Tuesday, August 25, 2020

Cohabitation essays

Dwelling together expositions I woke up around one pm that day. I had a night work in the city of Rochester and that began at 6pm so I needed to prepare. In the wake of preparing. I would go to my companion Davids house where I had my PC in light of the fact that at the time he had digital web and we would mess around before I needed to go to work. He hung tight for me and attempted to call and imagined that perhaps I just went to work. He thought it was odd that I didnt come or answer my telephone. I was driving my vehicle a similar way I generally went to go to my companions. I had a little 1991 Mercury Tracer. I was driving down the rode sticking to music and coming around my last corner before the city of Rochester. I couldnt hold up till I got to Davids house. At that point everything went dark. When I woke up I wasnt moving no more and wasnt extremely sure what was happening. It went dark once more. At that point everything came to me again and I looked down and saw my leg was part into equal parts. I thought to me self how I could have nodded off. Back to oblivious I went. I became cognizant again and the fire fighter where breaking the windows so they could utilize the Jaws of Life to evacuate the top of my vehicle so they could haul me out. When they were down with the rooftop they put me on a cot and hauled me out and I shouted on the grounds that I have never felt that much agony and everything went dark once and for all. I woke up again and it was about 6am and notice I was breathing however it wasnt me that was relaxing. I began to go ballistic lastly the medical caretaker saw I woke up and begun to quiet me down. Sooner or later the at last expelled the cylinder from my throat and I could at last breath all alone and talk once more. About an hour later my mother at long last came in and revealed to me that I was in a head on head fender bender and I said to her I didnt nod off and go into the discard. I was still sort of out of it cause the entirety of the medications I was on and I said ... <!

Saturday, August 22, 2020

Comprehensive Project Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Thorough Project - Coursework Example This gives a reinforcement measure to cover the gaps in the government legal codes when settling a contest. In the UAE, courts don't keep a bookkeeping of cases gone to preliminary or choices from those cases for expanding on past case law. Expanding on case law benefits the individual looking for help from the courts as there is at any rate one other individual who in a comparable circumstance got a decision in support of them. Case law would then help the contention made in the new case and give a standard of verification important to make the first contention. In the UAE, this doesn't occur so every case must present with adequate proof and on its own benefits under the steady gaze of an appointed authority. Judges have no desire to render a choice dependent on past choices, which means there is no point of reference set outside of depending on the common codes. Basically, an appointed authority can put together his choice exclusively with respect to the realities of the case befo re him and settle on a choice that is in opposition to different choices he or different adjudicators have made in comparative circumstances. For a contractual worker looking for help in the UAE, understanding the common codes and the government laws is simply the best way of ensuring. In the UAE Civil Law no. 2 of 1987 (the â€Å"civil code†) articles 870 to 896 explicitly, gives the lawful structure to the development business (Beamish, 2). The codes clarify the desires for the two gatherings and the way to discover goals without depending entirely on a choice from the courts. In business exchanges including an agreement, it is vital for all gatherings to comprehend the essentialness this archive has in their professional interactions including the confinements of their understanding (Coburn). All the more significantly, the two gatherings must comprehend what strategy is substantial for them to attempt to guarantee satisfaction of the agreement including when one gathering won't pay for administrations rendered or materials gave. The UAE Commercial Transaction Law no. 18 of 1993 (the â€Å"CTL†), articles 6 and 11spell out the models required to turn into involved with a development guarantee (Al Tammi and Company, 1). By acclimating oneself with the resolutions is the best way to comprehend the components an agreement ought to contain and what strategy to take, for example, intervention and a mechanics lien when the other party will not pay for administrations and materials (Al Tammi and Company, 1). The Civil Procedure Law of 1992 (the â€Å"CPL†) articles 203-219 explicitly talks about the utilization of discretion and the way in which the arbitral honors are validated (Al Tammi and Company, 1). The measure of unpaid temporary workers in the UAE has expanded lately costing â€Å"hundreds of a large number of dirhams to a huge number of US dollars† (Delmar-Morgan). These cases had been obstructing the court frameworks when medi ation of these cases got mainstream. Presently, the assertion cases have expanded to a point where it is hard to keep an eye on the client’s needs in a convenient way. These are not instances of two or three hundred or thousands of dollars or dirhams yet millions. One case including British specialists and designers who were never paid risen to $636 million (Delmare-Morgan). WS Atkins, an organization that planned Burj Al Arab sat tight for installment of $39.7 million (Delmar-Morgan). Through the discretion procedure, WS Atkins anticipated installment by the primary quarter of the following year, yet WS Atkins kept on hanging tight for

Tuesday, August 4, 2020

Things Ive Missed About Home

Things I’ve Missed About Home So Im writing from the end of a well-needed break back in San Francisco, just about to fly back to Boston to prepare for FAP (Freshman Arts Program), and the adjustment back to home life has been, as usual, greater than a three-hour time difference. These adjustments are mostly positive, but there are exceptions to every rule, and mine is not being bothered by volumes of different people at all hours of the day. What can I say? Sometimes you miss the freshman boy next door barging in and asking you what you think of the brand-new stubble, courtesy of No Shave November. That, and the fraternity I was living in over the summer had free cereal 24/7, and I mean the good kinds that your mom never bought you, like Cocoa Puffs and Lucky Charms. Cereal and I have such an involved long-term relationship that it doesnt even know Im cheating on it with Cold Pizza. (Thanks, college!) But to focus on the mostly positive, here are the things Ive missed about home: * Not having to wear shower shoes. Believe it when I say it that there is no weirder feeling than stepping into your shower for the first time in months without having to flop around in flip flops. That, and maybe knowing that all the hair in the drain is yours, and not the freshman boy next doors. (And even thats questionable.) * Home-cooked meals. A cliche, but with good reason when youve been cooking for yourself at school, or even if you havent, its pretty awesome to come home to food that you know is delicious, was made personally for you, and has a zero percent chance of coming with the bitter aftertaste of your suitemate using and not washing your chopping board last night. Or has a zero percent chance of tasting like.. exactly what was served in the dining hall two weeks ago. (But hey, thats what my buddy Takeout Menu is good for, right?) * Not sweating so much even your eyeballs feel dry. Boston summers are ridiculously and completely unnecessarily humid, which means a couple things never wearing white (ever), never turning off the air conditioning you found for free in your dorms storage, and never a reprieve from the stickiness, even the second you shut off your cold shower. Oh, and sometimes, itll rain torrentially for about twenty minutes, probably in the twenty minutes you were walking across the Harvard bridge with nothing but your $1200 laptop. And probably a $1500 rental camera. Or something equally water-resistant. (I spent the rest of the day in my friends fluorescent green running shorts and carrying all my prized posessions in LaVerdes bags.) * Smoothies. Smoothies are difficult to come by in Boston; instead, you get bubble tea. Im not complaining; I like boba as much as anyone, but smoothies, man. Theres a Jamba Juice in the BU student center, but MIT has barely tapped into the goldmine of the smoothie industry. (Leave it to MIT to devote its resources to renewable energy initiatives instead. Again, not complaining..) * All things not associated with cities. Like seeing the stars out at night. Or the occasional mountain lion scare that comes with living in the burbs at the base of a mountain. Or wild turkeys. Actually, I almost got killed by a wild turkey chasing me down in Brookline a couple weekends ago, but thats a story for another time. (I guess thats pretty much it. I almost got killed by a turkey chasing me down in Brookline. Who knew those things could run as fast as a 54 Asian girl?)(That probably doesnt rule out a lot of birds, but whatever.) * My family. Man, have I fooled myself into thinking Im mostly self-sufficient, but that all seems to come crashing down whenever I go home. This time it was started by the fact that my dad swims in the San Francisco bay without a wet suit. Daily. That water fluctuates from about low 40s to 60 degree Farenheit. Its something I usually tell people accompanied with a smile and an eyebrow raise and the phrase completely crazy, but in my week visit back home, on one particularly chilly eve, I decided to put my money where my mouth was and did my first open-water swim. It was cold. Seriously, all the creative literary training in the world could not paint a world picture adequate enough to describe how cold this water was. It was freezing. Arctic. Glacial. Brisk. (Thanks, Thesaurus.com!) It was also an incredible experience that I never wouldve had without my family pushing me to get in the water, stop hyperventilating, and let the cold take over. But the first five or ten minutes where I couldnt breathe was pretty much just me reciting oh-my-god-I-cant-breathe-what-was-I-thinking-ahh-ahh-ahhhh. (That, and channeling Michael Phelps.) Whatre you going to miss? Your favorite hair colorist? Your orange Buick Riviera?

Saturday, May 23, 2020

Reflection Of Reflection And Reflective Practice - 1584 Words

The purpose of this assignment is to demonstrate my understanding of reflection and reflective practice. Reflection means that we learn by thinking about our experiences and seeing them in a different way. (Dewey, 1938) suggested that, ‘we learn by doing and realising what came of what we did’. Nurses experience physical, hands on, during their roles, but unless they search for the knowledge that comes from realising what came of what they did, then practice standards will deteriorate. Reflective practice is vital for nurses, responsible for providing care to the best of their ability to patients and their families. Nursing Midwifery Council (NMC, 2015). Nursing practice is underpinned by clear regulatory principles (NMC, 2015). The†¦show more content†¦MAIN BODY PART B The next stage of Gibbs model of reflection (1988) is the evaluation stage. Apparently, this topic can be uncomfortable for some people; my personal feelings on this are confusion. I can only assume that people don’t like to consider other individual thoughts on the subject. As a student nurse I feel strongly that we have to be diverse and treat each patient individually and accordingly. The NMC (2015) ask that nurses offer holistic approaches to care, which take into account spiritual needs to ensure a comprehensive care plan is developed. An overview of nursing with spiritual care emerged from the lecture, identifying elements of spirituality including faith, belonging, love, meaning and forgiveness. The definition that emerged was that spirituality is a personal search for meaning and purpose in life, which may or may not be related to religion. I feel that the lecture was preparing us for a time in our career when we will come face to face with emotional, life-changing experiences but if we have played our role as a good nurse, will feel better or soothed by the experience. If we have done our upmost to ensure that the patients ‘spiritual needs’ have been met. The main focus I feel that I have learnt from the lecture was that thereShow MoreRelatedReflection On Reflective Practice1648 Words   |  7 PagesReflective Practice Reflection means deliberately taking time to review the happenings of a certain matter and processing how that matter was handled, how it could have been better handled, and how it should be handled in the event that it happens again. This is a practice that I have made a part of my daily life. I reflect over my day on my twenty minute drive home. It allows me to process my day with a critical eye. Often, I feel that I could have handled things differently. There are also daysRead MoreReflective Reflection On Reflective Practice1474 Words   |  6 PagesReflection is a form of personal response to experiences, situations and events. Reflective practice therefore is based on experience and instinctive learning that one may not aware of it until responded to the situation. It demonstrates how to combine with ones qualities and clinical knowledge and skills in order to .deliver safe and effective patient care. (Jones, 2016).Individuals reflects because issues arise that needs to be con sidered both before and after one performs. The piece of reflectionRead MoreReflective Reflection Of Reflective Practice1896 Words   |  8 PagesThe general trend for scholars was to either explain or expound on theories of the previous scholars but Professor of nursing Gary Rolfe (2001) designed a reflective model to simplify the learning cycle. This version of the reflective cycle was comprised of three questions that ask the reflective practitioner: What, So what, and Now what? (Rolfe 2001)The idea is that through these questions we gain a description of the situation ultimately leading to critic of the situation as well as the f knowledgeRead MoreReflective Reflection On Reflective Practice1332 Words   |  6 Pages Reflective Practice in Special Education Using Action Research Sunny Suzanne West St. Joseph’s University Course Title â€Æ' Abstract: Reflective Practices in Special Education Using Action Research Title and Link to Study: Promoting Reflective Practices in Special Education through Action Research: Recommendations from Pre-service Teachers; Paula Wenner Conroy http://journals.library.wisc.edu/index.php/networks Research Problem and Purpose of the Study: What is reflectiveRead MoreReflective Reflection On Reflective Practice2289 Words   |  10 PagesReflection is considered as a state of mind which is a continuous practice (Fanghanel, 2004, p. 576). It yields confidential and safe ways to demonstrate personal experiences as well as continuously challenging perceptions, illusions and biases that can be damaging to cultures and society. Reflective practice enables the practitioner to learn about themselves and their work, their culture and society in which they live. As a counsellor, the role of reflection is something that is essential in orderRead MoreReflective Reflection On Reflective Practice1072 Words   |  5 Pages The definitions of reflection are countless (Harrington et al. 1996). According to Dewey (1933) reflection starts with ‘a state of uncertainty, hesitancy, perplexity’ (Dewey, 1933). Reflective practice is an iterative method, constantly repeating the sequences of examining, adjusting, and reflecting on practice, before repeating the method all over again (Grushka et al. 2005). This corresponds to Gibbs’ (1988) reflective cycle, an effective tool for reflection. When using this model, I would thinkRead MoreReflection: Surgery and Reflective Practice1110 Words   |  5 Pagesassignment critically discusses a reflective practice with regards to a clinical placement I undertook. In the following critical incident that I encountered I will utilize the Gibbs Reflective Model. Gibbs reflective model is fairly straightforward and encourage a clear description of the situation. Analysis of feelings, evaluation of the experience, analysis to make sense of the experience, conclusion and action plan where other options are considered and reflection upon experience to examine whatRead MoreReflection On Reflective Practice946 Words   |  4 PagesReflective Practice Journal Healthcare reform has caused many new changes in how patients are cared for in today’s society. Healthcare is now centered on the patient actively participating in their plan of care. The focus of healthcare is to maintain a safe environment for patients and improve patient outcomes by following evidenced based practice procedures that help guide the nurse in delivering patient centered care. Informatics, Quality, and Safety While taking this course, a key aspect thatRead MoreReflection: Education and Reflective Practice Essay1868 Words   |  8 PagesThe aim of this assignment is to give a reflective account on group presentation and the peer assessment process as well as the development of a personal action plan. It would involve using ‘The What? Model of Structured Reflection’ (Driscoll 2007) to analyse the experience of using a group designed assessment tool to assess my peers and the experience of being peer assessed. Additionally, experience of completing a group presentation would be reflected upon. A personal action plan which identifiesRead MoreReflective Essay : Reflective Practice Theoretical Essay1732 Words   |  7 PagesReflective Practice Theoretical Essay Introduction(300) Rolfe (2011) state that reflection is a mental process which include thinking, feeling, imagining and learning about what was happening in the past and which could be considered as a personal experience. Reflection is a continuous debate on what might have happened differently and if this could affect differently the present and the future regarding the outcome if is positive or negative. Experience underpin the process of reflection

Monday, May 11, 2020

Analysis Of Homer s The Iliad - 997 Words

It could arguably be said that humankind’s most powerful emotion is love. Many have profited on this idea through the creation of much of the movie industry and other forms of media. Characters are set up in a way such that the audience must believe at least one party loves another. How they act on behalf of this love is perhaps a testimony to the strength of their love and heroic status. Taking this structure at face value, in Homer’s The Iliad, Hector shows the most modern form of heroism in Book Six. He chooses to fight rather than see his loved wife fall to the Achaeans, while others throughout the story view their women as prizes and choose to fight- or not- based on very different values; namely, the cultural norm of fighting to the death to gain eternal glory. This sets Hector apart from the men of his time, for although he is a famous warrior of the Trojan army, his reasons for fighting span across multiple values, giving him an oxymoronic character of a gentle lover yet fierce warrior, a hero for all cultures. Readers just finished a long chapter focusing on Diomedes and his brave fight, injuring two gods and killing many Trojans in Book Five. This creates a great contrast for a more emotion-ridden Book Six, where Hector returns to Troy with the mission of getting the women of the city to appease the gods, afterwards making sure to find his wife and young son. Already there is a distinction between him and other heroes, simply in his ability to have anShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of Homer s The Iliad Essay1231 Words   |  5 Pagesthe Iliad is a tale of war and aggression (Puchner 183). Written in the 8th century, it remains relevant to society today. The basis of the Iliad, warfare, brings with it portrayals of death, grief, and the real problem with humankind: we are not peaceful beings. In a war-ridden world, these topics remain pertinent to society. These terrors of war showcased in the Iliad generate an anti-war message. With this said, Homer creates a timeless lesson against war with his work. While the Iliad has beenRead MoreAnalysis Of The Homer s The Iliad Essay1010 Words   |  5 PagesPoor leadership is devastating in The Iliad.. Homer recognizes this, making a particular effort to demonstrate what traits constitute effective leadership. It is crucial, therefore, to determine exactly how Homer presents this idea in order to gain a coherent understanding of his beliefs. With Homer’s convictions in mind, the individual gifts of these war leaders shine rather brightly. One can then begin to analyze them, deciding for oneself who fits Homer’s ideas the best. Assuredly, each of theRead MoreAnalysis Of Homer s The Iliad 1310 Words   |  6 Pagesunity in his tale. Homer was a writer who performed this feat throughout the entirety of the Iliad and showed his unique ability to weave a tale full of similes that both enhanced and unified his story. Although Homer used a variety of subjects in his similes, and many of them had a common thread. Homerâ€℠¢s unique ability was to create a tale so descriptive that the listener was able to fully immerse him or herself into the story. His usage of similes magnified this ability. Homer focused on the commonRead MoreAnalysis Of Homer s The Iliad887 Words   |  4 PagesIn Homer’s the Iliad there are two types of culture which are shame and honor. The Greeks rank great significance on personal honor. Why is that? The reason being is that to them honor means the ability to fight and be triumphant on the battle field. There are many ways honor is obtained to the Greeks, another way to prove your honor is to reveal athletic abilities. Meanwhile, the shame culture has a different concept to the Greeks. Shame meant to have good morals towards others and it is a moreRead MoreAnalysis Of Homer s The Iliad866 Words   |  4 PagesIn Homer’s The Iliad, women can often be overshadowed by the strong male warriors that dominate the epic poem. However, many women in The Iliad are cent ral to the plot; without these women the poem would have a drastically different story. The influence of women in The Iliad varies from woman to woman, usually having some effect on the plot, but the extent of their involvement is typically dependent on their status in society. However, even when a woman is in a position of great power, she is stillRead MoreAnalysis Of Homer s Iliad 1382 Words   |  6 PagesRyan Doerhoff History of Greece Dr. Kirkland September 5, 2014 Document Analysis The primary documents that will be focused on in this analysis come from Homer’s Iliad. Homer is venerated today as the greatest of Greek epic poets, as his works had a colossal impact on the history of literature. Through his epics, Homer brings us first hand into the culture of the Greek world in the eighth century B.C. It is important to note that at this time very few had the privilege of an education, and lackedRead MoreAnalysis Of Homer s The Iliad 1177 Words   |  5 Pagesto the powerful, hardheaded fighters that generally appear in The Iliad. His purpose in The Iliad is to demonstrate, through tact and strategic ability, that strength and brawn isn’t all that compose a hero. Odysseus, the great tactician, isn’t known as the brawn, but the brain of the Achaian army. When compared with Menelaos, â€Å"Menelaos was bigger by his broad shoulders, but Odysseus was the more lordly† (III, 210). Here, Homer is intentionally lessening Odysseus’ physical prowess to uphold hisRead MoreAnalysis Of Homer s The Iliad Essay1692 Words   |  7 PagesA major theme seen in Homer’s The Iliad is one of war and the politics that play a role in it. A key part of politics is the interactions that take place between people when determining policies and courses of action. The focus of this paper will be on the interactions between the Greek leaders and the army in the opening of book 2. There will be a section where I will analyze these interactions and provide evidence showing what degree I believe the Greek leaders care about their army. The way thatRead MoreAnalysis Of Homer s The Iliad993 Words   |  4 Pages In Homer’s The Iliad, we learn that the mother and father relationships within the family is very important, but we don’t want to overlook the brothers. For instance, in the Greek and Trojan families, it was one way to bring everyone together. The brotherhood of Agamemnon and Menelaus, and Hector and Paris illustrates their devotion. Book Six of The Iliad comprehends several illustrations of how honor strengthens the bond between both brother’s Agamemnon and Menelaus and Hector and Paris. GloryRead MoreAnalysis Of Homer s The Iliad1040 Words   |  5 Pagesthe generation of leaves, so is that of humanity. The wind scatters the leaves on the ground, but the live timber burgeons with leaves again in the season of spring returning. So one generation of men will grow while another dies† (6.146-50) Homer in the Iliad tells of generation after generation fighting to bring glory and honor to not only themselves, but their families. Generations are connected by men who have fought before and men who have yet to fight. Diomedes, after being asked of his lineage

Wednesday, May 6, 2020

Human Resources Management Free Essays

string(193) " they have presented a detailed account on the changing functions of Human Resource Development personnel, the increased need for innovation and the continually changing management strategies\." Introduction Benson et al. (2002), points out that the adoption of technology in the workplace raises solutions to previous Human Resources Management and development problems. However, they are also known to create new problems for the Human Resource department or personnel to address. We will write a custom essay sample on Human Resources Management or any similar topic only for you Order Now In the past, the use of technology in HRD focused around training support, for example educational facilitating media. Currently, technological advancement combined with the support of HRD is used to increase job performance, enhance work-place learning, and facilitate institutional change and development. However, these advancements come with challenges, including the level of access, due to disparities in the availability of software and equipment upgrade, slow uptake of technological innovations, and the affordability of technology facilities. Another challenge is that of the skills required for the deployment and the attitudes of users; this limits the uptake of IT facilities. Dickey et al. (1999) points out that the development and positioning of information technology in the workplace, particularly at local government centers, draws greatly from the organizational and the managerial issues of the workplace. Furthermore, they point out that despite the positive impacts of adopting IT usage in the workplace, there are challenges resulting from the deployment. These include that strategic planning should be effective, interdepartmental coordination should be at its best, and there is the need for strong expertise among the HR personnel in using the IT facilities, if the deployment p rocess is to register effective results. A broad study of the HRM process The human resources management of an organization plays the role of administrating the human resources/ the workforce available for deployment. The functions of the HRM include the sourcing of staff, the selection of the right staff, training the staff to meet the duties of the organization, assessing their performance and rewarding their input towards the success of the organization. On the other hand, the adoption of IT in the workplace is done to influence the automation of certain functions of the organization, and reduce the human resource burden. IT in the workplace, also offers a more effective administration of resources and results, a reduction in operational costs as well as causing an improvement in the overall performance of the organization. The relationship between the adoption of IT and the focus of the HR is that, both seek to offer better results for the organization, through more specialized, easier and more manageable execution of the organization’s duties ( Taylor, Beechler Napier, 1996). The study by Benson et al. (2002) employs a working hypothesis framework as the study starts with an acknowledgement of the great influence of technological development and the use of IT facilities in the workplace. From adopting a working hypothesis framework the researchers were not able to explore the problem of adopting IT in the workplace as one that presents challenges to the HR personnel from other perspectives. For instance, by looking at the problem of the challenges of adopting IT facilities at the workplace, the researchers could have viewed the perspective of the increasing levels of usage of IT facilities among the general population. Therefore, they would realize that the adoption of such facilities does not actually present a challenge to the HR personnel, but a call for the utilization of the IT skills of employees. Through adopting the framework, the researchers were also not able to shed more light on improvement areas, for example the improvement in organizational communication, due to the adoption of IT facilities (Usunier, 1998). The strengths of adopting this framework was that the context of the problem was developed for the audience, where emphasis was placed on the need to address the challenges inhibiting the adoption of IT facilities at the workplace. An example is the need to invest in the required software and hardware. The framework was strong in that through the study, tenable theories were generated, regarding the correlation between adopting IT usage and the need to address limiting areas. For this reason, the study area was communicated effectively, creating the need for more in-depth studies. Through the framework, the hypothesis of the study was proved, showing the need to employ the use of IT facilities, based on consideration of the readiness of the human resource base and the entire organizational framework (Benson et al., 2002). The study by Dickey et al. (1999) uses a problem definition framework, as the study particularly addresses the issues and the areas affecting the development and the deployment of IT facilities in the workplace. In defining this problem area further, the study identifies that the perceptions and the needs of administrators at local government centers influence the effectiveness of the information technology facilities adopted at the centers (Scandura Williams, 2000). The limitations of the framework include that its coverage was very shallow, restricting the study, mainly to definitions, which did not offer solid explanations into the association between the problems inhibiting the adoption of IT facilities and different workplace settings. Another limitation was that the study does not mention other variables like the IT skills of the administrators working at the local government centers, as this could possibly affect the success realized from the adoption of IT. These limitations disfavored the understanding of the issue of study (Scandura Williams, 2000). The strengths of the framework, in developing an understanding of the issue are that the major variables within the study were identified, including the deployment of IT facilities and the needs and perspectives of administrators amongst others. Through the framework, the researchers focused on the area of local governments, eliminating the case of drawing inferences based on a wide area of study. Furthermore, the establishment of the direct correlation through the study, points out the need to research the issue at other organizational and workplace settings (Dickey et al., 1999). Research methodologies Benson et al. (2002) use a descriptive qualitative methodology, as they carry out a detailed description of the specific situation, mainly by sourcing information from document reviews. For example, they have presented a detailed account on the changing functions of Human Resource Development personnel, the increased need for innovation and the continually changing management strategies. You read "Human Resources Management" in category "Essay examples" Through their review of literature, the researchers explore sources like Malhotra (1998), Reich (2000), and Friedman (1999) as well as other sources (Benson et al., 2002, p. 392-393). Through the review of the different sources about the challenges facing the adoption of IT in the workplace, they deeply explore the digital workplace, organizational change and development, IT tools and the challenges presented by IT to HRD personnel. The wide coverage shows that the methodology was used effectively, as it portrays the problem area cle arly (Scandura Williams, 2000). The advantages of the methodology is that it is featured in many other studies which demonstrated the correlation between IT usage and increased HRD tasks, which serve as challenges to the HR. The methodology explores literature on different areas of interest, demonstrating that it considered other perspectives, thus increased the credibility of the inferences (Benson et al., 2002, p. 401). The limitations include that the study over-relies on literature review, demonstrating the replication of information, which reduced the credibility of the information communicated by undermining the need to offer new information (Scandura Williams, 2000). Dickey et al. (1999) used a cross-sectional study; regression analysis methodology, as the study focuses on developing a quantifiable analysis of the strong association between the variables under study. Strategies included the creation of an IT coverage database, interview of executives, and the development of a survey. These include the development and the deployment of IT facilities in the workplace, and the limiting effect of the perceptions, and needs of HR personnel, among other organizational and managerial issues that are directly related to the deployment of IT facilities at local government centers, and the effectiveness realized. In developing the scope of the methodology, the researchers identify three areas, which greatly determine the effectiveness of IT deployment: strategic planning, interdepartmental coordination and the skills levels of executives (Dickey et al., 1999, p. 54). The advantage of the study is that it gathered all descriptive data in support of the relationship under study, through the modes of a database coverage, interviews and the deployment of a study survey. Through these different sets of data, the inferences were supported, thus fostering the understanding of the issue. The coverage of the study was also a demonstration of the factual nature of the data, as the surveys were distributed to all IT professionals and administrators in Virginia. This reduced the levels of information biasness, for example, in the case it was collected from a few local government centers. The wider coverage offered better coverage of the dynamics of IT usage (Scandura Williams, 2000). The limitations of the study include that the study relied on data collection methods, which do not offer guarantee of feedback, for instance the database coverage and the interviews, which were used as the basis for the development of the survey. The study also relied on descr iptive as opposed to inferential techniques of analysis, due to the non-random distinctiveness of the sample population. Based on these areas of limitation, the credibility of the information is compromised (Dickey et al., 1999). Through the two sources, a number of new and contemporary issues are expressed. These include that the varied needs and the perceptions of HR administrators can influence the creation and the deployment of IT at the work place, either positively or negatively. The sources also establish a direct correlation between organizational and managerial issues and the implementation needs for different workplace settings. Through these sources, it is also pointed out that for effective deployment of IT at the workplace, a number of factors play a significant role. The factors include strategic planning over the deployment, the interdepartmental coordination at the workplace, and the expertise of HR personnel among other staffs (Dickey et al., 1999). Through these sources, new concepts are communicated, including that the use of IT at the workplace has changed from a training tool to a system for enhancing learning, addressing the expanding role of the HR, enhancing performance, and facilitati ng institutional change and development (Vanderbroeck, 1992). Conclusion In conclusion, it is evident that the sources greatly inform HR personnel and administrators planning to deploy IT at the workplace, as they outline the benefits of the deployment alongside the challenges. In developing the field of HRM, the two studies inform HR personnel that more is required from their administration – than planning for the creation and the deployment of the IT facilities, so as to enhance the work of employees, as the case may seem to be. For example, they point out the need for administrator education, to enhance their acceptance of the deployment; the need to streamline organizational and managerial practices, to allow for effective deployment; the need to plan strategically, prior to the deployment; the need for excellent interdepartmental coordination, and the value of training HR personnel and employees prior to the deployment of IT. References Benson, A., Johnson, S. kuchinke, K. 2002. The Use of Technology in the Digital Workplace: A Framework for Human Resource Development. Advances in DevelopingHuman Resources, 4: 392. Retrieved on Nov 20, 2012 from http://adh.sagepub.com/content/4/4/392.full.pdf Dickey, J., Dudley, L., Rees, J., Thompson, J. Wamsley, G. 1999. Information Technology Implementation Issues: An Analysis. Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Public Administration and Public Policy: 1-5. Retrieved on Nov 20, 2012 from http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-042399- 053715/unrestricted/DISSERTATION2.PDF Scandura, T.A., Williams, E.A. 2000. Research Methodology in Management: Current Practices, Trends, and Implications for Future Research. Academy of Management Journal, 43(6): 1248–64. Taylor, S., Beechler, S. Napier, N. 1996. Toward an Integrative Model of Strategic International Human Resource Management. Academy of Management Review, 21(4): 959–86. Usunier, J. C. 1998. International and Cross-cultural Management Research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publishers. Vanderbroeck, P. 1992. Long-term Human Resource Development in Multinational Organizations. Sloan Management Review, 34 (1): 95–102. How to cite Human Resources Management, Essay examples Human Resources Management Free Essays Questions 1. What should be the format and final form of the store manager’s job description? There is no standard format as to what should be included in the job description of store manager but most job descriptions cover the following sections †¢ Job identification †¢ Job summary †¢ Responsibilities and Duties †¢ Authority of incumbent †¢ Standards of performance †¢ Working conditions †¢ Job specification 2. Is it practical to specify standards and procedures in the body of the job description, or should these be kept separate? Not all the standards and procedures are important to mention in the body of job description except the ones that are relevant and important for the applicants to know i. We will write a custom essay sample on Human Resources Management or any similar topic only for you Order Now e. Performance and Competency standards. Note: It depends upon the type of job under discussion as to what sort of standards to include. 3. How should Jennifer go about collecting the information required for the standards, procedures and job description? First of all Jennifer should conduct a complete job analysis for the job of store manager and she should also check out existing policies and procedures of the company in place, then she should use one or more of the following methods for collecting information about Standards, Procedures and Job description for the job of Store Manager. †¢ The Interview †¢ Questionnaire †¢ Observation †¢ Participant Diary/ Logs In addition to these basic methods Jennifer Carter can also use these Quantitative techniques as well for measuring job description of store manager Position analysis questionnaire †¢ Department of labor procedures †¢ Functional job analysis 4. What, in your opinion should the store manager’s job description look like and contain? The Sore manager’s job description should look like and contain the following things. Carter Cleaning Center Store Manager Job Description |Title |2025 Store Manager | |Department(s) |Cleaning | |Reports t o |President (Jennifer Carter) | Job summary The store manager is responsible for directing all store activities in such a way that quality work is produced, customer relations and sales are maximized and profitability is maintained through effective control of labor supply and energy costs Summary of essential job functions In accomplishing the general aim the store manager’s duties and responsibilities are †¢ Quality control †¢ Store appearance and cleanliness †¢ Customer relations †¢ Bookkeeping and cash management †¢ Cost control and productivity †¢ Damage control †¢ Pricing †¢ Inventory control †¢ Spotting and cleaning Machine maintenance †¢ Purchasing †¢ Employee safety †¢ Hazardous waste removal †¢ Humane resource administration †¢ Pest control Knowledge, skills and abilities (The knowledge, skills and attitudes required for satisfactory job performance) Knowledge The incumbent must have proficient knowledge in the following areas: †¢ Cusom er service †¢ Accounts payable accounts receivables †¢ Store and motel management and administration Skills The incumbent must demonstrate the following skills: Personal Attributes The incumbent must also demonstrate the following personal attributes: be honest and trustworthy †¢ possess cultural awarenes and senstivity The Store Manager would normally attain the required knowledge, skills and attitudes through related in experience in a retail setting. Equivalencies will be considered. Disclaimer The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by people assigned to this classification. They are not to be construed as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties, and skills required of personnel so classified. All personnel may be required to perform duties outside of their normal responsibilities from time to time, as needed. Additional information |HR use only | |Job code | | |Generic title | | |Pay grade | | |Management? (Yes/No) | | |E/NE status | | |Last revised | | ———————– †¢ excellent customer service and interpersonal skills †¢ effective verbal and listening communications skills †¢ effective written communications skills †¢ decision making skills †¢ time management skills †¢ analytical and problem solving skills †¢ How to cite Human Resources Management, Essay examples Human Resources Management Free Essays string(86) " not have the same level of employer relationship as does Tesco with their employees\." Introduction How Does the health of the employment relationship impact on the overall success of an organization? The health of the employment relationship at Tesco is a dynamic and at times ambiguous role within the organization that interlinks the employee with departmental contacts and coincidentally, at times, others within the organization. Generally, the aforementioned employee relationship does apply to the organizational worker, such as the sales clerk at a retail store. These employees will operate within the organizational framework of their inherent role, such as customer interaction and customer checkout. We will write a custom essay sample on Human Resources Management or any similar topic only for you Order Now The employment relationship is therefore a function of the employee relationship and is subject to the relative happiness of the employee within their position and with the organization. The organization selected for this analysis is Tesco Plc., which is, â€Å"Great Britain’s biggest private sector employer.†(Partnership delivers the goods at Tesco, 1999) The organization is the employee base and the managerial and executive leaders that run the operations. The pyramid description of the organization is true for most organizations. The majority of the employees are at the bottom of the organization and do the grunt work of the business, such as the actual sales transactions or the actual tire change, for example. In a more complex and technical organization, the grunt work may be programming and the organization may be made up of programmers. At Tesco, the workers are going to be the retail staff that must attend to customers and ensure the floor operations are attentive to customer needs. With regard to organizational effectiveness at Tesco, â€Å"Tesco Human Resources director for retailing service Therese Procter and CIPD strategic adviser Lee Sears regarding the role of the development of business organizations which include ensuring that the companies goal is met at every stage of the business process and engaging the employees toward the companies goals.† (Orme, Procter, Sears, 2009) Tesco inherently makes an attempt to engage their employees to create a sense of belonging to the organization and reinforce their importance to the underlying operations. At every stage of the business process, company goals are met. The employees are therefore empowered to create an organization that is reflective of their work. The employee engagement is dynamic in many aspects but primarily because the organization employs a wide range of people. â€Å"Plans of Tesco to open stores in early 2005 that would employ long-term unemployed people in deprived areas in a bid to recruit staff from a wider labor pool and create new markets for its business. Tesco guarantees them a job providing they complete a training course lasting eight to 10 weeks. The company has found its policy has improved retention, with 55 percent of staff taken on through the scheme staying for at least six months.† (Hope, 2004) As aforementioned – Tesco’s organizational attempt to hire the unemployed is a policy designed to motivate by indoctrinate the Tesco way as is predicated on the Tesco training program. â€Å"Tesco will ring-fence a significant number of the 11,000 jobs it expects to create this year for the long-term unemployed. After announcing a 10% rise in annual profits to 3.1bn last week, Hayley Tatum, Tesco’s UK personnel director, said that where stores were located in high areas of unemployment, the retailer would put aside jobs for who have been out of work for more than 12 months.† (Baker, 2009) The decision by Tesco to reserve 11,000 jobs for individuals out of work for more than 1yr and living in a high unemployment area is an example of enhancing the employment relationship by enabling the new hire with an immediate opportunity to contribute to the organization. SOCIAL IMPACT OF CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY The social impact via corporate responsibility by providing opportunity to the individuals ostensibly who have the least opportunity available to them is a policy that increases the effectiveness of the employment relationship by enabling loyalty and therefore sustainability. â€Å"The news came as the jobless total soared to 2.1 million, according to official statistics released last week. So far, the retailer has taken on 3,000 long-term unemployed people through Jobcentre Plus using the government’s Local Employment Partnership (LEP) scheme. Tatum said potentially thousands more could be hired in this way as 200 new Express stores and 30 larger stores would be opened this year.† (Baker, 2009) TESCO’S EMPLOYER RELATIONS HISTORY The crux of the employee relationship is inherently established on trust which extends into loyalty. As the employee gains trust into the organization, the level of loyalty one contributes into the organization will rise. â€Å"If the store is in an area of high unemployment, we will try to ring-fence more jobs for LEP’s,† (Baker, 2009) Enabling the long-term unemployed as new hires will also reinvigorate the local economy and enable new hires to spend at the store and become customers as well as employees. The combination seeks to improve and stabilize employment relations and to bolster the consumer base and the quality of service of Tesco. â€Å"Tesco is working up plans for a regional distribution centre of around 500,000 sq. ft. in Havering, east London. The LDA had hoped to reserve the site for hi-tech manufacturing, but said that it would soften its stance to bring â€Å"long-term employment† to the site. The agency is thought to look favourably on Tescoà ¢â‚¬â„¢s proposal as it could create as many as 500 jobs.† (Tesco ready to chill in Havering, 2009) Tesco’s UK personnel director described the LEP’s as a function of enabling the organization to make hiring decisions, but does not guarantee a job. â€Å"Tesco was the only employer to offer those who complete its LEP scheme the guarantee of a job at the end. In March, McDonald’s said it would offer those on its LEP scheme the guarantee of an interview.† (Baker, 2009) Tesco has a market advantage by guaranteeing a job after completing the LEP program whereas competing businesses may not receive the same level of hire given the probability of obtaining a job as less than with Tesco. McDonalds for example, may not have the same level of employer relationship as does Tesco with their employees. You read "Human Resources Management" in category "Essay examples" If an employer can guarantee a job after completing the LEP then intuitively the most qualified individuals within that job market will seek that particular job via the LEP program. SAFEGUARDING PRODUCTIVITY INCREASING NEW HIRES To provide further safeguard to prevent against the hire of individuals that may harm the corporate culture or that may constitute a ‘bad hire’ requisite to the violation of one or more corporate rules.â€Å" The graduate recruitment process of Tesco PLC, a British international grocery and general merchandising retail chain, has been revamped to address the problem of a growing number of unsuitable candidates being invited for interview. The company has introduced the Talent screener software programme, which analyses applicants’ suitability for a role, at the first stage of recruitment. The system, made by WCN, rates candidates on a traffic-light scale from red, which means not suited, to green, which means highly suited.† (Chubb, 2007) The talent screener provides a system to identify the best candidates based on established criteria. Reduction of error with regard to bad hires will propel the organization further and faster than if enabling hires that a re not fully integrated with the system. The talent screener is the backup or the mitigating factor with regard to the use of the LEP program. The talent screener will enable such practices as their major recruiting initiative to hire for the marketing department. Marketing is a higher level organizational role than what is on the floor and likely will involve advertising initiatives and soft sales skills. â€Å"The retailer aims to fill more than 40 marketing vacancies, including head of online marketing for FF and marketing manager for Clubcard. The drive is part of Tesco’s bid to redefine its marketing approach, in a strategy dubbed internally as ‘One Voice.’ The project, believed to be designed by UK marketing director David Wood, is designed to improve coherence across Tesco’s businesses. ‘As it has all these new marketing executives coming in, it wants to try out a new initiative, and ensure Tesco speaks with â€Å"one voice†, said a source close the retailer.† Barnes, 2013) The improvement of coherence across all of Tesco’s business lines will provide the most com prehensive integration effort to unify the organization within the framework of the company underlying employment relationship strategy. The organization wishes to speak with one voice and to reduce the stigmatism of ‘the bad job’ or the role that no one wants in the organization by unifying the importance of all jobs into one singular voice. EMPLOYER RELATIONS ISSUES AT TESCO Alternatively, there is a history of employer relations issues at Tesco, to which statistically, almost all organizations will have some issues with their employees. For example, the case of Miss Gaurilcikiene v Tesco Stores Limited purports Tesco Stores violated the discriminatory workplace law that protects employees from discrimination. â€Å"This case deals with an appeal on the grounds of a procedural irregularity made against a judgment in the employment tribunal. Miss Gaurilcikiene, a Lithuanian, raised a grievance alleging that her colleague’s behaviour towards her at work amounted to race discrimination. The grievance letter was sent by email to Tesco’s head office and copied to the area personnel manager. When she did not receive a reply to her grievance, Miss Gaurilcikiene presented a claim to the employment tribunal alleging that Tesco’s failure to deal with her grievances amounted to victimization and/or direct race discrimination.† (Miss Gaur ilcikiene v Tesco Stores Limited, 2013) The Miss Gaurilcikiene case against Tesco is indicative of a weakness in Tesco’s employer relationship model as potentially there could be racial discrimination and thus policy violations that create underlying issues with the employee base. If employees begin to feel their work environment is potentially bigoted or prejudiced in any way, the perception of the organization may change and employees may lose trust in the internal members of the organization. The internal members are to refer to the organizational members at the bottom of the pyramid, or the employees that do the organizational work, such as, direct contact with the customer and with the produce, as in handling and shipping. An example of Tesco’s business operations rendering human resources mishap is the meat labeling and unfair employment practices. â€Å"Reportedly, Tesco has called on Unite to put up after Union to take on the retailer due to country of origin meat labeling and unfair employment practices. It cites that Unite, which held protests in December 2008, believes Tesco’s use of imported meat would result to down conditions among meat sector workers.† (Goldstein, 2009) The down conditions are to infer the workers will be laid off until further notice given the employment practices are being scrutinized in court. This case coupled with the allegations from the previous case indicate there, at times, is a discrepancy between the actual employment practices of the organization as viewed upon by employees or vendors and the expectation of the organization with regard to their employer relations. Another allegation of worker exploitation was rendered by Driving Edge. â€Å"Tesco has launched an investigation into the suspension of a shop steward at its Manchester depot amid claims of workers exploitation. CM revealed last week (CM29 June) that TG shop steward Adam Gietkowski, employed by agency Driving Edge, had been suspended, allegedly for criticizing the agency’s treatment of Polish workers at the supermarket’s Wincanton-run RDC. A Tesco spokesman says: â€Å"Tesco has a code of conduct that governs how our suppliers deal with their employees, and we take alleged breaches very seriously. We will be contacting Driving Edge to investigate this matter thoroughly. Driving Edge MD David Richardson says that while an employee was suspended, it was no for the reason claimed by the TG. â€Å"The current employment contracts we offer at Middleton are very competitive and we don’t have significant labour turnover at the sites,† he adds. â€Å"Any issue s that have been raised as a grievance have been dealt with through the company’s grievance procedure.† (Carter, 2006) The allegation again supports that Tesco has operations that are potentially misaligned with their employer relation mission of integration into one voice. The health of the employment relationship given the specifics to the case files of the lawsuits filed against the company does indicate there are misappropriate employment practices at the company that have hindered the ability to work for some of the members of the company. The lawsuits appear to describe the inferior treatment of the workers given the parameters of the of the worker exploitation claims posed against Tesco. The worker exploitation claims from a shop steward often arise due to the poor work conditions or the lack of pay relative to the work requirement. Tesco has a code of conduct with regard to how they deal internally with employee breaches of policy. But does Tesco have a code of conduct with regard to how they treat their employees employed by other agencies? CONCLUSION The health of the relationship is inherently based on the employee opinion of the employer and therefore the employer acts as a facilitator of its own employee relations by enabling their workforce to perform at or above their potential and more toward their ability. The Tesco relationship as a function of their hiring practices is to enable a population that may not generally have a job if not for the work programs that enable the jobs. Therefore, Tesco has an employee base that may be somewhat disgruntled or have the propensity to be disgruntled with regard to potential workplace treatment to which workplace violations are filed in response to the subpar working conditions. The conditions at Tesco appear to be conditional to the operations of the underlying business. This is to say, Tesco has a sales floor that seeks to enable the flow of goods and sales within a timely fashion. The health of the employee relationship to that regard appears to be strong and without issue. The main issue appears to be with the potential for racial discrimination and to the treatment of non-employees that are agency hires that contractually work for Tesco. The work relationship and employer relations with agency workers are often neglected and not part of the underlying human resources contract that is enforceable with regard the hires made by Tesco’s Human Resources Department. The lack of worker’s rights to the agency employee is an issue that has arisen in court via the law suits filed by plaintiffs. The issue of the health of Tesco employment relationship and its impact on the overall success of an organisation has been positive with regard to Tesco†™s ability to grow their organisation and to increase the value to their shareholders. If the health of Tesco’s employment relationship had been ineffective or with major human resources violations, class action law suits or similar activity would have occurred. The isolated incidents that have occurred in the past at Tesco appear to be specific to each case and perhaps Tesco has improve upon these areas of employer-employee relations and have prevented further issues in the future. References Baker, K. (2009). Tesco to reserve new jobs for unemployed. Personnel Today, 19. Barnes, R. (2013). Tesco in hiring drive to boost marketing team. Marketing (00253650), 5. Carter, B. (2006). Tesco investigates shop steward’s suspension. Commercial Motor, 204(5185), 6. Chubb, L. (2007). Why green means ‘go’ for Tesco. People Management, 13(25), 12. Goldstein, S. (2009). Tesco challenges Unite over food origin label claims. Packaging News, 2. Hope, K. (2004). Tesco to recruit in deprived areas. People Management, 10(25), 11. Miss Gaurilcikiene v Tesco Stores Limited. (2013). Employers Law, 8. Partnership delivers the goods at Tesco. (1999). IRS Employment Review, (686), 4. Pickard, J. (1998). Retail giants view temping as past its sell-by date. People Management, 4(12), 14. Manchester takes HR into next generation. (2009). People Management, 15(25), 8-9. Sonne, P. (2012, February 22). Tesco Job Sparks Outcry. Wall Street Journal – Eastern Edition. p. B7. Tesco jobs at risk after Eddie Stobart taiceover. (2012). Truck Driver, 8. Tesco ready to chill How to cite Human Resources Management, Essay examples

Thursday, April 30, 2020

Social Stratification in South Africa free essay sample

Social stratification is the hierarchal arrangement of individuals or people or groups of people. It is a form of social inequality. (Haralambos and Holbon: 1990). We will write a custom essay sample on Social Stratification in South Africa or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page It is mostly based on aspects such as class, gender or race being classified into groups.. In this essay it is going to be discussed how social stratification was practiced in South Africa before the inception of democracy and how exactly these occurrences have changed. It is going to be shown how social stratification has changed after the democratic era. BODY Social stratification in South Africa before independence in 1994 was mainly practiced through apartheid. Apartheid was a policy that was made especially to separate white and black South Africans, mostly this practice favoured white people over black people. It was a tool that was used to oppress, dominate and control black, coloured or Indian people at the expense of the white people. Most people of South Africa dreamt of an egalitarian society which is a society in which everyone is equal (Haralambos and Holbon: 1990). However, after 1994, South African society has been changing. For starters, the country now has a bill of rights. This bill of rights which were put into effect in South Africa after 1994 have helped in the transformation of South Africa. In the past whites and non whites did not have equal rights. Non whites were segregated against using laws which were punishable if broken. Now there is a law against discrimination, stratification does not exist as much as it existed in the past. There is no such law such as the non mixing law between whites and non whites. The marking of territories such as ‘whites only’ is a thing of the past, black and white people are able to mix freely and socialize in all aspects of life from recreation to formal work. This can be proved especially in labour relations because blue collar jobs are now available to non white people in South Africa. This is shown as people of different kinds of races are able to work together in the corporate world. In the past black people were made to work in poor conditions and were sent to unskilled labour market so as to let the whites dominate. In the present day, it is noticed that both white and non whites acquire education in the same institution and are treated equally so as to achieve the same knowledge. These is proved because more black people are educated and have high paying jobs unlike the low class jobs black people had in the past. Good quality schools have been introduced to less affluent areas hence giving under privileged people a chance to get good education, this gives underprivileged black people a sense of belonging. A good example is that since 1994 South Africa has had 3 learned African republican presidents unlike in the apartheid days when the main people in power were white. In the democratic South Africa people have more freedom, be it freedom of movement, thinking, expression, religion just to mention a few. Everyone has the right to their own opinion or belief. For instance, one is free to worship whom they want to, people are now free to express themselves in any possible way. A very significant change in South Africa are the inter racial marriages and mixed marriages which are now a norm. In the past, inter racial marriages were punishable by law which the punishment on the black person being more. Gay marriages were legalized on 1st December, 2006. (Alexander, M: 2006). This shows that people are now free to express themselves and not suppress themselves. People have the right to make their own decisions. Other incidences of stratification that are changing are gender issues mostly on the feminine side. In the past women were looked down upon and just considered as people who just belong in the kitchen. This type of discrimination did not just apply to black people only but to white women as well. Women were not allowed to participate in political issues such as voting and women were not given as much opportunities as men to be educated and were not really allowed to have high paying jobs. South Africa now has a lot of women who are educated are able to maintain high job positions. Women are now allowed to vote which was not possible before democracy was initiated. Now gender quotas have been introduced. These quotas state that they should be a specific number of women in power in Parliament and a specific number of women should have high paying executive jobs. Women are no pushed down because it has been proved they are capable of doing a man’s job. The government of South Africa has tried to get rid of social stratification by emphasizing on right of citizenship, environment and human dignity. These laws basically state that people of all race and class are free to choose were they want to live as long as it is not beyond their means. People of all races are now free to move about and not be monitored like in the past were there were laws about carrying a pass, a person can be in any environment he or she feels like being at any time without being punished. The people in authority no longer use the media and laws to oppress the Africans. All humans with dignity and respect and are treated equally they is no more inferiority complex whether socially or economically. The introduction of the quotas has really changed South Africa in one way or the other. The land quota system has ensured that even non white possess their own land in places that they wish to unlike before 1994 when black people were displaced from their so as to accommodate the white people. Quite alright, South Africa has been recognised as one of the most unequal countries but it should be understandable that the country has not been independent for a very long time and it is really making an effort to end social stratification. In conclusion, South Africa is slowly changing, social stratification is slowly being eradicated through many ways. People in high authorities have been trying their best since 1994 to change things from the way they were before the achievement of democracy. They have been trying to change things using various methods that make it easier to achieve the goals.

Saturday, March 21, 2020

Helmuth von Moltke - Franco-Prussian War Field Marshal

Helmuth von Moltke - Franco-Prussian War Field Marshal Born October 26, 1800, in Parchim, Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Helmuth von Moltke was the son of an aristocratic German family. Moving to Holstein at age five, Moltkes family became impoverished during the War of the Fourth Coalition (1806-1807) when their properties were burned and plundered by French troops. Sent away to Hohenfelde as a boarder at age nine, Moltke entered the cadet school at Copenhagen two years later with the goal of entering the Danish army. Over the next seven years he received his military education and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in 1818. An Officer in Ascent After service with a Danish infantry regiment, Moltke returned to Germany and entered Prussian service. Posted to command a cadet school in Frankfurt an der Oder, he did so for a year before spending three conducting a military survey of Silesia and Posen. Recognized as a brilliant young officer, Moltke was assigned to the Prussian General Staff in 1832. Arriving in Berlin, he stood out from his Prussian contemporaries in that he possessed a love of the arts and music. A prolific writer and student of history, Moltke authored several works of fiction and in 1832, embarked on a German translation of Gibbons The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. Promoted to captain in 1835, he took six months leave to travel through southeastern Europe. While in Constantinople, he was asked by Sultan Mahmud II to aid in modernizing the Ottoman army. Receiving permission from Berlin, he spent two years in this role before accompanying the army on campaign against Muhammad Ali of Egypt. Taking part in the 1839 Battle of Nizib, Moltke was forced to escape after Alis victory. Returning to Berlin, he published an account of his travels and in 1840, married his sisters English stepdaughter, Mary Burt. Assigned to the staff of the 4th Army Corps in Berlin, Moltke became fascinated with railroads and began an extensive study of their use. Continuing to write on historical and military topics, he returned to the General Staff before being named Chief of Staff for the 4th Army Corps in 1848. Remaining in this role for seven years, he advanced to the rank of colonel. Transferred in 1855, Moltke became the personal aide to Prince Frederick (later Emperor Frederick III). Leader of the General Staff In recognition of his military skills, Moltke was promoted to Chief of the General Staff in 1857. A disciple of Clausewitz, Moltke believed that strategy was essentially the quest of seeking the military means to a desired end. Though a detailed planner, he understood and frequently stated that no battle plan survives contact with the enemy. As a result, he sought to maximize his chances of success by remaining flexible and ensuring that the transportation and logistical networks were in place to allow him to bring decisive force to the key points on the battlefield. Taking office, Moltke immediately began making sweeping changes in the armys approach to tactics, strategy, and mobilization. In addition, work began to improve communications, training, and armaments. As a historian, he also implemented a study of European politics to identify Prussias future enemies and to begin developing war plans for campaigns against them. In 1859, he mobilized the army for the Austro-Sardinian War. Though Prussia did not enter the conflict, the mobilization was used by Prince Wilhelm as a learning exercise and the army was expanded and reorganized around the lessons obtained. In 1862, with Prussia and Denmark arguing over the ownership of Schleswig-Holstein, Moltke was asked for a plan in case of war. Concerned that the Danes would be difficult to defeat if allowed to retreat to their island strongholds, he devised a plan which called for Prussian troops to flank them in order to prevent a withdrawal. When hostilities commenced in February 1864, his plan was bungled and the Danes escaped. Dispatched to the front on April 30, Moltke succeeded in bringing the war to a successful conclusion. The victory solidified his influence with King Wilhelm. As the king and his prime minister, Otto von Bismarck, began attempts to unite Germany, it was Moltke who conceived the plans and directed the army to victory. Having gained considerable clout for his success against Denmark, Moltkes plans were followed precisely when war with Austria began in 1866. Though outnumbered by Austria and its allies, the Prussian Army was able to make near-perfect use of railroads to ensure that maximum force was delivered at the key moment. In a lightning seven-week war, Moltkes troops were able conduct a brilliant campaign which culminated with a stunning victory at KÃ ¶niggrtz. His reputation further enhanced, Moltke oversaw the writing of a history of the conflict which was published in 1867. In 1870, tensions with France dictated the mobilization of the army on July 5. As the preeminent Prussian general, Moltke was named Chief of Staff of the Army for the duration of the conflict. This position essentially allowed him to issue orders in the name of the king. Having spent years planning for war with France, Moltke assembled his forces south of Mainz. Dividing his men into three armies, he sought to drive into France with the goal defeating the French army and marching on Paris. For the advance, several plans were developed for use depending upon where the main French army was found. In all circumstances, the ultimate goal was for his troops to wheel right to drive the French north and cut them off from Paris. Attacking, the Prussian and German troops met with great success and followed the basic outline of his plans. The campaign came to stunning climax with the victory at Sedan on September 1, which saw Emperor Napoleon III and most of his army captured. Pressing on, Moltkes forces invested Paris which surrendered after a five-month siege. The fall of the capital effectively ended the war and led to the unification of Germany. Later Career Having been made a Graf (count) in October 1870, Moltke was permanently promoted to field marshal in June 1871, in reward for his services. Entering the Reichstag (German Parliament) in 1871, he remained Chief of Staff until 1888. Stepping down, he was replaced by Graf Alfred von Waldersee. Remaining in the Reichstag, he died at Berlin on April 24, 1891. As his nephew, Helmuth J. von Moltke led German forces during the opening months of World War I, he is often referred to as Helmuth von Moltke the Elder. Selected Sources Helmuth von Moltke: On the Nature of WarMakers of Modern Strategy: From Machiavelli to the Nuclear Age, edited by Peter Paret with the collaboration of Gordon A. Craig and Felix Gilbert. Princeton, NJ, Princeton University Press, 1986.Franco-Prussian War

Thursday, March 5, 2020

American Literary Periods

American Literary Periods American literature does not easily lend itself to classification by time period. Given the size of the United States and its varied population, there are often several literary movements happening at the same time. However, this hasnt stopped literary scholars from making an attempt. Here are some of the most commonly agreed upon periods of American literature from the colonial period to the present. The Colonial Period (1607–1775) This period encompasses the founding of Jamestown up to a decade before the Revolutionary War. The majority of writings were historical, practical, or religious in nature. Some writers not to miss from this period include Phillis Wheatley, Cotton Mather, William Bradford, Anne Bradstreet, and John Winthrop. The first Slave Narrative, A Narrative of the Uncommon Sufferings, and Surprizing Deliverance of Briton Hammon, a Negro Man, was published during this period, in 1760 Boston. The Revolutionary Age (1765–1790) Beginning a decade before the Revolutionary War and ending about 25 years later, this period includes the writings of Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Paine, James Madison, and Alexander Hamilton. This is arguably the richest period of political writing since classical antiquity. Important works include the â€Å"Declaration of Independence,† The Federalist Papers, and the poetry of Joel Barlow and Philip Freneau. The Early National Period (1775–1828) This era in American literature is responsible for notable first works, such as the first American comedy written for the stage- The Contrast by Royall Tyler, written in 1787- and the first American Novel- The Power of Sympathy by William Hill, written in 1789. Washington Irving, James Fenimore Cooper, and Charles Brockden Brown are credited with creating distinctly American fiction, while Edgar Allan Poe and William Cullen Bryant began writing poetry that was markedly different from that of the English tradition. The American Renaissance (1828–1865) Also known as the Romantic Period in America and the Age of Transcendentalism, this period is commonly accepted to be the greatest of American literature. Major writers include Walt Whitman, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Edgar Allan Poe, and Herman Melville.  Emerson, Thoreau, and Margaret Fuller are credited with shaping the literature and ideals of many later writers. Other major contributions include the poetry of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and the short stories of Melville, Poe, Hawthorne, and Harriet Beecher Stowe. Additionally, this era is the inauguration point of American literary criticism, lead by Poe, James Russell Lowell, and William Gilmore Simms. The years 1853 and 1859 brought the first novels written by African-American authors, both male and female:  Clotel, by William Wells Brown  and Our Nig, by Harriet E. Wilson. The Realistic Period (1865–1900) As a result of the American Civil War, Reconstruction and the age of industrialism, American ideals and self-awareness changed in profound ways, and American literature responded.  Certain romantic notions of the American Renaissance were replaced by realistic descriptions of American life, such as those represented in the works of William Dean Howells, Henry James, and Mark Twain. This period also gave rise to regional writing, such as the works of Sarah Orne Jewett, Kate Chopin, Bret Harte, Mary Wilkins Freeman, and George W. Cable. In addition to Walt Whitman, another master poet, Emily Dickinson, appeared at this time. The Naturalist Period (1900–1914) This relatively short period is defined by its insistence on recreating life as life really is, even more so than the realists had been doing in the decades before. American Naturalist writers such as Frank Norris, Theodore Dreiser, and Jack London created some of the most powerfully raw novels in American literary history. Their characters are victims who fall prey to their own base instincts and to economic and sociological factors. Edith Wharton wrote some of her most beloved classics, such as The Custom of the Country (1913), Ethan Frome (1911), and The House of Mirth (1905) during this time period. The Modern Period (1914–1939) After the American Renaissance, the Modern Period is the second most influential and artistically rich age of American writing. Its major writers include such powerhouse poets as E.E. Cummings, Robert Frost, Ezra Pound, William Carlos Williams, Marianne Moore, Langston Hughes, Carl Sandburg, T.S. Eliot, Wallace Stevens, and Edna St. Vincent Millay. Novelists and other prose writers of the time include Willa Cather, John Dos Passos, Edith Wharton, F. Scott Fitzgerald, John Steinbeck, Ernest Hemingway, William Faulkner, Gertrude Stein, Sinclair Lewis, Thomas Wolfe, and Sherwood Anderson. The Modern Period contains within it certain major movements including the Jazz Age, the Harlem Renaissance, and the Lost Generation. Many of these writers were influenced by World War I and the disillusionment that followed, especially the expatriates of the Lost Generation. Furthermore, the Great Depression and the New Deal resulted in some of America’s greatest social issue writing, such as t he novels of Faulkner and Steinbeck, and the drama of Eugene O’Neill. The Beat Generation (1944–1962) Beat writers, such as Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg, were devoted to anti-traditional literature, in poetry and prose, and anti-establishment politics. This time period saw a rise in confessional poetry and sexuality in literature, which resulted in legal challenges and debates over censorship in America. William S. Burroughs and Henry Miller are two writers whose works faced censorship challenges. These two greats, along with other writers of the time, also inspired the counterculture movements of the next two decades. The Contemporary Period (1939–Present) After World War II, American literature has become broad and varied in terms of theme, mode, and purpose. Currently, there is little consensus as to how to go about classifying the last 80 years into periods or movements- more time must pass, perhaps, before scholars can make these determinations. That being said, there are a number of important writers since 1939 whose works may already be considered â€Å"classic† and who are likely to become canonized.  Some of these very established names are:  Kurt Vonnegut, Amy Tan, John Updike, Eudora Welty, James Baldwin, Sylvia Plath, Arthur Miller, Toni Morrison, Ralph Ellison, Joan Didion, Thomas Pynchon, Elizabeth Bishop, Tennessee Williams, Philip Roth, Sandra Cisneros, Richard Wright, Tony Kushner, Adrienne Rich, Bernard Malamud, Saul Bellow, Joyce Carol Oates, Thornton Wilder, Alice Walker, Edward Albee, Norman Mailer, John Barth, Maya Angelou, and Robert Penn Warren.

Monday, February 17, 2020

The tell-tale heart short story Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The tell-tale heart short story - Coursework Example He thus interpreted love and hate similar to Freud as universal emotions, hence severed from the particular conditions of time and space (Poe, 2014). He is, therefore, motivated to kill the old man whom he loved by neither passion nor desire for money but a fear of the man’s pale eye that triggers his hatred. Argument two is that Poe’s terror results to the narrator’s simultaneous love for himself and hatred of his rival. Such a double depicts the inseparability of love and hate and hence two forms of the key intense form of human emotion. The narrator thus loves himself, however, when feelings of self-hatred appear in him, the narrator projects such a hatred onto an imaginary copy of himself (Poe, 2014). Thus, he confesses a love for an old man whom he violently murders and dismembers. He thus decides to tell a story in which he will defend his sanity yet admit to having killed an old man. Argument three is that the narrator instigates the story by addressing the reader and claiming that he is nervous but never mad. Therefore, the narrator reveals his madness through an attempt to delink the person of the old man, whom he loves, from that of old man’s supposedly evil eye, triggering the narrator’s hatred (Poe, 2014). Subsequently, such delusional distinction helps the narrator to remain unaware of the paradox of claiming to have loved his

Monday, February 3, 2020

Obstacles and Constraints Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Obstacles and Constraints Paper - Essay Example It is a common term that is used by ecologists in their study to define the relationships between two or more organisms. Mutualistic is a term that is used to define a relationship between two organisms, in which they co-exist with the help of each other. In this case of relationship, both the organisms’ co exit in a mutual way, both of them gain benefits from each other, there is no organism that is at harm. Commensalistic is a term that is used to describe a relationship is which there one party who is benefitting is and then there is one party that is not benefiting at all. The two parties are existing together in a mutual way, and one is gaining advantage from the other while the other is gaining no benefit or no disadvantage as well. Parasitism is a term that is used when both the parties exist mutually but one party is living off the other. One of the parties derives benefits from the other party and the other party is getting harmed by the benefits. Competition in this both the parties try to exist mutually but then they fail due to the fact that both of them try to gain benefits but none of them gains anything out of it. In this both the parties end up harming each other. While the final form is Neutralism, in this both the parties remain unaffected and neither benefits nor is disadvantaged. In a good sense, the relation between the policy maker and the agent of implementation is an mutualistic relation. They can both function together in a mutual way and benefit each other. In this case, a policy designer is the person who designs policies, he designs policies keeping in mind the actual requirements of the city, now after he has done designing he expects that the policy implementer would implement it as it is and make amends only when required not on his personal opinion. When the relationship is bad then, we can say that there exists a Competition type of relationship, both try to implement and have their choice implemented, this way the genera l masses get no advantage out if it and they both end up harming their own reputations and their own egos (Amos, 1988).   In this case the government has faced a serious lack of implementation, they ordered a step but then refrained funding. It should have happened that the government should have actually provided the funds that were enough to sustain and maintain the police force. When such high amount of force is added, there is a need to accommodate their salaries, the ammunitions that is being provided to them and the uniforms that has to be provided. These are some of the basic things that have to be provided. The government had provided for the first timers only, later there was no release of funds which actually became a burden (Amos, 1988).   There are many financial constraints that are involved when any policy or any project is to be implanted. The budget is divided according to the requirements of the projects. But usually the prices are underestimated. It has also be en seen many times that the government or the higher officials do not allow the money to trickle down enough to be sufficient. Many a times the sanctioning of the budgets take up a lot of time and hence the projects are stalled a lot. There is always a serious need of training for the police officers that were hired; the government did not fund the training. When new people are hired they need to be trained. This is the

Sunday, January 26, 2020

Agroclimate Factors of Oil Palm in Nigeria

Agroclimate Factors of Oil Palm in Nigeria EFE S. I. AWARITEFE O. D. ABSTRACT. Using multiple correlation analysis and student ‘t’test, the Agroclimate factors of Oil Palm production was examined for ten years periods. Result showed that Agroclimate factors (sunshine, temperature and rainfall) are highly correlated with oil palm yield. This is evident from a multiple correlation of 74%. It was also observed that oil palm yield is more in the dry season than in the wet season. INTRODUCTION Any agricultural system is a man-made ecosystem that depends on climate to function just like the natural ecosystem. The main climatic elements that affect crop production are solar radiation, temperature and moisture. These climatic parameters and other depend on them, largely determine the global distribution of crops yield and livestock (Ayoade, 1993). He stresses further that climate elements exert an influenced on all stages of the agricultural production chain, including land preparation, sowing, crop growth and management, harvesting, storage, transport and marketing. This view has earlier be noted by Oguntoyinbo (1983) when he attributed the donation of the cocoa and kola-nut belt in southwest, oil palm bush in southeast and the north south ridge of river Niger comprising area of groundnut, cotton and rice cultivation to these climate vagaries. However, climate influence on oil palm has attracted the attention of some scholars over the years. Amongst whom are Manning (1956), Broekman (1963), Oshodi (1966); and Hartley (1988). An examination of their views shows that Manning (1956), outlined the rainfall requirements of selected food and commercial crops grown in West Africa, and he opined that the mean annual rainfall for oil palm is between 1500— 3000mm in West African Countries. Devuyst (1963) correlated oil palm yield with the influence of rainfall alone; using the concept of useful rainfall. His work however showed a positive correlation. He regarded rainfall as the sole agent influencing oil palm yield, and consequently considers any yield maxima to originate in wet season. Broekman (1963) accepted the view of Devuyst but differs in his finding. He stressed that dry season rainfall is positively correlated with oil palm yield. To him, it is reasonable to except that the amount of rainfall during the dry season will be of particular importance, as moisture is a limiting factor during this period. On the other hand, Oshodi (1966) computed the effective growth energy index for some selected crops in Nigeria. The index was however based on only temperature and rainfall. The Effective Growth Energy (E.G.E) for oil palm in Nigeria is 250-300Â °F. Harley (1988) stated that oil palm yields are correlated with dry season rainfall with measures of effective sunshine, which take into account the distribution of such rainfall in’ the dry season. It is clear from the foregoing that rainfall and temperature correlation with oil palm has been substantiated, however, the relationship between sunshine and oil palm yield, as well as the joint contribution of sunshine, rainfall and temperature, has not be substantiated. Similarly there are divergent views on the relationship between the seasons and oil palm yield. Also, since the establishment of Nigeria Institute for Oil Palm Research (NIFOR) in 1939 there have been a relative neglect in the development of Agroclimatological Research Unit in the institute. While other research units (Agricultural Economics, Agricultural Engineering Research, Agronomy, Biochemistry, Chemistry, Extension and On-Farm Adaptive Research, Entomology, Plant Breeding, Plant Pathology, Plant Physiology and Statistics) have been developed. What exists in that unit is a dilapidated weather station where climate data’s are collected and never used for research purposes. So, the present study of Agroclimatic factors of oil palm yield in Nigeria is borne out of the desire not only to fill the above gaps, but to proffer useful suggestion that will guide both the oil palm farmers, and the NIFOR officials on the need to plan with the climate of the area. Therefore, the aim of the study is to examine the extent to which temperature, sunshine and rainfall correlate with oil palm yield. STUDY AREA The Nigeria Institute for Oil Palm Research (NIFOR) is located approximately 29km North West of Benin City, Edo State in Nigeria. It was established in 1939 as Oil Palm Research Station (OPRS) by Nigeria Department of Agriculture. It was taken over in 1951 as West Africa Institute for Oil Palm Research (WAJFOR) by West African Research Organization (WARO). This organ was dissolved in 1960 after independence, and the station was renamed Nigeria institute for Oil Palm Research (NIFOR) by Nigeria Institute Act No. 33 of 1964 mandate extend to Coconut, Raphia and Date palm research. The soil in NIFOR is acid type of sand which is an important oil palm growing soil in Nigeria (Hartley, 1988). The soil are well drained and acidic with clay content in varying proportion at different depths. The soil are deficient in plant nutrient hence the great need for fertilizers application to cultivate palms in NIFOR. NIFOR belongs to the tropical equatorial climate belt of the world, and falls within the tropical rainforest belt of Nigeria. The region is characterized with high rainfall and temperature. Rainfall is over 2066mm per annum, and temperature of 30 33Â °C. Vegetation here is luxuriant type dense tropical rainforest, which comprises of evergreen trees such as mahogany, Walnut etc. The research institute today has sub-stations and experimental stations all over the country where crops are cultivated due to their different climatic requirements. CONCEPTUAL ISSUES The most important concept for this study is the concept of climate and agriculture relationship. This concept which have been adopted by Broekmans (1963); Devuyst (1963); Oguntoyinbo (1966); Hartley (1988); and Ayoade (1993) in similar studies. reveals much on how climatic parameters (rainfall, sunshine, temperature, evaporation etc) are closely interrelated in their influence to drops. Because of this crops/plants are grown in a climatic belt that is best suited for its growth. Thus all crops cannot thrives well in one climate region. For instance, oats and fruits are best grown in the Mediterranean climate while, root crops such as cassava thrives well in region of abundant rainfall and temperature (Neiwolt, 1982). Similarly, since climate is one of the most important natural factors which controls the growth of plants, plant communities therefore undergo gradual changes. And this is because of its ability to cope with the prevailing climatic conditions and also to compete for resources of that environment. Hence, the type of plants/crops cultivated in an area is related to the climate. Also, the annual yield and profitability of farming are predicated on weather elements. In fact, in this part of Nigeria, climate vagaries disrupt the efficient practice of agriculture, and climatic fluctuation creates significant changes for agriculture produces. It is on this that the growth and yield of oil palm is based. Oil palm are found in region with moderate rainfall, high temperature and sunshine which enable the fruit to ripe (Hartley, 1988). METHODS The data used for this study were extracted from the archives of the Agrometerological and harvesting units of the Nigerian Institute for Oil Palm Research (NIFOR) Benin City. Monthly and annual temperature, rainfall and sunshine data were collected from the Agrometerological division, while the monthly and annual oil palm yield data were collected from the harvesting unit both data were collected for ten year periods. The choice often years was based on availability and consistency of data. The seasons were delineated using six months (April — October) as wet season and October — March as dry season. Reconnaissance survey was also conducted round the oil palm farms in the institute. Multiple correlation analysis and students ‘t’tests were used to analyze the data. The multiple correlation analysis was used to ascertain the joint relationship between oil palm yield and rainfall, temperature and sunshine. Apart from the joint contribution of the climatic parameters to oil palm yield, it will also enable us to ascertain the individual contribution of sunshine, rainfall and temperature respectively to the oil palm yield (Ayeni, I Q94). Student ‘t’ test was used to determine the season with highest oil palm yield over the years: as well as to ascertain whether there is any significant difference in oil palm yield in the dry and wet season. DISCUSSION OF THE RESULTS The data collected from the study are presented and discussed in the table below. Table 1: Annual Oil Palm Yield (tons): Temperature (Â °C) Sunshine (hours): and Rainfall (mm) from 1989— 1998. From Table 1 above, the mean annual oil palm yield is 3464 tons, temperature is 32Â °C; sunshine 147 hours and rainfall 165mm. This showed a high yield, high temperature and a high sunshine duration respectively. During this periods, the highest yield of 4961 tons was recorded in 1996, this was followed by 4470 tons in 1989, 39O7tonsinl99O;38lltonsinl995,325ltonsin 1991,3245tonsin1993,3201 tons in 1992, 3177 tons in 1998,2983 tons in 1997 and the lowest yield of 1632 tons was recorded in 1994. This shows that there is no definite pattern of oil palm yield rather the oil palm yield has being fluctuating over the year (See figure 1 below). Temperature distribution during this period is generally high over the years, with the highest temperature of 32.8Â °C in 1997 and the lowest temperature being 30Â °C in 1996. However, there is a little variation in temperature over the years given a range of 2.8Â °C. Sunshine duration is also generally high during this period. This is evident from the mean of 147; and the highest and lowest sunshine duration of 179 in 1989 and 115 in 1997 respectively. Sunshine did not also follow a definite pattern as it varies with a range of 64 hours. Rainfall also fluctuates over this period of study. Fig. 1 above revealed that the three parameters (temperature, sunshine and rainfall) and oil palm yield followed a similarly pattern. There was a sharp drop in oil palm yield in 1994 occasioned by a drop in all the weather parameters. This gives a rainfall range of 78mm. It is evident from the above, that temperature, sunshine and rainfall influences the oil palm yield. The high yield recorded over the years could be explained to the high temperature, sunshine and rainfall respectively that encouraged its growth, and the ripening of the oil palm fruits. The seasonal distribution of oil palm yield, temperature, sunshine and rainfall is another pointer to the fact that climatic element correlates with oil palm yield. This is illustrated in figure 1. Figure 2 shows that oil palm yield, sunshine and temperature exhibits similar pattern of variation. Oil palm yields increases from 366 tons in January to 435 tons and 432 tons in March and April respectively. This being the months with the lowest oil palm yield, it then decreases from 288 tons to 186 tons in July and August, being the month with lowest palm yield. Thereafter it rises to 2112 in the month of October. Sunshine duration followed a similar pattern, the highest duration of sunshine were noticed during the dry seasons. This showed a duration of 201, 185 and 182 hours in the month of November, December and January respectively, while the lowest sunshine duration of 70, 87 and 97 hours was recorded in July, August and September being the period of wet seasons. Temperature also exhibits a similar pattern with oil palm yield and sunshine duration. Generally, temperature is higher in the dry season, than in the wet season. This is evident from temperature of 33.7Â °C, 34Â °C and 35Â °C recorded in the months of December; March and February; and 3 1Â °C, and 29Â °C in June, July August and September respectively. Rainfall distribution over the years showed a direct opposite pattern to sunshine and temperature with the highest amount of 317mm, 312mm and 313mm recorded in the month of July, August and September respectively (see fig. 2). The lowest amount of rainfall (23 mm and 10mm) was recorded in January and December being the dry season in Nigeria. To ascertain whether there is significant difference in the seasonal variation in oil palm yield, the student ‘t’ test showed that there is significant difference between oil palm yields in the dry and wet season. This is evident from the calculated ‘t’ value of 7560, which is far higher than the critical table value of 2.0. at 0.05 significance level. This is another pointer to the above distributional pattern, which shows that the dry season recorded the highest oil palm yield than the wet season. The effect of the climatic factor (temperature, sunshine duration and rainfall) on oil palm yield was also analyzed. Result showed that they jointly contributed 74% to oil palm yield. This is evident from the result of multiple correlation analysis of yield, sunshine, temperature and rainfall. Thus it can be deduced that sunshine, temperature and rainfall are significantly related with oil palm yield. The rest 26% could be explained by other factors such as edaphic factors, evapo-transpiration, pests, humidity and diseases, etc. The contributions of each climatic factors to oil palm yield was also shown from the multiple correlation result. The result showed that sunshine, temperature and rainfall contributed 70%, 25% and 5% respectively to oil palm yield during this period. From this analysis one could now say that sunshine exerts the highest influences of 70% on oil palm yield than the other factors. This is because, sunshine duration did not only aids in ripening of the oil palm f ruits, but also generate photosynthesis, which is the main energy source of all plants. Temperature influence on oil palm yield is as a result of the high sunshine duration. Rainfall, however, has a little influence on oil palm yield most especially during the dry season when plants generally needs moisture in the soil for growth and general survival. Apart from the Agroclimatic factors of oil palm yield, the field observation conducted round some farms in NIFOR, reveals that weeds as well as seasonal outbreaks of pests and diseases were prevalent in the farms. Oil palm yield lost caused by these factors may be considerable over the years. More so when the diseases are often weather related, either in terms of local weather conditions being unfavourable for its growth and development or in terms of the prevailing winds helping to import air-borne germs/ spores into a given areas. The pests and diseases were more during the dry season where rainfall is minimised. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS The study revealed that Agroclimatic factors (sunshine, temperature and rainfall) exert high influences on oil palm yield. 74% expansion of oil palm yield is attributed to these climate factors. The rest 26% is attributed to other factors such as edaphic factors, pests, diseases, weed, humidity, etc. Sunshine, however, exerted more influence on oil palm yield than rainfall and temperature. Similarly, oil palm yield is more in dry season than in wet season. And there is more prevalence of pest and diseases in oil palm farms during the dry season than in the wet season. To improve oil palm yields and to eradicate pest and diseases there is the need for the fanners and NIFOR officials to plan with the climate of this prevailing environment. Thus, oil palm should be cultivated during the wet season because of availability of moisture for its growth, and harvesting during the dry season because of high sunshine for its ripening. The farms should be constantly cleared to eliminate weeds since they accelerate water loss by transpiration at the expense of the oil palm. There should be weekly or monthly routine check-up of the oil palm plantation, so that the affected stands can easily be treated with the necessary pesticides or insecticides. This will also lid p to prevent the spread of epidemic outbreak across the stands. The use of fertilizer and irrigation system should be intensified than the present level of usage in NIFOR. The irrigation is highly needed in the early age of oil palm growth during the dry season. The Agroclimate unit of NIFOR should be upgraded to research division and the attached weather station should be well equipped with modem Agroclimatic facilities/equipment. This division when upgraded will play advisory roles on the effect of climate factors on the various crops that is cultivated by this institute. REFERENCES Ayeni B. (1994), Quantitative Method for Geography Students. Research Support Services. Ibadan, pp. 72 81. Ayoade J. O. (1993), Introduction to Climatology for the Tropics. Spectrum book Ltd. Ibadan, pp. 204 220. Broekmans A. (1963), Growth, Flowering and Yield of the Oil Palm in Nigeria. In West African Institute for Oil Palm Research No. 12. Devuyst A. (1963), Annual Oil Palm Yield. West African Institute for Oil Palm Research, No. 12. Hartley C. W. S. (1988), The Oil Palm Tropical Agricultural Series, Longman Group Ltd, London. Manning H. L. (1956), The Statistical Assessment of Rainfall Probability and Its Application to Uganda Agriculture. Proceedings of Royal Society Series, pp. 144, 460 480. Oguntoyinbo J. S. (1966), Climate and Mankind. Annual Lecture Series Presented to the University of Ibadan. Oshodi F. R. (1966), Biometerological Studies of Nigerian Crops. Nig. Met. Services Lagos. Nienwolt S. (1982), Tropical Climatology: An Introduction to the Climate of the Low Latitude. John Wiley and Sons. Ltd. Chichester.