The Origins of the Holocaust Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Origins of the Holocaust - Essay Example In general, scientific racism has always prevailed during the colonial policies pursued by the developed European countries in relation to other cultures and peoples. Apotheosis of scientific racism could be observed during the existence of Nazi Germany. It claimed that the Germans were the most advanced human race, while other cultures and peoples were primitive. In this regard, the Jews were seen as the most insignificant people, and therefore anti-Semitism was seen as rather justified policy. Scientific racism can be seen as an ideology that argues the superiority of one people over another one. Racism first received its scientific basis during the Enlightenment, in particular, in the works by Charles Linnaeus (Hossain). The feature of the racial classification proposed by Linnaeus was that it determined the degree of importance of individual nations based on an analysis of their mentality. In particular, Asian and African nations, as well as Native Americans were endowed with negative qualities such as baseness, vileness, a low level of intellectual abilities, etc. Against the background of these peoples, the Europeans were considered as carriers of the most positive qualities, such as erudition, the high intelligence, ingenuity, honesty, a high level of compliance with the law, etc. Such an understanding of the significance of various peoples allowed the developed European countries to carry out the colonial policy based on the idea that the advanced countries had the right to colonize the peoples who had a low level of culture and civilization. Nazi Germany used and developed a whole arsenal of the ideology of scientific racism that had existed previously. Scientific racism presented in Nazi Germany relied on the various arguments for the superiority of the German nation over other nations. Not only biological but also mental qualities

Alternatives to fossil fuels Essay Example for Free

Alternatives to fossil fuels Essay The conventional source of energy like coal, the petroleum, etc, will probably be exhausted up within a time that the humanity might foresee. In addition, according to Hordeski (2002), fossil fuels such as petroleum, natural gas, coal must be discovered and extracted before they can be conducive to mankind. This is a costly and time-consuming job. Meanwhile, the quantity of these fuels is limited. Therefore, it is proved that the global resources consumption is undue. Their supply is virtually unlimited or they can be replaced as needed. Because of less pollution, recycling, larger power and higher efficiency, the nuclear power seems to be more than a good choice definitely. This essay will first outline the effects of the over-consumption of global natural resources, which followed by going to assess the viability of using nuclear power as a alternative in a long-term. Last but not least, the essay will point out that the measure should be first considered as a priority currently. Abundant clean energy is all that humankind expected in the modern time. As a new energy, nuclear power plays an important role in the current world. Kurdsunoaeglu (2000) points out that nuclear power plants generate electricity without release of chemicals which cause atmospheric pollution and global warming. However, using nuclear technology more effectively will probably help people avoid such danger and threat. Moreover, burning fossil fuels continually, which place carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, will cause changes in the climate that maybe catastrophic for human. Furthermore, the escalating price of fossil fuels will raise the price of everything else the location of the remaining reserves is the source of much of todays international disorder (A white-hot elephant 2006). Therefore, exploring the nuclear power has become the urgent project to face for the aim of less pollution. Because the energy converted relatively balance, the nuclear energy can be recycled. Recycling the nuclear power will reduce harmful emissions. Furthermore, people could make use of good things of small quantities of emissions which so much as are just thrown away as waste. The president of Spain has agreed to a widely consultative process to find a solution to what to do with existing radioactive waste (Spain says Adios to nuclear powe:Fourth European country to begin phase out 2006). The effort would lead to a new energy system that will save more energy during transformation. Nuclear energy is obtained by nuclear fission and radioactive decay, both of which extract energy with a costless way, and also bring us an alternative choice of energy source without any pollution. On the other hand, the ways of recycling the nuclear power are comprehensive. Under the modern technology, industry, agriculture, environmental protection, health and medical community, scientific research are all dying for the technology of recycling nuclear power. At the present moment, the function this technology has drawn out its maximum utility in some fields. Compared with other alternatives, nuclear power can produce bigger energy. Studies show that the total annual solar energy input to the earth is more than 15,000 times as great as the earth current yearly use of fossil and nuclear fuels. The term photovoltaic comes from the Greek word for light, photos and voltaic which refers to the unit of electromotive force. The discovery of the photovoltaic effect goes back to the French physicist Becquerel, who conducted experiments with a wet cell battery and found that the battery voltage increased when its silver plates were exposed to sunlight (Hordeski, 2002). On the face of this fact, once completely put it into the use, nuclear power will display the energy with the amount that beyond imagination. According to Hordeski (2002), Nuclear power stations operate on the same principles as fossil fuel plants except the heat from the fossil fuel is replaced by a heat from a controlled nuclear reactor. This means if only the produce of energy conversion keep balance, nuclear power can keep a higher efficiency. Opportunities for nuclear power are distributed broadly around the world, and nuclear power can help to address concerns over sustainable energy resources (Advertising in Cooperation in the Energy Futures of China and the United States, 2000). Engineering a new energy system will provide stewardship for all life on earth. Renewable energy is effectively infinite in supply. Presently the cost of using nuclear power is very high. This is due to that using the nuclear power needs a very high scientific and technological content. The deficiency in this plan is very clear. The process of using nuclear power is very complicated. Energy is generally divided into two categories: stored and transient. The stored forms of energy are potential, kinetic, internal, chemical, and nuclear. Chemical and nuclear energy represent the energy bound up in the structure of the molecular and atomic compounds (Hordeski, 2002). In the long and complicated course of exploring and using this energy, the sufficient manpower, physical and financial resources are unprecedentedly needed. The risk still exists in using the nuclear power. Elliott (1997) stresses the longer term prospects for nuclear power are unclear. Fission reactors use a fuel (uranium), which although still relatively abundant, will not be available indefinitely; fast breeder reactors, which in effect would stretch the availability of the fuel, have yet to be operated commercially and pose what some people regards as significant safety and security risks. Finally, nuclear fusion remains a long-term possibility, but as we may predict that, even if the technology comes to be perfect, it also has problems. As discussed by (Cimbala, 2000) nuclear optimists assume that these states will reason as past nuclear powers have about the costs and risks of nuclear brinkmanship or war, the international society still have to appeal for an effective and peaceful way in using nuclear power resources in behalf of benefiting the humanity. The challenges of nuclear power are widely recognized to be in four aspects: cost, operational safety, the safe disposal of nuclear waste, and the prevention of the proliferation of nuclear weapons (Advertising in Cooperation in the Energy Futures of China and the United States, 2000). Focus on these four challenges, there are several available solutions to deal with. Firstly, the governments may use mass media as vehicles for propaganda to support the peaceful use of nuclear energy; enhance the use of nuclear energy security and persist the principle of use nuclear power. Bent, Orr and Baker (2002) claim that if national leaders explained the importance of developing a sustainable energy policy, and pushed hard for one, the people would follow their leadership. Most people are keenly aware of the urgent energy challenges and are prepared to make sacrifices to ensure that the world has an adequate, secure, sustainable, and affordable energy supply. Secondly, every country should be dedicated to produce a new energy system to develop the new technology and reduce the cost of nuclear power. A fully implementation of this system would stop the use of fossil fuels and launch an entirely new energy infrastructure. An economist, Joseph Schumpeter makes convincing arguments that new products and innovation are the driving force of an expanding economy (Robert, 1992). The universities which are equipped with high quality research offices should set the specialized field to appeal for more talents who design to be nuclear experts. The educational policy will advance the development of the top technology. The third point, increasing funds for scientific research to improve the use of nuclear power and technology is another important policy to support the reasonable use of nuclear power. Laurence (2002) maintains that Homo Technologist must implement the energy system that utilizes no fossil fuels. An energy system based on renewable energy and fusion reactors has been proposed. Governments should establish special funds to support this scientific research. In addition, the public should be educated in how to use energy more effectively, because it is important to bear in mind that making the nuclear power become the focal point in the area of energy utilization in the future is an essential work for all the world. In conclusion, facing the environmental concerns and energy shortage, seeking available alternatives to replace the conventional energy sources becomes an urgent matter at the present time. There are several energy resources that are renewable. People have to find long-term alternatives to substitute fossil fuels to overcome the new energy challenges. Thus, nuclear power is going to become a new energy which has comparatively more powerful energy and higher efficiency. However, the use of nuclear power has some flaws. As mentioned in the former part, it always goes with the higher costs, potential risks and desires for highly advanced technology. Facing these problems, scientists are drawing some strong points to offset its own weakness, devoting themselves to developing the nuclear technology. Besides enhancing the use of nuclear energy security, the governments are also required to increase the funds to support the scientific research for making nuclear power more effective, safer and more economical to serve humanity.

anger management Essay -- essays research papers

Anger Management Anger Management Education, founded in 1994, provided education and psychotherapy to individuals to help make sense of and manage anger in their everyday lives (Anger Management 1). Anger remains a healthy emotion when expressed appropriately, although devastating effects may still exist. Anger lies at the root of many personal and social problems, such as child abuse, domestic and community violence, physical and verbal abuse. Anger also affects our physical health, by contributing to headaches, migraines, severe gastrointestinal symptoms, hypertension, and coronary artery disease. Many of us do not have the knowledge or abilities required to express our anger as a healthy emotion. As a result, some of us store and suppress our anger, while others may express it, but in negative and unhealthy ways. Doctors knew for a long time that adults who dealt with anger poorly, stand a higher chance to develop heart disease and high blood pressure problems (Leopold 2). About 20 percent of us express angry personalities, 20 percent fairly easygoing, and the remaining 60 percent of the population fall somewhere in the middle (Foltz-Gray 132). Harvard researchers found that those with higher levels of anger stood at an increased risk of heart attack (133). In a study published in Health Psychology in 1999, heart-attack patients in Canada who received anger management training made significant reduction in blood pressure levels and needed less follow up care compared w...

Ethics and Cultures Essay

In the article â€Å"American Values and Assumptions† (American Ways: A guide for Foreigners, 2003), Gary Althen discusses about the values and assumptions of American cultures and whether if they are beneficial or harmful to American society. In America, people have strong competition toward others and also they spend time on their privacy. Both American culture’s value and assumption are beneficial to American society. American culture that is having a strong competition is beneficial to American society because having competitions make you compare yourself with others who are better than you and it makes you try to become a better at what you are competing on. â€Å"Competitiveness is less obvious when it is in the minds of people who are consistently comparing themselves with other: who is faster, smarter, richer, better looking;† (Althen 8). For example, in sports, every athlete tries to become a better player than other who is better than them. â€Å"Individualistic Americans naturally see themselves as being in competition with others† (Althen 7). Competition brings the best player for American society and it is beneficial because America will have better athletes and competitors compare to other countries where they don’t have competitions. Privacy is beneficial to American society in American culture because everyone need time to recover their psychological energy that was spent. Also, not having an individual time when you spent your time by yourself is tending to known as a weak person or dependent. â€Å"’need some time to themselves’ or ‘some time alone’ to think about things or recover their spent psychological energy† (Althen 8). Having a time alone is very important and beneficial because people often need a time to think by themselves and having someone next to you all the time won’t get you an independent strength where you need to do something by your own.

Methods of Performance Appraisal

Q1 . Distinguish between ‘Performance Appraisal’ and the†potentialAppraisal’. Also discuss, in bief, the methods of performance appraisal. Ans. A performance appraisal system judges the performance of an employee over a given period of time. It is an indication of how he has performed in the PAST, but may necessarily not be an indication of his performance in the future. Depending on his past performance, a person is rewarded suitable with an appropriate cash incentive or bonus. A potential appraisal system is done to judge the capability of the person for a future role, meaning you are trying to assess a person to see whether he has the necessary skills, aptitude, attitude and competency for an increased level of responsibility and accountability or a leadership role. It can be enhanced with giving him specific T & D, or assigning him a mentor. You are trying to judge his FUTURE performance based on the potential appraisal. Methods of Performance Appraisal The performance appraisal methods may be classified into three categories, as shown in Figure below. [pic] Individual Evaluation Methods Under the individual evaluation methods of merit rating, employees are evaluated one at a time without comparing them with other employees in the organization. 1. Confidential report: It is mostly used in government organizations. It is a descriptive report prepared, generally at the end of every year, by the employee’s immediate superior. The report highlights the strengths and weaknesses of the subordinate. The report is not data based. The impressions of the superior about the subordinate are merely recorded there. It does not offer any feedback to the appraisee. The appraisee is not very sure about why his ratings have fallen despite his best efforts, why others are rated high when compared to him, how to rectify his mistakes, if any; on what basis he is going to be evaluated next year, etc. Since the report is generally not made public and hence no feedback is available, the subjective nalysis of the superior is likely to be hotly contested. In recent years, due to pressure from courts and trade unions, the details of a negative confidential report are given to the appraisee. 2. Essay evaluation: Under this method, the rater is asked to express the strong as well as weak points of the employee’s behavior. This technique is normally used with a combination of the graphic rating scale because the rater can elaborately present the scale by substantiating an explanation for his ra ting. While preparing the essay on the employee, the rater considers the following factors: (i) Job knowledge and potential of the employee; (ii) Employee’s understanding of the company’s programmes, policies, objectives, etc. ; (iii) The employee’s relations with co-workers and superiors; (iv) The employee’s general planning, organizing and controlling ability; (v) The attitudes and perceptions of the employee, in general. 3. Critical incident technique: Under this method, the manager prepares lists of statements of very effective and ineffective behavior of an employee. These critical incidents or events represent the outstanding or poor behavior of employees on the job. The manager maintains logs on each employee, whereby he periodically records critical incidents of the workers behavior. At the end of the rating period, these recorded critical incidents are used in the evaluation of the workers’ performance. 4. Checklists and weighted checklists: Another simple type of individual evaluation method is the checklist. A checklist represents, in its simplest form, a set of objectives or descriptive statements about the employee and his behavior. If the rater believes strongly that the employee possesses a particular listed trait, he checks the item; otherwise, he leaves the item blank. A more recent variation of the checklist method is the weighted list. Under this, the value of each question may be weighted equally or certain questions may be weighted more heavily than others. The following are some of the sample questions in the checklist. †¢ Is the employee really interested in the task assigned? Yes/No †¢ Is he respected by his colleagues (co-workers)Yes/No †¢ Does he give respect to his superiors? Yes/No †¢ Does he follow instructions properly? Yes/No †¢ Does he make mistakes frequently? Yes/No A rating score from the checklist helps the manager in evaluation of the performance of the employee. The checklist method has a serious limitation. (e)Graphic rating scale: Perhaps the most commonly used method of performance evaluation is the graphic rating scale. Of course, it is also one of the oldest methods of evaluation in use. Under this method, a printed form, as shown below, is used to evaluate the performance of an employee. A variety of traits may be used in these types of rating devices, the most common being the quantity and quality of work. The rating scales can also be adapted by including traits that the company considers important for effectiveness on the job. A model of a graphic rating scale is given below. Table: Typical Graphic Rating Scale Employee Name†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. Job title †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. Department †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. Rate †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ Data †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. Quantity of work: Volume of work under normal |Unsatisfactory |Fair |Satisfactory |Good |Outstanding | |working conditions | | | | | | |Quality of work: Neatness, thoroughness and |   |   |   |   |   | |accuracy of work Knowledge of job | | | | | | |A clear understanding of the factors connected |   |   |   |   |   | |with the job | | | | | | | Attitude: Exhibits enthusiasm and |   |   |   |   |   | |cooperativeness on the job | | | | | | |Dependability: Conscientious, thorough, |   |   |   |   |   | |reliable, accurate, with respect to attendance, | | | | | | |reliefs, lunch breaks, etc. | | | | | | |Cooperation: Willingness and ability to work |   |   |   |   |   | |with others to produce desired goals. | | | | | | From the graphic rating scales, excerpts can be obtained about the performance standards of employees. For instance, if the employee has serious gaps in technical-professional knowledge (knows only rudimentary phases of job); lacks the knowledge to bring about an increase in productivity; is reluctant to make decisions on his own (on even when he makes decisions they are unreliable and substandard); declines to accept responsibility; fails to plan ahead effectively; wastes and misuses resources; etc. , then it can safely be inferred that the standards of the performance of the employee are dismal and disappointing. The rating scale is the most common method of evaluation of an employee’s performance today. One positive point in favor of the rating scale is that it is easy to understand, easy to use and permits a statistical tabulation of scores of employees. When ratings are objective in nature they can be effectively used as evaluators. The graphic rating scale may however suffer from a long standing disadvantage, i. e. , it may be arbitrary and the rating may be subjective. Another pitfall is that each characteristic is equally important in evaluation of the employee’s performance and so on. (f)Behaviorally anchored rating scales: Also known as the behavioral expectations scale, this method represents the latest innovation in performance appraisal. It is a combination of the rating scale and critical incident techniques of employee performance evaluation. The critical incidents serve as anchor statements on a scale and the rating form usually contains six to eight specifically defined performance dimensions. The following chart represents an example of a sales trainee’s competence and a behaviorally anchored rating scale. Table: An Example of Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scale (BARS) |Performance |Points |Behavior | |Extremely good |7 |Can expect trainee to make valuable suggestions for increased sales and to have | | | |positive relationships with customers all over the country. |Good |6 |Can expect to initiate creative ideas for improved sales. | |Above average |5 |Can expect to keep in touch with the customers throughout the year. | |Average |4 |Can manage, with difficulty, to deliver the goods in time. | |Below average |3 |Can expect to unload the trucks when asked by the supervisor. | |Poor |2 |Can expect to inform only a part of the customers. | |Extremely poor |1 |Can expect to take extended coffee breaks and roam around purposelessly. | How to construct BARS? Developing a BARS follows a general format which combines techniques employed in the critical incident method and weighted checklist ratings scales. Emphasis is pinpointed on pooling the thinking of people who will use the scales as both evaluators and evaluees. Step 1: Collect critical incidents: People with knowledge of the job to be probed, such as job holders and supervisors, describe specific examples of effective and ineffective behavior related to job performance. Step 2: Identify performance dimensions: The people assigned the task of developing the instrument cluster the incidents into a small set of key performance dimensions. Generally between five and ten dimensions account for most of the performance. Examples of performance dimensions include technical competence, relationships with customers, handling of paper work and meeting day-to-day deadlines. While developing varying levels of performance for each dimension (anchors), specific examples of behavior should be used, which could later be scaled in terms of good, average or below average performance. Step 3: Reclassification of incidents: Another group of participants who are knowledgeable about the job is instructed to retranslate or reclassify the critical incidents generated (in Step II) previously. They are given the definition of job dimension and told to assign each critical incident to the dimension that it best describes. At this stage, incidents for which there is not 75 per cent agreement are discarded as being too subjective. Step 4: Assigning scale values to the incidents: Each incident is then rated on a one-to-seven or one-to-nine scale with respect of how well it represents performance on the appropriate dimension. A rating of one represents ineffective performance; the top scale value indicates very effective performance. The second group of participants usually assigns the scale values. Means and standard deviations are then calculated for the scale values assigned to each incident. Typically incidents that have standard deviations of 1. 50 or less (on a 7-point scale) are retained. Step 5: Producing the final instrument: About six or seven incidents for each performance dimension – all having met both the retranslating and standard deviation criteria – will be used as behavioral anchors. The final BARS instrument consists of a series of vertical scales (one for each dimension) anchored (or measured) by the final incidents. Each incident is positioned on the scale according to its mean value. Because the above process typically requires considerable employee participation, its acceptance by both supervisors and their subordinates may be greater. Proponents of BARS also claim that such a system differentiates among behavior, performance and results and consequently is able to provide a basis for setting developmental goals for the employee. Because it is job-specific and identifies observable and measurable behavior, it is a more reliable and valid method for performance appraisal. (g)Forced choice method: This method was developed to eliminate bias and the preponderance of high ratings that might occur in some organizations. The primary purpose of the forced choice method is to correct the tendency of a rater to give consistently high or low ratings to all the employees. This method makes use of several sets of pair phrases, two of which may be positive and two negative and the rater is asked to indicate which of the four phrases is the most and least descriptive of a particular worker. Actually, the statement items are grounded in such a way that the rater cannot easily judge which statements apply to the most effective employee. The following box is a classic illustration of the forced choice items in organizations. Table: Forced Choice Items 1. LeastMost ADoes not anticipate difficultiesA BGrasps explanations easily and quicklyB CDoes not waste timeC DVery easy to talk toD 2. LeastMost ACan be a leaderA BWastes time on unproductive thingsB CAt all times, cool and calmC DSmart workerD The favorable qualities earn a plus credit and the unfavorable ones earn the reverse. The worker gets over plus when the positive factors override the negative ones or when one of the negative phrases is checked as being insignificantly rated. They overall objectivity is increased by using this method in evaluation of employee’s performance, because the rater does not know how high or low he is evaluating the individual as he has no access to the scoring key. This method, however, has a strong limitation. In the preparation of sets of phrases trained technicians are needed and as such the method becomes very expensive. Further, managers may feel frustrated rating the employees ‘in the dark’. Finally, the results of the forced choice method may not be useful for training employees because the rater himself does not know how he is evaluating the worker. In spite of these limitations, the forced choice techniques is quite popular. h)Management by Objectives (MBO): MBO represents a modern method of evaluating the performance of personnel. Thoughtful managers have become increasingly aware that the traditional performance evaluation systems are characterized by somewhat antagonistic judgments on the part of the rater. There is a growing feeling nowadays that it is better to make the superior work with subordinates in fixing goals. This would inevitably enable subordinates to exercise self-control over their performance behaviors. The concept of management by objectives is actually the outcome of the pioneering works of Drucker, McGregor and Odiorne in management science. Management by objectives can be described as â€Å"a process whereby the superior and subordinate managers of an organization jointly identify its common goals, define each individuals’ major areas of responsibility in terms of results expected of him and use these measures as guides for operating the unit and assessing the contributions of each of its members†. MBO thus represents more than an evaluation programme and process. Practicing management scientists and pedagogues view it as a philosophy of managerial practice; it is a method by which managers and subordinates plan, organize, control, communicate and debate. Features ? MBO emphasizes participatively set goals that are tangible, verifiable and measurable. MBO focuses attention on what must be accomplished (goals) rather than how it is to be accomplished (methods). ? MBO, by concentrating on key result areas translates the abstract philosophy of management into concrete phraseology. The technique can be put to general use (non-specialist technique). Further it is â€Å"a dynamic system which seeks to integrate the company’s need to clarify and achieve its profit and growth targets with the manager’s need to contribute and develop himself†. ? MBO is a systematic and rational technique that allows management to attain maximum results from available resources by focusing on achievable goals. It allows the subordinate plenty of room to make creative decisions on his own.