Effective Team and Performance Management Essay - 5

Effective Team and Performance Management - Essay Example 362). Therefore, an organization must always look for ways of bringing together all the departments to ensure that the specific goals and objectives are achieved. According to Furnham et al, (1993, p. 245-257), in an organization setting, the sources of conflict are varied. Many conflicts are related to psychological factors such as wrong attitudes towards accomplishing given tasks. Some members will normally not co-operate in various areas of an organization due to psychological factors that they pose. Some members may also have emotional problems which will be expressed at most times while the employees are working together. For example, some may show signs of ranging temper, some resentment while others become indifferent during moments of team work. They may not be able to bring forth their ideas with ease, hindering team work. There are also several behavioral practices that work contrary to team work (Kaplan & Miller 1987, p. 346-360). For example, some members may withdraw fro m the team, others choosing to choose the team members that they would want to work with. This will obviously hinder cooperation in the organization. Leadership plays a key role in the achievement of team work within the corporate world. A leader is any individual who is able to influence the employees towards a specific direction. Leadership may come from any level or department within an organizations setting (Kaplan & Miller 1987, p. 346-360). It is important that appropriate leadership is given, so that all the employees move towards the same direction. In this report, I reflect on various activities that have we have undertaken as a group, in the bid to learn more on the topic of team work. I use the tasks to understand how well team work can be accomplished within an organization. The outcomes of the teamwork within our group indicate the issues that surround cooperation and cohesion within the organizations. Reflection of various the tasks undertaken During our class work, we were called upon to take various tasks as groups. They would either be seminar activities or weekly activities. One of these activities included the egg flying contest. In this case, I and other team members were called upon to use all the resources that were available to ensure that an egg would not breaking after being dropped from a height of 2 meters. Several resources were availed to us, which included: six straws, one balloon, three elastic buds six cotton buds, and four papers; each one and a half centimeters. The task ahead was to be able to put our minds together and see how the materials available to us were of use. The team members had to use the resources ahead of them with a lot of care. The resources were limited, yet the given task had to be accomplished. There was need for the team to give way for a leader, one who everybody would listen to and who would give direction on how exactly to use the materials to accomplish the task ahead. In such a moment, most members f eared to fail, they wanted to be correct and perform the task to success. Therefore, a strong leader, one who would take into considerate the task ahead was needed. Our next exercise involved investigation of Cambridge crime. In this case, the team was supposed to investigate a crime scene that had happened in the nearby location. The accurate information in such a scenario was of great

Obesity In Infants Causes and Affects Research Paper

Obesity In Infants Causes and Affects - Research Paper Example In a journal published by the American Academy of Pediatrics researchers established that "childhood obesity may be caused factors that operate at the earliest stages of life," (Bagley, 2009). Fast foods and lack of physical activity may be the cause of obesity in many people, but it does not explain why "obesity in infants under 6 months has risen 73 percent since 1980", (Bagley, 2009). Babies certainly are not eating extra buttered popcorn at the movies, Big-Macs at MC Donald's or Sonic's milkshakes. Babies less than 6 months of age are drinking specially formulated baby formula or breast milk, and are just being introduced to baby foods at 6 months. So, what causes obesity in infants? Scientists believe that a number of factors may lead to obesity in infants. Not breast feeding, hormones inherited from parents, hormones that mother and child may have been exposed to through foods that were ingested during pregnancy, or exposure to toxins in commonly used household items like plast ic spoons and plates. Further, some items used to feed babies like their bottles may contain some small traces of toxins, which are ingested during feedings. Retha Newbold (Bagley, 2009), of The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) in North Carolina believed that emerging evidence shows being overweight is not just the result of making poor food choices, or lack of activity, but that exposure to environmental chemicals during development maybe contributing to the obesity epidemic in America. There is no doubt that while a woman is pregnant exposure to harmful chemicals can cause serious illnesses that become more apparent years and even decades later. It is not far-fetched to believe that fetuses and infants can be predisposed to obesity through hormones and chemicals. In a study conducted by Newbold, lab mice were injected with normal or the same levels of estrogen as people are generally exposed to in the environment. The study showed that in six months the mice that were exposed to the estrogen was 20 percent heavier and had 36 percent more body fats than mice that were not exposed to the estrogen. Newbold was made sure that both the exposed and the controlled mice in the study were fed the same amounts of food and were exposed to the same amount of activity. These implications are huge, and this study shows that there is a direct correlation between some hormones and obesity in infants. Bruce Blumberg (Bagley, 2009), a scientist at the University of California, Irvine said "there is a correlation between obesity and a lot of things, and that finding a link between hormones/ chemicals didn't mean much (Born To Be Big, 2009)." However, later Blumberg conducted his on study to find out if any links exist between harmful chemicals and obesity in infants. In his research study Blumberg specifically tested a chemical called tributyltin, which is commonly found in pesticides, fungicides, marine paints and some plastic products. " In 2006 he fed pregnant mice tributyltin, and found that their offspring were born with more fat already stored, more fat cells, and became 5 to 20 percent fatter by adulthood," (Bagley, 2009). All these studies highlight that obesity is not just eating more calorific food or more energy intake but is also influenced by various environmental as well as genetic factors. It is of the foremost apprehension

Organization and Management Research

Organization and Management Research Organization and management research is in danger of becoming irrelevant Different researches undertaken by organizational management helps to gain knowledge in the management field (Sandberg, Alvesson, 2011). Efficient management research is essential for any organization as it can indicate the success and the failure of that firm (Davis, 2014). The enormous extension in the field of management, over the previous few years, resulted in a great development in academic articles published (Davis, 2014). Despite all the good and valuable work being produced, this growth has been coupled with continuous debates that management research is becoming irrelevant in the present time (Davis, 2014). This paper is intended to focus on the various debates regarding the present downfall of management research and proposes alternative solutions to those problems (Sandberg, Alvesson, 2011). Despite the vast and painstaking success, organizational and management research has a serious deficiency of high-impact research in the management field. It is argued that the researchers are becoming irrelevant for the business organizations (Sandberg, Alvesson, 2011). There is a large shared thought of a disturbing lack of original ideas and innovative contributions in the management studies (Alvesson, Spicer, 2016). Research process enhances the knowledge and train people to question the set norms if they seem backdated. Organizational and management research process has a huge lack of interesting and influential studies (Davis, 2014). The problem is that there is no mark of challenging the underlying assumptions of established literature (Sandberg, Alvesson, 2011). The gap-spotting research method is mostly used by the researchers and the institutions nowadays which are blocking the entry of creativity in the field of research (Neuman, 2014). Innovation and creativity are nee ded in this field, to question the previous beliefs of every individual and of course, the next task of the research process will be to provide essential theoretical and practical answer to every individual (Davis, 2014). The incremental consensus-confirming work is in the central attention rather than the consensus-challenging contributions which are really disappointing for the editors, other researchers and for the commentators (Quinlan, 2015). Institutional conditions, professional norms within the management field and the researches identity constructions, these three points are closely interconnected and quite influential for the organization and management research process (Alvesson, Sandberg, 2012). These three factors are equally supporting and practicing adding-to-the literature form means to find out the probable gap in the research thereby filling it up with suitable examples and arguments rather than challenging the whole system and providing an interesting and innovative framework (Neuman, 2014). There is a constant pressure prevalent for the researchers in the path of achieving identity (Quinlan, 2015). Nowadays, researchers are more interested in publishing their works in the top listed journals accepting the gap-spotting method which decreases the quality of research process (Verma, 2014). New evolutionary research is important not only to challenge the set assumptions of other people blindly but also, it is necessary for clear, critical and new viewpoints in the organizational and management research (Quinlan, 2015). Theory and literature studies are important in everything that we do; they act as a way of guiding us to perform better in our respective fields (Sandberg, Alvesson, 2011). They are essential for organizational behavior, practicing organizational psychology and at the time of studying (Alvesson, Sandberg, 2012). However, recently, the field of organization and management research has lost its essence and has become attracted to the interesting puzzles and shiny objects (Donaldson, Qiu, Luo, 2013). There has been no advancement in the management theory; it is more concerned with the entertainment value present in the present articles and theories, rather than focusing on their real-world value and scientific rigor (Donaldson, Qiu, Luo, 2013). The theories should be accurate and have value for them to be applied in the real-world practices (Sandberg, Alvesson, 2011). Previously the theories that were developed, especially in the late 70s and 80s, they were completely focused and aimed at improving the existing practices of the organizations (Birkinshaw et al. 2014). The authors used to derive hypotheses from theoretical propositions, which were then tested before being formed into a theory (Sandberg, Alvesson, 2011). This helped in identifying the underlying relationships like whom do they apply to, and why and where. The theories of that time effectively addressed the what, how, why, when and where of the organizational phenomenon (Birkinshaw et al. 2014). The theoretical contributions were gauged on various parameters like what is new, how will it effect, and why now (McKeown, Petitta, 2014). Currently, this has process has almost vanished (McKeown, Petitta, 2014). The researchers are more interested in getting a high quantity of articles published rather than focusing on the quality of the research or theories. This is because, the number of articles being published each year has increased significantly, and there is high competition among the authors to get their research papers published in leading journals (McKeown, Petitta, 2014). Several new business schools have been established all around the world and the existing ones have expanded significantly, because of this there has been a major increase in the number of articles for organization and management research (McKeown, Petitta, 2014). Furthermore, governments have introduced various assessment formulas like ERA and REF/RAE in Australia and the UK respectively (Birkinshaw et al. 2014). These assessment guidelines have been formulated by the government to govern the universities. Thus, because of this, it has b ecome a performance indicator for the top business schools, as the more articles they are able to get published in the high-end journals, their ranking and status will be improved (McKeown, Petitta, 2014). This has led to the universities forcing the professors and scientists to get a high number of articles published every year and because of this, they cannot research properly and produce articles which lack good research and theory (McKeown, Petitta, 2014). Additionally, even though there is a high increase in the number of articles being published, none of them have interesting and innovative theories, and are highly monotonous (Alvesson, Sandberg, 2012). Since there has been an increase in the quantity of management articles, the authors have become competitive and due to this the quality of the articles has improved (Karlsson, 2016). However, this has not motivated the authors in publishing new and improved theories (McKeown, Petitta, 2014). Research is done so that the knowledge of the particular field is enhanced and new and innovative theories are discovered, which help in making the existing practices better. Nevertheless, the research that is being done currently lacks innovative and interesting theories and ideologies (Alvesson, Sandberg, 2012). The authors have been publishing the same theories repetitively and gap spotting is becoming extremely popular. These articles are highly quantitative and contain figures from the past years, which make them irrelevant and tough to understand (Karlsson, 2016). Furthermore, they are just based on hypotheses and do not always turn out to be accurate. Since these organization and management research papers lack relevant theories and innovative ideas; the existing as well as upcoming managers have stopped reading them (Farnsworth, Keeble-Ramsay, Kemble, 2014). These research papers do not have much relevance with the real-time management world and the managers cannot relate t o them (Alvesson, Sandberg, 2012). Thus, these papers are not solving the actual purpose and because of this there is a debate on whether these research papers are relevant for the business organizations or not (Karlsson, 2016). The research is done by the authors on the same topic repetitively. In one instance, there were two articles found on the Harvard Business Review, which was written by well-educated authors having good knowledge about academic management research (McKeown, Petitta, 2014). These articles were written by Bennis OToole (2005) and Behrman Levin (1984) and had a gap of 21 years. However, the content of both these articles were same and they addressed the same issues (McKeown, Petitta, 2014). This is a proof of the same research is being repeated time and again. This means that the issues have not changed at all, and the same issues are plaguing the management world even now (Johnston, 2014). Therefore, the researchers should not waste their resources for providing solutions for the same research repetitively and the previous research papers and theories can be used by the existing managers as a guide (Karlsson, 2016). Or the solutions for the problems faced by the manager and how they can improve themselves have not been found by the researchers until now (McKeown, Petitta, 2014). Even though several problems are plaguing organization and management research, and many people have been complaining about the system which is prevalent (Suddaby, Hardy, Huy, 2011). There have hardly been any proper complaints by these people regarding the system. This is because; many people are getting benefitted from the prevailing system and are dominating the field, so that it does not get changed. The other segments of people are continuing to support this system voluntarily (Alvesson, Sandberg, 2012). Only few people are there who actually want this system to be changed. The benefactors of this system include the deans of the colleges and the status of the universities, publication houses, as well as the authors writing the existing articles (Karlsson, 2016). The deans of the colleges are highly benefitted because of this existing system, as according to the government regulations, the colleges can improve their ranking if higher number of articles are published in leading journals, which have been specified by them (McKeown, Petitta, 2014). So, they ensure that various articles from their college get published in these journals; thus, increasing their ranking and improving the image of the university. The publication houses are getting benefitted because there has been an increase in the research articles being submitted to them, which in turn is improving their brand name. This is also beneficial for the researchers, as writing these articles and getting them published in prestigious journals enhances their career (Donaldson, Qiu, Luo, 2013). This has resulted in the biggest problem present in management research, which is gap spotting. Scientific enquiries involving questioning the underlying assumptions of the existing research and deal with consensus challenging theories; however, gap spotting involves consensus seeking, which is the complete opposite (Karlsson, 2016). This has become extremely popular and the authors identify or construct gaps in the studies that have been done previously. This is known as extending the literature, and the researchers use the previous research studies to extend them by critically or positively referring to them, and base their own study and theories on these works. The contemporary authors and researchers use this as an excuse in most of the cases, so that they can get their articles featured in leading journals (McKeown, Petitta, 2014). This also has its benefits, as some articles actually need to be improved and challenged, but this has become a trend and the organization and manag ement research is becoming irrelevant due to this (Alvesson, Sandberg, 2012). Gap spotting happens because of various reasons and a major reason is the professional norms that have been dictated by the editors, journals and reviewers (McKeown, Petitta, 2014). These journals have started this trend of gap spotting and constantly encourage the norm of adding-to-the literature. Since the authors want to get their articles published in these journals, they have to follow the guidelines and rules dictated by them (Alvesson, Sandberg, 2012). They follow a strict review system and to get an article published, an author has to get various changes done. Sometimes because of this, several parts have to be deleted and various meaningless additions are done, due to which the meaning of the article gets completely changed (McKeown, Petitta, 2014). Furthermore, all these changes have to be done within the word count stipulated by them and the researchers have to listen to innumerable demands (Karlsson, 2016). This has become a significant problem, as sometimes because of this, people who have written good journals having relevant theories and discoveries, do not get their work featured (McKeown, Petitta, 2014).   The near omnipresent condition to constantly publish in the top rank journals has proved that most of the researchers have lost track and the main aim of the management studies, namely, to generate original knowledge that matters to the organization and community. (Quinlan, 2015). Therefore, the most noteworthy point here is that, in order to get back the management studies on the previous track, there is a need to shift the interest of the researchers from the recent paper production to the production of more innovative and significant ideas that can bring change in both organizational procedure and theories (Alvesson, Sandberg, 2012). Using problematization and empirical material as methods for challenging previous assumptions will be beneficial to get new ways in the organizational and management research process (Neuman, 2014). Books Karlsson, C. (Ed.). (2016). Research Methods for Operations Management. Routledge. Neuman, W. (2014). Social research methods (1st ed.). Boston [u.a.]: Pearson. Quinlan, C. (2015). Business research methods (1st ed.). Andover: Cengage Learning EMEA. Verma, R. (2014). Management research (1st ed.). New Delhi: Anmol Publications. Journals Alvesson, M., Sandberg, J. (2012). Has Management Studies Lost Its Way? Ideas for More Imaginative and Innovative Research. Journal Of Management Studies, 50(1), 128-152. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6486.2012.01070.x Alvesson, M., Spicer, A. (2016). (Un)Conditional surrender? Why do professionals willingly comply with managerialism. Journal Of Organizational Change Management, 29(1), 29-45. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/jocm-11-2015-0221 Behrman, J. N., Levin, R. I. (1984). Are business schools doing their job. Harvard Business Review, 62(1), 140. Bennis, W. G., OToole, J. (2005). How business schools lost their way. Harvard business review, 83(5), 96-104. Birkinshaw, J., Healey, M. P., Suddaby, R., Weber, K. (2014). Debating the future of management research. Journal of Management Studies, 51(1), 38-55. Davis, G. (2014). Celebrating Organization Theory: The After-Party. Journal Of Management Studies, 52(2), 309-319. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/joms.12094 Donaldson, L., Qiu, J., Luo, B. N. (2013). For rigour in organizational management theory research. Journal of Management Studies, 50(1), 153-172. Farnsworth, T., Keeble-Ramsay, D., Kemble, R. (2014, June). ProblematizingRepeat Studies in Management Sciences. In European Conference on Research Methodology for Business and Management Studies (p. 144). Academic Conferences International Limited. Johnston, A. (2014). Rigour in research: theory in the research approach. European Business Review, 26(3), 206-217. McKeown, T., Petitta, L. (2014). Management studies in context: International, interconnected, yet still unique. Journal of Management Organization, 20(05), 567-571. Sandberg, J., Alvesson, M. (2011). Ways of constructing research questions: gap-spotting or problematization?. Organization, 18(1), 23-44. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1350508410372151 Suddaby, R., Hardy, C., Huy, Q. N. (2011). Introduction to special topic forum: where are the new theories of organization?.

The Focus on Cultural Competency in the Social Work Profession Essay

The focus of social work practice can be best described as a pendulum, with major theoretical shifts occurring in accordance with, among many things, social climate, funding, and federal and state legislation. Thus, incorporating concepts of cultural competency into the clinical setting has been an evolutionary process. The focus on cultural competency in the social work profession has developed from a trend, to what is now regarded as an academic knowledge base and professional standard (Bridge, Massie & Mills, 2008). The nineties marked a shift towards multicultural and cultural diversity competency, it is still a fairly novel concept†¦.. In many instances discussions on cultural competency have been broached by non-social work professionals and in terms of multicultural therapy and counseling (Lu, Lum & Chen, 2001). With the client population becoming a more expansive group in terms of socioeconomic level, race, gender identification, and sexual orientation, it is imperative that clinicians engaged in cross-cultural work conduct ongoing â€Å"self-inventories,† and be involved in collaborative discussions with their agency in regards to cultural competency. The following paper will be a perspective on my conception of cultural competency as a clinical social worker in an agency setting. McPhatter (1997) defines cultural competency as the ability to bring cultural awareness and understanding into â€Å"health and/or psychosocial interventions that support and sustain healthy client-system functioning within the appropriate cultural context (pg.261).† Akin to many of my peers, I am inclined to envision myself upon graduation as a self-aware, knowledgeable, enthusiastic clinician capable of servicing all kinds of clients without prejudices... ...ural contexts, it is crucial that cultural competency garners attention from both the clinician, and agency. The ongoing work involved in this journey is emotionally demanding, and I find it incredibly helpful to revisit the very reason why I choose this profession. As Elizabeth J. Clarke, Executive Director of the National Association of Social Workers so eloquently states, â€Å"We are holders of hope for our clients, our communities, and our society†¦. social work is the last best profession (pg.11).† Given that, it is critical that as social workers we remember that although discussing societal constructs, such as, racism, classism, sexism, and homophobia in the therapeutic relationship can be remarkably challenging, by engaging in such conversations you are combating the power that these constructs possess in your life, your client’s and the global society at large.

Teenage Wasteland

Anne Tyler’s short story â€Å"Teenage Wasteland† illustrates a mothers struggle to understand and help her child. The story takes place in a middle class neighborhood, where the protagonist Daisy, is a mother of two and a housewife. Daisy tries to help her son Donny, a stubborn and misunderstood teenager. Donny is a troubling teen who is rebellious and always causes misfortune. When Daisy gets a call from the principal of Donny’s private school requesting a conference about Donny’s poor grades and immature behavior, she does everything she can to help Donny grow and mature by hiring a tutor.Unfortunately, Daisy discovers that Cal, Donny’s tutor, didn’t help Donny raise his grade, but instead made his grade drop. Daisy noticed that Donny has showed some improvement in his behavior and attitude in school. Anne Tyler reveals that being a parent is never an easy job, some parents, like Daisy and Matt, have no control over their kids. Throughout Daisy’s life she has tried to get a better understanding of Donny, she wants to be around him and wishes to know what he’s really like. As a mother Daisy is caring and interested in Donny’s well-being, she is insecure because of Donny, and Donny is Daisy’s main priority.Like all mothers Daisy is interested in her child's well-being. In this case, Donny’s well-being is all that she cares about. Daisy has gone through so much trouble in the past couple of weeks just for Donny to be happy. Daisy is very curious about Donny, he is very secretive and likes to keep things on the low. â€Å"Well? What did you think? †(Tyler. 260). Daisy asks for Donny’s opinion, she’s wants to know how he feels. Also, it’s as if his decision is the only thing that matters to her, she wants to know what his standards are.Daisy cares for Donny, she wants to communicate with him and get to know him. Daisy is insecure about herself because of Donny ’s behaviour towards her. Because of the way Donny treats her, Daisy feels no confidence even with the way she dresses. In this case, she is self-conscious because she feels that Donny is uncomfortable being around her. She becomes self-conscious over the slightest things that don’t mean anything. â€Å"Daisy held in her stomach in and gave Mr. Lanham a firm, responsible handshake†(Tyler. 258). Daisy tries to suck in her stomach when giving a handshake, thinking that she is  overweight.â€Å"She wished she’d worn nylons instead of knee socks†(Tyler. 257). Also, she is insecure about the tiniest things like the way she’s dressed, she gets concerned over socks thinking that they make her look unprofessional and ignorant. She tries the cover and hide the parts where she is insecure about, like the things that may embarrass her. Daisy’s main person of interest seems to be Donny. She finds Donny intrigueing, he confuses her with his mixe d emotions. In this case, Daisy wants to get to know Donny he confuses her alot, all mothers are curious about their children.When she picks Donny up from Cal’s he’s having a great time, smiling and laughing which Dasiy has never seen that side of, but when he gets in the car he becomes mute and irritated a bit. Donny is causing trouble which is gaining him attention, shes putting all her care into him. â€Å"She had always told Donny he had talent, was smart, was good with his hands†(Tyler. 258). Donny has always been Daisy's main priority, until his younger sister was born. But even after, he was still her main person of interest.Daisy puts all her attention into Donny, she tries to figure him out in every way she can, but she can’t break him. She doesn’t understand Donny and the cause of his actions. Donny tries to avoid his parents in any way he can, he ignores them and gets annoyed over everything they tell him to do. The start of all of Donny ’s ruckus is what brought Daisy to care about him, and what made him her main person of interest. Throughout Daisy’s life she has tried to get a better understanding of Donny, she wants to be around him and wishes to know what he’s really like.To conclude, Daisy’s desperate struggle to understanding and getting along with her son, Donny, comes down to them becoming even more like strangers. Daisy’s plan on getting along with Donny fails terribly due to the cause of her hiring Cal, Donny’s tutor. Soon she discovers that the cause of Donny acting rebellious, is because she didn’t care too much about him before. If Daisy would have accepted Donny the way he was, and focused more on other things than him it would have probably turned out differently and he wouldn’t have run away.

Fahrenheit 451 Critical Essay

Jamie Moseley 17, October, 2012 Ms. Telesca English 101H Fahrenheit 451 Analysis In all societies, knowledge breeds life and understanding about mankind and the world surrounding it. Without the purposeful application of knowledge, the entropy of ignorance sweeps civilization into ruin and decay. In Fahrenheit 451, Bradbury asserts the point that knowledge is the foundation of civilization and if removed, what is left is a decaying society ravaged by stupidity and immorality. War, technology, and paradox sculpt a world that treats lies as truth and knowledge as sin.The characters in Fahrenheit 451 use technology as a mirroring motif, reflecting the characteristics of the society that invents things like headphones, bio-purging systems, and grotesque mechanical beasts. At first, headphones seem like a harmless invention, but actually showcase the fruitless â€Å"knowledge† of the people who use it. Montag discovers this when he observes Mildred using â€Å"the little Seashells , the thimble radios tamped tight, and an electronic ocean of sound . . . coming in on the shore of her unsleeping mind† (Bradbury 10).What Mildred listens to is not knowledgeable information, but merely a bombardment of sound and useless facts used to asphyxiate her mind. The Seashell radios force information on the listener to block out thought and short-circuit the listener’s creative faculties. Again Mildred uses the radios, but Montag finds her â€Å"eyes wide and staring at the fathoms of blackness above her in the ceiling† (39), as though she is nothing but a shell. It is interesting that the radios are called Seashells for seashells mimic the sound of the ocean just as the listeners of the radios mimic the information of the ocean of sound.People become nothing more than seashells that echo back the same bogus facts as truth without question. This empty society not only depresses free thought, but also dehumanizes its citizens. In the beginning of the boo k, Montag walks home to find Mildred overdosing on sleeping pills and calls the emergency line. In no time, two men walk in with two machines that are used to purge Mildred’s system. One machine â€Å"slid[es] down into your stomach like a black cobra down an echoing well looking for all the old water . . † (11) while the other is like an eye giving the operator the ability to â€Å"gaze into the soul of a person whom he was pumping out†(11). These machines invade the victim’s body in a way that violates the person’s humanity. The blood transfusion results in the victim becoming a wind-up toy. This incident portrays the indifference toward an individual’s life because of the violation of one’s body and disregard for personal emotion. However, the best embodiment of Montag’s society is the mechanical hound.The hound is introduced as an almost undead creature, one that â€Å"live[s] but [does] not live in its gently humming . . . kennel in a dark corner of the firehouse† (21). Like the hound, its creators neither live nor die but simply exist in a dark, backwards existence and wait for their next orders. The game of bets and death the firemen play explains the hound’s purpose. The hound traps its prey, â€Å"gripp[ing] in gentling paws while a four-inch hollow steel needle plunge[s] down from the proboscis of the hound to inject massive jolts of morphine and procaine† (23).The people, or prey, of this civilization are trapped by a gentle, yet nightmarish circumstance which injects massive amounts of false pleasure and phony facts that create a surreal yet entertaining state of being like the side effects of morphine and procaine. After Montag witnesses the killing, he asks Beatty if the hound is alive. Beatty immediately responds: â€Å"’ Come off it. It doesn’t like or dislike. It just ‘functions’ . . . † (24). The masses merely â€Å"function† like the hound going day to day in a mindless state of existence like mechanical creations. Also, the hound with â€Å"its eight incredible insect legs . . . (23) exposes the distortion of reality that is believed by people who would call this monstrous creation a hound though there is almost no resemblance between it and a dog. It is one of the twisted machines that make up the dystopia Montag lives in. Underneath the futuristic advances of this civilization lies the true dystopian world that is Fahrenheit 451. Like George Orwell’s 1984, constant war in foreign regions is present in this culture as bombers fly overhead every night like the rocket bombs of Winston’s world. Montag, in the heat of rage, questions the war effort and asks â€Å"’ Why doesn’t someone want to talk about it!We’ve started and won two atomic wars since 2022! ’† (69). Even after two atomic wars, the bombers still fly in formation, striking fear into the popula ce and rallying it together to focus its attention on a greater cause instead of the quality of their lives. War is inescapable on the radio where Montag hears the radio announce that â€Å". . . war may be declared any hour . . . † (30), which keeps the population on alert and standing by to defend its borders rather than defending their individual lives from the invasion of ignorance. Killing also unveils the dilapidated social structure as Clarisse states, â€Å"’ I’m afraid of children my own age.They kill each other’† (27). Death no longer inhibits the actions of others, but instead becomes a common fact of everyday life like breathing. Even Mildred, who comments on Montag’s need to smash things, suggests taking the beetle for a spin. â€Å"’ It’s fun out in the country. You hit rabbits, sometimes you hit dogs. Go take the beetle’† (61). Killing has no consequence anymore whether one kills an animal or murder s a human. Death, like war, distracts people through fear. Everyone fears for their own life, but cares nothing for the lives of others. Suicide, however, is the exception to this rule.When one â€Å"enjoys† their life so much, they commit suicide. One of the operators who saves Mildred from overdosing casually says â€Å"’ we get these cases nine or ten times a night’† (13), as if it is nothing serious. On top of that, he also states that â€Å"’ you take out the old [blood] and put in the new [blood] and you’re okay’† (12). The reason for suicide is that the people lead such hollow lives wrapped in cheap entertainment which leaves them without purpose. The lack of knowledge does not help because with knowledge, one can assume a purpose and make reason to life.Without it, there is no way to find a purpose and therefore people toss themselves away. However, they are given their meaningless lives back through transfusion and beg in again the downward spiral surrounded by paradox and contradiction. To place the final nail in the coffin of free thought, paradoxical ideas are substituted for knowledge that leaves society vacuous. Like the Ministry of Love in 1984, the firemen are a contradiction of good and evil. Beatty tells Montag that they are â€Å"’ the Happiness Boys, the Dixie Duo . . . we stand against the small tide of those who want to make everyone unhappy . . ’† (59) though they bring destruction and even death wherever they are sent. Yet, they whole-heartedly believe that their duty is one of ultimate justice for the good of man whereas it is the opposite. This twisting of reality appears in the television shows like Mildred’s â€Å"family†. She feels like she belongs with them, crying out â€Å"’ my ‘family’ is people. They tell me things; I laugh, they laugh! ’† (69). The â€Å"family† creates a sense of belonging and in clusion that actually excludes and cuts the viewer off from the real world by satisfying the need for information.Watching television is an exclusive affair which Montag soon realizes. In frustration, Montag asks Mildred, â€Å"’ does your ‘family’ love, love you very much, love you with all their heart and soul, Millie? ’† (73). What Mildred feels for the ‘family’ is a surrogate set of emotions, substituting fact and truth with what she sees and hears, causing her to truly love the â€Å"family† even though it is merely a program. Beatty explains the constant attack of pseudo-knowledge and emotion: â€Å"’Cram them full of noncombustible data, chock them so damned full of ‘facts’ they feel stuffed , but absolutely brilliant with information’† (58).He goes on to say â€Å"’ if the drama is bad, if the film says nothing, if the play is hollow, sting me with the Theremin, loudly . . . I jus t like solid entertainment’† (58). What Beatty is alluding to is if the masses are overrun with useless information, paradoxical ideas, and false emotions, they will believe that they understand the world around them from what they have absorbed and consider it truth and live in stupid intelligence which is the greatest paradox presented. Like light and darkness, knowledge drives off ignorance.However, Bradbury creates a culture where knowledge is stifled in an impenetrable web of ignorance that dictates the lives of the characters in Fahrenheit 451. Murder, machines, and contradictions are used to give false purpose and reason to humanity in place of knowledge. The hero Montag journeys through this dangerous environment in an attempt to find himself and uncover the horrific truth that without reason, destruction and rot await to consume all who ignore intelligence. Works Cited Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1967. Print.