Bats Definition Essay Essay Example for Free

Bats Definition Essay Essay Bats are defined as flying mammals of the order Chiroptera . They have a worldwide distribution in tropical and temperate regions and have modified forelimbs that serve as wings and are covered with a membranous skin extending to the hind limbs that allows them to fly. The bat’s the only mammal capable of true flight. They use echolocation to find their prey by emitting sound waves that bounce off objects in front of them and echo back to them. By using their highly advanced hearing they can determine an object’s size, shape, location and even texture Bats are good at keeping insect populations in control by hunting Different bats live through the winter in a variety of ways. Some types of bats migrate while others hibernate. Some even go into Torpor (a state of controlled hypothermia). Bats in the wild usually find places like hollow trees or caves to hibernate in, but they also find comfort in man made locations. It’s during the winter that most homeowners need to be aware of bat activity surrounding their homes. It’s not uncommon for bats to move into homes to stay warm, dry and secure during the winter months. They’re especially fond of places like attics, crawlspaces and unused chimneys. Bats are commonly thought of as carriers of rabies. While bats can get rabies the percentage of bats with the disease is less than one percent, so there is no reason to fear a bat more than other animals. However, it is recommended that bats found in houses or bats that come in contact with humans be taken to a local health department vet or police for rabies testing to rule out the presence of the disease. Signs of a bat infestation can include the smell of urine or feces (or guano) in strange places (usually near walls or fire places) or maybe even the physical presence of animal waste. Another, more obvious sign includes scratching and squeaking in the walls or ceiling. Occasionally bats may find their way into the inner sanctum of your household. There are many rights and wrongs to getting a bat out of the house First of all, it is important to know your foe and be aware of a bat’s abilities. When trapped indoors bats have the tendency to swoop back and forth through a room quickly. When this happens the best thing to do is to contain the bat in one room and open any doors or screenless windows leading to the outdoors. If this is possible simply stand back and wait for it to land or fly out the window. If you have some sort of net you could try catching it as it swoops by. Bats cannot take off from the ground, so they have to climb and take off from high places like walls or furniture, so when a bat is grounded you have the opportunity to catch the bat. This can be done in several ways. Regardless of how you catch a bat you must always be very careful to not touch the bat to prevent being bitten or scratched. Cornered bats can be quite vicious if provoked. You can use gloves, a thick towel or net to capture the bat. If you prefer not to use your hand you could use a box, can, or Tupperware container by trapping the bat and then sliding a piece of cardboard under it. Regardless of how you choose to approach a bat, it is always a good idea to at least wear thick gloves to avoid being bitten. Any bat suspected of having physical contact with a person should be captured and submitted for rabies testing. Your local health department, animal control office or veterinarian can help you submit the bat to a laboratory for rabies testing. If the bat tests negative, rabies treatment can be avoided. If a bat bites or has physical contact with a person, the wound or contact area should be washed immediately with soap and water. Unfortunately, bat bites and scratches are small and may go unnoticed. In certain situations it may be impossible to know if contact with a bat has occurred. These situations occur when a bat is found in the same room with a sleeping person, infant or young child, a person with a disease that reduces mental capacity, or persons under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Whenever a bat has physical contact with a person, or is suspected of coming in contact with a person, the bat should be captured and tested, if possible, and the incident should be reported immediately to a physician and local health authority to assess the need for rabies treatment. Bats are good for the environment and should not be feared but respected. Bats good for the environment and keep the mosquito population down preventing the spread of infectious diseases such as malaria and West-Nile Virus. Bats are often viewed in culture as evil

Psychological Manipulation Different Techniques Psychology Essay

Psychological Manipulation Different Techniques Psychology Essay Psychological manipulation is  like brain washing in that it wears away the victims self-confidence, sense of self-worth, trust in their own perceptions, and self-concept. Whichever way it is done, the results will be fairly similar. Eventually, the recipient of the abuse loses all sense of self and the final remaining vestiges of personal value. Psychological manipulation cuts through to the very core of a person. It cuts scars that are deeper and longer lasting than physical ones. Manipulators may take many forms to manipulate people throughout the different ages. Most people have all been manipulated by others. Telling a white lie in order to get what we want is one way of manipulation. Students are dishonorable for telling teachers that they couldnt get their paper in on time because their computer crashed the previous night. Employees claim to be sick in order to miss a day of work. When a manipulator manipulates other people, he is depriving them from their ability to make decisions based on their own accurate reading of reality. When a manipulator tells a lie, he provides an alternate reality to the other person therefore, they make decisions that may be to that manipulators advantage, but it may not be a decision that this person would make if he knew all the facts. People all want to trust and assume the best in other people. People believe that when someone tells them something, the other person is telling the truth. When people have been repeatedly hurt because others have taken advantage of our trust, People may change their beliefs about the world. They may become pessimistic and try to undermine others before we are hurt again. However, the best strategy is probably to trust until someone shows us that they cant be trusted. Its even better if we can learn how to recognize psychological manipulation when it appears. (Recognition of psychological manipulation will be seen later in this paper). Manipulators use many techniques of manipulation. I will now state two which I find used by many manipulators. A psychological manipulator is always displaying his/herself in the image of a willing helper. If you ask him/her to do something they will almost agree. In other words, when you ask him for something he agrees and when you thank him/her, he/she makes a lot of sighs or gestures that let you know they dont really want to do whatever you asked of him/her. Psychological manipulators can make you doubt yourself as they are very good at turning things around. They will say a thing and later assure you that they didnt where they can make you think that one plus one is three. Psychological Manipulation can be very effective that it may control ur behaviors and actions such as seen in the famous novel 1984. There are simple ways in which you can spot manipulators therefore preventing them from manipulating you. First thing to keep in mind is when a manipulator has years of experience they use words as their weapon of choice. They know exactly what to say and how to say it in order to get what they want.  Understand that psychological manipulators dont care what you want. They may act as though they do, but know that they have great acting ability. Many can cry on cue or act out fits of rage and not be angry at all. The second thing you should put in mind is that emotional manipulators are charming and all your friends and family will like them. They put on their best impersonation of a nice person around others. They continue this facade throughout your time together. This deception is how they make you turn out to be the crazy one.   Your feelings are your best friend. If something doesnt feel right and you are feeling confused, then you need to really pay close attention to what this person is saying and doing. When you find that their actions dont match their words, take this is a bright red flag. They will say something like Everybody makes mistakes. Even Im not perfect. This is a guilt trap set up and dont fall into it! Third psychological manipulation tactic is flirting. They flirt right in front of you, and then accuse you of over reacting. Naturally, then, youre the bad person ; theyre just being friendly, and so on. They thrive on your drama, so they find ways to push your buttons.   Remember, in the beginning theyre listening and watching, so they know what gets to you. Give them ammunition and they will use it! This is why you do not bare secrets early on. Its your secrets and fears that they use to make you appear unstable and unreasonable. The Fourth and most important to keep in mind is to look for doubt to set in, not in them, but in you. You will start doubting your own sanity. Did I really say that? Did I really do that? Emotional manipulation is all about making a person doubt themselves. This way the manipulator is always right and always gets their way. They are in control and plan to keep it that way. The use of guilt, anger, deception, intimidation, control and power will all come into play at some point. They will also be ambiguous, elusive, and emotionally unavailable. There is no love only lust. Sad to say, but many people mistake lust for love and fall for this tactic head first. The last thing to take care of is to know that the worst part of this is that if youre around them long enough, you will become like them. Thats right, you become like who youre around. How do you fight back or survive if you dont use emotional manipulation tactics yourself? After all, manipulators dont play fair! Its called natural adaptation. Many times it ends in sadness and violence; emotional baggage to carry for life unless counseling is sought. If you dont want to fall for these emotional manipulators build up your self esteem and confidence, so that you find their behaviors are unacceptable. People are sitting at a neutral state being swung back and forth on what and who to believe. They dont know that manipulation can be very dangerous and can be used in totalitarianism especially if they are manipulated by double think. An example of double think, the power of holding two contradictory beliefs in ones mind simultaneously and accepting both of them, as a manipulation technique for a large population (e.g. population of a country) is found in the novel 1984 by George Orwell. Where British citizens are psychologically manipulated to believe what the government and media declares. War is Peace is an example. To illustrate War is Peace, we must look at the term keeping the peace. America, the worlds liberator, has a wicked habit of keeping the peace in foreign lands. What this really means is that they send troops to these lands, armed with the most advanced weaponry, and threaten to kill everyone that goes against the interests of democracy. All of this is in the name of keeping the peace. The act of doublethink is now common in the world, many young adults are torn to believe contradictory statements about politics, and life which will prevent future generations from knowing what peace is. Not everyone in this world knows about psychological manipulation. Psychological manipulation techniques may be scattered all around your life; but that doesnt mean you have to give in to them. With this paper, you are now more equipped to handle different manipulative techniques. I also do recommend people to prepare their children to overcome manipulation. Sources: Books: Title: Mind Control. Publisher: Citadel; illustrated edition edition (August 1, 2006). Author: Dr.Haha Lung. Internet: http://www.manipulative-people.com/psychological-manipulation-an-overview/. http://mentalabuse.org/home.asp. http://www.articlesbase.com/self-improvement-articles/psychological-manipulation-techniques-3-awful-things-people-do-to-manipulate-others-1574468.html. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychological_manipulation. http://www.psychologicalharassment.com/psychological_manipulation.htm.

The Hurt Locker

The Hurt Locker â€Å"The Hurt Locker†, written by Mark Boal and directed by Kathryn Bigelow. Nominated and won for Best Picture, this award winning film captured the attention of many filmmakers and audiences for boldly showing the harsh reality of war and how a soldier deals with the horrors of war. â€Å"War is a drug†, a quote that this movie successfully reflects in its story and theme. The soldier associates war as some kind of drug that one must take to for keep going in life. This film emphasizes this through James, main protagonist of the story, who is a constant danger to himself and to others around him. The film is about an American army bomb disposal unit in wartime Iraq tasked with finding and disarming bombs in order to protect the local populace. The Hurt Locker also focuses on their struggles and victories in Iraq and portrays the life of the military. Not only does the Hurt Locker have a good story, but this film also implements many film techniques such as elements o f mise en scene, superb cinematography, and editing. I will talk about how â€Å"The Hurt Locker† deserves to be an Academy Award winner referencing these elements of film. The reason why this film is considered to be a great film is because of its emphasis on film technique. One of the elements portrayed in this film would be the incorporation of Mise en Scene. There are many examples of Mise- En -Scene used to create a sense of realism in the film. One I would describe the visual style would be gritty. Everything from the setting to the costumes were authentic enough that it added to the realism of film. In the beginning of the film, I would describe the actors as your typical jarhead in war films. As the film progressed however, they became rather complex. Each character has their own sense of values, some want to stay in Iraq and fight because they believe its the right thing to do while others, like James, the main protagonist, loves being a soldier and wants to stay in the chaos forever. The location of the filmed in Jordan, which is located a few clicks away from the Iraqi border. This helped created the realism and atmosphere it needed for film to be authentic as possible, which audiences love in war films. The scene that implements elements of Mise-en-scene would be the opening sequence of the film. The film opens with the quotation â€Å"The rush of battle is a potent and lethal addiction, for war is a drug†. The sequence is portrayed as a documentary film, having the camera act as if it were reporting a story on the soldiers rather than traditionally film a scene. The camera movements were rough and visuals were grainy. The lighting in this sequence was realistic, using frontal lighting to an area to create a natural environment and the color of the scene was neutral, which gave the impression that they were filming in a real situation. Being able to use mise en scene to convey a film’s message, theme, and symbols is such an enthralling experience, especially with the Hurt Locker. Achieving realism, you are able to guide an audience towards key narrative elements, and thus having a viewer’s such as me fully engaged. We want to know what it will be like to be a soldier like James and this film was able to take us into the action. This film was able to create the feeling of curiosity and suspense which adds to the many reasons why this film is great. Cinematography are one of the many film elements that contribute to this film’s success. To have a scene to be more suspenseful, the director incorporated different types of camera angles. The scenes that focuses a character on a personal level, the framing would be tight and concise. The most occurring thing in the film are bombs, this represents how the bad the world is. The soldiers themselves can be described as the ones who are morally good and are praised for it because they are considered the main focus of the film. I noticed that green and orange was the reoccurring color theme of the entire film. These colors represents the correlation between peace and chaos in the film. Green represents the goodness that the soldiers are bringing into the war. Orange is suppose to represent the chaos and violence that war brings to an area. The camera was constantly close to the action, giving more suspense to it. The distance of the camera in the establishing shot is a bit isolated as it tries to show every part of a given location, which makes every scene dramatic and shoves away visual beauty for harsh, honest realism. The film was shot on-location, so actual sunlight and fluorescents were used as the film’s source of light. The best example of light contrast would be the scene where there was a massive explosion. The fire was able to provide the light source and it perfectly contrast with the pitch black night. The supermarket scene would be the one that would be the most vital part of entire film. This scene’s cinematography was perfectly coordinated to convey the hollowness of the James as a person. It portrayed the contrast of the film by showing Jamess inner conflict between his civilian life and his life in the military. James has become someone who rather risk his life in the battlefield than living a normal life. The setting would be the focal point of contrast between the two worlds. In Iraq, danger is everywhere, poverty is prevalent, every step you take could be your last. Then the scene’s setting changes and see James walking around a supermarket. The place is filled with food and basically the opposite of what it’s like in Iraq. This contrast portrays these worlds as completely different things. Another things to portray a contrast between the two worlds would be the use of color. In the parts where it shows James in Iraq, the color of sand is used to repres ents the grittiness of his life in the military. Everything from the buildings to the uniforms, they all share the same color. On the other hand, the supermarket’s use of colors is your typical color scheme of an average store in America. The color distinction was done intentionally for to correlate the sandy color palette of Iraq to dirtiness and the white color scheme of the supermarket is associated with cleanliness. Cutting from Iraq to America emphasizes the nature trying to cope with living with war and returning to civilian life. This was done on purpose to have the audience feel confused. One moment James is talking about how he loves his job and another where James is back home, trying make assimilate back into the normal of a civilian. Overall, what James had to go through in the supermarket scene can relate to many soldiers who have been consumed by the horrors of combat. To them, trying to adjust to the normal life is just too hard for them. The supermarket scene describes that feeling perfectly. The techniques implemented were able to get into the emotional state of a war torn soldier who’s desperately trying to live a normal life. The feeling of being changed after emotionally intense events and feeling disoriented were drawn with detailed precision. James may be a ticking time bomb waiting to happen, but I think many soldiers can relate to what he’s been through. Editing can be a subtle, but powerful tool that enable filmmakers with a plethora of film decisions. Surprisingly, â€Å"The Hurt Locker† had little editing done on the film, maybe that it wanted content, rather than form. Instead of making any â€Å"fancy† editing to the film, keeping it to a minimal actually preserves the realism of its message. It takes advantage of some very simple techniques. In most films, if not all of them, the length of the cuts depends on the situation of the scene. The pacing of this film was usually slow. Whenever something dramatic or emotional is happening, the duration of the shots lengthen, to extensive proportions. An example of this would be the conversation between Sanborn and James after the failed attempt of disarming the bomb from a suicide bomber. Sanborn snaps saying that he can no longer deal with the stress of being a soldier. This scene was the most critical in defining two different characters. Lengthening the shot helped giv e a sense of realism to the scene. During the action scenes however, the pace of the film quickens and the length of the shots shorten. This creates the rush needed to keep the audience invested into the film. (CONCLUSION) The Hurt Locker is a very powerful film that deserves all the praise received of being an Academy Award Winner. The message that war can be used as a drug and soldiers themselves can be addicted to it has been prevalent throughout the film. This addiction has soldiers such as James to value war over anything else, including family. Personally thought the film’s topic was interesting because it focused on that impact a lot of people. The film has a good sense of projecting reality of what it is. It’s not the typical movie where it creates an illusion of fantasy where when the film is over, the audience returns to reality.

On Leisure Theory In The Field Of Cultural Spirit :: Culture China Essays

On Leisure Theory In The Field Of Cultural Spirit ABSTRACT: China, with a large population, has its own characteristics in establishing new values for leisure. One of the most vital characteristics of leisure is that family is considered as its main subject. Therefore, strengthening the family culture has become a new conception of leisure. In the countryside, about 85 percent of the villages and towns have set up various entertainment and leisure places which reflect the family culture. In cities, people have a new conception of residence which pursues a community culture that respects people's rights and advocates an harmonious integration of human beings and nature. Meanwhile, the leisure culture has been enriched by a plan that includes bodybuilding for everyone, reading clubs, family politics studies, art appreciation and environmental protection organizations comprised mainly of volunteers. New value of the leisure of humankind is coming into being in various fields. In the 20th century, one of the greatest contributions of science and technology to the mankind is that it has freed the human beings from heavy physical labor and given the people full leisure time. With the coming of the digital era, most of the future life and state of living of the mankind will be spent in leisure time. Therefore, leisure has become an important part of the human social activities. What is leisure? What kind of inner links exist between leisure and the quality of the human life? What enlightenment can we gain from leisure, which is an implication of cultural spirit? What kind of value of leisure shall we have in the future? All the above questions need our careful consideration. Leisure refers to the time the people have after they finish necessary social labor, which is based on reduction of man-hours. Leisure is a form of the state of human life, generally including eliminating physical fatigue and gaining spiritual comfort. With the development of science and technology as well as the social advancement, leisure has provided conditions for the rich spiritual life of the people. It is said that recreation will free the people from labor. On the one side, the hardness of labor will weaken due to longer rest and recovery time; on the other side, recreation should play a role in compensating the pains caused by labor to the people, helping them find back the possibility of the physical and spiritual balance damaged by labor.

Personal Narrative - My Childhood Memories :: Papers

PAIN! Lots of pain! I thought I was dying! I slammed into the ground my leg now at a very odd angle! I screamed! I heard footsteps running towards me screaming for me to answer, but I couldn't find the energy to do so! I closed my eyes and then I fainted! When I was small about six or seven years of age. I remember playing in our local park, on the biggest climbing frame I had ever seen. I would climb so high I'd swear I could reach the sky. I'd play for hours and hours everyday of the summer holidays. But one afternoon was enough to change my view of my climbing adventures of fun and fantasy forever. The excitement disappeared all because of one accident. The day began as usual with my mum taking me to the park to play on the climbing frame and to feed the ducks. My mum and I walked to the duck pond to feed the ducks. I was having a great time. There were big ducks, small ducks, fat ducks and thin ducks every kind of ducks you can imagine some did look pretty funny I remember telling my mom in Vietnamese as that time she didn’t know the English language very well. After feeding the ducks we headed for the climbing frame. I ran down to the climbing frame my mum in hot pursuit. I pushed through the gate as fast as I could, running towards the climbing frame. I quickly began to climb to the top. I could hear my mum below badgering me to slow down. I ignored her! Oh how I wish I'd listened to her instead. It happened all of a sudden, I lost my grip and fell painfully back down to earth I then recall waking up in an ambulance my head throbbing with pain. I felt my face with my shaking hand. My eyes were all wet, I'd been crying. As I opened my eyes a women peered kindly at me! "Hello," she said, "how are you feeling?"

Racial Discrimination in American History Essay

Racial discrimination contaminated the entire nation since its very inception. Racial tensions and problems remained a major dilemma of American history. Stanley M. Elkins’ illustrative work Slavery; A Problem in American Institutional and Intellectual Life illustrated the psychological effect of harsh pattern of slavery. He says that in the South brought into being a typical Negro personality that was commonly known as Sambo. Sambo denotes to a personality prototype that was characterized by childlike behavior. This infantilism (as Mr. Elkins calls it) was a result of absolute negation of individual rights and ultimate powerlessness. He further compares it with Nazi concentration camp, where harsh treatment and absolute powerlessness over every action had reduced the Jews to infantilism. Although American history is littered with example of racial discrimination at the social and governmental level but following example manifests different facets of American racial problem. Louis Hughes (1897) depicted pernicious kind of racial discrimination in his autobiography â€Å"Thirty Years A Slave; From Bondage to Freedom† when wrote that slave whipping was a not only a punitive measure but it was also done a business. He wrote; Whipping was done at these markets, or trader’s yards, all the time. People who lived in the city of Richmond would send their slaves here for punishment. When any one wanted a slave whipped he would send a note to that effect with the servant to the trader. Any petty offense on the part of a slave was sufficient to subject the offender to this brutal treatment. Owners who affected culture and refinement preferred to send a servant to the yard for punishment to inflicting it themselves. (pp 8-9) Dred Scott case (Scott v. Sandford, 60 U. S. (19 How. ) 393 (1856). ) has its peculiar importance in the racial history of America. Scott sued in federal court to be affirmed free. A divided Supreme Court (7/2) ruled out his sue petition as declared that he had not right to sue in federal court because he was not a U. S. citizen. Chief Justice Roger Taney wrote the majority opinion. Taney based his ruling on the actualities that free blacks were not citizens because blacks were often debarred from militia service. Taney and his allied counterparts further based their decision on the assumption that original American social community included only those â€Å"who, at that time [of American independence], were recognized as the people or citizens of a State, whose rights and liberties had been outraged by the English Government; and who declared their independence, and assumed the powers of Government to defend their rights by force of arms. † (Dred vs. Scott. ) Whatever were the legal and constitutional intricacies involved in the decision, this ruling made mockery of the American values of freedom, equality and fraternity. This decision further produced a huge chasm between the white American and Blacks that still exists and haunts the American society more than ever in various sophisticated forms and shapes. Residential segregation is common today as it was in the early days of American society as Blacks reside in underdeveloped and underprivileged ghettos. The sole reason for that is that economically they are not well off to buy a house in some good residential area or at least rent it. Until the first half of the 20th century, many trade unions routinely debarred blacks from membership; segregated schools were common in many cities across America. Within the armed forces, for example, blacks served in segregated units or, in the case of the Navy, were virtually excluded. But optimism grew and struggle for an affirmation action continued. Another important moment came when Supreme Court awarded separate but equal status to Afro-American in Plessy vs. Ferguson (1896). Justice Henry Brown wrote the majority decision: â€Å"That [the Separate Car Act] does not conflict with the Thirteenth Amendment, which abolished slavery†¦ is too clear for argument†¦ A statute which implies merely a legal distinction between the white and colored races — a distinction which is founded in the color of the two races, and which must always exist so long as white men are distinguished from the other race by color — has no tendency to destroy the legal equality of the two races†¦ The object of the [Fourteenth A]mendment was undoubtedly to enforce the absolute equality of the two races before the law, but in the nature of things it could not have been intended to abolish distinctions based upon color, or to enforce social, as distinguished from political equality, or a commingling of the two races upon terms unsatisfactory to either. † Justice John Harlan manifested great prudence in his dissent note. He wrote; â€Å"Our Constitution is color-blind, and neither knows nor tolerates classes among citizens. In respect of civil rights, all citizens are equal before the law†¦ In my opinion, the judgment this day rendered will, in time, prove to be quite as pernicious as the decision made by this tribunal in the Dred Scott case†¦ This did not end the Black plight as Racialism was not only institutional but psychological and it crept into the very intellectual and psychological level of American whites. Sociological patterns i. e. values and traditions, were established in way to nurture hatred for the colored people. Palton (1954) is of the view that American racialism has two major manifestations; employment and housing. He provides a detailed and first hand accounts of this housing discrimination. He depicted how white community outcasts those whites who tried to sell the property to colored people. He elaborated that these white Realtors are not motivated by any altruism but financial gains are the only factors that compels them to sell their property to Black community. He writes; In 1934 the Federal Housing Administration regarded itself as a business organization, and regarded Negro occupancy as harmful from a business point of view. In 1937 it actually published a model race-restrictive covenant. In the words of Mr. Loren Miller, of Los Angeles, one of the most powerful Negro fighters against the covenant, â€Å"the FHA sowed race-restrictive covenants through the country far and wide. † The FHA dropped the model covenant in 1949, and declared it would no longer insure loans in new developments where there were covenants. . . . (Paton, 1954) Parton further asserted in 50s that â€Å"By now I assume that it is an incontrovertible fact that segregation is dying† but subtle forms of discrimination continued. Although state and federal laws hankered after an equal status for colored people but institutional and social practices presented a different scenario i. e. dichotomy of values in idea and real world. Roosevelt (1943) has raised certain fundamental questions about same problem i. e. the ideals for which civil war was fought and the practical attainment of those ideals. In that war we succeeded in establishing our unity. We would be one nation and not two and we said that all the people in our nation should enjoy equal rights and privileges, but in our hearts we never really believed what we said. (Roosevelt, 1943) Same views were depicted by Birmingham Sunday, a song by Richard Farina when four children were murdered in Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham. It says; On Birmingham Sunday the blood ran like wine, And the choirs kept singing of Freedom. (Carawan, 1990) The Montgomery Bus Boycott was a socio-political protest against the policy of racial segregation and discrimination campaign in the public transport service of Montgomery city, Alabama in 1955. It lasted for one whole year starting at December 5, 1955 and ending at Decenmer21, 1956. The sentiments of the Afro-American community were cooled down by a United States Supreme decision that declared segregation in public transport as unconstitutional. The Montgomery Bus Boycott cast deep imprints U. S. history and equipped the Black leadership with an impetus to carry on their civil rights struggle. It had implications that reached far beyond the desegregation of public buses. Luther King established himself as the leader of a national stature. The protest boosted the Civil Rights Movement and created a mass awareness about the struggle of Afro-American community and highlighted their pathos and miseries. It further provided confidence to the Black people that they can win their rights by constant struggle. In the words of King: â€Å"We have gained a new sense of dignity and destiny. We have discovered a new and powerful weapon—non-violent resistance. † Another manifestation of racial discrimination existed in the armed forces. Afro-American community remained a vital part of U. S. Armed forces and participated in every war the United States fought on domestic and/or foreign soil. But it is also a fact that Afro-American soldiers remained a part of segregated units and were tasked to do unskilled donkey work. In the perspective of World War II, President Truman issued an Executive Order 9981, which consented â€Å"equality of treatment and opportunity for all persons in the armed services without regard to race, color, religion or national origin. † This pronouncement was great but black servicemen continued to come across profound discrimination. Much like the wider American society, the U. S. armed forces observed plentiful racial incidents in the 1960s. The Camp Lejeune Incident is one of them. Camp Lejeune Marine Corps camp in Central North Carolina and housed about 42,000 military personnel. In late 1960s, 14% of troops stationed at the camp were Afro-American.. On the horrible night of July 20, 1969, racial tension aroused â€Å"when a black marine attempted to cut into a white dancing with a black woman marine†. (U. S. Government Printing Office, December 15, 1969). After one and half hour, a white army personnel entered the club and shouted that he had been attacked by a mob of Afro-American marines. This sparked the whole situation and within next half an hour 15 Black marines injured and one, Corporal Edward E. Blankston, was dead of massive head injuries. Another such incident is The U. S. S. Kitty Hawk Incident. All these incident provides a comprehensive and brief synopsis of racialism in American history but it remains a fact that although there are various individual achievements on the part on black Americans like Christina Rocca and Colin Powell hold important role of Secretary of State; Clarence Thomas held the highest judicial authority but discrimination in many forms is also a central part of the African American experience. Joe R Feagin in his book â€Å"Racist America; Roots, Current Realities And Future Preparations† describes clearly that â€Å"systematic racism is about everyday experience†¦Black American and other people of color often experience the world differently from White Americans†¦Ã¢â‚¬  This is true in every aspect of African-American life. References Alan Paton, â€Å"The Negro In the North,† Collier’s, 29 October 1954, 70–72, 74–75, 77, 79–80. Amending Interstate Commerce Act (Segregation of Passengers), Hearings before the Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce, House of Representatives, 83rd Congress, 2nd Session, May 12–14, 1954. Washington, DC: U. S. Government Printing Office, 1954, 39–55. Burns, Stewart. Daybreak of Freedom: The Montgomery Bus Boycott. The University of North Carolina Press. 1997 Carawan. Candie. Sing for Freedom: The Story of the Civil Rights Movement through its `songs. Bethlehem. 1990. pp. 122-123. Committee on Armed Services, House of Representatives, Inquiry into the Disturbances at Marine Corps Base, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina,. on July 20, 1969 (Washington, D. C. : U. S. Government Printing Office, December 15, 1969), p. 5056. Elkins, Stanley. Slavery; A Problem in American Institutional and Intellectual Life. University of Chicago Press. 1959. Feagin, Joe R. Racist America : roots, current realities, and future reparations. New York : Routledge, 2000. Hughes, Louis. Thirty Years A Slave; From Bondage to Freedom. Milwaukee. South Side Printing Company. 1897. Justice Henry Billings Brown, â€Å"Majority opinion in Plessy v. Ferguson,† Desegregation and the Supreme Court , ed. Benjamin Munn Ziegler (Boston: D. C. Heath and Company, 1958) 50-51.

Hrm in Cooperative Banks in India Essay

The world of work is rapidly changing. As a part of organization, Human Resource Management (HRM) must be prepared to deal with effects of changing world of work. Business today doesn’t have national boundaries – it reaches around the world. In the competitive environment, employees of any business organization are the key factor for deciding the success of the firm, in general, and cooperatives in particular.Indian cooperative banking movement has passed through hundred years of its existence. At the same time, human resources management has been a neglected field in cooperative banks over a period of time and poor image of cooperative bank employees in the society affects their morale. Only recently has there been a greater recognition of this function.This paper an attempt has been made to analyze the practices of human resource management and the challenges faced in recruitment and retention of efficient personnel for managing the complex affairs of cooperative bank s. INTRODUCTION: The world of work is rapidly changing. As a part of organization, Human Resource Management (HRM) must be prepared to deal with effects of changing world of work. Business today doesn’t have national boundaries – it reaches around the world. The rise of multinational corporations places new requirements on human resource managers. The HR department needs to ensure that the appropriate mix of employees in terms of knowledge, skills and cultural adaptability is available to handle global assignments. In order to meet this goal, the organizations must train individuals to meet the challenges of globalization. The employees must have working knowledge of the language and culture of the host country.Human Resource Management (HRM) must also develop mechanisms that will help multicultural individuals work together. As background, language, custom or age differences become more prevalent, there are indications that employee conflict will increase. HRM would be required to trai n management to be more flexible in its practices. Because tomorrow’s workers will come in different  colors, nationalities and so on. They must be groomed in order to take risks, think innovatively, and handle new problems. In the competitive environment, employees of any business organization are the key factor for deciding the success of the firm, in general, and cooperatives in particular. It is understood that cooperative banks approach human resource management (HRM) from the wrong perspective and their financial performance suffers as a result. Instead of focusing on how to execute strategy through the performance of the employees in many cooperative banks, the first priority is cost control and the focus often begins with the HR function. Indian cooperative banking movement has passed through hundred years of its existence. At the same time, human resources management has been a neglected field in cooperative banks over a period of time and poor image of cooperative bank employees in the society affects their morale. Only recently has there been a greater recognition of this function. In this paper, an attempt has been made to analyze the practices of human resource management and the challenges faced in recruitment and retention of efficient personnel for managing the complex affairs of cooperative banks. NEED FOR HRM: World over, the technology driven channels such as, ATM, net banking and mobile banking have reduced walk-in-customers at the bank branches. However, in India, it is observed that the customers still find it difficult to use these technology based channels and they are more comfortable in traditional banking over the counter personally to ensure error – free and risk –free banking service. While struggling to provide better and efficient service at the counters, the staff is also confronted with various regulatory norms to mitigate risks in operations. This clearly establishes that employees of cooperative banks play a vital role in managing not only the ‘transaction’ of a customer but also future long-term relationship with them. HUMAN RESOURCE POLICIES: Although all co operative banks have policies the manner in which they are documented and presented to employees varies considerably. Other than the practices explicitly required by law, there are no specific rules on how to document and implement the principles and practices by co  operative banks.Therefore the form substance and tone of cooperative banks’ policies and procedures are totally within their activities. This discreation presents both a challenge and opportunity for a cooperative institution.The challenge is deciding among almost infinite choices on how to define structure, implement and communicate the banks rules of operation. As for the opportunity a sound and appropriate set of policies will lay the groundwork to support the cooperative banks business objectives, provide employees with the necessary guidance and achieve the desired organizational culture. In practice, there is no specific written document of HR policies in many cooperative banks. It is neither necessary nor desirable to have every rule and practice documented, but it is advisable to take the time to formalize the important ones. In addition having certain policies in writing – such as rules prohibiting unlawful discrimination and harassment may save an organization a lot of time and money in the event of a law suit. There is no uniformity in the provisions of State Cooperative Acts. Barring a few states which have promulgated parallel State Cooperative Acts, the acts in other states have restrictive provisions which affect autonomous functioning of cooperatives. Further there is no specific HRD policy as such and recruitment of staff is not based on merit and competence. The Cooperative Act rules and bye- laws were created to protect the cooperative bank from certain nefarious activities prevalent in the market and also save it from the people who have vested interests. These hamper the autonomous growth of these institutions. One important had factor to be noted is that though the cooperative banks come under the financial discipline of the RBI, NABARD and the Apex Bank, they enjoy autonomy in personnel matters. The cooperative banks should be committed to Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) policies that provide a healthy work environment, free of discrimination and harassment of any kind. RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION: Once the human resource planning is complete, the next step is to acquire personnel necessary to ensure the continued operation of the organization. In the absence of scientific recruitment and selection procedures, the management of any organization may fail to select the right man with the right skills for development, doing the right job, in the  right environment. Moreover, the employees must have faith in the system of recruitment and selection. Recruitment provides the opportunity to cater to changing needs of people by either repositioning current employees or injecting fresh blood into the organizational veins There are three modes of recruitment in the cooperative banks, namely a) By direct recruitment b) By taking persons on deputation from Government or from sister cooperative institutions management towards employing women in their institutions. c) By promotion The main sources of recruitment is newspaper advertisement but in cooperative organization, information in respect of vacant posts is conveyed through the system of circular to the State Employment Exchange which receives a restricted distribution. Thus, in the absence of a wide publicity of vacant posts, the service in cooperative banks is easily available to the persons known to the top and middle executives Internal promotion can be a good practice if merit is not sacrificed. Similarly, recruiting like-minded people can accrue in the future. With the significant increase in the become a bad practice if it leads to organizational behaviour where diversity is resented. Cooperative banks typically apply precise and rigorous guidelines to admit members but do not show the same commitment when it comes to recruiting people, despite the fact that hiring decision involves enormous costs when one takes into account the recruitment costs, training costs, salary and benefit over the tenure of employee and replacement cost. Deputation of government officers to hold the key posts in cooperative banks is a widely prevalent practice. This practice is consequent upon the dependence of cooperative banks on the government for financial and managerial assistance. The practice of deputation affects the bank.employees in certain respects, particularly, the promotion prospects at the higher echelons. The informal discussion with the employees of cooperative banks in Tamil Nadu revealed that they are not in favour deputation of officers by government. Further, the cooperative banks, unlike commercial banks, have local identity and the image and have strong banks with local community. Cooperative banks prefer to recruit local candidate particularly for managerial cadre post due to the fact that they are well-adjusted to the local environment. A drawback of cooperatives banks is  that they are not able to attract professionally qualified candidate because of the poor salary structure. The only way to attract professionals would be when compensation needs to be internally consistent and externally competitive. It is observed that the in-take of women at both clerical and officer level in cooperative banks is quite insignificant. The reason for lower share of women work-force as compared with their male counterparts might be due to lack of trained women in the field of cooperation and also the attitude of the At present, the pace of recruitment in Indian cooperative banking sector has slowed down and for a long time, there has been almost negligible recruitment. The recruitment of persons in cooperative banks assumes special importance because, apart from being competent on the special jobs, they must also be well versed in human dealings and public relations. TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT: Designing and implementing effective training and development systems is a particular challenge because all the costs are borne in the present, while all the benefits will complexity and magnitude of banking service especially in view of the task undertaken by the cooperative banks for the socio-economic development in urban, semi-urban and rural areas, the need of the training has been greatly felt. Realizing the significance of training, the cooperative training institutions established at different levels are imparting training to the employees of cooperative banks. The outcome of the training to any type of organization includes increased productivity of employees, heightened morale, reduced supervision, and increased organizational stability and flexibility. Poor quality training or a focus on the wrong development areas will be a total waste of time and money. It leaves the organization in no better position than if there had been no training at all Cooperative banks provide tr aining for many reasons: 1.To teach the employees perform in their initial job assignment. 2. To improve the current performance of employees who may not be working as effectively as desired 3. To prepare employees for future promotions or for upcoming changes in design, processes and technology in their present jobs. The operational structure and administrative set-up  established for training of personnel in cooperative banks in India is inter co-ordinated and divided into three cadres viz., Senior, Middle and Junior. The National Cooperative Union of India (NCUI), the national level apex organization and State Cooperative Unions (SCUS), the state level apex organizations are responsible for making adequate arrangements for cooperative training. Though training is principally the responsibility of National Council for Cooperative Training (NCCT) and State Cooperative Unions, there are certain other institutions such as College of Agricultural Banking (CAB), Bankers’ Institute of Rural Development (BIRD), International Cooperative Alliance (ICA), International Labour Organization (ILO), National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC) which have training arr angements for employees of cooperative banks. The major problems found in cooperative banks are lack of knowledge of funds management resulting in acceptance of high cost deposits and their disposition in low return uses. Another problem is lack of expertise in lending, observing capital adequacy, investment in government securities, managing non performing assets (NPAs), and other newer international rules imposed by the RBI and NABARD. In India, most persons in the cooperative banking sector feel that somehow if one can get a job he/she can automatically manage the affairs of the bank. Most of the training programmes organized by the cooperative training institutions impart only theoretical knowledge of the subject. Cooperative banks are localized expansion programme. Before organizing trade unions institutions with poor funds and some of the technical courses offered by the national training institutions are high cost oriented. Language is another problem. National or state level institutions offer their training programme in common language i.e. English and majority of the cooperative bank employees are not able follow and understand the concept. PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL: Performance appraisal is a systematic approach to tracking individual performance against the targeted objectives of the organization and identifying strength and opportunities for improvement. It involves more than giving an annual performance review. While a periodic formal review may be part of the performance appraisal process, good performance management is an ongoing process, a once-ayear event.In cooperative banks, probationer’s  performance has been monitored and appraised informally. Clerical employees’ diaries, entries to the service register and review of work done periodically are the methods used for appraisal of probationers. However, appraisal is not implemented seriously for permanent employees. All the employees are in favour of introduction of performance appraisal though there is no systematic appraisal followed, right now. Generally, the cooperative banks in India are able to get self appraisal form from their employees. Each individual employee has to submit a self appraisal to the immediate superior in the prescribed format. Unlike commercial banks, cooperative banks, especially urban cooperative banks which are classified as Grade I and II by RBI, are eligible to get increments to their employees whereas the Grade III and IV banks as classified weak banks and the employees of these banks are not able to get any increments in their salary Cooperative banks have not used any sophisticated methods to evaluate their employees’ performance. This is the major reason for poor performance of employees in cooperative banks. PROMOTION: As per cooperative society rules in force, provisions have been made for promotion on the grounds of merits and ability of the employees, their seniority being taken into account only when merit and ability are approximately equal. Recognition of employees is the most important instrument for motivating and increasing performance. No organization, has been able to attract and retain key people in the long run by throwing money at them. Recognition and rewards are important. Introduction of mergers and acquisitions process between and among cooperative banks have created focus on competencies that enable employees to self-manage work in teams, think globally, boldly, and unconventionally and deploy the power of intuition and emotional intelligence. Once the employees are promoted to higher levels, improvement of their competencies is an urgent need. Employees’ competencies are the knowledge, skills, abilities, personality and characteristics that serve as the foundation for employees’ behaviour. Competencies are a foundational drive of employees as well as organization success because they only represent potential employees’ performance. COMPENSATION: One of the most important issues before the cooperative banks in India is compensation in these banks vary. The salary structure of cooperative banks was different from bank to bank even for the same cadre and salary structure of cooperative banks was not uniform. Thus, seniority has accounted for the compensation administration. A remuneration system based on the skill and ability of workers is important. But the cooperative banks cannot attract the talented and motivated personnel unless they establish their image of model employee because an organization which cannot pay its personnel adequately has no right to exist in the competitive world. The salary structure in the cooperative banking sector is not as attractive as in public and private sector banks. An adequate and sound salary structure together with other working conditions is the sine qua non for the organizational efficiency and effectiveness. Therefore, pay and other reward strategies should revolve not only around business goals but also around the employee’s needs and aspirations, such as the opportunity to work on challenging assignments, flexible work options, work transfer to take care of personal emergencies and opportunities for training and higher studies. Most important ingredient of HRM is reward and compensation, which at present does not have any linkage to skills and performance. There is an urgent need to have the system of reward and compensation in place that will attract, recognize and retain the talent in cooperative banks on the lines comparable with other banks, particularly banks in private sector. EMPLOYER EMPLOYEE RELATIONSHIP: A harmonious employer-employee relationship is essential for the effective functioning of the cooperative banks. Since cooperative organizations consist of groups of human beings, each of whom is activated by varying motives, no cooperative administration can fulfill its obligations if it is not supported wholeheartedly by the employee at all levels. The challenge for the banks is to encourage people to unleash their power of thinking and apply it to their daily work. The employer should always encourage the employees to bring out their fullest talent for the success of the institution. Mere encouragement to generate new ideas is not enough. When people make genuine attempts to implement their ideas and fail, they need to be encouraged, not discouraged, to try further. Otherwise, they  will never bother to think and try again; they will merely follow their mangers. Success can only be achieved if staff feel they are being treated correctly by the bank and fully understand the bank’s objectives and rational for their achievement. It is essential, therefore, that management develops an employee relations climate which facilitates these attitudes without reducing management’s ability to manage the business†. The conflict between employer and employee or among the employees is inevitable in any organization. Some amount of conflict is not only desirable, it’s also necessary. Without a broad range of ideas presented by persons with diverse backgrounds, experiences and points of view, innovation is virtually impossible. Conflict can also present an opportunity for personal growth. When the managers learn the skills to work out differences and to develop approaches that take into account the needs of others, it will become more effective. There is a need to develop ‘healthy’ conflict between the management and employees as not all organizational conflicts are undesirable. There is a classic management delusion that employees readily approach the higher management when they are dissatisfied with the decision of their immediate supervisor. The reality is that employees are generally apprehensive of upsetting their day-to-day relationship with their manager whose decision is most likely to be upheld anyway for the sake of managerial unity. Unfortunately, those who question the manager are often labeled as whingers and even though the company policy might be to seek frank employee feedback, the practice might shut them up from speaking out openly. When whingers turn as whistle blowers and expose the management practice in public, it might be too late for the management to prevent the potential damage to its images Executives must set standards at the top. If middle managers feel disrespected, attracted or stifled by senior management, chances are that they will pass this negative attitude down to the employees they supervise. Since a positive relationship with the immediate supervisor is a very important element of job satisfaction, retention should be regarded as an important yardstick in measuring effectiveness. CONCLUSION: Compared with all other management functions, human resource  management in cooperative banks is more sensitive, personalized, context-dependent and cannot be managed through a set of predefined techniques. HR and strategic tool for competitive advantage. In fact, it is difficult first achieving employee satisfaction. Thus, employee satisfaction is a prerequisite to customer satisfaction. Effective organization depends on having the right system of HR policies and practices in place to recruit, select, develop, appraise, compensate and place, promote or send away employees. Based on a careful analysis of the needs of the business, cooperative banks must prioritize their choices around workforce engagement. Successful HRM requires that the banks practice a sound management philosophy that respects human dignity and diversity and are committed to the growth of employees, believe in the value of employee’s contribution and involve them in decision – making and share the wealth equitably and fairly.