ESSAY PORTION OF THE FINAL EXAMINATION Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

PORTION OF THE FINAL EXAMINATION - Essay Example In this case, it is very obvious that Clooney had neither informed Pittson of her intention to post his grades to fulosers.com, nor obtained Pittson’s consent on the same. In this same vein, Pittson’s grievances meet the threshold for a full fledged legal case because FERPA applies to educational institutions and agencies that are funded under programs that are run by the US Department of Education and as such, are publicly owned. It is clear that Fargo University as the institution in which the plaintiff learns and the defendant lectures is a state-owned university. The binding of state-owned learning institutions under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act is well enshrined by the US Constitution in the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), Public Law 79-404, Stat. 237 of June 11th, 1946. The APA Act governs the manner in which administrative agencies of the US federal government should establish, propose and observe regulations. It is therefore important that w hen Professor Clooney was posting students’ and Pittson’s grades online, she did so, knowing that she is a member of a public institution, and thereby bound by the FERPA Act and all other acts that govern the running of state-owned institutions, courtesy of the APA Act. Conversely, even the defendant’s claim of ignorance to this fact may not stand in the court of law, since ignorance is no defense in the court of law. That the threshold for this case is widely met is a matter that is underscored by FERPA including the divulging of information on a student’s behavior, status and even school work. FERPA stipulates that before posting a student’s behavior, status, school work or grades, permission must be obtained from an eligible student or the student’s parents, in order to release such information from any student’s education records. By eligibility, it is meant that the student must have been the subject or person of the information being posted; be of a sound mind; and have attained the legal age. In the event that the student does not meet this threshold, contacting that student’s parents for permission becomes inevitable. It is clear that Cooper did not follow these steps but arbitrarily posted Pittson’s grades to a public forum (Mayers, Mawer and Price, 23). It is also important to note that FERPA clearly accords students above the age of 18 and 18 year old students, and students who have enrolled in any post-secondary learning institution, the right to privacy as touching grades, billing information and enrollment. The only exception to this provision is when the school or its officer(s) obtains permission from the student to share this kind of specific information with the parents. This also clearly underscores the sustainability of the case before the court of law, given that Professor Clooney sought not, informed consent from Pittson, despite Pittson having attained 18 years and being a po st-secondary student, particularly, a university. FERPA also adjures faculty members to maintain confidentiality of students’ educational records, as the custodian of students’ academic database. It is for this reason that FERPA specifies that faculty members and the personnel of learning institutions must not post, display or publish lists of students’ grades, in personally identifiable forms, either in electronic form, or in hard copy. This provision goes ahead to state

Stress in the Workplace Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Stress in the Workplace - Research Paper Example They have achieved it on the cost of their personal and social life. The urge to remain employed has caused the employees to endorse the culture of work-life imbalance. The whole effort of the employees is concentrated at increasing the productivity. Since the time is limited, employees have no option but to sacrifice their private life for the work. This is the reason why employees do not find time to spend with the family. While on one hand, this is distorting the employees’ relations with their families, on the other hand, it is also affecting their performance as continued work without breaks and rest declines an individual’s mental and physical efficiency. In addition to that, the ones who have managed to remain employed have been assigned the job responsibilities of the employees that have been terminated, which has essentially increased the work load for the remaining employees manifolds. Since the effects of economic recession are not limited to the workplace, t he employees have to deal with the inflation and increased rates of things of everyday use. There is so much to purchase in a very limited salary, that an employee always runs short of money. Consequences of Stress Stress in the workplace is one of the most important causes of increase in employees’ depression and anxiety. Some employees have been stressed to the point that they have attempted suicide. â€Å"[Employees] come to work and tell a manager or colleague that they are thinking of harming themselves. They are texting, calling, instant-messaging. Or they’ll disclose they’ve made an attempt. Some have even tried to kill themselves at work† (LeBlanc cited in Mirza, 2012). Stress in the workplace has distorted the employees’ relations with the family members, particularly with the spouses. Employees are not able to meet the financial demands of the family, which not only makes them feel derogated in their own eyes, but also makes the family me mbers unhappy with them. Particularly the housewives are not aware of the magnitude of stress the husbands go through, and thus expect them to be spending to much. The increasing tension between many couples because of the workplace-caused stress has led them to the point of divorce. â€Å"The challenges [of mental illness] are enormous to society because of the high cost for both individuals and employees. People suffering from mental health disorders are also having trouble finding and holding onto jobs† (Singh cited in Skrzypinski, 2012). This also has many negative implications for the employers. Productivity of the distressed employees declines which incurs additional costs to the employers. This is termed as â€Å"presenteeism†; a phenomenon wherein employees are present at work but too preoccupied, distressed, and/or lost to display optimal productivity. Ways to Deal with Employees’ Stress Stress among employees in the workplace imparts a need for the man agers to be very prudent and responsible in their interaction and dealing with the employees. Managers can do a lot to regulate the stress in the employees as managers assume top positions in the hierarchy of the organization structure and are thus a source of hope and inspiration for the employees. There are certain measures that a manager needs to take when approaching a worried employee. Rather than asking the