Wednesday, July 31, 2019

Recruiting, Selection, and Training Essay

The company that I researched is WellPoint (aka Anthem Blue Cross & Blue Shield). I would love to have a position as a Human Resource Director within the company. As a Human Resources professional at WellPoint, the goal is to lead their workforce and workplace talent strategies into achieving the purpose statement to convert health care with trusted and caring solutions. WellPoint also develop programs that attract individuals with vision and talent to be the future of their industry. Human Resources professionals at WellPoint concentrate on key areas such as talent management, engagement, and Integration to maximize customer focus and efficiency. Analyze the effectiveness of the company’s recruiting efforts and make recommendations for improvement. The HR professionals have a hard time getting qualified applicants to apply for certain positions. So the first challenge is getting enough people to apply to a particular job. In doing so they are able to prepare not to consider t hose who they deem unfit for the position. It takes a lot of effort to select the applicants that truly qualify for the job. All organizations have to begin with advertising for the position. Other resources used for employment are employee referral, employment agencies, school recruiters, walk-ins, and the internet. To work in human resources, a person must go through an industrial/psychology analysis. WellPoint human resource departments have their own job analysis and all human resource employees must help mangers anticipate and meet changing needs related to gaining deployment, and the utilization of employees. The human resource professionals must estimate the amount and type of employees the organization needs, to keep the business running successfully. Therefore they must hire someone who is qualified to conduct all the important roles as a human resource manager. Human resource departments use multiple aptitude tests to screen potential employees. These tests also determine pay  rates based on these tests. This is due to the quality of demand for a human resource manager. The selection process takes a lot of practice and involves assessing and choosing the right candidates. All selection processes must be legal, technically sound, and must accurately match the people and skills needed f or the position. Analyze the selection process of the company you researched and make recommendations for improvement. The majority of I/O psychologists believe that personality tests are important tools for choosing the right employees. WellPoint and several other big corporations use these tests to measure dimensions of personality and related characteristics. These testing methods are used to foresee insubordinate behaviors, and remove individuals that may cause trouble or hindrance to the organization. WellPoint Corporation has been dedicating numerous amounts of energy into areas such as communication, recognition, and employee retention. They understand that branding the employees doesn’t mean anything if the experience of the individuals does not match. Instead they want to establish higher profits, increased sales, lower turnover, and outstanding customer service to their members. Part of WellPoint’s pre-employment testing includes personality testing and mathematical skills. These tests are based on the individual. Some of these particular measures may be referred to as tempera ments, dispositions, or traits. Also measured in that category are employee reliability, thoroughness, change, trustworthiness, and friendliness. Various personality measures are focused on characterizing people within the standard adult range of functionality while others focus on the identification of psychopathology (Schmidt, Shaffer 2010-2011). The reasons individuals are given a basic math assessment are to measure the accountability for their employees to figure out co-pays and co-insurance amounts are calculated correctly to the claim. WellPoint has spent countless time and money in mastering the art of employee selection, training, and retention. WellPoint has a website for interested candidates to apply for careers within their organization, both online and the corporate offices. During the selection process, candidates are asked to take a variety of assessments that analyze areas ranging from characteristics, skill sets, and basic reading and writing tests. Once a candidate has been selected and has accepted a job offer, there are several types of training encountered within the company. Determine how training and talent management contribute to an  effective labor force of the company you researched. Training is a planned learning experience and it effectively prepares workers for their current and future jobs. Training for human resource managers focuses on the present job industry while development training prepares them for the future growth. Training enhances knowledge and job skills. Methods used to measure the success of the training are performance appraisals. This measures the adequacy of the human resource managers. After their performances are measured their results are discussed with them, and any changes that may need to be made in the training process can be easily detected. These pre-employment tests are used largely in Human Resource and customer service environments for middle paying entry level jobs. Testing is designed to predict proneness for theft and other forms of counterproductive work behavior in job applicants. The organization now proposes quarterly training for employees, and is on the path to training over thousands of new people due to health care reform (wellpoint.com) The whole program is centered on listening to customers, and it recognizes employees who go the extra mile in the name of customer service. Often the new hire will experience on-the-job training, during which he or she will be shown the necessary steps in their assigned tasks. For instance, if a person is assigned to the team and asked to process claims, he or she will be shown how to properly process the claim by the trainer. Other tasks that the new hire will be expected to perform, such as enrolling dependents or ordering ID cards. This training is done in a class room setting environment. Safety courses and other employee training courses are offered periodically. Some of these courses are offered online, while others are done in training sessions within the building. WellPoint corporate employees evaluate the efficiency of nearly every aspect of the training and implementation of new employees. Additional measures are also put in place when a policy or product has changed or a new one has been introduced. The department of Quality Assurance oversees this for their assigned regions. WellPoint takes great care in ensuring that their policies are proficient and products are the best quality. That is why there are several departments in place to oversee these important aspects of the corporations. They include Quality Assurance, Product Development, Legal, Human Resources and Information Services. Another way that WellPoint seeks to improve their employee job satisfaction is career training. A large  majority of WellPoint corporate staff started with the company and took advantage of the leadership training to climb the corporate ladder within the organization. WellPoint takes pride in the training program that the company offers, and this training is held worldwide. They are among many companies who has been certified to grant college credit hours to employees in the training programs. Human Resource managers must be treated ethically like their employees; however there are some cases where they are treated unethically. Human resource managers may face problems involving their employees, promotions, pay, and favoritism. Human resource managers must be very observant of all employees to ensure everyone is treated fairly. It is important that those who qualify for human resource management are the ones hired, not those who look, act, or dress in a certain manner. According to the EEOC, (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission), â€Å"Employers are not prohibited from using personality or integrity tests in the workplace. However, the statute is implicated when: (1) an employer uses tests to intentionally discriminate against minorities or (2) the tests have an adverse impact on minorities and are not job-related for the position in question and c onsistent with business necessity. No cases have found that an employer’s use of personality testing in the workplace resulted in the unequal treatment of protected groups. However, there could be such a cause of action if the tests were used intentionally to exclude members of protected groups. This would usually involve evidence of comparative proof that members of a protected group were treated differently than majority group members. For example, it would obviously be illegal for an employer to test minority applicants, but not majority applicants†. As long as these tests are given in a professional manner, it is not against the law to do such to find out if the individual is the best fit for the job. Employee selection and training will continue to be two of the most important aspects for growing and supporting the workforce for companies in the future. Psychological assessments, such as the ones described in this paper, is one of the many ways that companies can attempt to get the highest quality people and not select people who do not want to be there. While there is speculation of the dependability of using these assessment tools for employee selection and training, the evidence shows that it can be helpful in focusing the time and money into particular areas or people to improve  productivity within the company. WellPoint also uses verbal reasoning, numeracy, spatial awareness battery test. They consist of a number of questions with multiple choice answers, only one of which is right. As a test progresses, the questions may become more difficult, and there are frequently more questions than can comfortably be completed in the time. These tests are designed so that very few people finish the test in the time allowed. The participant’s score is then compared with how other people have done on the test in the past. This enables the selectors to assess reasoning skills in relation to others, and to make judgments about ability to cope with tasks involved in the job. On the flip side, personality inventories are used in order to determine one’s typical reactions and attitudes to a variety of situations. They could be trying to identify how well an individual can get on with others or their normal reaction to stressful situations, or simply their feelings about the kind of people they like to work with (Spector, 2008). Perhaps the biggest challenge related to the use of assessment tools is determining when to use the information obtained to remove an applicant from consideration. References The WellPoint Employee (2008). Retrieved November 13, 2013 from www.wellpoint.com Schmidt, R & Shaffer, D. (2010-2011). Personality Testing in Employment. Retrieved November 12, 2013 from http://library.findlaw.com/1999/Dec/22/130153.html. Spector, P. E. (2008). Industrial and Organizational Psychology (5th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. U.S Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. (2011) Title VII of the Civil Right Act of 1964: Employment. Retrieved November 13, 2013 from www.eeoc.gov/laws/statutes/titlevii.cfm Holley, W. H., Jr., Jennings, K. M., Mathis, R. L., & Jackson, J. H. (2012). Employment Labor & Relations. (2nd ed.). Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning.

Tuesday, July 30, 2019

Economics Essay

Economics is regarded as one of the earliest and arguably most essential of the social sciences. While not exactly a science as the term science is widely known as today, there are similarities that allow for its classification as a social science. One of these similarities lies in the roles that economists play as social advisors vis-a-vis the role of scientists. As a policy advisor, an economist is expected to make reliable predictions and forecasts with regard to the policies to be instituted. Since the expectation is that of reliability, there is a large amount of precision required which is similar to that of the scientific method employed by scientists. The use of the null and test hypothesis as a scientists has an application for policy advisors in coming up with these forecasts. No policy advisor can make any suggestion without any empirical data or figures in the same way that no scientist will present a dissertation without any evidence. While these may make the roles as policy advisors and scientists similar to a certain extent, there are also differences depending on the situation the economist is placed in. As a policy advisor, an economist is expected to present reliable information in order to aid in the formulation and implementation of policies, while these may have a certain amount of scientific evidence (so to speak), there is a certain reality check which takes place that demands that the economist take the most viable option. The most scientifically correct approach may not always be the most viable option and this is what an economist must deal with when taking on the role of a policy advisor as opposed to when an economist takes on the role of a scientist in policy making, which more often than not entails that only the facts be presented in a scholarly manner without particular attention to its viability under different constraints.

Pygmalion Essay

Distinctive voice refers to a variety of voice types and the function that voice plays In different texts. The personality or position of a speaker or character is reflected through voice. Distinctive voice can be used to represent an Issue, a group of people, a set of values, a point of view or a variety of perspectives. All people have a distinctive voice; our voice Is developed and changed through our experiences, interactions and understanding of the world. The language, the purpose and the manner of a distinctive voice influences audiences in, subtle, direct and powerful says.In the text Pygmalion; George Bernard Shaw has created and utilized incredibly distinctive voices to communicate the themes of his play, the being character transformation and the distinguishing parameters of social class. The transformation of Elise Doolittle from a poor flower girl to a lady of society depends upon her ability to speak phonetically correct- as identified by English society in the 20th cen tury. The entire play centers on the transformation of the â€Å"flower girl', that of her voice and of her manners as a way of defining her social class and life opportunities.The voice of Shaw Is evident throughout the play and Is shown through the voice of the characters. Anthony Browne uses the voices of the characters within the picture book Voices In The Park to Impress upon the reader the Inequity and limitations of social class and division. The voice of the children is used to show the innocence and disregard for such division, where as the adults are used to show the pre-conceived and unjustified beliefs relating to social class. Elijah's transformation is evident in the third act when she visits Mrs. Higgins at her â€Å"at home day†, â€Å"How do you do Mrs. Higgins?Elijah's dialogue, full sentences and correct pronunciation demonstrate her metamorphosis. In Voices in the park Anthony Browne uses the voices of each character to retell the same event that being a parent take their child and the family pet to the park. Each voice is used to retell the event from an individual perspective. The division that social class can create Is explored through the distinctive voices within the text. Browne uses written and visual clues to give the readers an Insight Into each character. Shaw makes use of articulation and word pronunciation to characterize class division between the characters in the play.Browne gives each character their own distinctive voice through their use of language. Their social class is reflected through the correct use of grammar and choice of words. The mother who represents the middle-class speaks in full and correct sentences; she speaks with authority and in a judgmental way, â€Å"You get some frightful types in the park these days† she is making reference to the unemployed father. Her words are critical and harsh. Shaw used the character Elise Doolittle and her transformation and social class to create a distincti ve voice. Both Shaw and Browns characters successfully explore distinctive voices.Shaw Involves the audience to think deeply about his provocative Ideas by utilizing humor. The harsh words of Higgins are often humorous and rarely affect the Intended target. He calls Elise a â€Å"splashed cabbage leaf' and an â€Å"Incarnate Insult to the English language† the audience can not help but laugh, aware of his good natured insults. The humor used encourages the Voices In The Park who we know is unemployed, and his daughter both speak colloquially and less formally than the mother and her son. â€Å"l needed to get out of the house, so me and Smudge took the dog to the park†, â€Å"He went straight up to this evolve dog and sniffed its bum†¦ The daughter is also Judgmental; explaining that she thought the boy â€Å"†¦ Was a bit of a wimp at first† indicating that she had prejudiced him based on how he looked and spoke. Browne also uses the distinctive voic e of each character to compare their experiences and feelings. The unemployed father who has much to be worried about in his life tries to look at things in a positive way. He looks through the newspaper for a Job and remains hopeful of getting one. He has enjoyed his time at the park and the time he has spent with his daughter.In contrast he mother is frustrated by her visit to the park with her son. The scruffy mongrel's dog bothering her pedigree dog frustrated her and the fact that she does not speak to her son as they walk home from the park. Her lack of voice here indicates that her experience was not one she wished not to talk or think about. It is evident that in Shaw five act play Pygmalion and Anthony Browner picture book Voices In the Park social class and transformation are key themes displaying recognizable and distinct voices. Everyone has a distinctive voice but are we too quick too Judge somebody by theirs?

Monday, July 29, 2019

OperationManagement Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

OperationManagement - Research Paper Example The ideologies of conducting business that were born during this era are still applicable in businesses today. In the scientific management, the use of scientific methods to improve businesses was embraced. This can be observed in organization today by the employment of scientific tools to know the client and improve the operation of an organization. The human relations movement revolutionized the management of labor in most organization. These concepts are used in labor management I most industries to date. The management science in the mid-1900s played a big role in how managers to their work. Some of the standards of management and problem solving that were studied in this era are still applied by managers to date. The computer age is one of the most important development is operations management; this introduced the use of computer systems in the running and management of an organization’s activities. This led to improved services and better management. Environmental issues take into consideration the external environment of a business. This is very vital for proper management. In any business, the customers always demand the best quality products or services at the fastest speed and with competitive prices (Reid and Sanders, 2009). For an organization to be able to deliver this their management of resources has to be good. Operations management ensures this is done. Multinational organizations have systems that are more complex. This is due to their size and number of operations. Organizations that effectively use operations management have operations that are more efficient. Operations management also ensures better and increased cross-functional decision-making. Operations management is essential in any organization to be enabling it to keep up with current trends. Operations management also works very closely with other business

Sunday, July 28, 2019

Project of My Ten Years into the Future Assignment

Project of My Ten Years into the Future - Assignment Example Initial I find that it is a bit difficult to interact with these women whose culture, lifestyle and language are so much different from that of me. It gets difficult to make them understand what I mean. But now the situations have changed a lot. I still remember those days when I had just joined this NGO. At that time it was a small organization with only 50 people engaged with it. Conditions were quite difficult for the organization. It was facing crisis both in terms of human capital as well as financial capital. But the practice which was in the exercise was the willpower of all those people who were engaged with the NGO. We all had a single motto to render modern medical services to underdeveloped countries. Conditions were quite pathetic in the interior part of these countries. Along with health care, unemployment and illiteracy were the other major problems which these poor people were fighting. So our organization decided that along with medical services, they will try to irra diate illiteracy and unemployment in these areas. At present, our organization has several working units in different part of the world that provide medical assistance to developing nations. We also run free schools for children were midday meal is provided for free of cost. This helps the children to have healthy and hygienic food and reduces the cases of malnutrition. For women and working men, night schools are available so that they can attain higher education and can grab better careers. In the developing countries, the growth rate of population is much higher than the rate at which medical health centers are developing.

Saturday, July 27, 2019

Determinism, Compatiblism, and Libertarianism Research Paper

Determinism, Compatiblism, and Libertarianism - Research Paper Example I will divide my paper into four main parts. Part one will be devoted to an analysis of determinism. I shall use Paul Holbach’s version of this position. In contrast to part one, part two will tackle the libertarian position. Here I shall use Roderick Chisholm’s version. And part three will discuss the compatibilist view on free will. In doing so, I shall use A. J. Ayer’s version. Finally, I will show the main strengths and weaknesses of each. I will conclude my paper by giving an explanation on why I think compatibilism is the most feasible and practical among all three. Determinism: Everything Has A Cause Determinism is the view that rests on the assumption that everything has a cause. â€Å"All doctrines of determinism imply that given the past and the laws of nature at any given time, there is only one possible future. Whatever happens is therefore inevitable† (Kane 285). What does this imply? It simply implies that â€Å"we could not have chosen othe rwise† (Feinberg and Shafer-Landau 410). To illustrate this position further, I will explore Paul Holbach’s version of hard-determinism. Holbach says that we are not free. But how does he argue for this position? The main claim of determinism is that â€Å"whatever happens is determined by prior events† (Sie 2). Holbach is a hard determinist. ... But if my action is determined by past events, then I'm unable to act otherwise. Therefore, I don’t ever act freely. One can argue that it is not the case that I don’t act freely for I have my own motives, choices and I am not restrained. However, Holbach refutes this on the basis of â€Å"the complexity of human conduct and the illusion of free agency† (Holbach 463). Holbach argues, we only think we are free because we cannot explain the phenomena, but in principle, we can explain everything by explaining its causes (463). For instance, if I can explain my actions through the laws of nature then we have no use for free will anymore. So if we discover the cause of a given phenomena, then it nullifies freedom. Therefore, we are not free. Contrary to determinism is the libertarian position. I shall discuss Chisholm’s version of libertarianism next. Libertarianism: some of our actions are free Libertarianism argues that some events that happen are not determi ned by prior events. In defending freewill, Chisholm suggests: We must not say that every event involved in the act is caused by some other event; and we must not say that the act is something that is not caused at all. The possibility that remains, therefore, is this: We should say that at least one of the events that are involved in the act is caused, not by any other events, but by something else instead. And this something else can only be the agent—the man (440). Given Chisholm’s suggestion, I can say that my action-A is free if and only if I am the cause of A and that I could have done another action-B other than A. If determinism is true, I could not have done B. But I could have done B because I am the cause of my actions. My decision to do A caused me to perform A,

Friday, July 26, 2019

Companies have always found it hard to balance pressing operational Essay

Companies have always found it hard to balance pressing operational concerns with long-term strategic priorities,DISCUSS - Essay Example This may be due to various reasons and mangers are often at the cross roads. Assigning priorities and making decisions becomes a challenge for the business managers when they have to decide what are the sacrifices that have to be made to get along in business. Hence, this essay focuses on the analysis of what causes the companies to compromise on their strategic plans. When a company formulates the strategy, first an internal and external environmental analysis has to be carried out. When we are planning for the future first the organization should have awareness about the internal and external environmental factors that can impact the organization. â€Å"When the environment audit is undertaken, the objective is to develop a finite list of opportunities, threats, strengths and weaknesses. Here the word finite list is emphasized because the job of the manager is t not make an exhaustive list of all the factors that may affect the organization. But focus should be on key environmental variables that could influence business†1. The importance of the environmental analysis is mostly realized by organizations but the depth of the analysis is often compromised. For example in Toyota corporation, there is a management concept â€Å"to go to the roots†. The meaning of this concept is that, when we are collecting information for analysis, th e information should be collected from the source or in other words from the origin. When an external environmental analysis is done with information collected from the sources and decisions are made based on such in-depth data, the applicability and durability of strategic plans are considerably increased. The information from the external environment should be used to tune up the internal environment to meet the challenges and make good of the opportunities. When an organization needs to possess a competitive advantage its focus should be internalized rather externalized. The ability of a business concern to focus on its

Thursday, July 25, 2019

The Katrina response and relief efforts Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The Katrina response and relief efforts - Essay Example There are several cases illustrating failure to respond effectively to mitigate the damages to life and limb of Hurricane Katrina. New Orleans was poverty stricken and at least 120,000 people where without mobility. The mandatory evacuation issued on August 28 by the local officials also made no provisions for helping in evacuating the homeless, sick, carless, elderly, infirm and low-income residents. New Orleans disaster plan called for the mayor to make use of the city school buses to evacuate residents unable to leave on their own but the city never deployed the buses and was subsequently destroyed in the flooding. Amtrak also ran a special schedule to move equipment out of the city but the government declined to take the offer of this agency to take several hundred passengers instead of the scheduled equipment. Evacuees were sent to Louisiana Superdome but the large multitude of refugees was more than overwhelming to volunteers. There were not enough provisions for food, clothing and medicine. While the Federal Emergency Management Agency did indeed provide supplies, the unexpected number of evacuees rapidly depleted the provisions. (Nates & Moyer, 2005) There was visibly an ineffective mechanism in coordinating and managing the evacuation process as the governing agencies failed to respond and implement the provisions in the disaster plan that was available to them. 2)Discuss the reasons why the examples you cited above were or were not successful. Comment specifically on whether you believe that the organizational structure at the City of New Orleans, State of Louisiana, and the Federal government was adequate, including communications, command, and control. (Please refer to the Organization Structure for... Hurricane Camille which battered Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama already demonstrated the vulnerability as did the documentary made by the National Geographic in October 2004 and Scientific American in 2001. What is profound is that when we review other articles, we find one common thread and that is the fact that the disaster was expected though many people did not give enough attention to what mechanisms should be installedHurricane Katrina revealed several interesting individual and community behavior during and after the occurrence of disasters. While many articles were concerned on race and looting issues, it was found that social networks play an important role during the fight to survive the disaster. According to a combined study from the University of Alabama and University of California, it was found that decision-making processes are greatly influenced by social networking. In a survey of 116 evacuees, it was found that it was the social networks that greatly influenced the respondent’s evacuation and planning activities. The role of the media was found to be less important as what many people perceive. Interviewed evacuees state that they became more aware of the severity of the situation as word spread through their social circles. Friends, classmates, neighbors and other acquaintances who gave them information enabled them to prepare more than what they would have from the information they get from radio and television.

Organizational Behavior Terminology and Concepts Essay - 3

Organizational Behavior Terminology and Concepts - Essay Example Employees or members behave in a particular manner with the knowledge that the employer or leader has control and their processes must be followed to remain with the organization or receive payment. Theory Y is based on models that explain individual motivations as driving behavior in a group or organization. Such models are based on individual need for recognition, self satisfaction and sense of belonging within the organization. It is often thought that such characteristics more accurately explain organizational behavior, as many members perform even when benefit is reduced. In my organization, recognition and self satisfaction are at high levels, though compensation is low. This has caused many workers to seek employment elsewhere, as they still need to support their families and meet basic needs. Recognition without proper financial reward sends mixed messages to employees.Nearly all organizations operate on more than one model, based on the type of leadership and organizational goals that have been established. Cultures within an organization are made up of individuals who contribute to a set of shared values and standards. The set of shared standards or values is known as Organizational culture. Organizational culture varies from one company to another based on the type of work or tasks required, the nature of business conducted and many other contributing factors.

Wednesday, July 24, 2019

Research Support for the Project Proposal of Smoking Cessation Among Paper

Support for the Project Proposal of Smoking Cessation Among Nurses - Research Paper Example Keywords: smoking, cessation, nurses. Research Support for the Project Proposal of Smoking Cessation among Nurses Smoking is a serious problem among nurses. Much has been written and said about the role and importance of smoking cessation programs in clinical settings. Smoking causes profound impacts on the quality of nursing care. In some instances, smoking among nurses is justified by the amount of stress they constantly experience in the workplace: Tagliacozzo and Vaughn (1986) established a direct relation between work-related stresses and smoking among nurses. This however does not mean that nurses are secured from the risks and negative consequences of smoking. A facility-based smoking cessation program has the potential to reduce smoking among nurses, through counseling support, monetary incentives, nicotine-replacement therapies, and Cognitive-Behavioral therapy. The role and significance of counseling support in smoking cessation was discussed in abundance. Individual, group , or telephone counseling was extensively used to raise smoking cessation rates in various population groups. Lancaster and Stead (2008) reviewed previous studies and concluded that individual counseling increased the likelihood of smoking cessation. ... Those results were also supported by Stead, Perrera and Lancaster (2009), who found that both reactive and proactive telephone counseling was responsible for increased rates of smoking cessation among individuals. The rationale behind telephone counseling and its efficacy in smoking cessation are difficult to explain: most probably, smokers perceive telephone support as both reliable and anonymous, and which gives them a sense of confidence in dealing with the problem of smoking. It is also possible that telephone lines provide that assistance which smokers really need in their long and troublesome way to cessation. Whatever the rationale, individual counseling, either personal or telephone, can benefit nurses who are willing to quit smoking. Unfortunately, individual counseling is always associated with additional costs (Lichtenstein et al, 1996). New technologies provide the flexibility and communication opportunities required to reduce smoking among nurses. Yet, they also add to t he burden of financial and technical expenses on hospitals. This is why individual counseling can give place to group counseling strategies. Group counseling is believed to be a better alternative to individual smoking cessation counseling. The current state of literature suggests that individual counseling alone cannot increase smoking cessation rates (Stead & Lancaster, 2009). Unfortunately, evaluating the benefits and outcomes of group counseling interventions is not possible, due to the heterogeneity of subjects involved in study samples (Stead & Lancaster, 2009). Moreover, group counseling is by itself not without controversy, since groups demonstrate limited reach to smoking populations and are characterized by low participation rates (Stead &

Tuesday, July 23, 2019

MANAGING AN EARLY YEARS SETTING Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

MANAGING AN EARLY YEARS SETTING - Assignment Example roles and responsibilities of the early years’ practitioners are identified and discussed in relation to the leadership and management theory (Bullock & Brownhill 2011.p.201-207). The government, educators, teachers, parents, and other education practitioners in the field of early education and care have over the past years been faced with the question of realization of quality formal education in the early years setting. Therefore, in consideration of these necessity factors, this study has been organized in the context of evaluating two early years setting education scenarios in reference to the leadership and management theory. This is through the search for the understanding of the roles and responsibilities that various practitioners play in relation to the same. The two scenarios are the support for a child who has a significant medical condition and the support for a child who has additional educational needs (Jones & Pound 2008). The successful critique and evaluation of the leadership and management concepts in relation to the early years setting involved the conducting of a wide-ranging research from detailing sources such as electronic databases, government legislations, search engines like Google Scholar and ERIC. In the recent past, there has been an increasing concern for embracing leadership in the management of schools and attainment of the set goals and visions for a particular institution. For effective practice in the early years setting of early education and care, it is important for the practitioners to recognise the link that exists between effective management, development of leadership in early education centers and the success of children in such centers (Jones & Pound 2008). By equipping practitioners in early education sector with requisite knowledge and skills that can be used to lead and manage quality practice in the early education years setting will enable them to develop the capacities of children under their care successfully;

Monday, July 22, 2019

Effectiveness of Bollinger Band in Signaling Essay Example for Free

Effectiveness of Bollinger Band in Signaling Essay Financial markets are the most difficult markets to operate in when determining the price at which stocks (bonds and foreign exchange are trading). Since stocks trade for long duration of time, traders need to know the appropriate time to buy or sell their stocks. To do this, they must have perfect information on the trends in the market through the market indicators. These indicator are always not obvious and at times require technical devices to show exactly how the trend of a particular stock ha been moving for a period of time (Bollinger 56). A trader can calculate deviations of the prices of that particular that he/she intends to trade and observe it. Though this is one way of observing the indications of stocks in financial market, there have been other means of observing the trends which are easier to use. One of these is the Bollinger Band which was developed by John Bollinger in the early 1980s (www. investopedia. com ). Bollinger band is a technical indicator of a stock in the financial market which consists of a centerline/middle line and two bands that indicate the deviations of the stock’s performance in the market from their pre-determined true trading value (Bollinger 56). These two bands indicate whether the stock was over-trading or under-trading. The upper band indicates the extent at which the prices went above the true value while the lower band indicates the extent at which the prices went below the true value. Through such indications, traders know when to sell or when to buy and make profits. When the upper band is high above the middle band, it means that the prices are high above the true value and when it is below the prices are lowest below the true value. These bands only show indications and they are not actual buying or selling prices. When the band is high, it is said to be expanding such that traders would want to sell the stocks while the band is below the centerline it is said to be contracting and the traders would be willing to buy the stocks (Murphy 344). Bollinger bands technique is used along with other techniques (like the Profit Magic of Stock Transaction Timing and Dow Jones Industrial Average) to give the best results in stock trading. This technique is very effective in that accurate trends can be observed since the bands adapt dynamism as the prices go up or down. The stock price is said to oscillate between the two bands (Murphy 348). They can also be customized to meet each traders needs. Bollinger bands can be set in a way that they only show what each trader needs in the market and hence the kit focuses on a wide range of investor in the financial market ( http://biz. yahoo. com ). They also show whether the prices are high or low and hence indicating the range of how the price had moved in the market. This enables investors to know when to lay off some of their stocks and when to acquire more. Mostly they would acquire more when the prices are below the centerline and shed-off or sell more when the band is above the centerline. And when the price is very much close to the centerline meaning that the prices have not deviated from the true price of that particular stock, no action should be taken (Bollinger 92). Bollinger bands are also consistent since they use the moving average which is used in calculating standard deviation. Thus they give reliable information and at times investors need not require other technical analysis in making their sell and buy decisions (The Quarterly Journal). The Bollinger band also captures much data and hence at a glance one can tell the trend of the stock much faster. Below are examples of analysis of international stocks to show how effective the Bollinger bands are: Intel Corp analysis for 2006: Intel’s lower Bollinger band closed below the centerline on Dec. 22, 2006 and this was a signal for over selling of the companies stock. (www. investopedia. com ). New York Stock Exchange: On June 12, 2006 the stocks broke the lower Bollinger band indicating that there was over selling. Through these signal technical traders would place orders to buy. The Bollinger band showed the extreme end of its lower band the following day putting much pressure for investors to sell. Yahoo! : On Dec 20th, 2006, Yahoo Company’s stock lowered the band which called for more buying. (Lifted from StockCharts. com) The chart shows that there was selling pressure on the stock and it turned out that most people were selling their stocks whereas the strategy was that of buying. Though Bollinger band analysis in the stock market has advantages, there are situations when this method does not give the expected results and it turns out that the market is operating in the opposite direction. Even if this is the case, the bands still oscillate and the trends will continue to show but the prices do not change quickly and thus the effects are not that severe. Over time, since stocks trade for long periods of time the strategy will be correct and the trading goes back to normal (Rachev et al 126). IBM: For instance, on February 26th 2007 IBM was trading below the lower Bollinger band. This meant that the pressure was mounting and forcing the technical traders to sell more. Since the prices were that low, the strategy was to buy stocks the following day on which it turned out that the day was trading low (The Quarterly Journal). This was abnormal in financial markets and this led to down fall of the stocks even greater. (Lifted from StockCharts. com) The stocks were sold well and the business would close below the lower band till March 5th when the selling pressure ceased. This resulted to the band starting to expand and approaching the centerline although huge losses had already been incurred. Apple Inc: On 21st December 2006, Apple closed below the lower Bollinger band which required that stocks be bought the following day. The stocks traded on the lower band and thus the selling pressure continued to take the stocks down. This trend continued until 27th December when some relief was felt. (Lifted from StockCharts. com) In conclusion, Bollinger Bands are just like moving averages which contradict and expand as they move. As they move they form unique patterns that investors are able to observe. Bollinger bands are used as signals of when to sell or buy a stock in the financial markets. Though used as signals, they are not the final indicators as to whether the stocks are to be traded but other factors need to be considered (Schlossberg). These bands are easy to use and one need not go for classes to learn about how to use them in making decisions about stocks. Since prices in the short run are not predictable, investors cannot make decisions based on short-term period but since Bollinger bands are a reflection of a longer period of time, they can make their decisions on that (Schlossberg). List of References John Bollinger: The eSignal Bollinger Band Tool Kit, accessed on 25th September 2008 from http://www. esignal. com/solutions/studies/bollingerband_article. aspx , John Bollinger: Bollinger on Bollinger Bands: McGraw-Hill Companies. 2001 John Devcic: Tales From The Trenches: A Simple Bollinger Band Strategy: accessed on 25th September 2008 from. http://www1. investopedia. com/articles/trading/07/bollinger. asp Boris Schlossberg: Using Bollinger Band Bands To Gauge Trends: Accessed on 25th September 2008 from 38. 102. 154. 10/articles/trading/05/022205. asp Bollinger Charts lifted from StockCharts. com on 25th September 2008 John J. Murphy: Technical Analysis of the Financial Markets: A Comprehensive Guide to Trading Methods and Applications: New York Institute of Finance,Prentice Hall Press. 1999 324-430 The Quarterly Journal of Business and Economics, Spring 2007 Bollinger Bands: Accessed on 25th September 2008 from http://biz. yahoo. com/charts/guide13. html . Rachev; Svetlozar T. , Menn, Christian; Fabozzi, Frank J. , Fat Tailed and Skewed Asset Return Distributions, Implications for Risk Management, Portfolio Selection, and Option Pricing, John Wiley, New York (2005) 123-145 Technical analysis in the forex / Bollinger band : Accessed on 25th September 2008 from www. forexchannel. org/technical_analysis/bollinger_band/

Sunday, July 21, 2019

The Largest International Bond Market In The World Finance Essay

The Largest International Bond Market In The World Finance Essay Firstly, it is important to define what a bond is. A bond is a debt instrument requiring the issuer a business, a bank, an international organization, or a government to repay to the investor (the lenders) the amount borrowed plus interest (coupon rate) over a specified period. Terms are contractually fixed. Bonds issued specify a fixed date when amount borrowed is due and a remuneration (which may be fixed or variable) indexed to interest rate and not the result of the company. Default risk is reflected in yields. Indeed, the higher yields the bond provides, the more risky the investment. In order to attract investors, companies offer a higher return than the government. The bond rating help in estimating the default risk. The bonds are traded on the bond market. The development of bond market has enabled companies and government, to diversify their sources of funding. In the international bond market, we can bring out three main markets: Domestic bond market: the bonds are issued by a domestic borrower in his own country. Most of time, we can find bonds denominated in the local currency. Foreign bond market: a foreign borrower issues bonds on another market than his local market. Most of time, we can find bonds denominated in the local currency. Exchanges of bonds issued by a foreign entity are under local market authorities control. Eurobond market. We have to determinate what a Eurobond is. The word Eurobond might be misunderstood. Indeed, Eurobonds do not mean bonds of European countries or euro-denominated bonds. The original sense of the world is given in this definition A Eurobond is a bond underwritten by an international syndicate and sold in countries other than the country of the currency in which the issue is denominated The Online Encyclopedia. In others words, the bond is issued and traded in a currency which is not the home currency of the investors. Eurobonds are not traded on a specific national bond market. Thus, Eurobonds are not subjects to the rules of any country. They are issued and traded within an unregulated market. Usually, a Eurobond is issued by an international syndicate (a group of banks that acts jointly). Eurobond market is separated into two different markets: Primary market (first issue of bond). Secondary market (sell your own Eurobond to another investor). Eurobonds bought in the primary market can be sold prior to their maturity in the secondary market. In this market, Eurobonds are traded over-the-counter. Moreover, the Eurobond market is separated into sectors; the different bonds are classified taking account of the currency in which it is denominated. We can take this example to show what a Eurobond is. Firm headquartered in Scotland issues bond and increases capital in China denominated in Pound sterling. In this case, this is a Eurobond called Euro Sterling Bond. If the Scottish company issues bond in US Dollar in China, it is also a Eurobond called Euro Dollar Bond. In the United States, during the sixties, there was unfavorable tax regime in the bond market. Thats why, American companies started to issue US Dollar denominated bond outside their own country. Thus, the Eurobond market became widespread. The First Eurobond was issued in 1963. This market is still growing under development. Usually, the borrowers or investors in the Eurobond markets are large companies, international organizations or financial institutions and governments and not individuals. In order to raise funds, the governments or companies (the borrowers) can issue and sell bonds. Thus, they attract investors who want to deposit money. Each entity wins: the firms and the governments find money to finance their activities and the investors are repaid plus interest. Investors and issuers prefer to use the Eurobond markets for several reasons: The main reason why an issuer choice the Eurobond markets is that it is cheaper to obtain financing. Eurobonds are not subject to tax and largely free from government regulation. There is a great borrowing flexibility. Issuers can choice the country in which to sell their bonds. Thus, they choice countries where there is the least amount of constraints. They have to choice which country has the best bond legislation. In this manner, they can reduce their borrowings costs. That is why; obtaining financing on the Eurobond markets is cheaper than the other market. And, they can propose advantageous offers. Indeed, to attract investors, issuers have to offer investors the well-price financing (at least as competitive as those available in the long-term or equity markets in their own countries). Moreover, income investors are not subject to double tax (borrowing country and home country). Hence, the Eurobond markets give an investor a possibility of achieving a higher yield on investments (advantageous offers from issuers and less income tax). Thus, Eurobond market regulation also benefits investors. The Eurobond market is considered as extremely liquid. The liquidity of a bond depends on the ability to be bought or sold without price concessions investors usually require bond liquidity. The Eurobond markets have high liquidity because Eurobond trading takes place 24 hours a day worldwide. The Eurobond markets are easily accessible. Hence, the companies or others investors can obtain financing in an economy where financing is hard to obtain. Issuing Eurobonds gives companies wider access to the international market which they may normally not be able to access. Moreover, this wider access to the international market increases the international recognition for the companies. The international Eurobond market is composed of a wide range of investors. It is easy for the issuers to find investors who want to deposit money. Usually, some large firms issue Eurobonds to raise funds in order to set up a subsidiary abroad. Take a UK-based company for example. It wishes to establish its operations in China; the firm has to obtain Chinese Yuan for the operation. Therefore, the company must issue Eurobonds in Chinese Yuan which be sold to the buyers owning Chinese currency in another country than China. Thus, the company obtains Chinese Yuan by way of compensation of Eurobonds. Then, it gives money to its subsidiary qua  loan. In the future, the subsidiary will start making money. The latter will give its profit to reimburse the interest on the  loan  bore by the parent company. The fact of issuing Eurobonds gives the ability the parent company to reduce the risk. Indeed, the currency risk is avoided because its liability (Eurobond in Chinese Yuan) is brought into balance by its asset (loan  in Chinese Yuan), thereby, the firm will not be subject to modifications in the value of Chinese Yuan. When a bond is issued, investors name has to be registered when he buys the bond (registered form) either or the investor does not need to give his name, he can own directly the Eurobond (bearer form). Usually, the Eurobond markets us the bearer form because there is no central register. Thus, the buyer can keep his anonymity. Eurobond permits to keep investors identity hidden. It is a key characteristic for. Investors prefer to keep anonymity. And logically, instead of issuing shares to increase funds firms can use the Eurobond markets. In this manner, companies keep the whole control of it strategy. A Eurobond is a special bond. Indeed, it is not subject to regulations and constraints governments. Eurobonds are not traded on a specific national bond market. The Eurobond market is probably one of the most attractive bond markets for both issuers and investors. This is mainly due to the self-regulations and flexibility of this market. The issuer can reduce borrowing costs and find easily anywhere and anytime an entity which want to deposit money. The investor can achieve a higher yield on investments and keep his identity hidden. Today, the Eurobond market is the largest international bond market in the world.

Importance Of Hrm In Hospitality Industry Tourism Essay

Importance Of Hrm In Hospitality Industry Tourism Essay Through the past decade, people have become more and more conscious that the competitive edge of an organisation lies in human factors. Indeed, it can be seen that the environments of the twenty-first century turn out to be highly competitive where organisation need to devote a significant amount of time, attention and energy to manage human resources. The firms also need highly effective personnel and HRM departments. This is mostly required by the hospitality operators which must possess quality human resources because above all, they are in the people business and the level of service they deliver to their customer depend highly on the people they have. It is therefore essential that people who are engaged in Hospitality Industry must have adequate knowledge, skills and qualities so that the firms can succeed and grow not only within national boundaries but also in the international arena. Based on this background that Human Resource Management finds its increasing importance and the help it can provide to hospitality operators by attracting, training, motivating good people. In fact, all organisations should adopt Human Resource Management in order to perform effectively. When we think of the Hospitality Industry, we usually think of hotels and restaurants. But the term has a much broader meaning. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, hospitality means the reception and entertainment of guests, visitors or strangers with liberality and goodwill. The word hospitality is derived from hospice, a medieval house of rest for travellers and pilgrims. A hospice was also an early form of what we now call a nursing home and the word is clearly related hospital. The term the hospitality industry refers to companies, organizations and businesses which have as their core business the provision of food, drink, leisure, business facilities and accommodation to people away from their homes. The hospitality professions are among the oldest of the humane professions and they involve making a guest, client or resident welcome and comfortable. The component sectors in the hospitality industry are Hotels motels, Guest houses, Restaurants, cafes snack bars, Night-c lubs and Public houses. 1.2 Importance of HRM in Hospitality Industry The importance of HRM in the hospitality industry cannot be denied. There are two facts highlight this importance. The first fact is that the hospitality industry is a people business which is customer-driven and quality-focused. As a matter effect, the human element plays a major part in the overall success of any organization, but especially so in a service industry such as the hotel business. Many members of the workforce (waiters, waitresses and receptionists) are in direct contact with the guests and are seen as been involved in achieving the objectives of the hotel. The quality of service offered is dependent not only upon the skills but also upon the attitudes of the staff. The latter are part of the finished product for which the customer is paying. Customer satisfaction is likely to be affected as much by the standard of food and beverage, accommodation or other facilities of the hotel as by the courtesy, helpfulness and personal qualities of the staff. Therefore both the sk ills and the attitudes of the workers are essential if the demands of the customer are to be met satisfactorily. This places particular importance on human resource management. 1.3 Problem Statement The hotel industry is one of the major pillars of Mauritian economy therefore great attention must be paid to the hospitality industry. An organisation like La Plantation Hotel needs to be constantly in line with changes due to the competitive environment. Therefore, there must be a continuous reviewing of the HRM practices in order to achieve success and maintain a corporate growth. This study arise from the need to analyse to what extent the HRM practices are effectively practiced at La Plantation Hotel and how they can be enhanced to gain better results. HRM practices are the essential elements in which attention must be focused as these practices have a direct impact on the human resource of the Hotel and people are very important in order to gain competitive advantage and success. This study examines the 5 main HRM practices and how they are being performed in the Hotel. The five practices are human resource planning, recruitment and selection, training and development, performa nce management and effective communication. It is generally accepted that success is deemed to come from the way the human resources are being managed and trained in the organisation, for human resources are amongst the most crucial element for Service Company in the hotel industry. 1.4 Main Objective of the study The main objective of this study is to identify, explore and evaluate the effectiveness of the present HRM practices at La Plantation hotel and provide recommendations where necessary in order to achieve success. Sub Objective of the Study The sub objectives of this project are as follows: To analyze the effectiveness of HRP in the hotel To identify how Recruitment and Selection is carried out in the hotel To identify the effectiveness of Training and Development at La Plantation Hotel To assess how performance management is performed in the hotel and its effectiveness To assess the importance of effective communication To determine whether the organization is giving proper consideration to its personnel. 1.6 Chapter Overview Chapter 1 is the introduction of the project. It starts by an overview of Human Resource Management. Then it moves on by a definition of Hospitality Industry, how HRM is important in the hospitality industry and the objective of the study. Chapter 2 is the Literature Review part. It provides some definitions of HRM given by different authors and it talks about the five HRM practices known as HRP, recruitment and selection, training and development, performance management and effective communication. And it ends up with the Empirical Review. Chapter 3 presents La Plantation Hotel: the organisational background, the mission, vision and objective of the hotel. It also reviews the present organisational structure and how the hotel carries out the five HRM practices. Chapter 4 deals with the Research Methodology. That is it identifies the various steps that were followed in carrying out the survey. Chapter 5 comprise of analysis and finding. The findings are data obtained from the questionnaires which have been filled by the employees. Therefore, based on the above analysis was made. Chapter 6 is the recommendation and conclusion. In this part attention is focused on some proposals and recommendations that could be implemented to improve the working lives of the employees and finally the chapter ends with a conclusion.

Saturday, July 20, 2019

Mindless Machines :: Essays Papers

Mindless Machines The official foundations for "artificial intelligence" were set forth by A. M. Turing, in his 1950 paper "Computing Machinery and Intelligence" wherein he also coined the term and made predictions about the field. He claimed that by 1960, a computer would be able to formulate and prove complex mathematical theorems, write music and poetry, become world chess champion, and pass his test of artificial intelligences. In his test, a computer is required to carry on a compelling conversation with humans, fooling them into believing they are speaking with another human. All of his predictions require a computer to think and reason in the same manner as a human. Despite 50 years of effort, only the chess championship has come true. By refocusing artificial intelligence research to a more humanlike, cognitive model, the field will create machines that are truly intelligent, capable of meet Turing's goals. Currently, the only "intelligent" programs and computers are not really intellige nt at all, but rather they are clever applications of different algorithms lacking expandability and versatility. The human intellect has only been used in limited ways in the artificial intelligence field, however it is the ideal model upon which to base research. Concentrating research on a more cognitive model will allow the artificial intelligence (AI) field to create more intelligent entities and ultimately, once appropriate hardware exists, a true AI. Webster's Collegiate Dictionary defines intelligence as the capacity to apprehend facts and propositions, to reason about them, and the ability to understand them and their relations to each other. A. M. Turing had this definition in mind when he made his predictions and designed his test, commonly known as the Turing test. His test is, in principle, simple. A group of judges converse with different entities, some computers and some human, without knowledge of which is which. The job of the judges is to discern which entity is a computer. Judges may ask them any question they like, "Are you a computer?" excepted, and the participants may answer with anything they like, and in turn, ask questions of the judges. The concept of the test is not difficult, but creating an entity capable of passing the test with current technology is virtually impossible. Current AI entities are only different applications of algorithms already in heavy use and are not actually intelligent.

Friday, July 19, 2019

Genius Loves Company: Ray Charles :: essays research papers fc

Genus Loves Company: The Life of Ray Charles   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Musician Ray Charles is generally considered a musical genius, and is so in many fields. He has enormous success in jazz, blues, soul music, country and western, and cross over pop. Acknowledged as an expert vocalist, pianist, saxophonist, and all around-entertainer, Charles first burst into popular attention in the 1950s as the virtual inventor of soul music. Ray Charles once defined soul music, â€Å"[soul music] is when you are able to convey the meaning of a song and make people feel it, make them think, Oh, Ray, you must have had that experience because there’s no way you could have sung that song unless it happened to you.† (Jet Magazine)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Charles was born Ray Charles Robinson in Albany, Georgia, on September 23, 1930. His father, Bailey Robinson, was a mechanic and a handyman, and his mother, Aretha, stacked boards in a sawmill. His family moved to Greenville, Florida, when Charles was an infant. A neighbor gave Charles piano lessons after Charles taught himself to play at the age of three. This neighbor owned a small store that served as a juke joint as well. Charles not only took piano lessons in the juke joint, he also absorbed the blues, jazz, and gospel music in the juke joint. At the age of five, Charles saw his brother drown in the tub his mother used to do laundry, while his family struggled through the height of the Great Depression. Two years later, at the age of seven, Charles lost his sight to glaucoma. He stated his mother never allowed his to feel pity for himself. In an interview with Jet Magazine, his mother told him: â€Å"Ok, you’re blind. Now that just means there are at least two ways to do everything. You just have to find the second way†¦ Whatever happens to you is up to you†¦Ã¢â‚¬  His mother also told him: â€Å"You’re blind, you ain’t dumb. You lost your sight, not your mind.† Studying at the St. Augustine School for the Deaf and Blind, he studied for nine years, learning composition and a number of instruments.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Upon leaving the school he worked in a number of settings with many different groups in the Florida area. (Salamone) â€Å"Learning to read music in Braille and play by ear helped me develop a damn good memory,† Charles said. â€Å"I can sit at my desk and write a whole arrangement in my head and never touch a piano†¦ There’s no reason for it to come out any different that the way it sounds in my head.

Thursday, July 18, 2019

Comparing Gilgamesh to Genesis Essay examples -- essays papers

Comparing Gilgamesh to Genesis In both Gilgamesh and Noah and the Flood, man’s wickedness leads to death, destruction, and rebirth all caused by billions of gallons of water sweeping the earth’s surface. The flood in both stories destroys most of mankind. The floods represent rebirth and a new beginning for mankind, as well as the gods and God’s wrath. In Gilgamesh the gods decide to destroy mankind by flooding the earth for six days and nights. Utnapishtim is chosen to build a boat in order to restart mankind after the flood. In the Bible God also decides to flood the earth due to the increase in wickedness. God chooses Noah to build an ark and store seven pairs of every clean animal and two of every other kind of animal on it so the earth can have a fresh start. God says to Noah: â€Å"Go into the ark, with all your household, for you alone have I found righteous before Me in this generation. Of every clean animal you shall take seven pairs, males and their mates, and of every animal w ith is not clean, two, a male and its mate; of the birds of the sky also, seven pairs, male a...

Coursework assignment: Jack the Ripper

1. Source A is part of a newspaper article describing the murder of Martha Tabram and Polly Nicholls. From source A I can learn that there have been two murders in London within a month of each other, I can also learn that Polly Nicholls and the other victim, Martha Tabram, were very poor. Source A also tells us that the murderer did not kill the women for financial gain as there was no proof of stealing, the killer had used too much force to kill these women and this suggests that the killer was not of stable mind. Source A is part of an article in the East End Observer describing the murders of Martha Tabram and Polly Nicholls and it was written within a month of the murders, it suggests that the murderer was not of stable mind. Source B is part of the Coroner's report of the death of Polly Nicholls and it suggests that the killer had a good knowledge of the human body. Source C is the report of Dr Frederick Blackwell on the body of Elizabeth Stride and its gives a detailed description of the victims body. Source A supports Source C by saying that the victims have been of the poorest of the poor whilst Source C implies that the victim, Elizabeth Stride, was poor as there was ‘no money on the body. ‘ However Source A is different to Source C as it says that the killer used ‘extraordinary violence' to murder the women where as Source C says that there was only one incision on the body and it cut the windpipe ‘completely in two meaning that no force was used'. Source C also says that the appearance of the face was calm meaning there was no force used against the victim and it was a quick kill. Source A states that the murders were a work of a ‘demented being' as so much effort was used to kill the victims but the evidence from Source C suggest that the killer had a knowledge of how to kill a person quickly as it says that only one incision was found on the victim and it rendered them dead. Source B says the killer had ‘anatomical skill and knowledge' the wounds inflicted on the victim were in specific places that would lead to certain organs, additionally Source C also suggests that the killer had a good understanding of the human body as it mentions that only one wound was inflicted on the victim and it was enough to kill her and this shows that Source B supports Source C. Source B also supports Source C by saying the killer used a knife as a weapon to kill the victims and Source C implies that the killer used a knife as an incision is caused by a knife or sharp object. However Source B is different from Source C as all the statements in this are opinions whereas all the statements of Source C are facts and are given by a doctor who knows what he is seeing. Source B is also trying to decipher the identity of the victim where as Source is just a description of the body 3. Source E is Part of an article published in a local newspaper after the murders of Polly Nicholls and Annie Chapman. It tells us of how an informant warned police officers that the security of the streets should be improved otherwise murders would ensue. It also tells us a bit about the geography of White Chapel. This source implies that the security of the streets in White Chapel was really poor as there were crimes going on in every street and people had predicted that there would be murders happening in the town if the quality of the police force was not increased. It also tells us that there were crimes going on such as ‘ruffianism' (violent lawless behavior), and although the police were told of it they did nothing to prevent or stop these crimes. This Source also tells us about the way White Chapel is built, with the main roads connected by narrow alleyways, meaning that the killer could easily slide into an alley if he heard or saw the police approaching. However the Source does not tell us who the informant is; implying that the killer had to be a police to hide his identity because otherwise he would have been fired from his job. As a result of not knowing the identity of the killer, we cannot tell if the Source is reliable or not. But as the source was a newspaper article, its main job was to inform people of the news accurately, however the newspapers also had to be sold meaning that the article evidence given by the informant could have stretched to make the article more interesting. Source D is the evidence of Elizabeth Long at the inquest into the death of Annie Chapman; she was describing the man seen talking to Annie before she was killed. It tells about the appearance of the man seen with Annie Chapman before she was killed. It says that the man was a foreigner and that he was of a ‘shabby genteel'. The description given by the eye-witness is very detailed and it describes a foreigner. During the time that the murders happened White chapel was a dirty and polluted place, people could even see their own hands in front of their faces in the dark. The time at which Miss Long said she say the man was at 5. 30 am and it was still pretty dark at that time which leads me to believe that this source is not very reliable. This however shows me that the police had trouble capturing the killer because of all the false eye-witness accounts given to them by the public, they could not interpret which ones were true and which were not and the killer took advantage of this. Source D is not very reliable as there is no way that Miss. Long could have made out the appearance of the man in such detail, it is a make belief story as at the time of which the account was given many people presumed that the killer was a foreigner, therefore Miss. Long gave the description of one. 4. The police made use of many methods to try and catch the killer but they were all to no avail. One of the things that the police was to circulate leaflets around to the general public. Source F is the leaflet distributed to over 80,000 households in hopes of catching the murderer. The leaflet contains dates of the first four murders (starting from Polly Nicholls) and it is suggesting that the killer lives in Whitechapel. It is asking for people to come forward and report anybody suspicious. This is a good idea as it would save the police from interviewing everyone in Whitechapel but the public did help the police as they came up with too many false witnesses and they gave information on people who acted the slightest unusual. Source G is part of a letter from the Home Secretary to the mile end vigilance committee on 17 September 1888. The Home Secretary states that offering a reward would mean people would make false accusations on innocent people just for the money. The police were asking permission to offer reward to anyone who gives information on the killer but they were declined. This would have been a good idea as they would get a list of suspects but the public would give information on anyone just to get the money and this would leave the police in a bigger state of confusion. The police also requested for 100 more men both uniformed and plain clothed so there can more of a chance to catch the killer. This was definitely a good idea as there were more men patrolling the area and there were more chances of spotting the killer. However this method proved to be insufficient as the killer was not seen the police, both uniformed and plain clothed. The metropolitan police sent a private and confidential letter to Col turner asking him to provide trained bloodhounds that could track the scent of the victim's blood in order to find the killer. This was a very good idea and it is still used today to track down suspects but this also failed to catch the notorious Whitechapel, murderer. Although this did prove that the killer murdered his victims rather stealthily as to not get any blood on himself. The police also put their time and effort into interviewing over a thousand lodgers in the area of Whitechapel. This does not seem like a good idea as all the murders had taken place on the weekend or on a holiday suggesting that the killer was from out of town or that he had a job meaning that he would have his own house. One of the stranger things the police did was use silent boots. There logic was that the killer would here the police man approach and so the killer would not run away. This obviously did not help the police catch the killer. These boots also cause pain to the officers as they were uncomfortable. Autopsies were carried out and police photographed each scene. Detailed interviews were conducted throughout the area and existing mental patients and those with a history of violence were investigated. Also the police offered pardons to accomplices willing to come forward with information. The police tried almost everything they could to try and catch the killer during the murders but the facilities that police had were just not enough and most of the time criminals were caught red handed or they would most likely escape. 5. The Whitechapel murders were something that the police have never experienced, they do not know of killing without reason or serial killing. As you have seen, the police tried various methods to try and catch the murderer but they were all a failure and that is due to the following reasons. The killer was a mad-man. This is what everybody believed in White chapel, that someone who kills for his own pleasure has to be foaming at the mouth, this was the perceived of Jack the ripper. He was seen as a man who could not keep his emotions in check and who was a basic raving lunatic. However through modern serial killings we have found that most serial killers look outwardly normal and sane even though they are mad on the inside. The killer could have had an ordinary day-light life with maybe even a family and by night time he could have set out to kill. This was not known at the time so people were looking out for mad person who was swinging a knife at every prostitute and because of this lunatics all over White chapel were examined but to no avail. This also meant that if the killer had family and friends they would never suspect him as he would not have filled the description of a lunatic. The killer on the other hand was a very confident person as he no doubt believed he would never be caught so he never hid the bodies and murdered in daring places, such as ten minutes away from the police station. The killer was also very artful as source H states that ‘not a trace is left' of the killer at the crime scene. The victims of the killer had one thing in common: heavy drinking. They were known for drinking and wondering around the streets, the first victim's, Polly Nicholls, marriage broke down as a cause of her heavy drinking. Polly Nicholls was a sad woman who made a living from prostitution. The second victim, Annie Chapman, was also a separated wife who suffered from alcoholism and she was also homeless. The next victim, Elizabeth Stride, was also separated from her husband and used prostitution as a source of a living. The fourth victim, Catherine Eddowes, was also a heavy drinker, a separated wife and a prostitute. The fifth and final victim was Mary Jane Kelly and she was a young prostitute whose husband had died. All these victims are prostitutes and almost all were heavy drinkers meaning they were all exceptionally easy targets as they would have to go in dark places with men who they were strangers with and when they were drunk they were disoriented and did not know what was going on. They would also do anything for a drink meaning they would meet up with men at night just because he promised a drink. The victims were also picked at random except for the fact that they were prostitutes so the police could not find a pattern in the victims and there were too many prostitutes in White chapel to protect them all. Whitechapel was a densely populated area in one of the poorest districts in London. There were many slaughterhouses and such in those parts of London, and so it wasn't odd for men to walk around in dirty and even blood stained clothes. Furthermore, the fact that there were so many narrow alleys and thoroughfares may have made the Ripper's escape easier. As source E tells us that the alley ways were ‘dark' and ‘narrow'. The area of Whitechapel had many penniless, homeless and nameless people drifting in and out of its streets, so it was difficult to keep the track, monitor the streets and the police also had to deal with the vigilante behaviour that erupted as a result of the murders. The eyewitnesses that came forward were almost all very inaccurate except for the police officers. In eye-witness account of Elizabeth Long (source D), a description of a man she sees talking to Annie Chapman is given but it is not very detailed and it only describes his attire and not his facial features. Elizebeth Long is also not sure about the things she sae as she says: ‘as well as I could make out', ‘I think' and ‘I cannot be sure'. Also, the time at which she saw the man, it was dark and smog covered the whole of White chapel so therefore she could not have seen clearly and her evidence is most likely made up. These sort of eye-witness accounts lead the police to a dead end and their time is wasted. The chance of the police catching any criminal in those days would drastically drop if they didn't catch him in the act. The investigative tools the police had at the time did not include fingerprinting, forensic evidence and DNA. The police tried almost everything they could and they made requests that would help catch the killer (even though some of them were denied). The police was not used to the concept of killing without a motive and this confused the police as to what course of action they should take. Although the police did make some mistakes such as when the writing on the wall was erased before it could be photographed and they let Catherine Eddowes out of jail at 1. 00 am when they clearly knew about the dangerous times. The police were not to blame for the ripper murders as they had never experienced anything like it and they did whatever they could to try and catch the killer. The public did not help the police in the investigation by giving false witnesses and accusations. The layout of White chapel was in such a way that it would be extremely easy for the ripper to escape.