Computer Hacking Essay

Abstract: Recent discussions of computer ‘hacking’ make explicit reference to the disproportionate involvement of juveniles in this form of computer crime. While criminal justice, computer security, public and popular reï ¬â€šections on hacking seldom refer to formal criminological analyses of youth offending, they nonetheless offer a range of explanations for the over-representation of young people amongst computer hackers. Such accounts of hacking can be seen to converge with criminological analyses, by stressing a range of causal factors related to gender psychology, adolescent moral development, family dysfunction and peer-group and subcultural association. The homologies between ‘lay’, ‘administrative’, ‘expert’, ‘popular’ and criminological discourses, it is suggested, offer considerable scope for developing a critical, academically-informed, and policyoriented debate on young people’s participation in computer crim e. It has been noted that ‘youthfulness’ or ‘being a teenager’ appears as ‘a constant source of fascination and concern for politicians, media commentators and academic analysts’ (Muncie 1999, p.2), not least when involvement in supposedly ‘criminal’, ‘deviant’ and ‘anti-social’ activities is concerned. Whenever anxieties erupt about new threats to the moral and social order, ‘youth’ are seldom far away from the line-up of society’s ‘usual suspects’. Society’s perennial fascination with ‘youth and crime’ has itself become the object of sociological and criminological analysis, furnishing numerous explorations of the ways in which young people and their cultural commitments have become the ‘folk devils’ in successive waves of ‘moral panics’ about crime and disorder (Young 1971; Cohen 1972; Hall et al. 1978; Pearson 1983; Hay 1995; Sp ringhall 1998). Since the 1990s, academic commentators have observed how the Internet has emerged as a new locus of criminal activity that has become the object of public and political anxieties, sometimes leading to over-reaction (Thomas and Loader 2000, p.8; Littlewood 2003). Yet again, the category of ‘youth’ has ï ¬ gured centrally in discussions of the threat, especially in relation to ‘computer hacking’, the unauthorised access to and manipulation of computer systems. Politicians, law enforcement ofï ¬ cials, computer security experts and journalists have identiï ¬ ed ‘hacking’ as a form of criminal and deviant behaviour closely associated with ‘teenagers’ (see, inter alia, Bowker 1999; DeMarco 2001; Verton 2002). This association has been cemented in the realm of popular cultural representations, with Hollywood ï ¬ lms such as Wargames (1983) and Hackers (1995) constructing the hacker as a quintessentially teenage miscreant (Levi 2001, pp.46–7). While hacking in general has garnered considerable attention from academics working in the emergent ï ¬ eld of ‘cybercrime’ studies (see Taylor 1999, 2000, 2003; Thomas 2000), and some attention has been given to questions of youth (see Furnell 2002), few connections are made with the rich and extensive criminological literature of delinquency studies. On the other hand, those specialising in the study of youth crime and delinquency have largely neglected this apparently new area of juvenile offending (for an exception, see Fream and Skinner 1997). The aim of this article is not to offer such a new account of hacking as ‘juvenile delinquency’; nor is it to contest or ‘deconstruct’ the public and popular association between youth and computer crime. Rather, the article aims to map out the different modes of reasoning by which the purported involvement of juveniles in hacking is explained across a range of ofï ¬ cial, ‘expert’ and public discourses. In other words, it aims to reconstruct the ‘folk aetiology’ by which different commentators seek to account for youth involvement in hacking. Substantively, I suggest that the kinds of accounts offered in fact map clearly onto the existing explanatory repertoires comprising the criminological canon. Implicit within most non-academic and/or non-criminological accounts of teenage hacking are recognisable criminological assumptions relating, for example, to adolescent psychological disturbance, familial breakdown, peer inï ¬â€šuence and subcultural association. Drawing out the latent or implicit criminological assumptions in these accounts of teenage hacking will help, I suggest, to gain both greater critical purchase upon their claims, and to introduce academic criminology to a set of substantive issues in youth offending that have thus far largely escaped sustained scholarly attention. The article begins with a brief discussion of deï ¬ nitional disputes about computer hacking, arguing in particular that competing constructions can be viewed as part of a process in which deviant labels are applied by authorities and contested by those young people subjected to them. The second section considers the ways in which ‘motivations’ are attributed to hackers by ‘experts’ and the public, and the ways in which young hackers themselves construct alternative narrations of their activities which use common understandings of the problematic and conï ¬â€šict-ridden relationship between youth and society. The third section considers the ways in which discourses of ‘addiction’ are mobilised, and the ways in which they make associations with illicit drug use as a behaviour commonly attributed to young people. The fourth section turns to consider the place attributed to gender in explanations of teenage hacking. The ï ¬ fth part explores the ways in which adolescence is used as an explanatory category, drawing variously upon psychologically and socially oriented understandings of developmental crisis, peer inï ¬â€šuence, and subcultural belonging. In concluding, I suggest that the apparent convergence between ‘lay’ and criminological understandings of the origins of youth offending offer considerable scope for developing a critical, academically-informed debate on young people’s participation in computer crime. Hackers and Hacking: Contested Deï ¬ nitions and the Social Construction of Deviance A few decades ago, the terms ‘hacker’ and ‘hacking’ were known only to a relatively small number of people, mainly those in the technically specialised world of computing. Today they have become ‘common knowledge’, something with which most people are familiar, if only through hearsay and exposure to mass media and popular cultural accounts. Current discussion has coalesced around a relatively clear-cut deï ¬ nition, which understands hacking as: ‘the unauthorised access and subsequent use of other people’s computer systems’ (Taylor 1999, p.xi). It is this widely accepted sense of hacking as ‘computer break-in’, and of its perpetrators as ‘break-in artists’ and ‘intruders’, that structures most media, political and criminal justice responses. However, the term has in fact undergone a series of changes in meaning over the years, and continues to be deeply contested, not least amongst those within the computing community. The term ‘hacker’ originated in the world of computer programming in the 1960s, where it was a positive label used to describe someone who was highly skilled in developing creative, elegant and effective solutions to computing problems. A ‘hack’ was, correspondingly, an innovative use of technology (especially the production of computer code or programmes) that yielded positive results and beneï ¬ ts. On this understanding, the pioneers of the Internet, those who brought computing to ‘the masses’, and the developers of new and exciting computer applications (such as video gaming), were all considered to be ‘hackers’ par excellence, the brave new pioneers of the ‘computer revolution’ (Levy 1984; Naughton 2000, p.313). These hackers were said to form a community with its own clearly deï ¬ ned ‘ethic’, one closely associated with the social and political values of the 1960s and 1970s ‘counter-culture’ and protest movements (movements themselves closely associated with youth rebellion and resistance – Muncie (1999, pp.178– 83)). Their ethic emphasised, amongst other things, the right to freely access and exchange knowledge and information; a belief in the capacity of science and technology (especially computing) to enhance individuals’ lives; a distrust of political, military and corporate authorities; and a resistance to ‘conventional’ and ‘mainstream’ lifestyles, attitudes and social hierarchies (Taylor 1999, pp.24–6; Thomas 2002). While such hackers would often engage in ‘exploration’ of others’ computer systems, they purported to do so out of curiosity, a desire to learn and discover, and to free ly share what they had found with others; damaging those systems while ‘exploring’, intentionally or otherwise, was considered both incompetent and unethical. This earlier understanding of hacking and its ethos has since largely been over-ridden by its more negative counterpart, with its stress upon intrusion, violation, theft and sabotage. Hackers of the ‘old school’ angrily refute their depiction in such terms, and use the term ‘cracker’ to distinguish the malicious type of computer enthusiast from hackers proper. Interestingly, this conï ¬â€šict between the ‘old’ and ‘new’ is often presented in inter-generational terms, with the ‘old school’ lamenting the ways in which today’s ‘youngsters’ have lost touch with the more principled and idealistic motivations of their predecessors (Taylor 1999, p.26). Some have suggested that these differences are of little more than historical interest, and insist that the current, ‘negative’ and ‘criminal’ deï ¬ nition of hacking and hackers should be adopted, since this is the dominant way in which the terms are now understood and used (Twist 2003). There is considerable value to this pragmatic approach, and through the rest of this article the terms ‘hackingâ€℠¢ and ‘hackers’ will be used to denote those illegal activities associated with computer intrusion and manipulation, and to denote those persons who engage in such activities. The contested nature of the terms is, however, worth bearing in mind, for a good criminological reason. It shows how hacking, as a form of criminal activity, is actively constructed by governments, law enforcement, the computer security industry, businesses, and media; and how the equation of such activities with ‘crime’ and ‘criminality’ is both embraced and challenged by those who engage in them. In other words, the contest over characterising hackers and hacking is a prime example of what sociologists such as Becker (1963) identify as the ‘labelling process’, the process by which categories of criminal/deviant activity and identity are socially produced. Reactions to hacking and hackers cannot be understood independently from how their meanings are socially created, negotiated and resisted. Criminal justice and other agents propagate, disseminate and utilise negative constructions of hacking as part of the ‘war on computer crime’ . Those who ï ¬ nd themselves so positioned may reject the label, insisting that they are misunderstood, and try to persuade others that they are not ‘criminals’; alternatively, they may seek out and embrace the label, and act accordingly, thereby setting in motion a process of ‘deviance ampliï ¬ cation’ (Young 1971) which ends up producing the very behaviour that the forces of ‘law and order’ are seeking to prevent. In extremis, such constructions can be seen to make hackers into ‘folk devils’ (Cohen 1972), an apparently urgent threat to society which fuels the kinds of ‘moral panic’ about computer crime alluded to in the introduction. As we shall see, such processes of labelling, negotiation and resistance are a central feature of ongoing social contestation about young people’s involvement in hacking. Hacker Motivations: ‘Insider’ and ‘Outsider’ Accounts Inquiries into crime have long dwelt on the causes and motivations behind offending behaviour – in the words of Hirschi (1969), one of the most frequently asked questions is: ‘why do they do it?’. In this respect, deliberations on computer crime are no different, with a range of actors such as journalists, academics, politicians, law enforcement operatives, and members of the public all indicating what they perceive to be the factors underlying hackers’ dedication to computer crime. Many commentators focus upon ‘motivations’, effectively viewing hackers as ‘rational actors’ (Clarke and Felson 1993) who consciously choose to engage in their illicit activities in expectation of some kind of reward or satisfaction. The motivations variously attributed to hackers are wide-ranging and often contradictory. Amongst those concerned with combating hacking activity, there is a tendency to emphasise maliciousness, vandalism, and the desire to commit wanton destruction (Kovacich 1999); attribution of such motivations from law enforcement and computer security agencies is unsurprising, as it offers the most clear-cut way of denying hacking any socially recognised legitimacy. Amongst a wider public, hackers are perceived to act on motivations ranging from self-assertion, curiosity, and thrill seeking, to greed and hooliganism (Dowland et al. 1999, p.720; Voiskounsky, Babeva and Smyslova 2000, p.71). Noteworthy here is the convergence between motives attributed for involvement in hacking and those commonly attributed to youth delinquency in general – the framing of hacking in terms of ‘vandalism’, ‘hooliganism’, ‘curiosity’ and ‘thrill seeking’ clearly references socially available constructions of juvenile offending and offenders (on à ¢â‚¬Ëœhooliganism’ see Pearson (1983); on ‘thrill seeking’ see Katz (1988); Presdee (2000)). One way in which commentators have attempted to reï ¬ ne their understandings of hacker motivations is to elicit from hackers themselves their reasons for engaging in computer crimes. There now exist a number of studies, both ‘popular’ and ‘scholarly’ in which (primarily young) hackers have been interviewed about their illicit activities (for example, Clough and Mungo 1992; Taylor 1999; Verton 2002). In addition, hackers themselves have authored texts and documents in which they elaborate upon their ethos and aims (see, for example, Dr K 2004). Such ‘insider’ accounts cite motivations very different from those cited by ‘outsiders’. In fact, they consistently invoke a rationale for hacking that explicitly mobilises the ‘hacker ethic’ of an earlier generation of computer enthusiasts. In hackers’ self-presentations, they are motivated by factors such as intellectual curiosity, the desire for expanding the boundaries of knowledge, a commitment to the free ï ¬â€šow and exchange of information, resistance to political authoritarianism and corporate domination, and the aim of improving computer security by exposing the laxity and ineptitude of those charged with safeguarding socially sensitive data. However, such accounts ‘straight from the horse’s mouth’ do not necessarily furnish insights into hacker motivations that are any more objectively true than those attributed by outside observers. As Taylor (1999) notes: ‘it is difï ¬ cult . . . to separate cleanly the ex ante motivations of hackers from their ex post justiï ¬ cations’ (p.44, italics in original). In other words, such self-attributed motivations may well be rhetorical devices mobilised by hackers to justify their law-breaking and defend themselves against accusat ions of criminality and deviance. Viewed in this way, hackers’ accounts can be seen as part of what criminologists Sykes and Matza (1957) call ‘techniques of neutralisation’. According to Sykes and Matza, ‘delinquents’ will make recourse to such techniques as a way of overcoming the inhibitions or guilt they may otherwise feel when embarking upon law-breaking activity. These techniques include strategies such as ‘denial of injury’, ‘denial of the victim’, ‘condemnation of the condemners’ and ‘appeal to higher loyalties’. The view of hackers’ self-narrations as instances of such techniques can be supported if we examine hacker accounts. A clear illustration is provided by a now famous (or infamous) document called The Conscience of a Hacker authored by ‘The Mentor’ in 1986, now better know as The Hacker’s Manifesto. In the Manifesto, its author explains hackers’ motivations by citing factors such as: the boredom experienced by ‘smart kids’ at the mercy of incompetent school teachers and ‘sadists’; the experience of being constantly dismissed by teachers and parents as ‘damn kids’ who are ‘all alike’; the desire to access a service that ‘could be dirt-cheap if it wasn’t run by proï ¬ teering gluttons’; the desire to explore and learn which is denied by ‘you’ who ‘build atomic bombs, [. . .] wage wars, [. . .] murder, cheat and lie’ (The Mentor 1986). Such reasoning clearly justiï ¬ es hacking activities by re-labelling ‘harm’ as ‘curiosity’, by suggesting that victims are in some sense ‘getting what they deserve’ as a consequence of their greed, and turning tables on accusers by claiming the ‘moral high ground’ through a citation of †˜real’ crimes committed by the legitimate political and economic establishment. Again, we see an inter-generational dimension that references commonplace understandings of ‘misunderstood youth’ and the corrupt and neglectful nature of the ‘adult world’. Thus young hackers themselves invest in and mobilise a perennial, socially available discourse about the ‘gulf ’ between ‘society’ and its ‘youth’. Discourses of Addiction: Computers, Drugs and the ‘Slippery Slope’ A second strand of thinking about hacking downplays ‘motivations’ and ‘choices’, and emphasises instead the psychological and/or social factors that seemingly dispose certain individuals or groups toward law-breaking behaviour. In such accounts, ‘free choice’ is sidelined in favour of a view of human actions as fundamentally caused by forces acting within or upon the offender. From an individualistic perspective, some psychologists have attempted to explain hacking by viewing it as an extension of compulsive computer use over which the actor has limited control. So-called ‘Internet Addiction Disorder’ is viewed as an addiction akin to alcoholism and narcotic dependence, in which the sufferer loses the capacity to exercise restraint over his or her own habituated desire (Young 1998; Young, Pistner and O’Mara 1999). Some accounts of teenage hacking draw explicit parallels with drug addiction, going so far as to suggest that engagement in relatively innocuous hacking activities can lead to more serious infractions, just as use of ‘soft’ drugs like marijuana is commonly claimed to constitute a ‘slippery slope’ leading to the use of ‘hard’ drugs like crack cocaine and heroin (Verton 2002, pp.35, 39, 41, 51).

Web Site Publishing Process

Web Site Publishing Process The first step to publish a brand-new web site is to find the best host for your needs. There are many different options for Web hosting. The best one is going to depend on the type of site that is being created. Almost all sites will fall under one of the next three categories: personal or hobby site, small business site, or Ecommerce or high-traffic site. It is going to be the size, complexity, and expected traffic load of the site that are going to need to be considered when shopping for a host. Personal and Hobby sites are typically used for sites that will be used to communicate with friends and family and/or share information about hobbies with other people. These sites will typically be small and have low-traffic. Personal and Hobby sites are easier to publish and less expensive. There are two free options in this category. The first is your internet service provider as most of them give customer’s access to a personal Web page as a part of their regular service. This option does have strict limits on the amount of bandwidth the website is able to use though; too many pictures can push the website over the limit. The second option is free web hosts. This allows someone to get a free site and the host gets to advertise on it, although storage and download amounts are an issue here too. With this option the host is able to shut down the website if it exceeds the bandwidth allotment until the next month when the bandwidth counter restarts. Small business sites are sites that will contain basic company information. These sites are typically called â€Å"brochure sites†. This is because the information in the website can probably be found on a printed advertisement brochure. These are pretty simple sites, but because they are still a business the creator will want a reliable host and will not be shut off unexpectedly. The creator will choose their own domain name. Ecommerce sites are sites where individuals and/or small businesses start to sell products and services online and collecting online payments. These types of sites can get a little pricey when trying to find a host because these sites will need a working shopping cart system, an online merchant account, and a Web host that supports all of that. Once the needs of the host have been determined and you have a valid domain name the next step will be to publish the website. There are three basic options: FrontPage extensions, HTML editor with FTP (File Transfer Protocol) capability, or a standalone FTP program. FrontPage does not work well with an FTP process as it uses FP extensions. HTML editor and the standalone FTP program both use the FTP process to upload all files for the website. Check List: ?Find the right host ?Create a valid domain name ?Design the website ?Publish the website The two web hosting companies that I am going to compare are hostgator. com and hub web hosting. Below is a list of what each offer: Web Hosting CompanyWeb Hosting EssentialsWeb Hosting ExtrasWeb Hosting Review HOSTGATOR. COM? $4. 95 Monthly ?Unlimited Disk Space ?Unlimited Bandwidth? Host Unlimited Domains ?Unlimited Databases ?Fantastico Installer PHP + MySQL Hosting ?Unlimited MySQL DBs ?cPanel Control Panel ?Supports Ruby on Rails? Top Reseller Web Host ?SSH Access ?SiteStudio Web Builder ?24/7 Support ?Instant Backups ?45 Day Guarantee HUB WEB HOSTING? $3. 95 Monthly ?Unlimited Disk Space ?Unlimited Bandwidth? Host Unlimited Domains ?No Downtime Transfer ?Buisness Hardware ?Free Blogging Software ?Free Website Builder ?Unlimited Email Accounts? Top Simple Web Hosting ?PHP5,My SQL5, Perl5 ?Free E-commerce Tools ?24/7 US Support ?Over 8 Special Offers ?90 Day Guarantee The first hosting site is hostgator. om. This site offers site hosting for $4. 95 a month which includes unlimited disk space and unlimited bandwidth. Hub web hosting offers site hosting for $3. 95 a month which includes unlimited disk space and unlimited bandwidth as well. They each offer a lot of extras like unlimited domains. The difference is that Hub web hosting is a simple web hosting site, while hostgator. com is a little more technical. I would consider using hub web hosting for my own Web site as it seems to be more for the beginner website developer and seems to be easier than the other.

Taxation Tutorial 2011/12

CC3155 Taxation Tutorial 1 (2009/10 Semester 1) Suggested Answers to Tutorial Questions (Lecture 1) Overview of the Hong Kong Tax System and Administration A) Quiz 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. F T T T F T E The chargeable person a) Salaries tax: person who has income from employment, office or pension deriving from HK, b) Property tax: owner of land/buildings in HK, and c) Profits tax: person who carries on a trade, profession or business in HK. 9. April 1st, March 31st, April 1st 2008, March 31st 2009. 0. (a & b) 2007/08; (c & d) 2008/09. B) Essay Questions 1. The characteristics (features) of Hong Kong tax system are: †¢ Territorial Source Concept †¢ Schedular tax system †¢ Direct assessment †¢ Limitation to the standard rate †¢ Low tax rates †¢ No capital gains tax †¢ No tax on dividend income 2. The following bodies are involved in the administration of income taxes in Hong Kong: †¢ Inland Revenue Department (IRD) †¢ Board of Inland Revenue (BIR) †¢ Board of Review (BoR) 3.The source of Hong Kong tax law comprises: †¢ Statute law †¢ Case law 1 CC3155 Taxation ______________ 4. Tutorial Answer 1 (2008/09 Semester 1) Composition BIR: consists the Financial Secretary and 4 other members, appointed by the Chief Executive. The CIR is one of the members and a DCIR is the secretary of the BIR. BoR: consists of a chairman and a number of deputy chairman and not more than 150 other members, all of whom are appointed by the Chief Executive (s65). Functions BIR: To make rules called Inland Revenue Rules (IRR) †¢ To specify the forms (e. g. composite tax return) which are necessary for carrying out the provisions of the IRO †¢ To prescribe the procedure to be followed when appealing to the BoR with effect from Jun13,1997 BoR: †¢ To hear taxpayers’ appeals against the CIR’s or DCIR’s determination, s82A additional tax and penalty †¢ To approve CIR’s application for the taxpayer to file a statement of assets and liabilities under s51A(1). 2

Comprehension Strategies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Comprehension Strategies - Essay Example Systems that are openly distributed can be sources of information whose reliability is not certain. More so, the process of looking up for information in large masses of given data can prove to be a hectic and difficult process. In this life, we are often faced with similar situations calling for the need to make judgments on the reliability of information and the most effective method of accessing such information. Most people depend on the Internet as their main source of information but the uncertainty and complexity associated with the expanding Internet has made the users experience several problems. The problems include; how reliable the information they obtain from the Internet is. Most of the information from the Internet are on pages identified with queried keywords. This is meant to easily get at the information required but it ends up failing to qualify the information obtained with the data on the information sources themselves (George, 2006). Every person has his or her credibility standards when it comes to information they need. In most cases, this depends on the application of the information. This calls for the need to get it right every time one needs to evaluate different sources and settle on a judgment call. Most people depend on the Internet as their main source of information thus they have to be guided against the uncertainties and complexity associated with the expanding Internet. It is also close to impossible for any Internet user to sieve through all the available information from the Internet and pick out the best suited information. Following this situation, it is evident that reputation and trust play an important role in determining the credibility of a particular source. Some of the ways of determining if an Internet source is credible and can be trusted include The other problem is the issue of sematic mapping; the use of key words to locate information from different sources from the Internet can be misleading as the keywords used may have several meanings in relation to the language used or the context. It is also close to impossible for any Internet user to sieve through all the available information from Internet and pick out the best suited information. Following this situation, it is evident that reputation and trust play an important role in checking on such problems. It’s the nature of every human being to put more weight to the ideas and opinions of the people they trust and know well. Hence, by having the process of retrieving information be guided by trust , chances are that such information will end up being more reliable than the information obtained from arbitrary sources. This approach also checks on the information overload issue now that the internet users will only reach out to sources they trust. One can have the confidence to regard a source to be credible if the author of the source has a degree or a better credential on the subject. In a situation where the source has no autho r or the organization is not named, then there are high chances that the source is not credible. More so, there are sources where the authors are named but they end up not being credible (George, 2006). If the work is original, the ideas presented are the ones that have to be evaluated and not the author’

Economic100 Article Analysis Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Economic100 Analysis - Article Example The article sheds light on the increasing costs of business, implying that not only the apparent rise in coffee beans but also utilities, rent etc attribute to the hike in the prices. Keeping this in mind, the climate of business is not a favorable one, and this may have short term to middle term implications for other segments in the market as well. The objective of this analysis is to apply relevant economic concepts to this article and understand the fundamentals at work here. Economic Concepts There are a few key economic concepts which can be applied to explain the whole of things. Some of them include demand pull inflation, increase in aggregate demand, porter’s five forces etc. Particular focus will be laid on the implications of the existing context, given it persists and how it will hamper longer terms sales etc. Analysis The first economic concept which the article lays emphasis on is the fact that there has been an overall increase in the demand for coffee around th e world. We’ve seen that over the course of the last 3 decades, a lot of globalization has taken place, and in the process, there has been a lot of transference of good and services across borders. Coffee is one of those items which has found a market for itself wherever it has gone. Growing economies such as China and India have shown great promise in terms of demand for the products and this has only fueled the prices in an upward direction. When aggregate demand increases, it has to be followed by an increase in the aggregate supply in an equal magnitude otherwise the result is inflationary pressures in the economy. In the case of coffee, the demand has increased, but the supply has not been able to cope with the demand. Hence the result is demand pull inflation. As is seen in the diagram, increases in the aggregate demand will cause a movement along the curve, but if there are other variables altering, then this can trigger a shift of the curve all together. The inflation we refer to over here doesn’t imply that the whole economy is heating up, but rather just the coffee segment. However, inflation is something that cannot be sustained in this segment. The reason can be explained by Porter’s Five Force model. One of the key pillars of that model is the threat of a substitute. In the case of coffee, there are many substitutes readily available in the market. They can include tea, lattes, cappuccinos etc. The point is that price fluctuations are not sustainable in an industry such as this one. Moreover, the price sensitivity of this product is extremely high. Therefore, even the slightest fluctuations in price could trigger a decrease in supply for this product. Now the real debate starts here. The problem in prices arose due to an uncoordinated demand. However, what’s the trade-off between increasing prices and increasing consumer base? The answer to this question lies in the fact that no production line would like to see a decli ne in the demand for that particular good, however, it must be able to sustain the demand without increasing prices. If prices are pulled up due to these pressures, it implies that the demand cannot be sustained and eventually, the higher prices will lead to a decline in the demand and equilibrium will once again be attained on the previous level. When that happens, this cycle will repeat

Special Topics in international Business Assignment

Special Topics in international Business - Assignment Example (Aswathappa, 2006). Trade barriers greatly affect the decisions on international businesses as they impose restrictions on international trade in specific country or economic region. Thus, the company willing to export goods to a foreign market where trade barriers are high may find this business strategy inevitable because of high costs incurred in result of trade barriers (Aswathappa, 2006). Globalisation has created both opportunities and challenges for the international business. Some of the major opportunities are: opportunity to reach global market and to increase significantly revenues, opportunity to reach economies of scales, to reduce manufacturing costs by otsourcing production facilities to other countries, opportunities to gain access to technical expertise and technical know-how, opportunity to reach global resources that are not available or expensive in home country risks (Wild & Wild, 2011). Thus, for example, the UAE-based airline company, the Emirates Group, was founded in 1985. Nowadays, the company provides passenger, postal and cargo carriage services across the world (Wild & Wild, 2011). Globalisation allowed the company to expand significantly the number of destinations up to 100, to achieve economies of scales, to develop additional sources of revenue, etc. However, globalisation poses substantial challenges for international business as well. While the international companies gain access to global markets, they simultaneously face with fierce competition on behalf of both local and international companies. Another significant challenge is associated with the fact that companies need to work in different countries with different cultures. The companies that have no previous experience in international business it might be quite difficult to adjust to the cultural differences. With the development of IT operations the

WaterAid International Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

WaterAid International - Essay Example In 2012, The Big Dig request gets unimaginable help and raises more than  £2m for our work in country Malawi, bringing clean water and safe sanitation to more than 134,000 individuals. The cash and backing has likewise helped them to impact strategy and practice to guarantee that the imperative part of water, cleanliness and sanitation in diminishing neediness is distinguished universally 1.2 Company Structure WaterAid worldwide is our worldwide legislation structure that organizes the exercises of WaterAid part nations (see note 14 of the Financial Statements for the records of WaterAid universal for the year finished 31 March 2013). In 2012-13, WaterAid was made up of four part nations: the UK, America, Australia and Stheyden (Watercan, an autonomously legislated NGO in Canada, joined in July 2013). WaterAid UK, America, Australia and Stheyden are all autonomously constituted associations with their Boards and Chief Executives. A year ago, WaterAid UK kept on putting resources into WaterAid worldwide to backing the development of Stheyden and our start-up in Japan where an agent was named throughout the year. They likewise put resources into the running expenses of WaterAid universal, and in supporting WaterAid America and WaterAid Australia as they expand their commitments to the accomplishment of the Global Strategy.

Science Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Science - Essay Example It is one of the alkali metals having a chemical symbol â€Å"Na† with atomic number 11. Sodium is soft and silvery white metal in color. Aside from one of the most abundant elements in the planet, sodium in nature belongs to halite group which means it is highly reactive. Aside from its silvery-white color, sodium is also waxy in appearance, can easily be cut by a knife because it is soft, it reacts with oxygen once exposed to air and forms sodium oxide film (Chemistry Explained, par. 1-60). This is the reason why a bright and shiny surface of sodium once cut lacks luster because the sodium oxide film covers the metal. According to Resusch (par. 5), the atom of sodium has only one electron in its valence shell that at times when it losses it, it will result to lower shell valence octet which further results to obtaining a positively charged atom. Sodiums’ atomic mass is 22.98 (Chemistry Explained, par. 1-60). Sodium’s melting point is 97.82 °C, boiling point of 881.4 °C, density of 0.968 grams per cubic centimeter and since it is a metal, it excellently conducts electricity (Chemistry Explained, par. 1-60). At 298 0K, sodium is at its solid state (Winter, par. 1-8). 3. Sodium also reacts with other elements and compounds. Once sodium reacts with acid, it produces hydrogen gas. It can also be dissolved in other metallic elements such as mercury to create an alloy such as amalgam. In the periodic table of elements, it can be observed that the number of protons is what actually tries to determine a certain element among any other. However, the number of neutrons in an atom varies and this variation is considered an isotope (Chemistry Explained, par. 1-60). Therefore if an element is having forms of more than one, then its other forms are considered isotopes. In the case of sodium, it has one naturally occurring isotopes which is sodium-23 and it has six radioactive isotopes, which break apart and

Cultural report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Cultural report - Essay Example B. Background Information. Epa is recognized as the male deity who was involved in wood carver. The artists of Africa tend to develop various forms of art that encompass traditional art, modern art, western art and historical art among others. The artists of Africa use several materials to prepare several forms of African art. The people of North Africa, mainly the people who are not black, get involved in the art of ancient Egypt (Arterial Network, â€Å"Contemporary Arts and Culture Discourse: African Perspectives†). C. Thesis Statement. In relation to the above context, the essay intends to write a critical comparative essay about the cultural experiences of the early African artists with the indication made in one of the provided arts i.e. Epa helmet mask. A. Epa Helmet Mask. Epa helmet mask is duly considered to be one of the historical arts of Africa, which is much different from other art forms belonging to the nation. In earlier trends, the materials were different that are mainly used for making arts. However, in recent trends, such materials have developed than the earlier times. Based on the existing trends, it can be apparently observed that the artists of Africa use bronze materials to create the African arts. Epa mask has been created from the seventeen empire, which involves the Ekiti region of Yoruba territory. The design of the Epa mask mainly consists of the face of Janus. Therefore, the face of Epa mask bears different types of names such as ‘mother with children’ and children cover me’ among others. The name of Epa Mask has been selected based on the concept of the picture of Epa mask. In previous years, Epa masks mainly focused on the productiveness based on the views of earlier writers. Moreover, during that time, the artists often had to use woods as materials to prepare the art of Epa mask (African Art & Culture, â€Å"Epa

Economic Causes of Poverty Essay Example for Free

Economic Causes of Poverty Essay Poverty is the deprivation of necessities that that determine the quality of life. These necessities comprises of the basic human needs and better education which directly influences the type of employment and income earned and enable one to fight poverty. In October 2008 World Bank revised the poverty line to 1. 25 US dollar per day from 1 US dollar per day. After revision of the poverty line measure, an estimated 1. 4 billion people were found to live at this poverty line or below (Otlin, 2008). There is an upward poverty trend; for instance in 2004, 984 million people were living on or below the line of measure i. e. 1 US dollar whereas in 1981, 1. 9 million were living on or below the poverty line (Weaver Park, 2007). Among other causes of poverty, economic causes which include capital flight, unemployment, low income, unfair property laws and unfair trade has really made poverty alleviation in developing countries a complicated issue despite the efforts of these countries to fight against poverty. Rapid flow of money outside a country or any other assets commonly known as capital flight is a major economic cause of poverty. In most cases the movement is due to instability and reduced returns. Investors move their money from one investment to another, either within the same country or to a different country to avoid high inflation and search for stability and increased returns. Capital flight is mostly witnessed in a country with currency instability and sometimes the outflows are intensive thus affecting the whole financial system of the country (Epstein, 2005). The loss of confidence and devaluation of the affected country burdens the citizens and their properties lose the nominal value. This resorts to reduced purchasing power of assets of a country making it very expensive to import goods. Due to devaluation of the economy’s currency, inflation comes in. Consequently, the currency unit can only purchase fewer goods thus accelerating poverty. Capital flight also hampers investment which may reduce economic growth of the developing economies. Unemployment is another economic cause of poverty. It usually occurs when one is ready and able to work but there is no work for him/her. The inadequacies of basic human needs and better education are normally as result of un-employment. A country where there is a higher rate of unemployment, the Growth Domestic Product (GDP) is low since most people are not working. According Epstein (2005), unemployment is a primary cause of temporal poverty. The moment people get job, they supplement their incomes and thus reduce poverty levels. Sounder further says that poverty increases with increase in unemployment duration. People without jobs can be having skill which can improve production, but since they have not been employed, their skills may not be utilized. This can result is low productivity in the country. In other cases, un-employment can be a social cost to the society. Issues like crimes, terrorism and drug abuse which may be as a result of poverty, marginalization and unemployment are costly to eliminate. Money which can be used to alleviate the living standards is used for fighting crimes instead. Unemployment brings income inequality which widens the gap between the rich and the poor. Winefield (2002), points out that unemployment leads to delay in experience gain which reduces productivity. Moreover, in countries which provide job search allowance, the government expenditure goes high because more people are entitled to these allowances. This can force the government to reduce money given to other crucial sectors for example agricultural sector which can be a source of livelihood to the country’s population. Taxes may also increase due to high government expenditure resulting to increase in prices of commodities. Low income means that people will have a limited purchasing power. Winefield (2002) points out that, low income earnings place people near or on at the poverty line. He further argues that, raising the incomes by increasing the wages without dismissing their job opportunities has historically minimized poverty rates. According to his research findings, increasing minimum wage will help reduce poverty levels, however minimal. Small household budgets experience the greatest impacts since they have a limited purchasing power. This has facilitated poverty in developing countries. Increases in food prices and an instant steep rise in agricultural commodities is another economic cause of poverty. The rise in food prices can be attributed to increased demand of staple commodities, higher energy prices especially fuel and electricity which affects transportation and production costs of agricultural products and farm inputs e. g. fertilizer and pesticides. Food prices may also rise due to lack of alternative market outlets for agricultural product and low yields of cereals (Anker, 2006). Competition between industrial commercial organizations is healthy and encouraged by market economies. However, unfair property laws by competitors and use of malicious ways to gain business mileage e. g. making false and direct attack to a competitor may scare away potential investors. At times it happens despite the fact that a code of conduct has been set to guard against this behavior. Unfair competition which comprises of all acts and practices during industrial and commercial transactions which are contrary to honest practices may hamper selling and buying of good and services. Unfair competition may include confusion caused in relation to another enterprise’s products or its activities, acts that are misleading for instance, false implications of a competitor’s product, and damaging the goodwill of the competitors. All this may lead to unfair competition which causes decline in sale of goods or services. Eventually, this will translate increased levels of poverty in the affected economies due reduced sales, exports and other losses that may arise from unfair trade. In conclusion, poverty alleviation is a complex issue to deal with. It requires that all relevant stakeholders get rid of their selfish interest so that they can deal with the root causes of poverty. All causes of poverty ranging from economic, governance, demographic and social factors, environmental factors, if looked into by good governance, transparency in public expenditure, strengthening of management capacity and improvement of the public service delivery will help in promoting a competitive private sector environment for development and trade regime liberalization. This can contribute greatly to poverty alleviation in the world and especially in developing countries in Africa, Latin America and East Asia. A fair trade between developed and developing countries is fundamental if the question of poverty in developing countries is ever to be addressed. For instance, disruption of trade in Africa has greatly affected the process of integration in business. As a result poverty levels have increased undermining and lowering the livelihoods of small scale farmers and producers as well as depriving the young people their rights. References: Anker, R. , (2006); Poverty Lines around the World: A New Methodology and Internationally Comparable Estimates. International Labor Review Journal, Vol. 145 Epstein, G. A. , (2005); Capital Flight and Capital Controls in Developing Countries. ISBN 184376931X, 9781843769316, Edward Elgar Publishing. Otlin, J. , (2008); The Causes of Poverty: Thinking Critically about a Key Economic Issue. Journal of Social Education, Vol. 72 Weaver, C. Park, S. , (2007); The Role of the World Bank in Poverty Alleviation and Human Development in the Twenty-First Century: An Introduction. Global Governance Journal, Vol. 13 Winefield, A. H, (2002); Unemployment, Underemployment, Occupational Stress and Psychological Well-Being. Australian Journal of Management, Vol. 27

Leading Organisational Equality And Diversity

Leading Organisational Equality And Diversity Introduction In this unit we are asked to make a report regarding on the importance of effectively managing equality and diversity and dynamics of leading and managing equality and diversity. In order to achieve this, we are given 2 task to complete which includes the analysis of the legal requirements relating to equality within the chosen organisation; evaluation of the implications of guidance and codes of practice; analysis of policies and procedures that need that needs to be place to promote equality and diversity and the needs and expectations of stake holders in relation to the organisations policy on equality and diversity. The second task is about explaining the practical aspects of promoting equality and diversity within the organisation and to stakeholders and of addressing equality and diversity issues. TASK 1 Through this paper I would try point out some aspects in understanding the importance of equality and diversity as core values in healthcare business organisation. What are the elements to be considered for effective organisational equality and diversity management? What does the organisation gain in the practice of equality and diversity? What must be done to ensure commitment in leading business organisational equality and diversity? In the care home that I used to work, commitment to equality and diversity help us understand how we treat our customers or service users, the wider public we serve, and one another. And if our policies, processes and interactions based on equality and diversity are fair, inclusive, accessible and responsive we would know the procedure as regards dealing effectively with discriminatory issues. Generally, an excellent customer service and equals high standards on equality and diversity. It is then, useful to grasp the meaning of equality and diversity, some related terms such as code of practice, equality legislation. A better understanding of these terms will help the healthcare organisation commit to better practice of equality and diversity. Equality means fostering and promoting the right to be different, to be free from discrimination, and to have choice and dignity and to be valued as an individual, with a right to their own beliefs and values. This works on the following premises that everyone must be treated fairly. Everyone has the right to have their individual needs be respected. Inequality happens and there must be an effort to deal with discriminatory issues. Employment and services must be available to all. Equality is about fair treatment. Rights, responsibility and anti-discrimination are important parts of equality. And knowledge of the legislative framework on equality will help those disadvantaged obtain opportunities for full participation in the society by imposing legal sanctions against malpractices of this principle. Diversity as a word means varied and different thus, diversity is about more than equality. It is about valuing variety and individual differences. It is creating a culture, environment and practices which respect and value differences for the benefit of society, organisations and individuals. Diversity acknowledges the fact that individuals and groups have varying backgrounds, perceptions, styles, values and beliefs. Where there are two people there is diversity, for everybody is different. It is a challenge for all of us to understand, value and respect such differences. Diversity is about respecting differences. It is the positive acceptance of the uniqueness and distinctness of each person. Thus, the care home created policies, procedures and practices where the diverse needs of diverse employees and service users are considered. Equality and diversity are closely connected to one another. For equality means treating individuals in spite of differences. Diversity believes in the unique contribution of each individual and values differences. If we treat persons according to their different needs, we cannot be unfair to them or to others. Where equality and diversity is practiced, equality of opportunity for all is ensured where each individual has chance to attain his potential. Each person must be protected from prejudice and discrimination. Any experience of discrimination on the grounds of our age, race, gender, ability, sexual orientation, religion or belief must be challenged. The Race Relations Act 1976 and the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 have been merged to become the Equality Act 2010 which has a more consistent approach to comply with the law. Equality 2010 protects individual from discrimination and promotes ones right to equality such as: Disability discrimination: Disabled people at work are protected from discrimination. This means that employers: must not treat a disabled person less favourably because of a reason relating to their disability, without a justifiable reason; are required to make reasonable adjustments to working conditions or the workplace where that would help to accommodate a particular disabled person. In our work place, we have colleagues who have difficulty in writing (dyspraxia). But his skill was really a great help to the group. He was given extra work on the floor while his partner is the one who documented all the personal care that has been given to the service users. The colleagues and the manager are very supportive of him. Equal pay: Employers must give men and women equal treatment in the termà £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬and conditions of their employment contract if they areà £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬employed on: like work work that is the same or broadly similar; work rated as equivalent under a job evaluation study or; work found to be of equal value. In the care home, equal pay was implemented fairly and it is in accordance to your qualifications and the job that you are into. If you work in the caring job, male and female are in the same rate, they only differs if they have more qualification than others like having degrees or NVQs. Part-time employees: The Part-time Workers (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations 2000 aim to ensure that part-time workers are not treated less favourably than comparable full-timers. Principally, this means they should: receive the same rates of pay; not be excluded from training simply because they work part-time; receive holiday entitlement pro rate to comparable full-timers; have any career break schemes, contractual maternity leave and parental leave made available to them in the same way as for full-time workers and not be treated less favourably when selecting workers for redundancy. In this regard, our care home is following the said legal requirement for part-time employees; they are receiving same as what full time employee is having. Race discrimination: The Equality Act 2010 makes it illegal to treat a person less favourably due to their colour, nationality and ethnic or national origins. Race discrimination covers all aspects of employment from recruitment to pay, and training to the termination of a contract. The care home that I used to work is a type of organisation that is multicultural; the employees are from different countries and with different culture. But since we are respecting each other and working in one objective of the organisation, the said racial discrimination are being lessen though it is prohibited but sometimes it happens. If conflicts about any of the rights occur, it is recommended always to resolve the issue to the employer (manager) first. Thus, our employer provide a contract employment for us employee where both parties may agree better terms than those required by legislation. The employer has the obligation to present to the employee a written statement of the main particulars of employment within two months of the beginning of employment. This must include, among other things, details of pay, hours, holidays, notice period and an additional note on disciplinary and grievance procedures. Another way of resolving any grievance issue is through the help of an independent third party or mediator. Such mediation is a voluntary process whereby the mediator helps both sides to reach an agreement. Any agreement comes from those in dispute, not from the mediator. If an employee believes that an employment right has been denied or infringed, he can make a complaint to an employment tribunal. It is, indeed important to have a comprehensive grasp of the existing legislative laws to be able to promote equality in the workforce and protect every employee from discrimination. An understanding of the legislative laws will also help in creating good quality guidance to equality and diversity organisational practice. Commitment to equality and diversity means the organization is willing to comply with legislative procedures. Legislative laws not only protect the individual employee but also different stakeholders and service users. On the other hand, the implication of guidance and code of practice in relation to equality and diversity in healthcare business is to have abetter knowledge and understanding regarding this matter. First what is code of practice? Codes of Practice are golden rules for guidance on legislation which have significant effect on healthcare business. The Code is non-statutory and not legally binding. This means it cannot prevail over mandatory external requirements. Healthcare organisation must abide by this Code of Practice whenà £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬producing new guidance or revising existing guidance. This Code of Practice states in simple terms how to create good quality guidance. A good guidance must have a good understanding of the target audience which is diverse and knowing their needs. In our care home, they know the intended service users; the guidance will adapt the most appropriate format and language in preference to their needs. There must be input users and their representative groups like the relatives beforehand. Organising a stakeholder panel and asking advice from concerned representative groups can provide useful resources so that the guidance will be designed and communicated effectively. If the guidance is easy to understand and straightforward then it can be assured that it will be followed correctly. Guidance must be easily accessible to the service users. Guidance will ineffective if no-one reads it. And no matter how well designed a guidance is, each item of the guidance must be reviewed and improved. It must be opened for feedbacks from the service users. Guidance must carry a link where the user can state any inaccuracy about the guidance. In terms of promoting equality and diversity, it is equally important to develop policies and procedures that will provide clear instructions and guidelines on what must be done in particular issues. Policies and procedures will ensure the well-being of all individuals in the workforce and everyone connected to the organisation by providing a framework of action. They help new members familiarise with the organisations working practices and provide them information on what is expected of them. Policies and procedures reflect the main priorities of the organisation which with good practice will ensure good quality service. Policies are also basis for making and monitoring changes in the procedures about moving towards equality and diversity. Equality and diversity policy must provide a framework where commitment to equality and valuing diversity in all aspects of the business organisation are clearly included. The policy must be easily accessible to all those involved in the organisat ion as regards equal opportunities and services and that the organisation is willing to protect the discriminated and the disadvantaged. Further more, identifying the needs and the expectations of potential stakeholders will be affected positively or negatively by the implementation of such policy and it is vital. The policy in the care home provides overall mission statement standing for the importance of equality and diversity to our stakeholders. Such statement can be used in publicity, recruitment advertisements, offering quality services to clients. Strategy and action plan must give an outline about how to keep this public promise and how equality and diversity will be implemented. And for an effective policy, it must be developed in consultation all members in the organisation. Action plan must be specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timed. This will include plans for training staff/management committee members and monitoring and evaluating. In healthcare organisation that I used to work, delivering services must provide appropriate services that meet the needs of the different clients/service users. It is a legal requirement that reasonable adjustments are considered to enable disabled people to use the services offered. The front line workers aware of the diversity of the clients must use inclusive language and provide extra support to meet the needs of the clients. As example maybe offering an appointment with a deaf client by text rather than via phone call or in our care home we provide interpreters for those clients who do not speak English through the use of colleagues who can speak the same language or volunteers with language skills or making appropriate referrals to organisations that can better respond to the needs of the client. We make sure that the needs and preferences of our service users are being met. In so doing, we can achieve the expectations of the stakeholders in accordance to the organisations pol icy on equality and diversity. TASK 2 Being aware of equality and diversity issues and knowing how to address them is important in ensuring commitment to equality and diversity. For example, in the healthcare sector, an ageing workforce can become a great challenge for employers especially when there is workforce turnover and skills shortage. Policies and procedures reflecting inclusive employment would regard a diverse workforce as an asset where persons with life experiences can become part of the workforce. Experts have expressed the fact that those employers who value older workers skills and experience are better placed to emerge from the recession. Another issue is the religion and beliefs. It can be noted that employees are characterized by predominantly diverse religion and faiths. Religious faith and belief can be relevant to recruitment and retention strategies. However, applying a dress code for all employees can be a disadvantage for some people of particular beliefs. But since equality and diversity are bein g practice in the care home, they allow staff to wear there turbans for male and bandanas for female. Discriminatory attitude resulting from stereotyping and prejudice would exclude individuals or groups from employment or services. Sometimes institutional discrimination occurs through policies and procedures which lead to disadvantage of a particular group. It is a legal requirement to have a process called Equality Impact Assessment whereby an organisation reviews ones services, policies and procedures whether there is a negative impact on an employee or to service user. Creating a culture committed to equality and diversity means that the everyday goals and behaviour of the organisation includes commitment to equality, human rights and inclusive working. In healthcare sector leadership and accountability is a key to creating a commitment to equality and diversity. Leadership must recognise all aspects of diversity: race, gender identity, disability, age, religion, sexual orientation, part-time workers and persons with alternative working patterns, persons with different educational and social backgrounds, and persons with caring responsibilities. Role modelling of inclusive behaviour in recruitment, development and promotion of staff and readiness to address responsibly discriminatory issues are significant aspects of good leadership committed to equality and diversity. There must be clear and transparent accountability for delivering equality and diversity. Senior leaders must be active equality and diversity champions who create change in culture and attitudes. They must help enhance and sustain equality and diversity in partnerships and collaborations with all stakeholders. They set vision and goals, strategies, daily interactions with trustees, staff, volunteers and service users showing that they value equality and diversity. They must have the capacity to listen and communicate openly with all employees with diverse needs. Effective communication is another important element to consider if the organisation would really promote equality and diversity. It is the capacity to listen and to share information. It is not enough to work efficiently for the organisation. The contribution of each one to further growth process and practice of the business organisation through ones creativity, innovations and insights means would mean a need for good communication skills. The volume of information in todays world can be overwhelming. It is important to discern appropriate information needed to understand the perspective of different stakeholders. Identifying/reviewing stakeholders expectations/needs and reconciling differences through networking would mean a high-level approach for communication. Methods of communication in a networked world have become challenging: training program on virtual negotiation; communication with increasingly diverse service users; good networking with different groups who promote values of equality and diversity; providing information in different formats. Developing an equality and diversity communication plan which is proactive and outward focused will be useful in promoting public understanding and awareness. Practicing inclusion means embracing differences and creating an environment where each individuals rights protected and potentials are valued and respected. This can help attract and retain staff and improve customer or service user satisfaction. It is providing relevant and appropriate access for the participation, development and advancement of all individuals and groups; removing or altering physical barriers so as to provide access to all; avoiding offensive language; improving access to service and workplace for example by changing working patterns or by providing mobile services for those socially isolated and tailoring services to the needs of the clients. Valuing inclusion means no one is discriminated or harassed but rather everyone is treated with respect and dignity. It means that all (e.g. from the senior management to the most junior staff) is involved in the process of creating the culture to commitment to equality and diversity. Everyone is engaged and feels that thei r insights and experiences are valued. Reaching diverse group through constructive dialogue with stakeholders both internal (employees) and external (clients, finance sources, local government, NGOs) can help build more harmonious working relationships. Engaging and allowing them to be partners can contribute to profitability, company image, expense management, and employee morale and customer loyalty. Another thing is through advertisement via internet or giving away pamphlets; when advertising ones delivery of services, it must aim to be accessible to those in needs. Thus, it is important to think of ways how to reach the most disadvantaged people. This is one way of showing the organisations commitment to equality and diversity strategy. Written policies and procedures of the organisation must be easy to read and understand and available in relevant formats. This means avoiding jargon and abbreviation or any word graphics that could cause offence. Plain English Campaigns website provides good guidance regarding this ma tter. Having a clear purpose and structure and using easy to read print like Arial or Verdana font with at least 12 point font size for all texts need to be considered, too. When there is a need to produce alternative materials for particularly disadvantaged persons within the target group, it is important to consider large print, Braille, audio cassette, in electronic format by email or CD, or in other languages. Through this we can cater all types of stakeholders who are in need. With regards to monitoring and reviewing equality and diversity strategy plan, policies and procedures, current equality and diversity training programs, informal or unwritten work practices and arrangement for consultation and participation. This is important to be able to make needed adjustments to the workforce and services. Equality monitoring is the process of collecting, storing and analysing information about employeesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸ and/or clientsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸ gender, ethnicity, disability, age, religion, sexual orientation or social class. Monitoring such information allows organisations to ensure it is delivering its services and employment fairly, equally and appropriately to all groups. To understand the demographic make-up of the workforce and the customers will help identify under-represented groups and find ways to respond to their needs. Reviewing policies will show if there is awareness and good practice on the commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion. Monitoring and reviewing are important processes to see if the organisation takes legal responsibilities promptly and seriously and proactively builds a culture of commitment to equality and diversity to all stakeholders. Reviewing staff performances through appraisal against organisational equality and diversity set of objectives and strategy on an annual basis. Monitoring and reviewing through staff surveys, employee networks and forums are some ways of involving and consulting the employees on some key issues affecting them as regards equality and diversity. This can also lead more comprehensive understanding of the needs and expectations of the staff. Conclusion: Leading an organisation committed to equality and diversity is a great challenge. Collaboration among all members in the workforce and even among the clients is necessary. Understanding equality legislation and putting them into easy to understand equality and diversity policies as well as strategies will ensure good practice. There is a need in creating different committees responsible for the different aspects of promoting equality and diversity. Since equality issues are very much related with government legislation, it is imperative to update the knowledge of legislation against discrimination. However, Neil Thompson in his book People Skills (2002) affirms that legal compliance is not enough but rather developing a culture where people in the workforce are more aware of the significance of diversity and do take personal responsibility to develop this sensitivity. There is a risk of alienating people if one does not learn about others perspective and life experiences. A co-recipient of the 1998 Nobel Peace Price with David Trimble, John Hume, says, Difference is of the essence of humanity. Difference is an accident of birth and it should therefore never be the source of hatred or conflict. The answer to difference is to respect it. Therein lies a most fundamental principle of peace: respect for diversity. Managing organisational equality and diversity can be a very complex task but an effort to good practice is possible if all are motivated to be involved and engaged. This paper is limited in scope in many aspects for it does not document detail accounts of the necessary processes as regards specific aspects of equality and diversity. It is recommended that it is useful to create different committees in the organisation to work on an in-depth study of the different aspects of equality and its concrete application.

Qantas Airlines: Human Resources Management

Qantas Airlines: Human Resources Management The Qantas Airways is the largest airline in Australia. Its Human Resource Management operates in the company in four major areas, which are business segments, corporate, shared services, development, and learning. This report gives limelight to the Qantas airways HRM and its role in ensuring perfect operations of the company. It further discusses change management and job analysis and design. The company has undergone intensive change management such as cutting of prices and labour costs in order to ensure high productivity, moderation of wages as well as the introduction of flexible structures through a versatile and motivated workforce. Moreover, the HRM is also responsible of ensuring that right people are hired and given necessary training under job analysis and design. However, despite the roles that the company has entrusted the HRM, there have been heightened cases of accidents and strikes from dissatisfied workers alleging that they are paid meagre salaries. This shows a HRM gap in delivering its responsibilities. Therefore, the report further argues that the HRM has failed in its change management and job design and analysis strategy. In order to correct the situation, the report further proposes that the HRM change its training and communication model. As a means to an end, the report discusses some of the implications emerging from the HRM problems and ends with a comprehensive summary. Description of Qantas and HRM Activities The Qantas Airways is Australias largest airline. It has a solid history as it began its business years back by transporting passengers and mails. Today, the company has expanded its operations in almost 140 destinations across the globe. It is Australias largest employers with around 37,000 employees. The human resource management operates in the company in four major areas, which are business segments, corporate, shared services, and development and learning. Under corporate level, the HRM is responsible for employees remuneration as well as benefits, the industrial relations of the airline with its competitors and development of the management. In the business segment level, the HR teams often collaborate with other business segments to ensure successful delivering of strategies that will ensure competitive advantage. Human resource has a major responsibility in the company and under shared services; the HRM is responsible of managing workers records, supporting remuneration and r ecruitment process and managing employees compensation as well as coming up with strategic plans on staff travelling schedules and schemes (Belobaba, Odoni and Barnhart, 2009). Finally, under the learning and development level, the HRM comes up with training programs for employees to help them deliver their work effectively. HR Functions; Change Management and Job Analysis and Design at the Qantas Airways Discussion of Two HR functions in the Qantas Change Management The Qantas airline was formerly owned by the government hence did not perceive efficiency and profits as its prime goal (Rothkopf, 2009). After its privatisation in 1995, the HRM had to adopt various management practices in order to overcome the companys external and internal influences. The HRM in their change management has emphasised on cutting costs and more so reduction of labour costs to guarantee heightened productivity, moderation of wages as well as the introduction of flexible structures through a versatile and motivated workforce (Marks, 2007). Cutting labour costs in the Qantas airways have involved strict measures from the HRM such as reducing wages and salaries through eliminating costly practices (Hernandez, 2011.). The Qantas airline HRM has undertaken immense changes in order to cope with diverse external and internal factors (Gillen and Morrison, 2005). Various factors led to changes in the HR management such as the need to have more profits in the company and the fact that the company was under government ownership. This means that the airline had maintained its authoritarian hierarchical structure, autocratic form of leadership, and strict procedures and rules (Hughes, 2012). In addition, the airline has been involved in a major change as far as training is concerned and in 2003, the HRM facilitated in the expansion of the companys apprenticeship programme (Gunn, 1988). According to Kirkpatricks model of learning and training, training helps in ensuring affirmative results (Kearns, 2010). Job Analysis and Design Job design and analysis is the cornerstone of the Qantas HRM. Job analysis can be viewed as the hub of all human resource management activities that are needed for effective organizational functioning (Berman et al, 2009). Under job analysis, the HRM is responsible for planning, recruitment, selection, placement, and induction of workers (Berman et al, 2009). The procedures that are often supported by job analysis process include personnel selection, training, job evaluation as well as performance appraisal (Berman et al, 2009). In addition, the process of job analysis supports the Qantas organizational strategy in dealing with market competition and talent crisis. According to human resource theory, strategic HRM focuses on connecting all HR functions with organizational goals (Rothwell and Benscoter, 2012). The Qantas airline HRM in the process of job analysis determines various training needs of workers. Moreover, in job analysis process, the HRM determines on some of the things that affect behaviour in the company. After job analysis process, the next step is job design, which aims at outlining and organising duties, responsibilities, as well as tasks in a single unit in order to achieve particular objectives. Job design in the Qantas airways is essential in enabling effective feedback. In addition, training is an imperative part in job design in order to make sure that employees are conscious of their work demands. Training encompasses leadership training to employee orientation (Aulenbach, 2007). Development and training plays an imperative role in ensuring success of a company. Today, most organisations view training as an imperative role of human resource (Price, 2011). From research conducted, it is apparent that most organizations such as the Qantas airways are spending a lot of money on training with a belief that it will consequently give them a competitive advantage in both global and local market (Jackson, Schuler and Werner, 2011). According to human resource theory (Bacon et al, 200 9), workers need maximum support from human resource function. In that case, the Qantas airways offer training to staff in order to motivate them as well as ensure competitive advantage in the company. Frances (2009) avows that training is imperative in ensuring imperative piloting skills. In 2009, the company opened approximately $10 million staff training centres in an effort to build on economies of scale.The HRM through job design help the workforce to make vital adjustments. Problems and Implications Faced by Qantas Although the two major basic functions of HRM is to ensure successful change management and job analysis and design, the Qantas airline has undergone through various challenges in these two areas. The HRM in their change management focused on cutting costs such as labour costs in order to increase productivity, ensure moderate workers salary and introduce flexible structures. However, they have failed in ensuring effective and non-biased change management. This is because, workers recently have been complaining of being paid meagre salaries and even gone for strikes. Under change management, they should have ensured successful remuneration of employees. However, it is embarrassing to note that a reputable company like Qantas with such successful change management strategy has failed to take care of its employees. The unsolved salary issues have caused employee outcry and various scandals in the company. The pilots have been protesting over meagre salaries and the union workers have c ontinued to demonstrate over pay inequality arguing they are paid 25% less than their equals in Victoria (Hernandez, 2012). In a survey that was conducted in 2012, on three thousand Qantas employees, the workers expressed dissatisfaction with the management of the company mostly the HRM (McDonald, 2012). Serious staff challenges have continued threatening the company yet up to now the HRM is still reluctant to come up with a new change management model such as ADKAR model that will cater for the interests of workers and allow the company to focus activities on particular business results (Hiatt, 2006). Under Job analysis and design, it is apparent that the HRM made immense mistakes in choosing the right candidates. Despite heavy training programs that the HRM has invested in during job analysis and design process, it is only in 2008 that the company was involved in an in-flight incident, which caused serious injuries to passengers and death of 129 passengers due to specious commands (Frances, 2009). In addition, it is apparent that training has not had a positive impact in the company since in 2006, the Qantas Airways pilots failed to monitor their position hence ended up to the wrong runway. Moreover, in 2009, the companys pilots failed to acknowledge and decided to overshoot their destinations by 150 miles (Frances, 2009). Frances (2009) alleges that captains in the company are not competent enough as they lacked knowledge on use of stick shaker and stall recovery thus causing serious accidents. It is hence clear that the HRM department leaves a lot to be desired as incidences ha ve continued to intensify despite the companys change management and job design and analysis strategy (Louise, 2011). With such a successful airline company, it is apparent that its HRM is ineffectual and has only led to losses than success. The company asserts that it is committed fully to developing its people, yet they do not seem to know how they can forge a beneficial relationship with its staff. There has been a lot of change in the company including cutting of costs, developing training programs, outsourcing working rules and regulations, collaborating with the unions yet the situation seem to be moving from bad to worse. It is apparent that the HRM has been incompetent in hiring the right personnel and dealing with employees. Implications to Stakeholders Various stakeholders include trade unions, government, shareholders, customers, community, business partners, employees, the media, and non-governmental organisations. They all have a major influence on the companys performance and its strategy. The media coverage on wrong decisions in the Qantas have affected negatively on the companys image. The problems discussed obviously imply that the HRM, shareholders, and business partners have been reluctant in solving the current crisis hence affecting the performance of the company. Because of the accidents reported, most consumers are not keen on using Qantas airline hence affecting profitability (BBC News, 2012). Additionally, the challenges in the company have also affected employees and consumers on grounds that they have lost confidence with the running of the company (Sandilands, 2011). The looming disagreement between Qantas and its pilots shows clearly that the HRM and business partners have failed in ensuring they contribute in effective management of the company. In addition, the Non-governmental organisations have failed in conflict resolution between the Qantas and its employees. It is apparent that the HRM, business partners, and non-governmental organisations involved have failed in coming up with rational solutions to ensure such current disputes do not develop into a major crisis. Instead of the companys CEO, Alan Joyce holding productive talks, he has been busy making provocative comments in numerous heated exchanges. For instance, he condemned union members on issues regarding wages arguing that their talks and protests were baseless (Bamber, 2011). The union leaders in return criticised senior managers and accused them of tarnishing the brand image of the company while they were awarding themselves hefty salaries. This hence implies that the community a s well as Union members have lost confidence on the companys stakeholders and this in return has led to bad publicity and reduced profitability. Consequently, the media has given a wide coverage on the companys latest controversies meaning that it is benefiting financially because of the developing story. It is upsetting to see Qantas employees go on strike due to poor management issues in a company owned by various stakeholders. The shareholders, business partners, the HRM, CEO, and Nongovernmental Organisations have a major role to play in ensuring issues in the company are resolved and the company goes back to its initial profitable situation. Therefore, they need to sit down and come up with a rational plan towards improvement (Bamber, 2011). Action plan and Recommendations With the increasing incidences, there is hence a need to come up with an action plan. First, all the stakeholders must meet to discuss on ways to solve the recent crisis. In the meeting, there will be change of communication and training model to more rational models that are employee oriented. The HRM will carry out the process and engage other stakeholders to give ideas on how salary and training issues ought to be handled. The change process will take place from 1st to 28th November in the companys boardroom. To carry out the process, the employees will be interviewed in order to show some of the areas they would need change. The entire companys workforce and managers will be given information concerning the changed plan. The recent problems involving HRM function has caused the company to suffer financially. The Qantas airline in their website asserts that, Qantas is committed to providing meaningful jobs with competitive salaries and superior benefits (Qantas, n.d). However, they have failed in fulfilling their promise as the strikes reported tell a different story. In addition, they allege that they provide targeted, quality training to the Qantas group and assists in the development of skills (Qantas, n.d). However, the accidents reported show a major gap in their training strategy. The HRM should revisit their training and communication model and make a change on it. It is time the company moved out of a market approach change strategy that only focus on making profits and focus on employee oriented approach that consider the interests of workers. With an effective training model, there will be workshop and focus group sessions where employees air their grievances and come up with solutions to th eir problems (Frances, 2009). In addition, effective HRM communication should contribute successfully to teamwork, learning, innovation, safety, and productivity (Krizan et al, 2010). Moreover, the HRM should invest heavily on their pilot candidates and ensure that they get the right training. Coming up with a HR strategic oriented communication model is important in guaranteeing that employees are at par with requirements and needs of the company. This will help in discussing paramount issues affecting the running of the company. Once there is fit between communication and training model in relation to the role of the HRM, the next step should be to come up with a tactical plan on how the HR will be managing their roles to ensure there are no more scandals. The HR needs to be involved fully in daily operations of the company to ensure alignment with needs of the employees. Moreover, the HRM should come up with performance management plan, which is imperative in following up on the performance of the staff members. The HRM should also be transparent in its strategy. This means that the companys operational and strategic agenda should be communicated clearly to workers and must be accepted. This will ensure employees needs are met and there are no operational challenges. In addition, its mission should be shared with other shareholders to make sure they are on the right path to correcting the image of the company. Todays HR models recognise on the fact that people do not leave their issues at home when they are going to work. For the company to be successful, it should focus on the needs of the workers whether personal or professional. This will motivate the workers to deliver quality work. In that case, there will be less accidents and remuneration problems in the company (Frances, 2009). In addition, in training sessions, the HR should focus on changing staff members attitude towards work and teach them on how to have a positive attitude. This will help in motivating workers and encouraging them to air their grievances through dialogue. Conclusion Similar to other managers in an organisation, HRM has various functions. The HRM ensure successful change management and right people are hired in various ranks. However, the HRM has failed, as there have been increased cases of strikes from discontented workers. Additionally, there have been numerous accidents reported in the company. To avoid such incidences in the future, it is important for the company to change its communication and training model. In addition, they should be transparent in their operations and involve other stakeholders to ensure they are trending on the right path. This will help in reducing accidents and strikes from dissatisfied employees.

homes Essay example -- essays research papers

Except for the fairly elaborate chieftains' houses, Greek dwellings remained simple through classical times. A passageway led from the street into an open court off which three or four rooms were reached, the whole being fairly small in scale. The Roman houses, as seen, for example, at Pompeii, also stood at the street's edge. Past a vestibule was an open space called the atrium, from which the sleeping rooms were reached; a colonnaded garden often stood in back. In ancient Rome most people lived in the equivalent of apartment houses, three to five stories high, with apartments ranging from three to six rooms; some were like tenements, others were elaborate. At ground level were rows of small shops. The rich had huge villas outside the cities that were composed of living quarters and pleasure pavilions. IV. Houses of Medieval EuropePrint section This comparative sophistication in housing disappeared during the so-called Dark Ages in Europe. Although castles and primitive manors housed many people, most of the remaining population were packed into simple, unsanitary dwellings huddled within the walls of small cities and towns. The countryside was unsafe, and agriculture and population both declined; the prosperous farms of classical antiquity disappeared. Slowly, after AD1000, conditions improved, first around the great monasteries and then in the expanding cities. The rise of a prosperous mercantile class resulted in the construction of large town houses and in due time country manors. Comparatively peaceful conditions brought some improvement in housing for farm serfs, but the living conditions of the poor town-dweller continued, on the whole, to be miserable. By the end of the Middle Ages the concept of the palace had evolved from the idea of the grand town house. These palaces were elaborate dwellings for ranking ecclesia stics, merchant princes, or ruling families; they might occupy a whole block and contain, in addition to ceremonial and private apartments, quarters for large numbers of retainers and hangers-on. V. From the Renaissance to the 19th CenturyPrint section The palace was perfected during the Renaissance and remains one of architecture's most enduring images, a dignified, large-scale city element that has been adapted and repeated ever since. Palaces were first built in Florence, Italy, and then throughout the Western world. In France... ...ouses that broke with historical architectural styles were slow to be accepted. As early as 1889 the American architect Frank Lloyd Wright built a house embodying new concepts of spatial flow from one room to another. He and others, both in Europe and in the United States, soon moved toward a domestic architectural style of metric forms and simplified surfaces largely free of decoration. Contemporary changes in painting and sculpture were allied to this movement, and by the 1920s modern architecture, though by no means universally accepted, had arrived. Glass, steel, and concrete reinforced with steel gave architects many new design options, and by the mid-20th century the modern house was commonplace. Glass boxes, freely curving styles, and stark, austere geometric forms were all possible; but at the same time traditional styles persisted, and in the U.S. many homeowners found a more or less standard, one-floor, two- or three-bedroom ranch house satisfactory. VIII. Houses of the Far EastPrint section House types in India vary greatly according to region, climate, and local tradition. The villages have courtyard houses as well as simple, single-volume dwellings; in the cities,

Oedipus - He tried and failed. :: Classics

Oedipus - He tried and failed. Oedipus is one of the most famous tragic characters of Greek drama. Sophocles, a famous composer of tragic Greek drama, wrote Oedipus the King. In this drama, Oedipus is just a good king trying to help his people by punishing a criminal for a certain crime he committed. Even though he tries so hard not to do what was foretold that he would do, he ends up doing it all the same. He was innocent of the knowledge of what he was doing, but guilty of the act he commits. He is a good king in trying to help his people, without his knowing it, he is the cause of the problem he is trying to solve, and when he tries to avoid the unavoidable, he finds that he is the reason for the problem. Oedipus is a good king, just trying to save his people by removing the plague. In his attempt at trying to be the savior of his people, he condemns the man who killed the former king. He wants to punish that man because he is the reason for the plague that is harming his people. He says, "Whoever he was that killed the king may readily wish to dispatch me with his murderous hand; so helping the dead king I help myself." (161-4) What he does not realize is that he is the culprit, the reason for the problem, and because he is going unpunished, the plague had continued. When Oedipus is a young adult, he goes to the oracle of Apollo, who tells him that he will one day kill his father and marry his mother. Oedipus, who has no idea that he is adopted at the time, flees his home in fear that he will cause harm to the parents he loves. After he leaves Delphi, the place of the oracle, he meets a man in a chariot whose charioteer tells him to move aside. When he refuses, the other man attacks him, and then Oedipus turns and kills them all. He comes to Thebes; the people were under siege by a Sphinx. After he saves the town, he is given the queen, Jocasta, to be his wife as a reward. What he does not know was that the one of the men he killed was his father and the woman that he marries is his mother. Oedipus the king never considers what he had done, until he hears certain pieces of information and starts to piece things together. He finds out that what was foretold to him, his killing his father and

Hamlet and Structural Functionalism Essay

In the famous play Hamlet by William Shakespeare, family takes an enormous part in the failure in the main character, Hamlet. What is interesting about his family dynamic and the way his family affects Hamlet’s actions, is that it directly correlates to Emile Durkheim’s theory on structural functionalism. It is a theory that studies our social structure and culture, and how they work together and affect us. Durkheim suggests that our social system is made up of a bunch of different parts and when one of these components gets taken away, we suffer and go into normlessness- which Durkheim refers to as anomie. Anomie is an indication of a loss of our sense of values and rules of conduct, creating problems. In relation to the play Hamlet, we can establish a connection between structural functionalism and Hamlet’s family through the losses he encounters throughout the book. While dealing with the death and re-appearance of his father, his uncle’s deceit and his mother’s betrayal, he finds himself falling into anomie while overthinking, and becoming mad in result of his loneliness. In the beginning of the play Hamlet, we are promptly made aware of Hamlet’s family situation and what has recently happened with his father, Old Hamlet. When a child is born, the parent of the same sex as the child will usually be the one they feel the biggest connection with. There’s a feeling of common understanding, and when one gets that individual taken away it truly is devastating. That is how it was for Hamlet. We get to see the gravity of his father’s death destroying his optimism, when he’s talking to Claudius and tells him that people can act sad, but he has real grief beneath the clothes that he wears. â€Å"Together with all forms, moods, shapes of grief, That can denote me truly. These indeed â€Å"seem,† For they are actions that a man might play. But I have that within which passeth show, These but the trappings and the suits of woe.† (1, 2, 83). Two scenes later, we are showed how the death of his father affects his mental state. When Horatio and Hamlet lay eyes on the ghost in scene 4, Horatio begs Hamlet not to follow him. â€Å"What if it tempt you toward the flood, my lord, Or to the dreadful summit of the cliff That beetles o’er his base into the sea, †¦Ã¢â‚¬  (1, 4, 72). Hamlet answers him with a shocking comeback and follows the mysterious figure into the mist. â€Å"Why, what should be the fear? I do not set my life in a pin’s fee, And for my soul—what can it do to that, Being a thing immortal as itself? It waves me forth again. I’ll follow it.† (1, 4, 67) This quote reveals Hamlet’s opinion on his self-worth. He explains to Horatio that he does not value his life. If Hamlet’s father had not died, and he had not been so fragile and in such grief, there would have been a significant difference in the way that he handled the situation. His father’s death, r ight from the beginning of the play, started affecting his sense of values and rules of conduct- leaving him in a state of normlessness. This is what spun the chaos of Hamlet into action, starting Hamlet out on his path to self-destruction, eventually to the point where his death is the result of his own medalling. In the words of a man who lived long ago, â€Å"what we fear, we create.† After the death of his father Hamlet continues to mourn the loss, as one would usually do if their parent were to decease. Oddly enough, his own mother and lest we forget; the recent wife of his father, says to him: â€Å"Do not for ever with thy vailed lids Seek for thy noble father in the dust: Thou know’st ’tis common; all that lives must die,   Passing through nature to eternity.† (1.2.2) This is shocking because normally, if one’s spouse has passed away they would experience some sort of great grief, however Gertrude takes little discomfort in the matter and in the quote above, tells him not to fret, for everybody must die at some point. To this, Hamlet says to himself, â€Å"O, God! a beast, that wants discourse of reason, Would have mourn’d longer–married with my uncle,My father’s brother, but no more like my father Than I to Hercules: [†¦]† (1.2.151). Clearly her insensitiveness and incentive to quickly re-marry angers Hamlet. How could she not mourn the death of her own husband, and re-marry his brother almost right after? Hamlet demonstrates great disgust for his mother and accuses her of incest. â€Å"She [Gertrude] married. O, most wicked speed, to post. With such dexterity to incestuous sheets! It is not nor it cannot come to good: But break, my heart; for I must hold my tongue.† (1.2.158). With the loss of his own mother, Hamlet (as would any child) starts to act out and feel a loss of control. We see this in his quote in act 1 scene 2: â€Å"O, that this too too solid flesh would melt Thaw and resolve itself into a dew! Or that the Everlasting had not fix’d His canon ‘gainst self-slaughter! O God! God! How weary, stale, flat and unprofitable, Seem to me all the uses of this world! (128) Here, Hamlet talks about how he wishes God had not declared suicide a sin, and how pointless life is to him now. This is huge because we get to see how the loss of his mother is affecting his sanity. He needs his mother to support and protect him, yet she is nowhere to be found. Rather, she is with the man that he needs to be protected from. This affects his sense of values and rules of conduct- leaving him in a state of normlessness. This is just another push from Gertrude to Hamlet towards his death (failure) in the end of the play. Meanwhile, Hamlet’s uncle and new step father Claudius is being a â€Å"villain, villain, smiling, damned villain!† (107) as Hamlet describes him in act 1 scene 5, because he feels that Claudius has been deceitful and betrayed his own brother. Which he in fact has. In act 3 scene 3, Claudius says he feels guilty for murdering Old Hamlet, yet he states, â€Å"That cannot be [Claudius cannot ask God to accept his apology), since I am still possessed Of those effects for which I did the murder: My crown, mine own ambition, and my queen.† (56) Revealing that he knows that he cannot as for forgiveness when he is still in possession of his brother’s belongings and is not ready to let them go. This whole affair leaves Hamlet very clearly bitter and upset with him. In act 3 scene 4, Hamlet’s mother says to him, â€Å"Hamlet, thou hast thy father much offended.† (9) And he replies with a snarky remark claiming that Claudius is not his father at all, and that the one doing the real offending is her (Gertrude) to his father (Old Hamlet). â€Å"Mother, you have my father much offended.† (3.4.10) This quote proves to us how betrayed he feels by his uncle. Three scenes before these quotes, Hamlet presents his â€Å"to be, or not to be† soliloquy about suicide. â€Å"To be, or not to be: that is the question: Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, Or to take arms against a sea of troubles.† (3.1.57) He, again, is debating whether or not he should kill himself. This validates the theory that he is losing his mind due to his uncle’s actions, and essentially the robbing of his uncle entirely as a person that he once put his trust into. It affects Hamlet’s sense of values and rules of conduct- leaving him in a state of normlessness, pushing him even more off of the edge towards failure. Hamlet’s inability to remain mentally stable throughout the play is in the fault of the unfortunate death of one parental figure, the betrayal of the other, and the people that he invested into emotionally whom ultimately took advantage of his trust. When a kid is faced with such instability it becomes ridiculously difficult for them to continue on as fully functioning, emotionally stable human beings. When the most important people in Hamlet’s life disappeared, he started to go into normlessness, like we would if we were to lose a vital component in our society, such as the government. He fell into anomie, losing his sense of values and rules of conduct, creating multiple problems within himself. We see this as he overthinks throughout the entire play. He cannot make conscious decisions, think, or function properly. In conclusion, Emile Durkheim’s theory on structural functionalism does in fact directly correlate to Hamlet’s family and their part in his f ailure.