Friday, May 1, 2020

Positive Workplace Relationship-Free-Samples-Myassignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the different approaches and strategies an Organisation and its Employees can adopt to develop a positive workplace relationship. Answer: Introduction Relationships between team mates and colleagues have a direct effect on the business performance making it a priority for any business to focus on work place relationships at all times. The report shall discuss different approaches and strategies an organisation and its employees can adopt to develop a positive workplace relationship(Tools 2017). How to Handle Difficult Behaviour in the Workplace Conflict is a normal and natural occurrence of interacting with one another. The cost of resolving conflict is negligible relative to the cost of leaving conflicts unresolved. Most conflict within and involving people revolve around unfulfilled needs, primarily the psychological need for control, recognition, affection, and respect. These needs are natural and quite human in that we all crave them, but when unacceptable or problematic behaviour has been rewarded in the past in fulfilment of these needs, difficult behaviour motivates the individual. We should try not to reward difficult behaviour or reinforce actions or inactions that manifest it(Belak 2017). There is no magic pill but there is a prescription to change behaviour in others. It takes time and patience to cure such negative characteristics, and it doesnt help to ignore the problem behaviour or respond likewise or criticize rather than cure or just brand someone as a problem and be the psychiatrist to their craziness. We can work to prevent unproductive and negative behaviour that leads to conflict. Dealing with Workplace Conflict using Communication If you reflect back upon conflicts you have encountered over the years, youll quickly recognize many of them resulted from a lack of information, poor information, no information, or misinformation. Lets assume for a moment that you were lucky enough to have received good information, but didnt know what to do with itThat is still a communication problem, which in turn can lead to conflict. Clear, concise, accurate, and timely communication of information will help to ease both the number and severity of conflicts. Another common mistake made in workplace communications which leads to conflict is letting emotions drive decisions. I have witnessed otherwise savvy executives place the need for emotional superiority ahead of achieving their mission (not that they always understood this at the time). Case in point - have you ever witnessed an employee throw a fit of rage and draw the regrettable line in the sand in the heat of the moment? If you have, what you really watched was a person indulging their emotions rather than protecting their future(Myatt 2012). For the majority who are networking, face-to-face rather than virtual networking still comes out on top. Even among tech-savvy junior executives, 68% said they prefer to network in person, compared to 36% who network online. In her whitepaper, Hobsbawm says networking in person helps build trust and understanding, and she recommends choosing five contacts to meet for a coffee or lunch every week. Build Relationships at Work through Networking However, it's not just about paying lip-service to making connections. For networks to succeed and be effective, we need to be prepared to ask for help and be prepared to return the favour. I have lost count of the coaching conversations I have had with mentees who were concerned about using their networks in this way for fear of becoming a burden. Yet, if the tables were turned, most of us would feel honoured to be approached for help and guidance. It's a great privilege to be able to tap into relationships in this way, and not a sign of weakness which is how it can sometimes be perceived. It is easy to underestimate the value of making connections, but these relationships are vital for the span of your professional career, whatever path you pursue. Networking is not only about securing business opportunities, but should be about inspiring ideas, sharing information and collaborating. Those who master the art will be better placed to succeed(Bingham 2017). Benefits of Maintaining Internal and External Relationships at the Workplace The key to a completely social business is integrating both internal and external collaboration strategies into the business plan. Both types of collaboration enable businesses to be more competitive and do things faster and more efficiently. Collaborating externally builds relationships with consumers, increases revenue, decreases research, product development and marketing costs, and improves customer service. Collaborating internally improves the company at its core. It connects people and advocates a sharing culture, thereby increasing team productivity, leveraging specialty knowledge that exists within the company and reducing decision-cycle times (among other things). Some of the benefits of a completely social business: Anyone internally can participate, creating a collective intelligence repository that can be used for external activities. Platforms such as Crowdcast can be used for market predictions. The information can be shared to an external community to balance consumer expectations. Discussions around ideas, opinions, and strategies can be created and feedback gathered internally and then used externally for marketing campaigns, sales strategies and other customer facing activities. External community recommendations and ideas can be shared internally and evaluated for appropriate action. Communication between internal and external communities can be facilitated; employees can speak with other employees, customers can speak with other customers, and employees and customers can speak with each other. This breaks down communication barriers and helps both customers and employees take action. Valuable connections or relationships can be established internally that can enable new external relationships to be developed. Top quality talent is attracted to companies that adopt and embrace new business and technology practices. Customers are more likely to support companies that are known to have a caring reputation, and are interested in building long-term relationships with them We addressed the benefits of implementing an internal and external collaboration independent of each other and working in tandem. For companies to position themselves for success, essential ingredients to being a completely social business are: Strategy comes first and the tools come second, not the other way around. Focus on the business value, opportunity costs and risks. It's crucial for companies to understand the business objectives of creating internal and external collaborative communities. Benchmark and set up a solid measurement framework that relates back to business objectives, i.e. increase productivity, increase sales, and/or reduce costs. Cultivate and nurture a collaborative culture within the company. Understand that this is a long-term process that requires a solid adoption plan. Make collaboration fun and reward participation. Develop governance guidelines, and training programs around internal and external collaboration efforts to maintain cooperative rules of engagement. The advent of internal and external collaboration to build and maximize business value is inevitable. Learning to see the value in social software platforms and comprehensive strategies will position companies ahead of the competition. Companies that will take advantage of internal and external collaboration in 2010 and beyond will win(Leggio 2009). Addressing complaints on religions discrimination To resolve such conflicts, managers must frame the issues carefully and consider the long-term effects of their decisions. How they act can either improve morale by affirming an inclusive culture or it can suggest that religion is merely tolerated and possibly invite litigation. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits, among other things, religious discrimination in any facet of employment. Not only must employers not treat workers differently based on their religion, but when a conflict arises between a religious practice and a workplace policy, employers must also try to accommodate the employee. How to prepare to approach this meeting religious conflict is caused by a particular approach to religion. this approach causes people to go into the extreme of thinking that it is justified to kill in the name of God. However, this is where we need to be careful not to react with denial or finger pointing and focus on expressing the importance of unity and team building rather than let religious differences take over employee relations. How to approach networking to achieve goals To prevent disagreements over religious accommodations boiling over into conflict, companies can take several simple steps: Make the equal treatment of all employees regardless of traits like religion a mandate. Regularly remind workers of the importance of that tenet and consistently enforce it. Review and refine policies for different religious practices, and Anticipate staffing needs and factor them into any policy or accommodation discussion in order to identify limits and possible areas of flexibility. Leading teammates to achieve organisations goals in the next three months Most great leaders have a passion for building and leading an elite team but leading elite teams takes persistence and a consistent pursuit of personal and professional development. some tips to help lead Sam and Alex to meet their organisations goals include: Create an environment of leadership Make the team members feel safe Actively manage through adaptive change Be a servant to your team members who need assistants sacrifice for your team and they will sacrifice for you Conclusion Building Great Work Relationships required for employees to be happy, enjoy working so as to be Productive. This can be achieved by understanding their own needs and implementing effective Human Resource management approaches which encourage a friendly work place environment. This in turn than encourages increase workplace productivity which contributes towards the organisations envelopment and growth. References Belak, T 2017, How To Handle Difficult Behavior In The Workplace, viewed 14 August 2017, https://www.mediate.com/articles/belak4.cfm. Bingham, L 2017, Networking: how to succeed at building professional relationships, viewed 14 August 2017, https://www.theguardian.com/careers/careers-blog/networking-professional-relationship-building-career-success. Leggio, J 2009, Importance of external and internal collaboration, viewed 14 August 2017, https://www.zdnet.com/article/importance-of-external-and-internal-collaboration/. Myatt, M 2012, 5 Keys of Dealing with Workplace Conflict, viewed 14 August 2017, https://www.forbes.com/sites/mikemyatt/2012/02/22/5-keys-to-dealing-with-workplace-conflict/#5a82c51d1e95. Tools, M 2017, Building Great Work Relationships - Making Work Enjoyable and Productive, viewed 7 August 2017, https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/good-relationships.htm.

Saturday, March 21, 2020

Software Requirements Specification free essay sample

Software Requirements Specification For SYSTEM TO AUTOMATE PAYROLL PROCESSING Team members: CH. SAIKIRAN (08R01A0580)-CSE KANTAM RAMESH (08R01A0549)-CSE M. SAIMADHAVI -IT BATCH NO. : 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Abstract 2. Requirements Specification (RS) 3. Database Fields Specification 4. Operating Environment a. Software Requirements b. Hardware Requirements 5. High Level Design 6. Low Level Design a. Login b. Administrator c. Clerk d. Employee 7. Database Design 8. Test cases Abstract of the project: Consider a medium sized IT establishment which manages its own payroll requirements. This project will aim to develop an automated system to pay employees their monthly wages. The system should store employee salary details and leave allowance. At the end of the month the system should automatically credit the employee’s bank account with their salary. Income tax and loan payments should be deducted at source and appropriate accounts credited. Salary slips should also be generated. This system can be integrated with Leave and loan systems to give a holistic solution to the organization. We will write a custom essay sample on Software Requirements Specification or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Requirements Specification (RS) |No. Requirement |Essential or |Description of the Requirement |Remarks | | | |Desirable | | | |RS1 |The system should have a login for |Essential |A login box should appear when the system is |The logins are assigned by the | | |Administrator | |invoked for Administrator with his/her user |admin. | | | |name and password. | | |RS2 |The system should have a login for |Essential |A login box should appear when the system is |The logins are assigned by the | | |staff. | |invoked for Staff with his/her user name and |admin. | | | | |password. | | |RS3 |Data Entry screens to maintain |Essential |Online screens should be created with inputs |The information maintained by | | |employee information. |from end user. |admin. | |RS4 |Data Entry screens to maintain |Essential |Online screens should be created with inputs |The information should be | | |Allowance information. | |from end user. |maintained by admin. | |RS5 |Data Entry screens to maintain |Essenti al |Online screens should be created with inputs |The information should be | | |Standard Deductions information. | |from end user. |maintained by admin. |RS6 |Data Entry screens to maintain |Essential |Online screens should be created with inputs |The information should be | | |Attendance information. | |from end user. |maintained by clerk. | |RS7 |Data Entry screens to maintain Other|Essential |Online screens should be created with inputs |The information should be | | |Deductions information. | |from end user. |maintained by | | | | | |Staff(clerk/employee). |RS8 |Automatic crediting of employee |Essential |These reports will created when a trigger is | | | |salary | |initiated by the user | | |RS9 |Generation of Salary slip |Desirable |Different Depreciation methodologies should be| | | | | |evaluated and uilt into the system. The end | | | | | |user should be allowed to choose any one. | | |RS10 |Generating Salary report |Desirable |Database can maintain the salary reports | | Database Fields Specification No. |Field Name |Data Type |Remarks | |1 |Employee Number |Text |This is the key field of the database as it is | | | | |unique for an employee. This will also serve as | | | | |the login for the system. This is a primary key | |2 |Employee Name |Text |Special characters like underscore are not | | | | |allowed. |3 |Email id |Text | | |4 |Address |Memo | | |5 |Contacts |Number | | |6 |Designation |Text |Designation like Clerk, Emp etc | |7 |Qualification |Text |This specifies the Qualification of a employee | |8 |UName |Text | | |9 |PWord |Text | | |10 |DOR |Date/Time |Date of registration of a employee | |11 |Bsalary |Currency |Fixed amount as per employee | |12 |HRA |Text Primary key | |13 |PPA |Text | | |14 |Maint_Allow |Text | | |15 |SPL_Allow |Text | | |16 |EDU_Allow |Text | | |17 |Wash_Allow |Text | | |18 |Sun_Allow |Text | | |19 |EPF |Text |Primary key | |20 |VPF |Text | | |21 |LIC |Text | | |22 |Canteen |Text | | |23 |Transport |Text | | |24 |ITax |Text |According to income tax rule | |25 |PTax |Text |Professional Tax is fixed as per policy | |26 |AttndMonth |Text | Current Attendance month. | |27 |TotalDays |Number | | | | | |Total working days of an organization per month. |28 |PrsntDays |Number |Present Days of an Employee in current month. | |29 |AbsntDays |Number |Absent Days of an Employee in current month. | |30 |ExtraDays |Number |Extra working days of an Employee in current | | | | |month | |31 |PayDays |Number |Payable days | |32 |EntryDate |Text |Attendance Entry date. |33 |HomeLoan |Number |25% of Basic salary | |34 |EDULoan |Number |15% of Basic salary | |35 |HealthLoan |Number |5% of Basic salary | Operating Environment: Software Requirement: Operating System: Windows 2000 or Higher Service Pack: 2+ Platform: JAVA Language: HTML, JSP JDBC Database :MS Access Web server : Tomcat server Hardware Requirement (Minimum) Processor: PIV Ram: 128 Mb Hard Disk: 1 GB Monitor: VGA Color (256) High Level/Detailed Design (HLD/DD): a. Login : This module accepts the username and password which on validation passes the control to the respective module. This checks for the authorized users before logging in. b. Administrator: This module is for the administrator who maintains the information of the employees each identified with unique id numbers. c. Clerk: This module is for the staff to maintain the attendance of the employee and generate the salaries for that current month. d. Employee: This is for the employee who on logging in can view their basic salary, allowances and standard deductions provided by the company. Low Level Design The system is split in to its design components. For each of the components, we provide information in the following format: 1. Login Module: This module accepts the username and password which on validation passes the control to the respective module. This checks for the authorized users before logging in. 2. Administrator Module: This module is for the administrator who maintains the information of the employees each identified with unique id numbers. Their basic salary, allowance and standard deduction percentages are specified by the administrator. He can view the salary reports of the selected employee for that month and for the given period. He can maintain the following information a. Employee info set by administrator b. Set Allowances c. Set Standard deductions. d. View Other deductions. e. View Attendance info. f. View Salary Slip. 3. Clerk: This module is for the staff to maintain the attendance of the employee and generate the salaries for that current month. The salary reports for that month and over the given period can be viewed by the staff. He can also view the employee information with allowance and Standard deduction. And he can view the other deduction and salary reports. He can maintain the following information a. View Employee info. b. View Allowances info c. View Standard deductions. d. Set Other deductions. e. Set Attendance info. f. Prepare Salary Slip. 4. Employee: This is for the employee who on logging in can view their basic salary, allowances and standard deductions provided by the company. They can specify their other deductions like Insurance, home loans etc which are to be deducted from the current month salary. These details are to be provide by the employee before the salary date. Employee can also view the attendance information, salary slip and salary information. He can maintain the following information a. View Employee info b. View Allowances c. View Standard deductions. d. Set Other deductions. e. View Attendance info. f. View Salary Slip. 5. Integration with leave and loan system if already existing, else create screens to key in leave and loan details. 6. Credit Employee bank accounts electronically. 7. Generate electronic or hard copies of pay slips. 8. Enable users to modify income tax details as these may change frequently. OVERALL USECASE DIAGRAM FOR PAYROLL SYSTEM: [pic] USECASE DIAGRAM FOR STAFF: [pic] USECASE DIAGRAM FOR ADMIN: [pic] USECASE DIAGRAM FOR EMPLOYEE: [pic]ACTIVITY DIAGRAM FOR PAYROLL: [pic] CLASS DIAGRAM FOR PAYROLL SYSTEM: [pic] Sequence and Collaboration Diagram for Login: [pic] Employee Info: [pic] [pic] Allowances: [pic]c [pic] Standard Deductions: [pic] [pic] Attendance Info: [pic] [pic] OtherDeductions: [pic] [pic] [pic] [pic] [pic] [pic] [pic]Database Design: Employee table |No. Field Name |Data type |Remarks | |1 |Employee Number |Number |This is the key field of the database as it is | | | | |unique for an employee. This will also serve as | | | | |the login for the system. | |2 |Employee Name |Text |Special characters like underscore are not | | | | |allowed. |3 |Address |Text | | |4 |Contacts |Number | | |5 |EMail |Text | | |6 |Designation |Text |This specifies the designation in org | |7 |Qualification |Text |This specifies the Qualification of a employee | |8 |DOR |Date/Time |Date of registration of a employee | |9 |Bsalary |Currency |Fixed amount as per employee | |10 |UName |Text | | |11 |PWord |Text | | |12 |Status |Text | | Allowance Table: |No. |Field Name |Data type |Remarks | |1 |HRA |Number |Primary key. |2 |EDU_Allow |Number | | |3 |Maint_Allow |Number | | |4 |SPL_Allow |Number | | |5 |Wash_Allow |Number | | |6 | Sun_Allow |Number | | Standard Deductions Table: |No. |Field Name |Data type |Remarks | |1 |EPF |Number |Primary key. |2 |VPF |Number | | |3 |LIC |Number | | |4 |Canteen |Number | | |5 |ITax |Number |According to income tax rule | |6 |PTax |Number |Professional Tax is fixed as per policy | Attendance Table: |No. Field Name |Data type |Remarks | |1 |EmpNo |Number |This is the key field of the database as it is unique for an | | | | |employee. This will also serve as the login for the system. | |2 |Attndmonth |Date | Current Attendance month. | |3 |Tdays |Number | | | | | |Total working days of an organization per month. |4 |Pdays |Number |Present Days of an Employee in current month. | |5 |Adays |Number |Absent Days of an Employee in current month. | |6 |Edays |Number |Extra working days of an Employee in current month | |7 |Paydays |Number |Payable days | |8 |Edate |Date |Attendance Entry date. | | | | | Other Deductions Table: |No. Field Name |Data type |Remarks | |1 |EmpNo |Number |This is the key field of the database as it is | | | | |unique for an employee. This will also serve as | | | | |the login for the system. | |2 |Homeloan |Number |25% of Basic salary | |3 |EDUloan |Number |15% of Basic salary | |4 |Healthloan |Number |5% of Basic salary | Test-Plan (Unit test-plan and integrated test-plan) |No. |Test case Title |Description |Expected Outcome |The requirement in RS|Result | | | | | |that is being tested | | |1 |Successful User |The login to the system should |Login should be |RS1, RS2 | | | |Verification |be tried with the login assigned|successful and the | | | | | |by the admin and the correct |user hould enter in | | | | | |password |to the system | | | |2 |Unsuccessful User |The login to the system should |Login should be |RS1, RS2 | | | |Verification |be tried with the login assigned|unsuccessful and the | | | | | |by the admin and the incorrect |user should enter in | | | | | |password |to the error page. | | |3 |Successful data entry |After login the user should |The data entry should |RS3 | | | |of employee information. |enter the correct employee |be successfull | | | | | |information. | | | | |4 |Unuccessful data entry |After login the user should |The data entry should |RS3 | | | |of employee information. |e nter the incorrect employee |be unsuccessfull | | | | | |information. | | | | |Successful data entry |After login the user should |The data entry of |RS4 | | |5 |of Allowances. |enter the correct Allowances |allowances should be | | | | | |information. |successfull | | | |6 |Unsuccessful data entry |After login the user should |The data entry of |RS4 | | | |of |enter the incorrect Allowances |allowances should be | | | | |Allowances. |information. unsuccessfull | | | |7 |Successful data entry |After login the user should |The data entry of |RS5 | | | |of Standard deductions. |enter the correct Standard |Standard deductions | | | | | |deductions information. |should be | | | | | | |successfull | | | |8 |Unsuccessful data entry |After login the user should |The data entry of |RS5 | | | |of Standard deductions. enter the incorrect Standard |Standard deductions | | | | | |deductions information. |should be | | | | | | |successfull | | | |9 |Successful data entry of |After login the user should |The data entry of |RS6 | | | |Attendance. |enter the correct Attendance |Other deductions | | | | | |information. should be | | | | | | |successfull | | | | |Unsuccessful data entry |After login the user should |The data entry of |RS6 | | |10 |of Attendance. |enter the incorrect Attendance |Other deductions | | | | | |information. |should be | | | | | | |unsuccessfull | | | |11 |Successful data entry of |After login the user should |The data entry of |RS7 | | | |Other deductions. enter the correct Other |Other deductions | | | | | |deductions information. |should be | | | | | | |successfull | | | |12 |Unsuccessful data entry |After login the user should |The data entry of |RS7 | | | |of Other deductions. |enter the incorrect Other |Other deductions | | | | | |deductions information. should be | | | | | | |unsuccessfull | | | |13 |Navigation between |Screen navigation should be |The screens navigated | | | | |screens is Role based |checked to ensure correct |should be based on the| | | | | |sequence of screens is thrown to|role of user | | | | | |the user. | | | | |14 |Database interactions |Values stored in the database |Data retrieved should | | | | |should be accurate |should be what the user intended|be what is stored in | | | | | |to store. the database | | | |15 |Boundary conditions |When scrolling options are |UI should support | | | | |should be checked |enabled on screens data between |boundry level | | | | | |different pages should be |conditions | | | | | |accurate | | | | |16 |Accurate reports should |The reports should be accurate | | | | | |be created. | | | | | Employee details, investment details, salary details, tax rules, leave details Data entry for employee details, Income tax rules, Leave rules, loan details Apply leave, key in investment details, Employee Salary Slips Administrator

Thursday, March 5, 2020

Fats essays

Fats essays Fat is an important part of our diet; it is one of the nutrients that make up the foods we eat. Fat is one of the richest sources for energy. One gram of fat equals to nine kilocalories of energy. They are insoluble in water. They are mixture of lipids and fat soluble vitamins. Although it is absolutely necessary to have fat in our diet, too much of it can affect your health. Fats have numerous responsibilities in our body. The one most individuals have noticed is that they improve the taste of the food and promote digestion. Fats provide the body with energy. There are different forms of fat and they function in different ways. The main types of fat are saturated, polyunsaturated, monounsaturated and trans fat. Some of these forms are good and some are bad. Usually, the bad fat is saturated fat because they tend to raise blood cholesterol level especially the LDL cholesterol which will lead to an increase of heart diseases but saturated fats are also needed for proper alignment of growth factors in cells and organs. It is also an excellent source of energy. Polyunsaturated fat have both good and bad sides. The good thing about polyunsaturated fat is that it contains essential fatty acids that you need to maintain your health. (Even though you need only a little) If you substitute polyunsaturated fat for saturated fat, you can help lower your total cholesterol by decreasing levels of LDL cholesterol. The bad thing about polyunsaturated is that it is more likely to react with free radicals in a process called oxidation which can very bad for your health. Monounsaturated fat can help lower levels of your total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol. They also raise your HDL cholesterol levels. Some oils such as olive and canola are rich in monounsaturated fat and low in saturated. ...

Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Tuna again In Fault-Finding England, It's a Cause for Divorce Essay

Tuna again In Fault-Finding England, It's a Cause for Divorce - Essay Example Because of this, complaints include the mundane, absurd and occasionally the bizarre. However, I argue that Lyall takes a serious subject much too lightly and that her implied ‘solution’, does nothing to fix the problem, instead it is an attempt to hold the rest of the world to a particular standard, which does not appear to be working very well anyway. Lyall is adamant about criticizing the United Kingdom system of divorce, implying that the most effective solution for the problem of divorces in the United Kingdom would be to move to the American model, and allow for no-fault divorce. However, how much of a problem is there in the United Kingdom? In the United Kingdom, the divorce rate for 2010 is 11.1 divorces per 1,000 individuals in the married population. If one takes into account the fact that a married couple consists of two individuals, this is a rate of a little over 20% of marriages fail (Rogers 2011). Furthermore, it is estimated that around 70% of these divor ces occur for first marriages (Divorce Rate 2009), suggesting that either people learn from their mistakes, or that few remarry. These statistics are different in the United States, where the divorce rate is approximately 50% (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2012), that is, half of all marriages end in divorce. The relationship of divorce to number of marriage is also different, with second marriages having a higher rate of divorce than first, and third marriages having an even higher rate (Divorce Rate 1999). These figures suggest that marriages fare significantly better in the United Kingdom than in the United States. This might be a result of the United Kingdom system of divorce being more difficult, but the article by Lyall implies this is not the case. She suggests that results are not more complicated in the United Kingdom, just that they focus on more trivial matters. Therefore, if this trend is not caused by a difficultly in divorcing, the next logical answer is t hat marriages in the United Kingdom fare better than their United States counterparts. This raises some important questions. For example, does the United Kingdom system of divorce help to keep couples together? This argument is not as unreasonable as it sounds as thinking and writing out reasons for the divorce may help couples to confront their problems, and to realize how trivial many of these actually are. This allows room for much more reflection than the American process, where couples may not even be certain between themselves why they are divorcing. Lyall argues that creating a no-fault divorce would remove the requirement for judges and lawyers to determine fault in the divorce. As she explains, currently under the United Kingdom law a divorce must fall into one of five categories before it can be granted. The most common category is unreasonable behavior, which as Lyall shows, can cover a wide range of different types of behavior. However, Lyall appears to believe that movi ng to a no-fault divorce system would not increase the rates of divorce. This argument is heavily flawed, as by its very nature, making divorce easier would increase how often it occurs. For example, in the United Kingdom the practice of extended separation is common, and this is often used to provide evidence for a future divorce claim (National Family Mediation 2010). This practice can help couples to understand what they lose

Monday, February 3, 2020

Assignment Essay and Discussion Forum in Sociology Week 5

Assignment and Discussion Forum in Sociology Week 5 - Essay Example ed status and achieved status and very often the ascribed status of an individual is â€Å"conferred at birth or received involuntarily later in life, based on attributes over which the individuals have little or no control, such as race, ethnicity, age and gender† (Kendall, p. 105). However, it is possible for an individual to acquire achieved statuses in one’s life with hard work, personal competence, personal choice and successful competition. There is a close link between ascribed statuses and achieved ones; therefore, it should also be kept in mind that factors such as race, ethnicity and gender are most likely to diminish one’s opportunity to reach higher realms of achieved statuses. It can therefore be concluded that people who are privileged by their positive ascribed status are more likely to develop positive achieved status whereas those who are disadvantaged by ascribed status tend to acquire negative achieved status (Kendall, p. 105). For a person who occupies different statuses, it is his master status that dominates over all others and determines his social position. According to Hughes (1945), a person’s master status â€Å"is the most important status a person occupies; it dominates all of the individual’s other statuses and is the overriding ingredient in determining a person’s general social position† (Kendall, p. 105). Factors such as a person’s race, ethnicity and religious identity can very often constitute the master statuses for individuals. In any society or community where racial discrimination, ethnic bias and religious prejudices prevails, the dominant group members tend to â€Å"single out members of other groups as â€Å"inferior† on the basis of real or alleged physical, cultural or nationality characteristics† (Kendall, p. 106). The social identities of ethnic minorities are most likely to be perceived based on their ethnicity or race. Factors su ch as a person’s race, ethnicity and religious identity constitute as the

Sunday, January 26, 2020

Effect of the Cold War on America

Effect of the Cold War on America Introduction The Cold War refers to the continuous geopolitical, economic and ideological struggle that was between the two super powers in the west (USA and its NATO allies) and the powers in the East (Soviet Union). This Cold War began in the year 1947 which was the time that the Second World War was ending and it continued until the year 1991 when the Soviet Union was dissolved. The term ‘cold’ was used because there was no large scale direct fighting between the East and the West and that there were only regional fights between the countries that the two sides supported. During the cold war, the alliance against Nazi Germany was split leaving USA and USSR as the only two sides that greatly differed over ideologies such as capitalism, totalitarianism, communism and liberal democracy. The two countries were not at any time involved in a full-scale armed fighting but they were always each armed heavily for a World War III. It was believed that each side held a strong nuclear deterrent that made the other side afraid to attack because of the fear of total destruction on its part. Apart from the nuclear deterrent on both sides, dominance on both sides was expressed through psychological warfare, technological competitions and propaganda and espionage. One of the events leading to the origin of the Cold was remarks by a British leader Winston Churchill who gave some anti-communism remarks during his speech in the year 1946 (Fleming 34). Ways in which the West and the East Differed The cold war is believed to be the most important political issue in the early post war period and it was as a result of long time disagreements between USA and the Soviet Union. However, during the Second World War, these two countries put their differences aside and they were allied. The end of the World War II triggered the resurface of the antagonisms between the two countries (Fleming 44). America had survived destruction from the war and it hoped to share its idea of liberty, democracy and equality with the rest of the world which was in turmoil after the war. America was much aware of the effects of the Great Depression that were experienced in the years 1929-1940. In an attempt to avoid another depression, it sought to remove all the trade barriers in order to help the nation create outside markets for its industrial and agricultural products. Free trade would also help other western nations to export their products and hence be able to rebuild their nations that were destroy ed in the World War II. Generally the free trade would help boost the economic growth of all the western nations and also help to boost the relationships between the countries. The Soviet Union had a different Agenda that contrasted sharply with that of the Americans. They believed in a centralized, autocratic form of government that was very different with the American’s emphasis on freedom and democracy. During the World War II they had briefly abandoned the Marxist-Leninist ideology but it was still one of the country’s policies. Distraught by the death of 20 million citizens during the struggle, Soviet Union was focused on reconstruction and also protecting itself from another future attack of the same magnitude. Specifically, they feared attack of their nation from the West and hence were very determined to prevent another great attack. The Soviet Union was intent on demanding defensible borders but the in the East. But the Americans had already declared independence and self-government to countries in the east such as Poland and Czechoslovakia(Meernik 68). The Cold War origin was as a result of the differing opinions about the shape of the postwar and this was what led to distrust between the two super powers. Firstly, the conflict started over Poland. Moscow wanted a government that was subject to Soviet impact; Washington on the other hand, wanted a more independent and representative government that was in line with the Western model (Russett 29).Different interpretations of different forms of government were discussed in the Yalta Conference of February 1945 and it provided provisions to ensure that the elections in Poland would be ‘free and unfettered.’ Harry Truman had succeeded Franklin D. Roosevelt and he became the president of America. During his regime, he promised to respond to the international affairs between these two super powers and his decisions to respond to Soviet Union lead to the early Cold war between the two nations. During his first meeting with Soviet Minister of Foreign Affairs Vyacheslav Molotov, he made it clear that he was supporting self-determination and he urge the diplomat to implement the Yalta accords. Molotov took offence of this and he exclaimed that he had never been spoken to like that in his entire life. Truman responded to him that if he follows the agreements then he will never have to be spoken to like that. This is where the relations between the countries got deteriorated (Meernik 82). Control the Soviet Union then became a policy to the Americans during the post war years. George Kennan who was a top official in Moscow established and elaborated on a new approach to control Soviet Union. This is because he felt that Soviet Union would not change their stand and hence they had to be stopped by control the efforts of Russia to expand the territories. The application of this containment policy was first applied in the eastern Mediterranean. The Great Britain was an ally to Greece where communist forces were threatening to rule a monarchy in civil war, and Turkey, the nation in which the Soviet Union had compelled for territorial concessions and also the mandate to build marine bases on the Bosporus. In the year 1947, Britain could not afford the aid and hence the U.S quickly came in to offer their assistance. Truman was able to then allocate $ 400 million to cater for the economic and military assistance to Turkey and Greece (May 39). Truman and the American society, however, had to pay a price for the containment policy. Truman had overstated the threat of the Soviet Union to the U.S and through this; there emerged an inspired wave of anti-communism and pave d the way for the emergence of McCarthyism. Effects of the potential conflict to the culture, economics and politics of the United States Effect on ideology The effect of the cold war not only shaped the foreign policy of the U.S, but it also helped to improve the domestic affairs. In the past, the Americans had been afraid of radical subversion but efforts to root out communism became much stronger after the World War II(Waltz 35). The foreign events made the anti-communist hysteria to be strong. It surprised the Americans when the Soviet Union exploded its own atomic device and this made Americans to fear that they could be attacked by them at any given time. Economic effect As the cold war continued fifteen years later that is from 1945-1960, the U.S experienced great economic growth. The war was the main reason that it got back its prosperity and it in the postwar period it was able to become one of the richest nations in the world. The Gross Domestic Product of the United States improved from $200 thousand million in 1940 to $ 300 million in 1950 and more than $500 thousand million in 1960. This made more Americans to consider themselves as middle class. Major companies also grew larger through merges and they expanded their branches overseas where they could get labor cheaply. Effect on the lifestyle of the Americans The workers in America found their lifestyles changing as the nation progressed industrially. Many of the workers became involved in provision of services rather than production of goods. Farmers on the other hand were in great trouble as the benefits of agriculture lead to consolidations and hence family farms were thrown out of business by the large farming businesses (Betts 37). There was movement of the Americans from inner cities to suburbs where cheaper hosing was found in order to fit the big families that were as a result of a postwar baby boom (May 51). And as the suburbs grew bigger, more businesses were created such as large shopping centers that reduced traffic of shoppers in the cities. New highways were also constructed so as to make the suburbs accessible.There was also the widespread marketing of the television which had been developed previously but not marketed until after the war. In conclusion, the Cold War was an important historical event. Specifically, it was very important to the Americans as it enabled them to progress economically, culturally and politically. We can therefore say that the United States became even more powerful after the Cold War and up to now it is regarded as the most powerful nation in the whole world. Works Cited Betts, Richard K. Wealth, power, and instability: East Asia and the United States after the Cold War. International Security (1993): 34-77. Print. Fleming, Denna Frank. The Cold War and Its Origins: 1917-1960. 1950-1960. Vol. 2. Doubleday, 1961. Print. May, Elaine Tyler. Homeward bound: American families in the cold war era. Basic Books, 2008. Print. Meernik, James, Eric L. Krueger, and Steven C. Poe. Testing models of US foreign policy: Foreign aid during and after the Cold War. The journal of Politics 60.01 (1998): 63-85. Print. Russett, Bruce. Grasping the democratic peace: Principles for a post-Cold War world. Princeton University Press, 1994. Print. Waltz, Kenneth N. Structural realism after the Cold War. International security 25.1 (2000): 5- 41. Print.

Saturday, January 18, 2020

How Permanent Are Permanet Markers

For my science fair project, I figured out what solvent would work best to erase permanent marker. The solvents I tested were: lemon juice, vinegar, water, and rubbing alcohol. I tried each of these solvents on a permanent marker line on plastic, paper, fabric, and wood. In this research paper, I will be talking about what a permanent marker is, how they are made, why they work so well, what rubbing alcohol is and its common uses, what vinegar is and its common uses, what water is and why water is so essential, and what exactly lemon juice is.I will also be talking about how plastic is made, how fabric is made, how wood is made, and how paper is made. A permanent marker is a type of writing utensil that is used to create permanent lines on almost any surface. The ink of a permanent marker is water resistant, contains propanol, butanol, diacetone alcohol, and different dye colorings, and can vary between all colors from black to yellow. The process of creating a Sharpie permanent mark er is not very long or complicated. First, the barrel of the marker is molded out of a plastic resin.Screen printing is added to the barrel, including information such as the description of the color of the ink and the Sharpie logo. A filament made out of cotton material is used to hold in the ink as it is inserted into the barrel. A needle is used to inject the permanent ink from the opposite end of the barrel. Then the writing tip is applied. The cap is placed on the Sharpie marker and the permanent ink is slowly absorbed into the tip of the marker. The Sharpie is the most popular permanent marker company worldwide.The brand â€Å"Sharpie† was founded in 1857 and sold ink and glue. Any permanent marker’s ink must contain three ingredients to work. These ingredients are colorant, carrier, and resin. The colorant is what gives the ink its color. Colorants in permanent markers are often pigments, instead of dyes, because pigments fade less easily and do not bleed throug h paper. Dyes are soluble in water, whereas pigments are not. Dyes cannot withstand light as long as pigments can, although dyes are generally available in a wider spectrum of colors.Carriers are what transmit the dye to the paper. They must be able to evaporate quickly once the ink is used. Carriers used to be made up of chemicals such as xylene and toluene, but were vastly replaced by alcohol-based markers in the 1990s. The resin is what causes the ink to stick to a surface. It must have a â€Å"sticky† quality. The resin forms a film over the pigment once the carrier evaporates. The reason that permanent marker works is because permanent ink soaks into a surface, whereas regular erasable ink does not soak into surfaces, but binds to surfaces.Permanent ink is made with resins and dyes dissolved in glycol and water. The ink dries when the glycol or water evaporates and it soaks into the surface, leaving a permanent mark. There are ways to effectively remove ink from permanen t markers. Alcohol will work to erase permanent marker on almost any surface. Many items, such as hairspray or deodorant, contain alcohol and could effectively erase permanent marker. Baking soda is another well-known permanent marker remover. Vinegar was one of the solvents I experimented with. Vinegar is the product of the fermentation of ethanol.The very slow fermentation process can take weeks or even months and occurs naturally. With a machine to help promote oxygenation, however, fermentation can be as quick as a few days. The typical pH of vinegar can range from 2 to 3. 5. Vinegar can be used for many things, such as a cooking ingredient or condiment, it can be used for household cleaning, it has medicinal properties, and it even has agricultural applications. Lemon juice was another solvent I experimented with. Lemon juice is exactly what it sounds like. It is lemon juice squeezed from a lemon.Lemon juice has similar nutritional values as the whole lemon. Lemon juice is an e xcellent source of Vitamin C and can help your body against harmful germs and bacteria. Lemons are also antioxidants and can help the brain and nerve cells as well as having calcium to help your bones and teeth. The solvent that worked best in my experiment was rubbing alcohol. Rubbing alcohol is a denatured alcohol especially used as an antiseptic. It can also be used to cool, warm, or soothe skin. It can inflame the skin and if ingested, may potentially be fatal.Rubbing alcohol consists of 2 ingredients: isopropyl alcohol and water. In fact, rubbing alcohol consists of so much isopropyl alcohol (70%) that it is often referred to just as isopropyl alcohol. Water was the final solvent that I used in my experiment. Water is essential for anything and everything. Human beings need water to stay hydrated and survive. All living creatures need water to stay hydrated and survive. Everyone uses water every day; whether it’s to shower, brush their teeth, to drink, swim, wash their h ands, or to water plants.Seventy percent of the world is made up of water. Water contains two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom, and is often referred to as H2O. The H2 stands for the 2 oxygen atoms and the O stands for oxygen. Water can be a liquid, solid, or gas. Water in its regular state is a liquid, can be frozen to form ice, which is a solid, or boiled at 100 ° C to evaporate it and turn it into water vapour, which is a gas. Plastic was one of the surfaces I used in my experiment. Plastic comes from the Greek word plastikos, which means fit for moulding.Plastic is made using a long and complicated process. First, petroleum is drilled and transported to a refinery. Then, crude oil and natural gas are refined into many petrochemical products such as fuel for your car, ethylene, and propylene. Catalyst is combined with ethylene in a reactor, resulting in polymer, a powdered material. Afterwards, the polymer is combined with additives in a blender. The polymer is put in an extr uder, where it gets melted. The melted plastic is now cooled and a machine cuts the plastic into small pellets. The pellets are shipped to industries.The industries manufacture plastic products by melting the pellets to a semifluid state, putting it in a mould under great pressure, and hardening it. The mould opens and the product is completed except for detail work. Another surface that I used in my experiment was paper. To make paper, first trees are specially harvested like crops for the purpose of making paper. Logs of wood are put through a machine that takes off all the bark on the tree. Then, wood chippers cut the wood into 1 inch bits and the bits are put inside a pressure cooker with chemicals and water.The pulp is then washed, refined, cleaned, and turned to slush in a machine that beats the pulp. Color dyes, coatings, and other substances are mixed in and the slush is pumped onto a moving wire screen. The water is drained away on the screen and is recycled. The web of slu sh is rolled between large rollers to remove a large amount of the excess water and to ensure smoothness and uniform thickness. The resulting product is run through heated drying rollers to remove all of the remaining water. The completed paper is wound into large rolls, which can measure up to 30 feet wide.A slicer cuts the paper into small, more manageable rolls. The paper is now ready for use. Wood was the third surface I used in my experiment. The process for making wood is quite simplistic. First, logging companies cut trees down and bring them to a mill. There, they are prepared for particular uses. Machines cut the logs into boards and are sealed or pressure-treated to preserve them. Then the boards are either sold through a lumberyard or sold directly to companies which need them. Fabric was the final surface that I tested the removal of permanent marker on. Cotton fabric also has a lengthy process.First, the ginning, which is the method of separating cotton fibres from seed pods. This is done by machines in a cotton field. Then, the cotton fibre is spun. Yarn is produced from spinning cotton fibre. In this stage, the cotton yarns are made of different thicknesses. Afterwards, a machine weaves threads of yarn, which eventually turn them into cloth after weaving many threads together. Now, the cloth is basically constructed, but must go through some detail work. First, the cloth goes through singeing, which is the process that burns off excess fibres sticking from the goods.Then, the cloth goes through scouring, which is the cleaning of the fabric. Then, some fabrics are bleached to make it a lighter colour. Mercerizing, which is the dipping of fabric in alkali to make it stronger, shiny, durable, shrink free, and stretch free, comes next. Finally, the fabric is treated with chemicals to make it more durable, and it is shipped off to companies that will either use or sell it. Vinegar, water, lemon juice, and rubbing alcohol all have many uses around the house, but when it comes to erasing permanent marker, rubbing alcohol definitely beat the rest.