Igneous Rock and Yosemite National Park Essay Example for Free

Igneous Rock and Yosemite National Park Essay Yosemite National Park is without a doubt, one of America’s most beautiful and well-known parks. Due to the diversity of attractions the park offers, including high Sierra Peaks, the highest highway pass in California called the Tioga Pass, the Yosemite Valley, the Merced River, acres of high altitude backcountry, waterfalls, and some of the largest living things on earth in the sequoia groves tourists from all over the world visit. The most famous section in the park is Yosemite Valley, where El Capitan, Half Dome, Yosemite Falls, and other places to explore nature’s beauty lie. Yosemite Geography Yosemite National Park is located in the Central of the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range in California. The park is 1,189 square miles, comparable to the size of the United State’s state of Rhode Island. Lakes, ponds, streams, hiking trails, and roads are some of the many features that attract tourists. Nearly all the landforms in the Yosemite area are cut from a mass of intrusive igneous rock that formed below the surface of the earth. Some of the park’s landforms are metamorphosed volcanic and sedimentary rocks. Erosion that acted upon different types of uplift is responsible for creating the valleys, canyons, domes and other features found in this national park. Some of the popular features Yosemite possess’ are Yosemite Valley—where the majority of visitors stay, the Tunnel View—which is the first view of the valley when visitors enter the park, El Capitan—a major granite cliff that oversees Yosemite Valley, and Sentinel Dome and Half Dome that offer a diverse range of climbing routes. Also found within the park are the breath-taking giant sequoia trees. Perhaps the most remarkable sequoia in the park is the Grizzly Giant, believed to be more than 2,700 years old and the oldest known sequoia tree. Yosemite is known for its high concentration of waterfalls. Hanging valleys in the park offer a place for waterfalls to exist. During the snowmelt season, April, May, and June, waterfalls are able to flourish. Yosemite has a Mediterranean climate, which means most of the precipitation falls during the mild winter and the other seasons are considerably dry. Snow doesn’t stay on the ground until November, and then accumulates until March, when it begins to melt. There is a large temperature range due to elevation diversity and global warming. History of Yosemite The Yosemite National Park is located in Sierra Nevada in the east-central part of California. The Park is widely spread area of 750,000 acre, with streams that are 1,600 miles long, hiking trails that are 800 miles and the roads that extend up to 350 miles. Yosemite Fall is the highest waterfall in North America, it is considered as the third of the highest waterfall on planet Earth. Another important factor of Yosemite Park would be the numerous of species it contains. Over 300 species of animals can be found in the park. Yosemite is known for its spectacular attractions such as high Sierra Peaks, the highest highway pass in California, the Yosemite Valley, Merced River, and many acres of high altitude backcountry, some of the highest waterfall in the world. Plants are also really high at the Park. Some reaching altitudes from 2,000 feet to the peak of Mr. Lyell. 94. 5% of the park’s 747,956 acres is officially classified as wilderness. Moreover, that is one of the main reasons why the park is now protected by the state. One of the very first people to live in Yosemite would be the Paiute and the Sierra Miwok people. They were in the area for a long time before the first white explorations were done in the region. This people were a band of Native Americans called the Ahwahneechee. During the mid 19th century, The California Gold Rush radically increased travel in the area. While the major Jim Savage of the United States Army led the Mariposa Battalion into the west end of Yosemite Park, Chief Tenaya gathered around 200 ahwahneechees as part of the Mariposa Wars. The discovery of gold in the Sierra Nevada brought many gold seekers to the area. In 1855, James Mason Hutchings and Thomas Ayres along with two others were the first tourists in the area. Much of the publicity about Yosemite Park was due to Hutchings and Ayers’s articles and magazine issues about the valley. Many of Ayres artwork was exhibited in New York City where many people were able to see it and admire it. During the years of 1855 and 1860, tourism increased dramatically in the valley. The Yosemite National Park has 3. 5 million tourists every year. According to the readings, tourists prefer to visit during the summer. In the early years, most visitors went to Yosemite via horseback and stagecoach. In addition, more trails were built creating more publicity to the park. As tourist explore and visited the park, word spread around about how beautiful the park was therefore more tourist would go visit. Wawona was an Indian encampment what is now the southwestern part of the park. The Mariposa Grove of Gian Sequoia was discovered by the settler Galen Clark in 1857. In 1879, the Wawona Hotel was built for the tourists visiting. As the number of tourists increased, more trails and hotels were built to accommodate those visitors. The Yosemite Park has a great history behind it as to how it came to be what it is now. Also, it contains many species within which has been hard to conserve of not going extinct. As more toursist came to the park, more problems aroused within the valley debating who would get to keep what or whose property it was. Since Yosemite had plenty of gold which meant a better way of life for those who were able to obtain some of it, the competition increased and therefore more visitors came to the land. Yosemite National Park is a beautiful place to visit with the family or friends since it has such a great history within of struggles and fights put up to conserve the land as it is. Biology of Yosemite The biology of Yosemite is very diverse. During a trip to Yosemite, it is interesting to learn how many different species of animals choose Yosemite as their habitat. Encounters are likely because Yosemite National Park supports more than 400 species of animals counting reptiles, amphibians, fish, mammals, and birds. The high diversity of species is because of diverse habitats in Yosemite that are very much intact. The park’s rich habitats range from thick foothill chaparral to expanses of alpine rock to conifer forests. (Kaiser 81) Animals feel very much at home; the Sierra Nevada red fox, for instance, hunts in open alpine habitat and hides at night into the forest for safety. In Yosemite meadows; Animals come to feed on the green grasses and use the flowing and standing water found in the many meadows. Predators evidently are attracted to these areas. The surface between meadow and forest is also favored by many animal species because of the closeness of open areas for gathering food, and cover for protection. Overall, the parks widespread coniferous forests, with a relatively mild climate and a mixture of plant species provide a great habitat for animals to live. Wildlife species typically found include: bobcat, gray fox, mountain king snake, Gilberts skink, white-headed woodpecker, brown creeper, spotted owl, and a wide variety of bat species. At higher elevations, fewer wildlife species tend to be found due, in part, to the lower complexity of the forest. Species likely to be found include golden-mantled ground squirrel, chickaree, marten, Stiller’s jay, hermit thrush, and northern goshawk. Reptiles are not common but include rubber boa, western fence lizard, and alligator lizard. Above tree line, the climate becomes harsh with a short growing season. Species such as pika, yellow-bellied marmot, white-tailed hare, Clarks nutcracker, and rosy finch are adapted to these conditions. Sierra Nevada bighorn sheep are found in the Yosemite area only around Tioga Pass. (Kaiser 97) With development and an increase in domestic travel after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, visits to the Park are increasing. The Park sees 3. 5 million visitors annually. Thirty years ago, 80 percent of Yosemites visitors stayed overnight; now, its 80 percent day-use. Roads and facilities have been increased to keep pace with growing amount of visitors. Development continues to intrude on park boundaries, bringing new housing projects and commercial construction and thousands more people. The newly opened Chukchansi Casino, one of the states largest, is just 30 miles down the road, advertising with billboards throughout the area: Now, Yosemite has a night life. And with the recently approved Silvertip Resort Village, a 47-acre commercial and residential complex slated to go up in the tiny park border town of Fish Camp. (Kaiser 90) Noise pollution from vehicles and campsites compete with the Parks natural noises. Buildings, roads, and parking lots have marred the aesthetic beauty of the Valley, while visitors are often stuck in traffic hoping to find a parking spot. Visitors, destroying natural habitats, have eroded areas of riverbanks close to campsites. The importance of tourism to the local economy can be illustrated by the impact of the catastrophic 1997 floods that temporarily closed the Park. This caused Eroded riverbanks near campsites locally severe economic losses to the areas around the Park. In the most heavily impacted area, Mariposa County, 1997 personal income was reduced by an estimated US$1,159 per capita, a 6. % decline. The county was also estimated to have lost US$1. 67 million in county occupancy and sales tax revenues, and 956 jobs, a significant number in a county of fewer than 16,000 residents. Also, The Ahwahneechee indigenous Indians have not received any compensation in the form of money or land for their loss of the Yosemite area in 1851. (Kaiser 105) Geology of Yosemite The geology of Yosemite National Park is a very beautiful place that been evolving for many of years. The geology of Yosemite is mainly consisting of rocks and waterfalls. The main rocks are granitic rocks and metamorphic rocks. Ice Ages were the main causes for Yosemite Park or should I say California because the Ice Ages brought glaciers that carved out California. In Yosemite Park, it shows how the glacial have move and creating Yosemite Lake too. It created a lot of homes for the animals that are living in the park and became big attractions for visitors all around the world. The volcano in Yosemite Park erupted and the lava cause to make igneous rocks because of the cooling and solidification of the lava. Also the lava formed other rocks like granite and tonality are all form of plutonic rock, but also referred to as granitic rocks (Yosemite National Park). Plutonic rocks are compress with five minerals (Yosemite National Park). The plutonic rocks were formed by magma and are form deep within the Earth. When a volcano erupts, some lava reaches the Earth surface and the lava starts to cool or solidify, but there are a few volcanic igneous rocks in Yosemite. The volcanic rocks in Yosemite Park include basalt and latte lava flows and outside has the same, but some called ash-flow and more (Yosemite National Park). The tectonic in North America cause the ocean to decrease lowers forming California. It was change in plate motion, the oceanic plate was sub ducted beneath the Sierra Nevada and was consumed into the seduction zone (Huber). The Pacific plate became a fault, which made the San Andreas Fault. It is when a tectonic plate slide past each other along a strike-slip faults (Huber). So, when seduction happen, California land start to rise up from the ocean forming island, then finally connect to North America. As water started to decrease in California, volcanoes again became active. Yosemite was buried by lava creating more land for California. The Earth is made up of 20 massive plates that float on the surface of the planet and the Pacific plate is the largest. Activities The sculpture of the Yosemite Park was by glaciers because the northern hemisphere was covered in ice. The glacier made a u-shaped valley and a lot of lakes. For California final shaping and sculpting was during the Pleistocene Epoch time. The glaciers melt and the water moved across the land and started to make how California looks today. A lot of environment was getting destroyed and use for resource. People didn’t want everything destroy, so they manage to save some environment and made them national parks. One of them is Yosemite National Park. People come and visit or camp to go site seeing in the park. There are many activities the park offer. One of them is hiking in the park. They offer tour guides that take you on hiking trips that can last a full day. People can stay overnight and continue they’re hiking and see great sites. Also you can bring your bike and take a trail and then a short hike (Yosemite National Park Vacation). More activities are offer in Yosemite Park like is rock climbing. They have trainers that teach you how to rock climb and teach you about all the gears you need. They also offer classes for beginners and train you. The trainers can take you, where you want to go and guide you to climb the rocks. There is a lot of winter activities, you can ski or snowboard (Yosemite National Park Vacation). They also offer school for skiing and have shuttle that take you up the mountain and go downhill schilling. They have cross-country, snow tubing, and back country ski tours. Yosemite Park has about 13 campgrounds and you can do the traditional and camp outside in a RV camping area. You can stay in the wilderness and camp outside in a tent or stay in a cabin. They also offer a lot of place to stay like a hotel, village, and lodge. You can even camp out on the High Sierra camping ground (Yosemite National Park Vacation). Conclusion Yosemite Park is a beautiful and wonderful place to visit. You can plan your visit, by visiting the website and also letting you know about the parks and some facts. There are many things to see like the park attractions, natural features, plants, and animals (Yosemite National Park Vacation). It is fun for the family and the waterfalls draw most of the visitors. One of the awareness in the park is the black bear. The weather tends to vary depending on where you are in the park.

Thigh Creams :: Media Self Image Papers

Thigh Creams As we approach the twenty-first century, the western world has become increasingly preoccupied with idealizing thin women. As young women are socialized they are exposed to images in the news media which perpetuates the vision that thin women are happy and successful. These are the role models to which women look up to, creating increasing pressure to live up to such an ideal. Desperate to achieve a figure that rivals Elle Mcpherson, women are willing to pay exorbitant costs, and sacrifice, trying almost anything to look like modern society's ideal woman. As the mediums available to advertisements continue to expand so do the number of products available claiming and guarantying weight loss or firming effects. Women shell out billions of dollars each year hoping that one of these "miracle" products will finally render them thin, after all thin is beautiful, right? However, a woman can be thin and still have cellulite, so does this mean that she is not beautiful? The media has taught women that cellulite is a lifelong battle that must be waged. If Cindy Crawford, Claudia Schiffer, and Rachel Hunter certainly don't have cellulite, why should the average American woman? So we are given a plethora of products to chose from which promise to make us all super models. So what is the problem? It is highly unlikely that none of the super models have cellulite, as it is an affliction which is common to women of all weight ranges. Also, super models have an advantage that the rest of us do not, their photographs may be digitally enhanced to redu ce something as unsightly as cellulite. The cosmetic industry has jumped on the opportunity to profit from women who perceive their bodies to be inadequate or at the very least, less than ideal. If these products were not hot sellers than there would not be such a variety available on the market. As a woman who has fallen prey to societal pressures and purchased two different "miracle" thigh creams, I was wondering do these creams work for others even though I, personally, didn't find much of a difference? After all a picture says a thousand words, and everyone has seen those advertisements with the before and after pictures, why hadn't I achieved such results? I was then given the motivation I needed to find out the answer when I was given an assignment to research the claims of a health product.

Gender Bias In The Workplace And Pay Inequalities Essay

In 1972, the government attempting to correct discrimination in the workplace passed the Equal Employment Opportunity Act. This act protects individual rights and promotes employment opportunities and fairness for everyone within the workplace (Klingner & Nalbandian, 1998, p. 158). This act should have eliminated gender bias and pay inequities, but has it accomplished its goal? Are employment opportunities and promotion opportunities fair and equal to everyone? Does gender bias and pay inequities still exist in 2000, 28 years after the passage of the act? In researching this topic, I do find that gender bias and pay inequities are still prevalent in today’s work world. Because there are so many women and minorities in the workforce today, I will attempt to explore some of the reasons why gender bias and pay inequities still exist. Background Organizational Culture First, does the organizational culture attribute to gender bias and pay inequalities? In researching this topic, I find the answer to be yes. Many times, the organizational culture and climate foster workplace inequalities and these inequalities are maintained by group pressure (Hale, 1999, p. 13). Informal networks within the agency help to maintain inequality because women and minorities are traditional employed in lower status jobs and not allowed into the networks. These jobs limit their access to powerful employees (McGuire, 2000, p. 1). These informal networks tend to be personal, voluntary and have their own boundaries. You don’t join the network because you want too, you join because you are allowed too (McGuire, 2000, p. 1). Organizations have always been geared to the white male and these habits are hard to break. To accomplish goals of the agency, all employees must work together. Managers must build rapport with their employees and this is most easily accomplished by interacting with those who share the same background and who are most like them (Maume, 1999, p. 4). White men working and networking with white men. Many times the organization does not even realize that they are inequalities in their agency because they have always done it that way. People tend to get set in their ways and operate on auto-pilot and never see their weaknesses. Organizational climates are hard to change and it takes dedication from management to make it happen. Many times the management thinks, â€Å"If it’s not bro ken then why fix it?† What they do not realize is that the organization would be so much stronger if they diversified their workforce and let all employees excel to their greatest potential. Literature also suggest that gender bias is a result of institutional and attitudinal processes. White males simply do not want women or minorities to be in an equal position with equal pay. Not only do they not want it, often times they take steps to protect specific jobs from women (Maume, 1999, p. 9). The â€Å"good ole boy† network is hard to break. All organizations state that they are an Equal Employment Opportunity company, but many agencies are only promoting that image and not actually following it. Yes, they hire minorities and yes they hire females, but these individuals do not have the same advantages as men. Often times they hire just for quotes and this causes hard feelings within the entire organization. Rather than the company hiring the best qualified, sometimes they hire a minority just to meet requirements. When this happens, the Equal Employment Opportunities policy can adversely effect other employees through reverse discrimination which in turn causes problems for the entire organization through decreased morale (Hale, 1999, p. 13). Also, if the black or female fails or performs poorly, then all white males will assume that all blacks and fem ales will fail. â€Å"In sum, it is the relationship between social roles, interests, intergroup relationships and organizational culture norms and values that set the conditions that perpetuate unequal employment opportunities and outcomes (Hale, 1999, p.13).† Society and Personal Influences What we are taught as children in regards to roles of females and males overflow into the workplace (Hale, 1999, p. 14). â€Å"Gender is a culture unto itself, raised with basic rules of conduct â€Å"instinctively† known to all adult members of that gender (Heim, 1995, p. 3). The managers of today grew up in families where their mothers stayed at home and kept house and took care of children. They have been taught at home that men should be the bread winner and women should take care of the house. They are also taught that men are stronger and should be the leader of the household and therefore these behaviors flow into the work setting. Even the Bible states that a women should not be over a man. These beliefs are taught generation after generation. â€Å"Internalization and Identity encompass the learning and socialization processes by which individuals incorporate assumptions, perceptions, stereotypes, and misperceptions and make judgments about themselves based on the way they perceive others judge them (Hale, 1999, p. 3). Women feel their are invisible, isolated and irrelevant within an organization while men see them as emotional (Hale, 1999, p.4). Men and women are different and view situations differently. Literature suggests that men do not want to give up their power and are uncomfortable working with women (Hale, 1999, p. 1). Women feel excluded from power and feel socially isolated within the workforce. Description of a Specific Situation Job Segregation Another proof of gender bias is job segregation. Often times women and minorities are segregated or placed into certain agencies only because they are women or minorities. Social closure issues hold that society has defined what jobs are appropriate for males and what jobs are appropriate for females (Maume, 1999, p. 3). Many studies conclude that men and women are allocated and segregated into positions because they are either male or female. And this segregation affects pay and promotion opportunities (Maume, 1999, p.2). â€Å"Segregation accounts for approximately one-half of the gender gap in wages (Maume, 1999, p. 9)†. A National Study of Gender-Based Occupational Segregation in Municipal Bureaucracies indicates that women can be more successful in redistributive agencies (Miller et al., 1999, p. 2). Agencies such as welfare, social justice a nd health are more likely to support affirmative action. Society has taught us that women should be caring and nurturing and because of these traits, they fit into redistributive agencies. Many women will hold administrative and professional positions in these agencies and so there appears to be a gender balance in public welfare, sanitariums, and hospitals (Miller et al., 1999, p. 8). In a study in Los Angeles, it was determined that economic restructuring had a negative impact on African Americans. The unemployment rate among black males has increased more than twice the rate of white males (James, 2000, p. 4). At a first glance, it appears black females have faired better than white females, but that is not the case. Black females are more likely to be employed in public sector work or pink-collar occupations where segregation of females is high. Many black females have entered the arena because they have obtained higher levels of education (James, 2000, p. 6). However, very few of them have management positions, but are employed as school teachers, educational counselors and social workers. While all of these professions require at least a bachelors degree, they are still relatively low paying jobs (James, 2000, p. 8). It is also noted in the study, that jobs held traditionally by black females such as housekeepers are now held by Latinos. The Latinos are not g aining employment because of non-gender bias but because these individuals are uneducated and speak limited English (James, 2000, p. 7). Once again, minorities and females are being segregated into certain jobs. If government agencies are required to follow Equal Employment Opportunity rules and affirmative action laws, then why are females not getting a fair deal? One reason is because primary stakeholders in government tend to be male and therefore they support the hiring and promoting of men. Policy making, implementation, and management of infrastructure are usually dominated by men, following the orders of men. On the contrary, in social agencies there appears to be less male influence. This is believed to be caused by the fact that most businesses are not the beneficiary, but citizens. Politicians perceive businesses as more important than citizens because of the economic impact of tax revenues. Therefore, men feel they need men in areas of real power positions. This shows a direct relationship between agency-clientele on gender-based employment patterns (Miller et al., 1999, p. 7). Once again, the municipal study finds that females are underrepresented in the best paying or most power ful positions within city government (Miller et al., 1999, p. 7). Jobs are ranked by employers and employees differently. Employers rank them according to skills and commitment and employees rank them according to desirability and rewards (Maume, 1999, p. 3). One would think this process would be fair to everyone but, in many organizations there appears to be double standards to judge men and women. Women most often have to measure up to higher standards than men do to obtain the position (Hale, 1999, p. 8). Are employment opportunities and promotional opportunities equal to both men and women? No. Reskin and Roos conclude that women can move into â€Å"male† jobs â€Å"either because market conditions force employers to reach down into the labor queue to hire women, or because men reevaluate and vacate jobs, thereby creating openings for women (Maume, 1999, p. 3).† Women are traditionally segregated into specific jobs; thereby leaving men in their on world to compete with each other for higher paid jobs (Maume, 1999, p. 3). Men traditional have higher status contacts than women which also help them to maintain their positions (McGuire, 2000, p. 2). Glass Ceilings, Glass Walls and Glass Escalators â€Å"The glass wall metaphor describes occupational segregation attributed to employment barriers that restrict the access of women to certain types of jobs (or agencies) or that trap them within certain types of jobs (or agencies). Glass walls are likely to persist when: (1) organizational cultures create impediments to change; and/or (2) skills necessary to perform jobs in a given agency are not highly valued elsewhere† (Miller et al., 1999, p. 2). The glass ceiling is an expression used to describe the inequalities of men and women within the workforce. It seems that women can become employed in an agency but then run into an invisible barrier when they try to move up the ladder of hierarchy within the organization (Baxter & Wright, 2000, p. 1). â€Å"Although women held half of all federal government jobs in 1992 and made up 86 percent of the government’s clerical workers, only a quarter of them were supervisors and only a tenth senior executives (Baxter & Wright, 2000, p. 2).† Several studies in the employment of women conclude that women continue to face glass walls and glass ceilings in government positions (Miller et al., 1999, p. 2). In addition, women continue to find it hard to obt ain employment in male-dominated fields (Miller et al., 1999, p. 1-2). This further proves that women are segregated into certain types of jobs. The findings of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics suggest that white men have a glass escalator and a glass ceiling continues to exist for women and minorities. White men tend to ascend to managerial levels with little or no effort especially in segregated workplaces (Maume, 1999, p. 3). Initially one would think that females would have the advantage in a predominate female workplace, but that is not the case. Women are continually excluded from supervisory positions and are generally paid lower salaries even in those agencies (Maume, 1999, p. 1-2). Promotions, Job Devaluation, and Pay Inequities Segregation places different sexes into unequal jobs thereby locating women and men into different opportunity structures and affects promotion opportunities (Cassirer & Reskin, 2000, p. 3). Most female jobs then to have a shorter promotion ladder (Cassirer & Reskin, 2000, p. 3). The municipal study finds that females are underrepresented in the best paying or most powerful positions within city government (Miller et al., 1999, p. 2). These positions are traditional administrative and professional occupations. They convey status, authority, and usually influence policy makers (Miller et al., 1999, p. 2). The study concluded that specialists were more likely to be promoted to these positions rather than generalists. The subject specialists are generally from professions mostly dominated by men, for example, engineers or biologist (Miller et al., 1999, p. 4). The municipal study also uncovered two patterns within city government. First, female administrators and professionals were hired in lower paying agencies. Second, agencies with higher level salaries were agencies with more gender imbalance (Miller et al., 1999, p. 10). Again, women were more concentrated in health, welfare, hospitals, and sanitariums. It appears that the jobs with better pay were held for men. Literature suggest that men are more often promoted than women. Because of this, men attach more importance to promotion than women. In addition, men are more likely located in a position where promotions are possible. The organi zational culture encourages male promotions (Cassirer & Reskin, 2000, p. 1). This culture causes women to not value promotions because they know that they will not receive one because the company just doesn’t promote females or the promotion will be blocked (Cassirer & Reskin, 2000, p. 2). Another surprising finding within female dominated organizations is the fact that males still have the advantage in management. One would suspect that in a predominate female organization, the female would have the advantage, but studies show this not to be the case. Males seem to bullet up the glass escalator. Many times the promotion occurs because the male employee will bond with the male manager who will in turn mentor him and prepare him for advancement (Maume, 1999, p.5). Often times the male is promoted in the predominant female agency to boost morale and to decrease tensions (Maume, 1999, p. 5). The tensions develop because females think that the males can not do the job because they do not match the stereotype of nurturing and caring (Maume, 1999, p. 11). â€Å"Kanter concludes that sex-differentiated work behavior results from sex-differentiated opportunity structures rather than from gender assumes a casual process in which workers’ positions, not their gender, aff ect their work attitudes and behaviors (Cassirer & Reskin, 2000, p. 2).† Another interesting facet of gender bias is that when women move into jobs predominately held by men, the jobs are devalued. The autonomy, prestige and high pay are removed (James, 2000, p. 9). It is noted that as agencies become more and more female dominated, they are viewed as the dumping ground for females resulting in lower pay scales and limited job training (Maume, 1999, p. 5). Reskin and Roos conducted a study on labor and job queues to inform readers of the changing ethnic/gender composition of occupations and how it related to African American women’s changing occupational profile. They also found that because occupations were transformed to include women, the jobs status decreased and the pay also decreased (James, 2000, p. 6). The status composition perspective holds that organizations with large numbers of female employees are devalued in the eyes of an organization. The jobs held by mostly females are considered unimportant and lower skilled as compared to male jobs. Job evaluations prove that women receive lower points than men which means lower salaries for the females (Maume, 1999, p. 3). â€Å"Inequality in the distribution of earnings and income i s generally positively related to inequality in education and training (James, 2000, p. 9). I feel that this statement is not true. A male and female can be equally as qualified, but the male will still get a better salary. Literature suggests that even when females hold masters degrees, they still make less than their male counterparts (Maume, 1999, p. 2). Although women have made some progress in obtaining management positions, gender bias is still highly integrated. Ironically, gender bias is greater at the lower level of management than at the highest level of the organizational hierarchy (Baxter & Wright, 2000, p. 9). In all the research that I conducted, the same theme was prevalent in all articles. There is not equal pay for equal work nor is there equal opportunities for advancement. Conclusions and Recommendations In order to fully gain equal employment and fairness, traditionally male positions must be opened up to females. This is the only way to shatter the glass walls and ceilings that currently exist (Miller et al., 1999, p.10). Individuals concerned about equalities for everyone should press for the continuation and strengthening of local government programs designed to increase female re presentation and more equitable gender distributions of better paying and better government jobs (Miller et al., 1999, p. 10). This support must come from white males and not only females and minorities. In addition, organizational cultures must be changed in both the private and public arena. This process will be time consuming and will inevitably run into opposition from white males. Change is hard and many times people try to block it. In order for employees to embrace change, they must understand the changes and why they are necessary. If employees are not supportive, tensions will increase and morale will worsen (Miller, 1963, pp. 236-237). Managers at all levels will need to fully embrace workforce diversification for the value that it will bring to the organizations. Literature also suggests that educational institutions must get involved in teaching equality because they are preparing the leaders of the future. â€Å"Public administration graduate programs should more actively strive to strengthen equal-opportunity learning environments by exposing students to the way gender affects their work-lives and by better preparing students to face and overcome gender-based inequalities in organizations (Hale, 1999, p. 16).† The goal of educators should be to continu ally improve society. Many times schools have failed to recognize this purpose (Miller, 1965, p. 7). Valuing differences in employees creates synergy and the key to valuing these differences is to realize that all people see the world as they see themselves (Covey, 1989, p. 277). This makes the job of equality and pay equity so difficult. Men believe that it is easier to work with men and that men do a better job and therefore deserve more money. Their pride and egos tell them that women cannot do the job as well as they can. These personal beliefs must be changed. Pairing men and women together on teams will expand the male mindset and hopefully help them realize that females and minorities are as equally qualified. Valuing the differences of all employees can make the entire agency stronger because we all have strengths to bring to the agency. Intense staff development must be held to teach men and women how to communicate with each other. Men need to learn all they can about females and females need to know all they can about males. Society requires that men and women work together and this is not going to change. What has to change is the way we work together. Communication is the key. If we do not communicate effectively, then the best intentions of both genders will fail (Heim, 1995, p. 3). In looking at my agency, I can agree that gender bias and pay inequalities exist. Our agency has more white females than white males and only a few minorities. We have an established pay scale but the scale is not always followed.There is evidence that men are given more pay than women with the same degree. Also, men with lesser degrees have received a higher salary because of who they know and not because of their education or experience. Traditionally when promotion opportunities became available, the administration would automatically appoint a white male. The new President of the college recognized the gender bias in management. He put a policy in place that all jobs must be posted and that everyone would have an opportunity to apply for them. When he was hired we had one female administrator, now we have three. BIBLIOGRAPHY Baxter, Janeen and Erik Olin Wright, 2000, â€Å"The Glass Ceiling Hypothesis†, Gender and Society, Vol. 14, Issue 2, p. 275. Cassirer, Naomi and Barbara Reskin, 2000, â€Å"High Hopes†, Work & Occupations, Vol. 27, Issue 4, p. 438, 26p. Covey, Stephen R., 1989, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, New York: Fireside of Simon & Schuster. Hale, Mary, 1999. â€Å"He Says, She Says: Gender and Worklife,† Public Administration Review, Vol. 59, Issue 5, p. 410. Heim, Pat, 1995. The Power Dean-Even Rule and other gender differences in the workplace, San Jose, California: Cor Vision Media. James, Angela, 2000. â€Å"Moving up, But How Far? African American Women and Economic Restructuring in Los Angeles, 1970-1990†, Sociological Perspectives, Vol. 43, Issue 3, p. 399. Klingner, Donald E. and John, Nalbandian, 1998. Public Personnel Management: Contexts and Strategies (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Maume, Jr., David J. 1999. â€Å"Glass Cei lings and Glass Escalators,† Work & Occupations, Vol. 26, Issue 4, p. 483. McGuire, Gail M., 2000. â€Å"Gender, Race, Ethnicity, and Networks,† Work & Occupations, Vol. 27, Issue 4, p. 500, 24p. Miller, Van, 1963. The Public Administration of American School Systems. New York: The Macmillan Company. Miller, Will; Kerr, Brinck; Reid, Margaret (1999). â€Å"A National Study of Gender-Based Occupational Segregation in Municipal Bureaucracies: Persistence of Glass Walls,† Public Administration Review, Vol. 59, Issue 3, p. 218,

Euthanasi The Death With Dignity Act - 1312 Words

Euthanasia remains highly controversial in the U.S. because even a state such as Oregon which upholds the Death with Dignity Act â€Å"passed by a margin of 51% to 49% as stated by the Oregon Health Authority. Thus, even though Niles suggested that Oregon supports euthanasia, the Death with Dignity Act seemingly remains controversial because almost half of the population in Oregon is against Euthanasia, and there are stakeholders who still challenge its implementation. In the context of this paper, euthanasia refers to an instance in which â€Å"the physician would act directly, for instance by giving a lethal injection, to end the patient’s life† (Niles 254). Clearly, euthanasia remains illegal in most parts of the country, and this is because it is a contentious moral and legal issue according to Haberman. There are numerous arguments which support and oppose euthanasia. Even so, the benefits of euthanasia outnumber its detriments. This implies that euthanasia should be legalized across the remaining states in the U.S. The legalization of euthanasia would have economic, ethical/moral, legal, and personal benefits. Euthanasia should be legalized because doing so would have positive economic impacts particularly on patients. According to Saaty and Vargas, the costs associated with terminal care and those that result from hospitalization would reduce if patients get the chance to opt for euthanasia (252). It is stated that â€Å"approximately 80% of a patient’s lifetimeShow MoreRelatedEuthanasi Death And Dignity Act1674 Words   |  7 Pages REFLECTON ESSAY The group decided to do a case study on Death and Dignity Act. Through our presentation, the group discussed if Euthanasia was morally and ethically right through the eyes of Thresa Christensen. Thresa Christensen was a character from the case study in which her father decided act upon voluntary active euthanasia. As group, we thought it would be best if is Theresa Christensen spoke on from the behalf of herself as a person who supports voluntary active euthanasia. The case study