Policing in the United States Essay

Does homeland security issues influence the way police enforce the law? Please give an example. I agree with the statement that homeland security issues do influence the way the police enforce the law. My reasons for doing so will make most people agree with me. If a country is very strict about its homeland security issues example the United States after the 9/11 attacks, the police will have a more autocratic role to play. In contrast to this, a country which is seemingly lax about its security issues such as India (where policemen are not equipped with weapons but with sticks to deal with any anomaly in the law and order situation) or even the United States before the September 11 attacks, will see the police play more of a peace keeping role than a reformatory and punishing one. If the country is at high risks from terrorists, policemen will be influenced such that they will be more stringent in their duty performance, will check every suspicious person or suspicious looking immigrant etc. similarly, if the country is at risk from bomb threats or hijacking threats, the policemen will be more then strict in the performance of their duties. So the circumstances of a country do affect police enforcement of the law. An apt example over here (if an example of a country other then the US can be given) can be given of Pakistan and the emergency it imposed in November 2007. The police were given sweeping powers such that they could arrest people without proper investigation all in the name of maintaining proper law and order in the country (Thomas , 2006). Does Policing in the United States presents a dilemma between the rights of the individual and the need to maintain public order? Please explain and give an example. To this question, my answer would also be yes. I would say this is mainly because of the September 11 attacks and the big affect it has had on our country’s security. On one hand, the United States condones the rights of individuals and declares human beings’ sanctity to be above that of the Higher Being. But on the other hand, its law enforcement methods, particularly in regards to immigrants, especially Muslims, leave a lot to be desired. If the Human Rights act gives everyone permission to freely practice their religions, then this country has no right to subject certain people to greater suspicion only on the basis of their religion (Anthony, 2001). Similarly, the rights of an individual grant him the freedom to live his life as he seems fit. At the same time, police often interrupt bar room brawls and arrest drunkards. So this is not following the human rights act to its letter. An example of this conflict between the rights of individuals and the need to maintain public law and order is of the Guantanamo Bay detention camp on the shore of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Rights of individuals are abused there such as keeping them in indefinite detention, torture, beatings, locking in confined cells and sleep deprivation. But the United States government under George Bush argued that such measures were necessary if the American Public was to sleep safe at night as the men were all dangerous terrorists and criminals. Now President Obama has ordered the detention camp to be closed but it is still an apt example when discussing the above statement. Q3: How does the era of Homeland security affect community policing? Please explain and give an example. Community policing involves expansion of police functions and no longer a stress on traditional police duties. It proposes big changes in the way things have always been done including organizational change, liaison with external sources to solve problems and a more proactive approach to solving problems. It deals in many different areas such as school safety where it recommends assigning police officers to schools and educating teenagers on the danger of possessing firearms to police integrity which targeted trust between the community and the police. It was a relatively adequate policy until the disastrous September 11, 2001 attacks where the police were forced to rethink their strategy. They started concentrating more on pressing security concerns and terror attacks and suddenly this Community Policing system was termed inadequate (Wesley , 2003). I disagree with this current policy because in my opinion, Community Policing was a very balanced approach, where service provision, crime control and order maintenance were given equal weight age. It is followed now to a lesser extent because policemen are now too busy addressing security concerns to concern themselves with building a healthy relationship with the community. But seeing the benefits of this method, the country has started adopting it in its spirit again such as the number of people being employed by the US Police Department is steadily increasing over the years. References Book Thomas, F. A. (2006). Police Field Operations. Prentice Hall. Anthony, M. (2001). Public Order and Law . Boydell Press. Wesley, G. S. (2003). Community Policing. Wadsworth Publishing.

Latino Conflict Management

It cannot be argued that the Latinos/Hispanics are now making their presence felt in most facets of American society more specifically in the urban communities and the workplace. This group of people is of Latin American descent with inherent unique ethnic and cultural backgrounds. Due to this difference it is possible that conflicts may arise in their interaction with Americans and other races. In resolving conflicts with Latinos/Hispanics it is important to at first understand situations or behaviors that easily lead to conflicts with them and to know their attitude or personal concept regarding conflicts. In this way effective approaches or strategies   Ã‚  Ã‚  for the resolution of conflict may be undertaken. According to Gabrielidis and et al, â€Å"Some of the most severe problems in intercultural relations arise as a consequence of interpersonal conflicts† (1197, p. 661). The greatest difference in the attitudes between the Latinos/Hispanics with the Americans is that Latinos are   a people who give prime importance to family relationships before other   goals or ideas , obligation to in-groups( family, relatives or people of the same race or cultural and ethnic background)   and the surrendering of   personal interests and needs in favor for the   good of the group or community while the Americans ,on the other hand, adopted a culture of   individualism in which the interests, activities and goals of the individual are top priority. I do not infer here that the Americans do not value family relationships or disregard the interest of others but that it seems that the Latinos placed these issues in higher degree. In the Latino context the innate goodness or uniqueness of a person sometimes do not show itself in their actions or achievements so they emphasized the respect and protection of dignity of a person irregardless of social class while the Americans on the other hand believed that a person can be judged by his actions and achievements. Also while both groups had similar definitions of close friendship, Americans emphasized freedom in the expression of their ideas in the company of a friend and may incline give up the friendship if it stands in the way of   self-expression and the attainment of personal goals while the Latinos emphasized support and expression of feelings and make necessary adjustments in goals to keep the friendship. Understanding this difference will help me put the conflict in proper perspective. Through this I can analyze whether the source of conflict was that if I made a Latino feel that his family or race was unimportant or that I perceived him as a person of lower dignity or status when I attempted to judged him base on what he had accomplished in life or that I made him feel as if it was his fault that he had a low economic status.. Based on what I had researched and observed the Latinos mostly wants to connect with people and as much as possible maintain harmonious relationships with others. In most cases they tend to avoid conflict to the extent that they are non-confrontational. They worry more on â€Å"saving the face â€Å"of family and others so that most of the times they do not say directly what they mean, as a respeto (a Spanish term which means respect to the dignity of the person).This   attitude is very opposite to the frankness of   Americans   in their interaction with others. An example is this, instead of saying that the clothes I wore do not look good on me  Ã‚   they will say that my clothes was not exactly nice but that I still look good wearing it. In resolving conflicts with them it is necessary to adopt this kind of indirect communication or else I may aggravate the situation. For example when I differ with opinions with the Latinos and he seemed to insist that he is right, instead of saying that â€Å"I was not happy at all with his attitude† I may say instead that â€Å"I understand why he acted the way he did and that he meant well but that it is better to listen also to the opinion of others†. In the positive aspect, the idea that Latinos wants to maintain harmonious relationships with others means that they are less likely to initiate conflict and may be open for reconciliation whenever conflict arise. However, it must be remembered that Latino conflict resolution should be appropriate to the setting and must be able to maintain individual pride and honor (Markus & Lin, 1999). Also extra attention must be given to the tone of voice and proper eye contact. In resolving Latino/Hispanic conflicts, there are different styles to be use depending on the ethnic and cultural identity salience of the Latino.   Ã¢â‚¬Å"Ethnic identity† means that he give more importance to his ethnic origin while â€Å"cultural identity†   means â€Å" that he give more importance to the larger culture in whom he is   interacting with which in this   case is   the American culture.   Those with strong American cultural identity prefers integrating (high concern for self and high concern for other; also called â€Å"collaborating†) and   compromising (moderate concern for self and moderate concern for other)   and uses emotionally expressive styles more   Ã‚  as compared to those   with weak cultural identity. Also those with a strong ethnic identity use integrating and accommodating (low concern for self and high concern for other; also called â€Å"obliging) more and third party less than those with weak ethnic identity in conflict styles (Cai & Fink, 2002).   Latinos, on the other hand, with weak cultural identity used avoiding (low concern for self and low concern for other; also called â€Å"withdrawing†) more than other ethnic groups   irregardless of cultural orientation   perhaps due to the Latino value of respeto and wanting to maintain respect, dignity and harmony   in social situations (Ting-Toomey et al., 2000). Armed with all this knowledge, I am hoping that I will be better equip in handling Latino conflict in the future. REFERENCE Cai, D.A., & Fink, E.L. (2002) Gabrielidis, C., Stephan, W.G., Ybarra, O., Dos Santos Pearson, V.M., & Villareal, L. (1997). Preferred styles of conflict resolution: Mexico and the United States. Journal of Cross- Cultural Psychology,28, 661. Markus, H.R., & Lin, L.R. (1999). Conflict ways: Cultural Diversity in the Meanings and Practicesof Conflict. In D.A. Prentice & D.T. Miller (Eds.), Cultural divides: Understanding and overcoming group conflict (pp. 302-333). New York, NY: Russell Sage Foundation. Ting-Toomey, S., Yee-Jung, K.K., Shapiro, R.B., Garcia, W., Wright, T.J., & Oetzel, J.G. (2000) Ethnic/cultural identity salience and conflict styles in four U.S. ethnic groups. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 24, 47-81.            

Banksy

Who is Banksy? That is what everybody has been asking each other for the last couple of years. Although he is quite famous nobody knows much about him. All we know is his real name might be Robert Banks or Robin Gunningham and he was born in Bristol, but what we do know Banksy is an anonymous England based graffiti artist, film director and painter. He is known for his sarcastic street art and subversive fun combine cheekiness with dark humor with graffiti done in a distinctive stenciling technique. Such artistic works of political and social commentary have been featured on streets, walls, and bridges of cities throughout the world. Banksy's work was born out of the Bristol underground scene which involved teamwork between artists and musicians. According to wall and piece book, banksy was born in 1974 and raised in Bristol, England. The son of a photocopier technician, he trained as a butcher but became involved in graffiti during the great Bristol aerosol boom of the late 1980s. People have different perceptions on what art should be. People often use art as a tool, which helps people express there point of view on life and art has different categories that range from looking at a tree in the bush in depth to a famous piece of painting in the museum or Art gallery. Banksy defines art as something that should be looked at in depth so the person that is looking at the art should look at it longer and in more detail. In the book Wall and Piece book by Banksy artist quotes he is quoted interpreting art as â€Å"The holy grail is to spend less time making the picture than it takes people to look at it. Banksy thinks Art is an amazing way for individuals to express themselves, and people always link it to controversy. Art can be for a person’s individual desire, motivation, or hobby, but it can also be a political message or inspiration for an entire world. A lot of famous artist use there own techniques, styles, and structures in order to implement there ideas into a form of art. An secretive artist from England by the name of Banksy is famous through his notorious and unique forms of art, usually graffiti art, and has inspired many people around the world. They call his work Monkey Parliament is incredible because it is addressing many political issues and creates a different perspective of the world. Although many people have diverse definitions of art, several believe that controversial art is brilliant due to the fact that it portrays symbols that often cannot be expressed in words and exposes a message that can inspire an individual or an entire world in many ways. Is Banksy's work art or vandalism? define:vandalism The willful or malicious destruction, injury, disfigurement, or defacement of any public or private property, real or personal, without consent of the owner or person having control. define:art uman endeavor thought to be aesthetic and have meaning beyond simple description. Includes music, dance, sculpture, painting, drawing, stitchery, weaving, poetry, writing, woodworking, etc. A medium of expression where the individual and culture come together. Based on these two definitions Bansky's work is both art and vandalism. The problem with street art as I see it is that those who mainly consider it vandalism doesn't recognize it as art whereas those who mainly think of it as art more often can recognize it as vandalism as well. I think Banksy does some good for this problem since his pieces often are so thought provoking and technically good. How does Banksy make money while keeping his identity hidden? Banksy has friends that ARE willing to keep his identity secret, they find art dealers that are also willing to trust that the banksy art is the real deal. money to the dealer, from the dealer to the friend. There is no real definition for what is beautiful or appealing to the human eye. Banksy is said to be an artist by some and a graffiti lawbreaker by others. Basically, it is up to the person to define Banksy as someone who is doing the right thing verses doing the wrong thing. Banksy creates his graffiti pictures to make a stand for what he believes is the right way to look at controversial issues. Some people may not like Banksy’s graffiti because they do not have the same views as him. Some people might not like it because graffiti is vandalism and they see no art in vandalism. People who dislike his stencil graffiti art consider Banksy a lawbreaker. I personally believe that Banksy is a unique artist that will make a statement with his art, all the while

Final Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 8

Final - Essay Example classical and human relation approaches towards management. The production of goods or varying products was undertaken solely by workers before the industrial revolution. It means that it was the task of the worker to bring different pieces and parts of a product himself without the aid of machinery. However, with the passage of time, machines took over some of the tasks of the workers. Herein, it should be noted that the workers were still responsible for most of the tasks but the approach towards production changed to a great extent. Industrial revolution broke down the production process of a good in various steps. The advancement of technological infrastructure resulted in large groups working together to produce increased amounts of goods in a very short span of time (Lumley & Wilkinson, 2013). Throughout the process of development of production of goods, the nature of work and the approaches to get the work done also changed drastically. Researchers and management theorists also undertook a number of experiments to find out the impact that the change in working conditions had on the working conditions of the employees as well as their motivation towards getting the work done. It was this era when a boom within the exploration of management theories and paradigms was observed. The major purpose of the management theory was to suggest or recommend business giants to strategically make their employees work for the interests of stakeholders. It involved the manner in which they organized the employees and their tasks. At this point, two distinctive approaches of management were found out that were later termed as classical management theories and human relation theories. Before critically evaluating the purpose of the two different approaches of management, a light will be sh ed on the term management theory (Gallagher, 2012). As discussed above, organizations need a road map or a guiding model when it comes to managing the

Case Study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 22

Case Study - Essay Example be 250days with the total cost for the project being only $1,265,556.20 and an estimation of an increase in the total revenue for the company of between 10-12%. In this memo find attached Gantt chart with a time-line for the completion of the project and the critical path. From the attachment, you will also find our estimated activities with the greatest slack while at the same time a description of the sensitivity network with the points with the milestones and a comparison and contrast of Gantt chart versus a network diagram and a comparison with a schedule table. From the critical path analysis of our diagram, it is evident that the activities falling on the critical path include the Market analysis, Product design, Product design selection and Detailed Product design. Additionally, the other activities will include Test prototypes, the Finalized Product design, the Order production equipment and lastly celebrate. Sensitivity has been defined as the likelihood of the critical path remaining stable during the project completion. Network sensitivity is determined by both the amount of slack non-critical activities and the number of different critical paths. From our analysis, it is evident that the network is not very sensitive since there is only one critical path with the free slack ranging from 20 days to 159 days. The different milestones of the project include product design selection and the finalized product design. The fact that product design selection has multiple predecessors and multiple successors makes it a milestone (MilosÃŒÅ'evicÃŒ , 2003). The project design selection facilitates the narrowing down of the various options to pursue the project to work on. One of the major advantages attributed to the schedule table is its ability to clearly show the total time for the completion of the project and the fact that it clearly indicates the times for late start, late finish, and free slash of each (Timmreck, 2003). The main disadvantage attributed to

Aspect of Leadership Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Aspect of Leadership - Essay Example In the modern age, it is not unusual for a government to be selected by the number of votes, that are a shear representation of the total population in a country. This results in a state of anarchy and is detrimental to the peace and harmony among individuals of a nation. Authenticity of the leader is one of the most basic requirements that maintain followers’ faith in their leader. A leader has to frequently make commitments with his followers because of the tough nature of his job. Authenticity of the leader dawns upon the followers cardinally by compliance of the leader’s actions with his commitments. Authenticity in a leadership can be measured on the scale of certain factors. Compliance of the leader’s actions with prior commitments with his followers, maintenance of consistency in the theme of a leader, and, frequent and open confrontation of the leader with the followers are some of such factors. A leader should be very particular about defining his theme. Theme of a leader serves as a focus of all his progressions. It is imperative that the followers are well educated on the theme of the leader so that they can fully comprehend the leader’s intentions and rationalize his approach towards attainment of the ultimate goal. In addition to that, a leader needs to confess all potential mistakes, that he did unintentionally or that raised doubts among the followers in any manner. These factors solely pertain to the leader in person. A leader also needs to ensure that he ensures the use of authentic means to convey his message to the followers. Followers, act as per th e instructions of their leader and their level of compliance with the leader’s instructions decides for the effectiveness of the leader’s approach. It is, therefore, the leader’s responsibility to ensure that the message that is conveyed to the followers is authentic in all

Globalisation , the World Economy and MNEs Essay - 3

Globalisation , the World Economy and MNEs - Essay Example With increased competition, changing customers and ever changing technology, the fundamental part of RIM’s strategy was to expand the global reach of the Blackberry (Gillete et. al. 2013). RIM had the following options for expansion: RIM needed to further increase its core R&D activities. RIM already had a very successful local hiring strategy in place for this. Continuing with the same and increasing the magnitude would have fit with its existing approach and was also less risky. However, in order to be a global player, it had to look for talent worldwide. Having the same source supplier for new talent would have its limitations. One way was to expand Co-op programs at Waterloo to other universities and to hire more aggressively. The bond between Waterloo and RIM was loyal and reiterating the same loyalty with the other universities could yield desired results. Like other players in the industry RIM posted job openings online but with huge job applications mapping a right candidate to the right team was a tough job. Also, the competitors had a better hiring and on boarding process. RIM lacked a formal system of managing candidates. It needed to come up with an advanced system such as Global Scouting Platform of Microsoft to find the best talent worldwide. RIM had started expanding R&D and development centers at various locations and had the option to add more locations. However, the locations had to be strategic and the cost of resources had also to be taken into account. While expanding RIM had certain selection criteria while choosing new product and development sites such as having talented individuals, universities with strong technical programs and preferred base of software and hardware companies. However, the decentralization could lead to increased bureaucracy and add to management costs of the company. In past RIM had done some acquisitions which were

Effects of National Culture on the Marketing Strategies Dissertation

Effects of National Culture on the Marketing Strategies - Dissertation Example The paper tells that international business theory begins with trade. Daniels and Radebaugh identified and compared ten types of trading theories. The theories are mercantilism, neomercantilism, absolute advantage, country size, comparative advantage, factor-proportions, product lifecycle, country similarity, dependence, and strategic trade policy. In the factors-proportions theory, there are four defined factors related to each home country. The factors are land, labor, capital, and entrepreneurship. The land is the natural resources associated with the physical boundaries of the country that are used to produce things. Countries without a strong and sufficient land base are forced to engage in international trade in order to obtain needed resources. Labor is the availability of unskilled and semiskilled workers within the country that can be mobilized for production purposes. Capital is the money, machinery, and infrastructure a country possesses. Countries abundant in these areas are considered more developed countries. Entrepreneurship is the creative management and ideas people use to solve problems and find new opportunities. The four factors explain the inherent resources a country possesses that make it attractive for trade, and therefore, international business. The theory is that "differences in a country's proportionate holdings of factors of production explain differences in the costs of the factors and that export advantages lie in the production of goods that use the most abundant factors."

Southern Baptist Church Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Southern Baptist Church - Essay Example She being in the image of God as her husband and thus equal to him has the God-given responsibility to respect her husband and to serve as his helper in managing the household and nurturing the next generation." Another part of the document declares emphatically: "the office of pastor is limited to men as qualified by Scripture." To some church members, SBC is living in the past. Thus, at least 10 faculty members of the Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary and an unknown number of educators from five other SBC seminaries have reportedly left or were forced out of their jobs for refusing to sign the church document. Indeed, the women's fight for equality has come a long way since the Suffragists won the right to vote such that the meaning of women's "submission" to men may have changed significantly over time (Melick, 1998). Now, it is considered right and just for women to serve in the military, work in underground mines or fly an airplane (Hosken, 1981). Does the SBC edict agai nst women pastors belong to the dark ages when the prevailing culture expected women to be subordinate to men and very few women were as well educated as men The SBC in its Baptist Faith and Message acknowledges its commitment to gender equality, pointing out that men and women are of equal worth before God since both are created in God's image. Thus, both men and women are qualified for service in the church. However, the church maintains that the position of pastor is limited to men and women can only serve as helpers, the same way 10 of the 16 helpers in Paul's ministry were women as noted in the Apostle's letter to the Romans. According to SBC, its position on women pastors complies with the explicit teachings of the Scripture, which does not support the practice of allowing women to serve as pastors (Melick, 1998). On this subject, the SBC cited three reasons: 1) there were no women pastors in the New Testament times; 2) none of the instructions regarding church order include instructions for women pastors; and 3) some texts on church order explicitly forbid women to occupy the position of pastor. In effect, the church acknowledges that women have the same rights and privileges as men but in the same breath say that a woman cannot occupy a man's position, which at a glance seems to be contradictory. The church maintains that there is no contradiction here, as there is no contradiction when Paul in 1 Timothy 2:12 affirms the equality of men and women in salvation but equally and just as clearly affirms the priority of men in church leadership. In addition, the Bible says marriage is to be a companionship of equals (Genesis 2:24) and husband and wife have equal value as persons (Galatians 3:28). Nonetheless, the Scripture teaches a hierarchy of responsibilities, which is necessary for creation, time and our humaneness (SBC, 2000). In this organizational hierarchy, everyone needs to submit to someone else to maintain human order. The wife submits to her husband, while the husband submits to Jesus, who in turn submits to God. Each of them should then treat those who submit to them with respect. In this connection, Ephesian

A Helpful Hybrid in Search of Integrity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

A Helpful Hybrid in Search of Integrity - Essay Example Also, there is an abstract, a â€Å"descriptive summary,† at the beginning of this article that has an overall â€Å"sober look† – characteristics that define a scholarly work (ibid., 2011). There is proper in-text referencing and also a comprehensive bibliography at the end of this article, which again is an indication that this is a scholarly resource (ibid., 2011). In the first page itself, there is a description about â€Å"the affiliations† of the author, which suggests that this article is written by a scholar â€Å"who has done research in the field (ibid., 2011). The language of the article is also highly specific to the area of research, which demands certain level of background information from the reader so as to understand it properly. This is yet another indication of it being a scholarly resource. In the review of the previous literature section, this article has reported original past works in the field and has also carried out certain orig inal analysis of the topic. The article published by The Economist (2011) and titled â€Å"Business: The View from the Top, And Bottom; Corporate Culture,† is not a scholarly resource and the source it was published in can be described only as a â€Å"substantive news and general interest† periodical as is classified by the Cornell University website (ibid., 2011). This article is classified so owing to many reasons, they being: 1) there is no abstract; 2) this article is not peer-reviewed; 3) it is not published by any academic publisher; 4) it has no proper referencing and citation; 5) it is not written by a scholar having done background studies on the topic; 6) it is not the outcome of any original research but is only quoting randomly from a recently done research study (ibid., 2011). There is not even an author to this article and it is evident that it is just a quick summary, in the form of news, of a research work carried out elsewhere. The language of this art icle is meant to address laymen rather than those who have some background information on the topic. The article titled â€Å"A Toy Maker’s Conscience† and authored by Jonathan Dee (2007) is not a scholarly resource either. It has been published in a â€Å"substantive news and general interest† periodical such as New York Times (ibid., 2011). A journalist employed by the periodical has written the article and there is no information given on what past research experience on the topic the author has. The very format of this essay does not comply with research writing as there is no abstract given, and there is neither citation of past research work on the topic nor original experimentation or analysis carried out on the topic apart from some personal observations and comments. This article is not peer-reviewed (â€Å"Evaluating Sources,† 2009). The language of the article is meant for light reading and there is nothing serious or scholarly about this artic le. The interview taken and included in this article does not follow the research interview format and the analysis and conclusions made form these interviews do not follow any research methodology. The photograph and advertisements included in the designing of the page in which the article is displayed also suggest that this is not a scholarly resource (â€Å"Distinguishing Scholarly Journals from Other Periodicals,† 2011). The article entitled â€Å"75 Years of Lessons Learned: Chief Executive Officer Values and Corporate Social Responsibility† and authored by Carol-Ann Tetrault Sirsly (2009), which was published in the Journal of Management History, is a scholarly resource because it is peer-reviewed (ibid., 2011). The Journal of Management History, in which it is published, is a peer-reviewed journal and is listed

The Use of Isotopes in Medicine Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The Use of Isotopes in Medicine - Essay Example Majority of the chemical elements that exist on earth have multiple isotopes (Gagne, Leonard and Rivard, 2012). However, it is only that a single isotope gains dominance due to its abundant nature than the rest. Mostly, atoms are defined using their mass numbers (protons + neutrons) and this number is added to their chemical symbol as a subscript. Atom stability of the nucleus depends greatly on the protons to neutrons ratio. Isotopes have two classifications: the stable ones which do not change with time and the ones that possess a ratio that makes them unstable allowing them to change their mass numbers (Ling, et al, 2012). Stable isotopes have a constant concentration in the environment, though their distribution keeps on changing depending on the environmental preferences. Unstable isotopes decay with time through a process called radio-activity and assume different states. For instance, over a period of time it has been found that carbon – 14 decays into carbon – 1 2. Bonfils, et al., (2012) explains that some isotopes are more active than others and are more likely to decay faster than others until they attain stability. Fortunately, this rate of decay can be predicted or even measured hence can be used age determination. Used In Diagnosis Isotopes, especially radio-isotopes are widely being used in medicine to carry out nuclear examinations. Nuclear medicine is a scientific branch in medicine that employs the use of radiations to provide more information to the human body’s organic functioning or disease treatment (Jodal, Le Loirec & Champion, 2012). Through this information collected a proper and accurate diagnosis is given regarding a patient’s illness. Diagnostic techniques in most cases use tracers which are radioactive in nature for the body to release gamma rays. These tracers are short-lived but are judged with the role of checking particular physiological processes. The tracers can be administered orally or through inje ctions after which a camera is used to detect them. Gagne, Leonard, and Rivard (2012) assert that through the radiations being caused by the tracers, a doctor can examine the image produced by the camera and identify where the exact problem lies. Let us have a look at the PET scan where a radionuclide is injected into a body of a patient and concentrated in the tissue targeted (Jodal, Le Loirec & Champion, 2012). As the radionuclide decays, it emits positrons whose combination with electrons gives gamma rays emission that can be identified easily. Through the PET camera, their original direction can be studied and the affected organ be identified. The most commonly used isotopes in this study are fluoride- 18 which is used as an oncology tracer. It is the most effective method used in cancer examinations as well as heart and brain cell examinations. These scans have improved the diagnosis by almost 30%, providing critical information regarding the various types of diseases (Ling, et al., 2012). They can also be used to detect malfunction of organs through the speed of isotope movement. Use of Isotopes in Radionuclide Therapy (RNT) This is the art of controlling or even getting rid of the cancer tumor by using radionuclide radiations (Rana, et al, 2012). The tumor is irradiated through a process known as teletherapy, which is performed by emitting a beam of gamma rays from a radioactive source called cobalt-60. However, the

Corporate background Essay Example for Free

Corporate background Essay The Body Shop International plc is a well-known brand in beauty care or cosmetics industry since the company stick to their string commitment or philosophy of developing and producing the natural and ethical beauty care and cosmetics product. The Body Shop was established in 1976 in UK by Dame Anita Roddick although some analysts see that the copy of The Body Shop brands from local entrepreneur in California, USA (The Body Shop International plc, 2008a). Currently, after the 30-year journey as well-known cosmetic product, The Body Shop already expands their services and retail shops in more than 55 countries with over 2,100 stores. Currently, while keep developing products continuously, the Body Shop already has more than 1,200 kind of natural-ingredient products (The Body Shop International plc, 2008a; Pirkayastha and Fernando, 2008). One competitive advantage that the Body Shop has is the awards that the company receives for their commitment of developing cosmetic products without conducting test on animals. The company becomes the first company that awarded the Humane Cosmetics Standard for our Against Animal Testing policy. Furthermore, The Body Shop’s philosophy also underlying their action to conduct a Community Trade, their fair trade program, resulting in the company’s complete strategy to trade fairly. To date, The Body Shop already conducts community trade programs with 31 suppliers that spanned in 24 countries, which represent more than 15,000 people across the globe (The Body Shop International plc, 2008a; Pirkayastha and Fernando, 2008). Figure 1 the Body Shop Source: http://images. businessweek. com/ss/05/10/index_awards/image/bodyshop-2. jpg 1. Marketing Strategy of Body Shop 1. 1 Issues in Cosmetic Industry In developing marketing strategy, a company should analyze their competitive position in the respective market by analyzing the potential market of products and the moves and actions of competitors. One aspect in determining the competitive position is the capability of a company to deal with issues in respective industry in appropriate manner. In attracting the consumers, especially women, a cosmetic and beauty care-producing company usually develops many kinds of product since there are many skin types, each has to be treated in different manner and thus need particular mix of ingredients as well. Since the development may involve the testing, branding/campaign, and regulation compliance; therefore the three components become three issues in the cosmetic industry.   Internet marketing The use of internet as media for product campaign is rising significantly within the last decade. According to a few reports, internet is considered to increase efficiency and product sales for cosmetic companies since the media offer the ability to develop new channel alternative, complementing the existence of retail shops that located in several locations. Amazon. com, for instances, firstly grows from selling book, but turns out today to sell various kinds of cosmetics in their online stores. Interestingly, it is found that the growing internet users have award several cosmetic with raising number of online purchase. In compliance with the internet marketing, The Body Shop also offers special price for customers who bought via their online stores (http://www. thebodyshop-usa. com/bodyshop/). Figure 2 shows the home page of the Body Shop official online store. Figure 2 Online Store of the Body Shop Source: http://www. thebodyshop-usa. com/bodyshop/ †¢ Corporate Responsibility Issues (CSR) Another issue that influences the marketing of cosmetic products is about the propaganda in which many companies involve in the corporate social responsibility (CSR) that found to produce real influence on the cosmetic industry. In addition, such CSR initiative is also driven by government control over the distribution of cosmetic product to comply with specific country’s requirement. In the U. S. , FDA (Food and Drug Administration) become the regulator that monitor the safety standards of cosmetics products in the market (Health Reports Co. UK, 2005). †¢ Animal testing Animal testing also considered as vital issues in cosmetic industry since the rising concerns of public about the humanity has brought significant influence towards the use of animal testing in the development of cosmetic products. F or example, in European Union, where the Body Shop located, announces its decision to ban animal testing on cosmetics products, which immediately raise pros and contras. This regional policy follows the previous policy made in several European countries including the Austria, Netherlands, and Britain in which they have already banned animal testing which means that several cosmetic products are receiving tight supervision on their research and production facilities (The Humane Society, 2005) 1. 2 Branding. The branding factor also highlights The Body Shop strategy in strengthen their awareness by incorporating their philosophy of natural ingredient products. The company’s brand of becoming the cosmetics manufacturer that only use natural ingredients products is strong since it provides customers with an image that The Body Shop develops and sells safe cosmetics, which in line with customers’ concerns of having safety. This is inline with the customers’ preferences, especially women that wants a secure feeling when using cosmetics. The demands are translated into The Body Shop program to use the highest quality natural ingredients. In addition, the company sticks to five values; they are Protect the Planet, Support Community Trade, Against Animal Testing, Defend Human Rights, and Activate Self Esteem (The Body Shop International plc, 2008). Figure 3 The Body Shop Morinaga Products Source: http://www. shinygloss. tv/Moringa%203. jpg Reference: Health Reports Co. UK. (2005). Cosmetic Industry on Notice. (2005). Retrieved March 5, 2009 form http://www.health-reports. co. uk/content/view/52/2 Perner, Lars. n. d. â€Å"Consumer Behavior and Marketing†. Consumer Psychologist Newsletter. San Diego University. Retrieved March 5, 2009 from http://www. consumerpsychologist. com/#Strategy Pirkayastha, Debaprati and Fernando, Rajiv. (2008). Body Shop Brand: Repositioning to Target the ‘Masstige’ Segment and Impacts of its Acquisition by L’Oreal. Icfai Center for Management Research The Body Shop International plc. (2008a). About Us. Retrieved March 5, 2009 from http://www.thebodyshop. com/bodyshop/company/index. jsp;jsessionid=ERFaLulEQWzSEOutEFWERw**. bsbwilapp03-bsprd-app-102? cm_re=themeB-_-Footer-_-About_Us . (2008b). Support Community Trade. Retrieved March 5, 2009 from http://www. thebodyshop. com/bodyshop/values/support_community_trade. jsp The Humane Society. (2005). French Government Challenges EU Cosmetic Directive. Retrieved March 5, 2009 from http://www. hsus. org/animals_in_research/animals_in_research_news/french_government_challenges_eu_cosmetics_directive. html.

Mergers And Acquisitions Of Daimler And Chrysler Management Essay

Mergers And Acquisitions Of Daimler And Chrysler Management Essay Mergers and acquisitions can be value creators or value destroyers, According to Mirvis and Marks (1997), most companies executing MAs perform a perfect job arranging the relative economical and financial traits, providing the fact that they do a remarkable job in managing the upcoming change thereafter. Before conducting an MA analysis, it is important to understand what is meant by the word change. Although there is no universal definition change, as Hughes (2006) says it has been explained in terms of guises, transformation, metamorphosis, evolution, regeneration and transition. The generic definition of change as defined by Hughes (2006) is any alteration in the status quo. The leadership and direction of the process of organizational transformation especially with regard to human aspects and overcoming resistance to change According to Hughes definition and Lwins change model (1951) (Figure 1), the change process will be explored by specifically analysing a famous car industry MA case: Daimler-Chrysler (DCX)  [i]  merger, one brand, two cultures. Figure 1: Lwins change stages [Source: Higgs Rowland, 2005] DaimlerBenz AG of Stuttgart, Germany, and the Chrysler Corporation of Auburn Hills, Michigan, surprised the business world at a press conference in London on May 7, 1998, when they announced their merger of equals made in heaven. This major cross-border transaction, with an equity value of $36 billion, was the largest merger of its kind to date.  [ii]  Robert Eaton and Jà ¼rgen E. Schrempp, co-chairmen of DCX, announced their expectation that this deal would be not only the best strategic merger or the best prepared merger, but also the best executed merger.Whether or not this statement came to be true, is yet to be analyzed in this paper. THE BIG TWO The Mercedes famous three-pointed star that represents its domination of the land, the sea, and the air is now one of the worlds most recognized brands that symbolizes class, style and personality. On the other side, stands Giant yank, Chrysler, carrying the fame of being among the big three in U.S., famously known for producing muscle cars. Pre-merger situation: Daimler In 1926 was founded in Stuttgart, Germany Daimler-Benz, a manufacturer of automobiles, motor vehicles, and engines. Unknown to many, it is already the result of a merger between Benz Cie(founded by Karl Benz) and Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft(founded by Gottleib Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach). The new entity rapidly made its name in motor sports as its cars were regarded as high end race automobiles.  [iii]  [Appendix A] Pre-merger situation: Chrysler The roots of Chrysler Corporations go back to 1925, when the American car manufacturer, Maxwell Motor Company is recognized into Chrysler Corporation by Walter P. Chrysler  [iv]  . Along with GM and Ford, Chrysler made the powerful triangle of the biggest car manufacturers in U.S. The Corporations was- back in mid 1990s- nothing less than the most profitable car producer in the world.  [v]  In 1997, the company even reached a peak in terms of market shares in the U.S., at an impressive figure of 23%. [Appendix A] Chrysler had always known itself to be a blue collar, bold Yank. It was able to survive a bankruptcy during the Second World War, and this state was stabilized by its boom- bust cash flows. THE RATIONALE FOR A MERGE OF EQUALS In order to maintain with the speed of an external change, the easiest way that an organization should adopt is to take advantage of internal change accordingly. It must increase its intercommunication by putting out as many feelers as possible to bring a collective view of the constantly shifting situation into the organization. Getting ready for a change, Unfreezing the present situation is the first step recognized by Lewin, it is described as the state of preparation for change and preventing any possible resistance  [vi]  . Taking into account the push factors for change, Chrysler CEO, Eaton, convinced his empire that they need a partner to blow the caution in this dog-eat-dog market, by telling a story. Yet, his mental cognitions in making sense of his environment and ending up in merge decision, was one of its own kind, owning one fourth of the whole American market share, Chrysler was among the big three is U.S., and the position was royal enough for Eaton not to buy more troubles for the company, however, international reach was his goal in this story, this is how he made sense of the merger: Bob Eaton, Chrysler CEO, gave the speech of his life at company headquarters in Auburn Hills, Michigan on July the 17th. 1997  [vii]  . Instead of revelling in four years of rapid growth, he warned of trouble brewing on the horizon. His urgent oratory, adapted from the nonfiction bestseller The Perfect Storm  [viii]  , a tale of three fishermen caught at the confluence of three potent storms off the Canadian coast, warned that a triad of identical elements posing a threat to demolish Chrysler.  [ix]   Daimler-Benz, meanwhile, standing on the reverse position, was looking for a soul-mate. Despite a booming U.S. economy, its luxury vehicles had captured less than 1% of the American market.  [x]  Its vehicle production method was particularly labor intensive requiring nearly twice as many workers per unit produced over Toyotas Lexus division. It recognized that it could benefit from an economy of scale in this capital-intensive industry. With $2.8 billion in annual profits, remarkable efficiency, low design costs, and an extensive American dealership network, Chrysler appeared to be the perfect match. Having Chrysler, looking for his share from the European market pie, on one hand, and Daimler, seeking for attractive U.S. market on the other hand, the merger between two giants made sense. On May 7th. 1998, Eaton announced that Chrysler would merge with Daimler-Benz. Daimler-Benz CEO Jà ¼rgen Schrempp hailed the merge as a merger of equals, a merger of growth, and a merger of unprecedented strength.  [xi]   When he rang the bell at the New York Stock Exchange to inaugurate trading of the new stock, Daimler-Chrysler (DCX), Eaton predicted, Within five years, well be among the Big Three automotive companies in the world.  [xii]   Only three years later DCXs market capitalization stands at $44 billion, roughly equal to the value of Daimler-Benz before the merger  [xiii]  and Chrysler Groups share value has been descending by one-third, compared to the pre-merger situation. Chrysler was bleeding cash unlike the Mercedes.  [xiv]   CHANGE ANALYSIS (Post-merger issues-The rationale for the failure) A SPECTACULAR FAILURE MAs in this scale are inherently complicated, Kiefer (2004) asserts changes of greater complexity are likely to generate more negative and more intense emotions and more resistance (George and Jones, 2001), and therefore require more careful management. Seemingly, DCX underestimated this matter. Only 2 years before Daimler-Chrysler divorce a journalist declared: One of the greatest unions in history burst inward soon after the merge.  [xv]   Why? Unlike what has been communicated to both parties staff, it has not been the merger of equals from the start, the kick start negotiations best proved this fact. Eaton, settled huge agreements and compromises all the way of negotiations. The residency, brand, he even agreed to be a co-chairman which led to a massive crisis in the history of American leadership. German won more bonuses and their dominance were clear which was opposing the virtue of a merger, making it more sound like an acquisition. They were not negotiation the compromises, Chrysler have been compromised only. [Appendix B] Later, Schrempp did not hesitate to state in the German Press: What happened to the dynamic, can-do cowboy culture that I bought?  [xvi]   CULTURAL CLASH On paper, Daimler-Chrysler was the perfect match: German engineering with American marketing, but German culture and American culture dilemma took over the success scenario. [Appendix C]. Burnes (1996) reconfirms Schwartz and Davis cultural risk approach design in attempting to warn the managers and the change leaders that if risk is underestimated it could become dangerous. If one is aware of American pride and German authoritarian, he would know the worse can be expected. Daimler had systemically decision making process, whereas Americans were inspiring creativity. The Stress on effectiveness, fair staff treatment, and empowerment made Chrysler famous for adoptability and flexibility; whereas Daimler seemed more autocratic and bureaucratic. All these cultural variations soon became visible in both companies daily activities. As an example, Daimler managers were concerned a lot about daily trivial cases which disappointed Chrysler executives, cases such as the shape of a pamphlets and etc. Meanwhile, Daimler leaders were frustrated by Eatons emotional actions during the speech. In a nutshell, Daimler-Benz had been the symbol of German power whereas Chrysler has been entitled as the most economical and nimblest car manufactories worldwide. [Appendix D] http://www.managementparadise.com/forums/miscellaneous-projects/73392-organisation-culture.html STRUCTURAL MISMATCHES Another key issue at DCX was the differences in par structures between the two pre-merger entities. Germans disliked huge pay disparities and were unlikely to accept any steep revision of top management salaries. But American CEOs were rewarded handsomely. Chrysler could cut pay only at the risk of losing its talented managers. Germans and Americans also had different working styles. The Germans were used to lengthy reports and extended discussions. On the other hand, the Americans performed little paperwork and liked to keep their meetings short. Americans favored fast-paced trial-and-error experimentation, whereas Germans drew up painstakingly detailed plans and implemented them precisely. In general, the Germans perceived the Americans as chaotic while the Americans felt that the Germans were stubborn militarists. Post merger, Americans were trapped in the German style of planning, constantly being told what to do, gradually damping their creativity and autonomy. James Holden, Chrysler president from September 1999 through November 2000, explained that Mercedes is famous for being a high end luxury brand, whereas Chrysler, Dodge, Plymouth and Jeep were serving a lower market, it was a marrying up, marrying down event .  [xvii]  This fueled an undercurrent of tension, which was amplified by the fact that American workers earned appreciably more than their German counterparts, sometimes four times as much. DAIMLERS HEGEMONY German over-representation is also apparent in the board structure, [Appendix E] they approve all major company decisions, including the firing of executive management .In 2000, two successive Chrysler presidents, Holden and Stallkamp, both American, were fired. The Daimler-Benz management presence permeated every important function at Chrysler USA. By the end of 2000, there were only 128,000 Chrysler employees still working in the US operations, all anxious and demoralized. Ex-Chrysler managers felt that Daimler-Benz was steadily leading Chrysler into a state of chaos. Schrempp openly said that he never intended the merger be one of equals, and when he began replacing several American executives with German ones, Chrysler must have felt a little humiliated. Even though honesty and directness are welcomed and encouraged in Germany, several Americans do not appreciate such boldness. Consequently, reputations have certainly been damaged during the process. With Chrysler being taken over by Daimler, with regard to that, mostly Americans were feeling betrayed How could you let Daimler make you a mere subsidiary? http://marisyksti.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default?orderby=updated The managers who had built Chryslers cowboy bravado were no more there. Some remained on staff, feeling withdrawn, ineffective and eclipsed by the Germans in Stuttgart. Others left for a more promising future at G.M. or Ford. The American dynamism faded under subtle German pressure. According to a Daimler-Benz executive, Eaton went weeks without speaking with Schrempp. Schrempp, meanwhile, was afraid of being labeled a takeover artist. He left Chrysler alone for too long. After the merger, many people observed that Bob Eaton seemed cold-eyed, withdrawn, and uninterested. According to then-president Peter Stallkamp, Eaton had really checked-out about a year before he left  [xviii]  . The managers feared for their careers, and in the absence of assurance, they assumed the worst. The dislike and distrust ran deep, with some Daimler-Benz executives publicly declaring that they would never drive a Chrysler. My mother drove a Plymouth, and it barely lasted two-and-a-half years, commented Mercedes-Benz division Chief Jà ¼rgen Hubbert to the  [xix]  Suddeutsche Zeitung. Irate Chrysler managers responded with jabs of their own. Bob Lutz, then Chrysler vice-chairman, pointed out to the Detroit Free Press that The Jeep Grand Cherokee earned a greater rate of customer satisfaction in comparison with M-Class.  [xx]   The culture clash has been obvious. Much of this clash was intrinsic to a union between two companies. Their corporate structure, culture and wage systems were thoroughly different. In depth, this union was seemingly the source of trouble: Daimler-Benz and Chryslers brand images were founded upon diametrically opposite premises. From holding language classes to cutting idioms in conversations, from dinner parties to Post Merger teams, DCX put in ample effort to bridge the chasm, but due to deep uncertainty, and lack of trust, they failed to accomplish the remedy. CONCLUSION RECOMMENDATIONS (Lewins refreezing stage that never happened) CONCLUSION What seemed to be a perfect match, the largest trans-Atlantic merger ever, sank unexpectedly. What was supposed to be the leading car manufactory in the world became the chief failure in the MA industry. The disruptive change was inevitable, however, by assuring the staff about the stability of condition, they would loosen their faith and trust on the managers, they know change is coming but they are eager to know what would be the consequences for them. Nadler (1993) ascertains that changes threaten an individuals sense of stability and can present anxieties while reducing the sense of autonomy. Resisting change may function as a survival mechanism where change is perceived as a threat creating a type of organisational autopoiesis, exhibiting a strong resistance when something valuable is under threat (Goldstein, 1988). As it has been seen in every stage of the story, talented managers and engineers left due to the fact that they were feeling withdrawn and flooded. Consequently, the expected synergies never happened and on May, 2007, Chrysler has been sold to Cerebrus Capital Management  [xxi]  , and they failed to accomplish the last phase of lewins change model (Refreezing stage). In summary, the Germans and the Americans were not in sync since the beginning. Different management teams with heavy prides, resisting from compromise and unaware of change would never create a team. DCX have combined nothing beyond some administrative departments, such as finance and public relations. http://www.icmrindia.org/casestudies/catalogue/Business%20Strategy1/Daimler-Chrysler%20Merger%20Cultural%20Mismatch%20Business%20Strategy.htm Learning from analyzing the case, a number of recommendations are outlined further on. RECOMMENDATIONS Firstly, there would never be a partnership of equals happening in any international extents. There would always be a stronger part in terms of finance or market share, thus the resulting arrogance on either side of the merges would imperil the business joint. The Daimler-Chrysler merger should have begun with a strategy, to decide if they wanted to combine the two different cultures, or start off with one brand new one. To do this they should have analyzed the existing cultures, to establish the similarities and the differences. Culture must be blended rather than changed. Moreover, balancing the need for change with the motivation to preserve existing identity, determine the elements that contribute to the development of change capacity. Meanwhile, building a series of interventions such as creating an understanding, building skills, gaining commitment enhances peoples motivation and consequently a favourable and sustainable change. A further important factor is communicating the urgency for change in depth, as is in maintaining momentum, following Kotters (Ch1) words stating that successful large scale change involves momentum. Considering the uncertainty and negative emotions that accompany change, the ability to discern the emotional reactions to change of employees and board members enhances influence levels and provides the necessary support to the change process (Kiefer, 2004). Displaying an autocratic fashion behaviour by failing to address the concerns of people in the organisation and not devoting ample time and energy in building commitment, inhibits effective change implementation. That it is not about which approaches and best practices are chosen by the manager. The main thing that should be kept in view by the managers is that what is to be changed, what is the circumstance and what is the choice of adopted approach. Was this the failure of planning and executing productive change? Absolutely! People dont resist change. They resist being changed! (Peter Senge)

Concept of primary health care in Nigeria

Concept of primary health care in Nigeria Introduction The concept of primary health care (PHC) was formulated by the 134 countries that met at the Alma-Ata conference in Russia on September 12, 1978 which was organized by the World Health Organization. Primary health care is a part of the three-tier system of health care in Nigeria. These are the tertiary health care, which the federal government is in charge; the secondary health care, under the auspices of the state government and the primary health care, controlled by the local governments. In the late 1980s there was a national initiative to overhaul the primary health care system through the adoption of a new national health policy, in the context of which the federal and state governments issued directives giving local government areas full jurisdiction over the delivery of primary health care services.1, 2 The local Government, the State Government and the Federal Government respectively are responsible for all financial aspects, including personnel costs, consumables, running co sts and capital investment. The Federal government through the federal ministry of health sets overall policy goals, co-ordinates activities, ensures quality, training and implements sector programmes. â€Å"Primary health care according to the world health organization means essential health care 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 a cost which the country can afford to maintain at every stage of their development in the spirit of self reliance and self determination. It is the first level contact of the individual and community in the national health system, thus bringing health care as close as possible to where people live and work and contribute the first element of a continuing health care process†.3 It is essentially aimed to promote health, to cure diseases and to rehabilitate. Nigeria is one of the few countries in the developing world to have systematically decentralized the delivery of basic health and education services to locally elected governments.4 BACKGROUND: Nigeria has an enormous population of around 120 million in 20035, with a growth rate of about 2.9% per annum. It is hailed as the giant of Africa and yet ranked among the poorest nations of the world.6 The management of the health sector has been poor and this has affected the quality of services to the general populace. Although Nigeria has an extensive national health infrastructure, it lacks the resources needed to function effectively Nigeria is now decentralizing its health system and clarifying the responsibilities and services at each level, which should result in better management and coordination. In addition, its health policy has been guided by the Bamako initiative to encourage and sustain community participation in primary health care services.7 The evidence base for primary care orientated health care system Primary care that is, care from the viewpoint of the doctors who has been in contact exclusively to the patients appearing for care- has apparent limitation. From the evidence given by the World Bank table and world health report 2000. It shows that Nigeria is one of the very poor countries. It has a clear symptom of imbalance between resources in poor performance, deteriorating facilities and low working moral among staff. There a high mortality rate in child and adult. The structures of the economy have fallen from 2004, raised a little bit in 2005 and remain constant between 2006 and 2007. This shows that due to lack of adequate resources in will affect the orientation of the health care system. The development of primary care in Nigeria An effective primary care system is critical for any country, developed or developing, to maximize outcomes and minimize costs.8, 9 Accurate and relevant data gathering and information processing are necessary for any field of endeavour whether in health care or any other field. It has long been recognized that clinical issues in primary care in Nigeria are different from those in other types of care. For example, the predictive values of symptoms may be quite different in different settings and clinical evidence derived from other settings may have limited applicability to primary health care and delivery. This is due not only to differences in the prevalence of specific diseases, but also to the fact that patients in primary care have many problems and the clinician must prioritize the diagnosis and management of all of these together over time, often in a setting where continuity of care plays a crucial role.10 Primary care is the backbone of Nigeria health system. Primary care plays a vital role in deployment of all resources through appropriate channels in promoting, maintaining as well as improving health. All these confirm the definition of primary health care which states that â€Å"essential health care based on practical, scientifically sound, as well as socially acceptable methods and technology made universally accessible to individuals and families in the community by means acceptable to them and at a cost that community and country can afford to maintain at every stage of their development in a spirit of self-reliance and self determination. It forms an integral part of both the countrys health system of which it is the central function and the main focus of the overall social and economic development of the community. It is the first level of contact of individuals, the family and the community with the national health system, bringing health care as close as possible to where people live and work and constitutes the first element of a continuing health care process†11. This implies that patients or individuals have a direct access to the appropriate source of care. It equally shows that it deals more with common and well defined problem in a community setting as well as affordable. Though, the development if primary care in Nigeria has improved immensely but it still shows some major defects. Reasons for the current status of primary care within the health care system The coverage is inadequate: it is estimated that 54% of the population have access to the modern health care services. The rural communities and the urban poor are not well served due to inadequate staff and infrastructure. Lack of basic health data is a major constraint at all stages of planning, monitoring and evaluation of health services. The basic infrastructure and logistic supports are often defective owing to inadequate buildings maintenance, medical equipment and vehicles and unreliable supply water and electricity also poor management of medicines, vaccines and other supplies system. The financial resources allocated to the primary care services, especially to some priority areas are inadequate to permit them to function effectively. Distribution of resources in Nigeria: The Federal and State Government allocate 15% of the state budget to health services. Within the available resources, high priority shall be accorded to primary health care with particular reference to the less privilege areas and groups. Community and financial sector resources shall be mobilized in the spirit of self help and self reliance. How the resource should be used in future: In the light of importance of health in socio-economic development: all the governments of the federation should review their financial allocation to health in relation to the requirements of other sectors of the economy. High priority programmes for primary health care should have the first consideration on any additional resources that may be available Within the health care system, effort should be made to redistribute the financial allocation among health promotion, preventive and curative health care services. This is to ensure that adequate emphasis and awareness are placed on health promotion and preventive services without comprising curative health services Governments of the federation should explore additional avenues for financing the health care system especially health insurance schemes and health development levies. The users should pay for curative services while the preventive services should be subsidized. Governments of the federation shall encourage employers of labour and the financial sectors to participate in the financing health care services. Workforce and resource issues in Nigeria: The workforce and resources issues have been a theme of discussion in the country. Earlier health services was focused primarily in the urban areas, this made them to be experiencing adequate health care delivery than rural areas. Even though health institutions such as leprosaria and dispensaries had been established for rural areas, these did not cater for the communities outside their immediate zones. The problem is that rural people were effectively overlooked in health care delivery, since the existing institutions were inaccessible to them due to cost and logistic constraints. Another basic problem is the inadequate staff situation to meet the needs of the country. But after training the staff most of them get a job in urban area where they are paid more. Quality of care issues in Nigeria: Quality of care varies among patients, politicians, managers, clinicians and other actors within the health care system12. She stressed that quality occurs when good decisions regarding care are made so that resource are utilized effectively and better health outcomes are produced. Quality of health care is a multidimensional and multifaceted concept interwoven with value judgements about what constitutes good quality13. There have been several definitions of quality of health care. â€Å"Quality of care is the degree to which health services for individuals and populations increase the likelihood of desired outcomes and are consistent with current professional knowledge†14. Accessibility: assess to hospitals or medical centres from the rural areas can be problematic from the patients due to geographical or financial barriers. In some rural areas there are little infrastructure for primary care but there are no qualified doctors. This is due to the fact that most of the doctors are aboard or in the city trying to earn comfortable and decent living. Comprehensiveness: Nigeria health system can be categorized into the Public and the Private health services. The public health sector is further divided structurally into the Primary Health Care (PHC), Secondary Health Care (SHC) and the Tertiary Heath Care (THC). Though, World Health Organisation (1978) suggests that in order for primary care to be comprehensive, all development- oriented activities should be interrelated and balanced so as to focus on problems of the highest priority as mutually perceived by the community and the health system, and that culturally acceptable, technically appropriate, manageable and appropriately selected interventions should be implemented in combinations that meet local needs. This implies that single- purpose programs should be integrated into primary health care activities as quickly and smoothly as possible.11 In Nigeria, there are referrals but the problem the patients (either rich or poor, over 60 of age or not) faces is that they must pay pa rt of their hospital bill before any treatment can be commence. In United Kingdom most of the treatment the NHS pays the bills. Co-ordination of services: there is no co-ordination of services because of the way things are in Nigeria there is no accountability of the patients medical history. Patient can decide to move from one doctor to another without any referral. The system is not like in United Kingdom where the technology is computerized that you can pull out people medical records anywhere. Equity: in Nigeria there is no equity. This is country full of corruption even in the hospital. For instance Jane to the hospital around 8.00am, then John and Amy went around 8.30am and 9.00am. Because they are related to the staff in that particular hospital they will see the doctor before Jane. In United Kingdom people wait for their turn unless is on emergency bases. How could quality of care issues be made better in Nigeria over the next 10 years? Quality of care issues can be made better by monitoring and evaluation of the health care system, with minimum categories of indicators as follows: Health policy: proper distribution of health resources, financial, manpower, physical facilities to reflect the degree of equity by geography and by urban/rural ratios; government should devise appropriate mechanisms for supporting and involving the communities in the planning and implementation of health services; an organizational framework for managerial process. Health status: proper documentation of patients health status for instance nutritional status as indicated by weight of babies, weight and height measurement of infants and children in relation to age. Socio-economical indicators related to health and living standard: such as sanitation, housing condition, work condition, food availability, and adult literacy. Provision and utilization of health care indicators: immunization this includes the percentage of children at risk who are fully immunized against the major childhood diseases; the incidence of the six diseases in children under 5 years of age and the mortality rate due to the six disease in children under 5years of age. Prevention and control of epidemic diseases indicators shall specify disease specific incidence and prevalence rate. Adequate provision of the essential drugs. The coverage by referral system indicators shall state the proportion of population in a given with access to the within 5 kilometres or 1 hour travel time, the proportion of the referred cases who made use of the services and availability of referral services. Promotion of health in school. Recommendations for the development of primary health care: The national health policy: the aims are to achieve health for all Nigerians based on the national philosophy of social justice and equity. Therefore, a health system based on primary health care is adopted as the means of achieving the goal. Since health development contributes to and results from socio-economic development, the sectors should mutually be supportive and together contribute to the ultimate goals of the nation. All the governments of the federation should review their financial allocation to health in relation to the requirements of other sectors of the economy. High priority programmes for primary health care should have the first consideration on any additional resources that may be available More staff should be trained and an increase in wages for those who will agree to serve in the areas Facilitation of monitoring and evaluation data collection system within the nation. In conclusion: Primary health care in Nigeria have evolved through a series of historical developments. Though, it is the backbone of Nigeria health system but has been judged to be unsatisfactory and inadequate in meeting the needs and demand of the public as reflected by the low state of health of the population. The population should abide by principles primary health care based on equity and justice. However, if the services are available accessible as well as acceptable to and affordable by every individual, community and the nation; if the masses concentrate on solving those health problems that take the greater toll of life.

Character of Blanche in Tennessee Williams A Streetcar Named Desire Es

Character of Blanche in Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire One of the best-known plays of our time, Tennessee Williams’s â€Å"A Streetcar Named Desire† tells the story of fading Southern belle Blanche DuBois and her struggles during the South’s post-war changes. Although the play is widely remembered due to its 1951 film version and Marlon Brando’s famous bare-chested cry of â€Å"Stella!,† it is also a story of a changing South containing characters struggling with the loss of aristocracy to the new American immigrant, the fallout of chivalry to a new mindset of sex and desire, and a woman grasping desperately at the last bit of fantasy she can muster. Throughout â€Å"A Streetcar Named Desire,† Williams uses Blanche as a way to critique Southern â€Å"progress† by using her as a symbol for a dark, underlying existence. When fading Southern belle Blanche Dubois first arrives at her sister Stella’s apartment, she is already internally dealing with the struggle between desire and gentility. The end of the play is foreshadowed early on as Blanche states, â€Å"They told me to take a street-car named Desire, and then transfer to one called Cemeteries and ride six blocks and get off at Elysian Fields† (15). This statement serves as a metaphor for Blanche’s life as the mentions of desire, cemeteries, and the Elysian Fields (which symbolize the land of the dead in Greek mythology) describe how her sexual desire serves as the catalyst for her social death and expulsion. Blanche’s vanity and dependence on men also culminate as the play nears its end, as she is taken away from the fantasy she so desperately clings to and dragged into a new world of reality and a New South. Blanche’s struggle with fantasy and reality serves as on... ... in everyone’s lives. This statement holds true for progress as well; without fantasy and dreams there would be no progress. After all, progress is the product of someone’s fantasy- an idea that was thought up on a whim. Like Blanche though, progress often has an underlying existence that is very dark. Not all progress is good and Blanche symbolizes this. Williams’s comparisons between Blanche and progress serve to show how progress can be a force that precipitates each individual’s desperate choices; that is, their ability to throw ideas, love, etc. out into the world in the hopes of moving forward. By unveiling a theme that is still pertinent today, â€Å"A Streetcar Named Desire† makes its mark as a piece of classic literature, which will be read for generations to come. Works Cited Williams, Tennessee. A Streetcar Named Desire. New York: Signet Printing, 1980.

Republiacns! Unfavorable Acts Caused The Rise Of The Kkk :: essays research papers

Republiacns! Unfavorable Acts Caused The Rise of The KKK The years after the civil war were frustrating times for the Americans. New laws and rules were posted for which to abide by and due to the outcome of the civil war, the people from the south had now to accept the new slavery laws issued by the political parties and congress. This created turmoil amongst both northerners, who mostly were against slavery, and southerners. This was also true for both political parties that consisted of the Republicans and the Democratics. Again the issue was always on the rights of blacks. The battles with certain individuals who felt it their duty to stand up for their idea of what the American way was. In 1866, just a year after the civil war, six confederate veterans formed a social club in the small town of Pulaski Tennessee. These men were set out to perpetuate white supremacy through out the south. The social club became official. The members came up with the name of Ku Klux Klan. It was a name taken from the Greek word "Kuklos" which means circle. They came up with rituals copied from college fraternities. They also assigned positions to special members. They were composed of the Grand Cyclop, The President, the Grand Magi, the vice-president, and the Grand Exchequer, the treasurer. The Klansmen adopt a uniform. The uniforms were white, long robes, White masks, And high pointed hats. ( Ingalls, Hoods 3 ) Adopted during 1866-67, the Republican party's Reconstruction program threatened to turn southern society upside down. The promise of equal rights for blacks flew in the face of the widely held opinion of the white Southerners that the black race was innately inferior. This deep-seated racist belief had served to justify slavery, and it remained a major obstacle to uplifting blacks after the civil war. Indeed, Antiblack hatred drove some whites to extreme measures to resist Reconstruction. ( Ingalls, Hoods 6 ) The Republicans feared that barrings the blacks from politics would make the Democratics Party dominant again in the south and in congress. Congress divided the south into five military districts controlled by martial law. It took the vote away from large numbers of rebel whites. It declared that all black men could vote and hold office. And it ordered the rebel states to write new and democratic constitutions. Since Tennessee had become the first southern state to give black men and freed slaves the right to vote, it became most affected. ( Meltzer, 23 ) With the republican party controlling state government, exconfederates began to take up arms to oppose Reconstruction.

Modelling human decision-making

This paper anchors the development of the simulation modeling the human decision making. Series of project have been made and applied to attest the model mentioned. In specific, the focus of the project is about the process of using simulation and the methods which extracts knowledge about human decision making. One method used is the artificial intelligence method which figures out the decision-making strategies of human. And with this, it made possible to assess performance of the decision makers, who are the target respondents of the project. Moreover, the paper presents results of current projects done and motivational factors that affects the model, Human decision making. 1. Introduction There were previous studies and investigations made since mid-1990 on how to use and apply the artificial intelligence method as an alternative on the real subject, human decision making, in the simulation. This paper provides related literature that will be useful for present and future projects about simulation of human decision-making. Starting from an idea generated when attempting to model rail marshalling yards, an artificial example of simulation and expert systems working in collaboration was generated. The ideas were then applied to a real case of maintenance operations at an engine assembly plant. Future work is looking into simulation as a means of knowledge elicitation. The paper briefly describes each of these phases of work and concludes by discussing why it is important to model human decision-making† Conclusion: Why Model Human Decision Making? Modeling human decision-making process for the improvement of human decision-making is far more important than the improvement of AI simulators. The development of the human mind is more important because in complex situations, the mind is more reliable and flexible in terms of making decisions. Simulators are mere copies of what the human mind can do, and thus, it is not that flexible in terms of changes.

Free Primary Education in Kenya Essay

Introduction Since firedom in, Kenya has had its sh atomic number 18 of the struggle to make it contingent for its population attains program stock for alone. This was show up of the ack straightwayledgment that gentility of the population would serve well competitiveness ills that faced the society, among them included p only overty, ignorance, and disease. In f wreak, the regimen treated information as a basic right for every Kenyan child. gentility has ever since been regarded as a fundamental factor for human majuscule(p) development. In response to this urge, presidential precondition essential insurance documents that sort to expand portal to pedagogics for its citizens.It is internationally recognized that every wizard has a right to education, as agreed upon at various international conferences. Kenya tried to scud the declarations seriously by ensuring that children have ease access to basic education. The excogitation of the melt prime Education P olicy in Kenya in 2003, however, provokes analysts to offer criticisms on the same. We peck try to to a lower placestand the concept of take over Primary Education by rhytidoplasty fundamental philosophical questions that whitethorn help us reflect on the polity. Reasons for introducing shift elementary education.As already introduced earlier, at that place have been good reasons for the provision of education for all citizens. The Kenyan political sympathies and new(prenominal) leaders believed that an educated populace will, among different things, be in a coif to combat poverty, ignorance, and fight diseases. Inspired by these objectives and that of international concern, Kenya whitethorn be confirm in its continued quest for the introduction of policies that watch turn upk to expand the education sector. Since indep send awayence, the farming has witnessed an increase in the number of knowledge institutions.Literacy levels, peculiarly, among the adults have in creased tremendously. Educational service and facilities have spread all over the country ensuring relative uniformity in the levels of education among the people. Research findings revealed that the enrollment at primary conditions has more than doubled and reading that people pauperisationed the service seriously. However, at that place have been significant regional disparities as well as gender disparities in the primary indoctrinates as far as access to education is concerned (UNESCO, 2005).This has been one of the study reasons for thecontinued necessity for prevalent Primary Education (UPE). This actually acknowledges that the need for free primary education is justifiable. With these as mental nones politicians riding habitd it to identify a powerful tool to include in their campaign manifestos. And in 2002, the National Rainbow compression (NARC) politicians effectively tapped the opportunity resulting in their landslip victory to power during the general resourc e. constitution of free primary school Those who came up with the policy mush have musical theme show up well the use of the wrong that would sell the policy.In its technical sense, the didactics meant the abolition of fees in all disposal schools as from 2003 academic year, provision of slightly learning materials to pupils, pargonnts would continue to buy school uniforms and new(prenominal) agreed-upon levies, and that the funding of other non-salary woo comes in the form of grants from the regime. However, with the political euphoria that swept the country then, the literal gist of the policy was oversimplified to the level that it even unordered further the actors in education.For purposes of wooing voters, politicians implied that the education of their children would be completely free of charge. Parents were the al nigh affected by this assertion since by January 2003 they had no plans to incur any be in the education of their children at the primary school l evel. The then Ministry of Education, Science and applied science (MoEST) declared the FPE Policy in Kenya. The organisation and development partners were to pay fees and levies for tuition, meet the cost of basic t separatelying and learning materials as well as wages for exact non-teaching staff and co-curricular activities.Parents were then expected to urge on the refurbishing of existing facilities. Any additional charges were to be approved by the government make the ministry of education. The complexity of the problem is heightened by the use of the word free. Free as a term in face means to be able to act at will, non hampered non chthonian compulsion or restraint to do something. It besides means costing nothing. The term has other numerous centers that differ under make watern circumstances or contexts. We may in that respectfore even wonder whether education can be free or not.Is it possible to resist education case one is not interested in taking it freely? If free is interpreted to mean what is so-called to mean in this context, how free is free? This term, therefore, may be ambiguous and is subject to misrepresentations and because inclined to misinterpretations. This is some alikely to occur if slender effort is do to clarify the meaning of the usage. Clarity is one of the most grand elements of any policy so as to avoid multiple interpretations. Community fight The third concern here is the need to understand how the stakeholders in the education tacit the policy.The policy was formulated without consulting those who are about concerned with practice of education and those are teachers and parents. This resulted in the lack of clear guidelines for the execution of instrument of free education as a government policy. The teachers were not tolerablely prepared to manage the influx of pupils of all ages. lower-ranking effort was made to in-service teachers and carry out seminars for the parents in order to prepare them f or the great changes that awaited them. In fact, as already mentioned above, numerous parents had a general misconception about the meaning of free education.Most of them vista that they were no longer expected to symbolize any post in the rail of the school hence they lost a sense of ownership. Since the local fundraising and voluntary contributions for schools, by implication, were abolished, communities in addition thought that they had no role to evasive action in the running of the school since the government will take assist of everything. This lack of proper communicating becomes our major concern from a philosophical perspective. This, therefore, calls for a sustained and comp communication scheme for the policy if it is to remain practical.The policy should also clarify the sources of funding for the program, adequately apologize the roles of various stakeholders, provide a example for instilling discipline especially imputable to the age-variation in the enrolle d pupils, and provide regular communication about the developments in the program. For a adolescent graduate of less than thirty geezerhood expecting an old man like Mzee Maruga in class, it has effects on production and end results of the teacher. How ell prepared was the teacher to handle much(prenominal)(prenominal) age disparities among the pupils? This then becomes an enigmatic question.logistic thinkWith the challenges facing the writ of execution of the FPE program, we may also investigate to know whether adequate logistics for its effectuation were put in place. A well designed policy should be logically arranged from the calculate of initial implementation and the subsequent stages. This implies that the policy makers should be in a position to herald the possible risks and take precautionary measures to squall them. However, from a critical outline of the free education in Kenya, it is evident that olive-sized was done as far as ensuring the successful implement ation of the program is concerned.A good policy is supposed to point out the possible huddles and recommendations for overcoming them. Poor think has affected the program in many ways. One of the most obvious is famine of teaching and learning resources. The delay in remittance of the funds and the its poor focusing at the school level has compositors case a serious problem where what is supposed to have been supplied is alone there in record but not in reality. Even the research that has been done by the donor organizations, showed serious shortages caused by absence seizure of what was supposed to have been supplied.Given that the managers, who in this case are the head teachers, were not trained on management of pay and how to make reports, advantage was taken rapidly to syphone the same funds into their own usage. Overcrowding The other aspect is characterized by overcrowding in most primary schools due to increased enrollments and hence increased pupil-teacher ratio. In fact, congestion in classrooms has made a mockery of the precept for the introduction of FPE program. The characteristic delay in the release of government funds only serve to crown the already created problems.It beat logic to cause more problems in the process of solving another. The report by the victimization bank for Reconstruction and increase 2009, reported that, most communities did not reproof to support the buildings of the school for they were assured that the government would do all. But this was not the case, most schools now look ike abandoned dens, where no human beings dwell. The buildings are dilapidated and now parents are withdrawing their children to toffee-nosed schools, and thus see the growth of private schools.The policy is also strict on any attempts by the school committees to solicit funds from parents. This has made them feel so constrained in their duties of managing the school owing to the cumbersome procedures postulate for instituting levies. T urning a blind midsection on the potential threats accompanying such a sensitive policy as is FPE is utmost disregard of fundamental concerns. In addition to clarity, therefore, logic requires a comprehensive analysis of a policy like the FPE with an aim of identifying the underlying assumptions and the ultimate implications, especially upon implementation.This will ensure systematic implementation and timely rootage of emerging issues. The government should make an effort to supervise the policy at the basic level. Up to new-made most poor parents still sentiment that the hollers government made at election time will still be done for hitting that much was election promise and once the vote is given all is forgotten. Even to increase the number of teachers as a basic concern has not been looked at. Why then should the government give people something that does not work? likewise few teachers as compared to too many students results into poor performance, while the children o f the able ones get better education in private schools. Education and social change looking at at all these aspects how can education be looked upon as the ultimate solution to societal problems? Although research findings reveal that there is a positive correlation between the level of education and economic prosperity, it may be a misguided perspicacity to believe that free education is the restore solution of social problems. This concern is tie in to the motives of introducing free education programs by the government of Kenya since independence.Pupils will still drop out of school due to other reasons and not for economic reasons. Holistic approaches as advocated by the international Universal Primary Education (UPE), therefore, should be adopted if education is to play a greater role in empowering the populace. Conclusion The challenges experienced in the implementation of FPE program can be traced to the uncritical design of the policy. Many political considerations co me out to take center-stage during the proposal and cookery of such policies which end up creating more problems later.This implies that a clear and logical situation analysis should be conducted if meaningful policies are to be developed and hence ensuring their sustainability. The bottom line here, therefore, is the need to raise fundamental philosophical questions during the primary stages of any policy formulation in order to ensure that all concerns are dealt with in advance. That implies that good planning is required. This ensures logistical problems to be sorted out in advance, training be done of those who are directly involved from the grassroots levels.And in the case of primary schools, parents and teachers are to be explained to understand the role for each player. Unless the community is meant to understand it becomes hard for the policy to succeed. References 1. International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (2009). Abolishing school fees in Africa lessons fro m Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, and Mozambique a outlet of the World Bank in collaboration with UNICEF. World Bank Publications 2. UNESCO (March 2005). Challenges of Implementing free Primary Education in Kenya. Assessment Report. UNESCO capital of Kenya Office.

Becoming Gendered Essay

Davies argues that the sex role socialization opening does non adequately explain how we understand and beseem earthly concern and woman (p282). She concedes that the social structure with which man is entrenched influence the conception of gender plainly the individual is as much a pop of that process as the social environment. Davies says that man is an divisor in his/her gendered identity, we choose to be masculine or maidenly in the context of our social realities and that it is not tied to biology. In the movie Sabrina (1995), after organism sent to Paris and transformed into a in advance(p) woman of the terra firma, David became enamored with her.David responded to her charms when she became feminine and did not recover her when she was boyish and ugly. Sabrina was masculine because she did not have a female figure to emulate, but within the same environment she was able to recognize the attraction she matte for the opposite sex and although it was depicted as a co ming of age realization, socialization does not full demonstrate the shift in gender roles (Rakow, 1986 12).Davies was redress when she said that the individual is an active and engaged role player in becoming gendered (p284), Sabrina may have let feminine in her ways, but she was independent, headstrong and speaks her mind, alone of which are masculine traits which she had imbibed while she was growing up. Davies (p289) suggested that we frame gendered because it is what society expects, Sabrina has to be feminine because she was female and the world responds to that reality based on their conception of what is feminine and masculine.ReferencesPollack, S. (Director). (1995, December 15). Sabrina, Constellation Entertainment.Davies, B. (2001). Becoming male or female. In S. Jackson & S. Scott (Eds.), sex (pp. 280-290). London Routledge .Rakow, L. (1986) Rethinking Gender Research in Communication, Journal of Communication, Volume 36, none 4, pp.11-26.