Literature Review on Recruitment and Selection Process

Literature Review on Recruitment and Selection Process Employee selection is the process of collecting and evaluating information about an individual in order to extend an offer of employment (R.D. Gate wood and H.S. Field) Employee selection is part of the overall staffing process of the organization, which also includes human resource (HR) planning, recruitment, and retention activities. By doing human resource planning, the organization projects its likely demand for personnel with particular knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs), and compares that to the anticipated availability of such personnel in the internal or external labour markets. During the recruitment phase of staffing, the organization attempts to establish contact with potential job applicants by job postings within the organization, advertising to attract external applicants, employee referrals, and many other methods, depending on the type of organization and the nature of the job in question. Employee selection begins when a pool of applicants is generated by the or ganizations recruitment efforts. During the employee selection process, a firm decides which of the recruited candidates will be offered a position. Effective employee selection is a critical component of a successful organization. How employees perform their jobs is a major factor in determining how successful an organization will be. Job performance is essentially determined by the ability of an individual to do a particular job and the effort the individual is willing to put forth in performing the job. Through effective selection, the organization can maximize the probability that its new employees will have the necessary KSAs to do the jobs they were hired to do. Thus, employee selection is one of the two major ways (along with orientation and training) to make sure that new employees have the abilities required to do their jobs. It also provides the base for other HR practices-such as effective job design, goal setting, and compensation-that motivate workers to exert the effort needed to do their jobs effectively, according to Gatewood and Field. Job applicants differ along many dimensions, such as educational and work experience, personality characteristics, and innate ability and motivation levels. The logic of employee selection begins with the assumption that at least some of these individual differences are relevant to a persons suitability for a particular job. Thus, in employee selection the organization must: Determine the relevant individual differences (KSAs) needed to do the job and Identify and utilize selection methods that will reliably and validly assess the extent to which job applicants possess the needed KSAs. The organization must achieve these tasks in a way that does not illegally discriminate against any job applicants on the basis of race, colour, religion, sex, national origin, disability, or veterans status. An Overview of the Selection process: Employee selection is itself a process consisting of several important stages, as shown in Exhibit 1. Since the organization must determine the individual KSAs needed to perform a job, the selection process begins with job analysis, which is the systematic study of the content of jobs in an organization. Effective job analysis tells the organization what people occupying particular jobs do in the course of performing their jobs. It also helps the organization determine the major duties and responsibilities of the job, as well as aspects of the job that are of minor or tangential importance to job performance. The job analysis often results in a document called the job description, which is a comprehensive document that details the duties, responsibilities, and tasks that make up a job. Because job analysis can be complex, time-consuming, and expensive, standardized job descriptions have been developed that can be adapted to thousands of jobs in organizations across the world. Two exa mples of such databases are the U.S. governments Standard Occupational Classification (SOC), which has information on at least 821 occupations, and the Occupational Information Network, which is also known as O*NET. O*NET provides job descriptions for thousands of jobs. An understanding of the content of a job assists an organization in specifying the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to do the job. These KSAs can be expressed in terms of a job specification, which is an 2.2 Main Responsibilities of HRM 2.2.1 Getting the Best Employees Workforce planning Specifying Jobs and Roles Recruiting Outsourcing Screening Applicants Staffing Selecting (Hiring) New Employees. 2.2.1.1 Workforce planning a) Objective of Workforce Planning Workforce planning is one of the most important activities in any organisation. It starts with analysis of the strategic position of the business. The results of this analysis then feed into a forecast of the required demand for labour by the organisation and how this is likely to be supplied. The final stage involves the creation and implementation of a human resources plan which aims to deliver the right number of the right people for the Organisation. b) Strategy for workforce plan The strategic position and requirement of the organisation have the most important influence on workforce planning: Organisation objectives and scope of activities: what are the objectives of the organisation? What products are to be sold, in which markets; using what kind of distribution? Organisation location where is the organisation located? How are the various business units, divisions, functions distributed across the various locations? What specialist skills are essential in each location? What are the workforce implications of decisions on organisation location? Labour environment: what is happening to the size of the labour force? What key population and employment trends (e.g. the increasing numbers of people working on temporary or short-term contracts) affect the ability of the business to recruit staff? What provision needs to be made for employee pension; what employment legislation Timetables to what extent does the strategic needs of the business require short-term changes in the workforce or can change be achieved over a longer period. For example, are new retailing or distribution locations to be opened in the next 12 months that require staff? c) Forecasting Workforce Demand Putting a good Human Resources plan together requires an organisation to make a reasonably accurate forecast of workforce size. Key factors to consider in this forecast are: Demand for existing and new products/projects Organisation disposals and product closures Introduction of new technology (e.g. new production equipment) Cost reduction programmes (most usually involve a reduction in staff numbers somewhere within the business) Changes to the business organisational structure Business acquisitions, joint ventures, strategic partnerships Forecasting Workforce Supply The starting point for estimating supply is the existing workforce: an Organisation should take account of: Scheduled changes to the composition of the existing workforce (e.g. promotions; job rotation) Normal loss of workforce e.g. through retirement, normal labour turnover Potential exceptional factors e.g. actions of competitors that create problems of staff retention By comparing the forecast workforce demand and supply it is possible to compile a forecast of net workforce size. This then needs to be compared with the strategic requirements for the organisation. The result is the workforce gap (which is a forecast of too few or too many workers). The role of HRM is to close the gap! HRM Policies to Close the Workforce Gap The key HRM activities to manage the workforce gap comprise: Recruitment plans (how many people, where, what type, how) Training plans Redundancy plans Staff Retention Plans (how the business intends to keep the staff it wants to retain) 2.2.1.2 Specifying jobs and roles This phenomenon includes two processes; Job specification Job description Job Specification Derived from job analysis, it is a statement of employee characteristics and qualifications required for satisfactory performance of defined duties and tasks comprising a specific job or function. A job specification describes the knowledge, skills, education, experience, and abilities organisation believes are essential to performing a particular job. The job specification is developed from the job analysis. A job specification cuts to the quick with organisation requirements whereas the job description defines the duties and requirements of an employees job in detail. The job specification provides detailed characteristics, knowledge, education, skills, and experience needed to perform the job, with an overview of the specific job requirements. Job Description Job descriptions are essential. Job descriptions are required for recruitment so that organisation and the applicants can understand the role. Job descriptions are necessary for all people in the organisation. A job description defines a persons role and accountability. Without a job description it is not possible for a person to properly commit to, or be held accountable for, a role. Smaller organisations commonly require staff and managers to cover a wider or more mixed range of responsibilities than in larger organisations (for example, the office manager role can comprise financial, HR, stock-control, scheduling and other duties). Therefore in smaller organisations, job descriptions might necessarily contain a greater number of listed responsibilities, perhaps 15-16. However, whatever the circumstances, the number of responsibilities should not exceed this, or the job description becomes unwieldy and ineffective. Some feature in most job descriptions are as following; communicating ( How to communicate with upper and lower level of management from his/her level) Panning and organising. Managing information and general administration support. Monitoring and reporting. Financial budgeting and control Producing things. Maintaining and repairing. Quality control. Health and safety. Using equipment and system. Developing and creating things. Importance of Job Description: Job descriptions improve an organisations ability to manage people and roles in the following ways: Clarifies organisation expectations for employees. Provides basis of measuring job performance Provides clear description of role for job candidates Provides a structure and discipline for company to understand and structure all jobs and ensure necessary activities, duties and responsibilities are covered by one job or another Provides continuity of role parameters irrespective of manager interpretation Enables pay and grading systems to be structured fairly and logically Prevents arbitrary interpretation of role content and limit by employee and employer and manager Essential reference tool in issues of employee/employer dispute Essential reference tool for discipline issues Provides important reference points for training and development areas Provides neutral and objective reference points for appraisals, performance reviews and counselling Enables formulation of skill set and behaviour set requirements per role Enables organisation to structure and manage roles in a uniform way, thus increasing efficiency and effectiveness of recruitment, training and development, organisational structure, work flow and activities, customer service, etc Enables factual view (as opposed to instinctual) to be taken by employees and managers in career progression and succession planning Job Description Components: Job Title Based at (Business Unit, Section if applicable) Position reports to (Line Manager title, location, and Functional Manager, location if matrix management structure) Job Purpose Summary (ideally one sentence) Key Responsibilities and Accountabilities, (or Duties. 8-15 numbered points) Dimensions/Territory/Scope/Scale indicators (the areas to which responsibilities extend and the scale of responsibilities staff, customers, territory, products, equipment, premises, etc) Date and other relevant internal references Hiring: Organisation basically has two main resources to get Human resources Internal Promotion Recruitment Outsourcing Internal Promotions: In this scenario existing employees of the organisation are promoted to fill the required place in the organisation. Recruitment: In this case organisation takes new employees in the organisation to fill the vacant places. Outsourcing: Outsourcing refers to a company those contracts with another company to provide services. Recruitment and Selection: Recruitment is the process of identifying that the organisation needs to employ someone up to the point at which application forms for the post have arrived at the organisation. Employee selection is the process of collecting and evaluating information about an individual in order to extend an offer of employment (R.D. Gate wood and H.S. Field) Employee selection is part of the overall staffing process of the organization, which also includes human resource (HR) planning, recruitment, and retention activities. By doing human resource planning, the organization projects its likely demand for personnel with particular knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs), and compares that to the anticipated availability of such personnel in the internal or external labour markets. During the recruitment phase of staffing, the organization attempts to establish contact with potential job applicants by job postings within the organization, advertising to attract external applicants, employee referrals, and many other methods, depending on the type of organization and the nature of the job in question. Employee selection begins when a pool of applicants is generated by the or ganizations recruitment efforts. During the employee selection process, a firm decides which of the recruited candidates will be offered a position. Effective employee selection is a critical component of a successful organization. How employees perform their jobs is a major factor in determining how successful an organization will be. Job performance is essentially determined by the ability of an individual to do a particular job and the effort the individual is willing to put forth in performing the job. Through effective selection, the organization can maximize the probability that its new employees will have the necessary KSAs to do the jobs they were hired to do. Thus, employee selection is one of the two major ways (along with orientation and training) to make sure that new employees have the abilities required to do their jobs. It also provides the base for other HR practices-such as effective job design, goal setting, and compensation-that motivate workers to exert the effort needed to do their jobs effectively. Gate wood and Field. Organisational document that details what is required to successfully perform a given job. The necessary KSAs are called job requirements, which is simply means they are thought to be necessary to perform the job. Job requirements are expressed in terms of desired education or training, work experience, specific aptitudes or abilities, and in many other ways. Care must be taken to ensure that the job requirements are based on the actual duties and responsibilities of the job and that they do not include irrelevant requirements that may discriminate against some applicants. For example, many organizations have revamped their job descriptions and specifications in the years since the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act to ensure that these documents contain only job-relevant content. Validity of selection methods Validity refers to the quality of a measure that exists when the measure assesses a construct. In the selection context, validity refers to the appropriateness, meaningfulness, and usefulness of the inferences made about applicants during the selection process. It is concerned with the issue of whether applicants will actually perform the job as well as expected based on the inferences made during the selection process. The closer the applicants actual job performances match their expected performances, the greater the validity of the selection process. Selection methods A Organisation should use selection methods that reliably and accurately measure the needed qualifications. The reliability of a measure refers to its consistency. It is defined as the degree of self-consistency among the scores earned by an individual. Reliable evaluations are consistent across both people and time. Reliability is maximized when two people evaluating the same candidate provide the same ratings, and when the ratings of a candidate taken at two different times are the same. When selection scores are unreliable, their validity is diminished. Some of the factors affecting the reliability of selection measures are: Emotional and physical state of the candidate. Reliability suffers if candidates are particularly nervous during the assessment process. Lack of rapport with the administrator of the measure. Reliability suffers if candidates are turned off by the interviewer and thus do not show their stuff during the interview. Inadequate knowledge of how to respond to a measure. Reliability suffers if candidates are asked questions that are vague or confusing. Individual differences among respondents. If the range or differences in scores on the attribute measured by a selection device is large, that means the device can reliably distinguish among people. Question difficulty. Questions of moderate difficulty produce the most reliable measures. If questions are too easy, many applicants will give the correct answer and individual differences are lessened; if questions are too difficult, few applicants will give the correct answer and, again, individual differences are lessened. Length of measure. As the length of a measure increases, its reliability also increases. For example, an interviewer can better gauge an applicants level of interpersonal skills by asking several questions, rather than just one or two. Up to this point, our discussion has assumed that an employer needs to validate each of its: Studies summarizing a selection measures validity for similar jobs in other settings. Data showing the similarity between the jobs for which the validity evidence is reported and the job in the new employment setting. Data showing the similarity between the selection measures in the other studies composing the validity evidence and those measures to be used in the new employment setting. Making final selection: The extensiveness and complexity of selection processes vary greatly depending on factors such as the nature of the job, the number of applicants for each opening, and the size of the organization. A typical way of applying selection methods to a large number of applicants for a job requiring relatively high levels of KSAs would be the following: Use application blanks, resumes, and short interviews to determine which job applicants meet the minimum requirements for the job. If the number of applicants is not too large, the information provided by applicants can be verified with reference and/or background checks. Use extensive interviews and appropriate testing to determine which of the minimally qualified job candidates have the highest degree of the KSAs required by the job. Make contingent offers to one or more job finalists as identified by Step 2. Job offers may be contingent upon successful completion of a drug test or other forms of back-ground checks. General medical exams can only be given after a contingent offer is given.

Kewauna And Marita Comparison Essay Essay

Ambitious Bargains Have you ever wanted to prove somebody or even yourself that you could do better? Have you ever wanted to prove that you were better than what you were or where you came from? That’s what two girls named Kewauna and Marita wanted to do. Kewauna wanted to better her life with the OneGoal program, she took full advantage of her education by getting to know her professors and making them remember her, and anything she struggled with she made sure to study and pay extra attention to. Marita also wanted to take advantage of her education instead of telling her mom that she couldn’t handle the KIPP Academy she toughed through it, even with a 10 hour school day she will go home and study more leaving her with no social life at all, she also goes to school on Saturdays and goes to school during the summer so she can go onto high school. Kewauna and Marita are similar because they are both very ambitious, they both went to successful preparatory schools, and they both come from troubled backgrounds. Kewauna and Marita are both ambitious because they give up a part of their lives in order to break the stereotype that children from poverty and bad situations can be just as successful as rich kids already given that opportunity. One example of Kewauna being ambitious is when she said â€Å"No matter how overwhelming it is, no matter how exhausting it is, I’m not going to give up.† Another example of the two being ambitious is when Marita was telling the interviewer about her schedule like it was something a normal kid would have and she had a completely calm demeanor about the whole thing. Another example for Marita is when she is doing her homework as soon as she gets home from school she goes straight to her homework and doesn’t really want to take a break from it, not even to eat. Another comparison you can make between Marita and Kewauna is that they both went to strict prep schools. Kewauna went to a preparatory school by the name OneGoal, it was dedicated to turning extremely struggling students into  college ready scholars. â€Å"Of the 128 students, including Kewauna, who started OneGoal as juniors at six Chicago high schools in the fall of 2009, ninety-six were enrolled in four-year colleges as of March 2012.† This proves that OneGoal is a fairly successful prep school. Marita went to a school called KIPP Academy where richer kids automatically had the upper hand because of the amount of money and lifestyle they were born into. The school was known for its ascendancy in math, and that may have caused Marita to major in Accounting now that she is in college. The final comparison you can make between the two is that they both came from troubled backgrounds, poor families, and bad neighborhoods with little to no opportunities before KIPP and OneGoal. Kewauna had a very troubling childhood until OneGoal, she was arrested at 15 for punching a police officer and she was also homeless for a time in her life. She decided to change her life for the better and start doing better in school after a family intervention about her behavior. There is the only slight difference between Kewauna and Marita, Marita was not a problematic child like Kawauna she just is one of the unfortunate people born in a not-so-nice neighborhood which lessened her chances of being successful significantly. Luckily, for both of Marita and Kewauna they have beaten that stereotype to pieces and they both enrolled in higher education. In conclusion, Marita and Kewauna can practically be twins. But in all seriousness, the two are strikingly similar in the way they have come up from practically nothing. They both went through some sort of program to help prepare them for their bright and shining future (KIPP and OneGoal). The two came up from the bottom and are on their way to the top of the top. Marita and Kewauna are role models for young girls in poverty and troubled homes that are constantly being reminded that they will never amount to anything. They tell them that if you are ambitious like me and you have plenty of work ethic you can get anywhere, you can do anything, you are unstoppable.

Contemporary issues of surrogacy and birthing technologies Essay

An Estimated 10-15 per cent of Australian couples who want to start a family are infertile, similarly same-sex couples are unable to reproduce and this has led to the use of surrogacy and birthing technologies to provide a means to overcome such barriers in having children. The changing views of society along with the corresponding reforms of the law in relation to these procedures have been main contributors to contemporary issues within the area being addressed, however the effectiveness of legal and non-legal measures in place is questionable. With diverse perspectives and interpretations on what is a just outcome for all parties involved, it is difficult to evaluate such a controversial matter. Issues relevant today in relation to surrogacy include the exploitation of women overseas through commercial surrogacy as well as the presumption of parentage and parentage orders, even with the approval of legal measures dealing with such problems, conflict of views indicate many people do not agree and feel there is a great need for reform. Birthing technologies hold many interrelated issues of concerns with difficulties in defining legal parents in relation to birth certificates as well as the roles and responsibilities of gametes donors. The amendment of previous laws in addition with the introduction of new ones aim to better reflect the changing values of society with non-governmental organisations and the media attempting to assist in informing the public and creating awareness with current issues. Surrogacy is a difficult issue, especially in Australia where the law varies from state to state. Many infertile Australian couples seek the services of surrogate mothers overseas in the United States, India and other countries, spending up to $80,000 and risking breaking the law. The current issue of concern in this, is not only the exploitation of poor women but also the Australians being overcharged by these clinics as well as the legal status and protection of children caught up in the booming overseas surrogacy trade. Currently under Australian law, altruistic surrogacy is acceptable however commercial surrogacy is banned in all states, excluding the Northern Territory with no current legislation targeting surrogacy. The Surrogacy Act 2010 was designed to accommodate altruistic surrogacy moving against  commercial surrogacy, while setting out safeguards to achieve the best interest of the child and attempt to uphold all surrogacy agreements. This can be seen as an effort to sufficiently reflect societal views within the law as a 1993 survey revealed community attitudes towards commercial surrogacy had a 30% approval rate whereas 59% disapproved. Since its commencement in March 2011 overseas commercial surrogacy arrangements have also been made illegal in NSW, Queensland and the ACT, with the NSW Parliament introducing extraterritorial provisions that extend the offence to outside the jurisdiction for residents, who could possibly face fines of up to $100,000 or up to 2 years prison if caught. This legal measure however is questionable in its ability to achieve the best outcome for the child, being a punishable offence and enabling the imprisonment of parents or subjecting them to a financial hardship could only worsen the situation for a child involved. Moreover this amendment to the bill was willfully added with little review of its consequences, motivated to reduce the exploitation of poor women in developing countries, it fails to ensure the best interest of the child and that justice is achieved. Failure of existing law has led to a further need for reform as the criminalization of overseas arrangements is difficult to police and unenforceable which has created issues of compliance and non-compliance. Currently an estimated 40 per cent of India’s $2.5 billion commercial surrogacy industry is made up of Australian clientele, however complaints about the overcharging nature of these clinics are increasing. This is problematic as there are few protections for intended parents in India with its unregulated industry as well as the legal restrictions in Australia, creating difficulty in the ability to monitor such arrangements. Chief Federal Court Magistrate, John Pascoe issued a statement in December proposing Australia should legalise commercial surrogacy to ensure that agreements are properly regulated to protect children, surrogates and commissioning parents. This statement attempts to introduce a different approach similar to that of California, which relies on executed contracts between intended parents and the surrogate, defining the legal status of the child as well as the responsibilities of all parties. NSW Greens MP David  Shoebridge commented on the present act saying â€Å"What began as a progressive legislation giving equal rights to all children has ended up as regressive legislation which will force parents underground and create uncertainty around many children’s parenting†. Pascoe’s proposal would allow for better control of the issue, avoiding the criminalisation of parents and the need for intending parents acting outside of the law, which has been the result of pr esent legislation. Surrogacy Australia is a non-governmental organisation and advocacy group, which is currently addressing the concern for intended parents involved in overseas arrangements who are being cheated and taken advantage of by clinics. Increasing complaints to the organisation as well as research collected, suggests Australians are being overcharged by up to 40 per cent and more so being billed for unnecessary medical procedures on surrogates. Surrogacy Australia is a support organisation assisting those who require help and access to information, with a present focus on warning and creating awareness of this concern, for those in the future considering the surrogacy option. Research by the group also suggests the ineffectiveness of the existing laws, revealing the ban on commercial surrogacy, deters only 7 per cent of considering parents and this places a certain pressure on the government to reconsider its prohibition. A further issue arising from the inconsistent laws targeting surrogacy in Australia is the presumption of parentage, whether in cases of genetic or gestational surrogacy. Under the previous legislation, with cases governed by the Status of Children Act 1996, a child’s legal parents were its birth mother and her husband or de facto partner, irrespective to whether birthing technologies were used. For intending parents this caused a number of legal problems as they could be subject to tumultuous legal obstacles when applying for full parental rights and therefore led to the commencement of the Surrogacy Act on the 1st of March 2011. The reformed Surrogacy Act 2010 (NSW) has recognised certain altruistic surrogacy arrangements and created a process for transferring legal parentage from the surrogate mother to the intended parents in a more time-effective manner. The eligibility requirements and preconditions to  obtain a parentage order are also contained in this act and this is for purposes of creating a more structured system, considering the best interest of the children and also to regulate arrangements, as they cannot be enforced, except by the birth mother. The stated aim of surrogacy laws in Australia has been and remains to be the prevention of exploitation of vulnerable adults, to avoid the commercialization of reproduction and to protect the best interests of children. However children born overseas through surrogacy are not the legal children of their Australian intended parents; none of the state inquiries directly address the problem of parentage for children when adults travel out of the jurisdiction and or pay a birth mother to carry the pregnancy and this creates another challenge for parentage orders. Intending parents cannot lodge an application for a transfer of parentage until they return to Australia and currently the Australian Citizenship Act 2007 excludes commercial surrogacy. This is a contradiction in the attempt to protect the child, with courts torn between two irreconcilable concepts, finding on one hand parliaments intention to prevent commercial surrogacy with a clear policy across the country, and on the other the courts duty to mitigate such policy by consideration of the child’s welfare, who may end up a stateless orphan if orders are not made. Recent changes to commercial surrogacy in India however, may be of assista nce in preventing such situations from occurring. The Indian government has issued a directive that only couples who have been married for more than two years can enter into commercial surrogacy arrangements, and only if it is legal in their home country and this will have a huge impact in making Australian law unavoidable. Moreover on parentage orders, the increasingly complex web of eligibility rules developed through successive reforms to safeguard the interest of children, appear to also be inadequate with the family formation behaviours of those involved in surrogacy. This was demonstrated in the case of AP v RD (2011) NSW, which took place prior to the commencement of the Surrogacy Act on The 1st of March, with its provisions and requirements remaining, AP applied for a parentage order under the Surrogacy Act in the Supreme Court. This parentage order could only be made with all the preconditions met and in this instance the court was satisfied that the arrangement was made prior  to conception, however declined to make the parentage order due to the provision of a counselor’s report and evidence confirming the parties consent was not to a satisfactory level . This shows the courts ability to protect and ensure the rights of the surrogate mother and her partner, as consent is a dominant requirement in surrogacy arrangements. Although indicates an ineffectiveness in achieving justice for intending parents, demanding an excessive amount of evidence to allow parentage orders. With the intention to create better circumstances and gain parentage rights regulated by the law, these precautions can be seen to make it somewhat difficult for arrangements to be followed through as seen in this particular case. The reform inquiries were commenced by hastily arranged parliamentary inquires, where only six to nine months was allocated for the entire hearing and reporting process. This implies the new laws in Australia are based not on evidence of the actual behaviour or needs of families formed through surrogacy to date, but rather on inaccurate ideas and assumptions about the threats and problems with surrogacy and how they can be ‘improved’. The Federal Attorney-General, Phillip Ruddock, is calling on the states to bring â€Å"some uniformity† to the widely different laws covering surrogacy and this is an indication for a further need to reform. Prior to reforms made to the Family Law Act 1975, a birth mother that used an artificial conception procedure to conceive, in a same-sex relationship, was unable to legally identify her female partner as a parent, whereas in the case of heterosexual relationships, the law allowed the husband or male partner to be recognised as a parent. Before 2008 children born to lesbian couples only had one legal parent, and it was not uncommon for a sperm donor’s name to be recorded in recognition of their biological relationship. The Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission found this to be inequality in the law and an issue of discrimination. The fact that the Family Law Act was designed to accommodate and emphasise the heterosexual family also caused difficulty for judicial officers to resolve cases and disputes within same-sex families. In response to this, the NSW government in 2008 amended the Status of Children Act 1996 (NSW) and the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 1995 (NSW) with the Miscellaneous Acts Amendment (Same Sex Relationships) Act 2008 (NSW). This created a parenting presumption in favour of women of same-sex relationships, through recognising the female co-parent of children born through birthing technologies as well as allowing both mothers to be listed on the child’s birth certificate. Accomplishing the best interest of the child who no longer will only have one legal parent, the act also successfully reflects the change in community attitudes as negative societal outlooks on homosexuality has decreased with recent years presenting a more accepting nature. A birth certificate creates a rebuttable presumption of parentage however a presumption arising out of use of a fertilization procedure is certain. The case of AA v Register of Births, Deaths and Marriages and BB (2011) focused on a man who donated sperm to a lesbian couple, considering himself to a father to the child conceived while forming a loving relationship with her and contributing thousands in support payments. This was the first case of its kind after the amendments made to the law in 2008, attempting to forcibly remove BBs name from the child’s birth certificate in a court battle that succeeded. Bringing forward the notion of legal parents versus biological parents creates the potential for complex issues surrounding children born to same-sex couples. Sperm donors have no legal parental status even if they’re on a birth certificate, with partners of lesbian mothers gaining that right automatically with the introduction of the act in 2008. Judge Walmsley, involved in the case, suggested allowing for three parents to be on the birth certificate as he recognised its powerful symbolism. However it is not possible under NSW law to have three parents with legal responsibilities, had he had sexual intercourse with the mother or married her, he would have gained this legal status. This essentially highlights the inadequacy of laws dealing with multi-parent families. Janet Loughman the Principal solicitor of Women’s Legal Services NSW stated, â€Å"Contrary to popular belief birth certificates do not make you a parent, they are just proof, like a drivers license. They record legal parentage,  not genetic parentage. It is the legal parents who need that proof as they go about the daily business of raising the child†. Even so, donors do not often involve themselves in the life of their child and prior to 2010; the Status of Children Act 1996 (NSW) stated that the identity of donors would be concealed allowing them to maintain their right to privacy. However this resulted in concerns arising for the children, as they were likely to suffer from lack of information about their genetic heritage with identity crisis or medical and social dilemmas impacting them negatively. The Assisted Reproductive Technology Act 2007 commenced on the 1st of January 2010, with it, introducing the National ART Donor Registry. The Assisted Reproductive Technology Regulation 2010 specifies by law what information about both the donor and donor conceived child must be provided and recorded in the registry, which is then accessible by the child at the age of 18. Significantly the rights of the child are being addressed, although this is not concurrent with those of the donor, with the legislation only allowing their access to the child’s date of birth and sex. The commencement of this legislation has provoked a wide range of responses and this in itself speaks for its effectiveness in the view of the community. The opposition health spokeswoman, Jillian Skinner commented on these changes to the bill saying, â€Å"Proposed new laws to assist donor children to know who their fathers are, have been a long time coming†. Suggesting the NSW government had a delayed response to this current problem for children, as drafts for the legislation were introduced to parliament in 2003 implies an unproductive approach in assisting children in these situations. This has now resulted in confusion towards the stance of the law in prioritising the best interest of the child or upholding privacy rights of donors prior to the enactment of the regulation. In the past 10 years, fertility clinics have only allowed donations from men who are willing to provide their identity for recording and this has resulted in the number of sperm donations decreasing by more than half between 1998 and 2008 according to the President of the Fertility Society of Australia, Peter Illingworth. Through the establishment of the ART Donor  Registry it can then be assumed this will lead to an even further decline in the number of sperm donations in Australia. Peter Illingworth also commented on the exposure of donor identities, which may occur due to the introduction of the legal clause giving the government power to demand access to this information. â€Å"We can’t release the information at all without the donor’s consent and it is as simple as that†¦ consent over-rides everything†, emphasising the importance of their right to privacy and the fact that this legislation was not enforceable when they chose to donate sperm plays int o the injustice that will occur if the government chooses to enable such actions. Regardless of this Jillian Skinner feels â€Å"The rights of children will now be enshrined in the legislation so that any child born through ART will, after they turn 18, be able to know the details of their biological parents†. Being the most important focus this understanding emphasises the fact that the current regulation, does provide a legal certainty that the best interest of the child is ensured. The media can be accredited through its release of numerous articles keeping track of the process and government introductions of new laws and regulations. Ensuring the community is aware and informed of changes in legislation that may impact on previous sperm donors or those considering donating, will help avoid any confusion or injustice occurring in the future. The commonwealth government of Australia cannot universally legislate for reproductive technology practice. Therefore each state and territory is responsible for designing and implementing separate legislation. This has resulted in laws and practices that differ from state to state. Advances in birth technology have created a great need for law reform as they challenge the long-standing moral and legal conceptions of ‘family’ and ‘parent’. It is difficult to compare surrogacy with other reproductive methods, as the surrogate mother is undergoing all the emotional, mental and physical feelings of pregnancy, not simply donating an ovum and therefore laws in place protecting surrogate mothers in Australia and overseas are important, however are useless when they compromise the rights of intended parents and the children. The current debate, taking place in Australia reflects the rapidly changing legal landscape and societal attitudes in relation to surrogacy and assisted reproductive technology. The wide divergence in  Australian and international laws are indicative of the range of opinions about surrogacy and assisted reproductive technologies and of the challenges lawmakers face in staying up to date with these new technologies. Thus far the attempt to satisfy and cater for all contemporary issues within the area can be furthered to remove inconsistencies between state and federal, as well as clarify legal rights of all parties involved. However laws relating to these issues have been slow to pass with the government and courts constrained by existing legislation, suggesting the legal and non-legal measures are more so ineffective than they have been efficient.

The Role of Bells Theorem in Quantum Physics

Bells Theorem was devised by Irish physicist John Stewart Bell (1928-1990) as a means of testing whether or not particles connected through quantum entanglement communicate information faster than the speed of light. Specifically, the theorem says that no theory of local hidden variables can account for all of the predictions of quantum mechanics. Bell proves this theorem through the creation of Bell inequalities, which are shown by experiment to be violated in quantum physics systems, thus proving that some idea at the heart of local hidden variables theories has to be false. The property which usually takes the fall is locality - the idea that no physical effects move faster than the ​speed of light. Quantum Entanglement In a situation where you have two particles, A and B, which are connected through quantum entanglement, then the properties of A and B are correlated. For example, the spin of A may be 1/2 and the spin of B may be -1/2, or vice versa. Quantum physics tells us that until a measurement is made, these particles are in a superposition of possible states. The spin of A is both 1/2 and -1/2. (See our article on the Schroedingers Cat thought experiment for more on this idea. This particular example with particles A and B is a variant of the Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen paradox, often called the EPR Paradox.) However, once you measure the spin of A, you know for sure the value of Bs spin without ever having to measure it directly. (If A has spin 1/2, then Bs spin has to be -1/2. If A has spin -1/2, then Bs spin has to be 1/2. There are no other alternatives.) The riddle at the heart of Bells Theorem is how that information gets communicated from particle A to particle B. Bells Theorem at Work John Stewart Bell originally proposed the idea for Bells Theorem in his 1964 paper On the Einstein Podolsky Rosen paradox. In his analysis, he derived formulas called the Bell inequalities, which are probabilistic statements about how often the spin of particle A and particle B should correlate with each other if normal probability (as opposed to quantum entanglement) were working. These Bell inequalities are violated by quantum physics experiments, which means that one of his basic assumptions had to be false, and there were only two assumptions that fit the bill - either physical reality or locality was failing. To understand what this means, go back to the experiment described above. You measure particle As spin. There are two situations that could be the result - either particle B immediately has the opposite spin, or particle B is still in a superposition of states. If particle B is affected immediately by the measurement of particle A, then this means that the assumption of locality is violated. In other words, somehow a message got from particle A to particle B instantaneously, even though they can be separated by a great distance. This would mean that quantum mechanics displays the property of non-locality. If this instantaneous message (i.e., non-locality) doesnt take place, then the only other option is that particle B is still in a superposition of states. The measurement of particle Bs spin should, therefore, be completely independent of the measurement of particle A, and the Bell inequalities represent the percent of the time when the spins of A and B should be correlated in this situation. Experiments have overwhelmingly shown that the Bell inequalities are violated. The most common interpretation of this result is that the message between A and B is instantaneous. (The alternative would be to invalidate the physical reality of Bs spin.) Therefore, quantum mechanics seems to display non-locality. Note: This non-locality in quantum mechanics only relates to the specific information that is entangled between the two particles - the spin in the above example. The measurement of A cannot be used to instantly transmit any sort of other information to B at great distances, and no one observing B will be able to tell independently whether or not A was measured. Under the vast majority of interpretations by respected physicists, this does not allow communication faster than the speed of light.