Halina Mountain Resort a Case Study Essay

Sarah Norton is an MBA student who specializes in market research. She has one semester left until graduation and is working as a graduate assistant. She is a person with very high ethical values and she is very religious. She looks for a job in Hammonsville, where she wants to stay. She starts working for the Wise Research Corporation, a field research services company. They have offices in Dallas, Hammonsville and Tulsa. She travels to Dallas to start her training for the job and finds out that the company’s behavior to the different stakeholders is very unethical. Sarah, a very ethical person with high values, finds herself in a big dilemma – should she stay with the company or better, resign from the job even though she quit her graduate assistantship. In the situation analysis, environmental, cultural and political trends are discussed. The economy in general is not in a growing stage and the ethical behavior in business is not sufficient. Nevertheless, there is a growing trend to increase ethical behavior, and many companies and associations develop a code of ethics for their business or industry. In the second part of the paper, the problems appearing from the situation are discussed. Unethical behavior and it’s impact on the stakeholders of the company lead to Sarah’s decision whether to resign form the job or not. In the third part, a solution is presented which is the resignation from the job. A justification of the chosen solution follows and also an implementation strategy. II. SITUATION ANALYSIS A. Environment 1. Economic conditions and trends The economic conditions are important in this case because they are not favorable to find a job; especially not for lower managers like MBAs just graduating from college. The American industry is in the process of downsizing. Please note! This is not an example of text written by our writers! Essaypedia.com is a database of essays that were collected at open web resources. You can use them at you own risk following the citation rules below. But we recommend you to order a custom plagiarism-free essay written just for you from one of our writers. Place an order, add your paper details and enjoy the results! You can keep in touch with your writer, check the draft of your paper and send your order for revision for free. If you are hesitating to place an order – just ask for a quote! In Appendix one, unemployment figures are provided, and show see that unemployment was very high in the years 1994/1995. 2. Cultural and social values and trends Unethical behavior is becoming more and more common in business life. One can observe unethical behavior every day by simply watching the news. This results from the following developments: à ¼ the high value society places on economic success à ¼ profit share being the sole objective à ¼ intense competition between departments, people or companies à ¼ management being concerned with the â€Å"letter of law† rather then with â€Å"the spirit of law† à ¼ ambiguous corporate policies regarding ethical behavior à ¼ inadequate controls allowing people to get away with behaving unethically à ¼ business leaders failing to comprehend the public’s ethical concern à ¼ the â€Å"let the buyer beware† custom prevails (Greenberg J., Baron R. A. (2000) p. 31). Since these trends in industry have created a very unsatisfying condition, business leaders are trying to increase morale values in business life and many companies develop a code of ethics, a mission about ethical behavior or an organizational culture with high ethical standards. 3. Political and legal issues In the field of market research there is a code of professional ethics developed by the Market Research Association (MRA). However there is no nationwide standard for collection and handling of data for market researchers. This Code of Ethics is provided in Appendix II. 4. Summary of environmental opportunities and threats The economy in general is not in a growing stage and the ethical behavior in business is not sufficient. Nevertheless, there a returning trend to move to a more ethical behavior, therefore many companies and associations develop a code of ethics for their business or industry. There is no nationwide standard for ethical matters in market research and no law for ethical behavior. The Code of Ethics of the MRA is the only attempt to set some ethical rules how to operate a marketing research company. B. Industry 1. Classification and definition of industry Opinion and marketing research is a multi-billion-dollar industry dedicated to providing valuable information to companies, which focus on sales and services. Opinion and marketing research: à ¼ helps manufacturers to identify, to understand and to meet consumer needs and wants à ¼ saves the consumer money by providing data to companies to help them reduce the costs associated with new product failures. à ¼ assists manufacturers and service providers to improve the quality and usefulness of the products and services. Consumers make their opinions on products, services and issues by answering questions of market researchers. The consumer can influence manufacturers to incorporate consumer opinion into products, services and procedures. About 72 million Americans are interviewed in an opinion and marketing research study yearly (www.mra-net.org). The case tells us that outside research suppliers are a growing industry. Wise Research is such an industry. 2. The Code of Ethics and the responsibilities of the marketing research industry The Marketing Research Industry Association writes industry the following about ethics in the marketing research industry: â€Å"Research knowledge and the value of research are communicated to both the business community and the public at large, while complying with applicable federal, state and local laws, regulations and ordinances. MRA (Marketing Research Association) expects members to follow principles of honesty, professionalism, fairness and confidentiality to guard the interests of the public and our clients in order to promote good business practices. MRA’s Code of Data Collection Standards consists of the responsibilities of respondents, clients, and data collectors not only to each other, but also to the general public and business community. All MRA members must sign and adhere to the Code of Data Collection Standards. The standards are enforced, and complaints of alleged unethical behavior may be filed against an MRA member who is suspected to have violated the Code† (http://www.mra-net.org/codes/index.cfm). This Code of Ethics is applicable for members of the MRA. It shows how important ethical behavior in marketing research is. The book â€Å"Marketing Management† by J. Paul Peter and James H. Donnely Jr. also talks about ethical behavior in the marketing research sector. Peter and Donnely base their ethical Responsibilities on Gilbert A. Churchill Jr. â€Å"market research: Methodological Foundations†. They trace the ethical responsibilities to three different groups: respondents, clients and employees. Responsibilities to respondents are: à ¼ Preserving respondent anonymity à ¼ Avoiding mental stress for respondents à ¼ Avoiding questions detrimental to respondents à ¼ Avoiding the use of dangerous equipment or techniques à ¼ Avoiding deception of respondents à ¼ Avoiding coercion of respondents. The responsibilities to clients are: à ¼ Providing confidentiality à ¼ Providing technical integrity à ¼ Providing administrative integrity à ¼ Providing guidance on research usage. And last the responsibilities to the employees are à ¼ Creating an ethical work environment à ¼ Avoiding opportunities of unethical behavior (p. 41). 3. Summary of the industry analysis The market research industry is very unique and provides important information to the different industries selling products and services to consumers. They normally work with a very high standard of ethical behavior; the MRA summarized these ethics in the Code of Ethics. C. Firm 1. Description of the company Wise Research is a market research company. It’s business is field research in shopping malls which categorizes it as a field research company. Field research companies do data collection on research projects. Wise Research has been operating in this business for 25 years and has several subsidiaries. These subsidiaries are all mall research offices. The head office and two other offices are located in Dallas, TX, one is located in Tulsa, OK and one is located in Hammonsville, MI. The office in Hammonsville has exited for 10 years. The company is involved in fieldwork, although they do not generate questionnaires or analyze the collected data. The core competence of Wise Research is to collect data for other marketing research firms, and these firms provide the information to their clients. One can conclude from the descriptions of the company that it does not have a mission statement, a philosophy or a particular strategy concerning organizational culture and ethical behavior. There is no marketing budget and the office personnel recruits the clients. The lack of ethical behavior of Wise Research leads to a severe damage of their reputation in the long run and to any marketing efforts. Clients will realize in a post purchase evaluation that the data delivered by Wise Research is manipulated and not valid. 2. Financial condition One can assume that the financial situation is not very good since we learn from the case that benefits promised to employees are paid with a delay. This happens to Cindy, the office supervisor in Dallas. Also, the management discourages employees from talking about their salaries. Another evidence for a poor financial situation is that Sarah is told that she could make $ 25,000 a year with a 40-hour week, which is not true. The company owns no computers; this indicates that they only possess very few assets. The company does not have a marketing budget. 3. Management philosophy and managerial climate The case does not say anything about the management philosophy, but is does talk about the behavior of the management, which drastically influences the organizational culture and climate. The behavior of the management is very unethical. They force their employees to fake organizational figures and they also put a substantial pressure on the employees. They take advantage of personal situations of their employees (such as in the case of Cindy – she desperately needed a job, they paid her less money than other employees) and this gives management an image of dishonesty to employees and to clients. Their behavior is also very informal; the interview with Sarah indicates this. 4. Organizational structure The owner of the company, Bill Wise, is also the president. His wife Karen works for the company too. The headquarters of the company is in Dallas, and there are four more offices. The offices work with very uneducated staff. Every office has a local manger who carries the responsibility. The office managers communicate directly with the owners of the company. 5. Organizational culture The organizational culture and also the organizational climate are influenced by the managerial climate. Climate and culture are two different subjects, but they are associated. Hofstede (1998) states in an article â€Å"Attitudes, values and organizational cultures† the following about climate and culture: â€Å"Climate derives from sociology, culture from anthropology, and this affects the methods by which they are studied; climate is more closely linked with individual motivation and behavior than culture, which resides entirely at the organizational level; climate has an evaluative connotation and partly overlaps with satisfaction; cultures can be different without one being objectively better than the other. [†¦] Climate can fruitfully be seen as a subset of culture†(p. 496). The organizational culture of Wise Research is very unethical and this is lived and enforced by the management. The organizational climate is very poor because of the bad managerial climate. 6. Sarah’s job According to Bill and Karen Wise, Sarah’s job has the following work conditions: the pay is $11 a hour, and she can earn $ 25,000 a year with a time per week of 40 hours. The benefits are health insurance premiums at the same level as the Dallas employees. The Missouri employees normally do not get health insurance benefits. One week of vacation was offered after one year of employment. Performance reviews are held after three and nine months. Raises are only given after performance reviews. 7. Summary of the condition of Wise Research The condition of Wise Research, especially in a long-term consideration is very poor. The financial situation is poor, there are no marketing activities at all and the behavior of the management plus the organizational climate and culture is unethical. The management might consider it’s unethical behavior as strength for the company to generate profit in the short run, but after some time the different stakeholders of the company will find out and switch to the competition. D. Sarah Norton – the new employee 1. Sarah’s personality Sarah Norton is 32 years old and she was brought up in Missouri by a morally strong family. The values in her education were religion coupled with high moral standards. She is respected and liked by family, friends, and colleagues. She never tries to convince other people to share her views in moral standards, ethics or religion. She has one younger sister and a boyfriend in Hammonsville and she is very close with them. 2. Location Sarah lives in the city of Hammonsville, Missouri. Hammonsville has about 150,000 inhabitants. Hammonsville is the town where she wants to work since her sister and her boyfriend Jeff live there. The city of Hammonsville does not have many opportunities to work as a market researcher, because a small town like this does not contain many industries that need market research. 3. Education and work experience Sarah started to work after graduating from high school for the state of Missouri. She worked in the professional registration office of the â€Å"Board of Healing Arts†. The office is operated in a very professional manner, and this is what Sarah liked most about her work there. After a couple of years in the job, Sarah decided to get a college degree in marketing and management. She went to Hammonsville State University because she wanted to be near her sister. While studying she worked at the local state vocational rehabilitation office. She also worked at a restaurant, for which she had been responsible in the absence of the owner. People liked her at work because she has a positive work ethic; she is intelligent and has strong moral values. She graduated from the university (double major) with honors. Since she wants to work in the field of marketing research, she worked in many research projects to get experience. She learned how important the ethical handling of data is, and she knows the Code of Ethics by the Marketing Research Association. In 1994 she started her MBA with a specialization in market research. She works as a graduate assistant and is responsible for five more graduate assistants in the marketing department. In 1995 she decides to look for a job. 4. Summary of Sarah’s characteristics Sarah is a very skilled, educated person with high moral, ethical values and a religious attitude. She is intelligent, has a lot of project experience in marketing research as well as a good college education. Unfortunately she has not graduated from her MBA program yet. She is not flexible in choosing her workplace since she wants to stay in Hammonsville with her boyfriend and her sister. III. PROBLEMS FOUND IN SITUATION ANALYSIS A. Statement of primary problems 1. Evidence of problems Sarah Norton applies for a job at Wise Research after reading their job advertisement in the newspaper. After two interviews she gets hired and is sent directly to Dallas for on the job training. During the first week of training, Sarah understands that the company’s treatment of employees and customers is very unethical. She realizes that she is very unhappy with the situation and she needs to make the decision if she wants to stay with the company or not. These are the different problems I found in the situation analysis: Ethical Issues: Professionalism à ¼ The company operates in a very unprofessional way. The job advertisement is placed in the Hammonsville News Monitor, on Sunday, July 9th, 1995. It doesn’t say the name of the company, nor does it give any specific job requirements. It only gives a reference to details about an entry-level management position. Instead of an address a PO-Box is named. à ¼ The following interview is not very professional either. Sarah meets Mr. and Mrs. Wise in a hotel room in Hammonsville, without knowing that she was going to meet Mrs. Wise too. The interview is very informal and the clothing of the Mr. and Mrs. Wise is not appropriate for a business interview. The office facilities are not shown to Sarah. à ¼ The second interview is as informal as the first one. à ¼ The training process also shows a high level of unprofessionalism. Sarah receives an Airport Pick up from the son of Mr. and Mrs. Wise. He invites her for lunch and behaves in a very informal manner and tries to impress Sarah with different statements. He also tries to discover contents of about the phone call Sarah made earlier to the Hammonsville office to find out more about the job. Even though she does not respond to the question he tries several times. Also, he has only a very little understanding of the research process and is not able to answer her questions. à ¼ There are no computers in the company. à ¼ The knowledge of the interviewers and other staff of the company about the data collection process is on a very low level. Ethical issues: Organizational culture à ¼ Before the interview Sarah called the company to find out more about what they are doing and the local manager reacts very irritated when he hears that she is invited for a job interview. It tells us that the manger does not know what is going on in the company and that the communication is bad. Later in the interview she learns form Bill and Karen Wise that this local mangers was laid off and that she is hired to replace him. As a matter of fact, he is still at the company and he does not know yet, that he will be laid off. à ¼ Another indicator of unethical organizational culture in the company shows the fact that Sarah is asked not to tell anybody why she is at the company when she starts her training. The other employees are told she is an auditor. Because of this, she has to be at the company first in the morning so that no one can see her clock in. à ¼ More evidence of dishonesty is shown by the information that actual working time in the company is 37,5 hours, not 40 as said in the interview. This decreases Sarah’s annual salary and she does not earn the promised amount. The dishonesty to employees and different treatments of employees show the low level of organizational culture. For example the company pays Cindy less than Sarah even though they have more or less the same job. Management took advantage of Cindy’s situation when she was hired and her raise of salary was delayed. à ¼ Another incident gives information about the organizational culture: one of the interviewers is supposed to be laid off because this interviewer talked to somebody else in the company about her salary. The management initiates this lay off. The employee is in a very bad financial and social situation that does not impress the management at all. After begging to keep the job, the interviewer is allowed to stay. Ethical issues: The Code of Ethics The Code of Ethics is shown as Appendix II. There are several actions by Wise Research, which interfere with The Code of Ethics by the MRA. Reports about how many interviews are completed per hour are manipulated so that these reports show the exact number required. With this method Wise Research manipulates the figures regarding how many potential interviewees were screened. Wise Research uses family members and relatives of the interviewers to answer survey questions if they run out of time. They use these relatives several times with different names, so that the clients cannot find out. This affects the validity of the data.

Personal practice related to ANA scope of practice Essay

As a nurse, one must follow a scope of practice, what is expected of them within their role of the nursing profession. These guidelines shape the responsibility of the professional nursing organization and serve to protect the public. According to, Nursing’s Social Policy Statement: The Essence of the Profession (American Nurses Association, 2010, p. ) defines contemporary nursing: â€Å"Nursing is the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and abilities, prevention of illness and injury, alleviation of suffering through the diagnosis and treatment of human response, and advocacy in the care of individuals, families, communities, and populations. † I believe my role, as a nurse is consistent with the scope of practice outlined by ANA and the contemporary definition cited. As a nurse, I strive to be clinically competent and aware of the constant challenges that one faces on a daily basis. Being well informed promotes health and prevents further illness and injuries. One goal I try to set aside every week is to attend a weekly ground rounds meeting, where additional education is provided on a specific case study. This opportunity allows me to stay current and up to date on new medications available, research findings and team collaboration feedback from staff on effective treatment options for optimal patient outcome. In addition, completing required competencies and being a member of Oncology Nursing Society also strengthens my knowledge and skill in providing the best evidence based practice to an individual and their families. Being a resource nurse for my unit allows me the opportunity to share my knowledge with the staff and actively participate in mentoring young nurses build a strong foundation and develop critical thinking skills. Education is critical in the nursing profession. Lifelong learning must be an ongoing process due to the rapidly growing population and technology advancements in our society today. I believe it is the responsibility of the nurse to facilitate this process and collaborate with other nurses in their field to continue to work together to strengthen the role of the nurse in an environment that requires continuous education and competencies. â€Å"Registered nurses must continually reassess their competencies and identify needs for additional knowledge, skills, personal growth, and integrative learning experiences† (American Nurses Association, 2010 p. 13). State legal regulations and professional standards of nursing The Ohio Board of Nursing defines nursing and the scope of nursing practice. Rules and regulations are in place to determine compliance set in motion by the Nurse Practice Act. Responsibility is outlined by establishing standards for nursing education programs, eligibility to sit for the state licensure exam, renewal criteria of that license, and setting standards for continuing education to meet renewal criteria. The Board is also responsible for defining the standards of delivering safe nursing care for registered nurses and protecting the community with these standards. Another role the Board is responsible for is reviewing and investigating violations of this Nurse Practice Act and determining if a nurses license is to be denied, revoked, suspended, or restricted in any way (Ohio Nurses Association). It is essential that nurses maintain an understanding of the legal regulations within their nursing practice. The Ohio Board of Nursing requires all Ohio nurses to have continuing education on Ohio law with a total of 24 continuing education hours every two years for license renewal (Ohio Board of Nursing). As a professional, I feel it is my primary responsibility to understand the law and regulations defined before me, this knowledge allows me to safely practice nursing care and deliver the best care to my community. I have worked in other states as well, and of those states I have worked, Ohio is the only one requiring a continuing education credit with a focus on state law and regulations. I feel every state should have continuing education credit requirements for renewal and at least one of the required credits have a focus on law. It is important as a professional to have knowledge of this. To have a check and balance system in place to make sure one is justly maintaining these standards and expectations in delivering a safe competent nurse to our community is vital to the population as a whole. Provisions 7, 8 and 9 â€Å"Provision 8 describes the nurse’s moral obligation to society. Provision 9 describes the responsibilities of the nursing profession to both the individual nurse and society in general. Provision 7 provides the necessary linkage between individual competence and evolving professional standards of practice, in addition to giving nurses a responsive and collaborative role n health policy for the overall advancement of the profession† (Fowler & Association, 2010, p. 91). Initially, these Provisions were never intended to be carved out of stone, but historically, they have been a guide and continue to be a guiding force of moral and ethical standards to follow. I pride myself on working for a hospital that fosters an environment on ethical integrity and professionalism. Because of this strong thread, it motivates me to do more, achieve more, and be more than I am today. I want my patients and my community to feel that they are receiving the best nursing care. An example I recently explored was implementing a grid to follow based on patient’s diagnosis and treatment pathway prior to admission to the floor. I work in the hospital’s rapid admissions unit. My goal is to have the patient to their room in 30 minutes or less. Of recent, we have received a lot of admissions for pancreatitis, however, I have noticed that the patient arrives to my unit without pain management options, i. e. PCA pump. This has delayed the patient’s comfort and care prior to arrival to HRAU leaving me scrambling to get pain orders, equipment and recover any customer service issues. This grid allows a framework to use as a guide of anticipated orders and outcomes. I presented this grid to my nursing manager, our staff and the ER manager and charge nurses for their collaborative input and suggestions. So far it has been effective, and we are working on additional areas to cover as well. Nursing is continually evolving and as a professional it is our job to facilitate education within our community of nurses so we can better serve our patient population. Philosophical forces influencing practice Philosophy is an attitude toward life and that attitude evolves from every nurses belief system. One’s attitudes are shaped by their environment and an accumulation of life experiences, I define nursing as a way to give back. Giving good nursing care doesn’t stop at being knowledgeable about medicine and having the very best in technology. It goes beyond, by reaching that individual on a spiritual level and connecting with them. I have always believed that one cannot be taught how to show compassion, an individual either possesses that ability or they do not. I have always believed that that is one of my strongest qualities, and this has been reconfirmed back to me by my patients through the years. To truly interact with a person you need to gain their trust, once that has been achieved through a therapeutic environment, healing is then possible. Ethical principles influencing practice There are standards in place to dictate the need to protect patient’s values, beliefs, culture and safety. It is difficult at times, when dealing with challenging patients and having to handle the stress of our jobs to remain open and unbiased. It is nice to have a reminder that our patient’s values come first and respect their choices. Our role is to educate them about their treatment plan and make sure they are well informed, while letting go of our own attitudes. Determining, nursing practice are essential for dealing with day-to-day ethical issues (Jormsri, Kunaviktikul, Ketefian & Chaowalit, 2005). I recently had an Asian woman who presented with abdominal pain and requested to have cupping performed by a healer specialized in the field. I was initially at a loss, how was I going to find someone to perform cupping. I wanted to help this woman and when I asked my colleagues and manager they had no suggestions. So I contacted the department that handles cultural awareness and was able to get a lead on whom to call. After, two hours of my day spent looking for someone to call, I finally had my answer. I came back to give my patient an update on the progress and she was so relieved. It was like you could see the anxiety drain out of her. By the end of the day, the therapist arrived to do cupping with her and she was relaxed and expressed that she truly felt like I heard her. It was not easy and I did find myself getting frustrated with the process of trying to make something work that I knew very little about. I’m happy I followed through with it, because in the end every patient has a right to believe what they believe, even though her values and attitude toward medicine is very different than my own, I was able to put aside my own views and attitude and really help someone else. Conclusion Many might say nursing is a science and some might say nursing is an art. I believe it is both. To be a successful nurse one must have the passion to continue their education and apply their knowledge through the science of nursing, and have the efficacy and compassion to provide the art of caring. Without caring the nurse is unable to connect with the patient and if the nurse cannot connect, trust will not develop between the nurse and the patient. I have always believed nursing is a calling and it is one of the most challenging jobs to have, but by far it has been the most rewarding.

The Company Man Essay

In her article â€Å"The Company Man,† Ellen Goodman uses stereotypes about an average man to convey her attitude towards Phil. Phil is a character who works himself to death in his corporate job. Goodman reveals in her article that in order to be a â€Å"company man,† Phil sacrifices his everyday life. Ellen Goodman uses diction, syntax, and characterization to create a piteous tone in her essay â€Å"The Company Man.†Ellen Goodman uses diction to appeal to the readers’ emotion to create a piteous attitude. When Goodman states, â€Å"†¦ he always ate egg salad sandwiches,† makes Phil sounds boring, but makes the reader feel a little sympathy for Phil wishing had a little fun in life. In the passage she would call him a workaholic or say that he had no outside interests. Once again, Goodman’s diction is making the reader feel sympathy for Phil not having a fun filled life. The way that Goodman uses diction ties in well with her essay.Als o, Ellen Goodman uses characterization to appeal to the readers’ emotion to create a piteous attitude. In this passage she calls Phil a workaholic. She calls him this because he works six days a week, even on his off day. This shows Ellen Goodman’s her pity and sympathetic tone. She tries to convince her audience that feel was a good hardworking man.Ellen Goodman also uses syntax to appeal to the readers’ emotion to create a piteous attitude. Ellen Goodman states, â€Å"Phil was overweight and nervous and worked too hard.† This shows some pity that she had for him because of his condition. Also Ellen Goodman also states, â€Å"At the funeral, the sixty-year-old company president told the forty-eight-year-old widow†¦Ã¢â‚¬  This also shows her pity by putting the age in the passage so the reader can have sympathy.Ellen Goodman appeals to the readers’ emotions by using rhetorical devices such as syntax, diction, and characterization to create a piteous attitude towards Phil. Ellen Goodman is trying to get her audience to see that men, especially Phil, are good hardworking people.

Research Topics with Explanation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Research Topics with Explanation - Essay Example The provision of the maintenance of the group health benefit of the employee, at the time he or she is on leave, is an added advantage in the provisions of the law. A change in the FMLA, therefore, shall serve justice to employees who, given these reasons, need to take leave from their work. The law provides 12 weeks unpaid leave of assured protection of the employee’s job within any given twelve months time (United States Department of Labor, 2010). I chose the topic because among the provisions in the law are issues that relate to health. Health is an invaluable need for every employee should have a job-protected leave to attend to health matters. Given the inevitability of the reasons for the leave, it should be a paid leave. The target audience is the labor department that needs to make considerations of changing the law into paid leave (Perritt, 2004). Standardization of regulations regarding the use of cells phones while driving is an inevitable need for ensuring safety in the transport sector. Drivers of commercial motor vehicles should be subject to restrictions in the use of mobile phones while driving. They should abide bythe provisions by the FMCSA. Failure to comply as per the provisions of the law should attract a new disqualification sanction the drive or the commercial driver’s license upon multiple convictions for violation. Imposing restrictions on drivers of motor vehicle carrier relating to their use of mobile phones while conducting operations in the interstate commerce would further strengthen such regulations (FMCSA, 2010). Safety in the highways would gain improvement with standardization of regulations regarding cell phone use while driving. Driver-related crashes on the highways would reduce significantly. Cases of injuries that involve these drivers would be low (Wyllie, 2007). I chose this topic becaus e of the increasing concern over several lives lost in accidents involving drivers of commercial motor vehicles. The target

Drug Behavior and Blood Brain Barrier Permeability Essay

Drug Behavior and Blood Brain Barrier Permeability - Essay Example Adolescent's innovation and curiosity can be transformed in dependence and addiction. Substance abuse is a maladaptive pattern leading to clinically significant impairment or distress. Several illicit substances produce dependence, defined as substance abuse that leads to loss of control, monopolization of time by substance use, and adverse medical, social, or emotional consequences that include tolerance and withdrawal (Gonzalez-Mayo, et al., 2005). There is a continued use in spite of knowing the problems that it causes. The mesolimbic dopamine system, particularly the nucleus accumbens, is a critical reinforcing site for drug addiction; this same pathway is believed to control drug craving and seeking behavior. It was recently proposed that addiction is a disease of learning and memory; classical conditioning describes learning in which a natural response is elicited by a conditioned, or learned, stimulus that previously was presented in conjunction with an unconditioned stimulus. Some evidence suggests that the mechanisms involved in the acute stimulant effects of cocaine and other illicit psychostimulants may be similar to the underlying features that explain chronic effects and addiction. The studies conducted in mice have allowed researchers to disclose important data regarding addiction pathways and neurotransmitter input. In humans, cocaine acute intoxication ca... On the other hand, ethanol intoxication causes disinhibition, emotional lability, slurred speech, ataxia, coma, and blackouts. Nicotine is one of the most addictive substances, and causes restlessness, insomnia, anxiety, and arrhythmias. Boudreau & Wolf (2005) define sensitization as "the augmentation of behavioral responses to drugs of abuse that occurs during their repeated administration and persists long after drug exposure is discontinued". The study conducted by Bainton, et al. is based on behavioral sensitization and the similarities between the addiction pathways of mammals and flies. By analyzing genetic features of Drosophila, the authors show that the behavioral defects observed in the mutant strains are not caused by accessibility changes of the administered drugs, but from alterations in the blood brain barrier, by means of changes in nervous system function. The Experimental Fly Since 1900, Drosophila flies have been used for genetic experiments. The fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster is highly accessible to genetic analyses, and has been introduced as a novel model organism to help interpret the complex foundation of drug-induced behaviors (Heberlein, 2008). In this study, flies were maintained on special agars and mutants where screened for drug sensitivity. First, researchers evaluated several fly strains that carried a mutation named EP1529, and found an increased sensitivity to both cocaine and nicotine exposures; excision of the mutation restored drug sensitivity in these flies. Additionally, the altered gene was identified as moody, which encode for a G protein-coupled receptor. In both larvae and adult flies,

The clinical Leaning environment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The clinical Leaning environment - Essay Example The relationship of the teaching staff has a significant impact on the quality of nurses, it is one of the most crucial factors that are necessary for a positive learning environment. Teachers are also a channel towards better learning opportunities and many students identify that the attitude of teachers towards students and access to better learning are very important towards their development. Another factor which in my opinion is extremely important for proper clinical placement is proper professional orientation. Many nurses are being ill-treated in different clinics because of less staff, work load and many a times, the staff feels threatened by the nurses. All these problems were not encountered by me during my work here. Also, in this hospital, the staff was very resourceful in terms of their knowledge and experience. It was encouraging, supportive and acceptable towards minor mistakes. The entire experience of your clinical placement is shaped by the overall culture of the ward. It gets uncomfortable when students face unfamiliar patients and hard to follow schedules. If students are accepted wholeheartedly in the ward and are appreciated for their interest in the field, the clinical experience becomes better. Hence professional, educational and learning influences do impact on one’s overall clinical experience. Although in my opinion, my CLE was near perfect, but here was one area which i felt needed improvement and that was the proper training for those nurses who enter the Intensive care Unit or ICU. This unit is one of the most sensitive units in the hospital and one should be subjected to some special learning procedures in order to become a master at those skills. This problem is not only pertinent to this hospital but worldwide also; there are really few publications that focus on those nurses who are entering the ICU for the first time. So I think this area needs a little bit

Customer Service Operations & Excellence Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Customer Service Operations & Excellence - Essay Example Service Packages offered by The Edge Restaurant Service Packages also known as â€Å"A bundle of goods and services with information that is provided in some environment†. Supporting facility The physical resources that must be in place before a service can be sold. The physical resources of the Edge include the location of the restaurant in the campus, interior decoration of the restaurant, the advanced point of sale systems etc. Facilitating goods The material consumed by the buyer or items provided by the consumer. The facilitating goods in the Edge would include the food items served by the restaurant like Sandwiches, Baguettes and Paninis, Chocolate bars and tablets, Chocolate crisps, Fresh Fruits, Potato Chips, Waffles, Pancakes, Pasta etc. Explicit services The essential or intrinsic features are known as explicit services. The explicit services of the Edge restaurant would include the quality of food, timing of serving the meal, courtesy and behavior of the staff of th e restaurant etc. Implicit services This includes the psychological benefits or extrinsic features which the consumer may sense only vaguely. These include factors like the spacious environment, space provided for car and motorbike parking etc. The timings of the restaurant is 8:30 am to 2:00 pm which have been kept for the convenience of the students (Disabledgo, 2013b). ... The Service Blueprinting method consists of a graphically represented overview of the service process and activities. In each process the contact and the interaction points of the customers becomes visible. A Service Blue print would be created for The Edge restaurant to understand the interaction points between customers and identification of the failure points of the restaurant. Client Interaction: This separates the process step of the service activities that the client carries out independently (Gremler, n.d.). Visibility Line: It separates the visible service activity from the hidden service activity. Above the line the process components which can be seen, smelt or heard are ordered. Internal Interaction: This separates the activities that imply to the immediate relation to the customer’s order from the support activities. These support activities can serve as a guide for the preparation of the primary activities and do not belong to the customer’s order. Control Line: This separates the preparation activities from the management activities which are general. Line of Interaction Arriving at Canteen, Reading Menu, Selecting Menu, Ordering and Eating Line of Visibility Seating at Table, Giving the menu card, Taking order, Serving food &drinks, checking whether seats are ready or not Line of Internal Interaction Placing order, Taking drinks from counter, placing order on kitchen counter, cooking and serving meal Control Line Creation of special â€Å"order of the day† , Paying at counter etc. (Source: Gremler, n.d.) The failure points in each of the stage would be as follows: a) Line of Interaction: The seating arrangement, cutlery etc of the Edge restaurant can be termed as the failure points in the line of interaction. b) Line of Visibility: The

Managing People Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Managing People - Essay Example If the geographical scope, financial strength, and wide customer base fail to persuade someone about the prominence of Starbucks as an icon of the corporate world, one can come up with a long list of laurels and awards that the company holds under its name, highlighting its success and reputation (Clark, 2007, p. 427; Michelli, 2006, p. 387). Zagat’s Survey of National Chain Restaurants for the year 2010 identified Starbucks as â€Å"No. 1 Best Coffee† and â€Å"No.1 Most Popular Quick Refreshment Chain†. For the past decade, it has appeared on the Fortune’s list of â€Å"Most Admired companies in America† and â€Å"The 100 Best Companies to Work for† (Mangold, 2010, p. 82). Quite understandably, a significant portion of this impeccable success enjoyed by Starbucks comes from its ability to manage, effectively and efficiently, its human resource. As a service oriented business, employees determine the customer service quality of the company, represent the company and their productivity determines the overall productivity of the organisation (Hellriegel & Slocum, 2007, p. 97). This paper is an attempt to discuss the leadership, organisational culture, organisational structure, organisational learning and employee motivation techniques employed by Starbucks. The paper argues that the prime leadership for Starbucks comes from Howard Schultz, for most parts, has appeared as a transformational leader. In fact, fitting the profile of a transformational leader, has allowed Schultz to inspire and create many more leaders in the company who have assisted in driving the growth by providing a wonderful customer service experience (Behar, 2007, p. 489). The culture of the company can be classified as collaborative work culture, one where much importance is placed on employee empowerment, employee engagement and worker welfare. More importantly, it is the decentralised, flat and matrix structure is the prime entity, which supports s uch as a work culture through promoting open and efficient communication amongst employees (Gilbert, 2008, p. 111). Moreover, the employee motivation at Starbucks can be understood through the application of Expectancy theory and Equity theory of Motivation. Besides, the above mentioned points, the paper will also outline a change management processes for the company and would provide recommendations based on the findings and analysis. Findings and Analysis Leadership There is evidence to believe that, Howard Schultz has been a transformational leader for Starbucks. The prime reason for it is rooted in the fact that Schultz, right from the very beginning had a vision in mind. It was in the early 1980s Howard Schultz, the current CEO, Chairman and President of the company, joined Starbucks as head of marketing. Schultz, after a trip from Italy, realised that to those people, coffee meant much more than just a drink. It was an experience, glue holding together people and their convers ations and bringing them closer (Schultz & Yang, 1999, p. 27). Schultz landed upon the idea of creating coffee houses where coffee becomes an enchanting and relaxing experience rather than a mere product. Jerry Baldwin had left the

Ethical Leadership in Memory Care Homes Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Ethical Leadership in Memory Care Homes - Essay Example These are imperative under the circumstances owing to the dynamics and factors that need to be taken into account anent the physical and psychological conditions of the patients. Actually a type of dementia, Alzheimer's disease affects about more than four million in the United States of America alone. Unfortunately, there are no known cure or treatment for the illness as of yet. The most that may be availed of for some relief are only preventative measures to control the damaging effects of the disorder. It is common among people in the age range of sixty and over although there are few cases for middle-aged persons. (What is Alzheimer's Disease. Tennessee Commission on Aging and Disability. TN.GOV. [internet]). While some patients are maintained in their own homes under the care of family and relatives and hired domestic hands or caregivers, there are a lot of care homes for memory loss patients or those suffering from Alzheimer's disease. In the instant discussion cum assessment cum evaluation, the focus is on those in memory care homes. The primordial consideration in caring for memory loss patients in a care home setting is the ethical standards that sh

Decade of Corporate Greed Essay Example for Free

Decade of Corporate Greed Essay Ascended in the 1980’s he reinvented Republican policies that favored deregulation and the growth of business in America. These Ideas markedly opposed the views of the governmental interventionist policies of the 1960’s and 70’s with these ideas Reagan hoped to decrease government Involvement and heavy taxes. With these tax cuts Reagan’s thinking was that many new businesses would spawn and that it would have a trickledown effect by not only empowering businesses to grow and hire more people which in the end would benefit all from those on top in the corporate world all the way down to the lowest person in the company in which everyone benefits. This was welcome news not only to the Republicans but also the â€Å"lunch bucket democrats† who were working class democrats who predecessor Jimmy Carter of whom they thought they were ignored by. As a result of this many government services were slashed and created ideas of the government being the problem. With this many republicans encouraged individuals to do good for themselves for the government would not do this for them. With this encouragement of business growth and economic prosperity for as many people as possible individualism became a way of life in the 1980’s. The acquisition of wealth and indicators of it really helped to drive this decade in the 1980’s where it seemed most important to acquire as much â€Å"material† goods as possible. These ideas were also shown in the pop culture world as the artist Madonna made a hit song in the 80’s called â€Å"material girl† a song of the times basically about greed and gaining as material things as you possibly could with no shame of this greed. Also Gordon Gekko the fictional business tycoon in the film â€Å"Wall Street† stands up at board meeting to stress and states â€Å"Greed is good†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Greed will not only fix this malfunctioning corporation called Teldar paper, but also the other malfunctioning corporation called the U. S. of A. † There were even excesses being taken in sports, as Pete Rose of the Cincinnati Reds had greed of singles, doubles and stolen bases, also greed in gambling cost him his spot in Major League Baseball. It was also in this decade baseball experienced â€Å"free agency† destroying loyalties and players selling themselves to the highest bidder as player contracts doubled from just the decade before. Once these Republican policies had trickled down to popular culture it almost seemed to validate this style of politics, it seemed as if the Republicans ascendance to power had spawned this culture and decade of greed that was so actively embraced by the American public. With this these politicians simply stated that they were just acting in accordance to what the public’s wishes were. With this success that Reagan had in the 80’s America had once again began to reassert itself on the world stage after a challenging decade of struggling in the 1970’s. Reagan is thought to be responsible also for the victory in the cold war that had lasted for decades before his term. The new thinking in the 80’s was not that this was greed but more of what the Republicans called prosperity and success. Some of the negatives of these changes were Reagan deregulated everything which in effect destroyed competition and this created oligopolies. Some examples of these are in the airline industry he deregulated the industry causing every airline in the country, except 2 to become bankrupt, as the deregulation in the broadcast industry resulted in just a few major players like Disney and Clear Channel dominating the playing field. As for under the Reagan administration money in politics became more strong then ever and that still holds true today in the world of politics for it seems like we no longer have elections, we more like have auctions for where it seems the candidate who has the most money to spend on getting their name out is usually the one who wins in these political battles, especially for the Presidency. What this does now and back then in the 80’s where it started is a corporation who might want certain laws or tax breaks passed to better help their needs funds that candidate to get elected and then in turn expects them favors to be returned when that candidate is elected. This new concentration of wealth created a whole new class of millionaires, however on the downside for every millionaire there were several hundred homeless people. With this came more negativity that came with the corporate greed of the 80’s. For these people who became homeless and poor due to these millionaires greed were blamed for dragging down the economy by Republican politicians and their mouthpieces in the media, while the truth we found out later is that indeed it was these rich people who were ripping us off and actually were responsible for dragging down the economy. Going as far to blaming the poor the city of Los Angeles installed a fingerprint system to guard against welfare fraud that cost the city and hardworking tax payers 30 million dollars, and for all of this it caught one cheater. While at the same time â€Å"White collar† crime was rising and costing us more than street crime cost, also doing more damage and arguably causing more deaths. Reagan also had a deregulation of the savings and loans industry which was a total debacle and ended up costing Americans 500 billion dollars which is part of the still current banking problem that is going on today. Unfortunately Reagan also began the practice of sending American manufacturing jobs overseas, another move that made the rich even more rich and greedy and made the poor have even less than they did before. Despite all these negatives it can be argued that Ronald Reagan was the most important and influential President of the last 60 years, loved by the Republicans and loathed by the liberals. Reagan turned half a century of political and economic orthodoxy and turned it on its head. It can be argued that he turned those who were Roosevelt democrats. So whether you loved or hated Reagan there is no doubt that administration and the greed of 80’s is still alive today. My though would be if your rich, you like the corporate greed and excessiveness that took place in the 80’s, however if you are poor you are wondering why this turned out like it did.

Programs Associated With Behavior Modification Psychology Essay

Programs Associated With Behavior Modification Psychology Essay This papers intent is not to address all of the programs associated with behavior modification, But simply to establish the some of the types of behavior modification programs available to probation and parole authorities. This report covers the basics of behavior modification, the theory behind it, as well as cognitive behavior modification. It touches on the use of evidence-based practices, motivational interviewing, as well as some of the types of programs available. Such as Boot Camps, Community Correction Centers, Day Reporting Centers, substance abuse programs, and lastly it talks about the very successful HOPE program in the state of Hawaii. Understanding behavior modification begins with the understanding of what is called Learning Theory. Learning Theory generally focuses on Ivan Pavlovs classical conditioning and B.F. Skinners operant conditioning. Both theories relay on the common belief that either through a stimulus or a strategic reinforcement, learned behavior could be altered. Under the belief of classical or reflex conditioning, the desired learning outcome is achieved through the creation of a conditioned response. Pavlov was able to create a conditioned response in dogs by associating the ringing of a bell with salivation. Every time the dogs were fed, a bell was rung. Soon the dogs were conditioned to expect food when the bell rang regardless of any food being present. You have to understand that Pavlov was actually studying the digestion of dogs, when he discovered that his dogs salivated when anyone walked in with a lab coat on. What he discovered was that whenever they fed the dogs, the person was wearing a lab. Pavlov followed up with the idea of ringing a bell whenever they were going to feed the dogs, the dogs soon learned to associate the bell ringing to them getting food. Hence, reflex conditioning. Although loosely related, operant conditioning is different from classical conditioning, in that a stimulus is not given for a conditioned response. Instead, operant conditioning applies a reward or a punishment after certain behaviors are observed. B.F. Skinner believed that behaviors in an individual were the result of contact with rewards and punishments within an environment. Operand conditioning happens when an animal learns to perform particular behaviors in order to obtain a fundamentally rewarding stimulus. B.F. Skinners work was in the field of psychology. He conditioned a pigeon to raise his head above a certain point in order to receive food. To put it another way, it is when a trained dog repeatedly comes when called in order to obtain a treat or reward. The down side to this type of learning is that after a while the dog expects a treat every time he comes when called. When he no longer receives the treat, with any type of frequency, the response becomes less and less fr equent this is called operant extinction. In general, when we engage in behavior that no longer pays off, we find ourselves less inclined to behave in that way again. Putting it another way, let us say we wear a wristwatch all the time, we do not notice that we look at it often. Now if you forgot that wristwatch we still look at our wrist, to see the time, after a while of not wearing the watch we look less and less at our wrist for the time. That is operant extinction. The majority of behavior modification in parole and probation is based on the principles of operant conditioning. Therefor I will discuss operant condition more in depth. Through operant conditioning, an association is made between a behavior and a consequence for that behavior. In other words, behavior modification uses systematic reinforcement in order to encourage the learning of a desired behavior. Operant conditioning, works whether it is through reinforcement or through punishment. Anything that increases a behavior is considered reinforcement and anything that decreases behavior is considered punishment. The promise or possibility of a reward causes an increase in behavior, but operant conditioning can also be used to decrease a behavior as well. The elimination of an unwanted behavior thru the use of a punishment is often what is used in raising children, along with the reward system or the positive reinforcement. Unfortunately, most often than not the focus of attention is o n the child thru negative reinforcement, and not the positive reinforcement. It is the idea or the potential for punishment, which may lead the child to a decrease any disruptive behaviors. Through operant conditioning the environment builds the basic repertoire with which we keep our balance, walk, play games, handle instruments and tools, talk, write, sail a boat, drive a car, or fly a plane. A change in the environment-a new car, a new friend, a new field of interest, a new job, a new location-may find us unprepared, but our behavior usually adjusts quickly as we acquire new responses and discard old. (Skinner, 1953) There are four types of operant conditioning: Positive Reinforcement, Negative Reinforcement, Punishment, and Extinction. Both Positive and Negative Reinforcement strengthen behavior while both Punishment and Extinction weaken behavior. (Maricopa Center for Learning and Instruction, 1999) In Positive Reinforcement, a particular behavior is strengthened by the consequence of experiencing a positive condition. For example, a hungry rat presses a bar in its cage and receives food. The food is a positive condition for the hungry rat. The rat presses the bar again, and again receives food. The rats behavior of pressing the bar is strengthened by the consequence of receiving food. In Negative Reinforcement, a particular behavior is strengthened by the consequence of stopping or avoiding a negative condition. For example, another a rat is placed in a cage and immediately receives a mild electrical shock on its feet. The shock is a negative condition for the rat. The rat presses a bar and the shock stops. The rat receives another shock, presses the bar again, and again the shock stops. The rats behavior of pressing the bar is strengthened by the consequence of stopping the shock. In Punishment, a particular behavior is weakened by the consequence of experiencing a negative condition. For example, yet another rat presses a bar in its cage and receives a mild electrical shock on its feet. The shock is a negative condition for the rat. The rat presses the bar again and again receives a shock. The rats behavior of pressing the bar is weakened by the consequence of receiving a shock. In Extinction, a particular behavior is weakened by the consequence of not experiencing a positive condition or stopping a negative condition. For example, a rat presses a bar in its cage and nothing happens. Neither a positive nor a negative condition exists for the rat. The rat presses the bar again and again nothing happens. The rats behavior of pressing the bar is weakened by the consequence of not experiencing anything positive or stopping anything negative. The mission statements of most corrections agencies emphasize two main tasks: holding offenders accountable to conditions (compliance), and encouraging positive behavior change (rehabilitation). (Walters, Clark, Gingerich, Meltzer, 2007) Methods include increasing a persons opportunities and capacity for positive actions (e.g., skills training, education, employment) or helping the person succeed at some new behavior (e.g., drug treatment). Many shifts in correctional philosophy have occurred over the years. During some periods, corrections professionals have emphasized deterrence strategies; during others, they have relied more on treatment and constructional strategies. No period has emphasized one strategy alone; the difference has been in the degree to which they relied on one or the other. (Walters, Clark, Gingerich, Meltzer, 2007) Among the range of offender programs designed to reintegrate offenders into society, those that are most common, seek to address the offenders way of thinking, their reasoning and their associated behaviors through what is termed cognitive behavioral techniques. Cognitive behaviorism is an approach that applies learning theory to mental events like thoughts and feelings. Cognitive behavior programs teach people new ways of thinking, and in so doing, help them to overcome various problems that stem from dysfunctional or bad thinking. Cognitive behavior techniques are widely viewed as offering considerable advantages over more traditional forms of intervention. Because this term is so broad it is difficult to define precisely, but it involves helping offenders to face up to the consequences of their actions, to understand their motives, and to develop new ways of controlling their behavior. (Vennard, Sugg, Hedderman, 1997) Cognitive behaviorism is not a separate psychological theory nor is it a method, it is a term given to a range of mediations or interventions derived from the following three psychological theories, Behaviorism, Cognitive theory, and Social learning theory. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Behaviorism, which stresses the role of external or environmental factors that shape an individuals actions so that, for offenders, for example, encouragement from peers and/or the lack of immediate punishment from authority figures rein forces criminal behavior à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Cognitive theory is concerned with the development of a persons thought processes. It also looks at how these thought processes influence how we understand and interact with the world. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Social learning theory emphasizes the importance of observing and modeling the behaviors, attitudes, and emotional reactions of others. Thus, it focuses on learning by observation and modeling. Cognitive behavioral modification assumes that offenders are shaped by their environment and they have failed to acquire certain cognitive skills or have learned inappropriate ways of behaving. The therapy assumes that most people can become conscious of their own thoughts and behaviors and then make positive changes to them. A persons thoughts are often the result of experience, and behavior is often influenced and prompted by these thoughts. (Clark, 2010) The Cognitive behavioral approach does not attribute the causes of criminal behavior solely to individual or psychological factors. It also takes into account the social conditions, which affect individual development, and is not in conflict with sociological explanations of criminal activity, such as those, which view such behavior as acquired from influential delinquent peer groups. (Vennard, Sugg, Hedderman, 1997) Since it is considered that such these behaviors are learned rather than inherited, offender programs that are cog nitive based are intended to teach offenders to face up to what they have done, to understand their motives and to develop new coping strategies and ways of controlling their behavior. Cognitive behavioral therapy has been found effective with juvenile and adult offenders; substance abusing and violent offenders; and probationers, prisoners and parolees. In most cognitive behavioral therapy programs, offenders improve skills, means-ends problem solving, critical reasoning, moral reasoning, cognitive style, self-control, impulse management and self-efficacy. (Clark, 2010) Evidence-based practice (EBP) highlights the important role that agents have in offender outcome. For a treatment or program to be called evidence based, its effectiveness must be substantiated by a measurable outcome (e.g., decreased recidivism, increased public safety). In the past, rehabilitation was primarily the domain of mental health professionals, but EBP emphasizes that frontline staff, such as probation and parole officers, also have the opportunity to influence the change process. (Walters, Clark, Gingerich, Meltzer, 2007) Chronic behaviors are not resolved with some fixed amount or duration of treatment. As with substance abuse and mental health treatment, for example, an interim goal is to engage and retain the offender in treatment at an appropriate level of care and monitoring until the offender can successfully manage his or her own care and behavior. For many chronic offenders continuing care spans the period of at least six to nine months of intensive treatment fol lowed by a period of often longer aftercare. (Warren, 2007) The six principles of an effective EBP are: 1. The Risk Principle- The risk principle of effective intervention refers to the risk or probability that an offender will reoffend. It also identifies the risk level of those offenders who are the most appropriate targets of recidivism. Risk in this context does not refer to the seriousness of the crime or the likelihood that an offender will incur technical violations, but to the likelihood that the offender will commit another crime. 2. The Need Principle- Offenders typically have many needs, only some of which are associated with the risk of criminal behavior. The need principle of EBP identifies the most appropriate needs of offenders to target. Effective programs must target their criminogenic needs, i.e., those values, attitudes, or behaviors of the offender that are most closely associated with the likelihood of committing crime. The criminogenic needs most predictive of the likelihood of criminal behavior are: Low self-control, i.e., impulsive behavior Anti-social personality, i.e., callousness, lack of empathy Anti-social values, i.e., disassociation from the law-abiding community Criminal peers Substance abuse Dysfunctional family 3. Use of Risk/Needs Assessment Instruments-Determination of the degree of risk of reoffending that an offender presents, and of the offenders criminogenic needs, requires a careful assessment of relevant information about each offender. Often, determinations of risk are based solely on the nature of the offense committed and prior criminal history. Although both of these factors are legitimate risk factors, especially prior criminal history, they are not a sufficient basis for an accurate assessment. Offender characteristics are usually more predictive of whether an individual is likely to commit a future crime than offense characteristics. 4. The Treatment and Responsivity Principles- The treatment principle of EBP combines the research findings that cognitive-behavioral programs rooted in social-learning theory are the most effective in reducing recidivism. A clear set of consequences, both positive and negative, is helpful to people in developing their sense of self-control, of responsibility for their own behaviors. Related research on human behavior indicates that people respond better, and maintain learned behaviors longer, when approached with carrots rather than sticks, rewards rather than punishments. 5. Motivation and Trust- Motivation to change on the part of the offender is an important starting place for behavioral change. Behavior change will only take place if the offender chooses to do so. Effective treatment professionals and probation officers are therefore often trained in à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ ¢motivational interviewingà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬- (MI), a set of interpersonally sensitive communications techniques that effectively enhance intrinsic motivation for behavioral change by helping clients explore and resolve their ambivalence in a positive way. 6. Integration of Treatment and Community-Based Sanctions- Effectively utilize rehabilitation and treatment programs to reduce offender recidivism and promote public safety. Research clearly demonstrates that in the absence of treatment, neither punishment, nor incarceration, nor any other criminal sanction reduces recidivism, beyond the period of confinement, restraint, or surveillance. In fact, punishment and sanctions increase the likelihood of recidivism slightly, even when controlling for respective offender risk levels. Community-corrections programs based on EBP are not an alternative to appropriate punishment; they can often be combined with appropriate punishment. (Warren, 2007) Motivational interviewing grew out of the substance abuse and addiction treatment fields in the 1980s. At that time, research began to show that the widely accepted confrontational approaches to dealing with addicts simply were not successful. (Walters, Clark, Gingerich, Meltzer, 2007) Instead of confrontation, MI is a collaboration or partnership that is formed between the therapist and the person with the addiction, based on the addicts point of view and their experiences. This view of MI differences with earlier views on interventions. Previously, the idea was to confront the person with the addiction, and impose societys point of view about the persons addictive behavior. Today, this collaboration or partnership has the effect of building a rapport between the counselor and the person with the addiction, and allows the person with the addiction to develop trust towards the counselor, which was difficult in a confrontational atmosphere of the past. This does not mean that the cou nselor automatically agrees with the person with the addiction. Although the person with the addiction and their counselor may see things differently, the therapeutic process is focused on mutual understanding, not the counselor being right and the person with the addiction being wrong. A person is more likely to follow through with behavior he believes he has freely chosen and believes he can accomplish. MI is a person-centered method of fostering change by helping a person explore and resolve ambivalence. Rather than using external pressure, MI looks for ways to access internal motivation for change. It borrows from client-centered counseling in its emphasis on empathy, optimism, and respect for client choice. MI also draws from self-perception theory, which says that a person becomes more or less committed to an action based on the verbal stance he or she takes. Thus, an offender who talks about the benefits of change is more likely to make that change, whereas an offender who argues and defends the status quo is more likely to continue his present behavior. (Walters, Clark, Gingerich, Meltzer, 2007) Although MI suggests some tangible strategies, it is better thought of as a style of interaction that follows these basic principles: Express empathy. Empathy is about good rapport and a positive working environment. It is an attempt to understand the offenders mindset, even though the agent may not agree with the offenders point of view. Empathy also involves an effort to draw out concerns and reasons for change from the offender, instead of relying on the agents (or courts/boards) agenda as the sole persuasion strategy. Roll with resistance. Rolling with resistance means finding other ways to respond when the offender challenges the need for change. It is normal to have mixed feelings when thinking about change. Therefore, the agent does not argue with the offender. Develop discrepancy. Discrepancy is the feeling that ones current behavior is out of line with ones goals or values. Rather than telling the offender why he should change, the agent asks questions and makes statements to help the offender identify his own reasons for change. Support self-efficacy. A person is more likely to follow through with behavior that they believe they have freely chosen and believes they can accomplish. Therefore, the agent remains optimistic, reminds the offender of personal strengths and past successes, and affirms all efforts toward change. (Walters, Clark, Gingerich, Meltzer, 2007) The success of motivational interviewing is based on the belief that an offender that who talks about the benefits of change is more likely to make that change, whereas an offender who argues and defends the status quo is more likely to continue his present behavior. Shock Incarceration programs, popularly known as boot camps, are one of the most publicized intermediate sanction programs. Since the 1980s society has looked for ways to reduce the cost of housing offenders. The office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) thought they had the answer for teen offenders with juvenile boot camps. By 1996, 48 camps were in operation in several states. Congress had authorized $24.5 million for the states to open boot camps. By 1995, 52 juvenile boot camps were in operation housing an estimated 4,500 juveniles. (Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention) These boot camps have five main purposes: Deterrence Incapacitation Rehabilitation Punishment Cost control. Programs vary in size, duration, location, control of entry, the level of post-program supervision and in the level of training, education, or treatment programming provided. All are relatively brief (most are three to four months) and are designed for offenders who have not yet served time in a state prison. The programs draw on the model of a military style of boot camp. They stress strict discipline, obedience, regimentation, drill and ceremony, and physical conditioning, sometimes including manual labor. Shock programs participants are expected to learn self-discipline, teamwork and develop improved self-respect. Program participants are housed separately from the general prison population, although in some programs they are within sight and earshot of general population inmates. Often times these programs also incorporate drug and alcohol counseling, GED requirements, and anger management programs, social skill building, etc. Community corrections center are non-prison sanctions that are imposed on convicted adults or adjudicated juveniles by a court instead of a prison sentence or by a parole board following release from prison. Community corrections programs are usually operated by probation and parole agencies and the programs can include general community supervision as well as day reporting centers, halfway houses and other residential facilities, work release, and other community programs. The centers ease the transition for parolees and inmates who are nearing release. The centers provide a structured environment and a variety of supportive services, including counseling, employment assistance and drug and alcohol treatment. Community-based residential settings offering structure, supervision, surveillance, drug/alcohol treatment, educational and vocational programs, employment counseling, socialization and life skills programs, and community work transition, and/or forms of treatment and programs. Housing stability has long been related to success for persons who are on probation and parole. Experts have debated whether homelessness contributes to arrests and vice versa, but most agree that procuring offenders housing decreases recidivism and increases offender compliance. Housing stability has been related to preventing relapse for persons with a substance abuse history. Reentry projects that have helped create housing options for offenders are finding that obtaining housing is related to employment, sobriety and other individual assets. The ability of individuals to obtain housing, sobriety and employment builds personal resiliency and community assets. (Shilton Vail, 2005) Common reentry services include: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Housing à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Education à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Employment assistance à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Peer mentoring or case management à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Physical and mental health services à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Family reunification Over the last two decades, states have turned to community corrections programs to manage more offenders in the community in an effort to reduce prison and jail populations, reduce recidivism, and reduce costs within the criminal justice system. One type of community corrections program known as a day reporting center (DRC) has gained popularity as an alternative to incarceration as evidenced by the rapid increase in the number of programs operating nationwide. DRCs bring groups of parolees together from throughout a municipality or larger geographic area for supervision, services, and programming, and requires them to spend significant amounts of time together on a daily basis. (Boyle, Ragusa, Lanterman, Marcus, 2011) DRCs are non-residential facilities that offer offenders rehabilitative programming and daily supervision. Offenders assigned to DRCs generally report to the facility during daytime hours and return home at night when programming is complete. Typical DRCs can save age ncies on average of about $1,000 per offender, compared to the cost of incarceration. (Jones Lacey, 1999) To aid in reentry and reintegration, treatment programming available to offenders can include educational and/or vocational training, job placement services, drug abuse education and treatment, and life-skills training, among others. DRC programs offer an array of services designed to increase the success of the parolees reintegration into the community and parole adjustment. The services include, but are not limited to: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Transitional/sober living environments (housing shall not exceed 6 months and is provided to ten-percent of the parolees served) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Individual and group counseling à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Random breathalyzer and urinalysis testing à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Substance abuse education à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Anger management à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Domestic violence prevention and awareness à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Educational/GED preparation à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Job readiness and job search assistance à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Cognitive and life skills development à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Budgeting and money management à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Aftercare Commonly as a condition of probation or parole, offenders are required to participate in community-based substance abuse treatment programs. The most common substances of abuse reported by probation or parole admissions were alcohol, marijuana, and methamphetamines; more than one half reported more than one substance of abuse at admission. (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration , 2011) According to recent reports, 60 to 80 percent of prison and jail inmates, parolees, probationers, and arrestees were under the influence of drugs or alcohol during the commission of their offense, committed the offense to support a drug addiction, were charged with a drug- or alcohol-related crime, or are regular substance users. (Marlowe, 2003) Residential or In-Patient Programs usually require a commitment of at least 30 days and typically include room and board. Through intensive counseling and group interactions, addicts/alcoholics learn how to regain control of their lives using key recovery tools. Often, clients who have attempted outpatient treatment programs but have ultimately relapsed back into drug and alcohol use, or have found outpatient programs difficult to complete, achieve success in a residential program. Clients who require detoxification services due to concerns about withdrawal also benefit from residential programs, as detox services are often included as a part of a residential treatment program. The most effective programs regularly monitor clients substance use through random breathalyzer tests and urinalyses. Drug-free test results are met with rewards, such as reduced monitoring requirements, reduced criminal sanctions, or goods and services that support a productive lifestyle. Drug-positive results, on the other hand, are met with such sanctions as loss of privileges, increased counseling requirements, or a brief return to detention. Most drug and alcohol programs follow the 12 steps of Alcoholics Anonymous. Drug Courts are a court supervised, treatment oriented program that targets non-violent participants whose major problems stem from substance abuse. The Drug Court Program is a voluntary program, which includes regular court appearances before the Drug Court Judge. Treatment includes drug testing, individual and group counseling, and regular attendance at 12-Step meetings. The probation officer and the treatment team may also assist with obtaining education and skills assessments and will provide referrals for vocational training, education, and/or job placement services. The program length, is usually determined by the participants progress, however should be no less than one year. Successful completion and graduation from the Drug Court Program may result in having probation terminated early. Hawaiis Opportunity Probation with Enforcement (HOPE), launched in 2004, by First Circuit Judge Steven Alm, is an experimental probation program that emphasizes the delivery of swift and certain punishment when a probationer violates conditions of probation. The HOPE program has seen remarkable success, and has gained the attention of several states, as a possible cost saving alternative in their states. The HOPE program has a strong theoretical basis. That swiftness and certainty outperform severity in the management of offending is a concept that dates back to 1764 to Cesar Beccarias, On Crimes and Punishment. The formula H.O.P.E. follows for controlling hard-drug use in the criminally active population is simple: (Hawkin, H.O.P.E. for Reform, 2007) Weekly randomized testing (or twice weekly scheduled testing), to eliminate any safe window for undetected drug use. Fixed sanctions on a set schedule: As little as two days in jail is adequate, so long as enforcement is reliable, with sentence length increasing gradually for successive violations. A formal warning to the probationer in open court, putting him on notice that violations have consequences. As short a time as possible between violations and sanctions. (For offenders with paycheck jobs, the first sanction could be deferred to the following weekend.) Quick service of bench warrants on those who abscond. Treatment services for those who prove unable to comply on their own. Under HOPE, probationers are given a color code at the warning hearing. Every morning, they must call a hot line to hear which color has been selected for that day. If it is their color, they must appear at the probation office before 2 p.m. for a drug test. If a HOPE probationer fails to appear for the drug test, a bench warrant is issued and served immediately. A probationer who fails the random drug test is immediately arrested and within 72 hours is brought before a judge. If the probationer is found to have violated the terms of probation, he or she is immediately sentenced to a short jail stay. Typically, the term is several days, servable on the weekend if the probationer is employed; sentences increase for successive violations. Violating terms of probation sends a consistent message to probationers about personal responsibility and accountability. (Hawkin Kleiman, 2009) HOPE has proven itself to be effective. While the program isnt perfect, its offenders have had a better track record than those in regular probation. NIJ-funded researchers evaluated HOPE to determine if it worked and results were positive. (Hawkin Kleiman, Managing Drug Involved Probationers with Swift and Certain Sanctions: Evaluating Hawaiis HOPE, 2009) Compared to probationers in a control group, after one year the HOPE probationers were: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Fifty-five percent less likely to be arrested for a new crime. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Seventy-two percent less likely to use drugs. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Sixty-one percent less likely to skip appointments with their supervisory officer. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Fifty-three percent less likely to have their probation revoked. In Conclusion, this report only touches on the basics of Behavior modifications in use in probation and parole today. There is much more to the concept of behavior modification than meets the eye. While the success of behavior modification is not a new concept. In

Significance of Fog in Long Days Journey into Night Eugene by ONeill

Long Days Journey: The Significance of Fog (8) A Long Day’s Journey Into Night, by Eugene O’Neill, is a deeply autobiographical play. His life was rampant with confusion and addictions in his family. Each character in this play has a profound resemblance, and draws parallels and connections with a member of his own family. The long journey that the title of the play refers to is a journey into his past. Fog is a recurring metaphor in the play; it is a physical presence even before it becomes a crucial symbol of the family’s impenetrable confusion. It is referred to in the text as well as stage directions in this play. It sets the mood for the play in all its somber hues. He uses the fog outside the house as an atmospheric element that has an ominous presence throughout this play. His parents and the surroundings that he grew up in were tainted by broken dreams, lies, disease, past issues, alcoholism and drug addiction. There was this web of darkness and fogginess that encased his life and past that is portrayed in this play as well as others by O’Neill. The symbolic implications of fog in the play are descriptive of the struggle in the minds of this deeply conflicted family. The significance of fog in O’Neill’s writing can be examined in two forms. The first is what type of emblematic quality does the fog provide in this play, and the second is what are other plays in which O’Neill has used fog in a similar way. This play takes place through an entire day where the climate mirrors the mood of the family. â€Å" The play begins at 8:30 in the morning with a trace of fog in the air, and concludes sometime after midnight, with the house foghorn.† (Brustein 1020). The intensity of the fog continuously increases throughout the day, directly correlating to the murkiness in the household. The family’s mood significantly intensifies with the intensity of the fog. There are copious connections between the life of the fog and that of the Tyrone family. All throughout the play there is a conflict between past vs. present, truth vs. lies, and addiction vs. sobriety. This family lives amidst a haze of denial and as the fog gets thicker, they continue to get further lost. The fog has a polarity that directly relates to Mary, â€Å"†¦ the mood changing from sunny cheer over Mary’s apparent recovery to gloomy despair over her new descent into hell † (Brustein 1020). The fog is fi... ...n clarities. The fog is created out of pain in order to dilute clarity. The individuals in this play needed to escape themselves but didn’t succeed. O’Neill expresses the same fear of truth and uses the imagery of fog in The Iceman Cometh. The Iceman Cometh is written in the same time period as Long Day’s Journey Into Night, and is a parallel in the struggle of the past vs. present. The use of the fog imagery is not as direct in this play, but there are subtle mentions of fog in the play, such as â€Å" the gray subdued light of early morning in a narrow street† (O’Neill 660). This grayness is almost identical to the morning that the Tyrone family experiences after being awakened by the foghorns. Both stories spell the gloom and dreariness of these characters and their lives. The imagery of fog wasn’t as prominent in the rest of his plays. O’Neill had a great amount of turmoil in his life and the Long Day’s Journey Into Night story reflected perfectly the fogginess and daze he lived through. His dark life experiences have given him a rich, emotionally charged place, from which to write. The fog serves as a tool to paint the dreary picture and symbolize this darkness through his plays.

The Epic Poem, Beowulf - An Analysis of Structure :: Epic Beowulf essays

Beowulf – its Structure      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   There is a considerable diversity of opinion regarding the structure of the poem Beowulf. This essay hopes to enlighten the reader on some of the opinions expressed by literary scholars on this issue.    The Cambridge History of English and American Literature states:    It is generally thought that several originally separate lays have been combined in the poem, and, though no proof is obtainable, the theory in itself is not unlikely. These lays are usually supposed to have been four in number and to have dealt with the following subjects: (1) Beowulf’s fight with Grendel, (2) the fight with Grendel’s mother, (3) Beowulf’s return, (4) the fight with the dragon (v1,ch3,s3,n16).    Alvin A. Lee in his essay, â€Å"Symbolic Metaphor and the Design of Beowulf,† basically agrees that there are four divisions in the poem’s structure:    Moving a little closer to the text but still thinking of it in terms of its overall design, one can recognize four [my italics] major myths or symbolic episodes, each of which is concentrated at appropriate points in the narrative but also extends its effect, with varying emphases, throughout the whole poem (148).    But Lee’s four divisions are not the same as the first-mentioned. Lee’s first part is climaxed with the construction of Heorot; the second part, as Grendel lays waste to Heorot; the third, Beowulf’s advent and victories over Grendel and mother; and fourth, the hero’s death and the return to chaos (148).    The three-part, or tripartite division, of Beowulf is more popular than the four-part division. F.P. Magoun, Jr. divided the poem into three separate stories designated as A, A-prime, and B. Magoun’s A corresponds to the events up to Beowulf’s return to the Geats; B, the dragon fight and ending. But A prime includes a variant or alternative version of the Grendel story that an Anglo-Saxon editor of the poem wished to preserve and fitted into his anthology of Beowulf poems(Clark 22). So Magoun would have three divisions to the structure of the poem rather than four. Agreeing with him are Brian Wilkie and James Hurt, editors of Literature of the Western World, state:    It is clear that the sequence of monster-fights provides the structure of the poem. . . .In this poem of a little over 3000 lines, roughly a thousand lines are devoted to each of the three monsters, and it has been suggested that Beowulf ws intended to be performed over three evenings, each devoted to a new monster (1273).

Impact of Advertising on American Society Essay -- BTEC Business Marke

Impact of Advertising on American Society American society has changed drastically over the past years and some people say advertisements reflect the society that we live in now. Advertising in our society encourages unhealthy habits, focuses in on our weaknesses and leads us to believe that we are materialistic. Advertisements can also change our vision of reality and makes us believe the impossible. Advertisements use sexual and racial stereotypes to help sell their products. People in our society encourage the commercials that demonstrate these things, like focus in on our weaknesses. A recent commercial I just saw advertising for Pizza Hut uses sex and famous people to promote their product. The ad was introducing their new Four for All pizza. Jessica Simpson, a young popular singer, was eating this new pizza (four separate squares, with four different toppings but considered one pizza) and Kermit the Frog was in the same room with all the Muppets. Jessica Simpson said to Kermit, "Kermmy, there is some for you, your favorite." Kermit then blushed and floating hearts appeared above his head. The next scene was Jessica Simpson sits on the couch next to Kermit, and Miss Piggy walked over to Jessica and pushed her off the couch because she was jealous. Then the slogan came on the screen, "Everyone Gets What They Want." Then, their famous slogan, "Gather ‘Round the Good Stuff." This commercial in a way does reflect our society. The producers put famous people or characters in this commercial, Jessica Simpson and the Muppets, to get more publicity so more people will actually watch it and pay attention to it. Or maybe the producers thought that people would think since Jessica Simpson or Kermit the Frog eat this new pizz... ...d it was very inappropriate for television. The whole point is, that commercial will stick in the head and this will give more publicity for Budweiser, even if it was unacceptable to a lot of people. I never actually saw it, but I read an article about it in the newspaper. So I prove my point, that it will stick in people’s heads since it was so controversial. It did for me at least! People will always remember commercials that were offending and debatable. Producers are only trying to please our society. So overall, I definitely believe advertising is based on our society. We live in a world where everything has to be easier and more convenient for us, that we need to get everything we can, and we strive to be perfect. Advertising does focus in on our weaknesses and does lead us to unhealthy habits. So we are the one’s that make advertisements the way are today.

Vacant Chapter 15 Together

I take a deep breath, steadying myself for Emily's backlash at my revelation. â€Å"One.† It's the truth. There's only been one, but that one isn't simple. I am not looking at her as I say this, so I squeeze my eyes shut tightly, hoping she doesn't hate me for what I'm about to tell her next. â€Å"There was this girl, in high school, she was known to†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I trail off, hoping Emily gets the idea, but she just sits and stares at me. She's going to make me spell it out. â€Å"She was known as the go-to girl for sex. I was sixteen, angry and very curious.† She's still watching me but begins to fidget. â€Å"She would do pretty much whatever, and I took advantage of that. It was emotionless and a means to an end. She let me take my frustrations out on her, Emily. No matter how angry, depressed, or lonely I was, she let me fill the void with her – in her.† Her face scrunches, and I can see she's getting the idea. â€Å"It wasn't about love, or even lust, really. It was about me taking. There was no giving.† I want to drive my point home with revealing the true debauchery in which I'd participated for two years, but I don't want Emily thinking I want her to do the depraved and experimental acts I'd once divulged in. That was a different tim e and a different me, but there was still an insecurity, despite my experience, I couldn't shake. â€Å"It was all about me, okay? I wasn't there to make her come.† â€Å"So, were you like†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I can see her trying to put all the pieces together. â€Å"You said you were angry. Were you angry†¦with her?† I pause because I don't want to lie, but I don't want to tell the truth either. â€Å"Yes.† â€Å"Did you hurt her?† I take a moment so I can say this right. Hurt can mean many things, but I think Emily means physically, so that's the hurt I respond to. â€Å"No. I never hurt her. It really was just sex, nothing else. I never hit her or forced her. She was always willing.† She takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly as she continues to play with the placemat. â€Å"Did you like it?† It's the question I've been waiting for. Emily wants to know if I want it to be like that with her. â€Å"When a boy has urges, there's little that will stop him from getting to the end. It's like how you fold clothes. How the shirt has to hang just right on the hanger, or the pants creased perfectly. You can't stop until everything is just right and you're satisfied.† I can't believe I'm comparing sex to laundry. â€Å"But as a man, it's not about how the clothes are folded or hung. It's about the clothes being clean and smelling good. It's about the process, not the end result.† Jesus Christ, this sounds stupid. â€Å"With you, Emily, I want to feel everything. I want it to be about you and me, us. It's not about the physical result at the end.† â€Å"Okay.† â€Å"Okay?† â€Å"Yeah, okay. I trust you, Ethan.† â€Å"No, to the left a little bit?† Emily can't seem to find a comfortable position. â€Å"Better?† â€Å"Uh, just give me a sec – † She winces again and I know this is painful. She tries to hide it, but I know. Yep, complete disaster. I never should've agreed to this. It's uncomfortable for Emily, and there doesn't seem to be a way to make it better. â€Å"Do you want to try on top?† I'm grasping at straws. I want this to be a good experience for her. â€Å"Are you okay?† I know she fought back tears when I finally did it. She told me to just do it and get it over with. Not my proudest moment. It's not what any guy wants to hear: â€Å"Just get it over with.† â€Å"Yeah.† Her confirmation is so small. â€Å"Emily, I'm so sorry. I – † She interrupts me with her hand over my mouth. â€Å"Please stop, Ethan. It won't always be like this. My mom†¦Ã¢â‚¬  her pause indicates that bringing up her mother is still hard for her. â€Å"My mom told me about sex. She said it would hurt the first few times, but she also told me that if I was with the right person it would be okay. I'm with the right man. You are right for me, Ethan. No one, and I do mean no one, has ever taken better care of me than you have, and, I know that you wanted this to be perfect, and it was. Please don't take that from me.† Emily pauses to kiss me before she finishes. â€Å"My first time could have gone so many ways, but it didn't. It was with someone that loves me, and who I love.† I can't help the sheepish smile that spreads across my lips. I decide Emily is so wise and mature and right. It was perfect – because it was us. â€Å"I really like the third one we looked at.† â€Å"I do, too, but the second one had a gym, remember?† Emily and I sit at the dinner table looking over brochures. We spent the day looking for an apartment in a better neighborhood with more amenities and a much higher monthly payment. I'm a little concerned about finances, but Emily assures me we will be all right. She's getting her schooling paid for on a Pell Grant and working 25-30 hours a week, which is a big contribution. And me†¦well, I'm the new Assistant Manager for Ball's Grocer. That may not be a big deal for most people, but to me it's everything. I've never had a need to be in charge of anyone or anything. I just wanted to take care of myself, lay low and live one day at a time. However, Margie just wouldn't let it go. She promoted me to cashier and kept on me. She was always in my ear talking about providing for my family. At first, I was defensive because I didn't have a family, but the more Margie talked, the more I realized she was right. Emily was my family, and maybe someday we could add to that. When the opportunity came up last week for an assistant manager position, Margie was there telling me to get my ass in gear and apply. She coached me through the interview process and helped me write a resume. I insisted that a cashier didn't need a resume, but she wouldn't let it go, and I'm glad she didn't. â€Å"So if we get the one with the gym, are you going to become one of those gym rats? Always workin' out and flexing their muscles for the chicas?† While Emily wasn't one to get upset about me doing stuff without her, she still had a bit of a jealous streak. She says that girls used to leave me alone because I gave off some vibe, but now that we were together, Emily insists that other women thought they now had a chance. If they only knew. My head hadn't turned toward another woman since the day I met Emily and that wouldn't change in the foreseeable future. â€Å"Well, I was just thinking – † Emily looked down, unsure of what she was about to say. I hated it when she did that. I reached for her hand, cupping it in mine to encourage her to go on. â€Å"I know that the gym on site is a big plus, but it's only a one-bedroom. The other one is a two-bedroom, and it's close to that elementary school.† She turned red, blushing furiously. â€Å"Yeah, but what would we need a second bedroom for?† I had to admit, while not necessary, it would be good for Emily to have her own area for studying. â€Å"Well, it would be good as an office†¦and maybe someday, a bedroom†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"I guess we could use a guest room, but we never have guests, Emily, so I'm not sure what the benefit would really be.† Yeah, I know, I'm an idiot. â€Å"That's not what I meant – † but she didn't need to finish. As I flipped through the brochure, I saw a picture of a couple with a toddler. The tagline was promoting the family friendly atmosphere. â€Å"Yeah, I think you're right. The two-bedroom is our best bet.†