Abusive child labor in China Essay

News correspondent David Barbosa of the New York Times Magazine has published an article on May 1st 2008, entitled: ‘China Says Abusive Child Labor Ring Is Exposed’. In his news article, Barbosa uncovered more in-depth analysis surrounding the incident of child labor in China, in which according to him acknowledges child labor abuse at the heart of China’s export economy. This paper will discuss Barbosa’s finding on the plight of Chinese children amidst extensive economic production. Article Summary Who was involved? Based on Barbosa’s news article, child labor ranges from the age of 13 to 15 which have been deceived and possibly kidnapped by a child trafficking syndicate then sold to employment agencies. To cite, the series of crackdown by Chinese authorities has found rampant child labor employment from Western Sichuan Province of Liangshan that supplies the children to factories in Guangdong, wherein forced labor engages about 300 working hours monthly (Barbosa, 2008). Result of the crackdown The summary of result on crackdown of child labor rings has prompted the Chinese authorities to enacting more enforcement, which according to Barbosa has put China in significant scandal and embarrassment [aside from the political issue with Tibet who rejects China’s massive preparation to the forthcoming Olympic Games]. With the incoming Olympic event, Chinese authorities has doubled its efforts in enforcing the strictest possible campaign against child labor traffickers, wherein the April 30th 2008 crackdown to various legal and most specifically illegal employment agencies [or simply child traffickers] have been arrested and initially rescued about 100 children-laborers from Dongguan City where major electronic manufacturing firms are located. Behind child labor issue    According to Barbosa, child labor and abuses depicts China’s scarcity of laborers as a result of soaring inflationary rates and foreign currency devaluation that decreases profitability of both small and medium manufacturers that resorted to move quickly in the â€Å"edge† of competitive manufacturing and mass production; that involve cheap labor of children and adult laborers [of both men and women], wherein the Chinese labor law has even reduced the legal age requirement from the age of 16. Barbosa insinuated that may be the â€Å"political issue† involving Tibet’s [rejection and defiance to holding the Olympic Games in China] may have attributed to the seeming crackdown of human trafficking for cheap labor, in general. As cited, the earlier cases of child labor and human trafficking incidents could have been picking up â€Å"loose response† of enforcement, apparently becoming â€Å"stiff and tight† on the current dates. The critical issue behind the rampant child labor and human trafficking in China espouses the fact of looming poverty incidence in Southern and Western localities of China wherein continuing increase of   production and raw materials costs are insignificant to cost-cutting measures. To cite, even the renowned transnational Wal-Mart company have been charged with child labor, wherein similarly other foreign firms in China were illicitly engaging. In related child labor issue, Barbosa pointed out the observation of Professor Hu Xingdou from Beijing Institute of Technology who quoted that ‘China’s economy is developing at a fascinating speed, but often at the expense of laws, human rights and environmental protection’.   Further to cite, local government encourages incentives to grow their economy and thereby encouraging participation of cheap labor forces that includes children. Postscript in the report Journalists have jointly advocated pursuing the progress of Chinese authorities’ campaign against child labor and human trafficking.   According to Barbosa, the Southern Metropolis newspaper (in Beijing, China) conducts fact-finding mission in Liangshan Prefecture of Sichuan Province wherein indigenous families resides and being targeted by child labor recruiters. Barbosa stressed that journalist may access and could uncover the truth brought about by the scandal of child labor and abuse. As quoted by Barbosa; â€Å"journalists could discover the facts by secret interviews in a few days, since how could the labor departments show no interest in it and ignore it for such a long time?† Reference Barbosa, D. (2008). ‘China Says Abusive Child Labor Ring Is Exposed’. The New York Times (Asia Pacific) Electronic Magazine. Retrieved 08 May 2008 from http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/01/world/asia/01china.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1

Marketing Week 2 Journal

The components of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) are the basic major forces driving the economy. This is because an increase in the amount of these components also means an increase in the GDP of a certain country. A high GDP means a high income of a country. These are: personal consumption, investments, government spending and net exports (the value of exports minus the value of imports) (Costales, 2000). Personal consumption is the expenditures of households on basic necessities in which receipts are being issued. A no-receipt purchase or something that is not registered to the government as a business is not included, as it is a part of the black market. Investments, on the other hand are capitals that are being used in businesses. These are non-financial product purchases. Government spending is the expenditures of the government in providing goods for the public, wages for the public workers and purchases of sectors of the government. However, it does not encompass social security or benefits. And last, is the net exports, the difference of the exports, goods produced for out of the country consumption, and imports, goods that come from other countries for consumption. There are also new forces driving the economy. These are breakthroughs that were discovered as time passed by and prove true to improve economic performance. Specifically, these are: technology and entrepreneurship. Technology has now been a great help in the development of the economy because of its benefits (Henry and Cooke, n.d.). Development of new technology makes costs lower for the producers and provides means for businesses to transact among others. On the other hand, entrepreneurship is the one who thinks of innovations that may be pursued. This is because introduction of new things prove useful to both consumers and producers. They also initiate job growth as they employ employees. References Costales, A. C., A. E. Bello, M. A. O. Catelo, A. C. Cuevas, G. I. Galinato and U-P. E. Rodriguez. Economics: Principles and Applications. Quezon City: JMC Press, Inc. â€Å"Information Technology Industries – of Growing Importance to the Economy and Jobs†. Retrieved October 25, 2007 Tesreau, K. and Gielazauskas, V. Entrepreneurship: A Driving Force in the New Economy. Retrieved October 25, 2007

Civil engineering Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Civil engineering - Essay Example the railroad is completely flat (en.rian.ru, 2011). It was built to integrate the nation into a modern rail network and is a part of the Alp Transit Railway Project which can afford the citizens the ease to travel in a better and faster manner. The tunnel site was filled with hard rocks posing a significant challenge to the excavation staff and causing immense disturbance in the surrounding area (Leung, Zhou, 2006: 153). It is known to be one of the greatest feats of engineering considering the fact that it was built at 4000 feet above sea level, on an uneven route comprising of steep gradients and sharp curves and exposed to dangerous environment which included snow and avalanches. Furthermore it was built under a mountain range which is nearly 8000 to 11000 feet high (Williams, 1968: 176). It took almost fifteen years to construct this spectacular engineering feat, costing billions of dollars. The construction of this tunnel is not only a significant engineering achievement but is also laudable for its major contribution in easing traffic and connecting various areas by enabling road transport at cheaper and faster rate. However, various problems were encountered during and after the construction of this tunnel, which presents a significant opportunity for study, and the same is discussed in the following sections. Figure 1: St. Gotthard Base Tunnel – Geographic location Source: World Records (2011) Geological setting The St. Gotthard Base Tunnel, as mentioned in the previous section is one of the largest tunnels in the world and is constructed in the Alpine mountain range. The construction of a tunnel of this magnitude and length, entails application of special state of the art techniques and technology. The tunnel was divided into five sections depending upon the geological structure of the site. These five sections include: Erstfeld, Amsteg, Sedrun, Faido, and Bodio which were approximately 7.4 km, 11.4 km, 6.8 km, 14.6 km, and 16.6 km in length, re spectively (as shown in Figure 3 below). Boring machines were used in all the sections other than in the Sedrun section, where the conventional blasting technique was used, since the rock formation in that area was highly unstable and could have posed a significant danger (NA, 2011). Figure 2: Geographical Setting Figure 3: Sedrun Tunnel The method applied for tunneling depends largely on the rock type in the area in which the tunnels are being constructed. Thus, it is of utmost significance for the engineers to devise various alternate strategies for tunneling and align the same with the rock types encountered by them on site. Almost 90 per cent of the rock type in the Gotthard Base Tunnel comprises of rock which is suEhrbarble for mining thus, the boring techniques were used in the areas such as Erstfeld, Amsteg, Faido and Bodio and the traditional mining techniques were used to blast the area in the Sedrun section (NA, 2011). Figure : Geological formations – St. Gotthard B ase Tunnel Temperature in the tunnel: Furthermore, the temperature in tunnels is also drastically different and hence must also be taken into consideration. When rock is exposed in the tunnels during excavation, a significant amount of heat is generated depending upon various factors such as the virgin rock temperature i.e. VRT; the thermal properties, the amount of water contained in the rock, the

Compare and contrast learning to ride a bike versus learning to drive Essay

Compare and contrast learning to ride a bike versus learning to drive a car - Essay Example Riding a bike may be perceived to be a hard art because of the techniques that an individual requires to maintain balance. Thus, it will require the learner to engage in riding a bike a number of times with failures and success to be able to acquire the skills required. Similarly, learning to drive will require practice in which the learner will have to drive a car with the help of an instructor to be able to get used on how to engage the various components that are related to the moving mechanism of a car. Remarkably, both learning to ride a bike and drive a car are arts that are perfected through experience. Even after getting the knowledge to ride a bike, it is often likely that an individual will have to keep on engaging in the art to ensure that all the techniques acquired are perfected. It becomes an art because a learner has to know each component of the bike and their operation in certain circumstances while riding. This also applies to learning how to drive a car, which is more of gaining the experience rather than just learning the basics of its mechanism. It also becomes an art because a learner will have to master each of the car’s components and their application during driving. Both experiences happen once in an individual’s life though a person may decide to engage in lessons that will act as reminders in few cases. Once an individual is well acquitted with the skills necessary to ride a bike, gets experience and perfects the art, it will not be necessary for an individual to get involved in other learning process unless she/he would like to participate in specialized riding skills applicable in sports. Likewise, this applies to learning to drive a car because once a learner has passed the driving test and has been issued with a driving licence, there is no need to further engage in the learning process. Learning to drive a car differs with learning to ride a bike in

EA frameworks Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

EA frameworks - Research Paper Example An architected system will frequently provide a pervasive "appearance and experience" that makes the whole systems more identifiable and consequently make the systems simpler and rather easy to learn and use (Finneran). From the perspectives of a lot of people of the industry, there is nothing considered to be vital for the transactions of the business than the utilization of working descriptions. It could as well be presumed that nothing is extra isolated." An architectural method provides operational descriptions as a part of its extensive business terminology furthermore consequently help widespread establishment of business strategies and enforcement methods. Additionally, the enterprise architecture provides a deep understanding into business process improvement (equally in total quality management (or TQM) and/or re-engineering) by describing preliminary business procedural paradigm and makes the consequence reliance so significant to the development of business procedures and methodologies. Moreover, the enterprise architecture provides a useful technique to speak about the architecture mechanisms to the objectives of the business as well as specific goals to be achieved, therefore providing impending into the business inspiration in terms of both the data as well as procedures of the business (Finneran) and (wikipedia-1). An effectively managed enterprise architecture scheme looks for to support the handy information management transactions, to the level that is rather possible as well as gives assured utilization of metrics to efficiently estimate the quality as well as amount of both the business procedure plus the productivity supported for information technology. An enterprise architecture framework assembles cooperative techniques, tools, procedure standards, artifact descriptions, orientation models plus management carried out by

THE ORGANIZATION Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

THE ORGANIZATION - Coursework Example In this case study, the father son duo have diametrically opposite leadership styles, wherein the father ‘Peter’ believes in an extremely friendly business environment marked by ‘Participative’ leadership, the son ‘Joseph’ is seen to portray the typical character of an ‘Autocratic’ leader. It is stated that Peter is a man of charisma and has a dynamic personality; some scholars like Rowe and Guerrero argue that charisma is a necessary condition for leadership (Rowe and Guerrero, 2011, 260). A charismatic leader can ensure that the workforce will follow in his footsteps, and consider him to be right, instead of doubting in the effectiveness of the leader. With such personality traits Peter could have chosen to be an autocratic leader who leads from the front and gives orders, such that they would be followed since the staff believes in him and is devoted and Peter trusts them. However, he chose to be a democratic leader or in other w ords, a participative leader (Appel and Schmid, 2003, 22). The name itself suggests that the characteristics of such a leader do not revolve around strictness and authoritative rule, but allows for participation and a democratic way of decision making. On the other polar side is the leadership style adapted by the ‘bright’ but not ‘brilliant’ Joseph. He is categorized as having adapted the authoritative or autocratic leadership style which is recognized as being a one man show, since the leader does not allow for participation in decision making, delegation of duties is not carried out, there is lack of trust of the leader in the staff and vice versa, thus the opposite of democratic leadership. Leadership is cited as one of the crucial reasons behind the decision of managerial staff to leave a job (Hogan, 2007, 38), thus the fact that under Peter’s leadership almost all employees have been retained by the organization for at least 10 years is a subst antial proof of his effective leadership, and that he is welcomed by his staff. When this factor is considered for Joseph’s leadership, it was observed that the employees were not happy, which can be figured out from the statement by Mr. Spike who told Joseph that he ‘just couldn’t work in this climate’, hence showing that employee turnover would be high as even the most loyal and senior manager wants to quit the job under Joseph’s leadership. Furthermore, Peter does not practice a laissez-faire leadership style or a rigid leadership style, since his delegation of duty and decision making is coupled with regular inspections of the efficiency and quality of work and the organization on the whole. He believes in motivation through praise, and thus has made it a regular practice to praise good work, and simultaneously pointing out flaws and inefficiency in any work done by the staff, but since he is so accommodating and open to his staff, it automatica lly leads to a welcoming response and the staff does not mind if he points out flaws, but on the contrary regards his comments as constructive criticism. While, on the other side, autocratic leaders such as Joseph, believe in meeting rigid targets, and do not allow for any suggestions, it is their personal style of motivation, however apart from the positive aspect of speeding up the process, it

Critical Studies Of Management And Organizational Theory Essay

Critical Studies Of Management And Organizational Theory - Essay Example Today’s organizations and work places are a melting pot of ethnic and multi-culturally diverse set of individuals. More foreigners are employed in western businesses than ever before; young and old work together. People form a diverse backgrounds and skill sets now coordinate their work in order to arrive at the best solution for complicated problems. The merger of companies, threat of downsizing, and rapidly changing work environments have tended to create a sense of unease about job security. Even then, employees demand more from the organization they’re employed in, high expectations in terms of workplace treatment, greater respect for their individuality irrespective of their ethic, gender, racial or family background or sexual orientation. The challenge then for companies is to develop more inclusive policies and procedures to embrace a wide variety of people while respecting their individuality. This model has largely been ignored by organizations which use their employees mechanically, expecting them to only produce.

Consumer Behavior Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 1

Consumer Behavior - Assignment Example Many individuals have convictions that the theory not only provides the platform for individual performance but also for the success of the businesses. The theory illuminates that people or human needs can be faceted using five sets. The existence of these needs is in a particular order of which if one is fulfilled, the desire to fulfill the next one crop up. The first need encompasses the basic needs that aid in the functioning of the body. The examples of such need are activities such as eating, drinking et cetera. At times, the sexual needs are usually category. The next need entails the deep inherent desire to be secure and safe. Security in this context refers to having the knowledge that those basic are to be fulfilled in future. The third needs involve the need for love, company or friendship. Humans tend to forget that once they had forgotten that they were hungry in the past, they cared little about love. The immediate subsequent stage consists of the social needs (Kremer & Hammond, 2014). The social needs may involve the need for an individual to belong in the highest status, social recognition, and the need for respect. In the last set of the needs is the self-actualization need. Maslow’s initial work did not entail the used of either triangle or pyramid to represents the human motivational needs. However, the contemporary Maslow’s needs have the illustration of the needs in a pyramid format where the preferential order of the needs begins at the pyramid’s based to the top. In the management approach the needs were as follows: the physiological needs, safety needs, social needs, esteem needs, and self actualization needs. Managers often use the model to identify the employees’ needs with the aim of aiding them to fulfill the needs. These needs are so essential in the life of individuals that if not met, makes it difficult to move up the pyramid. In the physiological needs, the basic needs hotels can offer are in

Modernization of NTUC income Essay Example for Free

Modernization of NTUC income Essay The problems that NTUC Income faced were that insurance processes were very tedious and paper-based. In Year 2002, their HP 3000 mainframe that hosted the core insurance applications as well as the accounting and management information systems still frequently broke down. Not only that, the HP 3000 backup system allowed restoration to only up to the previous day’s backup data. With experiencing a total of three major hardware failures, it resulted in a total of six days of complete downtime. The COBOL programs developed in the early 1980s also broke down multiple times, halted the systems and caused temporary interruptions. The IT team found that developing new products in COBOL to be quite cumbersome and time taken to launch new products ranged from a few weeks to months. Transaction processing for policy underwriting was still a batch process and information was not available to agents and advisors in real time. The problems that NTUC Income was resolved by the new digital system was that all applications resided on two or more servers, each connected by two or more communication lines, all of which were â€Å"load balanced.† A real time hot backup disaster recovery centre was also implemented where the machines were always running and fully operational. Under the new system, all documents were scanned and stored on â€Å"trusted† storage devices, secured, reliable digital vaults that enabled strict compliance with stringent statutory requirements. Q2:What types of information systems and business processes were used by NTUC Income before migrating to the fully digital system? Before migrating to the new digital system, the entire insurance process was operating manually. All filled up forms by the customers will be submitted by the agent through courier services to the Office Services Department and the collection schedule could delay up to two to three days. Office Services would then log documents, sort, and send to departments for underwriting while proposals were allocated to underwriting staff randomly. For storage, all original documents were packed and sent to warehouses where over two to three days, seven staff would log and store the documents. Whenever a document needed to be retrieved, it would take about two days to locate and ship it by courier and refilling would take another two days. The use of the HP 3000 mainframe was not reliable due to the frequent breakdown, decreasing productivity of the staff and wasted a lot of manpower hours. The COBOL program also encountered technical failures like not having up-to-date information which led to a loss of opportunities of cross product sales. Q3:Describe the information systems and IT infrastructure at NTUC Income after migrating to the fully digital system? After migrating to the fully digital system in June 2003 when Income switch to the Java based eBao LifeSystem from eBao Technology, The software comprised three subsystems which is Policy Administration, sales Management and Supplementary Resources. It has everything they are looking for, a customer-cendric design, seamless integration imaging and barcode technology, a product definition module that supports new products, new channels and changes in business processes. By May 2003, all customization, data migration of Income’s individual and group life insurance businesses and training were implemented and completed. New system was immediately operational on high-availability platform with multiple servers and communication lines. Further to it, its business continuity and disaster-recovery plans were revamped with a real-time hot backup disaster-recovery centre implemented as well. Data was transmitted immediately on the fly from the primary datacentre to the backup machines’ data storage so in the event of the datacentre site becoming unavailable, the operations could be switched quickly to the disaster-recovery site without the need to rely on restoration of previous day data. Lastly, they moved from a manual paper recording system to a totally paperless environment for easy access. Q4:What benefits did NTUC Income reap from the new system? NTUC Income reaped from the new system that the robust architecture had minimized downtime occurrence with all application resided on two or more servers and communication lines. With paperless environment, all documents were scanned and stored in digital vaults and as a result, about 500 office staff and 3,400 insurance advisors could access the system anytime, anywhere and staff members who would telecommute enjoy faster access to information. Because of the straight through processing workflow capabilities and flexibility, there is a 50 percent savings on both the time and cost needed to process policies. Time needed to design and launch new products was cut and reduced from weeks to just days using the table-driven rule based product-definition module. It has also allows Income’s to support agents, brokers and customers to do online services easily. Q5:Moving forward, how could NTUC Income leverage on social networks to acquire service and retain their customers?

Sexual Harassment and Abuse Essay Example for Free

Sexual Harassment and Abuse Essay Based on this week’s reading, what are the delimiting factors which determine whether or not an individual is experiencing sexual harassment or sexual abuse? In your opinion, how prevalent are these offenses and what is an appropriate response? Unfortunately in our society, we have been gradually increasing sexual liberties in the ways we dress, talk, and act in any and every public venue. This sexual liberation from both genders has helped to blur the boundaries of sexual harassment. Balswick and Balswick define sexual harassment as â€Å"any form of unsolicited language or touching containing sexual overtones. It includes sexual jokes, suggestive talk and unsolicited physical advances (Balswick and Balswick, 2008). † Based on that definition and what I know of many work places, especially hospitals, outsiders could perceive that sexual harassment is alive and well on any given day. Though many of those sharing sexual jokes and innuendos would adamantly deny that they were harassing anyone, they could not deny that they shared unsolicited material. They chose to verbally pass along what they found to be funny from their experiences or mind, while simultaneously failing to consider how the information may be received and perceived by those listening. Generally, those that object are thought to be sensitive people and are excluded from future exposure. Most institutions and work places today have established grievance policies for anyone that perceives they are experiencing sexual harassment. The boundaries of sexual abuse are clearer than the boundaries of sexual harassment. Sexual abuse is more profound, affords greater injury to the victim, and carries stiffer consequences for the perpetrator. Balswick and Balswick define sexual abuse as â€Å"a sexual act imposed on a child or person who lacks emotional, maturational, and or cognitive development (Balswick and Balswick, 2008. Balswick and Balswick use the terms sexual abuser and sex offender interchangeably. Thus, for me the scope of the definition of sexual abuse should be broadened. Sex offenders exist that rape and sexually abuse women who are not lacking emotionally, maturationally, or in cognitive development. They were merely overpowered or feared for their lives, yet, the abuse they suffered was strictly sexual in nature. Victims of sexual abuse often carry the weighted burdens of shame and unwarranted guilt in addition to numerous other negative emotions, hurts, feelings of betrayal and abandonment, physical trauma, and more. Though I believe more people report their experiences today than perhaps earlier decades, I believe that many never report; perhaps because of the time that has elapsed between the abuse and the time they feel safe enough to report; perhaps they feel they would heap on more personal shame by exposing a family member or that now their spouse and children would be hurt by the revelation; perhaps there are innumerable personal reasons for failing to report past abuses and hurts and maybe for the individual they are better dealt with in private counseling even if it negatively impacts our statistics. I believe our responsibility should be guided by helping the injured rather than punishment or seeking vengeance against the perpetrator. I am reminded of God’s Word to us in Psalm 82, â€Å"Defend the weak and the fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed. Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked (NIV). In Ephesians 4 Paul includes some instructions for living as Christians, â€Å"Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you (NIV). † Finally, Paul reminds us in Romans of Jesus instruction, â€Å"Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord. On the contrary: ‘If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head. ’ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good(NIV). †

Socio Political Context Of The Welfare Policy Social Work Essay

Socio Political Context Of The Welfare Policy Social Work Essay According to the World Health Organisation, most developed world countries have accepted the age of 65 years as a definition of elderly or older person. (WHO: 2012) However, in the UK, the Friendly Societies Act 1972 S7(1)(e) defines old age as, any age after fifty, where pension schemes mostly, are used, it is usually, age 60 or 65 years for eligibility. (Scottish Government: 1972) The term ageism, is defined as process of discrimination and stereotyping against people because of their age. Around a quarter of older adults in the UK, report having experienced age discrimination. (Age Scotland: 2012) It affects many institutions in society and has a number of dimensions, such as job discrimination, loss of status, stereotyping and dehumanization. Ageism is also about assuming that all older people are the same despite different life histories, needs and expectation. (Phillipson: 2011) The policy, All Our Future also (Scottish Government: 2007) indicates that over the age of fifty, is a stage where life circumstances start to change in ways that can be significant for the future. An example of this can be; children leave home, change in working patterns, people have less work and more time for themselves. In addition, from fifty onwards, this can be a time when physical health may deteriorate, causing possible health problems, such as, osteoporosis, osteoarthritis or coronary heart disease. What is more, the state of general health overall, decreases substantially, people face changes in appearance, their physical state deteriorates and they are not as fit as they used to be. Surely, this must be difficult to accept! However, ageing can also cause some psychological effects, such as, changes in memory function, a decline in intellectual abilities, or even memory loss. As a result of a degenerative condition of brains nerve cells or brain disorders, many people may develop dementia, Alzheimer or Parkinson disease. Wilson et al. (2008) who draws attention to physical, biological and psychological effects of the ageing, pointing out that ageing is not itself a disease, but some specific diseases may be associated with this process. Older people are a group that used to be in a marginal concern in the social work profession, but has recently moved to one of central importance. (Phillipson: 2011) This is caused by the remarkable speed of demographical change. The number of older people is increasing, both in absolute numbers, and as a proportion of the total population. The ageing of the population indicates two main factors: the downward trend in the birth rate, and improvements in life expectancy. (Phillipson: 2011) In Scotland, in 2010, there were an estimated 1.047 million older people age over 60, with older people being one fifth of the Scottish population. (Age Scotland: 2012) In the last hundred years, Scotlands life expectancy has doubled from 40 in 1900, to just over 74 for males, and just over 79 for females in 2004. By 2031 the number of people aged 50+ is projected to rise by 28%, and the number aged 75+ is projected to increase by 75% (Scottish Government: 2007) This issue requires to be deeply anal ysed in terms of how society will be able to respond effectively to the complex needs of older people. This part of the report takes into account the socio-political context of the welfare policy. Social work underwent fundamental changes from the 1960s, following broader ideological, political and economic developments. To understand the current role of social work within society and wider policy framework, particularly with older people, it is important to analyse the past that has reflected on contemporary practice. By the 1960s, more attention was beginning to be paid to the social consequences of capitalism, that started to be seen as the economic order of an unequal and unfair society. The strong critique of that system is known as radical social work, that grew on the ideology of Marxism. (Howe: 2008) The publication of the Kilbrandon Report (1964) consequently led to the introduction of Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968. This embedded social work firmly within the state sector, with the voluntary sector as complementary. (Ferguson Woodward: 2011) Social work wanted to be seen a s a unified profession, that offered generic services, to overcome earlier fragmentation and overspecialisation of services. Social workers were obligated by law, to assess needs and promote social welfare by providing services. However, the government of Margaret Thatcher began to weaken the state welfares responsibilities to help people in need, leading to the major ideological shift in 1980s called neoliberalism. As a result, the Barclay Report (1982) intended to clarify the role and task of social workers employed within statutory or voluntary sector. The later Griffiths Report (1988) was similar to Barclay Report, in terms of promoting greater choice, participation and independence of the service user and carers. However, neoliberalism undermines the role of welfare professionals, allowing the rich to become richer, and marginalise the poorest and most vulnerable individuals. (Ferguson Woodward: 2011) Woodward and Ferguson (2011) argue that the neoliberal trend has been contin ued under the new labour government, leading to managerialism and bureaucratisation. Therefore, contemporary practice is drawn by extreme pressure of marketisation and managerialism, leading to a profession dominated by stress, frustration and strongly focused on meeting deadlines. The labour government has also been driven by the developments associated with consumerists ideas, such as, personalisation that places the service user at the centre of service design and delivery, or direct payments that emphasise independence and individual choice, through giving service users their own money, to buy their own services. (Woodward Ferguson: 2011) For a long time, neoliberal economic and social policies in the UK speculated a very different concept of what social work should be about. The Changing Lives report of the 21st Century Social Work Review (Scottish Government: 2006) has brought a significant shift within social work polices, through an expression of dissatisfaction of social w ork, that was mainly caused by a lack of opportunity for relationship based working with service user. The policy has reshaped the profession, providing social workers with additional space to develop good social work practice. There have been initiatives to improve recruitment, and increase professionalism and standards within the workforce, as well as improve integration in the planning and provision of social work services. (Scottish Parliament: 2008) Integration has been developed through Modernising Community Care: An Action Plan (1998) and Community Care Joint Future (2000) that introduce Single Shared Assessment (SSA). In Scotland, Joint Future is the driving policy on joint working between local authorities and the NHS. The other key policy themes are personalisation, self-directed support, early intervention and prevention as well as mixed economy of care. (Scottish Parliament: 2008) Another significant report that brought about change in policy, and later, in Scottish legi slation, is the Sutherland Report (1999). This provided free personal and nursing care on the basis of assessed needs. (Petch: 2008) The above review of social work policies framework, is a good illustration of the constantly changing role and function of social work. Social work operates within the wider context of a constantly developing policy, ideology and legislation. The reality and ideology has changed people and society to face a new challenges. Social work makes a key contribution to tackle these issues by working with other agencies to deliver coordinated support to increase the wellbeing of older people. In terms of needs and issues when working with older people, the first thing to consider is the partnership of health and social care, especially within areas such as: assessment, care management, intermediate care and hospital discharge. The main problems are, tight budgets, resources and reconciliation of financial responsibility between bodies. Which always raises dispute who should pay for services? Wilson et al. (2008) stresses the importance of rationing services in social work, due to a low budget, which leads to delays in provision of services, and lack of time to develop more creative forms of practice. This causes unnecessary delays and constraints. One might expect that new Integration of Adult Health and Social Care Bill (Scottish Government: 2012) will resolve these problems by the joint budget and equal responsibilities of Health Boards and Local Authorities. The next issue is the assessment and intervention process, that are seen as balance between needs and resources, evidence and relationship based practice. It can be an issue to find appropriate resources that will meet the needs of the individual. A major element during assessment is the relationship with service user, and that the appropriate methods of communication are adopted to identify the needs of older people. The practitioner must take the time to get know the older person and resist pressure from other professionals to do a quick assessment. (Mackay: 2008) In social work there is constant need to utilise evidence based practice on the grounds that it is empirical knowledge which guides the decision making process, such as three stages of theory cycle (Collinwood Davies: 2011) There is no doubt evidence based practice is important, but this view may undermine relationship based practice, which is equally important. Rightly, Wilson et al. (2008) refers to relationship-based as a main feature of social work practice, that shapes the nature and purpose of the intervention. It is a unique interaction between the service user and the practitioner, that helps to obtain more information and define the best way of intervention. The problem of autonomy and protection is another factor in the relationship when working with older people. This raises the question of capacity, consent and the deprivation of liberty of older people. This group of service users is often a subject of legislation that deprives their human rights, this is because they are likely to be affected by cognitive disorder such as dementia. The term dementia, includes Alzheimers disease, vascular and unspecified dementia, as well as dementia in other diseases such as Parkinsons. It has been estimated that in the UK the number of patients diagnosed is 821,884, representing 1.3% of the UK population. (Alzheimers Research Trust: 2010) The assessment of incapacity or mental disorder is not straightforward and proves ethically and morally difficult for both service user and social worker. Social workers have to manage the balance between acting in accordance with the wishes of the individuals, and what is in their best interests. It has been sugg ested by policy and legislation that the views and wishes of people expressed through self-assessment would remain at the heart of intervention. (Wilson et al.: 2008) Another issue is abuse of older people, which may have many forms, and can be very severe in extend. Older people are vulnerable to abuse, or indeed, not having their rights fully respected and protected. The problem came to public awareness not as long as few years ago. Despite the fact that legislation came into force through Adult Support and Protection (Scotland) Act 2007, it is estimated that elder abuse affects 22,700 people in the Scotland each year. (Age Scotland: 2012) Older people are a subject of physical, psychological abuse, neglect, sexual or financial harm, that normally takes place at home, in hospital, residential care or day centre. (Ray at al.: 2009) Age discrimination is next issue one wish to consider, older people are disadvantaged because of their relatively low socio-political and cultural status in a contemporary society. They are repeatedly presented as a drain on resources as they no longer actively contribute to the growth of society. They do not work and do not pay taxes anymore. Older people are systematically disadvantaged by the status they now occupy within society. Wilson et al. (2008: p. 620) rightly suggests that old age is socially constructed. A good example of this is retirement, which officially, makes people old and unavailable to work, despite the actual physical and emotional state of the individual. Other forms of social construction that significantly affect the experience of old age are class, gender, race and ethnicity. (Wilson at al.: 2008) An illustration of this can be the statement that older people have much more in common with younger people from their class, than they do with older people from other classes. (Philipson: 2011) Disadvantages and inequalities, experiences during life can magnified during the process of ageing, through differences in access to health facilities, health status and lifestyle that may influence life expectancy. There is no doubt that experience of ageing is subjective, and depends on many factors, but it seems to be a matter to firstly, consider class, gender and race at the first place. When discussing poverty and inequalities, the points to bear in mind are issues of discrimination of older women, who are less likely to have as great a pension as a male partner, due to the fact many women are paid a lower wage then men. Moreover, women tend to live longer than men, therefore, are potentially more vulnerable to live alone and in poverty. (Age UK: 2012) There are many forms of disadvantage associated with older people in poverty such as; low income, low wealth and pension, debts or financial difficulties, feelings of being worse off, financial exclusion, material deprivation and a cold home. The first three are experiences by around 20% of older people, half of older people experienced at least one of the nine forms of poverty described above, and 25% had two or more. A minority 3% suffered from three or more forms of poverty. (Age UKa: 2012) In terms of ethnicity and race there are significant inequalities in the process of ageing. An illustration of this can be the black community of older people, who are more likely to face a greater level of poverty, live in poorer housing and have received lower wages. In addition, they are more susceptible to physical and mental illness often due to heavy manual work, racism and cultural pressures. (Phillipson: 2011) All these discussed factors must be taken into account when working with the older person. It can be argued that one of the main needs of older people is the importance of active listening to this group of service users, who are often because of age ignored or disregarded. This is supported by Kydd et al. (2009) who highlights how important it is for older people to feel that they are being listened too. Another important need of this group of service users, is the need to stay at home as long as possible, which is supported by the policy, All Our Future (Scottish Government: 2007) that offers; free personal care, telecare development programme, care and repairs services or travel scheme free bus passes. The policy aims to improve opportunities for older people, foster better understanding towards this group of service users, create better links between generations to work together and exchange experiences. Improve health and quality of life by promoting well being and an active life within the community; enhance care support and protection of older people. Improve housing and transport as well as promote lifelong learning. The last part of the report identifies policy framework and organisational responses. The discussion about social care for adults began in the UK through Green paper Independence, Well-being and Choice (Department of Health: 2005) and the subsequent White Paper, Our Health, Our Care, Our Say (Department of Health: 2006) these documents set out the agenda for future. This is based on the principle that service users should be able to have greater control over their own lives, with strategies that services delivery will be more personalised than uniform. The contemporary social work is driven by emancipatory issues such as social justice, empowerment, partnership and minimal intervention. (Dalrymple and Burke: 2006) Empowerment theory is the process of helping people gain greater control over their lives. Empowerment is not simply a matter of enabling or facilitating but it involves helping people to become better equipped to deal with challenges and oppression they may face. (Thompson : 2009) On the grounds of empowerment grew the idea of service user participation that came to law in 1990 through NHS and Community Care Act. (Ray et al.: 2012) There is still increasing acceptance that people who receive services should be seen as own experts in defining their own needs. This is in accordance with the exchange model of assessment presented by Smile and Tuson et al. (1993), where the social worker views the individuals as experts of their own problems. The role of the practitioner is to help the service user to organise resources in order to reach goals that are defined by the service user. The Scottish Governments policies and initiatives addressing to older people, highlights the importance of developing services that focus on maintaining independence, encouraging choice and promoting autonomy, such as; Changing Lives (2006), All Our Future (2007), Independent Living in Scotland (2010), Reshaping Care for Older People (2012a). These policies highlight the importa nce of service user participation in the process of decision making and intervention. These tendencies of improving choice and autonomy of older people, have resulted in the creation of personalisation and self-directed support programmes. Personalisation enables the individual to participate and to be actively involved in the delivery of services. Personalisation also means that people become more involved in how services are designed by shaping and selecting services to receive support that is most suited to them (Scottish Government: 2009) The programme directly responds to wants and wishes of the service user regarding service provision. Personalisation consists of a person centre approach, early intervention and prevention, and is based on mentioned above empowering philosophy of choice and control. It shifts power from the professionals, to the people who use services. (Department of Health: 2010) However, it could be argued that approaches which extend to service user control, in realty, can be seen as transferring risk and responsibilities form the local authority to the individual service user (Ferguson: 2007) Another option, recently promoted by the government, is Self Directed Support (SDS), a Bill that was introduced into the Scottish Parliament last year, and recently has passed stage three. The bill seeks to introduce legislative provision for SDS and the personalisation of services and to extend the provisions relating to direct payments. (Scottish Parliament: 2012a) The SDS approach had been brought into Parliament previously, and was reflected in many reports and policy initiatives such as: Changing Lives, Reshaping Care for Older People. SDS allows people to make informed choices about the way support is provided, they can have greater control over how their needs are met, and by whom. Social workers, working on behalf of local authority, will have a duty to offer SDS if the individual meets the eligibility criteria. The four options to consider are; direct payment to the individual in order that that person will arrange their own support, the person chooses the available support and the local authority will make arrangements for the services on behalf of that person, the social worker will select support and make arrangement for provision, the last option is a mix of the above. (IRISS: 2012) The idea of SDS is a great opportunity for service users to expand their control over which services provided. However, this raises a question of how many people will be ready to utilise option one of SDS. Would an ordinary person, who uses the services, have the skills and knowledge to take responsibility for their own care, for example to employ their own carers, a personal assistant or to buy their own services. One could envisage that it could be possible if the role of social worker changes from care management, to brokerage and advocacy. A potential care broker will provide assistance to obtain and manage a support package, drawing on individualised funding. It can be questioned if social workers who are mostly accountable to local authorities are reliable to perf orm this task whilst working across three sectors. (Wilson at al.: 2008) In conclusion, there is a shift from a paternalistic stance of social workers to viewing service user as experts of their own lives. From institutional care, through service led and needs led, to outcomes focus provision. A fundamental part of working with older people is to recognise and respond to the way in which they may be marginalized. This can be achieved by a deeper understanding of the process of ageing, and the issues that older people may face. Working with older people, based on new premises, will be focused on to maximise resources, and the role of the social worker will be transferred from care management to advocacy and brokerage. One may expect that active involvement and participation of older people in service provision will have a crucial role not only by exercising more control and choice but also in challenging social exclusion.

princess diana :: essays research papers

Princess Diana A.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  1. Diana Francis Spencer was born July 1, 1961. 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  She was born in Norfolk, England.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  3. Her parents were Lord and Lady Althorp.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  4. Diana’s nationality was English.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  5. She learned that she was expected to be a boy but had died 10 hours after conceived just before her (she had been a twin). a.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  She would remember the churchyard grave that her brother had been buried in.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   6.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Diana was the third or four children. B.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  1. Princess Diana grew up at a mansion called Park House. 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  She had a relatively happy home until she was eight years old when her parents separated. a.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  After her parents split up she bravely declared that she would marry only once and only for love and never ever divorce. 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  At age 12, Diana began attending the exclusive West Health School in Sevenoaks, Kent. a.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  At Sevenoaks she developed at passion for ballet. b.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"She wanted to be a ballet dancer†. 4.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Diana dropped out of West Health at age 16. a.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  After dropping out, she attended Swiss Finishing School but was homesick and returned to Norfolk. b.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When she moved to England, she hired her self out as a cleaning woman until she found work as a kindergarten teacher’s aide. 5.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Diana gave and helped needy charities. C.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  1. Diana fell in love with Prince Charles at a young age. a.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  She taught him how to tap dance on the terrace. 2. Prince Charles thought that she was â€Å" adorable†¦ full of vitality and terribly sweet†. a.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  He thought that Diana was much too young to consider as a   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   marriage prospect, so they went their separate ways. 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  They met back up in the summer of 1980. 4.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Charles proposed to Diana February 3, 1981. 5.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  She resigned from her job, moved in with the Queen Mother, and began to prepare becoming the wife of the future King. 6.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  On July 29, 1981, Diana rode in glass coach to St. Paul’s Cathedral, where the Archbishop of Canterbury and twenty-five other clerics officiated at her wedding to Prince Charles. 7.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  On November 5, 1981, the palace announced that the Princess of Whales was expecting a child. a.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Diana gave birth to her son William (Wills) in June 1982. b.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A second son Harry arrived two years later in September 1984. 8.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In 1992, Diana was suffering form depression, had attempted suicide five times during the early 1980’s. a. the one incident occurred while pregnant with William and six   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   months after the wedding. 9. On December 9, 1992, it was announced that the royal couple was   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  

The Drunk Bus Should Be Kept Around Essay -- Argumentative Persuasive

The â€Å"Drunk Bus† Should Be Kept Around I remember hearing stories of such a thing called the â€Å"drunk bus† before I came to college, but I was not exactly sure what it was. I just figured the bus took a bunch of drunken college students to the bars when they wanted to go. Now that I am a first-year student at State U, I understand I was not that far from the truth. Some say the bus should be taken away, but the fact of the matter is the bus is a necessity at college since there will always be drinking. This way, when all of the students are done drinking at school and want to go to the bars, they are not putting themselves or any other members of the community in danger by drinking and driving. Safety is always a factor Of course, the community is concerned about safety, since most of the students at State U take advantage of the nickel pitcher nights at the popular local bar Malarky’s, they always know they have a safe ride back home without putting anyone else in the community at risk. I am certain the townspeople feel much safer knowing all the intoxicated students are on a bus...

Eilis character notes

Ellis â€Å"never made mistakes when she did her addition† ; Devout Catholic – she attended mass every Sunday in Insincerity ;Ellis immigrating to America was entirely Rose's initiative -as Rose and her mother collude with Father Flood, Ellis feels â€Å"like a child† whose fate is being decided for her. ; Ellis is, by nature, reserved and emotionally guarded. She is selective in her relationships and shies away from physical intimacy.It is not easy for her to express her true feelings, even those closest to her. This particularly evident in her relationship with Tony†¦.. ;When Ellis does not have the confidences to act on her instincts, she makes mistakes. The foremost is her impulsive marriage to Tony, but her resentment to Jim Farrell is another. ; Throughout the text, her actions are generally informed by the twin values of connection to family and a clearly defined sense of duty. ; Her generosity is constant, and Tony calls her a â€Å"good person†. Yet the internal conflict generated by her return home causes her to lie by omission and to behave with great cruelty towards the unsuspecting Jim. ; Approximately twenty years old Young women from Insincerity Immigrates to America for work Works in Barstool's department store in Brooklyn Studies bookkeeping; ; During the course of the novel she becomes romantically involved with Tony Fiercely and Jim Farrell. ; She matures over the course of the novel, â€Å"you seem more grown up and serious. And in your American clothes you look different.You have an air about you† (Nancy, p. 230) ; Her independence and resilience are revealed gradually. She has to exercise her Judgment and make critical choices with little guidance or support. Her initial naivety is balanced by natural curiously and a determination to learn. ; She takes the opportunities provided to educate herself, and as the word opens up before her, embraces new ideas with less diffidence than before. Living in New York encourages assertiveness, and Ellis becomes more inclined to trust herself.At work, she learns to be â€Å"brave and decisive†. ; Returning to Insincerity, Ellis slips back into the rhythm of the town easily and finds comfort in its familiar faces and rituals. Yet the changes produced by her experiences in America are obvious to all, â€Å"Everything about you is different†, her friend Nancy insist: â€Å"you seem more grown up and serious. And in our American clothes you look different. You have an air about you. † ;Her poise and self-assurance intimidated her mother, however attracted Jim Farrell.

Prom Nights from Hell Chapter Ten

It worked perfectly. Almost. There were six guards blocking the exits and another four at the door, checking everyone as they left. Ten total. All in body armor and masks, explaining patiently that there had been a bomb threat and it was important to evacuate as quickly as possible. No one questioned why they were armed with the automatic weapons they kept using to push the crowd along. No one except Dr. Trope, who went up to one of them and said, â€Å"Young man, I ask you to keep your weapons away from my students,† distracting him just long enough for Miranda and Sibby to get swallowed into the middle of the crowd. They'd navigated by the first two storm troopers, with only two left when Ariel yelled, â€Å"Dr. Trope? Dr. Trope? Look, there she is, Miranda Kiss. I told you she crashed the prom. She's right there in the middle. You have to-â€Å" Four men with automatic weapons suddenly swiveled and waded into the mass of students. Miranda whispered, â€Å"Duck,† to Sibby and the two of them bobbed beneath the surface of the crowd, crawling back into the Great Hall. Behind her she heard Dr. Trope saying, â€Å"Where is she? Where did she go? I'm not leaving one of my pupils in there.† And the storm trooper saying, â€Å"Please, sir, you need to evacuate. We'll find her. Rest assured.† Miranda decided that if she got out of this alive, she'd be a lot nicer to Dr. Trope. If. She dragged Sibby over to Old Faithful and said, â€Å"In there. Now.† â€Å"Why can't I hide in the White House? Why does it have to be in the volcano?† â€Å"I might need part of the White House. Please, just do it. They won't be able to make you out if they have night goggles.† â€Å"What about you? You're wearing white.† â€Å"I match the decorations.† â€Å"Wow, you're really good at this. This planning stuff. How'd you learn how to-â€Å" Miranda was wondering the same thing. Wondering why as soon as she'd heard the announcement some part of her brain had started measuring her distance to the exits, looking around for weapons, watching the door. Her senses going into overdrive was a relief; it meant some of her powers were cooperating. But did she have the strength to take on ten armed men? The most she'd ever taken on at one time before was three, and they hadn't been toting machine guns. She'd have to be crafty rather than direct. She said to Sibby, â€Å"Give me your boots.† â€Å"For what?† â€Å"To get rid of some of our competition so we can get out of here.† â€Å"But I really like these-â€Å" â€Å"Give them to me. And also a rubber bracelet.† Miranda set her trap, then held her breath as a guard approached. She heard him say into the walkie-talkie, â€Å"Southwest pillar. I've got one,† and saw the ribbons stir as he used the butt of his gun to push them aside. Heard him say, â€Å"What the-â€Å" And fired George Washington's sugar nose at him with the slingshot she'd made out of Sibby's rubber bracelet and a fork. All her target work paid off because it hit him at exactly the right point to send him plunging forward. He went down headfirst just hard enough to be disoriented and docile while she tied his hands and feet with the ribbons from the pillar. â€Å"I'm really sorry,† she said, flipping him over to gag him with a piece of dinner roll, then smiled. â€Å"Oh, hi, Craig. Not your day, is it? I hope your head's feeling better. What? It's not? It will. Try rubbing some insta-hot on your wrists and ankles when they untie you. Bye.† She'd just grabbed the boots she'd used at the base of the column as a decoy when she heard another guard coming fast from her left. She threw a boot at him Frisbee style and heard a satisfying swack as he fell down, too. Two down, eight to go. She was apologizing to the one she'd hit with the shoe, who was out cold-it was nice to know ankle boots were good for something-when the walkie-talkie on his belt came to life. â€Å"Leon, this is the Gardener. Where are you? State your position. Copy?† Miranda picked up the unconscious guard's walkie-talkie and said into it, â€Å"I thought your name was Caleb Reynolds, Deputy. Why the Gardener stuff? Or, as my friend likes to call you, Plant Boy.† A crackle. Then Deputy Reynolds's voice through the walkie-talkie. â€Å"Miranda? Is that you? Where are you? Miranda?† â€Å"Right here,† she whispered in his ear. She'd snuck up behind him, and now as he turned, her arm came around his neck with the heel of the boot pointed at his throat. â€Å"What are you stabbing me with?† he asked. â€Å"All you need to know is that it's going to cause you a lot of pain and probably a bad infection if you don't start telling me how many people there are here and what their plan is.† â€Å"There are ten in here, five more watching the exits outside. But I'm on your side.† â€Å"Really, Gardener? That's not how it looked at the house.† â€Å"You didn't give me a chance to talk to the girl.† â€Å"You're going to have to do better than that. I'm not a mix tape, you can't play me.† â€Å"Do you have any idea what she is?† † What she is? Not really.† His heart rate sped up now. â€Å"She's a real-life flesh-and-blood prophet. The Cumean Sibyl. She's one of ten people who between them supposedly know and can control the whole future of the world.† â€Å"Wow. I thought she was just an annoying fourteen-year-old with wild hormones.† â€Å"The Sibyl operates through different bodies. Or that's what they think. These people I'm working with. Wack jobs. They pretend they want to protect her, keep her prophecies from being exploited by the unscrupulous, but I think they're actually into extortion. I heard one of them say they could ransom the girl for eight figures.† His heart rate slowed as he talked. â€Å"My job was to find out where she was supposed to be picked up, so they could send someone there with some trinket of hers to show we had her, and get the Overseer to pay up.† Miranda didn't like the sound of the word trinket at all. â€Å"But you weren't going to?† â€Å"They're just using this religion stuff as a cover for their greed. It's disgusting. I'm all set to stop them, and then you†-getting agitated, his heartbeat spiking-â€Å"you come along in the middle and mess it up.† Miranda knew he was genuinely angry. â€Å"Stop them how?† â€Å"I was supposed to be getting the location of her pickup place from her, right? When you crashed in, I was going to tell her what to say, a place I'd picked out with the task force, then when the wackos went there, they'd be picked up by the police. Meanwhile I'd get the Sibyl safely to the real rendezvous. But you come in and blow it. Months of police work down the tubes.† His heartbeat was slow and even again. Miranda let him go. â€Å"I'm so sorry,† she said. He turned to scowl at her, changing it to a half smile when he saw what she was wearing. â€Å"Nice look on you.† He paused for a second, then said, â€Å"You know, there's a way we could still make this work. Do you have another outfit like that?† â€Å"My skating uniform? Yeah. But it's not the same color. It's more blue.† â€Å"That doesn't matter as long as it's close. With you two dressed as twins we'll be able to fool them into thinking that you're the Sibyl, use you as a decoy while we sneak her out to safety.† Talking quickly, he outlined the rest of his plan. Miranda said, â€Å"It would be better if we wore the wigs and masks, too. To complete the disguise.† â€Å"That's right. Perfect. Go toward the employee entrance, the one you used to sneak in. There's someone guarding the outer door but there's a door on the left that is clear. It goes to an office. I'll deal with these guys and then come-â€Å" He stopped talking, lifted his gun, and fired behind her. Turning, Miranda saw he'd shot one of the guards. â€Å"He saw us together,† he told her. â€Å"I couldn't let one of those bastards get you or tell the others. I'll distract them, keep them over here. You get the Sibyl, change, and wait for me in the office.† She was already moving away when she paused and said, â€Å"How did you find us?† His heartbeat slowed. â€Å"Put out a bulletin on your car.† â€Å"I should have thought of that,† Miranda said, then took off as he radioed, â€Å"Man down-man down.† Sibby was frantic when Miranda got back to her. â€Å"What happened? Did you get shot?† â€Å"No. I got us a ride out of here.† â€Å"How?† Miranda explained as they changed, then skirted the edges of the Great Hall toward the director's office. As they moved, she heard Deputy Reynolds barking orders to the guards, keeping them busy in other parts of the room, saying at one point, â€Å"No, don't turn on the lights-that will give them an advantage!† At another, heard a grunt of pain that sounded like someone being knocked out. She was impressed. They reached the director's office without running into anyone. Sibby sat in the desk chair. Miranda was pacing, walking back and forth to the ticktock of the big clock on the director's mantelpiece, picking up and putting down objects, a crystal bowl, a box of stationery, weighing them in her hand. A family picture of a man, woman, two small boys, a dog sitting together at the edge of a pier with the sun setting behind them. The dog was wearing someone's hat, a real full member of the family. A hand came down in front of the picture. â€Å"Hello, Miranda? I was asking you something?† Miranda put the picture down. â€Å"Sorry. What?† â€Å"How do you know you're right about him?† â€Å"I just do. Trust me.† â€Å"But if you're wrong-â€Å" â€Å"I'm not.† The clock ticked. Miranda paced. Sibby said, â€Å"I hate that clock.† Tick. Pace. Sibby: â€Å"I'm not sure I can do this.† Miranda stopped and looked at her. â€Å"Of course you can.† â€Å"I'm not brave like you.† â€Å"Excuse me? The girl who got-how many guys is it now? Twenty-three?† â€Å"Twenty-four.† â€Å"Twenty-four guys to kiss her? You're brave.† Miranda hesitated. â€Å"Know how many guys I've kissed?† â€Å"How many?† â€Å"Three.† Sibby gaped at her, burst out laughing. â€Å"Gods, no wonder you're so repressed. This had better work or you'll have had one seriously sad life.† â€Å"Thanks.†

How Does Groupthink Affect Decision Making in an Organasation Essay

Colman(2001) in a dictionary of psychology defines groupthink as â€Å" a collective pattern of defensive avoidance , characteristic of a group decision making in organisations in which group members develop rationalisations in supporting illusions of their own infallibility and invulnerability within the organisation . †p. 318. It entails that there is more of concurrence than critical thinking when making decisions in an organisation. This article will discuss how groupthink can affect decision making in an organisation such as school, political party and airtel (Business Company). Groupthink can cause poor performance or even failure to achieve the organisations objectives. Its tendency of seeking concurrence can for example make a wrong decision triumph (Shepherd, 1964). For instance, a cafeteria committee can change the supplier of food stuffs. If the group does not objectively consider the decision may end up selecting poor food stuffs that may be unhealthy to the students. Coon and Mitterer (2007) state that the urge to make such decisions may arise from the need to maintain others approval even at the cost of critical thinking. In apolitical party groupthink results in poor allocation of resources. For example, parties spend a great deal of resources of University Party Wings at the expense of the grassroots electorate. It a phenomenon that protectors of their group do not scrutinise critically but merely sustains the tradition due to failure to see other alternatives that could be available. Groupthink creates failed systems in organisations (Harvard business School, Online). Institutions are likely to repeat or continue of ineffective projects. Members of a group converge their opinions without objective analysis (Brown, 1965). This results in no consultations as outer groups are seen as enemies. They also feel to be infallible. A failed system is thus likely to emerge due to groupthink. For instance, airtel introduced some irrelevant airtime bundles which they had to reverse after some time because they discovered that they made two identical bundles. In a school as an institution, a possible example of how groupthink can affect decision making is that some students in class may yield to groupthink. Teachers have to note the enormous ability of students to influence others in decisions. Through groupthink learners might agree on a wrong decision or force others to agree (Gage, 1995). Learners may thus fail to grasp the intended learning outcomes. Groupthink also affects decision making in organisations in the way that solutions that are initially presented by most members are never re-examined to seek out less obvious shortfalls and strengths. They even fail examine those original points that were supported by the majority. This leads to decisions that result in costly mistakes. For example, there could be an element of groupthink in primary schools who force learners to pay money to access the free primary education. The teachers claim that the money is for the salary for watchmen among other claims, yet it is clear that that is the duty of government. The results in such primary schools has been increased abscondment let alone drop outs. Similarly, some primary school committees have decided to compel learners to be fetching firewood for the as School Feeding Programme. This costs students time and the rationality of the decision is questionable. The other way in which groupthink affects decision making in organisation is that decisions are centre around the control of one person usually a leader who protects the group from adverse information that might undermine the existing complacency. Direct pressure is also mounted on any member who might hold dissenting views on consensus opinion (Colman, 2001; Weiten, 2007). This automatically rules out comfortable participation from members there by compromising the credibility of an rganisation’s decisions. This in turn blocks communication flow which is vital in any organisation. For example, in Political Parties such tendencies lead to divisions manifested in emergency of mutinies such as that of United Democrat Front earlier this year when others went on with the Convention while other shunned it. In conclusion, groups are supposedly thought to have high likelihood of making brilliant decisions yet this is not always the case (Cartwright and Zander, 1968 cited in Levine and Moreland, 1995). It has been found that groupthink can affect the decision making in organisations that lead to poor decisions. Costy mistakes are made, objectives are not effectively achieved and groups fail to change a failing policy. Whyte (1989) points out that the wish for unanimity overrides members motivation to realistically appraise alternative courses of action. Thus, it can be argued generally that the effect of groupthink in organisation decision making is that it declines the quality of decisions tha t compromise the ambitions, efficiency and productivity of an organisation.

Politics in Nigeria Essay

Is there any lesson to be learnt in the war on terror where the proponents vowed never to dialogue or negotiate with terrorists, only to now realize, after the demise of thousands and loss of billions of dollars, that dialogue is the only option left for a lasting peace in Iraq and Afghanistan? Do we see such favour and sensationalism by the press on these botched attempts as we witness when the culprits happen to be Muslims? What would have happened if those Christians had succeeded in carrying out the blast? In a nation where the press in mainly in the hands of people of a particular faith, it is hard to be neutral in their reportage of these kinds of events; especially if it reinforces a stereotype and serves a hot selling item of news. John Akpava was caught with weapons at a Ministerial Press Briefing held at Radio House, Abuja. What would the press have done with this story if John Akpava were a Muslim? A ‘suicide’ bomber was allowed into the premises of the Church of Christ in Nigeria (COCIN), Jos, by a fellow member of the church, who detonated explosives that led to the death of 8 persons; 38 others were seriously injured. The Sun Newspaper of Tuesday, March 6th, 2012 reported that the said Boko Haram suicide bomber was identified by The Defence Headquarters (DHQ), as Mr. Adams Joseph Ashaba, ‘who allegedly masterminded the bombing of the Church of Christ in Nigeria (COCIN) in Jos, the Plateau State capital on February 26, disclosing, that he was actually a member of the Church.’ In another report on Daily Trust of Monday, February 27th, 2012, 8 members of the same (COCIN) were arrested this time in Bauchi with explosive devices desiring to set ablaze the church. Their arrest was almost thwarted by some Christians, but for the timely intervention of the Police. The above examples and that of the arrest of Augustine Effiong of Akwa Ibon origin who was reported by Thisday of May 21st, 2012, to have confessed his involvement in the BUK bombings, should make Muslim and Christian leaders realise that we are all in this together, and that we should work in harmony to bring about workable solution to the problem of insecurity in Nigeria. We have to do this. The problems of this country could only be solved by Nigerians. Yes, we can listen to good advice from abroad, and learn from other people’s experiences on similar matters. The ambivalence of the sacred is not to be seen as a bad thing. A polarised world is the one which should be strange. What we hold dear are not the same; our understanding of who God is and what His Laws are is also varied and diverse. The only thing we can firmly attest to as people is that we are brothers in humanity. The multiplicity of religions is a manifestation of our diverse backgrounds and reasoning. While some are content to worship the air and trees; others worship a fellow being as god. Look at Christianity and Islam for example: In either faith, we have hundreds of sects and variants. Each sect or variant in turn has its own idiosyncrasies and modes of worship and body of beliefs. The realisation that every time you are looking at the number 6 on a table, another sees the number 9 across that table helps to devise means to study and tolerate conflicting ideologies. While Muslims have been stereotypically dubbed as violent, Christians have had their share of stereotypes too. A typical uninformed Muslim thinks all Christians are Crusaders, trying to snuff out the light of Islam. He detests the Christians in his surroundings and distrusts them. When he meets the right Christian, he is confused and disorientated. He asks more and learns; he deepens his understanding and the shallowness of undue hate goes away. We also have stories of Christians referring to Muslims as idolaters and heathens who slaughter a ram every year to their god. One of such ignoramuses even wrote a book he titled â€Å"Who is This Allah?† He used that rare opportunity to show just how ignorant he is. The average uninformed Christian distrusts and despises the Muslims. The irresponsible journalism tactics employed by some media houses have also helped fuel the problem. The annual holidays connected to the Christian faith given by the Federal Government and most state governments are the Christian New Year, Good Friday, Easter Monday, Christmas and Boxing Day. We also have the weekly holidays of Saturday and Sunday to enable them go and worship. On the Muslim side we have the yearly holidays of Eidul Adha, Eidul Fitr and Mawlidun Nabiyy. The Osun state governor decided to give the Muslims their right by making 15th November, which corresponds to 1st Muharram a public holiday. Objectively, no one should have any issues with that; after all, are citizens are equal and what is sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander; but alas! That was not to be! The Christain owned Punch newspaper wrote an editorial condemning it and saying Nigeria is secular. How convenient! Muslims say he was sent by God as a messenger, bearer of glad tidings and warner against the impending doom of the end of time. They revere him and truly believe in him. They do not elevate him to a rank above prophethood. Any attack on his personality is an affront on their faith. The Muslims believe that Jesus (or ‘Eesa) the son of the Virgin Mary is alive, never died or resurrected, ascended to the heavens until his return, is a great prophet who was born in one of the four ways God perpetuates life. Any insult on him is an affront on the Muslim faith and any who disbelieves in him is not a Muslim. The Christians have two main beliefs about him. One says he is in fact God, Lord and Saviour; a part of a triune while the other contends that he was sent by God but lesser than God. These are clearly opposing views about the same people! Do we go out and persecute those who do not share the same sets of beliefs with us? Only a fool will answer in the affirmative! This madness must stop, and to stop it, we must know ourselves and what we hold dear better; that is no fool’s calling. We know and believe that if more of us know what you and I know today and if more are willing to practise our faiths to the letter, there will be little or no bloodshed. Over centuries Muslims and Christians and Jews have been murdered for the simple reason that they belong to a different faith; we can and must stop it.

7 Different types of office chairs used in the every office

7 Different types of office chairs used in  the every  office Office chairs are categorized on the basis of the height of the backrest, the presence of adjustable features, and the presence or absence of wheels. Now a days, there are a lots of the chairs are available in the market. Let’s see the various types of office chairs in the office. They are given below it. Task chairs Task chairs are easily the most common chairs in all offices. These chairs are very basic in design, and have casters or wheels at the base. Another characteristic feature of task chairs is the swivel, which allows the chair to rotate in all directions. These types of chairs are highly used by the number of peoples, task chairs are a good option, because you can easily adjust the height of the task chair to match the comfort level of people. Executive chairs Executive chairs are similar to task chairs for the fact that they can swivel, and have wheels and casters attached to the base. They have a higher backrest that’s why much more comfortable to sit on, as compared to task chairs and others, partly because of the extra padding on the seat. Another very useful feature of the executive chair is the presence of padding on the armrest. Also, these chairs allow you to adjust the angle of the backrest according to your comfort. Guest chairs Guest chairs, as the name suggests, are meant for guests and visitors who come to the office for a brief period. These chairs are either placed at the reception. Guest chairs offer no flexibility and do not come with adjustable features other word it is simple and sober, as they are not meant for sitting on for long hours. Also, these chairs are not mobile, as they do not have wheels attached to the base. This types of the chair is also known as reception chairs, they are made of wood or hard plastic, and are available in a host of colors and funky designs. Mesh chairs Mesh chairs are probably what you should go for. Mesh is a perforated fabric that looks similar to a net. These chairs have the seat and the backrest made from mesh fabric, which allows effective air circulation, thus, keeping you cool for long hours. Not only this, these chairs also have cushioned seats that are designed for comfort. Mesh chairs are most useful and popular too, because of its fabric. Ergonomic chairs An ergonomic chair is one that is designed to provide maximum support to the back. These chairs are recommended for people who suffer from back pain, or have been diagnosed with problems of the spine. However, anyone who wants to feel comfortable while sitting for long hours should go for an ergonomic chair. Conference chairs The conference chairs is also known as boardroom chairs, conference chairs come in many designs, and are meant for use in conference rooms during meetings. Even though conference chairs are not meant to be sat on for long hours, they have to be comfortable as meetings can sometimes stretch for quite a while. Stacking chairs Stacking chairs are called so because they are designed in such a way that they can be easily stacked on top of one another, which makes it easier to store these chairs in a relatively smaller space. These chairs are usually made of hard plastic, and mounted on a steel frame.

Genetically modified foods Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Genetically modified foods - Research Paper Example As a result, GM could provide solutions to problems of poor, hungry, and marginalized people in developing countries (Weirich, 2007). Yet opponents of the technology are concerned that genetic modification can erode biodiversity, lead to genetic pollution, and cause the evolution of "super bugs" and "super weeds" (Weirich, 2007; Weick and Walchli, 2002). They also raise questions about the health safety of GM food and equity issues relating to the ownership of GM seeds (Weick and Walchli, 2002). Advocates of genetic modification often contend that the risks associated with it do not differ much from risks introduced by conventional breeding. Indeed, in 1990, the International Food Biotechnology Council recommended that GM food plants could be regulated with existing laws and practices and that no additional regulatory measures were needed (Ingenthron, 1991). Some argue, on the other hand, that new biotechnology is qualitatively different from conventional techniques (Victor and Runge, 2002). In conventional breeding, whole blocks of genes are moved by allowing crossovers or meiosis (Lappe and Bailey, 1998). With genetic engineering, only isolated genes carrying specific traits are transferred. Also, genetic engineering allows gene transfer between species that would not naturally exchange genetic material. The later trait makes this new technology revolutionary, as revolutionary as the splitting of the atom. Giddens (2000: 8) called it a quantum leap, both in terms of its p ossible advantages and risks. Like every scientific revolution, GM technology has entered into public debate with its perceived benefits and costs. In 1991, the Office of Technology Assessment stated that biotechnology would contribute to agriculture by: (1) lowering production costs; (2) increasing yields; (3) providing higher-quality food; and (4)

Health Assessment of a Geriatric Patient Assignment

Health Assessment of a Geriatric Patient - Assignment Example While performing a health assessment among the geriatric patients, a nurse should keep in mind the special considerations that the physiological process is unique in this age group of patients. There are illnesses and conditions related to the changing of the physiological functions resulting from an advancement in age. During the performance of physical examination, the nurse must equally avoid prolonged exposure of the patients as the geriatric patients easily loose head and are prone to hypothermia (Rosen & Reuben, 2011). Due to the multiplicity of conditions experienced by the geriatric patients, a thorough health history is essential in understanding the nature of the condition. In certain instances when the elderly cannot clearly express the condition, interviewing of the family members is essential in helping to understand the conditions. Additionally, during the assessment, the elderly must be treated with caution since these groups of people are accustomed to falls. The patients’ assessment should be done in an environment that is spacious enough but has for support appliances that will prevent the fall of the patients (Kenis et al., 2013). Kenis, C., Bron, D., Libert, Y., Decoster, L., Van Puyvelde, K., Scalliet, P., †¦ Wildiers, H. (2013). Relevance of a systematic geriatric screening and assessment in older patients with cancer: results of a prospective multicentric study. Annals of Oncology†¯: Official Journal of the European Society for Medical Oncology / ESMO, 24,

Statistics (Term paper) Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Statistics ( ) - Term Paper Example 32.2%) of the patients belong to the age group â€Å"25-40†, 83 (26.3%) of the patients belong to the age group â€Å"40-55† and 36 (11.4%) of the patients belong to the age group â€Å">=55†. Interpretation: From the above table (Table No.3), it is observed that 168 (53.2%) of the patients had filling as procedure of diagnosis, 25 (7.9%) of the patients had â€Å"fit or prepare crown† as procedure of diagnosis, 41 (13%) of the patients had â€Å"root canal therapy† as procedure of diagnosis and 82 (25.9%) of the patients had â€Å"extraction† as procedure of diagnosis. Interpretation: From the above table (Table No.4) it is observed that 266 (84.2%) of the patients had reported success of the anaesthesia in killing pain and 50 (15.8%) of the patients had reported failure of the anaesthesia in killing pain. The pain level was divided into three groups based on the intensity of the pain. Pain levels 0, 1 and 2 were coded as â€Å"Low†, pain levels 3,4,5 and 6 were coded as â€Å"Medium† and pain level 7,8, 9 and 10 were coded as â€Å"High†. Interpretation: From the above table (Table No.5) it is observed that 184 (58.2%) of the patients had low pain, 70 (22.2%) of the patients had medium pain and 62 (19.6%) of the patients suffered from high pain. From the above chi square analysis table (Table No.7), since the chi square observed value (243.342) is much greater than the expected value (5.99) with probability less than 0.01 (

Physical Affects of Eating Disorders Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Physical Affects of Eating Disorders - Essay Example Anorexia nervosa is one among the various eating disorders affecting both men and women these days. According to the Ohio State University Family and Consumer Sciences, "Food, calories, fat grams, weight, and weight management dominate the person's life and attempts to help are often ignored or met with denial or anger." ("What is anorexia") Anorexia nervosa was considered a distinct clinical entity when it was independently reported in 1874 by two physicians, Laseque and Gull. It was Gull who named the disorder "anorexia nervosa." He described extreme emaciation in young women, associated with increased activity, episodes of binge eating, amenorrhea and low body temperature. (Gold, 1990) Anorexia nervosa remains a disorder that primarily affects young women, with onset generally between the ages of 12 and 25 years. Epidemiologic studies in the United States and Europe have documented an increased incidence in young women. However, numerous cases of new onset anorexia in elderly men and women have been reported. (Gold, 1990) The prevalence of anorexia varies between 2 and 5 percent among adolescent and young adult women. The disorder carries a mortality rate of 5 percent in the first two years. Among untreated patients, mortality can approach 20 percent. A perfectionist lifestyle, punctuated by one or more performance-related stresses, predisposes to anorexia nervosa. (Gold, 1990) Physical Effects of Anorexia Nervosa Anorexia nervosa affects mainly young women and is characterized by refusal to maintain body weight, intense fear of gaining weight, and feelings of fatness even when they are actually thin. (Gold, 1990) Anorexia nervosa remains a disorder that primarily affects young women, with onset generally between the ages of 12 and 25 years. Epidemiologic studies in the United States and Europe have documented an increased incidence in young women. However, numerous cases of new onset anorexia in elderly men and women have been reported. (Gold, 1990) The typical anorectic patient has a distorted body image and usually has a need to maintain an ultra-thin silhouette or to suppress menses. She sees herself as obese regardless of the degree of emaciation. However, her perception of the physical appearance of others remains accurate. A patient's drawings of family members are usually undistorted, but those of herself show an exaggeratedly obese figure. (Gold, 1990) Anorexics tend to eat "safe," low-calorie foods. Many times, these foods must be consumed in specific quantities, for example, 10 green beans or one tablespoon of ketchup. Many anorexics go so far as to count the calories in chewing gum, medicines and the glue on postage stamps. (Gold, 1990) The most obvious physical effect of anorexia nervosa is illustrated with extreme thinness. Starvation produces an emaciated or skeletal body habitus, leading to such appearance Moreover, as the patients continue to starve themselves; their bodies continue to conserve resources. (Gold, 1990) Hormonal changes such as the changes in reproductive hormones and in the thyroid hormones result from this condition. ("Eating Disorders") As an effect, menstruation among women and the secondary sexual characteristics are

Genetically Modified animal-to-human xenograft Term Paper

Genetically Modified animal-to-human xenograft - Term Paper Example The present article discusses the perception about xenotransplantation as an opening for a better future and the fact that for others, it signifies a move towards one more AIDS-like epidemic. The article discusses research, debate and also the decisions in this area of science. Xenotransplantation, as the name suggests, is a kind of transplantation that is performed between two different species; it encompasses transplantation of living cells, tissues or organs, usually as transplantation from non-human animal species into humans. This could be from mouse to humans or from pig to humans. The transformed tissue or organs are known as xenografts/ xenoplants. On the other hand, if the transplantation is performed between two similar species, then the process can be referred as allotransplantation. With the increasing population, there is an increase in demand for health care and facilities that performs these procedures. It is not currently possible to perform allotransplantations. Moreover, a great number of patients in anticipation of getting organ replacement die on before they get the alternative organ or tissue. There is an augmented demand for allotransplants of heart, kidney and liver, and the most feasible method sought to fulfill the enhanced demand is xenografts. This is of critical interest to those whose ailing lives are on the verge of death and who are still waiting for any donated organ or tissue. A survey was performed to take an assessment from patients regarding their understanding of types and techniques of transplant. The results display that around 75% of respondents knew about xenografting; of these 50% were ready to accept a xenograft for self and 43% for relative; 10% found a xenograft to be intolerable. On the other hand 40% were uncertain and wanted to know about the technology (Arundeii,, 1996). Only 27%

CBRN Chemical Biological Radiological Nuclear weapons Essay - 2

CBRN Chemical Biological Radiological Nuclear weapons - Essay Example ssion of how terrorists can use weapons of mass destruction against the United States and how the government of the United States can mitigate the threat in the event that terrorists were able to acquire the material and actually make an attack. Terrorists can use biological weapons to cause mass destruction in the United States. Biological weapons include those viruses and diseases that can reach the targeted places to cause large-scale deaths (Kortepeter & Parker, 1999). Some of the common viruses and diseases that can be used as biological weapons include smallpox, anthrax, Nipah virus, rise blast, and Chimera virus. All of these viruses can be transmitted to the United States easily because they require just air, food, or water to reach the destination. These days, a deadly disease causing threats for the people all over the world, is Ebola hemorrhagic fever. The main point regarding this virus is that it causes fever that leads to instant death of the affected person within days Peters, 1999). This virus can be transmitted to the people living near the affected person through air and physical contact because of which it is listed in the category ‘A’ of the most hazardous biological weapons. Although this virus is currently affecting the region of Africa, terrorists can spread this virus to the United States by making some affected people to enter the borders of the United States though Caribbean and Mexican routes. Illegal border crossing has been an issue for the government of the United States for a long time. Drug smugglers and human traffickers use the Caribbean and Mexican routes to smuggle drugs and humans into the United States. To reduce the threat of Ebola, the government of the United States needs to ensure that no Ebola affected person can enter the country through air and sea routes. The government needs to put into practice some effective viral detection mechanism at the airports and seaports to ensure that no affected person enters the

Interoffice memorandum Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Interoffice memorandum - Assignment Example Mr. Forest emphasized that the clients served from the Roanoke branch are vital to the overall success of Phoenix Advertising. In this regard, may I request the following team members to give me relevant information to address these issues: Executive Team Member Information Needed Mr. Frank Rodgers Profile of Personnel Resigning and Reasons Branch Manager, Human Resources What have been done to replace them? Roanoke, Virginia The number of creative talents in the Branch Compensation and Benefits Package Ms. Emily Smith Number of New and Current Accounts Manager, Advertising Projected Revenues and Time Frame Roanoke, Virginia for Completion Mr. Benjamin White Financial Statements of Phoenix Advertising Manager, Finance Compensation and Benefits Package The abovementioned team members are requested to forward the information needed tomorrow afternoon to me through a detailed report with clear alternative courses of action and proposed recommendations to address the identified dilemma.

Assignment Internal Cash Control Essay Example for Free

Assignment Internal Cash Control Essay The weaknesses in the internal control over cash disbursements are, there should be only one person in charge of writing the checks for each task, and there should be numbered checks for both people so that the funds spend can be tracked easier, the cabinets were the checks are stored should be two locked cabinets, one for each person who writes the checks. Memo: I would recommend that to have a better control over money paid and items purchased, that you start having numbered checks in two separate accounts, one account for the treasurer and one account for the purchasing agent. This method will make it easier for moth parties to avoid mistakes, and it will also be easier to verify money spent and received. P4-1A The internal control principles implemented by the Guard Dog Company are, numbered checks so that the company has a number trail to monitor cash dispersment. Each check must have approval from Jane Bell, and Dennis Kurt before a check can be issued, this is an establishment of responsibility to ensure that not just anyone ion the company can write checks. Checks must be signed by either Tom Kimball, the treasurer, or Karen Thews, the assistant treasurer. Before signing a check, the signer is expected to compare the amounts of the check with the amounts on the invoice, this is also a form of establishment of responsibility and both of these procedures are a use of documentation procedures. After signing a check, the signer stamps the invoice â€Å"paid† and inserts within the stamp, the date, check number, and amount of the check. The â€Å"paid† invoice is then sent to the accounting department for recording. By doing this it is a way of verifying company cash dispersment and documentation control. Blank checks are stored in a safe in the treasurer’s office. The combination to the safe is known by only the treasurer and assistant treasurer. By locking the checks in a safe it establishes responsibility for the checks, and uses a Physical, mechanical, and electronic controls to narrow down any check problems to one source. Each month the bank statement is reconciled with the bank balance per books by the assistant chief accountant. By doing this it establishes document control, this way any discrepancies in the amount paid can be verified. Indicate the weaknesses in internal accounting control in the handling of collections. The weaknesses in the handling of collections are the way the money is deposited, the way the checks are made out and the way the money is verified and deposited. P4-2A List the improvements in internal control procedures that you plan to make at the next meeting of the audit team for (1) the ushers, (2) the head usher, (3) the financial secretary, and (4) the finance committee. The improvements the ushers need to make is that after each offering they should individually count their own collected baskets and log there amount in an offering log book, so that there is less room for error in the next step. By handing all the baskets to the head usher without counting the money themselves, the head usher can offer any amount on his final deposit. The improvements the head usher needs to make is to make sure that each usher counts their baskets, and that the head usher counts all the baskets and checks for discrepancies to make sure that no one is pocketing any money. The head usher should also check the amount given to him/her against what is written in the offering log. Have a book to log the amount of money that is put into the safe so that it is logged in a way that can be verified by the committee, a note is not a safe method because it can be thrown out, by logging in a book it is easier to find were the discrepancies came from. The improvements the financial secretary should make is that he/she should have a list of what needs to be paid and make a log of the amounts that need paid and to make sure the receipts are logged along with whatever bills or services that needed to be paid that week. The financial secretary should also verify the amount of money in the safe against the log that is kept by the ushers. The financial committee should show a more detailed list of what expenditures are needed each month so that the financial secretary knows what is needed for payment that month. They should also be involved in verifying the churches income. To improve internal control the church should have a log for money received during offerings, they should tell the congregation to make the checks payable to the church or to the account holder that the checks are deposited into, because anyone can cash a check made out to â€Å"cash†. The church should also verify that any money not deposited from the offering was spent properly and not used for personal things. Include how a company could use the five basic principles of cash management to increase accuracy for a business. A company can increase the collection of receivables by offering incentives for quick payment from their customers. A company can delay the payment of liabilities and bills to close to the due date of the liability or bill, so that if any expenditure is needed before the due date they will not have spent the money too early. A company can keep inventory low on the merchandise that does not sell quickly, so that the company has money for the merchandise that is popular and selling fast. A company that wish to expand should wait until they have excess money in a slow season so that they can expand their business and have new locations open in time for their busy season. A company should invest money that is sitting idle into low risk companies’, the most common form of liquid investments is interest-paying U. S. government securities.