Rhetorical analysis “The Hardest of the Hardcore” Free Essays

It is believed that the United States allocates approximately 316 billion dollars a year on these groups. Distant from securing companies, they also provide security for the police, and government officials. Most of them are ex-special forces, and veterans. We will write a custom essay sample on Rhetorical analysis â€Å"The Hardest of the Hardcore† or any similar topic only for you Order Now Some are ex-cons. Some people refer to them as mercenaries, and some people call them builders. Others would describe the mission as training other soldiers. They are used all around the world, providing different services in support of the United States Military. What is their role? Student, Dylan Fujitani in his research policy argument, â€Å"The hardest of the hardcore† writes an article suggesting the removal of private contractors from the Middle East. It suggests that there is a common misconception that people are confused between the difference of civilian contractors, mercenaries, people in the military, and that civilian contractors should not adopt a military role. He adopts a serious tone in order to clutch the attention of his audience. There are a lot of misconceptions to what some may believe the key objectives of the support staff/private contractors/ mercenaries are in the Middle East, and Congress must swiftly act to level the playing field between US military personnel and private security contractors. Most of the writer’s points in the essay seem relevant, and consistent with my past experiences in dealing with private contractors. I agree that there is a common misconception about the role of the private contractor/mercenary. Historically, the mercenary is a soldier for hire, however, the private contractor also has different dignitary support roles. Fujitani successfully uses pathos in his essay to persuade his audience particularly when he suggests that the use of mercenaries circumvents public, and congressional scrutiny of some aspects of war (Fujitani 374). The writer’s purpose here is trying to persuade people, by giving an emotional appeal that civilian contractors (who have questionable prior backgrounds) are armed, are given essentially given legal immunity. Another example of Fujitani using pathos is when he said that placing more contractors in the theater of war is a good way to keep US troops numbers down, but politically it’s more expensive. Here he is suggesting that the United States is trying to mask the severity of war. Even though he provided examples from both sides of the case, he’s extremely ineffective in this area because it seems he was not concerned with presenting the counterargument fair-mindedly. Although the writer uses pathos in this particular section part of his essay, most of this paper is logos heavy. These styles of comparison help the writer convey to his audience a sense of importance by using the language that is quite familiar to the military. He indeed uses language that was easy for military, and nonmilitary personnel to understand. The writer seems very prejudiced, however, uses citations to support his opinion. I agree with the writer on the information that was presented, and how he was able to break down the concepts. I understand what he proposes when he references the role of civilian mercenaries. The writer was able to convince readers that his opinion was truly legit using ethos by referencing several published articles from credible sources. The reference New York Times article also gives good examples to support his reasoning. In contrast to what the writer believes, I believe that there is a position that supports the private contracting business overseas. The writer clearly overlooks some important points that should be noted on the contrary. In my experience, I believe civilian contractors provide essential support services to the United States military. It is imperative that the military should not waste valuable resources, and manpower on support positions. To the contrary of what most people think, war is not always shooting at people, capturing prisoners, and kicking down doors 24 hours a day. A lot of essential jobs are in support. The use of private contractors help with convoys, logistics, and food services help free up essential manpower for the military to concentrate on high mission profile assignments. In conclusion, the writer’s essay was ineffective because I believe that his essay appeals to one type of audience. The writer seems to not have any knowledge of how wartime operations are drawn out and conducted. Although not perfect, I believe that the use of private contractors are essential and should not be completely weeded out the process. On the contrary, he was effective because I think he used mostly logos to appeal to his audience. He references essentially six principles on why private contractors/mercenaries should be extremely downscaled. He starts off by reference in how mercenaries disguised the true cost of war. Here he explains how civilian contractors actually disguise the number of deployed troops. He goes on and references how civilian contractors have no loyalties, and ultimately answer only to their employers and not the military. He again uses logos by citing a report on how mercenaries assigned in Saudi Arabia left their post indefinitely, because they were not comfortable. Fujanti then moves to tie the two points together making a clear contrast on how the US military, and civilian mercenaries are accountable to the Geneva Convention. He describes how civilian mercenaries have no accountability to the law to whereas the US military does. The mercenaries are considered â€Å"noncombatants† and therefore it is difficult for them to fall within the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ). The writer closes his argument by expressing how private contractors frequently hire employees with questionable backgrounds. He appeals to his audience by citing an article from the New York Times how 1500 S. African mercenaries are now in the Iraqi area. He expresses that many of the people that are participating admitted to being former apartheid mercenaries. Fujanti is clearly frustrated knowing that these kinds of practices are frequently carried, nothings done about it, and moves to propose his solution by conveying that the problems that were discussed earlier needs to be addressed by Congress swiftly, and immediately to protect the legitimate uses of war from market forces, lawlessness, and the abuse of power. How to cite Rhetorical analysis â€Å"The Hardest of the Hardcore†, Papers

Energy Harvesting Wireless Sensor Networks â€Myassignmenthelp.Com

Question: Discuss About The Energy Harvesting On Wireless Sensor Networks? Answer: Introducation A wireless communication is referred to as a system that holds energy harvesting nodes which again have the ability to provide self sustainability and continuous operation as well. Due to the continuous development of technology and the extreme growth of cost currently the developers are thinking of using the renewable resources instead of the non renewable. Moreover it can be said that in case of energy harvesting the wireless communication devices do gather energy directly from the environment. After reviewing the journals it is defined that in order to transmit information from one source to another destination the energy is used in terms of recharging the batteries (Ulukus et al., 2015). Again from different sources the energy could be harvested such as from the solar energy, chemical, vibration, thermal etc. This is one of the recent advances in technology which implies that from the beginning of the information theoretic performance restriction of the transmission scheduling policies as well as the resource allocation, access of the medium and the network level issues also. Though, it helps to improve the existing appearance of the wireless communication but still different issues are associated to it . The main issues associated to energy harvest wireless communication is because the available energy is variable is nature. Basically this is very much difficult to predict the accurate time and amount of energy that should be absorbed. After considering the EH background it is determined that, different models are also there which could maximize the energy harvest in Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) Shaikh Zeadally, 2016). It will help to develop such a system which is cost effective, efficient and reliable as well. References Shaikh, F. K., Zeadally, S. (2016). Energy harvesting in wireless sensor networks: A comprehensive review.Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews,55, 1041-1054. Ulukus, S., Yener, A., Erkip, E., Simeone, O., Zorzi, M., Grover, P., Huang, K. (2015). Energy harvesting wireless communications: A review of recent advances.IEEE Journal on Selected Areas in Communications,33(3), 360-381.

Social And Political Reactions To Mormon Polygamy April 29, 1996 Socia

Social and Political Reactions to Mormon Polygamy April 29, 1996 Social and Political Reactions to Polygamy ?We are a peculiar people,? Elder Bruce R. McConkie once said (McConkie 25). The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is one of a few ?odd? Christian religions. Many of its practices have created much persecution and political reaction, polygamy being one of these. It created much social and political persecution of the Mormons. Most of this persecution had come from anti-polygamist Christians. This is ironic because the anti-polygamists believed in the Bible, but not polygamy, one of its teachings. Many of God's righteous followers in the Old Testament practiced polygamy. Abraham married Hagar, Sarai's handmaiden (Genesis 16:1-3). Jacob was married to Leah, Rachel, Billah, and Zilpha all at the same time. In the Doctrine and Covenants, a book of modern revelation used as scripture by the LDS church, it states that ?in nothing did they [the Old Testament prophets] s in save in those things they received not of me [God]?(132:38). Quickly one sees that God gave those women to the prophets of old because they were righteous. So what exactly is the justification and reason for polygamy? Mormons believed that when a couple or family is sealed in the temple of the Lord by one holding God's priesthood keys of sealing, that the bond is not ?until death do us part,? but rather for all eternity. If this is true, then when a man is widowed and he marries a second wife, he then has two wives. The Mormons believe that if a man can have multiple wives in heaven, then the same should be true on Earth. ?According to the Lord's law of marriage, it is lawful that a man have only one wife at a time unless by revelation the Lord commands plurality of wives in the new and everlasting covenant? (McConkie5770). If a woman who is sealed in the temple is widowed, she not allowed to be resealed: only a man is allowed a plurality of spouses. Before the founding and organ izing of the LDS church and introduction of polygamy, Joseph Smith received bitter persecution. He was tarred and feathered by a mob, but this was nothing compared to the treatment the saints received when their practice of polygamy became well known (Arrington JS 26-7). In order to escape the torture, Joseph Smith led one hundred and fifty or more saints from New York to Kirtland, Ohio in 1831 (Arrington JS 21). After living in harmony with the native Gentiles for several years, the town of Kirtland became a prosperous city. In 1843, the local Gentiles found out that Joseph Smith and many other church members were practicing polygamy. When questioned, they confessed to the act, but from then on they hid it from the Gentiles (Newell 66-7). The news spread quickly, and the persecution returned at an even greater intensity. Social persecution quickly turned into political persecution. On October 30, 1838, Governor Lilburn Boggs issued the Extermination Order in which he wrote ?that th e Mormons must be treated as enemies and must be exterminated or driven from the state, if necessary, for the public good.? (Benton 787) A few days later at Haun's Mill, 17 Mormons were killed and many others, including women and children, were severely wounded (Benton787). In October 1838, the Missouri state militia was marching toward the Saints in Kirtland, Ohio: Anxious to avoid bloodshed, Joseph Smith, Sidney Rigdon, Parley P. Pratt, Lyman White and George Robinson went to negotiate with state officials under the flag of truce. Instead of treating the group with respect, however, militia officials seized the group. An order was issued to have Joseph and the others shot, but Colonel Alexander Doniphan, a secondary Missouri officer, courageously refused to carry out the order. Instead of court-martial and execution, the prisoners were taken on November 2 to Jackson County for Prison and trial.?(Arrington JS32) After spending six months in prison, the group escaped with the help o f the jailer (Arrington JS 32). Joseph then purchased a large amount of land in Jackson county, Missouri to which the Mormons could flee for safety. There Smith founded the city of Nauvoo, to which approximately 2,500

Free Essays on The Talented Mr Ripley

In Patricia Highsmith’s The Talented Mr. Ripley, Tom Ripley’s underlying desire to start a new life, and become a successful man leads to the eventual death of Dickie Greenleaf. Tom’s jealousy, along with his infatuation of Dickie, became so overwhelming that he began to obsess over Dickie’s life. Tom would constantly try to please Dickie, and win over his affection; though Tom soon learned that he would never be able to compete with Marge and this drove him over the edge. Tom Ripley sailed to Italy on behalf of Mr. and Mrs. Herbert Greenleaf, the parents of Dickie Greenleaf. Mr. Greenleaf had approached Tom and informed him that he would put up all the money for a trip to Italy, if Tom would attempt to convince his son to return home to the states. It did not take Tom long to make up his mind, because this was the fresh start he had been looking for. He was already in trouble with the law, so Europe would be a good excuse to get away for a while. Tom accepted, and upon his arrival in Italy, he was immediately overwhelmed by his new found surroundings. For the first time in Tom’s life, he had the chance to start over, and to make something of himself. It was time that he said, â€Å"goodbye to all the second-rate people he had hung around and had let hang around him the past three years in New York† (p 34). There was nothing but opportunity in front of Tom Ripley, and he intended to take advantage. It took some time for Tom to win over Dickie’s friendship. Tom confessed to Dickie the real reason why he was in Italy: â€Å"it was his one last chance to amuse Dickie or repel him, to make Dickie burst out laughing or go out and slam the door in disgust† (p 56). This brought a smile to Dickie’s face and led to the eventual friendship that developed between the two of them. Although it is obvious from the beginning of this friendship that Tom would constantly be the one trying to please Dickie. After all, â€Å"... Free Essays on The Talented Mr Ripley Free Essays on The Talented Mr Ripley In Patricia Highsmith’s The Talented Mr. Ripley, Tom Ripley’s underlying desire to start a new life, and become a successful man leads to the eventual death of Dickie Greenleaf. Tom’s jealousy, along with his infatuation of Dickie, became so overwhelming that he began to obsess over Dickie’s life. Tom would constantly try to please Dickie, and win over his affection; though Tom soon learned that he would never be able to compete with Marge and this drove him over the edge. Tom Ripley sailed to Italy on behalf of Mr. and Mrs. Herbert Greenleaf, the parents of Dickie Greenleaf. Mr. Greenleaf had approached Tom and informed him that he would put up all the money for a trip to Italy, if Tom would attempt to convince his son to return home to the states. It did not take Tom long to make up his mind, because this was the fresh start he had been looking for. He was already in trouble with the law, so Europe would be a good excuse to get away for a while. Tom accepted, and upon his arrival in Italy, he was immediately overwhelmed by his new found surroundings. For the first time in Tom’s life, he had the chance to start over, and to make something of himself. It was time that he said, â€Å"goodbye to all the second-rate people he had hung around and had let hang around him the past three years in New York† (p 34). There was nothing but opportunity in front of Tom Ripley, and he intended to take advantage. It took some time for Tom to win over Dickie’s friendship. Tom confessed to Dickie the real reason why he was in Italy: â€Å"it was his one last chance to amuse Dickie or repel him, to make Dickie burst out laughing or go out and slam the door in disgust† (p 56). This brought a smile to Dickie’s face and led to the eventual friendship that developed between the two of them. Although it is obvious from the beginning of this friendship that Tom would constantly be the one trying to please Dickie. After all, â€Å"...

In what ways is British society a globalized society Essay

In what ways is British society a globalized society - Essay Example But likewise, as economies become more intertwined, we find that they can also become more vulnerable to unexpected shifts and new forms of opaqueness. This isn’t a reason to turn away from globalization, but it is a reason to be vigilant. This essay will look at the way Britain has become more dependent on other countries through the process of globalization and it will suggest that this has mostly been for the best. Although the exact moment of globalization occurring in Britain is a highly debatable question considering the length of Britain’s history and its extensive involvement in world affairs, it could be send that the election of â€Å"New Labour† in 1997 marked the rapid acceleration of the period. With Tony Blair’s successful efforts to remake the formerly left-wing, anti-free trade Labour party into a pro-market moderate party, Britain decided to go full steam ahead with economic global integration. The stage had been set a few years earlier. In the words of Merril Stevenson in a thoughtful article on the subject: Britain got its economic act together just as globalisation was accelerating, in the late 1980s. It has managed to catch and ride the current wave successfully, selling the world financial and business services where once it sold cotton textiles and machines. Shifting earlier and more decisively than most countries out of mass manufacturing, where it had few advantages over lower-cost competitors, to more easily defended high-value-added goods and services gave it an edge. Margaret Thatchers painful union-bashing left Britain with flexible labour markets at a time when countries such as France and Germany are struggling with unbudgetable workers and high unemployment.1 Of course, with current economic events shaking the world economy, we begin to see some of the potential negative effects of globalization for Britain. In a recent visit to the United States, Gordon Brown was keen to point out that the problems started

Business in UK Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Business in UK - Essay Example It is one of the key options for the effective economic management. According to the British Economist, Mr. Keynes, the public spending needs to be increase when the private investment and spending is unbalanced and inadequate. There are two categories of spending, such as Capital spending and current spending. Capital spending considers spending on the physical assets, including roads, bridges, schools, and hospitals. On the other hand, current spending includes expenditure on raw materials and wages. Government describes fiscal policy by writing legislation and setting taxation level. The changes in fiscal and monetary policy can affect the businesses both directly or indirectly. The impacts are highlighted below. Fiscal policy generally engages changes in spending and taxation policies. Lower tax considers high disposable income for people and more cash to invest for business in equipments and jobs. On the other hand increasing consumption of taxes or income usually address less disposable income for people that can be decelerate the activities linked with the business (Ruddock, 116). It is evidenced that increasing ageing population and budget deficits should be addressed in order to sustain the long term business growth. Changes in the short-term interest rate generally manipulate long-term interest rates. Mortgage rate is the effective example of it. Low interest rate stands for higher disposable income for people and limited interest expense for a particular business. The combination of these two considers high business profit. High interest rate can affect the business firms as it results Lower sales and profit and higher interest expense. Changes in the interest rate have negative impact on the stock prices that can affect consumer spending. Several taxation policies have negative impacts on the business cost. For an example,

Occupational Stress Indicator (OSI)

Occupational Stress Indicator (OSI) Discuss the weaknesses of the Occupational Stress Indicator. What are the alternatives? The Occupational Stress Indicator (OSI) is one of the most frequently used measures of occupational stress. Its intention is to provide practical help to individuals and their organizations (Cooper et al., 1988). It was designed to measure the key components of the stress process and work study in a wide variety of organizations. The original occupational scale contained over 200 items scored on a 6-point Likert-type scale. The Indicator consists of one biographical questionnaire and six questionnaires each measuring different dimensions of stress. For example, source of stress, moderating factor in aspects of dealing with stress and the stressors affects on the individual and situation. The sources of pressure questionnaire have six subscales and are a measure of factors thought to have a role in the aetiology of occupational stress. There are three questionnaires for assessing moderating variables: these are for type A behaviour pattern with three subscales, locus of control with t hree subscales, and coping strategies with five subscales. A further three questionnaires for mental ill-health, physical ill-health, and job satisfaction (with six subscales), assess strain or `stress effects. In simple terms, the OSI uses questionnaire statements to assess, a) how you feel about your job b) how you assess your current state of health, c) the way you behave generally, d) how you interpret events around you e) sources of pressure in your job, and f) how you cope with the stress you experience. OSI questionnaires are based on identifying three key elements of the stress process-effects, sources, and individual differences-and the scale places appraisal at the centre of the process. In particular, it is felt that it is not the demand or the source of pressure itself that is the issue; it is the perception of that pressure (Lazarus, 1966). It follows that the perception of individual differences such as coping and support and the perception of stress outcomes such as w ell-being and job satisfaction should also be measured. Pratt and Barling (1988) stated that it is as important to measure the interpretation that individuals give to an event as it is to measure the event itself. The recognition that appraisal plays a key role in the stress process makes it appropriate to use self-report questionnaires to measure stress at work. The essence behind the OSI was to provide a measurement scale, which would in turn provide a link between theoretical knowledge – in particular Lazarus (1966) Transactional Model and empirical evidence. Before discussing alternatives, it is important to evaluate the strengths of the instrument – and assess the positive attributes that the indicator has provided for future research. Although self-report mechanisms of discovering data have had criticism for its susceptibility towards experimenter bias – i.e. participants lying for socially desirable reasons, or over-playing/down-playing their answers for personal means, self report instruments are a valuable way of seeking responses from the core source themselves. Thus responses are first hand – and not an interpretation from a second or third party. In regards to work related stress – it has been found that self- reported health is a good indicator of the health status (Farmer Ferraro, 1997) and there is a positive relationship between self-reported health and self-efficacy (Parkatti, Deeg, Bosscher, Launer, 1998). Thus, this may imply that self report responses collected from a measurement like the OSI may well yield valid responses in regards to their health and how this in turn may affect how they feel about their working environment and how they perform within it. There has been a considerable body of research that has investigated self-reported health and occupational stress. It is accepted that in work situations stress due to increased psychological demands and reduced job control is related to poor self- reported health (Andries et al., 1996). Therefore, asking employee’s to complete the complex occupational stress indicator questionnaires may indicate where this stress is coming from and how the person perceives they are dealing in the situation. The major advantage of the OSI is that it is a mechanism of which may highlight a potential damaging work-related stress problem – not only high-lighting the problem, but the scale attempts to highlight its source and potential solution as well. The OSI has been used extensively since its publication in 1988. However, up until the late 1990’s, the scale has not been changed or been amended in any way. A number of studies have reviewed the design and use of the questionnaire in attempt to test the psychometric properties of the OSI, and to see if the instrument could be improved. The original OSI suffered from being developed on the basis of a very small (N = 156) sample. Therefore, it was important in any evaluation of the scale to include a vast sample to prepare the analysis from. In attempt to evaluate the scale structure and reliability, Williams (1996) analyzed the data for over 20,000 participants working in over 100 different organizations. The data was collected between 1990 and the end of 1995 from a wide variety of organizations in the public and private sector in the United Kingdom. Accounting for errors, a sample of 4,455 individuals in total adds support to a great body of literature that presents a consi stent picture of the strengths and weaknesses of the Occupational Stress Indicator. Through analyse, the scale appears strong at measuring job satisfaction, mental and physical health, and sources of pressure (Cooper Bramwell, 1992; Rees Cooper, 1992; Robertson et al., 1990). However, if the aim of the OSI questionnaires are to identify key elements of the stress process- e.g. the effects, sources, and individual differences-the indicator is somewhat flawed. The indicator is not so strong at evaluating the extend to which the individual feels in control of their situation (i.e. locus of control) or what behaviour, coping strategies people are most likely to adopt (Kirkcaldy, Cooper, Eysenck, Brown, 1994). Thus, the scales seem to lack in the ability to address the fundamental issue of individual differences in the process of stress, and how one perceives and copes with their situation. Therefore, there is strong evidence to suggest that the scale itself needs improvement or redesi gn to account for this (Williams Cooper, 1997). To discuss alternatives or improvements for the Occupational Stress Indicator – one needs to highlight how we define stress and how this definition is relevant in the work place. Stress can be regarded as the sum of total of environmental demands that tax our mental resources. For some (e.g. Lazarus, 1975), stress only has impact if we appraise it as threatening or harmful to ourselves. Symptoms of stress are varied but often present itself as some kind of strain in psychological, physiological, behavioural or physical health. Information about the individual and stress is often accumulated through self-report questionnaires. The most common (but not necessarily the strongest method) is through the use of a cross sectional design – such as the OSI. All data collected via this method is self-report and collected from the same people at the same time. There is danger in this approach – as it can often inflate the correlations observed between job-factors and the st rain outcome, and this does not accurately indicate the direction of causality. Conclusions derived from such analysis are often in terms of ‘main effects’ (of work related factors) and modifiers (moderate, mediators – variables that serve to enhance or attenuate the effect of job stress). For example, the level of control or autonomy against level of work load put upon the individual. However, this does not clearly tell us whether these two variables are related or independent of each other. It is merely assumed that one causes the other. As mentioned before, the flaws of the OSI seem to be in its ability (or lack of ability) to reliably identify how one perceives their situation and addresses coping strategies to suit. Lazarus (1975) account of occupational stress is useful here. He purposes a transactional cognitive view of stress. Lazarus believes that it is not just the environment that needs to be taken into account when considering sources of stress, but also a look at the person and how they ‘fit’ into the environment. Lazarus (1975) believes that there is a transaction between the environment and the person. This transaction is only stressful if a) the person believes the outcome of behaviour is relevant to personal goals/beliefs and b) if the person recons that the environmental demands exceed the personal resources of the individual. Furthermore, every encounter between the environment and the person involves appraisal and coping strategies. Lazarus (1975) believes that since perception of the s tressor is all important, it is pointless to pursue objective indicators of the environment. Rather it is this perception of the situation that indicators how stressed one will feel. A great criticism of the OSI is in its complexity and its length. This makes the administration of the scale a timely process. In response to this, Faragher, Cooper and Cartwright (2004) purpose an alternative, two-stage, risk assessment process. This involves an initial screening questionnaire for all employees of a given work place, and then conventional risk assessment tools are used to evaluate in detail just those individuals identified as having a potential stress problem. There are three main sections of the questionnaire which measure employee perceptions of their job, organizational commitment and employee health. This shorter version of the Occupation Stress Indicator is termed the ASSET – A Shortened Stress Evaluation Tool. Tests of just under 10,000 employees in 100 public and private sector organizations within Britain found ASSET to be quick and easy to complete, generating a high response rate. Thus in comparison to the OSI, the evaluation of the ASSET provides evidence that it possesses good reliability (a small number of reliable factors which increases the ease of interpretation) and has good reports of validity. However, it could be regarded that this shortened scale may have negative consequences for its validity. For example, the ASSET is put forward as a two stage ‘risk assessment’. This implies that the scale is administrated to assess the employee’s susceptibility to feeling stressed. Therefore, this ignores that there is an interaction between the environment and the person, but instead, puts heavy emphasis on the person’s ability to cope in a given environment. Therefore, this type of risk assessment may be perceived as more of a ‘test’ – rather than a support mechanism. Therefore, the validity of the screening scale itself is put into question – as it is highly likely that participants will want to answer in a socially acceptable manner to avoid incrimination. . Another scale that has adopted a shorter format is the Pressure Management Indicator. Williams Cooper, (1996) cite this model as more reliable, more comprehensive, and shorter than the OSI. The Pressure Management Indicator did infact evolved from the Occupational Stress Indicator. Therefore, the comparisons between the two scales here, opposed to the ASSET scale, are more valid and useful. Therefore, its inventors regard it as the replacement indicator of occupational stress. Williams and Copper (1998) examined existing measures of stress (directly and indirectly related to work) – these included questionnaires on mental health (e.g., Crown Crisp, 1979), job satisfaction (e.g., Warr, Cook, Wall, 1979), and locus of control (e.g., Rotter, 1966) and worked from the original OSI to produce a standardized, reliable, compact, and comprehensive instrument to measure work-related stress. The PMI incorporates three main scales; stress-outcome, stressor and the moderator factor. The stress-outcome scales measure, job and organizational satisfaction, organizational security, organizational commitment, anxiety-depression, resilience, worry, physical symptoms, and exhaustion. The stressor scales cover pressure from workload, relationships, career development, managerial responsibility, personal responsibility, home demands, and daily hassles. The moderator variables measure drive, impatience, control, decision latitude, and the coping strategies of problem focus, life work balance, and social support. To overcome the limitations of the original OSI, Williams and Copper (1998) embarked on a comprehensive analysis of the scale, ranging from analysis of the name of the scale – e.g. it was found that the mention of ‘stress’ in the title of the original scale implied there was a ‘stress problem’ in the organisation. Thus changing the name to ‘Pressure’ intended to imply a more neutral term (opposed to stress – the n egative consequence of pressure – William 1994). Through the extensive analysis of the OSI Williams and Copper (1998) revealed the main attributes of the original scale that existed as its weakness – and purposed to find solutions to these problems. For example, as stated the scale could be interpreted as threatening and time consuming. Thus a shortened version was essential. Another issue highlighted with the use of such a lengthy scale – was infact the possibility that a large number of items would increase the co-efficient alpha rating – and thus making the scale appear more reliable than it actually is. Therefore, the production of the PMI was designed to revise the questionnaires and number of items, without sacrificing its psychometric properties. Furthermore, it may be felt that the items on the OSI were bias towards white-collar or executive levels – ignoring the stress felt at lower levels of the organisation. The length and complexity of the OSI may have been bias towards workers who took on re ading activities regularly – opposed to the more manually skilled employee’s with more hands on day to day tasks. With this diversity in mind – it is essential that a vast number of employment scenarios are covered on any stress indicator scale. It may be interpreted that the original OSI was not so diligent in representing such diversity in the work-force. Williams and Copper (1996) were careful to use an extremely diverse data set representing over 100 different organisations from the public and private sectors. Incorporating diversity, it is also important to eradicate cultural boundaries in the questioning material. For example, the acknowledgement and understanding that many companies want to investigate work-related stress across national and ethnic boundaries is important. Therefore, can the OSI be regarded as a multi-cultural measure of occupational stress? It may be suggested that the mere fact it was based on a very small sample of just over 150 people , that it is impossible that is has gained a representative view of the world and the people and organisations within it. Furthermore, the consideration that the world of work is always changing means that the questions on the scales need to reflect changes in demand such as job insecurity and technology. The fact that, the original OSI scale has not been amended since its production renders it out-of-date in many respects. To combat these downfalls, William and Copper (1996), attempt to combine the questionnaires with organization-specific items, in hope of identifying sources of pressure and the use of coping mechanisms. The original scale lacks the ability to provide a cross-occupational and cross-company analysis. The solution was to develop a standardized measure covering all aspects of the stress-strain relationship that is, stressors, moderating factors, and stress outcomes (William and Copper, 1996). The new PMI questionnaires are intended also to help raise awareness of occ upational stress at the individual and organizational level, identify those individuals who need remedial help, and provide information for the design of appropriate interventions In light of the discussion above, the Occupational Stress Indictor has presented many weaknesses – in particular reference to its design, practical administration, validity and reliability. Many have questioned the length and complexity of the original self-report questionnaire. This has led to a revised version of the scales in the form of the PMI (Williams and Copper, 1996). The PMI, developed just under ten years after the original OSI, intended to combat many of its methological concerns such as shortening the administration process and taking into account cultural and occupational differences of its users. It would appear that through the quest to appeal to a wide audience – i.e. a diverse work base, the original OSI flawed due to its lack of ability to be able to offer a reliable source of stress indicator in reference to the individual’s perception of the situation and how they perceive they are coping. Although the original OSI was giving an accurate rep resentation of job satisfaction, mental and physical health, and the sources of pressure – i.e. concrete certainties that are easily measurable, the scale was not so reliable in measuring more abstract properties such as perceptional qualities. Therefore, it may seem a valuable option to concentrate on the perceptual properties of the scale itself to produce more reliable scale that measures how the individual feels, opposed to just how the individual acts in their environment– hence the development of the Pressure Management Indicator. This goes hand in hand with the theoretical assumptions that underpin the measurement scales – e.g. Lazarus transactional model of stress – purposing that there is a transaction between the environment and the person – which in turn may render the interaction as a stressful one or not. It is important to take into account that stress is an interactive process between the stressor and the moderator and the stress out come. The newly revised PMI scale is more advanced than the original OSI scale in that it takes into account this interaction. An important factor highlighted by the ASSET scale is that the administration of an Occupation Stress Indicator or Pressure Management Indicator needs to be as impartial as possible. A large weakness that needs to be overcome about any type of stress indicator is that it is not measuring the person’s ability to cope in stressful situations. For example, the scale is not intended to assess or question personality or to test the personal attributes of the individual, but instead, to provide an indication of how one perceives their working environment and how a number of variables interact to produce potentially stressful effects for the individual. The overall aim of a stress indicator scale is to identify physical and psychological areas of concern that can be highlighted to encourage an optimal balance of stress, coping strategies and support in the w ork place. References Books Cooper, C. L., Sloan, S. J., Williams, S. (1988). Occupational Stress Indicator. Windsor, England: NFER- Nelson. Lazarus, R. S. (1966). Psychological stress and the coping process. New York: McGraw-Hill. Lazarus, R.S. (1975). The healthy personality: a review of conceptualizations and research. In Levi, L (Ed). Society, stress and disease, vol 2. Oxford. Oxford University Press. Pratt, L. I., Barling, J. (1988). 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