Essential Functions of a Project Manager Essay

The Essential Functions of a Project Manager A project manager (PM) is a facilitator. The ideal project manager does whatever it takes to ensure that the members of the project team can do their work. This means working with management to ensure they provide the resources and support required as well as dealing with team issues that are negatively impacting a team’s productivity. The project manager must possess a combination of skills including the ability to ask penetrating questions, identify unstated assumptions, and resolve personnel conflicts along with more systematic management skills. This person is responsible for initiating, planning, executing, controlling and closing a project. The actions of a project manager should be almost unnoticeable and when a project is moving along smoothly people are sometimes tempted to question the need for a project manager. However, when you take the skilled project manager out of the mix, the project is much more likely to miss deadlines and exceed budgets. The project manager is the one who is responsible for making decisions in such a way that risk is controlled and uncertainty minimized. Every decision made by the project manager should ideally be directly benefit the project. A successful PM must simultaneously manage the four basic elements of a project: resources (people, equipment, material), time (task duration, dependencies, critical path), money (costs, contingencies, profits), and most importantly, scope (project size, goals, profit). All these elements are interrelated. Each must be managed effectively. All must be managed together if the project, and the project manager, is to be a success. The Scope element of a project is the most important and it is the first and last task for a successful project manager. First and foremost you have to manage the project scope. The project scope is the definition of what the project is supposed to accomplish and the budget (of time and money) that has been created to achieve these objectives. It is absolutely imperative that any change to the scope of the project have a matching change in budget, either time or resources. If the project scope is to build a building to house three widgets with a budget of $100,000 the project manager is expected to do that. However, if the scope is changed to a building for four widgets, the project manager must obtain an appropriate change in budgeted resources. If the budget is not adjusted, the smart project manager will avoid the change in scope. Usually, scope changes occur in the form of â€Å"scope creep†. Scope creep is the piling up of small changes that by themselves are manageable, but in aggregate are significant. It is necessary to make sure any requested change, no matter how small, is accompanied by approval for a change in budget or schedule or both. A PM cannot effectively manage the resources, time and money in a project unless you actively manage the project scope. When the project scope is clearly identified and associated to the timeline and budget, the PM can begin to manage the project resources. These include the people, equipment, and material needed to complete the project. A successful PM must effectively manage the Resources assigned to the project. This includes the labor hours of the designers, the builders, the testers and the inspectors on the project team. It also includes managing any labor subcontracts. However, managing project resources frequently involves more than people management. The project manager must also manage the equipment used for the project and the material needed by the people and equipment assigned to the project. Managing the people resources means having the right people, with the right skills and the proper tools, in the right quantity at the right time. It also means ensuring that they know what needs to be done, when, and how. And it means motivating them to take ownership in the project too. Managing direct employees normally means managing the senior person in each group of employees assigned to your project. These employees also have a line manager to whom they report and from whom the usually take technical direction. In a matrix management situation, like a project team, the PM’s job is to provide project direction to them. Managing labor subcontracts usually means managing the team lead for the subcontracted workers, who in turn manages the workers. The equipment a PM has to manage as part of the project depends on the nature of the project. A project to construct a frozen food warehouse would need earth moving equipment, cranes, and cement trucks. For a project to release a new version of a computer game, the equipment would include computers, test equipment, and duplication and packaging machinery. The project management key for equipment is much like for people resources. They have to make sure workers have the right equipment in the right place at the right time and that it has the supplies it needs to operate properly. Most projects involve the purchase of material. For a frozen food arehouse, this would be freezers, the building HVAC machinery and the material handling equipment. For a project to release a music CD by a hot new artist, it would include the CD blanks, artwork for the jewel case, and press releases to be sent to deejays. The project management issue with supplies is to make sure the right supplies arrive at the right time. All the skill in managing resources won’t help, however, unless the PM can stick to the project schedule. Time management is critical in successful project management. Time management is a critically important skill for any successful project manager. Project managers who succeed in meeting their project schedule have a good chance of staying within their project budget. The most common cause of blown project budgets is lack of schedule management. Fortunately there is a lot of software on the market today to help manage project schedule or timeline. Any project can be broken down into a number of tasks that have to be performed. To prepare the project schedule, the project manager has to figure out what the tasks are, how long they will take, what resources they require, and in what order they should be done. Each of these elements has a direct bearing on the schedule. If a task is omitted, the project won’t be completed. If the length of time or the amount of resources required for the task is underestimated, the schedule will be missed. The schedule can also be blown if a mistake in the sequencing of the tasks is made. The PM needs to build the project schedule by listing, in order, all the tasks that need to be completed. Assign duration to each task. Allocate the required resources. Determine predecessors (what tasks must be completed before) and successors (tasks that can’t start until after) each task. The difficulty in managing a project schedule is that there are seldom enough resources and enough time to complete the tasks sequentially. Therefore, tasks have to be overlapped so several happen at the same time. Project management software greatly simplifies the task of creating and managing the project schedule by handling the iterations in the schedule logic. When all tasks have been listed, resourced, and sequenced, it is noticeable that some tasks have a little flexibility in their required start and finish date. This is called float. A line through all the tasks with zero float is called the critical path. All tasks on this path, and there can be multiple, parallel paths, must be completed on time if the project is to be completed on time. The Project Manager’s key time management task is to manage the critical path. Be aware, that items can be added to or removed from the critical path as circumstances change during the execution of the project. Installation of security cameras may not be on the critical path, but if the shipment is delayed, it may become part of the critical path. Conversely, pouring the concrete foundation may be on the critical path, but if the project manager obtains an addition crew and the pour is completed early it could come off the critical path (or reduce the length of the critical path). Regardless of how well you manage the schedule and the resources, there is one more critical element called managing the budget. Often a PM is evaluated on his or her ability to complete a project within Budget. If the project resources and project schedule is managed effectively, this should not be a problem. It is, however, a task that requires the project manager’s careful attention. Each project task will have a cost whether it is the cost of the labor hours of a computer programmer or the purchase price of a cubic yard of concrete. In preparing the project budget, each of these costs is estimated and then totaled. Some of these estimates will be more accurate than others. A company knows what it will charge each of its projects for different classifications of labor. Commodities like concrete are priced in a very competitive market so prices are fairly predictable. Other estimates are less accurate. For instance, the cost of a conveyor system with higher performance specifications that normal can be estimated to be more expensive, but it is hard to determine whether it will be 10% more or 15% more. For an expensive item, that can be a significant amount. When the estimated cost of an item is uncertain, the project budget often includes a design allowance. This is money that is set-aside in the budget â€Å"just in case† the actual cost of the item is wildly different than the estimate. Unusual weather or problems with suppliers are always a possibility on large projects. Companies usually include a contingency amount in the project budget to cover these kinds of things. So a project budget is composed of the estimated cost, plus the contingency and design allowance, plus any profit. The project manager’s job is to keep the actual cost at or below the estimated cost, to use as little of the design allowance and contingency as possible, and to maximize the profit the company earns on the project. To maximize the chances of meeting the project udget, the PM must meet the project schedule. The most common cause of blown budgets is blown schedules. Meeting the project schedule won’t guarantee the project budget is met, but it significantly increases the chances. And above all, management of the project scope is detrimental. PM should not allow the project scope to â€Å"creep† upward without getting budget and/or schedule adjustments to match. Successful project management is an art and a science that takes practice. The ideas presented above can give a basic understanding of project management, but consider it is only the beginning. In order to have a successful career in project managements, it is necessary to talk to successful project managers, read, and practice to acquired experience and confidence.

Industrial Revolution facts, information Essay

Industrialisation is a period in which machines take place instead of men. It is the period in which machines do work once done by humans. This is basically time period from which the agrarian society transform into an industrial society. Background: Industrialisation took place in the mid of 18th century to early 19th century in mainly Europe and North America; starting in Great Britain followed by Germany, Belgium, and France. During this time period industries played a vital role in the urbanization of Europe. It was a shift from rural work to industrial labor. Mostly labor before industrialization used to work on their own, things were mostly handmade which took many time and labor. Industrialisation helped the poor community in different aspects of saving time as well as energy. The transformation from an agricultural economy to industrial economy is known as Industrial Revolution. Industrialisation had played the vital role in the construction of new society in Europe. As industrialization changed scenario of society but also bring devastation to the society because Capitalism emerged during industrialization which made rich community more richer and poor community poorer. Howard Zinn once said â€Å"Capitalism has been always the failure for the lower classes. It is now beginning to fail for the middle class†. Such various observers as Karl Marx and Émile Durkheim cited the â€Å"alienation† and â€Å"anomie† of individual workers faced by seemingly meaningless tasks and rapidly altering goals. The fragmentation of the extended family and community tended to isolate individuals and to countervail traditional values. By the very mechanism of growth, industrialism appears to create a new strain of poverty, whose victims for a variety of reasons are unable to compete according to the rules of the industrial order. In the major industrial ized nations of the late 20th century, such developments as automated technology, an expanding service sector, and increasing suburbanization signaled what some observers called the emergence of a postindustrial society. Industrialisation in Thomas Hardy’s novel â€Å"Tess Of The D’Ubbervilles†: When Thomas Hardy was born in 1840, agriculture was the most important industry in England, employing roughly 20% of the labor force. By 1900, however, agricultural workers comprised less than 10% of the total workforce. Hardy witnessed much of this hardship as a child growing up in Dorset–which would later become his model for Wessex. Hardy’s Dorset was, in fact, the poorest and least industrialized county in Britain, and the farm laborers led difficult, often unrewarding lives. Laborers toiled from six o’clock in the morning until six o’clock at night in the summer and from the first light until dusk in the winter. It was not uncommon to find women and children in the fields; their labor was frequently used as the cheap substitute for men’s. Their diet was monotonous and meager–bread, bacon and cheese, and only occasionally milk. They drank beer and tea, and those who could not afford tea would soak burnt toast in water. In addition, the li ving conditions of many of these laborers were horrendous. Many lived in squalor and did not have the money to improve their condition. In 1851, there were half a million such laborers in England. Thomas Hardy’s Tess of the d’Urbervilles (1891) contains complex and detailed interrogations of many Victorian values and of the capitalist culture of his time. This novel is a fierce condemnation of the social, ethical, moral, religious, and political values held by the majority of Hardy’s cultural elite contemporaries in England. The most obvious example of Hardy’s cultural criticism is his assertion in the novel’s subtitle that Tess is â€Å"A Pure Woman.† By traditional Victorian standards, Tess is a fallen woman and as such is considered damaged goods suitable for the lowest bidder. Hardy is radically departing from these values by proclaiming Tess’s purity and virtue even though she has had sexual relations outside of marriage. It is, therefore, not surprising that initial reaction to the novel was highly negative. This cultural criticism is one of Hardy’s many challenges to the social conventions and values of his time found within this text. Tess’s struggle with Alec is both a gender and a class conflict. The text uses Tess’s relationship with Alec to expose the similarities and interconnections between a man’s physical and emotional oppression of a woman, on the one hand, and a more powerful social class’s economic oppression and destruction of a weaker class, on the other. Hardy’s Tess laments the destruction of the independent rural artisan class and blames nouveaux rich capitalist society for this degradation. Hardy goes on to condemn the industrialization of agricultural work because of what he views as the extremely destructive impact of technology and mechanization upon the quality of the rural workers’ lives. Hardy is also extremely critical of organized Christianity in several places throughout the novel, including the scene in which S orrow is actually denied a Christian burial. Hardy also raises questions about the injustice and inequality of a legal system, which finds Alec innocent of any wrongdoing but sentences Tess to death. Hardy clearly defines Tess as a member of the independent rural artisan class, a group whose way of life as a whole he asserts is at risk of extinction and whose quality of life is in decline due to capitalist economic forces and the industrialization of agricultural labor . He writes: â€Å"The village had formerly contained, side by side with the agricultural labourers, an interesting and better-informed class, ranking distinctly above the former – the class to which Tess’s father and mother had belonged – and including the carpenter, the smith, the shoemaker, the huckster, together with nondescript workers other than farm-labourers; a set of people who owed a certain stability of aim and conduct to the fact of their being life-holders like Tess’s father, or copyholders, or, occasionally, small free-holders. But as the long holdings fell in they were seldom again let to similar tenants, and were mostly pulled down†. (435) Hardy’s description of Alec’s family embodies all that Hardy maintains is wrong with capitalist nouveau riche society: there, money and status are more valuable and significant than people. Industrialisation in Charles Dicken novel â€Å"David Copper Field†: Charles John Huffam Dickens was born on 7 February 1812 in Portsmouth, the second of eight children. When he was nine years old his father was imprisoned for debt and all of the family except for young Charles were sent to Marshalsea, the debtors’ prison. Charles instead went to work in a blacking factory and suffered first hand the appalling conditions, loneliness, and despair. During his lifetime – he died in June 1870 – industrialization dramatically reshaped Britain, the population of London tripled and he saw the birth of the railways, the telegraph, and the steamship. He used his novels to bring to attention the social ills and abuses of Victorian England in such a way that the general public could relate and react to. For example, Oliver Twist attacked the workhouse system and portrayed a criminal underclass that captured the public’s imagination. In David Copperfield and Great Expectations, he drew on his early experiences of the debtors’ prison and the blacking factory. He exposed the brutal Yorkshire schools in Nicholas Nickleby and the inadequacies of the law in Pickwick Papers and Bleak House. The main reasons, therefore, were the mostly bad living conditions of the lower classes in factory cities, the automation of industry and the huge birth surplus in the country all throughout Great Britain. Furthermore, there were waves of migration into the huge cities and more and more capitalists that could be found in parliament, widely supporting political industrialization, completely neglecting the working conditions of their employees. In the Early Victorian Social Novel (1830 – 1850), the industrial system was to blame for the bad living conditions of the workers. However, it was not considered an abstract but rather manifested itself in individuals, like good and bad factory owners, responsible and irresponsible ones. And there was an unshakeable belief in morality and that those who were bad could be converted to good ones, those who were irresponsible could be made responsible. The authors at that time drew less attention to the details of the world of work and its machines, but rather preferred the depiction of physically and mentally injured people, because of their work. Therefore many metaphors were used to describe the prevailing social conditions, such as â€Å"Jungle of Work†, â€Å"Prison of Work† or â€Å"Subjugation of the worker through the machine†. Thinking of â€Å"Social Criticism†, huge institutions in society, like workhouses, industrialized cities or even certain governmental systems might occur to one’s mind in the first place. But many people forget that the smallest â€Å"institution† in society is the family. And the first socio-critical element in â€Å"David Copperfield† to begin with shall be the family itself. Therefore one has to know that families in the 19th century, especially in higher social classes, were organized completely differently than families are today. Usually, the husband was the â€Å"big boss† in the house, whereas the woman had to be the â€Å"good housewife and mother† who had to obey her husband. And the children, above all boys, normally were educated very strictly, and once out of the age in which they had to be cared for by their mother, they were completely under their father’s control and influence. Dickens’ now wants to criticize th is more or less â€Å"old-fashioned position† in his novel, but therefore he has to set up the right situation. The orphanage was an important topic at the time of industrialism because many parents had to work very hard and there were bad working conditions in the factories or workhouses. Subsequently, the parents were often physically worn out, many mothers not rarely died during or shortly after the birth of their children, and many fathers often died during their difficult, inhuman and most dangerous work. And the children they left were orphans, many of them still too young to care for themselves and facing a world they were not ready for, yet. And this topic of the orphanage is also raised in David Copperfield. As already David’s father is dead yet and his mother dies shortly after the birth of her second child, presumably suffering from the tortures of her cruel husband. Dickens was not the first novelist to draw the attention of the reading public to the deprivation of the lower classes in England, but he was much more successful than his predecessors in exposing the ills of the industrial society including class division, poverty, bad sanitation, privilege and meritocracy and the experience of the metropolis. In common with many nineteenth-century authors, Dickens used the novel as a repository of social conscience. The novel directs this ironical attack at the Victorian public opinion, which was either unaware or condoned such treatment of poor children. Dickens was critical about the Victorian education system, which is reflected not only in Nicholas Nickleby, Hard Times and Our Mutual Friend but also in his journalism and public speeches. As a boy, he was shocked to read reports about the cheap boarding schools in the North. In Nicholas Nickleby Dickens describes abusive practices in Yorkshire boarding schools. However, Dickens does not only criticise the malicious education system, but he is primarily concerned with the fates of these unfortunate children who are representatives of the most vulnerable portion of the society.

“That lightsaber belongs to me!”: Star Wars the Gender Swap

A long time ago in a galaxy far far away†¦ the very words that began one of the world's most recognized and well-established franchises. Star Wars, a beloved series that continues to have an ever growing fan base. However, when one considers the fan base of the film series, it is easy to associate its image with that of a male figure. During the original trilogy fans had Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Darth Vader and Princess Leia. In the prequels there was Anakin, Mace Windu, Count Dooku, Yoda, and Padame. Noticing a trend here? All of these characters to some degree fulfill the role of the archetypal male hero with a female companion, which is something the audience is accustomed to seeing, though naturally they are not all the same. Why is that? Perhaps that is the question viewers should ask themselves when watching anything from the Star Wars series. It is no surprise that Star Wars is a series loved by many throughout the world, as it offers a sense of science fiction and epic take on fantasy. However, it has been recognized to have a bit of a gender problem or suffer from what is known as the â€Å"Smurfette Effect†. Much like its counterparts in Lord of the Rings, and Harry Potter, which offers multiple male-led roles, accompanied by one or two other female roles. In the original trilogy – episodes four through six – the three main characters that stuck out were recognized as Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamil), Han Solo (Harrison Ford), and Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher). However, the role that stood out the most was that of Princess Leia, known as the leader of the rebel alliance, and iconic figure who had the courage and potential to dismantle the operations of those who sought to destroy everything she stood for. She even was presented the opportunity to save such male roles and remained as the only empowered female character throughout all three original films. However, this was all viewed as a secondary thought as the roles played by men were seen as the primary entity to the series, but this still was seen as a major breakthrough for females in film. Around the time the series was released the role and idea for a strong female lead character to exist was revolutionary and had a major impact on the way viewers and directors looked at films and the way female roles were handled. This of course would set the path for future films to be released. We would see this once again when the prequel films were released – episodes one through 3 – as characters such as Padme Amidalla, Keira Knightley, and other female Jedi roles came to light. Once again these characters were portrayed to be women of power and viewed as a great importance to the public. However, once again these features were viewed as a second thought and taken behind the roles of men and their importance to the series. Making it no surprise that the target demographic for the series was predominantly male-oriented. Despite this, Star Wars has an audience of female fans equal to those of their male counterparts and with such a large number of female fans. You would think that the universe would have more populated with roles of woman shining beyond or sharing the roles of men. Sadly, this was not the case and women presented were often shown to fall short of being any type of role model-like figure. It was seen as though if boys were to watch Star Wars films, they can idolize or plays as Obi-Wan or Anakin, characters who were portrayed to be cunning, brave, and would face danger head on. Girls on the other hand, were they supposed to support being submissive, and in need of a hero like that of Leia and Padme? Was this the trend that all of the series films would fall victim to? Women depending on men to shape and care for their futures? These types of questions remained unanswered for the longest time, until recent years when the Star Wars franchise announced it would return to the big screen in 2015 under the name â€Å"Star Wars: The Force Awakens†. However, this would not be a â€Å"per usual† Star Wars film dominated by white male men and their secondary female counterparts. No, this film sought to abolish all of the stale characteristics the series had become known for, and decided to give the series a twist no one could have seen coming. As the film itself was presented with the idea of having the franchise's first female lead role, first female villain role, first African American lead, and include more minor female characters in unexpected areas. The film was also set to have a wide This sent the world into a complete frenzy as it had a mixed reception from fans. Some found they loved and looked forward to the idea of a fresh take on the series and moving along with modern times. Fans could now be open to an entire new world, and see what could come from such a diverse cast of characters. Others however, took this as an insult, and saw the series falling prey to the social justice warrior movements and being nothing more than mere propaganda that would harm the series. Causing multiple Men's Right Activists to call for boycotts of the film, and multiple online protests, as several stated it was an attack on the hold men had throughout the series. In weeks leading to the release of the film, trailers and images taken for the film were tagged with â€Å"#BoycottStarWarsVII† and â€Å"#StarWarsaMensGalaxy†. Despite the protests, and negative feedback from multiple activists and fans, the film generated $529 million its opening week. Stomping out the superstitions that this one film would ruin the image of Star Wars that was established. However, the biggest victory this film had, was with its characters and their roles in the film as director JJ Abrams made it clear that The Force Awakens was something that would change the Star Wars forever. Many speculated that, despite the latest additions to the franchise would still be dominated by men, and have small hints of a woman being in power. However, when the film debuted many found the story's main character, Rey, a mysterious character with a hidden backstory, was not only cunning and well-rounded. She was truly independent, did not rely on another character, find herself in the middle of a love scene, or eagerly waiting for a knight in shining armor to come save the day. The closest she comes to something of that sort, is her companion Finn, who also made a splash being the franchise's first African American lead role. However, it comes across as two friends looking after one another, it could even be recognized as a bond strictly forged by survival. However, this was not the only shocker of the film, as another twist to the plot of the story comes during the climax of the film. When Rey would even defeat, and overpower the films only white antagonist known as Kylo Ren in a lightsaber battle. Some would say that it was one of the most horrific fight scenes on a Star Wars film to date, but not if you take a closer look as the fight itself has a hidden meaning. Analyzing the fight scene, Kylo toys with Rey and does not face as a real opponent. Taunting her, and showing his superior strength to push her to a weakened state but at the one point he offers her a chance to join him as an apprentice and teach her what she lacks as a Jedi. This can be seen as a moment of man beating down the thought of a woman taking on such a role. Demonstrating that a woman such as Rey is not meant to be so strong. That she is not meant to stand as a warrior, or as someone who can stand their ground and can easily fall prey to the words of a man who appears to be stronger and offers a way out a difficult situation. However, as Rey, struggles to hold off her opponent, she takes a moment to reflect on who she is, and why she is fighting. She then becomes focused and forges a stronger bond between herself and the force which allows her to become more powerful than Kylo could have ever become in such a short time. Rey, who has never fought with a lightsaber, never used the force in anyway, or faced an evil as strong as Kylo Ren emerges victorious. Making an impression on the young man, and the audience that this female character is not one to be taken so lightly, that women can take on such a role, and be just as good of a Jedi warrior worthy of wielding a lightsaber in battle. This scene alone can be indicated as one of the most iconic, visually pleasing, and outspoken of all time, with the simple message it carries through its actions and depiction. Just one more thing for the world to fall in love with, and that it did. Following the success of the film came the monstrous demand for the toys, and video game figures that the public would be open to collect and enjoy. The new line of Star Wars figures and video games included almost every single cast member and their costumes, all except one major piece. Rey herself, was not found to be included in any of the merchandise produced by toy distributor Hasbro, except for one. One that was part of a â€Å"Speeder Bundle†, a pre-sale toy bundle before the film was released. However, this one toy absolutely robs Rey of any gender as she is fully masked and clothed. One would not even notice it was a female character in the form of a toy. This of course drove a massive callout from fans and gender activists, both raising the question as to why? Why was this important female character being left out when so many were calling for her to appear? The answer came from an inside report from Hasbro that stated toymakers were specifically directed to exclude Rey from their products because â€Å"Star Wars toys were geared toward boys and boys don't like playing with female action figures. No boy wants to be given a product with a female character on it.† Which brought both Hasbro and Disney to come forward and made a thin excuse saying their intentions were â€Å"mistaken, as they did not wish to reveal or spoil anything for anyone who had not seen the movie.† It was also found that both Disney and Hasbro invested heavily in the white antagonist male character Kylo Ren as many executives expected his role to be the breakout role of the century. Returning old world views of woman not being able to have as strong of a hold in the entertainment industry as men and bringing forth the question of whether or not this trend would continue with the later series of episodes the Star Wars franchise planned to release in years to come. Although the answer may not be fully known, it is clear that creators and directors under with the Star Wars brand are working toward undoing the damage set forth by past films for their portrayal of women. With the latest installments of Star Wars: The Clone Wars Animated, Rogue One, and The Last Jedi – all featuring more independent and empowered female characters, the franchise is on the right path but still has a large road ahead till many see women equal to men.

Child Abuse and Neglect in the State of Ohio Assignment

Child Abuse and Neglect in the State of Ohio - Assignment Example Child abuse is regarded as a national tragedy that is annually affecting more than three million children and causing the death of three children every day. Statistics indicate that, in the state of Ohio alone, the practice is quite prevalent and it is reported that about 20 children are reported as neglected or abused every hour and with the total number of reported neglected or abused children averaging at around 480 cases per day. It has been noted that most cases involving the neglect and abuse of children in the state are not reported (Congressional Record, 1999). Children are increasingly being maltreated, neglected or even abused in many different forms of ways in the different communities, countries or even social strata. The types and nature of child abuse and neglect can be subdivided into five basic broad categories, these categories are sexual abuse, physical abuse, abuse for commercial purpose, psychological/emotional abuse and neglect (Deb, 2006). In the state of Ohio, the term â€Å"child abuse† refers to exposing a child to victimization via sexual activity. This activity can be informed of enticing, compelling, hiring, permitting, employing allowing a child to act or even model or participate in any production, photograph, presentation, advertisement or any other presentation that the offender knows to be sexually oriented or obscene (Lau, Krase & Morse, 2009). A caregiver or parent committing an action that causes nonaccidental death or physical injury to a child is regarded as having physically abused the child. Physical abuse can be defined as any nonaccidental injury occurring to a child as a result of the actions of a caretaker. The abuse includes the frequent, punching, slapping, beating shaking, burning, biting and kicking of a child (Deb, 2006).

Constraints to the Development of Alternative Energy Essay

Constraints to the Development of Alternative Energy - Essay Example The cause of the problem has already been identified: the increase in the emission of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. These greenhouse gases include carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, chlorofluorocarbons and hydrofluorocarbons. Both the absence and increased volume of greenhouse gases are seen to be detrimental to the environment as less of it might cause negative temperature which disallows the earth to sustain life. On the other hand, increased volume of greenhouse gases is the primary source of global warming. Some greenhouse gases are emitted as a byproduct of some materials with significant use to our everyday life. The example of this is carbon. Energy sources are of paramount importance to our daily life. Since the industrial revolution, we have relied heavily on energy to run our transportation and communication and many other aspects of our needs and wants. For commercial purposes, the use of energy has been significant especially in terms of firms’ profit. It was also â€Å"the process of industrialisation that brought about the conversion of fossil fuels into power, heat and light, thereby releasing within a mere 250 years carbon that had lain dormant underground for millions of years†. â€Å"It is these fossil fuels that are responsible for the vast bulk of carbon output† â€Å"Fossil fuels, the energy of modernization, which constitute about 70 percent of global energy output, now threaten the survival of life on Earth† and people believe that â€Å"the key to survival lies in conserving energy and switching to carbon-free or, at least, low carbon sources†. ... On the other hand, increased volume of greenhouse gases is the primary source of global warming. Some greenhouse gases are emitted as byproduct of some materials with significant use to our everyday life. Example of this is carbon. Energy sources are of paramount importance to our daily life. Since the industrial revolution, we have relied heavily on energy to run our transportation and communication and many other aspects of our needs and wants. For commercial purposes, the use of energy has been significant especially in terms of firms' profit. It was also "the process of industrialization that brought about the conversion of fossil fuels into power, heat and light, thereby releasing within a mere 250 years carbon that had lain dormant underground for millions of years" (Blowers, p.208). "It is these fossil fuels that are responsible for the vast bulk of carbon output" (Blowers, p.210) "Fossil fuels, the energy of modernization, which constitute about 70 per cent of global energy output, now threaten the survival of life on Earth" and people believe that "the key to survival lies in conserving energy and switching to carbon free or, at least, low carbon sources" (Blowers, p.209). Two Approaches The government has two approaches against climate change: mitigation which is prevention of further changes and adaptation which is preparation for the possible effects of climate change. In this paper we would be dealing with the mitigation approach particularly the development of alternative sources of energy. "Mitigation strategies involve the reduction of greenhouse gas sources or the enhancement of sinks. Examples of mitigation strategies include switching from fossil fuels to alternative energy sources, improved energy efficiency and planting trees to

About german Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

About german - Essay Example The efficiency is admirable because if something is worth doing the Germans do it right. The obedience to the laws is also commendable. Laws are not created for citizens to pick and choose. They are for the betterment of society. Germans seem to understand this concept. As for the nudity when sunbathing, swimming, or in the sauna, this is laudable due to the shamelessness in the human body. Whether a svelte teenager or a wrinkled old woman the Germans are comfortable with their body. Americans are sometimes efficient, but not across the whole population. The efficiency personality varies among Americans. The obedience to the law is not as important to Americans. It seems that Americans pick and choose laws that are fair. If a law does not appear to be fair an American will fight to change it. For example at a red light in an emergency, an American will run the light. Germans would not. Americans enjoy nudity only for the good looking woman. Men can take off their shirts, but full nudity is obscene to Americans. Women can show everything but the chest and other private areas. Old people that are nude make the Americans disgusted. Germans and Americans are just different in these three

Literary Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Literary Analysis - Essay Example Through the character played by Tala, Mitch acknowledges the theme that â€Å"In life there are no random acts.† When Eddie –the main character- set fire to the prisoner of war camp, he had it in the back of his mind that he saw a kid in the camp. The event had haunted Eddie throughout his life and even he would have nightmares at times at the thought of killing a child. For this act, Mitch calls for the need of Christians to take ample responsibility for all their actions. Mitch teaches â€Å"lives are sacrificed for the sake of saving others.† Eddie’s captain had promised that he would never leave his soldiers behind during the Second World War. The promissory ends up costing The Captain his life as he was being held captive at the prisoner of war camp. Was it not for The Captain’s sacrifice, three of his soldiers –including Eddie- could have died over a landmine. Finally, of all the themes that â€Å"I Am My Brother’s Keeper† ministry believes in, love binds the believers most: And Mitch procures this message through his character Ruby. At heaven, Ruby could be a lot older. However, the love for his husband; Emile, still stood strong. Through Ruby and Emile’s love, Eddie –and all the believers- learn that life may end but love will endure forever. â€Å"Love is powerful,† and whoever believes in it secures eternal

Corp case study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Corp case study - Essay Example t Darden, Doman & Stafford Associates (DDA) accepted the obligation of a corporation not yet formed and did not hold John Goodman as a responsible individual, as noted in the dissenting opinion (John A. Goodman 7). When it cannot be concluded by evidence that the parties to the contract other than the promoter, looked solely to the corporation and not to the promoter for performance of the contract, the promoter becomes liable for the preincorporation contract made by him. As such decision was passed against Goodman, making him liable under the preincorporation contract (John A. Goodman 3). As Goodman or the promoter in this case alleged that DDS agreed to look solely to the corporation, he will have the burden of proving the agreement. The release of the promoter depends on the intent of the party when the promoter depends on the agreement. However, Goodman’s arguments that the terms â€Å"in formation† in the contract and â€Å"†¦ warranties contained herein shall be construed to have been made between seller and resultant corporation†¦Ã¢â‚¬  were in fact ambiguous as they did not expressly state about the release from personal liability of the promoter (John A. Goodman 5-6). While determining whether the trial court’s decision was correct based on the evidence, the court found that the trial court gave its decision in favor of Goodman based on three considerations, which are: 1) DDS knew the corporation did not exist; 2) The fact that Doman was informed by Goodman about the formation of the corporation; and 3) progress payments were made to the corporation. However, the above considerations are not dispositive in any way of the intent of DDS to hold Goodman personally liable. As such the evidence not being substantial to show the intent to release Goodman from his personal liability, he was held a party to the contract (John A. Goodman 6- 7). The decision concurs with the general rule that a promoter is liable for a preincorporation contract made for the

Scarcity and how it Applies to Micro-Economic Decision Making Essay

Scarcity and how it Applies to Micro-Economic Decision Making - Essay Example It is a fact that if anything is scarce it will definitely have a higher market value compared to those goods and services which are relatively widely available. (Riley 2006)i Scarcity essentially raises the question of which alternative to choose and which is better in which condition. These various choices have to be made on a daily basis by all consumers, firms and governments. (Steven 2011)iiA simple example is how the millions of people in New York City get to work. This choice of which mode of travel to take in order to get to their required destination in the least and most cost-effective amount of time is what troubles everyone. These small decisions are taken on an extensive scale on a daily basis and for most of the individuals this is more of a habitual routine than a choice but still at the first instance they had to figure out which mode is the best for them. This concept is followed by the most important concept in microeconomics, Opportunity Cost. Opportunity Cost meas ures the cost of any choice in terms of the next best alternative forgone. This can apply to individuals, firms and governments. For an individual whether to work extra hours or give more time to family for leisure is a choice that has to be made on a regular basis. For a government, it has to decide whether to allocate its limited budget to military or education or health. For a firm, it has to decide which machinery to use to produce the most output in the least amount of time maintaining quality. All this is not only a decision that is made without conscious thinking, it requires a lot of conscious effort from the individual’s part to investigate which option is best for him. This involves a rational Cost-Benefit Analysis. A Cost-Benefit Analysis is the process whereby individuals decide whether the advantages of a particular option are likely to outweigh its drawbacks. This is highly specific as all the known information for the available alternatives has to be taken into account and after comparing it with each other it has to be decided upon which alternative is giving the most benefit after accounting for its drawbacks (net benefit). On a micro-level thousands of millions of decisions take place to counter this problem of scarcity. A firm has to constantly perform assessment whether to hire new workers or request their existing workers to give extra hours in order to produce the excess demand. A separate department usually exists in MNC’s which has the responsibility to undertake extensive in-depth research in major financial decisions. For example, acquiring of new capital costing millions of dollars $ might be a better option than upgrading existing capital equipment. Although the initial cost will be high but the long term benefit of the first choice will outweigh the benefit of the second option. In Africa, governments have to constantly engage in a battle against poverty, healthcare and education. The question which is more important is debatable. Which sector should be given more preference depends on the positive impact it will have on the community and society on the whole. It can also mean that in a battle to provide everyone clean water and food, government might not reach its set goal for education. (CBC 2011)iii Nevertheless, it has to be viewed in such a perspective that if people are not provided the basic

Communications Persuasive theory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Communications Persuasive theory - Essay Example This I learned after believing a beer advert that portrayed that taking the beer could make one think better and refresh one’s mind. The messages that really persuaded me to indulge into taking the beer ran like â€Å"drink the beer for better mental refreshment and enhancement.† In most cases, we experience value, belief and lifestyle change as a result of persuasion that is presented through such media adverts, as I was persuaded to believe this message in the advert. An attitude is a precursor of behavior; the manner in which the message was decoded and evaluated made me to develop a liking to this message and was eager to try to benefit from alleged mind refreshment, notwithstanding that I was still an intermediate student. This perceived benefit made me to have a weak control on my behavior, and within no time I was ready to experience the new feeling that I was persuaded to try by the advert. Goldsmith (2000) elaborates that advice messages are potentially threatening to the public or an individual, and may in fact threaten the recipient’s positive face. As I went head to try the effectiveness of this message, I in fact discovered that the advert was distorted and wrong, as I was seriously affected by the beer to an extent that in the following two days, I could hardly walk out of my room. Ego involvement dictates that the more one is motivated in an issue, the more likely that their attitudes will predict behavior. My strong motivation to trying the advert message led me to excessive drinking resulting to the serious repercussions that I faced later on. The theory of planned behavior explains that the behavior al intention is the determinant of the future behavior, with the intention being influenced by independent constructs, which are; the attitude, perceived behavior control and the subjective norm (Jones, Sinclair & Rhodes 2004). The

An investigation into Chinese consumers' reasons for purchasing luxury Dissertation

An investigation into Chinese consumers' reasons for purchasing luxury brands in the UK - Dissertation Example The Journal of International Management Studies, Volume 5, Number 1, April, 2010. P 189 27 LeCompte, MD and   Schensul, JJ. 2010. Designing & Conducting Ethnographic Research: An Introduction: Volume 1 of Ethnographer's Toolkit, Second Edition Series. Rowman Altamira, Edition 2 27 Lu, PX. 2011. Confucianism and Conspicuousness. Elite China: Luxury Consumer Behavior in China. John Wiley & Sons. Book 27 Mason, R. 1993. Cross-Cultural Influences on the Demand For Status Goods, in European Advances in Consumer Research Volume 1, eds. W. Fred Van Raaij and Gary J. Bamossy, European Advances in Consumer Research Volume 1 : Association for Consumer Research, Pages: 46-51. 27 Oswald, LR. 2010. Developing Brand Literacy among Affluent Chinese Consumers A Semiotic Perspective. Advances in Consumer Research. Volume 37.Journal Article 27 Reidel, D. 2012. From Mao Suits To Michael Kors: Stocks That Capitalize On Chinese Consumers. Forbes. 10 September 2012 Retreived 27 Nov 2012 from 27 Vigneron , F and Johnson WL. 1999.A Review and Conceptual Framework of Prestige Seeking Consumers. Accademy of Marketing Science. No.1 Pp 1-15 28 Appendix 28 1. 2. 3. 4. 4.1. Introduction The qualitative research conducted for the purpose of gathering data for this report consisted of interviews from a sample using open-ended questions that were opinion based. The most important yet complex issue with qualitative research is that it generates a large and thoughtful database that is based on the responses generated from interviews, documents and field notes (Bryman and Bell, 2003). Miles (1979) refers to this form of research as â€Å"attractive nuisance†, this is because he believes that the data generated is rich and resourceful but taking it in a definite direction is a complex task. The role of the researcher becomes very vital to the conclusions drawn from the research because it is based on their critical analysis of the data and findings. Unlike quantitative research where concl usions can be directly inferred from figures and values, a qualitative research would go to a complete waste if the researcher does not perform proper analysis. Data analysis is also an important concern for businesses, this method of data analysis is adopted by businesses for conducting survey research from their target audience and market. The research problem needs to be clearly stated as they would guide the researcher to meet specific objectives. The information and experiences that respondents shared were arranged in a tabular format in Appendix 1. The research topic is â€Å"An investigation into Chinese consumers’ reasons for purchasing luxury brands in the UK†, this qualitative research would be categorized as an Ethnographic research. Ethnographic research is described as a systematic approach to understand the culture and social life of communities, and emphasize and build on the perspective of respondents in the research setting (LeCompte & Schensu). The in terview session took place in the form

Asserting Ethnic Identity and Power Through Language Essay Example for Free

Asserting Ethnic Identity and Power Through Language Essay Week-1 The linguistic ideology at work here is founded both on the concept of the ‘mother tongue’ as well as on the ‘one nation, one language’ principle. Communities on the western side of the border are not interested in learning the language of their eastern neighbors. Eastern communities, on the other hand, are strongly motivated to learn western languages. The importance attributed to English as the ‘language of globalization’ is common to both sides. We can actually say that ‘language’ is a very hot and recurrent issue for some communities: namely the German-speaking community in Bernstein (D), the Czech-speaking community in Vejprty (CS), the German-speaking and Slovenian-speaking communities in Eisenkappel/Z? elezna Kapla (A),etc. The term ‘mother tongue’ is often used – forms the ‘way of thinking’ of its speakers, and thus the different ‘mentalities’ and ‘national characters’ are connected with the use of different languages. Many informants are convinced that it is the ‘mother tongue’ which determines thought, social behavior, and exhibition or control of affection and emotions. Thus the confrontation between languages automatically becomes a clash of mentalities. For example, the German-speaking community in Ba? renstein finds there is a relation between the insurmountable difficulty in pronouncing and learning the Czech language and the incomprehensibility of the words Czech-speaking people produce. People in western communities explain this widespread knowledge by saying that ‘the Others’ need to know my language, because my language is the superior One. We can also find indices of implicit prestige in many interview quotes, like ‘my language is useful to find a job’, ‘my language is more international than theirs’, ‘it represents a symbol of upward social mobility’; ‘the importance of my language forces them to learn it, and in this way they show practical sense, intelligence and cleverness, because they well know that the knowledge of the languages spoken on both sides of the border offers more professional and economic opportunities’. People are not generally interested in learning the language of the ‘Other’, and the reason is, as we have already seen, its ‘uselessness’, or its low value on the ‘language market’. They only learn what they need in their commercial transactions. Europe is a multilingual continent in which the tension between linguistic pluralism and assimilation is quite evident at present. Week-2 The topic for this week was â€Å"Creation of a Sense of Belonging through Language†, which we found very much interesting as we have to present our own explanation, views and thoughts. The topic is about Finland, Iceland and Latvia. Firstly we discussed about Finland that Swedish-speaking people along the coastlines, spoke a non-Scandinavian language, namely Finnish. The Finnish language was to become the most effective medium in the nation-building process as well as the most important criterion in creating an awareness of a collective identity. Language became a defining characteristic towards the ‘outside’ and a communicative driving force on the ‘inside’ within the great diversity of local and regional cultures. We could say that for the process of nation-building in Finland during the 19th century two main deficits had to be overcome: sovereign state structures had to be developed and an individual Finnish national consciousness had to be formed. In the process of spreading a Finnish national consciousness – a development often associated with the term ‘awakening’ as in a religious experience – the main focus was directed towards the common people, their language and culture. Finland’s modest cultural life, Finnish had gained the status of a modern cultural and scientific language. The civil servants, scholars, and many artists, continued to use Swedish as their language of communication and publication. But Finnish steadily gained ground. Many people were already, or became, bilingual. The accusation that Finnish was ‘too primitive’ was defeated by generating new terms, which proved that the language was innovative and possessed the potential for development. In the discussion about Iceland by Halfdanarson. The text tells a story of Icelandic nationalism and the struggle for independence of Iceland under Danish rule. Halfdanarson points out the rare case of Icelandic nationalism, and its non-violent nature. In fact, according to the article, both Iceland’s struggle for independence and the Danish reactions to it were both surprisingly pacific in nature, partly because of the idea of shared past and cultural heritage between the two countries. There are certain elements in common with the case study of Iceland and Herders text, such as the idea of mystic, shared past of a nation, the role of the single language of a social group forming the nation and so on. I think especially in cases like Iceland, language and linguistic identity have essential role in formation of national identity. Iceland is isolated, both in geographical terms as an island in the middle of Atlantic ocean and in terms of language. Although Icelandic is a language related to scandinavian languages, it still differes from them quite a lot. And lastly There was a question that is it possible to have a single language in whole Europe? We think its not possible to have a single langage in the whole Europe as there are many different countries with their own languages from last hundreds of years. In Europe, People communicate with each other using the shared language of their group. The group might be as small as a couple (married or unmarried partners, twins, mother and daughter etc. who share a ‘private’ language where only they know the meaning of some words) or as large as a nation, where everyone understands the allusions in their shared language (often allusions to shared history, to contemporary events, to media people of fact or fiction etc). The ‘secret’ language of the smallest group and the ‘public’ language of the national group are two ‘varieties’ of the same language. Every social group, large or small, has its own language variety, (regional groups have varieties of the national language (as opposed to regional or minority languages) which are usually called ‘dialects’) and there is overlap among all the varieties. However there is a possibility to use English as a second language as use of English gives a considerable advantage to the 13 % of EU citizens who are native English speakers, and to speakers of closely related languages (German, Dutch, Danish and Swedish), over all other Europeans. Week-3 In the week 3, we learned about ‘Language and subjective identity’. The two articles were on Franz Kafka and Simone de Beauvoir. Franz Kafka was German though he never lived among the Germans. He was then living in Prague, Czech. Hence Kafka knew both Czech German languages. But, he preferred Czech Language as he was of the view that one could express his/her feeling in a better way in a particular language. In this case, he thought that Czech was a better language than German to express his feelings. Franz Kafka was in love with Czech translator Milena Jesenka. He used to demand Milena to write him letters in Czech language than German. He belived in a approach belongs to a language. When Milena replied his letters in Czech, he believed that Czech was much more affectionate, which removes all the uncertainties, he could see his lover more clearly, the movements of her body, her hands quickly which almost resembled as they both are meeting. This shows how Kafka prefered Czech more than German. Kafka encouraged his favourite sister Ottla in her marriage to Josef David, a Czech Catholic, against the opposition of parents and relatives, and wrote affectionately to his new brother-in-law in fluent Czech. For Prague Jews of Kafkas generation, language and identity could be painfully dissonant. In Kafkas case, this dissonance reached deep into his own family, conferring an alien quality on the most intimate of human relationships. Franz Kafka died of tuberculosis in 1924. He is buried beside his parents in the family plot in Pragues New Jewish Cemetery. Simone de Beauvoir is a French Women. She was French writer, political activist, feminist, and social theorist. She gave her whole life for feminine rights and equality with men in Society. Beauvoir was an outstanding student. She did her postgraduate work at the Ecole Normale Superieure, the top postgraduate program in France, where she met Jean Paul Sartre. When World War II broke out in September 1939, Sartre was called for military service. He became a prisoner of war when the French army surrendered, but he was released and both Beauvoir and Sartre participated in the resistance, and after the Vichy Regime dismissed Beauvoir from her teaching position, she began a novel about the resistance. When the war ended, Beauvoir and Sartre became part of a group of leading French intellectuals, who concerned themselves with the perceived failures of modern French society. they founded Les Temps modernes as a means to explain their social and cultural views. At the same time, Sartre suggested to Beauvoir that she undertake a book on the status of women, and she published, La deuxieme sexe (The Second Sex). This was her most famous, and influential book. It became a sourcebook of modern feminism, particularly in the United States for later feminist thinkers such as Betty Friedan and Gloria Steinem. De Beauvoir used very specific and effective and powerful words to underline her matter. She is willing to deploy language and words towards others, because she knows about â€Å"a manner in which her body and her relation to the world are modified through the action of others than herself†.

Consequences Of Passive Listening English Language Essay

Consequences Of Passive Listening English Language Essay Passive listening occurs when a person is fully aware of a lecture, Conversation, or something audio that is going on in his or her presence but the person does not react to it. This essay is going to attempt to explain in details the consequences of passive listening. A passive listener does not interrupt the speaker or perform any action whatsoever at the same time in which the speaker is delivering his or her speech. In most cases, a passive listener does not nod his or her head, make appropriate facial expressions, and make eye contacts with the speaker or any other action that indicates whether a person is paying attention or not. When a person concentrates on making non-verbal cues (nodding, eye contacts and so on), then he or she is probably not paying much attention in other words, listening passively because those actions come naturally to a person who is actively listening i.e. he or she does not have to concentrate on doing them. In some cases, passive listening is associated with students in the class room. A student who is listening passively to a lecture barely pays attention to details but at the end of the lecture, the student tends to remember 10% or less of the information passed through during the lecture session. This is because although the student was not paying much attention to the details, the student will zone in and out of his or her mind at regular intervals and in the process accidentally take in some valuable information. Usually, passive listening in students is caused by a dull lecture or an interruption in which a student is attracted to for example, cell phones. It is not always the fault of the lecturer because some topics are uninteresting by nature. Despite all the reasons and excuses a student might have for his or her lack of interest during lectures, the consequences for this action will have to be put into consideration because it can adversely affect a persons academic participation and result. Listening passively without checking in on a conversation to verify that you have a message correct often leads to communication error. By simply being in a conversation without interjecting questions or active statements that uncover the speakers real message, a persons personal ideas might begin to form about what the message might mean instead of what the message actually means. An example is when an apprentice technician joins the audience in an inaugural lecture. If he listens passively, he will only manage to listen to the sounds, he will not be able to meaningfully identify the spoken signals not to talk of correctly interpreting what is being said. This will result in errors in the persons solutions or answers. If a person is listening passively, then the person is not speaking. Effective communication allows both the message sender and the receiver to express themselves in an even exchange of ideas. A passive listener can be compared to a rock, you can see it and you know it is there, but it does not seem to be absorbing anything that you are saying. The reason why passive listening is mostly associated with students is because it occurs mainly with teenagers. Passive listening requires a lot of focus because a passive listener severely focuses on what he or she is listening to but is not doing anything apart from listening meaning he or she is not absorbing any information. The strain on unmonitored focus affects a persons ability to understand. A person can store information correctly in the brain only when both the mind and brain of the individual are relaxed. Straining the brain to listen without any interest on details therefore results in a persons lack of understanding, wastage of time and possibly head ache or brain clogging. Some other practitioners of passive listening techniques are those attempting to learn a foreign language the audio way that is through an mp3 player or an audio CD player. This is common because when advertising these products, the marketing team make promises of satisfying results to whoever uses them. They include attractive slogans like learn French the easy way just by listening to this audio CD while finishing your chores. If a person is performing a task while listening to something, then the person is listening passively. The shocking truth is that passive listening cannot get a person to fluency in a language because it ever rarely produces any good results. What is even worse is that it will not help the ability of the person to understand the language he or she is attempting to learn. It is a fact that a passive listener is unable to correctly store, interpret and recall information, this fact also applies to a language learner who is listening passively. In plain words, a language learner who is listening passively will not be able to store, interpret and recall what has been said because language learning needs some amount of focus and understanding. In some cases, a person does not deliberately listen passively to a lecture or speech, passive listening can occur due to absent mindedness. In this situation, the source of this action is either the speaker or the listener. The speaker can be the cause of passive listening in an individual if his or her voice volume is too low and the listeners will have to strain their ears to listen. There will come a point in time when the listeners will finally give up on listening to the lecture because they are tired of straining their ears and the rest of the valuable information the speaker has to deliver will pass by the listeners ears and go to waste. There is also the case of complexity. When the speaker is using too many complex words or unnecessary issues and details, the listener tends to zone out and start to imagine all sorts of consequences for the discussion at hand and in the process missing out on some of the important key points. The listeners can also be at fault because at tim es, they focus on passing judgment on the speaker, topic or lecture so much that they forget the currently important speech they are supposed to be actively listening to and as a result they listen passively and miss out on the most important parts of the lecture. In my research I have learnt that the word consequence means outcome. The outcome of an event can be both good and bad since everything that has an advantage has a disadvantage. Everything I have mentioned on passive listening so far has been negative but it also has its own advantages.

Mental Health Issues in Parents: Service Provisions

Mental Health Issues in Parents: Service Provisions Provide a critical evaluation of current methods of working and service user provisions in the area of parents with a mental health problem, drawing upon developing knowledge and research. Introduction In this thesis we discuss the role of parenting, the responsibilities that are involved and the issues of mental health problems in parents. We draw upon existing knowledge and research to understand mental health problems and psychological complications of parents and discuss health and social policies that are related to current methods of working for such parents within social work. Several research studies, legislative reports and health policies are discussed and we provide a critical evaluation of the provisions, current research materials available and issues regarding mental health and psychological problems of parents and service user provisions. In 1998, the Department of Health emphasised on the programme of Modernising Mental Health Services, with three key aims: Safe services to protect the public and provide effective care for those with mental illness at the time they need it Sound services to ensure that patients and service users have access to the full range of services which they need Supportive services working with patients and service users, their families and carers to build healthier communities. (See DoH, 1998) Service User Provisions and Mental Health Studies and Approaches Among the service provisions available to parents with mental health needs, the programme of the National Service Frameworks (NSF) is part of the Government agenda to improve quality and reduce any unacceptable variations in health and social services National Service Frameworks by the Department of Health, cover mental health issues and coronary disease the significant reasons for causing disability and ill health among the adult population in UK. The NSF frameworks address the mental health needs of working age adults and parents and set out the national standards of care and support, the national service models, local action, and national underpinning programmes for implementation and a series of national milestones and performance indicators to measure progress in this sector. National health standards are set out in five areas including mental health promotion; primary care and access to services; effective services for people with severe mental illness; carers of people with me ntal health problems; and reduction of suicides. This applies to tackling mental health problems in parents and provisions for access to care. The National Service Framework for mental health concentrates on the mental health needs of working age adults up to 65, and covers health promotion, assessment and diagnosis, treatment, rehabilitation and care, and also encompasses primary and specialist care for these individuals. Adult Placement schemes are available for these individuals who are provided with carers, supported living, home based care and day services and extended family support from the NHS and NIMHE. Mental Health crisis intervention services with rehabilitation, counselling and psychotherapy are also provided by the Health authorities. Several studies discuss the process and value of working with parents when their child or children are being treated with individual psychotherapy (see Robinson et al, 2005). A psychoanalytic understanding of the parents’ perspectives in seeing a mentally ill child and the psychological problems of the parents themselves are considered. The issues discussed have a broader applicability in other aspects and approaches of child and adolescent mental health practice (Zubrick et al, 2005). The central issues are interweaving the knowledge of family processes, child development and psychopathology and the uses of the understanding of transference and counter transference as psychoanalytic concepts. The aspects of the work which constitute child guidance are considered psychotherapeutic as it relates to parental psychopathology. To explore and define the boundaries between psychological process of child and parents, the psychotherapy of parenthood may be analysed and implications of parental psychotherapy can be considered along with childrens problems and issues. Flouri (2005) reviews the evidence of the role of childhood adversities, family structure and issues of parenting in determining youth suicidal behaviour and Flouri emphasises that suicide research could benefit from investigating whether proper parenting can protect suicidal behaviour in young people who are vulnerable and at risks. The operationalization of non optimal parenting has often been considered as a risk factor for adolescent suicidal behaviour and influencing and identifying pathways of influence has been a major target. The measures of reducing suicidal risks in the vulnerable populations also tend to focus on parents with weak material and social resources, mental health problems and few networks, low social and emotional support, and high-risk children. The identification of causative factors relating parent mental condition an parental status might be beneficial in preventing youth suicidal behaviours as measures could be taken from a broad social perspective. Citing one of the case studies, Derisley et al (2005) have attempted psychotherapy of parenthood and have used a study to compare mental health, coping and family functioning in parents of young people with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), anxiety disorders, and no known mental health problems. For the methods, 28 parents of young people with OCD, anxiety disorders (N = 28), and no known mental health problems (N = 62), the three different categories of people, all completed Brief Symptom Inventory (Derogatis, 1993), the Coping Responses Inventory (Moos, 1990), and the McMaster family assessment device (Epstein, Baldwin, Bishop, 1983). The results indicated that parents of children with OCD and anxiety disorders had poorer mental health and used more avoidant coping methods than parents of non-clinical and mentally stable children. The results also indicated that there were no significant group differences a measured in three groups in family-functioning. This suggested that the re are basic similarities across parents of clinically referred children and active parental involvement in the treatment of OCD in young people can actually trigger or facilitate the cure and treatment of such young people. Research shows that Black and Minority communities are more likely to suffer from inequalities in access to mental health services, they also report inequalities in their experience of services for mental health care, and they also tend to have more problems and complaints with the outcome of these services. For instance, the Department of Health points out those BME patients are significantly more likely to be detained compulsorily or diagnosed with schizophrenia in mental health situations. The mental health scenario and care provided to minority communities have a direct impact on anti oppressive and anti discriminatory practice. The Department of Health, and the NHS is developing a comprehensive programme of work to tackle inequalities of service provisions to mentally ill patients. In the area of service user provisions for mental health care and support, with an aim to promote anti discriminatory and anti-oppressive practices, the Department of health has identified a strategy for improving mental health services for black and minority ethnic communities in England. Community development workers or social workers are appointed to enhance the capacity within minority ethnic groups, especially adults and parents in dealing with the burden of mental ill health and tackling the inequalities inherent in the services provided. These Community Development Workers contribute to: (source: NIMHE, 2005) Seeking out the strengths and capabilities within particular communities around mental health and the resources available to individuals suffering from mental illness Enabling mental health organisations to bridge the gap between Western models of care and the values and norms of the community they serve Supporting community groups and networks, directing them to resources that are available and funding as appropriate Facilitating community participation and ownership of parents/adults in mental health provision and in combating health inequalities. For provisions of quality services, improved partnership/collaborative work between the NHS, local authorities, prisons, residential homes and the probation services are also required for service development and the care of service users, especially for individuals with severe mental illness. In a study by Hart et al (2005), the implications of user involvement are studied that address the views of clients and their parents on service user delivery in a specialist Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) serving a population of 250,000.the study explores the complexities inherent in childrens services when parents are integral or involved significantly to different modes of treatment. In the study concerned, 27 teenage clients, 11 boys and 16 girls were recruited from CAMHS and 30 parents were also consulted and they were all from different socioeconomic backgrounds. A series of structured interactive techniques were used by focus groups who also conducted home visits to get interview data. the data was then subject to qualitative analysis and descriptive statistics were generated from interview data and focus groups information. From these data the three issues that were used to describe service user provisions are the core values implicated in establishing a t herapeutic alliance, the style of therapy, and mode of practice with the inclusion of family members. Style of therapy and core therapeutic skills of service providers have been given fundamental importance and Hart et al provided a model of organisational user involvement with a model of therapeutic user involvement for use in negotiating modes of practice with the service user especially in case of mental health practice. The study was thus collaboration between service users, health professionals and researchers and explored different themes of therapy and complexities inherent in childrens services as well as role of parents in mental health care. In fact provisions of parent led self help group and therapeutic approaches are important for achievement of attuned practice. The skills of staff working in adult mental health and child welfare, those that benefit mentally ill parents and their children are recognised by effective collaboration and development of co-ordinated service provision. Health services and local authority staff, as well as workers in education and the voluntary sectors are required to understand the necessities of service provisions. This involves, foundation knowledge, working together and assessment, planning and intervention for mental health care. The attitude of service providers is important and a study by Rasaratnam et al (2004) investigates the influence of attitudes of carers of people with intellectual disability (ID) towards giving medication. In the study 93 carers of service users who were attending an outpatient’s clinic (Harrow Learning Disability service) were interviewed, and the ratings scale used for measures was the RAMS (Rating of Attitude to Medication Scale) interview schedule. The results indicated a single association between relationships of the carer to the service user and overall positive or negative attitude towards medication was also studied. The study found that a disproportionate number of parents have expressed negative attitude in comparison with professional carers (46% vs. 11%) towards medication. the study suggests that standards of compliance with medication needs to be emphasised and researched on especially in case of family carers of mental health problems. Psychiatric disorders se em to have a stigma associated and providing medication for mental illness is still considered unacceptable. The family carers attitude to mental health problems and general mental illness may be shaped by such social and psychological factors. All these issues seem to be important in determining the kind of medication a psychiatric patient should have. In a study by Evans et al (1994), the All-Wales Mental Handicap Strategy (AWS) has promised not just governmental leadership and emphasis on the area of mental health service provisions but also availability of resources for developing community based residential, domiciliary, respite, day-care and professional services for people with mental handicaps and their families. Thus the strategy aims at providing the best for mentally ill people to experience community life. For the study a sample of people with mental handicaps was used to track changes in mental health services received, in professional input, the number of community activities pursued, and the size and range of individuals social networks and involvement in individual planning and the impact of health care strategies. There was a decrease in the proportion of patients living with parents and an increase in those living independently or in another family situation although private residence and serviced residence were bo th equally used for living purposes. Residential service associated with care facilities were also noted and there was marked preference for family based care. Family support services in the form of family aides and short-term care increased significantly, and day service also diversified. The health strategy as followed by the AWS seems to have brought individuals with mental health problems in greater contact with other members of the community although there was no difference in people friendship networks or extent and nature of associations. Yet the service provisions an family and user experiences were found to be in accordance with the direction and goals set by the AWS yet changes are still required and the a new patterns of services have been identified as necessary. The authors point out at the end of the analysis that the mental handicaps do conform to the guiding principles of AWS health strategy and its implications can be significant. If this study is extrapolated to understand the dynamics of the working and provisions for the service user in the contemporary mental health scenario, we can learn several lessons and identify several new provisions that may work with mentally ill patients. Providing a well integrated community network and service provisions at home as well as making resources available to the mentally ill patients either in their residential places or in the community or even at health and clinical settings could be major priorities of any health care strategy. The AWS strategy can thus be a blueprint or a primer for further modern health strategies and provides us with an opportunity for critical appraisal of service provisions that can be made available to mentally ill individuals in need of special care and support. There are however several issues that need to be considered as important in a critical evaluation of service user provisions for mentally ill patients. One of these issues involves improvement of the quality of information about clients referred to a community mental health team for referral purposes. For improved services to clients, improved information is also necessary and new ways of devising this quick availability of information should be encouraged. The second recommendation for improving service provisions involves following clinical guidelines. Michie and Lester (2005) determine whether writing or written clinical guideline recommendations in behaviourally specified plain English language can increase the likelihood of their implementation by service users or the patients. Following clinical guidelines, medication or therapy procedures is an important aspect of treatment and improvement of service user provisions can be made by stronger emphasis and written specification of approved and recommended guidelines. A evaluation of behavioural outcome and the inclination of following these guidelines should also be studied. Using and providing specialist service as in specialist educational intervention for acute inpatient mental health nursing staff and service user views in this regard have been studied. Richards et al (2005) evaluated the impact of an innovative 18-day educational intervention for acute ward-based mental healthcare nursing staff on reported quality of nursing care and on service user views of care using the educational intervention. The quality of inpatient mental health care for people with acute psychiatric problems has remained questionable and several studies have suggested that specialist educational courses and nursing interventions are needed to improve these services. An integration of health and social service care provisions and also day care for mental health patients have been emphasised considering social networks and care needs of the users. Increasing integration of health care and social services requires understanding the difference between health service day hospitals and social service day centres. A study by Catty et al (2005) has suggested that day centre clients had much larger social networks, including a three-fold difference in total contacts and two-fold difference in confidants, but had more needs for care, particularly relating to psychological distress. Our final recommendation for service user care for mental health patients and parents in a mentally ill home ambience is greater involvement of service users in mental health service planning and evaluation. Thornicroft and Tansella (2005) emphasise that service user involvement in the planning and provision of mental health services has been growing in recent years especially in areas where institutional service provision has been changed to a more community-orientated model of care. Recent studies have shown that during mental health crises, joint crisis plans by health providers and service users can significantly reduce the use of compulsory admission during crises. Conclusion: In this essay we provided a critical analysis of the provisions and policies provided by social services and health care services and evaluated the need for certain practices in providing quality service to service users with mental health needs. Bibliography Catty J, Goddard K, Burns T.  Social services and health services day care in mental health: the social networks and care needs of their users. Int J Soc Psychiatry. 2005 Mar;51(1):23-34. Chamberlin J.  User/consumer involvement in mental health service delivery. Epidemiol Psichiatr Soc. 2005 Jan-Mar;14(1):10-4. Derisley J, Libby S, Clark S, Reynolds S.  Mental health, coping and family-functioning in parents of young people with obsessive-compulsive disorder and with anxiety disorders. Br J Clin Psychol. 2005 Sep;44(Pt 3):439-44. Evans G, Todd S, Beyer S, Felce D, Perry J.  Assessing the impact of the All-Wales Mental Handicap Strategy: a survey of four districts. J Intellect Disabil Res. 1994 Apr;38 ( Pt 2):109-33. Flouri E.  Psychological and sociological aspects of parenting and their relation to suicidal behavior. Arch Suicide Res. 2005;9(4):373-83. Hart A, Saunders A, Thomas H.  Attuned practice: a service user study of specialist child and adolescent mental health, UK. Epidemiol Psichiatr Soc. 2005 Jan-Mar;14(1):22-31. Jones A, Jones M.  Mental health nurse prescribing: issues for the UK. J Psychiatr Ment Health Nurs. 2005 Oct;12(5):527-35. Michie S, Lester K.  Words matter: increasing the implementation of clinical guidelines. Qual Saf Health Care. 2005 Oct;14(5):367-70. Minogue V, Boness J, Brown A, Girdlestone J.  The impact of service user involvement in research. Int J Health Care Qual Assur Inc Leadersh Health Serv. 2005;18(2-3):103-12. Reid D, Glascott G, Woods D.  Improving referral information in community mental health. Nurs Times. 2005 Oct 18-24;101(42):34-5. Robinson AD, Kruzich JM, Friesen BJ, Jivanjee P, Pullmann MD.  Preserving Family Bonds: Examining Parent Perspectives in the Light of Practice Standards for Out-of-Home Treatment. Am J Orthopsychiatry. 2005 Oct;75(4):632-43. Rea DM.  Changing practice: involving mental health service users in planning service provision. Soc Work Health Care. 2004;39(3-4):325-42. Rasaratnam R, Crouch K, Regan A.  Attitude to medication of parents/primary carers of people with intellectual disability. J Intellect Disabil Res. 2004 Nov;48(Pt 8):754-63. Richards D, Bee P, Loftus S, Baker J, Bailey L, Lovell K.  Specialist educational intervention for acute inpatient mental health nursing staff: service user views and effects on nursing quality. J Adv Nurs. 2005 Sep;51(6):634-44. Thornicroft G, Tansella M.  Growing recognition of the importance of service user involvement in mental health service planning and evaluation. Epidemiol Psichiatr Soc. 2005 Jan-Mar;14(1):1-3. Zubrick SR, Ward KA, Silburn SR, Lawrence D, Williams AA, Blair E, Robertson D, Sanders MR.  Prevention of Child Behavior Problems Through Universal Implementation of a Group Behavioral Family Intervention. Prev Sci. 2005 Sep 14;:1-18 For Department of Health publications, see Mental health section DoH www.dh.gov.uk http://www.dh.gov.uk/PolicyAndGuidance/HealthAndSocialCareTopics/MentalHealth/fs/en also see NIMHE website, for role of Community Development workers. http://www.nimhe.org.uk/

Baking Cakes in Kigali and The Adoration of Jenna Fox Essay -- Compara

Authors Gaile Parkin and Mary Pearson focus their novels, Baking Cakes in Kigali and The Adoration of Jenna Fox, on the significance of family. In both novels, love and family are key elements: in Baking Cakes in Kigali, the main character, Angel, loses both her daughter and her son, while those around Angel are stepping up and protecting their families; in The Adoration of Jenna Fox, Jenna’s family members show their love for Jenna by breaking the law to save her life. Both novels demonstrate that family is important to all people; family can support and protect a person or even give someone courage to move on after her family is gone. In Baking Cakes in Kigali, Angel loses her daughter, Vinas, and the loss of her daughter leaves an empty hole in her heart; however, it is this hole in Angel’s heart that allows Angel to make room for someone else in her life, but in order to include someone new in her life, Angel must first acknowledge the real reason behind her daughter’s death so that she may accept it and move on. Angel was lying to herself about her daughter’s death: [Her] daughter wanted to die. She took those pills to suicide herself. (Perkin 247) Although losing her only daughter is challenging for Angel, she finally feels relief when she comes to terms with reality and exposes the truth about Vinas’s death, and by finally admitting to the reality of her daughter’s death, Angel is able to have a clearer mind and progress in life and help Leocadie, who has no mother to be with her for her wedding. By embracing the truth about Vinas’s death, Angel finds the courage to say, â€Å"Leocadie, it is not true that you have no family, because I’m going to be your mother for this wedding† (148). Thinking of Vinas gives Angel enough... ...talian villa and wine† (189) to help her only daughter, Claire, and therefore, Jenna. Both Lily and Claire are admirable mothers, who would run to the ends of the earth for their daughters; these two mothers illustrate just how deeply a mother can love her daughter and how a mother does all in her power to protect her children. Gaile Perkin’s Baking Cakes in Kigali and Mary Pearson’s The Adoration of Jenna Fox demonstrate how family can protect, support, and encourage an individual. Family is a principle aspect of a person’s life, and a loving brother or mother or father can greatly impact a person’s life. A family can encourage someone to help others or even save another’s life. It is evident, therefore, that family is a crucial element for human life; the world would be miserable if there were no loving families to care for each other and support each other.

John Quincy Adams Essay -- essays research papers

John Quincy Adams was a major influence in the history of the United States. John Quincy took part in more important events, and held more important positions than any person in United States history. Some of the important positions he held were he was American Ministers to four different European Countries (Hague, Prussia, Russia and England), a State Senator representing Massachusetts, peace negotiator to England, a member of the House of Representatives, Secretary of the State, and President of the United States. John Quincy followed in the footsteps of his father John Adams, when he became President of the United States, but both father and son failed to win their second term as President. Although he had many successes he viewed himself as a disappointment. He did have many accomplishments during his career, but he also had a few downfalls and failures during his career. John Quincy was not the most liked person in the country, but he stood up for what he thought and believed in . There was a time in the early stage of John Quincy Adams' career when he was a Senator, when many Senators careers would end because they did not follow the thought of their constituents. By this time Senate was to be a more executive council than a legislative body. If they became more of a executive council they would help advise the President. Senate was an executive council to the President for a while, until the Federalist Party didn't agree on foreign policy, and many more polit...

Life :: essays research papers

Until recently, scientists believed that the sole source of energy responsible for life on earth was the sun. In 1977, a group of scientists researching the theory of plate tectonics, traveled to the floor of the equatorial Pacific Ocean and discovered something that could possibly explain how life began on this planet. From the Galapagos Rift's thermal springs, scientists discovered densely populated communities of several species never before observed. Since that time the Federal Government has devoted more than 10 million dollars to research these communities and their evolutionary history. This figure, to many scientist's dismay, is dramatically less than that of the space exploration program's budget. For example, in 1992, the government budget for oceanography research was $600 million while NASA spent 8.5 billion. We know more about the space around us than we do about our own home. Only 1 percent of the sea floor has been mapped. The sea is the largest, most inaccessible, and least understood ecosystem on this planet. Since studies of these communities began, previous notions that cold darkness, and extreme pressure are inimical to life have been disproved. We now know that an ecosystem can be sustained by unusual energy sources. The animals that have been discovered in hydrothermal vents are fascinating as well as extremely important. The structure of these creatures is such that a new kingdom has been discovered/created. Previously scientists divided the living world into two kingdoms: bacteria, also known as prokaryote and eukaryotes (plants and animals). The difference between the two kingdoms was their genetics. The DNA of these newly discovered animals was distinct from the two other kingdoms. They have been called archaea. Research on these animals is limited since they do not grow and culture well in a laboratory. These animals live in extremely hot temperatures of 160 degrees Fahrenheit and higher, while microbes have been found living in boiling water. This revelation surely must change all of the "rules" we have for health standards. These newly discovered facts must dramatically change the way we think of life on earth. Living in these vents are entire communities of invertebrates: tube worms, mussels, clams, and even shrimp. In the absence of light and without the photosynthesizing plankton that provide most sea life with food, these animals have an alternate way to live. These invertebrates have formed symbiotic relationships with the bacteria living with them. The mechanics of this relationship are incredibly interesting. Bacteria thrive on sulfide which is found in vent water (hydrogen sulfide). They use the sulfide's chemical energy to produce organic carbon compounds similar to how plants use solar energy in photosynthesis. The bacteria employ chemical rather than light energy to transform inorganic

Ethical Dimensions of Preparing Two Financial Reports Essay

Ethical dimensions of financial accounting with respect to keeping of two sets of records, one for internal purposes only and the other for internal taxation purposes. Financial accounting, as stated by Garrison, is concerned with providing information those people outside an organization. This includes preparation of financial reports showing the company’s past financial performance which will be the basis for additional investments for stockholders, capacity to pay off loans for creditors or banks, imposing correct government taxes as mandated by law, etc. Financial reports, therefore, should be done accurately and with utmost truthfulness to avoid misconstruction due to omission or misstatement as stated in the International Federation of Accountants Code of Ethics. However, there are some who do not conform to this Code. Some companies practice preparation of two sets of financial reports at the end of the fiscal year, one for internal purpose and the other to be used and submitted for internal taxation purpose. Usually, if the company would like to attract additional investments from its stockholders, incomes are bloated. On the other hand, to avoid paying high taxes or even pay no taxes at all, financial statements are manipulated to reflect a lower or negative net income, which will be the basis for the computation of the taxes to be paid by the company. Whether for stockholders or for taxation, I strongly condemn such practice. This does not only violate the Code of Ethics of IFAC, such practice, if done continually, could even be a start of the eventual downfall of any company due to loss of its credibility and integrity. Thus, there exist major financial scandals that lead to collapse of business giants like what happened to ENRON. Further, leaders of the company may suffer from huge penalties or even jail terms, if found guilty of violating the code. Sadly, our country’s system on taxation and how the government use, or should I say, misuse collected taxes opens a lot of controversies and issues, which is being used by some companies to justify the practice of preparing a different financial report for taxation purpose. Corruption and issues on tax evasion by big companies are only a few examples why some companies validate this act. Corporate governance, as they say, should start first with the government, ethical behavior should be practiced first by our government leaders. This is the main campaign of incumbent President PNoy. The Code of Ethics on Integrity Rules states: â€Å"A member must not make, prepare, or certify, or permit or direct another person to make, prepare or certify, any statement which the member knows, believes or ought to