Back Belts Free Essays

Back belt, otherwise called â€Å"back support belt† is a lightweight, flexible belt worn around the abdomen. It gets well known because of the clinical supposition that it secures the back and numerous work environments procure the utilization of back belts to keep away from wounds among the laborers. Sakol Trading and Engineering Co. We will compose a custom exposition test on Back Belts or then again any comparable subject just for you Request Now , Ltd. , a Thailand-based producer of clinical hardware like back belts and security slings, ensures that the back help belt has the solace and solidness to forestall lower back and stomach torment and wounds during lifting of substantial burdens. The belt likewise reminds the wearer to lift appropriately, offers additional help to a person’s back during delayed sitting position and tedious bowing. Be that as it may, these cases are not bolstered by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), the government foundation answerable for directing examination and making suggestions for the anticipation of business related wounds and ailments. As per NIOSH, None of the investigations they led gives adequate proof or information to help the cases that back belt lessens the heap power, forestalls back and stomach wounds or solidifies the spine. Subsequently, NIOSH doesn't prescribe the utilization of back belts to the laborers. There are a few worries that the dubious belt makes: it limits the portability of an individual in this manner decreasing the versatility of the muscles and ligaments; it cause strain on the cardiovascular framework and; it makes an incorrect conviction that all is well with the world that may make the wearer to lift unreasonably overwhelming burden. It likewise makes muscles be subject to outside help. Organizations ought not depend exclusively on the back belts as a wellbeing program. They should let their laborers experience trainings about legitimate lifting and back help. The laborers can be permitted to use back belts in the event that they need to since wearing of it is deliberate. In any case, they ought to recall that there is no logical proof to help that back belts truly work. Reference: †¢ Atkinson, Williams. Back Belts: Useful or Not? LP/Gas, Vol. 65, Issue 3, p. 46-47 (March, 2005). Recovered May 28, 2009 from http://web. ebscohost. com/ehost/pdf? vid=5hid=4sid=d76b81c5-3c37-451b-9278-484eeeb125cb%40sessionmgr2#db=bthAN=16409961 Step by step instructions to refer to Back Belts, Papers

Hemmingway and O'Connor Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Hemmingway and O'Connor - Research Paper Example Her supplications not to go Florida are disregarded by both her child, Bailey and the little girl in-law. Her grandson, John, requests that her stay at home though the granddaughter, June declares that she would not remain behind for a million bucks. This draws out the lack of regard that the youngsters have towards their older folks. Besides, both Bailey and his better half are not aware towards Bailey’s mother. Bailey, for example, doesn't focus on what his mom was letting him know (O’Connor standard 2). Truth be told, on the off chance that he had been sharp and mindful and had complied with his mom supplications, he would have spared his family from the trial they face later towards the finish of the story. Bailey as the leader of the family had an obligation to his family, to secure it and not to lead it towards hurt way (Tonic standard 4). The little girl in law has all the earmarks of being tongue-tied, as she doesn't state much all through the story (Tonic stand ard 3). She additionally had an obligation to her family to guarantee it was protected. The updates on Misfits discharge was valid justification enough for her to concur with her relative however rather she decided to disregard her (O’Connor standard 2). As the story creates with the family now out and about, there is a delineation of an ordinary family with its issues. For example, Bailey and his significant other don't appear to be in such acceptable terms and every single one of them appears to be lost in their own reality (Tonic standard 6). They don't discharge how uproarious and wild their two children get while messing around in the vehicle. The grandma mediates by disclosing to them a story to quiet them down. At the point when they stop for a grill, just the grandma appears to participate in discussions with the retailer (O’Connor standard 14). When they get back out and about, the grandma recommends that they go visit an old ranch. Bailey won't surrender to h is mother’s proposal; be that as it may, the kids become resolved and demand that they visit the old manor (O’Connor standard 13). It is during this second the little girl in-law states that they should all remain in the vehicle once they arrive (O’Connor standard 15). Nonetheless, the family doesn't get the chance to see the house since they get into a mishap that is brought about by the grandma once she understood that the old manor was in Tennessee and Toombsboro. It is after the mishap that the family meets its destruction and they are executed by Misfit (O’Connor standard 25). In the short story ‘Hills like Elephants’, Hemmingway utilizes familial jobs to set the story plot. In this story, Hemmingway utilizes an exchange of a couple to portray his story. In the discussion, the couple is having a contention on disposing of the unborn youngster (Johnston standard 3). The discourse between the man and the young lady just as the non-verbal c ommunication construes the foundation just as perspectives of both the young lady and the man relating to circumstance in sight, and their methodologies towards one another. From the initiation of the account, the quarrelsome character of the couple’s exchange assigns disquiet and disdain. The discussion is a refinement of the distinctions in the midst of cliché female and male relationship jobs. For instance, the young lady draws inspires the relationship with ‘white elephants’, while the hyper-sane male promptly discredits it, disbanding the verse bit into target authenticity with ‘ I’ve never observed one(Hemmingway standard ).’ The young lady likewise requests that his endorsement request a brew. All through the story, she is removed; the man is balanced. While the man attempts to outline

A study of the myers-briggs types indicator (mbti)

This paper presents an investigation on Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) as a Psychology test. It gives foundation data on the test, Historical establishment giving a concise conversation on birthplace and plan of Jung’s hypothesis, character arrangement of the test into various sorts of Extroversion/introspection (EI), Sensing/Intuition (SI), Thinking/Feeling and Judging and Perceiving.This is trailed by depiction of the configuration and organization of MBTI, all the more so on arrangement and kind of inquiries. The legitimacy and unwavering quality of the test is likewise examined based on research and contention of various researchers. It further glances at the qualities and shortcomings of the test as examined by different researchers and finishes up by talking about utilizations of the Myer-Briggs Test Indicator in the contemporary society.INTRODUCTIONPsychology, being the investigation of the psyche and mental procedures corresponding to conduct, is described by the e xpectation of an individual’s conduct dependent on speculations produced using the investigation of other peoples’ conduct. This is on the premise that conduct can be anticipated and assessed on the establishment of research of different studies.This has offered ascend to part of brain science known as mental testing. Cooper, S.E. and Miller, J.A. (1991) characterizes  psychological testing as, a part of brain research which utilizes a progression of inquiries, issues, or physical reactions that are intended to quantify information, insight, capacity quality, truth, legitimacy of a mental phenomenon.Most mental tests depend on [1]psychometrics which basically utilizes instructive and mental estimations in deciding information, capacities, perspectives, and personality.They include intentional and systemized assortment of tests of conduct dependent on perceptions after some time. A score is doled out to an individual’s execution on a given errand dependent on p re-structured mental test.BackgroundThis study will look to examine the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI).MBTI can be characterizes it as: a character test intended to character an individual’s character and inclinations dependent on certain psychometrics, It a test for distinguishing a person’s character type dependent on Carl Jung's hypothesis of character preferences.MBTI in this manner is a character test intended to offer help to a person by recognizing some noteworthy individual inclinations. It along these lines offers significant bits of knowledge into various characters prompting upgraded self information, Rosenak, C.M., Shontz, F.C. (1988).The test utilizes grouped psychometric polls which are deliberately planned to gauge mental contrasts in people. Various characters have fluctuating inclinations dependent on their genome and encounters from their association with the environment.The test was created by Katharine Briggs and her little girl Isabel Briggs My ers during the 1940s. Their point was to utilize Jung’s hypothesis of human character in assessing the character of man. Jung’s hypothesis, as its name proposes, was spearheaded by a Swiss therapist Carl G. Jung. It grouped individual’s character types into eight sorts based on three dichotomous factors: Extroversion Vs Introversion (E/I), Sensing Vs Intuiting (S/N), and Thinking Vs Feeling (T/F), Williamson, J. (2003).It is intended to offer a depiction of noticeable attributes, for example, the large five character characteristics Extraversion, transparency, pleasantness, uprightness, and [2]neuroticism. The mental contrasts among people represent the distinction in character. The test suggests that an individual’s character is either customized ordinarily during childbirth. or then again is created during the time spent his/her collaboration with the earth, Tieger, P.D. and Barron-Tieger, B.â (2001).The test is intended to quantify the inclinations o f an individual instead of bent and is built from the four contradicting traits.Every character characteristic has a contrary pair. The part of [3]extraversion has a direct inverse in self preoccupation, thinking in feeling, and deciding in seeing and detecting an in instinct. These restricting pair of characteristics frames the establishment of the test. It is thusly founded on four bipolar irregular scales: Extraversion/Introversion, Sensing/Intuition, Thinking/Feeling and Judging/Perceiving.Introversion Vs extroversion gives an examination of how people direct their vitality. It is a guideline dependent on the way that there are two universes inside an individual’s character; the interior and the outside world. The statement of both of the two universes relies upon the individual’s preference.People who are extraverted are invigorated and roused by their activities henceforth they like to concentrate their vitality outwardly world. On the other hand the thoughtful p eople want to coordinate their vitality towards their inward being making them progressively reasonable and hopeful. Rosenak, C.M., Shontz, F.C. (1988)Sensing Vs instinct began from the general class of seeing capacities. The two are anyway not fundamentally unrelated as their use is reliant on schedule and conditions. These are additionally the establishment of human information from the empiricist and rationalist’s perspective as they are the essential roads through which data contacts the person. People procure data either by detecting it straightforwardly from the earth by at least one of the five faculties or through instinct, by the utilization of the mind.The inclinations of people who depend on detecting are an introduction of realities while the individuals who depend on instinct are probably going to work on hypothetical and unique models subsequently are probably going to be more logical.Thinking Vs Feeling is a capacity dependent on the essential judgment of a per son. The individuals who incline toward deduction settle on judgment and choices based on basic examination of circumstances. Then again, the individuals who want to make judgment dependent on sentiments base their judgment on the enthusiastic parts of a circumstance and based on close to home standards and values.True to the expectation of the test, people with various characters will in general carry on and live in an unexpected way, pick various vocations, perform diversely in exercises for instance in scholastic and expert fields. MBTI orders mental contrasts into 16 sorts from four restricting sets to be specific: ISTJ, ESTJ, ENTP, INTP, ENTJ, INTJ, ENFP, ESPF, ESTJ, ISTP, ISFJ, ISFP, INFP, INFJ, ESTP,  and INTP. These ascents from treating of each list as an autonomous inclination equipped for being joined with other indices.Format and AdministrationThe two most generally utilized adaptations of MBTI are the European and the North American English forms. In all the two varia nts, MBTI is regulated by the utilization of MBTI structures. The instrument estimates character inclinations on four scales to be specific: Extraversion(E)/Introversion(I), Sensing(S)/Intuition(N), Feeling(F)/Judging(J) Perceiving. Questions are all as various decision questions.Each question is organized such that presents just two alternatives as short proclamations and word sets from which [4]one can just pick one of the inquiries. MBTI along these lines utilizes an Item Based Forced Questionnaire Form. Its structure rotates around the recognizable proof of inclinations of a person from an introduced decision of two choices in each question.Reliability and Validity of MBTIReliability allude to how reliably can a test measure what it is intended to quantify. Complete consistency in the mental tests are improbable attributable to the idea of character, anyway there are acknowledged norms for varieties of mental instruments, for example, MBTI.According to Rosenak, C.M., Shontz, F.C . (1988), one of the pioneer analysts into the unwavering quality of MBTI, the dependability of MBTI meets and surpasses all the preset guidelines of mental instrument. He states that the unwavering quality of MBTI are either on a par with or better than different instruments when the scores are treated as consistent scale.Furthermore the dependability as far as inclinations extend between 75-90% on a test retest scale. He further declares that, the unwavering quality of the test across age, ethnic gatherings and race additionally shift between 60-85%. Williamson, J. (2003) gives the investigation of character attributes of the designing understudies from different schools directed by fluctuated specialists. It shows consistency as the score of ISTJ character among building understudies was the most noteworthy in all studies.In the University of Tennessee Knoxville the character scores of designing employees were: ISTJ (22.6%), INTJ (17.8%), INTP (17.8 %), and ENTJ (14.3%) while tha t of designing green beans in a similar college in an investigation led between 1990-1994 were: ISTJ (13.4), ESTJ (11.7), ENTP (8.8), INTP (8.8). Further research by Mc Caulley appeared on the character of Engineering understudies in Eight distinct universities were as per the following : ISTJ (16.46), ESTJ (12.75), ENTJ (9.43), INTJ (9.43), INTP (8.46),ENTP (7.43) to make reference to simply yet a couple. The predominance of the ISTJ among designing understudies is clear from the above examinations supporting the dependability of the test.How legitimate is MBTI?  Validity alludes to how much a given instrument estimates what it is expected to quantify. A few mental examiners have scrutinized the legitimacy of the test. Tieger, P.D.& Barron-Tieger, B.â (2001), considers the to be of the test as emerging from the pertinence of the four inclination sets of divisions and the resulting blends of the preferences.The decision of the inquiries and in this manner the various scales are additionally substantial. The frequently refered to contention is that the organizers, Myers and Briggs had no logical preparing on psychometric testing and subsequently were at no situation to endorse a mental test.Rosenak, C.M., Shontz, F.C. (1988), anyway contend that face legitimacy of the test is commonly acknowledged by most analysts however the oversight on ne

Things You Need to Do to Write a Research Paper

Things You Need to Do to Write a Research PaperIf you have a research paper in front of you, you are going to need to do a few things to ensure that you get the highest grade possible. First and foremost, you need to make sure that you set your tone before writing your research paper. Find out what your desired effect is for your paper before you start writing.Think about your conclusion first and make sure that it flows well together with the idea that you came up with initially. Make sure that there is consistency between the ending and beginning of your research paper. Make sure that everything flows from the starting point. This way, your readers will not feel lost or confused when reading your research paper.Many students who have received high grades in their research papers tend to cut out parts of their paper that they do not feel very strongly about. You do not want to do this because it means that you did not fully create a strong ending to your research paper. You want to have everything come together to tell a solid and well-rounded story that will help you succeed at the end of your research paper.It is imperative that you make an outline for your research paper. Once you have written down the ideas that you are going to include in your research paper, it is time to figure out what your length should be. Some people may want to try to write a research paper in two or three pages while others might need more space to allow room for thoughts, arguments, and so on.Before you start writing your research paper, remember that many different things can go wrong. Do not allow yourself to be distracted and just get started on it; you will need to be a bit careful in how you approach your research paper.Remember that as you read your research paper, you are only reading your own work and the next person who read it will not be able to understand your thoughts. As such, it is important that you keep your research paper very simple and clear. Be sure that you use simple words and short sentences.There are a lot of ways to create a good research paper. Just make sure that you take the time to thoroughly make sure that you have written the best research paper that you can. After all, it is up to you to put your best foot forward in front of your class.

How Causation Is A Relation Between Events Or States Of...

1. (a) In Chisholm’s paper, â€Å"Human freedom and the self,† Chisholm notes that causation is a relation between events or states of affairs. For example, if the roof in my house cave in during a hurricane- this would be something that was caused by several other events such as the roof being too weak, the rain pressure being too much for the roof to hold, excessive rain, etc. With this term, Chisholm created two other narrower terms to specifically describe the different types of causations. The first causation is transeunt which is when one event or state of affairs causes other events or state of affairs. An example of Transeunt causation is if I threw a piece of paper in a recycling bin my event would be recycling but the â€Å"unknown† event cause by this event would be more oxygen in the world for people to breath in because that paper can be reused instead of having to cut more trees down and â€Å"cutting down† our oxygen. The second type of caus ation would be Immanent causation, which is when an agent (or person) causes an event or state of affairs. An example of Immanent causation is me recycling the paper because I’m the â€Å"agent† who recycled the piece of paper, it wasn’t done by another event. During the paper, Chisholm reflects on two objections and takes his defense on both. The first one being simply a fact of (a) He could have done otherwise means no more nor less than and (b) If he could have chosen to do otherwise, he would have done otherwise. The second objective has aShow MoreRelatedThe Media Of The Oil Spill Of 2010 From China, The United States, And Ireland1690 Words   |  7 Pagesvarious perspectives in coverage. Media coverage is essential is our development and understanding of international affairs. Therefore, the biases in coverage can have drastic effects in our interpretation of world’s news. 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Not only was the genocide irrelevant to the argument of Zionism to the rest of the world, but it also couldn’t be pitied, as it was not yet understood. Overall, the Palestine question – and it was just that: a question regarding Palestine, not Israel – was answered based on the state of eventsRead MoreCause and Effect: The Canadian Rebellions of 1837 and 1838.1698 Words   |  7 PagesThe research in this proposal primarily focuses on the rebellions that took place in both upper and Lower Canada during 1838. The time line of this proposal will incl ude events prior to the actual rebellions as they are significant to the understanding of the causes of these uprisings. In 1837 and 1838, insurrections against the British colonial government arose in Lower and Upper Canada. 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Slavery would gradually disappear in the United States. b. The freeing of slaves should be outlawed. c. Slavery would be the foundation of the American economy. d. Freed slaves deserved government reparations for their suffering. 4. Which of the following was a reference to slavery in the ConstitutionRead More The Bush Administrations Relation With Iraq Prior to Iraqs Invasion of Kuwait4315 Words   |  18 Pages The Bush Administrations Relation With Iraq Prior to Iraqs Invasion of Kuwait Prior to the August 2, 1990 invasion of Kuwait on the part of Iraq, the United States had questionable relations with Iraq dictator, Saddam Hussein, to say the least. In retrospect, which is inherently advantageous as a 20/20 perspective, questions remain unanswered as to whether or not the United States was too appeasing to Saddam Hussein in the years, months, and days leading up to that early August morningRead MoreCrime Mapping : Using Gis And Geographic Information Systems Of University Of Nairobi4473 Words   |  18 Pagesto develop a mapping approach for crime prevention and management in Eldoret metropolis. The study will adopt empirical and descriptive studies with the testing of two hypotheses. The target population of the study will comprises of Police Public Relation Officers (PPRO) and the member of the general public with Eldoret metropolis. The main research instruments to be used in the study are structured questionnaire and interview. The researcher will adopt stratified random sampling to achieve desiredRead More Astrology Essay3475 Words   |  14 Pagestheir position in relation to the earth and each other, against a fixed backcloth of the twelve signs of the zodiac. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;There was nothing obscure about these general assumptions. At the beginning of the sixteenth century astrological doctrines were part of the educated man’s picture of the universe and its workings. It was generally accepted that the four elements constituting the sublunary region (earth, air, fire amp; water) were kept in their state of ceaseless transformation

Theme Of Creation And Expulsion Of Cain From The Garden Of...

When looking over Of Mice and Men, we come to realize that this work portrays various questions when it comes to man and his life. The main question that this work asks when the story is told is â€Å"is man destined to live alone, a solitary wanderer on the face of the earth, or is it the fate of man to care for man, to go in his way in companionship with another?† Should we ride solo or join others along the way? That is one of the themes of this work. This theme is like the theme that occurs in the Old Testament immediately following the story of creation and expulsion of Cain from the garden of Eden. (Goldhurst 126) Particularly with this questioning on man’s fate, we are asked whether we should live life alongside others or not. We come to realize that this same exact theme has been portrayed in another work, and in this case, the Bible. The question we see in Of Mice and Men simply reflects upon the way Cain asked the Lord, â€Å"am I my brother’s keeper?† While looking at East of Eden, we come to realize that this is a story in which the story of Cain and Abel (two brothers) is regurgitated in which Steinbeck has the characters of the novel read parts of the Biblical story aloud and enter deep discussions about the story. â€Å"Of Mice and Men is an early Steinbeck variation on this symbol story of the human soul. The implications of the Cain-and-Abel drama are everywhere apparent in the fable of George and Lennie and provide us its mythic vehicle.† (Goldhurst 126) There is aShow MoreRelatedGrendel and Cain and how they relate in Beowulf1536 Words   |  7 PagesGrendel and Cain In the story of Beowulf you get a glimpse of many different themes throughout this epic. Those themes range from good and evil to those of death and glory. The story itself depicts a period in history when life was lead blind through the teachings of the book of the lord and his spoken words. At this same period in history traditional pagan religious practices and beliefs have slowly given way to the ideals and philosophy of Christianity. Many of the themes held within the pagesRead MoreGenesis 1:1-11; the Primeval History2948 Words   |  12 PagesThe Primeval History: Genesis 1-11 and its Theme David Judson Old Testament amp; Its Context RS2003A Dr. Stephen Dempster December 1, 2011 Genesis 1-11, also known as Primeval History is the recorded text of the original creation of the earth, and all that we have.[i] Genesis 1-11 begins with the creation, followed by the fall, the story of Cain and Abel, the story of Noah and his sons, followed by the flood, then the tower of Babel, and ending with the line leading up to Abram/Abraham[ii]Read MoreThemes, Styles, And Techniques Essay2289 Words   |  10 PagesSpencer Kandel English IV Mr. Otton 16 November 2016 Themes, Styles, and Techniques as Expressed in the Works of John Steinbeck INTRO INTRO INTRO INTRO INTRO INTRO INTRO When looking over Of Mice and Men, we come to realize that this work portrays various questions when it comes to man and his life. The main question that this work asks when the story is told is â€Å"is man destined to live alone, a solitary wanderer on the face of the earth, or is it the fate of man to care for man, to go in his wayRead More The covenants between God and man Essay3015 Words   |  13 Pageshumanity. Rather it was given due to the failure of a perfect obedience of the covenanting partner and had entered into that first covenant with Adam at creation. Some have questioned whether it is appropriate to speak of a covenant when Adam was in Eden. Vavosar Powell preferred to call it a command. Thomas Goodwin saw it as the â€Å"Law of Creation.† The actual word covenant is not used in the Genesis narratives. However, the essential parts of a covenant are all there; a clear definition of the parties

Economics Of Organization And Management

Question: ExplainEconomics Of Organization And Management. Answer: 1a. Lincoln electric started awarding bonus since 1934. The board of directors determined the amount to be awarded as bonus to the workers. It was a merit based bonus system. It was done to boost productivity of the workers. It varied between 78% to 128% of wages. But in the past years it dropped to 40% to 50%. The rating was based on a scale of 100. People scoring more than 100 were reviewed by vice president or corporate committee. They used the piece work system. It is decided by the contribution of workers towards the company. 1b. Initially scientists were only appreciated for their new inventions. But after the merger with Smithkline Beecham, a system called Centre of Excellence for Drug Discovery (CEDD) was introduced. It had six categories. Each CEDD would be led by senior vice president. High quality powerful drugs production providing leads through POC by scientist were the yardstick for bonuses. Scientists had to select people who had expertise or other organization which had license. The main aim for awarding bonuses was creating new drugs which were powerful high in quality. 1c. Lincoln electric had a more inspiring bonus scheme for the workers. One who reported theft was awarded $ 1000.GSK on the contrary, only appreciated scientists for their discoveries initially. Their system for bonus is stricter. 2a.) If Abby chooses work, Bill will choose work because 43. Again if Abby chooses shirk, Bill chooses shirk, since, 21. Abbey chooses work shirk since 43. 2b.) Regardless of what Abbey chooses, Billy will choose shirk. This is his dominant strategy. Both will choose shirk. 2c.) The Nash equilibrium is (2, 2) 2d.) The Pareto efficiency is (Shirk, Shirk). No player has higher pay-off. Wal-mart dominates in retailing can be seen from the following perspectives: Mapping the correct geographics- Establishing stores in small cities towns where big retailers did not have their stores. Cost effectiveness-Keeping overhead low. They tracked competitors price. Workforce who is flexible- The Wal-mart employees are called associates. Workers managers are partners. By the method of cross training, employees could work in more than one department. It shared its profits with the employees IT savvy- Mr. Walton nullified the wholesale system introduced JIT (just in time) inventory method.JIT used real time flow of information from the stores to the suppliers location. Bar codes were used. Computers were used to track store inventory. Electronic data interchange was used. Introduced frozen truck concept. Customer satisfaction- They give 5-10% less as compared to competitors. The traffic of customer is more due to low price scheme. Wal-martlaunched their first mail subscription service called Goodies for customers. Wal-mart mainly targets: Wealthy shoppers called price sensitive affluents People paying only low price who cannot afford more are called value price shoppers LIG people but are obsessed with brand are called brand aspirationals Collaboration/partnership with Sellers- Micro merchandizing was used to increase sales. They built extra net for their suppliers. The suppliers have yearly sales target. Global ambition- They were ambitious to achieve the numero uno position in retailing. Social cause- Initially they did not believe in charity but after 2005 they started donating. They donated $20 million cash merchandise for hurricane Katrina. Each year Wal-mart donates $1 billion to people. 4. Melvin Gordon has total income of $2.5 million. Now, let us assume the Px (price) of good x (cash salary) is $100,000 and Py (price) of good y (prerequisites) is $50,000. So, he can spend ($2.5 million/$25) or spend ($2.5 million/$50) for Good x good y respectively. The combination of two goods on the budget constraint is affordable for Melvin. Also any combination of the two goods beneath the budget constraint is also affordable for Melvin. But the combinations that are farther from the origin are unaffordable by Melvin. Thus, Income, M = PXQX+PYQY. Here, PX=price of good x, PY= price of good y, QX=quantity of good x, QY=quantity of good y. The equation of budget constraint is PXQX+PYQY=M (where M= money or income) QX= (M-PYQY)/PX QY= (M-PXQX)/PY From the above figure, AB= budget constraint. Slope of budget constraint is OA/OB (i.e. negative ratio of the prices of the two goods) (M/PY)/ (M/PX) = (M/PY) (PX/M) =PX/PY The price of good x is $ and that of good y is $. With the given budget constraint combination of goods, he can maximize his utility when his budget constraint is tangent to indifference curve (measuring utility). Now, the slope of indifference curve is ratio of marginal utilities (-MUXMUY) =slope of budget constraint (-PX/PY) Utility maximization is (-MUX/MY)= (PX/PY) Or, (MUX/PX) = (MUY/PY) The indifference curve should be tangent to the budget constraint, the slope of the indifference curve which is the ratio of marginal utilities (-MUx / Muy= slope of the budget constraint (- Price x / Price y). The figure below shows that IC is tangent to BL at point E.Thus, E is the equilibrium point where he can get OC of good x and OD of good y. Due to regulatory measures upon ingredients, Independence Burgers should first of all bring about a change in their menu offerings. They should change their ingredients to chicken or mutton. They should target vegetarians by introducing vegetable burgers. Opening outlets in areas where there is no other fast food joints can boost their business. A low price at the initial stage would attract customers. They should advertise with a catchy tagline as beef it up! They should make corrective measures for their package design, price, and offer money back guarantee. They should set up an assembly line so that burgers can be delivered soon. They should introduce home delivery system. They can gradually start restaurant business offering combo packs with free hot/cold beverages. Festive offers discounts should be introduced.

Thesis Questionnaire free essay sample

SAFETY CULTURE QUESTIONNAIRE (Health Care Personnel) I work in the (clinical area or patient care area where you typically spend your time): This is the Department of:| * Encircle the number which corresponds to your answer. | Please answer the following items with respect to your specific unit or clinical area. Choose your responses using the scale below. 5| 4| 3| 2| 1| Agree Strongly| Agree Slightly| Neutral| Disagree Strongly| Disagree Slightly| I. Safety Climate| 1. I would feel safe being treated here as a patient. | 5| 4| 3| 2| 1| | 2. The health personnel implement rules and guidelines (e. g. hand washing, treatment protocols, clean area, etc) sincerely and religiously| 5| 4| 3| 2| 1| | 3. The health personnel take responsibility for patient safety by administering medications and treatments accurately. | 5| 4| 3| 2| 1| | 4. Jewelry such as earrings, necklaces or bracelets is worn while on duty. | 5| 4| 3| 2| 1| | 5. This institution respect for patients’ rights when rendering care such as cultural and religious beliefs, privacy and confidentiality of information. | 5| 4| 3| 2| 1| | 6. This institution ensure that patients’ records are available only to those who are professionally directly involved in their case. We will write a custom essay sample on Thesis Questionnaire or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page | 5| 4| 3| 2| 1| | 7. The health personnel acquire the necessary competence (knowledge, attitudes skills) to effectively render proper services to patients. | 5| 4| 3| 2| 1| | 8. When conflict arises regarding management of patient care, patients’ rights are upheld. | 5| 4| 3| 2| 1| | II. Teamwork| 1. In this clinical area, it is difficult to speak up if I perceive a problem with patient care. | 5| 4| 3| 2| 1| | 2. It is easy for personnel here to ask questions when there is something that they do not understand. | 5| 4| 3| 2| 1| | 3. The physicians and nurses here work together as a well-coordinated team. | 5| 4| 3| 2| 1| | 4. I know the first and last names of all personnel I worked with during my last shift. | 5| 4| 3| 2| 1| | 5. Briefings/Endorsements are common in this clinical area. | 5| 4| 3| 2| 1| | 6. I experience good collaboration with nurses in this clinical area. | 5| 4| 3| 2| 1| | 7. I experience good collaboration with staff physicians in this clinical area. | 5| 4| 3| 2| 1| | 8. I experience good collaboration with pharmacists and laboratory technicians in this clinical area. | 5| 4| 3| 2| 1| | III. Job Satisfaction| 1. I receive appropriate feedback about my performance. | 5| 4| 3| 2| 1| | 2. I like my job. | 5| 4| 3| 2| 1| | 3. Working here is like being a part of a large family. | 5| 4| 3| 2| 1| | 4. This is a good place to work. | 5| 4| 3| 2| 1| | 5. I am proud to work in this clinical area. | 5| 4| 3| 2| 1| | 6. Morale in this clinical area is high. | 5| 4| 3| 2| 1| | IV. Perception of Management| 1. My suggestions about patient’s safety are being acted upon. | 5| 4| 3| 2| 1| | 2. The health personnel support my daily efforts to improve my patient’s condition. | 5| 4| 3| 2| 1| | 3. The health personnel don’t knowingly compromise patient care. | 5| 4| 3| 2| 1| | 4. The health personnel maintain a safe, sanitary healthful environment for the patient. | 5| 4| 3| 2| 1| | 5. The health personnel work with the patient patients’ family so that they gain understanding of his/her illness and cooperate towards promoting early recovery of the patient. | 5| 4| 3| 2| 1| | 6. The health personnel take responsibility for patient’s welfare- physically, mentally spiritually. | 5| 4| 3| 2| 1| | 7. The levels of staffing in this clinical area are sufficient to handle the number of patients. | 5| 4| 3| 2| 1| | V. Stress Recognition | 1. When my workload becomes excessive, my performance is impaired. | 5| 4| 3| 2| 1| | 2. I am less effective at work when fatigued. | 5| 4| 3| 2| 1| | 3. I am more likely to commit errors in tense or hostile situations. | 5| 4| 3| 2| 1| | 4. My performance in the clinical area is affected when I have personal problems. | 5| 4| 3| 2| 1| | 5. Understaffing affects my performance. | 5| 4| 3| 2| 1| | VI. Working Conditions| 1. This institution does a good job of training new personnel. 5| 4| 3| 2| 1| | 2. All the necessary information for diagnostic and therapeutic decisions is routinely available to me. | 5| 4| 3| 2| 1| | 3. Trainees in my discipline are adequately supervised. | 5| 4| 3| 2| 1| | 4. This institution provides continuing learning educations to staffs nurses and other members of the health care team. | 5| 4| 3| 2| 1| | DEMOGRAPHIC DATA| Ag e: Sex: Religion: Civil Status:Address: Date:| Have you completed this survey before? Yes No Don’t knowPosition: (Mark only one)Attending Physician/Staff PhysicianRegistered NurseFellow PhysicianPharmacistResident PhysicianNutritionist/DieticianPhysician Assistant/Nurse PractitionerTechnologist/TechnicianNurse Manager/Charge NurseNursing AttendantMidwifeGender: Male FemaleYears in practice/specialty: less than 6 months 6-11 mos. 1-2 yrs. 3-4 yrs. 5-10 yrs. 11-20 yrs. 21 yrs. or more| | | Thank you for completing the survey-your time and participation are greatly appreciated. |

A Primer on Arc Elasticity

A Primer on Arc Elasticity One of the problems with the standard formulas for elasticity that are in many freshman texts is the elasticity figure you come up with is different depending on what you use as the start point and what you use as the endpoint. An example will help illustrate this. When we looked at Price Elasticity of Demand, we calculated the price elasticity of demand when the price went from $9 to $10 and demand went from 150 to 110 was 2.4005. But what if we calculated what the price elasticity of demand when we started at $10 and went to $9? So wed have: Price(OLD)10Price(NEW)9QDemand(OLD)110QDemand(NEW)150 First wed calculate the percentage change in quantity demanded: [QDemand(NEW) - QDemand(OLD)] / QDemand(OLD) By filling in the values we wrote down, we get: [150 - 110] / 110 (40/110) 0.3636 (Again we leave this in decimal form) Then wed calculate the percentage change in price: [Price(NEW) - Price(OLD)] / Price(OLD) By filling in the values we wrote down, we get: [9 - 10] / 10 (-1/10) -0.1 We then use these figures to calculate the price-elasticity of demand: PEoD (% Change in Quantity Demanded)/(% Change in Price) We can now fill in the two percentages in this equation using the figures we calculated earlier. PEoD (0.3636)/(-0.1) -3.636 When calculating a price elasticity, we drop the negative sign, so our final value is 3.636. Obviously, 3.6 is a lot different from 2.4, so we see that this way of measuring price elasticity is quite sensitive to which of your two points you choose as your new point, and which you choose as your old point. Arc elasticities are a way of removing this problem. When calculating Arc Elasticities, the basic relationships stay the same. So when were calculating Price Elasticity of Demand we still use the basic formula: PEoD (% Change in Quantity Demanded)/(% Change in Price) However, how we calculate the percentage changes differ. Before when we calculated Price Elasticity of Demand, Price Elasticity of Supply,  Income Elasticity of Demand, or Cross-Price Elasticity of Demand wed calculate the percentage change in Quantity Demand the following way: [QDemand(NEW) - QDemand(OLD)] / QDemand(OLD) To calculate an arc-elasticity, we use the following formula: [[QDemand(NEW) - QDemand(OLD)] / [QDemand(OLD) QDemand(NEW)]]*2 This formula takes an average of the old quantity demanded and the new quantity demanded on the denominator. By doing so, we will get the same answer (in absolute terms) by choosing $9 as old and $10 as new, as we would choosing $10 as old and $9 as new. When we use arc elasticities we do not need to worry about which point is the starting point and which point is the ending point. This benefit comes at the cost of a more difficult calculation. If we take the example with: Price(OLD)9Price(NEW)10QDemand(OLD)150QDemand(NEW)110 We will get a percentage change of: [[QDemand(NEW) - QDemand(OLD)] / [QDemand(OLD) QDemand(NEW)]]*2 [[110 - 150] / [150 110]]*2 [[-40]/[260]]*2 -0.1538 * 2 -0.3707 So we get a percentage change of -0.3707 (or -37% in percentage terms). If we swap the old and new values for old and new, the denominator will be the same, but we will get 40 in the numerator instead, giving us an answer of the 0.3707. When we calculate the percentage change in price, we will get the same values except one will be positive and the other negative. When we calculate our final answer, we will see that the elasticities will be the same and have the same sign. To conclude this piece, Ill include the formulas so you can calculate the arc versions of price elasticity of demand, price elasticity of supply, income elasticity, and cross-price demand elasticity. We recommend calculating each of the measures using the step-by-step fashion we detail in the previous articles. New Formulas: Arc Price Elasticity of Demand PEoD (% Change in Quantity Demanded)/(% Change in Price) (% Change in Quantity Demanded) [[QDemand(NEW) - QDemand(OLD)] / [QDemand(OLD) QDemand(NEW)]] *2] (% Change in Price) [[Price(NEW) - Price(OLD)] / [Price(OLD) Price(NEW)]] *2] New Formulas: Arc Price Elasticity of Supply PEoS (% Change in Quantity Supplied)/(% Change in Price) (% Change in Quantity Supplied) [[QSupply(NEW) - QSupply(OLD)] / [QSupply(OLD) QSupply(NEW)]] *2] (% Change in Price) [[Price(NEW) - Price(OLD)] / [Price(OLD) Price(NEW)]] *2] New Formulas: Arc Income Elasticity of Demand PEoD (% Change in Quantity Demanded)/(% Change in Income) (% Change in Quantity Demanded) [[QDemand(NEW) - QDemand(OLD)] / [QDemand(OLD) QDemand(NEW)]] *2] (% Change in Income) [[Income(NEW) - Income(OLD)] / [Income(OLD) Income(NEW)]] *2] New Formulas: Arc Cross-Price Elasticity of Demand of Good X PEoD (% Change in Quantity Demanded of X)/(% Change in Price of Y) (% Change in Quantity Demanded) [[QDemand(NEW) - QDemand(OLD)] / [QDemand(OLD) QDemand(NEW)]] *2] (% Change in Price) [[Price(NEW) - Price(OLD)] / [Price(OLD) Price(NEW)]] *2] Notes and Conclusion So now you can calculate elasticity using a simple formula as well as using the arc formula. In a future article, we will look at using calculus to compute elasticities. If youd like to ask a question about the elasticities, microeconomics, macroeconomics or any other topic or comment on this story, please use the feedback form.

Managerialism in social work Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Managerialism in social work - Essay Example The research suggests that such managers were more oriented to profit, and were more capable of obtaining it, than the traditional owner-managers (J. Harris; 1998, p. 839-8620). This British evidence fits with the range of evidence from the USA and other countries assembled dismiss the thesis of the managerial revolution and establishes that the claim of a separation of ownership and control is well described as a 'pseudo fact'. He points out that 'growth, sales, technical efficiency, a strong competitive position are at once inseparable managerial goals and the determinants of high corporate profits'. These corporate profits are the prerequisites of high managerial income and status. The high status and material rewards which can be achieved by membership of a managerial occupation are dependent on the contribution made to profit achievement or at least to the continued survival of the corporation in a context where too great a deviation from profitable performance would lead to collapse or takeover. The ownership of wealth and the control of work organizations are closely related, on the basis of this kind of evidence. It is the case, however, that owners hip of enterprises is far more dispersed than it was in the past with the growth of an 'impersonal' structure of possession which has not, however, 'resulted in a loss of power by wealthy persons'; both managers and owners play their parts in the same 'constellations of interest' which are dominant. Moreover, similarly and uses the term 'ruling class' to cover the economic, cultural and political 'bloc' created by the alliances arise between capitalist and middle-class managerial class interests. A part in this is inevitably played by interlocking company directorships whereby the 'pattern of meetings' which these involve are 'reinforced by a network of kinship and friendship'. The importance of kin networks is shown by Marceau's (1989) research on European business graduates. She demonstrates how the 'international business elite' which she sees emerging uses kin networks as sources of prestige, information and finance. Power, managerial careers, wealth ownership and prestige are a ll closely interlinked in practice. The British scholar Christopher Pollitt (1990) has given this question considerable thought and has done some valuable work that is especially instructive here. In a searching critique of managerialism and its influence on the British and American public services, he builds an intriguing argument that managerialism "needs to be understood as an ideology, and one with some concrete and immediate consequences" (xi). Pollitt asserts that managerialism consists of a set of beliefs, values, and ideas about the state of the world and how it should be. He identifies five core beliefs of managerialism. 1) "The main route to social progress now lies through the achievement of continuing increases in economically defined productivity." 2) "Such productivity increases will mainly come from the application of ever-more-sophisticated technologies. These

Black Film History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Black Film History - Essay Example The two main directors of the film are Charles Stone and Chuck Wilson. The actors include several various individuals, all which are divided into each segment. The idea of â€Å"Afrocentricity† is to depict the several ways of life that those in the African – American community are associated with. The directors move a step beyond this in showing how the ideas, imagination and the perspectives in this community fall back into problems with stereotypes; however, when looking at the films, there is not a true representation of what this is inclusive of. The strength of this overall film comes from the ideal presented about the diversity of the African – American community. The presentation of seven short films, all which are not related to the other, provides a different level of insight about the African – American community. This breaks down boundaries and stereotypes which are often in the media and gives a fresh look about the ideals of the African Ameri can community. Each of the short films is depicted in an artistic and valuable way to ensure that this message is given. The tension is created in each film, specifically by defining the problems which are associated with society, as well as how individuals have to learn how to overcome this. The weakness of the film comes from the misleading presentations which may distract an individual from buying the film. The title of Afrocentricity is one which isn’t realistic and doesn’t provide the correct depiction of what is presented throughout the film. The concept of diversity is a hidden message that is displayed through each of the films. If one doesn’t understand that this is several short films, one which only lasts for two minutes, then more problems may arise. However, this can work in favor of the film if one is able to understand and overcome stereotypes which may have been associated with the value of each story. Overall rating: 4 Breakdown Breakdown is the first short film that is able to give insight into the African – American community. The director of the film is Jeff Byrd. The actors include the lead, Vanessa Williams. The presentation in this film begins with showing a shooting at a bus station. Vanessa Williams is the only survivor of this incident. When moving through the film, Williams tells about the experience of the shoot down and recalls the trauma which she has gone through by being in this location and seeing what has happened in the specific situation. The strength of this plot is based on the ability for Williams to show the other side of the shootings. The stereotypes which are often depicted in the media are based on the side of African – Americans as having a gangster mentality and not basing their beliefs outside of this. The approach which is taken in this film gains its strength by showing the horror and drama of the shooting as well as the responses which have occurred because of this. The acting that is followed with this is realistic in nature and is able to depict the overall understanding of the complexities which occur in a realistic situation where a shooting occurs, no matter where it happens and who witnesses it. The tension which builds from this realistic viewpoint, as well as the resolution of learning from the trauma becomes the main

Culture and workplace ethics Essay Example for Free

Culture and workplace ethics Essay Culture in the workplace has very little to do with the well known culture of literature, music and art. In the workplace, culture actually refers to the shared work environment, belief systems, behavior expectations and expected efforts, all of which usually characterize a certain organization or business enterprise. The work setting culture mainly includes things like, socialization expectations, dress code, how different groups within the organization perceive issues relating to attendance, problem solving and quality of work output. Finding the appropriate culture to fit an organization is a vital element in ensuring that a particular field or job is successful. Corporate culture has a lot of influence on ethics of an organization. It is through it that right or wrong decisions are made. They determine whether to adopt strategies that will benefit majority of the people in the workplace positively or adopting ones with an impact of affecting most workers in a negative manner (Russell, Para 3). Effect of culture on workplace ethics The organization’s culture is quite important perhaps more than most people appreciate. It holds various categories of people within an organization together and thus it has a lot of impact on what people within the organization perceive to be right or wrong. Even though certain conducts like corruption might be considered to be vice and thus culturally immoral in some organizations, there are other workplaces where the behavior is considered to be appropriate. Culture is usually deep rooted in an organization since although it is manmade; it takes several decades to grow. New employees in each and every work place are first introduced to the operating culture in the workplace and thus it is usually in each and every person working in the workplace. Ethics comes after culture and it therefore has to sing to the tune of culture (Lagan, Moran, pp 46). The depth of culture within an organization is usually realized when someone attempts to alter an organization’s culture in a manner that is not consistent with the shared believes and norms of the organization. Such a person usually meets a lot resistance regardless of whether the intended cultural change is ethical or not. Culture within an organization is usually not stagnant but it is rather dynamical so as to take into account the changing business and workplace environment. Due to the fact that the workplace ethics are tied to culture, they also have to keep on changing so as to be consistent with the workplace culture (Russell, Para 4). Workplace ethics is highly influenced by the leadership of the entire organization. These are the people who are charged with the mandate of running the business and making decisions for the entire organization. The organizational culture determines the type of people to take managerial decisions. Therefore, if the culture of an organization is to be led by men and women of high integrity, then the workplace in such an organization is likely to be ethical. This is due to the fact that when an organization is led by such people, they will always make decisions with each and everyone within and without the organization in their mind. Their decisions will in most cases affect majority of the people in a positive manner. In this case, culture is very important on business ethics since it determines in an indirect manner the type of decisions to be made by the managers leading the organization (Hopkins, pp 78). On the other hand, if the organizational culture of a particular enterprise is one that allows men and women of less integrity to lead it, people who enter these offices via unethical channels where merit is not a priority, then such managers will in most cases be unethical. They will in almost all cases make unethical decisions which are likely to only benefit very few individuals within the organization while exposing the majority, mainly the junior members of staff to unfair treatment. Workplaces operating from such environments are mostly unethical and clearly this is as a result of the organizational culture. Most of the decisions adopted in such organizations are usually only aimed at maximizing the profits of the organization without putting into consideration other parties who are likely to suffer as a result of such decisions. These types of managements are mainly self centered and are only worried about their business organizations with little or no concern at all for other people. They are not worried of whether their actions are ethical or not, as long as business is running and making profits nothing else worry them. This attitude is usually enhanced by the organizational culture which in turn affects the workplace ethics significantly (Russell, Para 7). The corporate culture of an enterprise determines the criteria of promotion. If the culture of an organization enhances promotion based on merit, then the workplace will be more ethical as compared to instances where promotion is not based on merit. Since employees seek for promotion every now and then, they have to look for the criterion that is used for promotion so that they can be well equipped to qualify for promotion. Such a culture of promotion will take decades to develop and will thus be very much deep rooted to eliminate within the workplace (Lagan, Moran, pp 69). The culture of an organization determines the values that are to be held in high regard within the organization. If a culture holds unethical behaviors in high esteem, then such conducts will be dominant in the organization. Rewards will be awarded to those people who excel in such conducts. In this case, the organizational culture is mainly concerned with appreciating the efforts of its employees who have excelled in certain field regardless of whether their actions were ethical or not. Such a culture therefore, promotes unethical behaviors among its employees (Brooks, Dunn, pp 120). In other organizations, the culture is very clear and is tailored towards promoting ethical behaviors among its employees. In fact, the employees who excel in ethical conducts in various fields in the course of their work are identified in a fair manner and rewarded so as to encourage them to continue in the same spirit and be even more ethical in future. The other employees are also challenged to act ethically and at the same time they are made to desire to act ethically so as to be rewarded like their counterparts who were more ethical than then in a certain period. This form of culture thus acts as a tool for enhancing ethical behaviors within an organization to develop (Bassman, pp 55s). Culture within an organization determines how the organization as whole perceives the outsiders, more so its competitors. There are cultures which are tailored towards viewing the competitors as enemies and thus it promotes actions which will deal with such enterprises as enemies. Such a culture will promote unethical behaviors to its competitors and enmity arises between the two organizations. Culture is responsible for various unethical actions that might be penetrated to the other organization since it has made everyone within the workplace of the organization to develop a negative attitude towards its competitors (Russell, Para 9). At the same time, culture can act as a catalyst for enhancing ethical behaviors among the various employees of the organization especially in their actions towards the competitors. Culture will in this case promote good relations among the two organizations and it will make the employees to perceive the other organization as a competitor and not an enemy. This form of culture will promote actions that will enhance positive competition between the two sides and thus ethical behaviors will be enhanced greatly (Lagan, Moran, pp 89). While there are employment regulations and laws governing the manner in which employees are to be treated, the ethics of an organization are more tailored by the organizational culture and not such laws and regulations. The ethics therefore goes beyond the regulations and the laws connecting the business practices of an organization to the workers’ personal beliefs. Culture in this case plays a leading role in ensuring that the actions adopted by the organization are in line with it. In this case, the organizational culture ensures that various employees in the workplace within the enterprise work together for a common objective as well as having the intention of doing the right thing in a world that is quite diverse and complex (Bassman, pp 126). The culture in operation within an enterprise determines how an organization treats its outsiders and whether or not it does anything that is likely to affect them negatively. For culture to be able to promote ethical actions among its employees towards the outsiders, then it must be one that encourages decisions that will affect these people in a positive manner. Among the current issues that has brought a lot of criticism in the entire world is that of pollution. An organization is considered to be ethical if it emits fewer pollutants to the environment. This means that it is concerned about the environment and the consequences of disposing untreated chemicals to the environment. On the other hand, there are organizations that are completely unethical. They pollute the environment without really caring how many people will be affected by the same. This affects the workplace environment indirectly since the employees will face hostility from members of public and will in several occasions be referred to as unethical people who do not care about tomorrow. This might make the organization to loose several employees to other companies which are more ethical as employees will like to be associated with organizations with good reputation (Brooks, Dunn, pp 258). Conclusion Culture is a very important element in every organization. It is responsible in shaping the ethical behavior of the employees and also the workplace ethics. This is due to the fact that ethics within an organization is driven by the culture that is in operation within an organization. Culture is therefore a very important force in driving ethical practices of an enterprise. This is mainly because the organizational culture takes time to grow and mature and that it is taught to all new employees which make it to be deeply rooted within all employees. Culture has the ability of making an organization to act either ethically or unethically. Work cited: Bassman, Emily S. ; Abuse in the workplace: management remedies and bottom line impact; ISBN 089930673X, Quorum, 1992. Brooks, Leonard J. Dunn, Paul; Business Professional Ethics for Directors, Executives Accountants; ISBN 0324594550, Cengage Learning, 2009. Hopkins, Willie Edward. Ethical dimensions of diversity; ISBN 080397289X, SAGE, 1997. Lagan, Attracta Moran, Brian; Three Dimensional Ethics: Implementing Workplace Values; ISBN 097574223X, eContent Management, 2005. Russell, Mike; Workplace Ethics Business for Social Responsibility: Initiatives for corporate culture’s committed to ethical business practices, concern for the environment and global humanitarian causes (2008): Retrieved on 5th August 2009 from http://sandiego. jobing. com/blog_post. asp? post=8929.

Introduction to Financial Mathematics :: essays research papers

Introduction to Financial Mathematics Table of Contents 1. Finite Probability Spaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 2. Elements of Continuous Probability Theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 3. Differential Equations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Lecture Notes — MAP 5601 map5601LecNotes.tex i 8/27/2003 1. Finite Probability Spaces The toss of a coin or the roll of a die results in a finite number of possible outcomes. We represent these outcomes by a set of outcomes called a sample space. For a coin we might denote this sample space by {H, T} and for the die {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6}. More generally any convenient symbols may be used to represent outcomes. Along with the sample space we also specify a probability function, or measure, of the likelihood of each outcome. If the coin is a fair coin, then heads and tails are equally likely. If we denote the probability measure by P, then we write P(H) = P(T) = 1 2 . Similarly, if each face of the die is equally likely we may write P(1) = P(2) = P(3) = P(4) = P(5) = P(6) = 1 6 . Defninition 1.1. A finite probability space is a pair ( , P) where is the sample space set and P is a probability measure: If = {!1, !2, . . . , !n}, then (i) 0 < P(!i)  1 for all i = 1, . . . , n (ii) n Pi=1 P(!i) = 1. In general, given a set of A, we denote the power set of A by P(A). By definition this is the set of all subsets of A. For example, if A = {1, 2}, then P(A) = {;, {1}, {2}, {1, 2}}.

Language Of Race Essay

(Review of Lawrence Blum, â€Å"I’m Not a Racist, But†¦Ã¢â‚¬ : The Moral Quandary of Race (Ithaca; Cornell University Press, 2002). Theory and Research in Education 1(3), pp. 267-281. ) Lawrence Blum’s book, â€Å"I’m Not a Racist, But†¦Ã¢â‚¬ : The Moral Quandary of Race, is excellent and thought-provoking. It is a model of moral philosophy done well, and, as importantly, done with a purpose. At no point does one wonder, as one does with all too much moral philosophy these days, â€Å"Why does this matter? † Blum makes it clear from the start why we should care about the language and concepts of race and racism, and he does a brilliant job of integrating careful philosophical analysis with contemporary examples, historical explication, and creative thought experiments. Blum’s purpose is basically two-fold: first, to fight against racism and racial injustice by proving that the notion of â€Å"race† is both descriptively false and morally inimical and replacing it with the more accurate and useful notion of â€Å"racialized group†; and second, to enable and promote productive dialogue about racism and racial inequality, especially between members of different racialized groups. He is explicit only about the second of these aims — as he comments in the preface and reiterates in similar terms throughout the book, â€Å"If we agree that racism is so important, don’t we need to know what it is? How can we talk intelligently, especially across racial lines, unless we do? † (p. viii) — but the first aim clearly determines the structure and content especially of the second half of the book. In both cases, Blum suggests that language is a key: we can both move forward in the fight against racial injustice and promote cross-racial dialogue about racism and other racial ills, he suggests, if we analyze and clarify what we mean by certain words that are often used too loosely (such as â€Å"racist† and â€Å"racial 2 discrimination†); recapture other terms that have inappropriately been divested of moral weight (such as â€Å"racial insensitivity† and â€Å"prejudice†); and abandon the language of â€Å"race† altogether because its history of use has made it inherently misleading. This is the primary thrust of the book. In this essay, I will question Blum’s emphasis on language and naming. I will suggest that disagreements about the racial language we use, such as about â€Å"what racism is,† are integral elements of the debate about race and racial injustice, rather than something that can and should be resolved ahead of time. Although Blum characterizes his analysis of racial language as being merely clarificatory, therefore, and designed to advance cross-racial dialogue from the outside, as it were, I will argue that instead he is doing something far different. At best, he is staking a partisan position within the debate itself; at worst, he is cutting it off from the start by building the answers to most of the important questions about racism and racial discrimination into his definitions. In addition to these methodological concerns, I also will query the practical results of implementing the linguistic shifts Blum proposes. I will argue, first, that implementation of â€Å"racialized group†-talk will be harder than Blum suggests (even among people who fully accept his arguments and are willing and even eager to abandon â€Å"race† in favor of â€Å"racialized group†), and second, that it is unlikely to have the social psychological effects Blum predicts. In both of these cases, I will consider teachers’ practices in implementing anti-racist curricula as an important test case, since teachers (along with parents and the media) play a crucial role in shaping the racial language and attitudes of the next generation. i Before I tackle these issues, however, a brief summary of (and a couple of quibbles with) â€Å"I’m Not a Racist, But†¦Ã¢â‚¬  are in order. 3 Blum establishes the moral and conceptual grounding for his project in his first and longest chapter, â€Å"‘Racism’: Its Core Meaning. † In this chapter, Blum provides a deft historical, moral, and conceptual analysis of â€Å"racist† and â€Å"racism. † He is concerned to construct a definition that preserves the strong moral opprobrium that attaches to â€Å"racism† while avoiding the â€Å"conceptual inflation,† â€Å"moral overload,† and â€Å"categorical drift† that have come to characterize the terms â€Å"racism† and â€Å"racist† — i. e. , the indiscriminate application of these terms to a wide variety of categories (such as motives, beliefs, acts, and people) encompassing any and all â€Å"racial ills† from bigotry to prejudice to racial discomfort, as well as even to non-racial ills such as discrimination based on age, religion, nationality, or physical appearance. By contrast, Blum limits the application of â€Å"racism† to things stemming specifically from antipathy and/or an inferiorizing attitude toward a racial group. He shows why antipathy and inferiorizing are both sufficient and necessary to his definition — for example, one may feel benevolent toward blacks in part because one feels superior to them, but feel antipathetic toward Asians because one assumes they are smarter than oneself; both attitudes would be properly classified as racist, and he argues persuasively that all other examples of racism could fit into one or both of these broad categories. Hence, Blum shows, although racism can be attributed to motives, acts, people, symbols, beliefs, images, epithets, remarks, attitudes, individuals, societies, and institutions (all categories that Blum discusses in detail), each attribution must be independently justified; one cannot just assume that a person who displays a racist symbol, for example, is a racist herself, or even that she necessarily has racist motives. In this respect, Blum is sensitive to the mitigating (although still morally suspect) issues of individual ignorance, unreflective adoption of social norms and behaviors, and unconscious attitudes, any of which may cause an individual to appear but not to be racist, or alternatively to be racist in fact, but to have adopted these racist attitudes 4 subconsciously or even unconsciously. ii Finally, in this chapter Blum gives significant attention not just to racism’s definition but also to its particular moral character. He argues that racism is morally evil not just because it violates â€Å"general moral norms† such as equality, respect, and good will, but also because of its â€Å"integral tie† to historical â€Å"race-based systems of oppression† that were clearly evil. â€Å"‘ Racism’ draws its moral valence from this historical context in two ways. First, the mere fact that these historical systems were based on race provides some of that opprobrium, even if current instances of racism no longer take place in the direct context of, for example, segregation, apartheid, or slavery. . . . [S]econd . . . we continue to live with the legacy of those systems† (Blum 2002: 27-8). In chapter 2, Blum asks â€Å"Can Blacks Be Racist? † and answers in the affirmative. No matter what preconditions one places on racism (e. g. that it must be ideologically embedded, or combined with social power), Blum argues, there will be (and are) some black people (as well as members of other minority groups) who meet these criteria and hence must be judged to be racist. Insofar as the denial that blacks can be racist is motivated by a desire to highlight the inherent inequalities among different racist acts and beliefs, however, Blum would agree — and argues that — there are important â€Å"moral asymmetries† in racism. Because of such acts’ â€Å"historical resonance† (p. 44), â€Å"greater power to shame† due to minorities’ positional inferiority (p.46), reflection of on-going patterns and prevalence of racism (p. 48), and contribution to maintaining â€Å"systematic racial injustice† (p. 49), â€Å"Everything else being equal, greater moral opprobrium rightly attaches to racism by whites against people of color than the reverse. This is the most important moral asymmetry in racism† (pp. 43-4). Chapter 3 catalogues â€Å"Varieties of Racial Ills,† which are acts or attitudes that deserve some (often substantial) degree of moral condemnation but do not rise to the level of â€Å"racism† as 5 such. These include racial insensitivity, racial ignorance, racial discomfort, white privilege,exclusionary same-race socializing, and racialism (a term used here to mean â€Å"conferring too much, or inappropriate, importance on people’s racial identity† (p. 59), but which Blum confusingly reuses with a different meaning in chapters 5-9). Chapter 4 then moves into an extremely careful and thoughtful discussion of â€Å"Racial Discrimination and Color Blindness. † He deduces four reasons that discrimination may be wrong: â€Å"(1) it unfairly excludes a qualified individual on the basis of a characteristic irrelevant to the task for which selection is being made; (2) it is done out of prejudice; (3) the prejudice is pervasive and (for that or other reasons) stigmatizing; (4) the discrimination helps to sustain the group whose members are discriminated against in a subordinate position† (p. 89). Hence, he argues, the term â€Å"racial discrimination,† which automatically carries with it the implication of moral condemnation, should be confined â€Å"to forms of discrimination involving race that either stem from race-based prejudiced [sic] or that disadvantage an inferiorized or stigmatized group† (p. 95). In contrast, he argues, forms of racial differentiation that avoid the four pitfalls listed above may be tolerated or even embraced: for example, racial egalitarianism, which does rely to some extent on racial differentiation but not on discrimination as defined above, is preferable to color blindness. Chapters 5-7 form an undesignated second section of â€Å"I’m Not a Racist, But†¦Ã¢â‚¬ , focusing specifically on the concept, history, and science of â€Å"race† in order to debunk it. Blum analyzes the empirical outcomes of thinking in racial terms in chapter 5, â€Å"‘Race’: What We Mean and What We Think We Mean. † He identifies four moral dangers of racial thinking: (1) â€Å"a moral distance among those of different races — an intensified consciousness of a ‘we’ of one race counterposed to a ‘they’ of another† (p. 102); (2) the â€Å"imposition of false commonality on all those classified as members of the same race† (p. 103); (3) the suggestion of â€Å"an inescapable 6 ‘racial fate’† (p. 104); and (4) â€Å"associations of superiority and inferiority of value† (p. 104). These lead into chapter 6’s fascinating discussion of â€Å"‘Race’: A Brief History, with Moral Implications,† in which Blum shows the historical contingency and relatively recent vintage of racial thinking, at least in the West. (Although Blum’s language about race’s recent arrival on the scene is fairly global, his examples are almost entirely confined to ancient Greece and Rome, Europe, and North America; this leaves the reader a bit confused about the intended scope of his historical analysis and claims. ) Finally, chapter 7 boldly asks, â€Å"Do Races Exist? † and marshals a fair amount of scientific evidence (in conjunction with the historical evidence from chapter 6) to answer a resounding â€Å"no. † This outright rejection of race sets up the challenge he confronts in the final two chapters (and unstated third section) of the book: how simultaneously to rid ourselves of the inimical concept of â€Å"race† while still promoting the causes of racial justice and equality — causes which, as Blum showed in chapter 4, require for their achievement that we name and pay attention (as opposed to blind ourselves) to differences among racial groups. iii In chapter 8, â€Å"Racialized Groups and Social Constructions,† therefore, Blum proposes to replace the concept of â€Å"races† with â€Å"racialized groups,† arguing, â€Å"The term ‘racialized groups’ is preferable as a way of acknowledging that some groups have been created by being treated as if they were races, while also acknowledging that ‘race’ in its popular meaning is entirely false† (p. 160). Blum further justifies use of the term â€Å"racialized groups† in chapter 9, â€Å"Should We Try to Give Up Race? † He argues that racial justice and even a positive sense of racial identity can be promoted by â€Å"racialization†: â€Å"its recognition supplies a more accurate understanding of the character of the racialized social order, encourages a stronger recognition of commonalities of experience and of political and moral commitments across ‘racial’ lines, and, arguably, would in the long run be 7 more politically effective in mitigating racism and racial injustice than would a belief in the reality of race† (p. 170). But Blum recognizes that merely transforming our language is not enough; this act will not itself transform the unjust social structures that inform and shape our language: â€Å"In the real world, ridding ourselves of the myth of race can not be severed from the politically more challenging task of changing the structural relationships among racial groups† (p. 178). Hence, he concludes by implicitly urging a two-pronged approach to promoting racial justice and equality: altering our language, on the one hand, and engaging in direct social action (especially integrationism), on the other. Critique I find most of Blum’s arguments compelling taken on an individual basis. â€Å"I’m Not a Racist, But†¦Ã¢â‚¬  convinces me that the term â€Å"racism† should be reserved for race-related, morally egregious beliefs/motives/acts/etc. , that there’s a wide range of racial ills, that pursuit of racial equality does not amount to racial discrimination, that â€Å"race† is a morally inimical concept, and that â€Å"racialized group† better captures the historical genesis and conceptual construction we call â€Å"race. † I am not convinced, however, that these arguments taken together satisfy the central articulated aim of the book: namely, to promote cross-racial dialogue about race. This is not, as I’ve said, because I question his reasoning or his conclusions; rather, I question whether his method, of using substantive moral philosophy, is consonant with this aim. First, some reminders about Blum’s stated aim. As I noted at the beginning of this essay, Blum asks in the preface of â€Å"I’m Not a Racist, But†¦Ã¢â‚¬ , â€Å"If we agree that racism is so important, don’t we need to know what it is? How can we talk intelligently, especially across racial lines, unless we do? . . . . We need to clarify what racism is, to find a basis in history and current use 8 for fixing a definition† (p. viii). He reiterates this concern at the beginning of chapter 2: â€Å"My goal of an adequate account of racism is entirely antithetical to race-based attachment to definitions of ‘racism. ’ I am seeking an account that will facilitate communication between groups about the character, forms and extent of racism (and other race-related ills). For that we need some agreement on what racism is, and from there we can attempt to settle differences about its extent† (p. 35). Blum’s aim is clearly to establish a baseline for discussion — to foster productive communication by providing moral and conceptual clarification and then to get out of the way in order to allow the now â€Å"intelligent† and â€Å"facilitated† debate to proceed on its own. This is an admirable goal, but I don’t think that â€Å"I’m Not a Racist, But†¦Ã¢â‚¬  achieves it — nor do I think that it could achieve it in its current form. This is so for a few reasons. First, it is misleading to suggest that moral philosophy is necessary to fix a definition of â€Å"racism. † So long as there’s an agreement, or at least mutual comprehension among the interlocutors, as to what each person means in using various terms, then that is sufficient to promote dialogue. For example, if all people accepted that only whites could be racist, then â€Å"cross-racial dialogue† could proceed on that basis; there’s no reason that Blum’s definition of racism (which asserts that all people can be racist) is necessary to promote dialogue. Of course, one of Blum’s implicit points is that there isn’t agreement about what racism is, and that such agreement, or even mutual clarification and comprehension, is very unlikely to arise on its own. Rather than revealing a troubling weakness or gap in the discussion, however, this reveal instead the essential nature of the debate about race and racism: namely, that debating the meaning of these terms is part and parcel of debating the things themselves. In other words, fixing a definition is not a neutral act. It is a partisan act. This is because much of the dispute about racism is bound up in how one defines the problem. If individuals unintentionally benefit 9 from the legacy of racism (e. g.via â€Å"white privilege†), are they morally responsible in some way? Is it racially discriminatory for an association serving mostly Latino youth to try to hire mostly Latino staff? Is it racist for a small business owner to hire people she â€Å"feels comfortable† with, if it turns out she tends to feel comfortable only with people from her own racialized group, since that’s among whom she grew up? These questions lie at the heart of the â€Å"conversation about race†; they cannot and should not be settled ahead of time. Thus, Blum’s second methodological mistake is to think that setting a neutral baseline for discussion is even possible. Blum’s approach is inevitably partisan — simply in trying to clarify meanings, he takes stances on a number of controversial issues — and hence he is within rather than above the fray. This is perfectly appropriate — taking and defending particular stances about how we ought to live our lives is what moral philosophy is, or at least should be, about — but it is not what Blum professes to be doing. Furthermore, Blum’s approach is at least partly opposed to his stated aim of promoting cross-racial dialogue about race and racism, insofar as to the extent that readers accept Blum’s positions as given, their avenues for debate about race and racism will be cut off rather than expanded. I hope (and expect) instead that readers will be drawn to engage with and debate the arguments themselves, as any good work of social and moral philosophy should inspire people to do; they do not, however, provide a neutral starting point for others’ conversations. iv My concerns about the match between Blum’s stated objective and the content of his book are irrelevant to my assessment of his arguments or his conclusions, most of which I think are generally on target. I do wonder, however, about the concrete, â€Å"on the ground† implications of his conclusions, especially but not solely for those responsible for educating the next generation. I will address two especially pressing questions: (1) How would one use the 10 language of â€Å"racialized groups† in a way that was clearly distinct from using the language of race, especially in institutional contexts? (2) Is there convincing psychological evidence to support Blum’s claims about the results of redescribing social and identity groups? For example, is there convincing evidence that thinking of oneself as being a member of a socially constructed racialized group has more positive psychological effects than thinking of oneself as a member of a biologically-determined race? These questions raise issues that are significant for assessing the practical import of Blum’s arguments in general; they are also crucial for determining how his conclusions would alter anti-racist curricula and pedagogy in the classroom, which presumably will be central to the realization of Blum’s moral philosophy. First, Blum’s claim that we can combat racism (at least to some extent) by altering our language about race has moral purchase only if there is some way to â€Å"operationalize† — and especially to institutionalize — this linguistic adjustment. Blum seems to acknowledge this, and to be optimistic about its potential: â€Å"Appreciating the difference between race and racialization, and at the same time attempting to do justice to the unreality of race and the reality of racism, may point us toward new ways of thinking and new forms of institutional practice† (p. 166). He gives one (and only one) example of how one might adopt â€Å"new forms of institutional practice† in relation to the Census, which is a key tool for tracking racial patterns and disparities in society — but also hence for seeming to legitimate racial categorization. In response to this dilemma, Blum suggests, â€Å"Were the federal government to encourage a broad understanding that the purposes for which the Census is now explicitly used do not require a commitment to the existence of races in any form, but only to racialized groups, the legitimate discrimination- monitoring function of Census racial categories could be severed from any implication of racialism† (p. 167). But then frustratingly, Blum gives no specifics about how the Census could 11 do this. Would Blum hope for a statement of disavowal of race? If so, where? Just in the preamble (which already includes a â€Å"baby step† in that direction (see p. 227, fn. 11)), which nobody reads? Or in the census itself, which seems impractical since it is intentionally kept as short as possible in order to maximize response rates? Instead of a statement of disavowal, the Census could replace â€Å"What is this person’s race? † (the question currently asked) with â€Å"What is this person’s racialized group? †, and then use quotation marks (or â€Å"scare quotes†) around terms such as â€Å"black,† â€Å"Spanish/Latino/Hispanic† (which is currently kept separate from the â€Å"race† question), and â€Å"white† to reinforce their constructed status. This is also unsatisfactory, however, for two reasons. First, â€Å"racialized group† will likely be either greeted with confusion or treated as a synonym of â€Å"race,† especially in the absence of an explanation of the term; in the latter case, it is likely to end up acquiring the separatist, hierarchical, and essentialist connotations or â€Å"race† (just like â€Å"disabled† and even â€Å"differently abled† acquired those of the maligned term â€Å"handicapped† they were designed to replace). Second, many of the choices given are not (yet) â€Å"racialized groups,† at least not in the United States, but are nationalities: Samoan, Filipino, Native Hawaiian, Asian Indian, Japanese. Should these terms all be in scare quotes? I would think not — but then how would one deal with the presence of scare quotes some places and their absence others? One could add â€Å"nationality and/or ethnicity† to the â€Å"racialized group† question, and then surround everything with quotation marks — but this then gets cumbersome, to say the least, and is likely to raise other dilemmas. As the Census example shows, institutionalizing â€Å"racialized group† language is hard in print, particularly when it comes to naming and labeling the racialized groups themselves (â€Å"black,† â€Å"white,† â€Å"Vietnamese,† â€Å"Native American†). It is substantially harder in conversation, 12 such as in the oral give-and-take of a classroom. Consider Ellen, a teacher of ten and eleven year-olds, who is eager to incorporate anti-racist education into her teaching. Ellen reads â€Å"I’m Not a Racist, But†¦Ã¢â‚¬  over the winter holiday and then sits down to revise her January lesson plans, which include a unit on non-violent protest designed both to fit into the school’s conflict resolution initiative and to lead up to the celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr. ’s birthday. As she reads over her plans, she quickly inserts a mini-lesson on â€Å"racialized group† at the beginning of the unit and converts â€Å"race† to â€Å"racialized group† throughout the unit. She adds in a two-day lesson called â€Å"What is Racism? †, and develops an interactive group activity for near the end of the unit designed to help students decide when it’s okay to refer to or take someone’s racialized group membership into account and when it’s not. Reviewing her social studies lessons on Ghandi, Martin Luther King, Jr. , and the March on Washington, D. C. , she is pleased. She also thinks her English lesson on an excerpt of King’s Letter from Birmingham Jail will prove challenging but inspiring to her students. But then Ellen suddenly gets worried. Throughout her lessons are references to blacks, whites, Indians, British, Hindus, Christians, Jews. Which of these are racialized groups and which are not? How can she help her students figure out the difference? How can she talk about â€Å"blacks† and â€Å"whites† to her class without her students falling back into racial thinking? She can hand-signal scare quotes each time, but will that just turn into a joke among the students? And which groups would she use the hand signals for? All of these concerns are predicated on the conclusion that language matters — that it influences how we think, reason, behave, and interact with one another. This brings us to my second question about implications of Blum’s conclusions: is there social psychological evidence in favor of them? Throughout the book, Blum clearly operates on the assumption that if people recognize the socially constructed, rather than biologically inherent, nature of racialized groups, 13 then they will better be able to fight against the â€Å"hierarchical† and â€Å"inegalitarian† (p. 107) assumptions inherent in racial thinking. This is partly because racial identity then becomes in some way a matter of choice. â€Å"Whether a group is racialized is a matter of its treatment by the larger society. Whether the group takes on a self-identity as a race is a different matter† (p. 148). In recognizing their racialized treatment, rather than believing themselves defined by an immutable racial identity, individuals who are members of racialized groups can decide how to respond. Will they embrace their racialized identity, as those do who proudly join the Asian- American club, volunteer with La Raza, or wear t-shirts proclaiming â€Å"It’s a BLACK thing — you wouldn’t understand† or â€Å"Hot Latina Mama†? Will they reject it, declaring â€Å"that’s not who I am† and/or trying to assimilate? Or will they try to subvert it in some way, say by reclaiming the term â€Å"nigger† (or â€Å"queer† in the [non-racial] case of gays) and defiantly using it as a term of affection for others inside the group? By choosing the extent and nature of their racial identities, Blum seems implicitly to be arguing, individuals and groups are empowered; whether they choose to appropriate, reject, or subvert the characterizations thrust upon them by racializing others, the very act of choosing liberates them from the racialist (and racist) assumptions of innate difference, inferiority, and/or stigma. Two substantial bodies of work in social psychology, however, cast serious doubt on this claim. The first is system justification theory — the theory that â€Å"psychological processes contribut[e] to the preservation of existing social arrangements even at the expense of personal and group interest† (Jost and Banaji 1994: 1). The second is the notion of â€Å"stereotype threat† — the idea that in certain situations (those posing â€Å"stereotype threat†), members of stigmatized groups worry about confirming a negative stereotype about their group through their performance on a task, and then, precisely because of this anxiety, end up performing worse on 14 the task than they otherwise would (and than others do) — thus paradoxically performing true to negative stereotype (see Steele and Aronson 1995; Steele 1997). I will address each in turn. According to system justification theory, people implicitly support the status quo, including hierarchy differences between low- and high-status groups, even when they are members of low-status groups, and even when they reject the distinctions on a conscious level. Thus, in studies done under both â€Å"authentic† and experimental conditions, women ask for lower wages than men do for the same work (or they work 25 percent longer than men if offered the same wage (Cite forthcoming)); individuals rate even initially unwanted outcomes (such as tuition increases, or a member of the opposing political party winning an election) more desirable the more likely they are to occur (Kay et al.2002); And they rationalize the legitimacy of existing inequalities (e. g. , if told that graduates of University B earn more on average than University A graduates, University A students will rate University B students as being smarter and better writers than they; if told the opposite, however, then University A students will express the opposite prejudice and rate themselves higher (cite forthcoming)). Even individuals who explicitly articulate egalitarian beliefs tend to demonstrate moderate to strong implicit attitudinal biases toward higher-status groups (whites, young people, men); this is true regardless of the individual’s own group membership(s) (Greenwald and Banaji 1995; Banaji 2001). In other words, individuals internalize prejudice, discrimination, racism, and/or oppression (Jost and Banaji 1994; Jost et al. 2002; Kay et al. 2002). â€Å"[M]embers of disadvantaged groups internalize negative stereotypes and evaluations of their own group, to at least some degree† (Jost et. al. 2002: 598). Thus, even if people know that they are members of a group that is treated (merely) as if â€Å"there were inherent and immutable differences between them; as if certain somatic characteristics marked the presence of significant characteristics of mind, emotion, and 15 character; and as if some were of greater worth than others† (Blum 2002: 147), they are still likely to believe, subconsciously at least, that these are accurate assessments of their group membership. It takes a great deal of inner strength to stand up to stigma, discrimination, and prejudice. Even those who consciously reject racialist presumptions may respond differently subconsciously. This may be because of internalized oppression, as discussed above. But it may also be a result of rational adjustments in motivation or expectations. Knowing that one â€Å"is discriminated against, stigmatized, or inherits a history of racial† disadvantage (p. 177) may very well (and rationally) lead one to adopt a presumption of disadvantage — a belief that one’s effort will not be rewarded because of on-going discrimination and racism, and hence a reduction in effort, motivation, and/or aspirations. There is clear evidence of both effort reduction (Stone 2002) and aspiration reduction even among people who consciously reject stereotypes, such as women who profess a liking for mathematics (Nosek et al. 2002). This lowering of expectations is clearly compounded if individuals accept, whether implicitly or explicitly, the idea that they really are inferior in some way (as system justification theory suggests). Furthermore, as Claude Steele’s acclaimed work on â€Å"stereotype threat† shows, there are significant psychological and performative costs even simply in knowing that one is a member of a group that is perceived in a negative light. For example, research over the past few years has consistently shown that black students do worse on verbal tests if told the test is a measure of ability than they do if they are told the test is non-diagnostic (Steele 1997); the same is true for women’s performance on math tests (Keller 2002). Similarly, white students do worse than controls on tests of athletic skills if told that the their performance will indicate their â€Å"natural athletic ability,† but black students do worse if told their performance indicates their â€Å"sports 16 intelligence† (Stone, et. al. 1999). This response to â€Å"stereotype threat† is evident even among very young children (ages six to ten): children above seven years old demonstrate high levels of stereotype consciousness (awareness of others’ stereotypes about various groups), and children who are members of stigmatized groups perform worse when they think they are being measured along stereotypic lines than they do on the exact same test when their stereotype awareness (and hence sense of stereotype threat) is not activated (McKown 2002). These results pose a serious challenge, I believe, to Blum’s claims about the practical import of his moral philosophy. Although it is true that this research has all been done under conditions of â€Å"race† rather than â€Å"racialized groups† being salient (insofar as â€Å"racialized groups† has not become a popular or widespread term), it strikes me as being highly unl.