Priming Of Social Attitudes The WritePass Journal

Priming Of Social Attitudes Abstract Priming Of Social Attitudes Abstract IntroductionMethodParticipantsMaterialsDesign Procedure ResultsDiscussion ReferencesRelated Abstract Previous research has indicated that social behaviour can be automatically activated when primed by traits (Higgins, Rholes Jones, 1977). The present study investigated whether participants are more like to interrupt an experimenter and unseen confederate when primed by words semantically associated with rudeness, compared with positive and neutral words. It represented a replication of the Bargh, Chen and Burrows experiment (1996) with one alteration; the total number of interruptions rather than time taken to interrupt was measured. 54 undergraduate students aged between 19 and 25 participated in a between-subjects experiment, and were randomly assigned to one of three experimental levels. Participants were asked to complete a Scrambled Sentence Task containing either rude, polite or neutral words. In order to indicate their completion, participants had to interrupt the conversation of the experimenter. As hypothesised, particpants allocated to the rude condition were significantl y more likely to interrupt the experimenter than those in the neutral or polite conditions. Introduction The extent to which one has intentional control over their own thoughts and behaviours has formed the basis of much research in the field of social psychology. During the 1970’s the distinction between automatic and conscious thought processes emerged, and has became the focus of much attention (Bargh, 1989). Research concentrating on social cognition and attitude formation has documented that many phenomena are unintentional or automatic in nature. Stereotypes, for example, can be automatically elicited merely by the presense of physical features commonly associated with the stereotyped group. Similarly, the presense of an ‘attitude object’ can automatically elicit an attitude, which in turn exerts influence on behaviour (Bargh, Chen Burrows, 1996). Both are examples of priming, which refers to the effect observed when exposure to a certain stimulus influences responses to a second stimulus. In social psychology, priming can be understood in terms of the tendenc y for recent information to influence subsequent thoughts. An early example of this came from Higgins, Rholes and Jones (1977). In this research, particpants read a passage involving a man attempting certain ambitious physical feats. Prior to this, particpants were told they were particpating in a memory task, and were given a list of attributes to read. Half of the particpants were ‘positvely primed’ and given words such as ‘adventurous’ and ‘brave’. The other half were ‘negatively primed’ and given words such as ‘foolish’ and ‘reckless’. After reading the passage, particpants were asked to give their impressions of the man in the story. Those who had been positively primed formed more positive impressions of the man in the passage than those who had been negatively primed. Forgas and Bower (1987) looked at the effect of priming on how people judge information about others. Participants were assigned to one of two conditions. In the first condition, participants were given information that primed a happy mood. In the second, particpants were given information to prime a sad mood. Participants in both conditions were then given identical person descriptions to read. They found that those who had been primed to experience a happy mood formed more positive impressions of the people in the person descriptions than those primed to experience a sad mood. An experiment by Bargh, Chen and Burrows (1996; exp2) demonstrated that priming influences behaviour, investigating the behavioural consequence of automatic stereotype activation based on the premise that a typical stereotypical view of the elderly concerns slowness. Participants were presented with scrambled sentences containing words that related to elderly stereotypes, or sentences containing neutral words. Importantly, the authors ensured that none of the words in the ‘elderly’ condition were directly related to slowness. This ensured that any observed behaviour change was attributable to the stereotype of elderly being activated (and the associated assumptions of slowness) rather than focusing attention on the single trait of being slow. Following this, particpants were asked to leave the room, and were timed walking down a hallway to return to the waiting area, to test whether priming participants with the concept of elderly would automatically and unconsciously ch ange their behaviour to emulate the elderly. As predicted, participants who were primed with the stereotypical information took longer to walk down the hallway than those who received the neutral information. Carver, Ganellen, Froming and Chambers (1983) demonstrated the priming effect of aggression on particpant’s subsequent behaviour. Participants were divided into two conditions and given scrambled sentences containing either aggressive or neutral concepts, diguised as part of a seemingly unrelated study. They were then asked to participate in an experiment of human learning where particpants were able to punish another participant (actually a confederate) by administering electric shocks for incorrect responses. Those in the aggressive condition administered stronger shocks than those in the control condition. The studies discussed thus far have indicated that priming can influence both perceptions and behaviour. From this premise, Bargh et al. (1996, exp 1) investigated whether this effect overrode the typical processes one uses in everyday life, such as social judgement. In this experiment, 34 participants were informed that they were taking part in a test of language ability, and presented with a scrambled sentence test. They were randomly assigned to one of three conditions priming conditions, rude, polite and neutral. Participants were asked to complete the task individually, then notify the experimenter in another room. When the participant entered the second room, they found the experimenter in conversation with a second participant (a confederate). The critical outcome measure of the study was the length of time the participant took to interupt the conversation between the experimenter and confederate. They found that those in the rude condition did interupt significantly faster th an those in the polite and neutral conditions. However, the results suffered from significant ceiling effects; 21 of the 34 participants did not interupt at all. The present study was a replication of Bargh et al.’s(1996) experiment and borrows heavily from their methodology, but with one critical difference. In an attempt to address the methodological issues caused by the strong ceiling effects observed by Bargh et al., the current experiment measured the total number of people to interupt in each condition, rather than the time taken to interupt. Based on the findings of Bargh et al., the experimental hypothesis predicted that significantly more particpants in the ‘rude’ condition would interupt the experimenter than those in the ‘polite’ and neutral conditions. Furthermore, it was predicted that there would be no significant difference in the number of participants in the polite and neutral conditons who interupted the experimenter. Method Participants A total of 54 undergraduate psychology students, 34 females and 19 males, aged between 19-25 (mean age 20.3), volunteered to participate in the experiment. Materials Each of the participants was presented with Scrambled Sentence Test which was presented as a test of language ability. Comprising 30 items, participants had to use listed words to form a grammatically correct four-word sentence as quickly as possible. There were three versions of the scrambled-sentence test: for the rude and polite conditions, 15 of the 30 items contained words that were associated with the trait in question. In the neutral condition, these 15 were replaced with neutral words. The remaining 15 items were idetical across the three conditions. Design ÃŽ ¤he design of the experiment was between subjects, and had three experimental conditions. Participants were randomly assigned to each condition. The independent variable was the condition that the participant was assigned to and had three levels;   rude, polite and neutral. The dependent variable was the number of participants who interupted the experimenter. Procedure Participants took part in the experiment one at a time. They were informed that they were to participate in a language ability study, and their consent to participate was obtained. Each participant received an envelope that contained 30 scrambled sentences, and were told the task was concerned with grammatical construction. They were asked to form a grammatically correct four-word sentence from a list of five-word scrambled sentences. Particpants were then given one of three versions of the test (rude, polite or neutral) of the scrambled-sentence test, and asked to complete it as quickly as possible. Upon completion, participants were asked to find the experimenter in a second room and notify them of their completion, in order to move on to the next experimental task. Participants was randomly assigned to each condition, to which the experimenter was blind. When the participant entered the second room, the experimenter appeared to be engaged with another unseen particpant (actually a confederate). The experimenter and confederate continued their discussion until interupted by the participant. The confederate noted which of the participants elected to interrupt. Results Table 1: Total number of participants who did/did not interrupt in each condition (polite, neutral, rude). Word Type Polite (n) Neutral (n) Rude (n) Did not interrupt 15 10 8 Interrupted 3 6 12 The dependent variable of the experiment was the total number of participants that interrupted the experimenter in each word type condition, and as can be seen from Table 1, participants in the rude condition interrupted most frequently (n = 12). Participants in the polite condition interrupted the least (n = 3). The propensity to interrupt increased across the levels of the independent variable; a higher number of participants in the neutral condition (n = 6) interrupted than in the polite group. A higher number again interrupted in the rude group. The results of this experiment were statistically analysed used a Chi-square goodness-of-fit test. This test was selected as the data was categorical, numerical and discrete. It produced a goodness-of-fit between the observed and expected values. If priming had no effect on interrupting behaviour, distribution across the conditions would be equal. The Chi-square test demonstrated whether the observed frequencies differed significantly from the expected frequencies. The result of the Chi-square was significant; participants in the rude condition were significantly more likely to interrupt the experimenter than participants in the neutral or positive condition, x2 (2, N = 54) = 7.50, p 0.5. Discussion This study examined whether priming traits (rudeness and politeness) could have an impact on social behaviour.   It was hypothesized that participants primed with rude traits would be more likely to interrupt an experimenter ostensibly engaged in a conversation with an unseen ‘participant’ than those who were primed with positive or neutral traits, and this hypothesis was fully supported by the results of the experiment. The study confirmed that people, when influenced by a rude prime condition, would demonstrate a negative impact on social behaviour, whilst the social behaviour of those who were influenced by a polite or neutral prime condition were unaffected. This finding supported the results of Bargh et al. (1996) despite the change to the dependent variable. This provides compelling evidence for their hypothesis regarding the automatic activation of social behaviours in the face of certain environmental features (in both cases, the rude primes). Not only does the replication confirm the original study findings, but the change in the dependent variable in the study under discussion improves on the methodological design flaw of the original. Interestingly, the present study also supported the original study finding of no significant difference in interrupting behaviour between the polite and neutral groups. This indicates that it is rude behaviour that is most likely to be automatically activated. Priming a participant with polite trait information does not appear to increase an individual’s politeness, or a significant difference between the neutral and polite levels would be observed. This is somewhat at odds with previous resea rch which indicated a bias towards increased postivity via priming (Higgins et al., 1977; Forgas Bower, 1987). However, these studies looked at the effect of priming on judgement, and not on behaviour. If the result of the present study is compared with Carver et al. (1983) study of negative priming and electric shock administration, both show an increased bias towards the propensity to prime negative behaviour. Although the change in the dependent variable from time to interrupt to presence of interrupting behaviour resolved the issue of ceiling effects described by Bargh et al. (1996), whilst producing a similar result, some detail was lost. Moving from a numerical scale (time) to a categorical measurement meant that the choice of statistical analysis available was limited. A future replication might involve measuring the total number of participants that interrupted, and the time taken among those that did. A second factor that should be considered is the possibility that those in the rude condition were simply a ruder group of participants and were more likely to interrupt despite the priming effect. To control for this possibility, a future replication could incorporate a personality questionnaire to control for propensity towards rude behaviour. The current study was a replication of Baugh et al.’s (1996) experiment 2. To resolve the original study’s problem of ceiling effects, a change was made to the dependent variable; instead of measuring the time taken to interrupt, the total number of those interrupting in each condition was measured. The results supported the finding of the original study, presentation of the rudeness trait primes subsequent rude behaviour; therefore social behaviour can be automatically triggered without conscious thought. References Bargh, J. A. (1989). Conditional automaticity: Varieties of automatic influence in social perception and cognition. In J. S. Uleman, J. A. Bargh (Eds.), Unintended Thought (pp. 3-51). New York: Guilford Press. Bargh, J.A., Chen, M., Burrows, L. (1996). Automaticity of social behavior: Direct effects of trait construct and stereotype activation on action, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 71, 230-244. Carver, C., Ganellen, R., Froming, W., Chambers, W. (1983). Modelling: an analysis in terms of c ategory accessibility. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 19, 403–421. Forgas, J. P. Moylan, S. J. (1987). After the movies: The effects of transient mood states on social judgments. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 13, 478-489. Higgins, E. T., Rholes, W. S., Jones, C. R. (1977). Category accessibility and impression formation. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology,13, 141–154.

Abraham Lincoln Quotes Everyone Should Know

Abraham Lincoln Quotes Everyone Should Know Abraham Lincolns quotations have become a part of American life, and for good reason. During years of experience as a courtroom advocate and political stump speaker, the Rail Splitter developed a remarkable knack for saying things in a memorable way. In his own time, Lincoln was often quoted by admirers. And in modern times, Lincoln quotes are often cited to prove one point or another. All too often the circulating Lincoln quotes turn out to be bogus. The history of fake Lincoln quotes is long, and it seems that people, for at least a century, have tried to win arguments by citing something supposedly said by Lincoln. Despite the endless cascade of fake Lincoln quotes, its possible to verify a number of brilliant things Lincoln actually did say. Here is a list of particularly good ones: Ten Lincoln Quotes Everyone Should Know 1.  A house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure permanently half slave and half free. Source: Lincolns speech to the Republican State Convention in Springfield, Illinois on June 16, 1858. Lincoln was running for U.S. Senate, and was expressing his differences with Senator Stephen Douglas, who often defended the institution of slavery. 2.  We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection. Source: Lincolns first inaugural address, March 4, 1861. Though the slave states had been seceding from the Union, Lincoln expressed a wish that the  Civil War would not begin. The war did break out the next month. 3.  With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in. Source: Lincolns second inaugural address, which was given on March 4, 1865, as the Civil War was coming to an end. Lincoln was referring to the imminent job of putting the Union back together after years of very bloody and costly warfare. 4. It is not best to swap horses while crossing the river. Source: Lincoln was addressing a political gathering on June 9, 1864 while expressing his wish to run for a second term. The comment is actually based on a joke of the time, about a man crossing a river whose horse is sinking and is offered a better horse but says it isnt the time to be changing horses. The comment attributed to Lincoln has been used many times since in political campaigns. 5. If McClellan is not using the army, I should like to borrow it for a while. Source: Lincoln made this comment on April 9, 1862 to express his frustration with General George B. McClellan, who was commanding the Army of the Potomac and was always very slow to attack. 6. Fourscore and seven years ago, our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Source: The famous opening of the Gettysburg Address, delivered November 19, 1863. 7. I cant spare this man, he fights. Source: According to Pennsylvania politician Alexander McClure, Lincoln said this regarding General Ulysses S. Grant after the Battle of Shiloh in the spring of 1862. McClure had advocated removing Grant from command, and the quote was Lincolns way of disagreeing strongly with McClure. 8. My paramount object in this struggle is to save the Union, and is not either to save or destroy slavery. If I could save the Union without freeing any slave, I would do it; if I could save it by freeing all the slaves, I would do it; and if I could do it by freeing some and leaving others alone, I would also do that. Source: A reply to editor Horace Greeley published in Greeleys newspaper, the New York Tribune, on August 19, 1862. Greeley had criticized Lincoln for moving too slowly in bringing an end to slavery. Lincoln resented pressure from Greeley, and from abolitionists, though he was already working on what would become the Emancipation Proclamation. 9. Let us have faith that right makes might, and in that faith, let us, to the end, dare to do our duty as we understand it. Source: The conclusion of Lincolns speech at Cooper Union in New York City on February 27, 1860. The speech received extensive coverage in the New York City newspapers and instantly made Lincoln, a virtual outsider to that point, a credible candidate for the Republican nomination for president in the election of 1860. 10. I have been driven many times upon my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go. My own wisdom and that of all about me seemed insufficient for that day. Source: According to journalist and Lincoln friend Noah Brooks, Lincoln said the pressures of the presidency and the Civil War had prompted him to pray on many occasions.

Cruse Ship Managment Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Cruse Ship Managment - Assignment Example A good cruise itinerary must outline the effects of all internal factors at play. These factors are within the control of the management and can be tactfully addressed. Some of these factors as pointed out by Kaulbars (2008) include relations to the prospective host communities and authorities, budget estimations, and overall basics of a journey. Logistics is another internal factor that ought to be taken care of. Here, aspects such as exchange of crew and supply arrangements are looked into. Another factor is the characteristic of the vessel, with key concern to vessels’ capability, amenities, and adaptability to diverse port destinations. Some of these external factors as espoused by Kaulbars include infrastructure and superstructure of the port of call, with finer details to evaluate being the facilities available, bunker services and costs, as well as accommodation facilities (Sun, Gauri & Webster, 2011). Other factors include customer preferences, sea conditions such as winds and tides, as well as weather conditions both at sea and at inland destinations that may have adverse effects on the comfort of passengers. Cruise ships have also been made more comfortable by offering services that are similar to those offered in inland holiday inns. Amenities such as swimming pool, a shopping place where the customers can make light purchases, etc. have been included to make the voyages more exciting. Certainly, these amenities help create a pleasurable environment that provide greater experience to the tourists. A good cruise ship itinerary must also take into concern factors that motivate the customers. These factors can be evaluated based on costs, facilities available within the ship, duration of stay at particular ports during stopovers, among others. Greenwood and Barron observe that most passengers prefer the preservation of individuality, a factor that has been successfully overcome by offering sightseeing tours to

COMMUNICATION IN BUSINESS Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

COMMUNICATION IN BUSINESS - Essay Example Negotiation is an important business function both in domestic and international business arena. Most of the business functions are driven by negotiations. In international business, negotiation plays a vital role in developing mutual agreements between two entirely different parties of different cultures. International business negotiation process may face lot of problems or barriers with respect to cultural differences between the negotiating parties. The success and failures depends on how well the negotiating parties conduct the business negotiation process. According Hofstede, cultural differences with respect to Power Distance Index (PDI), Individualism (IDV), Masculinity (MAS), Uncertainty Avoidance Index (UAI), and Long-Term Orientation (LTO) etc can affect international business negotiation process between two or more parties. America and Japan are two entirely different countries as far as culture is concerned. Language, environment, politics, social setups, contexting or level of knowledge possessed by the people, verbal and nonverbal communication means etc are entirely different both in America and Japan. Japan and America are extremely different countries as far as culture, politics, custom, traits, economy, social organizations, language etc are concerned. Even though both the countries are democratic countries, the functioning of democracy in these two countries are slightly different. America is a secular democratic country with Judiciary, Parliament and Executive as the three pillars on which democracy is cemented. Politics of Japan is established in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic monarchy, where Prime Minister of Japan is the head of government even though the King holds the supreme power on paper. In other words, Japan is a constitutional monarchy. Like in America, in Japan also, multiparty system is prevailing. In America, legislative power is vested in congress whereas in Japan, it is vested in Diet. English is the language

Strategies Used for the Gifted and for Those Who Are Developmentally Delayed Essay Example for Free

Strategies Used for the Gifted and for Those Who Are Developmentally Delayed Essay Generally when we talk of individuals with disabilities, the very core or center of concern always falls on individuals with developmentally disorders, physically handicapped, emotionally disorders. We tend to miss out the individuals who are born as â€Å"gifted†. Well for us, as the title says (gifted), being born gifted is more of a blessing than the other way around. But the truth of the matter is, it is not as easy as it may seem to be. If individuals with different kinds of disorders have special needs, so do gifted individuals. It may just be in a different manner, in a dissimilar kind and in a more diverse situation but there still is a special need and this is also need to be properly addressed in the same manner as with the other disabilities. Since both gifted and with disabilities individuals need special needs, corresponding modifications, strategies and adjustments should be done accordingly to be able to suit to their needs thus learning process can occur. Both classroom set up should be designed in accordance to provide optimum conduciveness in learning. Both have its own sets of teaching strategies that would be best effective in each set of exceptionalities. Initially, both gifted and developmentally delayed individuals should be properly assessed based on either a preliminary checklist or assessment obtained from the professionals such as developmental pediatrician or psychiatrist. Obtaining the assessment would help us discriminate or distinguish individuals that are mild moderate and severe. It also goes the same with gifted children, we need to know which are mildly gifted, moderately and highly gifted in order to be able to address their needs more appropriately. Another psychological truth that we need to learn is that most learning occurs when an optimal match between the learner’s current understanding and the challenge of new learning material has been carefully engineered. Choosing an appropriate program for both gifted and developmentally delayed individuals has always been indeed a challenge to anyone. Sets of programs are always done individualistic may it be for gifted individual or individual with developmental delay because both have unique characteristics that make them so personal and different from one another. Moreover, most often than not, the progress programs given to these two exceptionalities are based on their pace. Generally, for the developmentally delayed students the initial step for learning process to occur is behavior modification. Once the behavior is properly addressed, meaning the teacher is able to get the attention and behavior of the student, will the learning take effect. In gifted children, however, the initial step is to discover the child’s area of giftedness and create a program that will attend and enhance farther his special needs. Behavioral modification is not the basic concern at this point except for some social aspect such as coping up with peers older of his/her age. If that case happens, that is the only time that behavior intervention is needed. If teaching methods use for developmentally delayed students are direct instructions and task analysis, thus making tasks as simple and as directly instructed as possible for easier mastery, for gifted students, it is making it more complex and abstract to maintain the student’s interest and be challenged with it. If the gifted students master a particular unit, they need to be provided with more advanced learning activities, not more of the same activity as before. With developmentally delayed students, repetitions of activities and tasks are advisable to be able to incur mastery. Moreover, gifted students’ learning characteristics are best served with thematic, broad based and integrative content rather than just single-subject areas in which are being used in developmentally delayed students. Compacting are used with gifted student to streamline curriculum in order to allow them to move at a quicker pace and have time to pursue in alternate topic while in developmentally delayed students, the (general) task or activity is broken down into pieces of smaller tasks to be able to effectively master the (general) task.

Education for Sustainable Development Toolkit Essay -- Education

"Sustainable development is development that continues to meet the requirements without compromising the ability of future generations to live quality lives of their own." Sustainable development is commonly thought to have three components: environment, society, and economy. According to the toolkit the three are to be considered as overlapping, congruent circles. In which case, the area of overlap, or center, is considered human well-being. The further alignment of said circles would indefinitely lead to the increase of the center, human well-being. The balance of each component is delicately dependent on the next. For example, a healthy, prosperous society relies on a healthy environment to provide food and resources, safe drinking water, and clean air for its citizens. The sustainability pattern denies the disputation that casualties in the environmental and social jurisdictions are inevitable. This is in addition with the argument that the casualties are acceptable conseq uences of economic development. Thus, the authors consider sustainability to be a paradigm for thinking about a future in which environmental, societal, and economic considerations are balanced in the pursuit of development and improved quality of life. The lower middle class is a sub-division of the grander middle class. Comprehensively the term refers to the group of middle class households or individuals who have not accomplished the status of the upper middle class associated with the prestige ranks of the middle class. The lower middle class establishes roughly one third of households, consisting mostly of semi-professionals, such as lower-level managers or school teachers, small business owners and skilled craftsmen. The lower middle class sh... ...hat continues to meet the requirements without compromising the ability of future generations to live quality lives of their own. Sustainable development is commonly thought to have three components: environment, society, and economy. Sustainability is considered to be a archetype for thinking about a future in which environmental, societal, and economic reflections are stable in the pursuit of expansion and improved quality of life. Works Cited International Joural of Sustainability in Higher Education> Volume 4 issue 1. (2000). http://www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm?articleid=839800&show=abstract Education for Development Toolkit> Version 2 (2002). http://www.esdtoolkit.org/discussion/whatisesd.htm Insight- University of Gloucestershire> Sustainability Education (2005-2010). http://insight.glos.ac.uk/sustainability/Education/Pages/default.aspx

Electronic Health Records Pros

Abstract This paper will provide the pros and cons of changing to an all-electronic health records structure and the data that is entered into the records. It will also provide an example of an innovative system integrated into the Veterans Affairs healthcare system. Electronic health records are an innovative new system that manages patients’ files. It has altered from the old patient info systems into this more arranged and regulated database. It creates a system that connects the data of all patients; from past hospital visits, allergies, treatments and demographics.EHR’s are crucial to the growth of the medical field; it allows a comprehensive visual of the health care field. A patient is able to handle their individual health information with simplicity and identify any erroneous data. One is able to revise their insurance and payment information with just a few clicks. The innovated EHR allows patients to have some kind of reassurance on the accuracy of the data b eing seen by their physicians and staff; that their checkups will be without delay because the need of unnecessary paperwork would be out of place.Medical doctors are capable to enter the system distantly without any slit, which is critical in case of emergencies. The EHR supports evidence-based medicine across the system because it permits clinical census to increase and advance the effectiveness of health methods. EHR systems let patients involve themselves in clinical trials; find doctors that are specified in services that they possibly will necessitate, and let medical students and clinicians situate medical environments that contribute to their trained and educational focuses.The EHR structures may have its rewards but there are limitations to maintain a system, which is roughly a national catalog for patient data and files. One shortcoming to the system is the cost linked to changing and the financial setback that small clinic could sustain. The value of the EHR ranges from t he tools acquirement to make the transition and the cross training necessitated to have doctors and medical staff current with the latest system. A supplementary apprehension for the EHR system is privacy.The patients are vigilant of information systems that contain their medical files, insurance and billing data such as patient location, economical, and insurance are located in the files, the safety and threats of hackers’ amplifies. Sickbays protect their files by providing and having regular inspection at all time because of legal matters. The Department of Veterans Affairs has refurbished his database to fit the veterans increasing population. Its new structure called VistA permits health care practitioners to review, modify and generate a comprehensive patient record.The system by design links over 1000 health care facilities connected to the Veterans Affairs nationwide and it encloses specialists’ info and multimedia data. The system also has put forward a space for physician’s orders and worries to be matched for veteran. The Veterans Affairs went through a massive privacy breach in 2006, when a laptop containing veterans’ information was brought home by an employee. The agency had to issue alerts, send letters out to the affected veterans informing them of the possibly breach of their privacy.The database enclosed the names, social security numbers and dates of birth of as many as 26. 5 million veterans and their families, according to the U. S. Department of Veterans Affairs. The agency realized the infringement of policy after the member of staff's house was broken into. The breach was labeled one of the largest security and privacy breach at the time and veterans had to be vigilant about their finances and credit reports. ? References Veteransaffairs. gov Laura Dunlop (2007). Hoffman S, Podgurski, securityfocus. com/news/11393 Retrieved on January 7, 2012

Political Philosophy and Machiavelli Essay

Nicolo Machiavelli is a well known philosopher of the Italian Renaissance from the sixteenth century. The return of the Medici family in Florence in 1512 forced Machiavelli out of office, and he wrote The Prince after retiring from the public. The Prince is one of his most famous works, it describes the means by which a new leader may gain and maintain power. His ideas can be applied to new rulers ranging from a new principal to a new president of a new country. While discussing his ideas for new rulers, Machiavelli says â€Å"Upon this a question arises: whether it be better to be loved than feared or feared than loved? † (Machiavelli 98). If a ruler is not able to do both, it is better to be loved than feared. Machiavelli answers his own question through his ideas of what makes a successful ruler. He argues that a prince is much safer being feared than loved. Machiavelli says â€Å"†¦ for love is preserved by the link of obligation which, owing to the baseness of men, is broken at every opportunity for their advantage; but fear preserves you by a dread of punishment which never fails. † (Machiavelli 99). He says that being loved creates opportunity for being taken advantage of and being feared doesn’t fail. Bringing fear to his people with cruelty would make them united and loyal. Most people who are fearful of any authority fear punishment, so they are more inclined to not cross the line of disrespect. Without a doubt, being loved is more desired from the people and has a greater value compared to being feared, even though the perks of being feared can make a leader successful. Since it’s better to be loved than feared, there are three important characteristics to have to ensure that the new people you’re ruling love you; these characteristics are being honest, having respect, and being protective. Honesty is an important characteristic to have because the body of people you’re ruling and the way they act is a reflection of yourself. If you make honest and good behavior a key value, your people will do the same. If you don’t make honest and good behavior a key value, your people won’t trust that you are always doing the right thing and telling the truth. Machiavelli says, â€Å"Everyone sees what you appear to be, few experience what you really are. † (Machiavelli 106). His quote shouldn’t be true if you’re an honest and truthful leader. Machiavelli says in his quote that a leader does not show his complete self to everyone, that he displays an act of goodness to his people and only reveals what he really is to those who ask for it. Being an honest leader inside and out will only help gain your people’s trust and true love. This quote also ties into the one that reads â€Å"†¦ it is unnecessary for a prince to have all the good qualities I have enumerated, but it is very necessary to appear to have them. † (Machiavelli 250). Machiavelli says that a leader must put on a false face to his people and pretend to have qualities that he does not actually have. It’s not acceptable to hide yourself from your people because if you say you’re going to protect them no matter what and you back out when something bad happens, your people will be disappointed and won’t have trust in you. A successful leader who wishes to be loved should be honest to his people for who he really is because it will give him respect. You can’t gain respect without giving respect. Respect is one of the most important characteristics to have when being a leader because people always want to be in an environment where they feel valued. A leader isn’t going to be successful if their people aren’t happy and feel as if they aren’t important. If a leader is genuine with respect, his people will be more willing to give back respect and do as he says. Though, the truth is that it is important to give respect whether they feel the leader deserves it or not. As Machiavelli says, â€Å"A prince is also respected when he is either a true friend or a downright enemy. † (Machiavelli 250). It doesn’t matter the relation you have with your leader, whether they’re a true friend or a downright enemy, you’re going to respect them just because they’re your leader. Your people may not like what you do, but you will be respected. It’s obvious that being respected out of actual love is the better than being being respected out of fear, and that good respect should lead to good confidence within the leader. The feeling of being protected is desired from a lot of people. If you’re a new principal, your students and staff want locks on doors and an officer nearby. If you’re the new president of a country, your nation wants to know that they have a reliable and strong army fighting for and protecting the country. A successful leader should always be ready for whatever situations may come. Machiavelli says, â€Å"He who does otherwise, either from timidity or evil advice, is always compelled to keep the knife in his hand. † (Machiavelli 61). A leader should always be ready for quick action if some situation should arise. Your people will love and admire you if they know you’re protecting them and is always cautious for quick problems. It takes great courage and confidence to take full responsibility for your people’s safety and well being. Being honest, having respect, and being protective are characteristics of being a successful but loved leader that have applied to people from before Machiavelli’s time all the way up to present day. It’s easy to spot feared leaders such as Hitler apart from loved leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. Being loved not feared is better to be if you cannot be both because the people you’re leading actually like you for who you are and are willing to do what you say, they aren’t scared into doing it. Martin Luther King Jr. led his people with the same respect they gave him, he was honest and true with his feelings, and he went above and beyond to change the world’s way of how they treated colored people to protect them from getting hurt and discriminated any longer. His people loved and admired him for who he really was, he didn’t hide anything. Martin Luther King Jr. was a successful leader because he was loved and possessed honesty, respect and protectiveness.

Importance of Discipline in the Leadership Process

Importance of Discipline in the Leadership Process Free Online Research Papers â€Å"Is discipline as important as reward to the leader in influencing followers? If so, what is the best method of implementing?† Discipline is as critical to good leadership. In order to motivate and manipulate followers to do things they are not inclined to do on their own, a leader will have to prove and show their authority. This statement is conditional in regards to the following factors: 1 – Consistent treatment of all followers 2 – The manner the discipline is administered is respectful 3 – There is a clear understanding by the followers and they perceive the disciplinary action(s) is (are) necessary â€Å"Workplace discipline means regulating the employees, making them abide by the rules and policies of the company and follow guidelines.† (Williams and Kings, 2009) In order to administer fair discipline a leader must gather as much information, as time allows, as they can. Once they have gathered the information the must make a detailed analysis of where the wrongs have been made and to whom the blame falls. The leader must look at the situation from the angle of the direct problem and employee action as well as from the perspective of what could lead an employee to think/act in this manner. Because disciplining subordinates is an unpopular leader responsibility, especially with charismatic leaders, far too many do not take this time and therefore administer discipline poorly. In order to be successful the leader must be perceived to be â€Å"fair†. Gene Levine believes â€Å"the fairest work policies are the ones that allow employees to discipline themselves when they have demonstrated undesirable behavior which extends even to the point of terminating themselves. I also hasten to add that there are not and cannot be fair policies on anything, to everyone, all the time. No matter how good the policy, someone, some day, will claim that it is unfair. (Levine, G, 1998) One of the biggest factors affecting hostility in the workplace is inequity and selective discipline. Employees frequently site favoritism and unfairness as their reasons for discomfort and intimidation at work. (Vokoun, n.d.) This is due to leaders improperly yielding their authority. This is a problem when leaders use their authority for self enabling or enhancing reasons or any other reason that to improve the out put of the team. Mastering the administration of discipline will allow a leader to reach a deeper level of trust and kinship with the followers. The leaders’ example is critical in developing and solidifying this. When a leader disciplines themselves for the good of the team, it is easier for followers to accept the disciplinary measures. There is no best method for discipline. We have learned that situations and followers have a large impact on the leadership process. They, as well, will dictate how a leader should discipline a follower. The team and follower might be best served by the leader disciplining the individual in a private setting such as a CEO might discipline a senior executive on their team. Dependent upon the situation, it might be better to admonish the individual in front of the entire team as a football coach might yell at a star lineman for making a mistake to get the entire line to focus on its importance. After factoring in the individuals personality, the team make up and current stage of building, the leader should reach into their toolbox and apply the necessary effort and action to resolve the matter quickly. References: Levine, Gene, 1998. â€Å"Firm-but-fair approach key in workplace discipline† accessed at: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3638/is_n5_v39/ai_20298340/ On 14 November 2009 at 7:25pm GMT+3 Williams and Kings, 2009. â€Å"Maintaining Office Discipline at Your Workplace.† Business Article accessed at: articleblast.com/Business_and_Management/General/Maintaining_Office_discipline_at_your_workplace/ on 14 November 2009 at 4:45pm GMT+3 Vokoun, Mellissa, n.d. â€Å"Avoiding a Hostile Workplace – Fairness in Employee Discipline†. Ezine Articles, Accessed at: http://ezinearticles.com/?id=555351 on 14 November 2009 at 5:30pm GMT+3 Research Papers on Importance of Discipline in the Leadership ProcessBringing Democracy to AfricaDefinition of Export QuotasMoral and Ethical Issues in Hiring New EmployeesResearch Process Part OneThe Project Managment Office SystemAnalysis of Ebay Expanding into AsiaTrailblazing by Eric AndersonPETSTEL analysis of IndiaStandardized TestingBook Review on The Autobiography of Malcolm X

Tips for Finding and Producing Trend Stories

Tips for Finding and Producing Trend Stories Trend stories used to be a subsection of journalism reserved for light features, like new fashions or a television show thats attracting an unexpected audience. But not all trends are pop culture-oriented and depending on where youre reporting, trends in your town may vary wildly from a city in another state or country. Theres definitely a different approach to writing a story about teenagers sexting than there would be for a story about a hot new video game. But both of those could be considered trend stories. So how do you find a trend story, and how do you tweak your approach to suit the subject matter? Here are a few tips for finding and reporting on trends. Know Your Reporting Beat The more you cover a beat, whether its a geographic beat (such as covering a local community) or a topical one (like education or transportation), the more easily youll be able to spot trends. A few that might pop up on the education beat: Are there a lot of teachers retiring early? Are more students driving to school than in years past? Sometimes you’ll be able to spot these trends just by being observant and having well-developed sources, such as parents in the school district or teachers. Check Public Records Sometimes a trend won’t be easy to spot, and you may need more than anecdotal information to establish what the story is. There are many sources of public information, such as police reports, and reports from government agencies that may help illustrate a trend that hasn’t been fully established yet.   For instance, on the police beat, you may notice a lot of drug arrests or vehicle thefts in a given neighborhood. Could this indicate a larger crime wave or a problem with drugs flowing into the area? If you’re going to use data from public records in your reporting (and you absolutely should), you’ll have to know how to file a public records request. Also referred to as an FOIA (Freedom Of Information Act) request, this is a formal request of a public agency to make available public information. Sometimes agencies will push back against such requests, but if it’s public information, they have to provide a legal reason for not providing the information, usually within a given time frame. Keep Your Eyes Open for Trends Trend stories don’t just come from a reporting beat or public records. You may notice a trend just in your everyday activities, whether it’s at the diner where you get your coffee, the barbershop or hair salon, or even the library. College campuses are a great place to observe trends, especially in clothing and music. It’s good to keep an eye on social media, although any trends you notice there probably will be noticed by hundreds of other people as well. The object is to track down whatever it is thats generating a buzz at the moment before it becomes old news. Know Your Readership or Audience As with any journalism, it’s important to know your audience. If you’re writing for a newspaper in a suburb and your readership is mostly older people and families with children, what are they not going to be aware of and what do they need to know about? It’s up to you to figure out which trends are going to be of interest to your readers and which ones they may already be aware of. Make Sure Your Trend Is Really a Trend Journalists are sometimes derided for writing stories about trends that arent really trends. So make sure whatever youre writing about is real and not the figment of someones imagination or something only a handful of people are doing. Don’t just jump on a story; do the reporting to verify that what you’re writing about really has some validity.

Modernity and Post-Modernity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Modernity and Post-Modernity - Essay Example Humans continued their intellectual development in the past and due to this cognitive process, they enabled themselves to create and apply various social systems during the past centuries (Colins 2004). However, the most significant development in this regard was industrialization, which led humanity towards the concept of modernization. In this era, nevertheless humans focused on automated production in order to fulfill the growing demand of consumer products such as flour, clothing. But, this divergence of values proved to be a source of devastation for the agricultural industry worldwide because, this time’s intellectual base emphasized on fulfilling the needs of majority on the expense of those of minority. However, with the passage of time, humans came across another important concept of post-modernity, which instead of collectivism focused on individualism (David 1989). Therefore, under the impression of individualism blessed everyone with the right to live their lives, as they see fit, within legal requirements of course. At the same time, it is imperative to consider the active contributors of this transition from the idea of collectivism towards that of individualism because, the consequences of modernism became visible in form of few ruling over the majority of humans (Frank & Waters 1999). Therefore, humanity considered the concept of individualism as savior for the humanity’s unequal distribution of rights. Therefore, in this way, international legal environment bestowed individuals with their rights of speech and vote. During this era of moderate enlightenment, African Americans and females are blessed with the right to vote.