Race Colors Judgement Essay

The criminal justice system in the United States is one of the many places that I believe stereotypes are formed. For example, African-Americans make up only 13% of the U. S. population but represent 46% of the inmate population who have received sentences of more than one year (Hart, 2006, p. 1). Another example of a racial disparity can be seen the percentage of African-Americans who are drug users (14%) and those sentenced for drug offenses (53%) (Sentencing Project, 2009 p. 3). More African-American men are in prison or jail, on probation or parole then were enslaved in 1850, before the Civil War began,† (Alexander, 2010). However, this is not just a problem within the African-American community. More than 60% of the people in prison are now racial and ethnic minorities and three-fourths of all persons in prison for drug offenses are people of color (www. sentencingproject. org). The Bureau of Justice Statistics shows, that the likelihood for an African-American or Hispanic to be imprisoned is, 18. % for African-Americans and 10% for Hispanics, while the likelihood for Whites is 3. 4% (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2005). Brennan and Spohn (2009) showed in their study, â€Å"The Joint Effects of Offender Race/Ethnicity and Sex on Sentence Length Decisions in Federal Courts†, that African-American males received a significantly longer sentence (93 months) than White males (86. 2 months) (Brennan & Spohn, 2009). These are just some of the numbers, which cannot be ignored. An important question to ask; why are these racial disparities happening? In the study â€Å"White juror bias: An investigation of racial prejudice against Black defendants in the American courtroom†, Sommers & Ellsworth (2001) have a quote, which, I think, sums up the reasoning for studying race and its effect on juries, it came from one of my favorite movies: â€Å"In our courts, when it is a white man’s word against a black man’s, the white man always wins. They’re ugly, but those are the facts of life†¦The one place where man ought to get a square deal is a courtroom, be he any color of the rainbow, but people have a way of carrying their resentments right into the jury box† (From To Kill a Mockingbird, Lee, 1960, p. 20). The thinking by many social psychologists is â€Å"Racism still exists in our society today but is no longer endorsed by explicit racist beliefs or overt acts of prejudice† (Sommers & Ellsworth, 2003). Instead it’s a â€Å"Subtle, implicit, or aversive form of racism† (Sommers & Ellsworth, 2003). Whites in our society are taught to embrace egalitarianism (equality) and make a conscious effort to behave non-prejudice, or have non-bias beliefs. However, that does not mean that they still don’t harbor prejudicial attitudes. In a trial setting aversive racism and race salience, or racially charged vs. racially neutral, go hand and hand. Studies have concluded, a trial that is racially charged reminds jurors of their egalitarianism, but in a trial not racially charged a jurors’ motivation to avoid being prejudice is not triggered; instead they demonstrate their racial bias (Sommers & Ellsworth, 2001). It is the run of the mill trials where juror biases are displayed. White jurors need to be â€Å"reminded† that they should not have a bias. By â€Å"reminding† them, by a racially motivated incident, jury voir dire, jury instructions before deliberation, and others, White jurors are less likely to demonstrate racial bias towards an African-American defendant. Jury composition or heterogeneity vs. homogeneity groups, is theorized to be a huge factor in overall group decision-making skills. This is especially important in the jury decision-making process and verdicts because minorities are underrepresented on a jury. Sommers’s study â€Å"Racial Diversity and Group Decision Making† (2006) concluded, a jury, which has heterogeneity, rather than homogeneity considers a wider range of perspectives and information (Sommers, 2006). It was the diversity of the group influence on the White juror more than the performance of the African-American juror in the group (Sommers, 2006). This is not to say that the African-American juror did not perform well. Since many juries are not racially diverse, Whites on a jury may forget their egalitarian values, may not consider a wider range of perspectives and information, and will spend less time on their decisions. In-group bias is when people show a strong preference for fellow in-group members and tend to malign out-group members (Sommers & Ellsworth, 2000). Thomas Pettigrew, current Research Professor of Social Psychology at the University of California, in his 1979 study demonstrated that negative behaviors of in-group members were attributed to situational forces but negative behaviors of out-group members were attributed to inherent dispositions, which is the opposite from positive behavior attribution (Sommers & Ellsworth, 2000). This is a particularly important theory because juries for criminal trials are taking in facts pertaining to the negative behavior of a defendant who is either from their in-group or out-group. Systematic information processing is conceptualized as â€Å"Comprehensive analytic orientation to inform processing in which perceivers access and scrutinize a great deal of information for its relevance to their judgment task† (Tamborini et al. , 2007) Heuristic processing is conceptualized as â€Å"A more limited mode of information processing that requires less cognitive effort and fewer cognitive resources than systematic processing† (Tamborini et al. , 2007) Simple stated, heuristic information processing are shortcuts using previous knowledge and stereotypes, which influences peoples’ judgments. During a trial, jurors take in enormous amounts of information and when deliberating they tend to fill in the missing information with past experiences or stereotypes about certain crimes and criminals. This is not their intention, however it is how people cognitively process information-we put information into or take it out of certain categories. There are three main research methods used to study race and its effects on juries (Sommers & Ellsworth, 2003). Archival analysis of actual cases is ideal but there are a lot of confounding variables, which are hard to measure and control statistically (Sommers & Ellsworth, 2003). Another method used is post-trial juror interviews. This method is useful because you are asking direct questions of the jurors, who were part of the real trials. However, it is time consuming, has a small sample size, and relies on self-reporting by jurors (which in unreliable) (Sommers & Ellsworth, 2003). The third method is mock juror experiments, which relies on the experimental method of social psychology and allows the experimenters to control the confounding variables (Sommers & Ellsworth, 2003). There are some downfalls to using mock juror experiments as well, such as using college students as participants, written trial summaries, instead of witnessing a real trial, and the decision made by mock jurors have no real consequences (Sommers & Ellsworth, 2003). According to Sommers and Ellsworth (2003) it is best to use multiple methods. For example compare archival data to mock jury data. As I stated earlier, aversive racism and race salience (racially charged vs. racially neutral) in trials go hand and hand. Sommers and Ellsworth (both social psychologists) first studied race salience in their study, â€Å"Race in he Courtroom: Perceptions of Guilt and Dispositional Attributions† (2000). Since the theory of aversive racism (modern or subtle) states, Whites are more motivated to â€Å"appear† non-prejudice when racial issues are salient or prominent. They found that when a trial involves race salience the race of the defendant did not influence the White jurors (Sommers & Ellsworth, 2000). However, when a trail did not have race salience, the African-American defendants were found to be more guilty, aggressive, and violent by the White juror then the White defendant. This could have a profound effect, since Whites are not caught up in the day to day of racial issues, they may not take notice to the most subliminal racial issues in a trial. It may cause them to revert back to the more overt form of racism without even consciously knowing they are being racist or displaying their biases. A more recent study, â€Å"Diversity and Fairness in the Jury System†, conducted for the Ministry of Justice Research Series, by Thomas and Blamer (2007) concluded when a trial is racially charged (race salience), conviction rates for African-American defendants were lower. However, the conviction rate between White jurors and African-American jurors for African-American defendants were no different (Thomas & Balmer, 2007) (44% and 43%). In trials that were racially neutral, White jurors had low conviction rates for African-American defendants, while African-American jurors had high conviction rates for White defendants and low conviction rates for African-American defendants (Thomas & Balmer, 2007). This was a very interesting finding because in the Sommers and Ellsworth studies (2000, 2001) African-American jurors showed leniency both in race salience and non-race salience trials. Thomas and Balmer (2007) point out that in the Sommers and Ellsworth study that jurors did not decide cases as part of a jury with any deliberations (Thomas & Balmer, 2007). The results in the Thomas and Blamer study showed that individual jurors had difference conviction rates, but as a jury there was no difference between race salience and non-race salience trails (Thomas & Blamer, 2007). None of the juries (there were 8 in all) in the Thomas and Blamer (2007) study convinced the White defendant, The juries in England and Wales where this study took place have the same makeup as juries in the United States, majority White (Thomas & Balmer, 2007). That makes a nice segway into my next theory of jury composition because it appears that they dynamic of a racially mixed jury helped ensure individual biases were not allowed to dictate verdicts (Thomas & Balmer, 2007). Justice Thurgood Marshall said, â€Å"Diverse juries enjoy wider ranging discussions because White and Black jurors bring different experiences and perspectives to the jury room† (Sommers, 2006). Not only do African-American jurors bring different experiences but also, as we saw in the Thomas and Balmer (2007) study a racially mixed jury might help to ensure individual biases are not allowed to dictate verdicts. Again, referring to a study by Sommers (the leading researcher in this field) in which he specifically studies â€Å"The multiple effects of racial composition on jury deliberations† (Sommers, 2006). Having African-Americans (or minorities in general) on a jury can bring two different types of diversity-deep-level diversity and surface-level diversity (Sommers, 2007). Both can affect information exchange in different ways. Deep-level diversity brings the expertise, attitudes, and values of the individual members to the deliberation room (Sommers, 2007). Surface-level diversity brings members’ demographics and social category membership into the deliberation room (Sommers, 2007). Sommers’ (2006) found diverse groups spent more time deliberating, made fewer factual errors, and if there was an error it was more likely to be corrected, more open-mindness, and less resistance to discussions of controversial race topics (Sommers, 2006). The homogenous jury was the opposite (Sommers, 2006). Those results showed the affect deep-level diversity could bring to a jury. However, another aspect, which will bring me back to the theory of aversive racism and race salience, is the affect having diversity has on a White juror. By having a racially diverse jury, the White jurors have the issue of race and egalitarian values in the forefront of their minds. The White jurors are avoiding seeming bias. Sommers et al. , (2008) conducted a study to see if there are â€Å"Cognitive effects of racial diversity in a group. † The study found that Whites in a diverse group process information more thoroughly. They had no interaction with a diverse group member, it was simply being aware of a diverse group composition, which impacted the cognition of White members. It even improved reading comprehension of race-relevant passages, especially when Whites expected to have race-relevant conversation. This is important in a legal context as well. If a White juror’s cognitive ability, and information processing is improved they will use systematic processing which is â€Å"A comprehensive, analytic orientation to information processing in which perceivers access and scrutinize a great deal of information for its relevance to their judgment task†, instead of heuristics processing or shortcuts in their decision making (Tamborini et al. 2007). The Supreme Court attempted to make juries more racially diverse â€Å"Batson prohibition against race-based peremptories was based on two assumptions: (1) a prospective juror’s race can bias a jury selection judgments; (2) requiring attorneys to justify suspicious peremptories enables judges to determine whether a challenge is, indeed, race-neutral† (Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U. S. 79 (1986). To summarize the findings, White jurors tend to show their bias towards African-American defendants when the trial is not racially charged because they are not motivated to conceal their bias (aversive racism and egalitarian views). In homogenous juries Whites are more like to be bias, spend less time on their decisions, make more errors, consider fewer perspectives, are not motivated to conceal their bias. Also, when there is information overload jurors use heuristics (shortcuts) to process information, rather than a systematic review of the information. Tis effect, of using shortcuts, produces bias judgment for both African-American jurors and White jurors. All the aforementioned could be cause for the bias decision making of jurors and juries. However, there are positives that can be found throughout these studies. For instance, racially diverse juries, and race salience trials can help alleviate the biases by jurors and juries. It also proves that not all White juries are affected by the race of a defendant (in certain situations). Race and its effect on jury decisions is a topic that will be studied for years to come because of the complex nature of a jury and modern racism. Although studies have shown bias decision-making by White jurors there is still not enough statistics to make a causal connection. Research has also shown ways in which a jury’s bias can be minimized. The jury is one of the backbones of the court system, because of this, it is imperative that we continue to study juror bias and how to minimize their bias through different trial techniques and policies and procedures.

Big movie

The movie Big which starred Tom Hanks is about a thirteen-year old boy named Josh who wished that he were already an adult after he was refused from one of the rides at a fair because he did not make the height limit. He wakes up one morning to find out that he was already all grown up. He rushes out of the house after scaring his Mom who does not recognize him. With the help of his friend Billy, he gets a job at a toy company and begins going through the life of an adult. Toward the end of the movie he realizes how much he misses being a kid.He wishes that he were a kid again and returns home to his mother. First of all, Big is a fantasy film. In real life, nobody could grow overnight like what happened to Josh without supernatural intervention like the Zoltar wishing booth which helped Josh make his wish come true. While watching the film one could not but help wonder if Josh might be dreaming. Toward the end of the film, one realizes that the young boy was not dreaming at all when he slowly turns back into the thirteen year old boy right before the eyes of his girlfriend Susan whom he met at the toy company.In spite of it being a fantasy film, the movie which is all about growing up was able to focus on one aspect of adolescence which is getting attracted to the opposite sex which is one reason for Josh’s desire to be all grown up. He becomes attracted to a young girl whom he tries to impress by attempting to get on one of the rides at the fair. Another aspect of adolescence that was featured in the film is the desire of teenagers to free themselves from being a kid and have freedom from their parents.Just to give the impression that he was all grown up Josh lied to his crush when he told her that he was all by himself at the fair. When Josh saw his crush, he got rid of the funny shark hat he was wearing just so he would not look funny in front of his crush which is what teenagers Josh’s age would normally do. Another important aspect of adoles cence is the rate by which girls mature compared to that of boys. It’s a known fact that girls mature faster than boys. This was shown in that scene in the film where the grownup Josh brings his girl to his apartment which he shares with Billy.The girl expects to see a man’s room but instead she sees a room full of toys. The girl expects to have Josh make love to her the whole night but they end up jumping up and down on the trampoline. This slow rate of maturation on the part of the boys was also shown in that scene wherein his boss caught Josh playing with one of the toys at a toy exhibit and how Josh and Billy spent the former’s first pay on fun things rather than on more important items like clothes and food. The movie was able to depict the pain of leaving behind childhood things on the part of the boys.In spite of having achieved success in his present position in the toy company, Josh suddenly felt a longing for the days when he was still thirteen years o ld. The movie shows him going back to his home town where he sort of envies two boys who were playing ball, his crush riding in the car with her boyfriend as well as with her other friends, and his school mates who were having fun with their picture being taken in front of the school. Because of the uncontrollable desire to be thirteen again he explains to his surprised girlfriend that he was a thirteen year old boy trapped in a man’s body.This desire to go back to who he was before reaches its peak when during a presentation he walks out of the room, goes to his hometown and becomes the thirteen year old Josh again after putting in his wish in the Zoltar machine. The movie was able to depict the process of growth when boys, particularly go through the stage of adolescence. This was depicted in that scene when Josh stopped going out with his friend Billy because he wanted to spend more time with his girlfriend especially after he had his taste of first kiss and sex.Josh also discovers the importance of being responsible especially in the performance of one’s job and the use of money. Tom Hanks did justice to the role of Josh who was acting as a kid in man’s body. The actor was able to portray the innocence of Josh as he gradually discovered the things that grownups go through. The movie also had its funny moments too. There was that scene in the company party wherein Josh wore a funny looking tuxedo. As he tasted the food he was acting like a kid who just picks up the food without caring about what the other guests would say.Of course, the scene wherein Susan’s former boyfriend was presenting his new idea for a toy was funny too. While the presentation was going on, Josh was not able to resist the temptation of tinkering with the toy building that was supposed to transform into a robot. Since the movie is about the pains of growing up, counselors may use some scenes from the film for giving advice to troubled teenagers and their par ents. For example, there are teenagers who think that they can grow up overnight just like what happened to Josh.Counselors can cite what happened to Josh to explain to them that growing up is a gradual process and is not easy to do. One of the things that growing up involves is giving up things like toys and spending a lot of time with one’s friends and making discoveries in life. To parents who are worried that their thirteen year old son is developing feelings of attraction, the counselor can use the movie to help the parents understand that it is but natural for boys who are as old as Josh to develop those kind of feelings.Sometimes parents are worried that their son or daughter is still acting like a child even though he or she is already a teenager. The movie can help parents understand that sometimes mental age and physical age do not always travel down the road at the same pace as what happened to Josh who still continued like a kid in spite of being aware that he had already become a man. Overall the movie was not only entertaining but educational as well. References Mannheim, Jennifer. (2008). Puberty and Adolescence. Medline Plus. Retrieved from http://www. nlm. nih. gov/medlineplus/ency/article/001950. htm.

Blowfish Algorithm Advantages and Disadvantages

Blowfish Algorithm Advantages and Disadvantages Blowfish is a keyed (piece of information that determines the functional output of a cryptographic algorithm or cipher), symmetric cryptographic block cipher. It was designed by Bruce Schneier in 1993. Since then it has been analyzed considerably, and it is slowly gaining acceptance as a strong encryption algorithm. Blowfish is license-free and is available free for all uses. It is also a symmetric block cipher that can be used as a drop-in replacement for DES or IDEA. It takes a variable-length key, from 32 bits to 448 bits, making it ideal for both domestic and exportable use. Blowfish is also one of the fastest block ciphers in public use, making it ideal for a product that functions on a wide variety of processors found in mobile phones as well as in notebook and desktop computers. The first implementation of the Blowfish Algorithm in LabVIEW. With this set of subvi’s one can encrypt data in LabVIEW without the need of external software. This can be used to send data secu rely over Data socket as well as TCP and UDP communications along with protect remote control systems from unauthorized access, by encrypting the control communications. .( B. Schneier, Applied Cryptography, John Wiley & Sons, New York, 1994.) 3.2 Strategies and Mechanisms Blowfish has a 64-bit block size and a key length of somewhere from 32 bits to 448 bits. The algorithm consists of two parts. One is a key-expansion part and one more is a data- encryption part. Key expansion converts a key of at most 448 bits into several subkey arrays totaling 4168 bytes. It is a 16-round Feistel cipher and uses large key-dependent S-boxes (basic component of symmetric key algorithms which performs substitution). Each round consists of a keydependent permutation, and a keydependent substitution. It is also similar in structure to CAST-128, which uses fixed S-boxes. Blowfish is suitable for application where the key does not change frequently, like a communication link or an automatic file encryp tor. It is significantly faster than most encryption algorithm when on 32-bit microprocessor with large data caches. (Fast Software Encryption, Cambridge Security Workshop Proceedings December 1993) 3.3 The Feistel structure of Blowfish A Fiestel network is a general method of transforming any function (generally called F- function) into a permutation. It was inented by Horst Fiestel and has been used in many block chiper designed. The diagram below shows the action of Blowfish. Each line represents 32 bits. The algorithm keeps two subkey arrays: the 18-entry P-array and four 256-entry S-boxes. The S-boxes accept 8-bit input and produce 32-bit output. One entry of the P-array is used every round, and after the final round, each half of the data block is XORed with one of the two remaining unused P-entries. The diagram to the right shows Blowfish’s F-function. The function splits the 32-bit input into four eight-bit quarters, and uses the quarters as input to the S-boxes. The outputs are added modulo 232 and XORed to produce the final 32-bit output. Since Blowfish is a Feistel network, it can be inverted simply by XO7Ring P17 and P18 to the cipher text block, then using the P-entries in reverse order. Blowfish’s algorithm initialize with the P-array and S-boxes. The secret key is then XORed with the P-entries in order and then use the same method to encrypt all the zero string. The consequential ciphertext replaces P1 and P2 then encrypt the new P1 and P2 with the modified subkeys. Now the output is P3 and P4. Altogether Blowfish algorithm will repeat 521 times in order to calculate new subkeys for the P-array and the four S-boxes. It is about 4KB data is processed.

Critically examine why financial liberalisation brought financial Essay

Critically examine why financial liberalisation brought financial crisis in most of the Asian countries (for example South Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thaila - Essay Example Transactions in financial markets are affected by the efficiency of intermediaries such as brokers who put buyers and sellers together and professionals who keep the market in operation, ranging from clerks who keep records and financial analysts who allow information to flow within, to, and from the market (Howell et al., 2002). Historically, financial markets evolved under the close supervision, regulation, and protection of governments for the good of market agents (the suppliers and users of funds). Through laws, suppliers of funds such as depositors or lenders were protected from swindlers who ran away with the money, whilst users or funds borrowers had to be protected from usurious lenders. Whilst the government also made it difficult for a small number of market agents to establish an oligopoly, it also saw the need to create monopolies mainly for legitimate reasons such as the regulation of prices, public protection, and to stimulate market competition. However, when governments become too complacent, these legitimate reasons become intertwined with political factors and became illegitimate and burdensome, and instead of improving market efficiency it had the opposite effect: markets became too costly, prices were too high, artificial, and not competitive, and therefore highly inefficient. Inefficiency is tantamount to a lack of freedom in the operations of markets, so the call for market liberalisation is in effect a strategy to "free" the market from government regulations. Liberalisation is the removal of government interference in economic markets and barriers to trade (Stiglitz 2002: 59) and is supposed to improve a nation's economy by forcing resources to move from less to more productive uses, thereby raising efficiency in the use of resources. Liberalisation is not necessarily a bad thing because in fact and intention, it is for the benefit of market agents. However, like most other realities of life, if it is not done well it can end in disaster. Just to give some examples easy to understand: you don't ask a young man who just received his driver's license to race against David Coulthard or expect the Manchester school district's soccer champions to play well against Manchester United. Yet, this is what liberalisation attempts to do: the best way to improve the efficiency of financial markets is to let it free, which usually means allowing competitors both local and foreign to slug it out in open competition. The good ones will adjust, learn, and survive, whilst the poor ones will disappear. The financial markets of Southeast Asia before the crisis shared the characteristics of a market that was not free and of being under the influence of government regulations that stifled competition. The foreign exchange market was protected by a government that intervened in transactions to keep the local currencies artificially high. Bank interest rates were kept artificially low to favour local borrowers, which included local governments and favoured conglomerates. Awash with cheap funds, wanton borrowing and wild lending happened side by side to construct golf courses and buildings and purchase Porsches. How Inefficiency breeds Crisis The Asian financial crisis of 1997-1998 has been one of the well-studied

Mao Zedong Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Mao Zedong - Essay Example Mao was raised as a peasant in a small village called Shaoshan in central China2. As a young man, Mao trained as a teacher; a profession that saw him serves briefly as a librarian in a university in Beijing. Mao was an avid consumer of Marxist literature, which instilled the policies of literature to the young scholar3. Mao would later lead the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) as a founder member in 1921. A troubled alliance with Kuomintang Party (KMT) turned problematic when the communists turned against the CCP forcing Mao to flee with many of his supporters to establish an alternative operational base. The second merger between CCP and KMT was primarily based on the need to engage the Chinese who posed a threat on the Chinese territory. Problems would later emerge between the two eventually culminating into a civil war. The outcome of the civil war favored the communists forcing the nationalists to KMT to flee. It was in 1949, after the civil war the Mao Zedong established The People ’s Republic of China. Although the Chinese, at first, embraced the party, Zedong would later convert it into an oppressive edifice that was impatient with all forms of rebellion. The communist experimentation included the nationalization of all industry and the forcing of formers into some collective groups. The communist leader then sought to customize his own brand of communism, which he thought would be Chinese in orientation4. Instead, he only succeeded in plunging the country into famine through the retrogressive policy well known as The Great Leap Forward. The failure of his style of politics mark the beginning of his decline in popularity as the people increasingly pulled back their support even as the regime vigilant against oppression. Some of the policies that collapsed during The Great Leap of Labor included his dream for mass mobilization of labor. This led to a decline in food production as the country grappled with the resultant famine. Following the rising deat h toll that resulted from the drive, the regime was forced to abandon the project. Multiple issues engaged the attention of the regime’s critics. The emerging political reality led to the growth of dissidents who had to flee as the regime became increasingly intolerant to popular opposition. One of the strategies by which Mao sought to quell internal dissent was by the introduction of Cultural Revolution. The ruthlessness that followed, which included the use of the army led to the death of many dissenters. The introduction of the Little Red Book marked the fervor with, which Mao Ze Dong sought to impress communist ideals within his own people5. The book marked an important part in the history of Marxism and the Chinese were forced to internalize the ideals, which were customized, summarized to suit the tastes of Mao Ze Dong as he wanted them. All Chinese were forced to carry the book and normally failure to comply was usually considered as a mark of treason. It is believed t hat police arrested thousands of Chinese people for non-possession of the book. One of the most notable periods during Mao’s time was the Gang of Four. They comprised of Mao Zedong’s wife, Jiang Qing and some of three most trusted colleagues.These were Zhang Chunqiao, Yao Wenyuan, Wang Hongwen. These four were accused later after Mao’s death of systematically manipulating the structures of the Communist Party and the famous Cultural

Workplace policies and practices. DreamWorks Animation Essay

Workplace policies and practices. DreamWorks Animation - Essay Example This paper considers six policies and practices which contribute to the high level of employee engagement that exists in the company: commitment to the highest quality, diversity in recruitment, coaching and mentorship, a relaxed and â€Å"fun environment to stimulate creativity, and flexible teamwork. DreamWorks Animation is company that many creative people aspire to work for, and perhaps the most attractive feature about this organization is that it is simply the best in the industry. This high quality image brings a sense of pride to all of its employees but it also brings with it extremely high expectations in times of quality of work and adherence to tight deadlines. The company attracts the brightest and best employees because of its profile as a leading and innovative animated movie producer and so long as it maintains this position it will make them want to stay and achieve even more success. The company webpages show also a real commitment to diversity in the workforce, si nce the faces of leading employees are male and female, and different in terms of age and ethnic origins also. It is a young company with an international flavour. This diversity is useful to the company because it matches the global audiences for the company products, but there is also evidence this mix encourages innovative thinking and exchange of ideas. The different social and cultural backgrounds of the staff make for a stimulating and rich working environment. The company’s philosophy makes a big statement about this point, and it is clearly one of the company’s overarching and strategic aims to have unity in diversity: â€Å"In this friendly, open and collaborative environment, people of globally diverse talent and backgrounds push creative boundaries and enjoy an easy camaraderie. We attract a globally diverse group of artists, technologists, production and support staff who come together†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (DreamWorks Website). This commitment to be inclusive mea ns that the prevailing atmosphere is open and all staff are able to participate freely in company activities without fear of prejudice or inequality. Mutual respect marks the ethical tone of the company and this in turn leads to a more committed and contented workforce. Employee engagement begins at the point where people are recruited into the company. Vacancies are advertised on the company webpage, and of course the company requires very specific and certified skills in most of its employee roles. Experience is also needed in this industry, along with new ideas that are current in the youth cultures of the present time. Locating the right mix of talent and experience is difficult in animation, and DreamWorks takes a long term view of this task. It is commendable to note that there are outreach efforts in colleges and universities to draw in talent from all parts of society, including state as well as private educational institutions. In 2005, for example, the company started off an Outreach program to attract graduates who had no experience in the industry, but could demonstrate talent in their university work: â€Å"the goal of this program was to seed the next generation of creative and technical leadership at the Studio, and also to offset the rapidly rising salary rates for experienced talent.† (Newspeak.com case study, 2011) Some such ventures are little more than public relations stunts, but the company reports that 165 entry level graduates were hired, and 93% were retained, and 8 individuals were considered â€Å"

Online grocery shopping Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Online grocery shopping - Essay Example With the age of growing technology and internet popularity, marketing has become easier because customers have an opportunity to post reviews about products and have others access it before making decisions. Companies can use the reviews to improve their products and develop others that match customer’s needs. As a marketing manager of Miou Company Ltd, I will examine literature review to understand traits of internet shoppers, their general shopping orientation, their web-usage-related lifestyle, and their psychographic characteristics. In addition, I will evaluate their motivations for shopping groceries online, their perceptions of the advantages and disadvantages of shopping online for groceries and situational factors that may elicit online purchase of groceries. Miou Company that has a chain of national supermarkets in Australia intends to open an online grocery-shopping website to counter the challenge posed by fast growing online shopping. One of the first things to co nsider in the research is seeking to understand the traits of internet shoppers. Internet shoppers tend to rely on feedback reviews about products and services done by those who have already been served by the company. According to Zhu and Zhang, a recent survey reveals that 24% of internet users’ access online reviews before paying for a service delivered offline. Such reviews have become an important marketing tool because companies post information about their products, engineer online forums and chats about the products where they proactively advice their consumers to spread the gospel of their products. Through use of internet, companies have managed to manipulate customer’s reviews and influence their decisions (Zhu and Zhang, 2010). Chevalier and Mayzlin agree to the character of online customers that depend on reviews. They argue that customer ratings significantly influence product sales especially in the book industry where customers read review texts in addi tion to review statistics (Chevalier & Mayzlin, 2006) Secondly, a market researcher must seek to understand customer’s general shopping orientation. The advancement of World Wide Web has enabled many companies to transact online and customers to do web shopping. Electronic shopping is growing by day and thus has become an important trend that influences the markets. Therefore, to identify the opportunity a researcher needs to identify the determinants of a customer’s online purchase intention. Since managers need to make a decision, the opportunity becomes the problem. A small sample will help in understanding the impacts of shopping orientations. According to Ling, a research run to determine shopping orientations, online trust, and prior online purchase experience to the customer purchase intention reveals that impulse purchase intention brand orientation, quality orientation, and prior online experience have a positive impact to the customer online purchase intentio n (Ling, 2010). Online shopping experience is different from the traditional consumer behaviour, which calls for marketers to explore the determinants of customer online intention among web shoppers. Forsythe and Shi concurs with this argument and states that online shopping poses special risks on the side of the customer, which makes trust an important aspect for a transaction to take place (Forsythe, Shi,

Clinical Supervision for Nurses Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Clinical Supervision for Nurses - Essay Example According to Johns (2003), Clinical supervision serves to enhance professional functioning of the junior members under the supervision; the supervisors monitor the quality of services given to patients. Supervision also creates an environment that promotes creativity in supervisees; this supports them so that they have the ability to face patients confidently. As Benfer  (1979) asserts, during clinical supervision, as a clinical supervisor, I will assess the work of the nurse and give her guidelines on how to best deals with patients. Bernard and Good year claim that clinical supervision is similar to training in that it involves a formal process of learning and professional support, which enables the supervisees to develop competence and knowledge in their profession. Because of clinical supervision, nurses identify room for improving their nursing practice (Bernard &  Goodyear 1998). Falender& Shafranske (2004) argue that a variety of approaches and models can be applied in cli nical supervision; in order to assist nurses faced with difficulties. McDaniel, Weber, & McKeever (1983) assert that clinical supervisors often apply various models when training nurses and other supervisees. The most common models of clinical supervision include the developmental model, key issue model, functions model, and process model. As a Clinical supervisor, I would use these models to serve the nurse facing challenges, in her profession. Based on this, the various models of supervision can be used when the training needs of the supervisees vary from one supervisee to another. In training the nurse, who has difficulties in dealing with patients, I would use the developmental model (Benfer 1979). The developmental model proposes that the trainees pass through several stages, which both the supervisors and the supervisees have to take into account. Using this model, I would train the supervisee to cope with the challenges, resulting from complexity of duties (Johns 2003). There fore, as a clinical supervisor, I would apply this model to train the nurse, who has had a promotion to grade E. A nurse who has been promoted to a higher level needs to develop the necessary skills required to perform better in the new position. Promotions come with additional responsibilities in one’s profession.  

Sustainable Development and Provision of Quality Life Options Assignment

Sustainable Development and Provision of Quality Life Options - Assignment Example Nevertheless, ‘needs’ mechanism enable organizations and individuals to compromise on environmental pollution, this pollution due to overconsumption develops the unliveable environment for the future generation in long term. ‘Needs’ initiate such processes for which short-term benefit is assessed and collected, but their long-term and wider detrimental impact on the planet is not taken into consideration. Subsequently, Sustainable development forwards a balanced approach to life, which brings social, governmental, and economic restrictions for the sake of better future. Vivid examples of poor unsustainable development can commonly be observed like hefty financial crises due to negligent banking and governmental policies, increase in air pollution due to fossil fuel burning, pacific garbage patch due to waste dumped in the sea, deforestation, no-recycling, ecological issues due to pesticides and chemical fertilizers and etc. Poor quality of air in Urban or industrial areas develop smog that contains sulfur dioxide, carbon dioxide, nitrogen and carbon mono oxide. These toxic gases are lethal for lungs and can cause long-term respiratory issues, change in human organ functions, and also cardiovascular syndrome as well. Similarly, noise pollution of heavy traffic, industrial units, constructional activities and various machines can cause hearing impediments, sleep disorders, aggressive temperament, stress, cardiovascular syndromes and many more. Pollution of any type is due to short-term benefit and lack of long-term planning according to sustainable development. Hygiene issues due to water pollution in heavily populated areas can cause people and their future generations to suffer from numerous health issues as well. The above-mentioned issues are a result of unsustainable development, inadequate urban planning, and functioning in the recent world. However, to adopt sustainable development lifestyle efforts are required to remodel current and existing processes into sustainable processes, and consumption needs into sustainable consumption.  Ã‚  

In The Pursuit of Public Value Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

In The Pursuit of Public Value - Term Paper Example Public administration is charged with the responsibility of implementing policies that facilitate the effective functioning of governments. The general public derives value from effective public administration. Public administration is not static because it is a process that keeps evolving. Value created by the government and valued by the citizens can be said to be public value due to acceptance by the majority. This paper focuses on the evolving trends of public administration in America and the value derived by the public from it. At the same time, it discusses the trends with the aid of several concepts such as; total quality management, Woodrow Wilson Public Administration Dichotomy, New public Administration and Scientific Management. America is believed to be the world’s super power; this is due to its financial stability coupled with political and administrative effectiveness. Moreover, administration in America has been evolving over the years. It is evident that the administration method and approaches applied by the United States in the past years have been abandoned and new, but more effective methods adopted. Essentially, the main aim or reason for the evolving of the public administration methods or approaches is to create value to the public. The concept of public value may be useful in explaining why the American public administration has been evolving over the years. According to the concept of public value, governments opt to evolve their administration in order to address what can add most value to the public and not what the public values most (Ladurantey, 2010). The American public administration has been evolving over the years and provided essential services to the public in the most effective way. The administration has been able to achieve this through different ways and for various reasons; for instance, there has been increased desire by the citizens for quality services among other reasons. This has compelled the

Nanotechnology in Aeviation Essay Example for Free

Nanotechnology in Aeviation Essay †¢Nanotechnology in Aerospace Materials †¢Introduction Figure 1. The aerospace industry is under pressure to improve its environmental footprint, primarily by making aircraft more efficient. Image credit: Bureau of Labor Statistics. †¢There are few industries where the applications of nanotechnology are so clearly beneficial as in the aerospace industry. The primary development goals match almost exactly with the advantages offered by using various nanomaterials in the place of traditional bulk metals like steel. †¢The aerospace industry is one of the most important heavy industries in the world. Countless companies rely on the ability to ship products and people around the world with the speed that can only by achieved by air. The aircraft manufacturing market was worth xxx billion in 20xx, and the bulk of this was accounted for by military spending. †¢Along with this huge economic value, however, comes huge consumption, and one of the largest carbon footprints on the planet relative to the size of the market. For this reason, the major drivers in current aerospace RD are towards lighter construction materials and more efficient engines the overall goal being to reduce fuel consumption and carbon emissions associated with air travel and air freight. The significant interest in nanotechnology for the aerospace industry is justified by the potential of nanomaterials and nanoengineering to help the industry achieve this goal. †¢This article will review some of the nanomaterials which are already being applied in aerospace manufacturing, and the benefits they can provide. †¢Nanostructured Metals †¢Bulk metals with some nanoscale structure are already widely used in aircraft manufacturing. It is now well known that nanostructured metals exhibit considerably improved properties compared to their counterparts with microscale or larger grain structure. †¢This is particularly noticeable for properties which are crucial for materials used in aircraft primarily yield strength, tensile strength and corrosion resistance, coupled with low density which helps keep the total weight of the aircraft down. †¢ †¢Figure 2. Bulk nanostructured metals exhibit much better mechanical properties and corrosion resistance than their counterparts with larger crystal structures. Image credit: Los Alamos National Laboratory. †¢Polymer Nanocomposites †¢Various nanomaterials have been used as filler materials to enhance the properties of structural and non-structural polymers used in aircraft construction. The most commonly used nanomaterials include nanoclays, carbon nanotubes, nanofibres, and graphene. †¢Carbon nanotubes in particular have been shown to give excellent advantages when used as fillers in various polymers, due to their exceptional stiffness, toughness, and unique electrical properties. †¢Nanocomposites typically have superb weight-to-strength ratios, and enhanced resilience to vibration and fire, making them ideal for use in the aviation industry. The properties of the nanofillers, like the conductivity of nanotubes, for example, can create interesting opportunities for multifunctional materials. †¢The properties of polymers enhanced by nanomaterial fillers are so well-tuned to the requirements of aircraft manufacturers, that they are actually being used to replace some of the metals used in the airframes. This obviously brings along huge weight savings, and often cost savings as well. †¢Tribological and Anti-Corrosion Coatings †¢Another major trend in the materials used in aircraft is towards nanocoatings to enhance the durability of metals. In particular, magnesium alloys, which are far lighter than steel or aluminium, are prone to corrosion, due to the high chemical reactivity of magnesium. Coatings can help prevent corrosion, but the type typically used contain chromium complexes which are a highly toxic pollutant. †¢Materials used for these novel anti-corrosion nanocoatings include silicon and boron oxides, and cobalt-phosphorous nanocrystals. †¢Nanocoatings are also now being used on turbine blades and other mechanical components which have to withstand high temperatures and friction wear. Tribological coatings can drastically lower the friction coefficient and improve resistance to wear this greatly improves the efficiency of the engines. †¢Many nanostructured and nanoscale  coating materials have been suggested as possible friction modifying agents, such as carbides, nitrides, metals, and various ceramics. †¢ †¢Figure 3. The defense sector drives a lot of the innovation in many industries, and aerospace is no exception. High-performance military aircraft require exceptional materials, which will eventually find their way into commercial vehicles. Image credit: Penn State University. †¢Conclusion †¢This is just a brief overview of some of the nanomaterials being used in aerospace. The drive for lighter and more efficient air vehicles has led to the rapid adoption of nanotechnology in aerospace manufacturing. †¢The main roadblock, as with many industries looking to adopt nanotechnology, is caused by uncertainty over the environmental and health and safety implications of these materials. Whilst nanomaterials can often be less toxic than the current materials used, the effects of long-term exposure to these novel materials are still uncertain. †¢The potential of nanotechnology in the aerospace industry cannot be denied, however. Outside of airframe and component materials, nanotechnology applications have been found in lubricants, fuel, adhesives and many other areas. †¢Nanotechnology is also helping engineers to create vehicles with the necessary properties to endure the harsh conditions of space.

Role of the Judiciary in Democracy

Role of the Judiciary in Democracy In a liberal democratic state, the judiciary has four main responsibilities including formulating the rule of law through the interpretation and application of law to respond with a verdict, settling disputes, checking legality and being a player in state politics. To accomplish these four duties, the basic principles of a liberal democratic state must be upheld along with the principles of a legal democracy and state. The judiciary also has to interpret and apply the law along with the constitution, and to provide impartial adjudications of disputes between the state and individuals, between individuals, and between different levels of government within the state. The reliance on the courts and on judicial means for addressing core moral dilemmas, political controversies and public policy questions is arguably one of the most consequential phenomena of the late twentieth and early twentieth century government. Equipped with newly attained judicial review, national high courts worldwide have been frequently asked to resolve a range of issues, varying from the scope of expression and religious liberties, reproductive and privacy freedoms, equality rights, to public policies pertaining to criminal justice, education, labour, and environmental protection. The increasing political importance of courts has not only become more globally widespread than ever before but it has also extended its scope to become a manifold, multifaceted phenomenon that distends well beyond the now standard concept of judge made policy-making. The basic law of the Irish State is the Constitution of Ireland adopted by referendum in 1937 replacing the Constitution of the Irish Free State (1922). The Constitution is the canopy under which justice is administered and legal rights enforced in courts established by law. The Constitution delineates a separation of powers among the organs of State, executive, legislative and judicial. It guarantees the judicial protection of fundamental rights and also due process in the administrative and judicial spheres. It may be invoked by individuals to challenge the constitutionality of laws passed by the Oireachtas and to seek redress for breach of constitutional rights. Subject to the Constitution the legal system is based on the common law tradition. (1) The judiciaries role in the community is manifested not only in what judges do but also in the way that they do it. This is called the judicial style. There is an evident difference between the style of judges in civil law jurisdictions and the style of judges in common law traditions. In recent times there has been an insistence upon satisfactory accountability of all the institutions within the government, which needs to be reconciled with the principles of independence, has to be addressed and accepted. A lot of the publics money is invested in courts, and the people are entitled to expect that the work of individual judges is done efficiently, as well as fairly, deliver their judgements in a relatively prompt manner and will manage cases with due regard to consideration of economy. To achieve the characteristics of a judiciary, developed democracies have relied on the culture of the judiciary. When judges enter office they swear to uphold the rights of all citizens and the constitution, self integrity, peer pressure, and public scrutiny combine to make judges, at least at the highest level, to abide by their oath. By setting these standards for promotion, they can help harbour the same behaviour in their future peers and at lower levels. The duty of fairness and the principles of natural justice have been established by the courts through judicial review focus on the vital issue whether, in all circumstances, the procedure followed in a particular case was fair. The transparency and open process of decision-making that have been structured through judicial review are one of the safeguards in achieving an acceptable equilibrium between the countrys need for security and the rights and freedoms of its citizens. A multi-dimensional approach is needed to successful ly deal with this challenge. Judges will continue to rely upon the insights and wisdom of the legal community. The input from a variety of disciplines is however also essential. Community and government workers, academics, social scientists and policy makers can assist the judiciary in attaining more complete perspective. There is a need to strive for the intricate and complex balance which will foster the growth and development of rational and sound principles under the new legislation. Legislature also has to recognize that it cannot exert influence over the workings of the court and selection of its personnel since it is a party to many disputes between citizens and their representatives that the judiciary has to resolve. Legislature, for example, has to acknowledge that its purpose is to represent citizens and operate within the structures based on rules defined by the constitution. Representation does not mean unchallenged power. The judiciary protects the citizens should their duly elected representatives in the legislature choose to undertake such actions that violate constitutional rights of anyone in the society. The involvement of other branches of government in workings of the court should be as limited as is possible. In instances where any rule is deemed unsuitable constitution also delineates the process of amending the constitution. The judiciaries role in formulating or applying policy is a subject that has associations extending well beyond judicial review of administrative decisions. When policy formation is thought of as being part of the judicial function it is important that it is comprehensible as to what is being said to be going on, and how the judicial method is related to it, the judicial role and the judicial capacity. While there is a development in common law, as a response to changing needs as well as appropriate pressure for rationalisation, there is an accountability for such development by judges to follow the wisdom of laws in the constitution and proposed change. They accomplish this within the propensities of their own discipline. Another matter worth weighing might be the changing attitude of the legal profession, and others, towards the use of litigation as a technique for achieving political and social objectives. We have long been accustomed to the use of litigation as a weapon in corporate and commercial rivalry, but we are seeing an upsurge in what might be described as the politically and socially aggressive use of litigation. This has also resulted in a change in the character of the work coming before some courts, and has a significant effect on the way in which courts appear to the public to behave. (2) As a democratic society, we have witnessed momentous changes in the relationship between individuals and the state. The judiciary possesses the knowledge and experience to make tremendous contributions to the maintenance and continuing evolution of our democratic society. The role of the courts as resolver of disputes, interpreter of the law and defender of the Constitution, requires that they be completely separate in authority and function from all other participants in the justice system. Bibliography Ejn.net Jca.asn.au/attachments/Gleeson.html

Prevention and Control of Locally Endemic Diseases

Prevention and Control of Locally Endemic Diseases Worldwide, countries are facing various public health problems but at unequal intensity. Low and middle-income countries are more suffering from high burden of disease than developed countries (Lopez et al., 2006). Public health issues in the world have existed for hundreds of years and to cope with them different interventions from different people have been put in place and have been improved over time depending upon new health-related discoveries. In September 1978, World Health Organisation in collaboration with The United Nations Childrens Fund organised the famous International Conference on Primary Healthcare in Alma-Ata, former Soviet Union, where 3000 delegates from various national governments and international bodies convened to find new ways of dealing with public health setbacks. This conference was a landmark in the promotion of population health around the world given the introduction of the theme of Health for All with the slogan Health for All by the Year 2000 (Wooding, Nagaddya Nakaggwa, 2012). In the Declaration issued at the end of the conference, Primary Healthcare was defined as essential healthcare based on practical, scientifically sound and socially acceptable methods and technology made universally accessible to individuals and families in the community through their full participation and at cost that the community and country can afford to maintain at every stage of their development in the spirit of self-reliance and self-determination (World Health Organisation, 1978). In this essay, with relevant examples, the explicit meaning of this definition will be discussed. Later on, gaps and lessons drawn from the conceptualisation and implementation of Primary Healthcare in Rwanda will be identified. Finally, the relevance of Primary Healthcare in the Rwandan health system will be examined. A.EXPLICIT MEANING OF DEFINITION OF PRIMARY HEALTHCARE ACCORDING TO WORLD HEALTH ORGANISATION The definition of primary healthcare, as it was issued in the Alma-Ata Conference Declaration, was general and needed some precisions and common understanding to avoid any misinterpretation. To fully grasp the explicit meaning of primary healthcare, as was defined by the World Health Organisation, it worth, firstly, to break it into basic terms: A.1.Primary healthcare as essential and appropriate activities for promoting the health of the population Primary healthcare is a set of activities aimed at promoting the health status of the population. Through these activities, prevailing health problems that the community suffer are addressed properly by providing promotive, preventive, curative and rehabilitative services (World Health Organisation, 1978). World Health Organisation (1978) states that the essential services that primary healthcare would provide were : education on prevailing diseases and the ways of preventing and controlling them; promotion of food supply and proper nutrition; maternal and child healthcare including family planning; adequate supply of safe water and basic sanitation; immunisation against major infectious diseases; prevention and control of local endemic diseases, appropriate treatment of common diseases and injuries; and provision of essential drugs. These services were expected to vary according to the country and community provided their economic and social aspects that they reflect and from which they evolve and health system had the social responsibility to avail essential healthcare to all (World Health Organisation, 1978). A.1.1.Education on prevailing diseases and the methods of preventing and controlling them This component of primary healthcare aims to support personal and community social development by informing them through education for health. The enhancement of their life skills leads to behaviour change at individual or collective level in order to tackle health problems prevailing in their community. Additionally, this activity makes people aware of other factors that determine their overall health like environmental factors, lifestyle and genetics. As a result, people are empowered to have informed options to have control over their own health and over those factors determining their health status. Various ways are used ranging from mass media tools to simple messages transmitted to individuals or to the community regarding the strategies to fight against common diseases in their communities (Wooding, Nagaddya Nakaggwa, 2012). Further, health educational materials can be developed, supplied in the schools by those working in education sector to be integrated in health system. To illustrate this activity in the community, the strategies regarding the prevention of malaria should include the education on what is malaria, its causes, signs and symptoms of the disease, treatment and preventive measures in place. A.1.2.Promotion of food supply and proper nutrition The Promotion of food supply and proper nutrition in the families and in the community in general is a cornerstone in fighting against ill-health. Under nutrition and micronutrients deficiencies mostly in women in reproductive age and children largely contribute to a global burden of disease (Caulfield al., 2006). A.1.3.Maternal and child health including family planning Maternal and child morbidity and mortality rates, mostly in resource limited countries, are still high and more action is needed to tackle this public health issue. Women and childrens deaths are attributed to the causes which in many cases are preventable and avoidable through collaboration of various stakeholders (Wooding, Nagaddya Nakaggwa, 2012). A.1.4.Adequate supply of safe water and improved sanitation This component of primary healthcare ensures that population has not only access to safe and clean water but also to clean environment. The role of contaminated water and environment in spreading diseases is known. The supply of safe and adequate water, sanitation and disposal of liquid and solid waste play a key role preventing diseases transmission (Howard et al., 2002). A.1.5.Immunisation program against major diseases Immunisation against major diseases plays a key role in preventing serious contagious diseases mostly in children like Tuberculosis, measles, tetanus, whooping cough, etc .Women in reproductive age are also vaccinated for Tetanus. A.1.6. Prevention and control of local endemic diseases Some persisting diseases in a community contribute to the burden of disease and are attributable to the increasing morbidity and mortality in many countries. Regular screening and appropriate treatment of these diseases done by skilled healthcare workforce with appropriate health technology are key to the control of them (Wooding, Nagaddya Nakaggwa, 2012). A.1.7. Appropriate treatment of common diseases and injuries This component of primary healthcare deals with the treatment of common diseases and injuries that members of the community suffer. These diseases include common infectious diseases that prevails in the community, skin lesions due to injuries, infections or other disease conditions that affect the skin all of which contribute to the burden of disease. A.1.8.Provision of essential drugs The provision of essential drugs contributes greatly in effective management of common pathological conditions in the community. They are of an utmost importance in preventing and treating diseases which have a greater impact on lives of millions of people around the world. Essential drugs save lives and improve health (Balkan et al., 2013). A.2.Primary healthcare as essential activities based on practical, scientifically sound and socially acceptable methods and technology To achieve its ultimate goal, which is better health for all, primary healthcare should be evidence-guided. Primary healthcare practice has to be based on scientifically-proved methods, techniques, equipments and drugs (World Health Organisation, 1978). To avert health problems, various methods, techniques, equipments and drugs are used in prevention, diagnosis, treatment of diseases and patient rehabilitation once the disease in treated. Selection of health technology to be used has not to be only based on scientific evidences but also on its affordability and acceptability in the context of local value, culture and belief (World Health Organisation, 2011). For example, primary healthcare providers should use those healthcare technologies that enable clients to have access to high quality, safe and cost-effective healthcare. A.3.Primary healthcare should be made universally accessible to individuals and families in the community All members of the community should equally and universally have access to health services regardless of their social economic standing, religion, sex, age, race, language or geographic location and to ensure that it is effectively achieved, the concept of equity should be taken into consideration. The availability of health services itself is not the assurance that the primary healthcare would be successful. There are other components to be addressed to ensure that health services made universally accessible are appropriately used by all members of the community. World Health Organisation (1978) recommended that states government should make use of available resources effectively by increasing the funds allocated for health and firstly giving priority to the extension of primary healthcare to disadvantaged communities. Countries should make sure that all barriers including social economic barriers are properly addressed by reducing exclusion and social economic disparities to help those in need to have access to health services. A.4.Primary healthcare should involve full participation of community members at a cost that the community and the country can afford to maintain at every stage of their development in the spirit of self-reliance and self-determination The participation of communities in primary healthcare care activities forms an integral part in the health system. Central level should take into consideration the role of communities that play in primary healthcare activities planning process. To achieve this, communities have to be enabled to understand their role, especially in primary healthcare strategies and in the development process at community level in general, by providing with them the guidance and the necessary information that they do not have at their level. Once community members fully understand the part they play in the national primary healthcare strategy and in the overall development process at community level, then they are able to give their contribution in the formulation of primary healthcare programmes by examining themselves the health problems that they face in their community, setting priorities, adjusting national solutions to their local communities and organising themselves and put in place support an d control mechanisms (World Health Organisation, 1978). Also, the effectiveness of primary healthcare depends on the use of means that are affordable and acceptable by both the community and the country. The necessity of involvement of other health system components and other sectors that contribute to general countrys social economic development is of paramount importance in the implementation of primary healthcare programmes as health cannot be attained by the health sector alone (World Health Organisation, 1978).The linkage between primary healthcare and other sectors in the context of community development needs a coordinated effort in planning process at the community level. The joined effort from various community development stakeholders results in a sort of collaboration which has a greater impact on primary healthcare. As an illustration of the above, malnutrition reduction programme in less than five should involve community members, healthcare workers, and agricultural worker as they might have the key information that can help in planning process. Additionally, community members can actively participate in the implementation of some components of the programme jointly with other development initiatives from other social economic development sectors. B.GAPS AND LESSONS DRAWN FROM THE CONCEPTUALISATION OF PRIMARY HEALTHCARE IN RWANDA The implementation of primary healthcare in Rwanda has been proven to be effective in recent years. Despite the four years of civil war and genocide that left more than one million of people dead, thousands of hundreds displaced and health system totally collapsed, Rwanda has made remarkable progress in improving the health status of its population (Rodriguez Samuels, 2011). The above remarkable progress is imputable to various factors including ambitious political will that predominantly played in key. Health sector reforms which included community health insurance commonly known as mutuelle de santà © and a boost of health services done by providing the incentives to healthcare staff through performance-based financing schemes have also been a cornerstone in the achievements of such results. Furthermore, strong leadership, strong health policies together with involvement of community health workers in participatory decentralisation and effective coordination of donations from health and development partners have been implemental in implementation of primary healthcare strategies. B.1.Lessons to be leant Primary healthcare conceptualisation and implementation, in Rwanda case, offers great lessons to be learnt for future primary healthcare initiatives either in Rwanda itself or elsewhere in the world mostly in resources-limited countries. Rodriguez and Samuels (2011) highlighted that putting in place a strong leadership and accountability mechanisms at all levels, involvement and creation of ownership of health services seekers, collaboration of all stakeholders in planning process supported by evidence-based policies are more likely to help in achieving the desired outcomes of primary healthcare as it has been shown for Rwandas experience. B.2.Gaps In spite of the above mentioned remarkable achievements that Rwanda has made in implementation of primary healthcare, there is still chasm to be addressed.

Essay --

L’Chaim Bravery can be defined in many different ways, but it is not usually defined by an entire country. During World War Two, the entire country of Denmark decided that they would not submit to Hitler and aid him in the extermination of the Jewish people, or â€Å"The Final Solution.† Denmark is the only example of a country that was unwilling to succumb to the Nazi ideology and actively resist the regime. Through various resistance movements and strikes, the Danes were able to communicate to the Germans that they were not welcome and that their principles would not be accepted. The country of Denmark is situated directly over Germany. Though it was not considered a major conquest by Hitler, it was valuable due to its location near Norway. The country of Denmark was considered so unimportant that the Germans considered excluding it from â€Å"The Final Solution† during the Wannsee Conference. The â€Å"Jewish problem† in Denmark seemed very insignificant compared to other countries considering that there were only seven thousand and five hundred Jews to the four million Danes. Regardless, Denmark was occupied by the Germans on April 9, 1940. The German influence on the Danish government and people was very small. The Danes were able to maintain their own government with the Germans only dictating the foreign policies. The people were hardly affected as well, including the Jews. The Jewish people were able to continue with worship services and daily life as usual. The Jewish people were also exempt from wearing the Star of David, registering as Jews, or leaving their houses and relinquishing businesses. One of the main opposers of the German occupation was the king of Denmark himself, King Christian X. From his unarmed, unescorted rides t... ...s. Theresienstadt was liberated by the Soviets on May 9, 1945 after the camp was handed over to the International Red Cross. Around fifty Danish people died during the internment in the concentration camp. Around four hundred and fifty survived. Denmark has been honored for their bravery by several different monuments, such as a monument in Israel of a boat that was done on the twenty-fifth anniversary of the rescue. There is also a boat that was used for the transportation to Sweden in the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Israel. Copenhagen has a monument with a large inscription in both Danish and Hebrew that was a gift from the Israeli people. The autumn of 2013 marked the seventieth anniversary of the rescue of the Danish Jews. May we always remember the courage of a country devoted to seeing past the labels placed on people and seeing them as individuals instead.

The Civil Rights in the 1950s and 60s :: American America History

The Civil Rights in the 1950's and 60's (1) Trumans civil rights committee: In 1947 Trumans Civil Rights Committee recommended laws protecting the right of African Americans to vote and banning segregation on railroads and buses. It also called for a federal law punishing lynching. He issued executive orders ending segregation in the armed forces and prohibiting job discrimination in all government agencies. (2) Brown V. the Board of Education (1954): In 1954 the Supreme Court made one of the most important decisions in its long history. It decided in the case of Brown v. Board Of Education of Topeka that it was unconstitutional for states to maintain separate schools for African American and white children. This case over turned the "Separate but equal" doctrine established in the case of Plessy v. Ferguson back in 1896. (3) Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955): After the supreme court decided to end segregation, African Americans started to speak out more about their racial opinions. In Montgomery, Alabama, a bus boycott ended with a victory for the African Americans. The Supreme Court ruled that the Alabama segregation laws were unconstitutional. During the boycott a young African American Baptist minister, Martin Luther King, Jr. became well known. Throughout the long contest he advised African Americans to avoid violence no matter had badly provoked by whites. Rosa Parks tired of sitting in the back of the bus, and giving up her seat to white men. One weary day she refused to move from the front of the bus, and she became one of history's heroes in the Civil Rights Act movement. (4) The Civil Rights Act: In 1964 congress passed a Civil Rights Act prohibiting racial discrimination in restaurants, theaters, hotels, hospitals, and public facilities of all sorts. This civil rights act also made it easier and safer for Southern Blacks to register and vote. Laws were passed to help poor people improve their ability to earn money, a program to give extra help to children at risk even before they were old enough to go to school, and a program to train school dropouts. (5) The Great Society: These actions were very popular. Johnson easily won the 1964 presidential election and then proposed what he called the Great Society program. This was Johnson's plan. He would work to improve the lives of all people, but especially the poor and the powerless. Programs were aimed at helping every segment in society. The Civil Rights in the 1950's and 60's :: American America History The Civil Rights in the 1950's and 60's (1) Trumans civil rights committee: In 1947 Trumans Civil Rights Committee recommended laws protecting the right of African Americans to vote and banning segregation on railroads and buses. It also called for a federal law punishing lynching. He issued executive orders ending segregation in the armed forces and prohibiting job discrimination in all government agencies. (2) Brown V. the Board of Education (1954): In 1954 the Supreme Court made one of the most important decisions in its long history. It decided in the case of Brown v. Board Of Education of Topeka that it was unconstitutional for states to maintain separate schools for African American and white children. This case over turned the "Separate but equal" doctrine established in the case of Plessy v. Ferguson back in 1896. (3) Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955): After the supreme court decided to end segregation, African Americans started to speak out more about their racial opinions. In Montgomery, Alabama, a bus boycott ended with a victory for the African Americans. The Supreme Court ruled that the Alabama segregation laws were unconstitutional. During the boycott a young African American Baptist minister, Martin Luther King, Jr. became well known. Throughout the long contest he advised African Americans to avoid violence no matter had badly provoked by whites. Rosa Parks tired of sitting in the back of the bus, and giving up her seat to white men. One weary day she refused to move from the front of the bus, and she became one of history's heroes in the Civil Rights Act movement. (4) The Civil Rights Act: In 1964 congress passed a Civil Rights Act prohibiting racial discrimination in restaurants, theaters, hotels, hospitals, and public facilities of all sorts. This civil rights act also made it easier and safer for Southern Blacks to register and vote. Laws were passed to help poor people improve their ability to earn money, a program to give extra help to children at risk even before they were old enough to go to school, and a program to train school dropouts. (5) The Great Society: These actions were very popular. Johnson easily won the 1964 presidential election and then proposed what he called the Great Society program. This was Johnson's plan. He would work to improve the lives of all people, but especially the poor and the powerless. Programs were aimed at helping every segment in society.

Public Relations in Professional Sports Essay example -- Professional

Public Relations in Professional Sports "If industry is to be successful in dealing with public opinion . . . it must learn the language of the people, it must consider the study of public opinion as important as any phase of its operations. It must recognize that public opinion can be measured, and utilize the increasingly scientific methods developing today for gauging it"(Ross) PR today, has undergone a massive restructuring and organization and is now gaining recognition worldwide. An offshoot of this is PR in sports. The sports industry in the U.S. generates $213 - $350 billion a year as revenues and is growing by the day (ESPN). Everyone tries to cash in on their benefits. Sports PR have come a long way. Today it is far more dynamic and complex. Public Relations is a very broad industry, serving a wide variety of institutions in society such as businesses, trade unions, government agencies, voluntary associations, foundations, hospitals, schools, colleges, and sports teams. Sports in the last fifty years have changed an amazing amount. It used to be just two teams playing against each other strictly for the love of the sport and for the enjoyment of the few people in attendance. As time went on and attendance and interest in professional sports grew so did the cash flow. Teams began adding more coaches as well scouts. It became obvious that a font office staff was needed to take care of the day to day operations of sports teams. In the 1940s baseball owner Bill Veeck changed the games even more when he promised the game to be the least exciting part of the evening. He hosting Ladies’ Night, Fireworks Fridays, and a Disco Demolition Night in which he blew up a pile of old records, Veeck brought sports into a new era (Veeck & Linn, 1962). Bill Veeck was the first true PR man in sports. He sold out stadium after stadium, in several different cities. The sports PR which Bill Veeck started has now evolved and is a much different brand of PR then every other industry. In order for an Athletic team to have effective PR, they require very large in-house staffs which are very diverse in there job descriptions and responsibilities. The first and broadest group is the basic public relations staff. The basic public relations staff takes care of the basic day to day of the organization. They are the people who write and release the updates on the team to ... ...Bernie Parent spoke to the sell-out crowd of 17,000 while Pelle’s #31 hung in black above the ice. The spoke about the positives that Pelle gave Philadelphia and there was no mention of alcohol. The PR director at the time, Joe Kadlac made sure that Pelle’s death would not look bad on the team for allowing him to drink and drive but instead showed he was a team player. A fan in the upper level had a sign that simply read, â€Å"Get Pelle’s Name On The Cup, Its His Last Chance.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Public Relations are a critical part of sports. It is what puts people in the seats pays the athletes and builds the stadiums. Public Relations are what make sports what it is today. If it were not for today’s ever changing public relations industry sports would not be what they are today. Sources Bill Veeck with Ed Linn, â€Å"Veeck--As in Wreck†, G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1962 The Baseball Library T.J. Ross, The Public Relations Problem of Industry, American Management Series (New York, 1937), pp. 6--9. Crafting the national pastime's image: The history of major league baseball public relations William B Anderson. Journalism and Communication Monographs. Columbia: Spring 2003. Vol. 5, Iss. 1; pg. 5

Conflict Resolution in Office Romance Essay

Conflict is inevitable. It is a normal way of life. How we as individuals perceive each other depends on our ability to effectively resolve problems and how we cope with managing change. Some of us are unable to adapt to change therefore, it is expected that conflict will occasionally occur. There are different types of conflict that occur in our daily lives as well as in the workplace. However, the topic I choose to discuss as part of this conflict resolution paper is office romance that causes conflict. As we all are aware office romance is very common today in our society. It is no secret that people often find love on the job. There is a level of comfort and closeness that we share with our subordinates that we sometimes tend to fall in love with them. Office romance is dependent on a number of factors. Office romance can have both positive and negative effects on the working environment as well as work performance. It can cause conflict in the workplace, especially if it is a supervisor-subordinate relationship. It can affect the productivity of employees and may lead to sexual harassment and other claims. It can make co-workers uncomfortable and it can be dangerous because it can lead to conflict within the organization. Accusations of favoritism may occur and it may hinder the work performance of the parties involved as well as the co-workers. After analyzing the office romance that took place within the organization and the impact on which it had on employees, the recommended course of action to resolve the actual conflict that will make a difference to the future performance of the organization is to educate the employees on the issue of office romance. Develop a policy that declares what managers expect when it comes to office romance. The parties that are involved give them options such as disclosing the relationship to their boss and deciding who will leave the job if it gets too tough to handle and the parties do not want to terminate the relationship. Explain to them the actions that management will take if they do not solve the issue themselves. Enforce the rules on sexual harassment and office romance. Although, management cannot prohibit office romance, there are steps that they can take to ensure that it does not become a problem in the workplace, thus hiring a consultant that will help solve the issue is a good idea.

Helios Essay

The author makes a point that the corporations should look to the city of Helios for new business opportunities or a new location. Author makes this point on the evidence that the unemployment in the city has been lower when compared to the regional average and that it has historically provided more manufacturing jobs than its share of the region. Further, the author says that Helios is attemption to expand its economic base by attracting companies to focus on Research an developmen of innovative technologies. However, the evidence provided by the author does not straight away lead to the conclusion that the corporations should consider Helios as a new location for seeking business opportunity. The following paragraphs explains how the evidence is not sufficient and the assumption incorrect. Firstly, the author states that the unemployment rate was lower in Helios when compared to the regional average. However, Helios being a industrial center of a particular region, its unemployement rate can’t be compared with the region, but shall be compared with other developed cities. Further, author states that Helios has provide more than its share of region’s manufacturing jobs. It fails to provide the information regarding its share of jobs in other sectors. The author wrongly assumes that the high share of jobs in manufacturing sector as a representative of its share of total jobs. Further, unemployment rate and high share of manufacturing jobs are not the criterions that corporations look for when investing in a new location. The author should have provided some other information which corporations look for in order to make a more logical conclusion. Further, author states that Helios is attempting to expand its economic base by attracting companies that focus on research and development of innovative technologies. Author fails to state what is being offered by Helios to attract the corporations. Author once again fails to provide complete information. Author must have stated the various schemes, stimulus packages, tax exemptions, land allocation etc which could be offered to the companies if they invest in Helios. Thus, the author does not provide valid evidences and complete information in order to evaluate the argument putforth. Author should provide additional specific and relvant information so that corporation can evaluate whether to invest in Helios or not.

Research Paper in Communication Studies

Research Paper in Communication Studies Proposal The Role of Blogs in the Media Environment Nowadays, blogs take a more and more important role in the media environment. When they were ? rst considered trends that won’t live long, now even experts ascribe them a major part of todays mass media. But how and in what way do these online platforms actually take in? uence in mass media? What are blogs? „Blogâ€Å" is the short word for Weblog, which is composed of the words â€Å"world wide web† and â€Å"logbook†, so a blog can be understood as an Internet diary.The writer of a blog, named â€Å"blogger† is characterized by writing the â€Å"blogposts†, which are the entries on the blog. He tells stories or gives opinion on something, mostly on a speci? c topic the blog is about. In comparison to a website, a blog as (more or less) regular entries, which are sorted chronically. The newest entry is on the top while the older ones are at the bottom or sorted in an archive. 1 History of blogs The ? rst blogs developed in the late 1990‘s. The word â€Å"Blog† was ? rst used by Jorn Bager, in 1997. He was one of the ? rst people, who regularly wrote something on a web page in the Internet and called this thing a blog.When he was looking for similar sites to his one, he created a list of 23 blogs existing on the web. Within a few years, the number of blogs increased rapidly. According to estimates, there were approximately 173 million of blogs on the Internet in October 2011, with a tendency going upwards. 2 1 2 http://dictionary. reference. com/browse/blog http://www. nielsen. com/us/en/newswire/2012/buzz-in-the-blogosphere-millions-more-bloggersand-blog-readers. html Research Paper in Communication Studies The role of blogs Blogs developed from internet-diarys to platforms talking about speci? themes and topics of any kind. Though they basically consist on personal opinion, they take a more and more important role in today’s media. Especially in the fashion world, blogs are taking over. Even the big designers sent out invitations to international bloggers to sit in their front row at the next fashion show. By displaying their own style, fashion bloggers aim to taking the „over-the-top-world of fashionâ€Å" down to earth. This way, they show normal people that fashion isn‘t just hold back for the rich ones but something everybody can achieve and express themselves with.This may be one of the reasons why fashion bloggers became so important. Blog begun as platforms to tell the world what happens in your everyday live but now seem to evolve to some reliable sources to get inspiration or information from the Internet. Maybe this is why running a blog also seems like becoming to etiquette: Almost every company has a separated company blog. Even broadcasting platforms like CNN3 or BBC4. Once you google the word â€Å"blog†, 100 of platforms to start an own blog will pop up. Also at the ? rst page: The company blogs from twitter and google itself.Research questions So what is the big thing about blogging? Does blogs really have an remarkable impact on todays media world? And if so, why? In my research paper, I will try to answer these questions and look behind the facade. Is blogging really more then something hip and cool and a trend you want to follow? Is it possible for them to remain in the quick changing world of the Internet? How is it possible that even big companies started own blogs and update them regularly? Apart from the fact that blogs DO exist and get more and more important, there is the question in what kind of way they do.Is it just extra information or are they as reliable as 3 4 http://edition. cnn. com/exchange/blogs/ http://www. bbc. co. uk/blogs/ Research Paper in Communication Studies radio and TV are seen nowadays? Does information shown on blogs is comparable to information shown elsewhere? What actual role do they play in t odays media? I will also try to give a forecast about the role of blogs within the media in the near and later future. Will they remain in the media or soon be replaced by some new trend? Research Paper in Communication Studies SourcesPrint: – Nielsen, Jakob (2007): Blogosphere. In: Information World Review, Issue 236, p. 30-30, 3/4p. – Hogg, Nanette; Lomicky, Carol S. ; Hossain, Syed A. (2008): Blogs in the Media Environment: A Content Analysis of the Knowledge Stage in the Diffusion of an Innovation. Web Journal of Mass Communication Research. Internet: – http://www. wired. com/entertainment/theweb/news/2007/12/blog_anniversary – http://www. rebeccablood. net/essays/weblog_history. html – http://www. nielsen. com/us/en/newswire/2012/buzz-in-the-blogosphere-millions-morebloggers-and-blog-readers. html

Ambassadors in Pinstripes

Review of Ambassadors in Pinstripes: The Spalding World Baseball Tour and the Birth of the American Empire Thomas Zeiler, the author of Ambassadors in Pinstripes: the Spalding World Baseball Tour and the Birth of the American Empire, entertains and enlightens the reader through a descriptive journey of Albert Spalding’s efforts to introduce a World Baseball Tour. The bulk of Zeiler’s book is based off of periodicals, newspapers, magazines, and guides; which serves as the groundwork for his book.Albert Spalding is known as a leader; a manager of the Chicago White Stockings, a very successful manufacturer of sporting goods, and predominantly as an organizer of tours designed to popularize America’s â€Å"national game† abroad. Spalding’s world tour mission was to send two teams of professional well known players to Australia, Ceylon, Egypt, Europe, and the surrounding areas. His marketing techniques and goals for his all American team to play worldwid e was a model for many industries seeking to establish abroad relations.Sports participation also provides a common ground and is a way to unite without discrimination, such as the warring people of South Africa during the Apartheid. Through this successful tour, Spalding established the pattern of baseball’s close connection with globalization and to let the world know of America’s increasingly ambitious exceptionalism in the world. Sports as a tool of diplomacy came of age in the post-World War I world when it caught the attention of politicians and governments as a channel through which to conduct international relations.Across the globe sports have personified the ideologies of political policies in the 20th century and as we enter the 21st century, sports are becoming an essential part of the toolbox of a country’s public diplomacy. Sport events that host numerous foreign visitors have impacts on a country’s relationship with foreign publics. It†™s why organizations and governments seek to attach themselves to popular figures, teams, and events that enhance their standings in the eyes of others.The Olympics for example serves as a way to bring world nations together through international sports competitions and encourages further engagement, often in the form of economic benefits through participation and hosting. London is currently hosting the Olympics this year and in preparation back in 2009 the event was predicted to â€Å"provide economic gold at a time of economic need,† however hosting the Olympics is an extremely costly business with the upgrades, new sports facilities, and security that it will cost much, much more than expected.Spalding’s World Baseball Tour laid the roots of the new empire and exemplified the United States onto the world stage. It highlighted our country’s economic growth, the search for overseas markets, improvements in communication and transportation, and the rising cul tural interactions. Thomas Zeiler’s main emphasis is on the baseball players and their entourage as â€Å"tourists† who helped disperse American culture abroad and brought global influences back to their homelands.Thomas Zeiler concluded that because of the immense impact of the World Tour, it was the process of globalization of baseball that laid the structure of the growing American identity. Baseball was used to sell and export the American way. The game associated itself with the values of the American dream. In America’s foreign diplomacy, baseball was used to promote patriotism and nationalism. Sports have shown it has the power to heal old wounds. Sport in South Africa during the Apartheid, kept the multiple races and cultures that make up South Africa apart for nearly a century.Apartheid was a system of racial segregation enforced by white Afrikaners, who were the minority, over the indigenous majority. Rugby was the sport that took a mental toll on all South Africans and played a larger part in the victory of the anti-apartheid movement. The Rugby World Cup was one of the key moments that shaped the world’s impression of the new South Africa. The Rugby World Cup contributed significantly to the return of foreign investment in South Africa and strengthening of trade and other economic links that had been destroyed through the policies of apartheid and the subsequent boycotts and restrictions.The development of the industrialization and the use of resources from across the world created a gateway for Americans. Spalding’s initial mission paved the way for global integration opened the door to the sensational play of foreign participants in America’s national pastime. The mass appeal of sports like baseball provides the United States with a social â€Å"olive branch. † Baseball diplomacy helps break the ice between nations that are separated by cultural differences, monetary discrepancies and educational v ariances.Sports are relevant to the study of foreign relations because it is fundamentally concerned with power, and our sports culture that is driven by the media, boasted by advertising, bankrolled by industrialists, that it’s reflective of American society. It has played a huge role in projecting American influence abroad. Sports purpose is no longer limitied to entertainment; it is often intermingling with trade, business, and politics. Hopefully sports will continue as a feature of modern life that connects people and continents together.