Form, Duration and Participation :: essays papers

Form, Duration and confederacyT here(predicate) ar three master(prenominal) structural features that are used to emphasize master key evolution for the teachers Form, distance and battle.Form Is basically the format that the professional development enrichment was taught or relayed to the teachers. There are two different types of activities to emphasize form of professional development. ace type is reform activities which may include study group, teacher network, mentoring relationship, committee or depute force, internship, individual research project, or teacher resource message matter(Birman, Desimone, Garet, and Porter, p.29). These activities require or almost force the teacher to interact with former(a)s who bemuse a intimacy base of professional development. These activities arent vertical the teacher school term and being instructed on what they as teachers should incorporate in the teaching policies but they are interacting and beholding what other teachers have done who may be comparable to them (meaning teaching at the same school or the same grade) and what did and did not work for them in teaching activities to their class. The second activity is the basic workshop or conference, which doesnt necessarily, gives the teachers a chance to interact. Form all in all is the format in which the professional development skills are communicated to the teacher.Duration This structure just raises the question of the amount of time spent in learning new innovations of professional development. with research it has been proven that with a long span of duration in structure of professional development the outcome is more elaborate and effective. According to calculative Professional Development that Works longer duration have more subject area content focus, more opportunities for active learning, and more coherence with teachers other experiences than do shorter activities. This encourages professional development enrichment to be over a per iod of time to ensure that the teachers are grasping everything possible from the professional development enhancement. Participation This structure is how the teacher interacts during the professional development. The question that is raised here is Did groups of teachers from the same school, department, or grade level participate collectively, or did teachers from different schools individually? (Birman, Desimone, Garet, and Porter, p.29). For the professional development to be most effective its insisted that teachers not only participate in the professional development improvements but collectively participate. Collective participation is the collaboration of teachers who may work within the same school, subject area, or grade level. Some of the advantages of collective participation are that the teachers may be adequate to(p) to tell one another a specific side of teaching that is helpful for teaching or a specific aspect that wasnt as useful.Form, Duration and Participatio n essays papersForm, Duration and ParticipationThere are three main structural features that are used to emphasize professional development for the teachers Form, duration and participation.Form Is basically the format that the professional development enrichment was taught or relayed to the teachers. There are two different types of activities to emphasize form of professional development. One type is reform activities which may include study group, teacher network, mentoring relationship, committee or task force, internship, individual research project, or teacher resource center(Birman, Desimone, Garet, and Porter, p.29). These activities require or almost force the teacher to interact with others who have a knowledge base of professional development. These activities arent just the teacher sitting and being instructed on what they as teachers should incorporate in the teaching policies but they are interacting and seeing what other teachers have done who may be similar to the m (meaning teaching at the same school or the same grade) and what did and did not work for them in teaching activities to their class. The second activity is the basic workshop or conference, which doesnt necessarily, gives the teachers a chance to interact. Form all in all is the format in which the professional development skills are communicated to the teacher.Duration This structure just raises the question of the amount of time spent in learning new innovations of professional development. Through research it has been proven that with a long span of duration in structure of professional development the outcome is more elaborate and effective. According to Designing Professional Development that Works longer duration have more subject area content focus, more opportunities for active learning, and more coherence with teachers other experiences than do shorter activities. This encourages professional development enrichment to be over a period of time to ensure that the teachers are grasping everything possible from the professional development enhancement. Participation This structure is how the teacher interacts during the professional development. The question that is raised here is Did groups of teachers from the same school, department, or grade level participate collectively, or did teachers from different schools individually? (Birman, Desimone, Garet, and Porter, p.29). For the professional development to be most effective its insisted that teachers not only participate in the professional development improvements but collectively participate. Collective participation is the collaboration of teachers who may work within the same school, subject area, or grade level. Some of the advantages of collective participation are that the teachers may be able to tell one another a specific aspect of teaching that is helpful for teaching or a specific aspect that wasnt as useful.

Ethical Analysis of a Nursing Case Study Essay -- Health

Ethical Analysis of a treat Case StudyEthics is defined as ...the basis on which people...decide that certain actions argon right or wrong and whether one ought to do something or has a right to something(Rumbold, 1986). In relating ethics to nursing care, Nursing decisions affect people... nurses have the power to sober or harm to their patients (Bandman et al, 2002). In this essay, the author will also identify the most important honest principles and concepts of Evans case, will outline the different stages of ones approach to ethical decision-making by utilising the DECIDE Model for Ethical Decision-Making founded by Thompson et al (2000) and will make a decision on the best course of action to bring in as a nurse in this situation. In Defining the Problem, the first stage of ones approach to ethical decision-making, the key facts are that Evan is a get hitched with man committed to a psychiatric unit who contracted HIV after a homosexual affair without the knowledge of his wife, Claire. He refuses that his wife and family be told of his illness. The stakeholders involved directly are Evan, who does not want his family to find out about his illness or affair his nurse, who is under increased strain perturbing about the burden of, perhaps, having to break the confidentiality entrusted in him Claire, is the most direct stakeholder as she may have contracted HIV Evans partner during the affair is also at risk of contracting HIV and his subsequent partners are also at risk the other members of staff, are in constant worry over Evan which nub that they cannot concentrate fully on their other patients Evans family is also involved directly as they are worried about his well-being. There are also stakeholders indire... .... (2002) Nursing Ethics Through the Life Span. 4th ed. New Jersey Prentice Hall.Edwards, S.D. (1996) Nursing Ethics A Principle-Based Approach. 1st ed. Hampshire Palgrave Macmillan.http//www.ethicsweb.ca/guide/ Mill, J.S. (1861) Utilitari anism. Cited in Price, J.A. (2000) Philosophy by dint of The Ages. 1st ed. Australia Wadsworth. Rumbold, G. (2000) Ethics in Nursing Practice. 3rd ed. Edinburgh Bailliere Tindall.Tadd, W. (2004) Ethical and Professional Issues in Nursing. 1st ed. Hampshire Palgrave Macmillan.Thompson, I.E., Melia, K.M., Boyd, K.M. (2003) Nursing Ethics. 4th ed. Edinburgh Churchill Livingstone.UKCC (United Kingdom Central Council for Nursing, Midwifery and wellness Visiting) (1992) Code of Professional Conduct for the Nurse, Midwife and Health Visitor, 3rd ed. London UKCC

Lenin And Problems After The October Revolution Essay -- History Histo

Lenin and Problems After the October RevolutionThe initial difficulties faced by the new Soviet Union were to severethat its survival seemed almost miraculous. The remains of the czarist politicsleft Lenin to face a country wrought with war, devastated economically.Russias involvement in World War I, followed by its Civil War, wide spreadfamine and a change in political and complaisant ideology were the problemsconfronting Lenin after the October Revolution. Lenin did succeed in endingboth the war with Germany and the Civil War for Russia. Yet, the economic andsocial aspects of the revolution can be more critically assessed.Lenin knew the importance of ending Russian involvement in World War I.On March 3, 1918 Russia befuddled 1/3 of its fertile farm lands, 1/3 of itspopulation, 2/3 of its coal mines and oil fields and 1/2 of its heavy effortto German peace terms. Though the treaty of Brest-Litovsk was harsh, the termswere annulled once the Allied powers defeated Germany. Lenin m anaged to end thewar that had for so long depressed Russias resources and morale. He succeededin focusing on the severe internal problems of the new government, and in saving the socialist republic . One of the largest problems that Russia facedprior to the October Revolution was finally ended, though its effects were stillto be felt.Almost immediately afterwards, in 1918, Civil War begins. The battlingWhite Army divided amongst different leader...

Women and Politics In Africa :: essays research papers

There was a young woman who left her home in Mycrorayan in Kabul, Afghanistan forPeshawar after the January 1994 fighting and told Amnesty International of the quest situation. "One day when my father was walking past a building complex heheard screams of women coming from an apartment block which had just been capturedby forces of General Dostum. He was told by the people that Dostums guards hadentered the block and were looting the property and raping the women."The following story comes out of Iran. "On August 10, 1994, in the city of Arak,Iran, a woman was sentenced to death by stoning. According to the ruling of thereligious judge, her husband and two children were forced to attend the execution.The woman urged her husband to take the children away, notwithstanding to no avail. A truckfull of stones was brought in to be used during the stoning. In the middle of thestoning, although her eyes had been gouged out, the victim was able to escape fromthe ditch and starte d running away, but the regimes guards recaptured her and shother to death."From China comes the following observation. "Still in the streets an occasional oldcrone hobbling around on her miniature bound feet was a relic of the pre- ultra, around dead past. I also heard an echo of that past in a silk threadfactory in Wuxi, China. A woman member of its Revolutionary Committee wasintroduced to me as a veteran worker. The description astonished me because shelooked so young. On inquiry I learned that she was indeed only 34 years old, butthat she had toiled in the mill for twenty-six years, having begun this job as an 8-year old child.These three incidents reflect typical crimes and injustices against women in theThird cosmos countries. Crimes against women include abuse, slavery, falseimprisonment, murder and rape. In these countries, women are considered to beinferior to men and are not granted equal rights or protection under the laws. Thegovernments, religions and cultures of these countries support the inequalities,thus allowing vicious crimes against women to continue without any recourse by thevictims. The phrase womens rights refers to the basic human rights that arewithheld from women simply because they are women. Womens rights heightenpolitical, social and economic equality for women in a society that traditionallyconfers more status and freedom to men. A basic right is for girls to grow up to bewomen today twelve percent of the females born worldwide are missing, many of them

The Facade of Tattoos Essay examples -- essays research papers

The Facade of Tattoos     In "Parkers Back" by Flannery OConnor, the tattoos O.E. Parker receives are significant to the readers understanding of him. Furthermore, OConnor suggests them as major symbols through come to the fore Parkers life. Parker, the main character in this story, goes through the actions of life without real knowing who he is and why he is on the earth. Parker gradually experiences religious conversion and, though tattooed all everywhere the front of his body, is drawn to having a Byzantine tattoo of Christ put on his back, OConnor was using unusual symbols to convey her sense of the mystery of Gods redemptive power (Shackelford, p 1800). Because of the tattoos, the reader is able-bodied to see OConnor reveal the major characteristics in Parkers life and sympathize with this piece as he searches for his identity and finds God.     First of all, in order to understand OConnors short story, the reader must look into the background of her life. Parkers Back was the last story written by OConnor before she died at the early age of thirty-nine from the disease of Lupus. Her writings all reflect from her religious background of Catholicism. OConnor wrote brilliant stories that brought the issue of religious faith into establish dramatic focus. She was a devout Roman Catholic living in predominantly Protestant rural Georgia. Her stories are far from pious in fact, their sensory system is usually shocking and often bizarre. Yet the religious issues they raise are central to her work (Drake, online vertical file--------------------------------). Time and again in her stories, the spokesmen for a complacent secularism run afoul of representatives of... the God-haunted protagoniststhey play an indispensable rolethey act as religious catalysts(CLC, p276.). To even the casual reader it would appear that Miss OConnor really had only one story to tell and really only one main character. This princi pal character is, of course, Jesus Christ and her one story is mans absolutely crucial encounter with Him (Drake, p273).Being a devout Catholic, OConnors faith consciously informed her fiction. The difficulty of her work, she explainedis that many of her readers do not understand the redemptive quality of grace, and, she added, dont recognize it when they see it. All my stories are... ... this image OConnor graphically conveys the suffering of Christ be in humanity, and expresses her belief that convergence with Christ means union with Christs suffering, not escape from suffering into some abstract realm of spiritual blissemphasizing that the rising in consciousness that precedes true convergence is expressed not through external power or dominance everyplace others but, paradoxically, in a descent into vulnerability, into suffering, into weakness, into mans essential poverty (CLC p 159). It is in this last scene that the reader becomes sympathetic with Obadiah Elihue, having bee n driven out of the house by his harridan wife, leaning against the tree, crying like a baby.      Through the descriptions of Parkers tattoos, one can make connections between the "pictures" he has "drawn all over him" and what goes on in his actual life. OConnor uses the tattoo symbols to reveal the growth of the protagonist, for it takes him years to get past his outer image of his body, to examine his own soul. One begins to sympathize with this man, "Obadiah Elihue," as he searches for himself and finds peace with God.

The Facade of Tattoos Essay examples -- essays research papers

The Facade of Tattoos     In "Parkers Back" by Flannery OConnor, the tattoos O.E. Parker receives are essential to the lectors judgment of him. Furthermore, OConnor suggests them as major symbols throughout Parkers life. Parker, the main character in this recital, goes through the actions of life without really knowing who he is and why he is on the earth. Parker little by little experiences religious conversion and, though tattooed all over the front of his body, is drawn to having a Byzantine tattoo of Christ placed on his back, OConnor was using unusual symbols to convey her sense of the mystery of Gods redemptional power (Shackelford, p 1800). Because of the tattoos, the reader is able to see OConnor reveal the major characteristics in Parkers life and sympathize with this man as he searches for his identity and finds God.     First of all, in order to understand OConnors short story, the reader must look into the background of her life. Parkers Back was the last story written by OConnor before she died at the early age of 39 from the disease of Lupus. Her writings all reflect from her religious background of Catholicism. OConnor wrote brilliant stories that brought the issue of religious faith into clear dramatic focus. She was a devout Roman Catholic living in predominantly Protestant rural Georgia. Her stories are far from pious in fact, their mode is usually shocking and practically bizarre. Yet the religious issues they raise are central to her work (Drake, online vertical file--------------------------------). Time and again in her stories, the spokesmen for a self-satisfied secularism run afoul of representatives of... the God-haunted protagoniststhey hearten an indispensable rolethey act as spiritual catalysts(CLC, p276.). To even the casual reader it would appear that Miss OConnor really had only one story to tell and really only one main character. This principal character is, of course, J esus Christ and her one story is mans absolutely crucial encounter with Him (Drake, p273).Being a devout Catholic, OConnors faith consciously informed her fiction. The difficulty of her work, she explainedis that many of her readers do not understand the redemptive quality of grace, and, she added, dont recognize it when they see it. All my stories are... ... this image OConnor graphically conveys the suffering of Christ incarnate in humanity, and expresses her belief that intersection point with Christ means union with Christs suffering, not escape from suffering into some abstract realm of spiritual blissemphasizing that the raise in consciousness that precedes true convergence is expressed not through external power or dominance over others but, paradoxically, in a melodic line into vulnerability, into suffering, into weakness, into mans essential poverty (CLC p 159). It is in this last scene that the reader becomes sympathetic with Obadiah Elihue, having been driven out of t he house by his harridan wife, listing against the tree, crying like a baby.      Through the descriptions of Parkers tattoos, one can make connections between the "pictures" he has "drawn all over him" and what goes on in his essential life. OConnor uses the tattoo symbols to reveal the growth of the protagonist, for it takes him years to get past his outer image of his body, to examine his own soul. One begins to sympathize with this man, "Obadiah Elihue," as he searches for himself and finds calmness with God.

Education Empowers Women Essay

Education empowers women. To prevent a problem from aggravating shouldnt we divide from the root of it? The beauty of education is that it allows us to work with the root- Girls. Empowering girls with education can show girls that femininity does not entail docility instead a women can be assertive and at the same time exude femininity. With this mindset, women would more than likely stand up for themselves. Only when women and girls in these poor countries are given up their collectable education would they be willing to stand up for their rights.Education not yet allows adolescent females to stand up against unjust actions towards them it is also a counsel out of poverty. An ifidiof cocktail of repressive patriarchal belief about female worth, sexual abuse, human trafficking, child labor and child marriage practices prevent girls from ever developing the skills they need to escape poverty only education shines a small light leading them away from poverty. Think about it, if a girl was given the education, she has a chance of surviving outside her village.Lets say she finishes high schoolhouse and is given a small scholarship to study university in the capital. After she finishes university, she manages to get a job and starts sending in money to her family. Soon enough, her family would be able to buy food and necessities escaping the rut of poverty. That woman has broken in the cycle of poverty. The return on a countrys investment in its women is enormous. Investment in girls education, especially secondary education, yields high returns in the habitus of increased wages it also increases their standing in the household.Until women are numerate and literate, it is difficult for them to start a business or contribute meaningfully to their solid grounds economy, therefore if a country wants to prosper, it would be wise to start investing in womens education. People might say that if a son was given the same education he might be able to do the same however the majority of man after getting their earnings would rather spend it on prostitution or maybe in a bar. A study has shown that when women gain control of money, less money is worn out(p) on instant gratification and more is given to the family.We also know that educated mothers are more likely to educate their own children and that can draw carry-on effects for generations. China presents itself as a good role model in terms of providing education to women. China used to be one of the just about sexist societies in the world. However, when its citizens started showing interest in providing their children with education, the china government gladly funded the course. Sadly, the above scenario is definitely an ideal one. There are al slipway possibilities that mothers may pull out their children due to their financial difficulties.Therefore to make sure that there is no hiccup when providing education to women we father to come up with ways to make children especially women stay in school. Of which one of the ways would be to present the family with bribes. One of the way to make adolescent females stay in school is actually by giving them free meals in school as well as even paying the family. The UNs school feeding computer program distributes food to the school-going kids for free and if the child has a good attendance they would get a take-home ration which acts as a bribe to the family.This not only allows the child to stay in school for a longer period of time, it helps the family as well. Education for women unlocks the door to a better world. When a women is armed with education, the scuttle of her child being raised educated would definitely be higher. She would also treat herself with respect, women suicides would then be reduced, maternal mortality rate would also drop-off as she makes use of health services.Former UN secretary once said Study after study has taught us that there is no tool more effective for development than the e mpowerment of women. Nevertheless, the whole idea of education would work only when the men in the family realize that the way out of poverty would be allowing their daughters to actually study. However, the discrimination of women has greatly been imprinted into their minds and thus when male chauvinism kicks in the chances of them allowing their daughters to be educated would also be minimal.Therefore, not only should we educate the females we have to educate the males as well so that they understand that women rights should not be neglected. This way they would not feel that a women is stealing a mans position when she pursues education, instead it is just merely their right. I do believe many people are still skeptical of investing in womens education however I would like to urge countries to give it a try and see for themselves what a wonder it would do for the country as a whole.

“Murder in the Cathedral” by T. S. Eliot Essay

Murder in the Cathedral is a verse drama by T. S. Eliot that portrays the assassination of Archbishop Thomas Becket in Canterbury Cathedral in 1170, first performed in 1935. Eliot drew heavily on the writing of Edward Grim, a clerk who was an eyewitness to the event. The play, relations with an individuals opposition to authority, was written at the time of rising Fascism in Central Europe, and can be taken as a objection to individuals in affected countries to oppose the Nazi regimes subversion of the ideals of the Christian Church.1 Some material that the producer asked Eliot to remove or replace during the writing was transformed into the poem Burnt Norton.2The action occurs between December 2 and December 29, 1170, chronicling the days leading up to the martyrdom of Thomas Becket following his absence seizure of seven years in France. Beckets internal struggle is the main focus of the play. The book is divided into two parts. Part one takes place in the Archbishop Thomas Becke ts h each on December 2, 1170. The play begins with a Chorus singing, foreshadowing the coming violence. The Chorus is a key part of the drama, with its voice changing and developing during the play, offering comments about the action and providing a link between the audience and the characters and action, as in Greek drama.Three priests are present, and they mull over on the absence of Becket and the rise of temporal power. A herald announces Beckets arrival. Becket is immediately reflective about his coming martyrdom, which he embraces, and which is understood to be a sign of his own selfishnesshis fatal weakness. The tempters fetch, three of whom parallel the Temptations of Christ. The first tempter offers the prospect of physical safety.Take a friends advice. Leave well alone,Or your goose may be cooked and eaten to the bone.The second offers power, riches and fame in serving the King.To set down the great, protect the poor,Beneath the throne of God can mankind do more?The t hird tempter suggests a coalition with the barons and a chance to resist the King.For us, Church favour would be an advantage,Blessing of Pope powerful guardIn the fight for liberty. You, my Lord,In being with us, would fight a good strokeFinally, a fourth tempter urges him to seek the glory of martyrdom. You hold the keys of heaven and hell. place to bind and loose bind, Thomas, bind,King and bishop under your heel.King, emperor, bishop, baron, kingBecket responds to all of the tempters and specifically addresses the immoral suggestions of the fourth tempter at the end of the first act Now is my fashion clear, now is the meaning plainTemptation shall not come in this kind again.The last temptation is the greatest treasonTo do the right turn for the wrong reason.The Interlude of the play is a sermon given by Becket on Christmas morning 1170. It is about the strange contradiction that Christmas is a day some(prenominal) of mourning and rejoicing, which Christians also do for mar tyrs. He announces at the end of his sermon, it is possible that in a short time you may have yet some other martyr. We see in the sermon something of Beckets ultimate peace of mind, as he elects not to seek sainthood, but to accept his death as inevitable and part of a better whole. Part II of the play takes place in the Archbishops Hall and in the Cathedral, December 29, 1170. Four knights arrive with Urgent business from the king. These knights had heard the king speak of his frustration with Becket, and had interpreted this as an order to obscure Becket. They cite him of betrayal, and he claims to be loyal.He tells them to accuse him in public, and they make to attack him, but priests intervene. The priests insist that he leave and protect himself, but he refuses. The knights leave and Becket again says he is ready to die. The chorus line sings that they knew this conflict was coming, that it had long been in the fabric of their lives, both temporal and spiritual. The chorus again reflects on the coming devastation. Thomas is taken to the Cathedral, where the knights break in and kill him. The chorus laments Clean the air Clean the sky, and The land is foul, the water is foul, our beasts and ourselves defiled with blood. At the close of the play, the knights step up, address the audience, and defend their actions. The murder was all right and for the best it was in the right spirit, sober, and justified so that the churchs power would not undermine stability and state power.

Examining the Impacts of Regular Bikram Yoga Practice on Health, Stress and Anxiety

EXAMINING THE IMPACTS OF REGULAR BIKRAM YOGA PRACTICE ON HEALTH, STRESS AND ANXIETY By DiAnne Garza Email dianne. emailprotected com Final Version Submitted to Dr. Luz Romay in partial fulfillment of the requirements for discriminate organizational Research and Assessment, ORGD 6330 December 7, 2011 Executive Summary Bikram yoga was developed thirty old age ago by Bikram Choudhury, a re right awayned Hatha Yoga Master. It is a limited yoga defecateula that is carried go forth in 105? F at 40% humidity for 90 minutes.Some studies and practitioners have suggested that Bikram yoga practice has coercive impacts on somatic wellness as intimately as decreasing breed and anxiety. There were certain inclusion criteria for participation in this consume. come along was not an exclusion and thespians ranged in old age from 18 to in all over 60 old age of age. This study sought to interview active students of Bikram yoga who have been practicing orderedly for at least the la st eight cal residuumar weeks, at a minimum of ternary magazines per week.Students meeting the requirements at the Bikram yoga studios in San Antonio were invited to complete the watch instrument from November 16 through November 26, 2011. Seventy-five students responded to the survey. The gives indicated that there atomic calculate 18 significant positive results from unfalteringly practicing Bikram yoga. Since Bikram yoga encourages students to hold poses in a hot room it increases heart rate and acts as a cardiovascular exercise with break through the soaring impact normally associated with cardio exercises.The results of the survey instrument yielded over 50% of respondents reporting an settlement of somewhat break dance for all of the questions, indicating that most respondents see a pull ahead in their practice. Additionally, stress and anxiety decreased with over 80% of respondents reporting somewhat to much lowly anxious and hard-pressed. Improvements to mate rial physical seaworthiness were observed with over 90% reporting remedyd physical fitness and advancement to flexibility and balance. There was a decrease in weight with 51% reporting a weight vent and 49% reporting that they ate somewhat slight.Therefore, Bikram yoga should be considered by the medical exam community as the first option for improving physical fitness including overall strength, balance, flexibility and decreasing weight. Introduction to the study Background of the Problem The main topic of this research was to determine the effect, if any, of Bikram Yoga on perceived stress and its impact on physical fitness. Bikram Choudhury developed this yoga thirty years. Choudhury was born in Calcutta and he began studying yoga at the age of four.By the time he was 14 he had won the National India Yoga Contest and there he remained undefeated for the next three years (Choudhury, 2007). Choudhury went on to weight lifting and eventually set a adult male record for weigh t lifting in the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo. As he continued his weight lifting practice he experienced a serious knee stigma and was told by doctors he would never walk again. This led Choudhury back to his original yoga teacher to once again pursue yoga. Through regular practice he became completely healed and established what is now known as Bikram yoga.Although an exact number of Bikram yoga studio locations could not be identified, studios can be prime in Hawaii, Canada, Mexico, Nicaragua, Chile, S dis suave, Ireland, Norway, Finland, Italy, Austria, France, and Germany as well as all over the United States including Texas with three studios in San Antonio (Studio Map View, 2011). The main purpose of this study was to measure out the post perceived stress trains of Bikram yoga students who have been regularly viewing for at least eight weeks and at least three times per week.The study excessively intended to asses the impacts of practice on physical fitness train and genera l health of these students by and by regular practice. The topic of this research was to determine if Bikram yoga helps one fill out anxiety and stress ruin and if it actually decreased perceived stress after a session. The Problem People experience stress from various aspects in their lives, at different levels and intensities. This stress contributes to incurings of anxiety as well as overall physical well cosmos.Additionally, many raft have injuries, weakened muscles, experiences of shortness of schnorkel during high cardiovascular activities, and many other ailments that prevent them from doing regular exercise. There is a form of yoga called Bikram Yoga that does not require high cardiovascular activity, yet it produces the homogeneous effects as if it did. The problem statement was Does a regular practice of Bikram Yoga decrease stress and anxiety for people with uncomfortable levels of stress and anxiety as well as improve physical fitness? PurposeThe purpose of this research was to examine how people who practice Bikram yoga perceive its impact on decreasing their level of stress and increase physical fitness. It helped determine if regular practice of a 90 minute Bikram yoga session at least three times per week experienced in 105? F temperature with 40% humidity was beneficial or detrimental to the personate. Initial Research Questions This initial political program included three research questions that represented the main objectives of the study. The three questions were 1. What changes can one expect to see in their body as a result of regular and consistent Bikram yoga practice? . Does regular Bikram yoga practice significantly decrease weight? 3. How has perceived stress level been impacted or changed by regular and consistent Bikram yoga practice? Organizational Access The organization that was used for the study was Bikram Yoga San Antonio. There be three studios in San Antonio of which the researcher had access to. At the end of each class email addresses were collected for those interested in participating in the survey and that met the requirements. Students received the study via email from SurveyMonkey. com.Schedule of the Process The high level timeline was November 13, 2011Completion of survey November 16 23, 2011Distribution of survey November 27, 2011Analysis of survey Assumptions There were cardinal main assumptions in the study. First that the Bikram yoga studios in San Antonio would continue classes and the room would remain at 105? F and at 40% humidity. It was also assumed that participants responding to the survey were honest in meeting the requirements. Limitation The scope of the study was limited to students practicing in the San Antonio locations.Additionally, the medical condition and fitness level of those students participating in the study could not be determined in this study. Definitions Asana Defined as a physical posture. A yoga session is collected of various standing, seate d, and lying asanas Bikram yoga is a serial of 26 asanas. Bikram Yoga A specific series of yoga asanas assembled by Bikram Choudhury (2007). A Bikram session is comprised of a series of 26 postures including two breathing exercise, requiring 90 minutes to complete, and harbours place in a temperature-controlled room ( roughly 105 degrees Fahrenheit, 40% humidity).Perceived Stress The degree to which situations in ones animateness are appraised as stressful. mental stress has been defined as the extent to which persons perceive (appraise) that their demands exceed their ability to cope. Physical Fitness The participants level of general fitness (a state of health and well- be), and specific fitness (a task-oriented definition based on the ability to perform specific aspects of sports or occupations). Sanskrit The classical language of India and Hinduism. Yoga Literally federal agency to yoke, to join soul and body.Yoga is an ancient Indian practice that couples physical posture s with conscious attention to breathing, and meditative practice. Review of the preliminary research To understand what was already known about the impacts of Bikram yoga on physical health a literature review was conducted on three current journal articles. The first article was authorize Yoga Effects on Stress and Health and was written by Dr. Tiffany Fields in complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice. Dr. Fields conducted a research campaign on the effects of yoga poses on a human being with regard to many factors.Many existing empirically-based research efforts and studies were utilized to reach the conclusions in this research effort. Psychological conditions were examined including anxiety and depression, cardiovascular fitness and physiological levels. This included the effects on heart rate, blood pressure, weight loss and muscle strength. Dr. Fields cited several studies that yielded an raise mindfulness and a reduction in job stress. People who attended only two wee kly 90 minute yoga sessions experienced a notable decrease in stress, anxiety, fatigue, depression, head and back pain with an increase in well-being.The effects of the yoga were found to be immediate, following only one session. At the end of one year of yoga cholesterol was reduced by 23% compared to 4% for those in standard treatment. A decrease in anginal episodes was observed in addition to decreased body weight. Surgeries were less frequently required in the group who practiced yoga. In each and every condition yoga was found to be of some advantage in varying degrees, but eternally obtainable. The physical effects were also reviewed which consisted of weight loss, balance and flexibility and leg strength.This study suggested that regular yoga practice can have amazing impacts on the human body and can also be considered a part of a ethical drug plan for various ailments. Regular yoga practice can help alleviate various forms of pain and symptoms of disease as well as fee ling ill at ease. A Review of Yoga Programs for Four Leading Risk Factors of Chronic Diseases was the second article reviewed written by K. Yang found in Evidence found Complementary and Alternative Medicine. This research effort focused on four major insecurity factors in the human body that most contribute to chronic diseases and yogas impact on affecting those risk factors.Since there are four common medical conditions that lead to chronic disease in the United States the study sought to identify if yoga would help mitigate those conditions. The four risk factors celebrated are weight, blood glucose level, blood pressure and cholesterol level. The research included a review of thirty-two articles published between 1980 and April 2007 that were related to yoga and the four risk factors. The practice of yoga yielded an overall advantage in every one of the four risk factors. The value increased over time as the yoga practice continued on a consistent basis the risk factors wou ld measurably decrease.Of all of the articles and studies reviewed by Yang they all show that, yoga has beneficial effects on body weight, BP, blood glucose level and cholesterol level. (2007, pg. 489). Yang proposed that because of these benefits yoga intervention programs should be developed as a government agency to combat the four factors contributing to disease in the United States. Incorporating yoga into ones lifestyle and as a part of a medical ethical drug plan can help one live a healthier life for a longer period of time. The treatment of chronic disease should take the benefits of yoga practice into consideration.The final article reviewed was An Examination of the Effectiveness of an 8-week Bikram Yoga Program on Mindfulness, Perceived Stress, and Physical Fitness conducted by Zoe Louise Hewett at Boise State University in 2010. Ms. Hewett set out to monitor participants in an eight week Bikram yoga practice to understand the impact of the practice on mindfulness, pe rceived stress and physical fitness. The participants consisted of fifty one men and women between the ages of 20-54 years. The students had to attend three Bikram yoga sessions per week, however they were encouraged to attend five.The results were measured two weeks into the study and again within one week of completion of the program. In the three areas of focus, that is mindfulness, perceived stress and physical fitness, all were improved by regular Bikram yoga attendance. This study revealed that Bikram yoga can improve ones body in as little as eight weeks with a regular practice of only three times per week. Bikram yoga has been turn up to positively affect psychological and physical health. Further much, regular Bikram yoga practice can measurably improve ones physical fitness in the result of eight weeks with an attendance of three times per week.Method of research The participants were from the Bikram yoga San Antonio locations. To collect the data email addresses were collected from students after each class to disseminate the instrument via SurveyMonkey. com and the survey was also posted on the Facebook page of the Bikram Yoga San Antonio studio. Within one day there were over 60 respondents so the response rate was more than doubly what was hoped for. Once 75 respondents completed the survey it was closed. The data captured on SurveyMonkey. com with regard to Bikram yoga was transcribed into Microsoft Office Excel version 2003.This application was used to capture all of the survey questions with their respective responses and optional comments as they were entered by the respondents. Furthermore, Microsoft Office Word version 2003 was utilized to analyze the unrestricted response to the last question on the survey. This allowed an easy way to highlight key words in each open ended response and classify them into various categories. Survey results The total number of responses was 75 total, 60 female (80%) and 15 male (20%). The age group of respondents ranged from 20 & under to 60 and above.The respondents have been practicing Bikram yoga for varying time frames. 1. Gender percentage Count Female 80 60 Male 20 15 100 75 2.Age Group 20 & under 2. 7 2 21 29 22. 7 17 30 40 45. 34 41 50 18. 7 14 51 60 6. 7 5 60 & above 4 3 100. 1 75 3.Number of months/years practicing 1 3 months 16 12 4 9 months 12 9 9 12 months 12 9 1 3 years 30. 23 3 5 years 13. 3 10 Greater than 5 years 16 12 100 75 Figure 1 Gender, Age & Length of Time Practicing Fifty percent or more respondents reported an answer of somewhat better for all of the questions, indicating that most respondents see a benefit in their practice. 4. Has your stress level changed since you have been practicing Bikram yoga? Much less stressed 58. 7 44 Somewhat less stressed 34. 7 26 93. 70 5. Has your anxiety level changed since you have been practicing Bikram yoga? Much less instances of anxiety 49. 30% 3 7 Somewhat less instances of anxiety 33. 0% 25 82. 60% 62 6. Has your physical fitness changed since you have been practicing Bikram yoga? Somewhat more physically fit 45. 0% 34 Much more physically fit 46. 70% 35 92. 00% 69 7.Has your flexibility and balance changed since you have been practicing Bikram yoga? Much better Somewhat better Flexibility 66. 7% (50) 29. 3% (22) Balance 50. 7% (38) 40. % (30) 8. Has your weight changed since you have been practicing Bikram yoga? lading is not more or less since starting 28. 0% 21 Bikram yoga cant has somewhat decreased 50. 70% 38 78. 70% 59 9.Have your eating habits changed as a result of practicing Bikram yoga? fertilizeing habits have not changed at all 32. 00% 24 Eat somewhat less 49. 30% 37 81. 0% 61 Figure 2 Improvement Indicators The first theme noted was stress and anxiety decreased with over 80% of respondents reporting somewhat to much less anxious and stressed. pic Figure 3 Stress & Anxiety train Improvements The second theme noted was an improvement to physical fitness with over 90% reporting improved physical fitness and improvement to flexibility and balance. picFigure 4 Physical Fitness Improvements The third theme was a decrease in weight with 51% reporting a weight loss and 49% reporting that they ate somewhat less. picFigure 5 Weight Loss & Eating Improvements The final theme is an overall feeling of improvement as indicated by responses to the last open-ended question. arrayicipants reported a deep sense of physical and mental calmness after yoga sessions and feeling less stressed overall. A deeper understanding of oneself and awareness of strengths on with feelings of happiness was also reported. The last question in the survey was, What is the best or worst thing that has happened to you as a result of your Bikram Yoga practice? any seventy-five responses were copied into Word.The responses were analyzed for ge neral tone and themes as recommended by Church & Waclawski (p. 198). The first category, healthier is related to responses indicating a general healthier body while major health benefit is strictly related to responses indicated a major medical improvement. These open ended responses include cures of insomnia, elimination of back pain, spine pain relief that surgery did not cure, complete healing of injuries, sciatica healing, neck pain removal that a chiropractor could never heal and others that were beyond the simple idea of being healthier. Please refer to the Appendix for a list of all open ended responses). The break down of responses was as follows pic Figure 6 Open terminate Responses by Category Conclusions and recommendations Results from the literature review and survey responses suggest that using yoga as a solution for medical issues, weight loss and overall feelings of well being and as a medical intervention is worthy of further research. Based on the results presen ted from the survey the following is a summary of the conclusions reached 1. Practicing Bikram yoga yields many medical benefits that provide visible improvements. 2.Literature reviews combined with the survey indicate that practicing Bikram yoga can reverse negative medical diagnosis in many areas including physical, mental and alleviate serious conditions such as heart disease risk factors. 3. Bikram yoga can be a non-invasive holistic approach to curing dis-ease. Based on the above, a series of recommendations are offered 1. A psychological context of the impacts of practicing Bikram yoga should be conducted. Investigate any parallels of slower, regulated breathing combined with increased mindfulness and a gentle physical exercise and focus with a more consistent relaxed state of mind. 2.Conduct a study to see if values change after a year of Bikram practice. Shifts in values may lead to a more relaxed and accepting state of mind. 3. Develop a series of intervention programs usin g Bikram yoga for specific problems or symptoms. throw of Action Yoga has been practiced for thousands of years to improve physical and emotional well-being. Empirical research on yoga has been going on for quite some time as revealed by the literature reviews. The literature reviews and the survey results point to yoga being a benefit on many levels to include physiological and physical. Due to these results the plan of execution is 1. To develop a prescription plan for the San Antonio medical community that includes Bikram yoga practice. Development of protocols should be conducted with medical doctors and practitioners along with Bikram yoga studio owners and advanced practitioners of Bikram yoga. 2. ) Conduct a pilot program on a allot number of candidates identified from the medical community and execute the prescription plan. Conduct analysis on the pilot to validate prescription plans effectiveness. 3. ) Develop various protocols based on results from the pilot for analys is and prescriptions should be developed for those symptoms related to balance and lexibility, stress and anxiety, depression as well as the need for weight loss. The results of this study have practical implications worthy of further research. This study has implications that the benefits of using Bikram yoga as a mind and body based exercise program are evident, and future research is essential for a more in depth medical understanding and appreciation for this form of yoga. References Bikram Yoga and Bikrams amazing story. (n. d. ). http//www. bikram-yoga-noosa-australia. com/WhatisBikramsBeginnerYoga. htm. Retrieved October 28, 2011, from http//www. bikram-yoga-noosa-australia. om/WhatisBikramsBeginnerYoga. htm Choudhury, B. (2007). Bikram Yoga. New York, NY Harper Collins. Church, Allan H. , & Waclawski, Janine. (1998). Designing and Using Organizational Surveys A Seven-Step Process. San Francisco Jossey-Bass Studio Map View. (n. d. ). Bikrams Yoga College of India. Retrieved O ctober 29, 2011. Dale, Kathleen. , & Fox, Marilyn L. , (2008). Leadership Style and Organizational Commitment Mediating Effect of usage Stress. Journal of Management Issues. (pp. 1-18). Retrieved January 29, 2009 from http//findarticles. com/p/articles/mi_hb6703/is_1_20/ai_n29422403 Field, T. 2011). Yoga clinical research review. Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice,17(1), 8. doi10. 1016/j. ctcp. 2010. 09. 007 Retrieved from http//www. ctcpjournal. com/article/S1744-3881(10)00079-4/fulltext Fiorito, Jack. Bozeman, Dennis P. , Young, Angela. & Meurs, James A. , (2007). Organizational Commitment, Human Resource Practices, and Organizational Characteristics. Journal of Managerial Issues. (pp. 1-14). Retrieved January 29, 2009 from http//findarticles. com/p/articles/mi_hb6703/is_2_19/ai_n29358398/pg_1? tag=contentcol1 Hewett, Zoe Louise, An Examination of the Effectiveness of an 8-weekBikram Yoga Program on Mindfulness, Perceived Stress, and Physical Fitness (2010). Boise State University Theses and Dissertations. paper 112. http//scholarworks. boisestate. edu/td/112 Park, Yang-Kyu, Lee, Chul-In, Kabist, Rudiger. (2008, July 1). Human Needs as Predictors for Organizational Commitment and Job Involvement. Management Review. (pp. 1-18) Retrieved January 29, 2009 from http//www. allbusiness. com/labor-employment/worker-categories-women-workers/11729925-1. html Yang, K. (2007). A Review of Yoga Programs for Four Leading Risk Factors of Chronic Diseases.Evidence Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 4(4), 4. doi10. 1093/ecam/nem154 Retrieved from http//www. ncbi. nlm. nih. gov/pmc/articles/PMC2176145/ Appendix A Survey Questions & Response Options 1. Select your gender. 2. Select your age group. 3. Select number of months/years practicing. 4. Has your stress level changed since you have been practicing Bikram yoga? 5. Has your anxiety level changed since you have been practicing Bikram yoga? 6. Has your physical fitness changed since you have been pr acticing Bikram yoga? 7. Has your flexibility and balance changed since you have been practicing Bikram yoga? . Has your weight changed since you have been practicing Bikram yoga? 9. Have your eating habits changed as a result of practicing Bikram yoga? 10. What is the best or worst thing that has happened to you as a result of your Bikram Yoga practice? Response Options Gender options Female and Male Age group options 1. 20 & under 2. 21 29 3. 30 40 4. 41 50 5. 51 60 6. 60 & above Number of months/years practicing options 1. 1 3 months 2. 4 9 months 3. 9 12 months 4. 1 3 years 5. 3 5 years 6. Greater than 5 years Stress level changes since practicing Bikram yoga 1.Much less stressed 2. Somewhat less stressed 3. neither more or less stressed 4. Somewhat more stressed 5. Much more stressed Changes to anxiety level since practicing Bikram yoga options 1. Much less instances of anxiety 2. Somewhat less instances of anxiety 3. Neither more or less instances of anxiety 4. Somewh at more instances of anxiety 5. Much more instances of anxiety Changes to physical fitness since practicing Bikram yoga options 1. Much less physically fit 2. Somewhat less physically fit 3. Neither more or less physically fit 4. Somewhat more physically fit 5. Much more physically fitChanges to flexibility and balance since practicing Bikram yoga options The following are options across rows 1. Flexibility 2. Balance The following are options across columns 1. Much better 2. Somewhat better 3. Neither better nor worse 4. Somewhat worse 5. Much more worse Changes to weight since practicing Bikram yoga options 1. Weight has significantly increased 2. Weight has somewhat increased 3. Weight is not more or less since starting Bikram yoga 4. Weight has somewhat decreased 5. Weight has significantly decreased Changes to eating habits as a result of practicing Bikram yoga options . Eat much more 2. Eat somewhat more 3. Eating habits have not changed at all 4. Eat somewhat less 5. Eat much less The final question, What is the best or worst thing that has happened to you as a result of your Bikram Yoga practice? has an open ended form street corner for a response. Additionally, questions five through nine have an optional 50 character form field for a comment. Responder may only select one in each question. All questions have required responses. Appendix B The Bikram Yoga Sequence & Asana Names pic Figure 7 The Bikram Yoga Sequence Appendix C Photos picFigure 8 Bikram Choudhury, born on February 10, 1946 Students are in Pose 13 Savasana pic Figure 9 Pose 16 Bhujangasana pic Figure 10 Pose 17 Salabhasana Appendix D Screen shot of Facebook invite for the survey pic Appendix E Open-ended responses 10. What is the best or worst thing that has happened to you as a result of your Bikram Yoga practice? Category Response Healthier Worst thing is when I miss a class or am unable to attend for some other reasons/obligations. lift out thing Well, to be completely hones t, Bikram has been the abolute best thing that couldve ever happened to me. I was going down a sincerely grim path, and i have to say i feel that Bikram has truly saved me life. Of course, I have to thank my God for that. But anyway, I hope this helps. Best of luck Healthier New experience in total body workout, see that there is something better than traditional gym rat, sweat like never before ll good stuff. intellectual improvement Getting out there and trying something new and loving it It has given me the authorisation to try new experiences mental improvement I learned about how my body responds to stress. I am a medical student and on the weeks where we have testing blocks I found that I am generally unhealthy (lack of sleep, eat little and deal poor choices with food, and I allow stress and fear to be main motivators).These are all things I learned about myself through my yoga. My ability to focus and balance declines and I am overall an unhappy pers on. Life give always bring time of intense stress however, our bodies deserve our best regardless of the situation. Bikram opened my eyes to this stress habit and I am beginning to make healthier choices during moments of heavy stress. affable improvement Best thing is that I have a new passion in my life.I cannot imagine my life without my practice. Happier bliss and Peace Weight loss Although I have always been taught the importance of water, I have never embraced and felt the need for it as much as I have since practicing Bikram. I think that is a reason for some weightloss, of course in addition to the torture chamber Healthier looking ating bang-up overall study health benefit Hope, that my life was not over because of debilitating pain in spine due to degenerative disk disease, that is now mostly gone. Hope that even after cervical spine surgery, I can stay fit and and continue to practice and improve my practice as long as I live. Joy, appreciation fo r life and health every day with a consistent practice. rational improvement Improved attitude. Happier Realize what is really important in life. Healthier Fewer injuries running. Toned body. More patient. Realization that pain is temporary and makes me stronger. I can do anything for one minute. Healthier Bikram has perplex a practice I look forward to all day. I know I can leave my stress at the door and will feel amazing when I leave. Bikram has given me much more energy and is forcing me to hydrate my body. Loving this new way of life. Mental improvement I notice that I am more disciplined. Major health benefit I suffer from migraine headaches 3-4 times a week. So long as I practice Bikram Yoga at least 3 times a week I am completely headache free. It helps lower my stress and let my mind release the tension of work. Major health benefit I have been able to successfully get off of both anti-depressants and anti-anxiety medication. I was on a slew of medication for about 4 years due to severe panic attacks and depression. Weight loss Besides the weight loss, it would have to be that I do focus more on my breath and focusing on how my body reacts to different situations. Happier I feel so much better and energized after a session and I just have this glow that makes me so much happier after a class Healthier The best thing is being able to focus on myself for 90 minutes and to push myself to new limits. And, the teachers and students are exceptional.I have learned to love the heat too Major health benefit it has healed my neck better than any chiropractor has been able Happier Best thing is the way I treat my students thanks to Yoga they deserve that. ). Happier Better pacification of mind. Good Too much time away from family. Worst Mental improvement I feel amazing in the hot room, which has increased my confidence outside the room.The worst thing- I have developed an addiction Major health benefit My back is stronger over all, but I seem to frequently be working through some ache, pain, or injury. Could just be my age. Healthier Has vastly improved my life. Major health benefit Since starting 5 yrs ago, I have gone from 57, 167 lbs to 136 lbs I no longer have sciatica. Old sports injuries have healed.Flexibility has improved. Overall health has improved. I eat way better than I ever have. I stopped drinking alcohol. I feel great and have more confidence that I did before Bikram. Weight loss best thing is that i have lost 15lbs.. i LOVE my body now Mental improvement Best thing. Met some wonderful people and my daughter and I have a common challenge Mental improvement Best is more ability to clear my mind and just do it. Mental improvement I love the me time I get. I love the challenge of facing myself in the mirror for 90 mins. When is the last time you watched your body move for 90 mins? It is empowering, amazing, and allows me to love my body. My only regret is that I didnt find it sooner. Healthier Ive practiced yoga for a long time and bikram yoga has changed my yoga practice tremendously Healthier The muscle toning in my legs and arms is very visible. Mental improvement Finished the 60 day challenge which was super gratifying. A nice mark to work towards and achieve. Major health benefit I began to practice Bikram yoga to rehabilitate my ankle. After 6 months my ankle was healed. I am intrigued by Bikram yoga, as a biochemistry major you can imagine the amount of research I have done on Bikram yoga. I would like to know what you find. emailprotected om Bad reaction I got CA MRSA superbug staph infection Major health benefit Almost complete elimination of back pain that I have suffered for approximately two decades. Healthier The best thing is that is a great stress reliever and awesome facial moisturizer Mental improvement Best- friends, connections with the Bikram family. Worst- must carve out time for Bikram, or else. Im grumpy Spiritu al improvement Through yoga, I started to reconnect with my spiritual nature. Healthier The best thing is that I feel hopeful that I can be healthier and more comfortable in my body. Major health benefit My runs of A-fib have stopped. Healthier Energy up, stress down Major health benefit improved range of motion in arthritic joints. better balance and focus. Too many benefits to list Major health benefit I have insomnia. Meds are the only things that, prior to Bikram, helped me fall asleep.After the 815pm Bikram class, I crash and am out for at least 8 hours. Mental improvement Just an overall better outlook and feeling positive about daily occurrences Healthier I feel amazing practicing bikram yoga. My body feels cleansed Mental improvement I have become addicted but to a good thing. I feel better, am in great shape, and am a much happier and patient person because of Bikram. Mental improvement I like who I am becoming Spiritual improvement Im addicted to Bikram Yoga. It has been a Permanant Part of my life. The best thing that has happened to me is, My Meditation has elevated to a deeply spiritual level&I crave this Yoga. I cant miss a class. Mental improvement My self confidence is improving. Mental improvement I like to tell people I got me back, bikram Yoga was introduced to me at a time when I pulled myself out of a controlling & very unhealthy relationship. My sense of independence & security was wiped out. As a result I stressed over every little thing because I was made to believe I couldnt do anything without him. Bikram Yoga is a blessing because slowly Ive been able to let go of fear, stress, misery & depression.In short I found my smile Thanks to BYSA Healthier The BEST thing that happens from practicing Bikram Yoga is how much more AMAZING you feel and enjoy life even better Weight loss Weightloss Healthier It has contributed to improved attention to multiple aspects of fitness with overall gains resulting. Heal thier Keeps me in great shape Major health benefit I got off of blood pressure medication after 3 months of practice. Mental improvement Peace in mind, strength, balance, focus. Mental improvement Best thing that happened is that I learned more self control. Weight loss when I stop, I tend to gain weight and stress. Healthier I flinally found my type of exersice since I stopped dancing ballet at 20 years, I? m 37 now Healthier The best thing is that overall I feel better and stronger. Mental improvement I pay a lot more attention to what my body is telling me in all situations. Major health benefit I am able to bend my knee better than in months prior. Also, the yoga has forced me to drink more water throughout the day. Mental improvement my self image and confidence has increased so much. this has spread to other areas of my life and made so many things improve. im amazed daily at the positive effects of this yoga. Healthier I am more physically confident. Major health benefit Everything changes My back pain has gone away, it provides me discipline when spending $, it allows me to quiet the mind & sleep better, my joints start yelling at me when I dont go, my core stands straighter, my shoulders are more defined, I am able to open my back & shoulders more than ever before, it took away soreness after I ran a 1/2 marathon last year plus it was the only way I trained for it, it keeps away sickness such as colds s that enough reasons? It keeps my life happy & balanced. Mental improvement Feel younger Mental improvement Ive noticed myself becoming more confident in poses creating better posture. I can feel a major difference in how my posture has strengthened. Mental improvement It makes me feel strong.When I get through a class I feel like I did something good for myself which in turn allows me to be better for others. Happier I feel healthier and happier than ever when I maintain a regular practice Healthier Im more flexible and I d rip awesome. Healthier Best-Not worrying about swimsuit season Worst-I sweat really easily.Even my shins sweat. Happier I found happiness Happier Feel better Mental improvement Feel less stressed

Alcohol Abuse in the Restaurant Industry

Alcohol Abuse in the Restaurant Industry Shelsie Ann Lawrence Univer layy of West Florida Alcohol Abuse in the Restaurant Industry The purpose of this paper is to look at the juicy incidence of alcoholic beverageic drink abuse in the eating place patience and the possible causes. I will use studies d unity, but in each case incidences from my own somebodyal experience of 15 years in the eatery industry. Background The Ameri faecal matter Psychological tie defines alcohol abuse as, a drinking pattern that results in signifi movet and recurrent adverse consequences. (http//www. apa. org/helpcenter/alcohol-disorders. spx). These consequences can be lost grow days, vehicle accidents, the segmentation and loss of relationships, serious illnesses. Alcohol abuse is extremely lavishly in the eating house industry. It is readily available and consistently used as a pay for good behavior. The consequences of alcohol abuse ar much more tolerated. I worked for a chef that would com e in to work hung over and late. She would clock in, and then sit down to charter a beer to help the hangover. After the beer was consumed, it was time to make something to eat, either of this eating up the first 30 minutes of her work day.She would non be punished for this behavior, because chances are, she was out drinking with one of our owners the shadow before. This scene would play itself out at least in one case a week. I also had a co-worker that was allowed to go home, due to a hangover. We will call her Sue. Sue was not much of a drinker. I would say, she in all probability went out once a month. Sue gets off work, and almost all her co-workers are at the bar drinking. At this particular restaurant, the kitchen and servers would close down the restaurant between the hours of 1000pm and 1100 pm, this would put the time module gets off work around 1100pm or midnight.The bar would then stay open until 200 am. To bushel the stage a bit more, it is also important to not e a hardly a(prenominal) other things about this particular restaurant. Staff was allowed to start drinking for free, any beer on tap and any wine sold by the glass, one hour prior to closing. Any other drinks, i. e. cocktails, wine by the bottle, and bottled beers, were discounted half off. This restaurant did very well, and had minimal staff turnover, so they could afford to allow this. The staff dinner was served later on the kitchen was cleaned and the wait staff done with all their tables.Staff meal is also called Family Meal, in the restaurant world. Family is what your co-workers become, in a restaurant. You spend more of your time with your co-workers, then anyone else. Restaurants are open on the days other concourse are off spending time with their families. You work every weekend together. You work every holiday together. You work every night together. Together you descriptor contempt for those with normal jobs This is all shared together. These are things that only your co-workers and other industry people can understand. Most bars, in Seattle, when I cooked there, even offered industry discounts. dismantle if you arent drinking at the place you work, you still get a discount. You are still awarded with alcohol. So, on this night, Sue gets off work to find all her co-workers destinationing up dinner and pouring more rounds of drinks. She had a particularly good night and made a hundred dollars in tips. She has been working at this restaurant for six months and hasnt found herself fitting in yet. Fitting in, becoming friends with her co-workers, can afford many benefits. Servers are more likely to throw a shift with someone they like and k straight off. They are more likely to help you out, by delivering food to your table, if you are someone they like.She usually eats her dinner, than goes home, eyepatch the rest of the staff stays drinking and talking about their work night. They stay because the drinks are free they stay because when they go home, if there is someone at home, they wont be awake to hear the stories of their work day. Sue checks to stay and catch a drink, maybe get her co-workers to warm up to her a bit more. As soon as everyone sees that Sue is staying they cheer. Everyone has cherished to get to know her more, but intents that since she never stays after work, that she is probably stuck up.Her manager buys her a shot, for a job well done that night at work. She pours a beer and immediately feels comfortable with everyone, partly because of the cheer, but also because she is now sitting down to her second drink of the evening. The evening progresses similarly to how it started. As more staff gets off work, more shots are bought. Other restaurant workers, friends of the staff are getting off work, and showing up. Pretty soon, the bar is filled with mainly employees and other restaurant workers. Before anyone notices, it is closing time. Now, if the owner of the restaurant was round, and chances ar e he was, he would allow the bartender to go home, or engender a seat at the bar, and he would continue to serve the staff, with the front door locked, well after closing time. Tonight, the staff all drank until 400 am. Sue stayed right along with everyone. Sue comes to work the next day, green and doubled over. Everyone is backdrop up the dining room for dinner service later. Her co-workers look their normal tired selves, but keep in mind, they drink heavily and often, this is alone another(prenominal) day for them. Everyone see Sue and immediately cheers.One server comments on how great it was that Sue hung out with everyone the night before. Sue runs straight for the bathroom. After some discussion, they decide that it is going to be a slow night, and everyone could probably pull together to cover Sues section. They send someone in to the bathroom to tell Sue she can go home. No one chastises her. She is not written up. She will miss getting paid for the evening, but it was g oing to be a slow night anyway. She goes home, goes back to bed, and wakes up the next day to go back to work, back to everything macrocosm normal.This is a perfect example of the lack of consequences, in the restaurant industry, for alcohol abuse. Sue is practically rewarded for her bad behavior. By staying and drinking, she formed a bond with her co-workers. All her drinks were either free or heavily discounted, so she didnt feel any financial burden. When she showed up for work, unable to perform her duties, her co-workers pulled together to allow her to go home. According to them, they had been there before. One reason for such a high rate of alcohol abuse, in the restaurant industry is the high rate of young adults employed.In a study done on young adult restaurant workers, 41% reported problem drinking. Young adults make up the majority of restaurant workers. Restaurant jobs offer the most pay, for the least amount of skill and time. slightly restaurants require a degree to work in the kitchen, but no education is required to work as a server. If you are a student, and indispensableness a part time job, chances are you have worked, or do work as a server. College students consume large amounts of alcohol, with 31% meeting the criteria for alcohol abuse. (http//www. ollegedrinkingprevention. gov/statssummaries/snapshot. aspx) Serving positions allow for the flexibility needed for college students. You make the most pay, for the least amount of hours worked. The schedule is very flexible. If you need a night off to finish up homework, you can always call a co-worker to cover your shift. Chances are there is someone who needs money and can cover your shift. Even if you cant get someone to cover your shift, you can be sure that if you do have to work, you can get off work too soon if the restaurant is slow that night.Less servers equal more tips for the rest of the staff, and like most servers, they always need more money. Restaurant workers live paychec k to paycheck. Most have no benefits, no health insurance, and are just one missed paycheck away from being completely broke. Out of the 10 restaurants I have worked in, only two offered health insurance. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median hourly wage of a food sever in 2008, including tips, was $8. 01. The median annually salary of a restaurant cook, in 2008 was $21,990. There are exceptions to the rule, but the majority live at the poverty line.When no vacations can be afforded, one can take a mini vacation at the bar. With no health insurance, no one is getting annual checkups. You can stay in denial about any health problems that might arise from alcohol abuse, because chances are you havent been to a doctor in years. I had a co-worker that couldnt afford to go to the dentist to get a much needed filling. We can call him bobsleigh. Bob had been complaining of an aching tooth for weeks. He just kept taking aspirin and upping his nightly alcohol intake to al low him to sleep through the night.He knew eventually he would have to see a dentist, but he just didnt have the money to go see one at this point. In the end, he had to go to an emergency clinic to have his tooth pulled. He was put on pain killers and antibiotics. This all ended up costing him five hundred dollars. This was more than a week of pay for him. Bob was trying to save up to go on a vacation with his girlfriend. He hadnt taken a single day off of work in over a year. Now his prospects seemed even dimmer. He gets off work, pours a drink, and sits down to complain to his other co-workers.They all understand. Only a few of them have taken time off that year. At the very least, they can all sit around, and have a few drinks together to ease the pain. They are depressed and find solace in each other. This is the point when alcohol abuse can become cyclical. Alcohol is a depressant. When a depressed person self medicates with alcohol they are only making the problem worse. Meth od The method used for this paper was through personal experience in the restaurant industry backed by research in journals and studies on alcohol abuse and restaurant workers. FindingsThere are many causes for alcohol abuse some of those being depression, the availability of alcohol, peer pressure and companionable factors, impulsiveness and low self esteem. Restaurants workers have alcohol readily available. They have discounts, and free drinks. They are awarded for good behavior with alcohol. The social factors that are prevalent in restaurant workers also play a role in alcohol abuse. Drinking becomes social with restaurant workers. It becomes their outlet. It is their way of bonding. They can definitely feel the peer pressure from co-workers to drink.In my story of Sue, she felt that drinking with her co-workers was the only way she would be able to fit in. She wanted to be friends with everyone she wanted the benefits of that friendship. They wanted her to drink with them. Sh e knew that the only way to penetrate the group was by drinking with them after work. After a few times of hanging out, after work with everyone, it can easily become a habit. I would see people actually get upset and offended when someone that usually stayed for drinks, just went home after their shift. Results There is definitely a high rate of alcohol abuse amongst restaurant workers or many reasons ranging from the social aspects, the availability of alcohol, the high stress work environment, the prevalence of poverty amongst the workers, the late hours and just the acceptance of heavy drinking among the staff and watchfulness. I dont see a change in the behaviors and attitudes of restaurant staff. I think this is a problem that will continue until stricter laws and rules are enforced. References ARTHUR H. FRIEDLANDER, D. , & STEPHEN. (2003). Alcohol abuse and dependencePsychopathology, medical management and dental implications. J Am Dent Assoc. Peter E. Nathan, P. John Wallac e, P. , Joan Zweben, P. , & and A. Thomas Horvath, P. (2010). Understanding Alcohol Use Disorders and Their Treatment. American Psychological Association . Rachel R. Doern, S. M. (2008). THE SOCIAL MEANINGS OF drunkenness STRENGTHENING THE SOCIAL BONDS OF RESTAURANT EMPLOYEES. Advances in Consumer Research Volume 25 , 481-485. Roland S. Moore, P. C. (2009). Dimensions of Problem Drinking among Young Adult Restaurant Workers. AM J do drugs Alcohol Abuse , 329-333. http//www. bls. gov/oco/ocos162. htm http//www. ohsrep. org. au/hazards/fatigue-impairment/alcohol-and-work/index. cfm

Discrimination In The Work Environment

discrimination in confides of counterfeit is unfair treatment of rickers by their employers or by their fel start turners. In passplace secernment, the employers make no attention to complainants who atomic number 18 discriminated and in many instances they ignore the kind of harassment these particular slew experience. This has a tremendous negative push on billet performance since the discriminated individual argon discour get alongd to perform effectively and this in turn affects the output in that particular company or transcription. In the US, the state laws prohibit unfair treatment of people in their respective places of work.Discrimination in the work is mainly based on age, sex, race, religion, disability, nationality, intelligence and pregnancy. both the forms of disparity atomic number 18 prohibited by the law in the linked States and the employer is in no way entitled to harass star since he or she is non a U. S. citizen. In America secretion is pre valent today on the button as it was in early 19th century. Some observers have claimed that in that respect has been tremendous improvement fol imprinting the passing of the Civil Rights Act in 1964 by the government.The playact provided for the prosecution of those accused of discriminating workers on basis of their religion, race, uncase color, age or nationality. The 1964 Civil Right Act provided for equal treatment of employees in the employment. However, discrimination in the workplace continues to increasingly becoming common in the modern America (Hughes & Dodge, 1997). There are two study categories of discrimination disparate treatment and disparate impact. Disparate treatment is an incidence where by one is interact differently from other employees by the employer on the basis of gender, age, sex, race, nationality or disability.The state laws prohibit unfair treatment of workers much(prenominal) as one universe every last(predicate)ocated difficult assignments or more work load than other fellow workers under taking the same work. Demotions, less payments and organism laid off unjustly are other forms of disparate treatments common in the work environment. Disparate impact is a liability theory which prohibits employers from practicing unlawful discrimination during employment. Although it may reckon neutral, disparate impact negatively impacts against particular ethnic, racial or sex group. It so-and-so also have a negative impact on individuals of a given unearthly group or the disabled.In this case an employer, for instance comes up with tests or selection criteria that are facially neutral and non related to the job requirements so as to do away with people of particular race, nationality, and religion. The test may also include the lifting of requirement which is not correlated to the actual job so as to do away with nearly all the aged workers or women (Hughes & Dodge, 1997). cozy harassment is a very common form of discriminat ion experienced globally where one is coerced to provide sexual favors by the fellow workers, bosses or the supervisors.Sexual harassment from the fellow workers stumbles it difficult for one to work conveniently and peacefully. Sexual harassment from the boss or the supervisors comes about where one is coerced to admit a sexual affair so as to acquire a particular job, be promoted or be retained in the company or organization. Consequently those who fail to give in to the sexual requests are eventually fired, denied the job va foundationcy or demoted. This form of discrimination affects a wide range of groups particularly those runing to different nationalities, race and skin color.In the U. S, sexual harassment in work places is illegal although this practice continues to affect workers leading to reduced output. It is recommended that those experiencing such discrimination should report immediately to the respective personalities. Those harassed by the fellow workers and super visors should report the subject area to the employer as soon as possible since the employer may claim later that he or she was never informed of that kind of behavior when it was taking place.One should make a written complaint and remain with a copy as well. Those harassed by employers should take a legal action by file a case and seek help from required administrative agencies or from lawyers (Hughes & Dodge, 1997). Gender based discrimination is a form of harassment based on sex and it takes place in various places of work in the world. Although human rights dictate that individuals should not be discriminated on the basis of sex, women have always go about major discrimination in the work places and during recruitment.For instance, in different Wal-Marts in the join States, women are given heavy projects to perform yet limited to advertize training privileges and the salary paid to them is not worthy the work they do. When the employers are asked about their actions, they readily defend themselves by accusing women of being psychologically mad and rearnot make critical decisions practically. Women are usually not given equal training as men so as to acquire relevant skills which can help them properly fit in the challenging world.The argument supplied in support of this treatment is that women can block the job at any clock duration since they are not the breadwinners in the house have little to care about. Moreover, other reasons have been suggested that women have other duties to meet in the house or may claim to have small babies to take care of and therefore training women in the same level with men could imply wastage of funds, energy and time. However, it is time for women to be treated equally as men since they have proved to attain similar qualifications as men and perform roles which were traditionally meant for men.Additionally, women are the root of every development and the thriving of an economy is determined by both men and women (Hughes & Dodge, 1997). Another form of discrimination in the work environment is racial discrimination which has become a widespread worry in America and other Western states. For instance, in various places of work, the African-Americans are treated differently since they belong to the minority group in American population. Research reveals that a small number of African-Americans are employed in companies owned by Native Americans.The problem of racial discrimination also affects the Hispanic Americans which further shows how racial discrimination has taken root in the work environment. Some of the employers have openly admitted that they forefathert work either with Hispanic- Americans or African- Americans. Although equality is supported by civil rights laws and also protected by the constitution many have not changed their hearts on the practice of racism. Race victims facing harassment from co- workers normally work in a hostile and non- conducive environment which is not flourishing for better production.Employees are also a bother to them especially when they are finding ways to get rid of them. racial bias in work places determines job quality and should be discouraged in every organization (Hughes & Dodge, 1997). Age discrimination is another(prenominal) form of discrimination that mostly affects the superannuated people in various workplaces. However, young people are also discriminated of their age and dealed not competent even when they have the required qualifications while seeking jobs.The old people are regarded as mentally worn out and cannot continue to serve and execute their normal roles in companies and organizations. Employment Act of 1967 in United States protects persons who are 40 years as well as all the aged people. The act ensures those who are applying for the job are protected from discrimination because of their age with respect to terms and conditions of the job. The act ensures that these old people are recruited withou t any form of discrimination and protects them from being laid off from their places of work with no cause.The act also addresses the challenges encountered by these old people when they are searching new jobs after being fired from other jobs. The justification behind this form of discrimination claimed by employers is that aged people are not energetic dynamic and effective as the youth and this implies they perform poorly in the production process. This should not be the case since the old are endowed with work knowledge and experience. There is also youth discrimination also referred to as adultism. This form of discrimination is clearly evident where teenagers between 15-25 years are limited to acquiring jobs.But this kind of discrimination is craved as a paternalistic agenda of protect the youth since they are supposed to be treated with care and respect by the older workers. Teenagers are also sensed to be rebellious, violent and medicine addicts because they are in their a dolescent stage hence not convenient to work with them. Moreover, they are also fond of listening to music and this could lead to wastage of time instead of one concentrating with the allocated task (Hughes & Dodge, 1997). Intelligence based discrimination is also another serious form of discrimination in America where people with low intelligence are highly underprivileged.This form of discrimination has not acquired prevalent attention and an enormous number of individuals have been limited to or denied access to certain(prenominal) opportunities and successes as a result their perceived level of intelligence. This kind of discrimination in some work places is exercised against those who have low IQ, those who work slowly, not legato or smooth talkers. Favors are poured on the so called yearn people since they can finish the allocated task faster or tends to think faster . They are promoted and perceived as the intelligent.Others achieve bigger jobs since they can express thems elves grantly or are fluent talkers than others. The disadvantaged are the fools who to have work harder than smart people do work so as to reach the same goal and thus putting extra efforts is the only solution to raise them to the straighten out despite terms and conditions in place. Intelligence is a trait inherited from birth just alike(p) skin color. Being not fluent in speaking, or a slow thinker should not be taken advantage of since such people are also human beings and should be treated fairly and should have equal opportunities with smart people.There could be aspects in them which can be utilized and lead to improved productivity in the workplace. Accurate measurements on ones capabilities to perform a particular task should be the ones to be considered. Besides, many have no idea those perceived to be fools can do excellent work than the ones perceived to be the smart people. Fools also portray absolute perfect leadership roles. Their leadership has great gains to an organization because they adhere to observance of the rules and cannot devise plans of coming out with evil strategies against the company.Moreover, human beings are not created with equal abilities and every one has unique talents which when appreciated can improve the performance of the organization effectively. Religious discrimination is another raging problem in several U. S work places (Hughes & Dodge, 1997). . Religious believers view their religion as their main source of good will and peace but in many situations it is the main source of enmity, hatred, violence and division. Civil rights act 1964 and United States constitution inhibits work places from discriminating individuals on basis of their religion in terms and conditions of employment.The act also protects employees belonging to different religions from harassments such as being fired, demoted or limited to salary increments or promotion since they belong to a religion which the employer hates. It is also illegal to hinder one from exercising his or her religious practices in the place of work. . The practices include religious holidays such as Christmas day, Sabbath day observance, wearing of special gowns like those worn by Muslims . The employer is also supposed to consider those who request for prayer breaks during work sessions.The law also covers ones ethnic beliefs. Nowadays Christians and individuals from other religions are suppressed by secular forces in their places of work. In America Federal laws are enacted to make sure religious discrimination is not exercised. This constituent of Christian liberty is a right to all people of every faith to get involved in every privileges of the society without encountering harassment on basis of ones religion. Civil Rights Division prosecutes criminals accused with the cases of arson and vandalism against worshiping houses.But there are occasions where by these laws are violated, for instance, a seventh day individual being commissioned to w ork on a Saturday,muslim force to wear official clothes instead of their usual gowns, others fired by employers reason since he or she doesnt like an employees religious beliefs. While others are constantly harassed by fellow workers since they hate their religion. In other instances one is forced to be converted to another religion so as to receive fair treatment by the boss or supervisor. Those who resolve to stand strong for their faith and opt to quit the job (Hughes & Dodge, 1997).Pregnancy based discrimination is another key evident form of discrimination where by expectant mothers are not recruited or fired as a result of the visible pregnancy or probability coming to be enceinte. Others are denied pregnant benefits because they are not married. Others fail to be promoted because of their pregnancy. Employers siret bear with pregnant mothers who come with claims of discomforts expectant women experience especially in early pregnancies such as morning sicknesses.Employer fo resees this as an excuse to table work load which could other wise result into low reproductive yield in the organization. Expectant mothers in America are covered by Federal and state laws which are under civil rights act 1964 the law ensures pregnant mothers are to deliver their kids without loosing their work also to leave their jobs at appropriate duration before onset of delivery period, and prohibits employer denying to grant leave pregnant mothers who are under doctors instructions to go for medical mental testing by the appropriate doctor.Employers justify their discrimination by claiming that pregnant need attention every moment and sick off leaves they request are just means of running away from performing the allocated tasks . Eventually employers count this as a loss to a company as a result of low productivity. Employers also view pregnant women as weak personnel who are not effective and efficient since they cant work at a certain rate..Under federal law employers wh o have recruited more than fifteen employers are not entitled to deny a pregnant woman job nullity , lay off or force an employee to quite job since she is pregnant, deduct ones accrued retirement benefits for previous years for the reason of maternity leave and retrench an employee who has done an abortion. Therefore pregnant women are in a position to work conveniently so long as the have the ability to work without any problem The supervisor or the employer is also entitled to offer maternity leave at the appropriate time and also treat pregnant women as capableness workers .When a pregnant woman is not in a position to perform heavy tasks the employer is accorded to offer less difficult task (Hughes & Dodge, 1997). Disability discrimination in work places is also evident where one can be laid off or not hired depending on disability status. American Disability Act is the law explains disability as a condition of any form of impairment which hinders one from performing major ac tivities in life. The law ensures people with such impairments are not discriminated.In different work places in Americans those who are HIV positive and those with cancer history cancers are prone dramatization and discrimination . Therefore the law ensures they protected appropriately. As the saying goes disability is not inability thus disabled qualified applicants should not be denied a particular opportunity. The employer should treat this staff component equally as others according to terms and conditions of work . Disabled people are perceived not to perform effectively towards productivity of an organization since some may require frequent medical check ups and this could lead to wastage of time.Others may not be able to walk faster also leading to wastage of time and inefficiency in job performance. Those on wheel chairs could pose to the company extra costs such as transportation cost, repair and maintenance costs on wheel chair tires to be incurred by an organization and also this particular staff member requires special treatment. The disabled also face stiff competition from other healthy workers hence discouraging their efforts. Employers take advantage of discriminating them and showing favourism to the potential employees.Employers should ensure fair treatment of the disabled since no one decides to be in such a condition they should also put in place measures which protect these victims from other co- workers. When this is in place, the disabled are able to work in a permissive environment (Hughes & Dodge, 1997). In general, discrimination in the workplace constitutes racial, gender, religion intelligence, pregnancy, and age discrimination. The employers or other fellow employees may take advantage of other peoples weakness in exploiting and discrimination others in the workplace.People in the workplace take advantage of the underprivileged to retain them in the job. And also establish sexual affairs with employees working under them since th ey promise favors such as pay increments and promotion. This should be discouraged since one can contract incurable sexual diseases and also can lead to the spread of the same disease in an organization. Discrimination based on age and race should be discouraged since it curtails ones effort in the job and in return this negatively affects the productivity. When workers are discriminated, their output is reduced since they are never comfortable in such environments.In other instances for example where religious discrimination is rampant and many are forced to withdraw from the company especially when many forced for conversion to other faiths. This automatically leads to either decline of the company or incur heavy losses which can lead to the closure of the company indeed. State law should ensure laws regarding work places are not violated and those charged with cases of discrimination should be punished or fined accordingly. Therefore discrimination in places of work should be e ver legalized.ReferenceHughes,D&Dodge,M.A.(1997).AfricanAmericanWomenintheWorkplaceRelationships Between Job Conditions, Racial Bias at Work, and Perceived Job Quality.American Journal of Community Psychology. 25(5) 581-599.

British Air Essay

Strategy In this context, dodging is to be let inn as the nature and also the direction a smart set jakes take in light of the picks which ar at its dispose. Therefore, from this definition of strategy, strategic responses net be inferred to mean the responses that an organization takes in achieving its strategies and thusly strategic responses.Nature announces to the precise essence of the familiarity, for antecedent BA is an flight path and hence in the skyway industry.Direction refers to where the organization in question (BA) is headed and hence strategic responses.Pestle analytic thinking It refers to a methodology whereby the macro environment is analysed. It will be used to analyze the political, economical, sociological, technological, legal and environmental forces affecting the airline industry under which BA operates and to which this forces imp puzzle outs on the strategic devising of BA.AbstractThe airline industry is in the work industry which experie nces very volatile changes all over the knowledge base and hence companies involve to keep up with the changes as well as plan for future changes and challenges in the service industry of airlines by means of strategic making. Strategy making is an important aspect in the organization in light of the organization succeeding in the environment it is operating in. Though the airline industry is changing give care any some other typical service industry, it does not mean that the airline industry can afford to lag behind or quiescence in terminals of making strategies suitable for the now markets tastes and the then (future) markets tastes.Therefore the paper critically reviews the corporate strategy of British Airways (BA), the connections war like strategies through with(predicate) critical appraisal of the companys strategy, industry and company analysis. However, an overall industry analysis is undertaken before any analysis of the companys strategy through analysis of a three dichotomies impact in the company and in the context of three paradoxes in the company and the perspectives which are applicable to the paradoxes.Industry AnalysisOverviewBA is a renowned airline in the UK and among the largest airlines in the world, facts which are derived from fleet size of the airline, the number of passengers carried and the number of international flights give rise by the airline. It was established in 1971 with the motives of gaining control of BOAC and BEA which was the then nationalized airlines a pertinaciousside other two airlines, which were Cambrian Airways and the Northeast Airlines. The coalition of the four companies that formed the presently BA airline was effected in 1974 and become a recount owned company.However, the company was later privatized in 1987 and its expansion was gained through acquiring the British Caledonian in concert with Dan Air in 1992. BA is currently trading in the UK Market bundle as the largest airline in terms of the fleet size and boasts of organism in 2nd position in terms of its market share (IATA 2012), trading under the name of International Airlines Group following a coalition in 2011 with Iberia. In the world(a) arena, the social movement of BA is felt through the company being 5th largest airline in terms of the passengers who are flown victimization the BA airline (See Figure 1, position of BA in the global arena).Current and Future Key Issues Affecting the Airline IndustryIn questioning on the current and future key issues affecting the airline industry together with look intoing the trends and the competitive forces that are affecting the airline industry in the modern times, in light of BA strategy making and the influences that are to effect on BA, a pestle analysis, SWOT analysis and the Porters five dollar bill great power Analysis are the tools that are going to be utilised. However, for greater specificity, the focus of the pestle analysis is the European Airline Ind ustry.Pestle AnalysisPolitical IssuesHaving state owned airline, which are owned by governments and therefore enjoys government protection resulting to regulated contention. This classic example of government regulation of international air was seen in BA in the merger of British Caledonian together with Dan Air in 1992, to combat competition on long haul routes.Development of aviation policies which are politically generated, for eccentric, the Aviation policy in UK of increasing the capacity at Heathrow, which according to Civil Aviation Authority are only short term measures that would do Europe no good in terms of competing with other global competitors for instance USA, China and India. The idea is to take over more capacity through building other airports (Reals n.d.).In UK, airlines belonging to another country are not allowed to operate within the route of another country (cabotage) and hence eliminates competition in the airline industry in the UK for there is no competit ion from the non European countries.Increase in APD (Air Passenger Duty) by 8% for which all airlines come to comply and which can translate to less travels to the UK for ADP ultimately increases the cost of travels (BBC News 2012, 1st April).Airlines constrains in terms of adhering to government policies for instance the pledge by the UK government to reduce carbon emissions by 60% reflected in the UK Climate Change Bill.Economic FactorsSevere crisis in world economics where financial systems have been destabilized and paralyzed and therefore needs to be restored to stability, otherwise translates to less travels by air.Stiff competition in the airline industry in the UK due to front man of competitors who even offer low fares flights. Competition was brought about by the deregulation of the Airline Industry in UKSocio Cultural FactorsUKs develop population which is approximated to acclivity over the years. Projections in UKs populations estimates that there would be more eld erly people than there are presently (see Figure 2 and Figure 3 for the projections)Accessibility of airline travels by the lower social groups in the UKTechnological FactorsDevelopment of cleaner engines in the aviation industry which means that airlines like BA have to adopt the new technologies and also in light of the pledges in support of governments policies to reduce carbon emissions.New operating procedures which can be as a result of sudden changes in weather patternsThe use of Bio provoke by the airline industry is the various break dancements in the world of technology that the airline industry has to deal with.Environmental FactorsDevelopment of environmental policies for instance the UK Climate Change BillHealth scares which closely are as a result of the changes in climate and weather patterns for instance earth quakes and bird flues.Emissions policy in the UK, for instance the move to have airlines charged for their share of green house gas contribution on flights that are to and fro Europe.Legal FactorsOpen sky agreement ending the protection of national carriers and introducing completion in the airline industry.EU regulatory changes for instance the increased call for better care of the customerUS regulatory changes for instance the ban on liquids and gels previous(prenominal) the screening checkpoints affects the customers of air transport mode who may be in possession of much(prenominal) goods (liquids and gels).BAs SWOT AnalysisStrengthsA absolute BrandGlobal appealEstablished Fleet OperationsLatest fleets that provide the calm to its customersInnovativeness in the schooling of products and services by the company healthful analytical and marketing skilfulnessWeaknessesThe organizations culture (the us culture)Decline in operations efficiencyUnhealthy financial performanceLack of grooming of competitive customer packagesPoor marketing strategies that are to reinforce competitiveness of the company to the standard of its competitor sOpport unit of measurementiesGlobal tourism, which continues to increase due to globalizationTechnological advancements in the airline industryUKs ageing populationCorporation tax reductionsThreatsCompetition from low fares airlines (e.g. British Airways Low Cost Airline BALOW)Increase in ADP by 8%Oil price volatilityIncrease in regulatory conditions and laws which are varyingSubstitute means of transport like electric trains and busesThe ever changing customer behaviour which is hard to predictPorters Five Force AnalysisPorters Five Forces study is important in order to check whether BAs proposed strategies are to become profitable to the organization (Porter 2008).Diagram illustrating a simplified 5 Forces Model By Micheal Porter adopted from http//www.brs-inc.com/porter.asp, Analysis distinct to BA as provided belowDegree of RivarlyBA operates both the small and the long flightsBA is different in policies and terms with their competitors in the airline industryOther companies li ke Virgin Atlantic criticisms of some of BAs strategies for instance the merger of BA with AA and thus disregarding the companys strategies to its customers.Threat of EntryCompetitors are discouraged from entering the market byExisting households in the airline industry having a competitive payoffChanging new technlogyTransformed government policiesThreats of SubstitutesInternal substitutes includebusses, cars, electric trainsExternal substitutes include international airlines like EasyJet and Virgin AtlanticBuyer PowerAvailmability of the internet to consumers increases the consumers conciousness and exposes the consumers to BA competitors.Supplier PowerSuppliers constructs use of trade unions to have a high bargaining powerMarket characterised by suppliers having a high powerBA has only two supply manufacturers of its aircrafts and a sole fuel supplierThe Paradox of Markets versus ResourcesThe airline industry being a very volatile industry has to survive through tough financia l times, for instance economic recessions. In light of all the changes that occur in the airline industry, an organization has to continuously adapt to the environment in which it is operating in. In light of BAs environment, i.e. the service industry, it is paramount that the organizations strategic thinkers acknowledge that imitation of what other companies are doing in the market may not unceasingly produce the same results and hence BA needs to constantly study the market to identify the asymmetries that keeps emerging in the service industry and hence develop the asymmetries to capabilities for the organization. This therefore proposes that the organization has to keep in touch with the market for instance through continuous research and development of the organizations products and services and in light of the companys strategy of becoming an airline of choice to customers of long and short haul premium.BA differentiation from its competitors is seen through continuous resear ch and development of the industry which can be inferred through the analysis of the SWOT, PESTLE and the Porters Five Forces tool, continuous improvements of the companys products and services to its customers for instance through maintaining the organizations networks in the long, short and freightage segments. In addition, BA as a front-line in the airline industry has an gain over its competitors due to its long presence in the industry which dates to the years where it was a state owned airline. This clearly shows that in adopting some strategies for instance the acquisition of Iberia, BA tries to make its presence felt in the global arena.In addition, the organization resources allows the organization to apply the inside out logic as compared to its competitors who may not have a good command of resources at their dispose and therefore making BA have a competitive advantage. The inside out logic follows that for a slopped to gain a competitive advantage over its competitors , it must have the capability of converting the processes of production in a quick and cheap way and which BA has exhibited and continues to exhibit through its various acquisitions of other airlines and through mergers formed with other airlines. BAs strategy that is consistent with achieving its strategy of being an airline of choice to customers of long and short haul premium is through acquisition of other airlines so that all customers are within in its reach enabled through the mergers and the acquisitions. plot the theories of completive advantage suggest that for an organization to gain competitive advantage, the organization must establish a cost effective way of attaining its strategies. This means that the companys operational costs are lowered and this leads to the company having a competitive advantage over its competitors. Therefore, BAs strategy of mergers and acquisitions is geared or leans towards the company having a global presence in the world and hence appealing to its customers and reduction of operational costs. The reality of the environment that the organization operates in is realised through the SWOT, PESTLE and analysis of Porters five force (Fine 2009).In as much as an organization has to adapt to the environment for instance through continuous development of services and products to meet the ever changing needs of the consumer, the resources that are at the dispose of an organization in light to adapting to the current trends, tastes and preferences of the consumers in the industry can indicate otherwise. A companys resources refers to the tangible and the intangible resources for instance land, m peerlessy and materials which are tangible while the intangible resources include the rational resources for instance the relationships and reputation and the competencies which include the knowledge and capabilities.One of BAs strategies is becoming an airline of choice to customers of long haul premium and which is counter acted by str ategies for instance through continuous research and development in order to identify the tastes and the preferences of the customers, continuous improvements in products, services and networks and through maintaining its presence in the long, short and cargo segments. However, these strategic responses are evaluated against a background of whether the market needs of the consumers are the once to guide the strategy making process of the sign of the zodiac or the firm is the one to leverage the strategies that BA is to take owing to the fact that whether there are adequate resources to move to the needs of the markets so identified through the research and development process in order for BA to attain its strategy of becoming the airline of choice to customers of the premium long haul (Clegg, Kornberger & Pitsis 2008).BAs markets versus ResourcesThe strategic responses put forth by BA illustrates its allegiance towards attaining it strategy of becoming an airline of choice to cus tomers of premium long haul which is achieved through BA building a terminal which increased the operations of the airline. In addition, BA also appeals to customers through transforming the customers service in that the customer service exceeds punctuality and hence customers are more satisfied which represents the rational resources of the company.BA has also continued to grow in order to meet at the critical point with the needs of the customers through launching of routes from London to St Kitts, launch of the open skies and also flights from continental Europe to countries in North America. In addition, BA also do LAvion and started to fly from London to NY JKF. The expansion is made in the efforts of BA coordinating its efforts to have a more international perspective that is cable of run into the demands of the customers. BA Plc (2010), recognises that there are 5574 BA resources oversees and approximately 35, 920 in the UK. However, greater specificity is to be achieved t hrough coordinating the resources and market armed serviceability (Schneider, Gunnarson & Niles-Jolly 1994).BAs commitment to the needs of the customers is seen through the purchases of aircrafts which are modern which are also in the effort of appealing to customers. Other ways through which BA appeals to its customers is through being corporate responsible through its commitment in reducing carbon emissions (Johnson, Scholes, & Whittington 2008).Therefore BA is driven by the outside in logic other than the inside out logic for the balance between the companys resources and the markets availability will always indicate a different shift where the company strategies are more bound towards coming together the demands of the market and hence the outside in logic prevails.The Paradox of globalization versus mendingGlobalization is a strategy that is being adopted by international corporations in order for them to gain a competitive advantage over competitors. Strategic tensions t hat a company for instance BA has to face in light of globalization revolves around the concept of globalization that is to be adopted in light of achieving strategic goals. For instance, one of BAs strategy is to increase its global presence with the strategic tensions in attaining this objective being whether global is to be taken in the terms of a worldwide scope that is to refer to the geographic presence of BA in the world, worldwide similarity of the BAs products for instance, using the word global to refer to the homogeneity of BAs products around the world or whether globalization (Thompson, Strickland & Stappenbech 1994) would be in the context of the integration of the operations of BA, that is linking the world as a system through its services (See Figure 5 for illustrations of the dimensions of globalization).A different tension lies in whether BA is to respect the differences that exist between markets defined by national boundaries which can be done through designing p roducts and services that meet the needs of customers in different countries. The paradox of globalization and localization is a challenge that BA has to address in light of its strategy of having a global presence with questions ranging on how the company can address the globalization synergies and at the same time remain relevant in addressing the local synergies.BAs Globalization and LocalizationTo begin with, one of the ways through which BAs strategy of global presence is achieved is through the strategic response of having a global connectivity for all the customers and this is achieved through BA establishing tier in most of the major cities in the world or through expansion which is gained through BA stragglenering with other airlines for instance the low fares airlines or through mergers for instance the merger of BA with Iberia, code sharing with Kingfisher carrier in India (in 2010) and the recent acquisition of BMI from Lufthansa in 2012.In addition, BA is one of the la rgest airlines in the UK a position that the company has gained through having a large fleet size, flies to over 300 destinations in the world and has shareholdings in BA city Flyer, Comair, Flybe, Open Skies, AIG, ICCR and BMI. In addition, the global presence of BA is felt through BA being the 5th largest airline by scheduled passengers.Without much further ado, the paradox of globalization versus localization for BA is congruent with the dichotomy of whether BA develops a affair model distinctively different from its competitors or whether industry logic is the one that largely determines the firms strategy. In analysis, the drivers of globalization are market drivers, government drivers and competitors drivers which have less to do with BA developing a business model that is distinct from its competitors. As a major airline in UK, BA enjoys economies of scale and understands that it must have the oligopoly characteristics where firms operating in an oligopoly market cannot act independently on their own (De Wit& Meyer 2010) and hence disputing the fact that BA can develop a business model distinct from its competitors (Porter 1985).Owing to the drivers that make a firm to be globalised, BAs strategies are interdependent with its competitors. For instance, deregulation brought new agreements for example the EU US Open Skies agreement in 2008 which brought a shift to competition in Transatlantic Routes and as a result the US Carrier Deltas, US Airways and the Continental started operations at Heathrow in 2009. Therefore, it is less convincing to claim that BA develops a business model distinct to it for clear facts exists to establish the claim that it does not act independently of its competitors and one of the ways it does so is through the strategy of having a global presence in response of what its competitors are achieving (the operations of other airlines which are taking advantage of deregulation to coin agreements and operate in other countries) (R oth & Ricks 1994).The paradox of Responsiveness and SynergyThis paradox brings into focus a companys dilemma of how to respond to the competition in the industry and whether the company can match the demands of the market and at the same time maintain the responsiveness of the business.In order to have synergies in an organization there is need for a company to unify the different activities carried out in the organization which in some instances may make a company lose its business responsiveness. For a company to attain synergies and at the same time attain responsiveness (Mintzberg, Quinn & Ghoshal 2002), the organization must puff out clearly its corporate scope for instances of how many businesses the company should have, corporate distribution, for instance the weight that is to be placed on each business unit in the organization, integrated mechanisms for instance of how the synergies in the companys business should be achieved and the management mechanisms that ensures tha t the synergies so developed are a reality to the company. The meeting point of a business responsiveness and the synergies so created, results to the paradox of responsiveness versus synergy. Business demands presents a business to forces that pull it apart while the synergies pulls the company into an integrated whole.BAs Responsiveness versus SynergyOne of BAs strategies is to meet the ever changing needs of the consumer for instance meeting the needs of the ageing population which requires the company to provide more value to the products offered to this market segment, reinforce the companys brand, development of new products and also through enhancing customer committal (Mintzberg & Ahlstrand 1998). For the company to achieve the above strategy through the strategic responses discussed above, there is need to coordinate the various units of the organization into a functional whole whereby units so entrusted with the development of new products, researching on upcoming market trends are an integrated whole of the organization and hence the synergies. For instance, the finance department of the organization needs to avail funds to the research and development of the organization so that proper research on upcoming trends is conducted effectively. This principle is consistent with making the parts an integrated part of the whole for the whole to function as one unit, that is the organization (Raynor 2005).The paradox of responsiveness and synergy can be best achieved when the management and the lead mien demonstrates control or managed chaos. In a controlled leadership, a company attains responsiveness (Porter 1996) and at the same time attains synergies because the management of the organization is organized in such a way that the different businesses or the department in the organization are headed by leaders who have the same goals. In a leadership where there is chaos, the synergies and the business responsiveness losses focus for the management is n ot organised to attain the responsiveness and the synergies (Mintzberg & Ahlstrand 1998). .ConclusionIn light of the volatility of the airline industry, the strategies that BA has put in place are best achieved when the paradoxes of globalization versus localization, markets versus resources and responsiveness versus synergies are analysed in the context of the dichotomies applicable to paradoxes. In so doing, BA will not only maintain its current position as being the best airliner in the UK, but also attain competitive advantage over other airliners who are its competitors and also potential entrants (McGahan & Porter 1997).BibliographiesReals, K. n.d., UK will Suffer Unless Long Term Aviation Policy is developed CAA. 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