The Relationship Between Extroversion And Physiological Measures Psychology Essay

The Relationship Between Extroversion And Physiological Measures Psychology Essay There has been a substantial research into the relationship between how extroverted an individual is and their physiological measures (Eysenck, 1967, cited in Martin, Carlson, Buskist, 2007). Many studies have been carried out across the world to investigate this relationship and how environment and genetics can contribute to extroversion within individuals. The present study looked at the relationship between extraversion and physiological measures in Psychology undergraduate students in the UK. No significant correlation was found between extroversion and heart rate or extroversion and galvanic skin response. The relationship between extroversion and physiological measures in university students There has been much research into the relationship between arousal in response to a number of different tasks in both introverts and extroverts. Eysenck (1967) (cited in Martin, Carlson, Buskist, 2007) suggested extroversion is a reflection of the state we do not show within our central nervous system (CNS). He stated that happiness and sociability were two of the main traits associated with extroversion. In a study investigating happiness and extroversion in undergraduate students, it was found that the two were significantly correlated. These differences support the idea that introverts are different to extroverts in that extroverts seek out more stimulating environments. The present study set out to investigate further into this idea by looking at the relationship between extroversion and physiological measures in Psychology students at a university in the UK. Studies into the origins of extroversion within an individual have been widely conducted to understand why a person may be so extroverted or introverted; heritability seems to play a large contributing factor. In a study comparing monozygotic twins and dizygotic twins, monozygotic twins were shown to give the most alike results with 70% of the twins tested, being similarly extrovert (Zuckerman, 1991, cited in Martin, Carlson, Buskist, 2007). This study does not support the idea that extroverts are affected by their environment unlike most research into extroversion, it simply states that genetics are the cause. Similar studies to this report have supported previous research like into whether biological factors differ within introverts and extroverts. A study into physiological measures and extroversion was carried out in Singapore where the results showed lower extroversion scores were correlated with heightened cardiovascular reactivity while higher extroversion scores were correlated with lower cardiovascular reactivity. The study also found that higher extroversion was linked to lower cardiovascular reactivity during stress tasks and seemed to affect how individuals express and cope with anger (Jonassaint et al., 2009). This study helps to support the notion that Eysenck proposed which says that introverts are more likely to feel uncomfortable in a stimulating situation, in this case cardiovascular activity, whereas extroverts are more likely to enjoy and seek out such environments. Heart rate and skin responses have also been significantly associated with male students performing a visu al vigilance task who were measured on the Eysenck personality inventory as introverts (Gange, Geen, Harkins, 1979). Research has also found differences in the brain between extroverts and introverts. In a study looking into whether there is a correlation between extroversion and blood flow when smelling unpleasant and pleasant odours, the part of the brain known as the amygdala in the temporal lobe, was strongly correlated with cerebral blood flow and higher extroversion scores when exposed to the pleasant odour (Vaidya et al., 2007). This piece of research supports the idea that extroverts are genetically different to introverts as they enjoyed the experience of the pleasant odour more than introverts did and their brain activation within the temporal lobe further supported this idea. Other studies have further supported how the environment, not genetics, may affect both introverts and extroverts and how they react differently. In a study investigating the effect of background music and noise on completing tasks in introverts and extroverts, it was found that introverts performed better overall on each task except one, and introverts appeared to be more affected by the presence of everyday music and noise than extroverts. (Cassidy MacDonald, 2007). Introverts are also more likely to respond more quickly to louder noise bursts than extroverts who tend to respond equally rapidly to varying noise intensities (Britt Blumenthal, 1991). These studies supports Eysenckà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s theory, which says that people whose brains are over-aroused, will find stimulating situations uncomfortable, and they will seek out quieter environments. Although this idea seems to be strongly supported, a study which researched Eysencks (1953) hypothesis of a relationship between extraversion and sympathetic nervous system activity used 42 undergraduate students and the outcome was not quite the same. These students were exposed to fear arousing conditions and their heart rate and galvanic skin response (GVR) were measured during this time (Small, 1976). Although you would expect a relationship, no significant correlation was found. This piece of research disconfirms Eysenckà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s hypothesis and this may be due to individual differences. In other words, maybe some extroverts are not under aroused and are actually over aroused, or maybe Eysenckà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s personality questionnaire is not as accurate in its outcomes as we may think when measuring personality. Although studies have been conducted in this area of research, the piece of research in this report was carried out to further provide support for this area of study. The relationship between extraversion and physiological measures was tested on Psychology undergraduate students at a university in the UK. It used a questionnaire designed to measure extroversion within an individual and a short maths test which was provided to cause the participants CNS to go into a state of high arousal. Based on previous findings, the hypotheses were that there would be a strong negative correlation between extroversion and heart rate and a strong negative correlation between extroversion and galvanic skin response. Method Participants Participants were 167 psychology students aged 18-65 studying at the University of Chester in Cheshire. The measures were taken from the sex ratio 1:4 males: females and the study used a stratified sampling method. Participants were treated in accordance with BPS guidelines and informed consent was obtained from each participant before taking part. Materials and apparatus The materials used included record sheets to write down the results for each participant, the maths task comprising of ten questions, rising in difficulty, using +,-,x and / operators, the Biopac (Biopac MP30 unit) with elecrodes (SS2L and SS3L leads to measure heart rate and GSR), the EPQ consisting of 23 questions which was filled out before the physiological measures were measured and a stopwatch to time each participant for 3 minutes completing the maths task. Procedure After initially consenting to take part in the research, students were given a 23 item questionnaire to complete, designed to measure how extroverted they are as people. Once completed, students were attached to BIOPAC consisting of electrodes being attached to the wrist, fingers and ankles which measured galvanic skin response and heart rate and given a maths task to complete, designed to get harder as you progressed in a small laboratory room for three minutes. They were timed using a stopwatch by another participant who had already taken part outside of the laboratory room. Once timed, results were taken from a ninety second interval of the three minutes and the mean was calculated using the BIOPAC software. The means were written down, both for heart rate and GSR. Design and analysis This was a repeated measures study. Participants took part in both the easy and difficult task. Heart rate and galvanic skin response were measured whilst the difficult task was being completed. Results Average heart rate scores from 137 participants were correlated with their EPQ scores using a Pearson correlation. This was conducted using SPSS v.20. The scatterplot is shown in Figure 1 below: The Pearson test showed no correlation between average heart rate scores and EPQ scores and the result was found to not be statistically significant. (r(137)=-0.049, p=0.567). Total EPQ scores from the 137 participants were also correlated with average GSR scores using a Pearson correlation. The scatterplot is shown in Figure 2 below: The Pearson test showed no correlation between average GSR scores and EPQ scores and the result was found to not be statistically significant. (r(137)=0.020, p=0.820). Discussion The results showed no significant correlation between extroversion and heart rate and so the null hypothesis could not be rejected. The correlation between extroversion and galvanic skin response was also not significantly correlated and so the null hypothesis was accepted. This study does not lend support to the findings of previous studies in this area of research into extroversion and physiological measures. A study Singapore mentioned in the introduction of this report found that extroverts were linked to lower cardiovascular reactivity during stress tasks and this seemed to affect how these particular individuals expressed and coped with anger (Jonassaint et al., 2009). Contrasting even further with the findings of this study, heart rate and skin responses have also been strongly correlated with students performing a visual endurance task who were scored on the EPI as introverts (Gange, Geen, Harkins, 1979). However some studies have also provided no support for the hypothesis of physiological measures being linked to extroversion. Small (1976), studied students exposed to fear arousing conditions whilst their heart rate and GVR was measured. He found no significant correlation, supporting the notion that extroversion does not correlate with physiological measures within different individuals. In addition to biological factors not always differing between introverts and extroverts, the environment playing an important role has also been criticised. In a study investigating the effect of familiar everyday or verbal noises on the cognitive performance of introverts and extraverts, no significant correlation was found (Avila, Furnham, McClelland, 2012). This piece of research provides evidence of there being no clear correlation between extroverts and introverts differing physiologically. Although the results did not provide significant hypotheses to support the notion that extroversion and physiological measures correlate, care must be taken with research that does support this idea. The direction of causality may be difficult to establish within this area of research. Physiological measures may not be caused by extroversion but other underlying factors. In a study by Cassidy MacDonald, 2007, introverts appeared to be more affected by the presence of everyday music and noise when completing written tasks than extroverts. However studies similar to this trigger issues as the outcome of results may not have been due to extroversion, but other personality traits of the participants. For example it may simply be that an individual may struggle to complete tasks or write when there is noise or music in the background. In this study extroversion was measured beforehand but there is a possibility that the results they obtained may have been due to demand characteristics wh ereby a participant may have wanted to look more sociable than they actually are. This would make them score highly on an extroversion scale but in reality they are much quieter and so should have been scored as an introvert. This would cause the piece of research to lack validity. In order to make this study more reliable, another study contained different participants should be carried out to ensure that similar results are obtained. Although the present study in this report contained a good sample size and had individuals from different age groups as its participants, it did not provide enough evidence to support the theory that extroversion causes an individual to enjoy stimulating environments, which in this case was the maths test. However, the findings in this report do lend support to the idea that extroversion and physiological measures are not strongly linked to one another (e.g. by Small, 1976). Overall, findings in this area of research lend support to the notion of encouraging children to become confident from a young age. For example, the more extroverted a person is, the more likely they are to be sociable and talk to others before a job interview and the more desirable they seem to be during such an interview (Caldwell Burger, 1998). In conclusion the present study found no significant correlation between extroversion and physiological measures in university students aged 18-65 in the UK and so cannot support Eysencks theory of extroversion. Future research into physiological measures and personality traits could be carried out to help support Eysencks theory; research into personality types as well as extroversion and individual traits could help to see which personality types cause certain physiological measures as well as particular traits more specifically. This could enable us to understand what truly causes a person to be an extrovert or an introvert, whether the answer lie in heritability and genetics, or the environment itself.

Reasons for the Increase in Housing Profits in India

Reasons for the Increase in Housing Profits in India 3y josalonso The recent global economic recession has generated many problems worldwide, such as increased unemployment, lack of consumer confidence and reductions in salaries and wages. in India, Delhi and Mumbai are among nine cities which have seen marginal increase in house prices in the July-September quarter with Kochi topping the chart, a latest National Housing Bank (NHB) survey showed on Friday. Prices in Delhi rose 3. 8% from the previous quarter while Mumbai posted an increase of 0. %. Kochi recorded the sharpest rise with a increase in the September quarter. Low interest rates, the amount borrowers paid to lenders for the ability to use the money, would cause a shift in demand, the skill and Willingness to consume a commodity, below (Figure I, D to 01). This iS because consumers are inspired to borrow extra, that would lead to increased spending. Consequently, the equilibrium should move from A to S, emerging in an incr ease in price(P to P I) and an increase in demand.Furthermore, low Interest rates should lead to lower mortgage repayments, hence ermitting homecuners, normally predicted to vend their residences during a recession, to no longer doing so. An inwards shift In the supply ot homes would be caused(below). the skill and willingness to furnish a cornmodlty, as less proprietors select to vend their houses. changing the equilibrium. the worth should rise from PO to Pt. Overall. the change in worth (PO to P2) should number to 3. 8% it was predicted that after there is a development in attention rates in the upcoming month . he housing marketplace could experience little falls in average price. This is because as attention rates rise. there is a higher tendency to save than spend. Thus. the demand would shifts inwards Also. homecaners could favor to vend their houses because of higher mortgages, making the supply move outwards . A upcoming rise in attention rates could alter desperate stakeho lders in assorted ways, Those who have elevated mortgage repayments could vend their residences and pursue to find smaller and cheaper housing, Consequently, the demand for small residences could rise, as emand for larger residences could decrease.The article presents the soon housing Will fall more This iS upheld by the anticipation Of higher attention rates. Also, because customer assurance iS IOW' due to the globe commercial recession, after supply catches up alongside demand, it could be said that the benefits will not go any further. Hence, an economists should say that it is most probable that the benefits will fall. In supply, the rise of worth added tax In January back to the preceding rate of 17. 6 , should cause there to be an Increase In employment to compensate for the higher prices. Thus, less customers should be able and keen to buy new residences and demand should drop, leading to The article states the reasons for why India houseing profits increased by 3. 8%. In con clusion, the article is precise in its Justification, the prices of housing in india has to reach the equilibrium point or els falls will continue to occur. As well as the government would need to implement price floors or celaings.

Bd Railway

Organization Behavior of Bangladesh Railway In: Social Issues Organization Behavior of Bangladesh Railway An Assignment ON Organization behavior Submitted To: Dr. Syeda Lasna Kabir Associate Professor Dept. of Public Administration University of Dhaka. Submitted By: Md. Rajvi Hasan Roll No: MM–098 4th Year; 7th Semester Dept. of Public Administration University of Dhaka. Submission Date: 16th May 2011. Assignment topic A Research on Bangladesh Railway [pic] ? Introduction: Roads & Railways Division is one of the important Divisions in the Government under the Ministry of Communication.Ministry of Communication comprises two Divisions, 1. Roads & Railways Division and 2. Bridges Division. Roads & Railways Division shoulders a vast task and plays a vital role in socio-economic development of our country. It governs the Departments/Organizations which are playing very important roles in building our new nation. These are : (1) Roads & Highways Department (RHD), (2) Bangladesh Rai lway, (3) Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA), (4) Bangladesh Road Transport corporation (BRTC), (5) Dhaka Transport Co-ordination Board and (6) The office of the Government Inspector of Bangladesh Railways (GIBR).The principal motto of this Division is to ensure improvement of socio-economic condition of the people of our country through formulating policies regarding roads, road transports and railways and through construction, development, expansion and maintenance of environment-friendly and user-friendly integrated roads and railway transportation. Bangladesh Railway (BR) is the state-owned rail transport agency of Bangladesh. It operates and maintains the entire railway network of the country.Railway operation in today's Bangladesh began on November 15, 1862 when 53. 11 kilometers of 5  ft  6  in  (1,676  mm) (broad gauge) line were opened for traffic between Darsana and Jagiti. The next 14. 98 kilometers 1,000  mm  (3  ft  3  3? 8  in) (meter gaug e) line was opened for traffic on 4 January 1885. In 1891, the construction of then Bengal Assam Railway was taken up by the British Government assistance but that was later on taken over by the Bengal Assam Railway Company.On 1 July 1895, two sections of meter gauge lines were opened between Chittagong and Comilla, a length of 149. 89 kilometers and between Laksam and Cahndpur, a length of 50. 89 kilometers. Railway Companies formed in England took up the construction and operation of these sections in middle and late 19th century. At time of the partition of India in 1947, Bengal-Assam Railway was split up and the portion of the system, about 2,603. 92 kilometers fell within the boundary of then East Pakistan and control remained with the central Government of Pakistan.Later with the effect from 1 February 1961, Eastern Bengal Railway was renamed as Pakistan Eastern Railway. Then in 1962, the control of Pakistan Eastern Railway was transferred from the Central Government to the Go vernment of East Pakistan and placed under the management of a Railway Board with the effect from the financial year 1962-63 by the presidential Order of 9 June 1962. As of 2005, the total length of railroad is 2,855 kilometres.Of that, 660  km are broad gauge tracks (mostly in the western region), 1,830  km are metre gauge tracks (mostly in the central and eastern regions) and 365  km are dual gauge tracks The gauge problem is being tackled by adding third rails to the most important broad and metre gauge routes, so that they become dual gauge. A major road-rail bridge at Jamuna opened in 1998 to connect the previously detached east and west rail networks. On March 2008, the broad gauge reached Dhaka, the national capital. Funding is being sought to upgrade the network and transform Bangladesh Railway into a profitable business.BR exceeded its target revenue earnings in the fiscal year 2007-2008. Bangladesh Railway provides various types of services ranging from shuttle servi ce for university students to freight and cargo service. But still BR could not make profit as it is providing services to the nation at a subsidised rate in order to help the country's economy and for the ease of people. Objective: The objectives of this study are 1) To understand & evaluate the departmentalization of the BR. 2) To know the Spam of Control system of this organization. 3) To analyze the applicability of the theory of ‘Job Specialization’ in this selected organization.Rationale of the study: We have to overview the internal coordinating mechanism, internal environment & the technology, age and the size of the organization. Because without knowing these features we can’t evaluate an organization’s hierarchy, efficiency, working environment in true sense. Research Question: The questions which will lead us to the research: 1. How does the span of control will work in BR? 2. What is the departmentalization of BR? 3. How job specialization is o ccurred? Hypothesis: On which the research are based on: 1. If it is a bureaucratic structure then the job specialization, departmentalization will be strict. . If it is a matrix structure, then job specialization, departmentalization will be much flexible than the previous one Research Methodology: 1. Content Analysis which is most common method for all types of research. The related books, publications, newspapers, internet sources etc have given information about the total scenario of the organization. 2. I have interviewed few officials to understand the situation of that org. Area of focus: The area we are focusing on: Bangladesh Railway Head Office, Top khana, Dhaka. And, Bangladesh Railway Administrative Building,Kamlapur, Dhaka. Limitations of the study: 1. I had very little time to complete this study. 2. I did not have enough experience to do such studies. 3. As the data are collected from key informants at their working hours, there is chance of not receiving exact accura te information 4. I faced non cooperation from some of the employees. †¢ Chapterization: 1. Introduction: The railway department is a semi-autonomous organization under the The Ministry of Communications. This study intends to find out the internal coordinating mechanism, how does it cope with the external environment.The whole system of communication, tasks, coordinating mechanism prevails around organizational structure. Job specialization & departmentalization are the two vital features of organization. And these two are hugely depended on that. If it follows a bureaucratic structure, then the job specialization & departmentalization will be as rigid as the bureaucracy. And if it follows a matrix structure, then it will be more open to the environment. 2. Theoretical Framework: In this study, we will try to define these with the following theories: Job Specialization:The method of job specialization involves breaking down a task to its lowest level and designing jobs around each part. This creates specialization, expertise, and improved quality. Job specialization design in the workplace is frequently seen in manufacturing and assembly lines where a worker focuses on one specific task and ability during the entire work shift. The task frequently repeats all day long. Specialization is the process of performing a certain task which makes a person be in limited in performing other activities out of work she/he is specializes purposely.Job descriptions are written statements that describe the: †¢ duties, †¢ responsibilities, †¢ most important contributions and outcomes needed from a position, †¢ required qualifications of candidates, and †¢ Reporting relationship and coworkers of a particular job. Job descriptions are based on objective information obtained through job analysis, an understanding of the competencies and skills required to accomplish needed tasks, and the needs of the organization to produce work. Job descriptions c learly identify and spell out the responsibilities of a specific job.Job descriptions also include information about working conditions, tools, equipment used, knowledge and skills needed, and relationships with other positions. The best job descriptions are living, breathing documents that are updated as responsibilities change. The best job descriptions do not limit employees, but rather, cause them to stretch their experience, grow their skills, and develop their ability to contribute within their organization. Departmentalization: Departmentalization refers to the process of grouping activities into departments.Division of labor creates specialists who need coordination. This coordination is facilitated by grouping specialists together in departments. The main types of departmentalization are- †¢ Functional departmentalization – Grouping activities by functions performed. Activities can be grouped according to function (work being done) to pursue economies of scale b y placing employees with shared skills and knowledge into departments for example human resources, IT, accounting, manufacturing, logistics, and engineering.Functional departmentalization can be used in all types of organizations. †¢ Product departmentalization – Grouping activities by product line. Tasks can also be grouped according to a specific product or service, thus placing all activities related to the product or the service under one manager. Each major product area in the corporation is under the authority of a senior manager who is specialist in, and is responsible for, everything related to the product line. LA Gear is an example of company that uses product departmentalization. Its structure s based on its varied product lines which include women’s footwear, children’s footwear and men’s’ footwear. †¢ Customer departmentalization – Grouping activities on the basis of common customers or types of customers. Jobs may be grouped according to the type of customer served by the organization. The assumption is that customers in each department have a common set of problems and needs that can best be met by specialists. The sales activities in an office supply firm can be broken down into three departments that serve retail, wholesale and government accounts. Geographic departmentalization – Grouping activities on the basis of territory. If an organization's customers are geographically dispersed, it can group jobs based on geography. For example, the organization structure of Coca-Cola has reflected the company’s operation in two broad geographic areas – the North American sector and the international sector, which includes the Pacific Rim, the European Community, Northeast Europe, Africa and Latin America groups. †¢ Process departmentalization – Grouping activities on the basis of product or service or customer flow.Because each process requires different skills, proce ss departmentalization allows homogenous activities to be categorized. For example, the applicants might need to go through several departments namely validation, licensing and treasury, before receiving the driver’s license. Span of control: The span of control refers to number of employees that directly report to a single manager. Span of control determines the structure of an organization, a narrow span of control results in hierarchal organization while broad span of control leads to flat structure.Since management represents the activities that do not directly result in productivity, they are rather a overhead, span of control determines the additional operational cost. Quantitatively,  companywide overhead can be calculated by dividing the total number of management staff with the size of organization. Span of control formulation What is an optimal ratio of manger to direct reports without compromising the productivity? It is a fundamental problem in designing the str ucture of an organization; empirically this range is pretty wide, from 4 to 22 depending upon the nature of work.In 1933, V. A. Graicunas, a paris based consultant formulated the span of control based on number of direct and indirect relationships that a superior has to manage. Graicunas identified three types of relationships: 1. Number of direct relationships between manager and subordinate, it represents the span of control. 2. Number of peer-to-peer relationships, it represent issues due to interpersonal conflicts. Note that each pair of peers represent 2 relationships and not 1, if there are two subordinates, dick and jane, dick might have different concern for jane than jane’s concern for dick.Hence for a manger, they represent 2 different set of problems and not one. 3. Data analysis ; data presentation: Bangladesh Railway is one of the most efficient ; large departments of GOB. Since the Department was founded the size of the major rail network in Bangladesh has grown . The Department is headed by a Director General who is supported by a number of officers. The total number of personnel in the Department is almost 35,000. It’s a huge number for any organization. To control this kind of large organizations, one needs to have very strong Span of control or line of authority. BR has that. pic] After independence, the railway was first supervised by a Railway Board which was abolished in 1982. Thereafter, the BR came under the jurisdiction of the Railway Division of the Ministry of Communications with the Secretary of the Division working as the Director General of BR. In 1995, instead of being the part of the Ministry, BR came under control of a professional Director General supervised by the Bangladesh Railway Authority that is chaired by the Minister of Communications. As the part of the Bureaucracy, BRfollows the BURREAUCRATIC STRUCTURE, which refers to the Tall Organization.According to the concept it is appropriate for Bureaucratic Organ izations. But, it causes some disadvantages too. DEPARTMENTALIZATION can be described as grouping employees on the basis of the similarity of expertise, knowledge. It enhances the success rate of an organization. As BR is a huge organization, it’s divided into several departments on the basis of the similar functions. BR is divided into two zones, East ; West, each under control of a general manager who is accountable to the Director General of Bangladesh Railway. The two zones have their separate departments or operation, maintenance, and finances. Each zone is divided into two divisions that contain departments for Personnel, Transportation, Commercial, Finance Mechanical, Way and Works Signaling ; Telecommunication, Electrical, Medical, etc. Each zone also has its Workshop Divisions, located at Pahartali and Saidpur, respectively. A locomotive workshop is located at Parbatipur for broad and metre gauge locomotives. BR manages its own Railway Training Academy. A separate Di rectorate under the Ministry of Communications is charged to inspect different works of BR in relation to safety.Job Specialization is the process of performing a certain task which makes a person be in limited in performing other activities out of work she/he is specializes purposely. It enables employees to become very skilled ; productive at their assigned task. Another motive of departmentalization is to ensure job specialization. It is usually seen that every department of an organization is assigned to those functions or tasks at which they are expert. The downside of job specialization tends to be that people can only do one task. They aren’t trained to multitask or handle multiple areas of a workplace.As a result, when a critical expertise is lost, the process can suffer. Additionally, workers under job specialization don’t have a wide array of applicable skills, so it becomes hard for them to adapt to a new function or need in the organization. It creates mono poly this means after specialization certain field of work may lead into boredom to the worker. Efficient administration of BR is also hindered by lack of rules and regulations that have been approved by the Board but are awaiting Government approval as well. Which creates delay to the recruitment process. Conclusion:Removing the old shield, the whole world is intending to get more modernized. But still we are following the hundreds years old ‘Bureaucracy system’ which has caused nothing but losses. Being a Bureaucratic organization or part BR is no different. They are still following the traditional bureaucratic model with no flexibility. Everything in the organization prevails according to the law ; regulation. Job specialization or departmentalization is fixed. They can’t work out of it, even in an emergency. There is little chance for the subordinates to present their ideas or opinions by crossing seniors.They maintain a very strict line of authority, where m anagers have the supreme authority. This may be the traditional bureaucratic role. But it has to change according to the needs of this millennium. As like the private organizations RHD officials should be given more freedom, authorization to take faster decision. Only then the organizational goal of customer satisfaction can be achieved. Reference: 1. http://www. railway. gov. bd 2. Class lectures 3. Railway Information book 4. Mr. Ahsanullah Bhuiyan, Deputy Director, Bangladesh Railway. 5. Mr. Sarwar Alam, Asstt. Commercial Officer, Bangladesh Railway. [pic]

As We Are Now by May Sarton Still Alice by Lisa Genova Book Review

As We Are Now by May Sarton The novel as we are now by May Sarton is about Caroline Spencer a 76 year old woman who is a retired school teacher. The novel revolves around the realities of aging and death. Caro, as she is referred to in the novel, suffers a heart attack and is therefore deposited in a nursing home known as Twin Elms located in rural England. Caro is need of short term care, however, this translates to long term care and she is forced to stay in the nursing home for a considerably longer period of time than was supposed to be. The nursing home is under staffed; the health conditions are of a low standard. Caro is able to survive in the nursing home by keeping a diary where she records the daily occurrences. She puts efforts to try and forward complains in relation to the conditions in the nursing home. The reception of her grievances is received negatively because she is cruelly treated by the head of the nursing home. She faces a lot of cruelty from the head nurse and this is what makes her to s et the nursing home on fire killing herself and other patients as well. This novel has several imperative themes that have major impact on the society and the world at large. The novel shows how aging is entangled with a lot of challenges. Caro is placed in a long term care in the nursing home which she does not need. This gives the implication that relatives and friends disown a person when approaching the aging stage of life. This is basically what happens in the society and Sarton has been quite thorough in addressing the issue. In the current society, the aged will be put in confined places as if they were not part of the society. Programs to cater for the rights of the aged should be set up to cater for the challenges they face. Once placed in the Twin Elms nursing home, Caro faces a lot of cruelty from the head nurse. She is so frustrated because her efforts to improve the conditions in the nursing are not seen. This is what happens in the society, once the aged are deposited in the nursing homes, it is not guaranteed that they will receive the best care possible. On the contrary, the aged in the nursing homes face worse conditions than what they could have experienced if left to stay in close proximity to the society. The problems that Caro faces while at the nursing are a good reflection of what happens in the society. The problems have become prevalent and efforts to address them have proven futile. Sarton has highlighted these problems from the experiences of Caro in the nursing home. Frustrations in life can result to outcomes that may have adverse effects to the society. Sarton gives the case of Caro as a perfect example of a person who causes the death of many people including herself as a way of overcoming the frustrations she has in life. These occurrences can be reflected back to the society where people will tend to find ways through which they can let out their frustrations. Aged people who are frustrated in the society may be involved in actions in the society that may not be ethically right such as taking away lives just as Caro does. These actions develop as means of airing out their grievances to the society in a way that would alert the society of their needs to be loved and be socially accepted (Dass 2001). The outcomes of actions from such people may be displeasing but it is up to the society to take care of its people especially the aged, to counter the occurrence of such situations. As people age in the society, nursing homes should not be the first priority for them. The nursing homes may be the worst that could happen for these people. From the case of Caro in the novel, the nursing home proves to be a hell that she never knew would become part of her life at old age. Old age is therefore surrounded by many challenges especially loneliness and solitude. Loneliness is the poverty of self; solitude is richness of self (Sarton 1973). The old people in the society are considered as outcasts and for this reason they are discriminated against. Caro does not require to be in the long term care program in the nursing home but because of her old age, she is deposited into the program by her relatives. Relatives should be the ones on the first lane to take care of the aged but the novel proves otherwise. The situations that arise around the aged life of Caro are a true reflection of what is happening in the society. Sarton has described the conditions at the Twin Elms nursing home in a very displeasing way. This image is exactly similar to the one in the society where the nursing homes for the aged are in very bad conditions. The picture has been clearly painted where the nursing home had very few staff members and lacked enough equipment. This gives the implication that the needs of the aged in the society have not been fully put into consideration. They have been exposed to living conditions that are inhumane. No one in the society is ready to address the issue and this is what prompts Caro to take the cruel action against herself and those around her. We have to dare to be ourselves, however frightening or strange that self may prove to be (Sarton 1973). The society should be in a position to address the problem faced by the aged by ensuring that they are provided for the best living conditions not only in the nursing homes but at home as well. Still Alice by Lisa Genova Still Alice is a book written by Lisa Genova about a 49 year old woman, Alice Howland, a Harvard psychology professor. She has three children and a husband. Her life is good until she is diagnosed with a disease known as Alzheimer. This is a disease of forgetfulness. Alice’ perfect life is disrupted. She changes from being a high achieving teacher, wife and mother to a confused, disoriented person. This disease takes tall on her thus cannot go on with her career. She is therefore taken to the Harvard Square where she is visited daily for twenty five years. Lisa Genova’s novel highly concentrates on the success of a person in this case Alice during her adulthood. She is a Harvard psychology professor therefore reflecting on her success. This shows that her educational background was one filled with achievements. This is every adult’s dream-to achieve and be successful in life. It is quite evident following from Lisa’s description that Alice was an achiever. Her adult life is reflected upon by her success in life and also the life that she lives. At first Alice thinks that the forgetfulness is due to menopause. She is afraid of facing the reality just like any other person would. After achieving and reaching the point that she has, it is hard to accept that she is sick. Her future is one which entails confusion, disorientation and forgetfulness. For an adult who had that much success and in the end falling sick, not enjoying the fruits of their work is quite unfortunate. She has to agree to the fact that she is sick which appears to be a challenge to her. The Alzheimer disease leads to Alice loosing her job, independence, clarity and contact with the world. During ones adult life this is termed as a catastrophe. Being that she put in all her effort in her studies just to come and be affected by a disease which disrupts her perfect life is despicable. It is frustrating as it appears as though her success is useless. If the disease was due to ageing that would be understandable but being 49 years of age, Alice is still young though not that young. Normally symptoms like forgetfulness and confusion are displayed by the ageing people. Mostly they experience this in the late 80s onwards. This fact shows that Alice’ disease is not due to ageing as she is still young. Conclusion The two novels tend to focus on the realities associated to aging in the society. Aging should not be treated as a vice to the society as is the case in Sarton’s novel, â€Å"Äs We Are Now†. Aging should be considered as part of the human lifecycle and should be therefore be embraced as it approaches. From the novel, Still Alice by Lisa Genova, the protagonist, Alice, does not want to face the reality of aging. Aging is natural and should hence not be shunned away because it is an aspect of life beyond the life of mankind. Both novels highlight on the major issues concerned with aging and the problems that arise when people approach old age. Sarton shows the problems that the aged experience. The society should therefore behave in a way that is contrary to the occurrences in the novel. Reference: May S. (1973). As We Are Now, New York: W.W. Norton Publishers. Genova L. (2007). Still Alice, New York: iUniverse. Dass R. (2001). Still Here: Embracing Aging,Changing and Dying, London: Riverhead Books.