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Making Everyone Feel Welcome in the World of Video-Gaming

Making Everyone Feel Welcome in the World of Video-Gaming

In a world where diversity has become a core component of modern-day interactions, video games are some of the best platforms that facilitate the coming together of people from different walks of life, backgrounds, gender, sexuality, religious affiliations, and so on. Imagine this, a gamer in Delhi, India, striking a conversation with another gamer in Melbourne, Australia, complete with a friendly banter, technical conversations, ideas for future interactions, and everything in between. Video-gaming brings people together, it connects friends and lovers from all over the world. In my experience, I would say video gaming connects different kinds of weirdness to create a freeing experience that cannot be easily found elsewhere.

Imagine a very silent and gloomy night. The surrounding is not really silent but there is a lot of deafening silence in your head. It is not raining outside but it feels like there is a storm in your life and noting is letting on. You have too much going on that you can hardly perceive the world outside of your head. You are at a crossroads in your life where nothing is turning out the way you had hoped. You are immersed in a heap of debt and the COVID-19 pandemic and the resultant restrictions have rendered you jobless. Depression is creeping in and it is becoming increasingly hard to remain hopeful. So, you are tightly tucked in your couch duvet watching meaningless TV. You see an ad about a new interactive game that requires users to choose their own fate and create their own path in life. This sounds interesting so decide to give it a try. A quick browsing through the online users’ manual and you already get the concept.

You login and choose a partner. It so happens that your partner is a girl, seemingly sweet and young, from the other part of the world in the US. As the game gets intense, you find yourselves laughing even more over the mistakes and other types of game-related interactions. You help each other in meeting game objectives including eliminating enemies, building camps, and so on. Before long, you all have exhausted your lives and you have to wait for the game to reboot. You have been playing for more than 3 hours straight, so engaged that you did not notice how much time you used. As the game boots, you decide to chat for a bit. And this is where the weirdos meet and match.

You find out that your gaming partner has been homeless for a while now. She lives in her car and has not been able to secure any form of work since the pandemic hit. What amazes you is her bubbly spirit, her cheerfulness, and the hopefulness that is in her voice. You tell her of your situation and how you are only 2 weeks old into joblessness. She tells you of this amazing community called Weirdos & Gamers, an online community that supports people who have yet to settle in life for various reasons. It consists of wealthy gamers, single mothers, struggling fathers, gay men shun by their close friends and families, lesbians, different queers, women, men, jobless celebrities, former superstars, and so on. It is a breath of fresh air. Something you have never heard about or even imagined. The community is welcoming, supportive and homely. Indeed, every type of weird is represented. You are no longer alone. You have a new found home in the world of video gaming.

It has been 2 weeks of learning and intense gaming. You have a natural talent that you never knew existed. You were introduced to interactive gaming on YouTube and informed of different ways of making money. Although not comparable to what you were making in your last position, it is enough to pay the bills. What is amazing is the fact that you are just getting started. There is so much potential in this new found love. You are a critical part of the online community, using your skills in the game to strike conversations and encourage people. Your new best friend from the US is the warmest, yet the weirdest person you have ever met. There is so much to your new community of gamers that you cannot believe you have never thought of being a part of an online community. You have the game running almost throughout the day. Even as you run errands you are still actively involved in chatting and participating in friendly banters with other gamers. You are now introduced to other video games and platforms that are a critical part of the online Weirdos & Gamers community. A gay guy from the Philippines is the funniest person you have ever “met”. His weird accent and his squeaky laughter remind you of your childhood days. Truly, video games have become your salvation.

In the world of video gaming, everyone is truly welcome. There is a thriving community of people in different online communities who support each other through various financial, mental, and social ways. The Weirdos & Gamers is only a small part of this community. It is a highly diverse group with representations from countries from all over the world including Asia, Africa, the Americas, Europe, and the Middle East. It does not matter who one is or what they prefer in life. Their current situations do not matter as long as they can play video games. You do not have to be very good at it, rather the interactive nature of video games automatically qualifies you as a part of the community. Some people are really bad at playing and cannot go past the first easy hurdles. This does not matter. What matters is the participation and the homely feel that is accorded to every member of the online gaming community. Having lost everything, having had no hope, having almost given up on life, the story here provides a second chance for everybody. It shows that despite one’s position today, video gaming will always be there for you.

MAKING ETHICAL DECISIONS IN BUSINESS

MAKING ETHICAL DECISIONS IN BUSINESS

Surname:

Tutor:

Date: 6th December, 2011

Introduction

Basically, business ethics is a very complex topic and may not be easy to understand what to include and what not to. Often, people would differ on what ethical decisions are and what ethical decisions should rely on. Decisions are part of life and very important to make. Without decisions, life would be stagnant and no progress would be achieved. In fact many decisions made do help to either achieve their objectives or not. In most cases business owners do find themselves fixed in their businesses because of what we can term as ethical dilemmas. The ethical dilemmas may include the desire to compromise on the quality of the jobs and meet the deadlines which may be so close, or to reduce the number of worker in order to achieve more profits among others. Despite these states, we find that excess pressure that business asserts may not bring the time to relax and think and analyze the situations in details. Business nay not allow time for luxurious lives of reflecting on what to do and this may prompt some people to compromise on the business ideals which may make or break the business. How can some one respond to such situations?

Responding to such situations calls for people to have a sober mind always and consider several approaches to some kind of these restricting situations. These approaches may help you evaluate the situation from different perspectives and finally come up with the way forward which may not be of much harm. So, this paper explores the different approaches that one can take in making ethical decisions in business. The approach that a business owner may decide to take should be in a position to help him or her work well with the customers in mind as well as the employees.

Ethical approaches to business decisions

There are several approaches that business owner can take to make decisions ethically. Some of these ethical approaches include utilitarian approach, universalism, moral rights and cost- benefit approaches.

Considering the utilitarian approach to decision making, a business owner must focus on the action and the result at the same time. Focusing on the action and the result calls for people to bear in mind that the action they would like to take should result in the best to the maximum number of people. This means that when a business decision is taken using the utilitarian approach, the greatest good should be considered to the greatest number of people. For example, business may decide to employ foreign worker cheaply in responding to the stiff completion which may require that the business to cut on the prices. You may find that without applying this, the business may be forced to lay citizens of the country or cut on their wages which will not be a good response to workers. So in order to help the situation, compete and stay in the market, the business may be forced to adopt this policy. (Debra, 2006)

Secondly, a business may decide to carry out decisions in line with the moral rights. This approach relies so much on the moral principles without considering of what the consequences may turn out being. From the general view, there are some actions that are considered to be right or wrong. When faced with the situation that the competition is very stiff and you can not stay in the business, it is ethically wrong to pay your employees below the living wage. However, for the sake of the business, the business owners may decide to pay the low wages or close down the business despite what people, including your competitors may say or do.

We also have another approach to ethical decision making that can also be applicable in business. The universal approach to decision making is the same to the golden rule and basically involves two simple steps. One can decide to determine whether the decision he or she would like to take should apply to everyone under all circumstances and secondly considering whether the rule should be implemented for you by some party or yourself. For instance, if the only way to go in competition is to cut down the wages, then, there would be no alternative; everyone in the business must face it anytime the completion becomes stiff. Or if the best way is to compromise on the quality of the goods at the expense of customers then, every time competition is stiff, the value of goods has to be compromised.

Lastly, we have the cost-benefit approach to the business decisions. Under this approach, the business has to weigh the cost and the benefits of taking and not taking a certain action. Whichever out weighs the other should be adopted. For instance when considering taking action on the increased completion and in mind the business would like to compromise the quality of the products or cutting down on the employee’s wages, the business should consider the impacts that either side would have on the business. Consideration should also be on the whether to take that action or not and what consequences will the business face should the action be taken

Conclusion

Businesses have very complex climate globally and ethical decisions may be very difficult to take. But as a business owner, people will always be expecting you to make decisions especially when things are not good and an abrupt decision is needed. However, these models that I have tried to explore may help a business owner to come up with an action that will be most appropriate. In such cases, business dilemmas may be solved quickly and the action that will be taken can be considered to be ethically correct.

Apart from just looking at the results, one should also learn from the past mistakes. Managers or the business owners should always be vigilant and reflect on the outcomes of their previous decisions before making another one. It is very normal that there is no one who can make perfect decisions consistently but when one makes consistent profitable decisions, he or she stands a better chance to move heights in the business.

References:

Coon, D. (1986). Introduction to psychology: exploration and application (4th ed. ed.). St. Paul: West Pub. Co.

Debra S. (2006) Making ethical decisions in business in Portland, Conn. July/August — Vol. 84, No. 6

Monahan, G. (2000). Management of Decision Making. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Making employees

Making employees feel motivated and valued in any organization should be the number one priority in for the management. This will ensure that the firm gets to operate at a full capacity in managing their human capital. Employee recognition programs are vital in enhancing this strategy. However, if the program is not well implemented, it can be harmful to the organization, in that it will not serve its purpose and it may end up irritating the workers. Expensive rewards may can also backfire. This is especially the case when these rewards are given insincerely. The Incentive theory of motivation theory was developed by Frederick Winslow Taylor in 1911 to explain the application of motivation to optimal task performance. The introduction of this theory led to increased efforts at developing incentive systems for employees, which in turn brought about the use of a number of psychological techniques that are still used today. The Theory of Incentive is most often applied in order to organize human behavior and achieve results on a large scale with little effort.The Incentive Theory of Motivation involves giving workers praise and rewards for any work done, not merely for completing a task. For example, if I gave you a candy bar for every sentence you wrote in this post, it would spur your motivation to write more sentences. This theory is widely used in management and administration. Moreover, due to the fact that this theory is based on a business structure, it is clear that money plays a large role in the motivation of employees. The first reference to “incentives” as an economic concept was made by Jeremy Bentham. In the 18th century, he pleaded for a minimum wage for workers in order to motivate them to work harder. Since then, many other economists have attempted to explain how reward systems can be used to motivate workers and reduce waste of resources and time. The most common incentive system based on this theory is piecework.

Even though incentive theories are widely used in management and administration to motivate workers, there are some who argue that these theories could be potentially dangerous as they can create unrealistic expectations that employees cannot meet which lead to employee dissatisfaction with their workplace or job. For example, if an employee thinks they will be promoted to a higher position, they may feel obligated to work additional hours because they do not want to disappoint the employer. This can lead to poor quality work and ultimately can be

dangerous if an emergency arises.

Although these theories may seem unfair, the extent of which employees are motivated by this theory depends on their position within the company and in general each worker receives an individual reward that is proportional to their performance level. By giving an incentive for every task completed, managers can try to encourage higher performance from their staff. Although these theories are widely used in management and administration as a method of motivation there are disadvantages as well as advantages. One of the major disadvantages is the inability to motivate employees who require “job enrichment”, which is best explained as providing opportunities for workers to expand their job responsibilities. This theory may also be ineffective depending on the employee’s position within a company. For example, an employee working in an administrative position will not be motivated by this theory as much as someone

working in a managerial position.

“Great work,” “wonderful job,” “keep it up,” “I am very proud of you,” and other phrases are used to compliment the staff. Genuine appreciation inspires employees to work harder. It motivates an employee to work more to receive a compliment. It’s quite satisfying to receive compliments verbally and at the moment. Those given to employees in front of others have a greater impact. However, giving an employee too much verbal praise can have significant drawbacks. Employees who are naturally prone to developing “a large head” as a result of excessive verbal praise may engage in detrimental behavior at work. Those with an egocentric mindset may believe that they are the only ones being rewarded and think they are the best or most valuable employee.

Another disadvantage of lavishing verbal praise on an employee is that it may create a

schism among coworkers if it is limited to just one or two employees. Too much verbal praise can lead to jealousy among employees, especially if there is no justice or equity. If someone favors women or men, or people from one location over another, or if someone is racist. Praise can backfire, making people resentful, nasty, or underperforming. Employee morale suffers as a result of unfairness. Giving too much verbal praise to an employee can also have a negative impact on productivity. An employee who is often assured that she is doing an outstanding job may believe that there is no space for improvement.

Perceptive employees can often detect that some verbal appreciation is nothing more than hollow words used by the boss as an obligatory acknowledgement of a job completed. Genuine compliments should be given. When you flatter employees to make them happy, you don’t mean what you say, which might lead to unhappiness. It is preferable to remain silent than to tell a lie.

Telling an employee, she is well-dressed, then turning around and telling her coworkers she is ill-dressed is flattery and excessive praise.

All these issues can be solved by giving appreciation that is distributed effectively and equally among all the employees. There should be no favoritism or nepotism. Praise should be given to every employee who deserves it. If an employee demands a raise instead of verbal praise, then his demands should be considered for his/her services. As a manager, I would try my best to meet the demands of employees and ensure effective distribution of praise.

Assuming the role of a manager, you must have the understanding that you’re placed to lead. An effective leader must understand how to manage all characters, and how to utilize approaches that allow room for employees to work, grow, and lead independently one day themselves. As a manager you control activities, business dealings, and so much more that at times it may cause a manager to miss a thing or two. As a manager of any company, you’d want to maintain customer satisfaction, continued production of the business, increased profits, and along with all the vast desires, as a manager you’d also want the engagement of eager employees. A key component to a successful business is simply a satisfied employee. Now, you may wonder why it’s important to keep employees engaged and how could a manager provide an environment as such; managers could actually begin that process by ensuring that recognition to employees is distributed effectively and fairly. Recognition is the appreciation or acclaim for an achievement, service, or ability. An employee can receive various types of recognition for their work. Typically, employers tend to praise employees when they’ve done a job well done but it’s believed that employees should receive praise not only when they’ve done something beneficial for the company. Praise is one of the most powerful things a leader can offer their team.

Delivering praise gives people the drive and motivation to continue doing the quality of work you want to see for your business, especially as a manager. It can also build and nourish the professional relationship you may have with them. Praise has the potential to increase punctual arrival to ones’ shift, customer satisfaction, self-esteem, and desire to work. As it could also decrease callouts, burnouts, and a hostile environment. If you want your employees to be engaged, productive, and perform at a high-level, they need to feel seen, appreciated, and recognized for their efforts. So as a manager, considering making employee recognition a priority would be ideal if the intent is to cause the behavior to occur again.

There are many ways a manager could provide praise professionally. Verbal and tangible praise may go hand in hand but when praising employees for a job well done, managers need to ensure that the praise is given in conjunction with the specific accomplishment. Of course, receiving something tangible as a result of recognition could bring the employee to assume that they would always be rewarded for good work making it the only way to satisfy them for the work done which could become costly for the company. Tangible rewards such a bumper sticker, a t-shirt, or even a company mug – employees appreciate the little things… believe they do; but rewards that are meaningful to them is what employees would really appreciate over a thumbs up tangible reward. Monetary incentives like raises and bonuses are far more effective and important to employees when receiving recognition but as mentioned previously, verbal praise from managers is also as important to employees. “Verbal rewards are inexpensive for companies to hand out but also are quick and easy to distribute. Employees may find more value in a sincere pat on the back than gifts from management that are either meaningless or not conveyed with respect” (Thanks for nothing). Being genuine and believing in the compliment given assures employees of your sincerity. As a manager, to ensure that recognition given to employees is distributed effectively and fairly you would want to start with the words “thank you”.

Proving the simple words “thank you” at the very least could be the most effective way to praise any employee. Managers can create their own form of employee recognition programs with the support and communication of their work community. Creating surveys, setting polls, and actively participating in conversation with employees themselves is a great way to provide employees with the opportunity of being acknowledged. Group events that recognize the achievements of the organization and employees at large provide the opportunity to make employees feel valued. Giving incentives as a group removes the pressure of favoritism and encourages employees to believe team productivity is also as important as individual praise. It’s important for managers to know their employees and see their progress as individuals because recognition should always be given fairly and justly. An employee who isn’t always on time to their shift may receive a different type of praise than the person that shows up to work on time. Let’s say the late employee excels better at the given task than the employee that arrives on time; such factors must be weighed and taken into consideration when distributing recognition effectively fairly to employees from a manager standpoint.

In conclusion, verbal rewards are vital in motivating employees. They tend to be inexpensive for the management. However, according to the case this form of motivation is not common in many organizations. Many organizations tend to use rewards that are sometimes not offered in a sincere and respectful manner and hence they do not serve the purpose of motivating the workers. To effectively enhance motivation among employees, which tends to result in higher productivity, organizations ought to encourage the use of both tangible and verbal rewards. The Incentive theory of motivation has its pros and cons. This theory is a work in progress, and additional research should be conducted to determine whether the theory adequately accounts for all types of motivation. One advantage of this theory is that it provides basic guidelines for motivating oneself and others based on what motivates each individual person. A disadvantage would be that it does not provide insight into why people may choose not to engage in certain behaviors even when they could benefit from doing them (e.g., if you were given an opportunity).

Making a Thesis Statement for Essay #2

Making a Thesis Statement for Essay #2

For this essay, your thesis statement will be about which article from the set you are working with is the most credible. Review your Compare/ Contrast Chart and Assessing Bias worksheet to determine which article you will be arguing is the most credible.

Your thesis statement should be one sentence. It should state which article is the most credible and why, using one reason from the list below:

It uses the most credible sources.

It is the most unbiased of the three articles.

It gives information on both sides of the issue.

It gives information about experiences of people most impacted by the issue.

It gives the most background information on the issue.

It does the most thorough job covering the issue it is reporting on.

Your thesis statement should follow this structure:

Out of the three articles, the article “(name of article)” from (source) is the most credible because it ______________.

For example:

Out of the three articles, the article “Change Your Diet to Combat Climate Change in 2019” from CNN is the most credible because it uses the most credible sources.

You don’t have to highlight your thesis! I just color coded it so that you can see the different components it should have.

Remember:

In your paper, you will need to prove your thesis using evidence from the articles. You don’t need to prove that the article you are choosing is perfect (you can point out problems with it), but you will need to prove that it is the most credible, with concrete support.

Makeup Quiz

Makeup Quiz

Psychologists often have come up with the various stages of development including adolescents. Adolescents has been identified as a key period of human development that mark key changes to adulthood including both physical and psychological changes. The changes in the genders seem to differ from childhood to adulthood. These changes are also different for the males for example hoarse voice, and growth of beards while for the female’s physical changes include growth of breast.

Sigmund Freud is said to be the psychologist that developed the traditional theory. Traditional psychology defines problem then identifies the best solution or way to deal with the issue. tuIt is for a fact that certain traits, behavior, and emotions presented by humans are due to past experiences one went through, and in coming up with a comprehensive treatment framework, the process of understanding them is quite important. However, I am very critical of this approach as it is worth noting that traditional technique is more focused on negative attributes such as fear, anxiety, death instead of happiness, joy, resilience, and compassion.

Self-report: This is the ability of one being able to give a brief history of their medical history including travel history. Naturalistic observation is a research method employed by psychologist by observing subjects such as the humans in their natural environment such as observing how people get to behave in a mall especially during a pandemic. Structured observation is whereby the researchers are able to gather data without necessarily involving participants as there is a guide in place that guides these individuals for example counting number of people that rode their bikes.

There has been speculation that certain anti-Maria drugs specifically chloroquine can cure COVID-19. The WHO has warned against us of these antimarial dugs specifically chloroquine but some countries such as Senegal are taking chances. EU and WHO has warned that these drugs should not be used unless necessary as there is no much scientific evidence to back up these claims as the side effects to these drugs can be serious including heart problems, vision loss and extreme cases death especially if used inappropriately.

Make a Commitment to Undertake the Leadership Journey

Make a Commitment to Undertake the Leadership Journey

Directions: Fill in the blanks below to reflect your personal commitment to learning about leadership and submit your commitment letter to your instructor.

Dear ____________________:

Re: Commitment to Leadership

I am making a pledge to begin my journey for learning how to become an effective leader. My commitment shall entail learning how to use my present strengths to enhance my capacity to lead and make a positive difference.

My three most significant current strengths to be used in this endeavor are:

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

I also commit to learning additional skills that will support my future employability and meet my desire to grow as a productive leader. In this regard, I pledge to make considerable effort to learn three new leadership skills for the 21st century. They are:

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Finally, I commit to invest in my future learning by completing a series of activities to accomplish the following three outcomes in my leadership development. They are:

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

My overall objective is to be a _____________________________ leader who can be used in a(n) _____________________________ organization.

Based on my strengths, my personal leadership brand is:

I want to be known for being __________________ so that I can deliver __________________.

I understand that this letter constitutes a voluntary commitment to my future.

Sincerely

“(Your Signature)”

Major Values of American Democracy

Major Values of American Democracy

Student’s name

Institutional affiliation

Major Values of American Democracy

At a time of global stress on democracy, the Americans agree on the democratic values that are important for the country. The United States political culture has numerous core ideas which reflect people’s needs within a socially constructed system of meaning. These values mirror individual needs in society and, at the same time, reflect people’s stance on what they need to think. In essence, values reflect the relationship between a group and entire society or an individual. Most Americans agree with or share common values of democracy. The fundamental principles and values of American democracy form a common ground for citizens to work together to boost the attainment of community, individual, and national goals. These values are expressed in the Constitution, Declaration of Independence, the Gettysburg Address, and other significant speeches and writings. This essay discusses equality, liberty and truth as core values of the American Democracy.

As a core democratic value, equality ensures everyone receives equal treatment regardless of race, religion, economic status, or where their parents are. American citizens are entitled to social, economic, and political equality. As depicted in the US Declaration of Independence, all individuals are equal and as such, they should be given equal treatment. Equality is often linked with fairness which is another pillar of the American life. The term “equality” never appeared in the Bill of Rights of 1789 or the Constitution of 1787. While the Constitution of 1789 assured security of liberty and guaranteed all its citizens the rule of law, the existence of inequalities and slavery in women’s status contradicted the notion of equal rights (Harrison, 2018). Equality was intentionally incorporated into the Constitution only after the Civil War came to an end. This was achieved through a series of amendments. The 15th Constitutional Amendment of 1870 gave all citizens voting rights. The 14th Constitutional Amendment of 1868 has all Americans equal citizenship rights. This amendment had the special intention to shield the rights of former slaves. The 13th Constitutional Amendment of 1865 fights for equality through banning slavery. As noted in the Constitution, equality reinforces the principle that no citizen is superior to the other. However, in the real world, maintaining equality is hard because of the legal powers accorded to specific individuals especially holders of public office. Even so, equality is demonstrated in various forms, such as the equality in Americans’ voices when electing leaders. All American citizens are entitled to a single equal vote regardless of stature.

Liberty is another major value upon which American democracy is based. Liberty protects people’s freedom of thought, speech, and expression. As a value, liberty incorporates the freedom of choosing friends, believing what a person wants, expressing ideas publicly, and having opinions and ideas, the right to lawful businesses and jobs, and the right for people to convene in groups. Freedom of expression and speech are some of the most important rights for any democratic nation. The freedom of the press grants journalists the right to report on issues and facts as they are, regardless of the repercussions or what they might reveal (Janda, Berry, Goldman, Deborah, & Manna, 2021). The only instance when journalists are not allowed to report on a specific issue is when the information affects national security. Liberty makes sure that people are able to speak their minds and take necessary action without fearing retaliation. For instance, employees that are subjected to hostile work environments can act by informing the Employee Rights Commission of their grievances. When the freedom of speech is taken away, people get tortured, imprisoned, or even killed for expressing what they believe in. Liberty is impactful in law-making as it ensures society does not end up as a political prison camp.

Truth is another common value that defines American democracy. Simplified, governments and citizens should not lie to one another. The government and the people expect the same from each other. The governments should be open with their people by sharing information. Democracy and truth go hand in hand. Conventional wisdom shows that people have to agree about what reality should look like for democracy to function well (Michelman, 2017). Leaders and governments tend to lie when facts are not in their favor and they do not want the people to know the truth. Untruths hurt democracy because it becomes increasingly hard for members of the public to know about the facts. This makes it even more difficult for people to give meaningful input, undermining citizens’ role in making policies. As a result, the policies that get adopted are flawed as decisions that are formed from falsehoods turn out to be wrong.

In closing, while the American people experience life differently, they agree that equality, liberty, and truth are some of the core values that define American democracy. As a form of government, democracy is where people govern themselves and political leaders act according to the people’s opinion. The American political life resets on fundamental principles and shared values. Moving forward, rather than emphasizing procedural democracy, the United States needs to get to the real work of ensuring people get their democratic rights and improving the system of democracy.

References

Harrison, L. E. (2018). The Pan-American dream: do Latin America’s cultural values discourage true partnership with the United States and Canada? Routledge.

Janda, K., Berry, J. M., Goldman, J., Deborah, D., & Manna, P. (2021). The challenge of democracy: American government in global politics. Cengage Learning.

Michelman, F. (2017). Democracy and positive liberty. In Constitutionalism and Democracy (pp. 287-302). Routledge.

Major Types Of Researches

Major Types Of Researches

Abstract

This essay is introduced by briefly explaining the major types of researches. Terms used in research are also defined and described. The author discusses about the same problems that face researches and how to alleviate them. The author also gives the pros and cons of differentiating descriptive research and compares it with other research designs. The author proceeds to give the similarity of subject design to case-studies and time-series. The threats facing single subjects and their advantages are also discussed.

Introduction

The purpose of the research is the determiner of the research design that will be employed by a researcher. Researchers often carry out two types of researches. They include descriptive research and explanatory research. Descriptive research tends to answer the questions of what is happening. Explanatory research tries to find out why things are happening the way they are at the time of research. The research designs and the questions are greatly affected by these two factors. They determine the research questions and even control direct the type of questions that are going to be asked. The following are answers to questions related to the research designs.

Discussion

Description and definition of the terms linear relationship, Pearson correlation, Spearman correlation, regression, and multiple regression

Linear relationship

A linear relationship is whereby increasing the amount of one variable by x times will also increase the number of the other variable by the same x times (Kalla, 2011). The two variables are said to be linearly related. An example of such relationship is when making purchases. If one glass costs $5 then five glasses will cost $25.

Pearson correlation

This is a type of coefficient that shows the relationship between two variables. These two variables must be measured in the same interval or under the same ratio (Investopedia, 2013). Although it is hard to measure the degree of relationship of two variables, Pearson correlation uses a coefficient that eases the research.

Spearman correlation

This coefficient is often referred to as Spearman’s rho. It is a coefficient that describes the relationship between two variables using a monotonic function (McDonald 2009)

Regression

This is a statistical measure that determines the relationship of two dependable and a list of other changing variables (Investopedia, 2013). There are two types of regression; linear and multiple regression.

Multiple regression

This is a method of data analysis that is most appropriate when a dependent variable is to be evaluated in relationship to independent variables (Berger, 2003)

Third-variable problem and the directionality problem and how can these be mitigated

Third-variable problem

These are variables that a researcher is unable to control or eradicate during the research. They put the validity of the research into question. This variable is also known as a mediator variable. They greatly affect the relationship between the dependent and independent variables. This can lead to the analyst analyzing the results wrongly (Shuttleworth, 2008). This problem can be solved by planning the design well in advance before the actual research. Constantly check the progress of the research can also filter out most of the variables.

Directionality problem

This is a problem that arises when two variables are dependent and it is not clear to evaluate which factor brings rise to the other factor. The presence of correlation of one variable to another makes it difficult to know the cause of an action. These variables pose a challenge during the experimentation. During research, such a problem can be solved by taking a position. When a researcher decides the causative, the experiment gets a direction and a start point.

General features that differentiate descriptive research from other types.

As discussed earlier, descriptive researches tends to answer the question of what is happening. It is also known as statistical research. The main objective of this kind of research is usually to explain the collected data and study what is happening. Studying frequencies, averages, and other statistical figures is among the ideas behind this kind of research. This type of research also has some unique features that make it stand out from the rest. The fact that it does not research on the reasons behind the occurrence of something makes it effective.

Comparison and distinction of the three types of descriptive research designs and their advantages and disadvantages

There are several types of research design. These descriptive designs all try to answer the question of what is happening. They include observational, case study and survey method. These types have their shortcomings and also merits. They are discussed below.

Observational is the simplest method of data collection. It is easy and convenient since the researcher needs only to set up the objective and the point of focus. He or she observes it and records the observations. This method has a shortcoming in that it is subject to the researcher. The results may be biased from time to time because of the attitude and the moods of the researcher. The researcher might have some prejudice and may be get results that are not true.

Doing a case study is also another descriptive research design. The common advantage of this type of redesign is that it uses live examples. It uses objects r people that are tangible or can be seen. This makes it effective and easier to validate the results. Shortcoming in using this type of design is that there is higher chance of using data that is not genuine or may have been altered.

The last type of descriptive research is by doing surveys. Unlike the other two types, surveys are more thorough and deals with real people on the ground. An advantage of this method is that the research questions are structured to suit all the requirement of research. It is possible to get immediate feedback and understand the causative agents of the research questions unlike the other methods where decisions are made on prepared data. The worst disadvantage of this method is that there is a likelihood of people giving wrong information during the survey. This will lead to recording of results that are fictions. There is also a tendency of people shying away from surveys. This can be a major drawback in some cases.

Why might single subject designs be preferred over other designs

Single subject design is a method that uses one individual on one group as a single entity during the research. This type of design therapeutically is in observation of the behavior of an individual with the aim of some treatment of the subject. These designs are selected since they bring out the macro-level environment of the neighborhood, communities and even the larger society. The major difference of single subject designs is that they use one subject to do the study. Single subject valuable involves the measurement of an independent valuable after the changing of several valuables. In the psychology field, the independent valuable is the patient while the independent valuables are the various therapeutic interventions.

Similarity of single subject design to case-studies and time-series designs

The above techniques are used in psychology and in the medical field in general in order to offer support to weak patient. A common similarity of the three is that they offer personalized attention to the patient in question. The patient’s behavioral changes and mannerism are taken as the main diagnosis feature. The way they relate with others and everything around them is noted down and compared to the normal. Actions are thus taken from the diagnosis. All of the above techniques are time consuming and require the patient’s will for it to work.

Threats to validity of single subjects design

One of the main purposes of research is validity. It is crucial to validate the results and minimize the chances of faulty results. There are a number of reasons that poses threats to validity of single subjects design. They include degree and speed of changes that occur, the length of the intervention and the intervention conditions.

Bodies are always opposed to change, it is important to note the time and the degree to which a body is subjected to a lot of change over a short period of time. This can lead to damage of the body or even acquiring of false results. The intervention conditions should be favorable for the subject. This can increase the chances of better results.

Conclusion

The type of results wanted should always be the key determiner in evaluation of the type of research to use. A pre experiment assessment should always be done in assessing the validity of the experiment. During the undertaking of a research, regular assessing should be done to reduce chances of errors. The errors can also be reduced by adequate planning before the execution of the research.

References

BIBLIOGRAPHY l 1033 Berger D.E 2003 introduction to multiple regression retrieved Nov 09, 2013 from

http://www.google.co.ke/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=7&cad=rja&ved=0CGYQFjAG&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwise.cgu.edu%2Fdownloads%2FRegression.doc&ei=4l1-UsrXNovB7Abv24DoBg&usg=AFQjCNFYiY4Z5E7ZWEoySAOczgvYTV6stQ&sig2=kjX3FXLKTuIB3DzOXbxupw&bvm=bv.56146854,d.ZGUInvestopedia 2013.Peason coefficient retrieved Nov 09, 2013 from http://www.investopedia.com/terms/p/pearsoncoefficient.asp

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McDonald, J.H. 2009. p.221-223 Handbook of Biological Statistics (2nd ed.). Sparky House Publishing, Baltimore, Maryland

Siddharth Kalla (Jan 10, 2011). Linear Relationship. Retrieved Nov 09, 2013 from Explorable.com: http://explorable.com/linear-relationship.

Shuttleworth M(Aug 16, 2008). Confounding Variable / Third Variable. Retrieved Nov 09, 2013 from Explorable.com: http://explorable.com/confounding-variables.

Major Types of Essays

Major Types of Essays

A narrative essay retells a story of a personal life or an experience. The narrative is written in the author’s point of view and the sensory details provided in this essay impacts feelings and emotion to the reader. The author can write about his past experience and connect it to the current or the present

An Argument /A persuasive essay are essays that have a goal to convince a reader about a topic, normally a topic that involves giving a personal opinion and the reader must believe it. The argument uses solid evidence, and gives logic and sound reasoning. The reader must agree and adapt to your argument. An example of a persuasive essay is a petition.

Expository essay requires one to investigate, to generate, to collect and to evaluate a topic and set argument regarding the topic. It can be achieved by comparing and contrasting, analysis of effects and cause and more. The essay is short in length and involves less research. Expository essays are normally used for test writing for instance the GRE and the GED.

A descriptive essay has many adjectives that describe and portray impression on the topic. This essay uses details to give a picture of a person, a place, an event a debate or an object. The descriptive essay can use the sense of smell, touch, taste, sight and hearing to give the reader a feeling of the topic being described.

My Greatest Accomplishment

Everyone deserves a second chance to be loved especially innocent children who are abandoned and left to die in the streets. I grew up as an orphan, who had neither a home nor anyone to love me. I felt rejected and an outcast in my society. It has been my dream since then to help the destitute, to parent the abandoned children and the homeless. I joined a group of people who had the same interest and passion as I. In the January Last year we attended Christian seminars and education centers that train caregivers on how to handle an orphanage. I visited various orphanages to compare what facilities they offered.

August last year I got permit and opened Mercy home which was appreciated from my church abundantly. From my church I got 5 sponsors and well wishers who were ready to help. So far I have 21abondoned children and 5aged women that call Mercy Home their home. The number is raising and we will need a bigger place. I have bought a land where I plan to build and we will relocate in future. This has been my greatest accomplishment of owning an orphanage and a dream come true. I have a vision of changing the world to be a better place for the needy.

Major Psychology Of Disaster Concepts Applied To The Disasters

Major Psychology Of Disaster Concepts Applied To The Disasters

Contents

TOC o “1-3” h z u Rescue stage PAGEREF _Toc381073465 h 1Inventory stage PAGEREF _Toc381073466 h 1Acute and Post –Traumatic stress disorders PAGEREF _Toc381073467 h 2Post-traumatic depression PAGEREF _Toc381073468 h 2Reconstruction stage PAGEREF _Toc381073469 h 2Conclusion PAGEREF _Toc381073470 h 3

The psychological concepts or the effects of a disaster can manifest immediately or long after the event. Understanding the Impacts is a very crucial aspect of the psychological preparedness. How the victims in the scenario cope has an impact on the response to the disaster and the efforts that will be put in the recovery process. It is therefore very important for the emergency planners to understand how the psychological health is affected by the disasters (Gant, 2011). The psychological impact of the two disasters Katrina and Lusitania can be conceptualized in three these are;

Rescue stageThe first few hours or even days after the disaster, search and rescue activities continue as the relief efforts are initiated. The relief activities that are involved include; situation stabilization, providing the survivors with provisions, tending to their needs in terms of health, shelter and other needs. During this period the people at the scene may exhibit some symptoms this include, psychological numbing this involves the people being dazed and confused. They can exhibit a superficial calmness or feel as though what they are experiencing is unreal, as if the event is not really happening. There may be heightened arousal, there would be a feeling of intense fear, and the people may be easily startled or have experiences of physiological arousal such as heart pounding and muscle tension. There may feel anxiety over a feeling of separation from their loved ones. The survivors can also have a conflict over nurturance of the occurrence of the disaster (Guterman, 2005). They can distance themselves emotionally as they feel they do not understand why they went through such a disaster. An example in the hurricane Katrina disaster was how the victims appeared ravaged and in distress as they made attempts to flee the scene. Most of them were already in an unstable state of life and this event came with lots of confusion and increased the unstable states. Therefore the rescue and relief workers should be briefed on the behaviors’ that they should expect to encounter at a disaster scene.

For instance during the Lusitanian disaster the passengers were frightened as they made attempts to push off some of the boats on the port side off the ship and get them to the water. Some watched in disbelief as the women and children in the boats that had been launched caught the rail and subsided. Those still on the ship also watched in distress as the boats that had been set out leaked when they reached the water and many people drowned.

Inventory stageSome of the survivors of the disasters can experience trauma even long after the occurrence of the incident. After the disaster the victims will asses the reality of the situation they are in following g the occurrence of the disaster and the consequences that will be lasting. During this time they may begin to experience symptoms that are characteristic of Acute and post-Traumatic stress disorders, general anxiety disorders and post traumatic depression. They can also be phobias and obsessive-compulsive behaviors. For instance both survivors of Lusitania and hurricane Katrina will develop phobias that are related to water. These survivors of Lusitania will have the fear of travelling in large vessels and those of the hurricane will have a fear of storms even if they encounter even a slight storm. It can also be said that the victims who survived the Lusitania disaster feared explosions even the slightest of them and the smell of burning oil that they encountered they never got over it. The psychopathy that the victims will develop after disasters include;

Acute and Post –Traumatic stress disordersThe survivors will develop some symptoms that are related to these disoders.this include re-experiencing some of the events that took place in the day of the disaster. They can have flashbacks or even intrusive images that are related to the disastrous event. For example the survivors of both Katrina and Lusitania can have frequent flashbacks and images of the day of the disaster and they can appear as real as though they are taking place at that very moment in their thoughts (Guterman, 2005) .The survivors can also develop dissociative symptoms such as derealization, depersonalization, and even dissociative amnesia. They can get depressed and have difficulty in falling asleep, staying asleep and even lack concentration. They can have an impaired functioning for instance impairment in their social, occupation or even problems in sleep. This for instance in the case of the Lusitania disaster, the survivors who lost their family members for instance the men who saw their women and children drowning in the boats that had been used to make attempts of saving them. This picture would remain vividly in the memory of these survivors since they could offer no help whatsoever to the affected. In the case of hurricane Katrina the survivors mostly are people who were already struggling to survive in the area and the occurrence of this made them loose all they had been trying to build up for themselves. This was very traumatizing to them since they saw all they had been trying to work toward been destroyed as they watched and could do practically nothing.

Post-traumatic depressionThis is the prolonged depression after the disastrous event has occurred.ist symptoms include slowness in movement, fatigue, energy loss, irritability, lack of concentration and sadness. These traumatic events serve as a reminder to the survivors of their mortality that may lead to negative thought and rumination.

Reconstruction stageA year or so after the occurrence of a disastrous event the emphasis is now on the maintenance of a stable pattern of life among the survivors. They may continue to exhibit symptoms that have been described in the inventory stage. The survivors have to realize that they have to continue with life and the grief and anger that they have is eventually replaced by acceptance (Gant, 2011). For instance in the case of hurricane Katrina the survivors learn to accept that they lost their property and homes and now have to live with the fact that they have to sought new homes and start new life’s. Those who have survived will therefore solve their problems and just rebuild their life’s that were shattered during the disaster. This process will continue for a long period of time as the new state of living is reestablished gradually. In the case of hurricane Katrina, the large number of people that were displaced, those who were rendered homeless and the overall trauma that was experienced by the survivors requires a lot of mental health monitoring for years ahead. An example was the support of young people in New Orleans an organization known as covenant house dealt with the mental health challenges of the young people in the area. There was also an initiative by volunteers to build a new play ground that would restore children’s laughter in the neighborhood after the traumatizing events of the hurricane. The victims of hurricane Katrina still receive charitable contributions of medicines, emergency relief even years on after the occurrence of the disaster this is a clear indication that reconstruction takes a lot of time.

ConclusionThe two disasters involve some concepts in the psychology of the victims and survivors. This concepts have fully been discussed and they need to be greatly understood so that they can be used incase of future disaster situation. This can help in better understanding and managing this situtuations.this include the way the survivors will be helped and in the path of their recovery. Therefore understanding these concepts to be applied in disasters is a very important point.

References

Guterman, P. (2005). Psychological preparedness for disaster.http://www.academia.edu/233646/Psychological_preparedness_for_disaster

Gant, P. G., & Gantt, R. (2011). Disaster Psychology. http://www.asse.org/professionalsafety/pastissues/057/08/042_049_F1Gan_0812.pdf. Retrieved October 10, 2012, from www.asse.org/professionalsafety/pastissues/057/08/042_049_F1Gan_0812.pdf