Thursday, October 31, 2019

What is the REAL link between violence and mental disorder How do the Essay

What is the REAL link between violence and mental disorder How do the media present mental disorder Is this fair and accurate reresentation - Essay Example Although, he had taken the case just for the publicity, as Vail further investigates the case, he develops sympathy for Stampler as he becomes convinced that he is innocent. His sympathy and concern for Stampler reaches at such a level that Vail is ready to fight to all extents against his former lover Janet Venable, who is acting as the prosecutor. Nevertheless, during his investigation, Vail also discovers that the Archbishop had made some powerful enemies due to his insistence on not developing and selling Church lands. Surprisingly enough, he also found out that the Archbishop was sexually abusing altar boys. Vail is tempted to submit this evidence to the court because the same would increase the sympathy for the boy, but at the same time, it will also provide him with a clear motive for murder, something which was missing from the equation of the arguments of the prosecution. Vail decides not to make this evidence public and instead, decides to question Aaron, during which Aaron continuously insists that he is innocent and does not remember anything despite the fact that he was found feeling the crime scene with blood all over the clothes. When Vail intensifies his aggressive line of questioning and mentions the sex tape, Aaron finally breaks down and suddenly transforms into a violent, rude, sociopathic personality and starts to refer himself as â€Å"Roy†. â€Å"Roy† confesses to the murder of Archbishop and cites the molestation and abuse as the reason behind the same. â€Å"Roy† also throws Vail against the wall in the heat of the moment, but when things are allowed to cool down, he transforms back to his original personality. He knows claims that he has no recollection of the events. It becomes apparent to the Vail that he is suffering from some serious mental illness. The psychiatrist examining Aaron also confirms that the Aaron is suffering from multiple personality disorder. As a child, he faced mental problems due to childhood abuse from his

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

O Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

O - Essay Example Different countries have jail criminals on less complex possession of illegal drugs such as marijuana, when found guilty, these offenders are given harsh punishment and jail sentences (Sandro 45). In the last 30 years, there have been international rise in the criminalization of improper use of drugs. Criminalization has led to the rise on the application of disciplinary authorizations executed on illegal drug offenders; in addition there have been an increase in the rates of imprisonment. However, it is vital to note that these policies have had a limited effect in reducing and controlling the abuse of illegal drugs in the streets. In the recent years, the have been some advancement on the fact that another effective approach needs to be implemented in order to combat the use of illegal drugs, addiction of these drugs has come out to be a health problem that needs treatment, medical intervention and counseling instead of imprisonment. In the United States, the population in the prisons has amplified from 300,000 to 2.3 million inmates in the last four decades. Among these inmates, only one in 3 adults in the United States prisons in on the system of parole or probation. This has proved to be expensive as the government at present expends more than 68 billion dollars annually on the prison sector. Therefore, jailing of offenders on use of illegal drugs is one of the main of the mass imprisonment in the United States prisons. There are also substantial signs that drug execution has averted resources from law application of violent offenses and other dangers to public well-being (Sandro 44). Drug offenders who show no previous history of drug abuse or any type of violence and no prior arrests usually face compulsory minimum sentences in excess of 25 years behind bars. A high total of drug low level offenders who have been found guilty end up receiving harsh sentences such as life imprisonment without the option of parole, this is due to the

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Organizations face huge pressures

Organizations face huge pressures Factors forcing Change Organizations face huge pressures to change, from both internal and external sources, internal forces to change often as a result of long-term external forces. For example, Biggest Coal Mining companies internal pressure to expanding their activities to Coal mining and Energy plant Chemical industry, as a result of more and more other similar companies interested to engage with chemical industry. Internal Factors forcing change The factors internal to an organization that force changes can be identified through a formal analysis method. Most common among these methods is S.W.O.T. analysis. Strengths An organizations strengths, which help identify a competitive advantage or unique selling point, are of vital importance when deciding on changing the focus of the company. Weaknesses An organizations weaknesses are a real motivation to change. Weaknesses identified internally in a companys product or service, will require immediate attention and changing. The weakness would be resolved by a cultural change. Opportunities Opportunities that present themselves, like new contracts on other continents will force changes in the company, sometimes as simple as new working hours. With the differences in different customer expectations, modern companies need to remain flexible. Flexibility is a major cultural change that needs to be introduced. Threats Threats to an organization, usually in the form of competitors and substitution products force a company to react. To react effectively companies have to react quickly, which is a cultural change in a company. External Factors forcing change The factors external to an organization that force changes can be identified through the PESTELI acronym. Political Political factors would include the current and potential influences from political pressures such as unions and national pay agreements. Economic The local, national and world economy impact can force an organization into changing their work practices or even product prices. Social Changes in lifestyle absolutely force changes in organizations, but at a cultural level, socially changing attitudes towards work or ethical issues can also have effects on the culture inside an organization. Technical The ever-changing technical world in which we live has probably the most profound effect on organizational culture of all external factors. Technical improvement that allow employees to work from home, working teams to be separated by great distances and for customers to be located on the opposite side of the world from their suppliers. Anything that changes the day-to-day work of the employees has a profound effect on the organizations culture. Ecological The local, national and world ecological and environmental issues that have effects on culture at national levels filter down into the organizational culture within a company. Legislative The legal issues both locally and at an EU level, such as taxes and working time regulations also have effects on culture at a national level, filter down into the organizational culture within a company. Industry Industry changes have a huge effect on national culture. The move away from agriculture into industrial and now information economies has greatly changed the national working culture. WHAT IS ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE? Managers and employees do not perform their duties in a value-free vacuum, their work and the way its done are governed, directed and tempered by the organizations culture. Burnes, B. (2004) ‘Managing Change. There are three main factors affecting the culture of an Organization, These are: The Founders basic assumptions The national culture The task in hand. Gargan, D. (2005) ‘Change Management Lecture Notes The Founders basic assumptions In a typical company the founders set up small and grow the company from one basic good idea. These founders go into business to make money, pure and simple. However, depending on the nature of their work certain assumptions made by the founders will immediately set the culture for the initial and all future employees. For example, â€Å"Energy resource† companys founders found out powerful innovation Coal-to-liquid (CTL technology). This is going to be very huge project and founders working on it very precise. Thats why they push all employees, who will probably not be given too much freedom and all work would be carried out along strict guidelines and the basic idea of management not trusting staff may be in place. The Founders basic assumptions immediately set the working environment and culture within an organization. The national culture National attitudes to working determine the employees general attitude towards working. Now every employee is different, but when talking about culture at a national level there are some basic truths that always apply. Some national cultural behaviour will lead the company toward organizational change, while others will hamper it. National Cultures that help change: Mongolian people leaving work place at 6pm on Friday to go to pub. This helps change culture, Idea is it leads to more integrated working environment, where everyone ends up talking about work and discussing opportunities and threats. Society encouraging further education National Cultures that hinder change: Japanese people not leaving the office until their boss has. (Over tired and less productive staff) Lunchtime drinking culture Unions and their involvement National pay agreements The task in hand The task in hand it the major defining factor towards the culture of a company. If the companys job is mainly customer service, meeting and dealing with people, then the organizations culture should be focused to customer. However, if the company is an innovator, its culture should be one of exploration and give more individual freedom to the employees. In this case we need look at how cultural change turn mining company employees into power plant industry employees. At different levels within an organization there are usually different tasks. For example, in â€Å"Chemical industry† company, there may have 3 distinct groups. 1) Research and Development This group will have brain storming culture and scientific research for innovative technology. 2) Professional Services This group works directly with customers, culture will be more customer focused as they are under more pressure. 3) Sales The sales group will have a â€Å"Yes† culture, never turning down any opportunity, and putting pressure onto the other two groups to deliver. Organizations structure effects on Culture â€Å"Energy Resource† company organized with Matrix organization structure. Its resources are shunted around the organization to meet the demand for attention that tasks require. Employees work less in fixed groups for long periods and so no pockets of different cultures can grow, but rather if Employees are unhappy with their work, the chances are that they can be easily moved, so as to maintain good working culture. Factors forcing Change Organizations face huge pressures to change, from both internal and external sources, internal forces to change often as a result of long-term external forces. For example, Biggest Coal Mining companies internal pressure to expanding their activities to Coal mining and Energy plant Chemical industry, as a result of more and more other similar companies interested to engage with chemical industry. Internal Factors forcing change The factors internal to an organization that force changes can be identified through a formal analysis method. Most common among these methods is S.W.O.T. analysis. Strengths An organizations strengths, which help identify a competitive advantage or unique selling point, are of vital importance when deciding on changing the focus of the company. Weaknesses An organizations weaknesses are a real motivation to change. Weaknesses identified internally in a companys product or service, will require immediate attention and changing. The weakness would be resolved by a cultural change. Opportunities Opportunities that present themselves, like new contracts on other continents will force changes in the company, sometimes as simple as new working hours. With the differences in different customer expectations, modern companies need to remain flexible. Flexibility is a major cultural change that needs to be introduced. Threats Threats to an organization, usually in the form of competitors and substitution products force a company to react. To react effectively companies have to react quickly, which is a cultural change in a company. External Factors forcing change The factors external to an organization that force changes can be identified through the PESTELI acronym. Political Political factors would include the current and potential influences from political pressures such as unions and national pay agreements. Economic The local, national and world economy impact can force an organization into changing their work practices or even product prices. Social Changes in lifestyle absolutely force changes in organizations, but at a cultural level, socially changing attitudes towards work or ethical issues can also have effects on the culture inside an organization. Technical The ever-changing technical world in which we live has probably the most profound effect on organizational culture of all external factors. Technical improvement that allow employees to work from home, working teams to be separated by great distances and for customers to be located on the opposite side of the world from their suppliers. Anything that changes the day-to-day work of the employees has a profound effect on the organizations culture. Ecological The local, national and world ecological and environmental issues that have effects on culture at national levels filter down into the organizational culture within a company. Legislative The legal issues both locally and at an EU level, such as taxes and working time regulations also have effects on culture at a national level, filter down into the organizational culture within a company. Industry Industry changes have a huge effect on national culture. The move away from agriculture into industrial and now information economies has greatly changed the national working culture. WHO CAN CHANGE CULTURE? Changing the culture of an organization is an extremely difficult task, but it may be necessary to get the results required. If an organization were thought of as a restaurant, and the employees as the waiters, content and well looked after waiters would go about their jobs in a pleasant manner and as a result tips would be high and the restaurant turnover would be high, as customers would enjoy eating there. However, on the other hand, if working at the restaurant was made difficult for the waiters, with an unpleasant working environment and impersonal culture, they might not go about their jobs with such enthusiasm, a lack of motivation would become obvious in their demeanour, tips would be low and restaurant business would suffer. So its in an organizations best interests to maintain a healthy and productive working culture. Changing an organizations culture can be done at the three distinct levels with an organization: Executive Management, Middle Management and regular employee level. Lets look at them in turn and consider two very different football clubs (Manchester United and Arsenal) as differing organizations. At an Executive Management level Executive management are the group that direct the organizations goals. So, in order for them to effect cultural changes, they may have to change the organisations direction. The organisation may need to be streamlined in order to make provisions for the desired changes. Inspiring and motivating staff through vision and mission statements as well as overall policies would be a common approach taken at this level. Changes introduced at the executive management level are the most difficult changes to resist, because employees are largely powerless against them. In the terms of the football clubs, the executive management would be the boards of directors, who can release certain amounts of funding for the operation of the team and/or make performance goals for league finishing positions. At a Mid-Management level Middle management is the level from which most organisational change comes from. These changes can take the form of new operations rules (e.g. Forced timesheet logging). Changing the working practice for employees, by making their working life more strict or more lenient, pushing more responsibility onto the individual employees or smaller changes like more frequent or earlier meetings. However, changes enforced or imposed by the mid-management are the most resisted. In the terms of the football clubs, the middle management would be the team managers. The managers can effect change by shouting at players and demanding results, as done by Alex Ferguson at Manchester United, or by talking through the current issues are working for a solution together with the players, as done by Arsene Wenger at Arsenal. As a regular employee Regular employees can change the culture in an organisation in the most effective manner. Through an observed work ethic or levels of professionalism or levels of â€Å"completeness† in their work, employees can pressure other employees to change how they work and this will filter around the organisation, effecting the change. Now there are two types of motivation that people respond to. One, the people who are shouted at and told what to do and told there will be consequences if they do not perform. This was the kind of tactic employed by Roy Keane at Manchester united. Two, the people who like to be told that they are doing a great job and encouraged to do a little more, but encouraged by someone who was obviously performing better. This was the kind of tactic employed by Patrick Viera at Arsenal. Guidelines for changing culture (Burns 2004) 1) Formulate a clear strategic vision. An organisation needs a clear vision with a well define strategy and values in place in order to be effective. 2) Display top-management commitment. Cultural change needs to be managed from the top down. Executive management need to agree to the plan and stick to it. 3) Model culture change at the highest level. Cultural changes need to be communicated through the actions of executive management. Management need to lead by example. 4) Modify the organization to support organisational changes. Cultural changes need to be reflected in organisational changes in order to back them up, if at all possible. 5) Select and socialize newcomers and terminate deviants. To really effectively change organisation culture, those who resist the change may need to be let go. People stuck in their ways that cannot adapt are of no benefit to the organisation going forward, sometimes this will manifest itself in the form of early retirement. The hiring of new people will be done with the new organisation culture in mind. 6) Develop ethical and legal sensitivity. Changing a culture then radically changing all the staff in a company may not only send out the wrong message, but actually be illegal or in breech of union regulations. Such plans need to be enacted very carefully. Conclusion Culture is a complex beast, derived from the personalities of all the current and previous employees of an organisation. As such, changing culture is equivalent to changing peoples thinking, which is a non-trivial exercise. The intricacies of culture and office politics are potentially huge and the initially obvious culture may just be the tip of the iceberg as regards the culture at large. The culture of an organisation does indeed determine its ability to change effectively, but this is a good thing. For small innovative organisations, where the company is based around a core nucleus of core staff, the attitudes and actions arising from those people will define the culture, usually into a vibrant and dynamic workplace, capable of changing quickly and often ahead of the times. On the other hand, in mature hierarchical structured organisations that have a large amount of management supported by a lower amount of staff, the culture will become more complex. Large organisations that have this structure (e.g. Financial Institutions), take time to change effectively, because not only does the structure of the company mean that it will take time for the changes to be propagated around the organisations, but the changes are more likely to be resisted at every level down the hierarchy from the executive management to the â€Å"real† works, who the changes will most likely effect the greatest

Friday, October 25, 2019

Essay --

Jack the Ripper and the murders of Whitechapel is a mystery that still plagues the world today. Even after hundreds of years, no one has been able to decipher who the Ripper really was. Jack the Ripper was and is an unsolved mystery. It is important however, for people to be informed of what happened in those dark days, even if they do not know who the killer was (Biography 1). Though there were several other serial killers before Jack the ripper, he was the first one to get the attention from the media. At the time he was murdering, newspapers were beginning to become a big deal so word out fairly quickly. Because of the press coverage, more people were aware of and invested in the case (Casebook 1). During time of the murders, several different police forces were involved, including something similar to a neighborhood watch. Anyone who looked remotely suspicious was questioned. Of all of the people investigated, the first to be talked to were the doctors and the butchers, mainly due to the way the Ripper handled the women. Sadly, no one was ever officially charged with the murders (Whitechapel 1). Jack the Ripper was one of the few serial killers that were never caught. Because of that, there are still people today who try to solve the age old case. There are only five proven murders, though people suspect he killed up to eight women. One of the things that made Jack the Ripper so mysterious was the fact that his victims had very little in common with one another. Usually serial killers will have a certain type of victim, but not the Ripper. All of the victims of the Ripper were of different ages and appearances. The only thing the girls had in common was their occupation of prostitution and a love of alcohol (... ...oaxes (Casebook 4). Although officials never figured out who the Ripper was, there were people they suspected, such as an assistant schoolmaster named John Druitt. Druitt is considered a suspect because he committed suicide right after the murders were committed. However, that is the only link police forces were able to find linking the two. Sources outside of the police force claimed that Druitt committed suicide because he was fired from the school for homosexuality, though that wasn’t ever proven (Whitechapel 4). Another commonly accepted suspect is George Chapman, who moved to the UK just before the murders began. Chapman was sentenced to death in 1903 for the murder of three of his wives. What keeps some people from believing he was responsible for the Ripper murders is the fact that he had poisoned his wives rather than using a knife (Whitechapel 4). Essay -- Jack the Ripper and the murders of Whitechapel is a mystery that still plagues the world today. Even after hundreds of years, no one has been able to decipher who the Ripper really was. Jack the Ripper was and is an unsolved mystery. It is important however, for people to be informed of what happened in those dark days, even if they do not know who the killer was (Biography 1). Though there were several other serial killers before Jack the ripper, he was the first one to get the attention from the media. At the time he was murdering, newspapers were beginning to become a big deal so word out fairly quickly. Because of the press coverage, more people were aware of and invested in the case (Casebook 1). During time of the murders, several different police forces were involved, including something similar to a neighborhood watch. Anyone who looked remotely suspicious was questioned. Of all of the people investigated, the first to be talked to were the doctors and the butchers, mainly due to the way the Ripper handled the women. Sadly, no one was ever officially charged with the murders (Whitechapel 1). Jack the Ripper was one of the few serial killers that were never caught. Because of that, there are still people today who try to solve the age old case. There are only five proven murders, though people suspect he killed up to eight women. One of the things that made Jack the Ripper so mysterious was the fact that his victims had very little in common with one another. Usually serial killers will have a certain type of victim, but not the Ripper. All of the victims of the Ripper were of different ages and appearances. The only thing the girls had in common was their occupation of prostitution and a love of alcohol (... ...oaxes (Casebook 4). Although officials never figured out who the Ripper was, there were people they suspected, such as an assistant schoolmaster named John Druitt. Druitt is considered a suspect because he committed suicide right after the murders were committed. However, that is the only link police forces were able to find linking the two. Sources outside of the police force claimed that Druitt committed suicide because he was fired from the school for homosexuality, though that wasn’t ever proven (Whitechapel 4). Another commonly accepted suspect is George Chapman, who moved to the UK just before the murders began. Chapman was sentenced to death in 1903 for the murder of three of his wives. What keeps some people from believing he was responsible for the Ripper murders is the fact that he had poisoned his wives rather than using a knife (Whitechapel 4).

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Articles Of Partnership Essay

That no transfer will reduce the ownership of Filipinos citizens to less than the required percentage of capital shall be recorded in the paper books of the partnership. ARTICLE VII. That the profits and losses shall be divided pro-rata among the partners. ARTICLE VIII. That should there be any additional contribution made by a limited partner, such must be agreed upon by all the partners in writing and duly recorded at least two (2) days after signing of same agreement. Such contribution shall amend Article VI of the Articles of Partnership and in no case shall such amendment be done less than one (1) year after the original recording of said partnership by the Securities and Exchange Commission. ARTICLE IX. That the contribution of each limited partner may be returned to him/ her three (3) years after the original recording of said partnership by the Securities and Exchange Commission. ARTICLE X. That the limited partner may be given the right to substitute an assignee as contributor in his place, provided that he has duly notified his partners in writing, stating the reasons therefor, five (5) days before affectivity of said substitution. Provided further that such limited partner has already settled his obligations to the partnership prior to the notification of substitution. ARTICLE XI. That a partner may admit an additional limited partner, provided that the other partners have been duly notified in writing five (5) days before effectivityof admission and duly concurred by all the partners in writing. ARTICLE XII. That the remaining general partner or partners shall have the right continue the business in cases of death, retirement, civil interdiction, insanity Orin solvency of a general partner. ARTICLE XIII. That the firm shall be under the management of Jorgielyn F. Pardilla, as General Manager and as such she shall be in charge of the management of the affairs of the partnership. ARTICLE XIV. That the partners willingly undertake to change the name of the partnership immediately upon receipt of notice/ directive from the Securities and Exchange Commission that another partnership, corporation, or person has been declare misleading, deceptive, confusingly similar to a registered name or contrary to public morals, good customs or public policy.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Plantation Management in the Old South Essay

William Scarborough’s, The Overseer, examines the importance and the daily duties of the plantation overseer and how they influenced and contributed to the production and efficiency of slaves in the â€Å"Old South†. This position was unarguably, the most important position in the southern plantation system as they determined the success or failure of a plantation. In some small plantations, but mostly larger ones, the overseer was in charge of the supervision of enslaved Africans, care of the land, planting, farm tools, and harvesting. The overseer has been especially known in history as the handler of harsh disciplinary actions against slaves for breaking heavy or mild rules. The emergence of job advertising stormed through the south with higher number of individuals owning slaves. Over time leading up to the Civil War, the position of overseer has been professionalized with some planters even requiring letters of recommendations from their applicants. The goal of the author is to gather facts and accurate evidence that demonstrate how overseers effectively completed their task set forth by plantation owners and were less concerned about the torture and harsh beating of the enslaved Africans. The writer focuses more on the profession itself as opposed to examining the individual’s social class or morals in society. He also attempts to provide a valuable interpretation of one of many groups that made up the white middle class of the Old South. The book is divided into three sections with the first concerning the history and role of the overseer in the plantation establishment. It also gives key details on contract negotiations between the overseer and the plantation owner. Lastly, this section shows the view of the overseer by the general public. The second section examines the managerial duties and responsibilities and some of the disagreements between the plantation master and the overseer. The final section shows the occupation and the importance of the plantation supervisor during the Civil War and how the loss or reduction in available overseers affected the surviving plantations after the war ended. The overseer system was first introduced in the United States by the Virginia Company of England with the primary job function of upholding gained territory. When Africans were shipped to the Louisiana Territory as slaves, this very system was implemented. The vast majority of overseers during the colonial period were indentured servants whose terms of service had expired. One major reason for the increase in overseers in the antebellum south, during the 18th century were the cultural change that demanded plantation owners to indulge in the arts and other cultural pursuits. The profile of many of the men that went into this profession were most likely either the son of a planter, white lower class men, and men who actually saw the economic benefits of being an overseer. One distinctive feature of the overseer system during the colonial period was the practice of leasing developed plantations with slaves as stock. With this agreement the overseer was in charge for maintenance of the s lave force, and in return received one-third of the net proceeds from the selling of the crops. This profession would soon become highly profitable when cotton became the forefront of agriculture in the United States although to some had a negative view of the position. Although most of the overseers were originally poor and uneducated, they still gained enough respect by their employers to be acknowledged as a semi-elite professional with a very profitable position. Whatever may have been the view of the planter class regarding the step on the â€Å"social ladder† occupied by slave managers, the overseer himself had no feeling of class inferiority and showed little resentment toward the proprietary group. One of the major duties of the overseer was the welfare and discipline of the slaves, the care of livestock and other agriculture implements, and the production of staple and subsistence crops. The overseer assigned certain task to specific slave groups and supervised the labor of slaves in the field. The overseer was expected to have basic medical understanding to be able to examine the slaves and make note of any who actually needed professional treatment to treat certain physical hinders. The slave manager was obliged to make periodic inspections of slave cabins and was responsible for the distribution of clothing for the slaves. Lastly, and most importantly, the overseer was expected to ensure the security of the whites against uprisings of slaves, which was to some, inevitable. Depending of the plantation, there were also a second set of rules that were handed down from the planter to the overseer to instruct to the slaves. Some plantations had very harsh working conditions and required long hours, regardless of age or gender, while other were pretty mild with less work demanded from pregnant women and children under the age of seven. Some planters stated that â€Å"a happy slave is a productive slave† and the overseer had to abide by the wishes of the planter although they may have had different views on the use and managing of the slaves. The relationship between the overseer and the planter became pivotal leading up to the Civil War in 1861. As the Civil War began to run its course, the production of agriculture (with slave labor) was extremely important in the surviving and continuity of the south. The role of the overseer became even greater than ever with the departure of healthy white men leaving to join the Confederate Army. In many areas in the south, the only remaining security against insurgencies from the slaves was the overseers. It was no surprise that the drafting of plantation managers to the Confederate Army, angered many planters knowing that there would not be enough qualified managers to keep the slaves productive and fearful. There were even laws put into place in states such as Georgia, South Carolina, Mississippi, Alabama, and Louisiana that limited the number of overseers that could be drafted into the army. The south also made a rule stating that any wounded soldier who is able must return and oversee a plantation in order to contribute to the production of goods in the south. With this reduction in overseers, many slaves were able to escape and a number of large plantations fell due to the absence of the â€Å"slave Manager†. Scarborough’s The Overseer, examines the life and impact of the plantation overseer and how it shaped the working system of slavery and production in the United States. The author’s uses key facts to back his thesis on the importance and professionalism of the overseer. Scarborough did extensive research by exploring primary sources such as the memoirs of planters, public records, legal documents, and advertising posters. He incorporates a number of different employment contracts between planters and overseers and compared them based on the size of the plantation, state and region, and number of slaves. The author seemed to look at this job description from a professional standpoint as opposed to the ills and negative view that society and some historians have placed on the managers of plantations. He mentions that some overseers who were uneducated or inexperienced greatly affected the outlook for this profession and shadowed the somewhat complex job of managing an entire plantation.