Ethics of Compliance Southwest Essay Example for Free

Ethics of Compliance Southwest Essay The purpose of this paper is to present, discuss, and examine the topic of ethical and social responsibility. It will discuss Southwest Airlines failure to comply with the Federal Aviation Administrations rules on inspecting aircraft and what violations occurred. On March 6, 2008, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspectors submitted documents to the United States Congress, alleging that Southwest allowed 117 of its aircraft to fly carrying passengers despite the fact that the planes were not airworthy according to air safety investigators. In some cases, the planes were allowed to fly for up to 30 months after the inspection deadlines had passed, rendering them unfit to fly. Records indicate that thousands of passengers were flown on aircraft deemed unsafe by federal standards. Clearly, this is an issue tied to social responsibility and ethics at the highest level, ignoring the safety inspections put peoples lives in jeopardy. This situation actually began in 1988, when an Aloha Airlines Boeing 737 suffered an accident that killed a flight attendant. The top of the planes fuselage tore off, opening up a large section of the planes roof, killing the flight attendant. The accident occurred because of cracks in the planes fuselage. Since then, the FAA has required regular inspections of 737 fuselages to ensure an accident like this does not occur again. In 2007, two FAA inspectors began to question documentation and inspections at Southwest Airlines. They had reason to be concerned, because they felt their concerns were being ignored, and their supervisor was not investigating their complaints. FAA inspectors Bobby Boutris and Douglas Peters testified before Congress about their experiences, and asked for whistleblower status, meaning they could not be fired from their jobs because of their testimony. Boutris was the first to question records kept by Southwest about airplane inspections. In 2003, he was in charge of inspecting engines for the 737, and he could validate the Southwests reports. He told an NPR Radio reporter, I had found a lot of inconsistencies with the records, Boutris says. They were different from aircraft to aircraft; it was very hard to determine compliance' (Goodwyn, 2008). He notes that he complained to his supervisor, Douglas Gawadzinski, but he ignored Boutris complaints. In 2006, Boutris took over safety responsibility for the entire 737-700 series aircraft, and when he reviewed Southwest, he found the same recordkeeping problems he had uncovered in 2003. He notified his supervisor and wanted to send a letter of investigation, again his supervisor G awadzinski refused to acknowledge his concerns. Boutris believes it is because Gawadzinski had a close friendship with Paul Comeau, a former FAA employee who went to work for Southwest as their manager for regulatory compliance. Anything to do with Southwest and the FAA went through these two men, and Boutris believes they routinely covered up inspection irregularities or lack of inspections. Boutris continued to complain, and Southwest asked for him to be removed from their inspections. Reporter Goodwyn continues, At first, Gawadzinski refused to remove Boutris. But it wasnt long before the supervisory maintenance inspector told Boutris he was out and that his career was in jeopardy because there had been undisclosed complaints from anonymous Southwest officials (Goodwyn, 2008). At this point, Douglas Peters, another FAA inspector, were brought in to review Boutris investigation into Southwests compliance. Goodwyn notes, The more he looked into the matter, the more he agreed with Boutris that the flying public was in danger. Peters says the situation defied logic. That something so critical would be not addressed I cant explain it. Its a mystery' (Goodwyn, 2008). People from Southwest began to contact Gawadzinski directly, instead of going through Peters. Another reporter states, The whistle-blowers complained repeatedly in memos written in 2007 that their concerns about Southwest were not being taken seriously. The underlying safety concern — the airline was unable to keep up with mandatory inspections — had been raised as early as 2003, one charged (Levin, 2008). Finally, in March 2007, Southwest admitted to flying 47 737s without completing the problem fuselage inspections, which triggered a Congressional investigation. Even more disturbing, the airline continued to fly the planes even after disclosing they had not been inspected – it took almost a week to ground the planes. The two men testified before Congress in April 2008, and the FAA fined Southwest $10. 2 million for the blunders. Reporter Levin continues, Last month, nearly a year after the initial problems were discovered, the FAA levied a $10. 2 million fine against Southwest. The vast majority of the fine was imposed because Southwest had certified that it stopped flying the planes as soon as it learned of the missed inspections, FAA officials said (Levin, 2008). These are the basic facts and timeline of the case. The major overriding issue in this case is that the FAA and Southwest conspired to cover up inspection information, and they did so at passengers and crewmembers expense. The inspections were mandated because the FAA knew this particular plane had critical safety issues. By not inspecting planes and allowing them to continue flying, they were putting everyone on those planes in jeopardy, and they knew it. That is perhaps the biggest ethical concern of this case, that the company knew they had not completed checks, but continued to fly the planes anyway. One of the whistleblowers was told they did not ground the planes because it would disrupt Southwests service and flight schedule (Goodwyn, 2008). Every airline has a social responsibility to keep their passengers and crews as safe as possible. Flying is a relatively safe form of travel, however accidents do occur. Maintaining high maintenance and safety standards is simply the right thing to do in the transportation industry; it is the ethical, moral, and socially responsible choice. For an airline to lower those standards, especially because of worries about disruption of service, is simply incomprehensible. For example, the entire airline would be in jeopardy if one of the planes had crashed, and it was found to have been because of a crack that was not detected because of a missed inspection. Indeed, inspections on the aircraft did turn up cracks in some of the planes in question, cracks that had to be repaired before the airplanes took flight again (Wilber, 2008). Thus, Southwest put people in danger, and that is a major ethical violation that has not thoroughly been addressed in the media or by the airline itself. In addition, the FAA was compliant in this ethical transgression, because they allowed it to happen, calling into question the integrity of the organization that is supposed to be primarily concerned with airline safety and maintenance. If the agency doing the oversight is questionable, it brings the entire system into question. This issue should be studied further because it raises so many moral and ethical questions, and it should be studied because it seems, since there seem to be no lasting ramifications for the FAA, that it could happen again, which is even more disturbing. The stakeholders in this case are the people who fly on Southwest Airlines. Southwest damaged their reputation by letting down their stakeholders, and that is extremely disturbing. They put passenger safety in jeopardy over worries about income and disrupted flights, when their first concern should have been safety and only safety. This calls into question the entire integrity of the company. This is more than just the classical interpretation of right and wrong, it is a moral dilemma that should have had an extremely simple solution. Ground the planes, inspect them as quickly as possible, and get them back in the air. The fact that there was any other solution seen to the problem indicates just how unethical and morally irresponsible Southwest was, and the stakeholders should demand compensation for the threat this decision made to their safety. Southwest simply got lucky that one of the affected planes did not develop more serious issues, and the $10. 2 million dollar fine seems quite low in retrospect, considering the damage that could have occurred to people and property had a plane crashed. The economic responsibility of this situation is clear; Southwest had to pay a large fine and ground the planes, losing revenue anyway. Their reputation suffered, although it did not seem to make a dent in their passenger. Most people did not even seem to care that Southwest had endangered them and only a few spoke out in blogs or in other areas when the news broke. Southwest has a serious responsibility to keep its passengers and crews safe, and they lost the trust of at least some people because of their callous disregard for safety. That is a huge moral responsibility, and Southwest has never really acknowledged their failure, which is an even larger ethical concern, it seems. In a statement before Congress, Southwest CEO Gary Kelly said, Our compliance with certain specific Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) airworthiness directives has been called into question. We have committed to a thorough review and to make any changes necessary to ensure that we are in full compliance with FAA airworthiness directives and our own maintenance programs, policies, and procedures (Kelly, 2008). However, in previous testimony before Congress, Kelly and Southwest Executive Chairman Herb Kelleher both maintained that Southwest did comply with all FAA requirements, and the safety of passengers was never in question (Kelly, 2008). Thus, Southwest maintains they complied with all FAA regulations and did inspect the aircraft, only under a different maintenance directive than the one the two whistleblowers charged had not been done. It seems like a technicality, and that Southwest is not taking true moral or ethical responsibility for the incidents. They also stated that they did not think they would be fined for the maintenance issues, and it seems as if in their testimony, they were attempting to lay groundwork to fight a fine. However, they did eventually back down and stop contesting the fine, probably because they felt they looked bad enough already. Some recommendations for this case have already been completed. The FAA inspector, Gawadzinski, was transferred to another division, without contact with Southwest. Southwest placed several maintenance and safety personnel on leave, and developed new maintenance and safety guidelines. The two top executives maintain they did not know about the 2007 maintenance charges until March 2008, and as soon as they learned of them, they implemented stronger maintenance and communication directives so they would be notified and aware of any problems. These would have been at least some of the recommendations made in this case. Another would be for Southwest to undergo a major campaign to gain back the publics trust, as many people would seem to have trust issues in flying on Southwest planes. This would include a media campaign that would address trust issues, and perhaps even a campaign including top executives flying on their own planes. This would not be too costly or difficult to administer, and it would let people know that the company is actually sorry about its actions and is going to be more responsible in the future. It also seems as if the company should apologize to their stakeholders and their crewmembers, not in front of Congress, but in front of them, and with humility. Frankly, their testimony and apology to Congress sounded defensive and insincere, and a true measure of humility might be to offer anyone who flew on those planes some type of compensation or personal apology to make the situation even a little bit more palatable. Of course, that would entail a large expense, but it would make their intentions a bit more acceptable. Finally, they have to be open and above board with their maintenance issues and they have to make quite certain there is nothing questionable about any of their practices. Their maintenance and safety department must be impeccable, and it must always be open to scrutiny not only by the FAA, but by the public, as well. They owe that, at the very least, to the people that choose to fly on Southwest Airlines. In conclusion, this case indicates how deeply ethical issues can affect a business. Allowing planes to fly uninspected is a terrible disservice to the passengers and crews of this airline. It indicates a deep-seated lack of respect for the public, the employees, and the agency created to maintain air travel safety. It also indicates an arrogance that the company can flaunt the system and win. Southwest Airlines has deeper issues than maintenance and safety. It has to take a strong look at its ethics and principles, and alter them to create a more socially responsible organization that respects and values the people it serves. Without a change, the organization will certainly suffer more ethical violations in the future.

Protective Equipment Is to Reduce Employee Exposure to Hazards Essay Example for Free

Protective Equipment Is to Reduce Employee Exposure to Hazards Essay Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products.[1] Slower oxidative processes like rustingor digestion are not included by this definition. The flame is the visible portion of the fire. If hot enough, the gases may become ionized to produce plasma.[2] Depending on the substances alight, and any impurities outside, the colorof the flame and the fires intensity will be different. Fire in its most common form can result in conflagration, which has the potential to cause physical damage through burning. Fire is an important process that affects ecological systems across the globe. The positive effects of fire include stimulating growth and maintaining various ecological systems. Fire has been used by humans for cooking, generating heat, signaling, and propulsion purposes. The negative effects of fire include water contamination, soil erosion, atmospheric pollution and hazard to human and animal life.[3] | Fire Technology is a peer-reviewed academic journal publishing scientific research dealing with the full range of actual, possible, and potential fire hazards facing humans and the environment.[1] It publishes original contributions, both theoretical and empirical, that contribute to the solution of problems in fire safety and related fields. It is published bySpringer in conjunction with the National Fire Protection Association.[2] Arson[1] is the crime of intentionally and maliciously setting fire to buildings, wildlandareas,[2] cars[3][4] or other property with the intent to cause damage. It may be distinguished from other causes such as spontaneous combustion and natural wildfires. Arson often involves fires deliberately set to the property of another or to ones own property as to collect insurance compensation.[5] Heat In physics and chemistry, heat is energy transferred from one body to another by thermal interactions.[1][2] The transfer of energy can occur in a variety of ways, among them conduction,[3] radiation,[4] and convection. Heat is not a property of a system or body, but instead is always associated with a process of some kind, and is synonymous with heat flow and heat transfer. Heat flow from hotter to colder systems occurs spontaneously, and is always accompanied by an increase in entropy. In a heat engine, internal energy of bodies is harnessed to provide useful work. The second law of thermodynamicsprohibits heat flow directly from cold to hot systems, but with the aid of a heat pump external work can be used to transport internal energy indirectly from a cold to a hot body. Transfers of energy as heat are macroscopic processes. The origin and properties of heat can be understood through the statistical mechanics of microscopic constituents such as molecules and photons. For instance, heat flow can occur when the rapidly vibrating molecules in a high temperature body transfer some of their energy (by direct contact, radiation exchange, or other mechanisms) to the more slowly vibrating molecules in a lower temperature body. Oxygen is a chemical element with symbol O and atomic number 8. Its name derives from the Greek roots á ½â‚¬ÃŽ ¾Ã Ãâ€š (oxys) (acid, literally sharp, referring to the sour taste ofacids) and -ÃŽ ³ÃÅ'ÃŽ ½ÃŽ ¿Ãâ€š (-gÃŽ ¿nos) (producer, literally begetter), because at the time of naming, it was mistakenly thought that all acids required oxygen in their composition. Atstandard temperature and pressure, two atoms of the element bind to form dioxygen, a colorless, odorless, tasteless diatomic gas with the formula O2. This substance is an important part of the atmosphere, and is necessary to sustain most terrestrial life. A fire extinguisher, flame extinguisher, or simply an extinguisher, is an active fire protection device used to extinguish or control small fires, often in emergency situations. It is not intended for use on an out-of-control fire, such as one which has reached the ceiling, endangers the user (i.e., no escape route, smoke, explosion hazard, etc.), or otherwise requires the expertise of a fire department. Typically, a fire extinguisher consists of a hand-held cylindrical pressure vessel containing an agent which can be discharged to extinguish afire. Fire prevention is a function of many fire departments. The goal of fire prevention is to educate the public to take precautions to prevent potentially harmful fires, and be educated about surviving them. It is a proactive method of reducing emergencies and thedamage caused by them. Many fire departments have a Fire Prevention Officer.In the general sense of preventing harmful fires, many aspects are discussed in the articles Fire protect ion and Fire safety. Wildfire suppression refers to the firefighting tactics used to suppress wildfires. Firefighting efforts inwildland areas requires different techniques, equipment, and training from the more familiar structure firefighting found in populated areas. Working in conjunction with specially designed firefighting aircraft, these wildfire-trained crews suppress flames, construct firelines, and extinguish flames and areas of heat to protect resources and natural wilderness. Wildfire suppression also addresses the issues of the wildland-urban interface, where populated areas border with wildland areas. Firewall may refer to: * Firewall (construction), a barrier inside a building or vehicle, designed to limit the spread of fire, heat and structural collapse * Firewall (automobile), the part of the vehicle that separates the engine from the driver and passengers * Firewall (computing), a technological barrier designed to prevent unauthorized or unwanted communications between computer networks or hosts * Firewall (Physics), a blast of Hawking Radiation seen by a freely falling observer upon crossing the horizon of a black hole. Firetrap firetrap is a British clothing company, founded in 1991,[1] specialising in premium menswear and accessories. It is the main brand within the WDT company (World Design and Trade), which also owns its sister brand Fullcircle along with previous brands SC51 and Sonnetti. Firetrap is firmly established internationally and is sold in more than 30 countries[2] and 1,500 stores worldwide. There are eight stand-alone stores in the UK: a Covent Garden store in London and others in Belfast, Liverpool, Leeds, EdinburghWestfield[disambiguation needed], Sheffield Nottingham (2010).[3] The brand is a key player worldwide with a new store in Dubai and concessions throughout Europe including Italy, Germany and France. Conflagration A conflagration or a blaze is an uncontrolled burning that threatens human life, animal life, health, or property. A conflagration can be accidentally begun, naturally caused (wildfire), or intentionally created (arson). Arson can be accomplished for the purpose of sabotage or diversion, and also can be the consequence of pyromania. During conflagration the property is damaged or destroyed by fire. Sometimes the conflagration produces a firestorm, in which the central column of rising heated air induces strong inward winds, which supply oxygen to the fire. Conflagrations can result in casualties, deaths, or injuries from smoke inhalation orburns. Combustion Combustion (pron.: /kÉ™mˈbÊÅ's.tÊÆ'É™n/) or burning is the sequence of exothermic chemical reactions between a fuel and an oxidant accompanied by the production of heat and conversion of chemical species. The release of heat can produce light in the form of either glowing or aflame. Fuels of interest often include organic compounds (especially hydrocarbons) in the gas,liquid or solid phase. In a complete combustion reaction, a compound reacts with an oxidizing element, such asoxygen or fluorine, and the products are compounds of each element in the fuel with the oxidizing element. For example: CH4 + 2 O2 → CO2 + 2 H2O + energy A simple example can be seen in the combustion of hydrogen and oxygen, which is a commonly used reaction in rocket engines: 2 H2 + O2 → 2 H2O(g) + heat The result is water vapor. Complete combustion is almost impossible to achieve. In reality, as actual combustion reactions come to equilibrium, a wide variety of major and minor species will be present such as carbon monoxide and pure carbon (soot or ash). Additionally, any combustion in atmospheric air, which is 79 percent nitrogen, will also create several forms of nitrogen oxides. Fire point The fire point of a fuel is the temperature at which it will continue to burn for at least 5 seconds after ignition by an open flame. At theflash point, a lower temperature, a substance will ignite briefly, but vapor might not be produced at a rate to sustain the fire. Most tables of material properties will only list material flash points, but in general the fire points can be assumed to be about 10  °C higher than the flash points. However, this is no substitute for testing if the fire point is safety critical. Degree Celsius Celsius, also known as centigrade,[1] is a scale and unit of measurement for temperature. It is named after the Swedish astronomer Anders Celsius (1701–1744), who developed a similar temperature scale. The degree Celsius ( °C) can refer to a specific temperature on the Celsius scale as well as a unit to indicate a temperature interval, a difference between two temperatures or anuncertainty. The unit was known until 1948 as centigrade from the Latin centum translated as 100 and gradus translated as steps From 1743 until 1954, 0  °C was defined as the freezing point of water and 100  °C was defined as the boiling point of water, both at a pressure of one standard atmosphere with mercury being the working material. Although these defining correlations are commonly taught in schools today, by international agreement the unit degree Celsius and the Celsius scale are currently defined by two different temperatures: absolute zero, and the triple point of VSMOW (specially purifi ed water). This definition also precisely relates the Celsius scale to the Kelvin scale, which defines the SI base unit ofthermodynamic temperature with symbol K. Absolute zero, the lowest temperature possible at which matter reaches minimum entropy, is defined as being precisely 0 K and −273.15  °C. The temperature of the triple point of water is defined as precisely 273.16 K and 0.01  °C. This definition fixes the magnitude of both the degree Celsius and the kelvin as precisely 1 part in 273.16 (approximately 0.00366) of the difference between absolute zero and the triple point of water. Thus, it sets the magnitude of one degree Celsius and that of one kelvin as exactly the same. Additionally, it establishes the difference between the two scales null points as being precisely 273.15 degrees Celsius (−273.15  °C = 0 K and 0  °C = 273.15 K).[3] Fahrenheit Fahrenheit (symbol  °F) is a temperature scale based on one proposed in 1724 by, and named after, the physicist Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit (1686–1736).[1] Within this scale, the freezing of water into ice is defined at 32 degrees, while the boiling point of water is defined to be 212 degrees on Fahrenheits original scale the freezing point of brine was zero degrees. The Fahrenheit scale was replaced by the Celsius scale in most countries during the mid to late 20th century, though Canada retains it as a supplementary scale that can be used alongside Celsius.[2][3][4][5] Fahrenheit remains the official scale of the United States,Cayman Islands, Palau, Bahamas and Belize.[6] The Rankine temperature scale was based upon the Fahrenheit temperature scale, with its zero representing absolute zero instead. Personal protective equipment Personal protective equipment (PPE) refers to protective clothing, helmets, goggles, or other garments or equipment designed to protect the wearers body from injury. The hazards addressed by protective equipment include physical, electrical, heat, chemicals, biohazards, and airborne particulate matter. Protective equipment may be worn for job-relatedoccupational safety and health purposes, as well as for sports and other recreational activities. Protective clothing is applied to traditional categories of clothing, and protective gear applies to items such as pads, guards, shields, or masks, and others. The purpose of personal protective equipment is to reduce employee exposure to hazards when engineering and administrative controls are not feasible or effective to reduce these risks to acceptable levels. PPE is needed when there are hazards present. PPE has the serious limitation that it does not eliminate the hazard at source and may result in employees being exposed to the hazard i f the equipment fails.[1]

Knowledge Management Processes

Knowledge Management Processes Introduction The Introduction section is reserved for the client to use to describe the background and purpose for this process. Overview A Process is a set of linked activities that transform specified inputs into specified outputs, aimed at accomplishing an agreed-upon goal in a measurable manner. The process definition laid out in this document further breaks down these Activities into Tasks, each of which have a complete set of attributes defined such as workflow, data and tool specifications and the role(s) responsible for executing the tasks. The document also includes process goal and objectives, metrics, role definitions, policies and other process related attributes. A Visio file can be found in the Appendix of this document and in the eProcess tool under Attachments Links. It contains Cross-Functional Flow Diagrams (CFFDs) for each of the activities of the process. Process Description This process strawmodel is compliant with the concepts depicted in the ITIL ® V3 framework. The Knowledge Management process provides the ability to deliver quality by providing the ability to store/capture, share, and re-use data and information; consistently and accurately. It provides a means of storing head knowledge for everyone to use. However, while Knowledge Management provides the information and data that drives the management of knowledge, details related to asset and configuration management are excluded from this process. Goal The process goal describes a specific purpose or achievement toward which the efforts of the process are directed. Each ITSM process has a specific focus and when combined with the other ITSM processes, forms a comprehensive framework for delivering and managing services. * Process Goal The goal of the process is to manage data and information; ensuring that it is available, reliable, and secure. This will aid in improving management decision making. Objectives Process objectives describe material outcomes that are produced or achieved by the process. The following is a list of objectives for this process: Portal To provide a portal or channel for accessing the knowledge repository. Manage Knowledge To manage the knowledge based on information and data. Continuous Improvement To regularly review the goals and objectives of the process; compared to business requirements. Timeliness To provide knowledge (data and information) in a timely fashion, leading to improved efficiency. Accuracy To ensure the accuracy of the knowledge repository. Improved Service Quality To improve the quality of service by enabling service provider efficiency. Increase Satisfaction To increase satisfaction by improving the quality of service provision. Inputs Process inputs are used as triggers to initiate the process. They are also used by the process to produce the desired outputs. Inputs are provided by users, stakeholders or other processes. Inputs are measurable in terms of quantity and quality. Outputs Each process produces tangible outputs. These outputs can take the form of products or data and can be delivered to a user or stakeholder, or, they can be used as inputs to other processes. Outputs are measurable in terms of quantity and quality. Controls Process controls represent the policies and guiding principles on how the process will operate. Controls provide direction over the operation of processes and define constraints or boundaries within which the process must operate. States States are indicators of points of progress of an instance through a process. These are highly dependent on the Service Management tool employed, and as such, are best identified once the process design has been completed and the ITSM supporting tool has been selected. The following states are samples that can be used as a starter set of states for this process: Metrics Metrics are used for the quantitative and periodic assessment of a process. They should be associated with targets which are set based on specific business objectives. Metrics provide information related to the goals and objectives of a process and are used to take corrective action when desired results are not being achieved and can be used to drive continual improvement of process effectiveness and efficiency. Roles Each process defines at least one role. Each role is assigned to perform specific tasks within the process. The responsibilities of a role are confined to the specific process. They do not imply any functional standing within the hierarchy of an organization. For example, the process manager role does not imply the role is associated with or fulfilled by someone with functional management responsibilities within the organization. Within a specific process, there can be more than one individual associated with a specific role. Additionally, a single individual can assume more than one role within the process although typically not at the same time. Policies Policies outline a set of plans or courses of action that are intended to influence and determine decisions or actions of a process. Policies provide an element of governance over the process that provides alignment to business vision, mission and goals. Governance Process governance defines the authority and oversight that is required to assure that the process is fulfilling its goals and objectives. Governance consists of the set of guidelines and resources that an organization uses to facilitate collaboration, communication and conformance. Process governance covers process ownership and management, process communication, process tool development and feedback (reporting) mechanisms. Governance ensures that everyone is complying with the policies and procedures of the process. Process Responsibilities (RACI): The RACI-method is based on the principle that people act in one of four ways when executing a task. It accounts for the fact that more than one role may be active in performing a specific task while clearly defining specific responsibilities for that role. While many roles may be involved in a task only one is Accountable for the results. The actions are: R Responsible for the action (may do the task) A Accountable for the action (including approval) C Required to be Consulted on the action I Required to be Informed of the action If a task does not have an ‘Accountable role indicated then the ‘Responsible role is assumed to be accountable for the task. General Tool Requirements This section describes the general requirements that the supporting tools must meet in order to fully support the needs of the process. To achieve optimum benefits, a process must be â€Å"imbedded† into the tool. This linkage between process and tool is the most effective way of ensuring process conformance and efficiency. Activities Code Name <

Essay --

The institution of marriage has traditionally been defined as between a man and a woman. In the Oct. 15, 1971 decision Baker v. Nelson, the Supreme Court of Minnesota found that "The institution of marriage as a union of man and woman, uniquely involving the procreation(reproduction) and rearing(raising) of children within a family, is as old as the book of Genesis.† The idea that same-sex marriage is a civil rights issue is very misleading to many because technically it is far from it. The unifying characteristics of the protected classes within the Civil Rights Act of 1964 include (1) a history of longstanding, widespread discrimination, (2) economic disadvantage, and (3) unchangeable characteristics... 'Sexual orientation' does not meet any of the three objective criteria shared by the historically protected civil rights categories although the opinion that homosexuality is choice rather than a born trait is heavily debated. In recent decades, marriage has been weakened by a liberal view that is more about adults’ desires than children’s needs. Allowing gay marriage would only further shift the purpose of marriage from producing and raising children to adult gratification. Traditional marriage is already threatened with high divorce rates (between 40% and 50%) and with 40.6% of babies being born to unmarried mothers in 2008 according to National Statistics and the preliminary data for births in 2008. Allowing same-sex couples to marry would further weaken the institution. Sweden began offering same-sex couples benefits in 1987, followed by Denmark in 1989 and Norway in 1993. According to a Feb. 29, 2004 report by Stanley Kurtz, PhD, from 1990 to 2000, Norway's out-of-wedlock birthrate rose from 39% to 50% and Sweden's rose fro... ...havior. It is a natural occurrence that girls who are raised apart from their fathers are reportedly at higher risk for early sexual activity and teenage pregnancy. Children without a mother are deprived of the emotional security and unique nurturing that mothers find it almost natural to provide. Our society can choose to support certain types of sexual arrangements, such as gay relationships, and give support in the form of benefits to these arrangements, close or equal to those given to people in a traditional marriage. I believe in equality of opportunity and this would give both gay and traditional marriages equal support, treatment, and benefits from our government. However the term marriage, to those who still remain loyal to the teachings of religion, has an unchangeable definition, which is the union of man and women in matrimony to become husband and wife.

Making Them Feel Like a Natural Woman: Constructing Gender Performances on The Maury Povich Show :: Free Essays Online

Making Them Feel Like a Natural Woman: Constructing Gender Performances on The Maury Povich Show Goth teems drenched in black become teeny-bopper darlings in pink dresses and platform sneakers. Male couch potatoes in flannel shirts become debonair gentlemen in tuxedos. Scantily clad women popping out of halter tops and leather mini-skirts become responsible women in business suits and subtle make-up. The make-over is a popular talk show tool used by everyone from Oprah to Jenny Jones. These transformations embody Lancaster's argument in "Guto's Performance" by demonstrating how we are all participating in one big drag show, presenting our gender through our dress, our play. We construct our genders, moment by moment, through our performance, fluidly moving from one to the next. On "Oprah," an over-worked single mom in sweat pants who devotes all her time to working outside the home and raising her children (in a combination of constructed masculine and feminine gender roles) sits slumped in her chair. Soon, lipstick and sequins transform her into a confident, sensual woman, stru tting across the stage ready to take the arm of the handsome, well-dressed man chosen to take her out for an evening on the town (she now takes on a different, more feminine, gender role). But there is underlying tension in Lancaster's argument and make-overs on talk shows. Instead of made-over guests choosing their type of dress and performance, they are usually shuffled into these roles by a team of television producers, make-up artists, stylists, family and friends, and audience members. Often, talk show make-overs reinforce our rigidly constructed ideas of what is "masculine" and "feminine" by highlighting the taboo of stepping out of these roles and re-constructing a person's performance to fit the correct social mold. A recent episode of "The Maury Povitch Show" featured make-overs of women who worked in "manly" professions. There was a tow-truck driver, a car mechanic, a bike messenger, an electrical repairperson, a firefighter, a "pooper-scooper," a zoo-keeper, and a lumberjack. Each of the guests made there entrance dressed in their working clothes, some with appropriate props, strutting to the tune of "She Works Hard for the Money." After each guest had the opportunity to talk about her job, she was whisked away by stylists with makes-up brushes and blow-dryers only to be returned in fancy ball gowns to work the runway for the approving audience, pausing for a brief moment to pose beside their "before" photo.

eamwork: Pros and Cons :: essays research papers fc

Teamwork: Pros and Cons There are several types of teams and reasons for forming them. There are academic teams, consisting of a group of students in a learning environment, whose purpose would be to reach a common goal such as a class project. Teams in the workplace could consist of a group of administrators or employees whose purpose could range from deciding on what type of food to serve at a company picnic, to laying out plans for better customer care. â€Å"Advantages of group work, as opposed to individual work, include producing a better end result, providing satisfaction for the individual and the organization, and assisting the organization through coordination and work allocation† (Marsh, 1988). Some things I’ve learned in the past about why we form teams are to help an individual understand different points of view on any given topic, to help prepare for a career where teamwork is essential, and learning to become a leader, as well as a follower. Some economical and social benefits from forming teams, as stated by Kircshner and Van Bruggen (2004) in an article about virtual teams and the adult learner, â€Å"There are, among others, economical motivations such as bringing one learning module to a larger audience of learners, and pragmatic reasons such as achieving flexibility in time and space for learning, which is especially important for adult learners.† Another social benefit from working in teams is that you learn more about the personalities and work ethics of your peers. â€Å"Disadvantages of group work include producing a poorer end result, producing eccentric behavior, developing pressure for change, becoming permanent, helping management evade responsibilities, and the time and energy needed to become efficient† (Marsh, 1988). Some problems I have ran into personally with virtual teams, like the ones here at the University of Phoenix on-line campus, are timing issues (i.

Islam and Christianity Essay

Prompt: Using the documents, compare and contrast the attitudes of Christianity and Islam toward merchants and trade from the religions origins’ origins until about 1500. Are there indications of change over time in either case, or both? What kinds of additional documents would you need to assess the consequences of these attitudes on merchant activities? During the Post-Classical Era merchants played an incredible role in shaping the course of different societies. Christianity in its origins had a negative view of merchants while Islam was more positive as seen in their religious documents; however by 1500 the two religions had switched their views, Christianity more positive and Islam negative as displayed in the opinions of authorities and the action of merchants. Views on wealth can be seen in the religious documents of each religion. Christianity had its genesis in the first century C.E. and had a negative view of merchants and wealth as stated by Jesus (doc 1) However, this source is just one statement from the Christian scriptures and additional religious documents would be necessary to make a complete thorough argument on Christianity’s views on wealth and merchants. On the other hand Islam which was born in the 7th century C.E. and was more positive in its treatment of wealth if the merchant was honorable (doc 2). As in the case of Christianity it would be necessary to have further passages from the Koran on the issue of wealth and merchants to give a complete picture of Islam’s origins view. However with the sources provided it is clear that Christianity has a more negative view on wealth than Islam at their origins. As time progressed in the Post-Classical Era there were major changes in Islam and Christianity as seen in the discussions of Authorities. Islam had expanded across Afro-Asia and had become very wealthy because of trade in Dhar Al-Islam. On the other hand Christian Europe had entered a Dark-Ages of little trade with the fall of the Roman Empire in the West. However, by 1200 C.E. Europe had come out of the Dark-Ages on its way to the Renaissance. Europe was very interested in wealth and trade. An additional source of trade maps displaying trade wealth in 800 C.E. and 1500 C.E. of Islam and Christianity would help to explain why the views of the religions were changing. This change can be seen in Reginald’s writing about St. Godric in the 12th century C.E. Godric is a saint recognized by the church because he helped with his wealth  acquired by being a merchant. Godric used his wealth for good as a result one could argue that wealth acquired is not evil as long as it used well. It is important to note that Reginald is a colleague of St. Godric and he could be biased causing Godric to look better than he really was. This could change the use of this document because the information may not be completely valid (doc 3). Showing the change in Christianity is Aquinas’ argument in the 13th century C.E. He argues against being dishonest in trade and wealth. He does not condemn wealth and trade just negative ways to conduct trade (doc 4). This brings Christianity very close to Muhammad’s statements in the Koran. Islam on the hand was more negative in its view of merchants. Ibn Khaldun argues that no merchant can be a true honest man. Yet he still has to concede that trade is necessary (doc 5). This source could be biased because it occurred after the fall of the Abassid Empire and the problems with wealth and opulence that had plagued the Islamic world; moreover he could be an Ulama and had a strict view of Islam. As a result it could not portray what other scholars believed a t the time. This negative Islamic view can also be seen in the court decision of the 17th century C.E. in the verdict is against a merchant (doc 7). It is clear that Islam is closer to Christianities original views on Merchants and Christianity is becoming more positive. The views of Merchants provides a clear change. In the 13th century C.E. Christian merchants are engaged in using religious terms promoting trade. Even a mother of a rich merchant advises him to be thankful but not too greedy. Again this is very close to Islam’s original position on the issue. This document could be biased because it is merchants writing and the words of a mother. Neither of these people would be negative on themselves or loved ones. As a result this could exaggerate the practice of Christian in merchants and trade (doc 6). An additional source of different merchants writings would be good to see if all merchants used Christianity to sanction their actions. Moreover it would be good to have other Islamic merchants in writings than just document 7. This would give a better view of Islamic merchant actions around 1500 C.E. By 1500 C.E. it is clear that Christianity had become more in-line to Islam’s original views on merchants and Islam was more in-line to Christianity’s origins.