The necessity for ethical behavior in the management of projects Essay

The necessity for ethical behavior in the management of projects - Essay Example Moral philosophy or ethics concerns the defense and recommendation of the concepts of wrong or right behavior. The philosophy of ethics is divided into operational areas such as normative ethics, applied ethics and meta-ethics. Meta-ethics involves the reference and theoretical meaning of moral values, and the determination of their truth (Ashrafi, 2007). Normative ethics involves the practical means of establishing a moral plan of action, while applied ethics involves the achievement of moral outcomes in different situations with different ethical requirements. The characteristics of ethical behaviors are fairness, honesty, and equity in professional, interpersonal and research, scholarly and academic relationships. Ethical behaviors compliment the diversity, rights and dignity of individuals or people in the society. The standards upheld in enhancing the attributes of responsibility and honesty is ethical behaviors. These standards are applicable to all individuals regardless of th e facets of life, and the position held in commerce. The hallmark of ethical behavior is the application of these standards in situations that are inconvenient for their application (Long, & Spuma, 2005). Project management involves organizing, planning, managing, securing, controlling and leading resources towards the achievement of objectives and goals. Projects are provisional endeavors that have a defined starting and end points. They are mostly time and funding constrained. Projects are carried out to meet objectives and goals, characteristically for addition of value or for beneficial changes. Projects because of their temporary nature are in contrast to operations or businesses that are permanent and repetitive (Long, & Spuma, 2005). The management of projects is thus challenging and different and requires distinct management strategies and technical skills. The major challenge in project management is the achievement of the objectives

Conflict between Israelis & Palestinians Research Paper

Conflict between Israelis & Palestinians - Research Paper Example Religion itself, of course need not be blamed as it is an impulse of nature that derives from â€Å"man’s religious constitution† (James, xi). While religion is a complex reality, it is commonly identified with man’s â€Å"feeling of the infinite† (43). As such, it is an ennobling capacity or trait of humankind. Still, religion or religious experience admits varieties, such as to divide individuals and societies. In human history, religion has proven to be both a boon and a bane to humanity. Consider the religious persecutions, oppressions, and wars in history. And along this trend of thought, this paper takes the position that while religion itself is good, distortion of the religious impulse by way of bias and extremism can become destructive. In this situation, religion serves to become the root cause of conflict, such as in the case of the estranged Jewish Israelis and Muslim Palestinians living in what is known as the Holy Land. Seed of religious conf lict Not generally known is the fact that Muslims and Jews had a failed relationship even during the lifetime of the founder of Islam, the Prophet Muhammad. The situation was rather unfortunate, because in the beginning, the learned rabbis of the Jewish tribes of Yatrib, a settlement in the Middle East, admired Muhammad. They saw in him the awaited prophet who would come from the Arabs with whom they the Jews would destroy the idolaters of the region (Pickthall xiv). In fact, they even came to Mecca to vow allegiance to the prophet and invite him to their city. And owing to the hate and plot of assassination, Muhammad himself sought refuge among Jews in Yatrib. This event was later known as Hijrah or the Flight from Mecca, marking the beginning of the Muslim era (xv). But during the eventuality of a blood feud between Meccans and Muhammad and a temporary defeat of Muslim forces, the Jews reneged on their friendship with Muhammad and joined the hostile Meccans. To aggravate the situa tion, the Jews of Yatrib also declared that the religion of the pagan Arabs was superior to Al-Islam (xx). Then in a rather unforeseen reversal of fortune in the seventh year of Hijrah, the Prophet led a victorious campaign against Kheybar, the hornets nest of the idolatrous Arabs and stronghold of Jewish tribes in North Africa. The Prophet and his army overcame his persecutors, and by the ninth year of the Hijrah, all Arab tribes from all part of Arabia swore allegiance to Muhammad making him the emperor of Arabia. And for their infidelity, the Prophet expelled the Jews from Arabia (xxvi). The seed of a prolonged Jewish and Muslim hostility was sown. Spread of Islam Muhammad spread his faith in only One God all over Arabia, later in other continents by means of preaching and war. His words were made into a new Bible called the Koran, and today the Koranic religious law is followed by about 1.4 billion people scattered all over Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas. Earlier on, Muha mmad’s faith was a religion of peace, but it spread rapidly as a warlike faith offering unbelievers three choices: to fight it out, to accept the new religion, or keep their old religion but pay tribute to the conquering Muslims or followers of the Prophet Muhammad (Boak et al., 168) Given the quick brains of Arabs, Muslims absorbed the Greek learning of the Eastern Roman Empire, and contributed Arabic advancement especially in the fields of chemistry, medicine and

Reflective Paper on Gay Marriage Essay Example for Free

Reflective Paper on Gay Marriage Essay Today many people have their own opinions and beliefs when it comes down to the topic of gay marriage. I personally feel that gay marriage should be legalized. Yes God said, â€Å"That marriage is to be between a man and a woman. † My question is, â€Å"What gives people the right to judge or tell another human-being who to love or how to love? † I personally feel it’s insulting to one’s integrity and people should be able to express their love how they see fit. For centuries the United States has been known for its civil rights and freedoms. Many Americans are angered by the idea of same-sex relationships and marriages. The biggest reason to why heterosexuals are against gay marriage is based primarily on their religious beliefs. So I’m wondering, â€Å"What’s wrong with the idea of two people being together who love and care for each other wanting to spend their lives together? † Of course the gay community is greatly misunderstood because many people who aren’t living a homosexual lifestyle just refuse to listen. Most of these individuals would rather be close-minded to the topic, rather than trying to understand the daily struggles and what it means to be gay in America or any other country for that matter. Same-sex couples aren’t asking for special treatment, but just to be treated the same as a straight couple. The ethical theory that provides the most support for same-sex marriage is utilitarianism. Utilitarianism is a natural way to see if an act is the right thing to do (or wrong thing to do) is to look at its results or consequences. Theories allow us the opportunity to identify the problem and then find ways on how to resolve them. One example would happen to be the ninth commandment, â€Å"Thou shall not lie. Given this statement we a human-beings, tend to lead busy lives and in order to not go against what we may have said, we’ll lie. We do this to keep from hurting one’s feelings. In doing this we as people look at the consequences of our actions to determine how we can make the situation better. It also states that there is an obvious solution that is fair and that may be one that appeals to common sense also. If we can mix races and people are allowed t o get married just because. Then why aren’t same-sex couples allowed the exact same opportunity? What makes people so against and afraid of allowing others to love and be with the person they choose? In a utilitarianism mind-set, society can’t say who should have a relationship. Much of the controversy rises from the decision on how one chooses to define or view marriage. Even though, it was between a man and a woman, man and a man, woman and a woman. Relativism is a concept that points of view have no absolute truth or validity. In contrast, people who are supporters of gay marriage tend to look at the glass â€Å"half-full† instead of just basing their decisions primarily on religious beliefs. Both sides have a very valid argument when it comes down to discussing this topic. From past occasions of inequality, gay rights are the next big step to creating change and an equal society. Many people of the Republican Party feel that allowing same-sex marriages will change how people view religion and family values. A large majority of people and organizations that are for gay marriage feel that not allowing same-sex marriage to be legal feel that it’s a violation against the law of the Equal Protection Clause. It’s the clause of the 14th Amendment that prohibits states from denying any person within the jurisdiction of equal protection. So for the laws to not allow same-sex couples marry is going to create a lot of controversy and scrutiny. Homosexuality is defined as the quality of being homosexual or as the erotic activity with another of the same sex. Up until the year of 1973, being homosexual was known to be a mental disorder, which was stated as such in psychology journals. Many often feel that legalizing gay marriage will lead to the legalizing of other things. Such as pedophilia and polygamy which are controversial subjects but not as much as gay marriage. Even though comparing pedophilia and polygamy to gay marriage is a little much, people feel that allowing gay marriage goes against their morals, their views on society, lives they want for their children, and the future. For some violating same-sex couples civil right is worth it in the end only because they want to protect the value of a man-woman type marriage. To deny gays and lesbians the right to marry is in violation of their civil rights as a citizen of the United States of America. Legalizing gay marriage is not to attack how one feels and how they view things, but so that those can have a chance at equality also. Gay marriage is a very emotional topic and is going to be for years to come. So many people feel that homosexuality is wrong and not normal and therefore believe that homosexuals don’t deserve the right to be married. People are going to debate on whether gay marriage is â€Å"right or wrong†, that’s just the way it is. For most of it Christian groups have been the â€Å"chief of state† when it boils down to same-sex marriage. Growing up in a Christian faith home we were taught that God loves everyone. So answer this question, â€Å"Does that circle of people not include gays or lesbians? † The Constitution gives our rights thanks to the founding fathers of our country. As Americans is this country we have many rights such as freedom of speech, freedom of worship, and so many more. Even though there are many rights, some are limited to an extent. In today’s society are government is controlled by politicians who make a majority of the decisions. Even though we are given freedoms for some reason we are scared of using them. The U. S. seems to be huge playing field, but then we have individuals who decide to take away balls, swings, slides, etc. Why do they get to take these things away? Gay marriage will continue to be a critical topic in today’s society, that’s just fact. A recent study shows that there are approximately 2, 900,000 homosexuals living in the U. S. Some chose not to give out there sexual orientation. The only states where gay marriage is legal are Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, Vermont, New Hampshire, New York, Maryland, Maine, and Washington. The following countries allow gay partnerships which are Norway, Sweden, Greenland, Hungary, Iceland, The Netherlands, France, Belgium, Portugal, Germany, and Finland. A same-sex couple is not allowed to file a joint tax return in order to lower their taxes or allowed to visit a hospital if an illness was to occur. In this case only next of kin are allowed to make hospital visits. I feel that by allowing gay marriage across the country will then give equal rights for an individual. It will decrease the amount on violence among people and will bring the country together. People often ask, â€Å"Why can’t same-sex couples be fine with just the choice of civil union? † They say this because they couldn’t possibly understand the difference between marriage and civil union. Civil union is the legal status that ensures to same-sex couples specified rights and responsibilities of married couples. Marriage is the state of being united to a person of the same sex in a relationship like that of a traditional marriage. Civil unions don’t allow the same assurance that marriage does. In our case marriages are known worldwide, as for civil unions they only exist in the state in which the couple live in. Marriage for same-sex couples happen to be way more beneficial in this case. Say for instance in a civil union, if one of the partners passes away, the living spouse cannot receive Social Security or any benefits from the government. This leaves that person in a financial crisis even though they had been with them for years. In a marriage, couples are entitled to receive their spouse’s Social Security or for that case any other benefits in case of death. This guarantees them definite financial security and rights that will protect them. In a marriage, as a couple you can move from state to state, or country to country and still be granted the same rights and protection. Where as in a civil union if you move to another state they’re rights are long being protected, that in which they were when they were living in the state they happened to be married in. One of the biggest benefits of marriage is the right to adoption. Several states don’t allow gay adoption or allow second parent adoption if an event such as loss or separation happened. Adoption is the act or process of adoption a child. Second parent adoption is when one person adopts the child of his or her partner. There are 16 states that definitely allow joint gay adoption which are; Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Washington D. C. , Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington. One of the most widely cited arguments that happen to be against same-sex marriage rights is that it will harm children that happen to be raised in the â€Å"silver lining† of these relationships. Studies from social science research show that the evidence from this statement is not a supported argument. Scientific literature shows that children who happen to grow up with one or two gay/or esbian parents cope as well in emotional, cognitive, social, and sexual functioning as children raised in a heterosexual household. The optimal development seems to be influenced more by the nature of the relationship and interactions within the family, rather than by the structural form it takes. Since the year of 2002, studies have shown that children with same-sex parents do as well as children of parents of the opposite sex. This has allowed major psychological and health organizations such as (The American Psychological Association) and many more to support same-sex marriage and parenting. The word GLAAD stands for (Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation). This organization creates change. GLAAD amplifies the voice of the gay community in order to keep equality at the forefront of America’s cultural conversation. Their impact on newspapers, magazines, blogs, radio, television, movies, and so much more, which transforms attitudes to bring about real change. They hold the media accountable for the words and images they produce. When the media is allowed to be a platform to defame and stereotype the LGBT people, that’s when GLAAD steps in to take action. They leverage 25 years in media relationships and countless hours of media advocacy in order to send important messages against homophobia and discrimination. They strengthen other organizations so that they can leverage media, engage in local communities, and advance social change. Right at this present time GLAAD happens to be working with local organizations in more than 30 states to build support for equality. By collaborating with LGBT leaders and advocacy groups, happens to be the â€Å"key† to increasing the visibility of the gay community, changing hearts and minds, and securing full and lasting equality. Suicide is the third most leading cause of death among adolescents and non-suicidal self-harm occurs in 13-45% of individuals within this age group. This make this particular incident a major public health concern in today’s society. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth are particularly at risk for engaging in these behaviors. Even though, not much is known to what are the specific risk factors associated with suicidal ideas and self-harm behaviors within the population. A history of attempted uicide, impulsivity, and prospected LGBT victimization, and low social support were the reasons behind an increased risk of suicidal ideas. Lesbians are two times more likely to attempt suicide than straight woman, and gay men are six times more likely to attempt suicide than their heterosexual peers. Attempts by gay and lesbian youth account up to 30% of all completed suicides. Gay teens are three times more likely to attempt suicide than their heterosexual peers and gay youth are four times more likely to make a suicide attempt requiring medical attention. The Trevor Project is the leading national organization providing crisis intervention and suicide prevention services for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning youth. This organization was founded in 1998 by James Lecesne, Peggy Rajski, and Randy Stone, who are the creators behind the Academy Award winning short film called, â€Å"Trevor†. That is a timeless coming of age story about love, loss, and to learn how to be yourself. The Trevor Project is determined to end suicide among LGBTQ youth by providing life-saving and life-affirming resources. Which include 24/7 crisis intervention lifeline, digital community, and advocacy/ educational programs that create safe, supportive, and positive environment for everyone. The vision is to provide a future where the possibilities, opportunities, and dreams are the same for all youth, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. Inclusiveness is one of their mantras. This organization believe that everyone should be treated like a human-being, regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, race, ethnicity, religious practice, ability, or size. The Trevor Project is also a Champion of Change, an honor that was presented by the White House for their innovative work to save the lives of LGBTQ young people. In conclusion, I don’t think I’ll ever quite understand the argument on whether homosexuals should have the right to marry and live their lives the way they choose. As citizens of this country, we all deserve the right to experience and have happiness. Isn’t that normally part of forming relationships? It transpires when we fall in love and are able to love the one we have chosen to be with. Even, if our partner happens to be of the same or opposite sex. That shouldn’t matter because â€Å"love is love†, no matter how you see it. For me I feel that same-sex marriage shouldn’t have to resort in ethical controversy, it should be left alone. I feel this way because since the age of fourteen I knew that I was gay. Throughout middle school and high school I kept it a secret and didn’t tell anyone. It was very hard because I was scared that if I came out my family, friends, and my peers wouldn’t accept me. I went through phases of anxiety, anger, lonliness, depression, and an attempt of suicide. All because I kept who I truly was locked away all because the fear of rejection. That’s a very big â€Å"pill† to have to swallow. By deciding to keep this a secret I wasn’t able to live out my truth and be who I truly am. Recently at the beginning of this past year I decided that it was time to come out to my family and friends. It was one of the most hardest and scariest things that I’ve ever had to do but I know it had to be done. Now that I have the acceptance of my family and friends I’m now able to live my life and be truly happy. It’s as if I had been suffocating for so long and now I can breathe again. I can’t explain it but it’s the greatest feeling in the world. I want every teen or young adult struggling with who they are to be able to be okay and love themselves on the inside as well as the outside. There’s a saying, â€Å"God doesn’t make mistakes. † So for every person that’s ever been told that they’re a â€Å"mistake† just know that mistakes are okay because no one’s perfect, but never ever lose your passion to express and be who your are. I just feel like I’m finally able to live out my goals, dreams, and ambitions I have for my life. It’s as if I have been given this new lease on life called â€Å"joy†. I refuse to let anyone or anything take it away.

Motivating Business Students to the Entrepreneurial Sector

Motivating Business Students to the Entrepreneurial Sector An Empirical Study on Factors Motivating Business Students to Move to the Entrepreneurial Sector Abstract. This exploratory study is attempts to examine how employable individuals turn their focus to start-ups. Today, majority of employees still practise a more or less self-protective strategy. In this paper we would report on the results of an empirical study of factors motivating degreed potential employees to move to self enterprising. The deciding factors to become an entrepreneur and of sustainable employment-oriented factors to be analyzed in order to discover how they differ. Participants consisted of 200 students from Malaysia entered final year of business undergraduate and postgraduate programs. Self-administered questionnaires were used to gather data on factors and types of relationships influencing career choice and entrepreneurial intention. The results of the analysis will serve as a basis for the development of employment practices designed to support start-ups in adopting sustainable business practices. 1. Introduction Today, employees still act in accordance with employers legal obligations and try not to attract special attention from local independent business owners. This papers main aim is to take a fresh look into graduates expectation on the factors motivating employees when considering switching jobs if employed and to identify the level of interest as they commence and develop entrepreneurial ventures. The study principally examined why employees decide to become entrepreneurs, therefore, seven main issues associated with graduates enterprises as they established, operated and grew their businesses, these being chosen following a process of brainstorming with a pilot group of graduate entrepreneurs. 2. Review of Literature 2.1. Overview A number of researchers have attempted to consider factors such as gender, grade point average, duration and field of study and entrepreneurial family background as important factors affecting students perception and attitudes towards the prospect of new own business formation, and some of these factors clearly enhance or inhabit such tendency (Oakey, Mukhtar and Kipling, 2002). However, Cooper, Woo, and Dunkelberg (1989) suggested that the various objectives identified by other researchers can be reduced to three factors: challenge, wealth and autonomy. Using cluster analysis Woo, Cooper, and Dunkelberg (1991) identified two types of entrepreneurs depending upon their purposes at the time of commencing the business: firstly self-regulating who placed high priority on not having to work for others, and secondly, â€Å"company-men. who builds the organization. 2.2. Motivation Generation of start up ideas have been explored by a number of researchers. Opportunity recognition is dependent on whether the entrepreneur was extrinsically stimulated. A leading entrepreneurship text has recognised the â€Å"important implications for entrepreneurs who need to be creative in their thinking† and of the concept that creativity can be learned or enhanced (Timmons Spinelli, 2008). The three types of opportunities identification to the field of entrepreneurship as established by Sarasvathy, Dew, Velamuri, and Venkataraman (2003) are recognized, discovered and created. There are various motives to start a new venture. According to Amit, McCrimmon, Zietsma and Oesch (2001), money is important but not necessarily most important. They argue that some of the key non-monetary motives for starting up a business include the wish to be independent and the combination of work and household responsibilities. These start-up motives may have important consequences for the d egree of (over)optimism that characterizes (promising) entrepreneurs. For example, if an entrepreneur is mainly driven by wealth creation, it may be expected that (s)he is more likely to be disappointed if the turnover in the first year is relatively low. If the entrepreneur is driven by the wish to be independent, (s)he may be unpleasantly surprised by the strong reliance upon a limited number of clients or the bank. If the primary start-up motive is exploiting a perceived opportunity, the entrepreneur may be faced with other people who came up with the same idea or possibly an overestimated market demand for the (new) product. Gilad and Levine (1986), agreed in their analysis on intrinsic and extrinsic that there are discrimination between start-up motives. Intrinsic motives include the desire for independence and combining work with care for family members. Entrepreneurs who are driven by such motives will probably be less inclined to set unrealistically high pecuniary goals. Extrinsic motives include two categories: pull and push factors. An opportunity of perceived profit is an important pull factor of entrepreneurship, while (the threat of) unemployment is a well-known push factor. Regarding the exploitation of opportunities, Hayward, Shepherd and Griffin(2006) argue that overoptimistic founders will commit too many resources to the opportunities that are the bases of their ventures. If entrepreneurs are ‘blinded by their own ideas and fail to adequately assess the competition and the (potential) problems to transform the opportunity into a profitable venture, over optimism is around the corner. The creation of a new organization, however, is contingent upon the belief that self-employment promises more expected utility than either employment within an existing organization or unemployment (Douglas Shepherd, 2000; Van Praag Cramer, 2001). 3. Methodology Gartner (1989) proposed that a common limitation of studies into the predictors of entrepreneurial intentions is the failure of investigators to choose samples that are (1) comprised solely of people who are serious about entrepreneurship and (2) who are in the process of making the decision to become involved in creating a new business. Krueger, Reilly and Carsrud (2000) find that studies comprising samples of upper-division college students can uncover job-related preferences at a time when respondents are struggling with important career decisions. Therefore, it is acceptable and appropriate to investigate entrepreneurial intent utilizing a sample of upper-class college students. (Brice and Nelson, 2008), it is important to note that the population of interest in their study consists of individuals who perceive that they will become entrepreneurs and not necessarily only those who will actually become entrepreneurs. This difference is significant because while actions has been demonstrated to be predicted by intentions. Therefore, the focus of this research remains at the entrepreneurial intentions level of analysis. The sample chosen consists of postgraduate and undergraduate business degree program students who were nearing graduation. When students contemplate graduation, they may also develop immediate career plans and long-range goals. The respondents are those from the business disciplines because, based on their discipline interest, they have already decided to pursue business-related careers. For that reason, a homogeneous sampling of university college students was included in this study. In this study, we follow the method tested by Brice and Nelson. This study sample consisted of 200 students from University Colleges in Malaysia who participated utilizing a structured questionnaire data collection methodology. Subjects consisted of final (3rd) year business undergraduates and final year Master of Business Administration (MBA) students in the concentrations of management. They were appropriate primarily because their academic concentration implied that they had serious interest in pursuing a business career. The main themes covered by the survey questions include firm and owner characteristics; interest to start-up; motivation to switch jobs; career preferred timing and industry; medium for seeking employment: desire and likelihood of rewards and opportunity; criteria of choosing employers. The two researchers contacted students directly via targeted groups of respondents list originating from the Faculty of their academic major program. Five questions adapted from Chen, Greene, and Crick (1998) was used to assess start up intentions. Responses were gathered on a 5-point Likert scale and total scale score was obtained by averaging the five questions. Brice and Nelson have reported a Cronbachs alpha of 0.92 for this scale, which implies strong reliability. Information pertaining to each respondents age, gender, and class was obtained to use as control variables in the analysis. Each of these control variables was recorded as non-continuous, categorical predictors. 4. Analysis and Results Once all the related information from the respondents was entirely obtained, the students motives leading to start-up were analyzed. From the mean of all motivation constructs, it could be argued that the main motive for start-up is the need for achievement (average value = 14.3), followed by economic reasons (mean value = 12.89) and the need for independence (average value = 12.89). In order to establish instrument reliability, Cronbachs coefficient alpha was computed. The reliability coefficient was 0.71 which indicates that the instrument was reliable in its measurement of determinants for start ups. Data reduction technique is used to unfold the information embedded in our data. Hypothesis 1: Intention for independent business start-ups is higher than joining established firms After elimination of subjects with survey questionnaires were only partially completed, the final sample totalled 196 students. As shown in Table 2, this sample was equally represented between the genders, consisting of 107 (54.6%) males and 89 (45.4%) females. Subjects were primarily graduating undergraduate business students (65.8%) and graduating postgraduate students (34.2%). In fact, there were 129 bachelor degree students who aged below 25 years than MBA students who aged 26 and above. The majority of subjects were expecting salary between RM5001- RM15000 (56.2%) which is not in accordance or earnable with employment even in established firms. Since the mean, median and mode values are very close to each other, it shows the data is symmetrical. The mean for the 196 students is 2.08 with a standard deviation of 1.088. The Trimmed mean value of 2.01 is similar to the mean above. Hence, shows there are no outliers in the data set. In this survey, since the sample size is 196, the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test is used. The p-value of the test is less than 0.001. Hence, the data is not distributed normal. Of the 196 students, 77 (39.3%) very enthusiastic towards start-ups, 52 (26.5%) eager to start-up, 46 (23.5%) open to any opportunity, and 16 (8.2%) to consider start-up option. Out of total, 5 (2.6%) prefer employment. Since the correlation value is within 0.5 to 0.8, start-up intention among degree students is said to correlate â€Å"adequately† with at least one other variables in the construct. In this survey, the KMO value is 0.819, which is considered good. Bartletts test of sphericity is used to analyse whether the correlation matrix is an identity matrix. Identity matrix can be ruled out if the p-value of the test is less than 0.05 (Karuthan and Krishna, 2009). In this model, since the p-value is less than 0.001, the researcher proceeds with factor analysis. Since the researcher wanted to study the underlying construct among the six variables: Curiosity, Interest, Consideration, Preparation, Setting Up and Start-up Timing. This is a single underlying concept; therefore, it is called the â€Å"Start-up Intent Structure†. Since the â€Å"Start-up Intent Structure† varies from person to person, it is a variable too. However, it cannot be measured by physical means. Hence, it is called a latent variable or just factor. The model for â€Å"Start-up Intent Structure† is given in Figure 4. In Figure 4, one can visualize six simultaneous regression functions: Curiosity, Interest, Consideration, Preparation, Setting Up and Start-up Timing as the dependents and â€Å"Start-up Intent Structure† as the independent. In the table above, since there are 6 variables in this analysis, 6 components (or factors) are listed in the first column. The respective eigen values and percent of variance explained are provided in the next two columns. For Factor 1, the eigen value is 3.109 and the variance is 51.811% of the total variance. For factor 3, 4,5 and 6 the eigen value is less than the default value of 1. In the same table, under â€Å"Extraction Sums of Squared Loadings†, only two factors are listed, corresponding to the factors for which the eigen values is more than 1. Based on the cumulative % column, these factors explain 68.792% of the total variance in the 6 original variables. According to Karuthan and Krishna, (2009) established that, in social sciences, at least 50% of the total variance in the variables in analysis must be explained by the factor of factors. In this survey, a single factor extracted explains more than 50% of the total variance in the original variables. Hypothesis 2: Motivations to switch job if employed in established firms associated with independent business start-ups We use multivariate data analysis to recognize the association between different motivation variables. The analysis has shown the variables in a scatter plot and quantifying the strength of association using correlation analysis. An association is established, both empirically and theoretically, therefore we pursued to obtain a regression model. This model, used to predict the value on entrepreneurial intention (outcome), given the values on the motivations to switch job if employed variables (predictors). Table 6, the p-value for the Levenes test for equality of variance is 0.000, which is less than 0.05. Thus, equality of variances is not assumed. Table 7 depicts that the F-value is 3.933 and the degrees of freedoms are 7 and 188. The p-value of the test is 0.000, which is less than 0.05 and the eta-squared value of 0.128, which is less than 0.15,hence, at least one pair of means differ significantly. Therefore there is a need to identify the pair that differs significantly. In this case, the researcher has performed posthoc tests. Based on Kruskal Wallis Test, the p-value of this test is 0.000, which is less than 0.05. Thus, at least one reason differs in terms of motivation towards self-employment rather employment. Based on Kruskal Wallis Test (Table 5) for the mean ranks, obviously, the degreed students are looking for a more challenging career in terms of expanded scope of work, more responsibilities and change in career path rank much higher compared to the students who looking to join a more established and stable organisations. On the other hand, 82.20% students feel that they need to escape from unfavourable office environment such as not happy with peers, bosses, office politics and etc. Based on Table 3.1, this supports students interest, whereby 97.4 cumulative percent and mean rank shown in table below of probability of considering the new business start-up.

Jess Martin The Theme Of The Outsiders :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Outsiders, an enthralling tale by S.E. Hinton, is an excellent story about the hardships and triumphs experienced by the Greasers and the Socs, two rival gangs. This novel suggests the stories ¹ content because the Greasers are a gang of social outcasts and misfits. This novel ¹s theme is very specific; people, no matter what their social background, strive for the same goals and experience the same disappointments. This novel shows this theme throughout a detailed story line.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The fictional novel is set in a moderate-size city, possibly near Texas, in the late 1960 ¹s. Ponyboy, the main character, lives with his brothers as a greaser. One day Ponyboy and Johnny, Ponyboy ¹s best friend, get jumped by a group of Socs. The Socs start to drown Ponyboy in a fountain. Johnny, realizing they might kill Ponyboy, kills Bob, one of the Socs with his switchblade. Johnny and Ponyboy run to a fellow Greaser, Dally, who is always in trouble with the law. Dally helps them by giving them some money, a gun, and a place to hide. They hide in a church outside of town for a week until Dally says it ¹s okay to come out. They go out to eat and when they get back to the church they find it burning. When they see that there are kids inside and the fire could have been started by their cigarettes, they run inside to save the kids. Johnny and Dally are hurt in the fire and taken to the hospital. They are hailed as heroes in the local paper. Dally breaks out of the hospital to fight in a rumble against the Socs. While the Greasers beat the Socs, Johnny dies in the hospital. When Dally finds out he goes out and robs a grocery store. When the cops pull up he pulls out an empty gun so the cops shoot him.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The theme of this novel is that all people are set back at times and they all want the same basic things. This theme is expressed in the novel several times. Disappointments are shown when Bob dies and the Socs grieve for him, when Ponyboy ¹s parents die and they are upset, and when Johnny dies and it disturbs the Greasers. It is shown that the Greasers and Socs strive for the same goals when Darry, Ponyboy ¹s older brother, tells him that he should succeed in school and make something of himself, and

the chrysanthemums Essay -- essays research papers

â€Å"The Chrysanthemums† by John Steinbeck   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The short story â€Å"The Chrysanthemums† shows how extraordinarily forward thinking the author, John Steinbeck, was in his understanding of the pressures that women dealt with in his time. Through the exploration and illustration of women’s emotions, Steinbeck gives us a view into the struggle of women in the early 20th century to find a place for themselves in society as well as establishing their own sexuality(Charters, 502).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The story starts out with the description of a grey fog over the place where the story is set. The significance of this is to set the mood of the story. It also is a possible representation of how the main character of the story, Elisa Allen, feels about her life. Elisa is first introduced working in the garden planting her flowers, and while doing so looks up to see her husband talking to two men in suits. She later asked him who they were and he said that he sold them some steers and â€Å"got nearly my own price, too†(The Chrysanthemums, 2). This shows the fact that all the business of the family was handled by the man, and that in general women’s inputs were not considered, if they were ever given. However Elisa is by no means a woman who is unable to do things herself, Steinbeck makes a point to mention that â€Å"The chrysanthemum stems seemed too small and easy for her energy†. In the narration and description of Elisa’s garden a nd her chrysanthemums are ...

Mastery Learning

Teaching involves numerous different factors and aspects of learning. Teaching employs different models and approaches in an effort to find the best way to address the needs of students. One such model or appraoch used by teachers is mastery learning. The goal of this paper is to achieve a better understanding of mastery learning through a review of past literature. How is mastery learning defined by the literature? What are the benefits of using mastery learning? How is mastery learning applied in higher education? Answers to these questions will be identified through a careful reading of the information presented in previously published articles regarding mastery learning. Mastery learning, initially, is a theory about teaching and learning. It emphasizes the belief that any educator can aid almost all students to learn excellently. By the term ‘excellently’, what is indicated is the maximum potential of the individual to learn. No matter the inherent differences in characteristics between students, mastery learning asserts that teachers can teach these students to learn in exactly the same way. (Block, 1980) The term mastery learning is also often used to refer to a set of individualized teaching practices that are consistent in their effectiveness to aid almost all students to learn excellently. These practices are divided into group-based and individual-based or teacher-paced and student-paced practices. In the group-based or teacher-paced mastery learning, the teacher is the one who determines the direction and flow the learning process. In the individual-based or student-paced practices, it is the student who determines the direction and flow of the learning process. (Block, 1980) Both types of practices have different developmental backgrounds but both have the same goal, which is to be able to teach excellent learning skills. A more operational definition of mastery learning can be acquired through a look into its mechanisms. According to Ironsmith & Eppler (2007), mastery learning involves a paradigm shift with regard to the definition of failure in education. Failure is not related to the results of an assessment of the student’s ability. Failure, in mastery learning, is related to the feedback a student gets about his or her progress. Mastery learning involves the use of feedback by students in order to supplement any deficiencies in their learning progress. The feedback serves as a director of what material needs to be learned more and also serves to increase the strength of the contingency between the student’s efforts and his or her academic success. The benefits of mastery learning as an optimistic theory are clear. By teaching students to be able to learn excellently, their chances of success in life become higher. The social and individual rewards are great both for the student and the teacher. (Block, 1980) The student is able to acquire skills and abilities that will aid him or her in future undertakings outside the school setting. Students of mastery learning also become motivated to continue the learning process in their lives because of the rewards – either material or non-material – that they receive from their acquired ability to learn excellently. On more palpable benefits, the study by Ironsmith & Eppler (2007) have shown that final exam scores were higher for students in mastery learning classes as opposed to those in normal lecture classes. Also, the benefits were greater for those students with the lowest grade point averages (GPA’s). The benefits came about as a result of the increased mastery of the material discussed. Endorsement to achievement goals that were more adaptive for the students also contributed to the attainment of the benefits. (Ironsmith & Eppler, 2007) Mastery learning also has benefits for the educational system as well as for the educators applying its principles. With the success of the application of mastery learning, teachers are rewarded with the knowledge that their students succeeded. Also, career rewards, praise and acknowledgments from colleagues as well as gratitude from the students themselves are to be expected. These will also serve as rewarding factors for the individual. The benefit to be derived by the educational system from these is the fact that good and accomplished teachers will be retained. Teachers will be inclined to continue teaching as a result of the intrinsic and extrinsic rewards received from the application of mastery learning. (Block, 1980) The effects and benefits to be derived from mastery learning are long term thus indicating a more profound impact on the lives of those who apply it. In higher education students, learning approaches such as the Personalized System of Instruction (PSI) (Ironsmith & Eppler, 2007) are applied. These are based on the concepts of mastery learning albeit posing a more structured and organized design. A general PSI class would involve learning modules, self-tests, mastery tests, and feedback from educators. The mechanism for mastery learning in higher education, however, remains the same. It still involves the concepts of approaching instruction systematically, of being proactive instead of reactive, of managing the learning and not the learners, of matching the instruction to the outcomes as well as to the learners, and the like. (Block, 1980) Over all, mastery learning is still in the minority of applied models of teaching. However, its use in classrooms is continuously increasing. (Block, 1980) The benefits to be reaped from application of mastery learning in the educational system are assessed to be great. Also, the principles on which it is founded are sound and, in fact, seem to be a more adaptive way to view the educational system. Investigations into the viability of mastery learning as a learning theory should be continued. Also, more schools should begin to introduce the system into their classrooms. References Block, J. H. (1980). Promoting excellence through mastery learning. Theory Into Practice, 19(1), 66-74 Ironsmith, M., & Eppler, M. A. (2007). Mastery learning benefits low-aptitude students.