British Gas Business Essay Example for Free

British Gas Business Essay A review of the British Gas Businesses current approach to collating, storing and using HR data within the organisation. Findings Below you will find an overview of some of the data that the HR function within British Gas Business collects. Within this report I will identify two reasons why British Gas Business needs to collect HR data, and the current methods in which we store the data. I will also briefly touch upon some key legislation which if compliant, will reduce any financial or legal risks to the organisation. Absence Performance – appraisals, Learning and Development (LD) activity Employee Engagement results Equality/Diversity – To meet legal requirements Recruitment – Contractual information Employee Information â€Å"Accurate personnel records will help the organisation in many ways increasing the efficiency of recruitment, training and development, and promotion. They can also provide the raw data to monitor equal opportunities issues and the legal requirements placed on all organisations† [ACAS: Online 30th November 2014]. One of the areas where there is need for collation of data is we are able to track volumes of employees currently being performance managed within the organisation to then further identify whether this is a behavioral or skill issue where further training is required. This then helps us to define our learning programmes moving forward and tailor the content around any shortfalls which may have been identified through Training Needs Analysis (TNA) within performance management. Another area that the HR function collates data for is for Absence. â€Å"This is one of the longest-running causes of serious concern to managers. Unapproved absence from work causes a multitude of problems to managers and involves the organisation in significant extra costs†. (Currie et al, 2010, p.293). All absence data within each business unit (and then business wide across British Gas) is centralised using the data base Absence Manager. This helps us to track against our performance and resourcing for people and establish  whether recruitment or redundancy plans would benefit the long term strategy of the organisation. The Human Resource function currently use an Information System (HRIS) which runs alongside our main billing system called SAP. Within SAP all Line managers have access to view employee information (direct reports only), process secondments or job role changes, and change manage details. The benefit of this is that the data is easily accessible and is consistent in line with any people movements within the business. Alongside this system there is also a requirement for some documentation to be stored manually. This is then kept for 6 years, regardless of whether that individual is still in employment with British Gas Business. This is beneficial for any documentation which requires employee signatures or verification. This could be disciplinary documentation to any learning that has taken place. Using the internal HRIS British Gas Business complies with the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003, which covers the security and confidentiality of the retention of data. We do this by ensuring that access to the HR online system is done only registered through authorised access and then a further password security check. British Gas Business also ensures that it keeps written documentation for no longer than 6 years in line with the Principles of the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA). Once documentation reaches this age we contract to a disposal company to safely dispose of all confidential waste. The HR function also complies with all Subject Access Requests (SAR’s) which is governed by the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOI Act). Customers are able to place requests in writing to access all information held about them or their business on the organisations systems. The customer pays a one of fee of ten pounds and they are then issued with the information within 40 days of their request. Key Findings British Gas Business is fully compliant with all key legislation in collecting and storing data within the organisation. I see no risk, financially or strategically from the methods we are currently using. Bibliography Web ACAS. (2014). Personnel Data. Available: http://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=717. Last accessed 30th November 2014. Books Currie, D (2010). Introduction to Human Resource Management. 2nd ed. London: Chartered Institute of Personnel Development. 293 Introduction – Activity 2 Analysis of absence data for the Customer Care function of British Gas Business from high level reported case volumes, to understanding the gender split of the absence recorded. Summary By analysing the data collated from our absence records, we can establish trends to enable the organisation to look to implement preventative measures to reduce overall long term absence levels. key findings Absence from the British Gas Business – Customer Care function is currently at its highest levels since 2010. The average number of days taken as absence within the short term sickness (STS) criteria (under 20 consecutive days), has increased from 4.6 to 5.5 days per employee per rolling 52 weeks. The increase in long term sickness (LTS) registered within the organisation has increased by 0.8% over the past 4 years. LTS cases for 2014 are split into the following reasons for absence and then subsequently by gender for all Stress (Work related) / Mental Illness reported absences. Of the 45 LTS stress (Work) related cases registered in 2014, 23 were for male employees. This shows us a change in trend from previous years. For the first time in over 4 years we can see the greater proportion of stress (Work) /mental illness related absences is now reported by the male employee population. conclusions In 2011 British Gas Business began its journey in implementing a new billing system. We can see a noticeable trend in the years following on from the  start of this journey, with the volume of work induced stress related absences reported within the function. Throughout the function we have also seen a high natural attrition in the leadership team in 2014. This means that we now have less experienced leadership population who are progressing our people through their long term sickness absences. Recommendations Identify potential learning gaps through Training Needs Analysis (TNS) â€Å"Test and Play† drop in sessions for all employees Full review of the learning documentation and the online learning environment Wellbeing events throughout the system change timeline to be ran throughout the function i.e. exercise programmes, healthy eating, fitness checks, stop smoking programmes. Engagement temperature checks amongst the employee population Team leader workshops in identifying stress and supporting employees Review the benefits package for the leadership population to reduce churn Validation of the process within the leadership teams from day 1 of absence registered, through the fruition of policy outcomes Wellbeing days across function for all levels to understand support tools references – Data British Gas Business – Absence Manager Data sample from 2010 – 2014. Accessed on the 17th November 2014. British Gas Business – HR Function – Team Leader Exit data – 2014. Accessed on the 19th November 2014.

Is Language An Instinct Education Essay

Is Language An Instinct Education Essay As you are reading these words, you are taking part in one of the wonders of the natural world. Linguists have continually been bewildered by language and the language debate which has been inundated with arguments by several professionals to support either the instinctive or learned side of the debate. So, in 1994 when The Language Instinct by psychologist Steven Pinker was published, it reignited the discussion. His book utilized the concepts developed by Chomsky who believed that language was instinctive due to a universal grammar- an innate design containing characteristics common to every human language. The other side of the argument builds on the theories by Karl Popper. Geoffrey Sampson (1997) and other linguists held the belief that language is developed by observing and learning from others because we are born with a blank slate. In this essay I will discuss both sides of the arguments in the hope of concluding whether or not language is an instinct. On the one hand, those who believe that language is an instinct express that language is not learned and does not depend on having had the best education. Linguistic ability is not learned like the way we learn to tell the time, or the way we learn to tie our shoelaces. Instead, it is a specialised and intricate skill which forms part of the brain, and develops in a child without conscious effort (Pinker, 2007). Behaviourists claim a childs imitation of their parents language initiates a childs language, yet there are examples of imitation which do not support this concept. Pinker (2007) uses the example that if children imitate parents then why is it that children do not imitate their parents quiet behaviour on airplanes? Chomsky (1980) produced an argument based on the poverty of the stimulus which stated that language is not learned because the information babies are exposed to is much less complex than the data and the rules they end up gaining. Therefore, it is doubtful that language is obtained through a method which consists of learning only. Instead his work suggests that a significant part of language is innate. It is important to consider the idea of universal grammar because if this is genuine and all human languages have aspects in common, then it is possible to say that language is instinctive (Schlenker, 2006). Chomsky supposed that language is innate because every language has a mutual structural basis since there is a part of the human brain which encompasses a limited set of rules, known as universal grammar, for managing language. Another argument to support the statement that language is an instinct is the idea that children invent language. Children may construct a new language, the rules of which seem to be established by that of universal grammar, when they have not been exposed to a clear and logical language. An example of this is the creation of creoles which are languages generated by children who have grown up in an environment involving the use of pidgins (languages that have progressed as a way for people to communicate when there is not a common language between them). Pinker (2007) expressed that in communities where the adults had conversed with a pidgin, the children who had only been exposed to this pidgin transformed it into a creole. The development of language by deaf children in Nicaragua is another similar example to illustrate the view that language is an instinct. In the 1980s when schools for deaf children were built, the children who first started attending the schools developed a meth od of communicating using signs, which was pidgin-like in nature. We can assume a dissociation between language and intelligence because even when intelligence is lessened language withstands. There are two particular cases which provide evidence for this and, in turn, the language instinct: when individuals have average intelligence but their language is significantly impaired; or, when individuals experience an impaired intelligence yet their language is normal. Brocas aphasics and Selective Language Impairment (SLI) patients provide evidence for the first example because they have a normal intelligence but experience extreme problems with their linguistic ability. Brocas aphasics specifically struggle with the production of language and comprehension, whereas SLI patients particularly face problems with the organisation of words into sentences (Expressive Aphasia, 2012). On the other hand, Williams syndrome patients are individuals suffering from an impaired intelligence but normal linguistics ability. Their language is even more developed than others of their age and they can converse with strangers at complete ease. However, they have a low intelligence due to abnormalities in parts of the brain including the cerebellum, right parietal cortex, and left frontal cortical areas (Williams Syndrome, 2012). Eve was not a born know-all. She was ignorant. But she was a good learner (Sampson, 1997). On the other side of the argument Geoffrey Sampson, and many others, for example, contemporary linguist Givon, believed that Pinker and Chomskys argument that language is purely instinctive is neither adequate nor plausible. The main belief expressed by Sampson (1997 or 2012) was that children can effectively learn languages because all individuals are good at learning anything that they are exposed to, it is not fixed structures in part of the brain which contain this in-built knowledge. Behaviourists vocalise that language is learned early in a childs life and consists of many complex systems. Although most children who are five years old have enough vocabulary to be able to communicate competently with others, there are individual differences between children in the capacity of their vocabulary (Blewitt, 2006). Research has found that language is linked to a childs home and school environment (Cunningham, Stanovich, West, 1994, as cited in Blewitt, 2006), and that the variety and amount of language the children are exposed to by conversations with their parents are linked to a childs vocabulary. In a study conducted in 1992 which was conducted over 2 years with visits made to children every month at their home. There were two conditions with participants from either poor families on benefits, lower middle class families (mainly occupying blue collar jobs), or upper middle class with at least one professional parent (Hart Risley, 1992, 1995, as cited in Blewitt, 2 006). All of the parents were actively engaged in playing with their children but the amount of verbal communication each group made with their child was different. In a week, consisting of 100 hours, a child with a professional parent hears 215,000 words but only 62,000 in the poorest homes. By the age of three, there was a positive correlation between the input of the parent and the language of the child. Furthermore, when the researchers looked at just one of the socioeconomic categories, therefore social class was not a factor in the result, the more language the child was exposed to, the more advanced the childs vocabulary. This provides strong support for the idea that language is learned rather than instinctive. John Locke provided the contrary view to naturists by claiming that experience is vital in the development of language. He states that a child is not born with knowledge and the concept of reason, but what is important as the child grows up is the exposure to language and so, it is by degrees he comes to be furnished with them (Sampson, 1997). This particular view which expresses that experience is the cause of all knowledge is known as empiricism. The clear objection to the view that language is instinctive instead of learned, as Chomsky and other naturists believed, is that we would expect everyone to grow up talking in the same language. However, people do not all speak the same language and the differences in the language people speak does not rely on our biological makeup. For example, if a newborn English baby grows up in Japan by Japanese speaking adoptive parents then they will become fluent in speaking Japanese speaker rather than fluent in speaking English. Without a language rich environment which nurturists see as essential for a child to develop language, a child will not acquire the capability to speak. Profoundly deaf children complete the first developmental stages towards speech such as babbling at the same time as those children who cannot hear. However, they rarely grow up into speakers because without the capability of hearing themselves or other people around them, they decrease the amountof babbling which rarely leads to word development (Kiel, 1998). In conclusion, the language debate has provoked much controversy amongst naturists and nurturists. Pinker and other naturists believe language is instinctive and their beliefs continue on from Darwins account that the gradual evolution of instincts generally by natural selection could be applied also to the human acquisition of the capacity for language () On the other hand, Sampson and other nurturists have found significant evidence to support the idea that children are born with blank slates and that it is by observation and imitation of parents and those around them that they develop the linguistic ability early in their lives until age 6-10 when children can converse effectively in challenging settings (Language Development, 2012). It is expected that a combination of an innate instinct to produce syntax with the imitation of the language of parents is the key to a child developing an extensive language.

The Great West and the Agricultural Revolution

The Great West and the Agricultural Revolution David Dominique

Boxer-Snowe Amendment Essays -- essays research papers

Abortion Rights and the Boxer-Snowe Amendment February 15, 2001 was the first day the Global Democracy Act of 2001 was to be introduced by Senator’s Barbara Boxer, Olympia Snowe and Lincoln Chafee. This legislation would prevent the United States from imposing undemocratic and dangerous restrictions on health providers overseas. Representatives Nita Lowey and Nancy Johnson also would be introducing matching legislation in the house when it returned from recess. Senator Boxer and Representative Lowey developed the legislation in response to the â€Å"global gag rule,† imposed by President Bush on January 22, 2001 on the 28th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision. The rule reinstated the Reagan-era Mexico City policy, which denied United States funding to any foreign non-governmental organizations that provide abortion services, counseling or referrals, or lobbied to change abortion laws. (freerepublic.com, 2001) It was thought that by imposing the â€Å"global gag rule,† President Bush interferes with the doctor patient relationship, and the sovereignty of other nations. This rule required foreign health care providers to withhold critical medical information from their patients, as a condition of receiving U.S. funding. This restriction created a culture of fear among those best equipped to address the health needs of women and their families around the world. (freerepublic.com, 2001) In our countries’ desperate time of need over seas, this legislation also banned pu...

Essay on The Awakening -- Chopin Awakening Essays

Criticism of The Awakening      Ã‚   Reading through all of the different criticism of Kate Chopin’s The Awakening has brought about ideas and revelations that I had never considered during my initial reading of the novel.   When I first read the text, I viewed it as a great work of art to be revered.   However, as I read through all of the passages, I began to examine Chopin’s work more critically and to see the weaknesses and strengths of her novel.   Reading through others' interpretations of her novel has also brought forth new concepts to look at again.   In "An American Madame Bovary," Cyrille Arnavon argues that â€Å"there seems to be insufficient justification for Edna’s ‘romantic’ suicide, and this is the main weakness of this fine novel† (185).   Throughout the book, Edna is portrayed as a strong woman emerging from sleep and making her mark on the world.   She starts earning her own money and moves out of her husband’s home into a home of her own.   She shows an inner desire to be her own independent self. In "The Ending of the Novel," George Spangler suggests that a prima...

Prevention of Colon Cancer through Proper Nutrition Essay

Incidence   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Colon cancer is the third most often diagnosed cancer and is the second primary cause of cancer deaths in North America. The incidence is approximately 650,000 cases every year worldwide and has been increasing in the past few years. However, the mortality rate has decreased in 2002; the worldwide incidence was 278,000 male and 251,000 female cases every year (Landis, Murray, Bolden, & Wingo, 1999). In people 65 years or older, the incidence rate of colon cancer is 70% (Parkin, Whelan, Ferlay, Raymond, & Young, 1997). In people not more than 65 years old, the incidence is about 120 new cases for every 100,000 inhabitants every year; in people aged 55-75, the incidence of colon cancer is approximately 200 for every 100,000 inhabitants every year   (Jemal et al., 2004)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The lifetime risk of colorectal cancer in the general population is 2.5% to 5%, which means that 25-50 out of 100 people will get colon cancer in their lifetimes (Adrouny, 2002). This risk is increased two- or threefold if there is a first-degree relative who has had an adenomatous polyp or cancer. Mortality is about 90 for every 100,000 inhabitants per year (Jemal et al., 2004). The male-to-female ratio varies from 1.0 to 1.4 depending on the tumor registry that is reporting the data (Adrouny, 2002). The risk of colon cancer increases with age. The majority of cases occur in people over the age of sixty. In people between the ages of forty and fifty years the incidence of colon cancer is 15 new cases per 100,000 persons (Adrouny, 2002). Modifiable Risk Factors   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   While many mechanisms remain ambiguous, many studies have indicated that a number of lifestyle and dietary factors are likely to have significant consequences on the risk of colon cancer. Smoking early in life, probably in combination with a diet that has no or low in some micronutrients like methinine and folate, is likely to increase the risk of colon cancer. Other environmental exposures, such as smoking, are also likely to be involved in causing colon cancer. Moreover, overeating, weight gain in adulthood, and obesity are strongly implicated as risk factors for colon cancer. Not only are obesity and weight gain associated with the presence of adenomatous polyps, but so is weight variability over a period (Adrouny, 2002). Physical inactivity or sedentary occupation is also a major risk factor for colon cancer.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   According to Giovannucci (2002), processed meats, red meat, and possibly refined carbohydrates may increase colon cancer risks. Also, more recent evidence show that chronic hyperinsulinemia is likely to have an influence on colon cancer risks. As insulin resistance and subsequent hyperinsulinemia is induced by excess energy intake and some characteristics of the Western diet, such as refined carbohydrates and saturated fats, insulin may contribute to colon cancer (Giovannucci, 2002). In addition, agents with chemopreventive properties like postmenopausal estrogens and aspirin are likely to have unpleasant effects, thus making general recommendations require a cautious consideration of the risk-benefit ratio. Non-Modifiable Risk Factors   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Although the genetic and biochemical mechanisms of colon cancer may still be incompletely understood, it is acknowledged that the anatomic precursor of colon cancer is the adenomatous polyp. Basically, adenoma is a benign growth from a glandular tissue; a polyp is a growth protruding from a mucous membrane. People who have adenomatous polyps in the colon are at increased risk of developing cancer. One major non-modifiable risk factor is the familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP). Here, an affected individual develops hundreds or thousands of polyps by his or her teen years, any one of which may develop into a cancer. Preventive action, usually consisting of repeated examination or removal of the colon, is necessary, along with careful screening of family members for this disorder. The Gardner syndrome is probably a variant of FAP; it occurs about half as frequently and has similar clinical features. It may affect the small intestine as well as the colon.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Oldfield and Turcot syndromes might be related to FAP. While the former is associated with sebaceous cysts, the latter is associated with tumors of the central nervous system and may be transmitted by an autosomal recessive gene. Another risk factor for colon cancer is hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer (HNPCC). Although these forms of colon cancer arise from polyps, individuals do not have an abundant proliferation of polyps as in the abovementioned polyposis syndromes. The polyps that are found in family members have an extraordinarily high likelihood of progressing to cancer. Prevention   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The large body of evidence shows that it is feasible to prevent colon cancer. In their study, Emmons et al. (2005) approximate that a significant fraction of the colon cancer risk in the middle-aged men in the United States might be avoidable with optimal common lifestyle and dietary behaviors. National recommendations and clinical practice and for adult men and women in the US already promoted the following for the prevention of cancer in general, and colon cancer in particular: controlling of obesity, quitting smoking, limiting alcohol intake, increasing physical activity, consuming more fruits and vegetables and diets that are low in saturated fat (American Cancer Society, 1996). The following prevention practices are specifically aimed at middle aged (30-50 years) American men. As mentioned earlier in this paper, there is a higher incidence rate of colon cancer in men than women, and that this age bracket is highly at risk for colon cancer. The focus is the primary prevention of colon cancer by consuming more fruits and vegetables.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The consumption of fruits and vegetables as a measure in preventing colon cancer has been supported in many studies (e.g., Smith-Warner, Genkinger, & Giovannucci, 2006). It was found that for total vegetables, 75% of the results reported in 22 case-control studies suggested that colon cancer risk was reduced by at least 20% for those in the highest compared with the lowest intake category, with 33% of the estimates indicating that the reduction in risk exceeded 50%. For total fruits, the results have been less consistent among 19 case-control studies; 48% of the risk estimates suggested at least a 20% reduction in risk and only 11% showed more than a 50% lower risk for the highest versus the lowest intakes (Kousnik et al., 2007). Furthermore, in an earlier review of 21 case-control and four cohort studies by an international panel, credible evidence was found that vegetable consumption indeed reduces colon cancer risks (World Cancer Research Fund, 1997).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Studies have also suggested that dietary calcium plays a role in protecting against colon cancer; it may do so by binding fatty acids and bile acids and directly inhibiting abnormal growth of colon epithelial cells. Fruits and vegetables are thought to reduce the risk of colon cancer because they have a higher composition of fiber compared to other diets. On the other hand, diets low in fiber and high in fat intake are thought to increase the risk of the cancer. Thus, it is not surprising that, in Africa and Asia, where dietary customs place emphasis on high-fiber, low-fat foods, fruits, and vegetables, people have lower incidence of colon cancer compared to the United States and Europe.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The major explanation for the protective effect of cereal fiber is not known. One of the most convincing theories is that fiber has a dilutional effect on fecal ingredients which may cause development of cancer. It also has an effect on the faster passage of stool through the bowel, thus reducing cell damage and contact time (Adrouny, 2002). In general, however, more recent epidemiologic research has tended not to support the strong influence of fiber in preventing colon cancer; instead, some phytochemicals or micronutrients in foods rich in fiber may be important. Folate is one nutrient that has of late been receiving much attention and is increasingly being studied in randomized intervention trials. Recent research suggests that persons who supplement their diet with at least 800 micrograms of the vitamin folic acid on a daily basis have a reduced incidence of colon cancer (Adrouny, 2002). References    American Cancer Society. (1996). Guidelines on diet, nutrition, and cancer prevention. Cancer Journal for Clinicians, 46, 325-341. Giovannucci, E. (2002). Modifiable risk factors for colon cancer. Gastroenterology Clinic North America, 31, 925-43. Jemal, A., Clegg, L. X., Ward, E., Ries, L. A., Wu, X., Jamison, P. M. et al. (2004). Annual report to the nation on the status of cancer, 1975–2001. Cancer, 101, 3–27. Koushik, A., Hunter, D. J., Spiegelman, D., Beeson, W. L., van den Brandt, P. A., Buring, J. E. et al. (2007). Fruits, Vegetables, and Colon Cancer Risk in a Pooled Analysis of 14 Cohort Studies. Journal of National Cancer Institute, 99, 1471-1483. Landis, S.H., Murray, T., Bolden, S., & Wingo, P. A. (1999). Cancer statistics 1999, Cancer Journal for Clinicians, 49, 8–31 Parkin, D. M., Whelan, S. L., Ferlay, J., Raymond, L., &Young, J. (Eds.). (1997), Cancer Incidence in Five Continents. Lyon: IARC Press. Smith-Warner, S. A., Genkinger, J., & Giovannucci, E. (2006). Fruit and vegetable intake and cancer. In D. Heber, G. L. B;ackburn, V. L. Go, & J. Milner (Eds.), Nutritional oncology (97-173). Burlington, MA: Elsevier. World Cancer Research Fund. (2007). Food, nutrition and the prevention of cancer: a global perspective. Washington (DC): American Institute for Cancer Research.   

Slave Trade

History Hon. Document Based Question Essay For years people have blamed Europeans of the Early Modern Period for slavery, when truly it was not. At the very beginning of it all, lies the African businessman of the Early Modern Period. He just wants to make money, even if that means selling his own kind. That is the part people in history today forget, that Africans were sold by their own blood. Europeans during this time we’re searching for wealth; gold, silver, cotton, tobacco, etc. What they lacked was the workforce to harvest all these items.The government or Gobroon Dynasty, our businessmen, seized the opportunity that was in front of them. Essentially, the Atlantic Slave Trade in Western Africa really boomed between 1650 and 1850 when the demand for slaves seemed to increase daily, according the Journal of African History. Acquiring slaves had gone from peaceful and civilized to aggressive and militarized. As stated in the Cambridge University press in 2000, society had f ound it acceptable to raid for supplies that could be used to buy slaves and slaves only.The blame for Slavery can be placed on the natural human desire for wealth and power, which is essentially greed. When a human has the desire for wealth, they will try to obtain it by any means necessary. Even if a human has to sell their own flesh and blood, the only thing that matters is wealth. The participation of Africans in slave trade was voluntary; Europeans could have gotten their slaves from China or India or Mexico or anywhere else with an abundant workforce. In compliance with the Cambridge University Press in 1992, Europeans did not force the African leaders to sell slaves; they made that choice on their own.The mainstream view of slavery is what went on in the plantations of southern America, what usually does not get as much attention is what the Africans went through before they set foot on the boat. More than often, the enslaved Africans would spend an average of 11 weeks aboard the ship before living the inhumane life of a slave for the rest of their existence, according to The Cost of Coercion: African Agency in the Pre-Modern Atlantic World written by Stephen D. Behrendt, David Eltis and David Richardson. That point of the process is crucial in determining how the slave would be treated during the trip and on the plantation.For example, if a slave was to lead a revolt while sailing aboard the ship, the slave trader could make sure that when the time comes to sell the leader of the revolt, he would be sold to a very cruel master. In accordance to recent articles, views of the Atlantic Slave Trade in Western Africa are starting to shift toward the very root of the industry. People are not so much looking at what happened in the United States of America but mostly at things up until that point. After reviewing all the articles, I can see how important what happened before the boat ride is important.