that is physically, mentally, socially or morally harmful and dangerous to children, with interference in their education by depriving them of the chance to attend school, prematurely obliging them to leave school, or requiring them to combine schooling with extremely long and heavy work. 2.0 The Negative Effect of Child Labour on Human Capital Accumulation and Economic Development One of the most significant problems in developing countries especially in Africa is the unpleasant incident of child labour. Children do labour to earn money by sacrificing their health, their education, and their normal development to maturity. The child labour exists prevalently in most countries in Africa. It has been a deep-rooted evil phenomenon, which delay the development of human capital accumulation and economic growth. Most African countries are lying on a stagnation situation or downward spiral in which poor performance in human development has been liable to poor economic growth and poverty, which consecutively discouraged human development achievements. Nowadays, while most of developed countries are enjoying wealth and prosperity, some of developing nations and most third world countries in Africa are struggling themselves to combat the problem of child labour. The prevalence of child labour causes the children to occupy their lifetime with working, leaving school and education behind. The main aim for these children to work would be the wages gain from working in order to support household income. However, because of the time in a day is limited to 24 hours, there will be high probability for a working child to forgo schooling if they want to concentrate working to help their parents income. As working children become an adult without a sound education, their future generation soon is likely to do the same duty as they were child ago. As a result, there will be a lack of human capital improvement in one country even after generations, and thus in long-term will bring about stagnant economic development. 3.0 Child Labour in African Countries The ILO is an international organisation charged to count with child labor. The ILO reported in 2004 that 218 million children engaged in economic activity globally, excluding child domestic labour (UNICEF, 2006). Within this number, 126 million or one in every six children aged 5-17 years were trapped in hazardous work. The ILO estimated that children represent 40-50 percent of all victims of forced labour, or 5.7 million children were caught in bonded and forced labour. Available data suggested that more boys than girls were economically active, but girls who are engaged in household chores and sibling childcare not be accounted for in these statistics (ILO, 2002). Children who were working in household of a third party or employer are particularly at risk to abuse and exploitation. The ILO estimates that more girls below age 16 were in domestic (household) service than in any other category child labour. African continent has the highest percentage of economically active children. The ILO study showed that 41 percent of children in Africa continent are devoting to labour work (ILO, 2003). The sectors where child labour is most employed are agriculture, fishing, hunting, and forestry. More than 30 percent of African children aged between 10 and 14 are working in agriculture sector. In most countries which are producing raw materials, children are used to work on agriculture estates of cocoa, coffee, and cotton. Also in Africa, the incident of child labour varies among areas in the continent. Child labour occupies nearly most of the teenagers population in the countries of central Africa. Meanwhile it is nearly absolutely lacking in South Africa, and the similar situation occurs in the nations of northern Africa. As stated by the ILO in 2003, there are 400,000 child labourers in Rwanda. Within this number, there are 120,000 are considered to be engaged in the worst forms of child labour, while a number of 60,000 identified as child domestic workers. In Rwanda, children are also involved in prostitution in several large cities. The report showed that 94 percent of these child prostitutes lived in extreme poverty stricken, 40 percent had missing both of their parents, and 41 percent had never enroll themselves in schooling. In Zambia, according to the Zambian, there are a number of 595,000 child labourers in the country. Of these, 58 percent are below age 15, thus, disallowed for any kind of employment as controlled by the Employment of Young Persons Act. According to the ILO in 2003, as much as 1.9 million children in Kenya, with age ranges between 5 and 17, are child labourers. Only 3.2 percent of this population has accomplished a secondary level (school) of education, and 12.7 percent had never been to school. In Kenya, during the peak coffee picking season, it was approximated that up to 30 percent of the coffee pickers are under age 15. In Tanzania, it has been estimated that 4,600 children working in small-scale mining. It is common to find children as young as eight digging thirty-meter underground in mines for at least eight hours per day. It is usually been carried out without proper light and ventilation, and child workers are exposed to risk of injury or death underground. Furthermore, in Zimbabwe, it was approximated that 5 million children with ages between 5 and 17 are being compelled to labour work. While, a survey conducted on child labourers in small-scale mines in Madagascar found that 58 percent that population were aged 12 or under. In addition, only a third had being exposed to learn skills, and half were belonged to families that trapped in poverty stricken with bad living conditions. Moreover in Africa, a number of 120,000 children below the age of 18 have been forced into military labors such as child soldiers, or military messengers, cooks, porters, or sex slaves. An amount ranged 10,000-15,000 children from Mali are working on plantations in CÃ ´te dIvoire. Most of them are victims of child trafficking. It is estimated that 50,000 children are working as household servant in Morocco. In West Africa, an estimated 35,000 children are in commercial sexual exploitation. The Sub-Saharan Africa is the geographical area of the world with the highest rate of child labour. As stated by the ILO report, the high populations growth rate in Sub-Saharan Africa corresponds with the increasing of poverty in the region (ILO, 2004). In addition, the HIV/Aids outspread hinders all effort against child labour although the report does show clear evident of improvement in gross school enrolments, where the primary school registrations in the area have raised by 38 percent between 1990 and 2000. The Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported that in 2002, regarding child trafficking in Togo, asserted that the governments of western African countries had done fragile enforcement to curb the prevalent trafficking of child labour (Human Rights Watch, 2003). As reported by HRW, the local crisis of children trafficking was brought about by HIV/Aids. A large number of these children are orphans, compelled to work for survival after the death of their HIV- positive parents. The HRW asserted that children are forced into labour work in several countries in western Africa. The traffickers attract the children by promising them with professional training as well as sponsored schooling. The vast majority of these children were trafficked by neighbouring countries, such as Burkina Faso and Mali. The incidence of child labour trafficking occurs in many paths, as the government didnt execute strict enforcement to ban it. Girls were sold to work in the night markets, and during the day as baby sitt ers, and victims are generally subjected to physical violence and psychological abuse. The countries of destination of child trafficking in general have power over economies of western Africa. The report by Institute of Tropical Agriculture in 2002 showed that 70 percent of world cocoa production made in western Africa (Boas, M. Huser, A., 2006). From this statistics, 43 percent world cocoa production supplied by Cote dIvoire, 15 percent in Ghana, 7 percent in Nigeria, 4 percent in Cameroon, and the remains 1 percent in other regions in western Africa. In these supplier countries, the ripe cocoa is collected from plantation and processed by children. Children aged between 5 and 15, all came from poor background, were lured by the traffickers to leave their countries, even with forged labour contracts, were sold to the owners of agricultural estates. Often the children realised of their condition only afterwards, when they are forced into sheds and locked up inside. Children who ran away from the plantations disclosed of how they were victimised, exploited and tortured , and never received any pay. 4.0 Major Determinant of Child Labor Child labour is an issue in worldwide concern, especially in least developed countries in Africa, with many governments officially declares laws that protect children from labour work. There is no single root of child labour in Africa, and the important factors that cause children to become labourers are wide-ranging. Indeed, the particular conditions will differ depending to the different background between children. In spite of this, the determinants of child labour may be categorised into two groups based on 1) demand determinants or market mechanism, and 2) supply determinants. This classification is based on the works by Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) (Edmonds, E. V., 2003; Bhalotra, S., 2003). Demand side determinants are the factors which encourage an employer to employ children into labour work. While, supply side determinants are the factors which induce the parents or head of the households to make a decision about the exploitation of children s time into labour work. Demand side determinants of child labour are the composition of labour market, the current production technology, the weak law-making or weak implementation of legislation, childrens beneficial features for a specific work, small amount paid to children with extra working hours, and little bargaining power of children. In contrast, the supply side determinants of child labour origin from the household background. These include a range of socio-economic variables such as poverty, lack of educational and public facilities, unemployment of adults, and population pressure. These variables are associated with the decision making of the household to send the children to work. 5.0 Curbing the Child Labour in Africa: A Few Recommendations on Development Policy for Human Capital Improvement Most countries in Africa prohibited the employ of children in economic activities, especially the worst form of child labour. This was due to its bad consequences of the children in their present and future time. However, most of law enforcement failed to curb child labour. Labour intensive industries and agricultural sectors will always welcome a huge demand for cheap labour, in other word, child workers. Moreover, parents are willingly to send their children working to increase household income in order to survive in poverty stricken. Drawing upon the historical experience of several countries, both economic factors and legal restrictions played a role in reducing child labour, although legislation appears to have been less significant. I suggested that banning child labour through law enforcement and legislation is an inappropriate action. This is because this action will reduce the welfare of people. The primary purpose of working is to earn money, to earn living. Parents submitt ed their children to labour work to help families income, to maintain their life survival. After studying the conditions child labour in several African countries, I would like to suggest some development policies that can be implemented by their governments in order to curb child labour, then improving the welfare of children in order to develop high human capital in Africa in the future. Those recommended policies are: 5.1 Reducing Household Poverty The first and major cause of child labour is poverty. Absolute poverty as a synonym for extreme poverty is the lack of enough resources (such as financial resources) to ensure of obtaining basic life necessities. The poverty is concerned with the income level of the household. A strong negative relationship exists between child labour and total income of a household. The additional level of income will reduce the probability of a child to work. Most of the incident of child labour as a parental decision, where parents will only send their children to work when compelled to do so by poverty stricken. Therefore, when parents income surpasses some threshold, parents tend to withdraw the children out of labour market (Basu, K. Van, P. H., 1998). A historical analysis has shown that the decline of child labour was highly associated with the rise of married womens participation in the labour force (Cunningham, H., 2000). This is because the rise of married womens participation in the labo ur force had caused the childrens contribution (income) to the economy of the working class family become less significant. I would like to suggest for governments to implement the minimum wage legislation on adults. The increase in adults wage will decrease the population of child in labour market since fewer children in a family will have to work. The increase in income by implementing the minimum wage legislation will reduce the frequency of child labour. Therefore, the implementation of minimum wage laws policy in African countries is an appropriate action in checking the stagnation of child labour. I would like to recommend for the government to increase employment opportunities for women. Government ought to stimulate sectors of economies that highly associated with women, such as laundry, cleaning, cooking, and sewing. Poor families must also be allowed to have loan from financial institution, so that they will have opportunities to start their own businesses and economic activities. This will be an embarkment of a large scale poverty alleviation program and target income support, in purpose to keep children away from work market and attending schools. 5.2 Providing Better Quality of Education for Children Evidence from communities areas in Ghana showed that the incidence of high childrens employment and the low school enrolment is caused by the bad quality of education (Ray, R., 2002). This has led to the lack of importance of education for children as viewed by most parents. The likelihood of full-time school attending could be increased by reducing the cost of schooling. The expansion of school allocation by government, which reduces the opportunity-cost of schooling, would decrease the number of working children, but attending school (Cigno, A., Rosati, F. C. Tzannatos, Z., 2002). I would like to advise for the government that the education policies should aim to improve the quality of schooling, and expansion in schooling subsidy must prove impressive in order to encourage parents keeping their children in schools rather than submitting them employed. Government policies should center on improving school infrastructure facilities and quality of schooling especially in rural areas. The quality of education will determine the parents awareness concerning the education route as a way to advance life status. The low quality of education will dispute the need of schooling for their children if to have a promising future with a stable and well-paid job. This kind of judgment is normally found among people communities with low income level because their occupations are commonly requiring no formal education attainment, but basic skills as a cheap labour. I would like to put forward for the reduction of costs of schooling. This is purposely to reduce opportunity cost of schooling, in term of payment (salary) obtained from working children. Scholarships for schooling students should not for only school tuition fees, but must cover other benefits, such as school accessories like school uniforms and free meals in order to make education more attractive. The school enrolment, especially primary school enrolment is most essential for children to ensure of obtaining basic and necessary education before jumping into the higher stages of education. Students who are obliged to attend a longer years of education by compulsory education laws will make higher wages in their future as compared to others with less years of education. Therefore, public investment in improving school infrastructure will give rise to a significant beneficial effect to born better educated labour force in the future with higher productivity to the society. 5.3 Controlling the Family Size through Policies Among fifteen countries with highest fertility rate in the world, the fourteen of them are belonged to African countries (United Nations, 2007). The high fertility and birth rate each year had caused to the large family size in Africa. And, the larger the number of children, so then the larger the total cost of living and rearing children. The big number of siblings had forced the elder siblings to working, instead of attending school. According to a study, this additional work increases with the number of younger siblings and the spacing between siblings. Because family sizes raise, the additional work for elder siblings will significantly be increased to help additional households income (Edmonds, E. V., 2006). I would like to advocate for the government of those African countries to implement the one or two-child policy in their countries. This is purposely to decrease fertility rate in those countries. This policy can be adopted from the China one-child policy introduced in 1978. It was created by the Chinese government to alleviate social, economic, and environmental problems in China. After the introduction of the one-child policy, the fertility rate in China fell from over three births per woman in 1980 to approximately 1.8 births in 2008. In my point of view, the controlling of family size will reduce the total cost of rearing many children in a family. This will increase disposable income in a family, in which this income can be saved for future use and to finance good quality education for children. The government must promise a direct benefit for the only first one or two children in the family, such as free schooling or educational subsidies. This family size control may promise a better quality of children with high human capital, even with smaller numbers, rather than having a large number of children but with low human capital. This not only improve the welfare of each children, but also give to human capital improvement in Africa, and thus in long-term will bring about healthier economic development. 5.4 Introducing Modern Labour-Saving Technologies into Economic Sectors The major characteristic of labour markets in most developing countries is a high proportion of employment of unskilled labour force in the informal sectors. This trait has led to a creation of large labour intensive market space with low-level of technology that encourages the demand for children to become labour force (Edmonds, E. V, 2003; Dinopoulos, E. Zhao, L., 2007). Thus, the level of technology in an economy will determine both the supply and demand for child labour. I would like to suggest that the introduction and adoption of modern labour-saving technologies as a tool to inhibit child labour. At a distance from raising agricultural productivity, the adoption of modern labour-saving technologies could free children from repetitive working duties in agriculture and thus increase their chances of attending school. Therefore, policies and programmes that promote the adoption of land and modern labour-saving technologies should be listed as policy tools to curb child labour in the African countries. The introduction of new technologies such as mechanization or automation in industries, and the use of improved strains and fertilizers in agricultural sector will reduce the demand for unskilled child labour. A study had also found that the returns to education will also increase because people understand the need for higher education attainment to fulfill the high demand for high-skilled labour. (Cigno, A., Rosati, F. C. Tzannatos, Z., 2002). Thus, t his will discourage the supply of child labour. This low motivation of supplying child labour and low interest to employ unskilled labour will further the declining of children exploitation into economic activities. In my opinion, from the technological perspective, it should be noticed that childrens participation are unnecessary in the process of industrialisation because child workers keep low human capital stock. In addition to the least developed African countries, in most industries where children work, there are existing technologies that being utilised in developed countries. Thus, the employment of these modern technologies by African countries would replace tasks performed by child labour, and finally reduce child employment in productive economic activities. I would also like to advise the African countries to welcome globalisation in their economic policies. The accepting of globalisation will improve capital market through foreign direct investment (FDI), and will generate technological and knowledge spillover. This will help introducing new modern labour-saving technologies as a tool to improve economic sectors, and at the same time will inhibit child labour. This is according to a study which had found that the forces of globalisation can curb the phenomenon of child labour through the trade policies that beneficial for modern sector, and the increase in FDI in modern sector that will reduce the demand of child labour without deteriorating the wage-income distribution. (Dinopoulos, E. Zhao, L., 2007).

essay on chernobyl :: essays research papers

Chernobyl Accident The April 1986 disaster at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in the Ukraine was the product of a flawed Soviet reactor design coupled with serious mistakes made by the plant operators in the context of a system where training was minimal. It was a direct consequence of Cold War isolation and the resulting lack of any safety culture. The accident destroyed the Chernobyl-4 reactor and killed 30 people, including 28 from radiation exposure. A further 209 on site were treated for acute radiation poisoning and among these, 134 cases were confirmed (all of whom recovered). Nobody off-site suffered from acute radiation effects. However, large areas of Belarus, Ukraine, Russia and beyond were contaminated in varying degrees. The Chernobyl disaster was a unique event and the only accident in the history of commercial nuclear power where radiation-related fatalities occurred.* On 25 April, prior to a routine shut-down, the reactor crew at Chernobyl-4 began preparing for a test to determine how long turbines would spin and supply power following a loss of main electrical power supply. Similar tests had already been carried out at Chernobyl and other plants, despite the fact that these reactors were known to be very unstable at low power settings. A series of operator actions, including the disabling of automatic shutdown mechanisms, preceded the attempted test early on 26 April. As flow of coolant water diminished, power output increased. When the operator moved to shut down the reactor from its unstable condition arising from previous errors, a peculiarity of the design caused a dramatic power surge. The fuel elements ruptured and the resultant explosive force of steam lifted off the cover plate of the reactor, releasing fission products to the atmosphere. A second explosion threw out fragments of burning fuel and graphite from the core and allowed air to rush in, causing the graphite moderator to burst into flames. Some 5000 tonnes of boron, dolomite, sand, clay and lead were dropped on to the burning core by helicopter in an effort to extinguish the blaze and limit the release of radioactive particles.

Prison and Parole

CJ 365 1 – April – 2013 Parole In Society Last year, 77% of prisoners released from incarceration were released through and in to a system of community and authoritative supervision called parole. Parole is the conditional release from confinement of a person serving an indeterminate sentence (Corrections Today, page 262) and it is an idea which has had a huge impact on the justice system and the workings of the U. S. Department of Corrections as we now know it. The concept of parole can be traced back to the works of Alexander Maconochie.Maconochie was the superintendent of a penal colony on Norfolk Island, Australia. In his work, Maconochie utilized a system through which good behavior was encouraged through the use of ‘marks’. Prisoners served their sentence in three stages of progressively increasing responsibility. Prisoners advanced through the first two stages through labor, studies and good behavior. They would then be released into the outside worl d under the condition that disobeying the law would result in reincarceration.Walter Crofton adopted Maconochie’s ideas as the basis for the ‘Irish mark system’ which made permissible the early release of prisoners with a record of good behavior. This mark system was instituted at the Elmira reformatory in the 1870s and from there went on to spread rapidly throughout the United States justice system. Today, around 77% of inmates that are released from prison do so through the parole system or some very similar form of community supervision. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, at the end of 2011 there were 853,900 adults on parole and around 1. million adults that had moved on to or off of parole over the course of the year. The main goal of parole is to supervise the reintegration of inmates back into society and encourage their rehabilitation towards becoming a more productive member of society. There are three different purposes of the institution of parole: to help the parolee obtain help for problems with employment, residency, finance, and any other personal troubles that may interfere with a prisoner’s reintegration into everyday life; to make society safer by preventing situations in which prior offenders might commit new offense; and also to prevent the needless imprisonment of those not likely to commit further crime (Parole FAQ’s). Parole is often confused with probation, though they are distinctly different. Probation is used as an alternative to incarceration in which the offender receives state supervision whilst still living a mostly normal life, whereas with parole, an offender serves most of their sentence in a reformatory and pending good behavior, is then released to serve the remainder in the community (under state supervision).There are several rules and guidelines used to determine eligibility for parole that must first be met by an inmate. Eligibility for parole depends on the type of sentence assigned by the court. Accompanying an offender’s sentencing is a ‘parole eligibility date’. This is the earliest potential date upon which an offender may be released in the instance that the parole commission finds them suitable for release. Unless the court specifies a minimum amount of time that an inmate must serve or said offender is serving an indeterminate sentence, an inmate becomes eligible for parole after completion of one third of their court-mandated sentence.To apply for consideration, an inmate must fill out a parole application furnished by a case manager. The case manager then informs the potential parolee of his parole hearing date. This date generally occurs within a few months of placement in the respective institution, except in cases where the offender is serving more than ten years time. In this instance, ‘the initial hearing is scheduled six months prior to the completion of ten years.At this parole hearing, the offender receives an opportunity to present their side of the story and to offer their argument as to why they should be released. The general factors considered during a parole hearing include â€Å"the details of the offense, prior criminal history, the guidelines which the Commission uses in making their determination, the offender's accomplishments in the correctional facility, details of a release plan, and any problems the offender has had to meet in the past and is likely to encounter again in the future† (USPC FAQs).When determining parole eligibility, there are four important factors which the parole commission must consider: can the inmate be released without being a detriment to himself and/or the community, will their release serve the best interest of the community, is the inmate willing and able to meet the conditions of both their parole assignment and of everyday life, and whether or not continued correctional treatment would further their chances of leading a normal, law-abiding life.To make a determination of these factors, each potential parolee is interviewed by the acting parole board. A parole board is a group of people who decide whether or not an offender should be released on parole. On February 7th, 2011, Governor Rick Snyder signed State of Michigan Executive Order No. 2011-3 abolished the ‘Michigan Parole and Commutation Board’ and replaced it with the ‘Michigan Parole Board’, granting membership â€Å"†¦ to ten full-time non-Civil Service employees who are appointed by the director of the Michigan Department of Corrections† (MDOC Parole Board).Michigan’s current board members come from a variety of backgrounds including law enforcement, law, corrections, ministry, social work and public service. These ten people are split up into three groups of three, with the remaining person acting as the chairperson and also the deciding vote in ties. The MPB (Michigan Parole Board) is the sole parole authority f or prisoners under the jurisdiction of the Michigan Department of Corrections. It should be noted that parole board structure and decisions differ from one jurisdiction to the next. According to statute MCL 791. 33, a prisoner may be granted parole only after the board has reasonable assurance, after consideration of all of the facts and circumstances, including the prisoner's mental and social attitude, that the prisoner will not become a menace to society or to the public safety† (Parole – Learning More). Most prisoners are interviewed by one member of the board. This interview is used to explore the offender’s criminal, social and substance abuse history, their behavior in prison, their plans for parole, and any other matters pertinent to the specific case.The prisoner is allowed to have one other ‘representative’ present at the interview with them (this representative cannot be a lawyer or fellow prisoner). On October 30th, 2004, the ‘Crime Rights Victims Act’ was enacted. This act is intended for the preservation of the rights of crime victims. A crime victim is defined as â€Å"an individual who suffers direct or threatened physical, financial or emotional harm as a result of the commission of a crime is considered a victim† (Crime Victim’s Rights Act). This act entitles the crime victim notification and consultation throughout each step of the justice process.According to the act, at the written request of the victim, the MDOC must provide notifications at every stage of the prisoner’s incarceration process. This act also grants the victim the right to submit a written, telephone or oral impact statement to the parole board for hearing prior to the approval of a parole request consisting of any relevant statements regarding the effects of the crime upon the victim, the circumstances surrounding the crime and any other details relevant to the crime, and also the victim’s personal o pinion as to whether or not the offender should be released on parole.The parole board utilizes a numerical scoring system called the parole guidelines. This process applies objective criteria and is generally a significant factor in the parole approval decision process: in some situations, parole can be approved or denied before an interview even takes place. The score is important enough that in instances where the Parole Board makes a decision contradictory to that suggested guideline score, they â€Å"†¦must provide, in writing, substantial and compelling reasons in support of the decision. † The guidelines used in parole guidelines are outlined in Administrative Rule 791. 716 (Parole Consideration Process). After the hearing has been completed and the case file examined, the parole decision is made by three-member panels of the board. If their request is denied, the inmate is returned to the institution where they then have the option of filing an appeal of the paro le decision with the National Appeals Board (so long as they do so within thirty days of the date listen on the Notice of Action). The National Appeals Board then has the option of affirming, reversing or modifying the decision made by the regional commissioner, or they may order a new hearing.Decisions made by the National Appeals Board are final, and offenders will not have the option of appealing the Appeals Board’s decision. If the inmate declines to submit an appeal, he is legally entitled to reconsideration after a certain amount of time. If the inmate is sentenced to less than seven years, they will receive another hearing 18 months from the date of their last. If their sentence exceeds seven years, their next parole hearing will be scheduled 24 months from the date of the last.If the panel approves the parole request, the inmate’s case file is then assigned to a parole officer based upon the county in which the subject will be fulfilling their parole requiremen ts over a specified amount of time. The offender should have a release plan denoting a suitable residence and ideally a verified offer of employment. This is not mandatory though and there are exceptions to this law which are decided on a person to person basis. If everything goes accordingly, the detainee will be released from incarceration on the date listed on their release certificate.They then return to their approved housing and must then report to the United States Probation Office listed on their certificate. Their assigned officer will establish a plan for regular reporting in person, along with mandatory monthly reports for the remainder of the sentence. Also listed on the release certificate are the rules and conditions by which the parolee agrees to live. So long as the parolee fulfills the requirements established by the parole board and finishes his parole period without any violations of the predetermined parole conditions, the parolee will be released from government supervision.These rules vary from one person to the next and are tailored by the Parole Board to better equip each individual offender for success in the integration process. Common conditions of parole often require abstaining from any and all drugs and alcohol, confinement to a defined area/perimeter, steady employment/residency, counseling or, if deemed necessary, enrollment into in-patient treatment facilities. In the event of a violation of parole conditions, the offender isn’t always returned to prison.Depending on the nature of the violation, various programs and sanctions can be used as an alternative to re-incarceration. The Michigan Department of Corrections cites â€Å"†¦an added emphasis on offender success in the community and tries to keep parolees out in the community when they believe that they can continue to be safely managed there† (Parole – Learning More). Though it is, like nearly every other government approach to social issues, plagu ed with disadvantages, parole serves as an efficient and mostly effective tool for managing some of the flaws and issues within the justice system.Parole allows the freeing up of space in already rapidly overcrowding prisons nationwide by releasing non-violent drug offenders and other reformed prisoners ready for reintegration into society, opening up space for inmates who pose a more serious threat to society. After spending months, years or even decades in prison, the average inmate has lost at least some sense of what life is like outside of their institution. Parole is a gentle easing back in to community life; allowing the prisoner supervision and some restrictions to help keep them from the activities which got them into trouble into the first place.Parole’s accompanying threat of a return to prison is often enough to deter those who might otherwise fall back into their old ways. Many inmates report feeling lost and alone following their release; some don’t know what to do in the absence of the basic structure and routine that they’d grown accustomed to during their period of incarceration. Parole is not a unanimously accepted issue and some think it to be little more than an extension of mercy towards the prisoner in the form of a reduced sentence. These people feel that early release on parole drastically reduces the effectiveness of the prison sentence.What most do not realize is that even if a person doesn’t receive approval for parole, this does not disqualify them from or affect their chances of an early release on account of good behavior and/or other contributing factors. Citing information from ‘White Paper’, a report compiled by a firm called â€Å"Prisoners’ Legal Services† which covers nearly all aspects of the current state of parole in Massachusetts; lower rates of parole negatively affect the prisoner, the community to which he returns, the crime victim, and also the justice system of which he is a part.The report states that the number of state and county prisoners released on parole decreased from 4,508 in 2010 to 2,043 in 2011. By the end of 2011, there were only 1,649 offenders out on parole; nearly half the number of the previous year’s end. In 2010, 38% percent of released offenders were put on parole, compared to 2012’s meager 15% release rate. Instead of having a parole officer to guide them through the reintegration process, prisoners are released back into the world with no form of supervision, services or support.Reduced parole approval rates also mean that prisoners serving time in medium and maximum security institutions return directly to the community with no transitioning steps. Failure to provide assistance to released inmates and the state’s ignorance of the rehabilitation process can be directly correlated with higher rates of recidivism. Recidivism is defined as â€Å"the act of a person repeating an undesirable behavior after they have experienced negative consequences for that ehavior, or have been treated or trained to extinguish that behavior† (Recidivism, Wikipedia). Recidivism is one of the most important subjects of consideration within the criminal justice process as the purpose of a release from incarceration is rendered useless if the perpetrator will simply return to the life that lead him into the justice system in the first place. This is an issue of the highest priority as over 95% of prisoners serving time in state and federal prisons will eventually be released back into the community.While the United States continues to take increasing measures aimed towards the arrest and incarceration of its criminals (resulting in drastically higher arrest rates and increasing issues with overpopulation and crowding in the nation’s institutions), it has failed to respond to increasing rates of recidivism among its prisoners. A survey conducted in 2003 by the Urban Institute of the Ju stice Policy Center reported that 53% of arrested males and 39% of arrested females would be re-incarcerated.This same study states that within three years of release, nearly seven out of every ten males will be rearrested and half of that number will end up back in prison. The report says recidivism happens due to both personal and situational conditions. It also claims that one of the main reasons for recidivism â€Å"†¦is because it is difficult for the individual to fit back in with normal life†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬  It says many prisoners report anxiety regarding their release and excitement about how their life will be ‘different this time’ and this often proves a matter of utter disappointment and frustration in the instances where this doesn’t end up being the case.Nearly every study and report on the issue reports the same thing: the more efforts taken to work towards rehabilitation of released prisoners, the lower their chances of recidivism. The su ccess rates of rehabilitation efforts depend largely on the nature of the original offense, but in almost every single instance, an inmate has a notably higher chance of success in the outside world with the assistance and support of the state. In 2010, 51% of United States federal inmates were doing time as a result of a drug-related charge.Estimates state that nearly three out of four prisoners returning from prison have a history of substance-abuse. Despite this, only 7%-17% of prisoners actually meet the DSM criteria for alcohol and drug dependence and actually receive treatment in prison. Effectiveness studies have reported that inmates who partake in residential treatment programs during their incarceration have 9%-18% lower recidivism rates, and possess a 15%-30% lower chance of relapse than their fellow prisoners who did not receive treatment.One interesting statistic to note is the rate of recidivism in offenders with prior arrest history. Within three years of release, 41% of prisoners with one prior arrest were re-arrested while 82% of those with more than fifteen prior arrests were re-arrested. A study published in McNair’s Scholar Journal entitled â€Å"The Relationship Between Parole and Recidivism in the Criminal Justice System† by Jacquelin Robinson of Grand Valley State University claims a direct association between parole and recidivism.Interestingly enough, she says that because of modestly high rates of parole violation and failure among parolees are a direct opposite of what they seemingly should be; as the rate of parole increases, so do the chances of recidivism. According to the same studies, parole supervision (regardless of how intensive) was not a direct contributor towards lower recidivism rates. This same article cites a study conducted by Jeremy Travis in May 2000 on behalf of the National Institute of Justice.Travis’ findings indicated that rehabilitation programs actually had very little effect on reduced re cidivism and actually states that parole violations are ‘now the driving force behind prison growth’, being responsible for 34% of all admissions. A study entitled ‘Does Parole Work’ compiled by Amy Solomon of the Urban Institute in Washington D. C. for the Bureau of Justice Statistics offers statistics indicating a meagerly higher chance for recidivism of unconditional releases (61%) in comparison to discretionary parolees (57%). While these studies claim that parole supervision is next to useless, other studies present very different ideas.According to a four year study conducted by Rutgers University and presented to the New Jersey State Parole Board, intensive supervision of violent and high-risk offenders significantly reduces the chances that they will be re-arrested. According to this study, parolees subjected to intensive law-enforcement supervision and to programs designed to ease their re-entry into the community fared best, boasting a 41% recidiv ism rate in comparison to the 51% general parolee rate and the 73% rate of those who completed their full sentence and were under no supervision post-release.Though as a general whole, these high rates of recidivism and the low rates of parole success might seem to support the idea that parole is not a terribly effective manner of approaching the release and treatment of the country’s lower-threat class of criminals, it is proven more effective in cases involving violent/high-risk offenders which should be of a higher priority anyways. That said, parole also makes sense from a financial perspective which is ultimately of huge important in the process.Though it varies from one institution to the next and from state to state, it costs taxpayers $47,000 per year to keep inmates incarcerated in a California prison (less than yearly tuition at Princetown University) which stands in comparison to a probation cost of around $1200 a year and about $1500 a year to keep an offender out on parole. In the fiscal year of 2010, the Michigan Department of Corrections had $1. 2 billion in prison expenditures and more than seventy million in prison-related costs outside the department’s budget. A Michigan inmate will end up costing the state $28,117 for each year of incarceration (Price of Prisons).Obviously withstanding the offender themselves, the most important person in the parole supervision and reform process is the parole officer. Parole and probation supervision is a social-based job, rather than one rooted in information and data and often culminates in an end-result of satisfaction and rewards when a parole officer gets the opportunity to have a positive impact on the life of one of their parolees. In a news article published in New Hampshire News, reporter Chris Jensen follows parole/probation officer John Loven through an average day in his line of work.Loven starts the day out with a folder containing the files of all of the parolees to which he is a ssigned. His job is to make sure that the people in these files are living up to the conditions agreed upon that are listed upon the parolee’s assigned certificate of release, and in the cases where they are not, it is his duty to see to it that they’re either rewarded for their efforts or punished for their lack thereof. Loven says that most of his cases involve problems stemming back to alcohol and drugs, though there are the inevitable outliers to this too. Each probation or parolee,† Loven states, â€Å"is really an individual; they have individual problems and they each have individual needs. † (Day in the Life)† Loven’s job entails a daily commute of up to (and sometimes more than) two hundred miles. Most of his visits are unexpected; intended to catch the parolee in their natural environment living out an average day. Hoping to catch them in the act, he often finds himself digging through their trash cans for evidence of recent drinking or drug use. One case special to Loven is that of a twenty year old recovering addict.Loven stops by her house regularly, checking up on her physical well-being, keeping track of what stage she is at in her recovery. Upon arrival, Loven finds the girl in a bad state. She appears visibly nervous, and is quite shaky and seemingly anxious and upset. At first Loven probes for any evidence of deviance from the court-ordered conditions but after a phone call informs the girl of family problems she breaks down in to tears. Loven works to console the girl, and that done, asks to look at her arms. She explains two bruising track marks as the areas from which she had her blood drawn for a recent medical procedure.Loven makes sure that she’s taking proper hygienic standards to keep herself in optimal shape. With a history of previously missed appointments, Loven then reminds her that she’ll have another meeting with him in two weeks time. After running through her schedule with him, he wishes her well and then heads back to his car to go about his day. With 96 cases that month, and nearly 110 the month before that, Loven keeps plenty busy. His visits take him to a variety of different environments filled with a variety of different people.Drug users, alcoholics, sex offenders, violent criminals and also everyday average American citizens; there are few limits drawn around Loven’s scope of duty. With a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice and graduate’s degrees in community counseling and psychology; although he does mention a huge amount of paperwork, he says that when it comes down to it, his job is a delicate balance of counseling and investigation. He must reach a point where he’s not unapproachable to his parolees, but at the same time, doesn’t come across as a sucker that will fall for their lies and tricks.He must count on a sense of reason and logic to guide him through the day to day. â€Å"You get to know them, you get to know their families, their lifestyles and how they’re doing. † Though not for everyone, the role of parole officer/supervisor is a job that will prove both enriching and rewarding to the right kind of person who is ready to endure the hard work and dedication required to meet the demands of a job so important in modern-day society. All in all, parole is one of society’s stepping stones towards a brighter future.Though not a guarantee of success and not without the occasional flaw, parole still holds much greater promise than most of the alternatives. Through the hard work of officers, parole gives criminal offenders a chance at putting together the pieces of a normal life in the wake of a lengthy prison sentence. So long as both officer and parolee are willing to put in the time and effort towards improvement on a personal and community level, parole gives a reformed and well-intentioned offender the chance for a new start and a better life.Works Cite d Alarid, Leanne Fiftal, and Carmen Rolando V. Del. â€Å"Probation. † Community-Based Corrections. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 2011. 139-55. Print. â€Å"Crime Victims' Rights Act. † Michigan Department of Corrections. N. p. , n. d. Web. 01 Apr. 2013. . â€Å"Crime Victims' Rights Act. † Offices Of The United States Attorneys. United States Department of Justice, n. d. Web. 01 Apr. 2013. . Jensen, Chris. â€Å"A Day in the Life of a North Country Parole Officer. † New Hampshire News. NHPR, 23 May 2011. Web. 01 Apr. 2013. . Marushack, Laura, and Erika Parks. â€Å"Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS). † Bureau of Justice Statistics. N. p. , 29 Nov. 2012. Web. 31 Mar. 2013. Http://bjs. gov/index. cfm? ty=pbdetail&iid=4538 Michigan Exec. Order No. 2011-3, 3 C. F. R. (2011).Print. â€Å"Parole – Learning More. † Michigan Department of Corrections. N. p. , n. d. Web. 01 Apr. 2013. . â€Å"Parole Conditions. † LegalMatch. Ed. Ken LeMance. N. p. , 21 Oct. 2012. Web. 01 Apr. 2013. . â€Å"The Parole Consideration Process. † Michigan Department of Corrections. N. p. , n. d. Web. 01 Apr. 2013. â€Å"Parole Position

Culture Shock

University of Iceland Business and intercultural Communication (VI? 512G) Teacher: ? ora Christiansen 30. 11. 2010 Culture shock * my personal experience Eydis Brynjarsdottir kt:091085-3569 Table of Contents 1. 0 Introduction3 2. 0 Definition of culture shock3 3. 0 Culture shock lifecycle4 4. 0 Culture shock triangle6 5. 0 My personal experience8 6. 0 Ten steps to minimize culture shock8 7. 0 Conclusion9 1. 0 Introduction I chose culture shock for my discussion in this assignment. I will discuss the definition of Culture shock and how it affects people.I will also discuss some theories and in the end I will give a short story from my own experience. 2. 0 Definition of culture shock The definition of culture shock refers generally to the unpleasant experience that people get when they are coming in contact with other cultures than their own. Their experience of a new culture is seen as unpleasant surprise/shock that occurs when expectations do not match reality. Working in a new cultu re can lead a variety of reactions for an example: * Confusion about what to do * Anxiety * Frustration * Inappropriate behavior Depression All of these are possible reactions to culture shock, which is the shock that we experience when we are confronted with the unknown. Researches show that culture shock can be both short and sharp or long term and deep, and what appears to be the identifier is the degree of difference from one? s own and the host culture, the degree of preparation, social support networks and individual psychological characteristics. The longer time that the individual experiences the culture shock, the greater is the feeling of helplessness and performance deficit.There are several symptoms of cultural shock, but the most common are: * Feeling isolated * Anxiety and worries * Reduction in the job performance * High energy * Helplessness The inclusion of high energy is caused by changing the circumstances in the adaption process The longer that the manager experi enced the culture shock the greater where the feelings of helplessness and performance deficit. Hofstede differentiate three different states of adaptation comparing feelings and emotions of the residence to the situation in the home culture before the assignment.It may remain negative compared to home, for example, if the visitor continues feeling an monster and discriminated against. It may be just as good as before, in which the visitor can be considered to be adapt bicultural or it may be better. In the last case the visitor has â€Å"gone native† it has become more Roman than the Romans. 3. 0 Culture shock life cycle Kalervo Oberg (1901-1973) was an anthropologist, who explained the symptoms and process of adapting a different culture. Oberg listed six main aspects of culture shock: * Strain caused by the effort to adapt Sense of loss and feelings of deprivation in relation to friends, status, profession and possessions * Feeling rejected by or rejecting members of the n ew culture * Confusion in role, values and self-identity * Anxiety and anger about foreign practices * Feeling of helplessness The term cultural shock was first presented by Oberg in 1954, where he outlined the consequences of strain and anxiety resulting from contact with a new culture and the feelings of loss of accustomed cultural cues and social rules. That model puts you through a life cycle of four distinct phases on the way to the final adaption.Figure 1 Table 1Table 2 The first table shows us the four phases in the adaptation process. The honeymoon phase is the first phase of the process. There are all the encounters in the new place seen exciting, stimulating and positive. The new life is perceived as endless opportunities and happiness. There is curiosity and openness combined with readiness to accept what is to come. â€Å"Most importantly in this stage judgment is reserved and even minor irritations are suppressed in favor of concentrating on the nice things about the j ob, the country, the colleagues, the food, etc. †: (Elisabeth Marx, 1999).Culture shock is the second phase in the process, this is when the manager realizes that everything is not as it should be. The experience of foreigners can start uncomfortable feelings such as stress, irritability or negative view of the country, colleagues or the job. This phase is often characterized as uncomfortable situations, but the main reason for these symptoms is the uncertainty about surroundings, us and the future. â€Å"The usual signs of orientation and the belonging do not exist, we don’t quite know who we are without the familiar social context, and the way our foreign colleagues behave seems â€Å"all wrong†: (Elisabeth Marx, 1999).How mangers deal with this phase, the emotions and expectations is essential for their adaption on the long run. The best way to come at is to use the symptoms and the unpleasantness as an indicator to change our approximation and form our self- development to understand us and deal with our emotions and sometimes other people. Recovery is the third phase in our first figure and that starts with accepting that we have a problem that needs to be worked on. Recovery and the final adjustment phase generally involve a compromise between feelings and thinking of the honeymoon phase and the culture shock phase. This compromise is between our exaggerate expectations and reality†: (Elisabeth Marx, 1999). The final phase, Final adjustment, managers have become able to work effectively after knowing their limitations of their skills. They can take on a new ways of doing things and what most that matters is being flexible. Elisabeth Marx made table 2 in figure one, we should examine it a little bit. There are many experts that have tried to specify the timing on the phases but the thing is that there is no rule for it. The timing of culture shock depends on how different the culture is from your own.It makes more sense to use a model of culture shock that is not that strictly linear but integrates a cycle that shows positive and negative phases until you break through the culture shock as in table 2. The thing is that international assignments tend to be more short term than long term and more executives working on the projects so we cannot use the same model, although the concept is the same. The thing is that short term international work does not allow for the same long term adaption process and therefore distinct honeymoon, culture shock and readjustment phases will not occur.Marx found it to be more realistic to use a model that is not strictly linear but integrates a dynamic and repetitive cycle of positive and negative phases until you break through Culture Shock. â€Å"Instead there will be more of a mixture of positive and negative emotions, of uncertainty and clarity, of enjoyment and frustration†: (Elisabeth Marx, 1999). Figure one shows us also the mood changes so we are able to use thes e phases in more ways than just a job, for example marriage. In a short description, phase one involves excitement, euphoria and optimism, like in a honeymoon.Second phase is confronting the unknown and negative aspects like confusion, anxiety and frustration. We will at some point recover from the moodiness and anxiety of the culture shock and in the final phase we head for a readjustment. 4. 0 Culture shock triangle Elisabeth Marx developed a model from Oberg’s idea to describe culture shock. According to Marx international managers experience culture shock psychically at three levels. She uses the â€Å"culture shock triangle† to describe these 3 levels which are: * Emotions – coping with mood swings Thinking – understanding foreign colleagues * Social skills and identity – developing a social and professional network and effective social skills. Figure 2 Questions those international mangers are supposed to ask feature: * Emotions – what am I likely to feel? How will I handle the stress of international work? * Thinking – what will I think? Have effective are my solutions? * Social skills and identity – how effectively will I communicate with foreign analogue? Managers that have adapted these levels lead to following: Handle stress of the transition. * Changing the perception and translation of events and behavior. * Developing effective social skills and an international identity. These aspects combine to form the culture shock triangle, accomplish the international effectiveness on culture shock. These three factors can influence each other in some way for example feeling frustrated can have negative effect on how we think and how we act. Another example is if we feel pessimistic and stressed out our solutions to the problems can be ineffective.Out of this can we clearly see that those factors do remain together, so positive mood and optimism produce better solutions. Social identity and skills are very important when we are going to work abroad. We need to know who we are and be confident and secure with ourselves so we can start to work in and with another culture. When we interact closely with the foreign culture we experience the conflicts between our own values and those of the foreign culture. When we get more concerned we develop alternative ways of behaving and that makes us able to view of ourselves from a different perspective.As we can see this is all part of self development that people passes through during international challenges. Marx insists on the fact that the culture shock phase is an integral part of the adaption phase and should have no negative connotations. These are normal reactions of people who confront the foreign but give no indication of future success. The success depends on the strategies and motives of the company as it wishes to co-operate with, or take over another. 5. 0 My personal experienceI have experienced a culture shock but just a mino r shock. When I was visiting my aunt in Stockholm we took the tube down town to Gamla stan. Like everybody knows there are many people in the city so it is kind of crowded and most people are on a hurry but I was on the other hand is in a vacation so there were no rush. When me and my aunt were going down the escalator I just stood in the middle like I always do in Kringlan and were nosy about my new surroundings. Suddenly I hear a man hawking himself behind me†¦ and I , what the hell is his problem!Then my aunt turns around and tells me to stand in the right in the escalator because people who are on a hurry should be able to run down on the left side in the escalator. This is a unwritten rule that people in Stockholm keep up with and I had no idea about that! 6. 0 Ten steps to minimize culture shock The book Breaking through culture shock by Elisabeth Marx gives examples of 10 steps to minimize culture shock. 1) â€Å"Do not let culture shock take you by surprise. Allow time to find out about it before you leave for your assignment.Learn to recognize the symptoms and the potential impact†: (Elisabeth Marx, 1999). 2) â€Å"Expect culture shock to happen irrespective of location. It is as likely to occur in a country near to your home base as in posting further afield†: (Elisabeth Marx, 1999). 3) â€Å"As soon as you arrive in your new location, identify all the opportunities for building support networks with other international managers and with local people†: (Elisabeth Marx, 1999). 4) â€Å"As with any stressful situation, fight it, do not give in to it.So do not resort to escapist strategies such as drinking or eating too much and do not deny your symptoms†: (Elisabeth Marx, 1999). 5) â€Å"Ask other international managers for guidance on the issue and problems too look out for. Learn from their experience†: (Elisabeth Marx, 1999). 6) â€Å"Give yourself time to adapt and do not rush into too many work related proj ects at the start of the assignment. Make sure that the organization gives you this time too†: (Elisabeth Marx, 1999). 7) â€Å"Do not hesitate to seek a professional help if symptoms persist despite your coping efforts.Help may be available within your company or externally through counselors or the medical profession†: (Elisabeth Marx, 1999). 8) â€Å"Expect the same symptoms to reoccur when you come home. Reverse culture shock is normal†: (Elisabeth Marx, 1999). 9) â€Å"Thinking about the positive aspect of culture shock – people who experience it adapt better to their new environment than those who do not†: (Elisabeth Marx, 1999). 10) â€Å"Retain sense of humor! † : (Elisabeth Marx, 1999). 7. 0 Conclusion After all the reading for this project I should be able to define and handle myself if I go abroad.I did not imagine that culture shock can be that effective on people and their lives, just because of moving! The by word that we could obtain here is â€Å"better safe than sorry†.Bibliography Elisabeth Marx. (1999). Breaking through culture shock. London: Nicholas Brealey publishing. Hofstede, Geert H. (2001). Culture? s consequences: Comparing values, behaviors, institutions, and organizations across nations. Thousand Oaks. Marie-Joelle Browaeys and Roger Price. (2008). Understanding cross-cultural management. Edinburgh: Prentice Hall. Culture Shock Abstract The factors of culture shock are various. Different values, beliefs and customs can create information overload. Besides, language barrier reduces the understanding of the new culture and makes people feel isolated. In addition, the difference in food is one of the main factors of culture shock. Original eating habit is not easy to change, so it becomes more difficult to fit in. Moreover, people from different social structures cause culture shock. Furthermore, the individual differences such as age, sex, socio-economic class and education also influence degree of culture shock.Culture shock typically occurs in a four-stage process that can unfold over varying lengths of time: the honeymoon, negotiation, adjustment, and mastery phases. In the honeymoon phase, people always feel excited and fascinated about the culture. After that is negotiation phase which is the real culture shock. In this stage, people are struggle in the differences between cultures. When people start to recover, they jump to the next stage, adjustment phase. In the last stage, people will start to embrace the new culture.Different people experience culture shock in different ways and to different degrees, but they all go through the same process of this model. People in this situation will have both positive and negative effects which influence people psychologically and physically. It causes depression, anxiety and hopelessness and, in turn, it will reduce problem solving skill, inefficiency of work and negative interpersonal relationships. Besides, it also causes physical symptoms like colds and headaches. However, it also brings positive effects such as self-confidence, self-motivation, culture sensitivity and language skills.Culture shock is a temporary phase. There are various ways to reduce these emotions. Keep in touch with family and friends by making phone calls, using web chat or sharing photos and experience on social networks. Get involved in local activities and make n ew friends can reduce the negative emotions. Explore is another good ways to maintain the excitement stage longer. Be open mindedness and have positive attitude is the key to overcome this. Keywords: culture shock; Oberg; phases of Culture Shock; causes, effects and solutions 1. Introduction – Culture ShockIn the last decade, an increasing number of people have opted to study, work or live in a foreign country which is totally different in culture and environment. When people visit an unfamiliar culture for the first time, it results in culture shock. The term Culture Shock was coined by a world renowned anthropologist Kalervo Oberg in a 1954 speech in Rio de Janeiro. He introduced his model for  Culture Shock, four phases when people encounter a new culture. The first time when people visit or move to another country, they are often astonished by the differences between other cultures and their own.These differences sometimes make people feel uncomfortable, frustrated, fea rful or insecure. In Oberg’s speech, he defined Culture Shock as follows: â€Å"Culture Shock is precipitated by the anxiety that results from losing all our familiar signs and symbols of social intercourse. These signs or cues include the thousand and one ways in which we orient ourselves to the situations of daily life. † Culture shock is a psychological stress which happens in the beginning when visiting another country which causes not only negative but also positive effects.This paper aims to investigate the causes, the effects and the solutions as a practical guide to those who are about to start this adventure. 2. Causes of Culture Shock There are several factors that cause culture shock. 2. 1 Information overload People who face a different culture or environment for the first time will inadequately use their own culture as a standard to interpret, judge and behave in the new culture. This is â€Å"information overload†. There are various things that wil l hit people immediately when they arrive in a new country, like traffic signs, sounds, table manners and other customs in daily life.In addition, people from different countries have a different cultural value which is built on deeply-embedded sets of values, norms and beliefs. This cannot easily be changed in a short time. People try to interpret new language meanings, new nonverbal, behavioral, contextual and social communication which is unfamiliar with their immanent knowledge and originate systems. This generates emotional and mental burnout. 2. 2 Language Language can create even greater barriers between cultures. Knowledge about the culture and language are essential to understand the host culture.Thus, the misunderstood cross cultural communication becomes one factor. People who come to a new country at an adult age can have particular difficulties overcoming the language barrier. People will fail to communicate, misunderstand each other, and have different intonation and p ronunciation. It makes people feel frustrated when communicating. For example, when people order food in restaurants, use bank services or have classes at school, they will face various obstacles in communicating. Besides, it is impossible to become proficiency very fast especially for students who study abroad.Although people try very hard to improve their language, they still have some difficulties which cannot be solved in a short time. Thus, the language barriers can influence the isolation which causes a lot of stress and strain. 2. 3 Food It is fact that food is different from country to country. It tastes different, or is cooked differently. The eating habit is a difficult factor to change. Thus, it is one of the important factors which cause culture shock. Although food is imported and exported very frequently, it is harder and more expensive to buy the food you like.For instance, people cannot find ingredients which they are used to eat or cannot find restaurants which are similar to their home country. People need a lot of time to recreate recipes by using the local food and spices to suit their original eating habits. Therefore, people will face lots of difficulties in getting used to this. This doesn’t take only a few months, but sometimes years. 2. 4 Social structure Another important example is the extent of individualism or collectivism exhibited.Collectivism is mostly seen in the cultures of  Asia, Africa, parts of Europe and Latin America which have stronger values promoted in groups and interdependently, whereas individualism is mostly seen in the cultures of Western Europe and North America which endorse independence and individual goals. Ergo, people form collectivist societies who move to individualist societies and vice versa feel like a fish out of water. 2. 5 Individual differences The factors vary according to personality and the ability to cope with new environments. It includes age, sex, socio-economic class, and education.K nowledge about a culture and previous experience abroad are commonly considered in relation to cross-cultural adaptation. Some personality factors are generally believed to influence this process. For example, children do not have much culture shock. But when people grow to a certain age, the degree of culture shock starts to increase. Males are more malleable than females, thus they can adapt to a new culture faster. 3. The phases of Culture Shock Kalervo Oberg (1954) classified culture shock into four stages—Honeymoon, Negotiation, Adjustment and Mastery which is known as U-Curve model.Different people experience culture shock in different ways and to different degrees but they all follow Oberg’s four stages model. 3. 1 The honeymoon phase In this period, everything about the foreign culture is so new and intriguing. People feel enthusiastic, excited and fascinated about the new culture, particularly about food, drink, pace of life and locals’ habits. Figure 1 displays that they experience a level of 5. 5 in adjusting to the new culture. It is always combined with openness, curiosity, and a readiness to accept the situation.It is similar as honeymoon period that everything about it seems perfect. However, this stage lasts only for the first few weeks. Figure 1The degree of adjustment to culture shock in honeymoon phase is just over 5. 5. After this short period, the figure plunges to around 2. 5, the lowest point which is the negotiation phase and this is the real culture shock stage. When people overcome it, they will be in the adjustment phase. The figure from this stage proliferate over 4. 0, followed by the mastery phase which increases to 6. 0 and over. | 3. 2 The negotiation phaseAfter the excitement drifts away, the actual culture shock emerges. The differences between new and old cultures stand out which cause unpleasant feelings of anxiety and frustration. The degree of adjustment plummets to around 2. 5 (figure1). Generally, it is caused by language barriers, culture values, public hygiene, traffic safety or food accessibility. These differences will provoke uncertainty about oneself and the surroundings because of the lack of belonging and the unfamiliarity and disconnection with the old culture. This results in feeling lonely and homesick. Communication is the main factor.Language barrier become the catalyst of these negative emotions. It often lasts at least three months, depending on individuals. 3. 3 The adjustment phase During this stage, things become normal. This is also known as a recovery stage. People start to understand and get accustomed to and feel more comfortable with the new culture, and then they will develop their own routines. People will try overcoming their problems. The negative reactions are reduced. Thus, the language barrier and the relationship to the host nation start to improve. People are able to be more flexible and can work effectively.Figure 1 shows that the degree of adju stment is cover to that of the Honeymoon phase and even exceeds it. 3. 4 The mastery phase In the final stage, people fully and comfortably participate in the host culture and embrace the new environment, but still maintain their home culture. It is often regarded as the  biculturalism  stage. The level of acceptance often reaches 6. 5 according to Figure 1. Not every person in every situation goes through the same process of Oberg’s model. These stages often blend and overlap. It differs for individuals, and varies in length. 4. Effects of Culture Shock 4. 1 Negative effects . 1. 1 Psychological effects Change may cause stress. The symptoms of culture shock are essentially psychological. The major symptoms may be described as depression, anxiety and feelings of helplessness. If depression, anxiety and feelings of helplessness accumulate, the degree and extent of psychological disorientation may be deeper and deeper so that people may have difficulties in paying attention to the learning of new cultures. Moreover, psychological disorientation may influence people’s abilities to solve problems and to make decisions. This decreases the motivation for adapting to the new conditions.Most important is that when people fail to defeat the symptoms of culture shock, they are likely to become hostile to the host nationals, which may lead to negative interpersonal relationships. Therefore, dealing with psychological stress caused by culture shock such as depression, anxiety and feelings of helplessness is significant for those people who come into contact with a new culture. 4. 1. 2 Physical effects However, there are also physical symptoms that may manifest themselves in the form of an increased incidence of minor illnesses (e. g. colds and headaches) or more serious psychosomatic illnesses brought on by depression. . 2 Positive effects On the contrary, not all the effects are negative. With time and patience, people can experience positive effects of culture shock, such as increased self-confidence, improved self-motivation and cultural sensitivity. Besides, people can improve their language fast. Moreover, we can learn to adapt to different people from different countries, different religious or different social values, and also learn to respect their customs and beliefs. Furthermore, it can challenge us in solving problems in daily life and finding positive effects in the difficulties.It makes people more self-confident and provokes self-motivation in the future. 5. Solutions Culture shock is normally a temporary phase. There are various ways to reduce the effects of culture shock. Everyone has to find their own balance between the values of their home country and those of the host country. 5. 1 Keep in touch Staying in touch with your family and friends at home will help you reduce and help overcome the effects of culture shock. The Internet makes it very easy to maintain regular contact, for example by using web chat or voi ce calls, or by sharing news, information and photos of your life on social networks.It is wise to set a regular time to call people back home or share photos and experiences on Facebook. 5. 2 Explore Exploring is one of the nice ways to overcome the negative emotions from culture shock. Everyone should get a copy of a travel guidebook like Lonely Planet, read it, actually study it and become familiar with it. This will help to understand the people and their history. 5. 3 Involvement Joining local activities like festivals, sport clubs or learning to cook local dishes, are ways to be proactive in making new friends. Making friends with other nonnative people can help you understand your emotions.Most importantly, making friends with local people is essential as you can learn more about their culture faster. 5. 4 Open mindedness The key to reduce negative effects of culture shock is in a positive attitude. Open mindedness is an important factor to understand and accept the new cultu re and environment. People who restrict themselves in their culture and habits find it impossible to overcome the unpleasant feeling of the new culture. Therefore, having a positive attitude and being open minded are indispensible in reducing the negative effects of culture shock. 6. ConclusionFrom one culture to another, the differences among them cause feelings of unfamiliarity. This results in a large amount of psychological stress such as depression, anxiety and feelings of helplessness. However, there are various solutions for different people to deal with these symptoms. Before entering a new cultural environment, it is very important for all people to make full preparation. Understanding the process of culture shock and features of a new culture may be useful for all. Most people will experience culture shock in one form or another. It is not a sign that they have made a mistake, or that they are not coping.Learning to embrace the uncertainty and initial discomfort and findin g all of the positive things around them are essential. The symptoms will pass before too long and they will probably find that it has been a useful learning experience, whether they intend to return to their home country or not. Bibliography [1] Ashim C. Uwaje, â€Å"Culture shock, Re-Integration and Re-Entry culture shock – Managing Cultural Differences† 2009 [2] Furnham, A. and S. Bochner, â€Å"Culture Shock: Psychological Reactions to Unfamiliar Environments† London and New York: Methuen & Co Limited, 1986 [3] Grant G.Frost, â€Å"A Consideration of How Non-aboriginal Educators Working Among First Nations Populations May Be Particularity Susceptible To the Effects of Culture Shock† Mount Saint Vincent University, September 2007 [4] Manz Sonja, â€Å"Culture Shock – Causes, Consequences and Solutions: The International Experience† 2003 [5] Oberg Kalvero, â€Å"Cultural Shock: adjustment to new cultural environments† Practical Anthropology, 7, 1960: 177-182 [6] Rachel Irwin, â€Å"Culture shock: negotiating feelings in the field† Anthropology Matters Journal, University of Oxford, 2007, Vol 9 (1) [7] Sheila M.Fabrizio, â€Å"Cultural adaptation in outdoor programming† Australian Journal of Outdoor Education, 9(2), 2005: 44-56 [8] Wikipedia: http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Culture_shock#Reverse_culture_shock Culture Shock Hadi Islais, SALP 501AB (21044/21045) Developmental Composition. 4/11/13 What is culture shock? Some people would say it is only just a few new things you may find in another countries that is not that hard to get used to it, but I don’t think so because culture shock is a huge things and that is why it is been called shock and you have to learn how to live with in the new place that you going to be live at. There are many new things that person should know before moving to another culture such as the new language, the country’s rules, and the new weather.Learning the new language of the new country consider one of the important things to do to communicate with the people. First of all, you should know about the new language that you are going to use in the new culture. It is too hard to live in a community without knowing how to talk with the people because in this way you will not be able to move from your place to wherever you want you to go. Also you are going to wa ste a lot of time trying to explain to the people the things you are trying to say and you will be using the sign language until you be able to learn the new language.Knowing the rules of the new country you are going to live in will always help you to be in the safe side and never have a problems. First of all, you have to learn about the driving rules if you are planning to drive a car or any other vehicles. Some country like the US they are very serious about it and consider it an important thing to learn all the rules and take both the writing and the driving test. On the other hand, other countries like Saudi Arabia doesn’t really care that much about driving rules and that is why it is one of the countries that have a high records of cars accidents every day.Second, you have to know the school’s rules if you are planning to study in a new countries. Some countries like the US consider attending all the classes a very important rule and student should not miss any class unless the student have an emergence reason for example like a medical appointment. In the end, knowing all the rules about the country you are going to will always keep you in the safe side. Knowing about the weather is an important thing to know, so you don’t get sick because of the weather changing between you previous and new culture.First of all, many countries may have too many different change in the weather. For example the weather in Los Angeles, Ca is beautiful most of the time. It is not that hot in the summer, also not the cold in the winter. Weather doesn’t really change a lot like in other countries. In the summer the weather is very nice, so the people can spend their holidays or the weekends on the beach and enjoying their time with their family or their friend. The can swim, play with sand, or lie on the beach. In The winter, they can go camping. Many people like to do it in the winter.These are some of the things that make the weather different than other countries like Middle East countries. In conclusion, moving from your culture to another culture is a difficult thing and you should know as much as you can about the new culture you are moving to. You have to learn their language so, you will be able to communicate with the people in there. Also you should know the rules about this country, so you don’t get in trouble. Finally you have to know about the weather in this new place and cooperate with the other weather in your country.

Learn What Colleges Look for in an Applicant

Learn What Colleges Look for in an Applicant College applications vary from one college to the next, and every college and university has slightly different criteria for determining which students to admit. Still, the list below should give you a good sense of the admissions factors considered by most schools. Academics and College Applications Rigor of secondary school record: Did you take challenging and accelerated classes, or did you pad your schedule with gym and easy As? At nearly all colleges and universities, a strong academic record is the single most important part of your application. Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, Honors, and dual enrollment classes all play an important role i the admissions process.Class rank: How do you compare to your classmates? Dont worry if your school doesnt rank students- colleges use this information only when available. Also keep in mind that your high school counselor can put your rank into context if, for example, your class had an unusual number of extremely strong students.Academic GPA: Are your grades high enough to indicate that you will be successful in college? Realize that colleges are likely to recalculate your GPA is your school uses weighted grades, and colleges are often most interested in your grades in core academic subjects.Standardized test scores: H ow did you perform on the SAT or ACT? Do your general or subject tests reveal particular strengths or weaknesses? Note that a good SAT score or good ACT score isnt necessary everywhere- there are hundreds of colleges that have test-optional admissions. Recommendation: What do your teachers, coaches, and other mentors say about you? Letters of recommendation can play a meaningful role in the admissions process, for they give the college a different perspective on your accomplishments. Good recommendation letters typically address both academic and nonacademic issues. Nonacademic Factors in College Admissions Application essay: Is your essay well-written? Does it present you as a person who will make a good campus citizen? Nearly all selective colleges have holistic admissions, and the essay is a place where you can really make your personality and passions set your application apart from other applicants.Interview: If you met with a college representative, how personable and articulate were you? Does your character show promise? Have you demonstrated your sincere interest in the school by asking specific and meaningful questions? Did you have strong answers to common interview questions?Extracurricular activities: Are you involved with non-academic clubs and organizations? Do you have a variety of interests that suggest you have a well-rounded personality? There are dozens of options for extracurricular activities, but the best activities are those in which you can demonstrate leadership and accomplishments.Talent/ability: Is there an area where you truly excel, such as music or athletic s? Students with a truly remarkable talent can often be admitted even when other application components arent quite as strong as the could be. Character/personal qualities: Do the pieces of your application paint a picture of someone who is mature, interesting, and bighearted? Keep in mind that colleges arent just looking for smart and accomplished applicants. They want to enroll students who will enrich the campus community in meaningful ways.First generation: Did your parents attend college? This factor isn’t usually weighted heavily, but some schools do try to target first-generation college students.Alumni/ae relation: Are you a legacy applicant? Having a family member who attended the same school can help a little, for it’s in the college’s interest to build a family’s loyalty.Geographical residence: Where are you from? Most schools want geographic diversity within their student body. As an example, a student from Montana might have an advantage over a student from Massachusetts when applying to an East Coast Ivy League school.State residency: This is usually a factor only for public univers ities. Sometimes in-state applicants will receive preference because state funding of the school is designated for students from that state. Religious affiliation/commitment: Your faith may be a factor for some colleges that have a religious affiliation.Racial/ethnic status: Most colleges believe that a diverse student body leads to a better educational experience for all students. Affirmative Action has proven to be a controversial policy, but youll find it often plays a role in the admissions process.Volunteer work: Have you given generously of your time? Volunteer work speaks to the question of â€Å"character† above.Work experience: Colleges like to see applicants with work experience. Even if your work was at a fast-food joint, it can show that you have a strong work ethic and good time management skills.Level of applicant’s interest: Not all schools keep track of an applicants interest, but at many schools demonstrated interest plays a role in the admissions process. Colleges want to accept students who are eager to attend. Attending information sessions, open houses, and campus tours can all help show your interest, as can well-crafted supplemental essays that are truly specific to a particular school.

A brave new world misc 12 00 essays

A brave new world misc 12 00 essays An Analysis of a Key Passage in Brave New World The key passage of Aldous Huxleys Brace New World takes place after John has been arrested and is a conversation with Mond. When John and Mond speak of ideal societies, a major part of Brave New World, the aspect of human nature which makes us search continuously for our personal Utopia, becomes apparent. In Monds study, the sacrifices each character makes in order to find a Utopia are interconnected. The search for a personal Utopia reveals Huxleys view on human nature of sacrificing everything to live with self-fulfillment. The connection of the sacrifices each character makes is shown in the study, helping the reader understand that it is human nature to sacrifice something to live a more fulfilling life. One sees that all, except Helmholtz and John, are willing to give up an important part of them so they can feel fulfilled. Mond is willing to sacrifice the one thing dearest to him- science. He says he gave it up in hope of Controllership. He got what he paid for by continuing his interest in science, By choosing to serve happiness. Other peoples-not mine. [235], or by serving stability instead of collapsing the fragile social structure. At the beginning, Bernard was willing to give up his position in the new world so he could further his studies in finding a society more suited to his needs; but, in the end, he did not want to give up his rank and failed in finding an ideal society. It becomes apparent that anyone who will not give up a major part of themself will fail in their quest for a greater society. John is not willing to give up anything, be it antiques to happiness. In the end, however, he ended up making the ultimate sacrifice- his life. By ending his life, he escaped into what his societys religion believed to be a Utopia; it is better known as heaven. Meanwhile, Helmholtz is ...

An Overview of Social Conservativism

An Overview of Social Conservativism Social conservatism was ushered into American politics with the so-called Reagan Revolution in 1981, and renewed its strength in 1994, with the Republican takeover of US Congress. The movement slowly grew in prominence and political power until hitting a plateau and stagnating in the first decade of the twenty-first century under President George W. Bush. Bush ran as a â€Å"compassionate conservative† in 2000, which appealed to a large bloc of conservative voters, and began to act on his platform with the establishment of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. The terror attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, changed the tone of the Bush administration, which took a turn toward hawkishness and Christian fundamentalism. The new foreign policy of â€Å"pre-emptive war† created a rift between traditional conservatives and conservatives aligned with the Bush administration. Due to his original campaign platform, conservatives became associated with the â€Å"new† Bush administration and an anti-conservative sentiment has nearly destroyed the movement.In most areas of the country, Republicans align themselves with the Christian right refer to themselves as â€Å"conservatives† since fundamental Christianity and social conservatism have many tenets in common. Ideology The phrase â€Å"political conservative† is most associated with the ideologies of social conservatism. Indeed, most of today’s conservatives see themselves as social conservatives, although there are other types. The following list contains common beliefs with which most social conservatives identify. They include: Advancing pro-life and anti-abortion stances on unwanted or unplanned pregnanciesAdvocating for pro-family legislation and a ban on gay marriageEliminating federal funding for embryonic stem-cell research and finding alternative methods of researchProtecting the Second Amendment right to bear armsMaintaining a strong national defenseProtecting US economic interests against foreign threats and eliminating the need for trade unionsOpposing   illegal immigrationLimiting welfare spending by creating economic opportunities for America’s needyLifting the ban on school prayerImplementing high tariffs on countries that do not uphold human rights It is important to mention that social conservatives can believe in every one of these tenets or just a few. The â€Å"typical† social conservative strongly supports them all. Criticisms Because the preceding issues are so black and white, there is a considerable amount of criticism from not only liberals but also other conservatives. Not all types of conservatives agree whole-heartedly with these ideologies, and sometimes denounce the vigilance with which hard-line social conservatives choose to advocate their positions.The radical right has also placed a large stake in the social conservative movement and has used it in many cases as a way to promote Christianity or to proselytize. In these cases, the entire movement is sometimes censured by mass media and liberal ideologues.Each of the tenets mentioned above has a corresponding group or groups which oppose it, making social conservatism a highly criticized political belief system. Consequently, it is the most popular and most scrutinized of the conservative â€Å"types.† Political Relevance Of the different types of conservatism, social conservatism is by far the most politically relevant. Social conservatives have dominated Republican politics and even other political parties such as the Constitution Party. Many of the key planks in the social conservative agenda are high on the Republican Party’s â€Å"to-do† list.In recent years, social conservatism has taken repeated hits thanks in large part to the presidency of George W. Bush, but its network is still strong. Basic ideological affirmations, such as those espoused by the pro-life, pro-gun and pro-family movements will make sure social conservatives have a strong political presence in Washington DC for many years to come.