Human Resource Management Role in Organizations Goals

Introduction Human resource management refers to the tactical and articulate approach to the administration of any firm’s most treasured assets, which are the staff who labor there. These people make their contribution both as individuals and as a group with their toil all geared toward the attainment of the goals of the firm (Armstrong, 2006, p. 3).Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Human Resource Management Role in Organization’s Goals specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Human resource management, commonly referred to as HRM, can be summed up as providing work for people, building up their abilities, making the most of these capabilities, keeping up and recompensing their services in accordance with their duty(s) and organizational obligation. Members of staff of any organization have variegating objectives and requirements, and consequently need not be thought of as fundamental industry assets like a utomobiles and filing cupboards. Human resource management needs to take a constructive view of members of staff, with the assumption that practically all of them aspire to put in to the entity fruitfully, and that the most important stumbling blocks to their undertakings are lack of understanding, inadequate preparation and letdowns of progression. The practice should therefore be further inventive as opposed to the conventional approach. In and of it, human resource management procedures, when appropriately put into practice, are communicative of the objectives and working applications of the entity taken as a whole. The practice also plays a major function in risk cutback within enterprises. The human resources management task takes account of an array of activities, and the main in the midst of them is coming to a decision what recruitment needs to have and if to utilize autonomous service providers or take into service staff to fill these requirements, signing up and instructin g the best staff, making certain that they are high players, tackling performance matters, and making certain that human resources and administration carry outs adhere to given conventions (Paauwe, 2009, p. 21). Actions also take account of management of advancement to staff reimbursements and recompense, staff documentation and workforce guiding principles. There are various aspects of human resource management which work jointly to ensure that the members of staff of a given enterprise are well managed and adequately motivated in a bid to realize the set goals and objectives. These are discussed in detail here.Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Equal employment opportunity and Affirmative Action Equal employment chance for all persons is one of the best guiding principles that will make certain that competent staff members are hired so that they may help attain an organizat ion’s set goals. There should be no unfairness of any kind on the grounds of race, skin pigmentation, religious conviction, gender, nationality, age, impairment, or sexual orientation in any facet of an individual’s employment or qualification for being hired (Paauwe, 2009, p. 34). Equal employment opportunity is commonly referred to as EEO and its rights are warranted by the national and state just employment regulations and are put into effect by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, EEOC, and its state corresponding entities. Affirmative action describes an employer or hiring agent’s measure for practically signing up, taking into service and endorsing women, minorities, impaired persons and old hands. Affirmative action is an honorable and societal requirement to correct past slip-ups and do away with the current outcomes of precedent unfairness. Affirmative action plans, AAPs, have been crafted and take account of arithmetical standards aimed at addi ng to the representation of minority groups. Whenever the employees of any entity have it in their minds that none of them was hired in an unfair manner they are bound to feel equal. They have no fears or prejudices of any form and will thus work harmoniously toward both individual and the organization’s growth. Human resources development Human resources development, commonly referred to as HRD, is a structure for the development of human assets inside a firm. It is usually an arrangement of guidance and edification that makes certain the persistent stepping up and development of both the individual and the firm. Human resources development is the means that impels the progression linking guidance and learning. It is not a specified entity, but a sequence of well thought-out courses of action (Mathis and Jackson, 2006, p.105). This human resource management aspect is vital for the realization of any organization’s objectives. This is for the simple fact that it agrees to personality growth, potentially assuring the firm’s objectives. The growth of the individual will definitely do well to both himself or herself and the firm. When the staff members of an organization feel appreciated by being offered opportunities for growth, their morale goes up and they perform as expected, meeting set goals and even overshooting targets. The human resource development looks at staff members as positive features to the organization whose worth will be improved by development. This development can be board-room set guidance, professional classes or tutoring by further up the ladder members of staff with the goal for a most wanted result that will build up the individual’s feat.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Human Resource Management Role in Organization’s Goals specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More A novice will move all the way through the growth course to be converted i nto a tradesman in their turf in the same way a skilled trainee will turn out to be an expert in their turf. Good human resource development curriculums set up employees to carry out superior echelons of work (Elwood and Trott, 1996, p.7). The curriculums lay emphasis on the firm’s capabilities at the foremost phase, instruction, and then build up the staff member, by way of edification, to meet the firm’s long-standing needs and the member’s professional aims and employee worth to their current and prospect employers. Human resources planning, recruitment, and selection For an organization to realize its set objectives there needs to be competent staff working toward realization of those goals. When putting up plans for signing up and recruiting new staff, it is imperative that such plans need to cater for signing up the smartest individual(s) that can be found. Maintenance of an organization’s best members of staff starts with the signing up, enrollment and appointing policies, procedures and measures. The planning and hiring process needs to be carried out systematically so that no errors are made. The best method of doing this is by developing a checklist to act as a guide. First it needs to be established whether there is the requirement for a new or refilling position (Delery and Doty, 1996, p. 802). Once this has been determined creative thinking needs to be carried out in a bid to get the job(s) done minus adding a new member. If this turns out to be impossible then a recruiting plan is required to be set so as to get appropriate filler for that position. A good recruiting plan begins by specifying the fundamental obligations required from the post and the particular skills, aptitude, traits and work understanding being sought in a candidate. These are important as they will help in writing up the post advertisement and job description in order to attract applications from candidates. Other things to be determined here are t he remuneration range for the post and if the concerned division can meet the expenses of the person(s) to fill that post. After applications are collected, short listing follows and then interviews. Those who qualify are then signed up and inducted into the organization with their job descriptions, key performance indicators, among others.Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Compensation and benefits The most prized assets in any organization have to be well recompensed with sufficient benefits if they are to work toward realization of set goals and achievements. Compensation also has to be well worked out so that the expenditure of the firm does not shoot through the roof as it will subsequently mean some dreadful damages to the firm (Delery and Doty, 1996, p. 835). Other than the qualifications, expertise, experience and nature of duties carried out, consideration for the prevailing economic times and living costs needs to be put to mind when paying employees. Safety and Health This refers to a cross-disciplinary field charged with saving from harm the wellbeing, healthiness and welfare of the persons involved in labor or service. The key aim of all work-related health and wellbeing agenda is to promote a work setting that is out of harm’s way (Roughton, 2002, p. 5). As a derivative outcome, it may also safeguard associates, relations, employer s, clients, dealers, surrounding population(s) and any other persons who are affected by the place of work surrounding. Workplace safety requirements are now widely highlighted in civil and labor laws world over. When staff members feel secure and protected then they work without any fear and an organization’s goals may be easily achieved in such cases. Accidents, injuries or when it gets worse to loss of lives does no good to anyone. Dangers and health and wellbeing risks need to be made out and assessed so that appropriate safety reins are put in place to keep accidents at bay. In addition to this, effective training of staff members should be carried out so that they know how to avoid accidents and how to react in the case of any eventualities (Roughton, 2002, p. 11). High safety standards are good for everyone as they avoid time wastage, compensation for accidents, lost benevolence from the staff, from clients and the wider society. Employee and labor relations This field of human resource management is normally connected with issues such as inquiries, psychoanalysis and punitive actions. On the other hand, this is without a doubt is its most important  undertaking. This significant human resource part serves as a link connecting employees and the administration, bridging spaces that much of the time seem impossible to either entity (Armstrong, 2006, p. 43). All the way through a variety of types of intercession, as well as problem-fixing, arbitration, instruction and psychotherapy, labor relations provides evenhanded backing to administration and individual staff members to guard their particular rights and make possible a more conducive occupation setting. Conclusion All the above discussed human resource management aspects are important toward the achievement of any organization’s goals. There is no aspect(s) that is more important than the others; all of them work hand in hand. It is the duty of the administration of any organization, e specially the human resource department to see that these facets are properly and effectively put to practice. Reference List Armstrong, M. (2006). A Handbook of Human Resource Management Practice (10th ed.). London: Kogan Page. 3 – 43. Delery, J. and Doty, H. (1996). Modes of theorizing in SHRM. Academy of Management Journal, 39(4), 802-835. Elwood, F., Trott, Jr. (1996). Trends Toward a Closer Integration of Vocational  Education and Human Resources Development. Journal of Vocational and Technical Education, Vol. 12, No. 2, p7. Mathis, L., Jackson, H., (2006). Human Resource Management 12th ed. Managing  Equal Employment and Diversity., pg. 105. Paauwe, J. (2009). HRM and Performance: Achievement, Methodological Issues  and Prospects. Journal of Management Studies, 46 (1). Roughton, J. (2002). Developing an Effective Safety Culture: A Leadership Approach  (1st ed.). Butterworth-Heinemann. 5 – 11. This report on Human Resource Management Role in Organization’s Goals was written and submitted by user Lucy Lang to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

When Is the PSAT 2019 PSAT Test Dates

When Is the PSAT 2019 PSAT Test Dates SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips If you’re coming up on your sophomore or junior year, you’re probably wondering when you’ll be taking the PSAT and how you should prepare. In this article, I’ll tell you when the PSAT is offered this year, how to get ready, and how this relates to your future plans for the SAT. 2019 PSAT Test Dates The PSAT will be offered in October 2019 to 10th and 11th graders. There are threepossible PSAT test dates this year. (These aren't yet confirmed by the College Board, but they expect to offer the PSAT on these dates.) Primary: Wednesday, October 16 Alternate: Wednesday, October 30 Saturday: October 19 The PSAT is administered by each high school on an individual basis (rather than at designated test centers like the SAT). This means that high schools get to decide which date to offer to students. The College Board recommends that schools choose October 16thfor administering the PSAT. October 19th is the Saturday option and October 30th is a secondary date that schools might use in circumstances where they can’t hold the test on the 16th.You will have to take the test on the date offeredat your school. How Should You Prepare for the PSAT? The PSAT was redesigned in 2015 to accord withthe 2016 redesign of the SAT. Here are some practice materialsto help you prepare for the PSAT. You can also read this article to get more information about practice tests you can use and this article for an overview of the changes to the PSAT. Since the PSAT test date is at the beginning of the school year in October, you will have the summer to prepare for the test.Preparing for the PSAT shouldn’t be as intense as for the real SAT, but if you’re looking to potentially get high enough scores to be eligible for a National Merit Scholarship, you should think about doing some studying. Take a practice test and see how you fare- then you can focus on improving in any weak subject areas. For the PSAT, one of the best things you can do to prepare is just pay attention in your classes and do some challenging outside reading.Developing your logical reasoning and reading comprehension skills as well as basic math knowledge will be key to doing well on this test and on the real SAT. Learning these things over time organically will make them stick in your brain much better. You’ll find that skills that were once difficult become second-nature with accumulated practice.This is much better than cramming right before the test, which might help a little but won’t give you the same level of confidence. Don't let your brain get too overwhelmed. Want to get a head start on the PSAT NMQST? We have the industry's leading PSAT prep program. Built by Harvard grads and SAT full scorers, the program learns your strengths and weaknesses through advanced statistics, then customizes your prep program to you so that you get the most effective prep possible. Check out our 5-day free trial today: How Much Time Do You Have Before the Real SAT? If you take the PSAT in 2019, you will be a sophomore or a junior. Depending on which grade you're in now, you might have more or less time between the PSAT and the SAT. For Sophomores It depends on how early you want to get started with taking the SAT.You could decide to take it in the spring of 2019 to become familiar with the test format and have plenty of time to study based on your weak areas before retaking.You could also waituntil your junior fall to take it for the first time, if you are hoping to avoid a retake and want to get some studying in over the summer. You may have up to a year between the PSAT and the first time you take the SAT, depending on your preferences about when you want to get started and how many times you plan on taking the test.Generally we recommend taking the SAT for the first time your junior fall. If you decide to wait until then, you’ll still have plenty of time to improve your scores! For Juniors If you’re taking the PSAT as a junior, you have less time before the SAT.It can be advantageous to take the PSAT as a junior, however, because you will have learned more material in school by then and will have a more solid grasp on all the concepts that are tested. A couple of months between the PSAT and the SAT should be enough time to study and achieve a modest bump in your scores.If you don’t do as well as you hoped, you can take the SAT again in fall of your senior year. October exams: A Very Special Spooky Scary SAT Test Date Predicted Future PSAT Dates in 2020, 2021, and 2022 If you’re a sophomore or younger, you might be wondering when the PSAT is offered in future years.Based on past dates, here are some predictions about when the PSAT will be held in 2020, 2021, and 2022: Year Regular Date Alternative Date Saturday Date 2020 Wednesday, October 14 Wednesday, October 28 Saturday, October17 2021 Wednesday, October 13 Wednesday, October 27 Saturday, October 16 2022 Wednesday, October 12 Wednesday, October 26 Saturday, October 15 What's Next? Do you have more questions about PSAT scores? Find out what a good PSAT score is and what your scores might mean. If you're aiming for a top score, learn what it takes to win a National Merit Scholarship. Disappointed with your scores? Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points?We've written a guide about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

Liberal Education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Liberal Education - Essay Example The arguments developed by Graff and Edmundson on liberal education are found to relate in certain ways despite the fact that some difference, based on cultural ideas and practices, have been developed from the fact that various communities and nations have diversified norms and cultural practices that have to be followed by individuals of that community in a strict way. One of the ways in which Graff supports the arguments of Edmundson is through the idea of students choosing their professors by stating the reasons why the students had to choose professors. They need to choose their professors is based on the high cost of education that they are forced to pay for their education. This could be explained by their choice of lecturers. According to Graff, lecturers have different ways of teaching and thus students wish to gain the best possible by considering their most preferred lecturers who could enable them to gain the highest grades possible. The idea of Edmund is based on maximiz ing the resources available based on their payments, an idea supported by Graff in which the choice of lecturers happens to be one of these attempts to gain high points. This way, Graff’s ideology about students seems to support that of Edmundson of students trying to maximize their educational benefits given the high price they pay for the education (Edmundson). In his article, Graff talks about two professors who impart the same subject with different understandings, which can confuse students unintentionally.

Should the length of time for prescription drug patents be reduced to Research Paper

Should the length of time for prescription drug patents be reduced to encourage the entry of generic drugs If not, what would - Research Paper Example Industrialized countries usually have a high price of pharmaceuticals, so generic pharmaceuticals are used most frequently. Sales of generic drugs in Canada, the US, the UK, and Denmark is more than 40% of the total pharmaceutical sales (King and Kanvos, 2002). Patients are more likely to choose generic drugs as long as they get reimbursed for newer patented drugs whereas their savings are spent in making choices among the generic drugs. However, generic drugs have been heavily criticized for their substandard manufacturing and poor quality. Apart from the fact that they are not rigorously tested, problem also relates to poor compliance of the manufacturers of generics with the practice guidelines. The cost of general drugs is typically lesser than the branded drugs by 30% to 60% (Lewek and Kardas, 2010). Patients on generic drugs have increased tendency to continue therapy compared to patients who take branded drugs. Generic drugs are spared the expensive clinical trials that are a prerequisite for branded drugs to be approved which makes the quality and safety of general drugs questionable. Some legal loopholes which delayed the approval of generic drugs have been closed by The Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 (FDA, 2011). This is evident from the fact that the act does not allow for more than a 30-month stay of generic approval when a generic company is sued by an innovator company with respect to patent issues. A stay is delay in the approval of the generic drug which happens when a patent infringement lawsuit is filed by a branded drug company. The purpose of this delay is to allow time to solve issues regarding the infringement of a drug patent by a generic company. The generic drug is not approved by the FDA during the stay. 30-month stays is the limit established in line with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recommendations (FDA,

Off-loading for the Prevention of Diabetic Foot Ulceration

Off-loading for the Prevention of Diabetic Foot Ulceration THE ROLE OF OFF-LOADING IN THE PREVENTION OF DIABETIC FOOT ULCERATION INTRODUCTION OF DIABETIC FOOT ULCER In the modern techno-world diabetic foot ulcer is the most common reason of lower extremity amputation which makes it highly essential that ulceration in the foot of a patient with Diabetes mellitus must be taken care of immediately or else it will lead to a more serious condition and the end result will be amputation of the leg. As stated in ‘The Lancet’ an early diagnosis is imminent as this condition has high chances of recurring even after the ulcer is treated but medical intervention can prevent amputation. Health care research has been neglecting the importance of planning and taking adequate prophylactic measures to prevent the onset of diabetic foot ulceration and treatment were being given based on clinical diagnosis and results but more importance was to be given to scientific facts and extensive studies were to be done to assess the root cause of the incidence of diabetic foot and timely measures were to be taken (1). Patients with diabetes have higher chances of getting hospitalized with foot problems and this can only be taken care of by a careful analysis by the family physician during the patients’ routine visits. Simple office tests such as the nylon filament test (2) can be performed in the office so that those patients in the risk category can be identified and prophylactic measures can be taken to prevent the ulcer from forming. This is a simple test wherein the feet are examined and the pressure is applied on certain pressure points in the feet and if the patient is not able to sense the pressure applied then he is considered at risk for developing an ulcer in the region and the doctor advises him to take extra care to prevent the ulcer from forming. In spite of seeking medical help diabetic foot ulcers often develop to more chronic conditions and lack of timely intervention to prevent this condition may lead to amputation of the lower extremities and at times may even be fatal. In a normal individual, when harmful pressure is applied on the feet making it difficult for the person to handle, then the brain sets off a pain alarm (1). But, in the case of diabetic patients, due to excessive nerve damage the sensation of pain is lost and an ulcer forms and this will be noticed only after it is too late to redeem. But, with the advent of technology and medical science off-loading helps in preventing further damages and one has to choose the right kind of off-loading modality that suit’s one’s purpose. Risk Factors for patients suffering from diabetic foot (2) 1. Nerve cell damage hence lack of pain sensation 2. Deformed foot and callus formation 3. Decreased sweating, dry, fissured skin 4. Obesity 5. Limited Joint mobility 6. Poor glucose control leading to unhealed wounds 7. Foot wear issues that can lead to skin breakdown and ulcers 8. History of foot ulcers PREVALENCE Studies conducted in the west of Ireland to assess the prevalence of diabetic foot complications show that almost 4.7% (Institute of Public health in Ireland, 2006) of the population is suffering from the debilitating disease called diabetes and out of which an increasing majority of patients are suffering from developing foot ulcers of which some of them have already undergone lower extremity amputation. Pilot studies conducted among a sizeable number of diabetes population in the west of Ireland shows that they have vascular insufficiency and have neural dysfunction in the feet. These data are to be treated with concern as these prevalent conditions are associated with increased risk of ulceration which left unattended will lead to more irreversible complications (Nather et al, 2008) (3). INCIDENCE The need of podiatric inputs in the field of diabetic foot study is necessary and for this pilot studies, researches, data cumulative study must be done to prevent incidence of diabetic foot complications in the Irish population. Pilot studies conducted on diabetic foot complications in the west of Ireland reveal that pedal neural dysfunction was detected in up to 30% of the screened population and vascular impairment in 17% of those screened (3). With timely intervention and prophylactic measures the case of diabetic foot ulcers can be controlled and with just an initial investment of podiatric clinics across the republic of Ireland the economic impact of growing incidence of diabetic foot ulcers and associated disorders that can lead to downfall of the healthcare system can be reduced and stabilized. COST In developed countries, health care resources account that diabetes-related complications are the most costly and studies conducted at St. James Hospital, Dublin reveal that the annual hospital expenditure on the treatment of diabetic foot ulceration amounted to 74,000 pounds (Smith et al., 2004). In an Irish healthcare setting, the cost of managing diabetic foot ulceration was studied and on screening of thirty patients who were admitted for diabetic foot complications it was revealed that out of the thirty, amputations were performed in eight of the patients and one died with a non-healing ulcer. The net hospital expenditure was 704,000 and an average of 23,489.63 per admission (4). IMPACT According to Dr. Canavan, almost 50% of the people with diabetes who undergo a lower limb amputation are of working age and that HSE was not channeling the financial and human resources in the health system effectively to tackle diabetes. The direct in-patient costs amount to â‚ ¬239 million (4) and this is estimated only for the hospital care and not for the cost of dressings or antibiotics. Taking all of these factors into account it has become of national economic importance to devise a national strategy to manage diabetes so that the healthcare resources need not be spent on preventable complications. Instead the financial resources must be channeled for setting up more diabetic management clinics with podiatric clinical settings and recruitment of diabetic specialists. The theoretical role of off-loading in the case of diabetes mellitus Since a diabetic patient has lost the sensation of pain it becomes difficult for the patient to identify a minor bruise that may develop into an ulcer. Pressure reduction or off-loading is essential for a patient who has just been treated for diabetic foot. Wound care is essential in case of diabetes effective management and off-loading or reducing the pressure plays a significant role in managing the healing process. There are various off-loading modalities such as the total-contact casts (TCC), removable cast walkers (RCW) and half shoes and studies have been conducted to compare the effectiveness to heal neuropathic foot ulcerations in diabetic individuals (5). Although less commonly used than RCW and half shoes the results reveal that TCC is better than the other two off-loading modalities and TCC heals comparatively higher number of wounds in a shorter duration of time (6). Customized therapeutic footwear is manufactured to suit the individual needs taking into account the defor mity and the pressure points. Published studies reveal that TCC are a better option compared to other modalities but clinical skill is essential for its application (7). But another factor that is to be taken into consideration is that removable cast walkers enable daily wound inspection and timely care for the wound which is difficult in the former modality. However, one can conclude that wounds on the posterior heal cannot be treated with TCC although it has significant healing percentage. The best feature of RCW is paradoxically its disadvantage (8). Since this is removable it has the disadvantage of forced adherence which is taken care of by TCC which makes it a better alternative to treat neuropathic foot. Evidence of Impact of off-loading High risk diabetic feet is often prone to deformities and offloading of these feet is essential to prevent its recurrence. Diabetic foot ulcer has high chances of recurring even after healing if proper care is not taken to prevent its occurrence. The diabetic feet has certain high risk locations and research on clinical trials by Arts et al. show that highest success rates were seen at previous ulceration areas and Charcot feet whereas forefoot deformities showed the lowest success rates. Studies comparing the effectiveness of RCW and instant TCC showed comparable results in the healing of foot ulcers. In this study it was concluded that a significantly higher proportion of people using the TCC healed faster when compared to those using the RCC. Pressure reduction using the advancement in medical technology will be the corner stones of treatment so that lower extremity amputations can be avoided (9). Discussion Studies reveal that Ireland has the minimum number of podiatrists and hence effective management of diabetes foot is not possible. Effective measures must be taken to ensure that more qualified medical professionals specializing in this field must be recruited and diabetic foot clinics are set up where clinical tests like nylon filament tests are conducted for patients during their routine check-up in order to ensure that they are not at risk and counseling must be provided to create their awareness about foot ulcers and the risk factors associated with lower extremity amputation. According to the present scenario the current national and international guidelines (NICE, 2004; IDF, 2009; SIGN, 2010) advise that diabetic patients must receive a comprehensive annual foot examination and this must be done on a regular basis. Conclusion A team approach by the family physician and relatives is essential to creating a general awareness for the patient to improve foot hygiene and nail care. In addition to this the patient must understand that routine checkups are necessary and the doctor must also perform frequent foot examinations during the routine visits. Early detection is the key to controlling the incidence of this condition and ensuring the medical practitioners take adequate measures to do a routine examination during every hospital visit. Effective management of diabetic foot ulceration has a positive economic impact on the Irish health care budget and the health care system must take preventive measures to provide prophylactic care to diabetic patients and effective measures to educate the patients about pedal hygiene and its importance. Taking into account the importance of podiatry input in effective management of diabetic foot the manpower deficit in the country of Ireland must be accounted for and fullâ⠂¬â€œtime podiatrists (90-100) must be assigned to the country to manage diabetes related complications. REFERENCES William JJ and Prof Keith JH. Diabetic foot Ulcers. The Lancet 2003; 361: 1545–51. David GA and Lawrence A.L. Diabetic Foot Ulcers: Prevention, Diagnosis and Classification. Am Fam Physician 1998; 57(6): 1325-32. Sarah et al. Prevalence of Diabetic foot complication in the West of Ireland: A pilot study. The Diabetic Foot Journal 2010; 13(2):82-91. Smith D, Cullen MJ and Nolan JJ. The cost of managing diabetic foot ulceration in an Irish hospital. Irish Journal of Medical Science 2004; 173(2): 89-92. Adler AI, Boyko EJ, Ahroni JH and Smith DJ. Lower-extremity amputation in diabetes. E independent effects of peripheral vascular disease, sensory neuropathy and foot ulcers. http://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/24/6/1019.full Gerit M, David A, Susie S. Standard, Appropriate, and Advanced Care and Medical Legal Considerations: Part one – Diabetic Foot Ulcerations. Wounds 2003:15(4) Armstrong DG, Lavery LA. Evidence-based options for offloading diabetic wounds. Clin Podiatr Med Surg 1998; 15:95-104 Stephanie W and David A. Managing the diabetic foot: treatment, wound care and off-loading techniques. Diabetes Voice 2005; 50 (Special Issue):29-32. Armstrong DG, Lavery LA, Wu S, Boulton AJ. Evaluation of removable and irremovable cast walkers in the healing of diabetic foot wounds: a randomized controlled trial. Diabetes Care 2005; 28: 551-4.

Nighthawks – Creative Writing

The night is velvet black. The streetlights are switched off; a would be cold dank street is illuminated by the fluorescent beam of the all-night diner, which watches the street, glancing through my window, an apartment above the hardware store. It could've disturbed my slumber but I wasn't in. I hadn't been in for a long time and tonight, I sat in the diner, a safe haven for vagrants and nomads. I'm alone. There are two other customers in the diner and a bartender but I'm alone. My body needs sleep but my mind won't allow it; it's been a long day. I must have travelled for several hours but I can't recall a second on the road. My head is a train station of thoughts, coming and going. As I peer upwards I'm forced to squint; the vibrant light burns my eyes from under my hat. From what I can see of the place's inhabitants, it's the most alive thing in here tonight, dancing along the oak veneer counter and blazing into the bottom of my cup, creating a reflection. I gaze into my own eyes. The man I see is not the man I am; he's grotesque with vile features and battle scar-like wrinkles. He's definitely not the man who woke up the previous morning in Baltimore in a fully occupied double bed. I've had countless Irish coffees but my mind still feels sober. The kid behind the counter looks at me tentatively for the usual impersonal small talk, attempting to catch my empty eyes. I resist, he doesn't remember me. His mother used to run this place but she's probably long dead. Besides, I'm not here to remember. I'm here to forget. It was a rough Manhattan neighbourhood but the street was as clean as any up town, to me this was largely because of the diner. It protected a once dim noisome street and brought together the community. Back when I was just an ignorant wiseacre before it all started, before the epiphany that was meeting her. I am awoken back to consciousness by the hushed whispers of the couple opposite, who look uneasy and not just because this apparent hobo is eyeballing them, there was something else, something deeper. I guess they too must have their reasons for not being at home, tucked up in bed. The man was young and handsome with wired caffeine-powered eyes; I'd seen him a thousand times before waltzing around up town in a suit. I can't tell whether he's paying for his company or not, I'm guessing not because if I was I'd demand a refund, she seems more interested in her hands than his voice, gazing intensely as if reading her palms, deeply occupied in her thoughts. She feels my stare. I'd better look away and play it cool but I can't. Even as she gazes back, I'm lost. She sends me a plaintive smile but I remain emotionless. I can tell she's still thinking hard of other things, half-heartedly raising a cigarette to her rouged lips, barely bothering to inhale. I watch its lacklustre droop for what feels like hours. She's entranced me. They always do this. She always does this. I bring my refilled cup back to my lips not letting anything slip to the broad. I remain motionless, my insides decomposing; she's not scared of me but childishly curious. She's attractive in obvious ways but her true beauty is esoteric, only I who have known her for so long could understand. We both maintain this level of equanimity as my eyes are starting to leak. I can't tell whether it's for lack of sleep or that I haven't blinked in many minutes. It's neither; I realise as that pain in my stomach that urged me to drive all this way home is becoming more tolerable. The drink only shielded me temporarily but my emotions are now releasing themselves all over the counter and into my half empty cup. She either doesn't mind or notice but I terminate my tears anyway. The suit next to her grabs her coat. â€Å"D'you wanna' get outta' here?† He can't have seen me. She'll make a fool out of him. She humours these lowlifes but I always know she'll be mine at the end of the night even if she makes me doubt it sometimes. â€Å"Yeah, sure. I've just been waiting for you.† I don't understand. â€Å"Why didn't you say so?† â€Å"Because I didn't want you following me home.† Of course, always one step ahead of me. He storms passed me muttering vulgar terms, I hear â€Å"slut† and would hurt him but I've long since learnt that's not what she wants. I look back to her. She is now standing. In a matter of seconds she's brushing passed my chair ignoring me, she's changed her perfume; she's changed her appearance. She's left me again but I still love her. I've loved her from the moment I set eyes on her in this very diner. I loved her when we settled down near her parents in South Baltimore, Maryland. I loved her when she told me why we weren't physically intimate and I loved her for years until the inevitable happened today. Until it happened today. I see her face on every blonde I've seen since and I don't doubt I will for a while. The barman looks suggestively at the clock. I've overstayed my welcome. My sojourn is over; tomorrow I must return to my new home. I glance up at the old apartment and the lights inside are on. I can still make out the other two figures on opposite sides of the street but I'm alone. I feel even together in the diner, we were all alone.

Family Unit in the Grapes of Wrath Essay

I dedicate this humble work to those whose blood runs in my veins; to my dearly loved parents and to: my dearest sisters all fundamental B.A student all my delighted and respected English teachers all those who will read this modest research paper ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I’m foremost grateful to my supervisor Dr. YASSINE Rachida whose guidance and continual encouragement have efficaciously helped towards the fulfillment of this modest research paper. I would like also to thank deeply whose efforts in class room opened my eyes and inspired the idea and the subject of this research paper, namely: Mr. ELHAMRI Rachid. I would like as well to express my deep feelings of gratitude to my little precious family that supported me to achieve where I am today and still supporting me to the fullest, bearing in mind my treasured friends for their ongoing moral support. Finally, my thanks are devoted to all the students of the department of English at Ibn Zohr University for their appreciated suggestions while this research was under preparation. INTRODUCTION: As most of critics refer to it, The Grapes of Wrath is a master piece written by john Steinbeck, a great American writer who wrote some of the best American stories ever. This novel tells the story of the Joads, an example of what happened to families that lived in Oklahoma during the 1930s. Because of drought, dust storms, and the death of crops, the landowners had to kick the farmers off from their lands. In order to live, thousands of people moved westward and left their homes deserted for new chances of life. On their way to California, they faced many difficulties; some of them lost family members because of starvation and tiredness, and some women brought new born babies to life, and some children stole food from other’s camps in order to eat and feed their dying families. When people reached California  with big dreams, ambitions and aspirations, they found out that it was not as they expected, life is harder there if not saying worst than the one they already live, crowds of poor, hungry and unemployed people staying in government camps waiting for salvation or even death, hopes and dreams were broken, many decided to go back and die in their home towns. Despite some of them had a chance to work, the wages were too low to feed a family of more than eight members. At that point in time, working class people were considered as slaves and pigs for the rich class, their struggles against the current is described by Steinbeck as a â€Å"turtle crossing the road†. In The Grapes of Wrath, Steinbeck tells us what kind of struggle the Joads confronted during their journey to live an ordinary life or more, a better one. In this Research paper I’m going to focus my attention on the concept of â€Å"family† itself and the strong union between the members of the Joads as the main drive that kept them going and fighting against all odds for their freedom and right of life thanks to â€Å"Ma† the strong, sturdy woman who is the moral center of family. This last point is what stroke me and motivated this research paper’s choice of topic, therefore my aim is to inspect first of all the importance of family in our day of age and how does individualism affects its unity and brings it down, then secondly, I will show you the example of this family unit through the work of John Steinbeck; The Grapes of Wrath by revealing everything that helped to keep the them bonded and united through the whole way to California and when they rea ched it. PART I: Family vs. Individualism Family in the light of individualism became more complicated and more separated than ever. In the last few centuries western families were characterized by the strength of their unity that ties them together and keep them close to each other as one vital entity that functions properly in the society, but with the rise of the ideology of individualism, family members started to break up from the usual structure and start a whole different one that is based on new principles, norms and a whole new ideas about the concept of family. The aim of this chapter is to discuss; Firstly, the distinction between collectivism and individualism with taking into consideration family as a model of collectivism, secondly to make difference  between traditional and new modern family structure in the western societies. Finally, to show how individualism affects in a negative way the unity that bonds western families. 1- Family and individualism The family institution is essentially the most important part in our society. Without the family, our society would not be able to function the way it is supposed to. Thus, how can we define the word â€Å"family†? The definitions of family are as diverse as families themselves and the situations they are found in. I shall then begin with defining this concept in a more general way. Family is the basic social unit because it represents people living together by ties of blood, marriage or adaptation, thus representing a single household. According to sociology, the family has the primary function of reproducing society; biologically, socially, or both. Furthermore, there are various structures of a family based on the relationship shared between parents and their children. Therefore, different types of family can be distinguished from the nature of this relationship, such as patrifocal family, where the family consists of a father and his child, Matrifocal Family, where the fam ily consists of a mother and her child. Consanguineal family is one which consists of the mother, the child and other people, mainly belonging to the family of the mother1. In most societies, Family is the principal institution for the socialization of children. And this institution might be based on the traditional concept of family or on the new version of it; each one of them has its own principles and characteristics which I’m going to show in detail later in the next following section. In addition to that, Family is considered as the best example of the idea of collectivism which some few cultures are still characterized by. In contrast, there is an opposing concept which is totally different from it which is the concept of individualism that means the moral stance, political philosophy, ideology, or social outlook that stresses the moral worth of the individual2. Hofstede explains it by asserting that in the individualist cultures people are autonomous and independent from their in-groups; they give priority to their  personal goals over the goals of their in-groups, they behave primarily on the basis of their attitudes rather than the norms of their in-groups, and exchange theory adequately predicts their social behavior3. In other words, individualists believe in one’s own interests, goals, freedom and independence and according to the German sociologist Ulrich Beck individualism has become the social structure of the era we are living in today. Life of individuals is characterized by choice where in previous generations no such choices existed. he clarified this by saying that the â€Å"Maintenance of the family link is no longer a matter of course but a freely chosen act. In the situation following a divorce, kinship is worked out anew in accordance with the laws of choice and personal inclination†4. Nowadays, in western societies many families has became totally modernized, In other words, they are infected by the individualistic ideology that keeps children away from their parents and helps to destroy the family unit that we really need in this day and age exactly as it used to be very essential centuries ago, for example, in the 20 th century precisely in the age of the great depression, family unit was a very important characteristic in the lifestyle of western families in order to maintain survival and endurance through the worst economic â€Å"Family†. Wikipedia. The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., 25 Jun 2012. Web. 28 JUN 2012. . 2 â€Å"individualism†. Encyclopaedia Britannica. Encyclopaedia Britannica Online. Encyclopaedia Britannica., 2012. Web. 28 Jun. 2012 . 3 Greet Hofstede, Culture’s consequences: Comparing values, behaviors, institutions, and organizations across nations, 2nd ed. (Thousand Oaks: Sage, 2001), p. 909 4 Beck Ulrich and Elisabeth Beck-Gernsheim, Individualization (London: Sage, 2001), p. 96  crisis of all time. Now the question is which one is characterized by unity, the traditional family or the new modern one? 2- Traditional vs. New Modern family At the present time, the traditional family structure no longer exists in the modern western world. It’s not surprising that the modern family structure has substituted it instead. In this section of my research paper, I’m going to focus on the differences between these two contradictory family structures by highlighting three major characteristics (the size, the head of the family and the discipline) In order to show in which one the concept of â€Å"unity† appears most. Let’s begin with the size. The Size is one main feature in comparing the two structures; hence, traditional families appear to be larger than modern families. Usually they are more than ten members in their families, whereas modern families have only three to four members. Also Traditional families always live with their relatives and have a lot of children in one big house, which is the reason why they are big families. Concerning their work, Most of traditional families are farmers. They can work at their farms and fields; consequently, they don’t employ additional farmers in order of saving money. In contrast, modern families don’t need anyone to help them in their work because they work in the office. They only have one or two children and don’t live with their relatives; this last difference affects modern families because they will not be acquainted with their relatives, as traditional families do. They only meet them on special occasions, such as birthdays and New Year. For example, children will not get used to their grandparents because they only meet them in few times per year. They will not respect them as much as they should have. Another difference between traditional families and modern families is the head of family. Men are always head of traditional families. Women usually take care of children at home, whereas men work outside. Women and children must listen and follow whatever men tell them, they should obey him and do whate ver it was demanded to be done. Men have the power to order members of their families to do everything, even if they don’t like to do. Modern families don’t have the head of family because women and men are considered to be equal. Both women and men work outside. They share ideas with each other. Women and children don’t obey the men’s orders if they think their orders aren’t correct. Women and children can decide by themselves. For example, women work outside, as men do. When she comes home,  she doesn’t do the house work alone because she needs her husband to help her in doing it. The last difference is discipline. Traditional families have many rules that are respected by all the members of the family. Most parents of traditional families are strict because they have a lot of children to look after. It is only women who take care of children at home, so they need to have a lot of rules to control them. On the other hand, modern families have few rules to control their children. Parents of modern families work outside. They don’t have enough time to take care of their children, so they don’t have time to make rules also. Instead they hire someone to look after their children while they’re working outside. This difference actually affects modern families because their children will always make problems to gain attention from their parents. For example, children don’t go to school because they want their parents to ask them why they do this. They want their parents to talk to them. Through these three important differences, we can notice the development of family system from the past until now and it’s only confirming the idea that states: â€Å"when societies change, families also change and both good and bad things change†. We can also notice that traditional families are more collective and social so that we can sense the aspect of unity in it, whereas modern families are more individualistic and independent and it lacks family unity in all its aspects. But the other question is how this individualistic attitude affects the family unit? 3- The effect of Individualism on the family unit Much has been said about the family and the future of family in the so-called postmodern world we are living in today. As it was said before Individualism has become the social structure of this present era; Life of individuals is characterized by two major features: the first one is the moral appreciation of individualism and the second one is the opportunity and capability to choose. These two main characteristics were rarely found in the previous generations. Talking about the previous generations for example before and during the great depression era, all families were mainly traditional because they living all together in one place as one entity; Grandfather and Grandmother with the children of their  children in one big house probably with a farm and some corn fields or at least a vast land to work on later, the idea here is that, the group had control over the individual in everything. Nowadays, the individualistic attitudes affected the concept of â€Å"family† by leading it to a gradual change in its structure and the principles it was built on. Individualists or as they call themselves modernists today tend to have a unique way of thinking and a special way in looking to things and life in general. They also have their own way of looking to â€Å"family† as a social institution. But their selfish attitudes prevented them to see to what extent they affect it negatively, Etzioni argues that the surge in individual rights conflicts with the needs of community. He added that Individualism would destruct vital institutions such as family and neighborhood, and thereby create misery5. in other words this effect begins when certain members – especially grown children – of the same family when they become aware of their own preferences and abilities to have a better life as an independent unity in the society to which they belong. This certain beginning leads to the ultimate break up from the original family then from the society into another atmosphere of living life with new ways of thinking about the whole social institutions particularly the one of â€Å"family†. During the great depression era, families needed to be united and gathered as one body, any break up in that unity led to the collapse of the entire family. My aim behind this general study of family in the shadow of individualism is to illustrate how important family unit in the novel of the grapes of wrath is. I shall make this clearer in the second part where I’m going to focus deeply on the concept of family in this novel in which Steinbeck portrays the value of being united in the era of The Great Depression. In the previous part, I discussed generally the concept of Family and the one of individualism. I discussed as well the difference between the traditional and the modern structure of family. Afterwards, I examined how individualism can affect the traditional family and how it tries to modify its structure in order to modernize it. However, the traditional family remains the best structure in all circumstances, because it keeps family members as one group as we will see in the novel of John Steinbeck; The Grapes of Wrath. The Family is the key of survival in this Nobel Prize winner masterpiece. Without each other, the Joads would have no way of coping with the loss of their land or of getting to California. Family is the one weapon that the Joads have against the cold, bitter world around them. They, along with many other migrant workers, learn that they are stronger and safer when they stay with each other as one unit and when they reach out to other families in order of creating a sense of community. Therefore, my research paper topic will be developed efficiently by giving answers to these following questions: Who are the Joads? What is The Great Depression and what is its effect on the Joads? How did they survive? Is it their strong unit of family or because of some other reasons? These questions and more are going to be answered in this chapter in details to show how family unit is important for the Joads in the era of the great depression as a reaction against the crisis and the greediness of the upper class of the 1930s. 1. Introducing The Joads Before dealing in details with the â€Å"family unit† itself in this novel, we should first get acquainted with a traditional family that survived thanks to their strong unity, it’s The Joads family. In this section I’m going to introduce all the family members who played a great role  of maintaining and keeping the whole family as one unit through their journey to California. So, who are the Joads? The Joads is a family of twelve members from deferent generations; Tom Joad, Ma Joad, Pa Joad, rose of Sharon and her husband Connie, Grandma Joad, Grandpa Joad, Al Joad, Noah Joad, Uncle John, Ruthie Joad, and Winfield Joad. Let me first introduce the ones who kept the family as one unit: Tom Joad: The book’s central character, and Ma and Pa Joad’s preferred son. Tom is goodnatured and thoughtful man. Even though he murdered a man and has been separated from his family for four years, he does not waste his time with regrets. He lives fully for the present moment, which enables him to be a great source of vitality for the Joad family. A wise guide and fierce protector, Tom exhibits a moral certainty throughout the novel that imbues him with strength and resolve: he earns the awed respect of his family members as well as the workers he later organizes into unions. Ma Joad: The mother of the Joad family. Ma is introduced as a woman who knowingly and gladly fulfills her role as â€Å"the citadel of the family.† She is the healer of the family’s ills and the arbiter of its arguments, and her ability to perform these tasks grows as the novel progresses. Pa Joad: Ma Joad’s husband and Tom’s father. Pa Joad is an Oklahoma tenant farmer who has been evicted from his farm. A plainspoken, good-hearted man, Pa directs the effort to take the family to California. Once there, unable to find work and increasingly desperate, Pa finds himself looking to Ma Joad for strength and leadership, though he sometimes feels ashamed of his weaker position. Rose of Sharon: The oldest of Ma and Pa Joad’s daughters, and Connie’s wife. An impractical and romantic young woman, Rose of Sharon begins the journey to California pregnant with her first child. She and Connie have grand notions of making a life for themselves in a city. The harsh realities of migrant life soon disabuse Rose of Sharon of these ideas, however. Her husband abandons her, and her child is born dead. By the end of the novel, she matures  considerably, and possesses, the reader learns with surprise, something of her mother’s indomitable spirit and grace. Grandpa Joad: Tom Joad’s grandfather. The founder of the Joad farm, Grandpa is now old and infirm. Once possessed of a cruel and violent temper, Grandpa’s wickedness is now limited almost exclusively to his tongue. Grandma Joad: Granma is a pious Christian, who loves casting hellfire and damnation in her husband’s direction. Her health deteriorates quickly after Grandpa’s death; she dies just after the family reaches California. Al Joad: Tom’s younger brother, a sixteen-year-old boy obsessed with cars and girls. Al is vain and arrogant but an extremely competent mechanic, and his expertise proves vital in bringing the Joads, as well as the Wilsons, to California. When he falls in love with a girl named Agnes Wainwright at a cotton plantation where they are working, he decides to stay with her rather than leaving with his family. Uncle John: Tom’s uncle, who, years ago, refused to fetch a doctor for his pregnant wife when she complained of stomach pains. He has never forgiven himself for her death, and he often dwells heavily on the negligence he considers a sin. Ruthie Joad: The second and younger Joad daughter. Winfield Joad: At the age of ten, Winfield is the youngest of the Joad children. Ma worries for his well-being, fearing that without a proper home he will grow up to be wild and rootless. Two characters left the family because of their selfish dreams and their individualistic attitude; they represent in my own interpretation the individual type that does not believe in the ideology of the strength of the traditional family, they simply give up their role among their family by trying to find their own happiness without the help of any one. They are: 12 Connie: Rose of Sharon’s husband, an unrealistic dreamer who abandons the Joads after they reach California. Noah Joad: Tom’s older brother. He leaves his family behind at a stream near the California border, telling Tom that he feels his parents do not love him as much as they love the other children. There’s also one other character who accompanied the Joads through their way to California; Jim Casy: A former preacher who gave up his duty out of a belief that all human experience is holy. He’s the moral voice of the novel, Casy articulates many of its most important themes, among them the sanctity  of the people and the essential unity of all mankind. Therefore, we feel that Jim is almost a member of the Joads6. This brief introduction of the Joads family paints in our minds a wonderful image of a perfect family unit, also through reading the story, we feel like they can’t never be separated, even if some of their family members ran away and others died, they seem to be related deeply to each other; for example, through the whole journey uncle john still blames himself for letting his wife die because of his negligence, another example of their strong relationships to each other is when they reached California, they all kept wishing if grandma and grandpa were still alive to see it. Now, what’s the cause that made some members of the Joads ran away and leave their family and made others die? 2. The Great Depression and its effect on the Joads family In the story of The Grapes of Wrath, the Joads were Going west on Route 66 towards California, on their way, they encountered many barriers and difficulties, the worst one was the death of two family members; along the road, Grandpa died and was buried in a camp 6 SparkNotes Editors. â€Å"SparkNote on The Grapes of Wrath.† SparkNotes LLC. 2007. http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/grapesofwrath/characters.html (accessed June 26, 2012).  where they stopped for a while, Also Grandma died close to the California state line, and both Noah and Connie split from the family and ran away. The remaining members, led by Ma, realized they have no choice but to go on, as there is nothing remaining for them in Oklahoma. In other words, the cause that made them leave their home is the same one that affected them and caused to some of them death and others to run away; it’s The Great Depression and all the sorrows it brought to the American families. The Great Depression era was an awfully challenging period for the American  family, the effects of The Great Depression, both during and after, seriously impacted the structure, finances, and employment of the American family unit. What was known as â€Å"The Dust Bowl† pushed thousands of immigrants to leave their homes to other states, especially California State, and made them obliged to find a humble job with an average wage to live a simple life and survive during the economic crisis that broke their life to pieces by causing more starvation, poverty and death7. The Joads are one of the thousands of victims in the Great Depression era. First of all, they had to leave their home and the whole state of Oklahoma to the state of California because of the dust that transformed their farms from fruitful fields to dust yards, as a result of that, food was very hard for poor people to get so that they had to fight for it, in addition to that, jobs became extremely scarce and the land owners had to push out the tenants farmer from their lands, this is what exactly happened to the Joads, the responsible authorities obliged them to leave their land and home town, therefore, they sold what they’ve already got, and bought an old decrepit truck which they are going to use as their transportation on their way to California, the second effect of what happened in the great depression was on family itself; a traditional family are known by its strong union and unity, exactly like the Joads family, but what happened in that disappointing era has split many families and destroyed their unity, only strong ones survived but with many losses and sacrifices; The Joads finally gathered after the return of their son Tom from the penitentiary,  they already decided to leave Oklahoma, on their way to California, they faced many troubles, and they witnessed their family fall apart many times  because of the bitter realty and the cold hearted people they encountered during their trip, grandpa died of old age and also grandma died of sickness by feeling sorry for her old poor husband who didn’t want to leave to California in the first place, he decided not to go there in the last minutes while they were packing their needs and getting ready to leave. Feeling abandoned by the family, Noah left also the family as Connie did for their selfish dreams and aspirations. By reaching California, the Joads became shocked and disappointed by the reality of the place they’ve sacrificed everything they got to be in it. The situation there is just the same as the one in Oklahoma if not saying it’s worse than Oklahoma. Finally, after a long while and through many impediments, The Joads reached California with numerous dreams and ambitions, but they faced the unforeseen and witnessed the unexpected; the realty tells a different story and the ideal golden California was just a fantasy, the hand bell that brought them there worth nothing at all, but did they lost their hope of living a happy life as a happy family? Did they give up all their dreams and aspirations? These questions have answers in the last section of this Part. 3. The unity and the strength of the Joads In his novel The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck portrays the theme of Joads’ strength through their unity in order to comment on the relationship between the dissolution of individual families and the unification of migrant people. Steinbeck also aims to prove to us that the unity of the traditional family is the only motivation that drove the rest of the Joads to California and helped them to stand in front of any obstacle that they faced in their quest to a better life. 15 â€Å"The family became a unit [†¦] Pa was the head of the family now.†8 The use of the past tense in this quote tells us that Pa was taking control of the family. As It is always known, the father is the head of the traditional family, but what is really striking in this novel is that pa became so weak  to take control over it, so Ma Joad, the pillar of the Joads took his place and led the family towards California for a better life by making the right decisions and reacting against anyone who attempts to break the family apart. Before the journey, Ma Joad was just one voice among many in making group decisions. As the novel progresses, she becomes more dominant. She decides when they will stop or go on9. Ma Joad was described by Steinbeck as the â€Å"citadel of the family, the strong place that could not be taken† (100), she seems to be the source of hope to all the members of the family, if it wasn’t for her, the rest of the family would never reach a s far as they got, even though some members lost their hope and became overwhelmed by despair, Ma’s determination encouraged and motivated them to carry on also she taught them to never give up and never be away from the family. The nature of her relationship to other members of the family differs from one to another. Her favorite one is her relationship to her desired and beloved son; The arrival of Tom also revived the unity of family, she lost him once when he was in prison, then she became so happy when he got paroled and came in the appropriate time to move with his family to California. By the end of the story she accepted his loss for the sake of the rest of the family, she was so afraid that cops would take him back to jail then she let him run away with a broken heart. For Ma Joad, family is everything, from the beginning of the story until the end, all what she cared about was the unity of her family. ‘We got nothing’, now,’ Pa said †¦ ‘Seems our life is over and done!’ ‘No it ain’t, ‘ Ma smiled. ‘it ain’t, Pa. An’ that’s one more thing a woman knows. Women. I noticed that. Man, he lives in jerks – baby born, an’ a man dies, an’ that’s a jerk.Women, it’s all one flow, li ke a stream, little eddies, little waterfalls, but the river, it goes right on. Women looks at it like that. We ain’t gonna die out. People is goin’ on-changin’ a little, maybe, but goin’ right on!† (577) She saw her family falling down but she acted rapidly and pulled it up before it touched the ground. She consistently proves to be the novel’s strongest supporter of family and togetherness. In other words, when we first met Ma Joad, she was a strong woman. When we saw her in the very last chapter, she was the same strong woman. We didn’t think it possible, but her strength only grows throughout the course of the novel. In fact, her initial strength is transformed into a different one. We can’t really pinpoint exactly what is this new kind of strength, but we know it’s the one who kept the rest of the family together until the end. Furthermore Steinbeck presents Ma Joad’s growing power as a source of communal strength sheltering human dignity from the antisocial effects of individualism 10. On their way to California the family continued to meet obstacle after obstacle, it seems like Pa Joad did not quite know how to keep it together. But Ma Joad knew how to do it. Thanks to her strength again, and when they reached California Ma Joad was the only one who didn’t feel shocked, because she knew it from the beginning before no one else did, her only objective is to keep the family together, she told them that all what matters is that they are together and no one can separate them from each other, her belief in this unity is so pure and strong, and that’s what made her so special as a women belonging to a traditional family. In this part, I dealt with many aspects in treating the concept of family in the respected work of John Steinbeck’s â€Å"The Grapes of Wrath†, the essential step to understand how he dealt with it in his novel is firstly to introduce all the members of the joads one by one and understand their roles in this work, secondly it’s important to deal with the concept of family by discussing how the great depression affected it and showing an example of a strong family that resisted that impact by being so strong and focusing on the family unit such as the Joads Family, then finally, I dealt with showing you the source of strength of the Joads: the fountain of wisdom and  knowledge and the center of strength Ma Joad. CONCLUSION: In drawing conclusions for this study, I shall start summarizing what was said since the first page of my research paper beginning with the first part in which I emphasized the most important institution in our society which family that is also the main issue of this paper. I started by defining it along with another challenging concept which is individualism that affected negatively the family institution and made it lose its traditional values and acquire new modern thoughts and opinions about family in general. This prelude to the main issue of my research paper is made necessarily to help understanding these two different concepts before dealing with their appearances in the novel of Steinbeck The Grapes of Wrath in which I concentrated on the theme of â€Å"family unit†. In the second part, I developed this theme in details by introducing first of all the main characters of this story in order to understand each one’s role in the changing of events, and then I talked briefly about the Great Depression era by acknowledging it and showing its strong effect on the traditional family structure. Then finally I discussed the center and source of strength that helped the Joads to get through their problematic journey and achieve their destination without falling apart when they faced the bitter truth and after making many sacrifices that hurt every one of them especially Ma Joad, the pillar of the Joad family. Taking seriously what was going on during that depressed era and how did this family survived, is really what we need to do in our days of age, in other words, families must be united if they want to survive and live life properly. REFERENCES: Bibliography: Beck Ulrich and Elisabeth Beck-Gernsheim, Individualization. London: Sage, 2001. Cederstorm, Lorelei. The great mother in the Grapes of Wrath. Canada: Brandon University, 1993. Etzioni, Amitai. The spirit of community: The reinvention of American society. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1993. Hofstede, Greet. Culture’s consequences: Comparing values, behaviors, institutions, and organizations across nations, 2nd ed. Thousand Oaks: Sage, 2001. Steinbeck, John. The Grapes of Wrath. New York: Modern Library, 1939. Steinbeck, John and Harold Bloom, ed. The Grapes of Wrath â€Å"Bloom’s Modern Critical Interpretations†. Chelsea House Publishers, 2006. Webliography: â€Å"Family†. Wikipedia. The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., 25 Jun 2012. Web. 24 JUN 2012. . â€Å"Individualism†. Encyclopaedia Britannica. Encyclopaedia Britannica Online. Encyclopaedia Britannica., 2012. Web. 24 Jun. 2012 . Shmoop Editorial Team. â€Å"The Grapes of Wrath†Shmoop.com. Shmoop University, Inc., 11 Nov. 2008. Web. 24 Jun. 2012. SparkNotes Editors. â€Å"SparkNote on The Grapes of Wrath.† SparkNotes.com. SparkNotes LLC. 2007. Web. 26 Jun. 2012.