Evaluating a Business Code of Ethics Essay

Businesses in today’s society share a purpose, a vision, that relates philosophy and principles of ethics to better meet the needs of the organization and stakeholders, including customers, employees, shareholders, suppliers, and communities. Without professional ethics, businesses and its programs would not have the ability to be successful. This paper will examine Humana, its business code of ethics, and its mission statement that assists in organizational values and goals of the company. The type of ethical system used by Humana will be explored, along with examples that support this system and its attributes. In addition, how the code of ethics is identified and used within the company will be addressed as it pertains to employees, management, and its board of directors. Upon further evaluation, this paper will explore the need for modification, if any, to their existing code of ethics. Reactions to the code of ethics, its effects of organizational culture on the code of ethics, and its effects on the organization will be defined. Lastly, this paper will provide an analysis of Humana’s business code of ethics and how the analysis exhibits significant key concepts to maintain and promote ethical decision making and business success. Business Code of Ethics and its Mission Statement Businesses developed codes of ethics starting back in the early 1970s within the United States. Business ethics â€Å"is the study of standards of business behavior which promote human welfare and good† (Santa Clara University [SCU], 2011, para. 1). Humana, a company that provides and administers health insurance plans, established its formalized code of ethics in 1995 and since established a 24-hour access to their ethics assistance hotline demonstrating its commitment and accessibility to business ethics (Humana, 2011, para. 1). Humana’s code of ethics was developed as a means of understanding Human’s ethical standards and promoting open communication and the well-being of members as it pertains to these standards. Humana’s code of ethics stresses its mission and vision of the company: â€Å"to become the most trusted name in health solutions. To foster a successful environment, Humana’s code of ethics is designed to educate each associate to contribute to the company’s success through ethical behavior and by doing the right thing in the right way for the right reasons† (McCallister & Catron, 2011, p. 1). Defining the purpose of the business’s code of ethics allows for better understanding of ways to promote ethical business behavior. Deontological Ethical System Ethical systems in business are the â€Å"contexts for making decisions in ethics, much like rules in an athletic competition,† giving significance and meaning to the performance and conduct of employees within an organization (Ulrich, 2010, para. 2). Ethical systems can be broken into subcategories depending on its purpose. Humana demonstrates a deontological, also known as a duty-driven ethical system. â€Å"Deontological comes from the Greek deon, meaning, duty. Deontologists base their decisions about what’s right on broad, abstract universal ethical principles or values such as honesty, promise keeping, fairness, loyalty, rights, justice, compassion, and respect for persons and property† (Trevino & Nelson, 2007, p. 98). Humana’s business code of ethics lays out its purpose and mission statement and supports these objectives by establishing ethical principles that employees and stakeholders are to follow to ensure compliance, quality, and business success. Within Humana’s business code of ethics, it discusses the key to integrity. The guidelines that are incorporated and integrated into Humana’s ethical code address several key issues that exemplify the business’ duty and obligations to ensure ethical standards are followed. For example, the key components of Humana’s code of ethics focuses on: â€Å"Honesty: act fairly and â€Å"honestly with those that are affected by our actions; compliance with laws: comply with laws, regulations, and act in such a manner that the full disclosure of all the facts would reflect favorably; business responsibility: adhere to the highest ethical standards of conduct; and responsibility for reporting violations: promote elationships based on trust and respect and reference policies, ethics hotline, and the ethics intranet within Humana’s website that further addresses compliance with Humana’s business code of ethics† (McCallister & Catron, 2011, p. 4). These components provide examples of a duty-driven, deontological ethical system. Th e code of ethics defines the ethical standards and expects employees and stakeholders to abide by these regulations in order to ensure the highest ethical standards and decision-making abilities. How the Code of Ethics is Used Humana’s code of ethics defines its mission and goals and how stakeholders can actively participated in ethical decision making within the organization. Employees, for example, are provided with Humana’s business code of ethics on the first day of employment. The purpose of this is to clearly define the organization’s ethical standards and address how employees can adhere to these standards through Humana’s vision. Employees are required annually to view and complete an ethical compliance training course. This reinforces Humana’s ethical standards and resources that are available when confronted with these ethical dilemmas. For example, one particular part of the code discusses how employees have the right to report workplace violence and harassment. The code lists several examples of unacceptable and unethical behavior that attributes to workplace violence. In addition to the 24-hour ethics hotline, the code of ethics provides additional resources and people to contact if this is occurring. Furthermore, if violence is occurring outside of the workplace, affecting any one of Humana’s employees, they are also encouraged to discuss this with Employee Assistance. Employee assistance provides Humana employees with support services and resources when faced with violence whether at home or in the workplace. Humana discusses how employee performance and success can be affected both internally and externally and feels each employee should be given the resources and support no matter where employees encounter violence. In addition to Humana’s business code of ethics, management and its board of directors also have another code of ethics, specifically addressing the ethical guidelines for leaders and managers, and directors within the company. The purpose of a corporate level code of ethics is to â€Å"maintain the highest standards in Humana’s financial reporting with governmental agencies† (Humana, 2004, p. 1). Management has responsibilities that require interaction and relationships with businesses, regulating and governing boards, and many stakeholders that participate in Humana’s business entities. The corporate code of ethics was defined for this reason and discusses standards such as conflicts of interest, accurate reporting, and compliance with these ethical guidelines. In addition, guidelines that address â€Å"avoiding personal activity or association with people that could interfere in making good judgment concerning Humana’s best interests† (Humana, 2004, p. 2). The corporate code of ethics is additional resource and tool that managers can refer to when faced with ethical dilemmas such as these. Code of Ethics and Modification Upon analysis of Humana’s business code of ethics, the guidelines are clear. Humana’s code of ethics is current, accessible, easily understood, and it provides a plethora of useful tools and resources that govern these ethical standards and offer support for Humana employees when face with ethical issues. In addition, a code of ethics is to: provide framework of acceptable behavior, promote high standards of practice, enhance a sense of community, create transparency in business activities, and offer guidelines to comply with government laws and regulations† (Fieser, 2008, para. ). Humana’s business code of ethics not only addresses the significant portions of a code of ethics, but also has 24-hours access to these ethical resources and guidance. When establishing a code of ethics, it is imperative to address key components of a company’s mission and company goals, along with clear guidelines that support a business’ vision. Reactions to a Cod e of Ethics When businesses prepare a code of ethics, consideration to addressing this code to ensure compliance is significant to ethical and organization success. A code of ethics should be addressed immediately upon hire or the establishment of a business relationship. Addressing it early promotes the significance of the code of ethics along with guidelines that employees and business partners should be informed up early on to ensure they are able to support these guidelines while maintaining the business relationship. Employees and business partners can either react negatively, stating that this code of ethics tells an employee what to say and how to act. Others react in a positive and constructive manner and understand the need for ethical guidelines within a business to ensure compliance, yet more importantly, ethical decision making in accordance within Human’s mission and vision, to ensure continued business success and growth. The organizational culture promotes the highest ethical standards that are directly in line with Humana’s mission and its guidelines that support the key to business integrity. The Effect of a Code of Ethics  Businesses are aware of downfalls and economic disasters that attribute to the lack of ethic performance and decision making. Humana’s business code of ethics affects employees, the organization, its stakeholders, and the surrounding communities in a way that displays moral and ethical importance, integrity, and success, attributed by the development of this code of ethics. Furthermore, Humana’s code of ethics promotes business responsibility, honesty, and fairness. These characteristics affect business and community relationship by promoting trust, a significant behavior in organizational and community success. Summary of Ethical Analysis In reviewing Humana’s business code of ethics, it is apparent that this 52 page code of ethics was not established merely to put it in place. It was established as a way of making clear and important ethical guidelines that support business growth and success. From its mission statement and supporting regulations, Humana’s business code of ethics supports high ethical standards, promotes trusting relationships, and keys to integrity. Addressing these key components and how employees can support these guidelines, along with several support tools, resources, and 24-hour access to ethical support, Humana provides a business code of ethics that supports ethical decision making and high ethical standards.

First Generations

In her book First Generations, Carol Berkin basically aims to show the readers the power of women which can be traced through our history. Differentiating itself from traditional historical texts, studies, and researches, the book does not omit the valid experiences of women during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. It wants to show that women of all races -European, Indian, and African- were critical components of 17th- and 18th-century American history.As such, the author tried to examine the various cultures, ideologies, belief and political systems that were present during those early times in relation to the roles and norms that enveloped women. With this goal at hand, she tried to find evidences and narrative accounts of the lives of ordinary women. She tried to figure out how these ordinary lives were governed, affected, and altered by the varying social expectations about women.Through all of this, Berkin tries to emphasize that women were active partakers in the makin g of history and the alteration of social norms, values, and systems even at a time when they were denied of equal rights. The book’s efficacy in providing deeper knowledge of American Culture To identify the efficacy of a classified historical narrative and exploration, the bases that will be used are the conciseness of the narrative, and its accuracy.Basically, the book presented a complete and concise narrative since it presented a multicultural setting as it tackles the experiences of women from various cultural and racial backgrounds. It involves the analyses of women of European, Indian, and African originalities. However, the book does not stop at carefully delineating women through their race and culture. Instead, Berkin moves a step higher in careful analysis and examination as she explores not only the popular and prominent women from the various cultural originalities.She presents a book which explores the lives of women through the varied roles that they perform- as wives, as daughters, as mothers, and as social participants- in relation to their occupation and social class. A particular example is Berkin’s citation of Margaret Hardenbroeck, a trader. Berkin was able to track down the life of Hardenbroeck, and illustrate how her colonial life as a businesswoman was altered by English colonization of Netherlands. In the book, Hardenbroeck’s economic problems, legal rights, and socially-related issues were examined in relation to what her husband have experienced.By doing so, Berkin was able to demonstrate the differences among the social expectations and pressures between a man and a woman. Another identity that Berkin also examined in the book was Eliza Lucas Pinckney. Unlike Hardenbroeck, Pickney was not very exposed to matters of businesses, colonization, and governmental restrictions at first. Instead, she was constantly struggling to fulfill her domestic responsibilities that were traditionally assigned to women. By these, it means that Pinckney was more concerned and burdened with her roles as a wife, a mother, and a daughter.However, economic circumstances prompted her to adopt expertise in entrepreneurship as she later became the proprietor of her father’s and late husband’s plantations. Berkjin narrates that overtime, Pinckney then developed â€Å"a consciousness of self and a confidence in reason† which she garnered from her education. Through these two, Berkin made a valid conclusion when she pointed out that social class altered the supposed to be gender-specific roles of colonial American society.In the case of accuracy, it can be observed that Berkin lacked primary materials. As such, she tried to overcome the scarcity of primary sources through thorough research and cross-checking with secondary sources. She even acknowledges the said issue when she stated that though â€Å"studies of New England marriage patterns based on diaries and letters and studies of Chesapeake m arriage patterns drawn from demographic data are equally valid,† such cannot be used for a carefully derived cross-culture comparison.However, it seems that her lapse in conclusive data should not be regarded as an important component in her descriptive analysis of the daily lives of women from various geographic regions. It appears that the careful analysis of women of varied social class, racial background, and geographic location during those times is accurate enough to guarantee that the narrative is a well-researched work fit for collections on women studies.As such, the book gave its readers a deeper knowledge of American culture since it was able to touch on a rarely tackled historical subject and component- women. Moreover, the historical exploration that it presented was rather seemingly complete narrative of women history as Berkin explored marriage, motherhood, social interaction, labor, and beliefs. To add to that, the exploration was done in a compare and contrast manner between the social experiences and pressures faced by men and women.Thus, it was clear why women garnered different roles and patterns of empowerment and development from men. Overall, the book demonstrated that women were important factors in history creation and societal alteration. REFERENCES Berkin, Carol (1997). First Generations: Women in Colonial America. First Generations by Carol Berkin. Retrieved January 31, 2008 from www. powells. com/cgi-bin/biblio? inkey=62-9780809016068-0 First Generations by Carol Berkin. Retrieved January 31, 2008 from http://search. barnesandnoble. com/booksearch/isbnInquiry. asp? z=y&endeca=1&isbn=0809016060&itm=2#TABS

Persuasive Essay

Texas legislators should pass and legalized gambling to help keeping the money inside the state and also earn more revenue through tourism and other associated industries. Compare to neighbor state Louisiana, Texas has lost millions and millions dollars per year because Texans crossing the state line for gambling habit. If gambling was legalized, the revenue from this industry would surpass any others. It would not just bring revenue and taxes from casinos but also boosting others industries such as tourism, retails, construction industry and more. Legalized gambling would create more jobs in all industries keeping the Texas stronger through unpredictable profits the state could benefit from it. Legalized gambling would stimulate the economy by creating jobs. Take Nevada for example, there were 193,000 full-time positions were opened in Clark County for hotel industry alone in 1999 (Romano). For Louisiana, a smaller state with legal gambling, also reported over 368 million in annual salaries to employees along with 20% residents ended their government assisted program by working in casino (Cannon). Looking at these two states with legal gambling, Texas could have an even better chance to make more revenue with legalizing gambling. With all the revenue generated from gamble industry, Texas could able to start more programs to help the low income families and lower the unemployment rate. Another indirect impact from legalized gambling is that more casinos, restaurants, shopping malls would be built which would boost construction industry to another level. With the growing in construction industry, the retails for dry wall, wood, cement would be rocketed. In Louisiana, â€Å"over 1. 7 billion has been invested in facility construction in Louisiana by casinos† (Cannon). Going along with the development of construction industry, the real estate industry would also grow rapidly to accommodate the needs of housing, leasing offices, hotels†¦ With the rapid grow of real estate and construction industries, restaurant and retails would be on the uprising as well. In Louisiana, â€Å"riverboats purchased over $454 million in goods and services in 2002, with over 70% of that coming from in-state vendors including computers, printing and floral arrangements† (Cannon), with all the positive indirect impacts that legalized gambling would bring to the state, the local business and retails would be expanding far from predicted and state would be collecting taxes in an increasing value. Tourism would play an important role in collecting revenue for state. The Casino Association of Louisiana estimated that over 17 million out-of-state visitors visited their casinos in 2002† (Cannon). If Texas legalizes gambling, it would bring in another 17 million per year from out-of-state visitors spending money not only in casino but also in restaurants, hotels, gas†¦ Besides bringing more tourists in to the state, Texas could help stopping the outflow of money to Louisiana casinos because more than 50% of gamble revenue in Louisiana comes from o ut-of-state, mostly from Texas (Cannon). There are countless opportunities comes with legalizing gambling in Texas. Just look at the financial benefits alone, Texas could earn another $873 million coming from out-of-state visitors spending in casino just like Louisiana. Besides increasing in revenue, legalized gambling also plays an important role in boosting other industries such as construction, retails, real estate†¦ With all the new revenue generated from legalized gamble, Texas could use that money to assist the low income families, to help the homeless people and others in needs.

Project management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 19

Project management - Essay Example People must be able to communicate with the app users. Additionally, the information that is available on the app must correspond to the location where the pet is located. As there are pets constantly in certain areas moving in and out of shelters and are eligible for adoption, it will be necessary to constantly update the app. A project manager must be able to collect all of the information and may require a substantial amount of the work to be delegated in order to become established with adoption locations to see what pets are up for adoption. It can be a tedious task for the project manager but without this information, the app is useless to the user. For the app to be most useful to a user, it must be easy to navigate. Less text and more pictures. They must be able to have an experience they do not forget. However, with this app in mind, it is likely that once a person uses the app and adopts the pet, that they will likely not ever use it again but only relay the message on to someone else that it exists. Everyone working on the ap p must communicate so that all information is dispersed and fresh information is updated constantly with this type of mobile app. This will take around the clock updates. The people who want to know about the app will be the people that use it. It can be announced via social media networking and information about the app will be dispersed at the participating pet adoption centers, making it easier for people to recognize that their local animal shelter is cooperating in order for a successful adoption

LINGUISTICS - Discuss the role and status of pidgin and creole Essay

LINGUISTICS - Discuss the role and status of pidgin and creole languages in post-colonial contexts - Essay Example 8) which they master as they grow, using it as their most effective means of interacting and identifying them in many ways. For example, through language people’s nationality, profession, education, and even values can be sensed. Hence, â€Å"when we study human language, we are approaching what some might call the ‘human essence’, the distinctive qualities of mind that are, so far as we know, unique to [humans]† (Chomsky, cited in Fromkin & Rodman, 1998: 3). With language being distinct to humans, it is believed that, languages best mirror the human mind (Leibnitz, cited in Chomsky, 1986, p. 1). Thus, language study is important and fascinating, specifically the study of language acquisition. As Bloomfield (1933) said: â€Å"the acquisition of language is doubtless the greatest intellectual feat anyone of us is ever required to perform† (p. 29). If children’s effortless acquisition of first language (L1) raises many questions, the impact of L1 acquisition on second language (L2) acquisition raises more questions, especially in considering its implications on L2 teaching. LA, a field of study that has earned much attention and controversy, is used interchangeably with language learning (LL). For instance, Quine (1960) defines LA as just another term for LL, as the mental capacities used in acquiring a language are the same mental capacities used in learning a wide array of other skills. But Chomsky (1969) and Krashen (1981), in different contexts, define LA and LL as two different processes. For Chomsky, children acquire and master their L1 as they develop, yet they learn their L1 differently compared with their learning other things, like using cutlery (cited in Chapman, 2000, p. 159). While, Krashen (1981) differentiates LA and LL in the context of second language acquisition (SLA), wherein LA is the process by which children acquire their L1 and L2,

Teamwork and Motivation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Teamwork and Motivation - Essay Example There are the principles that if stressed upon properly would build activities to strengthen health care organization. First of all teams need to work on common grounds and interest which should only be mutual interest of patient and improve facilities for him. An important aspect of success of a good team is the provision and implementation of various team building activities. Keeping in mind the demands of a health care setting, one major activity that can help strengthen the teamwork and quality of care delivery is to organize meetings. Every health care team should meet on regular basis to discuss and manage the aim of that delegation that is to work for providing the highest levels of quality care to the patient. Moving on, considering the successful outcome of such meetings and gatherings, all the pros and cons should be considered. There need to be certain objectives that should be achieved at the end of session and the leadership should not only maintain a strong relationship among working individuals but also resolve all the conflicts in working environment. In a health care setting, time is crucial and so is efficiency because the aim is saving the life or quality of life of an individual. There is absolutely no place for negligence and for this matter all the aspects of a successful teamwork should be focused upon such meetings. Probably the most important of all plans would be a strong and effective communication and sharing of professional knowledge among different disciplines. This would not only enable others to understand the problem in a better way but would also brush up person skills of any professional (WHO Patient Safety Curriculum 2008). Only in this way can meetings of health care team members can bear fruit. Different techniques have been used to improve these skills and to develop better communication and interpersonal relationship among team members. Various techniques have been used and explained by Team STEPPS

How do we end gridlock in the American political System and modernize Term Paper

How do we end gridlock in the American political System and modernize the federal Government's administrative infrastructure t - Term Paper Example â€Å"Gridlock† as it is experienced in Washington D.C. today represents a system of government that the Anti-Federalists specifically warned against in the founding of the United States through the Constitutional Convention, â€Å"Bill of Rights† negotiation, and state ratification process. In understanding how Jeffersonian ideals relate to â€Å"Athenian† democracy, and also how populism and progressivism present a historical framework for reform of the political system, the goal is to continue in the tradition of innovation in social institutions so as to make them more open, transparent, participatory, and non-violent as a basis of civil society. This essay discusses downsizing government, decentralizing political organizations, and building stakeholder frameworks that lead to real participation in government organizations and decisions by citizens. The essay also discusses possibilities to increase multi-party political representation through use of informat ion technology and other forms of innovation in democratic organization to implement fundamental ideals through progress. Table of Contents Abstract 1 Table of Contents 1 I. Introduction 2 II. Definition of â€Å"Gridlock† 4 III. Two Party Monopoly 6 One example commonly cited as â€Å"gridlock† is the prevention of legislation from passing by one party through control of one branch of government, such as a Republican party majority in the Senate refusing to support Democratic legislation, or a Republican president unable to build legislative support for his/her agenda in the House of Representatives. A larger aspect of â€Å"gridlock† is the actual two-party monopoly that prohibits a wider representation of views and discussion of issues in the Federal system. This can be compared to systems of government internationally that encourage wider multi-party frameworks and coalitions, as well as an ideal of direct, participatory democracy that would be supported thr ough a more diverse representation of views than found in two-party politics. While the Constitution does not mandate a two-party system, â€Å"winner take all† representation does discourage third party candidates from attaining office, as do the discriminatory ballot measures that restrict ballot access to third parties. 6 IV. Corporate Interests over Public 6 One of the most important issues related to the ideological fusion of Capitalism and Democracy in Enlightenment thought is corruption in government related to minority business interests and the use of â€Å"pork-barrel† politics and legislation to produce social injustice. The recent Wall St. bailouts are an excellent example of the valuation of the interests of the â€Å"super rich† over the â€Å"super poor†. Nevertheless, innumerable aspects of the interrelationship between the U.S. government and the economy can be found. The chart below estimates the Federal Government to be related to appro ximately 43% of U.S. GDP through taxation, spending, and social programs. It is interesting to note that before the 20th Century government spending was typically representative of less than 10% of GDP, representing another aspect of the anti-federalist view. 6 US Government Spending as Percent Of GDP Source:

CLO, managing business finance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

CLO, managing business finance - Essay Example The feeling among many investors is that the development on new regulations to reduce the risk that comes with these forms of loans will reduce the chances of getting into a financial crisis. In 2014, it is evident that investors have ventured into the form of loan due to its higher returns as compared to other forms of loans. In this perspective, we seek to analyse the possible reasons for this trend and how this is likely to impact financial flows in the global arena. Collateralized loan obligation is defined as a form of low interest loan that comprises of a pool of debt backed up by some form of security. To design a CLO, commercial group different loans together and sectionalize them into different parts. Each section of the loan bears a different risk, some having higher risks than others. The rationale is that those who pick higher risk sections have higher returns while those who pick lower risk portions have lower returns. Another point to note is the way that cases of default are handled. When defaulters fail to repay the loan, the investor with high risk loan gets less money than one who has a lower risk section. The principle behind the formation of the CLO is to increase the lending willingness of the investors and to lower the interest costs. The banks accomplish these loans through a tranch structure in which different classes of borrowers dear different risks and acquire different level of returns (Pauley & Kroszner, 2012). This loa n structure operates much similar to the home mortgage loans that existed in the 1980s. At this time, companies that had good credit ratings were allowed to borrow at lower prices while others borrowed from the banks at much higher interest rates. For this reason, CLO gained popularity prior to the financial crisis in 2008. The global financial crisis of 2008 is was the cause for the loss of popularity for the CLOs in the world. A

The investigation of RTF virus Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

The investigation of RTF virus - Essay Example The individuals affected by this virus hesitate to come forward and test themselves. Due to this, the organizations like WHO are unable to help the people affected by this virus. People affected by RTF are unwilling to co-operate with these organizations and this in turn leads to a situation where the affected lose their lives. This is due to the undiagnosed situation and the negligence of the patients. WHO is one among the voluntary health organizations that assist and guide people to overcome and prevent themselves from diseases. This organization also helps the people affected by deadly virus and diseases and helps them in recovering. These organizations get the help and assistance from philanthropists and they provide treatment for people who suffer from poverty. In spite of the initiatives from WHO, people are reluctant to approach them and seek medical help. Lack of awareness is the major problem and it leads to various severe consequences. WHO creates awareness among the people and this makes them aware of the diseases. These organizations are ready to spend money to cure these diseases and to prevent people from getting affected by these diseases. Once people get affected by this virus, they can approach the health centers that provide treatment for this disease. WHO cannot find the people affected by this deadly virus. ... To conduct such study and survey, the support and co-operation of the public is the important requirement. If the public does not support and them, it will be difficult for these voluntary organizations to help the affected. As people hesitate to reveal that they are affected by RTF, the treatment becomes a problem. The hesitation is due to the cultural factors. The sexual behaviors and acts depend on the culture. People follow their culture and they are reluctant to change according to the prevailing situation. This leads to various problems and the affected people fall as victims to death. The culture is an important factor that decides the people's behavior in the society. The culture and its activities does not allow them to Come forward if they are affected by RTF. The patient's do not approach any medical centers to get them tested. Even a primary test can reveal their illness and will prove whether they are affected by RTF. Since it is a sexually transmitted disease, people have more hesitation and they do not want others to know about their illness. This is due to the cultural influence and it worsens the current situation. The medical centers guide the infected people and this helps them to recover soon. WHO is the best organization that serves the public and it is one among the voluntary organization that helps the people affected by deadly diseases. Theoretical Issues As a culture expert I must decide on the investigations and early tests that would reveal the number of people affected by RTF. Preliminary tests should be conducted to find out the number of people affected by this virus. Once the numbers of people are known, it is easy to detect the people who are

President of the United States Essay Example for Free

President of the United States Essay The President of the United States, the chief executive officer of the federal government, the leader of the executive branch, and the commander in chief of the armed forces has certain constitutional powers. How much power does he really have? Does he have too much? Does he have too little, or not enough? In my opinion, I believe that the President of the United States of America has just enough power to run our country, deal with foreign and domestic policies, and fight the War on Terror In this essay, I will discuss my opinion, what the president’s powers are under the Constitution, and whether or not the president’s role has expanded beyond these powers in domestic and foreign policy. Under Article II, Section 2 and Section 3 of the Constitution, it outlines the powers and duties of the president. The President holds two main roles: he is the Head of State and is the Chief of Government. The powers and duties that fall under these roles are identified as two main sources of power; his expressed powers and his delegated powers. The expressed powers are specifically defined powers that cannot be revoked by Congress or any agencies without an amendment to the Constitution. The delegated powers are the powers given to the president by Congress. Examples of expressed powers are the authorization to make treaties, grant pardons, and nominate judges and other public officials. The president also has the power to receive ambassadors and command the military forces of the United States. The delegated powers under Article II of the Constitution state that the President â€Å"shall take Care that Laws be faithfully executed†. These powers delegate that the President will only have the authority to carry out decisions through identification and development. Out of every country in the world, our president is the only one with both roles as the Head of State and Chief of Government. A third power, that is not stated in the Constitution, but is claimed occasionally by the President are inherent powers. The inherent powers are said to stem from â€Å"the rights, duties and obligations of the presidency†. These powers are exercised by presidents in times of war or national emergency. One of the President’s biggest powers that are applied as part of his inherent powers is the power to declare war. The President’s express powers are divided into five categories. The five categories are: Military, Judicial, Diplomatic, Executive, and Legislative. Beneath the Military category, it affirms that under Article II, Section 2; the President is provided the power as â€Å"Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States and of the militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States. † Beneath the Judicial category, it affirms under Article II, Section 2; the President is provided the power to â€Å"grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.† Beneath the diplomatic category under Article II, Section 2; the President is provided the power â€Å"to make Treaties by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate. † Additionally, under Article II, Section 3; the President is provided the power to â€Å"receive Ambassadors and other Public Ministers. † Beneath the Executive category, it affirms under Article II, section 3; the President is authorized to see to it that all laws are faithfully executed. Additionally, Section 2 gives the chief executive power to appoint, remove, and supervise all executive officers and to appoint all federal judges. Under the Legislative branch, it affirms under Article 1, section 7 and Article II, Section 3 that the President has the power to participate authoritatively in the legislative process. The military authorities granted to the President are amongst the most important powers granted to someone leading the United States of America. As the President of the United States, you are granted the position as commander in chief. The position of commander and chief deems the President the highest military authority in the United States with control of the entire defense establishment. Additionally, the President is head of the nation’s intelligence network, which includes the CIA, NSC, NSA, and the FBI, which are among the most well regarded intelligence networks in the world. The constitution is the main principle in giving President’s the power to declare war; however, many Presidents’ decide to capture this power for themselves without consulting Congress. This is a resolution of Congress that the President can send troops into action abroad only by authorization of Congress, or if American troops are already under attack. For example, when President Bush responded to the attacks on the World Trade Centers in New York on September 11th, 2001 he ordered a major military campaign to overthrow the Taliban regime in Afghanistan. Again in 2002, President Bush ordered a huge American campaign against Iraq to overthrow the Iraqi dictator, Saddam Hussein, whom he believed had links to the terrorist network that attacked the United States. President Bush publically made it a point to state that he did not need Congress’s authorization to declare war against organizations deemed an imminent threat against the United States of America. This is what is called the War Powers Resolution. The Judicial Powers granted to the President of the United States give him or her power to grant reprieves, pardons, and amnesties. Additionally, it involves power over all individuals who may be a threat to the security of the United States. Presidents may use this power to grant a reprieve on behalf of a particular individual. An example of reprieve for one particular individual would be when President Gerald Ford granted a pardon for former President, Richard Nixon, for â€Å"all offenses against the United States which he †¦ has committed or may have committed.† The Diplomatic Powers declare that our President is also our countries â€Å"Head of State†, or its chief representative when dealing with other countries. The title of Head of State grants the President the power to make treaties for the United States. The power of receiving Ambassadors and other Public Ministers was pushed through Congress under President Washington’s leadership in 1793. This power allows the President almost unrestricted authority to review the claims of any new ruling groups to determine whether they indeed control the territory and population they claim is theirs. The Executive Power, which is another one of the most important power’s as chief executive states that the President must ensure that all laws are faithfully executed. Additionally, this appoints the President to assign, remove, and supervise all executive officers and federal judges. These powers, under the Constitution, basically appoint the President as the true Chief Executive Officer of the United States. Another component the President is granted as chief executive is â€Å"executive privilege†. Executive privilege claims that confidential communications between the President and close executives are to be kept confidential and are not to be revealed without express permission for the President. The Legislative Power is broken down into two Constitutional provisions. The first of these provisions is under Article II, Section 3 of the Constitution and it states that the President â€Å"shall from time to time give to the Congress information of the State of the Union, and recommend to their consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient.† The second provision states the President has the power to veto. The veto is the President’s constitutional power to turn down acts of Congress. Other powers that are granted to the President are his â€Å"Delegated Powers. † These powers are not found in the Constitution but are product of congressional statutes and resolutions given to the President over the last century. The delegation of powers has been an almost inescapable consequence of the expansion of government activity in the United States. In conclusion, my belief is that the president has just enough power to run our country, deal with foreign and domestic policies, and fight the War on Terror. Because of the President’s two main sources of power, which are his express powers and delegated powers, it enables him to fulfill his duties and obligations without having too much power over our government and legislation.

Gatekeeping in Politics: Enoch Powell

Gatekeeping in Politics: Enoch Powell British Political Communication: Enoch Powell’s Inflammatory Gatekeeping In July 1855 a four vessel fleet of the British Royal Navy attacked Russian batteries in the Baltic Sea (Schroeder 1972). The conflict, a part of the Crimean War, pitted 200 foot long wooden ships with 20 cannon gun decks against castle-like fortifications in a war of empires led by kings. One hundred years later the world was locked in an international debate over economic ideals; so called right-leaning free market capitalism versus left-leaning socialism. In this conflict the empires wielded nuclear missiles capable of flying hundreds of miles to kill hundreds of thousands of civilians. In that short period many parts of the world experienced an industrialization of society. Crowd-sourcing of labor, technological advances in materials and mechanization, and the liberalization of finance produced a very quick shift in the lives of the common person. Prior to the Industrial Revolution of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries generations of the same family could live very similar l ifestyles. As the 20th century advanced children were experiencing radically different social and economic forces than their parents. As populations rose and cities grew different parts of society organized and formed representative elements for their special interests.The intentions of the group became sources of power as institutions grew and monetized those intentions. One of the primary tools used by those institutions, even in their early beginnings, became a funneling of information known as â€Å"gatekeeping.† First termed by Lewin (1943), gatekeeping refers to the process of filtering information by focusing on one small percentage of the information in order to steer public opinion. His analysis of gatekeeping focused on information as a channel of communication that was affected by bottlenecking gates. At these gates specific parts of the channel would be choked and only a small percentage of the information would be able to pass through. Lewin (1943) highlighted the power inherent in controlling those gates. His model for this approach to communication theory was rather small; the dietary control a mother or a father has over a family’s dinner menu (Lewin 1943). The scalability, however, applies to broad social structures. Every member of a social structure is affected by some sort of information channel. That information influences an individual’s preferences, decisions, thoughts, and actions. Control over the specific pieces of that information, then, correlates to a fo rm of power over the preferences, decisions, thoughts, and actions of individuals within the social structure. Gatekeeping as it applies to communication theory has largely referred to mass media sources, a common player in information management. Shoemaker, Eichholz, Eunyi, and Wrigley (2001) define gatekeeping as a process that culls down billions of messages into the hundreds of messages that make it to an individual. It is, thus, an organizational mechanism and seemingly inevitable. Soroka (2012) showed why gatekeeping is inevitable by listing the primary reasons this phenomenon exists: organizational level factors, story level factors, and industry or professional factors. A major news outlet can act as an example to explain these factors. At the organizational level there will be administrative personnel with specific motivations, procedural constraints that are defined by the over-arching mission of the organization, and of course cost and time constraints (Soroka 2012). At the story level, factors like geographic proximity to the story, visual features of the story, intellectual capac ity of the story, and social aspects of the story define the makeup of the audience. At the industry or professional level there are specific values and norms of practice that are followed by individuals who feel a duty to the industry or the profession (Soroka 2012). With so many characteristics at play it is inevitable that discrepancies in the flow of information will be felt. The inevitability of gatekeeping lends itself to a look at the use of information for political gain. Just as discrepancy in the flow of information is inevitable, gatekeeping in politics is equally inevitable. If every voter was able to express their personal preference within a regulatory system there would be an overload of subjectivity. Politicians use that fact to their advantage. By focusing on only one or two topics a person or an organization can focus the public on an objective â€Å"reality† that caters to the individual’s general political view. In doing this the political goals of the politician or the political organization are met. March and Olsen (1984), in their study on organization in political systems, attempted to explain political communication in a world of ever-increasing access to, and volume of information. They highlighted the common portrayal of politics as a reflection of society, or as the â€Å"aggregate consequences of individual behavior (March, and Olsen 1984).† Their â€Å"new institutionalist† theory of political organization emphasized the relative autonomy of political institutions, the historical considerations for inefficient information management, and the importance of symbolic action in political endeavors (March, and Olsen 1984). Gatekeeping makes use of each of these three points. With autonomy comes subjective control, inefficient information management has the advantage of slowing down opposing propaganda, and symbolic action can emphasize a few important pieces of information while ignoring all others. The global social and economic trends of the late twentieth century are good platforms for looking at the utility of gatekeeping in politics. As alluded to in the opening paragraph of this essay, much of the world experienced a significant lifestyle change in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. As the Industrial Revolution mechanized major world powers, countries like England experienced a liberalization of social standards. Sexual promiscuity, alternative forms of music, drug use, and agnosticism opposed a World War II generation that largely identified with a conservative morality. In England this social liberalization formed as a response to the first half of the twentieth century that saw a consistent loss of economic growth. During most of the nineteenth century England ruled the world economy, maintaining an empire that spanned the globe and led innovations in machinery, steam power, banking, and trade. By 1900 industrialization had spread throughout Europe and North Americ a, decreasing the hold on the world economy England seemed to have (Murphy 1973). World War I caused a significant economic downturn, and the Great Depression followed, continuing a stagnation that wouldn’t lift until the end of World War II. The next few decades would be characterized by economic extremes with GDP growth jumping and falling as England recovered material losses from the war. The â€Å"high water† mark for England’s economy during this time came during the early and mid 1960s (Murphy 1973). Industry had remained a consistent producer for the country following the world wars, and as traditional markets changed and war-torn countries were rebuilt, Britain capitalized (Murphy 1973). On the heels of each economic upswing were the two primary political parties in the British parliament: the Conservative party and the Labour party (McLean 2001). While the Labour party made personal gains in the immediate aftermath of WWII, pushing nationalistic sentiment, it largely failed at maintaining political control over the British government. From 1951 to 1964 the Labour party experienced three consecutive general election losses (McLean 2001). In this same period the country experienced significant GDP growth, a revival of finance, and the continued influence of industry (Murphy 1973). The Conservatives lauded their own governance, and unsurprisingly took credit for the temporary status quo. The Labour party finally won a general election in 1964, placing Harold Wilson as Prime Minister (McLean 2001). Wilson was in stark contrast to the Conservative party member Harold Macmillan who sat as Prime Minister from 1957 to 1963 (McLean 2001). Macmillan embodied the right wing principles of the Conservative party, principles that embraced free market economies, social conservatism, and isolation. Wilson embodied the Labour party’s more liberal standards of nationalism and state sponsored welfare. As the economy bounced up and down the sentiments and actions of the two parties moved towards the extremity of their political philosophies (McLean 2001). Conservatives became more conservative. Labour party members became more nationalistic and liberal. This growing move to extremism came to a front on April 20, 1968 with Enoch Powell’s famous â€Å"Rivers of Blood† speech. Powell (1969), a Conservative party member, gave the speech in front of General Meeting of the West Midlands Area Conservative Political Centre, and lost a prominent cabinet position as a result. The speech became known as one of the most inflammatory speeches in British Parliamentary history, and focused on the increasing trend of immigration into the United Kingdom. Powell (1969) argued against the annual influx of 50,000 immigrants, stating the indigenous population was being â€Å"made strangers in our own country.† He brought up conversations with working class countrymen who felt the increased level of competition for shelter, work, and food first hand. He stated that the majority of the immigrants had no intention of fully assimilating, and he made statements like â€Å"this does not mean that the immigrant and his descendants should be elevated into a privileged or special class, or that the citizen should be denied his right to discriminate in the management of his o wn affairs (Powell 1969).† The actual subject matter of the speech isn’t as important as the reaction it produced. Powell was booted from the Shadow Cabinet, a form of check and balance to the primary cabinet. Labour party members called for arrests, newspaper headlines screamed, and Conservative backers went on strikes. Powell’s inflammatory words caused an inflammatory reaction, a direct result of gatekeeping. Powell, an individual actor in a large political organization, focused on one aspect of the public debate to push his personal political agenda. By focusing on the derogatory effects of immigration he was able to focus his constituents’ emotion on one small aspect of the country’s economy. Instead of looking at both sides of the immigration debate he announced only one bias, a bias that would cater to future votes. He focused on the annual immigration numbers without mentioning emigration statistics, and he used examples of the common working man as a victim of immigration w ithout using examples of immigrants successfully assimilating into British culture. The sentiment expressed by Powell in the â€Å"Rivers of Blood† speech frames a shared trait of right wing conservative politicians in wealthy nations during the twentieth century: prejudice as a form of isolation. The speech pitted parliament in a debate over social welfare and personal responsibility, but more to the point the speech lifted Powell’s notoriety overnight. Despite his firing from the Shadow Cabinet, Powell continued on with a very successful career in politics, and many sources credit his speech as the turning point that won the 1970 general election for the Conservative party. This style of inflammatory communication is a common trend in organizations and institutions that represent a collective group. In this example we see one agent communicating one idea, in the midst of a wealth of issues. He didn’t select one piece of information to simplify a complex problem, he selected one piece of information to focus emotional responses in a way that wo uld directly benefit him. On that day, during that speech, he was in control of the stream of information to the public. Just as mass media outlets function with corporate interests, and governments censor, so too did Enoch Powell use gatekeeping as a tool to benefit his interests. Works Cited Lewin, Kurt. â€Å"Defining the ‘Field at a Given Time.’† Psychological Review 50.3 (1943): 292-310. Print. March, James, and Johan Olsen. â€Å"The New Institutionalism: Organizational Factors in Political Life.† The American Political Science Review 78.3 (1984): 734-749. Print. McLean, Iain. Rational Choice and British Politics: An Analysis of Rhetorical Manipulation from Peel to Blair. New York: Oxford University Press, 2001. Print. Murphy, Brian. A History of the British Economy, 1086-1970. London: Longman, 1973. Print. Powell, Enoch. Freedom and Reality. Tadworth: Elliot Right Way Books, 1969. Print. Schroeder, Paul. Austria, Great Britain, and the Crimean War: The Destruction of the European Concert. Ithica: Cornell University Press, 1972. Print. Shoemaker, Pamela, Martin Eichholz, Kim Eunyi, and Brenda Wrigley. â€Å"Individual and Routine Forces in Gatekeeping.† Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly 78.2 (2001): 233-246. Print. Soroka, Stuart. â€Å"The Gatekeeping Function: Distributions of Information in Media and the Real World.† The Journal of Politics 74.2 (2012): 514-528. Print.

Collaborative Work in Social Care

Collaborative Work in Social Care Introduction The following essay proposes to consider the question of collaborative working in social care, looking in particular at the impact of collaborative working between agencies and professional disciplines within the context of children and families. This represents an especially complex problem to attempt to tackle with the issues of both collaborative working and working with children families subject to an almost constant process of reform and change in the contemporary era. When, for instance, we pause to consider the way in which collaborative work has become such a central feature of contemporary social policy in western liberal democracies with the promulgation of the partnership approach to government dictating the pattern of a variety of social, cultural, economic and political initiatives, we can see that any discussion relating to multi-agency work must reside in some part within the realms of a constantly changing political ideology that seeks in the first instance to instil new parameters for social work practice (Quinney, 2006:5-21). Likewise, when we consider the changing nature of working with children and families in the contemporary era, we can see that a decidedly pervasive legislative and policy framework increasingly that seeks to infringe upon the practice of social work on both an individual and a collaborative level cannot help but impact upon our understanding of the nature and role of the social worker within the context of children and families (OLoughlin and Bywater, 2008:14-27). Thus, we need to observe from the outset the way in which the following essay constitutes an inherently subjective discussion where any conclusions garnered should be understood as open to further change and reinterpretation. For the purpose of perspective, we intend to adopt a dualistic approach to the problem at hand, looking firstly at the political, ideological and legal context in which social work with children and families currently takes place. In this way, we will be better able to demonstrate an effective understanding of the field of child and family work, the social work role and the multidiscipline system in relation to children in need and children in need of protection. Secondly, we will look at the implications of our own evidence-based research yielded from group dynamics involving a specific case study of children and families. In this way, we will be better able to demonstrate an understanding of the importance of evidence-based practice. Moreover, in this way, we will be better able to consider both the strengths and the weaknesses of the collaborative approach to social service provision at the dawn of the twenty first century. Before we can begin, though, we need to briefly consider the historical context in order to establish a conceptual framework in which the remainder of the discussion can take place. The political, ideological and legal context of working with children and families To understand the significance of the multi-agency, collaborative approaches to child protection we need to first mention some of the most profound cases of child cruelty, which have acted as a launch pad for reforms of social services. When, for instance, we pause to consider the case of Dennis ONeil who was starved and subsequently beaten to death by his foster father in 1945, we can see that instances of extreme abuse of looked after children directly contributed to reform of the child social services system. Maria Colwell was similarly abused and killed at the hands of her stepfather in spite of over fifty official visits to the family by social services, health visitors, police officers and housing officers before her death in 1973. As a result of the ensuing enquiry into Maria Colwells death, looked after children were assigned a guardian by the state. (Cocker and Allain, 2008:24) Likewise, public outrage, internal inquiries and institutional reform accompanied the murders of J asmine Beckford in 1984 and the uncovering of widespread sexual abuse amongst looked after children in Cleveland in 1987. In addition, the wrongful fostering of children on the Orkney Islands in 1991 after social workers mistakenly assumed that parents were part of a satanic cult triggered a reconfiguration of child protection policy, acting as a timely reminder as to the fallibility of decision making at an individual as well as an organisational level. Yet while it is true that childrens services have been influenced by individual historical cases of neglect, abuse and murder, it is also true that social work and childrens services are inherently tied to the dominant political ideology of the day. As we have already asserted, social work practice in the contemporary era is an inherently political issue with a pervasive neoliberal political ideology dictating the pattern of social policy and welfare reform over the course of the past two decades. Nowhere is this modernising neoliberal impetus more prominent than in the field of social work with children and families (Johns, 2009:39-54). Beginning with the Childrens Act of 1989 and continuing with the amended Childrens Act of 2004, the state has increasingly sought to make provisions for disadvantaged children and failing families in order to reduce the debilitating ill effects of marginalisation and social exclusion. These two Acts, in conjunction with a variety of other related social policies and statutory framework such as the Every Child Matters programme, constitute an ideological watershed with regards to the way in which the state legislatively copes with the numerous issues arising from children and families. Most obviously, these pieces of legislation and the broader emphasis upon social inclusion that they entail telegraph a new way of responding to issues arising from children and families by looking to target the causes (rather than the consequences) of neglect, exclusion, abuse and the ubiquitous problem of failing families. As a result, it is important to observe the way in which the reforms initiated over the closing decades of the twentieth century and the opening decade of the twenty first century represent a move away from the permissive social policies of the post-war years so as to incorporate a discernibly more preventative agenda for working with children and families (Morri s, Barnes and Mason, 2009:43-67). It is within this climate of preventative action that we must consider the genesis and subsequent evolution of collaborative social work practice with multi-agency work being intrinsically tied to the broader imperative of safeguarding children. The statutory framework of the Every Child Matters initiative, underpinned by the Childrens Act (2004) is, for instance, inherently tied to the partnership, collaborative approach to social service provision involving the active participation of professionals across all spectrums who work with children and young adults (Brammer, 2009:166). Understood in this way, the role of the social worker represents one part of a broader network of rights and responsibilities incorporating General Practitioners, psychologists, educational practitioners, housing association officers, National Health Service professionals, law enforcement agencies, government officials, local councillors, parents, family members and any number of related workers and associa tes who are able to help formulate an effective social agenda which places the child at the epicentre of all key decision-making. In this way, the social worker is better able to communicate with children who have suffered or are suffering from cases of neglect and abuse (Davies and Duckett, 2008:164-166). As a consequence, it is clear that partnership and collaboration should be understood as the ideological bedrock of the contemporary legal and political framework for dealing with children, families and young adults, constituting the single most important guiding principle for social workers operating in the highly complex, risk-orientated contemporary social sphere. Fuelled in some part by the high profile cases of internal failings contributing to childrens neglect where, most notably, the untimely death of Victoria Climbie in 2000 highlighted gross failures of the system (Laming, 2003:11-13), collaborative working between agencies and professional disciplines is today understood as the most viable means of positively impacting upon the well being of both children and families (Brammer, 2009:182.) In response to the murder of Victoria Climbie and, more pertinently, as a result of the economic imperative to cut back on public sector spending, the New Labour government, followed by the present coalition government, has increasingly sought to further the multi-agency approach to social services. The Childrens Plan (2007), for example, constitutes an ideological extension of the collaborative methodology championed in the Every Child Matters campaign with the government, agencies and professionals all charged with improving childrens lives. (The Department for Children, Schools and Families, 2010:29) Safeguarding the well being of children is therefore no longer considered to be the sole responsibility of the state; rather, it is clear that promoting the welfare of children and families is increasingly dependent upon adopting an integrated approach with a variety of agencies, organisations and individuals sharing the responsibility for welfare while at the same time ensuring that the child remains the focus of proactive, preventative action (The Department for Children, Schools and Families, 2010:31-34). It is consequently important to underline the strengths of the multi-agency approach to social care provision, underscoring in particular the way in which focusing upon collaborative working with children and families offers a holistic approach to what is an essentially multi-faceted problem. However, while we are correct to acknowledge the modernising ideology that underpins modern social work practice, we also need to observe the way in which the day to day practice of social work with children and families has revealed a significant underlying chasm between, on the one hand, the preventative legal framework and, on the other hand, the deep-seated flaws in the multi-agency, inter-disciplinary approach to welfare provision in the modern day (Oko, 2008:16-39). In spite of the best efforts of policy makers and in spite of the preventative statutory framework enshrined in the Every Child Matters initiative, there remain deep-rooted structural and logistical problems pertaining to the multi-agency approach. For example, the horrific death of Baby P in 2007 which occurred after social services, National Health Service consultants, and police officers demonstrates that there remains a clear and identifiable problem with regards to communication between agencies, organisations and professions. Moreover, the harrowing case of Baby P serves to demonstrate that, even when extreme levels of abuse are being reported, there remains a problem regarding intervention. The multi-agency approach to social care provision in the contemporary should therefore be understood as being inherently flawed with the collaborative system beset by a variety of structural weaknesses and new ideological complexities (Milner and OByrne, 2009:19-23). Although we should not seek to overlook the strengths of multi-agency, collaborative working we must, as Eileen Munro attests, consider the way in which an exceedingly risk-orientated socio-political culture has created additional problems for social workers in the modern era with an increasingly bureaucratic, administrative understanding of social services hampering the attainment of a critical understanding of the underlying economic, cultural and political factors that create problems in the social sphere (Munro, 2008:58-76). An over-emphasis upon res earch and policy has not yet yielded a significant reduction in the chasm between theory and practice. Working in a Group: The Lessons for Working with Children and Families Hitherto, we have focused upon attempting to understand how the dominant political, ideological and legal framework looks to dictate the pattern of social services at the dawn of the twenty first century. We have also seen that while policies and frameworks seek to instil a fresh, collaborative approach to working with children and young families the practical reality of working in a multi-agency context still leads to significant problems pertaining to communication. This, in the final analysis, is an inevitable consequence of working with the dynamics of groups where there is little by way of direction and where, more importantly, different group members harbour different perspectives and different ambitions with regards to the nature, role and purpose of the project at hand. In the group that I worked in, there were six participants. Two were two white women one a young woman in her early twenties; the other a woman in her thirties who is the mother of two young children. There were also two black women in the group; both of these women were in their thirties and both had children. In addition, there were two black men present in the group. As soon as the group began to convene, it was immediately apparent that there was a significant problem with regards to when the group could meet. Family commitments, coupled with work placements, conspired to make agreeing on a time to meet extremely difficult. Furthermore, when work was assigned to particular individuals it was not completed on time. A lack of structure was therefore prevalent from the start. As time went by and the problems with communication within the group continued to grow, it became apparent that the two white women took it upon themselves to act as the leaders of the group, delegating work as if they had been assigned the role of the managers. The younger woman in her early twenties was observed to be especially aggressive and domineering. When confronted she failed to act in a professional manner, which placed further strain upon the dynamics of the group. Furthermore, as the two white women exerted increasing levels of managerial control, it became apparent that they were withholding important information from the rest of the group. This was either because they did not trust the other members of the group to work to their standards or because they wished to take sole responsibility for the project upon completion. Regardless of their true intentions, the lack of co-ordination and communication resulted in a disappointing final presentation that had been undermine d on account of a wholesale lack of rehearsal. The lack of cohesive, coordinated action within the group revealed a great deal about the inherent problems of inter-agency work with children and families. Most obviously, there was a clear and identifiable problem relating to a lack of leadership and direction in the group. Although there were only six members, every participant appeared to have their own specific agenda, which meant that the overall goal became lost in the resulting confusion of responsibilities. This, according to Michael Gasper, is a key problem in multi-agency working with children and young people where a convergence of interests creates fertile grounds for problems relating to management and leadership (Gasper, 2009:92-110). In such circumstances, it is often the agency or partner that adopts the most rigorously aggressive attitude which ends up assuming a leadership-type role largely against the best interests of the project in hand. This was certainly the case in the group we observed where the two white w omen assumed leadership roles although no such premise had been discussed and in spite of the fact that no such policy had been agreed. In this instance, of course, it is impossible to ignore the spectre of underlying race issues that may have consciously or subconsciously influenced the behaviour of the two white women within the group. Race issues are intrinsically tied to power issues; thus, the white women might have felt the need to assume control of a group dominated by black people. Again, the issue of power and the impact that this has upon inter-personal relationships within a multi-agency setting is an important factor for us to consider. As Damien Fitzgerald and Janet Kay underscore, power is an inexorably important factor that needs to be legislated for when teams come together in an interdisciplinary, multi-professional context. This is especially true during the early consultative stages of group work the storming stage where there may be fighting, power struggles, disputes and destructive criticism, which need to be managed effectively so as to minimise the impact upon the setting or the service. (Fi tzgerald and Kay, 2007:92) The relationships that emerge from the storming stage are subsequently normalised during the ensuing norming stage where the team starts to adopt its own identity. If, however, the relationships between the various agencies have not settled down into an egalitarian pattern by the norming stage of development, the power struggles and internal disputes will inevitably affect the performing stage of task management. Most notably, the creative process will be stifled and the focus that should be dedicated towards the completion of the task will be diverted towards the power struggles within the group (Cheminais, 2009:38-40). This was certainly the case in the group I worked in where problems in the storming stage were translated into more serious structural problems in the norming stage, both of which ultimately affected the final performing stage of the task. Thus, once more, we need to acknowledge the significant divide between theory and practice in collaborative working with children and families where, as Jayat suggests, policies can be well intentioned, yet are often poorly co-ordinated and, in practice, under-resourced. (Jayat, 2009:92) Furthermore, while acknowledging the problems that multi-agency, collaborative work entails, we also need to consider the way in which the infusion of children into the scenario creates further avenues for a lack of cohesive, co-ordinated action. If, as the evidence suggests, information sharing is negatively influenced by multi-agency, collaborative working with adults, then it stands to reason that there is bound to be much greater scope for withholding information when children and families are integrated into the procedure. If relationships at an agency level are strained then it stands to reason that, as Butler and Roberts attest, that social workers will find it even harder to maintain open and honest relationships with children and their parents in a social work context (Butler and Roberts, 2004:129-130). More importantly, it is clear that there is little time for power struggles and disputes when a childs welfare is at stake. In the final analysis, this kind of internal wrang ling runs contrary to the central tenet of the Every Child Matters and the Working to Safeguard Children campaigns, which look to make sure that the child remains the centre of task-centred, multi-agency focus (Department for Children, Schools and Families, 2010:32). We should, of course, be careful not to assume that all group dynamics follow the pattern of the group we observed. While evidence suggests that there remains a significant scope for problems of power, communication, authority and direction within multi-agency settings it is also true that, if handled in the appropriate manner, collaborative practice allows differences in values to surface and, if effectively minded, to be aired and resolved over time (Glenny and Roaf, 2008:111) In such circumstances, multi-agency work with children and families can serve to positively influence the health and well being of service users. As a consequence, it is important not to assume that the structural weaknesses of collaboration mean that there are no strengths to the multi-agency process. Conclusion Understanding the strengths and the weaknesses of collaborative working between agencies and professional disciplines is dependent upon first understanding the distance to be travelled between the theory of prevention and the practice of collaboration at a grass roots level. Looking to reduce the divide between theory and practice, between the political and ideological framework and the multi-agency, collaborative approach, consequently represents the most critical challenge facing social workers and social policy makers alike. This is especially true as far as childrens services are concerned. Ultimately, though, when looking to pass a judgement on the relative strengths and weakness of multi-agency working with children and families we need to recall that agencies involve individuals responding to crises in the social sphere. As Beckett attests, every individual participant in the child protection process, and every profession or agency, necessarily sees things from his, her or its own particular standpoint and has his, her or its own particular axes to grind. It is important to bear in mind that no one participant possesses the pure and unadulterated truth.' (Beckett, 2009:29) Social work is an inherently complex and subjective discipline where there is no right or wrong answer to the multitude of questions arising from the breakdown of interpersonal relationships. Collaborative work should consequently be understood as being inherently fallible. Only by concentrating upon improving the internal group dynamics of multi-agency functioning can the chasm between theory and practice begin to be reduced.

theme Essay -- essays research papers

Theme is a concept that can be related to all works of literature ranging from short stories to novels. Theme, which is sometimes used in the same sense as motif to signify recurring concepts in literature, refers mainly to the arguments or general ideas expressed by a literary work, whether it is implied or explicitly stated. In the short story â€Å"Harrison Bergeron† by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. theme played a vital role in the stories general setup. â€Å"Harrison Bergeron† theme was on a general basic of equality. Equality is a subject that is very touchy and most do not know how to conquer or talk about it, but Vonnegut captured it in his story â€Å"Harrison Bergeron.† According to Vonnegut and his them equality could be obtained by these three main objectives. The three main objectives were to 1) make everyone have the same intelligence, 2) make everyone the have the same strengths and weaknesses, and 3) make everyone look alike.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  One of the three main objectives that were used in the story â€Å"Harrison Bergeron† was that everyone must look alike. This was accomplish by there not being makeup for women, handicaps for all people, and other accessories put on the body to make a person seem as if they had no strengths or weaknesses. An example of this happening was when Hazel and George were having a conversation while watching ballerinas and the conversation went blank because of a loud noise in George’s and the ballerina’s ears. It was stated in the story that â€Å"Haz... theme Essay -- essays research papers Theme is a concept that can be related to all works of literature ranging from short stories to novels. Theme, which is sometimes used in the same sense as motif to signify recurring concepts in literature, refers mainly to the arguments or general ideas expressed by a literary work, whether it is implied or explicitly stated. In the short story â€Å"Harrison Bergeron† by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. theme played a vital role in the stories general setup. â€Å"Harrison Bergeron† theme was on a general basic of equality. Equality is a subject that is very touchy and most do not know how to conquer or talk about it, but Vonnegut captured it in his story â€Å"Harrison Bergeron.† According to Vonnegut and his them equality could be obtained by these three main objectives. The three main objectives were to 1) make everyone have the same intelligence, 2) make everyone the have the same strengths and weaknesses, and 3) make everyone look alike.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  One of the three main objectives that were used in the story â€Å"Harrison Bergeron† was that everyone must look alike. This was accomplish by there not being makeup for women, handicaps for all people, and other accessories put on the body to make a person seem as if they had no strengths or weaknesses. An example of this happening was when Hazel and George were having a conversation while watching ballerinas and the conversation went blank because of a loud noise in George’s and the ballerina’s ears. It was stated in the story that â€Å"Haz...

Superiority of Computers to Books :: Technology

Half a century ago, people used books for everything related to education. In fact, the human's best source of knowledge and education was the book. If you wanted to look up a recipe, you opened a book. If you wanted to learn how to fix the radio on your car you opened a book called the manual. If you wanted to know Black beard's real name you will have to visit the library and go through hundreds of encyclopaedia pages before finding what you wanted. Now in the 21st century, all you need is a computer with an Internet connection and the whole world is just a click away. Slowly the computer has replaced the book in almost every way. Computers are much better than books because a modern computer can hold a billion times more information than the average 500-page book. If you wanted to do research about Martin Luther King Jr. It would take you at least an hour just to find the right book. Where as using a computer, you can find the same information in less than 5 minutes. Many people use the internet as a dictionary. finding definitions, this way only takes the time to type the word. A laptop computer equal to the size and weight of a book holds data about any topic you can think of. A book only covers a specific topic. A computer can hold much more types of data than a book. When you carry one computer, you are carrying a hundred thousand books. In her essay, Proulx mentions an airplane is the best place to read a book and asks, ?What are planes but giant flying reading rooms Many people use their laptops or the on board entertainment system on a plane rather than reading a book. But, from my experience all I seen on planes is people sleeping, people watching movies and people working on their computers. I have only seen one person reading a book- a 90-year-old who probably doesn?t know what computers are. Proulx also says we can judge what the person is like and their interests by looking at their books. We can only judge a person up to some extent when we look at their books. If we look at their software and files, we can see what they are interested in, and what kind of job they are doing, you can even know the type of music the

Impact of Police Brutality

Police officers are not only trained to uphold ND respect the law but It Is made very clear to them that they are not above or Immune to the law themselves. Although they seem to believe they are. Due to the amount of power and authority given to police officers, they must be held accountable for any criminal actions. Many of you are probably wondering why I chose this topic, and it is simply because it has probably touched every single person in this room, whether you witnessed it, heard about it or were a victim of it yourself but nothing Is being said or done to stop it.I'm not sure how many of you attended Blood West Villages annual Ukrainian Festival last weekend but If you did, there Is no doubt In my mind that you are thinking about the hundreds of armed police officers patrolling the festival as if it was a federal prison. Now I ask you, why would they do this? Why do police officers feel they have the right to treat the average citizen like a criminal?There are many incident s across Canada involving the RACE and Regional Police Forces, in which they are accused of abusing their authority and power, such as unjustified deaths including, but not limited to, the death of Robert Deskills In October 2007 at the Vancouver Airport, the unnecessary arrest and searches of hundreds of Innocent people during the 620 summit. There are countless videos and eyewitness testimonies to these occurrences, yet they go virtually unnoticed. Now I ask you, who is policing the police?A recent incident involving police brutality was the shocking assault caught on camera by officer Geoff Mantled in Keelson, British Columbia. Mantled was accused of assault causing bodily harm, after Instructing a suspect to get down, and as he proceeded to get on his hands and knees, the RACE officer kicked him In the face. As a suspect, you are innocent until proven guilty, therefore if you are complying with police, they have no right to assault you. This officer's actions were intentional, d eliberate and appalling to say the least.Now I ask you, what was the punishment for such a crime? Mantled was suspended from the force with pay. Sounds like more of a vacation to me! Do you think this is an adequate punishment for kicking someone in the face? I most certainly do not! Geoff Mantled should be charged with assault causing bodily harm, Like any other citizen would be. Due to the â€Å"Blue Shield,† which Is better known as he police code of silence, is simply the unwritten rule that all police officers will not to report against another colleague's errors, misconducts or crimes.Police officers rarely go against this code because doing so would cause unrest within the department, and other consequences such as having your own misconduct exposed. Due to this, It is clear that police cannot be trusted to conduct their own internal Investigations Walton tenet department as ten result wall always De Dallas. Canaan needs an independent agency dedicated to investigating allegations of police conducts and excessive force in order to ensure accountability in these specific incidents.An external agency, free of political interference may help to restore some of the trust, confidence and respect of the RACE and regional police forces, which has been undermined by recent incidents of police misconduct. If police forces feel that they can assault people in broad daylight with multiple witnesses and get away with it then we can only imagine the things they think they can get away with when nobody is looking. Now I ask you, who is policing the police? Currently, it is nobody, and something must be done about it!

Oil ; gas Essay

The economy is affected by many factors that determine if it is strong or weak. These factors have to do with buyers consuming goods and services and at what rate they do this. Do the goods and services that are consumed by people created wealth, jobs and a better overall economy for a country. Throughout history some economies have evolved faster and stronger than others. Policies that the government places on industry, technology and the environment can all affect the prosperity of an economy. Of the factors that affect economic growth the industry of Oil and gas is one that holds a stronghold in the world’s and America’s economy today. When evaluating the economic growth factor of economy and specifically oil and gas on must consider the following questions:  ¨ What relationship does the factor have with the whole economy?  ¨ How does this factor affect economic growth  ¨ Is the factor a cause or effect of economic growth?  ¨ what would the economy be like if there were significant problems with this factor?  ¨ What relation does a central bank have to this factor? I will answer each of these questions in respect to how economy is affected by oil and gas. The economy in the United States today is greatly affected by oil and gas. When there are large reserves and an increase of active drills in respect to oil, the economy seems to receive a boost. This is because prices for such things like gas and oil fall and people are able to consume more gas at a lower price. There is more supply and prices fall, therefore people save money on gas and can consume other items in the economy. People working in these industries have more job openings and more jobs filled, therefore creating a lower unemployment rate and a higher national per capita income. The need for substitutes are not there so, consumers will consume oil and gas at a growing rate. Since, people use oil and gas for so many different things like heating there homes, driving their cars, and a variety of other sources, the overall GNP for the consumer will rise. Economic growth is affected through significant fluctuations in inflation of oil and gas. If you look throughout history when there have been fluctuations in gas and oil prices you have vast fluctuations in the economy of our country. The instability of this factor has cause government regulation to come into play in times of crisis. For example during the mid-seventies we had the oil and  gas shortage due to the Middle East cutting off supply to Importers of their oil. By doing this, they caused a shortage in a lot of countries creating rising oil prices and high demand. Consumers could not rely on the oil prices to be stable, therefore they consumed less of other products due to the inflation of gas prices and more of their dollar began to be spent on gas. Americans particularly started to come up with more efficient means of using and consuming gas over the past 25 years. Oil and gas is a resource that can be used up if not conserved properly. That is why OPEC was formed, as well as organizations such as NAFTA to help regulate trade of these commodities and bring organization to a disorganized status. In addition, governments like the United States impose taxes on gas to regulated the prices in order to ward off against supplies of oil affecting the nations economy. This only works to an extent, in the early to mid-eighties one state’s economy lived and died by the supply of oil. That state was Texas. When Texas’s oil rigs began to dry up, their economy went into a recession. Their reliance on the oil supply as their main revenue producer caused a lot of people to lose their jobs and demand and consumption for other products fell as well. This caused a spiraling effect which caused people from all industries to lose their jobs. Texas’s economy suffered and so did parts of the American economy with High inflation and high debt which caused the economy to suffer. Increased regulation and diversification of a country’s resources can stop this from being the case. Countries representing OPEC all live and die by the constant production of oil. While this factor is used to stimulate their countries economic growth, it should be used to stimulate the building of a country’s infrastructure. Oil-rich countries should use the positive affect oil has had on their countries to build strong governments and consumer demand for other goods. This powerful infrastructure that could be built will give the economy stability and allow for a country’s GNP to grow in a slow, steady, and positive way. The building of a strong middle-class will allow for country’s to prosper for many years to come. Instead what has happened is that economies of these countries are in a state of flux. What I mean by this is that their economies are very unpredictable and unstable and their reliance on oil has made the disparity between the rich and the poor a gap that becomes too large to overcome. One prime example of this is Brazil, Brazil has large  reserves of oil in a very large country. Brazil is a developing nation and is very unstable when it comes to central governments. In the 70’s and 80’s Brazil made large amounts of oil from its reserves. Instead of investing the money made (from exporting oil) into their countries future, the leaders of that country used the money to make themselves rich and left the country in political and economic disarray. The middle class of Brazil became almost non-existent and their seem to be but two classes in that country. Those classes were the extremely rich and the extremely poor. The lack of infrastructure and consumer confidence in the economy due to the mishandling of oil profits lead to many political assassinations and increased crime rates throughout the country. It has taken and will continue to take Brazil years and years to recover from these economic crisis’s , which all could have been avoided had Bra zil’s government invested in its future. It is definitely true that an economy of a country can be vastly affected by the demand, consumption, and supply of oil. The affect that good supplies of oil has on a country’s economy is one that can only be measured in the sense that it is inevitable that they will be affected. As long as we drive cars that are fueled by gas and we use heat in the winter time, oil will always be a strong factor in determining the growth of a countries economy. In the United States, we have the strong infrastructure to adapt to problems that the instability of both the supply and demand of oil will cause. Countries need to look within themselves for managed growth in order to steady their economies if oil is what sparks their economy. A strong central bank and government will allow for funds to be invested in supporting the economy, the oil business, and consumerism. Once the infrastructure is set the shear reliance on oil will not be a factor, because the country’s economy will be able to handle the affect. When the day comes that oil wells ran dry and substitutes are needed the countries that will survive will be the ones that have braced themselves for the effect that this will have on their economy. Then these countries will adapt and overcome. Oil and gas should be used as helper of a country’s economy and not the passion by which it is run. The production of great income for a country and a higher GNP that oil production is something that should be able to benefit them for many years to come. If you look at the United States as a model you will see a country that handles oil with precision. When the oil industry is in a downturn, the  government can step in and regulate taxes and stimulate investment by having the central bank pump in funds that would not otherwise be used. When the oil industry is doing fine, the government can sit back and reap the prosperity of increases in employment and a rise in demand for oil. The prices will be lower for gas and oil, which means consumption will be up and the economy will be up too. Countries around the world can learn how to handle oil to the extent that it creates an agenda that the benefits far outweigh the costs. We know that oil and gas affects the economy and that it easily regulated by strong central government and bank. The infrastructure must be built up to manage growth. The leaders of the country should be committed to the development of the oil industry. Finally the consumers should be aware of how their role in the consumption of oil will affect the economy as a whole. When all parties are aware and committed to the prosperity of their country and to the industry then the consumption, supply, demand, profits, losses, and investment towards oil will be a mutually beneficial one for the country and it’s people.

Outline two perspectives on learning Essay

Classical Conditioning is when behaviour is learned through a stimulus response bond (S_R) This is done by using unconditioned stimuli as well as conditioned stimuli. Simply put this method of behaviourist learning is able to create behaviour that doesn’t normally exist (e.g. salivating at the sound of a bell) this is done through association. For example if a person was to ring a bell right before they fed the dog, the dog would salivate due to the presence of the food. If done enough times, the dog would salivate at the sound of the bell alone, even if no food was present (Pavlov’s experiment) Operant Conditioning is used to shape behaviour that already exists in the learner. This is done through reinforcement whether it be positive (rewarding) negative (taking away a negative trait) or punishment Skinner found that people are more likely to learn a behaviour if they are rewarded after doing it (e.g. praise, gifts etc.)  SLT refers to Bandura’s research, as he believed that people can learn through vicarious learning watching other people doing or not doing as they do. This is done by Modelling, which can mean to make an example of a peer in school, thus showing others how to, or not to act. Humanistic Carl Rogers believed that people learn best when they are given/shown Unconditional positive regard, empathy and genuiness. This looks at learners as human beings with sensitivities and self esteem as opposed to machines which can be programmed (behaviourist) Maslow was another humanistic believers he created the hierarchy of needs, suggesting that the learners needed their basic needs to be satisfied (food safety belingingess) before they can learn and have the desire to explore the â€Å"meta needs† (learning etc.)    Due to the fact that the three perspectives are so different in design, it can be very difficult to say how one method is nomothetically better than another. Each perspective has its own strong and weak points.  The behaviourist perspective is a very affective method of learning as performance levels tend to be at the highest when the techniques of classical, Operant and SLT are applied. However this suggests that people learn only what they show, valuing nothing but the behaviour of the learner. For example the use of Classical Conditioning can create associations which can benefit the learner (e.g. standing up when a governor enters the room) as it can avoid embarrassment however, it can also be considered unethical to use such techniques as learners ten can become unable to control their own actions as the SR bond created put their behaviour in the control of the subconscious therefore using classical conditioning techniques would not be best when trying to teach something of a creative nature (e.g. art, music etc.) as personal control is very important in these subjects Another ethical issue with the use of behaviourist tactics in learning is that the reinforcement can hurt the learner’s self esteem. This can be seen in Operant Conditioning techniques like punishment in that although the behaviour may be shaped to an â€Å"acceptable standard†, the learners would become less motivated to produce work. This can also play a role in bad association between the student and the subject being taught in that they don’t like how the behaviourists teacher treats them, they would learn to dislike the subject as opposed to simply the teacher. The Humanistic view, due to the fact that they value the development of the person more than the acquisition of trivial knowledge, can often very poor exam results within schools. An example of this would be the Summerhill school (Neil) which applied a completely humanistic approach to the workings of the school (e.g. no reinforcement of class attendance, no rules etc.) the results of this experiment showed that with the humanistic perspective, exam results were poor, however follow up studies showed that psychological problems and better stability within alumni Another possible criticism of the humanistic views of Maslow is that there are people who can learn in school very well yet not have all of their basic needs satisfied (e.g. negligent parenting) however it can be said that the higher meta needs would be easier to pursue if the basic needs were provided for the learner. This goes against Maslow’s theory in that the hierarchy of needs can have exceptions based on individual differences (which can be analysed in the Myers Briggs Personality Indicator) Cognitive psychologists believe that all information can be presented in a way that’s best taken on by the learner. However this goes against the theories of Piaget and Ausubel who thought that information was exclusively better if present in certain ways, (bit by bit versus all encompassing respectively) The cognitive approach doesn’t consider the learners as anything but information processors, which can also hurt students self esteem as they are not necessarily regarded as human beings who are valued (Rogers) When it comes down to it each perspective is very helpful to the improvement of learning within children however if used exclusively can cause their own contrasting problems. The best way in my eyes is to create a hybrid of the systems, for example, in regards to dealing with disruptive behaviour a behaviourist system of punishment be most effective, but then followed up with a humanistic debrief, (explaining why being punished) this would allow the student to learn the behaviour as well as maintain or reinforce self esteem.