Medmira laboratories the u.s. otc decision free essay sample

Methodological Issues in Psychotherapy System †MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Talk about the Methodological Issues in Psychotherapy System. Answer: Presentation: Both psychotherapy and advising are proficient restorative exercises, which uses the relational connection between a specialist and the customer to assist the customer with developing self-comprehension, which drives them to make changes in their lives. The most observed issues, which a psychotherapist or an advisor faces in their training, are the problem over numerous issues. One of the significant situation the psychotherapists faces is the issue over demonstrating responsiveness and recursiveness to the customers. Another significant issue the psychotherapists face while treating the adolescent is the utilization of numerous approachs as the majority of the young attempts to detest the treatment. To contemplate the adequacy of the approachs the psychotherapists follow, the specialists consistently relies upon the procedure studies and result considers (Anker, Duncan, Sparks, 2009). Procedure research can be expressed as the intelligent investigation among patients and the special ists. Result inquire about relies upon the result of any wellbeing structure, which is required for the prosperity of the populace. The motivation behind the article is to investigate these referenced issues the psychotherapists faces by and by (Markowitz, Lipsitz, Milrod, 2014). The article would likewise investigate some proof put together result concentrates with respect to these referenced methodological issues. The article will investigate the result aftereffect of the important examinations which states about the methodological quandaries the psychotherapists faces throughout their life. The psychotherapic treatment is considered as perilous as the therapists consistently face the weight of keeping significant relationship with the customers. The connection between the therapist and the customers has a slim fringe. There are numerous complex moral inquiries the that the advisors experience during their training. A significant number of these problems are relevant, mind boggling and dynamic. A portion of the moral difficulties, which are most every now and again refered to, are identified with the polished methodology and restorative limits (Stiles, 2009). To determine these moral predicaments, the specialists and the guides utilizes the clinical morals as the clinical morals tends to numerous moral problems, which is better, communicated in a strategy. There are another significant situation which can be found in the therapists is their commitment towards the customers Diagram of result look into: The article would assist the perusers with identifying the significance of understanding the methodological quandary looked by the specialists. The article would likewise address the present issue of the adolescent psychotherapy. The investigation rationale and the utilization of Randomized control preliminary over the psychotherapy look into are past jumbling because of the nearness of numerous non-free contributing components. Notwithstanding, a portion of the variables, for example, treatment, advisor, and customers rely upon one another. There are numerous issues and issues over the procedures; a psychotherapist faces over their profession. The advisors face numerous issues over the approachs. For example, the guides and psychotherapists need to keep up a severe treatment outline (Borkovec, Ruscio, 2001). On the off chance that the treatment outline is frail, the line among polished methodology and personalization is penetrated. An advisor may feel compelling feeling with respect to the state of a customer, however the instructor needs to keep up the treatment outline. Now and again the specialist attempts to apply another methodology rather than the standard methodology while treating the customer. The methodological distinction of these two methodologies may bring some issue over the brain of the advisor (Luty et al., 2007). Another significant issue, a specialist faces when the manhandled customer becomes hopelessly enamored with the advisor regardless of whether the specialist is keeping up a totally unique relat ionship with them. As the manhandled customers faces trouble with closeness, they effectively go gaga for the specialist because of their new experience of having somebody who really tunes in to their issues (Cuiipers et al., 2011). One of the key issues this article will examine is responsiveness. The competency of a specialist relies upon his responsiveness in regards to the data the customer gives. The responsiveness from the side of the customer makes the result of the treatment progressively positive. The criticism of the customer for the investigation is additionally a piece of being responsive (Etherington, 2009). One investigation was done on responsiveness of the couples who has gone to couple treatment meeting. The examination over the responsiveness of the couples has done a randomized control inquire about. The psychotherapists face a few issues while furnishing treatment to the patients with nervousness issue. The psychotherapists for the most part treat the customers with summed up nervousness issue with CBT (Cognitive social treatment). As the patients with nervousness manages the negative considerations, they attempt to dismiss the specialists thought regarding forestalling the uneasiness creating contemplations. The specialists are presently attempting to treat the patients with Interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT). The treatment is fruitful while treating patients with state of mind issue and dietary problem. Not many advisors have been utilizing this strategy as a test philosophy while treating patients with nervousness issue. This referenced issue will be talked about in this article (Barker, Vossler, Langdridge, 2010). Methodological issues in result inquire about: Issue 1: One of the issues, which will be investigated in this article, is the issue over responsiveness the psychotherapists faces. Being responsive is human instinct as the individuals are constantly receptive to one another. Both the specialist and the customer are responsive over one another for a period. To give a model, an advisor is being responsive when the person in question is endorsing the customer or treating the customer dependent on the issues the customer has. A customer additionally carries on responsively to the advisor over certain issues, for example, when the customer is offering criticism to the specialist (Cooper, McLeod, 2010). As the psychotherapists are prepared to be responsive towards the sign of progress or erosion from the conduct of the customer. This suggests, the input of the customer in essential for the psychotherapists to be responsive. This encourages them to get pertinent data about the result measures . This relies upon the customer quiet partner ship. The specialist may feel moral difficulty as a customer may not be receptive to the treatment endorsed by the advisor and the advisor may confront moral situation over changing the treatment technique as the patient would detest it also (Palmer, 2007). To examine the result, a paper named Using Client Feedback to Improve Couple Therapy Outcomes: A randomized Clinical Trial in a Naturalistic Setting were picked (Anker, Duncan, Sparks, 2009). Study structure: The investigation about responsiveness was done on 453 couples who went to couples treatment in a network based outpatient settings. The gatherings were randomized into two gatherings (Feedback gathering and Treatment as common gathering) before the advisors were doled out to these couples. After the meeting, the customers of the input bunch were welcome to give criticism about improving the procedure of the treatment. Restriction of the investigation: The advisors utilized only one result measure in the examination. Other than that, the instruments utilized by the patients were brief. It constrained the comprehension of the given input by the patients. In the event that the customers and the specialists had collusion that is progressively broad, at that point the evaluations would have given better outcome. Purposefully, the examination is increasingly down to earth and reproduces the happenings of the clinical practice. The advisors were advised to be their own control. There were no extraordinary devotion between the advisors serving in TAU gathering and input gathering. Consequence of the examination: The investigation was done to decide the impact of giving criticism over couples treatment in correlation with a TAU bunch ( Treatment as Usual) in a characteristic state of a network center. The outcome is the investigation was in consistency with the speculation as the consequence of the criticism bunch were risen as prevalent from the aftereffects of the TAU gathering. At long last, it was seen that the post treatment normal score of the couples in the input gathering (26.35) were five focuses more noteworthy than the score of the TAU gathering (21.69). In the above investigation, the examination utilized patient center research worldview to defeat result provokes identified with inertness of customer during psychotherapy. The upside of this technique was that it upgraded result by taking consistent advancement input from customers and results was obvious by progress in result of patient in criticism bunch contrasted with treatment as common gathering. It helped in efficient assessment of customers reaction to treatment and assisted with tending to issues of dropout in examine as well. The impact of ordinary input of customer was likewise reliable with other research. In any case, there are numerous regions in the responsiveness issues of psychotherapy, which stayed unexplored. As there may be assorted kind of customers accompanying various sorts of hazard during psychotherapy, the thought for future will be to tailor input process so individuals with correspondence troubles can likewise take an interest effectively in such meeting. The strategy of Interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT) is productive in treating both mind-set issue and dietary issue. CBT or psychological social treatment is known as the best treatment strategy for the patients with nervousness issue. IPT is a connection centered psychotherapy, which settle the relational issues. The methodology is known for the suggestive recuperation of the patients. IPT is profoundly organized methodology and finishes inside a distinct period (Feltham, Hanley, Winter, 2017). As IPT is an organized structure, a few advisors use it treat the patients experiencing tension. Utilizing IPT for treating uneasiness issue is

A Complete Guide to Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP)

A Complete Guide to Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) One of life’s most important challenges to master is how you can control your behavior; as well as understand the way others behave. Personal development is a meaningful aspect of both professional and personal life.While there are plenty of strategies to use to achieve more control over your actions, Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) is one of the most popular and effective. © Shutterstock.com | chrupkaThis guide will look at the history of NLP, as well as its core concept and strategies. You’ll also be able to understand more about the benefits NLP can provide you with.THE HISTORY OF NLPNLP was first developed in the 1970s by Richard Bandler and John Grinder. The two Californians drew upon previous theories in the fields of psychotherapy, language and personal development and created their own therapeutic form of improving human behavior. Parts of NLP are deeply rooted in ideas and techniques from people such as Milton Erickson, Noam Chomsky and Carlos Castaneda.Since early on, Bandler and Grinder wanted to understand the complexity of human nature and how different aspects of the brain interact with others. In 1975, the two published a book called The Structure of Magic I: A book about language and Therapy, which has been the basis of the system and how it is used by therapists and other practitioners.Bandler and Grinder believed that our neurologic al processes, language and our behavior are all connected. By focusing on certain skills, we could use the connection to our advantage and possibly treat problems ranging from phobias to psychosomatic illnesses.The early part of the movement saw the idea develop and draw upon the growing literature of the human potential movement. As neither Bandler nor Grinder were qualified in psychology and therapeutic application methods, they felt it gave them a better ability to cause the paradigm shift in thinking in these fields.How NLP became commercializedThe system quickly gained in popularity, as the human potential movement began to lift off at the end of the 1970s. Aspects of NLP were seen as a helpful tool for improving personal development and its therapeutic benefits were beginning to shape form even outside the immediate psychotherapy sector.The system thus became commercialized and its methods were applied for use in industries such as business. Bandler and Grinder also moved away from pure academic writing and began organizing seminars and events for people who were looking to better themselves.At the time, a community of both psychotherapists and students formed around the NLP movement and it began to gain global attention. Many of today’s famous self-help gurus and motivational speakers have studied NLP and use it as part of their teaching. For example, Tony Robbins trained with Grinder.The movement has since lost some momentum, with opponents claiming it has no scientific basis. Yet, the movement is still widely studied and used both in academic and non-academic circles.NLP system is, for example, still used for psychotherapeutic purposes. It is both a basis of other therapeutic disciplines, as well as its own specific form of therapy called Neurolinguistic Psychotherapy.Furthermore, while the movement began as a therapeutic orientation, it is still widely applied in other sectors as well. Because of the ability for the system to enhance things such as persuasion, negotiation and sales, fields such as business have taken aspects of the system and used them to better the industry. There are many business leaders, managers and sport coaches, who believe the system can provide people in these fields many benefits.THE CORE CONCEPT OF NLPAccording to Bandler’s own definition of NLP, the system is:A model of interpersonal communication chiefly concerned with the relationships between successful patterns of behaviour and the subjective experiences (esp. patterns of thought) underlying them.The idea is that all of humans share the same basic neurology. Your ability to do things in life essentially therefore depend on how you control your nervous system. Furthermore, NLP states your neurological system is directly related to your linguistic and behavioral patterns. Since all of them are essentially learned through experience, or programming, you can also gain control of these aspects with the right modeling.The idea is that external beh aviors are controlled by internal processing strategies. So, while you are making a sale, for example, you are using an internal processing strategy to engage in the behavior, even if you don’t consciously know it. With NLP, you are able to understand and utilize different strategies, which can ultimately help you achieve certain goals.For example, if you are looking to improve your social status, you can learn internal strategies that help you achieve this.The term neuro-linguistic programming could also be viewed through each component.Neuro refers to the neurological system â€" the world is experienced through the senses and the sensory information is translated into our thought processes, both consciously and unconsciously. These thought processes in turn could have an impact on our physiology, emotions as well as behavior.Linguistic refers to how we use language to make sense of the world â€" Because language has a role in the way you capture and conceptualize the world aroun d you, the words you use can influence your experience of the world.Programming refers to the process of learning things â€" We all use the different internal strategies and patterns to learn things and make decisions.Three central components of NLPYou can understand the idea behind NLP by focusing on the three central components. These are: subjectivity, consciousness and learning.1) SubjectivityEach person experiences the world subjectively, meaning that our experiences of the world leave us to form subjective models of how things are. These experiences are constituted in terms of our five senses, as well as the language we use.Therefore, these experiences are formed through the senses of vision, audition, tactition, olfaction and gustation and through the language, we use to think and talk about the experiences. According to the theory of NLP, the subjective experiences have a pattern, which influences the way you see the world, talk about it and behave in it.The human behavior i s therefore controlled by these sense-based representations. By manipulating the sense-based subjective experiences, it is possible to change behavior, according to the theory.2) ConsciousnessThe basic premise of NLP believes consciousness branches into two separate notions, the conscious component and the unconscious component. All of us experience things in our unconscious mind, even though these unconscious representations can affect our conscious behavior.3) LearningFinally, learning is the third central concept of NLP. As you will learn later, NLP sees learning as an imitative behavior, which they call modeling. The theory states that imitative learning can codify and reproduce any desired behavior.The NLP communication modelThe above three core elements form the basis of much of the theory and strategy of NLP. Another central idea of the system is the NLP communication model. While the above section deals shortly on how NLP believes human behavior happens, here’s a deeper lo ok at this guiding principle.Essentially, the NLP communication model states that a person is constantly in a sort of behavioral loop. Their external behavior always creates an internal response. The internal response, in turn, creates the person to respond in a certain way, i.e. external behavior. As you can probably see, this external behavior then creates the internal response and so on.As discussed earlier, the NLP system states that all external behavior is caused by the sensory experience of visual, auditory, kinaesthetic, olfactory and gustatory senses. Therefore, your internal response is affected by these senses and they will cause you to further behave in a specific learned way.Furthermore, the internal response you have for a specific external behavior is made up of a collection of internal processes and internal state. These refer to the different ways you interpret the sensory experience. The internal process refers to things such as self-talk and sounds created in your mind, while internal state refers to the feelings and emotions you experience.COMMON STRATEGIES OF NLPThe idea of NLP is heavily based on the ideas of a strategy, as it sees your internal and external behavior uses processing strategies for each behaviour and response. The system uses different ideas of strategies as part of explaining human behavior, as well as a way to change it.The most common strategies of NLP are dealt in short-detail below. There are further strategies used and some of the strategies and the way they are applied depends on the context of use.ModelingThe basis of the NLP theory was built around modeling. Modeling is considered as a means of finding out about a person’s belief system, as well as physiology. It is also used in terms of understanding the person’s mental strategies, which in turn influence the other two aspects of thinking and behavior.Modeling essentially tries to find the strategies or mental behavior patterns the person uses for doing thing s. An example of modeling could be about how a person learns a new skill. In order to learn to speak Spanish, the person would need to model three things.First, the individual needs to learn the vocabulary. This simply means understanding that gato means cat, for instance.Then the person would need to learn the syntax. This means the ability to put these words together in order to make a sentence. For example, the ability to say “Me llamo John”, “My name is John”.Finally, the third part of modeling would be about understanding the mouth movements. Different languages have a different way of moving the mouth to pronounce words and you’d need to study this in order to sound truly Spanish.According to the theory, you can find these models in all of your behavior. By understanding the modeling behind your behavior, you can change it. For example, if you are not as productive at responding to e-mails, as you’d like, you could find out the models you use for responding and cha nge the problematic aspects of your model to something more productive.NLP strategy of external and internal experiencesThe NLP strategies deal with the previously mentioned external and internal experiences. Both of these experiences produce a specific result. In the NLP strategy theory, there is always a specific sequence of both external and internal experiences, which lead to a specific result. If you change the order and sequence, you are likely going to get a different result.For example, in order for you to get the e-mail sent, you always use a certain strategy of both external and internal experiences. If the sequence is distracted or changed, it won’t happen.The elements that go to each strategy involve the five different senses: visual, auditory, kinaesthetic (feelings), olfactory and gustatory. You might start the external behavior of writing an e-mail, which creates an internal experience of a specific image or smell, which in turn will cause you to behave in a certain way. Note that these five sensory experiences can happen both externally and internally.When you are meeting with an NLP therapist, for instance, they will focus on noticing your external and internal experiences. For example, how your eyes move when you talk about a certain thing and so on. These will help create a better understanding of the strategies you use.The T.O.T.E. modelBandler and Grinder also discussed a model called T.O.T.E. model. This refers to a model of different NLP strategies and it is mainly used in order to explain how a person processes information. T.O.T.E. stands for Test, Operate, Test and Exit.The theory is widely attached to Bandler and Grinder, although the concept originally came from a book by Miller, Galenter and Pribram called Plans and the Structure of Behaviour.The T.O.T.E. model is mainly used to see what are the processes that cause you to react a certain way. The model is used to finding out what is the thing that sets of a specific strategy in motion in your behavior.The test essentially looks at the trigger, which starts the strategy. As the trigger continues to operate, it is then tested again to see if the process has completed.Think of it through an example of motivating yourself to write those e-mails. You first want to consider the thing that motivates you to start writing. This would be the trigger. You start the test, by seeing whether you start the strategy of writing.Next in the model is the part for operation. The operation point looks at the external and internal processes that are needed for the strategy to continue. What are the external and internal responses to writing the e-mails, for example?Finally, you’ll do another test. Here you will compare if the trigger and operation established in the first test caused the same strategy and behavior. The exit comes about if the test proves to be successful, i.e. the behavior was the same. If not, you’ll need to think whether the trigger was wrong or the exper iences differed during the second operation phase.Watch the below YouTube video to understand more about the NLP techniques:THE BENEFITS OF NLPNLP has been widely used in different sectors and the proponents of the system believe it can have life-changing benefits for most people. Some of the most common advantages of the system are mentioned below.Reduce anxiety and stressMost therapeutic approaches are naturally effective in helping people with anxiety and NLP is no different. There has even been a study, which showed NLP helped people suffering from claustrophobia during MRI scans to alleviate the feeling of anxiety.Part of the reason NLP can reduce anxiety and stress is its linguistic mechanism. Most people, who are anxious, feel calmer when they are able to talk about the anxiety problem. The guided sessions can also provide the person a better sense of the situation as well as reinforce the response mechanisms for stressful situations.Boost business successNLP can have a huge impact on your professional life, as you can change your behaviour to better suit your business goals. The system can effectively help you become more productive without having to slave for hours at the office. Since you are able to harness the good behavior and eliminate the bad habits, you are sure to see business success.Furthermore, the simple fact NLP is focused on learning and improving your strategies to learn is hugely influential in boosting business success. Because it helps you understand how human behavior is taught, you are better able to reinforce the good business mechanisms within your business.Enhance creativityNLP techniques and strategies can also help you be more creative. By understanding the impact different sensory elements have on your own behavior, you can start experimenting with different ideas and strategies. This can help you see common problems in a different light.Remove phobias or fearsSince NLP focuses on understanding strategies that guide your beha vior and change them for better, you can use it to remove phobias or fears you have. With the help of NLP, you can change the internal response you get when you see an animal you are scared of, for instance. If you are afraid of public spaces, you can learn strategies that help you control your emotions when you need to take the stage.Improve your health and relationshipsWhile the evidence to support NLP’s influence on healthy mood is somewhat limited, most people find reduced levels of depression and improved moved after implementing NLP strategies. This is often down to the fact that people are more able to replace bad habits with good ones with the system. Since you won’t need to worry about a negative impact on your health, testing out whether the system works for you is easy.Overall, because the theory is focused on improving your understanding of the human behavior, you can improve your relationships with other people. By understanding the ways people operate, you can resp ond to them better and understand their sometimes negative approaches to life more.

The Deaf And Male And Female By Erik Erikson s Stage Of...

Our topic of focus will be deaf individuals, both male and female, ages six through twelve in Erik Erikson’s stage of Industry versus Inferiority. We chose the deaf because they are a vulnerable population with a small community, and face language and communication barriers which can affect development. Since we were born with no hearing loss, we felt it is important to understand how we as future Registered Nurses (R.N.) can communicate effectively with these children. We want to be able to provide well rounded care, and give these families the most positive experiences possible. As we proceed, many of our sources are older than five years. Studies regarding the deaf don’t occur very often so resources regarding statistics in particular of this population are few and far between (Deaf Culture Competencies and Best Practices, 2014). Because of this, we felt it was important to include them regardless of their age because of the great insight and information they provid e pertaining to the deaf population in general and within healthcare. The United States traditional majority consists of white, middle class individuals who speak English. We chose to focus on the United States in general because deafness is not associated with one state alone, but all over the world. Based on a survey taken between 1988 and 1994, 14.9% of children age six through nineteen experienced hearing loss (Hearing Loss in Children, 2015). Compared with the traditional majority, the children affectedShow MoreRelatedFactors Affecting Motivation to Learn English25117 Words   |  101 Pagescharacteristics in the learning process. There are series of barrier to overcome in the process of language acquisition. To overcome the barriers, it is necessary for the individual to make the language a part of the self as he goes through the many stages that he must master in the process. Ruth Wong studied the motivation of two groups of Hong Kong students with different cultural background (local born and newly arrived) and examined the relationship betwee n their motivation to learn English and

Why teams don’t work Free Essays

string(117) " habitually is compared to that of a conventional unit \(or, perhaps, to the same one before teams were installed\)\." Here are some reports from the field, cited by Osborn, Moran, Mushiest, and Zinger (1990) in Self-Directed Work Teams: The New American Challenge. At Xerox, the authors report, Plants using work teams are 30 percent more productive than conventionally organized plants. Procter Gamble gets 30 to 40 percent higher productivity at its 18 team-based plants†¦. We will write a custom essay sample on Why teams don’t work? or any similar topic only for you Order Now Tektronix Inc. Reports that one self-directed work team now turns out as many products in 3 days as it once took an entire assembly line to produce in 14 days†¦. Federal Express cut service glitches such as incorrect bills and lost packages by 13 percent†¦. Shenandoah Life processes 50 percent more applications and customer service requests using work teams, with 10 percent fewer people. (up. 5-6) Heady stuff, that, and it is reinforced by back-cover blurbs. Tom Peters: â€Å"Selfridges work teams are the cornerstone of improved competitiveness .. † . Bob Waterman: â€Å"Self-Directed Work Teams seems too good to be true: dramatic improvement in productivity and a happier, more committed, more flexible work force. Yet †¦ They do just what they promise for the likes of PG, GE, and Ford. † It makes sense. Teams bring more resources, and more diverse resources, to bear J. Richard Hickman ; Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138. Theory and Research on Small Groups, edited by R. Scott Tindal et al. Plenum Press, New York, 1998. 245 246 on a task than could any single performer. Moreover, teams offer flexibility in the use of those resources-?the capability to quickly redeploy member talents and energies and to keep the work going even when some members are unavailable. Teams composed of people from different units can transcend traditional functional and organizational barriers and get members pulling together toward collective objectives. And, of course, teams offer the potential for synergy, that wonderful state when a group â€Å"clicks†and members achieve something together that no one of them could possibly have accomplished alone. These are major benefits, worthy of the attention of the leaders of any purposive enterprise. No wonder Steersman found teams to be so popular. But there is a puzzle here. Research evidence about team performance shows that teams usually do less well-?not better-?than the sum of their members’ individual contributions. I first encountered this bleak fact as a beginning doctoral student at he University of Illinois. In a course on group dynamics, Ivan Steiner put on the board his now well-known equation: AP = UP – PL; that is, the actual productivity of a group equals its potential productivity (what the team is theoretically capable of, given the resources brought by members) minus what he called process losses such as coordination and motivational problems (Steiner, 1972). I was surprised that there was no term for process gains, the synergistic benefits that can emerge when people work together. The model, I thought, should really read: AP = UP – PL + PEG. It turns out hat there is no empirical Justification for that extra term. When interacting teams are compared to â€Å"nominal† groups (I. E. , groups that never meet, whose output is constructed by combining the separate contributions of those who would have been members), nominal groups usually win. And when Steiner’s models miss the mark in empirical studies, the problem usually is that groups fail to achieve even the relatively modest performance targets specified by those models. At least for groups in the experimental laboratory. Maybe the laboratory context is so constraining that groups do not have the elbow room to show what they can do. Maybe the real advantages of groups are only to be found in organizational practice. I came up short on this hypothesis as well, this time at the hands of Bill Hicks, an editor at Josses- Bass. My colleagues and I had completed an intensive study of some 33 different work groups of all different kinds-?athletic teams, industrial production workers, top management teams, prison guards, airline crews, economic analysts, and more. We pulled our findings together in a book that I proposed be titled Groups That Work, a catchy phrase with what I thought to be a clever pun. Bill sat me down and said he’d e happy to publish the book, but not with that title: There were Just too many groups in our study that barely worked at all. I went back to the manuscript and found that he was right. Probably 4 of our 33 groups were actually effective teams. The rest had problems so severe that our analysis was mainly about what had gone wrong with them. So the book was published with a parenthetical phrase after my clever title: Groups That Work (And Those That Don’t). Anyone who actually reads through it will discover, as Bill did, that most of our groups lie within the parentheses. Moreover, the preface of the book offers a cautionary note about team effectiveness, based on the experience of the authors who wrote it. The book took 9 years to be completed, mainly because our own team suffered a near-total collapse midway through the project. 247 Other in-depth studies of real groups performing real work provide additional reasons for concern-?such Irvi ng Jinni’s (1982) well-known demonstration that even highly cohesive groups composed of well-qualified, well-motivated people sometimes fall into a pattern of â€Å"grouping†that can yield disastrous policy recommendations. What, then, are we to make of all the team successes reported in the managerial literature? It is possible, of course, that the published claims are exaggerated, as writers have sought to catch the wave of enthusiasm about teams-?to sell books, to build consulting practices, to market training programs, to become team gurus. That is not a sufficient explanation. Indeed, I trust the accuracy of the numbers about productivity and service gains that are reported in the popular books about teams. My concern, instead, is whether those numbers really mean what they seem to mean. Consider first the attributions that are made about the causes of team successes. After teams have been implemented in an organizational unit, its performance habitually is compared to that of a conventional unit (or, perhaps, to the same one before teams were installed). You read "Why teams don’t work?" in category "Papers" Such comparisons are fraught with interpretive ambiguities, because there invariably are many differences between the units compared-? in technologies, labor markets, senior managers, and so on. It almost never is the case that the only change is that work previously done by individuals is now performed by teams. Was it the teams that generated the improvements, or was it one of the other differences between the units? It is not possible to know for sure. 2 Questions also can be raised about the staying power of any performance improvements obtained when teams are installed. The implementation of any new management program, be it self-managing teams or anything else, invariably involves intense scrutiny of the unit where the changes will occur. Taking a close look at any work unit that has been operating for a while almost always surfaces some inefficiencies and poor work procedures. These incidental problems are corrected as part of the change process-?it would be foolish not to. But in making those corrections, an interpretive ambiguity is introduced. Was it the team design that resulted in the improvements found, or was it that a shoddy work system was shaped p? Virtually any intervention that is not itself destructive has a better-than-even chance of generating short-term improvements, simply because of the value of intently inspecting a work system. This, in addition to any benefits from the well- known â€Å"Hawthorne effect† (Rotisseries Dickson, 1939). The question, then, is whether short-term improvements associated with the introduction of teams are sustained over time as the newness wears off and inefficiencies begin to creep back into the system. Again, it is not possible to know for sure-?at least not without an appropriate longitudinal research design. 2 The solution to this problem, of course, is to conduct experimental research on the impact of team designs for work, because true experiments allow unambiguous inferences to be drawn about the causes of any effects obtained. Unfortunately, experiments are rarely a viable option for comparing team and traditional work designs in organizations. For one thing, the level of experimenter control required in such studies (I. E. , to randomly assign people to teams and teams to experimental conditions) would not be tolerated by most managers who have work to get out. And even if an organization were found in which managers would relinquish such control to experimenters, there would be serious questions about the generalization of findings obtained in such an unusual place (Hickman, 1985). 248 So what is going on here? How can we reconcile the amazing reports from the field about the benefits of teams with the gloomy picture that has emerged from scholarly research on group performance? Do teams generate the benefits for their organizations that are claimed for them, or do they not? 3 My observations of teams in organizations suggest that teams tend to clump at both ends of the effectiveness continuum. Teams that go sour often do so in multiple ways -?clients are dissatisfied with a team’s work, members become frustrated and disillusioned, and the team becomes ever weaker as a performing unit. Such teams are easily outperformed by smoothly functioning traditional units. On the other hand, teams that function well can indeed achieve a level of synergy and agility that never could be preprogrammed by organization planners or enforced by external managers. Members of such teams respond to their clients and to each other quickly and creatively, generating both superb performance and ever-increasing personal ND collective capability. Teams, then, are somewhat akin to audio amplifiers: Whatever passes through the device-?be it signal or noise-?comes out louder. To ask whether organizational performance improves when teams are used to accomplish work is to ask a question that has no general answer. A more tractable question, and the one explored in the remainder of this chapter, is what differentiates those teams that go into orbit and achieve real synergy from those that crash and bum. As we will see, the answer to this second question has much more to do with how teams are trucked and supported than with any inherent virtues or liabilities of teams as performing units. Mistakes Managers Make In the course of several research projects, my colleagues and I have identified a number of mistakes that designers and leaders of work groups sometimes make. What follows is a summary of the six most pernicious of these mistakes, along with the actions that those who create and lead work teams in organizations can take to avoid them. 4 Mistake l: Use a Team for Work That Is Better Done by Individuals There are some tasks that only a team can do, such as performing a string quartet or arraying out a multiparty negotiation. There are other tasks, however, that are inimical to team work. One such task is creative writing. Not many great novels, There is a large and diverse published literature on the performance of self-managing teams. Here is a â€Å"starter set† of illustrative and informative pieces: Cohen and Leotard (1994), Sorcery, Mueller, and Smith (1991), Gun (1984), Jackson, Malarkey, and Parker (1994), Pops and Marcus (1980), Wall, Kemp, Jackson, and College (1986), and Walton (1980). Some of the material in the next section is adapted from Hickman (1990). 3 Why Teams Downtown’s 249 symphonic scores, or epic poems have been written by teams. Such tasks involve bringing to the surface, organizing, and expressing thoughts and ideas that are but partially formed in one’s mind (or, in some cases, that lie deep in one’s unconscious), and they are inherently better suited for individual than for collective performance. Even committee reports-?mundane products compared to novels, poems, and musical scores-?invariably turn out better when written by one talented individual on behalf of a group than by the group as a whole working in lockstep. The same is true for executive leadership. For all the attention being given to top management teams these days, my reading of the management literature is that successful organizations almost always are led by a single, talented and courageous human being. Among the many executive functions that are better accomplished by an exceptional individual than by an interacting team is the articulation of a challenging and inspiring collective direction. Here, for example, is a mission statement copied from a poster in a company cafeteria: â€Å"Our mission is to provide quality products and arrives that meet the needs of individuals and businesses, allowing us to prosper and provide a fair return to our stockholders. Although I do not know how that particular statement was prepared, I would be willing to wager that it was hammered out by a committee over many long meetings. The most engaging and powerful statements of corporate vision, by contrast, invariably are the product of a single intelligence, set forth by a leader willing to take the risk of establishing collective purposes that lie Just beyond what others believe to be the limits of the organization’s capability. Beyond creative writing and executive leadership, there are man y other kinds of tasks that are better done by individuals than by teams. It is a mistake-a common one and often a fatal one-?to use a team for work that requires the exercise of powers that reside within and are best expressed by individual human beings. Mistake 2: Call the Performing Unit a Team but Really Manage Members as To reap the benefits of teamwork, one must actually build a team. Real teams are bounded social systems whose members are interdependent for a shared purpose, and who interact as a unit with other individuals and groups in achieving that repose (Alder, 1977). Teams can be small or large, face-to-face or electronically connected, and temporary or permanent. Only if a group is so large, loosely connected, or short-lived that members cannot operate as an intact social system does the entity cease to be a team. Managers sometimes attempt to capture the benefits of teamwork by simply declaring that some set of people (often everyone who reports to the same supervisor) is now a team and that members should henceforth behave accordingly. Real teams cannot be created that way. Instead, explicit action must be taken to establish and affirm the team’s boundaries, to define the task for which members are collectively responsible, and to give the team the autonomy members need to manage both their 250 own team processes and their relations with external entities such as clients and coworkers. Creating and launching real teams is not something that can be accomplished casually, as is illustrated by research on airline cockpit crews. It is team functioning, rather than mechanical problems or the technical proficiency of individual pilots, that is at the root of most airline accidents (Helices Focuses, 1993). Crews are especially vulnerable when they are Just starting out: the National Transportation Safety Board (NTIS) found that 73% of the accidents in its database occurred on the crew’s first day of flying together, and 44% of those accidents happened on the crews very first flight (National Transportation Safety Board, 1994, up. 0-41). Other research has shown that experienced crews, even when fatigued, perform significantly better than do rested crews whose members have not worked together (Focuses, Lubber, Battle, Comb, 1986), and that a competent preflight briefing by he captain can help reduce a crew’s exposure to the liabilities of newness (Gannett, 1993). This substantial body of research has clear policy implications. Crews should be kept intact over time, preflight briefings should be standard practice, and captains should be trained in the skills needed to conduct briefings that get crews off to a good start (Hickman, 1993). Yet in most airlines, crew composition is constantly changing because of the long-standing practice, enforced by labor contracts, of assigning pilots to trips, positions, and aircraft as individuals-?usually on the basis of seniority bidding system. Virtually all U. S. Airlines now do require that crew briefings be held. Yet captains receive little training in how to conduct a good one, some briefings are quite cursory (e. G. , â€Å"Let’s the social hour over real quick so we can get on out to the airplane†), and schedules can get so hectic that crew members may not even have time for proper introductions, let alone a briefing, before they start to fly together. Creating and launching real teams is a significant challenge in organizations such as airlines that have deeply rooted policies and practices that are oriented primarily toward individuals rather than teams. To try to capture the benefits of teamwork in such organizations, managers sometimes opt for a mixed model in which some parts of the work and the reward system are structured for individual performance, whereas other parts require teamwork and provide team- based rewards. Research has shown that such compromises rarely work well. Mixed models send contradictory signals to members, engender confusion about who is responsible and accountable for what portions of the work, and generally underperformed both individual and real-team models (Washman, 1995). If the performing unit is to be a team, then it should be a real team-?and it should be managed as such. Mistake 3: Fall Off the Authority Balance Beam The exercise of authority creates anxiety, especially when one must balance between assigning a team authority for some parts of the work and withholding it for other parts. Because both managers and team members tend to be uncomfortable in 251 such situations, they may implicitly collude to â€Å"clarifying is really in charge of the work. Sometimes the result is the assignment of virtually all authority to the team-? which can result in anarchy or in a team heading off in an inappropriate direction. Other times, managers retain all authority for themselves, dictating work procedures in detail to team members and, in the process, losing many of the advantages that can accrue from team work. To maintain an appropriate balance of authority between managers and teams requires that anxieties be managed rather than minimized. Moreover, it is insufficient merely to decide how much authority a team should have. Equally important are the domains of authority that are assigned to teams and retained by managers. Our research suggests that team effectiveness is enhanced when managers are unapologetic and insistent about exercising their own legitimate authority about direction, the end states the team is to pursue. Authority about the means by which those ends are accomplished, however, should rest squarely with the team itself. 5 Contrary to traditional wisdom about participative management, to authoritatively set a clear, engaging direction for a team is to empower, not deplorer, it. Having clear direction helps align team efforts with the objectives of the parent organization, provides members with a criterion to use in choosing among various means for pursuing those objectives, and fosters the motivational engagement of team members. When direction is absent or unclear, members may wallow in uncertainty about what they should be doing and may even have difficulty generating the motivation to do much of anything. Few design choices are more consequential for the long-term well-being of teams than those that address the partitioning of authority between managers and teams. It takes skill to accomplish this well, and it is a skill that has emotional and behavioral as well as cognitive components. Just knowing the rules for partitioning authority is insufficient; one also needs some practice in applying those rules in situations where anxieties, including one’s own, are likely to be high. 6 Especially challenging are the early stages of a group’s life (when well-meaning managers may be tempted to give away too much authority) and when the going gets rough (when the temptation is to take authority back too soon). The management of authority relations with task- performing groups is much like walking a balance beam, and our evidence suggests that it takes a good measure of knowledge, skill, and perseverance to keep from falling off. As used here, the terms manager and team refer to conventional organizational arrangements in which some individuals (â€Å"managers†) are authorized to structure work for performance by other organization members. Teams that have been given the authority to monitor and manage their own work processes are therefore called â€Å"self-managing. In some circumstances, teams also have the authority to set their own direction. Examples include physicians in a small-group practice, a professional string quartet, and a mom-and-pop grocery store. These kinds of teams are referred to as â€Å"self-governing† (Hickman, 1986). Given that newly minted Mambas increasingly find themselves working in or leading task-performing teams immediately after graduation, it is unfortunate that few MBA programs provide their students with practice and feedback in developing such skills. 252 Mistake 4: Dismantle Existing Organizational Structures So That Teams Will Be Fully â€Å"Empowered†to Accomplish the Work Traditionally designed organizations often are plagued by constraining structures that have been built up over the years to monitor and control employee behavior. When teams are used to perform work, such structures tend to be viewed as necessary bureaucratic impediments to group functioning. Thus, Just as some managers mistakenly attempt to empower groups by relinquishing all authority to them, so do some attempt to cut through bureaucratic obstacles to team functioning by dismantling all the structures that they can. The assumption, apparently, is that removing structures will release the pent-up power of groups and make it possible for members to work together creatively and effectively. Managers who hold this view often wind up providing teams with less structure than they actually need. Tasks are defined only in vague, general terms. Lots of people ay be involved in the work, but the actual membership of the team is unclear. Norms of conduct are kept deliberately fuzzy. In the words of one manager, â€Å"The team will work out the details. If anything, the opposite is true: Groups with appropriate structures tend to develop healthy internal processes, whereas groups with insufficient or inappropriate structures tend to be plagued with process problems. 7 Because managers and members of troubled groups often perceive, wrongly, that their performance problems are due mainly to interpersonal difficulties, they may turn to process- focused coaching as a remedy. But process consultation is unlikel y to be helpful in such cases, precisely because the difficulties are structurally rooted. It is a near impossibility for members to learn how to interact well within a flawed or underspecified team structure. Our research suggests that an enabling structure for a work team has three components. First is a well-designed team task, one that engages and sustains member motivation. Such tasks are whole and meaningful pieces of work that stretch members’ skills, that provide ample autonomy for doing what needs to be done to accomplish the work, and that generate direct and rusticity feedback about results. Second is a well-composed group. Such groups are as small as possible, have clear boundaries, include members with adequate task and interpersonal skills, and have a good mix of members-?people who are neither so similar to one another that they are like peas in a pod nor so different that they are unable to work together. Third is clear and explicit specification of the basic norms of conduct for team behavior, the handful of â€Å"must do† and â€Å"must never do† behaviors that allow members to pursue their objectives without having to continuously discuss what kinds of behaviors are and are not acceptable. Although groups invariably develop their own norms over time, it is important to establish at the outset that members are expected to continuously monitor This point is reinforced in a quite different context by an essay written by Joe Freeman (1973) for her sisters in the feminist movement in the asses. The message of the essay is neatly captured by its title: â€Å"The Tyranny of Structuralizes. † 7 253 their environment and to revise their performance strategy as needed when their work situation changes. The key question about structure, then, is not how much of it a team has. Rather, it is bout the kind of structure that is provided: Does it enable and support collective work, or does it make teamwork more difficult and frustrating than it need be? Mistake 5: Specify Challenging Team Objectives, but Skimp on Organizational Supports Even if a work team has clear, engaging direction and an enabling structure, its performance can go sour-?or fall well below the group’s potential-?if it has insufficient organizational support. Teams in what Richard Walton (1985) calls â€Å"high commitment† organizations can fall victim to this mistake when they are given challenging objectives but not the resources to achieve them. Such teams often start out with great enthusiasm but then become disillusioned as they encounter frustration after frustration in trying to obtain the organizational supports they need to accomplish the work. If the full potential of work teams is to be realized, organizational structures and systems must actively support competent teamwork. Key supports include (1) a reward system that recognizes and reinforces excellent team performance (not Just individual contributions); (2) an educational system that provides teams, at their initiative, any training or technical consultation that may be added to supplement members’ own knowledge and expertise; (3) an information system that provides teams the data and forecasts members’ need to proactively manage their work; and (4) the mundane material resources-?equipment, tools, space, money, staff, or whatever-?that the work requires. It is no small undertaking to provide these supports to teams, especially in organizations that already have been tuned to support work performed by individuals. Existing performance appraisal systems, for example, may be state-of- the-art for measuring individual contributions but wholly inappropriate for assessing ND rewarding work done by teams. Corporate compensation policy may make no provision for team bonuses and, indeed, may explicitly prohibit them. Human resource departments may be primed to identify individuals’ training needs and to provide first-rate courses to fill those needs, but training in team skills may not be available at all. Information and control systems may provide senior managers with data that help them monitor and control overall organizational performance, but teams may not be able to get the information they need to autonomously manage their own work processes. To align existing organizational systems with the needs of task-performing teams usually requires managers to exercise power and influence both upward and laterally in the organization, and may involve difficult negotiations across functional boundaries. For these reasons, providing contextual supports for teams can be a 254 significant challenge for managers whose experience and expertise has mainly involved supporting and controlling work performed by individuals. That challenge is worth taking on, however, because an unsupported organizational context can undermine even teams that are otherwise quite well directed and well structured. It is especially shattering for a team to fail merely because the organizational supports it needs cannot be obtained. Mistake 6: Assume That Members Already Have All the Skills They Need to Work Well as a Team Once a team has been formed and given its task, managers sometimes assume their work is done. A strict hands-off stance, however, can limit a team’s effectiveness when members are not already skilled and experienced in teamwork-?a not uncommon state of affairs in cultures where individualism is a dominant value. It can be helpful, How to cite Why teams don’t work?, Papers

modernist elements in the hollow men Essays -

Introduction: THIS IS THE WAY THE WORLD ENDS THIS IS THE WAY THE WORLD ENDS THIS IS THE WAY THE WORLD ENDS NOT WITH A BANG BUT A WHIMPER T.S.Eliot, The Hollow Men (95-98). The end of The Hollow Men can only be the beginning of a deep and long reflection for thoughtful readers. T.S. Eliot, who always believed that in his end is his beginning, died and left his verse full of hidden messages to be understood, and codes to be deciphered. It is this complexity, which is at the heart of modernism as a literary movement, that makes of Eliot?s poetry very typically modernist. As Ezra Pound once famously stated, Eliot truly did ?modernize himself?. Although his poetry was subject to important transformations over the course of his career, all of it is characterized by many unifying aspects typical of modernism. It employs characters who fit the modern man as described by Fitzgerald, Faulkner and others of the poet?s contemporaries. It is marked by its tendency to bring together the intellectual, the aesthetic and the emotional in a way that both condemns the past and honors it. The poet expressed modernism as a new system of thought that does not fully deny traditionality by using devices such as allusions to previous texts. In ?The Tradition and the Individual Talent?, Eliot emphasizes the role of literary tradition viewing the best writers as those who have a sense of continuity with the writers before them, as if literature is one river in which each new writer must swim. He argued that the literary past must be used as to serve contemporary poetry purposes. This tendency, and many other attitudes that typify modernist writings, are present in Eliot?s works. This short paper intends to highlight some modernist elements in Eliot?s The Hollow Men as a poem representative of his new innovative poetry and of the spirit of modernism as a whole. I will look at how the poem reflects this newly new literary movement in terms of both thematic matter and style. This latter, of course, shouldn?t be viewed as constant for there is a permanent quest for a style that is best. However, before tackling the core of the subject matter, I find it useful to start with a brief presentation of some characteristics of modernism as a new system of thought and a new literary movement in American literature. 1.On ?Modernism?: In fact, it would not be modernist approach to try to look at modernism by way of definition. It would not also be fair to associate it only to the literary sphere. Modernism, as mentioned earlier, is a whole new way of thinking, a new worldview and a new view of man and the universe. The early twentieth century was a watershed in human history as it brought unprecedented political, social, economic and scientific transformations that shaped a modern world characterized by chaos, discontent, alienation and moral decay. Modernism embraced these changes and a new artistic representation was inevitable. Literature, especially poetry, became a place for carrying out the only meaningful activity, which is the search for meaning. Modernism announced the death of the author, redefined the reader-author relationship giving more importance to the reader?s interpretation of the writer?s ambiguous thematic elements. Furthermore, modernists believed that we create the world in the act of perceiving it. Modernist writing expressed a shift from realism into abstractions, as the abstract came to be seen as more expressive than the concrete. With its deliberate complexity and defamiliarization, modernist literature was marked by a strong and conscious break with conventional modes of form, resulting in fragmentation and bold, highly innovative experimentation in prose and poetry. To reflect the chaotic fragmented post-war world, modernists sought to use literary devices that were not only vehicles for carrying meaning but also meaningful entities themselves. The form and the content became equally important. Notions such as the hero and the plot collapsed. Modernist writings use symbols and images instead of statements, employ understated and ironic rhetoric without explanations, and consist of segments juxtaposed without transitional elements. The reader must participate in the making of the poem or story by digging the structure out and create coherence out of the seeming incoherence.

light And Darkness

Heart of Darkness In just the opening pages of Heart of Darkness, Conrad’s ability as a writer becomes abundantly clear, for the subliminal nature of his writing is constantly sustained. Conrad begins Marlow’s journey into the heart of darkness on the Thames, on the yawl, ‘Nellie’ with a short prologue, which contains subtle use of imagery and a brilliant suggestion of the atmosphere that prepares a reader for the prevailing themes of the novel. Each setting in the novel is in fact a microcosm of the larger construction of Heart of Darkness, and a reader is continually reminded by the repetition of the phrase â€Å"brooding gloom†, the noun â€Å"haze†, and the adjective â€Å"dark† that the novel is full mystery and exploration through the impenetrable darkness, as it were. As a reader transgresses through the novel, he or she is continually taken back to the paradoxical title, Heart of Darkness. The title in itself is very suggestive, for the noun ‘heart’ is, in a literal sense, characteristic of pure or white substance, and is very distinct, and on a metaphorical level it conveys that the novel works on an emotional scale. On the other hand, the adjective â€Å"darkness† displays something much more inconclusive and equivocal, just like Marlow. Therefore, a reader’s first expectations are rather inexpressible because one is put a half-state, where the clear literal meaning of â€Å"heart† is set against the ambiguity of the â€Å"darkness†. The â€Å"darkness† in the novel works on both the characters and the readers, where it highlights the states of confusion and incomprehension of the mind. It seems upon â€Å"darkness†, things become â€Å"less brilliant but more profound†. This is in reference to the way in which the reader comes to realize that it is the â€Å"white man’s burden† that is truly dark and cruel. The reader’s expectations about the novel are flooded with ideas of the unknown, a journey into â€Å"da... light And Darkness Free Essays on Heat Of Darkness /light And Darkness Heart of Darkness In just the opening pages of Heart of Darkness, Conrad’s ability as a writer becomes abundantly clear, for the subliminal nature of his writing is constantly sustained. Conrad begins Marlow’s journey into the heart of darkness on the Thames, on the yawl, ‘Nellie’ with a short prologue, which contains subtle use of imagery and a brilliant suggestion of the atmosphere that prepares a reader for the prevailing themes of the novel. Each setting in the novel is in fact a microcosm of the larger construction of Heart of Darkness, and a reader is continually reminded by the repetition of the phrase â€Å"brooding gloom†, the noun â€Å"haze†, and the adjective â€Å"dark† that the novel is full mystery and exploration through the impenetrable darkness, as it were. As a reader transgresses through the novel, he or she is continually taken back to the paradoxical title, Heart of Darkness. The title in itself is very suggestive, for the noun ‘heart’ is, in a literal sense, characteristic of pure or white substance, and is very distinct, and on a metaphorical level it conveys that the novel works on an emotional scale. On the other hand, the adjective â€Å"darkness† displays something much more inconclusive and equivocal, just like Marlow. Therefore, a reader’s first expectations are rather inexpressible because one is put a half-state, where the clear literal meaning of â€Å"heart† is set against the ambiguity of the â€Å"darkness†. The â€Å"darkness† in the novel works on both the characters and the readers, where it highlights the states of confusion and incomprehension of the mind. It seems upon â€Å"darkness†, things become â€Å"less brilliant but more profound†. This is in reference to the way in which the reader comes to realize that it is the â€Å"white man’s burden† that is truly dark and cruel. The reader’s expectations about the novel are flooded with ideas of the unknown, a journey into â€Å"da...

Book Review on Undaunted Courage

Book Review on Undaunted Courage Book Review on Undaunted Courage Book review: Undaunted Courage by Steven Ambrose In his book, Undaunted Courage, Steven Ambrose brings to our attention the life history of young Lewis before the expedition to the pacific coast. He gives us an impression that Lewis was an intelligent young boy, an attribute that saw him lead the expedition. According to the author, Lewis’ childhood was promising and his future was bright. He made good choices in his youthful life. The Lewis and Clark expedition was influenced by the relationship between Lewis and Thomas Jefferson, who was a family friend. The author comes up with a summary of the 2000-mile expedition in an amazing prose. During the exploration, Lewis wrote his characteristic voluminous journals expressing their two years joy as well as the mysteries they were experiencing. President Thomas Jefferson chose Lewis to lead the expedition whose purpose was to explore and discover a northwest route to the Pacific Ocean and opening commercial ties with the inhabitants of the area. Lewis is a perfect choice to lead the expedition because of his military background where he was a captain. Again, it is indicated in numerous instances that he was very intelligent, something that began since he was a small boy. Lewis is presented by the author as a reasonable man with a natural gift in scientific observation. He is even said to have been a skilled and experienced naturalist. These are some of the qualities that made him catch the eye of the president of course considering the two were friends from home. In his troop, the second in command was Lieutenant William Clark, a friend to Lewis who still was a younger brother to an activist and a war general, George Rogers Clark. The troop went by the name ‘corps of discovery’ and consisted of 30 other recruits. The expedition started in May 1804 and they sailed the river using canoes with others walking on foot along the banks. The leader had strict instructions from the president to keep a journal, which he wrote about the daily events taking place around them. This included daily measurement in latitude and longitude and his scientific observations. As the expedition goes on, a Canadian decided to join the ‘corps of discovery’ with his teenage wife who later on plays a big role in the survival of the voyage. Lewis is disappointed as there is no connection between the river Missouri leading to the pacific so the troop had to traverse through the great falls of the Missouri river and the Rocky Mountains. By this time, their food reserves were running low and were forced to trade their horses against foodstuff for survival. The troop reached the pacific coast in November 1805, were they put up a fort that was named Fort Clatsop. The following spring, the expedition having suffered low supplies begun their voyage back. Lewis and Clark however decided to split the troops into two and explore the east and west water routes. At this time, the corps encountered a hostile military engagement but the troops remained intact without losing anyone of them. However, two lives were lost in the attacking community. Upon their return, Lewis and Clark are received back home as heroes and Lewis is appointed as governor. This was the beginning of his troubles since he was not a good politician and eventually he became an alcoholic, as he was depressed. He unfortunately loses his life at an early age of thirty-five years after committing suicide. Ambrose has used the journals from the expedition and presented the story in a systematic way that reveals the history of Lewis’ background. In my opinion, the presentation of the chronological events that took place in regards to Lewis prior, during and after the expedition is very clear and informative. The author has dedicated his efforts to establish and impart basic knowledge on the details and circumstances surrounding the historic expedition by Lewis. This is an excellent piece of art that I would recommend anyone to read as it is based on the accounts of the historic expedition in the pacific. Feel free to buy a book review online, on any topic you need. All custom book reviews are written from scratch by professional review writers.

Morality Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Morality - Essay Example f Catholic moral thinking. Reason informed faith The Catholic Church worked to cease the dichotomy of rational morality and faith morality, otherwise understood as pure humanism and sectarianism (Gula, 1989, p. 1). For the believer, faith and reason can be integrated in its moral tradition to make Christian teachings more understandable for non-believers as well. This is also explicated in Humanae Vitae published in 1968 which pointed that natural law is further made significant by divine revelations as well as in the scriptural writings (Gula, 1989, p. 1). The latter upholds that the moral principles can be taught, using logical inferences of reason, from the perspective of faith (Gula, 1989, p. 32) The bishops have likewise applied this moral framework to resolve the issues on homosexuality which articulated the rational capacity of human beings to understand gender and sexuality; illumined by faith (Gula, 1989, p. 25). This theological position of the issues of morality is also ap plicable to the problems and issues of bioethics, scientific innovation, and other development which put the Christian teachings under social and moral dilemma. Notwithstanding the pressures, the church consistently stood for the dignity of creation and the need to respect human rights. As such, the Catholic Church maintained that such human dignity cannot only be understood separately by reason but by unquestioning faith with conviction that dignity is a gift of God given to any person, even if the same be interpreted using the laws of nature. As such, every person needs to possess an informed faith, illumined by reason, to understand the strategic goal of moral life and on how to behave well as a moral agent. Every Catholic believer must be imbued with wisdom about the role of being as a moral agent. And, as a faithful, must have a reference which served as the criteria for moral judgment (Gula, 1989, p. 9; Blair, 2010, p 1). Common issues with humanity Like other institutions on earth, the Catholic Church is also mocked and rocked with variegated issues (Hamilton, 2013, p. 1). There were instances when the church is being subject of corruption, sexuality, questionable financial relations with state agents, and other social issues such as their involvement in extractive industries, in corporate leveraging, and in amassing real estate properties at the expense of those property-less and those that are bereft of economic capacity to meet even the most fundamental need—food (Hamilton, 2013, p. 1). The resignation of previous Pope was even controversially tagged with varied issues on corruption and political machinations due to some alleged transactions done. There were many priests that were allegedly responsible on sexual relations, which violated the dignity of women;

Smart Phones Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Smart Phones - Essay Example Smartphones are increasingly important in the modern consumer world, and reports have shown that up to 31% of young people in the UK have a smartphone (Agger, 2011), as well as nearly a quarter of all subscribers in the US. The market is projected to grow over 19% between 2009 and the end of 2011 (Fung, 2010). As well as a growing demand for smartphones in general, the technology that the smartphone boasts has become increasingly important, with many people desiring the best and latest technology (Agger, 2011). Many phones continually upgrade both their hardware and operating system, with larger screen size and better processors being two of the most important aspects of the modern smartphone (Fung, 2010). Smartphones typically have touchscreens, as seen in the very first smartphone (the IBM Simon) as well as the most popular Android and iOS (iPhone) models (Agger, 2011), although Blackberry and other manufacturers do continue to use the standard QWERTY keyboard (Wong, 2010). One of the most important emerging technologies in the smartphone market is the availability of GPS and related applications. The main difference between a smartphone and a computer is portability, and the benefits of this are reaped through GPS technology. GPS, or Global Positioning System, allows a user to very precisely pinpoint their location, allowing many smartphone users to double-up their phone as a satellite navigation system for their car. Another important aspect of this GPS technology is the increasing use of check-in applications such as FourSquare, which can be used to record ones location and broadcast it to friends and local users (Agger, 2011). This technology is widely open to abuse, but is increasingly popular, with around a fifth of smartphone users noting that they have checked in using this software in the past (Wong, 2011). Another important part of smartphone ownership is the use of Twitter, which broadcasts short ‘blogs’, sometimes with a location usin g GPS technology, using the same amount of characters as a standard SMS message. This is true integration of phone and internet technology. Each of the available operating systems have their own benefits and each of them varies in popularity internationally (Agger, 2011). Probably the most famous is Apple’s iOS, which runs on the various iPhones available on the market. Apple is considered to be a particularly groundbreaking and innovative company, and this is reflected in the technology displayed in their mobile phones. Google, one of the largest multinational companies in the world, is one of the more recent evolutions in software and is far more open-source than the competition (Wong, 2011). Open-source operating systems have been growing in demand in recent years (Kennedy, 2010), and Android offers software developers ample chance to develop and market applications for their phones. This is considered one of the main reasons why the Android OS is now the most popular in t he smartphone market in many countries (Wong, 2011). Symbian is the OS found on Nokia handsets, and was the market leader for some time, although it is currently

Britney Spears’ Promotes Potentially Abusive Relationships in Her Song,

Britney Spears’ Promotes Potentially Abusive Relationships in Her Song, Baby, One More Time In her Top 10 hit ". . . Baby, One More Time," Britney Spears posits the song’s persona as a passive naà ¯f. Continual references to blindness and hitting metamorphose the song from a teen-targeted summer pop tune into ideology enslaving young women into dangerous, constrictive views of relationships--and themselves. Using feminist and Lacanian theory allows us to see the speaker’s entrance into the Symbolic and the problems thereof. The speaker rues over a terminated "love" affair. She (although arguable, this critic finds the speaker’s notion of and adherence to gender roles distinctly "female") supplicates for a "sign" of his (again, heterosexuality is an assumption made for the sake of discussion) persevering proclivity. This sign is to come in the form of a "hit." References to the speaker’s death ("killing me") are frequent, as are other indications of mistreatment. The speaker begins addressing "baby," her lover. She claims ignorance of the troubled relationship, thus displaying her quiescent predisposition: "how was I supposed to know / that somethin’ wasn’t right here." Because of her passivity, she appears as an innocent victim. The poor, helpless speaker is not to be blamed for anything. One might picture a little girl shrugging her shoulders and asking, "what could I do?" when caught eating a whole cake. This denial of responsibility is commonly seen on The Jerry Springer Show when someone maintains, "I didn’t mean to have an affair. It just happened." Placing the locus of control outside oneself causes one to naturally become a victim. Yet the speaker seems apprehensive in her inveterate paralyzed role. She pro... ...song might create? By attempting to erase the "hit me," someone tried to cover up the overtones of violence. Yet simply changing the title cannot efface the masochism and vapidity of the song’s speaker. The speaker’s complete yield of self to a potentially abusive lover is deleterious for teens still forming an identity, especially those seeking guidance and advice about sexual relationships. The effects of Spears’ song remain to be seen; yet this critic feels that the message sent is a harrowing one. The speaker’s recognition of self-worth cannot eventuate too quickly. Works Cited Haywood, Susan. Key Concepts in Cinema Studies. Routledge: London, 1996. Spears, Britney. ". . . Baby, One More Time." . . .Baby, One More Time. Audio CD. BMG: 1999. Works Consulted Lacan, Jacques. Ecrits: A Selection. Trans. Alan Sheridan. Tavistock: London, 1977.

Role and Performance of Government and Ngos in Relie F

ijcrb. webs. com INTERDISCIPLINARY JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY RESEARCH IN BUSINESS JUNE 2011 VOL 3, NO 2 Role and Performance of Government and NGOs in Relief Assistance: A Case Study of 2005 Earthquake61 Khalil Ahmad(Corresponding author) Assistant Professor of Economics University of the Punjab, Lahore Tanveer Ahmed Naveed Lecturer, Department of Economics University of Gujrat Sami Ullah Lecturer, Department of Economics University of Gujrat Tahir Rashid Ph. D.Scholar at Government College University, Lahore (Pakistan) Abstract This study investigates the role and performance of Pakistan government and humanitarian agencies during relief and emergency aid assistance to 2005 earthquake victims. This comparative study is based on empirical data collected from 30 most affected villages of NWFP (Pakistan) and AJK through a sample survey on 1st anniversary of 2005 earthquake. About 500 randomly selected heads of the families were interviewed in the sampled area.Mann-Whitney Wilcoxon test i s used to compare the relief assistance provision and satisfaction shown by sufferers toward government agencies and Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs) during relief program. While Chi-Squire test is used only to investigate the relationship between affected areas and respondents’ demographic characteristics. Evidently, results show that the NGOs provided more relief items in a better way to victims of 2005 earthquake than did the Government of Pakistan. This study will be helpful in disaster management planning at government and non-governmental levels.Keywords: Performance; Earthquake; NGOs; Government; Relief Efforts BACKGROUND AND INTRODUCTION Pakistan experienced a destructive earthquake on October 8, 2005, at 8:50 PST, intensity of 7. 6 measuring on Richter scale. Arguably, this was the most devastating disaster in Pakistan’s history. The earthquake epicenter was located 100 kilometers north-northeast of Islamabad. Intensity of losses increased by a series of aftershocks, more than 1000 aftershocks ‘ranging from magnitude 5. 0 to 6. 0’ were recorded as of October 27th in IndiaPakistan Kashmir region. 61 Authors are very thankful to PATTAN Development Organization (National NGO) and Dr.S. M. Naseem for financial help and motivation in study conduction COPY RIGHT  © 2011 Institute of Interdisciplinary Business Research 1726 ijcrb. webs. com INTERDISCIPLINARY JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY RESEARCH IN BUSINESS JUNE 2011 VOL 3, NO 2 At least 73,000 people had died, another 70,000 had been severely injured or disabled and over 2. 8 million persons have been left without shelter. In addition, 600,000 houses, 6,298 schools and 796 health facilities were demolished. About 6,440 kilo meters roads were damaged and 50-70% of the water supply, sanitation, telecommunication and power infrastructure was rendered un-operational. Pakistan 2006) It is nearly impossible to figure out exact economic impact of earthquake 2005. In total, about US$5. 2 billion was estimated cost of earthquake; includes cost of relief provision to victims, restoration of livelihood support and short, medium and long term reconstruction (ADB and World Bank, 2005). The most immediate task was rescue of people trapped in collapsed buildings and to transport them at safer places along with provision of relief to survivors to save the lives and to secure the dignity of affected population (ERRA, Annual Review 2005 to 2006).The Government of Pakistan immediately realized the enormity of the task and appealed to the international community for emergency assistance. The Government of Pakistan and national & international agencies took immediate measures for rescue, relief and reconstruction for 3. 5 million affected people of NWFP and AJK. Generally, donor agencies and the external sources prefer to channelize emergency assistance to disaster victims through international and/or indigenous NGOs due to all pervasive corruption and misappropriation of reli ef funds on the part of the Governments.The government of Pakistan and participating slocal, national, and international nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) with the help of domestic and external sources initiated massive rescue and relief activities in the area. (ERRA, Annual Review 2005 to 2006) Both, government of Pakistan and NGOs played important role in relief distribution and rehabilitation activities. Government of Pakistan established the central coordination office for rescue and relief started to work at Prime Minister (PM) Secretariat immediately after the earthquake.Federal Relief Commission was established on 10th October 2005 to mobilize all resources, to coordinate activities and to facilitate flow of relief goods (ERRA, Annual Review 2005 to 2006). The Federal Relief Commission (FRC) of Pakistan Government, Armed Forces, International donors, UN agencies and local NGOs joined hands to undertake the huge operation for delivering emergency relief against challenges s uch as mountainous terrain, distant and difficult to access communities, changing weather conditions, resource constraint, and overwhelming suffering of the people.On March 31st 2006, the Government of Pakistan officially ended the ‘Relief’ phase and the Federal Relief Commission (FRC) was subsumed into Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority (ERRA). Government of Pakistan, NGOs and international nongovernmental organizations (INGOs) performed different rescue, relief and rehabilitation activities during the first year of the 2005 disaster. Relief provided by FRC with assistance from foreign governments, INGOs, NGOs, individuals and corporate sponsors are summarized in Table 1.COPY RIGHT  © 2011 Institute of Interdisciplinary Business Research 1727 ijcrb. webs. com INTERDISCIPLINARY JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY RESEARCH IN BUSINESS Table 1: Joint Relief Delivered to the Affected Population Relief Goods and Services Temporary Shelters to Families Tents Blanke ts / Quilts Ration( in tons) Medicines (in tons) Field Hospitals Established Field /Mobile Medical Teams Sorties Flown Quantity 385,000 951,790 6,361,090 256,376 3053. 76 65 86 30,334 JUNE 2011 VOL 3, NO 2 Source: ERRA, Annual Review 2005 to 2006 (From October 2005 to March 2006)Empirical studies suggest that nations with greater resources, better awareness and preparedness are more able to restore and move to normality faster than poor and less prepared nations during disasters. According to the Mid-America Earthquake Center, ‘‘the biggest earthquakes in the region (Pakistan & India) are yet-to-come’’ (Boyd 2006, p. 1). â€Å"Theoretical studies indicate that the energy stored along the Himalayan arc suggests a high probability of several massive earthquakes of magnitude (greater than) 8. 0 in the future† (Shaheen 2007, p. ) â€Å"Theoretical studies indicate that the energy stored along the Himalayan arc suggests a high probability of several mass ive earthquakes of magnitude (greater than) 8. 0 in the future† (Shaheen 2007, p. 1). Research on disasters could be used as a tool for creating better preparedness to combat with future disasters. Further, it helps formulate a comprehensive strategy for disaster management. This research study based on Pakistan’s experience and response to disaster 2005 would be of greater importance for other countries facing similar disasters.Objectively, researchers have investigated various aspects of the 2005 earthquake. However, this study sheds light on role, responsibilities and performance of Governmental institutions and Non-governmental organizations during rescue and relief efforts. This study compares performance of the Pakistan government with NGOs with regard to management and distribution of emergency aid to 2005 earthquake victims during and immediately after the disaster.This comparison is based on data obtained from three most affected areas of NWFP (Pakistan) and AJ K through a sample survey conducted on earthquake victims in October 2006, on the 1st anniversary of 2005 earthquake. Literature Review Pakistan is prone to frequent disasters that inflicted severe losses to property and lives. More frequent disasters are floods, droughts and earthquakes. However, the history reveals that earthquakes were the worst disasters regarding losses to lives (ERRA, Annual Review 2005 to 2006).In 1950, Pakistan witnessed the first severe flood disaster that claimed 2910 lives and affected more than 10,000 villages. Since then, floods, droughts, cyclones, earthquakes and landslides have been striking with regular intervals but none of the successive governments could ever devise a comprehensive strategy for disaster management (A Review of DMP&S in Pakistan). There was a major earthquake in Quetta, Balochistan, in COPY RIGHT  © 2011 Institute of Interdisciplinary Business Research 1728 ijcrb. webs. comINTERDISCIPLINARY JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY RESEARCH IN BU SINESS JUNE 2011 VOL 3, NO 2 1935 when the entire city was destroyed. From 1974 to 1990, approximately 5669 people were killed due to earthquakes in the Northern Areas (NA), NWFP and Balochistan (A Review of DMP&S in Pakistan). A brief history of earthquakes in Pakistan along with intensity and resulting human losses is given in Table 2. Table 2: Details of Earthquakes in Pakistan Date May 31, 1935 November 28, 1945 December 28, 1974 October 8, 2005 October 29, 2008 Magnitude 7. 7. 8 6. 2 7. 6 6. 4 Deaths 30,000 – 60,000 4,000 5,300 80,000 215 Injuries and Destruction Tsunami 17,000 injured 3. 5 million people homeless 120,000 homeless District/Province Ali Jaan, Balochistan Balochistan Hunza, Hazara and Swat Muzaffarabad (AJK) Ziarat District, Quetta Source: www. wikipedia. org. com As Pakistan is in a seismic belt, therefore, it suffers from frequent earthquakes of small magnitudes. Mountain ranges of Koh-e-Suleman, Hindu Kush and Karakorum are significantly vulnerable.The devastation can be immense because of the poor quality of buildings and housing (A Review of DMP&S in Pakistan). During the 2005 earthquake a large number of government buildings constructed by the contractors in AJK and Balakot area, collapsed in the first jerk of the quake. This is the overall impression of the people in the earthquake devastated areas that between 30 and 60 per cent of funds for government buildings, including schools, are spoiled by corrupt officials. Contractors habitual of such kickbacks spend less on quality materials resulting in poorly constructed buildings.Therefore, systemic corruption in government construction projects would be directly responsible for the devastating losses of next generation in northern areas of Pakistan (Shaheen, 2008). In addition, there was no adequate crisis management structure in Pakistan prior to the 2005 earthquake and none have any past experience to deal with such severe natural disasters. Although, the army and several NGO groups took the initiative in launching rescue and relief efforts, however, the onerous responsibility of reconstruction and rebuilding rested on the government (Prakash Ouis, 2001).Further, high dependence on natural resources makes communities vulnerable particularly to changes in resource condition (Pomeroy et al. , 2006). Mostly, all-pervasive corruption and abuse of relief aid by Government agencies and bureaucratic style of humanitarian organizations distracts them from the needs of the people they are supposed to assist, in favor of other values that their institutional frameworks dictate (Binini, 2006).This claim was tested by investigating the response to the Pakistan 2005 earthquake and a closer look at data suggests that there was not an optimal match between survivor needs and relief deliveries (Binini, 2006). A certain degree of coordination failure is, of course, inevitable in disasters of this scale. However, Pakistan’s domestic and external political situation made such co-ordination even more problematic and highlighted the need for a bottom up strategy to tap the resources at the local and grass-root levels.Literature represents different strategies adopted by the world by learning from experiences, how to combat with future disasters, how one can better prepare to face less socio-economic and COPY RIGHT  © 2011 Institute of Interdisciplinary Business Research 1729 ijcrb. webs. com INTERDISCIPLINARY JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY RESEARCH IN BUSINESS JUNE 2011 VOL 3, NO 2 human losses. Many countries like Italy adopted insurance policy measures to combat natural catastrophes (Amendola, 2000). This raises the question whether government agencies and NGOs played the required role during relief phase of 2005 earthquake?Did the government or NGOs performed better during provision of relief aid to victims. Whether the international donations and NGO development programs aimed at reducing vulnerability to earthquakes are an appropriate response t o the earthquake hazard or not (Shaheen, 2008). Are earthquake victims satisfied that relief provided by Government and NGOs was according to their need and secured dignity during relief disbursement? So did Pakistan learn any lesson? If yes, what policy planning Pakistan adopted for future Disaster Risk Mitigation?These all aspects are required to investigate for better preparedness, mitigation and for future disaster response. The purpose of this research is to investigate the role and performance of government of Pakistan and humanitarian agencies during relief and emergency aid assistance of 2005 earthquake victims. Further to evaluate, comparatively who performed better. This study will be helpful in disaster management planning at government and non-government levels. Typically, this study is unique in its nature and will be an imperative contribution to the body of research concerning disaster management in Pakistan.Methodology and Data collection The primary source of data f or this research was field survey conducted in October 2006, immediately after the Pakistan government earthquake emergency relief assistance programs ended. About 500 household heads in the most affected districts (areas) of Pakistan and Kashmir â€Å"Mansehra, Bagh and Muzaffarabad† were contacted to investigate the role and performance of Government agencies and NGOs in various rescue, relief and rehabilitation programs. While survey team couldn’t conduct interviews in fourth most affected district â€Å"Batagram† due to adverse circumstances (i. . cultural, religious and political reasons, at the particular moment). Individual household was the basic sampling unit. â€Å"A household is a group of people in a dwelling unit living together as a family and sharing the same kitchen† (PAUL 2003). In the first stage of the design of the survey, out of nine, three most affected districts were selected. In the second stage, 15 most affected union councils wer e selected (5 UCs in each district). In the third stage, 30 villages or Mohalahs (for urban) were randomly selected.As affected area is consisted of diversified topography, so to find impartial and faultless response urban and rural localities were also considered. Similarly, male and female respondents were selected proportionately to find statistically reliable and significant results. A comprehensive questionnaire containing demographic information of respondents followed by data relating to socio-economic impact of disaster along with opinion questions with regard to the distribution of inflict relief by the government and NGOs were asked to household heads. A household head is defined as the person who makes the major economic, social, and household decisions, irrespective of this individual's age and gender† (PAUL 2003). Key Questions 1. Comparatively, who performed better during rescue and relief phase of 2005 earthquake, the NGOs or Government of Pakistan? COPY RIGHT à ‚ © 2011 Institute of Interdisciplinary Business Research 1730 ijcrb. webs. com INTERDISCIPLINARY JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY RESEARCH IN BUSINESS JUNE 2011 VOL 3, NO 2 a. Who provided more relief to the 2005 earthquake victims in the emergency/relief phase? . To what extent 2005 earthquake victims are satisfied with the Government and NGOs’ performance Performance is measured by ‘both’ provision of relief items to affectees and satisfaction level shown by respondents toward Government agencies and NGOs. Relief includes following items; rescue, transportation, shelters, food, bedding, cooking utensils, information and awareness, education, training, money, health facilities that were essentially required soon after disaster to survivors to live with dignity.Whereas variable government includes; Army, ERRA, PERRA, DRU, Local Administration, Federal Government, and other governmental institutions that took part in rescue and relief phase. Moreover, Non-governmental Org anizations includes; indigenous NGOs, International NGOs, UN Agencies. Analysis Techniques To analyze the amount of external support provided to the afectees by the government and to test whether the amount of received support was in accordance with their socio-economic conditions, chi-square test of association and Mann-Whitney Test (nonparametric tests) are used.Chi-Squire test is used only to investigate the relationship between affected areas and respondents’ demographic characteristics (occupation, education, sex and locality). Mann-Whitney Test is used to determine if a difference exists between performances of two groups: Government and NGOs. Unlike t-test, Mann-Whitney Test does not require normal distribution of data (MacFarland, 1998). Subsequent analysis is performed by using the SPSS.The nature of the relationship between socio-economic indicators receipt of assistance will be helpful for evaluation of the equitability and performance of the government and NGOs re lief assistance efforts during earthquake 2005. In general, there is a positive relationship between the amount of emergency aid received by earthquake victims and their socio-economic conditions. Poor victims, owing to their weak political and economic power, receive much less assistance than rich victims. Results and Discussion Devastation of 2005 earthquake could be portrayed by housing destruction of affected regions.Data represents that 100% living was affected by disaster. In total, 75% people substantiated complete demolition of houses, while remaining 25% claimed partial damage. Table 3 explains the area wise house damage caused by earthquake. Remarkably, data regarding house damage shows approximately similar trends as shown in district profiles prepared by ERRA. Table 3: Destruction of housing by 2005 Earthquake House damage Completely Damaged Partially damaged Not damaged Total Bagh 80. 7% 18. 4% 0. 9% 100% Area wise breakdown Mansehra Muzaffarabad 77. 5% 69. % 22. 0% 30. 1% 0. 6% 0. 00% 100% 100% Total 75. 2% 24. 4% 0. 4% 100% COPY RIGHT  © 2011 Institute of Interdisciplinary Business Research 1731 ijcrb. webs. com INTERDISCIPLINARY JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY RESEARCH IN BUSINESS JUNE 2011 VOL 3, NO 2 Nearly, all the respondents reported that they had received the external aid ‘in any form’, either from governmental agencies, NGOs, INGOs, friends/relatives or from individual philanthropists. Collectively, about 85% respondents ranked NGOs and Government agencies topmost helping hands during relief phase.The remaining 15% reported that they seek assistance either from relatives, friends, neighbors, individual philanthropists and they ranked the same at top. The following analysis of the assistance received by victims is based on the response of 85% of respondents who availed some form of assistance. Table 4 shows selected characteristics of the respondents; mainly they were segregated into four occupational groups: farming, services, bus iness, and others. Mountainous geographic location of the area is the reason that only 6. % of the selected population is engaged in farming and 19. 7% in business profession. Moreover, majority of respondents (68%) were employed in services sector (including both public and private services). The analysis based on Chi-square test reveals that there was a significant difference in the occupational characteristics of respondents in all the three sites covered in the present Table 4: Percentage Distribution of Demographic characteristics of the respondents Characteristics Profession Farming Services Business Others Bagh 5. 4 69. 6 19. 6 5. 4 100 39. 13. 3 31. 9 15 100 25. 2 74. 8 100 55. 3 44. 7 100 Districts Mansehra Muzzaffarabad 11. 7 2. 6 59. 6 74. 7 20. 5 19. 1 8. 2 3. 6 100 100 47. 7 13. 8 23. 0 15. 5 100 22. 2 77. 8 100 52. 6 47. 4 100 46. 2 9. 7 25. 1 19. 0 100 38. 8 61. 2 100 48. 5 51. 5 100 Total 6. 5 68. 1 19. 7 5. 7 100 45. 2 12. 0 25. 9 16. 8 100 29. 7 70. 3 100 51. 6 48. 4 100 X2=18. 490 (df=6; p=0. 005) Education Illiterate 1-5 years 6-10 years Above 10 years X2=5. 531 (df=6; p=0. 478) Locality Urban Rural X2=13. 889 (df=2; p=0. 001) Sex Male Female Total X2=1. 451 (df=2; p=0. 484) study.Analysis indicates greater dependency of the affected area population on non-farming income generation sources. While in Mansehra (NWFP) 11% of respondents disclosed that their major source of income was agriculture which was highest engagement in farming throughout study area. The survey data revealed that sample consisted of 45% illiterate respondents. Further gender analysis shows that illiterate women ratio was significantly higher than male illiterate population i. e. 70% and 30% respectively of total 45%. Table 5 illustrates discriminating behavior of society regarding educational acilities to female population of the area. Chi-Squire test shows highly significant results, that is educational COPY RIGHT  © 2011 Institute of Interdisciplinary Business Resea rch 1732 ijcrb. webs. com INTERDISCIPLINARY JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY RESEARCH IN BUSINESS JUNE 2011 VOL 3, NO 2 level is drastically different between male and female population of selected area. Interestingly, official data regarding gender wise literacy also have approximately similar trends. Table 5: Gender wise breakdown of educational level of respondents (in Percentage) Illiterate 1-5 years Male 30. 64. 9 Female 69. 7 35. 1 Total 100. 0 100. 0 X2=76. 827 (df=3; p=0. 000) Sex Educational Level 6-10 years Above 10 years 64. 8 79. 0 35. 2 21. 0 100. 0 100. 0 Total 51. 6 48. 4 100. 0 The null hypothesis that there is no difference in provision of relief assistance to 2005 earthquake victims by Government and NGOs was tested by using Mann-Whitney test. Significance can be verified by comparing the computed test statistic (e. g. , U) with its critical value. By interpretation of the p (probability) value, it is observed that p= 0. 005, which is smaller than the 0. 05.Comparison of te st statistics with its table value and the probability method both suggest the rejection of Null hypothesis which states that there is no significant difference between government-provided relief aid and that of NGOs. Further the higher mean rank for NGOs (518 vs. 467) supports the conclusion that the NGOs provided more relief items in better way to victims of 2005 earthquake than Government of Pakistan. Table 6: Comparison of Relief Support Groups N Mean Rank Government 492 467. 53 Relief Support NGOs 492 517. 47 Total 984 Test Statistics Test StatisticMann-Whitney U Wilcoxon W Z Asymp. Sig. (2-tailed) Sum of Ranks 230022. 50 254597. 50 Relief Support 108744. 500 230022. 500 -2. 824 0. 005 Evidently performance is directly associated with satisfaction. Satisfaction is persons feeling of pleasure as a result of comparing a product perceived outcome in relation to his/her expectations. Consequently, if the performance exceeds the expectation, the beneficiary is very satisfied. If out come equals the expectation, the receiver is satisfied. But if the performance falls below the expectation, then the recipient is dissatisfied.In this study Mann-Whitney Wilcoxon test is used to compare satisfaction shown by sufferers toward government and NGOs role during relief program. Test shows extremely significant results. Similar to 1st null hypothesis, 2nd null hypothesis is also significantly rejected, that is, there is no difference in satisfaction shown by victims towards NGOs and Government of Pakistan for relief provision. Further, it explains that NGOs (including both the indigenous and the international) prevailing in Pakistan have played an effective and impartial role in the distribution of relief assistance than did the government organizations.So results show that COPY RIGHT  © 2011 Institute of Interdisciplinary Business Research 1733 ijcrb. webs. com INTERDISCIPLINARY JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY RESEARCH IN BUSINESS JUNE 2011 VOL 3, NO 2 credibility of NGOs botto m-up approach is higher than that of the government based on topdown directives. In so for as performance is concerned, people are more satisfied with the role played by NGOs/INGOs as compared to Government Agencies during the relief phase. Table 7: Comparison of Satisfaction Groups/Satisfaction Government NGOs Total Statistic Mann-Whitney U Wilcoxon W Z Asymp. Sig. (2-tailed) N 492 492 984 Mean Rank 354. 310976 630. 3689024 Sum of Ranks 174478. 5 310141. 5 Test Statistics Satisfaction 53200. 5 174478. 5 -15. 242 0. 000 Conclusion In 2005, Pakistan experienced the most disturbing earthquake in its history. Pakistan government and humanitarian agencies initiated wide range of relief efforts for the survival of victims. This study is an effort to compare the relief disbursement efforts carried out by the NGOs and the government. Further, it looks at the possible association between socioeconomic characteristics of the disaster victims and the amount of assistance they received from th e government and/or from the NGOs.To probe these objectives, this study used a primary data in which 500 household heads of 30 villages of 15 union councils of three districts have been interviewed. The analysis of data indicates that though both, government of Pakistan and NGOs’ played significant role during rescue and relief assistance, the majority of respondents reported that they were more satisfied by the NGOs work compared to government efforts. Further majority of the respondents believed that NGOs performed much better in relief provision than the government of Pakistan.Recognition to NGOs efforts could be due to non-bureaucratic working style, proper need assessment, ensuring victim participation in decision making, acting as per sphere standards while helping the communities. Moreover, wide range of experience in working with effected communities and use of more participatory approach made them more efficient and successful. Respondents’ opinions regarding less efficient role of government could be due to unmet very high and irrational victims’ expectations. Further NGOs are supposed to work in specified area with having fewer responsibilities and more skills.Whereas governments’ working area and responsibilities are spread to all affected population regardless of degree of severity. Moreover, important policy implication of this study is that if government agencies would not handle relief efforts effectively and efficiently than donor agencies may rethink their procedure and channelize future emergency aid and development funding through NGOs or sub-offices. This mistrust has been experienced by government of Pakistan in current flood disaster on both, public and donors’ ends.But optimistically this might lead to COPY RIGHT  © 2011 Institute of Interdisciplinary Business Research 1734 ijcrb. webs. com INTERDISCIPLINARY JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY RESEARCH IN BUSINESS JUNE 2011 VOL 3, NO 2 expansion of NGOs in Pakis tan. So government need not only develop institutional and technical skills to cope with future disasters but also consider expansion to NGOs as alternative to mitigate the hazards and strive to strengthen them. COPY RIGHT  © 2011 Institute of Interdisciplinary Business Research 1735 ijcrb. webs. com INTERDISCIPLINARY JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY RESEARCH IN BUSINESS ReferencesJUNE 2011 VOL 3, NO 2 Action Aid International (2006), The Evolving UN Cluster Approach in the Aftermath of the Pakistan Earthquake: An NGO Perspective. Action Aid International, London. ADB-WB (2005), Preliminary damages and need assessment—Pakistan 2005 earthquake, prepared by Asian Development Bank and World Bank, Islamabad, Pakistan, November 12, 2005. Amendola, Aniello, 2000, ‘Earthquake Risk Management: A case study for an Italian Region†, International Institute for Applied Systems, A-2361 Laxenburg, Austria. Benini, A. A. et al. , 2006, ‘Survivor Needs or Logistical Convenience?Fa ctors Shaping Decisions to Delive’ Blackwell, doi:10. 1111/j. 0361-3666. 2008. 01065. x Boyd, J. (2006), Preliminary report: Future quakes in Pakistan inevitable, http://www. media. rice. edu/media/NewsBot. asp? MODE=VIEW=8166, Accessed on 23-04-2011 at 17:00. MacFarland, T. W. (1998), ‘Mann-Whitney U-Test’ viewed August 2010. http://www. nyx. net/~tmacfarl/STAT_TUT/mann_whi. ssi Pakistan, Government of (2005), ‘A review of Disaster Management Policies and Systems in Pakistan’ Islamabad. Pakistan, Government of (2006), Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority (ERRA), Annual Review 2005-06.Paul, B. K. 2002, ‘Relief assistance to 1998 flood victims: a comparison of the performance of the government and NGOs’ The Geographical journal, Vol. 169, No. 1, March 2003, pp. 75-89. Pomeroy, R. S, Blake D. Ratner & Stephen J. Hall 2006, ‘Coping with disaster: Rehabilitating coastal livelihoods and communities’ Elsevier, Ma rine Policy 30, PP 786–793. Shaheen, M. A. (2007), Academic Institutions and Libraries of Pakistani Administered Kashmir: A Pre and Post Earthquake Analysis, A Paper read on 73rd IFLA General Conference and Council held on 19-23 August 2007 at Durban, South Africa. Shaheen, M.A. (2008), ‘Earthquake effects on educational institutions and libraries of Azad Kashmir An appraisal’, Emerald, Vol. 57, No. 6, 2008, pp. 449-456. COPY RIGHT  © 2011 Institute of Interdisciplinary Business Research 1736 Copyright of Interdisciplinary Journal of Contemporary Research in Business is the property of Interdisciplinary Journal of Contemporary Research in Business and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.