Marriot and Body Shop Aims and Objectives Essay

introduction Marriot is an international brand however the purpose of this controlled assessment, they will be my local business known as London Heathrow Marriott-LHM. Marriott is currently a private limited company (PLC) and has two other private investors as owners of the company. The Marriott hotel was founded in 1993 and is located in Harlington, Hayes. Currently its labour turnover for the month of September (2010) is an increase of 10.1%. Marriott acquires approximately 133,000 employee’s world wide and between 8,000-9,000 employees in the UK. My other local business is The Body shop. The Body Shop is an international business Definition of Aims The long-term goals a business wants to achieve. Goals that a business wants to achieve to be successful. Explain what aims are Definition of objectives The specific steps taken by a business to achieve a goal Objectives have to S.M.A.R.T, this stands for: * Specific * Measurable * Achievable * Realistic * Time Marriott’s aims * Guest Satisfaction Superiority * Marriott Profitability & Owner Return on Investment * Associate Satisfaction Marriott’s objectives * GSS (Customer Target) 75% (satisfied with overall service) * Sales turnover of  £20m per annum * Labour turnover less than or equal to 25% Summarising Marriott’s aims and objectives Marriot have set themselves three aims that they hope to achieve. These three aims vary from making a profit on their investment to guest and employee satisfaction. Marriott’s first aim and objective focuses on customer satisfaction. They are going to meet this goal by being customer focused and meeting customer needs. To achieve this they will do everything in their power to keep their customers happy to give recommendations to other people and for them to keep coming back to their hotel. They need to deliver the â€Å"wow factor† by providing the best quality of service. They intend to meet this aim by encouraging their guests to complete a â€Å"Guest Satisfaction Survey†. To achieve their aim they need 75% of their customers to be satisfied. The management team reviews all these surveys to find out what they need to improve on to make the hotel and make it the best in the industry. They also focus on associate satisfaction which focuses on the employees. They are striving for labour turnover less than or equal to 25% therefore Marriott hope not to lose more than 1 in 4 of their employees. They aim to make employees satisfied by ensuring their staff is happy. They will achieve this aim by motivating their staff and rewarding them with staff benefits for example LHM offer â€Å"Valuable room rate, food and beverage, and retail discounts at global Marriott locations.† This gives the employees the feeling that Marriott cares about them. Also the amount of pay that is offered by Marriott is higher than most equivalent jobs. This makes the employees want to stay as they know that there is a very slim chance that they will find this amount of pay anywhere else, or they may not get the same amount of bonuses-motivating them to do better- The want the communication between the staff and Marriott management to be strong as this gives the employees the sense that they are involved within the business. Their third aim and objective focuses on Income and money made. Marriott want to make a profit and have a sales turnover of  £20m per annum. By doing this they will be able to maintain share prices and reward shareholders with dividends. Furthermore they will be able to do this by increasing sales revenue for this hotel. This has been set out by the management & senior Marriott personnel in the US. The will achieve this by providing the best quality of service. body shopAims * Leading business in the beauty industry * Fair trade * Protect human rights – customers and staff * Protect the Environment and planet body shop objectives * Continue to grow by maximizing sales * All our suppliers have signed the Code of conduct supporting ethical, fair trade program. * Improving working conditions for body shop employees and protecting their Human rights * Every product packaging is made from 100% recycled materials Summary of the body shop aims and objectives

American Immigrants and Literacy Essay

Language is very important in the society because it enables people to communicate with each other and for them to participate meaningfully in the affairs of the society. For first generation immigrants to the United States, however, the problem of literacy and language becomes more pronounced. These people migrate to the United States for a variety of reasons. It could be because of economic need. Or it may be because the country they came from is in political trouble and there are outright hostilities and war. In this regard, the education needs of these immigrants may not be congruent with what is in the United States. Since these immigrants entered the US as adults, the challenge to become literate and become expert in the English language is greater than for children. What usually happens is that the parents work incessantly to provide for the family while the children go to school and literate and adjusted to the culture of the US. For adults, however, this is a challenge. This issue could be addressed using a two-step strategy. The first would be the establishment of non-formal English as second language classes that are based in the communities and would be facilitated by the literate members of the society. This way, there would be greater acceptance and they would be more receptive to a member of their community . Alongside the non-formal teaching of English as second-language, there should be a functional literacy program. These adult immigrants would be taught specific matters and subjects that they need for their daily lives. They might not need to study calculus and advance literature, but what they need is a working knowledge of the society they are in and how they can make their lives more meaningful in this society.

Active Listening

* We listen to understand. * We listen for enjoyment. * We listen to learn. Given all this listening we do, you would think we’d be good at it! In fact most of us are not, and research suggests that we remember between 25 percent and 50 percent of what we hear. That means that when you talk to your boss, colleagues, customers or spouse for 10 minutes, they pay attention to less than half of the conversation. This is dismal! Turn it around and it reveals that when you are receiving directions or being presented with information, you aren’t hearing the whole message either. You hope the important parts are captured in your 25-50 percent, but what if they’re not? Clearly, listening is a skill that we can all benefit from improving. By becoming a better listener, you will improve your productivity, as well as your ability to influence, persuade and negotiate. What’s more, you’ll avoid conflict and misunderstandings. All of these are necessary for workplace success! Good communication skills require a high level of self-awareness. By understanding your personal style of communicating, you will go a long way towards creating good and lasting impressions with others. About Active Listening The way to become a better listener is to practice â€Å"active listening. † This is where you make a conscious effort to hear not only the words that another person is saying but, more importantly, try to understand the complete message being sent. In order to do this you must pay attention to the other person very carefully. You cannot allow yourself to become distracted by whatever else may be going on around you, or by forming counter arguments that you’ll make when the other person stops speaking. Nor can you allow yourself to get bored, and lose focus on what the other person is saying. All of these contribute to a lack of listening and understanding. If you’re finding it particularly difficult to concentrate on what someone is saying, try repeating their words mentally as they say them – this will reinforce their message and help you stay focused. To enhance your listening skills, you need to let the other person know that you are listening to what he or she is saying. To understand the importance of this, ask yourself if you’ve ever been engaged in a conversation when you wondered if the other person was listening to what you were saying. You wonder if your message is getting across, or if it’s even worthwhile continuing to speak. It feels like talking to a brick wall and it’s something you want to avoid. Acknowledgement can be something as simple as a nod of the head or a simple â€Å"uh huh. You aren’t necessarily agreeing with the person, you are simply indicating that you are listening. Using body language and other signs to acknowledge you are listening also reminds you to pay attention and not let your mind wander. You should also try to respond to the speaker in a way that will both encourage him or her to continue speaking, so that you can get the information if you need. While nodding and â€Å"uh huhing† says you’re interested, an occasional question or comment to recap what has been said communicates that you understand the message as well. Becoming an Active Listener There are five key elements of active listening. They all help you ensure that you hear the other person, and that the other person knows you are hearing what they say. 1. Pay Attention Give the speaker your undivided attention, and acknowledge the message. Recognize that non-verbal communication also â€Å"speaks† loudly. * Look at the speaker directly. * Put aside distracting thoughts. * Don’t mentally prepare a rebuttal! * Avoid being distracted by environmental factors. For example, side conversations. â€Å"Listen† to the speaker’s body language. 2. Show That You’re Listening Use your own body language and gestures to convey your attention. * Nod occasionally. * Smile and use other facial expressions. * Note your posture and make sure it is open and inviting. * Encourage the speaker to continue with small verbal comments like yes, and uh huh. 3. Provide Feedback Our personal filters, assumptions, judgments, and belie fs can distort what we hear. As a listener, your role is to understand what is being said. This may require you to reflect what is being said and ask questions. * Reflect what has been said by paraphrasing. â€Å"What I’m hearing is,† and â€Å"Sounds like you are saying,† are great ways to reflect back. * Ask questions to clarify certain points. â€Å"What do you mean when you say. † â€Å"Is this what you mean? † * Summarize the speaker’s comments periodically. If you find yourself responding emotionally to what someone said, say so, and ask for more information: â€Å"I may not be understanding you correctly, and I find myself taking what you said personally. What I thought you just said is XXX; is that what you meant? † 4. Defer Judgment Interrupting is a waste of time. It frustrates the speaker and limits full understanding of the message. * Allow the speaker to finish each point before asking questions. * Don’t interrupt with counter arguments. 5. Respond Appropriately Active listening is a model for respect and understanding. You are gaining information and perspective. You add nothing by attacking the speaker or otherwise putting him or her down. * Be candid, open, and honest in your response. Assert your opinions respectfully. Treat the other person in a way that you think he or she would want to be treated. Listening is the ability to accurately receive messages in the communication process. Listening is key to all effective communication, without the ability to listen effectively messages are easily misunderstood – communication breaks down and the sender of the message can easily become frustrated or irritated . Listening is so important that many top employers give regular listening skills training for their employees. This is not surprising when you consider that  good listening skills can lead to: better customer satisfaction, greater productivity with fewer mistakes, increased sharing of information that in turn can lead to more creative and innovative work. Good listening skills also have benefits in our personal lives, including: a greater number of friends and social networks, improved self-esteem and confidence, higher grades in academic work and increased health and wellbeing. Studies have shown that, whereas speaking raises blood pressure, listening brings it down. Listening is not the same as hearing. Hearing refers to the sounds that you hear, whereas listening requires more than that: it requires focus. Listening means paying attention not only to the story, but how it is told, the use of language and voice, and how the other person uses his or her body. In other words, it means being aware of both verbal and non-verbal messages. Your ability to listen effectively depends on the degree to which you perceive and understand these messages. â€Å"The most basic and powerful way to connect to another person is to listen. Just listen. Perhaps the most important thing we ever give each other is our attention. † Rachel Naomi Remen We spend a lot of our time listening Adults spend an average of 70% of their time engaged in some sort of communication, of this an average of 45% is spent listening compared to 30% speaking, 16% reading and 9% writing. (Adler, R. et al. 2001). 10 Principles of Listening A good listener will listen not only to what is being said, but also to what is left unsaid or only partially said. Listening involves observing body language and noticing inconsistencies between verbal and non-verbal messages. For example, if someone tells you that they are happy with their life but through gritted teeth or with tears filling their eyes, you should consider that the verbal and non-verbal messages are in conflict, they maybe don’t mean what they say. Listening requires you to concentrate and use your other senses in addition to simply hearing the words spoken. Listening is not the same as hearing and in order to listen effectively you need to use more than just your ears. 1. Stop Talking â€Å"If we were supposed to talk more than we listen, we would have two tongues and one ear. † Mark Twain. Don’t talk, listen. When somebody else is talking listen to what they are saying, do not interrupt, talk over them or finish their sentences for them. Stop, just listen. When the other person has finished talking you may need to clarify to ensure you have received their message accurately. 2. Prepare Yourself to Listen Relax. Focus on the speaker. Put other things out of mind. The human mind is easily distracted by other thoughts – what’s for lunch, what time do I need to leave to catch my train, is it going to rain – try to put other thoughts out of mind and concentrate on the messages that are being communicated. 3. Put the Speaker at Ease Help the speaker to feel free to speak. Remember their needs and concerns. Nod or use other gestures or words to encourage them to continue. Maintain eye contact but don’t stare – show you are listening and understanding what is being said. 4. Remove Distractions Focus on what is being said: don’t doodle, shuffle papers, look out the window, pick your fingernails or similar. Avoid unnecessary interruptions. These behaviours disrupt the listening process and send messages to the speaker that you are bored or distracted. 5. Empathize Try to understand the other person’s point of view. Look at issues from their perspective. Let go of preconceived ideas. By having an open mind we can more fully empathise with the speaker. If the speaker says something that you disagree with then wait and construct an argument to counter what is said but keep an open mind to the views and opinions of others. (See our page:  What is Empathy? ) 6. Be Patient A pause, even a long pause, does not necessarily mean that the speaker has finished. Be patient and let the speaker continue in their own time, sometimes it takes time to formulate what to say and how to say it. Never interrupt or finish a sentence for someone. 7. Avoid Personal Prejudice Try to be impartial. Don’t become irritated and don’t let the person’s habits or mannerisms distract you from what they are really saying. Everybody has a different way of speaking – some people are for example more nervous or shy than others, some have regional accents or make excessive arm movements, some people like to pace whilst talking – others like to sit still. Focus on what is being said and try to ignore styles of delivery. 8. Listen to the Tone Volume and tone both add to what someone is saying. A good speaker will use both volume and tone to their advantage to keep an audience attentive; everybody will use pitch, tone and volume of voice in certain situations – let these help you to understand the emphasis of what is being said. 9. Listen for Ideas – Not Just Words You need to get the whole picture, not just isolated bits and pieces. Maybe one of the most difficult aspects of listening is the ability to link together pieces of information to reveal the ideas of others. With proper concentration, letting go of distractions, and focus this becomes easier. 10. Wait and Watch for Non-Verbal Communication Gestures, facial expressions, and eye-movements can all be important. We don’t just listen with our ears but also with our eyes – watch and pick up the additional information being transmitted via non-verbal communication. Do not jump to conclusions about what you see and hear. You should always seek clarification to ensure that your understanding is correct. Active Listening * We listen to understand. * We listen for enjoyment. * We listen to learn. Given all this listening we do, you would think we’d be good at it! In fact most of us are not, and research suggests that we remember between 25 percent and 50 percent of what we hear. That means that when you talk to your boss, colleagues, customers or spouse for 10 minutes, they pay attention to less than half of the conversation. This is dismal! Turn it around and it reveals that when you are receiving directions or being presented with information, you aren’t hearing the whole message either. You hope the important parts are captured in your 25-50 percent, but what if they’re not? Clearly, listening is a skill that we can all benefit from improving. By becoming a better listener, you will improve your productivity, as well as your ability to influence, persuade and negotiate. What’s more, you’ll avoid conflict and misunderstandings. All of these are necessary for workplace success! Good communication skills require a high level of self-awareness. By understanding your personal style of communicating, you will go a long way towards creating good and lasting impressions with others. About Active Listening The way to become a better listener is to practice â€Å"active listening. † This is where you make a conscious effort to hear not only the words that another person is saying but, more importantly, try to understand the complete message being sent. In order to do this you must pay attention to the other person very carefully. You cannot allow yourself to become distracted by whatever else may be going on around you, or by forming counter arguments that you’ll make when the other person stops speaking. Nor can you allow yourself to get bored, and lose focus on what the other person is saying. All of these contribute to a lack of listening and understanding. If you’re finding it particularly difficult to concentrate on what someone is saying, try repeating their words mentally as they say them – this will reinforce their message and help you stay focused. To enhance your listening skills, you need to let the other person know that you are listening to what he or she is saying. To understand the importance of this, ask yourself if you’ve ever been engaged in a conversation when you wondered if the other person was listening to what you were saying. You wonder if your message is getting across, or if it’s even worthwhile continuing to speak. It feels like talking to a brick wall and it’s something you want to avoid. Acknowledgement can be something as simple as a nod of the head or a simple â€Å"uh huh. You aren’t necessarily agreeing with the person, you are simply indicating that you are listening. Using body language and other signs to acknowledge you are listening also reminds you to pay attention and not let your mind wander. You should also try to respond to the speaker in a way that will both encourage him or her to continue speaking, so that you can get the information if you need. While nodding and â€Å"uh huhing† says you’re interested, an occasional question or comment to recap what has been said communicates that you understand the message as well. Becoming an Active Listener There are five key elements of active listening. They all help you ensure that you hear the other person, and that the other person knows you are hearing what they say. 1. Pay Attention Give the speaker your undivided attention, and acknowledge the message. Recognize that non-verbal communication also â€Å"speaks† loudly. * Look at the speaker directly. * Put aside distracting thoughts. * Don’t mentally prepare a rebuttal! * Avoid being distracted by environmental factors. For example, side conversations. â€Å"Listen† to the speaker’s body language. 2. Show That You’re Listening Use your own body language and gestures to convey your attention. * Nod occasionally. * Smile and use other facial expressions. * Note your posture and make sure it is open and inviting. * Encourage the speaker to continue with small verbal comments like yes, and uh huh. 3. Provide Feedback Our personal filters, assumptions, judgments, and belie fs can distort what we hear. As a listener, your role is to understand what is being said. This may require you to reflect what is being said and ask questions. * Reflect what has been said by paraphrasing. â€Å"What I’m hearing is,† and â€Å"Sounds like you are saying,† are great ways to reflect back. * Ask questions to clarify certain points. â€Å"What do you mean when you say. † â€Å"Is this what you mean? † * Summarize the speaker’s comments periodically. If you find yourself responding emotionally to what someone said, say so, and ask for more information: â€Å"I may not be understanding you correctly, and I find myself taking what you said personally. What I thought you just said is XXX; is that what you meant? † 4. Defer Judgment Interrupting is a waste of time. It frustrates the speaker and limits full understanding of the message. * Allow the speaker to finish each point before asking questions. * Don’t interrupt with counter arguments. 5. Respond Appropriately Active listening is a model for respect and understanding. You are gaining information and perspective. You add nothing by attacking the speaker or otherwise putting him or her down. * Be candid, open, and honest in your response. Assert your opinions respectfully. Treat the other person in a way that you think he or she would want to be treated. Listening is the ability to accurately receive messages in the communication process. Listening is key to all effective communication, without the ability to listen effectively messages are easily misunderstood – communication breaks down and the sender of the message can easily become frustrated or irritated . Listening is so important that many top employers give regular listening skills training for their employees. This is not surprising when you consider that  good listening skills can lead to: better customer satisfaction, greater productivity with fewer mistakes, increased sharing of information that in turn can lead to more creative and innovative work. Good listening skills also have benefits in our personal lives, including: a greater number of friends and social networks, improved self-esteem and confidence, higher grades in academic work and increased health and wellbeing. Studies have shown that, whereas speaking raises blood pressure, listening brings it down. Listening is not the same as hearing. Hearing refers to the sounds that you hear, whereas listening requires more than that: it requires focus. Listening means paying attention not only to the story, but how it is told, the use of language and voice, and how the other person uses his or her body. In other words, it means being aware of both verbal and non-verbal messages. Your ability to listen effectively depends on the degree to which you perceive and understand these messages. â€Å"The most basic and powerful way to connect to another person is to listen. Just listen. Perhaps the most important thing we ever give each other is our attention. † Rachel Naomi Remen We spend a lot of our time listening Adults spend an average of 70% of their time engaged in some sort of communication, of this an average of 45% is spent listening compared to 30% speaking, 16% reading and 9% writing. (Adler, R. et al. 2001). 10 Principles of Listening A good listener will listen not only to what is being said, but also to what is left unsaid or only partially said. Listening involves observing body language and noticing inconsistencies between verbal and non-verbal messages. For example, if someone tells you that they are happy with their life but through gritted teeth or with tears filling their eyes, you should consider that the verbal and non-verbal messages are in conflict, they maybe don’t mean what they say. Listening requires you to concentrate and use your other senses in addition to simply hearing the words spoken. Listening is not the same as hearing and in order to listen effectively you need to use more than just your ears. 1. Stop Talking â€Å"If we were supposed to talk more than we listen, we would have two tongues and one ear. † Mark Twain. Don’t talk, listen. When somebody else is talking listen to what they are saying, do not interrupt, talk over them or finish their sentences for them. Stop, just listen. When the other person has finished talking you may need to clarify to ensure you have received their message accurately. 2. Prepare Yourself to Listen Relax. Focus on the speaker. Put other things out of mind. The human mind is easily distracted by other thoughts – what’s for lunch, what time do I need to leave to catch my train, is it going to rain – try to put other thoughts out of mind and concentrate on the messages that are being communicated. 3. Put the Speaker at Ease Help the speaker to feel free to speak. Remember their needs and concerns. Nod or use other gestures or words to encourage them to continue. Maintain eye contact but don’t stare – show you are listening and understanding what is being said. 4. Remove Distractions Focus on what is being said: don’t doodle, shuffle papers, look out the window, pick your fingernails or similar. Avoid unnecessary interruptions. These behaviours disrupt the listening process and send messages to the speaker that you are bored or distracted. 5. Empathize Try to understand the other person’s point of view. Look at issues from their perspective. Let go of preconceived ideas. By having an open mind we can more fully empathise with the speaker. If the speaker says something that you disagree with then wait and construct an argument to counter what is said but keep an open mind to the views and opinions of others. (See our page:  What is Empathy? ) 6. Be Patient A pause, even a long pause, does not necessarily mean that the speaker has finished. Be patient and let the speaker continue in their own time, sometimes it takes time to formulate what to say and how to say it. Never interrupt or finish a sentence for someone. 7. Avoid Personal Prejudice Try to be impartial. Don’t become irritated and don’t let the person’s habits or mannerisms distract you from what they are really saying. Everybody has a different way of speaking – some people are for example more nervous or shy than others, some have regional accents or make excessive arm movements, some people like to pace whilst talking – others like to sit still. Focus on what is being said and try to ignore styles of delivery. 8. Listen to the Tone Volume and tone both add to what someone is saying. A good speaker will use both volume and tone to their advantage to keep an audience attentive; everybody will use pitch, tone and volume of voice in certain situations – let these help you to understand the emphasis of what is being said. 9. Listen for Ideas – Not Just Words You need to get the whole picture, not just isolated bits and pieces. Maybe one of the most difficult aspects of listening is the ability to link together pieces of information to reveal the ideas of others. With proper concentration, letting go of distractions, and focus this becomes easier. 10. Wait and Watch for Non-Verbal Communication Gestures, facial expressions, and eye-movements can all be important. We don’t just listen with our ears but also with our eyes – watch and pick up the additional information being transmitted via non-verbal communication. Do not jump to conclusions about what you see and hear. You should always seek clarification to ensure that your understanding is correct.

Burger King Beefs Up Global Operations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Burger King Beefs Up Global Operations - Essay Example The corporate headquarters of Burger King is located in Miami, Florida. Miami is often referred to by Latinos as the capital of Latin America. The firm’s reputation in Miami which is one of the cities in the United States with the highest population of Latinos spilled over into the rest of Latin America (Uts, 2011). In terms of geographic considerations the proximity of Miami to the South America and the Caribbean region enhances the ability of Burger King’s management to visit these countries and for franchisees to visit corporate headquarters. Marketing is the value chain activity that adds greatest value to the company. The success of Burger King is highly dependent on its ability to attract return customers. Advertising has been used by the company to build the brand value of the firm. The company finances a lot of its marketing budget by charging its franchisees a 4% marketing fee on all sales which is independent of the 4.5% royalty fee it charges (About, 2011). 3 . The international expansion of Burger King came at a slower pace than its main competitor in the fast food industry, McDonald’s. An advantage of being the first to the market is that first entrants create greater brand value recognition than followers (Kotler, 2003). A second advantage of entering a market first is the ability to obtain a greater market share. Companies that follow have to invest a lot of money in advertising to steal market share away from the first entrant. A third advantage of being first in the market is the ability to lock up contracts with suppliers. This is very important especially in markets that have a limited amount of suppliers. The most important supplier for a hamburger chain is the slaughterhouses that provide the meat. On the other hand it is advantageous to enter the market later because the first entrant takes all the risks of the market not being suitable for the product the company offers. Another advantage of entering later is that the first entrant spends large amounts of capital to build up the demand for the product and is also responsible for creating the supplier network. 4. An advantage for a company such as Burger King in comparison with local merchants is that Burger King has greater purchasing power than the competition. Burger King can take advantage of economies of scale and as a consequence the firm can implement a lower price structure to attract customers. The local merchants have advantages over Burger King such as having a fixed customer base and greater knowledge of the customers eating preferences. 5. Burger King has more than 2/3 of its stores located in North America. The company has to move away from this strategy due to the fact that the fast food industry in this region is very saturated particularly in the United States. There are over 160,000 fast food restaurants located in the United States of America (Numberof, 2010). The company’s strategy must change to achieve greater internat ional penetration. Burger King currently has a physical presence in only 40% of the 210 countries worldwide (Garabain, 2008). Emerging economies should be the prime target of Burger King particularly the BRICS (Lukyanov, 2011). The BRICS is composed of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. The population of China and India combined represent 36.66% of the world’s population. 6. It is advantageous to penetrate countries that have large numbers of youth and shopping centers. The main consumers of fast food are teenagers, generation

Speech papers Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Speech papers - Essay Example The portrayals were characterized by repetitive and indiscriminate depiction of the Muslim community that reinforce stereotyping and misunderstanding among the wider public. Central to the negativity of the media's Arab and Islamic portrayals are the reporters themselves. The idea is that claims to objectivity in news reporting is a myth and that, in their reports, they have the power to shape and change meanings that influence public opinion just with use, misuse or non-use of certain words. An excellent example of this is the way Palestinians are labeled terrorists in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict when the ANC that uses the same methods that got the former labeled as such were called as freedom fighters. (Manning, p. 52) Dr. Ibrahim Hilal added another example when he pointed out in an ABC interview how Western networks never say occupied territories in Palestine and instead mention â€Å"territories† or the just the â€Å"Palestinian people† in their reports about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in addition to the usual failure in mentioning the reason of resistance and violence on the part of the Arabs. (p52) There is also a tendency to opinionate and cast blame on Muslims as a whole by using specific incidents and personalities in order to represent their community and what they stand for. For instance, during the peak of the media coverage of the Lebanese rape gangs, the Islamic religion was repeatedly dragged into the fray, with reporters going as far as pontificating how Islamic culture and values breed the kind of violence that Arabs are capable of. Manning identified the general media slant that declares rape is typical of men of Middle Eastern extraction and that â€Å"white† women are threatened by the communities that harbor them. (Manning, p63) What is happening is actually a sanctioned prejudice towards a race on the guise of public indignation on specific criminal acts. The apt description, according to Michael Humphrey, is to â€Å"exoticize the Other† perhaps in an effort to demonize, curtail and control an ethnic minority. (p63) This comes in handy, for instance, when advancing certain policies that concern minority groups such as on the issue of what to do with refugees and asylum seekers. The section of the public who does not have any idea what the Muslims are or their faith and beliefs, their culture and their community have to depend heavily on the media and the printed material for their opinions and judgments. It is, hence, unfortunate that they get to read about Muslim depictions that are negative one-dimensional and often misleading and malicious. What is more unfortunate is the fact – as has been previously explained – that this phenomenon is a deliberate and systematic campaign on the part of the media. The media is guilty with the typical Western prejudice on Muslims and Islam and also, the â€Å"otherness† that comes with having a different culture and wa y of life. This is unfair to the Muslim community and unjust in its most extreme manifestations. It also harms societies that are multicultural and diverse. It breeds segregation and alienation among groups that should have been coming together and learning from each other, enriching the

Any article related to human resources development Annotated Bibliography

Any article related to human resources development - Annotated Bibliography Example Although HRD governs a wide range of concepts, this paper mainly focuses on education and training of manpower. The author regards investment in these two areas as the key to move from one level of economic progress to the next. A lot of emphasis has been laid on the importance of â€Å"knowledge work† as being an important step in HRD. Knowledge work comes from formal and specialized education of work-force and workers having specialized knowledge can perform way better than unspecialized traditional workers. Some other factors like technological advancement, information revolution and globalization also exert important influences on HRD. These factors are interlinked and through proper training and education of human resource, these factors can help a lot in climbing the ladder of economic progress. Education of employees is regarded as being extremely important in this paper. Formal education along with specialized skilled training can contribute a lot towards economic progress. To address the idea of educating the work-force, a practical action is proposed in which technologically advanced training and education is considered a responsibility that is divided among three stake holders to make it easier to attain. The state, employers and trade-unions can work in close collaboration to accomplish the task of training the work force effectively. The paper therefore provides a very general but effective roadmap to improve the education and training of human workforce which is essential for economic progress at the national level. De Silva, Sriyan. "Human resources development for competitiveness: a priority for employers."  ILO workshop on employers’ organizations in Asia-Pasific in The Twenty-First Century, Turin, Italy.

Death penalty Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Death penalty - Research Paper Example In response to the argument that capital punishment deters crime, opponents point to a substantial body of research that suggests otherwise. Prior to Ehrlich's work and the subsequent application of econometric methods to the question of deterrence, few criminologists believed that there was strong evidence to support this argument. Recent surveys of criminologists have found that they still overwhelmingly believe that capital punishment does not deter crime; in 2009, a study of leading American criminologists found that 88 percent thought the death penalty was not a deterrent. Critics point out that a large number of studies on the topic have found no deterrent effect, and that the attitudes of criminologists reflect this evidence. Sellin's work on the deterrent effect in 1959 was one of the first primary studies that compared states with similar populations and crime rates, and found that those with the death penalty had, on average, no significant decreases in homicide rates. This work was followed by dozens of published studies that compared states with or without the death penalty, and notably after 1972, compared homicide rates before and after the halting of executions within specific states, and concluded there was little deterrent effect. Beginning in the 1970s, there has also been a substantial body of work that has focused more extensively on rebutting the methodologies and findings of Ehrlich and later econometricians. In response to Ehrlich's findings, the National Academy of Sciences appointed a panel of experts to review his work and concluded in 1978 that his methodology was flawed, and his conclusions were not sustainable. Critics have pointed out that his findings were largely dependent upon the specific variables he chose to include in his studies, as well as the specific time frames he focused on, and even minor changes to these inputs and parameters have resulted in radically different outcomes. More recently, the work of Jeffery Fagan and several colleagues has demonstrated that the use of econometric methods by researchers who have found a link between executions and deterrence are equally susceptible to large variances through small changes to variables or time frames. Aside from the argument that capi tal punishment does not deter crime, critics also argue that the death penalty does not in fact result in increased justice for either victims or society. Many critics are opposed to the idea of retribution on moral or religious grounds, and argue that for a variety of reasons, the death penalty constitutes a violation of the Eighth Amendment's

Management problem solving Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Management problem solving - Essay Example The very fact that now people are being considered as resource instead of liability marks the importance of human beings constituting this resource. Moe's too believes in valuing the contribution of its workforce. But at times situations arise which present not only a challenge, for the HR manager, to come out with effective solution to the issue but it also provides a wholesome learning experience i. Moe's is basically into services i.e. service sector organizing i.e. Moe's mission basically centers on welcoming the hunger of its customers and then satisfying it. The smiling staff spread the fragrance of a hearty "Welcome to Moe's!" when the customer walks in. Therefore Moe's is into hospitality events and not in production and manufacturing I used to tell the boys that customer satisfaction is the key to our success, and believed in positively motivating them to excel in life. Motivation in simplest terms can be defined as a means of providing motives. Motives can act towards making or breaking the work, towards doing a job more efficiently or for distorting the work environment. The lack of any positive motivation by the managers often results in an automatic provisioning of negative motivation.

Annotated references Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Annotated references - Essay Example This model was evaluated and later on proven successful to both teachers and learners. Conversely, there are issues cited in the article, which still remain lacking in this model. This is with regard to the safety of the program and how to win the teacher’s trust versus imparting the right knowledge in children. In particular, this article is helpful in the development of early childhood. This is with an aim of empowering both teachers and children in the line of acquiring high quality education. The authors intend to enhance efficiency and boosting quality of learning in children. The article is relevant to the curriculum with regard to the choice of words and noteworthy sources used. Ultimately, the sources used target the development of early education. For example, the model helps teachers in comprehending what they do clearly and much more helps them see the value of articulating their practices effectively, such as integrating young children with the old in order to have the young learn from the old. The authors, Blank, Damjanovic, Peixoto da Silva and Weber (2012), present a multi-case study that provides an explanation of early childhood and teachers with their experiences when executing project work in present-day classrooms. The authors put emphasis on the challenges that teachers encounter during the implementation process of the project work. This entails how they responded to both developing professional knowledge and skills on the subject of the project strategy and to the available practices considered in the specific school perspectives. This article provides a description of operational project work in a study of three classes with an aim of illustrating main arguments from each of the specific scenarios. The article also presents a construed argument that merges the three scenarios. Finally, the authors indicate what teachers’ encounter while putting

Nurses Dealing with Cases of Women who are Victims of Domestic Coursework

Nurses Dealing with Cases of Women who are Victims of Domestic Violence - Coursework Example as a nurse, one is expected to uphold utmost professionalism. He or she is expected to follow the ethical standards as prescribed under the Nurses and Midwifery Council code of professional ethics. A registered nurse must respect the patient as an individual, obtain consent before giving treatment, uphold the confidentiality of information, maintain professional knowledge and competence, be always trustworthy and must act with the end goal of identifying and minimizing risk on the patient (NMC 2002). On the other hand, the nurse has a legal obligation towards his or her patient. According to the case of Donoghue v. Stevenson (1932)1, where there is an established proximity of relationship between two people where the duty of care exists, the person who owes the duty of care towards another but failed to fulfill such duty, that person shall be liable for the breach such duty of care. According to the case of Bolam v Friern Hospital Management Committee (1957)2, where the healthcare pr ofession failed to perform acts which are expected of his or her profession, he or she shall be deemed in breach of such duty of care. In the more recent case of Bolitho v City & Hackney Health Authority (1997)3, the Court ruled that the delivery of the duties and responsibilities of the healthcare professional should be able to stand of up to logical analysis, where the action should be examined in the context where it would be the right thing to do on such a given circumstance. Accordingly, there are four elements that must be satisfied before a suit can be successfully brought against a nurse or a healthcare professional, namely, the existence of the duty of care, the failure to perform such duty, that damage resulted from the failure of the health professional to perform the duty and that such damage which resulted from the negligent act is foreseeable and is a direct consequence from such negligent act (Horwitz, B. 1998). In the case of Barnett v. Kensington and Chelsea Hospita l Management Committee (1969)4, the liability of the healthcare professional is established where the damaged that the patient could suffer due to the negligence is foreseeable and is the direct result of the breach of a duty of care.

The balance between cost and quality Essay Example for Free

The balance between cost and quality Essay Before we look closer into the subject, first we must look at exactly what is meant by quality and cost. Quality is the totality of the attributes of a good or service that meet the requirements of the buyer or customers. The materials which make up the product, the design and the engineering of the product, product performance, reliability and durability are all important characteristics of the quality package, which ultimately influence customers to buy a product and repeat-purchase It. (Pass 1995) Cost is the expenditure upon resources incurred by a firm in producing and selling its output, Each cost is a charge against revenues and profits for the use or consumption of resources during a trading period. Cost can be classified along the functional lines, distinguishing between production, selling, distribution, administration and finance costs. (Pass 1995) Quality is a term we use to signify excellence of a product or service. We think of a quality product, for example a B.M.W. motorcar. We know its well designed, well built and will therefore last a long time. If we think of car of being low quality, we think of something like a basic model type of Citroen or Fiat, with its flimsy panels, cheap components and low specifications. The quality hotel is denoted by the internationally recognised star rating system, i.e. a 1 star hotel will provide the most basic of comforts and low on hygiene, and a 5 star hotel will provide the most comforts and services. We can immediately recognise then, by simply looking at a hotels star rating how good it will be and how good of a time we will have if we stay at the hotel. Total Quality Management (TQM) is an organisational process that actively involves every function and every employee in satisfying customers needs, both internal and external. TQM works by continuously improving all aspect of work through structured control, improvement and planning activities that are carried out in concern with guiding principles that focuses on Quality  and Customer Satisfaction as the top priorities. TQM recognises that the Customer is at the centre of every activity. The customer may be external or internal. The key is to determine the gap between what the customer needs and what the system delivers. Once the gap is recognised, it would be systematically reduced and results in never-ending improvement in customer satisfaction at every level. The balance between cost and quality in purchasing is questioned when an organisation is looking to purchase the best for what they can get for their money. However, this is not always the case. One of the main considerations in the purchasing functions is that the quality in question is fit for purpose. Sometimes the overriding factor on the decision to purchase is that products are of the highest quality. E.g. luxury car manufacture Roll Royce will pride themselves on using the finest materials when manufacturing their cars. When at the ordering stage the emphasis will be on high quality rather then cost. Keeping cost to a minimum is an important factor for any business including companies like Roll Royce (to a certain degree). However, Roll Royce will not compromise their image of quality for the sake of cost. Often, a company has no choice but to use the most expensive materials or highest quality that money can buy. Sometimes safety is the overriding factor. If Rolls Royce is building an engine that is going to be mounted onto an aircraft, then titanium will be the preferred choice of material. Titanium is extremely expensive but will guarantee the utmost reliability in this situation. As mentioned above, purchasers have to take into consideration whether or not the quality is fit for purpose and what the product is going to be used for. The decisions that are made can be made personally for individual use or at corporate level. E.g. if a purchasing manager for a car manufacturer has to make a decision on the type radio to buy, then there is a combination of factors that will need to be considered. The price will have to suit his budget. The quality would have to be of a standard that one would expect from a car of that type from the company. The buyers final decision may well be to buy a radio system that he or she would never consider putting in their own car. But yet the decision made will mean that the system chosen will go into thousands of newly built cars. This is because the decision made was not personal; it was made of behalf of a company so it had to suit their needs. Many purchasing managers are under constant pressure to drive cost down. Even professionals have problems finding the balance between cost and quality when their budget is very low. If costs are too low then it seems inevitable that the quality will suffer. The Ford motor company has suffered the consequences of cutting costs too low. After rave reviews following introduction of the new Ford Focus into the US market, Ford decided to build the car using cheaper components in a bid to save money. The cheaper components included rear wheel bearings that would prematurely wear, causing noise and wheel instability. Not only does Ford now has to recall thousands of Ford Focuses, but it also has to deal with the fact the this decision has damaged their reputation even further. As people we are constantly trying to find the balance between costs and are own perception of quality on a daily basis. According to Juran, quality is: fitness for intended use. This definition basically says that quality is meeting or exceeding customer expectations. So according to this theory, we achieve quality when we buy a product that does what its supposed to do. If a purchasing manager is buying radios that he or she wouldnt use personally, this still ties in with Jurans definition of quality because the radios will meet the customers expectations, although is will not meet the buyers. When we shop we have to ask ourselves if the use of the product will justify the cost. E.g. when studying late at night, the natural choice of beverage for some students would be something like the caffeine boosting energy drink Red Bull at the cost of ?25. ?25 is far too much to pay (double) for a can of fizz pop. On this particular occasion, the beverage will not be used as a  thirst quencher or as a vodka mix, but used as an aid to keep the student awake through the studying session. The cost (?25) of the product is justified due to the products fitness for intended use. Deming states that the customers definition of quality is the only one that matters. This is true but I feel that the customer does not always get quality from what they perceive as quality. This is partly to do with the fact that some companies are very good at doing some things, but is not so good at others. Designer label brand Gucci is a prime example of this. If somebody buys a Gucci designer watch for the cost of ?0, there are a host of other things that the buyer will achieve like admiration, prestige and self-esteem. Gucci is not a watchmaker and does not have the same level of expertise of watch making as Rolex or Cartier. Although somebody who does not have knowledge of watches may perceive this watch as quality. Those with know-how or those in the industry would regard this watch as crap. Watches of this nature are purely soled through success of the brand. The watches are simply a spin-off from their designer clothesline and are made with very low quality and cheap components. According to Which magazine, the life expectancy for a Gucci watch is two three years. This is very low compared to Rolexs lifetime life expectancy. looking at Passs definition of quality, a Gucci watch does not carry vital characteristics such as, reliability and durability, which are key to the quality package. This brings us to Demings theory that the customers definition of quality is the only one that matters. I appreciate that the customers opinion is all that matters them, but whether or not the customer is actually receiving quality is another matter. If a product were purchased on the basis of the customer being happy with the product initially, then it would be very difficult to apply Demings theory of quality if the product has hidden defects. Similar to the phrase, things arent always what they seem. To achieve high quality, a company does not have to always have to pay the high costs. For example the cars produced by the Japanese used to be of low quality and unreliability was common. Things have changed now. Japaneses  cars are now built to an excellent standard and reliability is second to none. Not only are the Japanese building excellent cars, they are building them at a great speed. This is partly due to lean supply techniques that the Japanese have mastered. The whole area of purchasing and suppliers is streamlined to achieve minimum waste. Adopting these techniques cannot be done over night, but lean supply is an excellent step in the right direction in achieving a good balance between cost and quality long-term. Philip B. Crosby (1979) believed in the zero-defects program adopted by the US federal government defining quality as conformance to requirements. He emphasized prevention rather than inspection (audits) and promoted a definition of quality as meeting the customers requirements the first time and every time. His work is part of TQM. Crosbys (1979) philosophy on quality is driven solely by prevention of defects. It is expressed in a phrase he uses: Do it right the first time and every time. Crosby emphasizes zero defects, given that he believes there is only one level of quality. In other words, the presence of any flaw in the product deprives it of quality. He believes managements perception and attitude towards quality needs to be transformed if the organisation is going to succeed at delivering quality consistently. For example, Deming and many managers believe that error is inevitable and one only has to deal with it. Crosby believes it is self-defeating to plan and invest in strategies that deal with errors instead of investing in strategies and processes that prevent errors from occurring in the first place (Garvin and March, 1986). The Lean thinking method allows Japanese car manufactures have strong relationships with their suppliers and offer incentives for better quality. E.g. The supplier will carry out rigorous tests on their products before the buyer receives it to ensure reliability. Purchasing can improve quality by contributing to the competitive advantage of the undertaking by participating in the procurement of bought out items at the economical cost. It is important to ensure that quality is not confused with price and grade. Managers should be using their extensive knowledge and expertise to provide high quality to both internal and external customers of the purchasing function. To maximise quality, the purchasing departments responsibilities should meet with the requirements of BS/ EN and BS 7750 Keeping the balance between cost and quality in an important factor for any business. As mentioned above, it depends on what the buyer is trying to achieve overall. If high quality is the overriding factor for a company, then this will tie in with the companies high quality image. Whether it is no frills or impeccable quality, managers will try to find a reasonable balance where appropriate. Bibliography Lysons, K (2000) Purchasing and supply chain management. 5th edition. Prentice Hall Crosby, P. (1984) Quality without tears. 1st edition. Mc Graw Hall companies Crosby, P. (1995) Quality is still free. Mc Graw Hall companies Crosby, P. (1979) Quality is free. . Dutton signet Garvin, D.A. and A. March. (1984) A Note on Quality: The Views of Deming, Juran and Crosby. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press. Juran, J.M. (1988) Juran on Planning for Quality, New York: Free Press,. http://www.which.co.uk/

Indian Cultural Background Essay Example for Free

Indian Cultural Background Essay I have two cultural background which are Cherokee Indian and African American . Cherokee is really pronounced as â€Å"CHAIR-uh-kee† in our language. Cherokee comes from a Muskogee word meaning ‘speakers of another language’. Cherokee Indians originally called themselves Aniyunwiya â€Å"the principal people,† but today they accept the named Cherokee. But in their language it is pronounced Tsadagi . The Cherokees are original residents of the American southeast region, particularly Georgia, North and South Carolina, Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee. Most Cherokees were forced to move to Oklahoma in the 1800s along the Trail of Tears. The Cherokee Indians who survived this death still live in Oklahoma today. Some Cherokees escaped the Trail of Tears by hiding in the Appalachian hills or taking shelter with white neighbors. These people live scattered throughout the original Cherokee Indian homelands. Trail of Tears was the Cherokee name for what the Americans called Indian Removal. During the 1800s, the US government created an Indian Territory in Oklahoma and sent all the eastern Native American tribes to live there. Some tribes agreed to this plan with no problem. Other tribes didnt like this plan at all , and the American army forced them. The Cherokee tribe was one of the largest eastern tribes, and they didnt want to leave their homeland. The Cherokees were peaceful with the Americans. So they asked the Supreme Court for help. The judges decided the Cherokee Indians could stay in their homes. But the President, Andrew Jackson, sent the army to march the Cherokees to Oklahoma . They werent prepared for the journey, and it was winter time. Thousands of Cherokee Indians died on the Trail of Tears. Many Native Americans from other tribes died too. It was a terrible time in history. There are three federally recognized Cherokee tribes: the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, the United Keetoowah Band in Oklahoma, and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians in North Carolina. Other Cherokee communities in Alabama, Georgia, and other states are considered unofficial by the US government. The Eastern Cherokee people live on a reservation. Indian reservations are lands that belong to Native American tribes and are under their control. The Oklahoma Cherokee people live on trust land, though many Cherokees call it a reservation anyway. The Keetowah Cherokee do not have a land base. Each Cherokee tribe has its own government, laws, police, and services, just like a small country. However, Cherokee Indians are also US citizens and must obey American law. In the past, each Cherokee group was led by one war chief and one peace chief. Cherokee chiefs were chosen by a tribal council. Cherokee war chiefs were male, but the peace chief could be a woman. Today, Cherokee tribal councils and chiefs can be either gender and are popularly elected, like senators and governors. Most Cherokee people speak English today, but 20,000 people also speak the Cherokee Indian language. Cherokee is a complex language with soft sounds. The Cherokee language has an innovative writing system that was invented by the Cherokee scholar Sequoyah. Sequoyahs writing system is a syllabary. That means one character represents each syllable. The other cultural background is African American .

Okun Law Unemployment

Okun Law Unemployment Okun Law Unemployment Okun’s Law; an Empirical Test across Countries Abstract Okun’s Law postulates an inverse relationship between the change in the unemployment rate and the difference between actual and potential real output. The relation has proven to be an influential empirical framework in supply-side economics. This paper sets out to empirically test whether or not Okun’s Law holds and how it varies across the UK, US and Japan during the time period 1976-2006. The quarterly data sets are analysed via both OLS Regression estimations over the whole sample period and Rolling Regression estimations over 18 separate subsamples, with the view to infer how stable the relationship has been over the last 30 years. The reasons for these changes and the implications these results can have for policymakers and labour markets are also briefly discussed. In addition, we find that the unemployment rate responds asymmetrically to expansions and contractions in output when the business cycle is considered. There is a considerable amount of evidence that su pports Okun’s Law usefulness as an empirical relationship. Okun’s Law is defined as the ‘relationship between the change in the unemployment rate and the difference between actual and potential real output’. The relationship has had a substantial influence in macroeconomics in so far that the Law is widely used in macro-models as well as providing the theoretical building blocks to contribute to other empirical relationships such as the Aggregate Supply curve and the Phillips Curve. For this reason, Okun’s Law is an important feature of supply-side economics. Okun’s Law also gives policymakers and economists’ an indication of how the economy is performing in regard to both the labour market and the goods market. Furthermore, central banks, primarily monetary policy, use Okun’s Law as a forecasting tool to predict changes in the structure of the economy and aid in the decision-making process. Its effectiveness as a tool is somewhat contentious, since the relation is designed to be utilised as a benchmark or guideline to judge the performance of the economy against, rather than as a stringent policy rule. Additionally, the relationship is frequently used to achieve an optimal growth rate (without adverse effects on the unemployment rate) as well as more significantly measuring the cost of high unemployment which is regarded as both socially undesirable and a waste of human capital. This study specifically attempts to test, using the dynamic version of Okun’s Law, whether or not the relationship holds in the UK, US and Japan and how the relationship varies across these countries over the period 1976-2006. This will be tested via OLS regression analysis. The central research question of this study is to infer from the results how stable the relation i.e. Okun’s Law been over the last 30 years for the UK, US and Japan? This will effectively captured by the sensitivity of unemployment changes when output growth deviates from its equilibrium level, namely the Okun coefficient (The ÃŽ ² term in the relation). Most papers assume a symmetric relationship between output and unemployment. As a secondary objective of the study, an attempt will be made to test whether or not Okun’s Law characterises an asymmetric relationship, in so far that expansions and contractions in output have a different absolute effect on changes in the unemployment rate, an issue pursued by many authors in the forthcoming literature. In addition, the results can be used to interpret to what extent policymakers can predict the performance of output and unemployment in an economy hence the usefulness of Okun’s Law as a forecasting tool, once instability of the relation is taken into account. Overview The study proceeds as follows; Section 1 presents a theoretical background to the Okun’s Law and its significance as an empirical relationship. Section 2 presents a review of the existing empirical literature on Okun’s Law along with discussion of any relevant omissions and contradictions of the respective authors’ findings. Section 3 uses Blanchard (1998) methodology as a basis for the construction of Okun’s Law as well as providing the necessary explanations of the variables used in the model, version of the relation used. The methods of data collection and the limitations of the methodology employed will also be stated. Section 4 presents some preliminary data analysis including descriptive statistics, tests for Stationarity, Heteroskedasticity, Serial Correlation and Chow Test for structural stability. Section 5 presents the empirical results and the subsequent analysis of the techniques used to interpret Okun’s Law. Namely, OLS Regression Analysis over the whole period, Rolling Regressions, Stability Tests, and Dummy Variable analysis based on its use in the model and how the empirical results integrate with the subject matter raised in the literature. The implications of the empirical results for macroeconomic policymakers, the goods and the labour market are also briefly discussed. Section 6 presents a judgement on the overall findings from the analysis of the data as well as providing a critical appraisal of Okun’s Law and its usefulness as an empirical relation across countries. In addition, potential recommendations will be discussed in the context of how the study and/or the model can be improved for further research. Background Theory Okun’s Law – the inverse relationship between unemployment and output is regarded as ‘’one of the most reliable empirical regularities of macroeconomics’’. In recent times, there has been a considerable amount of research into the empirical significance of Okun’s Law. Policymakers are interested in sustaining output growth and achieving a low unemployment rate and the relationship is seen as a fairly good indication of economic performance. The type of unemployment that will prevail depends on how labour supply and demand evolve over time and is the prime reason why Okun’s coefficient has reduced over time. The lack of empirical testing in this area is a major limitation of reliable Okun coefficients. In 1962, Arthur Okun, an American economist, formulated and interpreted this relationship. He suggested a negative relationship between the change in the unemployment rate and the growth of real output. Many economists till this day, view Okun’s Law to be a very useful relation in assessing macroeconomic performance. Okun estimated that in the US; output growth of 3% below equilibrium for one year, leads to an increase in the unemployment rate of one percentage point (reverse case also applies). However, more recent studies have shown that in fact, a 1% increase in output leads to a reduction in the unemployment rate by 2%. The simplicity of Okun’s Law, involving the use of fundamental economic variables (output and unemployment) makes it a striking empirical relationship to study. However, there are a number of forms or versions that Okun’s Law can take. The predominant versions of Okun’s Law are; the difference version, the dynamic version, the gap version and the production-function version. This study will use the dynamic version of Okun’s Law since it is widely used by economists as well as taking into account deviation of output from some equilibrium level, which ultimately creates a more plausible investigation. Although the magnitude of the decrease seems to be declining and with widespread acceptance of the relationship being pervasive, structural differences in an economy’s product and labour markets coupled with the difficulty that national governments face in managing the economy, highlights the need to rigorously investigate Okun’s Law still further. Literature Review This section examines the existing empirical literature concerning Okun’s Law and the most significant findings. The purpose of this section in particular is to evaluate the usefulness of Okun’s Law as an empirical relation against a number of criteria. Additional focus will be placed on how the relationship varies across both differing time periods and different countries as well as the techniques used in the literature. Using the original formulation of Okun’s Law Equation (1) Blanchard (1998) estimated the relation across both countries and time. The time periods the author used were 1960-2003. (1960-1980 and 1981-2003). The author estimated the coefficient for the United States, the UK, Germany and Japan. According to the reports, as expected, the law does hold in all of these countries. The econometric techniques used by Blanchard in constructing these results involve the use of standard regression analysis. It was brought to our attention that the US had the highest response (-0.39), whilst Japan the lowest (-0.12). This is in part explained by the differences in structure within each country’s respective labour markets. The study made 2 plausible yet restrictive assumptions. The first being that ‘’Output moved one for one with employment’’. This is an important point to note since economic theory suggests that an expansion in an economy’s output, ceteris paribus (an increase in productive capacity) will require an equal increase in the amount of labour (workers) needed to produce that additional output. The second assumption is that of ‘’A constant labour force’’. This assumption follows on from the first in that changes in employment are reflected in opposite changes in unemployment. A major critique of these assumptions is the fact that in absolute terms, the rise/fall in the unemployment rate may not be proportional to the rise/fall in the employment rate due to labour force participation. Blanchard also brought to our attention that in the Medium Run the relationship may differ due to both equilibrium values of output and unemployment returning to their natural levels. This adjustment of the variables means that certain macroeconomic policies cannot influence output growth or unemployment rates. However, earlier formulations assumed any increase or decrease in the unemployment rate relative to the rate of output growth to be in equal absolute proportions. The revised equation (below) rectifies this simplistic assumption by involving the actual deviation of output growth from its equilibrium, where the Beta coefficient measures the responsiveness of unemployment rate changes to deviations of output from equilibrium output. Ut Ut-1 = -ÃŽ ² (gyt – Ä y) (1) Potential Rate of Output Growth Unemployment rate at t-1 periods Output Growth at t periods Unemployment rate at t periods Beta/Impact Coefficient Sogner, L and Stiassny, A, (2000) investigated Okun’s Law for 15 OECD countries to deduce whether structural instability originates from the demand or supply-side of the economy. The Keynesian viewpoint was found to hold little empirical validity in contrast to that of the neoclassical one. This is in part down to the ‘’assumption of fixed prices and wages.’’ This is unrealistic to assume particularly in a world where inflation is everywhere a monetary phenomenon. Although firms do change their output plans according to changes in growth, both changes in wages and prices will determine the underlying unemployment rate and any estimates based on such assumptions will derive incorrect results. Economic agents expect certain activities to occur in the future based on either past or current activities. The most crucial finding of this paper is that the persistence in the unemployment is strongest in countries that have a highly protected labour market. A lthough this is inconclusive in contrast to other studies, it implies to a certain extent that variations in real output only have a small effect on employment levels which needs to be accounted for especially when revisions of the relation are considered. Most Okun’s Law stipulations tend to assume a symmetric relationship between unemployment and output growth. In other words, output growth for instance produces the same absolute effect on unemployment. Harris and Silverstone (2000) managed to test this assumption using hypothesis tests for New Zealand over the period 1979-1999. They discovered that Okun’s Law does hold by means of regression analysis over this period. The most essential insight which can be extended across many countries if need be, is the Okun coefficient which they estimated based on their regression results. In New Zealand, ‘’a one percent change in output growth is associated with a 0.4% change in the unemployment rate.’’ This is in fact due to changes in labour force participation, labour hours and capital utilization. The strength of this particular study was the use of labour supply analysis which contributed in supporting Okun’s Law and its role on the supply s ide of the economy. The authors do however, wrongly assume a symmetric assumption throughout the paper and this is not plausible, especially in the long-run. Productivity gains and the structure of the labour market play a vital contribution to the outcome of any relationship between unemployment and output. Walterskirchen (1999) proposed this argument to his study. This particular study generates differing perspectives to those posed by both Harris and Silverstone (2000) and thus varies greatly in terms of empirical results. The author does support Blanchard’s view concerning the existence of a ‘’strong positive correlation between GDP growth and change in the employment rate.’’ However, the additional emphasis placed by Walterskirchen is that of productivity gains and labour supply and demand in the context of each country’s individual labour market. The fact that the author cites demographic influences as well as economic is vital to the building blocks of empirical results and whether or not they are consistent with economic theory. The author carried out this particular focus of the study thro ugh two predominant methods; Time-series data analysis for each individual EU country and cross-country data analysis for the period 1988-1998. In both methods there appears to be a strong negative correlation between output growth and the resulting change in the unemployment rate. Walterskirchen highlighted the difficulty in the calculation of potential output in order to estimate Okun’s Law and thus disregarded this method in his empirical analysis, focusing instead on the change in the rate of output and unemployment. He did however, attempt to correct another ambiguity in the fact that the relation overlooks the ‘’influence of investment activity and technical progress on labour productivity.’’ The results clearly show the rate of productivity to be approximately 2% in the EU, representing a constant figure. In times of high unemployment, Okun’s coefficient will tend to also be high (1980’s). In contrast, demographics explain the contribution of the rise in population growth on the employment rate. It was found that an increase in population growth puts considerable pressure on employment to increase and as a consequence labour productivity diminishes. This is relevant since ‘’employment will only grow if economic growth rates are outstripping productivity’’. This adds further weight to the claims of productivity on the supply-side of the economy and the role it plays in determining the rate of unemployment. ‘’The hi gher the Okun coefficient (usually 0.3 to 0.5), i.e., the elasticity of unemployment rates with respect to GDP growth, the better the chances for reducing unemployment through growth and demand policies’’. This aspect of the study is of great importance to policymakers. The author ensured that the significance of Okun’s Law at the government level is not disregarded and hence plays a role in the effectiveness of policy at the macro level. Schnabel (2002) investigated whether Okun’s Law can be used to derive estimates of trend output growth but more importantly to focus on whether to use the trend rates derived in constructing measures of the output gap. It is a key concept in the construction of Okun’s Law and the subsequent tests. The author pointed out the difficulties of estimating trend output, mostly in part to the numerous methods which can cause ‘’biases and problems of interpretation’’. This is regarded as a major flaw of Okun’s Law and Schnabel emphasizes this in his study. The interesting aspect of his econometric methods to test for the Okun coefficient was by use of Rolling Regressions for the G7 countries he intended to estimate. This technique aimed to test how the actual coefficients change or vary over time (many sample periods), in order to capture the dynamic changes which an economy undergoes over a shorter time horizon. The authors’ estimates i nvolve the G7 countries as well as the US, Japan and Canada, with each country’s coefficients being significantly different than those of the next. Schnabel found out that the full sample had similar coefficients with that of the sub sample. This indicates that the relationship was relatively stable and accurate with the actual rates providing a sound benchmark to be compared against. A remarkable addition to the overall model was using business cycle stages as measures against the obtained trend values. This allowed the author to test the significance of the coefficients within different stages of growth, recovery or depressions. This is directly attributable to the case of UK, which had robust coefficients of 2.2 for growth an estimate taken from the period 1980-1990. During the 1990’s labour market flexibility played vital a role in increasing participation rates within the labour market. This would suggest that as potential output grows, actual positive output grow th exists. This is not a viable view since cyclical unemployment is not constant in all countries. The author, from the results, cited that sophisticated econometric techniques by use of filters may produce more accurate results and less ‘’shifting of parameters which are not deemed to be constant’’. In addition, the trend rates obtained should ‘’not be interpreted as the rates of growth compatible with stable inflation’’. By introducing inflation into these estimates would complicate the estimations since such changes are reflected in the intensity of the business cycle, which the author correctly cites as a major limitation of his study. Harris and Silverstone (2001) in their second study examine how upturns and downturns have a direct impact on Okun’s Law. A test which detects how unemployment and output growth react (proportionally) to changes in the business cycle is known as Asymmetry. Earlier, Blanchard made the view that Okun’s Law is symmetrical and many economists make this wrong assumption. The adjustment process in the real world follows different paths and involves many complex factors. Both Harris and Silverstone appreciate the need to test for asymmetry and ignoring this would see the hypothesis that there exists an inverse relationship between output and unemployment rejected, as well as numerous forecasting errors being made in the decision making process that policymakers go through. Output growth (yt) was found to be weakly exogenous and this was true for all the OECD countries tested. Co integration Tests (were undertaken through Engle-Granger Two-Step method and Johansen Procedure) we re calculated by Harris and Silverstone in an attempt to observe how the coefficients differed asymmetrically when the phase of the business cycle was considered. It was discovered that adjustments to disequilibrium are not prevalent in the downturn phase of the business cycle but in the upturn phase they are more volatile due to the nature of both the goods and labour market which is consistent with economic theory. This is not the case for the UK and Japan since results indicated that they in fact move in opposite directions. Although, not explicitly stated the author manages to highlight the importance of this test as a benchmark for other relations such as the Philips Curve, AS curve and Taylor-Rule seemingly also strengthening the case for pursuing more in depth study of relationships and their responses in different countries. Kosfeld and Dreger (1992-2000) investigated the German Labour Market and their study stressed the notion that ‘’changes in production and employment are closely related’’. This gave rise to the Threshold concept, which in basic terms refers to there being a finite amount of capacity both in the economy and at firm-level. Any output growth above this specified capacity will tend to create new jobs and a fall in the unemployment rate over time. This serves as an important guideline to policymakers, albeit a different one to that specified by Walterskirchen. The thresholds in fact act as a determinant for both employment and unemployment. The authors’ application of Okun’s law is from both the demand and supply-side although Okun’s law is usually approached from the supply-side due to the operation of labour markets. Instead of supporting Walterskirchen’s view on demographics and other factors, the authors in this study believe that they in fact weaken the relationship. This arose due to the complexity of structural developments in the economy. The overall results followed on with the negative relationship between unemployment and output existing in Germany. However the unemployment benefit system in Germany led to employment and unemployment responding differently to changes in output. This response was detected in the 1990’s by a method known as spatial correlation equal to 0.2, which was regarded as relatively weak. This method is regarded as unsatisfactory since the results derived do not make a credible contribution to the study. Huang and Chang (2005) proposed to evaluate the empirical validity of Okun’s Law via structural change using the threshold approach in Canada. This supports Kosfeld’s and Dreger’s previous study. The empirical models used are far accurate than previous standard linear equations. This highlights the difficulty in conducting accurate Okun’s Law estimations. The study also takes into account the presence of serial correlation and this is embedded into the following autoregressive model; Uct = ÃŽ ±0 + ∑ ÃŽ ±i uct-i + ÃŽ ² yct + Єt In order to obtain both the unemployment rate and real output growth (GDP) the author has used the Hodrick-Prescott filter (HP) and the Band-Pass filter (BP). Both filters are widely used and results of the study show that Okun’s Law strongly holds, with results support the Law with high negative correlations of -0.7967 and -0.8062. However, the most crucial finding was that of a high Okun coefficient in the recession phase of the business cycle, this further supports Harris and Silverstone’s notion that cyclical output’s effect on cyclical unemployment is asymmetric. A high Beta coefficient acts as a signal to policymakers that unemployment is highly responsive to output gap deviations and thus provides a call for actions in the form of controlling the level of AD in the economy stimulating labour participation rates in the labour market. Weber, C.E (1995) study takes a similar direction to that of Huang and Chang however, the element is more specific and thus more precise. His purpose was to test Okun’s Law post-war USA, to see if the relationship has been stable after this period. The interesting aspect of this particular study is that there was an apparent oil shock in the 1970’s, which affects the supply-side of the economy. Weber focused on the periods both after and before the oil shock. The econometric method used for this test was predominantly OLS estimates via some from of Chow Test, using Dummy Variables (below); Uct = ÃŽ ±1yct + ÃŽ ±2Dtyct + ÃŽ µ1t The empirical results for the OLS estimations were -0.314 which surprisingly turned out to be close to Okun’s original estimate of -0.32. However, parameter constancy was rejected due to the high variation in the high t-statistic of -0.277 and –0.402. Weber did leave scope for further future developments with reference being made to the importance of the initial source of the shock (supply or demand) in the outcome of changes in cyclical unemployment/output. On the basis of the existing literature, it is clear to see that Okun’s Law does hold across a number of different countries and time periods. The ability to infer how stable the relationship is over both the long-run as well as the short-run proves vital in any empirical analysis undertaken. However, due to some of the components of the model being difficult to estimate as well as other factors such as productivity and inflation affecting output growth, doubts remain over the usefulness or reliability of Okun’s Law as a benchmark for policymakers. Research Methodology Modelling Economic Theory This sub section will provide the theoretical basis of Okun’s Law as well as the major underlying assumptions of the model. In addition, brief explanations of the techniques employed and the justification for their use will be included. Although, using almost the same methodology as Blanchard (1998) the estimates may vary considerably. Firstly, the most significant reason is that Blanchard (1998) tests Okun’s Law across a number of different countries including the G7 countries. This study looks predominantly at the UK, US and Japan with the emphasis being placed on the former. Secondly, both studies look at different time periods and different frequency of data. Blanchard (1998) tested the relationship from 1960-2003 using monthly data, while this study will test the relationship with a technique called rolling regressions, using quarterly data from 1976-2006, giving us a more up to date inspection of Okun’s Law. Another essential issue which could cause the results to differ is the estimation of potential output; needed to compute the output gap term in Okun’s Law. Although both studies use this variable, the technique used to measure potential output is different. (1) ΔUt = ÃŽ ² (yt – Ã… ·) (2) Re-arranging Ut = Ut-1 ÃŽ ² (yt – Ã… ·) Pre-Analysis of the Data Since specific data will be used to build an econometric model and test whether the model has theoretical validity, it is important to determine the properties of the variables in question. Description of Data To generate the model for Okun’s Law as well as test it for each country (UK, US, Japan) this study uses the 124 quarterly data points for the Unemployment Rate (%), Real GDP and Potential GDP (GDP) for the period 1976-2006. The latter two are used to compute the Output Gap term in Okun’s Law. To ensure reliability whilst contrasting and analysing time series data all the variables are logged. Shortcomings of the Data The estimation method of potential output is an approximate when generated from the Hodrick-Prescott Filter and thus the computation of the output gap term is not always accurate. Many authors use the Band-Pass Filter and this may lead to discrepancies of the estimations in this study. There may also be bias in the sample, since different countries use different measures to determine the unemployment rate. This study has used percentage unemployment as per the Claimant Count, Bureau of Labour Statistics and Statistics Bureau. Trend Analysis In Appendix A, a graphical account of each variable across the UK, US and Japan is given. It is apparent that over time Real GDP has an upward trend which indicates an expanding economy, at the general level. This study makes three crucial assumptions building on from similar assumptions made by Blanchard (1998). Firstly, we assume that changes in output lead to changes of equal magnitude with changes in employment levels. Secondly, we assume that firms adjust their employment levels in response to labour-productivity growth and this has no bearing on the rate of unemployment. In other words, higher induced labour-force participation rates do not have a detrimental impact of the rate of unemployment, ceteris paribus. Thirdly, we assume that output in the long-run will grow at its underlying rate. In other words y = Ã… · (In equilibrium as the trend rate suggests in Appendix A). The relationship being estimated is the one between the unemployment rate and real output. Equation (2) is essentially a dynamic version (short-run) version of Okun’s Law. The dynamic element stems from the fact that the economy adjusts towards equilibrium over time, hence the use of the output gap term (yt – Ã… ·t). The ÃŽ ² coefficient measures the responsiveness of unemployment changes to changes in output growth from equilibrium (which is denoted by a minus sign in Okun’s Law due to the inverse relationship it implies). The equation (2) provides the framework model which will be utilised throughout this study. Economic modelling proposes that Equation (2) is not plausible under the conditions of assuming that last years’ unemployment rate and potential output (natural rate of output) don’t change. I.e. are observed into the constant. To correct this we introduce lags into the model as well as assuming that potential output is absorbed into the c onstant. Under this new assumption the unemployment rate is derived from the unemployment rate in the previous period. The model thus becomes; (3) Ut = ÃŽ ²0 + ÃŽ ²1Ut-1 + ÃŽ ²2yt + ÃŽ µt In an expanding economy, real output increases at a stable rate, therefore putting pressure on the economy’s idle resources. Okun’s Law thus predicts that any increases in real output above some underlying trend coincide with falling unemployment. Additionally, potential output (Ã… ·t) is an unobservable variable. In order to derive Okun’s Law; an empirical estimation of potential output is needed. Potential output (Ã… ·t) is generated from the Hodrick-Prescott Filter function in EViews. (Appendix A). Potential output is regarded as the underlying trend rate of output. This effectively is the level of output that the economy would produce if it utilised all of its resources. In order to allow for this in the model for Okun’s Law we substitute the output gap term (yt – Ã… ·t) into yt from Equation (3). This yields the following; (4) Ut = ÃŽ ²0 + ÃŽ ²1 Ut-1 + ÃŽ ²2 (yt yt) + ÃŽ µt Policymakers are concerned with attaining explicit policy objectives and in order to achieve this they are interested in how the characteristics of a variable have changed over the course of time. In this study, the key variable examined is unemployment, whereby achieving a low unemployment rate is desirable; many national governments pursue this policy objective. The fundamental basis for Okun’s Law was discovering the cost of excessive unemployment to an economy when real output grows. In an ideal world, the rate of unemployment would be low and an economy’s growth rate to be expanding at a sustained level. Typically, unemployment is considerably unstable in the short run which is clear to see in the graphical representation (Appendix B) of the unemployment rates of the respective countries; The UK, US and Japan. The primary problem with running a regression over a whole sample period using time-series data is that the relationship does vary in the short-run sometimes more often than the variations in the long-

Thornfield Manor in Charlotte Brontes Jane Eyre :: Jane Eyre Essays

Thornfield Manor in Jane Eyre Thornfield Manor is but one stop in Jane's journey to freedom from her restraints and her stay there begins in a comfortable manner. Although it begins warm, Thornfield becomes a haven of boredom, restlessness, and discontent for Jane. To free herself from the boredom, Jane goes out to mail a letter and unknowingly encounters Mr. Rochester. Jane finds that "...the frown, the roughness of the traveler set me at my ease:"(Bronte 105). Through her past experiences, Jane knows how to deal aptly with Mr. Rochester and displays her skills in doing so in a conversation with him even when she knows who he is. "I don't think, sir, you have the right to command me, merely because you are older than I, or because you have seen more of the world than I have; your claim to superiority depends on the use you have made of your time and experience"(Bronte 125). In the comment Jane makes directly to Mr. Rochester, she is bold. He is her employer but she refuses to be demeaned by him and her experienc es at Gateshead and Lowood teach her to be firm but polite, a part of her move toward education and away from containment. Another example of Jane's rebellion comes from within her. She realizes that she is falling in love with Mr. Rochester and it is unacceptable because she is socially inferior to him. The love she holds is a rebellion in itself because she is impoverished and lower than him. Jane compares herself to the beautiful Blanche Ingram in order to sort her feelings. She continues on with her rebellion when Mrs. Reed calls for her. Mrs. Reed is ill and, although she treats Jane badly at Gateshead, Jane goes to her side- in her refusal to let Mrs. Reed overcome her. Jane slowly learns how to deal with the bad times life has handed her thus far. Mrs. Reed, still just as cold on her death bed as she has been in the past, continues to denounce Jane and has contempt for her. Mrs Reed proclaims, "The fever broke out there [Lowood], and many of the pupils died.

Preemies and Pain :: Newborn Infants Medicine Papers

Preemies and Pain "Ouch!!" Ordinarily, that word elicits a predictable response. However, is that response one that is unilaterally perceived? The topic of pain endurance is one that is often discussed. It is understood that the feeling of discomfort is something abhorrent to all people, and is intrinsic at birth. While most people assume that the level of torment is comparable in all people, scientists have recently begun exploring the possibility that pain tolerance may be greatly dissimilar among individuals. Recently, in class, we have wondered how anyone could be sure that pain is felt to the same degree in all people. It is a fact that all humans feel pain due to the presence of pain receptors. When confronted with a stimulus, the nerves send signals to the brain, which interprets the signals as discomfort. We know that others feel pain because we are able to communicate with one another. If something hurts a person, that individual is able to say, "Ouch, that hurts." While the majority of humans are able to express their discomfort, there is one group that does not have that luxury. Because babies are unable to speak, and subsequently communicate their feelings, we automatically assume they feel no pain. Because of this situation, there has long been a debate concerning babies and their threshold of pain. People recognize that babies signal their pain in a variety of ways, including crying and contorted facial gestures. Although scientists might deem these reactions as mere reflexes because they have no definitive measure of the infant's pain threshold, most doctors believe that a newborn feels pain. This tenet is due to the existence of a completed nervous system. If people are at the mercy of their systems, and this is why they feel pain, it would make sense that an infant, with a complete nervous system, would feel the same way. Nevertheless, until ten years ago, it was not acknowledged that premature, or even, unborn children feel pain because people believed that their nervous systems were too immature to function properly (2). Because of this, it was acceptable practice in the past for doctors to operate on premature babies without anesthesia because they thought that, even if the babies felt pain, they would not suffer any long-term damage (1).

The Psychology of Pedophiles Essay -- Child Molesters, Sex Offenders

In the news today we frequently hear about pedophiles and child molesters. We have heard the horror stories of priest and bishops molesting boys, public school teachers having sex with students, and family members molesting children. While it is still taboo, the public view of a child molester has changed in the past years. It used to be that when we thought of a pedophile, we thought of a scary man lurking behind the bushes. This is not the case today, most of the cases of child molestation are by a person known to the child, whether it be a family member or a family friend.(Herkov, 2012) A pedophile is a person who is significantly older and has conscious sexual interests in prepubescent children. There are two kinds of pedophiles, the violent offenders and the non-violent offenders. The violent offenders are the minority of offenders. These are the one that pose the greatest risk to the victim and the public. Violent offenders are also known as child rapists. They use threat, intimidation, and physical force to overpower their victims. In most cases the child relinquishes sex for survival.(Bridges, 2012) The non-violent offenders are the most prevalent of all molesters. These are the people who use deception and enticement to lure their victims into submission. In a way, these offenders are using a form of sexual extortion. Sex is often rewarded or exchanged for acceptance, recognition, attention, or material gain. Often times the victim will resist, and since these are non-violent predators, they will increase the efforts to get the victim to accept their advances . If the child is persistent, the offender will most likely move to a more vulnerable target. If the offender does start sexually abusing the victim, the sexual... ...July, 2004. Web. 5 Apr. 2015. http://www.transformationsjournal.org/journal/issue_08/article_01.shtml Bridges, Debbie. "Sexual Addiction Treatment, Signs,Causes, Symptoms." MedicineNet. MedicineNet, 28 July 2012. Web. 14 Apr. 2015. D’Amora, David and Burns-Smith, Gail. How Offender Treatment and Victim Advocacy can Work Together in Response to Sexual Violence," Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment, The Official Journal of the Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers,11 (October 1999), 296-297. Deirmenjian, JM. â€Å"Pedophilia on the Internet.† Journal of Forensic Sciences, 47.5 (2002): 1090-1092. Herkov, Michael. "What Is Sexual Addiction?" Psych Central. Psych Central, July 2012. Web. 14 Apr. 2015. Lamberg, Lynne. â€Å"Researchers Seek Roots of Pedophilia.† JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association, 294.5 (2005): 546.