Good Corporate Governance and Sustainability Research Paper

Good Corporate Governance and Sustainability - Research Paper Example Under the good corporate governance applied, Ford performed very well in business plan development and compensation, business plan review, special attention review and automotive strategy meeting, corporate policy letters and directives, management systems. That is the main reason why Ford is only one of the auto companies which kept performing during the 2008 global financial crisis in America. Mallin (23) asserts that the element of diversity in companies is one of the things that benefit from corporate governance. Corporate governance promotes diversity by, firstly, ensuring a board of governance or company leadership that respects diversity. Gender diversity in companies’ leadership is one of the crucial issues commentators of corporate governance have emphasized. In the past five years, seven countries have passed legislation mandating female board representation and eight have set non-mandatory targets. A study of Canadian companies showed that boards with three or more women performed much better in terms of governance than companies with all-male boards. The study also found that the more gender-diverse boards were more likely to focus on clear communication to employees, to prioritize customer satisfaction, and to consider diversity and corporate social responsibility. To illustrate the point above, McKinsey & Company, as the world’s leading consulting firm, is a great example in the real world. Mallin (24) attributes the improvement of a company’s economic and financial performance to the varying skills and abilities of diverse groups of people. He argues that the skills of people from different backgrounds outperform homogenous groups. In order for companies to uphold corporate governance to ensure diversity, they invite applications from the public. This helps companies to pool  a variety of skills and abilities from which they can appointable candidates. In addition, corporate leaders use mentorship to educate persons from lower levels with the skills required to handle senior positions.

Project on Motivation of Nurses Essay Example for Free

Project on Motivation of Nurses Essay The most traumatic and stressful moments of an individual’s life are when he or she is taken ill. Nurses are synonymous with care and attention in times of need such as these. In a world mostly driven my personal ambition and corporate profit, nurses with their commitment to patient welfare and selfless service, provide a contrasting study. A nurse acts as a savior in distress and is often called upon to make great personal sacrifices in the discharge of her duties. The profession of nursing, is therefore, not merely a ‘job’ and the potentially powerfully insights about commitment to work that they could provide encouraged us to choose them as our subjects of study. As part of the Phase I of the project, we interviewed four nurses who were diverse in the amount of experience each had, the hierarchy in which they were working in the hospital and the backgrounds from which each of them came. This was done to study the commitment of employees towards an organization and understand the various factors which cause the same we have selected a study of nursing staff in hospitals. From the interviews, many broad themes emerged, all of which point correlate positively with their high commitment level to the organization. These points logically lead us to our hypothesis as to what keeps them committed to their place of work.   However, there were some key themes which we noted across all four of our respondents. All the nurses were very excited by the kind of recognition that the hospital was willing to give them. They seemed to treat this as a reward for their hard work and dedication and were motivated by it. All nurses were also impressed by their working relationship with their superiors (Head Nurse/Doctor) in the hospital who treated them as members of a family and with much respect. Nurses were also willing to stay on with the hospital because it provided them with opportunities for personal development. Accordingly our hypotheses are as follows: * There is a positive correlation between the amount of recognition that the nurses receive for their work and their commitment to the organization * There is a positive correlation between the positive relationship between the doctors/supervisors and the nurses and the commitment of the nurses to the organization * There is a positive correlation between the opportunity for learning and personal development that the organization provides and the commitment of the nurses to the organization RESEARCH METHODOLOGY Based on our earlier survey of 4 respondents, we determined that the following three variables play a key role in determining the commitment of nurses to their respective hospitals: * Recognition * Relationship with superiors * Learning and Development We have then tried to identify whether these three variables actually affect commitment levels of nurses at various nursing organizations. For the same, we carried out a survey of 30 nurses with diverse backgrounds (a detailed description of the respondents is covered in the following section) and questioned them on a scale of 5 to 1 (5: Strongly Agree, 1: Strongly Disagree) on 24 questions. Since our hypothesis determines 3 variables as affecting commitment, we tested the existence of each these three independent variables by framing four questions for each variables. Similarly, we determined commitment levels of the nurses through a set of 12 questions. By using a 5-point scale, we have captured not only the  existence, but the extent of existence of these variables. Since we found the responses to be reliable, we determined the correlation between the three independent variables and the dependent variable ‘commitment’ to see whether our hypothesis of is correct. Hospitals chosen for the survey We surveyed nurses from 4 different hospitals to ensure diversity. The organizations range from a large hospital located in a city like Bangalore, to mid-sized hospitals located in Tier-2 cities like Ajmer and Allahabad and a focused surgical-specialty hospital located in a smaller town like Varanasi. This selection lends diversity to our respondents through differences in location, specialization of hospitals, daily footfall (reflecting magnitude of work for the nurses), number of departments etc. Refer Appendix 1 for a description of the hospitals used for out survey. General Profile of the Nurses We have ensured diversity in our respondents while choosing nurses at all of the survey hospitals. The diversity ranges age, number of years worked at the organization and departments worked in. QUESTIONS IN THE SURVEY The questions in the survey were aimed at understanding the extent to which each of our three independent variables and our dependent variable ‘commitment’ was present in these organizations. We captured the different parameters relating to these variables by framing questions addressing various facets of these variables. Refer to Appendix 2 for detailed discussion on questions used for the survey. ANALYSIS OF RESULTS OF THE SURVEY Reliability of scales Reliability is used to check the consistency of the question set under consideration. In this survey we are testing if the 3 hypothesis that we have come up with are explaining the commitment of employees towards organization. Reliability in a survey is measured by lot of ways and here we are checking internal consistency reliability which indicates reliability within the survey for the responses of similar type of questions. Reliability of dependent variable * Affective Commitment: In affective commitment the questions that are all trying to test for one feature- Attachment to Organization. The questions are direct and straight forward bringing out the required feature thus making it a set of good reliability. We have obtained a reliability scale of 0.6 for this set which is the highest amongst the 3 different commitments scales that we have obtained. * Continuance Commitment: In this set we are trying to test the commitment by knowing the dependence of the person on the organization and how much of a change it would mean to him to switch jobs. The reliability that we obtained for this set is 0.53 which is a high value for a one time survey result. This is a good indication of question set focusing on the same core question. * Normative Commitment: This question set mainly tries to identify the belongingness the person has towards the organization. The question set is clear in conveying the same objective but this attribute is not so direct and easy to understand from an individual’s perspective. Hence the survey respondents’ answers in this set have a lower value reliability of 0.39. Reliability of independent variables For first and third variables (recognition and learning development), the reliability is low at 0.46 and 0.47 respectively while for the second variable (relationship with superiors), the reliability is relatively high at 0.66. Recognition and Learning Development It’s easy to see why responses to questions around Recognition and learning and development score so low in reliability. They are quite different from each other and same person can have very different responses to each of them, if they interpret the different questions to indicate different things. In comparison the questions related to relationships were fairly interrelated and are able to fetch more consistent responses. Overall reliability of all the responses is still lower than 0.7 which can be attributed to the fact that no pilot study was done, which could have been used as input for framing questions in a better way as to improve reliability of responses. Relationship with superiors We obtained highest reliability for responses for this hypothesis. Reliability for this was found to be 0.66, which is near acceptable range. The reason for higher reliability in this question set (Appendix 2) is attributable for ease of understanding the questions. Every person has a fair idea about relationships and these questions although quite different from each other give a fairly good direction the responder in terms of what is being asked. So they maintain consistency and hence higher comparative reliability. Correlation between predictor and dependent variables a) Affective Commitment According to our expectation before the actual test results we came up with all 3 predictors are going to affect the Affective commitment. Recognition was one factor because the appreciation helps the employee (nurse) develop a connect with the organization. Also opportunities for personal development and training opportunities to assist this makes employees feel good which is essential to improve the commitment levels. Good relationships with superiors definitely help people develop an emotional bond with the organization. b) Continuance Commitment Continuance commitment describes how the employee feel about staying longer in the organization and for this one of the most important reasons is economic considerations which are to some extent explained by rewards and recognition. The recognition obtained will motivate them to work better and stay longer in an organization. Also constant opportunities for growing and training will help them stay committed to organization. c) Normative Commitment This form of commitment mainly explains the sense of giving back to the organization and the predictor which we identified was most important was the relationships with supervisor (Head nurse/Doctor). Training and developments reflect investment done by organization on employees, so employees feel an obligation to stay committed to organization to pay it  back, which increases their normative commitment. Actual results: Statistical Significance of correlations With the acceptable alpha level being 0.05 for social science research and no. of responders being 30, (Dof = 28) gives critical value of correlation as 0.361. When compared with the results we obtained we notice that out of 9 correlations, 3 are not significant (value less than 0.361) and 6 are significant (Value higher than 0.361). When it’s significant we reject null hypothesis of no relationship and accept alternative hypothesis of existence of relationship. Hypothesis 1: From the results it’s apparent that hypothesis 1 is partially supported as only one correlation is significant out of 3. That is with affective commitment. So we can interpret that Recognition affects affective commitment but not the other two types of commitments. Hypothesis 2: For second hypothesis 2 out of 3 correlations are significant so it’s also partially supported. Relationship with doctors is not related to continuance commitment but related to affective and normative commitment. Hypothesis 3: Hypothesis 3 is completely supported as all the correlations are significant i.e. higher than 0.361. It means learning and development is related to all the dependent variables and affects all three dimensions of commitment i.e. Affective, Continuance, Normative which are considered here. Plausible explanation of variations between correlations Recognition: Recognition showed the highest correlation with affective commitment, while significant correlations were not established with the continuance and normative commitment. When nurses are recognized by the organization they tend to develop an emotional connect with the organization. They feel happier working in the hospital and a sense of belonging is nurtured within them. The appreciation received for the work translates into an attachment with the organization. This explains the  correlation with affective commitment. The recognition is mostly in the form of awards and words of praise not monetary in nature. Therefore a significant continuance commitment has not been established. Similarly, recognition for work does not lead to a feeling of obligation towards the organization. Rather, the positivity generated by the appreciation of work manifests itself as an emotional attachment towards the organization, which is reflected in the correlation with affective commitment. Relationship with superiors: This independent variable showed highest correlation with normative commitment and lower correlations with affective commitment, while correlation with continuance commitment was insignificant. The nurses tend to view the exceptionally good relationships with the doctors as being facilitated by the hospital. They therefore feel indebted to the hospital for providing them with an excellent working environment, which would be missing at other places. The moral obligation that they feel towards their hospital for the respect and dignity with which doctors and supervisors treat them is translated into a high correlation for normative commitment. Learning and development: It is seen from the results of the survey that learning and development has a high correlation with Affective Commitment to the organization and comparatively low correlation with continuance and normative Commitment. Intuitively we expected high correlation between learning and development a nd normative commitment to the organization. This is because employees would feel an obligation towards an organization that invests time and resources to train its employees and ensure their personal development. However, we realize these may not necessarily hold true once we take into account the atypical nature of the nursing profession. Nurses feel sense of duty towards their patients and ethical and moral obligation to serve the sick to the best of their capacity. In fact, nurses who have been trained well, dealt with varied patient cases and experience a great deal of learning would perhaps experience higher motivation to the society. Hence perhaps they would experience low moral responsibility to staying back in the organization. We believe existence of a caring and people centric management could be the reason for the high correlation between affective commitment and learning and development. An organization that has caring and people friendly management would earn emotional loyalty from its employees due to care and good treatment given to employees. Such an  organization would also take efforts to ensure that its human resources constantly learn and develop so as to contribute to the success of the organization.

Why Dualism is Rejected by Science Essay -- Dualism Essays

Throughout history there has been many different theory’s that have been presented, in numerous fashions. From psychology’s inception there has been attempts to answer many different questions, how much of our animal heritage exists, are humans basically good, is human nature neither good nor bad, do humans possess free will, is psychology really a science? There has been a persistent question throughout the ages, how are the mind and body related? This question of if there truly is a mind, and if there is, how is it linked to the body has been the center of many debates since the beginning of psychology. Every psychologist in history has at some point dealt with the question â€Å"How are the mind and body related†, and each had their own unique stance on the question. Through the decades, every imaginable position has been taken on the mind-body relationship, in an attempt to explain how the two are connected. There are different types of individuals that attem pt to explain the mind-body relationship; materialists, monists, idealists, and dualist. Each type differs on the explanation of the relationship between mind and body. â€Å"Some psychologist attempt to explain everything in physical terms; for them, even so-called mental events are ultimately explained by the laws of physics or chemistry (Hergenhahn, pg. 17)†. These individuals are called materialist. Materialist believes that matter is the only reality. The materialist believes that all things on earth are composed of material, and that all emergent phenomena in the universe, including consciousness, and the behavior of organisms, must be explained in terms of matter. In other words, the theory claims that our reality consists entirely of matter. Believing that there is only ... ...do humans possess free will, is psychology really a science? There has been a persistent question throughout the ages, on how are the mind and body related? One thing is for certain, humans and animals alike have both a body and mind, to be certain if the mind and body are separate or coexisting causing our actions and inactions will take more time and research. Psychology is still expanding, so there is still a great deal more to learn. Works Cited Hergenhahn , B. (2008). An inroduction to the history of psychology. (6th ed. pg. 17-18). Belmont,CA: Thomson Wadsworth. Slingerland, E. (2013). Body and Mind in Early China: An Integrated Humanities–Science Approach. Journal Of The American Academy Of Religion, 81(1), 6-55. Richert, R. L. (2008). Dualism Revisited: Body vs. Mind vs. Soul. Journal Of Cognition & Culture, 8(1/2), 99-115.

Good People in Cannery Row Essay

John Steinbeck’s Cannery Row, on its surface, is a very simplistic book in which its plot does not have any significant impact on its universe, let alone its characters. However, if one might delve deeper into Steinbeck’s clever subtext and rich overtones, a world of bliss and beauty can be found. Cannery Row, is a book where its characters are self-described as â€Å"Whores, Pimps, gamblers, and sons of bitches† and yet called â€Å"Saints and angels and martyrs and holy men† on the very same page (405). The point of these contradictions is to comment on society’s view of Morality. This is specifically noted when one of the main Characters, Doc, says â€Å"It has always seemed strange to me†¦The things we admire in men, kindness and generosity, openness, honesty, understanding and feeling, are the concomitants of failure in our system. And those traits we detest, sharpness, greed, acquisitiveness, meanness, egotism and self-interest, are the traits of success.† When referring a group of Former homeless men called Mack and the boys (505). Mack and the boys are a group of bums that live in the row, and often do nothing but drink alcohol. These men never do anything necessarily heroic, or daring, or even Courageous, but these men are the most moral individuals in the entirety of Cannery Row. Through the Scenes following Mack and the Boys, John Steinbeck develops Idea that despite their lack of ambition, they are viewed as morally upstanding individuals, who have a positive impact on society. With their happy go lucky nature, and simple needs, these men can achieve the impossible. One might think that they are very unintelligent individuals due to their standard of living, but that couldn’t be farther than the truth. Time and time again they prove themselves to be people that are not only capable, but show extraordinary prowess in certain fields. One of these men, for instance was gay. When referring to his mechanical ability, Steinbeck narrates â€Å"Indeed there are men near   Whom a car runs better. And such a one was gay. His fingers on a timer or a carburetor adjustment screw were gentle and wise and sure.† The way he listens to the ills of automatons, it is of no impossibility he could have become a wealthy mechanic, fixing cars in a garage of his owning. Gay Instead enjoys his time at the flop house, drinking and talking the day away. All Gay really wants, is to have a good time, and for the others around him to do the same. This is a key component of why gay is a moral citizen of society. Gay is often able to do wrong, but never is willing. Gay lives with an abusive Wife, which constantly beats him. He never wants to, but occasionally he has to return the favor. He used to get thrown into jail because of this, but that he liked the conditions in jail, so his wife beats him while he sleeps instead/ Gay, specifically, is an interesting case, because he has a life in which is deeper than one might believe. he is the only one to have a life of suburbia waiting for him. Gay lived a world in which he had a house and a loving wife. Through another lens, Gay was trapped in a cage with a woman that beats him so much that being put in jail is sweet relief. Despite this, Gay eventually always choses to go back to his wife. He believes that he is wrong in the situation and returns to his wife trying to be a better man. That truly is the reason why he is an upstanding person. He’s a very humble and simple creature, who just wishes to enjoy life. Another Example of such ambition would the leader of the group, Mack. Mack is by far, is the flop house’s driving force. When leading the group, he is a moral center, and the speaker of wisdom; when alone, he is a very tragic man. Throughout the book, Mack and the boys only ambition was to throw a party for Doc, a local good Samaritan. When this ambition ends in failure, he proclaims: It don’t do good to say I’m sorry. I’ve been sorry all my life†¦I had a wife†¦same thing. Ever’thing I done turn sour. She couldn’t stand it no more. If I done a good thing it got poisoned up some way†¦I don’t do nothin’ but clown no more. Try to make the boys laugh. (496) Mack seemingly is the only one who doesn’t lack ambition by choice. Whilst in with the other, Mack often is the one to set goals, albeit small ones. This is where the true tragedy of his character comes in. No matter what he does, or hard he works, all of his plans inevitably turn to failure. Mack is a man of good intentions, and made of good morals, but he is seemingly cursed with bad luck, and the world reacts as such. One of Mack’s greatest qualities is his way with words. A lesser person might use his power of speech craft to control the populace, and shape the world in his image, but Mack just wants to have fun. Whenever he uses this sort of power, he is always talking about doing something for someone else. The adventures of Mack and the boys is filled with irony: Gay having a wife that beats him, Hazel likes conversation, but hates talking, or having a party for someone who doesn’t attend. Perhaps the most ironic of all is that despite their lack of ambition and lazy attitude, their actions Influence everyone around them. All throughout cannery row, people would look on to these men, and get inspired in some way. One of the greatest examples of such inspiration is the aforementioned Doc. Even though Mack and the Boys destroyed his home by throwing a party for him, without him, he still holds them in high regard. â€Å"The sale of souls to gain the whole world is completely voluntary and almost unanimous—but not quite†¦You know how they tried to give me a party and it went wrong. But they wanted to give me a party. That was their impulse. â€Å"(505). What Doc is saying here, is that he respects the lifestyle that Mack and the Boys have chosen, and thinks of them as moral even though things don’t go their way. This is  Implied in a number of ways. Initially, he denotes the idea of throwing the party was on a whim of theirs. This is a Reference to the continuing notion of their lack of aspiration. Mack and the Boys don’t do things for certain reasons, they just decide to act whence they get the inspiration. Furthermore, he begins with a metaphor comparing the Consumerist system, a place where you have to work for a place you often hate, to selling your soul, giving away your humanly essence and personality. This metaphor works well contrasting with the boys, to those who seemingly suffer from working into monotony. Doc is implicating that their way of spontaneity is a way wherein they have the capability to do good. Steinbeck often uses these sections with Doc to illustrate the importance of the boy’s actions. Whenever Doc speaks of them, he outlines how â€Å"[business] men are sick men†, and how the boys are â€Å"healthy and strangely clean† (504). Mack and the boys don’t have that thirst that humans often have. That hunger for Silver stitching and velvet bed sheets. Steinbeck uses a group of happy homeless men as a symbol for the importance of caring for one another, while living in the moment. Mack and the boys outline how to do well in life, without selling one’s soul for wealth and power. Morality is often a tricky subject to tackle – and often when it is tackled, it’s not done well—But Steinbeck has it pegged. One might think that things such as be considerate of one another and be humble would be simple Ideologies for a book to go behind, Steinbeck does it justice. Cannery Row Shows just how people react to good deeds, as misguided as they are. John Steinbeck’s Cannery Row, on its surface, is a very simplistic book, but it is so much more.

Political Philosophy of Thomas Hobbes and Rene Descartes Essay

â€Å"Politics should be the application of the science Of man to the construction of the community† Explain this remark and discuss what reasons there might be for thinking it is not trueIn this essay I intend to examine the political philosophy of Thomas Hobbes and Rene Descartes, in particular their ideas relating to the science of man, and attempt to explain why their ideas prove that it is not possible to construct a science of man. I will also briefly mention the philosophy of Donald Davidson in regards to a science of man. The theories of Hobbes and the contemporary socio-biologists attempt to recognise how man works and on that basis build a society. â€Å"Hobbes wished to be seen as the inventor of the science of politics† (Sorrell, p45) He went about this by looking at the psychology of man and discovering that man is a mechanism. Hobbes wanted to understand mechanics. He wanted to look at why men live the way that they do in society and therefore, breaks it down. By doing this he discovered that people are cogs in the social machine. Therefore he wants to examine this cogs to achieve an understanding of the social mechanism, and does this by looking at the psychology of the mind. Hobbes is both an empirist and a materialist. Empirists believe that sense gives all knowledge. Generally, they do not believe in astrology, god, electrons etc. Their philosophy is summed up by saying that all things that give true knowledge can be sensed. Materialists believe that all things in existence are physical matter. In other words, the soul and the spirit do not exist. Therefore Hobbes believes that thoughts are material, that they are caused by sense and vice versa. Tom Sorrell suggests in his essay, entitled â€Å"Hobbes’ scheme of the sciences†, that rather than have knowledge of how the mechanics of the mind’s passions work, a more successful way of gaining political knowledge is to understand what these passions cause. They cause various degrees of action, with the possessor going to various extents to achieve what they want. In chapter six of â€Å"De Corpere†, Hobbes makes a connection between the knowledge of the principles of politics and the knowledge of the motions of the average human mind. Hobbes’ account of political science is an idea of what man must do if his goal is self-preservation. These ideas are not what mankind will do but what it will have to do, in a rational way, to form a political civilisation. One would assume that as Hobbes identifies both a natural science (that of the work of nature), and a civil science – that of the common wealth – (which makes laws and wills), he would suggest that they are parallels which, in political philosophy, work together. However, there are a few problems with Hobbes’ theory. Hobbes suggests that a monarch makes a better sovereign than an assembly. Yet, surely he would not agree that a monarch who is not dedicated would be better suited than a group of thoughtful representatives. A politically secure society is built up from its people. Hobbes believes that these people all have one motivation; self-gain, or to be more precise self-preservation. Hobbes suggests that there is a link between voluntary motion and vital motion. He goes on to say that senses work together with the vital motions to produce that which is voluntary, i.e. an endeavour. These endeavours can be categorised in two ways; attractions and aversions. An example of an attraction is to pick up a piece of cake because it looks good. That of an aversion is to run away from a dog because you are scared of dogs. As it is possible to see these actions are derived from the senses, again agreeing with Hobbes empirist theory. Endeavours are the small motions within man which occur before he walks, talks, runs or carries out any other voluntary motion. These endeavours are so small that they are undetectable. By understanding why men act the way that they do, it is easier to come to a conclusion as to how society should be structured. However, the idea that the existence of a science of man can be questioned suggests that society can be constructed without it. This is due to the fact that many psychological and political theories are founded on the basis that there is a science of man. Without this â€Å"science of man† these theories are in turn questioned and therefore cannot be viably backed as reasons for the construction of the community. Another prolific philosopher whose arguments should be taken into account is Rene Descartes. Descartes thinks that we, as humans, are made up of two separate substances. The body is the physical stuff and the mind – the res cogitans (thinking thing) – purely mental stuff. The res cogitans can will your body to move. The difficulty with Descartes’ theory is that the mind and body interact; if you pour boiling water on you hand, you will feel pain. Again we have to take into account voluntary and vital motions. A voluntary motion is me moving my arm. A vital motion is my arm moving. I move my arm because I want to; but I may not necessarily want it to be moved. This can happen for a number of reasons. It may be possible that I have a muscle spasm in my arm or that somebody moves it. All of this suggests that for Descartes’ theory to be correct there must be some kind of connection between a material substance (the body) and an immaterial substance (the mind). However, we will find it impossible to understand the idea of a science of man if we cannot understand how the two substances interact. Therefore, again, we have no proof that it is possible to build a political philosophy on the basis of a science of man. On p213 of Davidson , we find an explanation of monisms and dualisms. â€Å"Theories are thus divided into four sorts: nomological monism, which affirms that there are correlating laws and that the events correlated are one (materialists belong in this category); nomological dualism, which compromises various forms of parallelism, interactionism and epiphenominalism; anomalous dualism which combines ontological dualism with the general failure of laws correlating the mental and the physical (cartesianism). And finally there is anomalous monism which shows an ontological bias only in that it allows the possibility that not all events are mental, while insisting that all events are physical. â€Å"The final position is that which Davidson himself follows. Davidson’s argument suggests that the psychology of man does not follow any causal laws. Therefore, it is impossible to impose any rationality on theories involving the mind. These anomological psychological states are defeasable. They are defeasable because it is possible that by adding another condition to the situation the expected behaviour changes. Therefore it is impossible to agree with any political philosophy that involves the necessity of a science of man. What is easily discovered is that there are many different political philosophies and many different concepts as to what is a science of man. Philosophers such as Hobbes and his counterparts, Mill and Marx, possess the shared assumption that political philosophers must accept the political opinion that they are arguing for. They all think that rational agents must accept their arguments yet they all have different arguments. They all believe that for a successful political structure human nature cannot be ignored, if the structure is to command respect. As I have shown, Descartes and Davidson on the other hand, believe that a science of man is impossible; Descartes because he believes that our minds are immaterial and Davidson because man’s behaviour follows no causal laws. All of this shows us that trying to interpret man’s actions and apply them to a science is an impossible conquest. Man is too complicated a mechanism to understand and therefore political philosophy, for a sensible and rational social structure, must be founded on another basis.

Fitness and testing Sport Essays

Fitness and testing Sport Essays Fitness and testing Sport Essay Fitness and testing Sport Essay Emma takes insulin. ‘With exercise, insulin is not readily released from the pancreas due to the lowered blood glucose levels. ’ ( preventionpt. com/PIfolder/Mini%20Paper%20August. htm) Your body needs insulin along with carbohydrate to produce glucose for energy during exercise. If this is not produced it may force Emma to stop exercising.  © Harcourt Education Ltd 2007. Copying permitted for purchasing institution only. This material is not copyright free. [43] BTEC National Sport Assessment and Delivery Resource Grading The student’s answer covers all the essential content of criteria P2 and P3, i. e. preparing and using a health screening questionnaire. Although the questionnaire has some clear limitations, for example, lack of scales to aid differentiation of answers and possibly help description for M2, the criteria have been met. For M2 (part) the student has included some description of the strengths and areas for improvement for the two individuals. However, to gain a Merit (M2 part), they would have needed more description of their findings. There is little information on the levels/amounts of strengths and areas for improvement, which would aid the description of the individual. As an example, they could have described how many cigarettes Julie smoked each day and how many years she had been smoking. This would have provided a clearer picture of her status. This lack of quantification is a result of shortcomings in the design of the questionnaire. To achieve a Distinction (D1 part), the student would have needed to evaluate the health screening questionnaires. : There is some evaluation within the text because some consequences for the individuals are discussed. However, there is a lack of depth and expansion of the findings. To aid the evaluation the student should support their findings with appropriate literature, for example, exploring the possible health implications of eating too many fatty foods. This could be a magazine article on coronary heart disease, which they could feed back to the individual. The student should also provide recommendations for lifestyle improvement. For example, the student could suggest that the client could seek medical help to stop smoking, and could undertake a supervised exercise programme to improve their fitness at a local fitness centre. [44]  © Harcourt Education Ltd 2007. Copying permitted for purchasing institution only. This material is not copyright free. Unit 6: Fitness testing for sport and exercise Unit 1 Further resources Websites Netfit, www. netfit. co. uk/tymen. htm – guide to health and fitness. Good links to future training recommendations. Peak Performance, www. pponline. co. uk. Specialises in a wide range of sports in relation to fitness testing. Sports coach, www. brianmac. demon. co. uk. Brian Mackenzie, the UKs highly experienced senior athletics coach, provides fitness and training advice for athletes. Rob Woods Guide to Fitness Testing, www. topendsports. com/testing/ A comprehensive site on all things to do with fitness testing, including discussions and descriptions of over 30 fitness tests. Texts Howley, E. T. and B. D. Franks (1992). Health fitness instructors’ handbook. Human Kinetics. Macdougall, J. D. , H. A. Wenger and H. J. Green (1991). Physiological testing of the high performance athlete. Human Kinetics. Morrow, J. R. , A. W Jackson, J. G. Disch nd D. P. Mood (1995). Measurement and evaluation in human performance. Human Kinetics. Safrit, M. J. (1995). Complete guide to youth fitness testing. Human Kinetics. Skinner, J. S. (1993). Exercise testing and exercise prescription for special cases. Lippincott, Williams Wilkins. YMCA (2000). Fitness testing and assessment manual. Human Kinetics. Supplementary texts British Association of advisers and lecturers in physical education (1999). Safe practice in physical education. Dudley LEA. Dalgleish, J. , S. Dollery and H. Frankham (2001). The health and fitness handbook: Longman Egger, G. , N. Champion and A. Bolton (1999). The fitness leader’s handbook. A C Black. Inbar, O. , O. Bar-or and J. S. Skinner (1996). The Wingate anaerobic test. Human Kinetics  © Harcourt Education Ltd 2007. Copying permitted for purchasing institution only. This material is not copyright free.

To what extent was Austria guilty of causing world war one essays

To what extent was Austria guilty of causing world war one essays To What Extent was Austria-Hungary Guilty of Causing the First World War Austria-Hungary had been established by a compromise between the Hungarian nobility and the Habsburg monarchy in an attempt to maintain the old Austrian Empire. It was a multi-national Empire, and its political life was dominated by disputes between the eleven principal national groups, in an era of national awakening. Although the Empire was frequently upset by quarrelling between the groups. This internal turmoil was translated into an aggressive foreign outlook which culminated in the fuse of the assasination of the arch duke being lit in 1914. However is it fair to say that Austria also placed the powder kegs which this fuse led to or was the keg placed by a number of interwoven reason such as the alliances system, Great Power politics and the more traditional view of guilty laying at the door of the Germans. The Austrian Empire consisted of a number of differnet nationalitys, such as Serbs,Croats, Czechs, Italians, Germans and Slovaks. It was this great clash of cultures and religions which lead to the huge internal strife which envelopted the Austrian Empire. This internal strife was also key to the direction of Austrias foreign policy. Indeed the very existance of the Empire depended on its international relations and the ability of its leaders to convince the great powers that the preservation of the empire was vital for maintaining the stability of the international system. Thus it should come as no surprise that it was Austrias internal problems which lead to the adoption of a foreign policy which althought cannot be used soley to apply guilt to Austria can when commbined with other actions taken by Austria form a solid bedrock on which to build a case for Austrian guilt. At the start of the twentieth century the Turkish Empire was in decline. Thus there was a large power vacume in the Balkans one upon which Austrai being the largest Imperial power i...