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The Key Human Resource Challenges Facing Construction Companies In Europe

Introduction

As European countries advance their developments, construction firms play vital roles in the betterment of roads, pavements, houses and other types of buildings to support other developmental projects. Unfortunately, most of the construction companies across the globe, including Europe, face some challenges and problems that could adversely affect their operations (Hussin, Rahman & Memon, 2013). Since the construction industry tend to be large institutions that rely on different parties including construction companies, contractors and subcontractors, and numerous people from varied backgrounds, it (the construction industry) encounters diversified issues that revolve around management of human resources.

Problem

The booming construction industry in Europe has brought along Human Resource (HR) issues related to work safety and finding qualified staff.

Research Question

What are the he key human resource challenges facing construction companies in Europe?

Objectives

To identify the common challenges faced by construction industries across Europe as it relates to Human Resource Management

To identify the specific Human Resource areas that needs improvement so as to combat the issues identified

To assess the contemporary Human Resource Issues issues that have emerged as a result of technological advancement within the construction industry in Europe.

To explore the possible recommended solutions to solve these issues.

Literature Review

Health And Safety Issues

Several deaths and injuries have continually tainted the construction industry. Since construction companies operate with risky equipment and tools that entail heavy machinery and electricity, injuries and deaths among employees tend to be common (Cooke & Lingard, 2011). Besides, exposure to loud noise and poisonous fumes could attract more harmful effects among the workforce.

Finding Skilled Workers

Many construction contractors encounter lots of trouble while trying to recruit appropriate workers for their projects. As more projects emerge in Europe and other parts of the globe, the number of available skilled workers would shrink (Black, Engbersen & Okólski, 2010). Conversely, more than half of construction firms would not find their desired workforce. As a result, some companies may fail to complete their projects on time, and may not deliver high quality projects.

Advancement In Technology

As technology advances, it significantly influences operations and processes in the construction industry. Unluckily, the construction industry tends to be slow with regards to adoption of new and changing technologies (Lu, Huang & Li, 2011). Since construction companies and their subcontractors could use different types of software and programs, it would be a challenge to harmonize and streamline all operations. As a result, productivity and performance of workers could drastically decline when construction firms and their subcontractors embrace unsuitable technologies or fail to adjust and adopt new technologies. Hence, construction firms could fail to embrace the otherwise beneficial technological changes due to prevailing high costs and difficulties.

Workplace Diversity

Although diversity in the workplace could attract some vital benefits to the different industries, certain challenges tend to exist. Workplace diversity could attract synergy that facilitates better performance, problem solving and critical thinking of the workforce. However, such workplace diversity could draw unwanted effects that may entail discriminations, disrespect and hostility due to specific reasons that could include biases and prejudices (Burkard, Boticki & Madson, 2002). Consequently, unmotivated and less-productive workforce would emerge.

Payroll

Since apt remuneration is vital for virtually every employee, firms should endeavor to ensure they attain such an objective to attract and sustain their desired workforces. Unfortunately, some organizations may encounter high employee turnovers, high absenteeism and reliance on less-motivated workforces due to poor remunerations that could exist due to failures of employed payroll software (Kazaz, Ulubeyli & Tuncbilekli, 2012). Faulty payroll systems could lead to unwanted outcomes that could entail unnecessary deductions and overpayments that adversely impact on businesses and their employees. Accordingly, payroll systems which tend to be ever changing pose lots of challenges to construction and other organizations.

Research Design

This research will adopt a descriptive research design. The relevant aspects related to HRM issues within the construction industry will be looked into by gathering data from secondary resources that include articles and books. The qualitative research design would endeavor to describe and explain the major HR issues affecting construction firms in Europe. Luckily, the approach encourages objective analysis and evaluation of the situation as well as presentation of detail information about the subject under study (Pandve, 2016).

Conclusion

Construction firms in Europe are facing certain HR related issues that could attract adverse consequences if the concerned companies fail to adequately address them. The main HR issues facing the construction industry entail payroll, advancement in technology, workplace diversity, finding skilled workers and health and safety factors. Conversely, the otherwise booming construction industry in Europe has brought some HR issues related to work safety and acquisition of skilled staffs.

References

Black, R., Engbersen, G., & Okólski, M. (Eds.). (2010). A continent moving west?: EU enlargement and labour migration from Central and Eastern Europe. Amsterdam University Press.

Burkard, A. W., Boticki, M. A., & Madson, M. B. (2002). Workplace discrimination, prejudice, and diversity measurement: A review of instrumentation. Journal of Career Assessment, 10(3), 343-361.

Cooke, T., & Lingard, H. (2011). A retrospective analysis of work-related deaths in the Australian construction industry. In ARCOM Twenty-seventh Annual Conference (pp. 279-288). Association of Researchers in Construction Management (ARCOM).

Hussin, J. M., Rahman, I. A., & Memon, A. H. (2013). The way forward in sustainable construction: issues and challenges. International Journal of Advances in Applied Sciences, 2(1), 15-24.

Kazaz, A., Ulubeyli, S., & Tuncbilekli, N. A. (2012). Causes of delays in construction projects in Turkey. Journal of Civil Engineering and Management, 18(3), 426-435.

Lu, W., Huang, G. Q., & Li, H. (2011). Scenarios for applying RFID technology in construction project management. Automation in construction, 20(2), 101-106.

Pandve, H. (2016). Qualitative research in Ergonomics: An added advantage. J Ergonomics, 6, e150.

The Key Human Resource Challenges Facing Construction Companies In Europe

Title page

Title

Introduction

Research Problem

The booming construction industry in Europe has brought along Human Resource (HR) issues related to work safety, finding qualified staff, payroll and advancement in technology.

Importance Of The Problem For Specific Stakeholder Groups

The aforementioned issues is of utmost importance to various stakeholders in the construction industry including Project Managers, contractors, suppliers, architects and clients.

Background to the Research Problem

Considering that the construction industry in Europe is large, many organizations that include the construction companies, contractors, subcontractors, and numerous people from varied backgrounds encounters diversified issues that revolve around management of human resources.

Introduce Research Question

What are the he key human resource challenges facing construction companies in Europe?

Objectives

To identify the common challenges faced by construction industries across Europe as it relates to Human Resource Management

To identify the specific Human Resource areas that needs improvement so as to combat the issues identified

To assess the contemporary Human Resource Issues issues that have emerged as a result of technological advancement within the construction industry in Europe.

To explore the possible recommended solutions to solve these issues.

Research Road Map and Main Argument

The major HRM issues faced by most European based construction companies include health safety issues, finding skilled labor, workplace diversity, and payroll issues. In trying to assess these issues, the literature review will evaluate the previous research related to the same in a bid to gain more insights regarding these concepts and later present a research design for further research.

Literature Review

Health And Safety Issues

International labour organization indicated that health and safety in the construction industry is becoming more extensive than it had been before (Murie, 2007).

Physical Risks

Construction industry involves much of technical work hence prone to physical injuries from the work environment and building materials.

Chemical Risks

Construction raw materials used for production of composites contain harmful mineral binders and high radiation products that affect employees in the companies (Kowalik et al., 2019)

Psychological Risks

Construction companies are susceptible to mental health issues due to the exposure to job-related psychological stress such as high-performance pressures and complex decision making (Oswald, Borg & Sherratt, 2019)

Finding Skilled Workers

Construction work is highly dependent on skilled labour to complete companies’ production operations. However, there has been significant skills shortage affecting time, cost and quality of work (Mohamed, Pärn & Edwards, 2017).

New Technology

Low supply and unavailability of skilled ICT personnel has become a challenge due to high technological innovation and new ICT developments (Brixiova, Li & Yousef, 2009).

Insufficient Trained Workforce

Trained workers in the construction industry is diminishing as the growing population prefer indoor activities and relate construction work to wage inequality.

Constructions Skills Gap

Construction industry has undergone a lot of changes therefore new skills and roles are emerging, with no skilled workforce to cover (“How to tackle the skills gap head on – UK Construction Online”, 2019)

Workplace Diversity

Workforce population spring from diverse platforms, but as they join the company, they have to actively and effectively contribute to a common goal.

Language and Communication

Workplace diversity leads to communication and language challenges, which affect construction companies as conversation is one of the most critical competencies required for high performance (Burkard, Boticki & Madson, 2002)

Gender Equality

Diversity sources may be treating technological and project-based work as masculine hence companies are limited to preferring a certain gender to the other, even if one is competent enough. (Emuze, Smallwood & Han, 2014)

Ethnic and Cultural Differences

Cultural differences reflect on human relation, ethics and habits, which affect workers emotionally, contributing to loss of concentration and poor performance (Mbazor & Okuoma, 2014).

Payroll

Payment is a challenge in the construction industry as most jobs are manual and there are no stipulated payment amounts for each type of job (Grimshaw, 2016)

Tracking Overtime

Lack of a developed technique for tracking overtime workers and dishonesty makes it difficult to get the required information for allocation of payments (Hussin, Rahman, & Memon, 2013)

Late Payments

Workers usually need their payments to be made on time hence late payments demoralize the workforce leading to poor performance (Kazaz, Ulubeyli & Tuncbilekli, 2012)

Misclassifying Employees

Emerging roles in the technological basis lack a specific classification in the companies’ human resource hence lack a specific evaluation of their payments (Grimshaw, 2016)

Research Design

The design are the strategies used to address the question on the challenges facing construction companies in Europe.

Quantitative Research Approach

This approach emphasizes on statistical analysis of the data collected.

Data Collection Methods

The methods used to collect data were physical observations and use of surveys.

Observations

Data on some of the challenges of construction companies such as health and safety issues and workplace diversity could easily be done through observation (Kawuliwich, 2005)

Surveys

Surveys provide actual, broad perspective and reliable statistical data from research conducted on a sample of the construction workforce population (Carrillo, 1994).

Data Analysis

Statistical Analysis

The data acquired was in respect of the research question- to find the key human resource challenges facing the construction companies in Europe

Conclusion

The main challenges faced by human resource in construction industries are health and safety risks, lack of skilled workforce, diversity and payment rate issues for the workers.

References

Black, R., Engbersen, G., & Okólski, M. (Eds.). (2010). A continent moving west?: EU enlargement and labour migration from Central and Eastern Europe. Amsterdam University Press.

Brixiova, Z., Li, W., & Yousef, T. (2009). Skill shortages and labor market outcomes in Central Europe. Economic Systems, 33(1), 45-59. doi: 10.1016/j.ecosys.2008.07.002

Burkard, A. W., Boticki, M. A., & Madson, M. B. (2002). Workplace discrimination, prejudice, and diversity measurement: A review of instrumentation. Journal of Career Assessment, 10(3), 343-361.

Carrillo, P. (1994). Technology transfer: A survey of international construction companies. Construction Management And Economics, 12(1), 45-51. doi: 10.1080/01446199400000006

Cooke, T., & Lingard, H. (2011). A retrospective analysis of work-related deaths in the Australian construction industry. In ARCOM Twenty-seventh Annual Conference (pp. 279-288). Association of Researchers in Construction Management (ARCOM).

Emuze, F., Smallwood, J., & Han, S. (2014). Factors contributing to non-value adding activities in South African construction. Journal Of Engineering, Design And Technology, 12(2), 223-243. doi: 10.1108/jedt-07-2011-0048

Grimshaw, D. (2016). Minimum wages, pay equity and comparative industrial relations. New York, NY: Routledge.

How to tackle the skills gap head on – UK Construction Online. (2019). Retrieved 4 January 2020, from https://www.ukconstructionmedia.co.uk/features/tackle-skills-gap-head/Hussin, J. M., Rahman, I. A., & Memon, A. H. (2013). The way forward in sustainable construction: issues and challenges. International Journal of Advances in Applied Sciences, 2(1), 15-24.

Kawuliwich, B. (2005). Participant Observation as a Data Collection Method. FQS, 6(2).

Kazaz, A., Ulubeyli, S., & Tuncbilekli, N. A. (2012). Causes of delays in construction projects in Turkey. Journal of Civil Engineering and Management, 18(3), 426-435.

Kowalik, T., Logoń, D., Maj, M., Rybak, J., Ubysz, A., & Wojtowicz, A. (2019). Chemical hazards in construction industry. E3S Web Of Conferences, 97, 03032. doi: 10.1051/e3sconf/20199703032

Lu, W., Huang, G. Q., & Li, H. (2011). Scenarios for applying RFID technology in construction project management. Automation in construction, 20(2), 101-106.

Mbazor, D., & Okuoma, O. (2014). Multicultural Work Force in Construction Organisation-Issues of Health, Safety & Environment. Researchgate, 6(10), 24.

Mohamed, M., Pärn, E., & Edwards, D. (2017). Brexit: measuring the impact upon skilled labour in the UK construction industry. International Journal Of Building Pathology And Adaptation, 35(3), 264-279. doi: 10.1108/ijbpa-05-2017-0023

Murie, F. 2007. Building Safety-an International Perspective. International Journal of

Occupational and Environmental Health, 13 (1), 5-11

Oswald, D., Borg, J., & Sherratt, F. (2019). Mental Health in the Construction Industry: a Rapid Review. Proc. 27Th Annual Conference Of The International Group For Lean Construction (IGLC). doi: 10.24928/2019/0141

Pandve, H. (2016). Qualitative research in Ergonomics: An added advantage. J Ergonomics, 6, e150.

The key theme in this episode is policing and society. After watching episode seven of The Rookie, I came to realize that police officers face challenges similar to civilians. They have loans that they are paying, sick relatives and so on. For instance, Wesley has a hard time trying to keep it together under the pressure of his debt to Elijah. Society needs to realize this and show love and compassion to police officers while doing their job. Police officers need to be given the respect they deserve. We cannot disrespect them, or else there will negatively impact our society and us as individuals. There seems to be discrimination against cops by civilians today. Episode seven of The Rookie was one of the most interesting episodes of this series because it has a special meaning for me.

The relationship between the police and the public should be encouraged to enhance respect and love. The Rookie has depicted this very well in this episode. Not only do I feel proud to have watched the seventh episode, but I also feel very lucky because it came at a time when I needed some inspiration. During my short time watching the show, I have become more aware of the challenges and dangers police officers are exposed to while they are on duty. Police officers get threatened and hurt on their duty. Officer Nolan gets hurt bad, and his house is put on fire. He is also kidnapped, beaten up and threatened.

000 Cost of goods sold $ 800

Student’s Name

Instructor’s Name

Course Tittle

Date

Reading Summaries Chapter 3

It is evident that we cannot escape the moral realities of life. We usually have to evaluate more principles, make ethical judgments, deal with moral theories and argue the pros and cons of moral issues. We take into account our feelings, beliefs, desires, and other factors because we reason that ethical philosophy matters along the way. Moral reasoning is essential in a way that it aids in assessing what is right and wrong, virtuous and vicious, good and bad (Vaughn 41). Feelings enter the picture in a way that goes all the way through.

Feelings typically lead individuals to act morally towards others. Our feelings sometimes influence our moral reasoning so that they play an important part in our moral decision-making. According to the reading, feelings or emotions can significantly affect the way we solve problems, think, and decide. We make and dismantle arguments for this view and for that. Moral reasoning is common critical reasoning that is applied to ethics. It entails systematic evaluation of claims or statements. We use it to determine whether an idea is worthy of acceptance.

It is possible to present a logical argument that someone feels strongly about. Reasons support an argument that may assert relevant examples, scientific evidence, expert opinion, and other considerations. We have a logical idea that we can present when at least one statement tries to give reasons for believing another statement (Vaughn 42). The supporting statements in an argument are called premises, while the statement supported is referred to as conclusion. An illustration of such an argument is “Capital punishment is morally permissible because it helps deter crime.” (Vaughn, 42) In this argument, “because it helps to deter crime” is a single premise, and “capital punishment is morally permissible” supports a straightforward conclusion.

Work Cited

Vaughn, Lewis. Doing ethics: Moral reasoning and contemporary issues. WW Norton & Company, 2015.

Student’s Name:

Instructor’s Name:

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Date:

The issue of racism in the United States has been a major and persistent problem in American society. Racism, according to sociologists, is defined as the unfair treatment if a person or group on the basis of race (Hoyt, 2012). Racism can either be overt or covert, and it can be expressed on different levels including from an individual’s level, and this can be evidenced when a person makes conscious or unconscious discriminatory practices against another person. However, racism is also evidenced at an institutional level where the rules and policies, as well as the practices in the organizations, tend to discriminate against individuals as well as groups (Gee, 2008). Institutions such as universities and colleges are among the leading organizations that have persisted in cases of racism both at the students’ level as well as from the instructional rules, policies, and practices.

Racists tend to perceive their race as being superior compared to that of others, and according to many, there does not exist such a thing as racial equality (DiAngelo, 2018). Racial supremacists tend to believe that their culture, color, mental, and physical abilities are superior to other races and therefore possess prejudiced believes that lead them to discriminate against other racial and ethnic groups. The racist perceptions are used to justify their discriminatory practices, and these racists tend to be insecure and afraid of certain uncertainties that tend to get over them. As a result, racism from both individuals and groups stems from ignorance rather than genuine hatred of the victims. Since the founding of the American nations, racism has been the fact of life of the American society as it is learned and passed to generations through socialization at an early age and continues to be reinforced by the individuals and institutions such as universities (Juang et al. 2018).

Covert racisms are one of the most common types of racism that are experienced in the United States, especially to the students of color (Thornhill, 2016). Over time, there have been numerous instances to which covert racism has been accorded to the students of color mostly by the institutions dominated by whites. For example, the white academic advisors may discourage black students from enrolling in challenging courses or even allow them to overload with more classes than they are able to handle. Another instance on which racism has been detected in the institutions is through the white student’s avoidance of the black students in areas of interactions such as classrooms, study groups, and even in the lecture halls.

Also, students of color are often left out of most student’s networks that include the course syllabus, sharing of notes, and old exams (Alemán & Gaytán, 2017). Other instances regard the professors in fear of a racist label may tend to hesitate or even lack to advice the students of color in matters regarding courses, for example, they may fail to offer proper advice regarding what subjects to take or drop when they are faced with problems which may result to their failure. When this happens, the students are left stranded since even seeking advice may prove unsuccessful as the professors may fail to guide them and thus left to survive on what they perceive as best; this results in them making the wrong choices and decisions leading to failure in their selected majors.

Institutional racism is also common, especially to the students of color, and this is mostly witnessed on white college universities (Harwood et al. 2018), and some of the prejudices the standardized tests on which colored students tend to score lowly compared to the white students. The prejudices tend to be weighed heavily during the process of admission, a decline in the amount of student aid, rising costs of the college tuition along with other financial cutbacks. Unfortunately, most of the black students tend to rely on financial assistance, and therefore, during the reduction of the financial aid to the students under the Reagan administration, a large proportion of the black students who were in dire need of financial assistance were neglected (Williams, 2019). The financial aid covered more than 60% of their college costs, and thus, a reduction meant that most of the black students could not sustain their lives in college.

Studies have been conducted to examine the racial attitudes on the white campuses, and results indicated that most of the white students do believe that they are living in a racially equal society and thus tend to resent that the black students, along with other minorities, are offered special treatment (Lo et al. 2017). As a result, they tend to dislike the minority groups being singled out for special programs and activities. There are white students who feel that in the process of correcting past discrimination, whites are being victimized by the efforts. As a result, minorities do enjoy unfair advantages. More than 80% of minority students do attend white-dominated institutions, and in these institutions, racism is more prevalent and tends to prohibit minority students from developing a sense of belonging. The minority students do experience culture shock and less socialization with white students, making them spend a lot of time isolated from the mainstream activities in the institution (McCoy, 2018).

Overall, the perception of racism in the United States, especially in the institutions of higher learning, has soared great heights as the students are aware of the existence of racism in schools. For example, there has been minimum support and assistance for the minority students in learning institutions such as lack of enough minority role models as well as lack of support services, making it difficult for the colored students to survive in white-dominated institutions.

References

Alemán, S. M., & Gaytán, S. (2017). ‘It doesn’t speak to me’: understanding student of color resistance to critical race pedagogy. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 30(2), 128-146.

DiAngelo, R. (2018). White fragility: Why it’s so hard for white people to talk about racism. Beacon Press.

Gee, G. C. (2008). A multilevel analysis of the relationship between institutional and individual racial discrimination and health status. American journal of public health, 98(Supplement_1), S48-S56.

Harwood, S. A., Mendenhall, R., Lee, S. S., Riopelle, C., & Huntt, M. B. (2018). Everyday racism in integrated spaces: Mapping the experiences of students of color at a diversifying predominantly white institution. Annals of the American Association of Geographers, 108(5), 1245-1259.

Hoyt Jr, C. (2012). The pedagogy of the meaning of racism: Reconciling a discordant discourse. Social work, 57(3), 225-234.

Juang, L. P., Park, I., Kim, S. Y., Lee, R. M., Qin, D., Okazaki, S., … & Lau, A. (2018). Reactive and proactive ethnic–racial socialization practices of second-generation Asian American parents. Asian American Journal of Psychology, 9(1), 4.

Lo, C. C., McCallum, D. M., Hughes, M., Smith, G. P., & McKnight, U. (2017). Racial differences in college students’ assessments of campus race relations. Journal of College Student Development, 58(2), 247-263.

McCoy, S. Z. (2018). The intellectual war zone: An autoethnography of intellectual identity development despite oppressive institutional socialization. Journal of Diversity in Higher Education, 11(3), 325.

Thornhill, T. E. (2016). Resistance and assent: How racial socialization shapes Black students’ experience learning African American history in high school. Urban education, 51(9), 1126-1151.

Williams, S. L. (2019). In Defense of the “Forgotten Man”: The Sustained Legacy of the Southern Strategy on the Post-Reagan Era Presidency.

The Interdisciplinary Research Process (IRP)

Outline of the Senior Capstone Paper

To assist students to gain a more comprehensive understand the interdisciplinary research process (IRP), the attachments listed below are designed to assist in the development of an outline of the capstone research paper.

The Interdisciplinary Research Process (IRP) – provides guiding questions and statement at the beginning of the inquiry to ensure compliance with the Interdisciplinary research process

The Board Model Rubric (page 293 in Repko textbook) – this rubric includes the six ID Process steps and the criteria that evaluate the information that should be included at each step.

It is recommended that you read chapters 4 & 6 that were given out in class which was taken from the textbook “Interdisciplinary Research: Process and Theory” by Allen F. Repko and Rick Szostak. Read chapters 11 and 12 in the “Introduction to Interdisciplinary Studies by Allen F. Repko, Rick Szostak, and Michelle Phillips Buchberger. This information will provide you with a foundation and understanding of the interdisciplinary research process for your topic/complex problem.

Sample Outline of Capstone Research Paper – Using the Interdisciplinary Research Process and the Broad Model Rubric begin to outline the sections of the capstone paper as follows

Title of the Capstone Paper

Table of Contents

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Steps 1 – Define the problem or state the research

Steps 2 – Justify using an interdisciplinary approach

Body of Paper: Steps 3 – Identify relevant disciplines

Steps 4 – Conduct a literature search/literature review. (On the other hand, the whole paper should reflect a literature review as this is essentially secondary research.

Steps 5 – Critically analyze the disciplinary insights into the problem and locate their sources of conflict; or identify the different parts/reasons why one discipline approach may be inadequate or insufficient. (Essentially step 4.2 above)

FIRST HEADING

Subheading #1, 2, 3……as many as needed

SECOND HEADING

Subheading #1, 2, 3…..as many as needed

THIRD HEADING

Subheading #1, 2, 3……as many as needed

FOURTH HEADING

Subheading #1, 2, 3……as many as needed

CONCLUSION: Steps 6 – Reflect on how using an interdisciplinary approach has

enlarged your understanding the problem.

Pay particular attention to the sections in chapter 11, pages 281-292 on “Decompose the Problem”; page 295 on “Develop a Data Management System”; in chapter 12, pages 309 -314 “Critically Analyze the Disciplinary Insights ”and pages 322- 326, “Reflect on the Interdisciplinary Approach”. If followed the strategies and methods outlined in the Repko textbook and chapter handouts will provide you with enough information to complete the research paper. Remember this is just an outline and it will be revised several times before you complete this process.

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Date: 27/09/2019

Entry 2

Reading: the story of an hour by Kate Chopin

The story of an hour is a short story about a woman who finds peace, joy, and liberation from the death of her husband. She is portrayed as a selfish monster who does not find the news of the death of her husband sad since she is barely remorseful. Later on, she finds out that the news on her husband’s death was false, and she has to die when she sees her husband alive. Instead of mourning like any other normal woman in such a situation, the heroine of the story appears to be free and happy. The story shines the light on the struggles women go through in their marriage life. Mrs. Mallard could not wait to be free, and that is why she is portrayed as liberated when her husband is allegedly reported dead. From her reaction, it is clear that married women feel trapped in marriages and are less happy as compared to men.

Entry 3

Reading: black men and public space by Brent Staples

Black men and public space is a short essay Staples wrote addressing his own experiences on how he is stereotyped for being an African American and his intimidations in the public space. He is treated unfairly and is often discriminated against due to his skin complexion, which forces him to change himself. Apart from changing his appearance and the way he walks to avoid frightening others, he dresses in a sophisticated manner to fit in the society’s accepted codes. He also tries to whistle tunes from classical music which he intends to lift and lighten up his mood and thus make him appear friendly in the eyes of others. The story brings out the aspect of discrimination along cultural and racial lines. Staples was stereotyped as unfriendly and may be harmful due to the color of his skin, and he slowly gets the acceptance when he changes his appearance and personality.

Entry 4

Reading: the lesson by Toni Cade Bambara

The lesson is a short story about the trip, which was initiated by a well-educated woman in the entire neighborhood to expose the children to the outside world. She intends to show the children that there is more to life than the poverty and the oppression there are used to in their black neighborhood. They toured a toy store in Manhattan where economic inequalities and social injustice are demonstrated through the prices of the toys in the store. All the children can barely afford them, but some still choose to spend their last money on them. The narrator in the story is determined to show how the marginalized communities lived in darkness and are entirely clueless about the outside world. It is true since from the narrative; it is clear that Miss Moore made the trip happen which in turn means that she is responsible for the exposure of the children to the outside world free from poverty, unlike their oppression community.

Entry 5

Reading: a very older man with enormous wings by Gabriel García Márquez

A very older man with enormous wings is a short story on magic realism. It is about a character that appears in the backyard on a stormy night and the reactions of the family, the town, and even the visitors from outside the town. The older man with wings speaks a different dialect, and their neighbor believes that he is an angel. The news spread all over the town, and people come to see him at an expense which enables Pelayo and Elisanda to make a fortune. A new carnival, however, arrives in town and the attention shifts. Later the angel flies away after being ill. From the story, various people had an opinion about the older man with wings. Some thought of him as an angel while others, such as the priest disagreed with that bit and maintained that he was not an angel. The opinions mirrors on their ideals of religion on top of how they treated the angel.

Entry 6

Reading: the jewelry by Guy De Maupassant

The jewelry is a short story about a man who kept looking for the perfect woman to marry. After his wife passed away, he realized that her jewelry was real when he always thought it was counterfeit. This makes him conclude that his wife had another lover. His sorrow is quickly wiped away by the fortune he made from selling the jewelry. Moving on, he meets another woman whom he perceives as quite different from his first wife. The second woman is, however hot-tempered, and she makes him unhappy too. He gets a second deception of trusting nonvirtuous women on top of the first one which was entirely on infidelity in marriage. The story teaches us about observing the situation and making decisions. The Lantins told themselves lies which unfolded out when Mrs. Lantin passed away. Sometimes the things we stress about are just in front of our eyes just that we blind to notice them.

Entry 7

Reading: the birth-mark by Nathaniel Hawthorne

The birth-mark is a short story about the obsession with human perfection. Hawthorne writes about a scientist and a philosopher who gives up his career to marry a beautiful woman, Georgina, who is all perfect except that she has a small red birthmark in the shape of a hand on her cheek. Aylmer is so obsessed with the birth which continues to haunt him in his sleep and Georgina agrees to have it removed to stop the trauma it caused her husband. Aylmer works on removing the birthmark, and his wife trusts him after a few instances of mistrust. The plan works, and the birthmark slowly reduces, and soon the birthmark will fade away completely. However, it fades away with Georgina who dies with her birthmark. The birthmark in the story represents the flaws of the human race. Aylmer emerges as a failure who murders his wife instead of perfecting her. It mirrors the liability of women to sin, distress, and death.

Entry 8

Reading: a worn path by Eudora Welty

A worn path is a short story about an older woman of African America descent who sets on a journey through a thick lonely forest to get medicine for her sick grandson in the city. Phoenix encounters several challenges throughout her journey including thorny bushes, a large dog, barbed wire, etc. she does not give up, and she makes through to the city where she meets the nurse and explains her grandson’s condition. She persists and goes back whenever to save his grandson, which a gesture of her unconditional love for the child. The story highlights the unconditional love for others, Phoenix in the story is an older woman who can barely take care of herself but unselfishly chooses to take care of her grandson involving traveling through dangerous rural paths to the city to get him the medication he needs. She is willing to set aside her other problems to help out.

The Internet Privacy Outline

Student’s Name

Department of Affiliation

Course

Professor

Date

The Internet Privacy Outline.

Most people are now facing a lot of threats because of the developing use of the internet.

Spying.

Tracking and Identity theft.

Vulnerability of internet users.

The internet Search Engines

Disclosure of private information

Location and tracking

Data protection and the steps taken by different agencies.

Privacy laws.

Solutions to privacy problem on the internet.

Challenging the people who misuse internet in court

Tech companies should come with products that protects internet users.

Enact legislation that protect internet users