Saturday, October 5, 2019
Human Resource Management (report writing) Assignment
Human Resource Management (report writing) - Assignment Example It has been in operation for about eight years now and has dominated the sector since its formation until presently new and more competitive companies are coming on the scene. The main business they do is to take over the transport section of large companies on the contract basis. Their main duty is to ensure employees of these companies are transported to and from their workplaces everyday. They have a large number of buses they use in performing this task. When it comes to recruitment of workers the first step the company take is to first advertise the vacancy (ies) on the media and give a period of time for interested applicants to apply for whatever position they want to occupy. Qualified applicants are then invited for interviewing. The result of the interview determines whether or not the applicant has a better chance of been employed. After the interview the officials, Officials in charge sit down and analyze each individual and potentials so as to be able to select the best among them to occupy whatever vacancy they apply for. The basis they use in determining whether or not someone is qualified for the job, depends on the position the person applied for. In a transport company such as this, the main group of employees would be the drivers responsible for driving the vehicles, engineers responsible for the maintenance of the vehicles and the administrators including managers. In recruiting drivers for instance, some of the things they look out for include, genuine driving licenses, certificate of completion of a driving school, Non-taker of any sort of alcoholic substances. There are other qualities also that the drivers are supposed to have which runs through the other two groups, that is the engineers and the administrators. These qualities include hard working, time consciousness and dedicative amongst others. The people in charge of the interview are able to identify whether or not the applicants have these qualities elaborated above through how the applicants addresses questions thrown to them. Those applying to work in the engineering department are also expected to have at least a higher national diploma in engineering or higher depending on the position the applicant is applying for. They are also to have a minimum working experience of two to three years in their field. How applicants to this criterion are also expected to posses the above-mentioned general qualities. Applicants for positions in the administrative section are also expected to posses certain potentials in addition to the general ones every worker is expected to have. These potentials also vary depending on the section of administrative work the applicant want to serve in. It could be finance, Human resource management amongst others. But one has to have at least a higher national diploma in whatever section of admini stration the applicant wants to serve. For the applicants in the engineering and administrative sections, the interviewing stage serves as the selection stage also, where qualified are fully employed afterwards. In the case of the drivers the process is quite different. They are recruited
Friday, October 4, 2019
Italian Baroque Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words
Italian Baroque - Assignment Example He introduced tension and high drama through the technique of chiaroscuro that brought into sharp focus (almost like a spotlight that is used highlight action or an actor on stage) the main protagonists of the event and chose to immortalize the most poignant moment of the episode ââ¬â the actual act of murder ââ¬â by capturing the scene when the killer is about to thrust the blade in the torso of the fallen saint. The saint, it appears, recoils as he falls thus possibly signifying the ultimate victory of Christianity and the parallel placement of the killerââ¬â¢s arm and the angelââ¬â¢s outstretched hand perhaps implies instant martyrdom and sainthood of Saint Mathew. The killer is unaware of the angel and only Saint Mathew can view it thus hinting at his divinity. The marvelous use of light and shadow depicts the bystanders and their sense of horror in one blinding flash as if lightning struck when the murder took place. The painting appears to capture that poignant mo ment of high drama and unbridled emotion as only a masterpiece can. Critics are of the opinion that Caravaggio was hugely influenced by the large scale grandeur that was so very common in creations during high renaissance period and some say that he was very heavily inspired by The Martyrdom of St Peter the Martyr by Titian while executing his The Martyrdom of Saint Matthew. The Martyrdom of Saint Matthew by Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio is one among the trilogy of immortal exhibits of Baroque school of painting that is so often hailed.
Thursday, October 3, 2019
Planned Parenthood and Teen Awareness Group (TGA) Essay Example for Free
Planned Parenthood and Teen Awareness Group (TGA) Essay The Teen Awareness Group or TGA is an educational program that is sponsored by Planned Parenthood in East Central Illinois. The aim of TGA is to mobilize specific age groups within the community to teach the younger population about teen pregnancy and other related issues. The ultimate mission or goal of the TGA is focused on a specific group of people, the youth, as a means to compartmentalize the services provided by Planned Parenthood and in the same way direct attention to vulnerable populations and ensure that specific needs or concerned posed by them are addressed. Another objective and motivation being utilized by Planned Parenthood is the consequences of being unguided throughout a young individualââ¬â¢s life. The organization recognizes through its educational program that undesirable results, such as unwanted teen pregnancy, etc. , are results of uninformed decision-making and an unguided life. Through education, TGA aims to teach the youth to become more responsible and aware. The program does not only benefit the youth in terms of being educated and guided. It also empowers them to become socially conscious of their responsibilities in terms of helping other people within the same age group to face challenges by becoming part time workers for the organization. Peer educators will be trained to be competent enough for the job requirements, and they should also be able to attend set meetings as required. Individuals who are eligible to join the cause should be between fourteen to eighteen years of age. The schools they are attending should be within the Bloomington-Normal and Champaign areas only. Aside from peer educators, individuals who will be joining the program will also be able to communicate with adults who are more experienced in the area. Planned Parenthood operates for TGA by coordinating with schools within the areas mentioned. Peer educators and individuals who want to join the program are asked to communicate with representatives working in their schools to be informed of how to join the cause whether as the subject or the educator. The resources for the programs that are lined up for the TGA are funded by the Illinois Department of Human Services Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program and the Cunningham Township/Urbana City Social Services Funds. Each institutions plays a major role in the production of resources that completes and realizes the purpose of Planned Parenthood through its educational problem facilitated by the TGA.
Wednesday, October 2, 2019
Roles Of The Operating System Computer Science Essay
Roles Of The Operating System Computer Science Essay All computers need some form of operating system so that communication between users applications and hardware. The OS also looks after the file system. With advancement in technology OS can now support more than one User, Task or Central Processing Unit (CPU). The OS controls the communication between applications and hardware. For the OS to communicate with these it installs device drivers for any hardware component that is inside the computer. the device driver is created by the hardware manufacturer and this is installed with the hardware software when installing. Thus allowing the OS to talk to the hardware its self. for example a wireless USB adapter (Fig1.1) would install a device driver as shown in (Fig1.2) Files and folders can be stored on the hard drive with the help of the OS creating a file structure on the hard disk its self enabling the data to be stored. Files are stored in a block of data that is treated as a single unit and is given a single name. Any files related to the same program are put in to folders so that the program is able to find all the data needed to run the program without needing to look all over the hard drive. Folders can also be stored inside other folders if they relate to a different part of the program or even an update folder or a uninstall program in the event you want to uninstall the program. These are call subfolders. (Fig 2.1) The structure in which files are stored on a hard drive are stored in a table called file allocation table. the table contains all the details of where each piece of data (such as blocks or clusters) is held that makes up the file on the hard drive. Depending on how the hard drive was formatted depends on the table format and cluster size. There are two different file structures which are: File Allocation Table 32-bit (FAT32) This can support partition sizes up to 2048GB (2TB) FAT32 can be used in Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows Me, Windows 2000 and Windows XP(Fig 2.2). New Technology File System (NTFS)This can support partitions sizes up to 16 Exabytes. 1 Exabyte is 260 bytes. With NTFS there is improved security features and extended attributes that the previous version used FAT32 (Fig 2.3). FIG 2.1Folders and Subfolders FIG 2.2 FAT32 FIG 2.3 NTFS User Interface Operating systems provide the user to interact with the software and the hardware by using two types of user interface called Command-line Interface (CLI) with this the user types commands in to the command prompt as shown in Fig 3.0 Graphical user interface with this the user interacts with menus, icons and applications as shown in Fig 3.1 Fig 3.0 Fig3.1 Applications Management Within the operating system one of the things it does is locates an application and loads it in to the RAM. Applications a software programs such as Microsoft Office word, Microsoft Office Excel, Microsoft Office PowerPoint, Games and many more. the OS will make sure that each application has enough system resources to run the program successfully. There is also a set of guidelines used by programmers to make sure that the application they are designing will work on an OS this is called Application Programming Interface (API) two examples of these are: Open Graphics Library (OpenGL) this is a cross-platform standard for multimedia graphics DirectX this is a collection of APIs for multimedia tasks for Microsoft Windows 1b. Within WindowsXP and Windows Vista Operating systems have the following features installed: Multitasking Multiuser Multiprocessing Multithreading Multiuser A multi-user operating system allows for multiple users to use the same computer at different times. So this mean that each user can have its own logon to windows where they can have their files can be secure so that only the user can see them. they can also set the computer display up however they want to such as picture backgrounds of the own choice and task bar settings changing the colour to their own choice. With the account been password protected and the files been stored on the same user logon this makes it secure. When logged on to the computer you can also switch users quickly what this does is keeps the first user logged on but just locks the account and takes you back to the user logon screen and enables you to log on as another user then once you have finished on that account you can just log of and then back at the logon screen you just click the first name again and type the password and you are right back in to it where you had left it so any programs that you had ope n are still open and you can carry on instead of waiting for the computer user settings to be applied making it much faster to change between users. Multitasking An operating system that is capable of allowing multiple software processes to run at the same time. So what this mean is that you can run many different programs at the same time. so you can be working on a document on Microsoft Office Word so the program will be loaded in to the RAM so that it can access it quicker when using the program. So your using the program then you need to use Microsoft Office Excel when you click open on the program it will also load it in to the RAM as well so that you can access the program data as well as the other program. This is multitasking. This would happen every time you opened a new program. Multiprocessing An operating system able of supporting and using more than one computer processor. Most modern computers support some form of multiprocessing. Multiprocessing doesnt require more than one physical CPU; it is simply the operating systems ability to run more than oneà processà on the system. The operating system processes data one part at a time. Each process can execute a completely different program while most processes are completely independent. so if say you are running paint in windows and then open Microsoft office word even though it looks like it is doing them at the same time what it is doing is processing parts of the program one at a time. but because of the seep in what it processes them it gives the appearance that they are doing it at the same time. Multithreading Multithreading has many purposes one of these is to switch between different threads. However the main purpose is to increase the operation of a single core by monitoring and controlling the levels of threads. The tasks carried out by the user happen so frequently that the user does not actually see the threads and/or the tasks are running at the same time, with no fault. Another purpose of multithreading is used by the Operating System to break down a program in use into smaller, more manageable threads when it is required to carry out this specific task. Although it does allow individual programs to be multitasked. This is done because the hardware used for multithreading regularly operates alongside the software for multitasking. It is known for some CPUs to have more than one multithreading core; these are often referred to as processors. On multiprocessor, or multi- core systems, the tasks and threads generally run at the same time, with the support of each processor and/or core running a particular task on the Operating System. 1c. In both Windows XP and Vista there are functions installed on an OS. These functions might be at different levels depending on the OS. These functions are:- Backup Facilities File Management Security Backup Facilities Many backup facilities are used here are a few examples: Daily Copy Normal Incremental Differential Daily A daily backup only saves files that have been modified on that day. This type of support does not modify the other files. Copy This type of support only copies the data and files chosen. For instance a word document is saved in one folder and you copy to another folder of the same OS. This backup can be found in all Windows software. Normal This type of support (full backup) is when the selected files and folders are to be stored and are archived to the hard disk drive. For example an Excel spreadsheet that is being saved for the very first time. Incremental This type of backup saves all folders and files that have been created or modified since the last normal backup. A benefit of this is that the backup times are faster as only the file needs to be saved. However, a drawback of this is that the recovery time of the file will be a lot longer as the data has to be restored from the last incremental backup and/or another backup device. Differential This backup saves all files a nd folders that are created or changed since either the last normal backup. These files are not archived, on the other hand they are copied at the starting point until the next incremental or full backup is complete. Making this type of backup is important as to restore the data you would only need the last full and differential backup. File Management File management is also very similar in Vista and Windows XP. Generally it is a lot easier to manage files and directories in Windows XP than it is in Vista because in Windows XP the graphical user interface I find is much more user friendly. There are options to make Vista act and look like Windows XP through; Start, Control Panel, Appearance and Personalization. Both XP and Vista use NTFS file management. However, in Windows Explorer the file management enforces/performs a hierarchical structure. Below is a broken down step by step of what happens when creating a file in a directory: The OS controls and creates the file structure and directories The hard drive allows data to be stored in this structure The file is then stored on to the hard drive and is given a name or commonly known as a single unit/name The directory programs and data files group all the files together and create the directory (Some directories can be stored in other directories these are commonly known as subdirectories) One last point about directories and subdirectories is that their commonly used name is now folders and subfolders, respectively. Security There are four main ways in which to protect computer systems, these are: Firewall This provides protection against any online threats. Anti-virus software which tries to protect the operating system from any malicious threats that could occur. Passwords is used to protect the contents of the operating system and is a method of controlling who access to it. Encryption is used to prevent people accessing documents they are not permitted to see. The main security feature for Windows XP is designed to continuously monitor the status of the computers security system settings and should a problem occur the operating system will provide a pop up to warn the user of the problem. This security system is referred to as the security centre. Windows Vista has a similar security feature called Windows Defender, however Windows Defender has a few additional features. These features include the removal of ActiveX applications and also support the use of SpyNet software. Also with Vista there is another few security features, one of them is the Parental controls. This allows the administrator to: Control content of which a child can and cannot view. Limiting time allowed on the Internet or computer. Monitor what the child does and track viewed websites and content they have previously looked up. However, on both Windows XP and Vista, they use one vital piece of security the Device Manager. This is used to allow users to view and control the hardware attached to the computer. A piece of hardware is attached is not working, this is highlighted to the user to deal with the hardware problem. The options that the user can deal with each piece of hardware is to supply drivers for the hardware keeping them up to date, enable or disable devices connected to the computer, ignore malfunctioning devices and to view other technical properties to do with the hardware connected.
With Life Comes Problems :: psu
With Life Comes Problems 1 In today's world there is nobody who can honestly say that they have absolutely no problems or worries in their life. Everyone has something to deal with and things to get over in their life--that's why it's called life. As long as you're alive, you will constantly have to battle the burdens of life that all people encounter. Some are destroyed by the harships [Hostage 50] and others overcome them. In Kate Chopin's "The Story of an Hour" she gives a glimpse at the life of one woman who, for a brief time, felt she would have no more problems, but then is shocked in to [into] death by realizing that her problems were not yet gone. The theme of the story is that you are never really free from the troubles of life until you are dead. 2 The conflicts in the story are ones that we all encounter and deal with until the day we die. In the story there is conflict between Louise (woman) and her husband (man). It said that sometimes she loved her husband, but often she did not (par. 14). This says to me that they did not have a good relationship together, and and were probably constantly battling. [Evidence from the story?] Another conflict would be Mrs. Mallard's life vs. Mr. Mallard's death. [?] Because of Mr. Mallard's suppossed [Hostage 50] death, Louise would now live her life happier and for herself (par. 13). Then, when Mr. Mallard came home, Louise was faced with the conflict of choosing between the freedom she would have had or the repression she would now suffer, from her husband, for the rest of her life if she would stay alive. At the end she, in a way, chooses death over repression. The only true way for her to be free was to die. 3 The symbols in "The Story of an Hour" give a look at the good life and rebirth Louise would have had if Mr. Mallard would have actually been dead. The actual word "mallard" refer to a wild duck. [SV -1] The meaning of "duck," other than the animal, is to avoid a blow. Mrs. Mallard was constantly ducking wildly from her husband's blows, whether mental or physical. [Evidence?] The calm after her storm of grief (par.
Tuesday, October 1, 2019
Comparing Women in House on Mango Street and Woman Hollering Creek Essa
Ethnic Identity of Women in House on Mango Street and Woman Hollering Creekà à à The novels The House on Mango Street (Cisneros 1984) and Woman Hollering Creek (Cisneros 1992) relate the new American through the eyes of Cisneros. The women in both novels are caught in the middle of their ethnic identity and their American identity, thus creating the "New American." Cisneros moved between Mexico and the United States often while growing up, thus making her feel "homeless and displaced" (Jones and Jorgenson 109). The House on Mango Street characterizes a community of girls and women restricted in their movements within the barrio. The roles of these girls and women are translated through the eyes of a child. When women in the barrio are confined, they can become a victim of abuse due to male domination. Women are confined to interior spaces in addition to their domestic roles as daughters, wives, and mothers. They live inside the barrio, but desire to escape and live outside the barrio. In addition, women can escape their restricted lifestyle by receiving an education. Esperanza, the child narrator is the only one who escapes this ethnic lifestyle (Mullen 6). In The House on Mango Street, the vignette "My Name," Esperanza was named after her great grandmother, desires a life outside her interior walls of the barrio. Esperanzaââ¬â¢s name means hope in English, while it means sadness and waiting in Spanish. Her great grandmother was wild as a young lady, but was tamed by her Mexican husband. Cisneros states, "She looked out her window her whole life, the way so many women sit with sadness on an elbow . . . I have inherited her name, but I donââ¬â¢t want to inherit her place by the window" (11). Esperanza is proud of her namesake... ...il 1991. 22 Oct. 2000 False&origSearch=true&u=CA&u+CLC&u=DLB>. Mullen, Harryette. "A Silence Between Us Like a Language: The Untranslatability of Experience in Sandra Cisnerosââ¬â¢s Woman Hollering Creek." Gale Literary Databases Summer, 1996. 22 Oct. 2000 Galenet.com/servlet/GLD/hit?c=1&secondary=false&orig SearchTrue&u=CA&u+CLC&u=DLB>. Olivares, Julian. "Sandra Cisnerosââ¬â¢ The House on Mango Street and the Poetics of Space." Gale Literary Databases 1998. 14 Oct. 2000 <> Servlet/GLD/hits?c=6&secondary=false&origSearch=true& u=CA&â⬠¦=>. "Sandra Cisneros." Contemporary Artists. Vol. 64. 1998. Wyatt, Jean. "On Not Being La Malinche: Border Negotiations of Gender in Sandra Cisnerosââ¬â¢s Never Marry A Mexican and Woman Hollering Creek." Gale Literary Databases Fall 1995. 22 Oct. 2000 . à Comparing Women in House on Mango Street and Woman Hollering Creek Essa Ethnic Identity of Women in House on Mango Street and Woman Hollering Creekà à à The novels The House on Mango Street (Cisneros 1984) and Woman Hollering Creek (Cisneros 1992) relate the new American through the eyes of Cisneros. The women in both novels are caught in the middle of their ethnic identity and their American identity, thus creating the "New American." Cisneros moved between Mexico and the United States often while growing up, thus making her feel "homeless and displaced" (Jones and Jorgenson 109). The House on Mango Street characterizes a community of girls and women restricted in their movements within the barrio. The roles of these girls and women are translated through the eyes of a child. When women in the barrio are confined, they can become a victim of abuse due to male domination. Women are confined to interior spaces in addition to their domestic roles as daughters, wives, and mothers. They live inside the barrio, but desire to escape and live outside the barrio. In addition, women can escape their restricted lifestyle by receiving an education. Esperanza, the child narrator is the only one who escapes this ethnic lifestyle (Mullen 6). In The House on Mango Street, the vignette "My Name," Esperanza was named after her great grandmother, desires a life outside her interior walls of the barrio. Esperanzaââ¬â¢s name means hope in English, while it means sadness and waiting in Spanish. Her great grandmother was wild as a young lady, but was tamed by her Mexican husband. Cisneros states, "She looked out her window her whole life, the way so many women sit with sadness on an elbow . . . I have inherited her name, but I donââ¬â¢t want to inherit her place by the window" (11). Esperanza is proud of her namesake... ...il 1991. 22 Oct. 2000 False&origSearch=true&u=CA&u+CLC&u=DLB>. Mullen, Harryette. "A Silence Between Us Like a Language: The Untranslatability of Experience in Sandra Cisnerosââ¬â¢s Woman Hollering Creek." Gale Literary Databases Summer, 1996. 22 Oct. 2000 Galenet.com/servlet/GLD/hit?c=1&secondary=false&orig SearchTrue&u=CA&u+CLC&u=DLB>. Olivares, Julian. "Sandra Cisnerosââ¬â¢ The House on Mango Street and the Poetics of Space." Gale Literary Databases 1998. 14 Oct. 2000 <> Servlet/GLD/hits?c=6&secondary=false&origSearch=true& u=CA&â⬠¦=>. "Sandra Cisneros." Contemporary Artists. Vol. 64. 1998. Wyatt, Jean. "On Not Being La Malinche: Border Negotiations of Gender in Sandra Cisnerosââ¬â¢s Never Marry A Mexican and Woman Hollering Creek." Gale Literary Databases Fall 1995. 22 Oct. 2000 . Ã
Hazing in Universities
Hazing in universities across the nation has become an increasingly dangerous ritual that is seemingly becoming more difficult to put an end to due to its development into an ââ¬Å"undergroundâ⬠activity. Though a regular activity in the seventies, hazing, a possible dangerous act of initiation to a group, has now become an activity that is banned in thirty-nine states (Wagner 16). However, this ritual has not been stopped or become less severe. In fact it is becoming more dangerous. Since it has been banned, with many colleges imposing their own penalties against those participating in it, many fraternities and sororities have pursued this activity in an underground fashion. Since these groups have gone underground, some victims of these rituals have been injured and subsequently died. This is due to the ââ¬Å"hazersâ⬠not seeking medical treatment for the victims, for fear that they may be fined or charged by police or campus authorities. One estimate states that at least sixty-five students have died between the years of 1978 and 1996 from beatings and stress inflicted during fraternity initiation rites (ââ¬Å"Greekâ⬠26). Hazing has been defined in the Pennsylvania Hazing Law as ââ¬Å"any action or situation which recklessly or intentionally endangers the mental or physical safety of a student or which destroys or removes public or private property for the purpose of initiation or admission into or affiliation with, or as a condition for continued membership in, any organization operating under the sanction of or recognized as an organization by an institution of higher education. The term shall include, but not be limited to, any brutality of a physical nature, such as whipping, beating, branding, forced calisthenics, exposure to the elements, forced consumption of any food, liquor, drug, or other substance, or any forced physical activity which could adversely affect the physical health and safety of the individual, and shall include any activity which would subject the individual to extreme mental stress, such as sleep deprivation, forced exclusion from social contact, forced conduct which could result in extreme embarrassment, or any other forced activity which could adversely affect the mental health or dignity of the individualâ⬠(ââ¬Å"Pennsylvania Hazing Lawâ⬠1). The importance of this hazing situation is the fact that people are being injured, both physically and mentally, causing death or lifelong trauma. Though it may seem like an easy to control situation, the truth is that it is not easy at all. The only times that these groups, who subject individuals to hazing activities, are caught or penalized is after the damage done to an individual is so horrible as to result in death or hospitalization. The act of hazing may consist of something as subtle as a ââ¬Å"pledgeâ⬠, one who is trying to become a part of the group, having to answer phones at a fraternity house to extreme hazing such as being severely beat with paddles or even bricks. Since hazing takes many forms, it is hard for the public to realize that these ââ¬Å"pledgesâ⬠are actually being harmed. It is especially hard to see the mental abuse aspect of this situation. At times, ââ¬Å"pledgesâ⬠may be forced to wear humiliating items such as dog collars or diapers. It may look like an innocent prank, and may actually seem humorous, but stunts like this can deeply affect a person emotionally (Scleifer 42). Hazerâ⬠s in Greek societies have also been known to play the ââ¬Å"buzz-sawâ⬠game in which a chainsaw is held inches away from a pledge until he/she screams in terror. This practice is used to instill respect, in the form of extreme fear, into the pledges (ââ¬Å"The Persistent Madness of Greek Hazingâ⬠14). Physical hazing, however, is where the most life threatening problems are occurring. With groups such as Omega Psi Phi of the University of Florida, who whacked its inductees in the heads with boards, beat them with fists, and hit them with bricks, one can only expect catastrophic results. For example, in 1993, the members of Omega Psi Phi beat Joseph J. Snell, a junior at the University of Maryland with such objects as a hammer, a horsehair whip, a broken chair leg, and a brush. Later, Snell was forced to place a space heater next to his face because the group said that his skin was not black enough. Snell was hospitalized due to the incident. He remained scared and despondent after his release. He had even called a suicide hotline because of the mental anguish that was caused (ââ¬Å"Former Student Wins $375,000â⬠23). The hurt and confusion of a victim of mental and physical hazing can remain for years after the abuse. Yet, even after all the abuse, members of these organizations continue to feel that because they had to suffer through this act of initiation to get into the group, their successors must also be fall subject to these activities. Naturally, people want and need to be accepted. This is why an individual will go along with the hazing activities. Valerie Eastman, a behavioral science professor at Drury College in Springfield, MO, states ââ¬Å"You know youâ⬠re a reasonable person and you just went through this nasty, unpleasant ritual, so you think the group must have been worth it. You try to justify itâ⬠(Wagner 16). Though some members in a fraternity or sorority may be against what is happening to these individuals, the codes of secrecy and brotherhood/sisterhood are so strong that they fear to break them and come forward to report these acts (Ruffins 18). Lydia Bradley, a strong advocate of anti-hazing laws and national speaker for placement of these laws, has interviewed students about the act of hazing in college. She reports, ââ¬Å"Iâ⬠m told that hazing unifies a group, that it is a rite-of-passage, that it builds brotherhood, that it is a tradition, or, the worst reason of all, that ââ¬ËI went through itâ⬠(Bradley 1). â⬠It is this type of attitude that hinders the expulsion of the hazing activities. We, as the public, are limited, both in our knowledge of what truly happens in these groups and the ability to stop it, by not personally becoming a member of them. Though some of the fraternities that have been suspended for acting against these anti-hazing laws, they continue to operate underground and make no effort to change their behavior according to Stocktonâ⬠s Director of Student Development, Tom Oâ⬠Donnell (Kempert 12). As of yet, there are virtually no associations that actively monitor the actions of fraternities and sororities. They are trusted to act in a responsible manner. As stated in Hank Nuwerâ⬠s Broken Pledges: The Deadly Rite of Hazing, ââ¬Å"What possibly could be expected from a group of adolescents when you leave them alone to govern their own activities (Nuwer 34). â⬠One may parallel these activities to those expressed in William Goldingâ⬠s Lord of the Flies to what may happen when such adolescents are left unsupervised to run a ââ¬Å"members-onlyâ⬠organization. National Fraternities and sororities have neglected their parental responsibilities and have left pledging up to these adolescents. It is important that these actions are stopped by any reasonable means necessary. Since hazing has been a process that virtually all these members had been subject to, they will be reluctant to change. The idea of hazing has been placed in their heads as a test to foster unity, to instill a sense of membership, to promote scholarship, and to build awareness of the specific chapterâ⬠s history (Chenowith 20). Therefor, an alternative must be able to instill these exact qualities. Believers in the supposed benefits of hazing may be more likely to change their opinion if they can envision some alternatives. In many cases, those who are most vocal against eliminating hazing are those who are bitter and angry about the hazing that they themselves endured, but donâ⬠t want to eliminate this publicly. They expect others should be abused in order to gain ââ¬Å"trueâ⬠membership in the group. In this case, specific programs should be established to teach the devastating effects of hazing. A new sanction reduction policy has been established at Richard Stockton College of New Jersey to tackle some of the problems. The fraternities at this college that have been sanctioned for committing violations are now able to participate in a program that will possibly reduce their sanctions. This OPTIONS program offers students to take one of two four-credit elective courses: ââ¬Å"The Psychology of Well Being,â⬠which explores principles of physical and mental health, or ââ¬Å"Alcohol 101,â⬠which teachers the dangerous effects of alcohol, especially those involved in college situations. Along with this, they had established a Greek self-study committee, through which a Greek Council was formed (Kempert 12). This will educate students about the dangers they are placing on the pledges and change their ways while offering them the incentive of lowered sanctions at the same time. Incentives seem to be the best way to reach these organizations and hopefully it will subject them to the knowledge of what their actions may cause others. An alternative replacement to hazing activities would be another way to eliminate this problem. They could foster their unity in ways such as involving the whole group in a community charity. By asking the pledges to involve themselves in charities, or present the group with specific ideas for charitable work, would show the pledgeâ⬠s sense of commitment to the group, along with helping to show the public the goodness that can become of these groups (Crothers 50). Instead of making the pledges do chores or excessive exercise, why not promote scholarship by designating study hours. What better way to prove an organizationâ⬠s worthiness but by setting an example scholastically. These fraternities or sororities could invite leaders of the national groups or advisors to speak at a meeting instead of forcing these pledges to incessantly recite names or worthless facts about the group they are pledging to. Many alternatives are out there; one just has to have the strength to bring it to mention. Of course other solutions such as the undercover spies have been thought of. But, this would only seem to tear the organization apart and make them more careful in whom the choose as pledges, make them more dangerous and secretive in their activities, and less likely to help someone once they have been injured for fear of getting caught. A combination of incentives, alternatives, and a council to create a forum to discuss these alternatives to the hazing process is the most reasonable solution to this problem. Using otherwise ââ¬Å"sneakyâ⬠tactics could only increase the problem and drive it further underground. As stated before, it can be hard to talk members into changes this tradition of the organization, but through time and education they will see its benefits. By performing such alternatives as previously mentioned, the dangerous hazing process will be eliminated and the ââ¬Å"good-sideâ⬠of these groups will become evident. Working together on a project, such as one that will help the local community, will bring a sense of accomplishments to the members and a sense of pride to both the community and the institution (Kempert 12). Of course the only way these solutions could come into effect is if the organizations and the institution work together. The school has to realize that, even if there has been no public incidences regarding hazing in their school, hazing probably does exist. It is this thought that should cause them to form some sort of incentive program of their own to counteract it. However, the members also have to take responsibility and go to the school for help in organizing the possible incentives and alternatives. Hazing in universities Hazing in universities across the nation has become an increasingly dangerous ritual that is seemingly becoming more difficult to put an end to due to its development into an ââ¬Å"undergroundâ⬠activity. Though a regular activity in the seventies, hazing, a possible dangerous act of initiation to a group, has now become an activity that is banned in thirty-nine states (Wagner 16). However, this ritual has not been stopped or become less severe. In fact it is becoming more dangerous. Since it has been banned, with many colleges imposing their own penalties against those participating in it, many fraternities and sororities have pursued this activity in an underground fashion. Since these groups have gone underground, some victims of these rituals have been injured and subsequently died. This is due to the ââ¬Å"hazersâ⬠not seeking medical treatment for the victims, for fear that they may be fined or charged by police or campus authorities. One estimate states that at least sixty-five students have died between the years of 1978 and 1996 from beatings and stress inflicted during fraternity initiation rites (ââ¬Å"Greekâ⬠26). Hazing has been defined in the Pennsylvania Hazing Law as ââ¬Å"any action or situation which recklessly or intentionally endangers the mental or physical safety of a student or which destroys or removes public or private property for the purpose of initiation or admission into or affiliation with, or as a condition for continued membership in, any organization operating under the sanction of or recognized as an organization by an institution of higher education. The term shall include, but not be limited to, any brutality of a physical nature, such as whipping, beating, branding, forced calisthenics, exposure to the elements, forced consumption of any food, liquor, drug, or other substance, or any forced physical activity which could adversely affect the physical health and safety of the individual, and shall include any activity which would subject the individual to extreme mental stress, such as sleep deprivation, forced exclusion from social contact, forced conduct which could result in extreme embarrassment, or any other forced activity which could adversely affect the mental health or dignity of the individualâ⬠(ââ¬Å"Pennsylvania Hazing Lawâ⬠1). The importance of this hazing situation is the fact that people are being injured, both physically and mentally, causing death or lifelong trauma. Though it may seem like an easy to control situation, the truth is that it is not easy at all. The only times that these groups, who subject individuals to hazing activities, are caught or penalized is after the damage done to an individual is so horrible as to result in death or hospitalization. The act of hazing may consist of something as subtle as a ââ¬Å"pledgeâ⬠, one who is trying to become a part of the group, having to answer phones at a fraternity house to extreme hazing such as being severely beat with paddles or even bricks. Since hazing takes many forms, it is hard for the public to realize that these ââ¬Å"pledgesâ⬠are actually being harmed. It is especially hard to see the mental abuse aspect of this situation. At times, ââ¬Å"pledgesâ⬠may be forced to wear humiliating items such as dog collars or diapers. It may look like an innocent prank, and may actually seem humorous, but stunts like this can deeply affect a person emotionally (Scleifer 42). Hazerâ⬠s in Greek societies have also been known to play the ââ¬Å"buzz-sawâ⬠game in which a chainsaw is held inches away from a pledge until he/she screams in terror. This practice is used to instill respect, in the form of extreme fear, into the pledges (ââ¬Å"The Persistent Madness of Greek Hazingâ⬠14). Physical hazing, however, is where the most life threatening problems are occurring. With groups such as Omega Psi Phi of the University of Florida, who whacked its inductees in the heads with boards, beat them with fists, and hit them with bricks, one can only expect catastrophic results. For example, in 1993, the members of Omega Psi Phi beat Joseph J. Snell, a junior at the University of Maryland with such objects as a hammer, a horsehair whip, a broken chair leg, and a brush. Later, Snell was forced to place a space heater next to his face because the group said that his skin was not black enough. Snell was hospitalized due to the incident. He remained scared and despondent after his release. He had even called a suicide hotline because of the mental anguish that was caused (ââ¬Å"Former Student Wins $375,000â⬠23). The hurt and confusion of a victim of mental and physical hazing can remain for years after the abuse. Yet, even after all the abuse, members of these organizations continue to feel that because they had to suffer through this act of initiation to get into the group, their successors must also be fall subject to these activities. Naturally, people want and need to be accepted. This is why an individual will go along with the hazing activities. Valerie Eastman, a behavioral science professor at Drury College in Springfield, MO, states ââ¬Å"You know youâ⬠re a reasonable person and you just went through this nasty, unpleasant ritual, so you think the group must have been worth it. You try to justify itâ⬠(Wagner 16). Though some members in a fraternity or sorority may be against what is happening to these individuals, the codes of secrecy and brotherhood/sisterhood are so strong that they fear to break them and come forward to report these acts (Ruffins 18). Lydia Bradley, a strong advocate of anti-hazing laws and national speaker for placement of these laws, has interviewed students about the act of hazing in college. She reports, ââ¬Å"Iâ⬠m told that hazing unifies a group, that it is a rite-of-passage, that it builds brotherhood, that it is a tradition, or, the worst reason of all, that ââ¬ËI went through itâ⬠(Bradley 1). â⬠It is this type of attitude that hinders the expulsion of the hazing activities. We, as the public, are limited, both in our knowledge of what truly happens in these groups and the ability to stop it, by not personally becoming a member of them. Though some of the fraternities that have been suspended for acting against these anti-hazing laws, they continue to operate underground and make no effort to change their behavior according to Stocktonâ⬠s Director of Student Development, Tom Oâ⬠Donnell (Kempert 12). As of yet, there are virtually no associations that actively monitor the actions of fraternities and sororities. They are trusted to act in a responsible manner. As stated in Hank Nuwerâ⬠s Broken Pledges: The Deadly Rite of Hazing, ââ¬Å"What possibly could be expected from a group of adolescents when you leave them alone to govern their own activities (Nuwer 34). â⬠One may parallel these activities to those expressed in William Goldingâ⬠s Lord of the Flies to what may happen when such adolescents are left unsupervised to run a ââ¬Å"members-onlyâ⬠organization. National Fraternities and sororities have neglected their parental responsibilities and have left pledging up to these adolescents. It is important that these actions are stopped by any reasonable means necessary. Since hazing has been a process that virtually all these members had been subject to, they will be reluctant to change. The idea of hazing has been placed in their heads as a test to foster unity, to instill a sense of membership, to promote scholarship, and to build awareness of the specific chapterâ⬠s history (Chenowith 20). Therefor, an alternative must be able to instill these exact qualities. Believers in the supposed benefits of hazing may be more likely to change their opinion if they can envision some alternatives. In many cases, those who are most vocal against eliminating hazing are those who are bitter and angry about the hazing that they themselves endured, but donâ⬠t want to eliminate this publicly. They expect others should be abused in order to gain ââ¬Å"trueâ⬠membership in the group. In this case, specific programs should be established to teach the devastating effects of hazing. A new sanction reduction policy has been established at Richard Stockton College of New Jersey to tackle some of the problems. The fraternities at this college that have been sanctioned for committing violations are now able to participate in a program that will possibly reduce their sanctions. This OPTIONS program offers students to take one of two four-credit elective courses: ââ¬Å"The Psychology of Well Being,â⬠which explores principles of physical and mental health, or ââ¬Å"Alcohol 101,â⬠which teachers the dangerous effects of alcohol, especially those involved in college situations. Along with this, they had established a Greek self-study committee, through which a Greek Council was formed (Kempert 12). This will educate students about the dangers they are placing on the pledges and change their ways while offering them the incentive of lowered sanctions at the same time. Incentives seem to be the best way to reach these organizations and hopefully it will subject them to the knowledge of what their actions may cause others. An alternative replacement to hazing activities would be another way to eliminate this problem. They could foster their unity in ways such as involving the whole group in a community charity. By asking the pledges to involve themselves in charities, or present the group with specific ideas for charitable work, would show the pledgeâ⬠s sense of commitment to the group, along with helping to show the public the goodness that can become of these groups (Crothers 50). Instead of making the pledges do chores or excessive exercise, why not promote scholarship by designating study hours. What better way to prove an organizationâ⬠s worthiness but by setting an example scholastically. These fraternities or sororities could invite leaders of the national groups or advisors to speak at a meeting instead of forcing these pledges to incessantly recite names or worthless facts about the group they are pledging to. Many alternatives are out there; one just has to have the strength to bring it to mention. Of course other solutions such as the undercover spies have been thought of. But, this would only seem to tear the organization apart and make them more careful in whom the choose as pledges, make them more dangerous and secretive in their activities, and less likely to help someone once they have been injured for fear of getting caught. A combination of incentives, alternatives, and a council to create a forum to discuss these alternatives to the hazing process is the most reasonable solution to this problem. Using otherwise ââ¬Å"sneakyâ⬠tactics could only increase the problem and drive it further underground. As stated before, it can be hard to talk members into changes this tradition of the organization, but through time and education they will see its benefits. By performing such alternatives as previously mentioned, the dangerous hazing process will be eliminated and the ââ¬Å"good-sideâ⬠of these groups will become evident. Working together on a project, such as one that will help the local community, will bring a sense of accomplishments to the members and a sense of pride to both the community and the institution (Kempert 12). Of course the only way these solutions could come into effect is if the organizations and the institution work together. The school has to realize that, even if there has been no public incidences regarding hazing in their school, hazing probably does exist. It is this thought that should cause them to form some sort of incentive program of their own to counteract it. However, the members also have to take responsibility and go to the school for help in organizing the possible incentives and alternatives.
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