Changing Issues in Human Resource Management (HRM)

Changing Issues in Human Resource Management (HRM) Human Resource Management (HRM) is a process of bringing people and organizations together so that the goals of each are met. It is that part of the management process which is concerned with the management of human resources in an organization. It tries to secure the best from people by winning their wholehearted cooperation. In short, it may be defined as the art of procuring, developing and maintaining competent workforce to achieve the goals of an organization in an effective and efficient manner. Todays organizations are facing challenges upon following levels: Environmental Challenges Organizational Challenges Individual Challenges Environmental Challenges Most organizations face external contexts that are complex, dynamic and increasingly global. This makes the context increasingly difficult to interpret. To cope with often incomplete and ambiguous contextual data, and to increase their understanding of the general external context, organizations engage in a process called external environmental analysis. All managers, including HR managers, need to be aware of the importance of scanning the external context in a systematic way. A number of models exist that can help managers in analysing the external environment. Such models provide a framework to identify external opportunities and threats. Opportunities arise when an organization can take advantage of conditions in its external environment to formulate and implement strategies that enable it to improve performance. Threats arise when conditions in the external environment endanger the integrity of the organizations activities. As shown in Exhibit 1 an organizations external environment has two major parts: Macroenvironment Industry The macro environment is composed of social, economic, political and technological elements in the broader society that can influence an industry and the organizations within it. The industry environment is the set of factors that directly influences an organization and its actions and responses. Managers have to analyse competitive forces in an industrys environment in order to identify the opportunities and threats confronting an organization. Environmental challenges refer to forces external to the firm that are largely beyond managements control but influence organizational performance. The important environmental challenges today are: Globalization, Economy Work force diversity, Technology Evolving work and family roles, Skill shortages and the rise of the service sector Each of these are discussed in the subsequent section Globalization Globalization is not a recent phenomenon. Some analysts have argued that the world economy was just a globalized 100 years ago as it is today. Yet the term is used since the 1980s, reflecting technological advances that have made it easier and quicker to complete international transactions, both trade and financial flows. The most striking aspect of this has been the integration of financial markets made possible by modern electronic communication. integration of business activities across geographical and organizational boundaries. The capacity to treat the world as one market whileà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦dealing with many culturally diverse merchants. the process by which markets expands to include competitors for customers and productive inputs without regard to national boundaries. doing business with a worldwide focusà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ rather than doing business in an international market with the focus from a home-country viewpoint. Many companies are already being compelled to think globally, something that doesnt come easily to firms long accustomed to doing business in a large and expanding domestic market with minimal foreign competition. Weak response to international competition may be resulting in upwards layoffs in every year. Human resources can play a critical role in a businesss ability to compete head-to-head with foreign producers. The implications of a global economy on human resource management are many. Globalization has increased the importance of HRM in organization. It has led to the development of many new areas of HR activity such as; the transfer of work to different geographical locations, either to outsourced providers or on a global in-sourcing basis; the e-enablement of many HR process; greater sophistication in the HR information technology, new structures for international HR functions; greater competition for talented staff at all levels of organization. In particular, there has been a very strong marketing, corporate communication and IT influence on the HR function. The HR function is realigning itself in response to this process of cross-function globalization (building new alliances with these functions) creating new activity streams and new roles and skills required of the HR function (Sparrow, Brewster and Harris, 2004). Economy Several changes in the economy have important implications for human resource management, these include the changing structure of the economy, the development of e-business, and more growth in professional and service occupations. Growth in these occupations means that skill demands for jobs have changed, with knowledge becoming more valuable. Not only have skill demands changed, but remaining competitive in a global economy requires demanding work hours and changes in traditional employment patterns. The creation of new jobs, aging employees leaving the workforce, slow population growth, and a lack of employees who have the skills needed to perform the jobs in greatest demand means that demand for employees will exceed supply. This has created a war for talent that has increased the attention companies pay to attracting and retaining human resources. Technology The world has never before seen such rapid technological changes as are presently occurring in the computer and telecommunications industries. One estimate is that technological change is occurring so rapidly that individuals may have to change their entire skills three or four times in their career. The advances being made, affect every area of a business including human resource management. Workforce Diversity According to Thomas (1992), dimensions of workforce diversity include, but are not limited to: age, ethnicity, ancestry, gender, physical abilities/qualities, race, sexual orientation, educational background, geographic location, income, marital status, military experience, religious beliefs, parental status, and work experience. Many companies are now realizing the advantages of a diverse workplace. As more and more companies are going global in their market expansions either physically or virtually (for example, E-commerce-related companies), there is a necessity to employ diverse talents to understand the various niches of the market. For example, when China was opening up its markets and exporting their products globally in the late 1980s, the Chinese companies (such as Chinas electronic giants such as Haier) were seeking the marketing expertise of Singaporeans. This is because Singapores marketing talents were able to understand the local China markets relatively well (almost 75% of Singaporeans are of Chinese descent) and as well as being attuned to the markets in the West due to Singapores open economic policies and English language abilities. (Toh, R, 1993) With this trend in place, a HR Manager must be able to organize the pool of diverse talents strategically for the organization. He/She must consider how a diverse workforce can enable the company to attain new markets and other organizational goals in order to harness the full potential of workplace diversity. Evolving Work and Family Roles The proportion of dual-career families, in which both wife and husband (or both members of a couple) work, is increasing every year. Unfortunately, women face the double burden of working at home and on the job, devoting 42 hours per week on average to the office and an additional 30 hours at home to children. This compares to 43 hours spent working in the office and only 12 hours at home for men. More and more companies are introducing family-friendly programs that give them a competitive advantage in the labor market. These programs are HR policies that companies use to hire and retain the best-qualified employees, male or female, and they are very likely to payoff. For instance, among the well known organizations / firms, half of all recruits are women, but only 5% of senior management are women. Major talent is being wasted as many women drop out after lengthy training because they have decided that the demanding 10- to 12-year management track requires a total sacrifice of famil y life. These firms have started to change their policies and are already seeing gains as a result. Different companies have recently begun offering child-care services as well to facilitate women workers as well as are introducing alternative scheduling to allow employees some flexibility in their work hours. Skill Shortages and the Rise of the Service Sector Expansion of service-sector employment is linked to a number of factors, including changes in consumer tastes and preferences, legal and regulatory changes, advances in science and technology that have eliminated many manufacturing jobs, and changes in the way businesses are organized and managed. Service, technical, and managerial positions that require college degrees will make up half of all manufacturing and service jobs. Unfortunately, most available workers will be too unskilled to fill those jobs. Even now, many companies complain that the supply of skilled labor is dwindling and that they must provide their employees with basic training to make up for the shortcomings of the public education system. To rectify these shortcomings, companies currently spend large amount year on a wide variety of training programs. ii. Organizational Challenges Organizational challenges refer to concerns that are internal to the firm. However, they are often a byproduct of environmental forces because no firm operates in a vacuum. Still, managers can usually exert much more control over organizational challenges than over environmental challenges. Effective managers spot organizational issues and deal with them before they become major problems. Only managers who are well informed about important HR issues and organizational challenges can do this. These challenges include the need for a competitive position and flexibility, the problems of downsizing and organizational restructuring, the use of self-managed work teams, the need to create a strong organizational culture, the role of technology, and the rise of outsourcing. An organization will outperform its competitors if it effectively utilizes its work forces unique combination of skills and abilities to exploit environmental opportunities and neutralize threats. HR policies can influence an organizations competitive position by a) Controlling costs, b) Improving quality, c) Creating distinctive capabilities and d) Restructuring a) Controlling costs One way for a firm to gain a competitive advantage is to maintain low costs and a strong cash flow. A compensation system that uses innovative reward strategies to control labor costs can help the organization grow. A well-designed compensation system rewards employees for behaviors that benefit the company. Other factors besides compensation policies can enhance a firms competitiveness by keeping labor costs under control. These include: better employee selection so that workers are more likely to stay with the company and to perform better while they are there, training employees to make them more efficient and productive; attaining harmonious labor relations; effectively managing health and safety issues in the workplace and structuring work to reduce the time and resources needed to design, produce, and deliver products or services b) Improving quality. The second way to gain a competitive advantage is to engage in continuous quality improvement. Many companies are implementing total quality management (TQM) initiatives, which are programs designed to improve the quality of all the processes that lead to a final product or service. In a TQM program, every aspect of the organization is oriented toward providing a quality product or service. c) Creating Distinctive Capabilities The third way to gain a competitive advantage is to utilize people with distinctive capabilities to create unsurpassed competence in a particular area (for example, 3Ms competence in adhesives, and Xeroxs dominance of the photocopier market). d) Restructuring A number of firms are changing the way the functions are performed. The past two decades have witnessed a dramatic transformation in how firms are structured. Tall organizations that had many management levels are becoming flatter as companies reduce the number of people between the chief executive officer (CEO) and the lowest-ranking production employee in an effort to become more competitive. This transformation has had enormous implications for the effective utilization of human resources. Since the late 1980s, many companies have instituted massive layoffs of middle managers, whose traditional role of planning, organizing, implementing, and controlling has come to be equated with the kind of cumbersome bureaucracy that prevents businesses from responding to market forces. It is estimated that two thirds of the jobs eliminated in the 1990s were supervisory/middle management jobs. New relationships among firms are also fostering hybrid organizational structures and the blending of firms with diverse histories and labor forces. Mergers and acquisitions, in which formerly independent organizations come together as a single entity, represent two important sources of restructuring. A newer and rapidly growing form of inter organizational bonding comes in the form of joint ventures, alliances, and collaborations among firms that remain independent, yet work together on specific products to spread costs and risks. To be successful, organizational restructuring requires effective management of human resources. For instance, flattening the organization requires careful examination of staffing demands, workflows, communication channels, training needs, and so on. Likewise, mergers and other forms of inter organizational relations require the successful blending of dissimilar organizational structures, management practices, technical expertise, and so forth iii. Individual Challenges Human resource issues at the individual level address the decisions most pertinent to specific employees. These individual challenges almost always reflect what is happening in the larger organization. For instance, technology affects individual productivity; it also has ethical ramifications in terms of how information is used to make HR decisions (for example, use of credit or medical history data to decide whom to hire). How the company treats its individual employees is also likely to affect the organizational challenges we discussed earlier. For example, if many key employees leave the firm to join competitors, the organizations competitive position is likely to be affected. In other words, there is a two-way relationship between organizational and individual challenges. This is unlike the relationship between environmental and organizational challenges, in which the relationship goes only one way few organizations can have much impact on the environment. The most important indi vidual challenges today involve, productivity, empowerment, brain drain, job security and matching people and organizations. Productivity Productivity is a measure of how much value individual employees add to the goods or services that the organization produces. The greater the output per individual, the higher the organizations productivity. Two important factors that affect individual productivity are ability and motivation. Employee ability, competence in performing a job, can be improved through a hiring and placement process that selects the best individuals for the job. It can also be improved through training and career development programs designed to sharpen employees skills and prepare them for additional responsibilities. Motivation refers to a persons desire to do the best possible job or to exert the maximum effort to perform assigned tasks. Motivation energizes, directs, and sustains human behavior. A growing number of companies recognize that employees are more likely to choose a firm and stay there if they believe that it offers a high quality of work life (QWL). Empowerment In recent years many firms have reduced employee dependence on superiors and placed more emphasis on individual control over (and responsibility for) the work that needs to be done. This process has been labeled empowerment because it transfers direction from an external source (normally the immediate supervisor) to an internal source (the individuals own desire to do well). In essence, the process of empowerment entails providing workers with the skills and authority to make decisions that would traditionally be made by managers. The goal of empowerment is an organization consisting of enthusiastic, committed people who perform their work ably because they believe in it and enjoys doing it (internal control). This situation is in stark contrast to an organization that gets people to work as an act of compliance to avoid punishment (for example, being fired) or to qualify for a paycheck (external control). Work Time Flextime the practice of permitting employees to choose, with certain limitations, their own working hours. Compressed Workweek-any arrangement of work hours that permits employees to fulfill their work obligation in fewer days than the typical five-day workweek. This approach adds many highly qualified individuals to the labor market by permitting both employment and family needs to be addressed. Workplace flexibility is expected to be on the rise as the future workplace, the virtual office is characterized by creative and flexible work arrangements. As more employees work off-site-up to two thirds of an organization in the 21st century there will be an increase in emphasis on performance and results as opposed to the number of hours worked. In addition, off-site employees can expect to attend fewer meetings. Specified work will become much more collaborative and management will spend nearly all its time managing cross-functional work teams who enjoy a lot of autonomy Quality of Work Life (QWL) High quality of work life is related to job satisfaction, which in turn is a strong predictor of absenteeism and turnover. A firms investments in improving the quality of work life also payoff in the form of better customer service. High employment rate, low inflation and Steady economic growth provide opportunity and rising living standards. Technological advance has enabled the worlds population to grow with improved living standards for most. Brain Drain With organizational success more and more dependent on knowledge held by specific employees, companies are becoming more susceptible to brain drain-the loss of intellectual property that results when competitors lure away key employees. High-Tec firms are particularly vulnerable to this problem. Such important industries as semiconductors and electronics suffer from high employee turnover as key employees, inspired by the potential for huge profits, leave established firms to start their own businesses. This brain drain can negatively affect innovation and cause major delays in the introduction of new products. To make matters worse, departing employees, particularly those in upper management, can wreak considerable havoc by taking other talent with them when they leave. To combat the problem of defection to competitors, some firms are crafting elaborate ant defection devices. For example, Compaq computer has introduced a policy that revokes bonuses and other benefits to key executiv es if they take other employees with them when they quit. Micron Technology staggers key employees bonuses; they lose un-awarded portions when they leave. Matching People and Organizations HR strategies contribute to firm performance most when the firm uses these strategies to attract and retain the type of employee who best fits the firms culture and overall business objectives. For example, one study showed that the competencies and personality characteristics of top executives could hamper or improve firm performance, depending on what the firms business strategies are. Fast-growth firms perform better with managers who have a strong marketing and sales background, who are willing to take risks, and who have a high tolerance for ambiguity. However, these managerial traits actually reduce the performance of mature firms that have an established product and are more interested in maintaining (rather than expanding) their market share. Other research has shown that small high-tech firms benefit by hiring employees who are willing to work in an atmosphere of high uncertainty, low pay, and rapid change in exchange for greater intrinsic satisfaction and the financial oppo rtunities associated with a risky but potentially very lucrative product launch CHALLENGES FOR HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGERS Issues facing HR are expected to change dramatically in the next decades. HR programs and the HR function have increased pressure to relate to the business strategy and show a return on investment. Customer focus needs to be included in all HRM practices. New technology combined with economic uncertainty will mean that administrative and transactional HR activities will be delivered via technology creating less need for HR professionals to provide these activities. Thus, HR professionals must play special roles in dealing with these changes and must develop specific competencies to support these roles. Employee Engagement Products and process alone cant help organizations to sustain loyal customers. They also need highly-motivated, dedicated and involved employees who are very passionate about their work and their organization; in short, they need engaged employees. But, nurturing engaged employees requires a lot of effort and skill on the part of HR managers and calls for a different HR philosophy in the organization. We need employee engagement to serve as a core competency of an organization that would provide sustainable competitive advantage. We know employee engagement towards their work, throw few test symptoms, i.e., feeling of creating value, having a direction to follow, an air of trust, creating engaged employees through top management endorsement, a work environment to cherish, innovative leadership and clear growth trajectories, one step up from commitment. Employee engagement is the new buzzword. A successful business is directly linked to the commitment of its employees. Employee engagement ensures the successful execution of any business strategy. Talent Management One of HRs most challenging jobs now involves managing talent. Much has changed in recent years to make this an increasingly critical area for HR. Among the issues that have made the talent management job more difficult are: frequent restructuring, a growing reliance on outside hiring, flatter organizations with fewer growth options, a tighter job market (at least in the long term), the aging workforce and the decline of clear career paths, as we mentioned above that it create a big challenge before the HR. In order to retain its most valuable stakeholders, an organization must find innovative ways to continually recruit its own employees. Retaining top quality talent is an enormous challenge facing corporations today and it is duty of HR to cope with it. In order to build effective retention and deployment strategies, companies must maintain visibility into and communication with their employees. An organizations capacity to hire, develop and retain talent is the most crucial business process as there is a definite correlation between intangible assets and market capitalization, according to the protagonists of talent management. It is due to these intrinsic intangible values that some companies are perceived as more valuable than others. Managing Virtual Human Resources Change in technology results in a change in the structure, design and environment of an organization Organizations today operate in a workspace, which is much more broadly defined, than it was earlier. Connectivity within and outside the organizations, creates a world of virtual organizations. A virtual company is usually a highly networked organization that extensively contracts out activities that were once performed in-house, allowing both speed and flexibility. The key to success in a virtual corporation is connectivity, i.e., the ability to network with a large number of independent companies. In essence, there will be a movement, a trend towards a decentralized model of HR. HR managers will have to accommodate employees in their virtual work locations and find ways to manage corporate culture, socialization and employee orientation. In order to obtain and maintain a competent workforce, they must act as organizational performance experts and shape employees behavior without face to face meetings. HR Issues and Cross Cultural Management Another expected change in HR is the Global Business concept world trade knew a major growth during the last years and there is forecasted as well the growth of international businesses, especially among small firms. Organization rely more and more organization HR specialists as the facilitators of work across borders and among different cultures. Therefore, they must be knowledgeable of other cultures, languages and business practices. They will be required to develop and manage an international workforce, maintain written and unwritten corporate polices for transportability to other cultures, keep top management informed of the costs of not paying attention to the transnational issues and provide their services to a variety of locations world wide. Organization must take into account cultural differences that shape managerial attitudes, when developing multinational management programs. For e.g., British managers value individual achievement and autonomy, whereas French managers appreciate competent supervision, fringe benefits, security and comfortable conditions, while Indian managers gives more importance of their culture and tradition. HR managers must therefore be familiar with and understand other cultural norms to promote organization diversity. An organization that recognizes and promotes cultural diversity will benefit because it will be employing the market that it serves. With increasing globalization and competition within the market, a diverse workforce is conducive to attracting and retaining a strong client base. While competing in an international market, employees from diverse national backgrounds provide language skills and understanding of other cultures. HR professionals will also be responsible for providing cultural sensitivity training for the organizations employees and for managers throughout the entire organization. (Czebter, Anamaria, 2002) Managing Issues of Work Life Balance in Organisations The challenge of work/life balance is rising to the top of many employers and employees consciousness. In a society filled with conflicting responsibilities and commitments, work/life balance has become a predominant issue in the workplace. Research by Parasuraman and Greenhaus (2002) documented that segments of the workforce may be subject to unique work/family pressures, yet often have few sources of support. The under-representation of these groups of individuals with potentially difficult types of work/family pressures represents a major gap in work/family research and employers understanding of their needs. Typically, studies have focused on employed men and women who are married or living with a partner or those with children. Omitted from research are single-earner mothers and fathers, single and childless employees with extensive responsibility for eldercare, blended families with children from both partners prior marriages, families with shared custody of children, and grand parents raising their grandchildren. In their highly acclaimed book, Work and FamilyAllies or Enemies, Friedman and Greenhaus (2000), two leaders in work/life balance, help us understand choices we make as employers and individuals regarding work and family. To handle work/life balance, Friedman and Greenhaus emphasize that working adults learn to build networks of support at home, at work, and in the community. Conflict between work and family has real consequences and significantly affects quality of family life and career attainment of both men and women. With the growing diversity of family structures represented in the workforce in the new millennium, it is important that human resource professionals better understand the interface of work and family relationships and the resulting impact in the workplace. Human Resource professionals seeking innovative ways to augment their organizations competitive advantage in the marketplace may find that work/life balance challenges offer a win-win solution.

Ten Most Beautiful Experiments

Science in all of its forms and varieties has surpassed many events that have changed its path and the way many individuals view the art. The experiments behind the many concepts of science seem all together complicated and uninteresting when viewed with the naked eye. But, when the cloth is pulled away from the shun reality we truly see what a beautiful experiment is. In the eye of a scientist, beauty lies in the simplicity and ingenuity of the design, and the unambiguous result that opens a new world of understanding. In George Johnsons’ book, The Ten Most Beautiful Experiments, he explores the difficult experiments and explains them in the simplest form. This book establishes a state of wide-eyed wonder through white light split into a rainbow, locating pulse in our own neck, and allows us to peer through a microscope or fire up a Bunsen burner for the very first time. The ideas of many known figures such as Galileo, Newton, and Pavlov, as well as many unsung heroes such as Harvey, Galvani, Joule, and many more are explored in this simple yet enticing book. The first chapter describes Galileo’s studying motion by focusing on a ball experiment instead of the famed Galileo dropping things from the leaning tower of Pisa. In fact in this book Johnson believes that the whole phenomenon never happened and instead focuses on the science of the matter. Galileo carved a groove down the centre of a board about 20 feet long and 10 inches wide. Then he propped it at an angle and timed how quickly the balls rolled down the track. What he discovered was that the distance the ball travels is proportional to the square of the time that has elapsed. Along the ball's path, he placed cat-gut frets, like those on a lute. As the rolling ball clicked against the frets, Galileo sang a tune, using the upbeats to time the motion. This series of events allowed Galileo to show that heavier objects do not fall faster than light ones and to figure out the math for the acceleration of falling bodies. The second chapter describes how William Harvey showed that one form of blood circulates throughout the body, not two. How did an individual display such a complex finding, Harvey had the help of a snake. He needed to observer the flow of blood at a slower pace than many had tested before. Which gave him the idea to use a reptile since they have colder blood, which made its heart beat more leisurely Harvey sliced open a live snake and, while pinching its or main vein, watched as the heart into which it pumped blood grew paler and smaller. He then pinched the snake’s main artery and saw how obstructing the flow caused the heart to swell. When Harvey released the grip, the heart refilled and sprung back to life. Pinching the heart's main artery had the opposite effect where the space between heart and forceps became gorged with blood, inflating like a balloon. It was the heart, was the driving motor, pushing red blood to the extremities of the body. By completing his radical experiment Harvey proved that blood circulated an idea that was so far-fetched managed to overturn the assertion of Galen. In fact Galen had taught that the body contains two separate vascular systems. The first was a blue â€Å"vegetative† fluid, the elixir of nourishment and growth, coursed through the veins. The second was a bright red â€Å"vital† fluid travelled through the arteries, activating the muscles and stimulating motion. Invisible spirits, or â€Å"pneuma†, caused the fluids to slosh back and forth like the tides. The third chapter describes one of the most famed scientists of all time Sir Isaac Newton. He had many discoveries some relating to gravity, calculus, and light spectrums. Newton carefully reviewed what others before him had found and added some observations of his own. In Newton's day, Europe's great scientists believed that white light was pure and fundamental. When it bounced off a colored object or passed through a tinted liquid or glass, it became stained somehow with color. Newton cut a hole in his window shutter and held a prism in the path of the sun, spreading the light into a spectrum. Then he funneled the spectrum through a second prism. He allowed the colors to pass, one by one, through the second prism. Starting at the red end and progressing toward the blue, each color was bent a little more by the glass. Through this exercise Newton had discovered that light consisted of a heterogeneous mixture of different rays. The fourth chapter describes Antoine-Laurent Lavoisier who changed the theory of ash by discovering oxygen. In his experiment he took mercury and heated it in a closed beaker, to develop an almost closed system. Lavoisier heated this until a crust formed or calx which is a reddish color in mercury. After a few days of doing this when he wasn’t producing anymore of the calx, he skimmed it off and isolated it. He placed the isolated mercury in a flask and heated it until it started giving off a gas. He noted that it burned â€Å"with a dazzling splendor†. Calx was not metal without phlogiston, but metal combined with name oxygen. Left behind in the flask was a gas that extinguished flames, now called nitrogen. Lavoisier discovered the nature of oxidation and the chemical composition of the air. The fifth chapter and probably one of the most interesting was of Luigi Galvani the man who accidently discovered â€Å"animal electricity†. Galvani found, the frog's leg would move, seemingly of its own accord, as it hung from a hook, even in the clearest weather. His fellow citizen Volta was assured that electricity was produced by the touching of two different metals. In this case was the frog's leg had hung on a brass hook from an iron rail, virtually being non-biological. Volta confirmed that electricity can indeed come from two metals through his invention of the battery, while Galvani went on to show that there is electricity in the body. He took a dissected frog and nudged a severed nerve against another using a probe made of glass. No metal was involved, but when nerve touched nerve, the muscle contracted as if someone had closed a switch. The sixth chapter describes Michael Faraday who had performed a suite of experiments showing the linkage between electricity and magnetism. Throughout these experiments he invented the the electric motor and the dynamo. Using an Argand oil lamp, Faraday projected polarized light through a block of glass, alongside of which sat a powerful electromagnet. Holding a polarizing filter, called a Nicol prism, to his eye, he rotated it until the light was extinguished. Then he switched on the current. The image of the flame suddenly reappeared. He turned the magnet off and the flame disappeared. The magnetic field, he realized, was twisting the light beam – and if the polarity of the field was reversed, the light beam rotated the other way. Faraday had unified two more forces, demonstrating that light was actually a form of electromagnetism. The seventh chapter was on James Joule and how he discovered that heat was just not nay simple thing but a form of motion. Joule's effort to show that heat and work are related ways of converting energy into motion. This is probably why energy and work are measured in Joules. He took it upon himself to test the theory of caloric or invisible heat in which it will rise up the shaft until you can feel the warmth in the handle. According to this theory, the reason something gets hot when you rub it is because you abrade the surface and let some caloric out. However Joule tested this theory by a rigging of pulleys and weights, he spun a paddle wheel inside a vessel of water and carefully measured the change in temperature. The motion of the paddle made the water warmer, and the relationship was precise where raising one pound of the liquid by one degree took 772 foot-pounds of work. The eighth chapter discusses Albert Abraham Michelson and he set out to prove the existence of the aether. This substance was the fixed backdrop of the universe in which our planet swam as it moved through space. In his apparatus, two beams of light travelled in perpendicular directions. The beam moving upstream with the earth's orbit was slowed by the wind of the aether, while the other beam should be less affected. By comparing their velocities with an interferometer, Michelson would calculate the motion of the Earth, but the speed of the two beams was the same. With help from Edward Morley, Michelson made the measurements much more precisely. Still there was not a hint of aether. In fact, the experiment was a beautiful failure. The ninth chapter discussed man’s best friend thanks to Ivan Pavlov, who had shown how learning was a matter of creatures forming new connections in a living machine. Contrary to legend, Pavlov hardly ever used bells in his experiments with salivating dogs. He conditioned the animals to distinguish between objects rotating clockwise or counter-clockwise, between a circle and an ellipse, even between subtle shades of gray. First, a dog was trained to salivate when it heard an ascending scale, but not a descending one. The melodies were played and the spittle collected. Through simple conditioning, the dog had categorized the music it heard into two groups, depending on whether the pitches were predominantly rising or falling. The mind had lost a bit of its mystery, The tenth chapter or final experiment was on Robert Millikan and how he showed that charge, came in discrete quantities. Millikan's used two round brass plates, with the top one having a hole drilled through the centre. Both plates were mounted on a stand and illuminated from the side by a bright light. The plates were then connected to a 1,000-volt battery. With a perfume atomizer, Millikan sprayed a mist of oil above the apparatus and watched through a telescope as some of the droplets fell into the area between the plates. As he jerked the voltage, he watched as some drops were pushed slowly upward while others were pulled down. Their passage through the atomizer had ionized them, giving the drops negative or positive charges. Thus resulting in what we now call electrons. Johnson's book makes one wonder whether contemporary science might benefit from a bit of the passion and poverty that helped shape these ten beautiful experiments. One might even ask why these and why not include women. Johnson did not play favorites in fact he even mentioned how at one point after publishing the book he had second guessed himself but either way the book accomplished one thing of any. It accomplished in teaching me how the things that I take a mere facts were the hard work of trial and error of many individuals. Such as Harvey for example who proved that blood circulates in one form throughout the body. Something that I just take as a given and don’t consider the amount of work needed to formulate this conclusion. Johnson put it in such a simple context that appreciating the work was truly beautiful.

Understanding Academic Essay Topics

Understanding Academic Essay Topics Vital Pieces of Academic Essay Topics When you know the problem well enough you will start to appreciate what others have to say regarding the subject. On the flip side, in the event that you made a very good choice, focus on what influenced you to make that decision and the way it has changed you. In the event the topic chosen is too broad then there's always the danger of being unable to contain it within the term limit provided. Still, it's far better to get a freedom of choice as far as it is possible to choose the issue which interests you. The multiple topics could possibly be found, for instance, in the dissertation abstracts international database. With the aid of our tips for writing and our interesting collection of topics, you're guaranteed to acquire a high grade! You may use a variety of examples that can be found on the world wide web free of charge. It is preferable to use templates since they include all necessary formattin g elements. Try out another topic and do the exact same 5-minute writing test till you locate a topic you know it is easy to write on. Argumentative essay topics are so important since they are debatableand it's essential to at all times be critically contemplating the world around us. It's possible to select an intriguing topic from any area of science. Taking into account that lots of persuasive essays concern controversial topics, before writing, you can want to sit down and think of what your opinion on the topic actually is. Second, talk what you shouldn't do instead of what has to be done. You will be assigned a topic, or your professor will permit you to select your own. You could be given the topic straight away by your professor, or you might be free to select the topic yourself. The topic ought to be relatively simple to research. It should not be too vast. It should be specific as far as possible. Deciding upon an emotional topic is also a superb idea. Details of Academic Essay Topics If a particular topic is offered on which the essay must be written, then it's comparatively quick. Nobody really wishes to compose an essay. You may want to consider working on the how-to essay for a genre. In this kind of situation, it's more convenient to locate ready-made essays and use them as an example. Knowing the most frequent IELTS essay topics enables you to concentrate on the most significant vocabulary. Informative essays are somewhat more descriptive. Writing descriptive essays isn't easy even on the very best of days. Writing a superb persuasive essay is not a simple task, however, it's achievable. Instead of just immediately writing about your argumentative essay topic, you first have to think about what it is that you are likely to put back on your paper through a procedure of brainstorming and pre-writing. As tempting as it might appear to skip past the extra info and go straight to the list of persuasive essay topics, don't do it. You may continue to keep your argumentative essays for your upcoming job portfolio in case they're highly graded. When prior brainstorming is finished, you can begin drafting your essay. At times you might require some expert help with argumentative essay topics. When you're at college or school, one of the chief tasks you need to do is write essays. It's important to select debatable argumentative essay topics as you need opposing points that you may counter to your own points. There are many essay topics that you can pick from. The Foolproof Academic Essay Topics Strategy As an example, in college, you might be requested to compose a paper from the opposing viewpoint. The reader ought to be impressed by the manner in which you defend your ideas. The very first step is where a large number of students become stuck. Additionally, you would like to select an essay topic that's going to permit you to demonstrate your skills to the best of your ability.

The Effects Of Advertisements And Their Effect On Teen Brain

Table of Contents Introduction 2 Diet Pills 2 i. Laxatives: 3 ii. Stimulants 3 iii. Appetite suppressant 3 Weight Loss Advertisements 3 Advertisements About Creams or Patches That Can Burn Fat. 4 False Advertisements and their effect on Teen Brain 5 References 7 Image References 7 Introduction The number of false advertisements in fitness industry have increased in the past few years. Now is the prime time to tell people that they should not blindly trust these advertisements and try to do a little research or consult any health care practitioner before using the product or the service. Radcliffe (2016) claims that â€Å"Sadly, one-third of adults and 17% of children in the U.S. are obese, and weight loss drugs have become a big business† There are various topics that will be focused during this presentation like diet pills advertisements, weight loss advertisements, creams that claim to melt fat. Diet Pills Due to sedentary lifestyle people now a days are getting interested in methods that will help them to reduce their weight in a quick and easy way and completely ignoring the side effects of these products. Researches show that people who are exposed to weight loss or diet pills advertisements tend to make unhealthier food choice. Often diet pills advertisements are filled with pictures of models or people who are in good shape trying to prove people that taking these pills will make you look like them. Diet pills or weight loss pills is consideredShow MoreRelatedThe Negative Effects of Using Tanning Salons1145 Words   |  5 Pagesthis â€Å"perfect† image. These looks are popularized through stars, models, and individuals that the younger population look up to. Enforcing insecurity amongst teens, advertisements portray these ultimate, beautiful, â€Å"natural† looks. However, what they do not portray is the time, effort, and health risks involved. Unfortunately these teens do not take into consideration the harsh circumstances that these procedures consist of. In other words, they are not aware of the after affects that will alterRead MoreThe Media And Its Effects O n Teen And Young Undeveloped Brains1237 Words   |  5 PagesThe advertising business views teenagers in society as a viable market section, due to their immature understanding of the media and its dazzling impact on teen and young undeveloped brains. 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It consists of a broad spectrum of communication such as: television, films, web sitesRead MoreThe Effects Of Media Violence On People1388 Words   |  6 PagesThe Effect of Media Violence on People Media violence impacts the physical aggression of human beings. It is one of the many potential factors that influence the risk for violence and aggression. Research has proven that aggression in children will cause the likelihood of aggression in their adulthood. Theories have evolved that the violence present in the media most likely teaches the viewer to be more violent. It is a risky behavior that is established from the childhood. Furthermore, media violenceRead MoreThe Negative Effects of Television on Children in Society Essay1308 Words   |  6 PagesAn estimated one billion television sets have been sold in North America, and on average, children watch 28 hours per week. The effect of television creates negative development in children. 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Since smoking hasRead MoreThe Effects of Online Media on Adolescents1454 Words   |  6 Pagesare the younger, more easily impacted generations. Although there are many positive uses for online media, there are many negative uses as well. Unfortunately, it is all too easy for these negative effects to impede upon the perceptions of adolescents. Some c ountries have been trying to reduce this effect by expelling the inappropriate content of online media (Influence on Children Media...†). However, in the United States, children are thrown in the waves, expected to stay afloat in this massiveRead MoreEssay On Marketing To Children1600 Words   |  7 PagesIntroduction Advertisements are everywhere, and there seems to be no escape from them, whether it is at home or on the street. In recent years, more advertisements have been targeting the youth of society, more specifically children thirteen years and younger. Children are targets for ads because they are the most impressionable, and therefore can and have been exploited for a profit by large corporations for many years. For these following reasons, I believe that the marketing to children is aRead MoreMedia s Influence On Media1703 Words   |  7 Pagestwentieth century, mass media became widely recognized. In a period of mass availability, people today have entry to more media outlets than ever before. According to media scholar Jean Kilbourne,â€Å"the average American is exposed to over 3,000 advertisements a day and watches three years’ worth of television ads over the course of a lifetime† (back cover). It is all around us, from the shows we watch on television, the music we listen to on the radio, and to the books and magazines we read each dayRead MoreAdvertising Standards Authority ( Asa )1391 Words   |  6 PagesETHICAL ISSUES IN ADVERTISMENT INTRODUCTION Advertisement is the one way persuasive communication with a purpose to promote goods or services to potential customers. Advertisement is the backbone of commerce and industry and one of the richest industries of the world. Advertisement has acquired an unprecedented importance due to audiovisual means of information and entertainment. Due to this impact people became selective in this segment, now they prefer better, healthier and convenient style of