Major Reflective Essay Example for Free

Major Reflective Essay I am currently pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree in the study of Business, Management and Economics concentrated in Accounting at Empire State College. I work full-time as private nurse assistance due to my present job. If I condense all my assumptions and expectations for the time being, I could say that my nearest and primary goal is to earn the degree and be a recognized expert in my chosen field. Here is how I narrated my goals in my previous paper; I have enrolled at the degree course with an aim to achieve my goals in the near future, to be well educated and knowledgeable in many areas, to restore my confidence to continue learning throughout my life, to open my own business preparing taxes in the next five years or be a controller of a company, and build a degree that will qualify me for many job opportunities, to increase my skills and broaden my abilities towards my future, to learn a variety of skills and techniques to help others as well, to work with people, as I enjoy working with them, and set a great example for my daughter which I had right after high school. I want my daughter to know that a college education is important to get what you want in life. As I advanced in my readings I realized that the list of my goals is huge, very obscure and not regulated. I repeated my goals in paraphrased sentences when I spoke about learning and development, I had contradicting concepts when I mentioned about opening my own business and still being qualified for many job opportunities, I related enjoyment with working with people, and I allocated very small portion to my daughter, again, linking my care towards her to my learning and hard working experience. I am undergoing serious reflections while grouping and formulating my goals into four sections; learning, working, family and social life. In my previous statements I had only learning and working in my mind, the words â€Å"family† and â€Å"social life† were uttered, but meant â€Å"working† and â€Å"learning†. At this stage I put the first three are on the same level, and still downgrade â€Å"social life†. I experienced a significant breakthrough during my readings on time management, correlations of work and social life, division of life between career and family. First of all the studies I read, the facts and figures from the history, the revolution in gender concept helped me to view the human life from a wide range of angels. (Kalleberg 2004) What does career mean for people? Is it for the well being of the family, or for the self? What is the secret of simple human happiness; in career advancement, learning, discovery, or love and warmth in the family? (Harvard Business School Press 2000)Those were the questions that I rose while reading information about increasing workload and learning needs, and decreasing marriage and birth rates in our society. The current economy rapidly changes, and this is the reason I wanted to be qualified in many job qualifications, which is practically extremely difficult. The background of this behavior is the insecurity in my future life. Shift of age groups in management greatly concerns me when I am doing a long term planning. Although I am open for learning, I can hardly imagine how I can accommodate myself in the employment market when I am over 40 and less capable of acquiring new knowledge and new skills. (Kalleberg 2004) I realized that my choices should be very limited and meet my learning and working expectations and abilities. I have to consider my career plans in the background of my social and family life. I should have in mind that in a few years I will have to reshape my routine day to day tasks in order to be physically more available for my daughter when she steps the path of learning and self-development. She will not be able to take my best example in learning and working, as she will not see me in the learning and working atmosphere, but will have an evening mother, tired and eager to get rid of her questions as soon as possible. The two time management exercises greatly helped me to experience extension of time (clock time) and full satisfaction after completing a task (event time). (Levine 1998) I am more likely to use the event time, but clock time is essential for the busy life I have already chosen. Although, it doesn’t mean I will not enjoy my weekends beyond any time. My ideal concept of life will be to master using the three categories in different circumstances, or even bind them all together and experience beyond-time feeling during 15 min. coffee breaks. I got very concerned when I assumed that I have put my family and individual values aside. I realized that in order to develop my long term plans I have to study other sides of human nature as well; how the endless working and learning atmosphere may influence on my physical and mental health, what personal problems may arise in my life, and how it my affect on my socialization skills. And finally, how the short and long term planning can be best practiced to contribute to a creation of self reliant and happy old age life? I feel the need to explore human nature and life stories, and get skills on how to save time for things that are more valuable for me. The final conclusion I had from this course is that I have to consider investing time as if I invest money. Investment in my professional development should have tangible outcomes in securing a dignified life for me and my family. This vision should guide me in any minor and major task I take over. Bibliography Harvard Business School Press. Harvard Business Review on Work and Life Balance . Perseus Distribution Services, 2000. Kalleberg, Cynthia Epstein and Arne. Fighting For Time. Russell Sage Foundation Publications , 2004. Levine, Robert V. A Geography of Time. Basic Books, 1998.

Project development management process

Project development management process INTRODUCTION PROJECT MANAGEMENT: is the art and science of planning, organizing and managing, the vision, task, and resources to bring about the successful completion of specific project goals and objectives. Project Management in software development process can be referred to as the application of management techniques and system execution of a software project through the projects life-cycle in order to achieve predetermined objectives of scope, quality, time and cost to the equal satisfaction of those involved. It involves planning, monitoring, and control of people, process and event that take place as software evolves from an initial concept to an operational implementation. [6] SOFTWARE: Software comprises of programs and associated data and documentation. Each of these items is a part of software development process. The main problems for software development currently are: high cost, low quality and frequent changes causing change and rework. Software has become a limiting factor in the evolution of computer-based systems. The intent of software development is to produce a framework for building higher quality software. In order to achieve successful and quality software certain methods and criteria need to be followed. These methods and criteria are classified as the software development processes. [6] SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT PROCESSES: is a structure imposed on the development of a software product. The process includes the phase approach to software development, software development models, the software development processes and the software project management processes. There are several models for such processes, each describing approaches to a variety of tasks or activities that take place during the process. These processes are carried out in a step by step criteria so as to come up with a successful project where by a successful project start with a step back and understanding business drivers, the problem or opportunity that accelerates the project. [6] A PHASED APPROACH TO SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT A development process consists of various phases, with each phase ending with a defined output. The phases are performed in an order specified by the software development process model. The primary reason for using a phased process is that it breaks the problem of developing software into successfully performed set of phases, each handling a different concern of software development. This ensures that the cost of development is lower than what it would have been if the whole problem were tackled together. [4][6][2] Furthermore, a phase software developmental approach allows proper checking of quality and progress at some defined points during the development. In general, any problem solving in software must consist of these activities during the development process: requirement specification, system design, detailed design, coding and testing, deployment and conversion as shown in figure 1. [6] Requirement Specifications: defines the objectives of new or modified system and lists a detailed statement of the functions that new system must perform. Analysis: during analysis, the focus is on building models that unambiguously determine the problem for which a software solution is being constructed. At this stage the limitations of the target environment is not given a priority. Design: the analysis model is adapted such that it serves as the basis for implementation in the target environment. Hence, the design deals with transforming or refining the analysis model into a design model that determines how to eventually obtain a working system. Implementation: at this stage, the coding of the system is performed Testing: testing deals with the validation of software at various levels. Testing can be categorized as follows: Unit: deals with testing the smallest units of the designed software. Integration: integration testing deals with testing the application that has been (partially) put together by integrating the smallest software units. Basically it involves testing individual software modules as a group. Validation: this involve in testing whether the software functions in a manner expected by the user. System: this is carried out at the after the integration and validation testing, system testing deals with different test whose primary purpose is to fully exercise the computer-based system. Although each test has a different purpose, all work should verify that all system elements have been properly integrated and perform allocated functions. Recovery: recovery testing involves system tests that force the software to fail in a variety of ways and verifies that recovery is properly performed. Security: this testing verifies that protection mechanisms built into a system will, in fact, protect it from improper usage and unauthorized access. It ensures adherence to restrictions on command usage, access to data, and access requirement according to associated privileges. Stress: the stress testing involves executing a system in a manner that demands resources in abnormal quantity, frequency, or volume. In other words, stress testing helps find out the level of robustness and consistent or satisfactory performance even when the limits for normal operation for the system software is crossed. Conversion: during this phase, the old system is substitute by the new system that has been developed. Four approaches can be adopted to achieve the conversion transformation [Harold] namely: Parallel: in this approach both the old and new system are run together until everyone involve in the project is convinced that the old one can be safely taken out of operation. Direct Cutover: at this stage, the old system is discarded and replaced by the new one, all at the same time. Pilot study: during the pilot study approach, the new system is introduced into a very limited area of the organization. It is not introduced any further into the rest of the organization as long as the pilot system does not begin running smoothly. Phased: the phased approach involve the introduction of the new system in stages. The pilot study approach can be considered as a special case of this approach. Maintenance: software maintenance process is the modification of a software product after delivery to correct faults, to improve performance or other attributes, or to adapt the product to a modified environment. At this stage the system has to be kept operational. The nature and extent of activity during this process depend on the type of software being developed. For some support software, the maintenance and operation phase may be very active due to changing user needs. [7] SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT PROCESSES Software development processes are the structures or processes imposed on the development of a software product. To produce a successful and qualitative software product certain processes management criteria need to be considered. [6] A process is a particular method of doing something, generally involving a number of steps or operations. A software development project will have at least development activities and project management activities. The development process focuses on the activities directly related to the production of software that is design, coding, and testing. Project management processes focus on planning, estimation, scheduling and taking corrective action when things do not go as per plan. [6][7] Configuration management processes focus on change and configuration control, so that the correct, tested and approved version of software component are put together for delivery. The process management processes focus on the management and improvement of these processes. The four named processes will be discussed in detail. Development Processes: these processes specify the major development and quality assurance activities that need to be performed in the project, and hence form the core of the software development processes. [7] Software development activity like any production activity is carried out in a sequence of steps, each step performing a well-defined activity leading to the satisfaction of the project goals, with the output of one step forming the input into the next step. One of the aims of any process should be to prevent defect from a phase to pass on to the next phase. This requires verification and validation activity at the end of each step. Verification checks the consistency of input into a phase, while validation activities check the consistency with user needs. There is a clearly defined output of a phase, which can be verified by some means, and the input into the next phase. Such outputs of a development process are called work products. These could be requirements documents, design documents, code, and prototype. [5] As a development process typically contains a sequence of step, the criteria for exit and entry from the phase are to be defined. These generally depend on the implementation of the process. Besides the verification and validation criteria, the development step needs to produce some information for the management process. Information has to flow from development process. An example of a typical step in a development process is illustrated in figure 2. [8] Project Management Processes: the project management component of the software process specifies all the activities that need to be done by the project management to ensure that the cost and quality objectives are met. Project management is an integrated part of software development. To meet the cost, quality and schedule objectives, resources have to be properly allotted to each activity for the project, the progress of the different activities has to be monitored, and corrective action taken, if needed. The processes focus on issues like planning a project, estimating resources, and schedule and monitoring and controlling the project. The basic task is to plan the detailed implementation of the process for a particular project and ensure that the plan is followed. [5][6] Software Configuration Management Processes: throughout development, software consist of a collection of items, such as programs, data and documents that can be easily changed. These changes do happen often. The easily changeable nature of software and the fact that changes often take place require that changes take place in a controlled manner. Software configuration Management systematically controls the changes that take place during development. Basically it is the task of tracking and controlling changes in the software. Configuration management practices include revision control and the establishment of baselines. It is also the process of changing requests and verifying the completeness and correctness of item. These processes are considered independent of the development process, because development processes cannot accommodate changes at any time during development. [6] Process Management Processes: software processes are also not static entities. Process management processes concentrate on the changes that need to be done to improve the process. The three important entities that software development deals with are processes, projects and products. The various software processes ensure that the activities require to develop software are carried out in a controlled manner. [6] CONCLUDE SUMMARY Software development management process consist of various phases, each phase ending with a successful defined output, making it possible to move to the next phase accordingly. The phases are performed in an order specified by the process model criteria being followed. The software development process goes through several phases just like the software development life cycles. The software development process consists of four management processes which are development processes, project management processes, software configuration management processes and the process management processes. The four Ps extremely vital for software project development management are people, product, process and project. All four play equally important roles in the success of a project.

John Griffins Black Like Me :: Black Like Me Essays

John Griffin's Black Like Me All men are created equal... or are they? John Griffin's "Black Like Me" shows how racism is nothing more then the foolish misunderstanding of man. White's current superiority hangs in the balance as Blacks become tired of being the minority, in the late 1950's. Even though this struggle isn't as dreadful as it was then, it still exists. The certainty of racism can't be ignored but it will soon disappear as generations mix. Racial discrepancies challenge the unity of human civilization. John Griffin had a biting curiosity which he could no longer stand. What was life truly like, for a black man in the deep south? He sought the real answer to this by darkening his skin with extreme amounts of medication. A new skin color determines everything and John is now thrown into a new world that he was in no way prepared for. He was no longer John, an average but respected white novelist, he was a black man and that is all that mattered. Simple pleasers like a drink of water or the use of a restroom become near impossible. John, at first was puzzled by this, but soon realized that it was not his personality, his age, but his blackness that made him a disgrace in the eyes of an average white person. If he were white, a white store owner would have not hesitated in the slightest to allow such privileges. How could these people be so blind as to not see that a black person breathes the same air, eats the same food, and has the same internal functions as themselves? This misunderstanding stares them in the face and they can't see it. Their selfishness and fear is completely unnecessary but it remains because the whites have never been exposed to any other way of life. This is why the whites can not allow such common privileges to Mr. Griffin or any other black person. To treat a black as an equal was absolutely unheard of. Fatigued from rejection and many actions which would be declared unconstitutional, the blacks must do something so their future generations do not suffer the same. This desire for action only stirs a greater terror within the (racist) white community. People like, Martin Luther King Jr. begin to surface. He and many others aspire to show the blacks that they are equal human beings. Its strange to think that most blacks thought a white was better just because that is what they were brought up to believe. This new realization

Women in Movies Essay -- essays papers

Women in Movies Since the 1940’s, movies have predominately portrayed women as sex symbols. Beginning in the 1940’s and continuing though the 1980’s, women did not have major roles in movies. When they did have a leading role the women was either pretreated as unintelligent and beautiful, or as conniving and beautiful: But she was always beautiful. Before the 1990’s, men alone, wrote and directed all the movies, and the movies were written for men. In comparison, movies of the 90’s are not only written and directed by women, but leading roles are also held by older and unattractive women. In this paper I will show the variations and growth of women’s roles in movies from the 1940’s though the 1990’s. In the 1940’s women did not have predominate roles in movies. In the few movies that were based around women, the woman’s character was written by a man, and the woman was portrayed as a sex symbol. In the movie Double Indemnity, a woman named Phillis is plotting to have her husband killed because she wants to collect his life insurance and be freed from an unhappy marriage. She uses her sexuality and good looks to convince Walter Neff to help her in her scheme. In this movie, Phillis is a beautiful, sexy, conniving killer.In the end, however, because she does not have the heart to kill her husband, the audience is supposed to redeem her conniving image. In the 1940’s movie Gilda, the women has two different stereotypes. The first stereotype is a beautiful sex goddess. She is so beautiful that any man would love to be with her. The second stereotype parterres her as a scorned women. After a past relationship with a man named Johnny has left her angry, she reacts by trying to make him jealous by having affairs with other men. Through out the movie Gilda marries Johnny ‘s boss and then cheats on him a few times. Even though Gilda does all of this by the end of the movie Johnny forgives her and once again turns the women’s life into something meaningful. These two movies party two women who act very much alike. They both use their sexuality to get men to give them what they want. In the 1950’s women are either sex goddess or homemakers, but they are both looking for husbands. In the movie Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, the women are blonde, beautiful, and voluptuous. They are so beautiful that when they walk into a room the men dr... ...end of the movie the fall in love. This movie portrays a woman having a horrible life until a man comes along and gives it meaning. The latter 1990’s have brought many wonderful movies to theaters worldwide. More movies now are about women and their lives. The movie G.I. Jane is about a women who goes through navy seals training. She is picked out of many women to go through this training. She is chosen because she is pretty and feminine. She proves herself by successfully completing her training and becoming a navy seal. Although she is a strong woman and she is not supposed to be a sex symbol, she is still shown throughout the movie with little clothing. The movies are different from movies in the 1940’s because women are taking different roles than that of the homemaker or the slut. Now men find women who are strong physically and mentally. Women’s roles in movies have changed dramatically throughout the years. In the 1940’s women’s characters were stereotyped as sex objects. In the 1990’s women’s characters are stereotyped to be strong individuals. I am glad that women’s characters are now portrayed as they truly are, and not how men think they should be. Women in Movies Essay -- essays papers Women in Movies Since the 1940’s, movies have predominately portrayed women as sex symbols. Beginning in the 1940’s and continuing though the 1980’s, women did not have major roles in movies. When they did have a leading role the women was either pretreated as unintelligent and beautiful, or as conniving and beautiful: But she was always beautiful. Before the 1990’s, men alone, wrote and directed all the movies, and the movies were written for men. In comparison, movies of the 90’s are not only written and directed by women, but leading roles are also held by older and unattractive women. In this paper I will show the variations and growth of women’s roles in movies from the 1940’s though the 1990’s. In the 1940’s women did not have predominate roles in movies. In the few movies that were based around women, the woman’s character was written by a man, and the woman was portrayed as a sex symbol. In the movie Double Indemnity, a woman named Phillis is plotting to have her husband killed because she wants to collect his life insurance and be freed from an unhappy marriage. She uses her sexuality and good looks to convince Walter Neff to help her in her scheme. In this movie, Phillis is a beautiful, sexy, conniving killer.In the end, however, because she does not have the heart to kill her husband, the audience is supposed to redeem her conniving image. In the 1940’s movie Gilda, the women has two different stereotypes. The first stereotype is a beautiful sex goddess. She is so beautiful that any man would love to be with her. The second stereotype parterres her as a scorned women. After a past relationship with a man named Johnny has left her angry, she reacts by trying to make him jealous by having affairs with other men. Through out the movie Gilda marries Johnny ‘s boss and then cheats on him a few times. Even though Gilda does all of this by the end of the movie Johnny forgives her and once again turns the women’s life into something meaningful. These two movies party two women who act very much alike. They both use their sexuality to get men to give them what they want. In the 1950’s women are either sex goddess or homemakers, but they are both looking for husbands. In the movie Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, the women are blonde, beautiful, and voluptuous. They are so beautiful that when they walk into a room the men dr... ...end of the movie the fall in love. This movie portrays a woman having a horrible life until a man comes along and gives it meaning. The latter 1990’s have brought many wonderful movies to theaters worldwide. More movies now are about women and their lives. The movie G.I. Jane is about a women who goes through navy seals training. She is picked out of many women to go through this training. She is chosen because she is pretty and feminine. She proves herself by successfully completing her training and becoming a navy seal. Although she is a strong woman and she is not supposed to be a sex symbol, she is still shown throughout the movie with little clothing. The movies are different from movies in the 1940’s because women are taking different roles than that of the homemaker or the slut. Now men find women who are strong physically and mentally. Women’s roles in movies have changed dramatically throughout the years. In the 1940’s women’s characters were stereotyped as sex objects. In the 1990’s women’s characters are stereotyped to be strong individuals. I am glad that women’s characters are now portrayed as they truly are, and not how men think they should be.

The current problems with the accounting methods of Rodney Street Essay

The current problems with the accounting methods of Rodney Street Private Clinic Analysis- Scenarios Private Clinic ‘Rodney Street Clinic’ is a private clinic in which doctor’s see patients privately and for medical reports following injuries. Currently all fee notes for patients and solicitors are sent manually and are not registered on a computer system. Problems with the accounting methods are that the accounts are hand-written, so not everybody may be able to read and understand writing, particularly during holidays and periods of sickness of the usual staff as the hand writing is not their own. Another problem is that all fee notes are stored in a filing cabinet. Due to this, fee notes are occasionally misfiled so it is time consuming for the staff to find them, and if a further copy is required, it has to be written out by hand again, rather than simply being photocopied. The final problem is that the system is not efficient, as documents have to be continually written up which is time consuming. What is required is a computerised database, which is simple and efficient to use in order to control the accounts of the practice. Ideally it should also be able to flag up accounts, which are overdue, instead of the current system of having to do it â€Å"by hand†, which is time consuming and can be inefficient. The system should also be able to keep the details of fee notes sent on the database, so that if a repeat bill needs to be sent, it does not have to be typed out once more. Video Tapes ‘Mega Movie Video Store’ is a video store, which both rents out videos and also now sells them too. Presently workers at the video store have found it difficult to remember which videos are in stock and where about they are located in the shop. Problems with their organization is that they forget which videos are in stock and also they have no data to refer to in order to tell them this. A further problem is that they also forget where videos are located in the shop and they again have no data to refer to in order to tell them this and they rely purely on memory. What they would like is a computerized database, which gives printouts that help them. This database would sort the files into alphabetic order and would give them the total number of videos in stock. This database would also tell them what format the item... ...notes sent on the database, so that if a repeat bill needs to be sent, it does not have to be typed out once more. System requirements for chosen scenario In order to overcome the problems I am going to design a computerized system using such software programmes as Microsoft Access, Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Word. This is rather than using a manual system which uses filing cabinets. I will insert all data off written documents into computer database and then store them so that they are available to view at any time and as many copies as necessary may be printed. I will use a font in my computerized database that is sufficiently big enough and clear enough for the user to read. This is better than having a manual system where handwriting is involved because there is then little to no chance that somebody may not be able to read the text properly. This system should be both efficient and simple to use and it should be able to note on the database and let the user know if accounts are overdue and if fee notes need to be sent. Finally I will create a mail merge so that letters do not have to be continuously written or typed out time and time again.

Industrial Dispute Tribunal

The Industrial Dispute Tribunal was conceptualized as an established permanent body for easier access to arbitration, an alternative to industrial action, and as an avenue for economic growth through its dispute settlement and income policy potential. According to George Phillip in his book A-Z of Industrial Relations Practice at the work place â€Å"Dispute may be defined as a quarrel between a worker and an employer or between a trade union and employer or between groups of unions and employers, relating to terms and condition of employment†. Industrial relations had its roots in the industrial revolution which created the modern employment relationship by initiating free labor markets and large-scale industrial organizations with thousands of wage workers. As society wrestled with these massive economic and social changes, labor problems arose. Low wages, long working hours, monotonous and dangerous work, and abusive supervisory practices led to high employee turnover, violent strikes, and the threat of social instability. In Jamaica 1938 the frustration of the working class which had built up over the years, became explosive. A wave of industrial unrest swept the country, with workers on the waterfront, in the sugar industry, transportation sector and the government service taking industrial action. Between January and June of 1938, there were several outbreaks of disturbances, beginning with a strike by cane cutters on the Serge Island Sugar Estate in St. Thomas. Other riots included the general strikes on the Kingston waterfront on May 21st and the strike by street cleaners on May 23rd. There were also other general strikes by dock and transport workers, municipal employees, as well as food and tobacco workers. However, one of the major industrial action that took place during this time was the Frome Riot of 1938. This riot had left six dead, fifty wounded and 89 charged with rioting. Frome was the breaking point in the seething unrest island wide over pay and conditions of work and massive unemployment. It was also the start of a series of strikes, demonstrations and disturbances in which Sir Alexander Bustamante played a major role. The riots which occurred throughout this period proved to be very significant as they were the catalysts for the improvement of working conditions for the working class. This was achieved through the formation of trade unions and political parties which lobbied for increased workers’ benefits and rights which eventually led to the granting of Universal Adult Suffrage in 1944, which was the right of all adults, regardless of class, sex, race, religion, etc. to vote. With all this labour unrest taking place there became a need for some sort of regulation that would govern the working condition and treatment of workers. As a result a law was instituted that govern labour relations in Jamaica. Industrial disputes in Jamaica were now settled through the route of Arbitration, provided for under the Public Utility Undertaking and Public Services Arbitration (PUUPSA) Law and the Trade Disputes Arbitration and Enquiry Law. The PUUPSA law established that it was illegal for workers to strike or for employers to declare a lockout in connection with any trade dispute. Unless the dispute had been properly reported to the Labour Minister and the Minister had failed to act within the time specified in the law. However, there were certain deficiencies in the law. One of these was the possibility of a strike occurring where there was no industrial dispute as defined and such action would not be illegal. Another was the absence of penalties written into law for the enforcement of awards. Also the arbitrator acting under the Arbitration Act did not have the power to reinstate a worker. It was even difficult to select an arbitrator by parties and this sometimes result in a very long process. Perhaps one of the major deficiencies is that Arbitrations only took place in the essential service under the PUUPSA, and in the event where the workers were represented by a union and the grievance procedure allowed for arbitration. The workers became very discontented with the manner in which grievances were handled by Arbitrators. The Government now felt that it was necessary to have a modern and permanent State machinery to determine and settle disputes expeditiously. In 1975 the PUUPSA law was repealed and incorporated into Labour Relations and Industrial Dispute Ac that sought to correct the omissions. This Act was passed in 1975 after much discussion and debate, the Act gave strength to companion Laws, which have generally assisted in improving living standards and giving more justice to workers as active participants in the Industrial relations process in the country. Under the Labour Relations and Industrial Dispute Act an employer is required to grant bargaining rights to a trade Union which secures a simple majority of the votes of employees eligible to vote in representational ballot. The Ministry of Labour conducts the ballot provided that is it satisfied with the claimant union has made out a prima facie case of representation following a comparison of the audited list submitted by the union or its membership in the establishment with the list of employees submitted by the employer. The LRIDA provided principally for the establishment of an Industrial Disputes Tribunal (IDT) as a final arbiter of disputes; compulsory recognition and protection against discrimination in respect of union membership; recognition of trade unions; settlement of disputes in the essential services; the setting up of a Board of Enquiry; a Labour Relations Code; and vesting the Minister of Labour with authority to declare a dispute to be one which is likely to gravely endanger the national interest and give him power to have the dispute put to compulsory arbitration. The Tribunal was also established to determine and settle industrial disputes and to promote industrial harmony. The industrial Dispute Tribunal consist of a Chairman and two deputy Chairmen and not less than two members representing employers and two representing workers and such special members as may from time to time be appointed to form a Special Division of the Tribunal. The appointments of the Chairman and Deputy Chairmen must be made by the Minister after consultation with organizations representing employers and employers and workers. The Minister may increase the number of persons comprising the tribunal if work increase and its necessary. The members representing employers and workers are appointed from panels supplied to the Ministry by organization representative of employers and workers, respectively. If there is no such panel the Minister may constitute a panel as he deems fit. These are now several divisions of the tribunal. In the case of a special Division of the Tribunal to settle disputes affecting the nation interest, the Chairman is appointed by the Minister on the joint recommendation of the parties involved and the other two members are appointed, respectively on the recommendation of the employer organization and the trade union involved. Reference of disputes to the Tribunal must be made through the Minister including the determination of the entitlement of categories of person to participate in a ballot under the procedure for settlement of representational claims to the Tribunal, when other mean of settlement failed to resolve the issue in disputes. In a reference by the Minister to the Tribunal of representational dispute, it shall be lawful for the Tribunal to determine the bargaining unit in which the workers may be included. In disputes affecting the Nation Interest the Minister may make an order calling on the parties to refrain from taking or continuing any industrial action for a period of 30 days. If there is no settlement within those 30 days, the Minister shall call upon the parties to select the chairman of a special Arbitration Tribunal with the employers and workers selecting their representative, respectively, which shall sit as a special division of the Tribunal to hear the dispute. If there is no agreement on the selection of the special Tribunal, the Minister shall refer the dispute to the Tribunal. In other disputes, reference to the Tribunal will be made on request of all the parties to the dispute where the Minister is satisfies that other means of settlement provided by Collective Agreement have failed to resolve the issue in the dispute. By the amending act of 1978 and a further amendment in 1986, the minister is empowered on his own initiative to refer a dispute to the Tribunal of he consider that the dispute should be settled expeditiously and where he is satisfied that attempts were made without success to settle the dispute or if, in his opinion, all the circumstances surrounding the dispute constitute such an urgent or exceptional situation that it would be expedient to do so. The Tribunal is not empowered to hear disputes relating to the appointment removal of or disciplinary action against any person holding public office. Disputes over representational rights of government employees are also not referred to the Tribunal. The award of the Industrial Dispute Tribunal are binding, except on a point of law, and shall not be inconsistent with national interest or any enactment regulating or controlling terms and conditions of employment. An award may be made with retrospective effect form a date earlier that the date on which the dispute first arose. Thus is particular so in the case of any claim with respect to a new bargaining unit. Roles & Functions Industrial Dispute may be defined as a quarrel between a worker and an employer or between a trade union and employer or between groups of unions and employers, relating to terms and condition of employment. Where a dispute has been referred to the Tribunal and the parties reach full agreement before the tribunal begins to deal with the dispute, the parties will have to furnish the Tribunal with a copy of the signed agreement and also a letter of request to the Minister to withdraw the dispute. If both parties did not reach an agreement the IDT will therefore initiate the procedure in settling the dispute. The secretary of the IDT will advised the parties (union/individual vs. firm) that a matter with stated terms of reference has been referred to it by the Minister of Labour. The parties may be then summoned to a preliminary hearing usually on a mutually agreed date. The hearing is conducted by a panel consisting of a chairman and two other members, as well as a secretary and one or two recording steno typist. Undertakings from both parties are given to provide written briefs in a specified period. Alternatively the IDT may by letter invite the parties to submit briefs within a specified period, written briefs must be concise and accurate. In the event that either party cannot prepare a brief by the deadline date, an extension of time must be sought in writing from the IDT. When the briefs are prepared by the party the company and/ or the union may wish to be represented at the hearing by an attorney-at- law or industrial relations professional. If so, the parties must supply the representatives with all the pertinent facts to ensure accuracy of detail in preparing briefs, submission maybe elaborated verbally at the hearing. When the briefs have been submitted by both parties, the Tribunal will schedule a meeting. Opening submission from aggrieved side, usually the union will begin the hearing. Witnesses maybe summoned, documents maybe presented along with all relevant evidence submitted in support of the case. When the hearing is completed an award is handed down. Arbitrators are governed by the term of reference. The Tribunal must ensure that awards are capable of being implemented. If it is, at least two members of the panel a simple majority must sign the award in order for it to be binding; this award from the IDT is binding on all parties. If there is a disagreement among members of the panel about the terms of the award a minority report may be submitted but the members disagreeing with the award should consider whether it is appropriate to write a minority report. This may be necessary where the arbitrator feels that his reputation maybe damage or where he feels that it is essential to set out his reason. His disagreement is recorded on the award document. If all three disagree the award maybe handed down by the chairman. The chairman of the panel might also seek clarification of the award in doing this he might sit alone or with other members and invite all parties to attend the sitting. Clarification of the awards may also be provided by the panel in writing, but without out a sitting. On the contrary, the awards may be appealed in the Supreme Court if there is a breach of law, insobriety of one or all panelists; or insanity of panelists. The decision made by the Supreme Court on an appeal is binding on all parties, but there are provisions for further appeals through the judicial machinery to the Privy Council in England. An award may be retroactive but it must not precede the date when the dispute first arose. Tribunals have the function of a civil court to enforce the law but are not restricted by the rules and procedures of an ordinary court. The Industrial Dispute tribunal has the advantage of being quicker, cheaper, and more informal, have great discretionary power and can be staffed by expert in the field. On the other hand, IDT have disadvantages by being less precise than the ordinary court. All the matter arises in Industrial relations are referred to the TDT because tribunal only deals with civil law. Employee rights such as redundancy payment, discrimination, unfair dismissal and maternity leave are matters that are referred to the tribunal. Often it is the interest of both parties to resolve the situation as quickly and as cheaply as possible. To this end tribunals serve a useful purpose. The Industrial Dispute Tribunal performs its task on its own merit and as such they have the power to make awards that are binding and are deemed to be final. These awards can only be overturned on a point of law this means only where the decision of the tribunal may be in error can an appeal be made. The tribunal also has the power to summon any person before to give evidence or produce documents and records in control of that person. Another function of the tribunal is that it may also administer an oath or take an affirmation of any witness appearing before it; the tribunal may conduct it hearing in private for the purpose of hearing evidence. If industrial action is threatened or has begun and the dispute is referred to the tribunal it can order that such industrial action not take place or cease from such time. If the order is disobeyed, offenders may be prosecuted. No action may be taken against members of the tribunal in respect of action done during the course of operations. Where three of the members are selected to constitute a division of the Tribunal and the chairman is one of those members, he shall preside over that division, and where the chairman is not one of those members, a deputy chairman shall preside. In addition where three members of the Tribunal constitute a division thereof and any one of those members dies or is incapacitated after the division begins to deal with the industrial dispute in relation to which it was constituted but before it has made its award, another person shall be selected in accordance with the provisions to fill the vacancy; thereafter the proceedings of the division shall be begun de novo unless all the parties to the dispute agree in writing that those proceedings may be continued as if they had not been interrupted by reason of such death or incapacity. A division of the Tribunal may, by agreement between the chairman of the Tribunal and the parties to the dispute with which the division proposes to deal, be assisted by one or more assessors appointed by the employer or an organization representing the employer and an equal number of assessors appointed by the trade union representing the workers. Where any division of the Tribunal is being assisted by assessors and any vacancy occurs in the number of assessors, that division may, by agreement between the person presiding and the party which appointed the assessor whose place has become vacant, either act not withstanding such vacancy or permit another assessor to be appointed by that party to fill the vacancy. Any industrial action taken in contemplation or furtherance of an industrial dispute in any undertaking which provides an essential service is an unlawful industrial action unless that dispute was reported to the Minister in accordance and he failed to comply or that dispute was referred to the Tribunal for settlement and the Tribunal failed to make an award within the period specified in. The Minister may, as soon as he is satisfied that any unlawful industrial action in contemplation or furtherance of an industrial dispute in an undertaking which provides an essential service has begun, refer that dispute the Tribunal for settlement. Where an industrial dispute exists in any undertaking which provides an essential service and the Minister is satisfied that the dispute relates to the appointment of any person to a public office or to removal of, or disciplinary action taken against, any person holding or acting in a public office, the Minister shall not refer the matter of that appointment, or removal or disciplinary action to the Tribunal but shall cause to be served on the parties directions in writing requiring them to follow, in respect of that matter, the procedure provided by or under the Constitution of Jamaica.

Eastenders. How does your chosen text attract its audience? Essay

Soap operas attract its audiences in many different ways and use a lot of tactics to keep their viewing going up. Audiences are so important to media because without them, there would be no media. So this is why many different types of media use specialist ways to keep their audiences engaged to help media progress. One of the soaps that has being focused on is Eastenders. Eastenders Is a soap that is shown four times a week on bbc1. It is based in London’s east end. It included a wide range of characters and storylines. One of the soaps intentions is to deal with controversial social issues and Eastenders likes to see itself and as pursuing ‘documentary realism’. It does not have a naturalistic mode and can shift from melodramatic or to sitcom. Eastenders uses a lot of realism within its story lines so that the audience can relate back to the story lines. But it is misleading to see Eastenders as ‘representing real life’ as it does include unrealistic things i.e. characters coming back to life from death. This piece will look at the different way Eastenders attracts it audience on a regular basis. Eastenders doesn’t have just one target audience it has a mass audience which means any gender, race , age, religion and class can watch it as it has many diverse characters with in the soap and different types of target story lines. These story lines can be seen as some audiences maybe relate to the story line and others can be educated by them. Audiences can identify with Eastenders characters in a self image as they include many different image groups such as Goths, suited characters, casual etc†¦ It also includes different ages and storylines to go along with these ages groups like starting school, going to university, retiring so audience that match these storylines can relate to this. Different classes are also used as characters, from grade A (upper class) to grade E ( lowest class) as within the soap its has doctors, lawyers etc†¦ and among that it has unemployed people, students. So it isn’t specifically for one class grade. Families are used as well as usually in soap operas they have 3 or 4 families and in Eastenders most of the characters are part of a family and the family live on the square. Families are a good way to attract as they seem relatively real life as the storylines include arguments, death, wills, new born’s, divorce etc.. and can relate to these storylines and/or help them come to terms with there own family issues. Different classes are also used as characters, from grade A (upper classes) to grade E ( lowest class) as with in the soap its has doctors, lawyers etc†¦ And among that it has unemployed people, students. So it isn’t specifically for one class grade. Many cultures and nationalist are included within the characters so it isn’t just aimed at one certain group of people. The codes and conventions of Eastenders is very important and it keeps the audiences hocked. It is a serialised drama that is on four times a week and runs week-in, week-out, all year round. It features continuous narratives dealing with domestic themes and personal or family relationships and will have Three, four or even five storylines and they will progress during any one episode, with the action switching between them. As one narrative is resolved, another completely different one with different characters will already be underway.. Eastenders also has a well-known theme tune and intro sequence which rarely changes throughout the history of the soap which over the years audiences become more familiar with ( it has been rumoured that pets are even familiar with it!). There is a limit to the number of characters available at any one time on screen but this allows the soap to focus on a smaller number of characters which then allows more time to be spent on each character, so that the audience knows them better and the storylines can be more detailed and involved, as well as being more numerous over time. The plots are open-ended and usually has a multiplicity of which interlinked in an episode ( metanarrative). The storylines in these cases run parallel. But episode will undoubtedly end with a ‘cliff-hanger’, which is a tense and suspenseful, un concluded piece of dialogue or action when But with the ending, it will come to some kind of conclusion as well as a cliff-hanger such as ‘ Billy’s dead’ which concludes that the character is dead but still raises up questions of’ why, when, where etc..’. The location of Eastenders is set around a small, central area ‘Trafalgar square’. And somehow the characters are all connected through either, relationships, arguments or history such as Phill Mitchell used to bully Ian Beal as school over 20 years ago and now you still see his subliminal control over Ian. Eastenders often have special episodes for events in the real world such as Christmas or the Millennium and even just an round up to a storyline such as ‘ who killed Archie (( an hour long special)). Such episodes are often referred to as ‘soap bubbles’. Eastenders and largely British soaps most often feature common, ordinary, working class characters, in contrast to American soaps, which tend to deal with richer, flashier, more fantasy-inspired characters, reflecting the preferences of their respective target audiences. As Eastenders has such a broad range of characters, it has a broad range of representations.