Consulting Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Consulting Report - Essay Example The global economic recession has reduced the number of readers and has significantly reduced the advertising revenues. The publishing cost has been increased and major of the newspaper publishing organizations have increased the price level. Therefore, the readers are going for free online news contents. The study will analyze the recent trends in the newspaper industry. Moreover, the study will analyze and evaluate the strategies that have been adopted by the leading organization within the US newspaper industry. The study will provide details of the adopted strategies by the publishing industry in order to overcome the current losses. By implementing internal and external analysis of this industry, the study will reveal the measures to be adopted and implemented by the Chronicle Gazette in order to increase its subscription and advertising revenues. State of the Newspaper publishing Industry Within the US newspaper publishing industry, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times a nd USA Today are three leading players. Data on Declining Circulation The Wall Street Journal is the leading newspaper in US considering the daily sales figure. Apart from the US editions, the newspaper also has European and Asian Edition. For the six months till March 31, 2010, the number of daily week day circulation was a base of 2,092,523 readers. On the other hand, for the same period the figure of circulation base has decreased to 1,913,284 readers. New York Times is another leading newspaper within US. The circulation figure of New York Times’ weekday edition has failed by 8.5% to approximately 950,000 subscriptions. Moreover, the study edition of this specific newspaper has failed by 5.2% at end of 2010. USA Today is one of the major daily selling newspapers in US. During the last six months since March 31, the sale of newspaper has declined by 13.6%. Status of Newspaper leaders Recently the wall street journal has accepted an effective price based model of paid and f ree access in order to overcome these challenges. Now-a-days, they used to publish their news content through online. Several news cover ages including sports news, political news, and entertainment and art news are being available for free to the each and every online reader. The journal has able to attract the focus of potential target segment to the organization website by providing niche news contents. Reason behind Declining Circulation and Revenue An external and internal assessment has been developed in order to reveal the reasons behind declining revenue and circulation of newspaper publication organizations. External assessment This part will implement PESTLE and Porter’s five force model in order to determine the external assessment. PESTLE Analysis PESTLE analysis will determine the impact of political, social, economical, legal, technological and environmental factors on the newspaper publication industry in US. Political Several political parties are influencing and providing money to online sources. Moreover, they are not supporting the newspaper publication companies. Economical Recent recession has affected the buying behavior of customers. Due to low disposable income, people are shifting towards online news contents. Social, Cultural and Demographical Current social trend towards the online news sources, reduced women subscribers and availability of advanced

A Narrative and Analysis of Two Stories Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

A Narrative and Analysis of Two Stories - Essay Example A Narrative and Analysis of Two Stories Even though both of these stories deal with different subject matter, the fact the matter is that difficulty in seeking to surmount it, form the backbone of both stories. According to this the following analysis will seek to relate these determinants to the reader as a means of comparison as well as greater understanding for the underlying core an ideal that they represent in the means by which humanity integrates with difficulties, reality, and an understanding of goals as well as the impossible. Hyeonseo Lee’s story engages the reader with the cold, harsh realities that exist within North Korea and explains the level of realization that exists within a heroine is a function of time. Where is a maybe difficult for the average individual to understand and appreciate the difficulties of life within an oppressive communist regime, Lee was able to come to such an understanding as a result of the suffering detailed in the letter which was discussed. However, rather than choosing just to run and enjoying her own freedom once she was outside of North Korea, Lee spent a significant amount of her own time as well as all of the money that she it saved in order to rescue the remainder of her surviving family from the clutches of the regime. The tale represents not only extreme sacrifice but extreme loyalty and understanding that can only exist within an individual who is actualized and understands the reality of the given situation. One aspect of this particular story that was no t found in the next story which will be related is the excess repower that an additional and unrequited individual can provide. Whereas Lee had been able to a compass great deal with her own money and her own efforts, she was eventually stymied within Laos prior to being able to fully realize independence and freedom for herself and her family members. However, just as the moment seemed as if all was lost, an unknown and unrequested entity entered and was able to change the situation entirely. Whereas almost the entire story up until this point had been focused upon Lee at her own individual efforts, the introduction of a secondary character willing and able to sacrifice of their own time and money was something that showed a great deal of the human condition. As such it is this very human condition of understanding difficulties in seeking to ameliorate them that provides the true object lesson in parallels that can be found within Lee’s escape and subsequent citizenship that form the backbone of her biographic story. Conversely, Diana Nyad’s stories emphasize a much more internal and personalized approach. Rather than having impacts upon the lives and freedom of other people, as did Lee’s story, Nyad’s struggle was basically one that was internal. This cannot be discounted to mean less than Lee’s. Rather, it is merely different in that Nyad sought to conquer her own weakness as opposed to seeking the comfort of others. On a broader level, Nyad and Lee show the ways in which the human brain and consciousness integrate with extreme difficulty. Whereas it would been much easier for both Nyad and Lee to merely walk away from the dreams that they shared, the much more difficult and nobler aspect was seeking to face them head on and accomplishing the impossible. As Nyad notes, what she was attempting to do, was ultimately never attempted

Australian education trends Essay Example for Free

Australian education trends Essay It is often known that education forms the backbone of economic development and growth in any nation. The investment in pre-school, primary and secondary education as well as community college education ensures availability of human capital endowed with relevant skills and knowledge for enhanced productivity. This has proven to be a necessity for sustained economic development in any country in the world. Educated people are in no doubt different from the uneducated or less educated in a variety ways (Tiffen, Gittins, 2004). At the outset, the difference is eminent in attitudes and behavior, in their well being and health status, income as well as values regarding morals, religion, politics and employment among others. By instilling these positive characteristics to individuals in the community, education has therefore transformed the world people live in from the old ignorance-ridden era to the technologically-advanced modern life (Tiffen, Gittins, 2004). Australia has experienced a steady increase in education levels in the last century. The government has in the past centralized funding of education and imposed high taxes on high income earners in an attempt to finance education. Students are not spared either in this plan and have been included in the â€Å"user pays† principle where they reimburse for the education services received. However, this scheme has affected education in many countries and how the government plans to implement the principle together with high taxation is a matter of concern. In Australia, the Government provides public funding for non-government schools as well as substantial assistance to government academic institution. Funding of state government schools is the primary responsibility of States and territories (Laporte, Ringold, 1997). These organs can also provide assistance to non-governmental institutions of learning. It is estimated that more than two thirds of the students in non-government academic institutions are affiliated to Catholic as a religion. Australian education system is a three tier model where children enroll in Kindergarten at the age of about five years, then graduate to primary followed by secondary levels from year one to twelfth year and finally tertiary education (Harrison, 2002). Education is mandatory for the children aged between five to about sixteen years but the federal government caters for the university education. This system has ensured a reduced school life expectancy thereby enhancing educational development in the country (Centre for Educational Research and Innovation, 2008). This however draws a sharp contrast to the old system. Australian education system was highly stratified and that only infants and primary education were provided for the children. Additionally, Selection for high school education was very competitive, and favored the siblings of specific people who used to be prominent in the society (Henry, 1990). These individuals included industrialists, agriculturalists as well as businessmen among other professionals. Teaching profession was undermined since the government offered low wages to the teachers in addition to subjecting them to strict laws that restricted their personal as well as professional conduct. These factors reduced the productivity of the teaching staff thereby suppressing students’ performance in schools (Henry, 1990). The tremendous increase in level of education in Australia has been largely attributed to changes in a variety of factors including social and institutional framework as well as economic changes and student financing much else besides (Evans Kelley, 2002). To start with, changes in educational levels have been associated with urbanization. The rural-urban migration brought about by the inadequacy of farmland as well as search for skilled jobs in the cities has enhanced the development of cities in Australia. This has therefore called for the provision of educational services in these highly populated regions hence increasing the educational levels. Evans Kelley (2002) estimates the changes brought about by urbanization to about six percent over the last century. Economic growth on the other hand has been articulated with the steady increase in the educational levels in Australia. This country has witnessed a considerable economic growth in the recent past. Australian GDP for instance is currently valued at 1050 billion dollars which is slightly above 1.6 percent of the world economy (Laporte, Ringold, 1997).   Australia has so far recorded steady economic growth and unlike other OECD nations it did not fall to the economic recession witnessed in the recent past (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2007). Moreover, the country has recorded a growth rate of about 3.6% annually for the last fifteen years. This has empowered the government hence its ability to fund education as well as other sectors (UNESCO/OECD World Education Indicators Program, 2005). It therefore implies that most of the Australians are able to access education compared to the past where parents used to dropout of school after compulsory education level. The current parents have therefore acquired high social status in addition to pursuing the available high skilled and well-paying professional jobs. The Australian children who hail from well educated families can now access proper education thereby increasing the levels of education in the country (Ruitenberg, 2010). Economic growth has therefore contributed to about twenty six percent education growths in Australia. This change has mainly improved education levels in both the primary education which is compulsory as well as secondary education which the educated and socially as well as economically-empowered parents can now afford (Evans Kelley, 2002).The duo however admit that the aforementioned factors only contribute to a little percentage of the sources of educational transformation so far witnessed in Australia and that the real sources of change in education trend in this century are still unclear. Youth participation in education including vocational education and training has also improved in Australia. According to Sue et al (2009) a variety of factors have influenced this upsurge in the education trends in Australia. Factors such as how the young people’s families as well as community value education, the socioeconomic status of the general population, available education and training and the school curriculum, existing policies on education and youth employment, financial incentives and obstacles, economic structure in regard to industry and occupation have changed hence improvement of youth participation in education and vocational training in Australia (Kilpatrick, Sue,  Baynes, Chapman Hazel An indexing term that provides specific identifying information in a category: geographic names, laws and legislation, or tests and testing., ()), 2009). Australia just like other developed States has recorded a steady decline in fertility rate which has brought about the ratio of two children per couple (Tiffen, Gittins, 2004). It is always presumed that the higher the number of children in a family the reduced ability of the parents to provide quality education to an individual child. This is because the available resources such as finance, energy and time are shared among the many children thereby reducing the amount received by an individual child (Evans Kelley, 2002). The reduced fertility rate in Australia has ensured reduced number of children in a family which the parents can afford to provide quality education for thus contributing to increased level of education in the country. These changes in education levels brought about by changes in family size are only noticeable in secondary schools and tertiary levels and not in primary level where the government funds education (Harrison, 2002). The government’s commitment to provide quality education has also influenced to a greater extent the steady growth in education levels so far witnessed in Australia. The Australian government has increased its spending on education of both males and females compared to the last century. There have been issues of gender inequality in education and females have been stereotyped as underperformers in the past (Evans Kelley, 2002). It is note worthy that in all countries except New Zealand; there have been lower performance by females than their male counterparts especially in mathematics literacy (Marginson, 1993). This traditional stereotype is being overcome by the Australian government through equal provision of educational services to both the sexes. Philosophers such as Martin Roland have also contributed to this issue of gender equality and education of the girl child. Roland argues that the old tradition was a barrier to the equal distribution of resources to both the sexes in the society since it discriminated against the females and favored the males. She reiterates that gender issues should be embedded in the curriculum as well as in teaching and schooling activities to ensure that the product of such a system is an ideal educated person. John Dewey is another renowned philosopher whose contribution to education, politics as well as philosophy has been globally recognized. According to Dewey, education was the cornerstone to intellectual development and progress of the society. He stressed on the improvement of moral and social nature of schools as an attempt to fostering democracy and community prosperity (Paringer, 1990). Dewey asserts that provision of education service to a single child in the society empowers the child towards self- effectiveness which consequently provides a guarantee to a lovely, worthy and harmonious society. Democracy never used to prevail in the ancient society as a result of lack of knowledge by then. According to Dewey, the nature of things should be viewed from a perspective of change and growth and therefore the continuous transformation in education is inevitable (Dewey, 2007). Nel Noddings is an additional prominent philosopher whose argument revolves around the moral reasoning, beliefs and values in education. She states that the current education trends encourages moral development hence the need to adopt educational structures that incorporates ethics and the use of motherly interest to inform moral learning. She however blames politics that fulfills the interests of particular groups for threatening the establishment of strong ethical foundation of learning as well as teaching in the academic institution (Palmer, Bresler, Cooper, 2001). Conclusion Education in Australia has undergone commendable changes since the first half of the last century. The Australian government as well as other stakeholders in the educational sector has contributed towards the social progress which is primarily dependent on the enhanced education standards in the country. Education has so far transformed from the old system characterized by repugnant traditions and values to the modern technologically- advanced era where education is the basic requirement for community sustainability. The progress in science and technology in the current era has created the knowledge and skills necessary for the developed industrial economy, while growth of education has provided workforce that is needed to utilize these new opportunities. Australia currently enjoys a socially-friendly environment with high paying professional jobs as well as improved living standards courtesy of development witnessed in the education sector. Reference List: Centre for Educational Research and Innovation (2008). Trends shaping education. OECD   Publishing. Dewey, J. (2007). Democracy and Education: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Education.   NuVision Publications, LLC.   Evans, M. Kelley, J. (2002). Australian economy and society, 2001: education, work, an   welfare. Federation Press. Harrison, J. (2002). Excel senior high school: community and family studies. Pascal Press. Henry, M. (1990). Understanding schooling: an introductory sociology of Australian education.

Drug Use in the American Army in the Vietnam War

Drug Use in the American Army in the Vietnam War In 1898 the United States gained control of the Philippines. Shortly after acquiring the islands, they began a bloody struggle to suppress the guerrilla uprising that was looming. Soon after their arrival in the Philippines, the troops that were stationed in the Philippines were taught how to smoke opium. Even though this practice was very common among the troops, the current U.S. Opium Commissioner Hamilton Wright decided to deny all claims of them participating in this act. He stated in 1909 that among the personnel of our Army and Navy [in the Philippines] there is not the slightest evidence that the use of opium or its derivatives has been introduced (Brush, n.d.). This use of opium in the Philippines was defiantly not the last time that the U.S. military would use drugs such as opium during the fight to combat guerilla forces. The next time that this practice was used was in the United States involvement in the Vietnam War between the years 1965-1975. Since the beginning of the 20th century the United States had taken upon itself to start controlling drugs by forming different policies to regulate drugs and protect the people of their country. One of the leading fronts of the regulation of drugs was the president of the Bureau of Narcotics, Harry Anslinger. During the decade of the 1950s, the bureau first established different posts in Southern Asia in hopes to curve the source of where different drugs were coming into the United States from (Kuzmarov, 2008). Then later in 1962, the Kennedy Administration provided Mexico with $500,00 worth of helicopters, light planes, jeeps, and rifles through the Agency of International Development for special narcotic destruction campaign targeting marijuana and opium growers (Kuzmarov, 2008). This would set a precedent for the near future. The Vietnam War followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam and South Vietnam. North Vietnam was supported by communist forces and South Vietnam was supported by anti-communist countries such as the United States. A few years before in 1945, President Truman stated, I believe that it must be the policy of the United States to support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures. I believe that we must assist free peoples to work out their own destinies in their own way (Yancey, 2001). The Unites States saw that the support of the Southern Vietnamese people as a way to combat their idea of containment (Yancey, 2001). Many soldiers in the enacted during the Vietnam War did not want to make the Army a career. They were generally uneducated individuals who lacked in the experience that the higher ranking officials did. These GIs lack of interest, education, and experience in wars may have been one of the many reasons that morale for the Vietnam War faded so quickly. In 1971, President Nixon announced the formation of the Special Action for Drug Abuse Prevention (SAODAP) that was in charge of coordinating and reporting on the growing drug problems of the Vietnam War. Some of their findings included that about 40% of the voluntary enlistees of the troops were school dropouts and many of them enlisted in the military before the appropriate age because of how many little opportunities that they had concerning aspects of their lives such as jobs. They also had much more drug experiences than that of the draftees later on in the war (Korsmeyer and Kranzler, 2009). In the later years of the war, the drafte es were chosen by a lottery designed to make a selection less susceptible to social class biases (Korsmeyer and Kranzler, 2009). Their top priority in this strange land was survival and many turned to drugs as a way to escape (Yancy, 2001). In this paper I will discuss the role alcohol, marijuana, opium, and amphetamine had on the Vietnam War. In the early stages of the Vietnam War, alcohol abuse was the most common drug used. Many of the men partook in daily drinking in order to pass the long days and nights in Vietnam. This alcohol abuse did not cause much controversy in exception of those who were underage. The high ranking officers who partook in daily alcohol abuse were nicknamed the juicers, and the lower ranking draftees of the war were nicknamed the heads due to their indulgence in illicit drugs such as marijuana (Kutler, 1996). Drinking alcohol was significantly encouraged by the Army men. The drinking did everything to encourage their stereotype of the tough and hearty men that they tried to portray. Bars around the bases were given special licenses in order to dispense beer and other alcohols to the troops, even in the bunkers (Kutler, 1996). As the war continued, many could not ignore the fact that marijuana use was steadily increasing. As the Armys combat role in the Vietnam War wound down, illicit drugs conti nued to be a problem. With the decreasing support from the home front, the U.S. forces decided to turn to the Nixon Doctrine. Through the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) and the Vietnamization program, soldiers were required to spend countless lonely months behind bunkers in isolation (Sanders, 1973). The men endured many lonely nights in a world that was completely new and foreign to them. They were thrown into a world that was so unfamiliar to them and their families and friends that were dear to them were halfway around the world. This negative attitude on the war and the home front caused the Vietnam War to lose its support and much of its legitimacy which fueled an exceptional environment for drug use and abuse (Kutler, 1996). The most commonly abused of the drugs being marijuana. Marijuana is one of those unique drugs that can have a very different effect on different people. In one hand, it can act like a stimulant but at the same time act as a depressant (Iversen, 2008). The United States has been trying to regulate the distribution and sales of marijuana since the 1930s after the Marijuana Tax Stamp. In 1954 the Federal Bureau of Narcotics began to investigate the trafficking of opium from Laos. The terrain of Laos is mostly mountainous with many hills and plateaus. This provided the perfect landscape for smuggling narcotics such as opium with little suspicions from the government and other prying eyes (Kuzmarov, 2008). As the soldiers came pouring in from the United States during the war, this caused worry about the illicit drugs being smuggled through the terrain and what this meant for the U.S. Military. Many of the farmers around of the area sold and packaged marijuana as a means of additional income. Marijuana is a very easy plant to grow because it i s a weed. It does not need very fertile soils or even a large amount of water, making it the perfect crop for these poor farmers (Iversen, 2008). It was also a result of the little enforcement of Drug Laws that were not well defined and of little importance in the eyes of the Vietnamese criminal justice system. There was no government control or enforcement agency over marijuana (Brush, n.d.). The farmers would often pack their marijuana in different brands of cigarettes and other smoking tobacco for distribution. The very potent marijuana was sold for a $1.50 in US currency, which was very cheap when compared to the price in America. U.S. News and World Report quoted that Marijuana in Vietnam is cheap, easy to find and potent. All a person has to do to get it is say the work Khan Sa (Zinberg, 1975). Even though this drug was readily available many men only smoked it casually to calm down after a battle or to escape the death and destruction that they were seeing every day. In a study done at the Long Binh Jail, psychiatrist Roger A. Roffman concluded that only 28.9% of GIs stationed in the Southern Corps had tried marijuana at least once. After later publishing their study, the mass media inflated their findings and were reporting that as high as 90% of American troops in Vietnam were on drugs (Kuzmarov, 2008). Only a small percentage of American troops reported heavily smoking marijuana. Media attention to the use of drugs in Vietnam was greatly construed to what was actually going on. They did not distinguish for the masses between the drug use and the drug abuse (Zinberg, 1975). In constant concern over the ever increasing addiction problem amongst the GIs, in 1969, a campaign for the destruction of marijuana was launched by the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs and the Vietnamese special police. Some speculate that this was also an alternative agenda to the Vietnamese to force out any guerillas and force other villagers into government ran camps. The aftermath of this mission included 504,795 marijuana plants being destroyed. These farmers were paid a small amount of money, less than one U.S. cent for every crop that was destroyed on their land (Kuzmarov, 2008). Journalist Richard Boyle commented, The United States is now waging two wars in Vietnam; one against the Vietcong and the other against Mary Jane (Sanders, 1973). With the constant pressure from the military to cut down marijuana smoking in Vietnam, many of the GIs found the risk of smoking marijuana much too great to continue their use. Because of this crackdown, soldiers found a different means of getting high in this foreign world, and its name was heroin. The heroin of the area was so readily available and pure that the men could discreetly hide the heroin in their cigarettes and smoke it with no discriminating odor of any kind, allowing it to be easily hidden (Kutler, 1996). As the 1970s slowly came, heroin addiction rapidly increased throughout all ranks of the military in Vietnam. An estimated 450,000 U.S. military forces in Vietnam were reportedly currently using or had tried for the first time heroin. Because of the strict enforcement of marijuana, it literally knocked out all of the competition that heroin had. Heroin was more readily available that marijuana had ever been. In The Senate Staff Report on Drug Abuse in the Military it stated, The upshot was the GIs who had been smoking grass turned to heroin, which was initially passed off to them as a nonaddicting cocaine. They reasoned that the substance itself, heroin, and the smoking of it were more easily concealed from prying eyes and noses than marijuana (Kutler, 1996). The inexpensive and highly pure heroin estimated at about 94-96% led to frequent use by the U.S. military in Vietnam. Few men injected it and intravenous use was rare (Morgan and Puder, 1989). In a way to deal with the growing problem of drug use, the U.S. military was also trying to encourage their troops to seek help with the heroin, marijuana, and other addictions by offering a sort of amnesty and treatment for any of the GIs who chose to seek help with their problems. Before this idea of seeking treatment, soldiers who were caught participating in drug activity were subject to court marshal and the possibility of dishonorable discharge (Korsmeyer and Kranzler, 2009). As this new idea was being set out, more and more troops were being sent back to the United States. The downside to more troops being sent home was the fact that many of these men were regularly using illicit drugs such as marijuana and heroin on a daily bases. The men were bringing back their drug habits into the United States with them. As the impeding fear of drug addiction on the home front became clearer and clearer, Nixon proposed a plan in 1971 to conduct urine testing for GIs returning home. If the men did not pass the drug test, then they could not return. This new policy was dubbed Operation Golden Flow. These fears of heroin addiction reaching United States soil did not occur at the level that was expected. An estimation of more than two-thirds of the returning GIs from Vietnam never even touch heroin once they returned home (Morgan and Puder, 1989). Although the media attention on this new policy focused mainly on the dreaded heroin, the goal was to detect as many different drugs the troops may have been using while in Vietnam. As to be recognized, the methods used for this testing was in its very primitive state, causing some discrepancies to the testing methods. The 1971 program was confined to testing for residue and/or metabolites of opiates, barbiturates, and amphetamine (Morgan and Puder, 1989). Amphetamines were another drug used during the Vietnam War. Even though marijuana and heroin were more plentiful during this time, some amphetamines were also used. They were used mainly in part because the military would dispense these drugs in order to keep their men awake. The pills were commonly called go pills which allowed the soldiers to stay alert awake during special assigned missions (Korsmeyer and Kranzler, 2009). GIs could also purchase vials of liquid amphetamines on the black market and use them for staying alert during patrol duties or even for parties in rear areas. Some veterans remarked that when asked how coming off the drug was, they replied that it made them edgy and extremely irritable. One soldier even stated that coming off of the drug made the fell like shooting children in the streets. It could be assumed that for reasons like this, marijuana was often the drug of choice for the soldiers over in Vietnam (Tucker, 1998). Drug use has been a staple in wars throughout history with the Napoleonic Wars, World War I, and World War II just to name a few (Sanders, 1973). The Vietnam War was no different than these other wars. In Vietnam the most common drugs used were alcohol, marijuana, heroin, and some amphetamines. These GIs in the Vietnam War were sent to a land in isolation that was foreign to them. Many leaned towards drugs in order to combat the loneliness and horror they saw on the battlefront and many just out of boredom during their stint in Vietnam. At first drugs were used in moderation, but as the war continued on some drug problems among the soldiers became clearer. Statistics concerning exactly how many men were using different forms of illicit drugs tend to be unclear, but the one fact that is clear is that they were in constant supply and utilized in the American Army during the Vietnam War.

Psychology of Altruism and Morality :: essays papers

Psychology of Altruism and Morality The two competing theoretical frameworks that attempt to explain the development of morality are cognitive-behavioral and cognitive-developmental. The cognitive-behavioral approach is taken by Liebert, and the cognitive-developmental approach is taken by Kohlberg. Both sides have strong arguments that support their own theories and try to tear apart the opposing theory. The cognitive-developmental approach has been studied extensively by Lawrence Kohlberg. Through his studies using moral dilemmas, Kohlberg developed his six stages of moral development. In these stages, Kohlberg concentrates on the reasons why people act the way they do; not the way they think about their actions or what action they take, but the reasoning behind their actions. The six stages that Kohlberg defines are grouped into three levels, with two levels at each stage. They are grouped as follows: Level 1 - Preconventional / Pre Moral *Stage 1: Punishment & Obedience - Actions that are punished are wrong. *Stage 2: Instrumental Relativist Orientation - focus is on the self. How will my actions reward me? Level 2 - Conventional *Stage 3: People at stage three begin to value the respect of the opinion and values of other. *Stage 4: Law and Order - Appreciation for rules, laws, and regulations of society. Level 3 - Post Conventional *Stage 5: Social Contrast Legalistic Orientation *Stage 6: Universal Ethical Principle These stages are important to Kohlberg’s four most general beliefs. One of Kohlberg’s first assertions is that people advance through these stages in an invariant sequence. Advancement through these stages occurs in order from 1 - 6, with no stages skipped, and there is no regression. Kohlberg’s second assertion is that people cannot comprehend reasoning more than one stage ahead of their current stage. Kohlberg also believes that people are attracted to higher stage reasoning because it is more adequate, and finally, stage movement is motivated by cognitive disequilibrium. The cognitive-developmental approach is supported by research done by Kohlberg and other researchers who have attempted to replicate Kohlberg’s findings. One study conducted by John Snarey and Joseph Reimer attempted to prove the cultural universality of Kohlberg’s stages. The study, conducted in Turkey, was a longitudinal study using ninety-two kibbutz-born Israeli’s. The results were consistent with Kohlberg’s studies done in both the United States and Turkey, making the cultural universality argument stronger. Contradicting the cognitive-developmental approach is the cognitive-

Privacy in the Workplace Essay -- Employee Privacy Monitoring Workplac

"Privacy. There seems to be no legal issue today that cuts so wide a swath through conflicts confronting American society: from AIDS tests to wiretaps, polygraph test to computerized data bases, the common denominator has been whether the right to privacy outweighs other concerns of society†¦" This quote from Robert Ellis Smith explains, in one sentence, the absolute need to ensure privacy in the workplace. One of the most interesting, yet controversial, areas concerning public personnel is employee privacy. What limits are there to employers’ intrusions into, and control over, employees’ behaviors and personal properties? There are five major areas which trigger privacy matters in the area of public sector employment: background checks, cognizance of off duty conduct and lifestyles, drug testing, workplace searches, and monitoring of workplace activity. Of these five, the fifth area of privacy, monitoring of workplace activity, is the most controversial. The reason for this is the advance of technology. These conflicts open anew the basic questions as to what is private, what is propriety, what legal rights an employee possesses, and what an employee’s obligations and responsibilities are within the sphere of public employment. Privacy has been defined as "the claim of individuals, groups, or institutions to determine for themselves when, how, and to what extent information about them is communicated to others". The privacy claims of employees can vary in terms of the privacy interest involved and the conception of a need for privacy. In terms of background checks, the issue of autonomy is presented. Autonomy involves ones own personal and individual liberties. Autonomy embraces areas of central life choice and lifestyle that are important in terms of individual expression, but irrelevant to an employer and of no public concern. It has been associated with marital and other intimate relationships, home and family life, and association and reproductive choices. Employees have raised issues of employer intrusion into this area where the employer makes employment decisions on the basis of something in an employee’s personal history, or conditions employment on appropriate responses to inquires about per sonal activities which are not job-related. An employer may have interests which permit some limited intrusion into this area, if the behavior involves m... ...duals from fear, abuse and annoyance when it upheld the constitutionality of 47 U.S.C. 233, which makes the communication of obscene or harassive phone calls a federal crime. Employers have no less a responsibility. The responsibility is reinforced through anti-discrimination statutes like Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which has been interpreted to prohibit direct harassment and creation of hostile environments in the workplace. The U.S. Constitution gives substantial protection to privacy in the home, but not where Americans make a living. To make up for federal inadequacy, some states have enacted their own privacy statues. Federal law takes precedence, but where state laws provide greater protection, employers are usually subject to both. Several states have banned various activities, including the paper-and-pencil honesty test, which have not been scientifically validated. No state gives strong privacy protection to workers using e-mail, voice mail or telephone, nor does any state prohibit intrusive psychological testing. Unless or until national workplace laws can be passed, state laws will continue tp provide only spotty overall support for worker privacy.

Scripts

Before Introduction Good evening ladies & gentlemen. As event will be beginning shortly, may we invite everyone to kindly take your seats. Thank you. Introduction Good evening [_____________, ____________] ladies and gentlemen. I’m ___________ and I’m __________ we will be your emcees for this evening. On behalf of Linglingay Association, we would like to thank each and every one of you for taking the time to grace this blissful occasion. So relax and enjoy the rest of the evening. Opening prayerBefore we start, may I call on _____________ for the opening prayer. Pambansang AwitPlease remain standing for the singing of Pambansang Awit to be lead by __________________. Marching of Officers Before anything else, we would like to acknowledge the key persons who took a great part of this joyous affair. Ladies and gentlemen, it is with great pleasure to introduce to you the Linglingay Association’s officers. Let’s start off. Please make a stand and march as your name is called. So there you have it ladies and gentlemen, our most distinguished set of Linglingays Association’s officers. Let us once again give them a big round of applause. Message of the PresidentAnd now let’s welcome the Linglingay Association’s Chairperson. Let us give her a big hand for a job well done. Intoduction of Guest Speaker 1Without further ado, we would like to warmly welcome ___________. Sir/ Madam, thank you so much for your support. Speaker 2May I have your attention please, as we welcome _______________. Thank you sir/ Madam for gracing this occasion. Speaker 3Also with us here tonight and it is with great pleasure to have our guest speaker _________. Thank you _______________ for going out of your way to be with us. Speaker 4And now, we are truly happy to have here with us the ______________________ Thank you ___________ for sparing your precious time with us. Speaker 5For our next speaker, Friends lets give a big hand to ______________. Thank you Ma’am, it’s our pleasure to have you with us. Dance numbersAnd now, the moment we have all been waiting for, presenting to you the __________________ for their dance presentation. Thank you for that gracious presentation. Now, May we bring your attention to the dance floor as we welcome ____________________. Asking officials or guest to dance on floorNow may we invite ____________ to be on floor to show his/their talent/s in dancing. Sir the floor is yours. Food In just a few moments ladies and gentlemen food will be served. Enjoy! Ladies & gentlemen, we hope you have been enjoying your food so far. Closing remarksMay we now call on _____________, for tha closing message. With that, on behalf of Linglingay Association, we would like to once again hank everyone for gracing this occasion. We hope that you have enjoyed the celebration as much as we have enjoyed hosting it to you. We wish a flourishing new year ahead of everyone. Thank you. Others Welcome scriptsWe would like to acknowledge the arrival of _____________. Welcome and Thank you for sharing your time with us. We would like to recognize the arrival of _____________. Thank you for coming sir. We would like to acknowledge the presence of _______ ___. Thank you sir,and Welcome to the Linglingay’s Association New year’s ball. Thank youAgain Thank you for your participation, you may now return to your seats. Sir, Madam, Thank you so much for your generosity. Additional scriptsSo I guess that’s about it. I hope I did not miss out anyone. If I did, please be so kind to remind me. There you have it ladies and gentlemen. Holidays like Christmas and New Year bring families together. It refreshes the family ties and friendship that have gone out of date and almost forgotten against the toll of time and distance. Goodbye message to speakersThank you for being with us tonight, sir _________. Have a safe trip! Thank you for sharing your precious time sir ________. Happy new year and have a safe trip. Thank you for gracing this occasion ___________. May you have a safe trip! Welcome the associations and give their names to the emcee (get their representatives for pageants and boy pick up): Message booth: Food for the associations: For the guest speakers: Food for the judges: Game: Trip to JerusalemMs. Gay Linglingay Boy pick upGame ka na ba? (10 per association) Mr. and Miss LinglingayBalloons Disco king and queen Bingo