Monday, December 30, 2019

The Legal Drinking Age in Canada

The legal drinking age in Canada is the minimum age at which a person is allowed to buy and drink alcohol, and right now it is 18 for Alberta, Manitoba, and Quà ©bec and 19 for the rest of the country. In Canada, each province and territory  determines its own legal drinking age. Legal  Drinking Age in Canadas Provinces and Territories   Alberta: 18British Columbia: 19Manitoba: 18New Brunswick: 19Newfoundland and Labrador: 19Northwest Territories: 19Nova Scotia: 19Nunavut: 19Ontario: 19Prince Edward Island: 19Quà ©bec: 18  Saskatchewan: 19Yukon Territory: 19 Growing Concern About Alcohol Overconsumption A growing problem of rising and overconsumption of alcohol, particularly among young adults just at the legal drinking age, has raised alarms in Canada.   Since 2000 and  the release of the Canada Low-Risk Alcohol Drinking Guidelines in 2011, the first such national guidelines, many Canadians have been on a mission to reduce alcohol consumption across the board. Much research has been done on how harmful even moderate alcohol consumption can be and the  serious long-term effects on  young adults ages 18/19–24, when risky alcohol consumption peaks.   The Effect of Canadian Drinking-Age Laws A 2014 study by a scientist with the University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC) Faculty of Medicine concludes that Canada’s drinking-age laws have a significant impact on youth mortality. Writing in the international journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence, Dr. Russell Callaghan, a UNBC  Associate Professor of Psychiatry, argues that, when compared to Canadian males slightly younger than the minimum legal drinking age, young men who are just older than the drinking age have significant and abrupt increases in mortality, especially from injuries and motor vehicle accidents. â€Å"This evidence demonstrates that drinking-age legislation has a significant effect on reducing mortality among youth, especially young males,† says Dr. Callaghan. The minimum legal drinking age is 18 years of age in Alberta, Manitoba, and Quà ©bec, and 19 in the rest of the country. Using national Canadian death data from 1980 to 2009, researchers examined the causes of deaths of individuals who died between 16 and 22 years of age. They found that immediately following the minimum legal drinking age, male deaths due to injuries rose sharply by ten to 16 percent, and male deaths due to motor vehicle accidents increased suddenly by 13 to 15 percent. Increases in mortality also appeared immediately following the legislated drinking age for 18-year-old females, but these jumps were relatively small. According to the research, increasing the drinking age to 19 in Alberta, Manitoba, and Quà ©bec would prevent seven deaths of 18-year-old men each year. Raising the drinking age to 21 across the country would prevent 32 annual deaths of male youth 18 to 20 years old. â€Å"Many provinces, including British Columbia, are undertaking alcohol-policy reforms,† Dr. Callaghan said. â€Å"Our research shows that there are substantial social harms associated with youth drinking. These adverse consequences need to be carefully considered when we develop new provincial alcohol policies. I hope these results will help inform the public and policymakers in Canada about the serious costs associated with hazardous drinking among young people.† High Canadian  Alcohol Prices Tempt Importers There has been a movement to encourage lower consumption by  increasing or maintaining the overall price  of alcohol through interventions, such as excise taxes and indexing prices to inflation. Such pricing, according to the Canadian Center on Substance Abuse, would encourage production and consumption of lower-strength alcoholic beverages. Establishing minimum prices, the CCSA said, could remove inexpensive sources of alcohol often favored by young adults and other high-risk drinkers. Higher prices are seen as a disincentive to youth drinking, but lower-priced alcohol is readily available across the border in the United States. Both  visitors and Canadians are tempted to bring in large quantities of alcoholic beverages bought in the United States, which can be about half the price of such drinks in Canada.   How Much Duty-Free Alcohol Can Visitors Bring?​ If you are a Canadian or a visitor to Canada, you are allowed to bring a small quantity of alcohol (wine, liquor, beer, or coolers) into the country without having to pay duty or taxes as long as: the alcohol accompanies you.you meet the minimum  legal drinking age  for the province or territory at which you enter Canada.   Canadians and visitors  may bring in  only  one of the following.  If larger quantities are imported, the entire amount will assess duties, not just the amount exceeding these duty-free quantities: 1.5 liters (50.7 U.S. fluid ounces) of wine, including wine coolers over 0.5 percent alcohol. This is equivalent to (up to) 53 fluid ounces or two 750 ml bottles of wine.  1.14 liters (38.5 US fluid ounces) of liquor. This is equivalent to  (up to)  40 fluid ounces  or one large standard bottle of liquor.  Up to 8.5 liters of beer or ale, including beer coolers with more than 0.5 percent alcohol. This is equivalent to 287.4 US fluid ounces or about 24 cans or bottles (355 ml or 12.004 US fluid ounces each). For Canadians  returning after a stay in the U.S., the amount of personal exemption is dependent on how long an individual was out of the country. The highest exemptions accrue after stays of more than 48 hours. If Canadians have been on a day trip to the United States,  all the alcohol brought back to Canada will be subject to the usual duties and taxes.  In 2012, Canada changed exemption limits to more closely match those of the U.S. Source Callaghan, Russell. Canadian Drinking-Age Laws Have Significant Effect on Deaths Among Young Males. Matt Wood, Newsroom, University of Northern British Columbia, March 18, 2014, BC Canada. Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction. Youth Alcohol Use and Its Harms: Case Study in the Community of Sherbrooke (Report). Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction, 2018, ON Canada.

Sunday, December 22, 2019

The Role Of Culture And Human Development - 1353 Words

The role of culture in human development allows us to process and reflects on our heritage in order to understand who we are as an individual. My family history brings back so many memories that, it might imply, sacrifices were the main actions between family members. While gathering information from my ancestors, I got the opportunity to find out that being a collectivist and interdependent individual were the messages received about the rules of belonging. When it comes to patriarchal family, all women in my family had to do both roles; shockingly, men were not involved in their child’s lives. Even-though migration intents to bring wellness to the family it only brought separation to mine. Leaving Dominican Republic at the age of eleven was not challenging, leaving my family behind, was devastating. Coming to the United States was a challenged that my brother and I need it to face, we were then leaving the only women we then saw as a mom, our aunt Maribel. According to my biological mother, Alejandrina, it was normal for the members of my family to give the children away to a relative. For instance, my grandmother had five daughters and she only took care of one, Alejandrina the fourth daughter. According to her, she was not in the best shape of supporting a kid, which is why she gave away the other four. During the years, I have noticed that the act of giving a child to a relative was usual. For instance, my aunt Maribel took care of eight individuals, where onlyShow MoreRelatedGuns, Germs, And Steel, Diamond Chronicles History1728 Words   |  7 Pages Human cultures and societies have developed at various rates and achieved different levels of progress over thousands of years, resulting in some societies being labeled as more advanced than others. More advanced societies experienced complex technologies, evident in their tools and innovations, and more refined cultural structures such as social class and government systems. Other societies experi enced slower rates of development as they maintained rudimentary lifestyles with simple technologiesRead MoreManagement and Human Resource Development952 Words   |  4 PagesStrategic Human Resource Development 1. Integration with organizational missions and goals According to Garavan (1991), integration into business planning in order to contribute to corporate goals and missions of the organization are very crucial. One of Human Resource Development’s functions is to help in formation of business strategies for the organization and it is seen as a responsive and reactive role for strategic human resource development (McCracken Wallace, 2000). Furthermore, the role ofRead MoreHuman Resource Development Essay1671 Words   |  7 PagesHuman Resource Development (HRD) is often seen to be a central feature of SHRM. Discuss the role and importance of HRD in achieving SHRM organizational outcomes. Introduction Learning and development in the context of organizational development is having an essential role in achieving strategic human resourcing outcome. From attraction and retention, to development and utilisation of human capital, Human Resource Development (HRD) is the centre of strategic focus in HRM. This essay aims to presentRead MoreEssay on Human Resource Development1689 Words   |  7 PagesHuman Resource Development (HRD) is often seen to be a central feature of SHRM. Discuss the role and importance of HRD in achieving SHRM organizational outcomes. Introduction Learning and development in the context of organizational development is having an essential role in achieving strategic human resourcing outcome. From attraction and retention, to development and utilisation of human capital, Human Resource Development (HRD) is the centre of strategic focus in HRM. This essay aims to presentRead MoreChanging Role of Hr Management959 Words   |  4 PagesThe Changing Role of Human Resources Management The ever-changing roles within human resources management (HRM), in response to trends, are from a dynamic environment and the importance of HRM. Every changing organization has a need for a HRM to respond and implement changes. The organizations driven by e-business and technology need to be ready to respond and adapt to the environmental changes and should focus on satisfying the company’s customer needs. In this role, the HRM contributesRead MoreWestern Culture And Its Influence On Modern Culture1235 Words   |  5 PagesUnited States’ culture, but present in all cultures labeled as inherently â€Å"western.† The concept of institution is an idea constructed by humans, and as a human construct, the idea must have implemented itself successfully into human culture to be present today. Western culture (today primarily North America and Europe), has developed from a focus on a strong reliance on the concept of institutions, and those institutions that c ontrolled the most power ultimately played the largest role in shaping theRead MoreLanguage And Development Of Language, Experience, Maturation And Readiness With The Aid Of A Child1143 Words   |  5 PagesLanguage plays a significant role in the process of transmitting knowledge and culture among mankind. Everyone learns a language at the early stages of life. From birth to seven years, a tremendous development of language skills is seen in a child. The essay states the various developmental phases of phonetics, morphology, semantics and syntax in a child. The behaviourist and cognitive theories states that nature and nurture plays a vital role in this process. The essay also throws light onRead MoreHuman Resource Management : Hr Professionals1528 Words   |  7 Pages1.0 Introduction: There has been much discussion about the issue of whether Human Resource (HR) roles can be integrated into the new position by the HR function in companies. Human Resource Management (HRM) can be defined as â€Å"a strategic, integrated and coherent approach to the employment, development and well-being of the people working in organizations† (Armstrong, 2014, p.5). HR professionals’ works are regarded as employee training, recruitment, personnel administrative, reward management, serviceRead MoreFactors That Influence Human Development1646 Words   |  7 PagesIn your own words, what role does socioeconomic status, cultural context, and ethnicity play in development (show examples of each)? In our day and time, socioeconomic status, cultural context, and ethnicity play a huge role in human development. Human development begins while in the womb and at birth and continues through life heavily depending on these particular factors. These factors determine how a person communicates, works, looks, and chooses to live their daily lives. People are individualsRead MoreThe Various Language Skill Development1250 Words   |  5 PagesBeing social animals, human beings experience an innate drive to communicate and share their thoughts and feelings with others. The essay discusses the various language skill development stages among the children from zero to seven years. It analyses the importance of nature and nurture with the aid of behaviourist and nativist perspectives. In the light of the explanations by Vygotsky and Jean Piaget, the essay attempts to discuss the role of culture, experience, maturation and willingness

Saturday, December 14, 2019

Animals Should Not Be Used for Medical Research Free Essays

string(78) " because there are lots of misleading results obtained through animal esting\." UUB 3023 | CRITICAL THINKING| WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT: ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAY NAME| 😠 SIFAJEE | TITLE| 😠 ANIMALS SHOULD NOT BE USED FOR CLINICAL RESEARCH IN MALAYSIA| Abstract There is no doubt that throughout the centuries, animals have played a central role in medical research in Malaysia. Many of the treatments available for serious illnesses we have today have come from animal experimentation. There has been recorded that the use of animals in research has been going on as far back as the Greek writings. We will write a custom essay sample on Animals Should Not Be Used for Medical Research or any similar topic only for you Order Now According to the history, Aristotle who lived in 384-322 BC was the first to use living animals in experiments; whereas Galen, a physician in second-century Rome, was known as the â€Å"father of vivisection† from his experiments on living pigs. However, these experiments were not conducted in the name of clinical research; they were done to gain knowledge about the animals themselves. In that period of time, man was not set next to animals in comparison of physiology or any other way because man was seen as a creature above the animal. From century to century, new ideas were developed when Darwin came with his theory of evolution. His theory made a path that linked human with animals; and encouraged researches to be done on different animals to learn how human physiology worked. Even though many believed animal experimentation is important for clinical study, some claimed that it is against the humanity. Many debates have been carried out to argue whether the animal testing is crucial or cruel. The writer believes though many have heard of this matter, yet people need to know about the adverse effects it plays in the toxicology field. TABLE OF CONTENTS | | Page| | Abstract| 2| | Table of Contents| 3| Introduction| 4| | Argument 1| 5| | Argument 2| 7| | Counter Argument Refutation| 9| | Conclusion Recommendations| 13| | References| 15| Introduction Toxicology is the scientific study of interactions between chemicals or other biohazards to living organisms and their systems; and how to prevent poisoning of such substances in application to human beings. Toxicologists often practice animal experimentations call ed â€Å"vivisection† in order to identify the effects of certain dose of drugs in animals; whether it is beneficial or become poisonous. Vivisection also include procedures such as infecting animals with diseases, poisoning for toxicity testing, brain damaging, maiming, and blinding to administer the impacts those acts have on these animals, and then, the theories created later can be practiced to enhance the human well-being. Nowadays, many animals in Malaysia are being used in toxicology field for clinical experiments, which cause more animal extinction in our country. Many people have been aware of this matter and this polemic has led to many arguments on whether it is really necessary to use animals in clinical study. Even though some people had argued that it is necessary to conduct clinical research on animals, it is believed that the act is no more applicable. The writer claims that animal testing or â€Å"vivisection† is inappropriate for clinical research in Malaysia because the results can be misleading and cause sufferings to animals. Argument 1 Firstly, an animal has a total different DNA and nervous system from a human and therefore you can’t rely on the results. It is claimed that bypass surgery is conducted to save the life of human beings, but the same bypass surgery can be fatal to animals. Similarly, paracetamol is a well-known medicine to cure headache on human, but it will kill a cat, goat or horse. Many of the animal experiments are not only horrible to the animals, but also unreliable. There are tremendous physiological variations between animal and human. According to a source (http://www. veganpeace. com/animal_cruelty/animal_testing. htm), it is stated that: â€Å"Drugs like ‘thalidomide’, ‘zomax’ and DES were all tested on animals and judged safe but had devastating consequences for the humans who used them. More than half of the prescription drugs approved by the Food and Drug Administration between 1976 and 1985 were withdrawn from the market or relabeled because of the serious side effects they had on humans. They had all been tested on animals. † It has long been stated that animal testing can certainly be downright contradictory in the results it provides, as well as merely misleading (Dappleshade, 2012). According to the Medical Research Modernization Committee, human data has historically been interpreted in light of laboratory data derived from nonhuman beings. This had turned out to downtrodden medical consequences. For an example, retrospective studies on human patients, in the early 60’s, had already shown a strong correlation between cigarette smoking and lung cancer. Unfortunately, almost all experimental efforts on producing lung cancer in animals had failed (Medical Research Modernization Committee). Likewise, the relationship between alcohol consumption and cirrhosis (a liver disease caused by frequent alcohol consumption) is undeniable in human. However, experimental tests conducted to produce cirrhosis by excessive alcohol ingestion have failed in all animals except baboons. On the other hand, the case of polio research in animal models has directed to a misunderstanding of the mechanism of infection and it caused failed preventing measures and delayed the development of the vaccine. During the experimentation on monkeys, it has shown that the virus was transmitted via respiratory organs. When the vaccine tested with monkey’s cell, it has shown positive results. Eventually, the vaccine did not help in producing expected changes in human, and medical researchers found out later that the viruses of polio disease were actually transmitted through the digestive route in human. In short, it is clear that we should not rely on experimental studies in animals due to lots of misleading results and misunderstandings it catered. In Dr. Andrew Knight’s â€Å"The Costs and Benefits of Animal Experiments†, it is stated that in a study of twenty randomly chosen cases, only two proved useful in further developing medicines and consistent with clinical trial data. Medical historians argued that key discoveries in fatal diseases in human were achieved mostly through observation of patients and human autopsy because there are lots of misleading results obtained through animal esting. You read "Animals Should Not Be Used for Medical Research" in category "Essay examples" It causes health warnings to be delayed for years, while thousands of people died of various diseases (Medical Research Modernization Committee). Argument 2 Secondly, animal testing or â€Å"vivisection† is inappropriate for clinical research because it causes horrific sufferings to animals. Masses have been debating on the issue that vivisection process is unethical because the helpless animals are harmed and it caused prolonging sufferings to them. Animals being sacrificed in the name of medical testing are not presented in objective ways by animal rights organizations in Malaysia. Hence, the general development of animal welfare-opinions has become more engaging. The fact why animal experimentation is against by the community is because the processes is not ended just by giving an animal a pill and see what it does, this is so much ahead than that. This include the action of applying animals with drugs, infecting it with diseases, poisoning for toxicity testing, brain damaging, maiming, blinding and other painful and invasive procedures (Anti-Vivisection Society, 2012). Furthermore, many people think that only mice and rats are being used in animal testing for clinical research. Most people don’t aware that actually rabbits, hamsters, cats, dogs, pigs, horses, goats, chickens, frogs, birds, monkeys and many more are being killed redundantly each year in laboratories. We can’t imagine what will happen to the animal’s population if this activity continues further. In addition, the protocols in animal experimentation turned out to be extremely heart-wrenching, where it includes procedures such as long-term social isolation, full-body restraint, electric shocks, withholding of food and water, or repeatedly breeding and separating infants from mothers. Animals suffer excessively when the medical practitioners break their legs, burn them, cut them open while they’re still alive, poison them and remove half their brains, spray fluids in their eyes and so on (Lithium Queen, 2010). The Anti-Vivisection Society further claimed that essentially, it is using animals in ways that cause distress or death in attempts to test the safety of drugs and biological products or finding treatments, prevention, and cures for human diseases. The other point to be noted is that animals are being sacrificed unnecessarily in order to maintain the human wellness. This is totally a failure of logic. Animals in laboratories live in an intimidating environment within barren cages and experience unnatural lives of daily deprivation. The highly unnatural laboratory environment constantly stresses them. Most of the animals never get the chance to inhale fresh air nor relish sunshine. They are unable to convey their will, make choices, or exert their natural behaviors and needs. The changes that come into their lives are obviously from the intrusive experiments, which range from comfortless ‘zone’ to excruciation. Yet, they are helpless to defend themselves. Animals are not facing natural deaths in laboratories. The viruses that induced into their cells for testing may infect them vigorously and cause them to encounter death gradually. According to a research, it is stated that the viruses transmitted to animals affects the entire organism by altering pulse, blood pressure, hormone levels and immunological activities to their death. In short, it is totally unethical to conduct animal testing for clinical researches as the adverse effects it has on the animal itself. Peter Singer wrote Animal Liberation in 1975, which has been a major formative influence on the modern animal rights movement. He wrote that â€Å"there are obviously important differences between human and other animals, and these differences must give rise to some differences in the rights that each have. † This is meant in a way that justifies the needs and rights every animal have. Thus, there is no reason to necessarily give an animal what you would have given a man (Dappleshade, 2012). Counter Argument ; Refutation However, there are those who argue that animals should be used for clinical research in Malaysia. The main reason why animals should be used is that animals are more likely resemble to human and they are more accountable to be in replace of human being for clinical studies. Animals are surrogates for humans. The basic reason for animal trials is to determine two issues before any new compound introduced to a human; safety and efficacy, whether a compound is safe for human ingestion and also whether a product works for its intended purpose (Laura Blue, June 17, 2008). In the perspective of doctors and scientists, animal testing is very important for medication and the humanity as a whole. Advocates of animal testing say that the outcomes of testing on animals are the most credible. Millions of medical discoveries decades ago were achieved through animal experimentations. According to the published journal Animal Testing in Medical Research, n. d, one of the most important discoveries was the discovery of insulin in humans. Insulin is secreted from the pancreas. In 1889, a pancreas from a dog was removed to prove its role in digestion. When the pancreas was removed, the researchers discovered flies swarming around the urine of the dog. They found sugar in the urine which proved the connection between pancreas and diabetes. For the following two decades a lot of researches were done on dogs to figure out how to keep the dog alive without its own insulin production. Similarly, a lot of medical researches involving animals have been conducted to study the correlation it applies on human, and hence, enhance the wellness of human being. Some of the successful discoveries that has helped human from last centuries are as follows: †¢ Kidney transplants †¢ Replacement heart valves †¢ Polio vaccine †¢ Hip replacement surgery †¢ Heart bypass operations †¢ Drugs to treat mental illness †¢ Drugs to treat stomach ulcers, asthma and leukemia Drugs to control transplant rejection †¢ Life-support systems for premature babies It is affirmed that animal testing is important because in the absence of human data, research with experimental animals is reliable for detecting important toxic properties of chemical substances and for estimating risks to human and environmental health. A medical student from the Oxford University, Kristina Cook, had argued that if this fundamental research is stopped, we won’t find a cure for cancer, a treatment for Parkinson’s disease, a vaccine for AIDS, a therapy for Alzheimer’s and a cure for paralysis. She insisted that any further advances in medicine and human health are absolutely dependent on animal research. Moreover, if to compare who is better to be used to conduct an experiment, of course people will choose animals instead of themselves, even though they realize that animals are also important creatures in our life (Daniyar, 2012). From the drugs testing on animals, now we have antibiotics and vaccines that have saved many people lives. According to Dr. Jane Goodall, n. , he said that, people got used to take all conveniences from life and forget that all those depend on medical researches on animals. In addition, the remedy that now saves thousands of women fighting with breast cancer was developed through medical testing on mice. According to Batul Nafisa Baxamusa, 2010, in DNA level, chimpanzees’ body matches up with humans’ in 90%. This big number facilitates successful surgeries and transplantations because of similar inner organs of chimpanzees with huma n’s organs. According to University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC), liver from baboon was successfully transplanted to a 35 year- old man in June 1992. This case was the first known transplantation from animal to human. It is the best example of how animal testing has resulted in saving human lives. In spite of opinion that using animals for people’s curing is wrong, we can’t deny that fact that annually millions of animals are killed for food; they are used for agriculture, hunted for pleasure of people and even euthanized (Natalie Kustcher, n. ). In that case, using animals to treat and save people’s lives by using their organs in surgeries, wouldn’t be the worst deal. Nevertheless, this argument can be refuted because it has been proven that with the availability of modern alternatives now, animals testing can be considered as useless. With the development of technology in science, various new alternatives have been found to replace the experiment on animals. Studies can be undertaken upon human cell cultures and engineered tissues, than testing on animals. According to a published journal, Animals in Research: The Importance of Animals in the Science of Toxicology (2006), one alternate way is by applying ‘vitro’ tests (meaning) laboratory tests using cell or organ cultures rather than whole organisms. In other cases, organisms such as worms or bacteria are used instead of mammals. In replacement of animals, computer models can also be developed to predict outcomes of the test carried out. The viable options were meant to produce more accurate results on the clinical research and to prevent more animals from being harmed. The cloning of human organs and examining within the cell cultures are now scientifically proven to produce more reliable data to human autopsy and therefore, the need for animal testing will be no longer become an issue. Referring to a reliable source (http://www. newscientist. com/article/mg15120450. 300-pioneers-cut-out-animal-experiments. html), a company by the name of Pharmagene Laboratories in the United Kingdom utilises only tissue cultures and computer modelling on its drug development and testing. The existence of this company shows that the need for animal experimentation is now no longer the case. Medical practitioners by all means can now consider replacing vivisection on animals with cloning of organs and safely test on it. By this way, no one gets hurt, and eventually it doesn’t cost as much as animal testing. Many people may believe that modern alternatives are much more expensive than animal testing because that is what the pharmaceutical industry keeps telling them. It indeed costs quite an amount of money to switch from old techniques to new ones, but eventually it will be worth it. It is a one-time investment, whereas with animal testing; you have to keep paying for it. The cost to rear, feed and maintain animal subjects is extremely high, whereas the alternative methods are cheaper and thus less burdensome on the economy. So despite what the industry claims, animal testing is more expensive than the use of modern alternatives (LithiumQueen, 2010). Conclusion Recommendations To sum things up, the writer would like to uphold once again that animals should not be used for clinical research in Malaysia. Through time, the welfare of the animals has come into focus, and several legislations have been made to prevent cruelty and unnecessary acts. Even though many medical breakthroughs have been a result of animal researches, we should only be grateful to the animal tests of the past for the benefits they have provided us, without seeing a need for animal tests in the future (Dappleshade, 2012). Despite of the arguments that animal experimentation must be conducted because animal pathology is similar to that of humans, we should aware more on the consequences that the misleading results animal testing has played, and that using animals in laboratories cause horrific sufferings to them. There are more negative effects imposed by animal experimentation than the benefits it has provided us with. A professor of philosophy, Professor Charles R. Magel made his statement that: â€Å"Ask the experimenters why they experiment on animals, and the answer is: ‘Because the animals are like us. Ask the experimenters why it is morally okay to experiment on animals, and the answer is: ‘Because the animals are not like us. ‘ Animal experimentation rests on a logical contradiction. † In Europe, a research foundation called 3Rs is being implemented in order to find solution to the abundance number of animals sacrificed in the name of animal testing. The term 3Rs stands for Replacement, Reduction and Refinement. This implies the concept to replace animal testing, to reduce the number of animals used in testing, or to refine methods to minimise the distress for research animals. This kind of research foundation should be implemented in Malaysia as well, to promote good science with no animal experimentation in future. In conclusion, with the new technology lead to viable alternatives and more humane methods like use of cell cultures and imaging, it is hoped that the number of animals used in medical research can be tremendously reduced. References * Christine Egerszegi- Obrist, 3R Research Foundation (n. d). Good Science with Less Animal Experimentation. Available at http://www. forschung3r. ch/ * Dappleshade, Debate. org (2012). Animal Testing should be Banned. Retrieved from http://www. debate. org/debates/Animal-testing-should-be-banned/1/ * Kristina Cook (April 4,2006). Why Animal Research is Important AND Needed: A Copy of the Speech I Gave on the February 25th Demonstration. Retrieved from http://www. protest. org. uk/2006/04/why-animal-research-is-important-and. html * Laura Blue (June 17, 2008). How Much Does Animal Testing Tell Us?. Retrieved from http://www. time. com/time/health/article/0,8599,1815241,00. html * Lee Bowman, Scripps Howard News Service (2011). Animal Testing: Crucial or Cruel?. Retrieved from http://www. abc15. com/dpp/news/national/animal-testing%3A-crucial-or-cruel * LithiumQueen, Mibba Creative Writing (2010). The Cruelty of Animal Testing. Retrieved from http://www. mibba. com/Articles/Science/3703/The-Cruelty-of-Animal-Testing/ * Marte Thomassen, Ellen Trolid, Tonje Arondsen, Marit Gystol (n. d). Animal Testing in Medical Research- Past, present and future. Retrieved from http://www. nt. ntnu. no/users/clabec/pdf/MedicalResearchAnimalExperiments. pdf Medical Research Modernization Committee (2006). A Critical Look at Animal Experimentation. Retrieved from http://www. mrmcmed. org/Critical_Look. pdf * Neavs. org (n. d). Alternatives in Testing. Retrieved from http://www. neavs. org/alternatives/in-testing * The Society of Toxicology (2006). Animals in Research: The Importance of Animals in the Science of Toxicology. Retrieved from http://www. toxicology. org/ai/air/AIR_Final. pdf * Wanda Embar (2008). Animal Testing. R etrieved from http://www. veganpeace. com/animal_cruelty/animal_testing. htm How to cite Animals Should Not Be Used for Medical Research, Essays

Friday, December 6, 2019

Reflection on Professional Accounting

Questions: 1. When you think of the accounting profession what comes to your mind? 2. What contextual factors do you think could influence the accounting profession? 3. Describe the people you expect to interact with as an accountant? 4. What role do you think you should play in contributing to your community as an accountant? 5. What might the clients and fellow employees expect of you as an accountant? 6. What skills do you think you should possess to be a successful accountant? Answers: 1. When I think of accounting as a profession, financial accounting, audit, business consultancy and advisory, and tax functions come to my mind. The accounting profession consists of broad range services aimed at ensuring financial reports have the best quality. I believe that accountancy professionals get tasked by accounting firms to offer advice and help businesses reduce costs and mitigate risks (Weygandt, Kimmel, and Kieso, 2015, p. 6). Also, after attending an internship program for three months, I have realized that the accounting profession focuses on preparing and publishing financial reports for the benefit of investors, stockholders, creditors, and tax authorities. 2. The accounting profession is influenced by various contextual factors. From my experience, I thought governance and tax regulation laws were the only contextual factors that might affect the accounting field. However, I have come to realize that the accounting standard bodies, registrar of companies, department of the public enterprise, capital markets, the securities exchange organizations, and globalization also influence the accounting profession (Buchan, 2005, p. 170). Further, after attending accounting conferences, I have realized that technological advancement, public perceptions, and company ethics also influence the accounting sector. 3. As an accountant, I expect to interact with different people. To begin with, I expect to maximumly interact with colleague workers who we will be working with the company. Again, I expect to interact with the management of the company as the chief accountant (Von Nordenflycht, 2010, p 156). Being the senior analyst, expect to cooperate and interact with the company's key stakeholders who include the investors, creditors, customers, suppliers, and the tax authorities. Further, I expect to interact with auditors and lawyers of the company. 4. As an accountant, I think it is important to engage in corporate social responsibilities for the benefit of the community. In this regard, I think is should provide accurate and viable financial data to the community that truly portray the picture of the company. I think I should organize seminars with industry partners to gain new skills of making sound financial decisions about my firm (Buchan, 2005, p. 170). From my studies, I have learned that excellent leadership and communication skills are critical in extending accounting benefits to the community as a whole. I think I will be technologically sensitive and will always apply new accounting technologies to account for all company finances accurately. 5. Obviously, I believe that fellow employees and business clients will have ambitious expectations on me. First, the staff and customers of the company must expect me to act with integrity, competence, and ethically for the maximum interest of the business (Von Nordenflycht, 2010, p 156). Again, I think that the employees and clients expect me to possess exceptional leadership, communication, business, technical, interpersonal, and analytical skills while handling accounting managerial functions of the company. 6. A successful accountant needs to be skillful. As an accountant, I think I should have excellent technical skills for easy interpretation of new technological advancements in the accounting sector. Second, I have to be a good time manager since this goes hand in hand with organizational capabilities (Chartered Institute of Management Accountants., 2011, p 5). Also, as a sufficient accountant, I need to possess distinguishable communication skills which will help me advance professionally. Other required skills are adaptability, openness, leadership, and organizational skills which are all invaluable. References Buchan, H.F., 2005. Ethical decision making in the public accounting profession: An extension of Ajzens theory of planned behavior.Journal of Business Ethics,61(2), pp.165-181. Chartered Institute of Management Accountants., 2011. Developments in the global accountancy sector. United Kingdom, London SW1P 4NP. Von Nordenflycht, A., 2010. What is a professional service firm? Toward a theory and taxonomy of knowledge-intensive firms.Academy of Management Review,35(1), pp.155-174. Weygandt, J.J., Kimmel, P.D. and Kieso, D.E., 2015.Financial Managerial Accounting. John Wiley Sons.

Thursday, November 28, 2019

Race and My Community an Example of the Topic Psychology Essays by

Race and My Community Most people pull their values and the way they see life from the community in which they live. They can move or stay in their community, but they will have their community burned into their souls. A community is like a family and it is the one place where people can feel at home. According to Robert Frost, Home is where when you have to go there they have to take you in (Frost) It is where they really want to be accepted. The spinal cord is the hub of the nervous system of a human and when it is severed ones life is drastically altered or even ended. A community plays the same role as a spinal cord for values and viewpoints for a person. When the community is severed from one of its citizens, it also drastically alters an individuals life. Race is an element that can bring a group of people together so that they can create a community. I see myself as a tree with the people of my community as the roots that keep me securely grounded and provide my emotional nourishment. That has been my experience with race and my community. Need essay sample on "Race and My Community" topic? We will write a custom essay sample specifically for you Proceed Communities are neighborhoods of people that are close knit and have many things in common. They are small enough that the people who reside there are usually stereotyped in one way or another. Chinatown in New York has the stereotype of being the place where tourist go to get bargains and knock off goods, Harlem is considered a dangerous community where many African Americans and Hispanic people reside. Little Italy is known for the mafia. The Hamptons is a community where highly educated wealthy people reside and the citizens of that community are thought to have perfect lives. These are just a few examples of well known communities and their stereotypes. I have even had to deal with the stereotypes of my minority community. People create communities because they need a sense of belonging. Many times they are created because of isolation such as a small rural community and other times it is because it is a suburban subdivision. However, even in a large city, people will separate themselves into many smaller communities that come together as the whole city. A community is really like an extended family. When I look at the photographs of the many generations of family members that my grandmother proudly displays, she never fails to point out the similarities between them and me. When I look at the members of my community, I also see similarities. Race is like blood that binds relatives. Race binds communities. So why would people group together and form communities? One reason they do this is for self esteem. Race can actually play a significant role in uniting communities that are struggling against poverty, racism, and inadequate services (McDowell, 2004). Race has united my neighborhood because of a sense of identity. When people are around others who share many of the same characteristics, it creates a sense of belonging. There is power in numbers and therefore, a positive self esteem is created. It is only after an individual has a sense of self, that he/she can begin to accept others who are different. Once I learned about the characteristics and traditions of my race and culture, I could then look at others and understand that they also had characteristics and traditions. If I had been singled out as different without the knowledge of my race, I know that I would have felt as if my ways were wrong. I would have also bought into the stereotypes that others have about my race. I knew that I was not a lone individual, but a part of a group who was just like me. Therefore, I do not feel different no matter where I go. The community also is important because of its role in meeting the social needs of people, especially the needs for collective involvement and social definition of self. In fact, the "self," a most important social quality of the person, is grounded in contacts and involvements in everyday life, mainly in the local society. The quest for the community, for these reasons, is a central theme in human history, past and present. (Wilkinson) A community is also a place of pride. When a person is completely accepted and can identify with the members of a community, he/she will hold a special feeling for the community. When an individual feels connected, he/she will care about the image of his/her community. People will want it to look good physically as well as look good culturally to the rest of the city. They will feel the need to pull together and help each other in times of need and celebrate when times are good. I know that if I achieve in my academic career there is a whole community of people who are ready to rejoice with me. I will work as hard as I can to keep from letting my community down. I do this because they all had a hand in who I am, and if I fail, it means that they did not do their job well. That sense of pride that I feel I bring to my race and my community is enough to encourage me to always succeed in life. Many individuals in recent years feel that they have no place in the world. The internet has caused people to see the world as their community and as a way of meeting others instead of actually going outside of their building and connecting with those in their own community. They have also allowed the televisions in their homes to replace the visiting with people of their own race. The women of my race would visit on the stoops and watch out for each others children. There was a sense of camaraderie that is vital to adults as well as children. Racial identity is an organizing asset, a means of building a sense of power, and a critical part of multiracial work. Understanding one's own cultural strengths can be a point of departure for realizing that conditions of societal disparity are shared with others (McDowell). While there are positive points about racial communities, there are also negative points. One would be economic status of the citizens of a community and also the amount of tax dollars that are spent. Many communities that are not racially diverse, especially if they are minorities, lack the funds to enhance their neighborhoods. Many of the citizens do not own the property where they reside. Their landlords, who do not live in the neighborhood, do not feel that fixing the problems of their property is a priority. Therefore, the inhabitants loose their sense of pride and do not have the money to fix the problems themselves. Because of the lack of tax dollars, there is very little money to provide opportunities for the youth of the community. It then becomes a vicious cycle to constantly be poor. The youth also have very little resources to entertain themselves and that can lead to the involvement in criminal activity as a way to make money and to fill their time. They envision black k ids hanging out, blasting their car stereos, and presumably selling crack (Mountain, 1995) Even though the members of a community will share many characteristics, people still have to closely guard against stereotypes. Stereotypes can be dangerous and lead to negative situations. Many times law enforcement will buy into the negative stereotypes of a community just because it is predominately one race. In my community, law enforcement is often missing. It is that way because their salaries are not predominately paid by the people of minority communities and because they have been conditioned to the stereotypes. They envision black kids hanging out, blasting their car stereos, and presumably selling crack (Mountain, 1995). They fear for their own lives and they also believe that the community is that way because they want to live like that. There are gangs, guns, drive by shootings, and drugs in these communities, but it is mainly because law enforcement are only in the community when they are called to a crime scene. If there were there on a regular basis, these communities would not be a hotbed of crime. Many minority communities have been taken over by gangs in recent years. Many times this is also because of the lack of law enforcement in the racial community. As the crime rate rises, youth feel that they can achieve a sense of protection from becoming a gang member. By the time they realize what they have done, it is more dangerous for them to quit the gang. There are those who leave a gang, but most have not way out of the community, therefore, if they try to leave the gang, they cannot escape the members of the gang. Another problem with minority communities is that many people who get an education and are then equipped with knowledge and financial security, leave the minority community for the larger diverse neighborhood. When they leave the minority communities, they remove the positive role models that the younger people of the community desperately need. I was extremely fortunate that there were a few educated members of my community who decided to stay and be a constructive role model. They were always a source for encouragement and empowered the youth that there was a chance. If they could become successful, so could we. They were a tremendous resource of information on how to obtain scholarships and other resources that helped me and the other youth to obtain success in our lives. They were also a constant reminder that we could be proud of our community and the members it produced and it gave us hope that one day we would be among those names that others mentioned with pride. The last problem is that those who leave their communities because they feel they have risen above it, not only rob the community that made them who they are, but they rob their children of the benefits of the minority community. I have known childhood friends whose parents left my community after they became successful, and they did not have the security that comes with a network of people who are like them. They have become isolated in a see of faces that are not like their own. They do not understand themselves, so it is even more difficult to understand others. A community is much more that soil and buildings. It is people. A community gives roots and life to its members. I know that I would not be the person I am today without my community. While others may blame their communities for their failures, I proudly acknowledge my community and what it taught me about my race. I applaud my community for my success. Man cannot take the community out of the souls of the people. It is too deep to remove. References Frost, R. Death of the Hired Man The Literature Network. Retrieved on November 25, 2007 from http://www.online-literature.com/frost/752/. McDowell, C. (2004, November, 19). Report Cities Racial Identity as Positive Force in Community Building. MIT. Retrieved November 25, 2007 from http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2004/multiracial.html Mountain, N. (1995). Race and Community: On Portlands Northeast 14th Place. Alternatives. Retrieved on November 25, 2007 from http://www.alternativesmagazine.com/05/moutain1.html Wilkinson, K. The Small-Town Community: Its Character and Survival. Retrieved November, 25 2007 from http://www.nercrd.psu.edu/Community/Writing/KPW_smalltown_intro.html

Monday, November 25, 2019

Free Essays on Evidence

Evidence can be defined as something that constitutes proof, an indication or sign, or data presented in court to substantiate claims or allegations. Police investigators handle evidence on a day to day basis and it is detrimental that they know how to handle the evidence appropriately. They must know how to identify, collect, and use the evidence in criminal investigations. This is very important if investigators plan to have a successful case proven. According to chapter one, evidence used to resolve and issue can be split into two areas. These areas are testimonial evidence and physical evidence. Testimonial evidence is presented by a means of a spoken word. This evidence can come from the defendant, the complainant, police officers and other witnesses. Testimonial evidence normally comes from the witness stand, but voice recording and videotapes are occasionally admitted. Although testimonial evidence is important, it is subjective. A person’s memory of an event is not always what actually occurred, and an eyewitness perception can be distorted, so the best type of evidence is physical evidence. Physical evidence refers to any material item that would be present at a crime scene. This evidence is tangible and can take any shape, size, or dimension. The physical evidence collected at the scene may prove a crime was committed, establish any key elements of a crime, link a suspect with the victim or the scene, establish identity, corroborate verbal witness statements, or exonerate the innocent. Because physical evidence can either make or break a case, it is essential that an investigator know how to correctly identify, individualize, collect, and preserve this evidence. Majority of evidence found at a crime scene can only be identified. It is important to know what items share the same source and what unique source that is; individualization. Although it may be hard to know exactly what a piece of evidence c... Free Essays on Evidence Free Essays on Evidence Evidence can be defined as something that constitutes proof, an indication or sign, or data presented in court to substantiate claims or allegations. Police investigators handle evidence on a day to day basis and it is detrimental that they know how to handle the evidence appropriately. They must know how to identify, collect, and use the evidence in criminal investigations. This is very important if investigators plan to have a successful case proven. According to chapter one, evidence used to resolve and issue can be split into two areas. These areas are testimonial evidence and physical evidence. Testimonial evidence is presented by a means of a spoken word. This evidence can come from the defendant, the complainant, police officers and other witnesses. Testimonial evidence normally comes from the witness stand, but voice recording and videotapes are occasionally admitted. Although testimonial evidence is important, it is subjective. A person’s memory of an event is not always what actually occurred, and an eyewitness perception can be distorted, so the best type of evidence is physical evidence. Physical evidence refers to any material item that would be present at a crime scene. This evidence is tangible and can take any shape, size, or dimension. The physical evidence collected at the scene may prove a crime was committed, establish any key elements of a crime, link a suspect with the victim or the scene, establish identity, corroborate verbal witness statements, or exonerate the innocent. Because physical evidence can either make or break a case, it is essential that an investigator know how to correctly identify, individualize, collect, and preserve this evidence. Majority of evidence found at a crime scene can only be identified. It is important to know what items share the same source and what unique source that is; individualization. Although it may be hard to know exactly what a piece of evidence c...

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Evaluatin of Feasibility of Financial Stability in Increasingly Essay

Evaluatin of Feasibility of Financial Stability in Increasingly Globalized Economy - Essay Example There comes a question whether the current increasing trend of globalization is leading the countries towards financial stability or not, is yet to explore. This article critically discusses the question whether increasing globalization directs the financial stability in detail with both arguments in favor as well as against of this question. This article is structured in such a manner that it is divided into four major parts such that the first section emphasizes on the concept of globalization followed by second section which describes phenomenon of financial stability. Third section of this article provides arguments in favor of the statement that increasing globalization assists in gaining more financial stability followed by the last section which provides opposite arguments in contradiction of that statement. Conclusion will lead to an end of this discussion. Globalization The term globalization has different meanings and different interpretations but over here its meaning is t aken as the phenomenon due to which the individuals have come closer to each other beyond their geographical boundaries. Today, if any individual whether a person or a country wants to develop some sort of relationship with other individual, that decision is not even in his/her capacity such that all other individuals have joined hands and became a unit. So in case, if an individual tries to be isolated and independent from other individuals, this possibility has become quite rare. If this concept of globalization is viewed on a broader level in terms of the international relations developed among different countries of the world, an important trend can be noticed such that more frequent changes have emerged as the nations are shaking hands with each other despite of even having the worst historical experiences. The current trend which is highly adopted by the countries as well as leading towards an increasingly globalized society is the unification of different sorts of block on di fferent basis (Greenidge, 2008). These blocks are developed due to some mutual interests of the countries such that different backgrounds set the stage for the countries to develop such blocks. For instance, oil producing countries have developed their own block and decide as per their own preferences about the production and supply of oil. Similarly, some countries establish a block for their mutual economic interest like the case of European Union. There are blocks which are developed due to mutual defence related interests for the security of those countries. So in a nutshell, the most important reason behind current movement of emergence of globalization is the increasing pattern of building up various kinds of blocks based on the mutual interests of the participant countries (Greenidge, 2008). Financial Stability The concept of financial stability refers to the financial environment whether on an individual level of a country or on global basis such that the participants of tha t environment feel confident regarding the value of their economic and financial resources (Rahn, 2010). Basically, it is the confidence level of the people or countries that bring financial stability into that particular region. If the people or institutions are

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Research Reflection Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Research Reflection - Essay Example I will be passing out a survey to my father’s employees. This survey will contain questionnaire about few motivational behaviors which we can implement in our business. Through this survey, we are hopeful of finding out the perception of our employees and also their present motivation and interest level. It is important that we find out which motivational scheme is most important, in order to keep our employees happy. Since it is a small business, the greatest fear is high attrition rate and skilled employees leaving the business. To get into the appliance repair business one does not need much capital therefore it is important that we keep our employees happy with the right motivational scheme. That way they will not leave us to start their own business. Experience A cohort can be termed as a group of people sharing similar characteristics. These characteristics can be age, date of birth, place of origin, place of study. A cohort group can also be formed by people, who are su bjected to similar kind of situations such as undergoing a particular medical procedure etc (Fein, Tziner & Vasiliu, 2010). A cohort study is also known as longitudinal study in which the cohort group is studied with respect to a general population (Catlin and Maupin, 2004). I was exposed to a similar situation when I attended Christian university, for a period of 22 months and went through 11 classes each seven weeks long. I was studying with a cohort group with similar people. This group was similar in terms of age group, knowledge level, education inheriting from the same university. It was natural that the way of understanding the knowledge and interpreting them, was very much similar, as taught by our lecturers. I have had varying experiences during my study tenure in the cohort group. Few days after the classes started in full swing, we started losing our students. Few students dropped out and few were called off by their parents because of personal reasons. Even though most o f the participants were of similar age, we had an old lady. The study materials we had been very helpful and lecturers helped us during the research. There were few misunderstandings and quarrels too. Few of the participants of the cohort were not in line with the techniques used by the rest of the cohort during the tenure. But these issues were resolved at the end with proper understanding and some compromises from both the groups. Being in a cohort with the same group of students is quite an experience. The norming and forming is constant. It is also good to know that every time we have to present it is in front of people you know and acquainted with. It helps to boost experience and better results are generated. Reflection The basic concept which I understood is that group or team dynamics is a system of psychological and behavioral process which occurs within a social group. It can also be termed as intra group dynamics which means actions and their subsequent reactions and cons equences occurring within a group. From the classes which I attended on this particular topic, I was able to understand that group dynamics is done with the objective of understanding behaviors such as decision making, creating and implementing new techniques and ideas, making new ideas viable in the society and making them useful for the current as well as future generation. Since there were only two classes on the topic of group and team dynamics, the classes were not

Monday, November 18, 2019

SSK 12 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

SSK 12 - Essay Example Speaking specifically of education and learning, I can once again safely say that I have a very diverse understanding and this is simply because, although the most significant years of my life were spent in Lebanon, I am Australian born and I did choose to continue my education here once I came back. So, even when it comes to education and learning, I have two very varied perspectives. My world view has touched every part of my life, especially my perspective on education and learning. In order to understand how the world view affects us we must first understand what the term signifies; Hobson puts it best when she says, â€Å"†¦ a set of beliefs that we hold and through which we organise our understanding of ourselves and our understanding of others.† (Hobson, p. 2). Try thinking of it this way: throughout our lives we collect values and experiences and place them in a box. At a later point when we come across an obstacle, event or any situation as such, we open that box and relate our past perceptions to the new situation. How we deal with the situation is directly related to how our world view has been previously shaped. It can be further described as a kind of â€Å"overreaching philosophy† that is used to construct social worlds. There is no deliberate attempt on anyone’s part to create a world view of their own liking. This is something they unconsciously learn throughout their lives (Samovar & Porter, p.103). Education and learning is thus no different; our view of this is also intertwined with world view. A person’s emotions, cultural affinity, beliefs, locality etcetera, all affect learning in some way or the other. A guide to learning independently further addresses this aspect when it talks about the concept of the self and in particular the physical and emotional self, the cultural and social self, and one’s surroundings and

Friday, November 15, 2019

Human Resource Management At Lloyds Tsb

Human Resource Management At Lloyds Tsb In this report, I am presenting about the human resource planning and development method of LloydsTSB bank. It is a retail bank in United Kingdom. It was established in 1765 by Taylors and Lloyds in Birmingham. It has an great network of branches and atm machines in England and Wales and has 24 hour telephone and online banking service. Now a time it has more than 16 million personal customers. It offers a full range of banking and financial services. It has more than 2000 branches all around the UK .It has branches in different countries also such as America ,Australia ,china and many more. It deals with the availability of human resources and efficiency of the personal placement. The main purpose of hrm is to keep and create the balance between the firms goal and the interest of the employees. For any company, to be successful in all departments and functions must depend on one department which is key for all departments i.e. HRM. The HRM manages and controls everything in any department The functional areas of HRM:- 1-PLANNING-It is the process of receiving the human resource requirements to ensure that we have the required number of employees with the appropriate skills when they are needed. It concerns about that what are the objectives of the organization and the structure of the organization. 2-DEVELOPMENT-It is the major HRM function and it consists of:- a) Training b) Development c) Career planning d) Career development e) Performance appraisal 3-RECRUITMENT-It is the process of attracting the qualified and experienced candidates towards the organization and attract them to apply for job. The three main objectives in which Lloyds tsb bank deals are:- 1) STAFFING 2) COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS 3) TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT (Mill ward et al. 1992, 2000) (HRM by prof.dr jutta rump) Q 1(B) Each activity of the HRM has its own objective and importance. The main objective is to fulfil the goals of the organization and work for achieving its targets by recruiting, selection and providing training etc. [1]OBJECTIVES OF RECRUITMENT It is the process of attracting qualified individuals towards the job and encouraging them to apply for work. There are two sources of recruitment INTERNAL RECRUITMENT This type of recruitment can be done within the employees of the organization Methods of internal recruitment are:- (1)Job posting-It is a procedure for informing the employees that a job opening exists (2)Job bidding-It is a technique that permits employees who believe that they processes the required qualifications to apply for a posted job b) EXTERNAL RECRUITMENT This recruitment should be done from outside the organization. SOURCES OF EXTERNAL RECRUITMENT Advertising:-This is the easiest way to do the recruitment. In this recruitment should be done by giving ads on the newspapers and by pamphaleting etc Job fairs:-By job Fairs Company can recruit thousands of employees at a time. In job fairs different MNCs come together at a same time to recruit different persons for different posts. Internships-This type of recruitment should be done during the internship of the students Employee referrals:-This is also the easiest way to do the recruitment; in this candidates should be selected for the interviews on the reference of their friends who worked already with the organization. Private and public employment agencies-some public and private agencies have some contracts with some organizations and they take commissions from the companies for the recruitment of candidates. Internet-This is the best way to do the recruitment. In this recruitment the organizations put their recruitment forms on their websites along with their eligibility criteria, so those persons who fulfil the criteria should filled that forms and send to the organizations. Lloyds tsb bank has a multi-tier recruitment system. The multi-tier recruitment system means the recruitment of people for the different types of posts for the different categories, forexample jobs for the account opening department, sales manager, operation department, cashier etc LLOYDS TSB BANK recruits persons by both internal and external sources. In internal sources they recruit persons from the same bank by giving them promotions to the high posts and in the external sources they recruit by advertising in the local newspaper, through private and public employment agencies, job fairs, employee referrals, internships ,by event recruiting .They can also recruit people through internet. (www.mangement paradise.com) (lloydsTSB.com) [2]TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT The training is designed to provide learner with knowledge and skills needed for their present job and development involves the learning that goes beyond todays job with the help of development to understand the change been done in the organization. The main purpose of the training and development is to develop the skills and attitude in the candidate to fulfil the task. The need of training should be known by analysing the performance of the candidates by taking their tests ,by giving them projects ,by checking their past work done .With this it can be easily calculated that in which section they are weak and what sort of training should be helpful for them. METHODS OF TRAINING 1 TRAINING ON THE JOB a) Learning by experience-In this training candidates use to learn something day by day by their experience. B) Internship-This is the most important type of training, in this training should be given to the candidates before the joining of the job. c) Team work-This is the easiest way to give training. In this training should be given together to a group of persons and they can share their own ideas, knowledge and experience with each other d)job rotation-This training should be given to those persons who either get promoted to the higher level or those who get shifted from one place to another within the same organization. e) Computer based training-Now as we all knows computer has become the necessity for todays life; no work can be done in any of the organization without it. In this training should be given regarding the basics of the computer to almost everybody in an organization. f) Web based training 2 TRAINING OF THE JOB a) Simulators b) Workgroups c) Quality circle d) Classroom programs (HRM by prof.dr jutta rump) Lloyds bank also gave different types of training to different candidates according to their job profile. -they provide training on subjects like strategy and management to their managers -provide computer related training to their operational department because they have to perform the work on the computers -they provide web training to their candidates who will help them in future in making their websites and in internet banking -they also provide customer service and sales training to their sales department who interact with the different people and sell them the products -they provide security guard training to their employees [3] Compensation and benefits It is the total of all rewards which employee can get in reward for their services Types:- 1) Direct financial compensation:-it is in the form of money which he or she receives in the form of wages, salary, bonus and commission 2) Indirect financial compensation:-all financial rewards which are not included in the direct financial compensation like insurance, bonus and commission. 3) Non financial:-it consists of satisfaction that a person receives from like good working environment. 4) Lloyds tsb bank also give good compensation and rewards to its employees to get the work done more efficiently and effectively that company gets more profit and market share. Lloyds motivates the employees by giving them bonuses, performance appraisals etc. (lloydsTSB.com) Q1(C) C) HRM MODELS A number of models have been designed to illustrate appropriate HR policies. Major ones are: 1) Matching models or Michigan model Fombrun et als (1984) highlights the resource aspect of HRM and efficient utilization of people to meet organizational objectives. This model has less humanistic edge, holding HR as other resources to be obtained cheaply, used sparingly, developed and exploited as fully as possible. This model suggests that HR system and organisation should be managed in congruency to organizational strategies and reveals a cycle comprising of four generic stages namely selection, appraisal, rewards, and development. However, with reference to the firm in consideration this model is not very significant as is not in alignment to the HR policies practiced in Lloyds Banking Group. Although, the sequence of steps observed in the firm are more or less similar but the unitary thought that this model reveals which is purely prescriptive and not analytical, without considering the changing situations does not represent the policies practiced by Lloyds Banking Group. 2) Harvard Framework This mode shows considerable amount of similarity to the policies and practices followed in Lloyds Banking Group as it stresses the human aspect of HRM and is more concerned with the employer employee relationship. It recognizes the influences of situational factors on HRM policy choices. The model defines four policy areas as HR flows, reward systems, employee influence and work systems The model is highly significant as far as Lloyds Banking Group is concerned as it readily complies with the company rules in achieving objectives. LBG run policies which are usually in par with external and internal environments. Also major planning activities are also designed so as to encourage two way dialogues and to foster better working relationships across the group. (Fombrun et al (1984) Task 2 HR Planning and Development Q2(A) Human resource planning is the process of systematically reviewing human resource requirements to ensure that the required number of employees with the required skills is available when and where they are needed. Human resource planning includes the four factors 1) Quantity-how many employees do we need? 2) Quality-which skills, knowledge and abilities do we need? 3) Space-where do we need the employees? 4) time-when do we need the employees? How long do we need them? Human resource development is the process of development of knowledge, skills and experience in the worker. It consists not only training and development but also individual career planning, performance appraisals and career development. Recruitment is the process of attracting individuals in time, in limited numbers and with appropriate qualification and encouraging them to apply for jobs. Selection is the process of choosing the right person from a group of different persons. The recruitment in the Lloyds tsb bank is mainly done in 2 types:- INTERNAL EXTERNAL In internal recruitment, Lloyds recruit people from the bank by giving them promotions or by moving them from one post to another. In external recruitment Lloyds recruit the fresh graduates by the following ways:- 1) In the step 1 candidate has to go through the website of the Lloyds bank and download the recruitment form from the website and then posted that to the address given in the website along with the grades in the graduation. 2) In the next step those guys who fulfil the eligibility criteria have to give an aptitude test which is just to check the intelligence level of the candidate. 3) In this only limited persons are reached and they have to gone through a group discussion part. 4) In the next steps the selected persons are seeded for the training process according to their relevant job Training of employees- Training is an effective method of building skills and increasing knowledge in workers .Lloyds tsb bank provides two type of training to their workers depend upon their job profile 1) Training on the job 2) Training off the job In training on the job the training like web based, computer based, and job rotation should be given In training off the job the training should be given by providing case studies, video tapes, video conferencing, classroom programs and simulators Lloyds tsb bank gives training in two places -lean sigma academy -ash ridge management college They have their own corporate university where they are giving training on long term courses like strategic management and business management. Lloyds also provide training regarding the security to their workers so that they can protect the premises from the unwanted people. Compensation and benefits It is a total of all rewards which employees get in return for their services. Lloyds tsb bank provides both financial and non financial compensation to their employees. The financial compensation is of two types:- 1) Direct compensation-In this Lloyds tsb bank gives compensation to their workers in the form of wages, salaries, commissions and bonuses. 2) Indirect compensation-In this Lloyds tsb bank gives compensation to their workers in the form of insurance ,health benefits, pension insurance fund and retirement plans The non financial compensation consists of the satisfaction that a person receives from the job itself or from the physiological or physical environment in which he works. (www.mangement paradise.com) (HRM by prof.dr jutta rump) Q2(B) The above three methods perform a great role in achieving the objectives of the organization. The main objective of the Lloyds tsb bank is to become the best bank of the United Kingdom. This can be done by recruiting the cream candidates from the society, by giving them good training regarding their jobs and by giving good wages and promotions to the workers so they can feel motivated and work hard. All of the above three process has a great importance in an organization .We will discuss them one by one:- Recruitment and selections:-The recruitment and selection is the best method to achieve the objectives of the organization. The candidates who pass all the stages of the recruitment are the cream out of all of the candidates which means they are different from others in all perspectives and they have a greater knowledge which will definitely help any of organization or bank to reach on the top. Selection means the choosing a right person for a suitable job from a group of applicants. Lloyds tsb bank recruits the candidates who have good knowledge about their job and who are experienced .It saves their time and money for giving them training. By recruitment any organization can come to know about the following points -what is suitable trade for the candidate i.e. finance, retail and marketing etc -whether the person is suitable for the job or not. Training and learning-Training is a very important part of any organization which helps in gaining knowledge and development of skills in the candidate. Every organization knows the importance of the training. The Lloyds tsb bank got greater benefits from the past years due to the hard work of the workers. For example the customers of Lloyds tsb bank has been increasing from the last many years this is due to its good service and good knowledge of the sales team and workers working in the organization .They got the power of attracting and have good knowledge of different types of accounts and products from the training process. Training should help any of the workers of the organization to fulfil its targets given to him by using his or her knowledge. Due to better training and hard work 500 customer advisors of the bank got the most responsible lender of year award. (lloydsTSB.com) Compensation and benefits-Lloyds tsb always give good compensation and benefits to their workers in the form of bonuses, insurance, health benefits etc. The Lloyds bank give good salaries to their workers so that they can perform their task in the more better way. It also provides a very good option of pension insurances which motivates all the workers to work hard till their pension. This kind of activity boosts the morale of workers and makes them motivate. The rewards and reorganization encourages worker to work more efficiently. These activities increase the faith and responsibility towards organization. Task 3 Performance Q3(a) Performance measure is the process where an organization establishes the parameters in which programs, investments and acquisition can reach their goals. It is also a method to calculate the performance of individuals working in the organization by taking the feedback and reviews of other workers, managers and supervisors. This is the way to checkout that how a worker is using his or her skills to achieve the objective of the organization. The performance management creates the culture in which the organizational and individual learning are a learning process. It measures on the basis of workers, past experience, knowledge and skills. By using the following measures the performance of an individual can be measured easily:- 1) Balanced scorecard 2) Peer appraisal 3) Top down appraisal 4) Bottom up appraisal 5)360 degree appraisal 6) Self appraisal (1)360 degree appraisal-It is a very important method which is also known as multidirectional method. In this a team of best 6-8 members of the organization has been selected to calculate the performance of the other workers. This is measured on behalf of the behaviour of the employee with the other workers and with the managers of the organization. In this method an application form is been provided to every worker to fill the information and then they submit the form to their managers and the managers made a report on the behalf of that form and measures the performance of the individual worker and feedback should be given to every worker that what are their weak areas on which they have to work hard and training should also be provided to the workers on their weak areas. 2)Top down appraisal-In this the upper manager calculates the performance of the workers and the low level mangers on the basis of their performance and behaviour and past records. Then they give the feedback to them and appropriate actions should be taken on the behalf of their feedbacks. 3) Bottom up appraisal-In this the workers and the low level manager of the organization gives their feedbacks about their seniors and managers. 4) Peer appraisal-This is the easiest method to calculate the performance. In this one colleague checks the performance of the other worker and gives the feedback. 5) Balanced scorecard approach-This technique is used by the Lloyds bank to measure the performance of the employee. It checks whether every worker is fulfilling or working to get the objective of the organization It has 4 perspectives:- a) Financial perspective-It measures the finance of the organization. It deals with the profit and loss and increase in sales of the organization. b) Business related perspective:-It takes care of the business of the organization that who are the partners and who are the rivalries of the organization. It also deals with the business process like sales service and human resources. C) Customers:-it deals with the customers linked with the organization regarding the fulfilment of the goals, queries and complaints. The main objective is to complete the task before time and to give discounts to them. d) Internal learning and innovation:-this is the most important perspective. It deals with giving training to the workers on their weak areas and by providing them innovative ideas which helps them in achieving the goal. (http://humanresources.about.com/od/360feedback/a/360feedback_3.htm) (www.mangement paradise.com) All the companies do the monitoring of the performance but without effective monitoring any organization achieve the actual goal or results. The effective monitoring is important because:- 1 It increases the awareness and relevance of the core competencies. 2It reinforces the desired competencies of the business. 3It gives the employees the key development area which helps them in increasing the productiveness and achievement of the goal. 4 It gives a more reliable feedback to senior managers so that they can work to achieve the goal. The method adopted is effective because of the following reasons:- 1 After the good feedback the workers feels motivated and work hard to achieve the goal of the organization and motivates other employees also to perform the tasks. 2It improves the integrity between employees because of alignment of objectives in one direction. 3As the form is filled after some interval so it gives the information about the performance of the employees to the organization 4With this every employee should know if they will not perform well, they will either send to training again or will be fired. Improvement needed in methods Even though the Lloyds tsb bank is doing well and acting effectively on the performance monitoring, but also there is need for the further development and improvement in order to make the system more effective which can make this as a competitive advantage in the business. For some of the employees the regular audit of balance score card is just a administrative work. It is the responsibility of top management to tell them the importance of balance score card. There is a need for improving the speed of actions to be taken after the feedback Top management should be properly committed with the fulfilment of balance score card approach. There should not be any kind of gap and delay in checking the performance By reducing the complexities in the feedback questionnaires, which helps in easy process of completing the questionnaires so the monitoring levels also become more standard and can produce accurate results. Conclusion: The human resource department is the back bone of every organization because it helps in allocating human resources to other departments. The planning and development are the key issues of hrm which helps in maintaining demand and supply of man power, measuring performance and training of employees. The processes suggested above in the reports are the most efficient method of planning and development

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

The Evolution of John Steinbeck Essay -- Biography Biographies Essays

The Evolution of Steinbeck In "The Grapes of Wrath", Steinbeck takes a great leap forward in his storytelling. His characters are better developed and more human. Steinbeck's development as a writer was linked to his growth as a person and his furthered capacity for understanding in others, particularly the disenfranchised. The process and struggle that ensued during the early years of his career were instrumental in his growth and are demonstrated in the development of his views on industrialization and it's effects on the working class. His greater understanding seemed to lead to an end to his theological approach to writing, or at least a modification of it. For with greater understanding came empathy, and with empathy came subjectivity. With the distance gone between he and his characters, it became possible to identify with the characters on a deeper level. They were more true to life than the characters of his previous novels. When Steinbeck managed to cross this line, he made a leap from the realm of the good writers into the Valhalla of great authors. This is when Steinbeck into people. Few of the masses were not familiar with the likes of a Tom Joad or Mack. (A Joseph was much harder to come by.) In his earlier books, works like "To a God Unknown" and "In dubious Battle", Steinbeck delved into the man driven by ideology. Anything but "down-to earth", the characters in these books were motivated by what could be. As creatures of speculation, they were driven by the mind's eye. While Joseph lived for the earth, he never managed to be of it, (at least in the manner of your everyday farmer.) Like any man who have walked through the halls of formal education, Steinbeck himself was a man of... ..."employable." Dr. Kelly posed the question, " what if World War II had not interposed and brought the U.S. out of the Great Depression?" At what point are the evils of the marketplace checked? Time will tell. Without a common enemy, where is the unifying cause to organize? What will bring the people together? Once people are driven by hunger it seems to be to late. Hunger is desperate and powerless, without reason or strength. Humanity has conquered the world. Can we conquer out greed and fear? Steinbeck was unsure that our species could overcome our seemed hatred of ourselves. Maybe the fear of terrorism can bring the world together. In the meantime, people continue to struggle. Maybe things will finally change and we can all gain the empathy and understanding that were Steinbeck's. Unfortunately, those qualities seem to come only through great struggle. The Evolution of John Steinbeck Essay -- Biography Biographies Essays The Evolution of Steinbeck In "The Grapes of Wrath", Steinbeck takes a great leap forward in his storytelling. His characters are better developed and more human. Steinbeck's development as a writer was linked to his growth as a person and his furthered capacity for understanding in others, particularly the disenfranchised. The process and struggle that ensued during the early years of his career were instrumental in his growth and are demonstrated in the development of his views on industrialization and it's effects on the working class. His greater understanding seemed to lead to an end to his theological approach to writing, or at least a modification of it. For with greater understanding came empathy, and with empathy came subjectivity. With the distance gone between he and his characters, it became possible to identify with the characters on a deeper level. They were more true to life than the characters of his previous novels. When Steinbeck managed to cross this line, he made a leap from the realm of the good writers into the Valhalla of great authors. This is when Steinbeck into people. Few of the masses were not familiar with the likes of a Tom Joad or Mack. (A Joseph was much harder to come by.) In his earlier books, works like "To a God Unknown" and "In dubious Battle", Steinbeck delved into the man driven by ideology. Anything but "down-to earth", the characters in these books were motivated by what could be. As creatures of speculation, they were driven by the mind's eye. While Joseph lived for the earth, he never managed to be of it, (at least in the manner of your everyday farmer.) Like any man who have walked through the halls of formal education, Steinbeck himself was a man of... ..."employable." Dr. Kelly posed the question, " what if World War II had not interposed and brought the U.S. out of the Great Depression?" At what point are the evils of the marketplace checked? Time will tell. Without a common enemy, where is the unifying cause to organize? What will bring the people together? Once people are driven by hunger it seems to be to late. Hunger is desperate and powerless, without reason or strength. Humanity has conquered the world. Can we conquer out greed and fear? Steinbeck was unsure that our species could overcome our seemed hatred of ourselves. Maybe the fear of terrorism can bring the world together. In the meantime, people continue to struggle. Maybe things will finally change and we can all gain the empathy and understanding that were Steinbeck's. Unfortunately, those qualities seem to come only through great struggle.

Monday, November 11, 2019

End of Life Care Essay

When a loved one is dying, conversations about the end of life can be uncomfortable and difficult. Still, discussing end-of-life care is important. Depending on the circumstances, you might be able to help your loved one make important end-of-life decisions — such as whether to remain at home, move to a nursing home or other facility, or seek hospice care. Also, you can work with your loved one’s health care team to make sure your loved one remains comfortable at the end of life. Pain, anxiety and other end-of-life symptoms can often be treated. Even at the end of life, you can continue to support and nurture your relationship with your loved one. Simply being there can be an important source of strength and comfort for everyone. Grief When a loved one dies, grief can feel like a dagger in your heart. Often, grief triggers raw, intense emotions. You might wonder how you’ll ever pick up the pieces and heal your wounds — yet not feel as if you’re betraying your loved one’s memory. There are no quick fixes for the grief and anguish that follow a loved one’s death. As you face your grief, acknowledge the pain and know that it’s part of the healing process. Take good care of yourself, and seek support from friends and loved ones. Although your life will never be quite the same, the searing pain of grief will eventually become less intense. Accepting your new â€Å"normal† can help you reconcile your losses and move on with your life. Hospice Care Also called: End-of-life care Hospice care is end-of-life care provided by health professionals and volunteers. They give medical, psychological and spiritual support. The goal of the care is to help people who are dying have peace, comfort and dignity. The caregivers try to control pain and other symptoms so a person can remain as alert and comfortable as possible. Hospice programs also provide services to support a patient’s family. Usually, a hospice patient is expected to live 6 months or less. Hospice care can take place * At home * At a hospice center * In a hospital * In a skilled nursing facility ————————————————- What is the role of the family? Family members often make sacrifices to care for relatives. Families provide care, pain management, and protect the patient. Although they may lack knowledge, caregivers gain satisfaction and pride from providing care, but are also at risk for depression and health problems related to caregiver stress (Haley & Bailey, 1999: Haley et al., 2001; Weitzner, Haley, & Chen, 2000). Some cultures may believe caring is the community’s duty and obligation. Caregivers benefit from social support, maintaining social activities and roles, and psychological interventions that teach coping skills. Most people want their family to be given choices about treatment and few wanted the physician to decide alone (Bradley, 1998). End of life: Caring for a dying loved one Whether you bring a dying loved one home or keep vigil at the hospital, you can take measures to provide comfort and relief at the end of life. Caring for a dying loved one isn’t easy. Even when you know the end of life is approaching, you might not feel prepared. Understanding what to expect — and what you can do to increase your loved one’s comfort — can help. * Choosing where to die Your loved one may have various choices for end-of-life care. Options may include: * Home care. Many people choose to die at home or in the home of a family member. You can assume the role of caregiver or hire home care services for support. Hospice care — services that help ensure the highest quality of life for whatever time remains — can be provided at home as well. * Inpatient care. Some people may prefer round-the-clock care at a nursing home, hospital or dedicated inpatient hospice facility. Hospice and palliative care — a holistic treatment approach intended to ease symptoms, relieve pain, and address spiritual and psychological concerns — can be provided in any of these environments. When you discuss the options with your loved one, consider his or her preferences as well as special physical, emotional and psychosocial needs. Evaluate how much support can be provided by family members and friends. For help determining the best option, talk with your loved one’s health care team or a social worker. You might ask for a referral to palliative or hospice care specialists — health care providers trained in specific care for people nearing the end of life. * Spirituality at the end of life As your loved one approaches the end of life, he or she may talk about spirituality or the meaning of life. Don’t force the subject — but if it comes up, encourage your loved one to explore and address his or her feelings. You might ask your loved one open-ended questions about his or her beliefs and experiences or most meaningful moments. You may want to invite a spiritual leader to visit your loved one as well. * Saying goodbye You can help your loved one communicate his or her final wishes for family and friends. Encourage your loved one to share his or her feelings, including thanks or forgiveness, and give others a chance to say goodbye. This may stimulate discussion about important, unsaid thoughts, which can be meaningful for everyone. Your loved one might also find it comforting to leave a legacy — such as creating a recording about his or her life or writing letters to loved ones, especially concerning important future events. * Recognizing when death is near It’s difficult to predict exactly when someone will die. As death approaches, however, your loved one may show various signs and symptoms indicating that the end of life is near. Look for: * Restlessness and agitation. Your loved one may frequently change positions. * Withdrawal. Your loved one may no longer want to participate in social events or other favorite activities. * Drowsiness. Your loved one may spend most of his or her time asleep. * Loss of appetite. Your loved one may eat and drink less than usual. * Pauses or other changes in breathing. This may happen when your loved one is asleep or awake. Providing comfort The active phase of dying usually begins several days before death. Although you can’t change what’s happening to your loved one, you can help him or her feel as comfortable as possible — ideally with the support of palliative or hospice care specialists. Your loved one also may experience a brief, final surge of energy. Though it can be confusing to see your loved one with renewed vitality, remember that this is a normal part of dying. If it happens, take advantage of the opportunity to enjoy your loved one and say your final goodbyes. * Keeping vigil For many families, keeping vigil near a dying loved one’s bed is a way to show support and love. If you decide to keep vigil, continue talking to your loved one. If you think your loved one would want to share this time with others, invite family members or close friends to show their support as well. Express your love, but also let your loved one know that it’s all right to let go. What is working? Mental health providers with palliative expertise can improve communication and resources. Mental health experts help providers understand the patient’s concerns and culture. They explain confusing medical terms and clarify CPR, pain management, and other treatments and encourage collaboration. Mental health providers also help relieve the common emotional distress and grief resulting from a terminal illness or care giving. COPING WITH BEREAVEMENT â€Å"IN OUR HEARTS, WE ALL KNOW THAT DEATH IS A PART OF LIFE. IN FACT, DEATH GIVES MEANING TO OUR EXISTENCE BECAUSE IT REMINDS US HOW PRECIOUS LIFE IS.† * Coping With Loss The loss of a loved one is life’s most stressful event and can cause a major emotional crisis. After the death of someone you love, you experience bereavement, which literally means â€Å"to be deprived by death.† Remember — It takes time to fully absorb the impact of a major loss. You never stop missing your loved one, but the pain eases after time and allows you to go on with your life. * Knowing What to Expect When a death takes place, you may experience a wide range of emotions, even when the death is expected. Many people report feeling an initial stage of numbness after first learning of a death, but there is no real order to the grieving process. Some emotions you may experience include: * Denial * Disbelief * Confusion * Shock * Sadness * Yearning * Anger * Humiliation * Despair * Guilt These feelings are normal and common reactions to loss. You may not be prepared for the intensity and duration of your emotions or how swiftly your moods may change. You may even begin to doubt the stability of your mental health. But be assured that these feelings are healthy and appropriate and will help you come to terms with your loss. * Mourning A Loved One It is not easy to cope after a loved one dies. You will mourn and grieve. Mourning is the natural process you go through to accept a major loss. Mourning may include religious traditions honoring the dead or gathering with friends and family to share your loss. Mourning is personal and may last months or years. Grieving is the outward expression of your loss. Your grief is likely to be expressed physically, emotionally, and psychologically. For instance, crying is a physical expression, while depression is a psychological expression. It is very important to allow yourself to express these feelings. Often, death is a subject that is avoided, ignored or denied. At first it may seem helpful to separate yourself from the pain, but you cannot avoid grieving forever. Someday those feelings will need to be resolved or they may cause physical or emotional illness. Many people report physical symptoms that accompany grief. Stomach pain, loss of appetite, intestinal upsets, sleep disturbances and loss of energy are all common symptoms of acute grief. Of all life’s stresses, mourning can seriously test your natural defense systems. Existing illnesses may worsen or new conditions may develop. Profound emotional reactions may occur. These reactions include anxiety attacks, chronic fatigue, depression and thoughts of suicide. An obsession with the deceased is also a common reaction to death. * Dealing with a Major Loss The death of a loved one is always difficult. Your reactions are influenced by the circumstances of a death, particularly when it is sudden or accidental. Your reactions are also influenced by your relationship with the person who died. A child’s death arouses an overwhelming sense of injustice — for lost potential, unfulfilled dreams and senseless suffering. Parents may feel responsible for the child’s death, no matter how irrational that may seem. Parents may also feel that they have lost a vital part of their own identity. A spouse’s death is very traumatic. In addition to the severe emotional shock, the death may cause a potential financial crisis if the spouse was the family’s main income source. The death may necessitate major social adjustments requiring the surviving spouse to parent alone, adjust to single life and maybe even return to work. Elderly people may be especially vulnerable when they lose a spouse because it means losing a lifetime of shared experiences. At this time, feelings of loneliness may be compounded by the death of close friends. A loss due to suicide can be among the most difficult losses to bear. They may leave the survivors with a tremendous burden of guilt, anger and shame. Survivors may even feel responsible for the death. Seeking counseling during the first weeks after the suicide is particularly beneficial and advisable. Living with Grief Coping with death is vital to your mental health. It is only natural to experience grief when a loved one dies. The best thing you can do is allow yourself to grieve. There are many ways to cope effectively with your pain. * Seek out caring people. Find relatives and friends who can understand your feelings of loss. Join support groups with others who are experiencing similar losses. * Express your feelings. Tell others how you are feeling; it will help you to work through the grieving process. * Take care of your health. Maintain regular contact with your family physician and be sure to eat well and get plenty of rest. Be aware of the danger of developing a dependence on medication or alcohol to deal with your grief. * Accept that life is for the living. It takes effort to begin to live again in the present and not dwell on the past. * Postpone major life changes. Try to hold off on making any major changes, such as moving, remarrying, changing jobs or having another child. You should give yourself time to adjust to your loss. * Be patient. It can take months or even years to absorb a major loss and accept your changed life. * Seek outside help when necessary. If your grief seems like it is too much to bear, seek professional assistance to help work through your grief. It’s a sign of strength, not weakness, to seek help.