Managing and evaluating informal education Essay

Managing and evaluating informal education - Essay Example Organisational culture has no concrete definition; different researchers have defined in various forms so that ambiguity of the word is cleared to a certain extent. According to Denison (1990) and Celand (1994), cited by Nayak et al. (2011), organisational culture can be defined as â€Å"an environment of organisation which is made up of beliefs, practices, customs, knowledge and conventionalised behaviour of a specific social group†. In other words, several researchers have associated different terms with the word ‘culture’ such as shared meanings of symbols, rituals, beliefs, and myths that evolve with the passage of time and reduce variability in human nature and control while shaping employees’ behaviour within the organisation. Since people are valuable assets of organisations, they are the ones who run the business activities of organisations in the form of teams; culture helps in giving them a meaning, shared vision along with set of rules, principles and standards according to which they have to behave in the respective organisation. There are three levels in organisational culture as identified by Nayak et al. (2011) i.e. artefacts of culture that can be observed, followed by shared values and then common assumptions. When levels are considered as layers, then when the level is deeper, it becomes difficult to diagnose and analyze organisational culture by going at that level. Lund (2003) has stated that organisational culture in any type of organisation is defined by the shared beliefs, values, perceptions or customs that are held and followed by employees within that particular organisation or its unit. Since organisational culture is a reflection of behavioural norms, beliefs and values that are being used by organisation’s employees, they give meanings to the situations when they encounter it and these culture characteristics

Persuasive Oral Presentation about paparazzimedia ethics in Hong Kong Essay

Persuasive Oral Presentation about paparazzimedia ethics in Hong Kong - Essay Example Sometime this year, there were a group of activists that were fighting for the right to preserve a certain historical site in Hong Kong. The group went to the site and stayed there for some days with very little attention from the local media. However, a certain politician realized that there was an opportunity to garner public attention through the activists. Consequently, he called some members of the press informing them that there would be a fight between some activists and the police at a specified time. (Mei Ning & Cottrell, 2008) Ten minutes before the set time, local pressmen were presented with their cameras; the police had already arrived. At the set time, the politicians arrived with the small group of activists. The police confronted them immediately and the demonstrators also put up some resistance. All this time, the ensuing activities were being recorded. After ten minutes of this, the policemen, politician, members of the press packed up their belongings and left; a classic case of doctored stories. The activists were at least content that their case would be aired on the nine o'clock news. Ladies and gentlemen, this extreme case demonstrates just how absurd our media has become. Isn't it time that we began discussing such lack of professionalism More importantly, isn't it time for us to think of ways in which we can change such depictions What really is freedom of speech In my view, Hong Kong Media have overstepped their boundary. In case you are not convinced about this issue yet, here are some incidences that reinforce my earlier sentiments. In the year 2002 during the month of October, well known gossip magazine East Week splashed naked pictures of actress Carina Lau in the edition. They claimed that these were photos of the actress at that time when she had been arrested some twelve years go. Actress Lau was clearly in anguish and distress but this did not stop East week from publishing this shocking images. In response this sheer lack of humanity, angry protesters marched to the streets of Hong Kong claiming that local tabloids lacked moral substance. Most of them wondered 'what had happened to media ethics' while it may be true that you as the media authority did something in response to these acts your actions were not solid enough. Through your actions, this magazine company was closed for one year. But shortly after, the company was reopened and is still back in business. I ask you, 'How many more Car ina Lau's do we have to witness before we can instate radical changes in our local media In close relation to this incident was a publication made by Next Magazine. The group had displayed pictures of the dead corpse of a woman at the bottom of Sheun Chi building. (Mei Ning & Cottrell, 2008)Not only were these pictures quite disturbing but they were worsened by the alleged causes of the death. The magazine claimed that it was the husband of the deceased who had been engaging in acts of promiscuity that had propelled his wife to suicide; they claimed that he had been engaging in extra marital affairs with prostitutes. Instead of sympathizing with these distraught family members, the media was fuelling their anger and remorse. What was more devastating about the media handling of this case was that some media companies paid the deceased wife's husband to take meals and

Facilitating Change In Health And Social Care Social Work Essay

Facilitating Change In Health And Social Care Social Work Essay Change is a process of transitioning  from a current situation to a desired future condition. Whether we like change or not, we are all caught up in a never-ending cycle of change in our organizations. Some people welcome change and enjoy the uncertainty it often brings, thinking that it offers a new challenges and opportunities at work. Others are cautious about change, fearing that something valued will be altered or lost or that risk brings unnecessary stress. In care, health and social care services are essentially about people, both those who need to use services and those who provide services. People are sensitive to the impact of change and as a manager I have a particular responsibility to take care over how changes in services that are intended to deliver care within the organization. One of the reasons why change seems to be constant is that there are many potential stimuli for change and there are several factors driving change. The stimulus for change may come from inside an organization but it is more usual for it to come from outside. Change initiated within the organization is often a response to a force outside the organization that triggered the change. For example, factors that have a significant impact on health and social care services include government legislations and policies. Many aspects of health and social care are subject to legislation. New legal requirements emerge constantly as government seek to improve health and social care, often through introduction of systems to set standards and to control or modify service provision. Like the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, this was enacted because of increasing numbers of accidents and incidents that happened in the past related to work. Its main purpose is to protect and minimize people from ha rm. It places a general duty on employers to ensure health, safety and welfare of all employees as far as is reasonably practicable. This legislation situates an impact not only on health care industry but all kinds of work. That is why until now it was expanded its scope, clarified responsibilities and responded to new circumstances as they have arisen without changing the overall principles of the original Act. Legislation also affects service provision though legislation relating to employment, health and safety, use of public funding and through related services including education and housing. Recently, the government commence key modification which affects the eligibility of all non-EU workers who wants to work in the UK. Those individuals must earn a minimum number of points. The new rules state the less points will be given for employees earning lower salaries in UK and no points to those who are paid less  £20,000 per annum compare to the old rules that give a minimum points for those workers having  £17,000 salary per year. It means the employer will have to pay new workers at least  £20,000. In addition, the care providers were enormously concerned about the present government removing the senior carers from shortage status because it might cause damage on the quality of care and in the business. Moreover, new technology is also a reason that is why change arises in health care setting. One great example is the development of internet. It change the way of sending information to the multi-disciplinary team through e-mail. Making it easier for senior staff to send and receive relevant information from GPs and other professionals and vice versa regarding service users condition while promoting privacy and confidentiality. It also change our ways of using records and libraries. Staffs in health and care services have access to an increasing range of information that is available to practitioners in health and social care. Service users expect us to make use of evidence in making decisions and database of best practice models are increasingly available. In my workplace, the management use the internet to provide trainings for staff which is more suitable and can be done in our own convenient time. For residence and relatives, its a fact that most of the relatives of our service u sers are far away from each other. However with the utilization of the internet, distance is not a big deal anymore. For relatives and services user who have personal computers or laptops can make conversation and see each other with the use of webcam and chat rooms through the internet. Service delivery is also influence by use of new developments in equipments. Like the new equipment acquired by Barts and The London NHS Trust the two state-of-the-art Lifeport organ transporters. It endow with a valuable sustenance for patients needing a kidney transplant. It stores healthy kidneys after they are removed from the donor before being transplanted into the recipient. This is a critical period for ensuring that the organ does not deteriorate and become unusable. Unlike before that they rely on ice to conserve the kidney, the new equipment maintains the organ in a fluid rich in nutrients and oxygen, which significantly extends the storage period. For the new equipments, it does change the old method to a new way that allows hope for more patients to have successful kidney transplants. In care home settings, the acquisition of new equipments like the air pressure mattress is indispensable equipment for anyone at high risk of developing pressure ulcers or who have existing pressure ulcers. The alternating pressure of the mattress depends on the weight of the service user allowing relieved on a regular basis and trim down the number of times a person needs to be turned, greatly enhancing the comfort of the very poorly or terminally ill. In addition, economic factors also drive change. These factors include the general prosperity of the country and its neighbourhood, the rate of unemployment, areas of poverty, the level of inflation and exchange rates in relationships involving other countries and currencies. The state of the economy affects the level of demand for goods and services, the prosperity of communities and the availability and cost of raw materials and labours. The economy tends to move in cycles, but these are not easy to predict. All services, whether public services, private services or charity provision, are affected by changes in the economy. At present, there were lots of changes in the health and social care sector due to the recent financial crisis that affects the economy of United Kingdom. As a result, the coalition government have wasted no time to save money in reshaping parts of the health services. According to the health secretary, the popular NHS direct services will be substitute with cheaper alternative. Under the governments plans, some strategic health authorities and hundreds of primary care trust are to be abolished affecting thousands of employees and service users. Examples of recent cost-cutting measures cited by professionals are hospital bed closures, pressure to give patients cheaper, slower-acting drugs, cuts to occupational health support, and reductions in community health services. Furthermore, according to a study, it make known that for the most part of job losses it involved frontline staff as patient services are withdrawn. Along with mounting numbers of patients are being deprived of treatm ent for conditions such as loss of sight, arthritis and infertility as the  NHS  increasingly rations healthcare in order to save money. But, the spending cuts done by the government does not only affect the health and social care sector but the life of Britons as a whole. It affects the sick, the disabled and Britains poorest families. Among the biggest cuts are only allowing claimants to have the replacement for Incapacity Benefit, the Employment and Support Allowance for one year, Cutting Disability Allowance for those people in care. Cutting Council Tax benefit by 10%. Reductions in the help given for childcare to working families, and slashing housing benefit for the under-35s by paying them the shared room rate instead of enough to live on their own etc., To be able to facilitate change in health and social care, as a manager I need to be able to understand the principles of change management. According to John Kotter, an authority of leadership and change, change has both an emotional and situational components and methods for managing each are expressed in his 8 step model. To value his model, as a managers there must be an understanding about the suppression and to cause employees emotion. During any period of change, a manager must deal with feelings of complacency, anger, false pride, arrogance, panic, exhaustion and anxiety among staffs. These are all emotions that can challenge and undermine attempts at promoting change. As managers I need to be able to turn these negative feelings into positive and proactive feelings such as faith, trusts urgency, hope, passion and enthusiasm which are emotions that promote change. On the first phase the model explained the phase of creating a climate for change. As a manager, there is need to develop a sense of urgency to staff. That action is needed regarding a foreseen difficulty. This can be done during meetings by explaining the situation through showing related videos and sharing stories. As the urgency grows among the staffs, as a manager, there is necessity to develop a guiding team that guide the change throughout the remaining steps. Members of the guiding team could be unit managers, senior carers or persons who have a relevant knowledge about the changes that occur in the organization, the ability to establish credibility and trusts to peers, the formal authority associated with managerial skill and the leadership. With the manager, alongside with the guiding team, must develop a vision expressed in a clear, concise statement about the direction in which the organization is headed. Engaging and enabling the whole organization is the second phase of Kotters model. Here, anxiety, anger, panic, among staff will rise because the manager or guiding team announces the impending change. Whenever, change is about to take place, people begin to wonder. That is why the guiding team needs to communicate to the individual or groups that are to be affected by change. And need to address these feelings and help staff to think and act in accordance with the new direction. An effective way to communicate the vision is to develop an engaging story that catches the attention of the change initiates. If there is a resistance to the staff at certain point, a dialogue between the guiding team and staff initiates a question and answer session. Staffs displays understanding when they realized the advantage, rewards and perquisites that they will gain once the change is completed. As the pathways to change are cleared, staffs must need to carefully choose and complete tasks that clear ly show that the change is succeeding. Tasks completed provide further urgency and momentum among the organization and lessen the impact of negative comments. At the final phase, the action plan is implemented fully allowing staff not to let up of the change. Collaboration occurs when staffs are willing to endorse or stand behind the change and displays commitment. As managers, at this phase, should sustain the change. It is done when a new way of operating has been shown to staff to succeed over the some minimum period of time Staffs at this point, displays advocacy that maintains the attitudes and behaviours supporting the change.. To relate this in my work, in my care home, there are recent changes that were implemented due staffs failing to do proper documentation. Firsts, the home manager scheduled a meeting and consultation to all the unit managers. At the meeting, to develop a sense of urgency among staff, she used a video based scenario regarding right documentation. The video shows the positive and negative effect of proper documentation to staffs, residents and management. In the meeting, everyone was asked about the ways to improve the situation. Then, decided that every staff should be knowledgeable and competent enough to do appropriate documentation at work through trainings and observations to make sure that they have the awareness, understanding and collaboration about the agenda of the meeting. On the other hand, the unit managers are to be the guiding team to lead, direct and show the proper way of documentation to unit staffs. Before the meeting ends, she makes sure that everyone understands ab out the directions in which the organization is headed and there would be recognition as the best unit that could implement the change. Finally, now every staff is confident regarding answering the forms in the care plans of every resident and certain to do the right documentation. The as proposed the guiding team use appraisal and supervision to measure the change. Plus the home manager monitored the change by evaluating the care plans of the residents with the help of a unit manager every end of the month for this change to become a culture in the care home.

Another One Bites The Dust :: essays research papers

Another One Bites the â€Å"Dust† Sweet Diamond Dust, written by Rosario Ferre, focuses on modernization and how it’s impacted the country of Puerto Rico and it’s people. This book discusses the struggles and hardships of managing sugar mills and the influential changes the Americans brought to Puerto Rico in the early 1900’s. The Americans triumph over the local landowners and their sugar mills, was not all from their own doings. Their successes is in part of the town’s own greed. Through manipulation, persuasion, and cunnings, Diamond Dust was able to survive through the toughest of hardships, and still manage to be the only competitor (in Puerto Rico) to the northerners. With Diamond Dust’s success also came a price, and with the very same methods that brought the mill to its climax, also made it fall to its knees, through greed. In the beginning there was much talk of how proud the people of Puerto Rico were of their country, â€Å"Built on the gently rolling slopes that descend form Mount Guamani, it looks upon a savannah of fabulously fertile loam, whose sabled, furrowed topsoil is considered to be one of the richest in the world.† (3-4) But as the book progresses, it begins to reveal its true side. The town of Guamani was not as peaceful and giving as it is told to be. The writer tends to discuss how the Americans arrival has changed the town for the worse. â€Å" Far from being a paradise, Guamani has become a hell, a monstrous whirlpool from which the terrifying funnel of Snow White Sugar Mills spews out sugar night and day toward the north.† (7) Many Puerto Ricans of lower stature or less well of than the rich, truly believed the northerners were saviors who helped modernize a town in need of relief:  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   All this was done away with when the foreigners came: they established modern methods of reaping and planting; the field hands were treated like human beings instead of like slaves; their children could go to school; they were given adequate housing and shoes†¦ In other words, the northerners were a blessing to the poor and to the middle class as well, albeit to the rich. (68) Diamond Dust faced many hardships that could have easily wiped it out of business, but thanks to the devotion and patience spent managing the land, it overcame many close turnovers. Between Don

The Last Night Analysis

The Last Night At the beginning of the passage it is instantaneously established that the circumstances in which the two brothers, Andre and Jacob, are currently residing in are appalling. These would be the same conditions that most of the Jewish people would have been residing in prior to being taken to concentration camps. We are aware that the conditions are poor as Faulks tells us that ‘Andre was lying on the floor’ which implies that he has nowhere else to sleep, it also shows how exhausted he must have been as young boys would not normally be resting.We are also informed at the start of the passage that the boys are French-Jewish, by their names. As Andre lies on the floor a Jewish orderly comes round with postcards on which the deportees can write their final message. This shows us that a percentage of the Jewish people were collaborating with the Nazis, although the Jewish orderly would have been lower than the Germans they still had a sense of responsibility. T his could have looked like a betrayal from the view of the rest of the Jewish people.Furthermore, even though the Jewish orderly has joined forces with the Nazis he is still sneaking postcards for the Jewish people to write their final messages on. This portrays a sense of loyalty from the Jewish orderly. Here Faulks calls the Jewish people ‘deportees’ which reminds us, after a pleasant picture of the Jewish orderly’s loyalty, that they are being deported by force. Following on from this we are told that they are to write their final messages on the postcards which again enables us to reminisce on the circumstances. Faulks does this by using the word ‘final’.This emphasises that this potentially could be the last thing that the Jewish people ever write which truly illustrates to us the reality of the situation. The ‘final message’ could also allude to Hitler’s final solution which would portray how the Jewish people were regarded and consequently the terrifying experience that they had to go through. However, the Jewish orderly does not take the postcards to send but instructs the Jewish people to ‘throw them from the train as camp orders forbade access to the post’. This not only shows us the collaboration from the Jewish orderly, as he would not help them any further.The Jewish people were told to throw their postcards from the train, this implies that they would throw the postcards from the train with the hope that a French person would find it and send it on. This reminds us that, although the French person may have sent the postcard on, there was still a great amount more of French people in France at that time rather than Germans. This shows us that the French people have subconsciously, or some consciously, collaborated with the Germans. Faulks then uses the same technique that he used earlier in the passage by creating a pleasant image for the reader followed by a glimpse of reality.He d oes this here by constructing a pleasing image of the Jewish people’s final messages being found and sent on to then remind the reader that they are in fact on their way to a death camp. As the Jewish people write their final messages we are informed that there are two or three pencils being passed around, pencils that had survived the barracks search. Yet again this gives us an idea about the type of environment that the brothers are in as Parisian buses can hold around four hundred people yet there are only two to three pencils.The fact that they are not even allowed to have pencils portrays how the Jewish people were treated. During this Faulks includes that the Jewish people had been through the barracks search which once more reminds us of their inevitable futures. How the Jewish people react while writing their postcards are really conveys their experience as ‘some wrote with sobbing passion, some with punctilious care’. The reader is immediately drawn to t his as Faulks has used plosives within the sentence.This phrase shows us how people react differently in situations that they cannot control: one phrase is emotional and effective, the other clipped and precise. Furthermore they would have believed that this letter is how they would have been remembered and as we are later told they viewed that their safety almost depended on their letter. In addition the people writing with ‘punctilious care’ could refer to the novel for the reason that as Faulks writes he does so vigilantly because he has not experienced what he is writing about, therefore he needs to choose his language carefully, given the subject is a serious matter.A woman comes round giving sandwiches and water to the children. We are told that the children ‘clustered’ around the pail of water as they passed sardine cans from one to another. I think that you feel as though the woman is a caring person who would have made the children feel as comforta ble as possible throughout; this conveys a pleasant image to the reader. Faulks uses the word pail instead of bucket which could allude to the loss of colour and furthermore loss of hope of the Jewish people. The children ‘clustered’ round the pail of water, while using sardine cans to drink from, once again presenting us with how the Jewish people were treated by the Germans. The sardine cans are passed from one to another which gives us the sense that they are suffering together and how the worst side of humanity can often bring out the best side of humanity. While the younger children are drinking the water an older boy embraced the woman ‘in his gratitude’ which shows us that he is so grateful that he feels as if physical contact was needed to get across his appreciation, which is very rare for a teenage boy.This shows us how this experience would have had a vast effect on peoples’ behaviour. Once again Faulks uses the same technique to remind th e reader of reality, by leading on from the older boy showing his appreciation to telling us that the bucket was soon empty. The author now uses the word bucket instead of pail which could refer to the idea of a bucket list and the realisation that only a small percentage of the Jewish people would have made it out of the death camps alive. The phrase ‘the bucket was soon empty’ also seems to carry a resonance beyond its basic meaning.After the woman left we are told that the brothers fall asleep with ‘only the small hours of the night to go through’. This refers to how slowly the hours go when you are attempting to sleep; their lack of sleep also portrays the worry of the Jewish people. Faulks tells us that Andre was sleeping on the straw, ‘the soft bloom of his cheek laid, uncaring, in the dung. ’ The fact that Andre was sleeping in dung and on straw implies that the Jewish people were treated like animals as Faulks makes the comparison.Furth ermore Faulks grants us with a pleasant image of the ‘soft bloom’ of Andre’s cheek which gives us a pleasing illustration within the unpleasant illustration of the dung in which Andre is lying. Additionally Andre’s limbs are intertwined with Jacob’s which also presents us with a pleasing image. These I believe show us that there is some hope, in terms of human contact, within a horrible circumstance. As the children slept, ‘the adults in the room sat slumped against the walls, wakeful and talking in lowered voices. Faulks describes how the adults sat as being ‘slumped against the walls’, I feel that this gives a sense of depression and also resignation which portrays the atmosphere within the room. The adults are talking with ‘lowered voices’ which demonstrates their thoughtfulness towards the children who have managed to sleep, the fact that the children are able to sleep reminds us of their innocence and therefore t he terrible circumstances that only a small percentage of the children will become adults. Such thoughts are inevitable, given the date of the novel (1999); Faulks only need to hint at such things.As the morning arrives water is passed around for anyone who is thirsty. We are told that anyone who did drink drank in ‘silence’ which I believe gives us a sense of the unknown as everyone is waiting and pondering as to what will happen next. As they drank there was ‘the noise of an engine – a familiar sound to many of them, the homely thudding of a Parisian bus. ’ Most of the Jewish people in the room would have taken these buses in their day to day lives, to go to the shops or to go to school; this shows us how something so familiar to them can change so rapidly to become something so unfamiliar.It is a ‘homely thudding’ they hear which is extremely ironic that they are being transported to be killed using Parisian buses; it once again gives us a sense of the collaboration between the French and the Germans. Before the Jewish people progress onto the buses there is a register taken. As the registration took place ‘five white-and-green municipal buses’ sat in the corner of the yard, ‘trembling’. The white-and-green municipal buses are not just normal French buses but the buses of the capital, you almost get the sense that the buses trembled as they were afraid of where they were going.The trembling could also represent the fear of the Jewish people. The word ‘municipal’ almost implies the buses are part of the collaboration in what was known as Vichy France. As a policeman called out names in alphabetical order the ‘commandant of the camp’ sat at a long table, not only does this again show us the collaboration between the French and Germans as it is a French ‘gendarme’ calling out the names but it also gives us an idea of what the Germans were like.It is a lmost as if because the Germans are calling their names in alphabetical order it makes the situation more respectable. It is bizarre how the Germans made mass murder organised. As the registrations takes place Andre’s name is called and he moves towards the bus with Jacob, this shows us the bond between the brothers and their instinct to stick together as Jacob’s name was not called. When Andre’s name is called it almost tells us that it was his destiny to be there, as if the register was a register of death that he could not have escaped from.While the brothers walked towards the bus we are told a woman was wailing from the other side of the courtyard and ‘from windows open on the dawn, a shower of food was thrown towards them. ’ Firstly Faulks portrays the awful side to human nature as it is ironic that it is now dawn which should mark a new day and new hope yet the Jewish people remain hopeless however Faulks then shows us the best side of human nature as a woman throws her own food to put the children’s needs before her own.As the woman calls the brothers name it shows us the loss of their identity as they would have no longer been called by their names but by numbers. Briefly after this Andre looked up and by ‘chance’ he saw a woman staring at a child, at first he believed that the woman was staring at the child with hatred however he soon realised she was attempting to fix a picture of the child so that she may have remembered forever.This shows us that, as Andre saw it by chance, there was luck within the awful circumstances however it also shows us how dreadful the circumstances were as a woman knows she would never see the child again and was trying to fix an image so that she could remember ‘forever’. As Andre ‘mounted the bus’ we are told that ‘he held on hard’ to Jacob, I believe that it is ironic that the Jewish people were mounting the bus which is a posi tive motion, yet they were being transported to their deaths.Furthermore Faulks uses alliteration as ‘he held on hard’, this phrase underlines the desperation of the brothers as you get the sense that they believe if they hold on tightly to one another it will protect them. Some children could not manage to get onto the buses as they were too small which highlights how young some of the Jewish people were and once again reminds us of the harsh reality that only a small percentage of these children would have become adults.Andre’s bus was momentarily delayed as a baby of a few months was being lifted into the back of the bus, this once again shows us how awful the situation was as the baby was so young yet the Germans would have not hesitated to kill it. The baby’s wooden crib was hung over the passenger rail; this is contradictory as the Jewish people are no longer passengers but prisoners. As the bus leaves the headlights lit up a ‘cafe opposite bef ore the driver turned the wheel and headed for the station. ’ This shows us that all of this was done before the day began which shows us once again how organised the Germans were.Furthermore the headlights lit up a cafe which again shows great irony as cafes are a symbol of Paris, the city of love and hope, yet the Jewish people are hopeless. The driver turning the wheel could allude to the wheel of fortune as the wheel is headed for the cafe, an image of hope and joy, yet is turned the other way which will eventually lead to their deaths. I think that this passage was edited well, for the anthology, so that it leaves people wondering what happens next and also ends on the contradicting images of the Parisian cafe and the final destination.

Challenges of teaching and learning in inner city

Every kid deserves the right to an instruction that will help them to accomplish accomplishments and makings used throughout their lives. For many old ages now, this has been a cardinal purpose across Englands Government system, foregrounding the demand for a alteration in the quality and handiness of services, back uping all kids in the procedure of get the better ofing possible obstructions, enabling them to carry through their possible. â€Å" All kids deserve this sort of good start in life, irrespective of where they live, where they go to school, or their household background. † ( DCSF 2009 p.2 ) For many kids, school provides an array of rich and rewarding experiences, leting them the chance to boom in their acquisition and win to their possible. This nevertheless does non happen for all kids, with old grounds foregrounding that pupils from poorer backgrounds achieve less than their equals. Nevertheless, turn toing this issue has become a cardinal mission among Government leaders, school senior direction and instructors, taking to interrupt the nexus between disadvantage and low educational accomplishment. To ease these ambitious purposes, the Government implemented through the Children ‘s Act ( 2004 ) , a legislative programme that would use a reform within the Education system. Every Child Matters: Change for kids ( 2004 ) outlined a national model that would set up programmes of alteration, edifice services around the demands of all kids and immature people, taking to maximize chance and minimise hazard. Through five cardinal results: being healthy, remaining safe, basking and accomplishing, doing a positive part and accomplishing economic well being, the aspiration for the national model was to contract the spread between kids ‘s attainment degrees and purpose to advance positive good being in childhood and subsequently life. The primary focal point was to sketch a national model for alteration, designed to better and incorporate services, working together more efficaciously to run into the demands of kids and immature people. The results for the bringing of concerted services were to guarantee that all kids and immature people be safeguarded from injury, have better chances to develop and make their possible and receive effectual support, where necessary, from targeted services. Furthermore, parents and carers would hold better entree to services they require, having advice and support where necessary. The Every Child Matters ( 2004 ) model set out a vision for a individualized and high quality, integrated service, available for all to entree. In order to interrupt the nexus between disadvantage and low accomplishment, and have every kid successfully attain the five specific results, those that work closely with kids and immature people need to understand the effects of deprived upbringings and what barriers they can show. The causes behind hapless upbringings are diverse and varied, but must be noted that money may non be the exclusive ground. Poor lodging and unequal diet are important factors ; nevertheless, cultural barriers to larning can besides hold a dramatic affect on kids, particularly for those that live in disadvantaged communities, preponderantly within the interior metropolis. Parental sentiments of the value of schooling act as a cardinal factor as low aspirations and agnosticism about instruction can act upon kids ‘s beliefs. The impact of this can go more evident when kids start go toing full clip schooling, as the scope of their educational experiences can change dramatically. Some kids, from more advantaged places, may hold had entree to a greater assortment of educational experiences such as books, visits to interesting topographic points like museums and theaters, every bit good as the wider universe, advancing acquisition at an early phase. Unfortunately, nevertheless, other parents may non hold the money, resources, accomplishments or assurance to supply their kids with such experiences, perchance impacting their acquisition development. The significance of this is huge, act uponing a kid ‘s future educational experiences unless tackled at an early age. In the study Interrupting the nexus between disadvantage and low attainment: Everyone ‘s concern ( 2009 ) , it is expressed that ; â€Å" When kids start school already behind their equals, this can set up a go oning rhythm of under – public presentation. They find it difficult to maintain up and so may larn more easy, hence falling even further buttocks. † ( DCSF 2009 p.18 ) Interrupting this rhythm of under accomplishment requires Government, schools and wellness attention bureaus to seek to advance ways to battle the effects of poorness as kids from disadvantaged backgrounds can be at increased hazard of being unable to entree the course of study, and lose assurance in their ability to win. Within the Enjoy and achieve result of Every Child Matters ( 2004 ) , it is outlined that kids should be ready for their school experience, and attend and bask their acquisition through active engagement. Children should play an active function in accomplishing national instruction criterions, fostering this with their personal and societal development. Previous research has shown that it is paramount that instructor ‘s identify those who are falling behind early on through appraisal, conveying about a individualized attack to learning and larning. Harmonizing to Gilbert ( 2006 ) , personalisation should be a cardinal characteristic of instruction, later raisi ng the outlooks for students, guaranting the intended results match their outlooks. As it is believed that students from disadvantaged groups within our society are least likely to accomplish good, the Every Child Matters ( 2004 ) docket emphasises the importance of every kid, irrespective of their societal background, holding an impregnable instruction: â€Å" Children and immature people learn and thrive when they are healthy, safeguarded from injury and engaged. The grounds shows clearly that educational accomplishment is the most effectual manner to better results for hapless kids and interrupt the rhythm of want. † ( DCSF 2004 p.8 ) This farther physiques upon Gilbert ‘s ( 2006 ) accent of individualized instruction and acquisition, as cut downing the persistent and unacceptable spreads in mean attainment, between different societal groups, requires focus upon what indispensable cognition and accomplishments kids require in order to boom in our changing universe. This lays farther accent on the importance of instructors geting cardinal qualities in order to help all kids, irrespective of their background, on both an educational and societal degree. Although an outstanding pedagogical attack to instruction is cardinal, instructors must chiefly understand why some kids fail to entree instruction and make their possible. Children from disadvantaged backgrounds, frequently populating within an interior metropolis environment, could see an array of barriers to their acquisition, encouraging schools and local governments to implement and follow schemes to turn to them. Within Interrupting the nexus between disad vantage and low attainment ( 2009 ) it was expressed that the effects of disadvantage can be cumulative and relentless, typically taking to hapless students doing slower advancement, frequently attributed to assorted factors. As antecedently outlined, spreads within kids ‘s cognitive ability, before the age of five, could put the foundations for low accomplishment, farther stressing the demand of multi bureau cooperation. The Every Child Matters ( 2004 ) , model emphasises the impression that supplying support for households is imperative, advancing the benefits of early acquisition experiences and the importance of the place acquisition environment. Lack of parental support could take down kids ‘s aspirations, act uponing their behavior and attending at school, therefore making personal barriers to get the better of. Reacting to this, harmonizing to Balls ( 2009 ) , requires schools and instructors to work closely with parents and households, using cardinal behavior and absence policies. With add-on to these societal barriers, kids from deprived upbringings are frequently more likely to be recognised as holding Particular Educational Needs ( SEN ) . Balls ( 2010 ) expressed that the designation of Particular Educational Needs ( SEN ) should non be confused with the belief of underperformance or non meeting possible. Through actively turn toing particular educational proviso, instructors should convey about individualized instruction and acquisition attacks, implementing appropriate intercessions where necessary. This farther builds upon a old Government study, Quality Standards for Special Educational Needs ( SEN ) support and Outreach services ( 2008 ) . The criterions outlined aimed to steer the development of proviso and support, helping local governments and others in finding appropriate resources and rating procedures. Furthermore, the study highlighted how choice Special Educational Needs proviso can lend straight to the five Every Child Mat ters ( 2004 ) results. Understanding the societal and educational barriers that kids populating within the interior metropolis can see allows instructors to, as the Every Child Matters ( 2004 ) docket highlighted, support students wider good – being, and take a individualized attack to larning. One important undertaking that aimed to convey about alterations to battle the disadvantage and low attainment nexus was that of The Extra Mile: How schools win in raising aspirations in disadvantaged communities ( 2008 ) . The undertaking aspired to research in item the barriers that kids from deprived communities face, seeking ways to better their opportunities to win at school. The focal point of the undertaking was non entirely on kids from utmost poorness, but more on kids whose households have been hapless for coevalss, frequently populating within communities with high offense degrees and low skilled, ill paying occupations. The impact of this generational poorness can foster construct upon kids Ã¢â‚¬Ë œs barriers to larning and influence accomplishment at school, as parental cynicism about the importance of instruction, can be made more evident: â€Å" Parents may hold had bad experiences of their ain at school, and this rubs off on their kids. Sometimes, the emphasiss of their state of affairs are reflected in the behavior of their kids, who come to school troubled and wary, and non mentally prepared for larning. † ( DCSF 2008 p.3 ) With the purpose of raising aspirations for all kids, the undertaking leaders investigated, through sing first-class schools within disadvantaged countries of England, the features that instructors and school administrations require so to convey about alteration within instruction. Research showed that dynamic leaders bring a committedness, thrust and finding, actuating staff and making a ‘can bash ‘ ethos across the school. Furthermore, the schools visited aimed to guarantee that staff and students have an array of chances to turn and come on, bring forthing quality schoolroom experiences, orienting the course of study to the demands of their students intake. This builds upon the Every Child Matters ( 2004 ) docket, emphasizing the importance of individualized instruction and acquisition, easing all kids, irrespective of their background or start in life. Furthermore, through following a individualized teaching method, instructors can help kids to achieve their possible, constructing formidable foundations for future acquisition. Pedagogy and Personalisation ( 2007 ) highlighted that ; â€Å" Personalised acquisition agencies that kids and immature people, whatever their starting point, are able to carry through their possible as scholars. † ( ibid 2007 p.7 ) For all instructors, it is imperative that they engage their students in larning through a positive and motivative ethos ; nevertheless, within the interior metropolis environment it is apparent how this encouraging attack to learning and larning can significantly contract the attainment spreads between kids. Balls ( 2009 ) expressed that the success of this really much relies upon a cardinal scheme that would advance equality and inclusion within every school. Through developing a universal system, Balls ( 2009 ) aimed for all schools and instructors to put high aspirations for kids ‘s accomplishments, orienting larning experiences to specific demands and guaranting that every kid has person within the school that can back up their development. This specific result builds upon a antecedently implemented scheme intended to advance first-class instruction and acquisition within the interior metropolis. Excellence in Cities ( 2001 ) identified the benefits of single support for k ids, presenting Learning Mentors to better chances for deprived students. Working aboard learning staff and within the school ‘s pastoral support system, larning wise mans help kids to acquire the most out of their school experience, working with parents to enable them to foster back up their kid. Teaching, as a profession, is one of the most demanding occupations ; physically, emotionally and intellectually, nevertheless learning within the interior metropolis environment, can convey about farther challenges for both established and developing instructors. Meeting the demands of interior metropolis kids requires difficult work and dedication, constructing upon established partnerships to convey about alteration. Quality acquisition experiences are imperative ; nevertheless, within the interior metropolis these experiences can alter kids ‘s future chances. Interrupting the low attainment and disadvantage nexus, through understanding barriers to acquisition, requires instructors to guarantee that all kids have the chances to boom and develop, obtaining the Every Child Matters ( 2004 ) , outcomes, and lay the foundations for future acquisition.

The Digby Mary Magdalene essays

The Digby Mary Magdalene essays Like most morality plays, The Digby Mary Magdalene, uses allegorical exemplum form to relate moral material to the audience. The usual plot of morality plays is an allegorical challenge for the spiritual good of the mankind figure. Susan Haskins, in her book Mary Magdalene, Myth and Metaphor, states that the medieval period saw Mary Magdalene as a metaphorical Everywoman (Pg. 134). The play dramatizes the life of Mary Magdalene as it is told in The Golden Legend by Jacobus de Voraigne. With such a long cast list and such numerous scene changes which include a desert, a sea, a tavern and a burning temple, Coldewey says It is no exaggeration to say that the Digby Mary Magdalene is the most extravagant play in the whole of Early English Drama (Coldewey, Pg. 186). The Digby Mary Magdalene was written specifically with a Catholic audience in mind although it has been proven that most religions studied in western cultures have their own versions of the Magdalene persona. There can be no doubt that Mary Magdalene is an important figure in cultural, and more specifically religious, histories. More notably, she is an important female in this realm of history. Different cultural histories have provided themselves with their own mythologies and legends according to their particular religious frameworks. Among Christian documents, Mary Magdalene is introduced in the New Testament, as Thompson confirms in her book Mary of Magdala, Apostle and Leader, It is impossible to trace a straight line of decent from the gospel portrait of Mary, through the extravagant portrayals of her in the middle ages...It is impossible to trace it in a straight because there are so many element involved in the history of each age, in the making and transmitting of myths through different historical epochs...(Pg.3). Christians religions agree that she had a family, specifically a brother and sister. Stories different from the...

How to Use the French Adverb Enfin (At Last, Finally)

How to Use the French Adverb Enfin (At Last, Finally) Enfin, pronounced a(n) feh(n), is a French adverb that means at last, finally, in short, at least. It is usually used in a declarative manner, but it can also be an exclamation: Enfin ! Finally! Note that in informal speech,  enfin  is often  abbreviated  to a single syllable:  fin. A Common French Expression Enfin  is among the most common French expressions, such as: Allons-y !  (Lets go!)Bon appà ©tit !  (Enjoy your meal!)  Ce nest pas grave. (No problem.)De rien. (Youre welcome.)Jarrive ! (Im on my way!)Nest-ce pas  ? (Right?)Oh l l.   Oh dear, oh no.Plus à §a change...   The more things change...Sans blague.   seriously, all kidding asideTout fait   absolutely, exactlyVoil  Ã‚  there is, thats it Expressions and Usage of 'Enfin' Here are some of the ways enfin is used: Enfin seuls ! Alone at last!Elle y est enfin arrivà ©e. She has finally succeeded.Enfin...(interjection)   well, at least, lets say, all in all, in a word, I meanIl est intelligent, enfin, malin.  Ã‚  Hes smart, or at least shrewd.Jai perdu mes clà ©s, quelquun ma volà © la voiture, jai à ©tà © virà ©Ã‚  : enfin, pas une bonne journà ©e. I lost my keys, someone stole my car, I got fired: All in all, not a good day.Jen veux deux, enfin, trois.   Id like two, I mean three of themEnfin  ! Depuis le temps  !   Finally ! About time too !Un accord a à ©tà © enfin conclu.   An agreement has at last been reached.Enfin, jaimerais vous remercier de votre hospitalità ©.   Well, I would like to thank you for your hospitality.Enfin in short, in brief, in a wordElle est triste, mais enfin elle sen remettra.   Shes sad, but still / after all, shell get over it.Oui mais enfin, cest peut-à ªtre vrai.   Yes, after all it might well be true.Elle est jolie, enfin, mon avis. [valeur restrictive]   Shes pretty, (or) at least thats my opinion. Enfin  ! Cest la vie  !   Oh well, such is life !Ce nest pas la mà ªme chose, enfin  !   Oh come on, its not the same thing at all !Enfin, reprends-toi  !   Come on, pull yourself together !Enfin quest-ce quil y a  ? What on earth is the matter ?Cest son droit, enfin  !   Its his right, after all !Tu ne peux pas faire à §a, enfin  !   You cant do that !Un meurtrier pourrait facilement  maquiller  une strangulation par une pendaison post-mortem.  Ã‚  A murder could easily  cover up  a ligature strangulation with a post-mortem hanging.Je vais me faire coiffer et  maquiller.   Im off to have my hair and makeup done.

Benefits Of Developing Conservation Strategies Environmental Sciences Essay

Benefits Of Developing Conservation Strategies Environmental Sciences Essay Increases in the human population and degradation of habitats have caused many species that were formerly common to decline to near extinction. As a result, we have become increasingly involved in attempting to preserve populations of rare or endangered species (Deborah T., 1987). Over the last two decades almost all arguments about nature conservation have involved the issue of biological diversity and ways to preserve it. These discussions culminated in the 1992 Convention on Biological Diversity and its implementation (Glowka L, 1994). The conservation of biodiversity is a vast undertaking, requiring the mobilization of existing data, huge amounts of new information, and the monitoring and management of wildlife on an unprecedented scale (Malcolm L. Hunter, 2007). The biologists are fairly skilled at looking at the big picture, at seeing forests not just trees. They understand that we cannot maintain genetic diversity without maintaining species diversity and that we cannot maint ain species without maintaining without ecosystem diversity (Malcolm L. Hunter, 2007). In addition, the size of a habitat and the number of species it can support are systematically related. Physically larger species and those living at lower latitudes or in forests or oceans are more sensitive to reduction in habitat area (Drakare S, 2006).Therefore, endangered species conservation requires many lines of inquiry to provide the evidence required for a holistic approach to conservation planning (Sutaria D 2009). Conservation biology is reforming around strategic plans that include principles, guidelines, and tools for the purpose of protecting biodiversity (M. E. Soule, 1986). Conservation biology is crisis-oriented and multi-disciplinary, including ecology, social organization, education, and other disciplines outside of biology (F. van Dyke, 2008). Preserving biodiversity is a global priority in strategic conservation plans that are designed to engage public policy and concerns aff ecting local, regional and global scales of communities, ecosystems, and cultures (Gascon C., 2007). Action plans identify ways of sustaining human well-being, employing natural capital, market capital, and ecosystem services (G. W. Luck, 2003). A strategy, simply defined, is a set of actions that a conservation project implements to reduce threats, capitalize on important opportunities. Examples of strategies include building the capacity of local law enforcement, educating schoolchildren about wildlife, and developing alternative livelihood options such as ecotourism. One could say that the conservation of endangered species to be effective, both biological and social elements of the conservation process must be considered as a basic for minimizing threats (Beasley L. 2007). This essay will discusses about evaluating the conservation costs and benefits of developing conservation strategies focusing on species, then habitats and finally on the resources. Biological species – tigers, butterflies, trees, frogs, whales, and so on are integral to nature; they are the players on the stage; species and their interrelationships, including the relationship to people. Many of the closest relationships human beings have established with nature are based on species (IUCN, 2008). There are several strategies that are beneficial for species and human. One of several strategies is the Opportunities for Debt Investment in Environmental Conservation. By combining microfinance lending approaches with performance-based payments for conservation of environmental assets, long-term incentives for environmental conservation and sustainable economic development can be coupled. For example, migratory species like loggerhead and leatherback sea turtles suffer from a suite of human impacts, including harvest of eggs and adults on nesting beaches across many Pacific island nations and mortality from industrial fishing on the high seas. These species are at a critical point, it h as been estimated that loggerhead turtles may be extinct in 50 years. Some governments have taken steps to minimize impacts on marine turtles by limiting coastal development and regulating fisheries, at some cost to the public and private sectors. Investment in endangered species recovery in low-income countries can deliver local benefits, such as increased opportunities for sustainable harvest, nature-based tourism or other non-turtle related economic activities, as well as monetary and non-monetary dividends back to governments’ .There are a number of potential advantages with using debt investment as a tool for environmental conservation. The program is aimed directly at improving livelihoods and lending can be targeted at reducing unsustainable resource use, an environmental mortgage program could directly address the alleviation of poverty. In some instances local people are as motivated, or even more motivated than conservationists to protect the animals in their homela nd, especially when they represent a valuable resource for food or commerce. But for some communities, it comes down to protecting animals that are as much a part of a hostile environment as drought or fire (C. Josh Donlan). As with African villagers expected to protect an elephant herd that continually destroys their crops and leaves them hungry without a means of generating income. For example, when villagers living in or near a game reserve are told by authorities that they can’t hunt an animal because it is endangered even as they are struggling with hunger. Although, the African elephants are protected by CITES (Kimbra C, 2010).

A comparison of the communities in THE BELL by Iris Murdoch and THE Essay

A comparison of the communities in THE BELL by Iris Murdoch and THE SPIRE by William Golding - Essay Example Officially known as Sir William Gerard Golding, the author of The Spire was a prize winning British novelist who had written the famous novel titled Lord of the Flies. Little known facts about this author include his tenure in the war as well as his love for animals. Apart from the Booker Prize, Golding was famous for creating stories with people who were different in their very approach to life. He was also one of the few authors who supported the cause of Popular Science by openly subscribing to the belief system portrayed by Lock Ness Monster. (ww.wikipedia.com) Golding’s novels are a departure from the tried and tested in the sense that he portrays specific elements of what those states of being that most people may not ordinarily pay attention to. In his book, The Spire, Golding has told a deep and enchanting story of a spire waiting to be built. The Dean of the Cathedral, Jocelin, is a man of great conviction and even greater mysteries. This book is set in the times where religious fervour played a special role in people’s lives as far as their lifestyle and preferences were concerned. With the backdrop of such a setting, Golding tells the story of Jocelin and the spire he wants to built by tracing it in the form a journey that Jocelin embarks upon in order to indulge in unintentional soul searching as he follows a vision that he believes to have come to him from none other than the original source of existence – God. While his sometimes feverish pitch scares people, he also manages to spread a good amount of knowledge and enlightenment in an era when deviation from certain set theories regarding the Almighty and human beings, was shunned and avoided like the plague. With his bold ideas for following the vision, Jocelin becomes a visionary and paves the way for many changes and especially for the successful building and development of the spire which heralds his success as God’s own. In doing so,

International Political Development Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

International Political Development - Assignment Example By the establishment of markets for various commodities, underdevelopment and poverty can be easily eradicated because there is increased diversification, production, and industrialization. Goods and services that are available through a market-based economy increase the quality of life of people within the society. The whole community benefits from trading services since the individuals that are directly involved in the trade are able to accumulate wealth while the community is able to benefit from the distribution of resources that enable them to get access to better products and services.The other point of view in regards to development is the critical approach. This differs from the orthodox view as it disagrees that the only way in which development can be measured is in numerical terms. It notes that there are various other forms of transactions that occur in these types of societies such as barter transactions and these are not accounted for in the Orthodox concept. The inform al sector plays a very important role in regards to these societies. According to the critical approach, development is measured by the ability of a certain group of people to be able to meet their immaterial and material needs (Development, 2009). Given that each society has their own views in regards to what they need, there cannot be a universal standard to measure for development. Each society, therefore, has to set their own standards that are in relation to their requirements. These can, therefore, be broken down into 3 wide areas and they include the ability of the people to obtain the basic human needs, the political empowerment of the marginalized people and the state of the natural environment.The Orthodox concept of development argues that consistent underdevelopment is as a result of poor regulations and policies by the state legislatures. To promote trade, these poor states can have legislation that enables them to protect their internal industries from external protect ion. This is despite the fact that these industries might not have any comparative advantage in that sector.

Asian American Heritage Language Education in U.S Research Paper

Asian American Heritage Language Education in U.S - Research Paper Example Until recently, negative views about the personality and social development of bilingual children have been frequently expressed. Bilingualism was long associated with and even said to cause, mental confusion, identity and emotional problems, social attachment deficits, loyalty conflicts and poor self-esteem and self-concept (Sung & Padilla, 1998). However, it is clear that most people in the world have some sort of facility in more than one language and, as widely informed, it is monolingualism that is an aberration, an affliction of the powerful, and a disease to be cured.Until the late 1970’s, a majority of authors presented a negative, prejudiced view about bilingual personalities. Bilingual children were described as having split minds, being ‘neither here nor there,’ marginal people. Subsequent research has demonstrated that in any case, bicultural or bilingual individuals suffer detrimental effect on personality; bilingualism is not likely to be the cause. Rather, the social, economic and political conditions surrounding the development of bilingualism generate the problems.In America, where English is considered the dominant language, it would make sense to teach everyone English only. However, would this be the right course of action given that this would contribute to the extinction of heritage languages and cultures? In the late 20th century, United States had enacted the English-Only pedagogy among conquered peoples and minority groups on the margins of national life.... Subsequent research has demonstrated that in any case bicultural or bilingual individuals suffer detrimental effect on personality; bilingualism is not likely to be the cause. Rather, the social, economic and political conditions surrounding the development of bilingualism generate the problems (Park, 2007). In America, where English is considered the dominant language, it would make sense to teach everyone English only. However, would this be the right course of action given that this would contribute to the extinction of heritage languages and cultures? This question is best addressed by looking at the nation’s history. In the late 20th century, United States had enacted the English-Only pedagogy among conquered peoples and minority groups on the margins of national life (Blanton, 2006). The first region to be affected was Puerto Rico, and was considered the most significant pedagogical laboratory for language learning. English was made the primary language of instruction fo r all the subjects shortly after the American occupation in 1898. This was in place of Spanish-English bilingual education (Blanton, 2006). While English-Only pedagogy was the dominant instructional approach for teaching non-English speaking children between 1900 and 1930, it demonstrated an abysmal track record. Children in English only classrooms were simply not expected to thrive educationally. Educators made it clear that spoken English was the only objective it took precedence over such other subjects as reading, mathematics, and science (Sung & Padilla, 1998). In assessing the approach, it was concluded that English-Only pedagogy institutionalized and rationalized academic failure (Blanton, 2006). The most publicized

Injuries and losses during the 2012 Olympics Essay

Injuries and losses during the 2012 Olympics - Essay Example This essay discusses that since the Olympic site has been opened to visitors and athletes for ticket sales and athletes’ training, the persons at the site are presumed to be lawful visitors to the site. As a result the rights of the various athletes and visitors at the site, and the duty toward the safety of those lawfully at the site are covered by the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957. By virtue of Section 2(1) of the 1957 Act, occupiers owe a â€Å"common duty of care to all his visitors† unless that duty is restricted or waived â€Å"by agreement or otherwise†. To this end it is first necessary to identify who is the occupier or occupiers of the Olympic site and thus who would be the possible defendants in a claim by the possible plaintiffs. An occupier is any person or official body or agent with control of the premises in question. It was also held in Wheat v E Lacon & Co. Ltd that it is possible for there to be more than a single occupier of a given pro perty. Thus an employee in sufficient control of the premises can be an occupier together with an employer and an owner. Moreover, the owner need not be present to incur liability for damages to a lawful visitor. Based on the definition of occupier, it would appear that liability is shared jointly and severally between the various ticket vendors, the employees operating the various facilities and the owners of the Olympic site. The extent of the duty of care is described by Section 2(2) of the 1957 Act. The duty is a duty to take reasonable precautions to render the premises â€Å"reasonably safe† for visitors who are lawfully on the premises.7 The duty is generally discharged by posting conspicuous warnings of any pending or possible dangers to the safety of visitors lawfully on the premises.8 A mere warning that an event on the premises is dangerous would be sufficient to discharge the statutory duty of care.9 However, there appears to be no warning signs posted and as a re sult, Peter’s injury is indefensible on the grounds that the various occupiers did not take precautions to warn the possible plaintiffs of the dangers associated with the use of the Olympic site. Some precautions were taken with respect to barricading the ticket queues, but those barricades ultimately collapsed so that the question is whether or not those precautions were sufficient to safeguard against the incident of collapse and the resulting injuries suffered by various visitors queuing up to purchase tickets. Therefore while barricading the ticket queues may have been a sufficient precaution or warning of the dangers of the crowds, the main question is whether or not the warning or precaution was sufficient to discharge the statutory duty of care.10 It would appear that the precautionary measures taken by the police were insufficient to safeguard against the risk of harm attending the large crowds queuing up for the purchase of tickets. Remoteness of Damages Causation wo uld be established by virtue of the fact that the occupiers of the Olympic site had a statutory duty to ensure that the safety of the visitors were provided for or that sufficient warning was provided to permit the visitors to remain safe. As established above, failure to discharge the statutory duty will amount to actionable negligence. However, if the defendants can demonstrate that damages sustained were not a

Resolving Leadership Problems Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Resolving Leadership Problems - Assignment Example nal and as the result, many organizations around the world are now facing the complex problem of creating and acquiring leaders to take the most difficult decisions and ensure success of their organizations. For this report, the paper will consider case study of ABC organization that has been able to ensure its survival in the corporate world. ABC was one of the manufacturing firms until 2012; however, in June 2013, the company’s CEO resigned away, and since then, there has been a gap in terms of leadership in the company. The owners tried bringing in new CEO in the company but it is not working the way it used to be during the time of previous CEO. The employees are suddenly unhappy about their work and there have been issues regarding decision-making in the firm. Now the owners have decided to resolve this issue by June 2014 and for that, they desire the following state of the company: Analysis of company’s records has indicated that the ABC Company was making US$4 million on quarterly basis until 2012; however, since after quarter of January to March 2013, the company has been making only US$2 million on average. Owners of the company desire to bring back company sales to at least US$3.5 million by September 2014. In addition, there have been various conflicts regarding decision-making and owners would like to see satisfied employees in the company that will ensure long-term success of the company. In order to resolve any complex problem whether it be a problem related to resolving leadership problems or a problem related to reforming education, it is very imperative that change agents ensure consensus (Kaufman, Oakley-Browne, Watkins, & Leigh, 2003) at the time of problem identification, as well as at the time of deciding its solution. Unfortunately, sometimes, change agents try to employ their tested solutions at an organization without understanding differences in context and without acquiring consensus of the stakeholders and that result in chaos and

India on The Move Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

India on The Move - Essay Example While this was attempted to be addressed through the, highly unpopular, forced sterilization program in the regime of Indira Gandhi during the 'emergency' years attention seems to have fallen by the wayside. The population continues to grow at a rate of 1.5% and India is expected to cross China by 2018. This is the result of higher birth rates coupled with increased life expectancy. At the root of the problem, however, lie poor literacy levels. Growth of the economy, to a large extent, is negated by the population rise and the number (and percentage) of people living below the poverty line continues to be at a staggering level of 44% of the population. The unemployment levels are also consistently high. With the unofficial figures estimating these to be above the 20% mark this indicates a lack of balanced growth. Since agriculture provides sustenance for more than 72% of the population, it seems obvious that this sector of the economy has been neglected at the cost of modernization in the more visible sectors like IT, manufacturing industry and services. Fractured and regionalized politics is perhaps the next biggest problem facing the country.

Resolving Leadership Problems Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Resolving Leadership Problems - Assignment Example nal and as the result, many organizations around the world are now facing the complex problem of creating and acquiring leaders to take the most difficult decisions and ensure success of their organizations. For this report, the paper will consider case study of ABC organization that has been able to ensure its survival in the corporate world. ABC was one of the manufacturing firms until 2012; however, in June 2013, the company’s CEO resigned away, and since then, there has been a gap in terms of leadership in the company. The owners tried bringing in new CEO in the company but it is not working the way it used to be during the time of previous CEO. The employees are suddenly unhappy about their work and there have been issues regarding decision-making in the firm. Now the owners have decided to resolve this issue by June 2014 and for that, they desire the following state of the company: Analysis of company’s records has indicated that the ABC Company was making US$4 million on quarterly basis until 2012; however, since after quarter of January to March 2013, the company has been making only US$2 million on average. Owners of the company desire to bring back company sales to at least US$3.5 million by September 2014. In addition, there have been various conflicts regarding decision-making and owners would like to see satisfied employees in the company that will ensure long-term success of the company. In order to resolve any complex problem whether it be a problem related to resolving leadership problems or a problem related to reforming education, it is very imperative that change agents ensure consensus (Kaufman, Oakley-Browne, Watkins, & Leigh, 2003) at the time of problem identification, as well as at the time of deciding its solution. Unfortunately, sometimes, change agents try to employ their tested solutions at an organization without understanding differences in context and without acquiring consensus of the stakeholders and that result in chaos and

Decision-Making Process Paper Essay Example for Free

Decision-Making Process Paper Essay My name is Jovon Roberson, I will be discussing my decision making process. I will try to supply research supporting my ideas. The paper will describe some steps of my process. I will compare some similarity to the text, and explain how some of the steps might be different. Most decisions people make in their life time will definitely be easy and some maybe very difficult. I truly believe that each individual is in control of their own destiny and in complete control of the decisions they have to make in their life time. My decision to start school was clearly decided right after I was terminated from my job. I was ill at the time and desperately needed to file for the family medical leave of absence so my job would not be in jeopardy, but that was a total loss. Once terminated I clearly had to make some important decisions about the future of my son and I, while thinking long and hard about how I was going to make ends meet. I had a discussion with one of my best friends and I came to the grips that I needed more than what I was getting and this really was my only option going to school. My steps are somewhat different from the ones in the text, but it is clear they there were important steps to take while making my decision to go back to school and I really believe it was one of the best decision I could have made. My decisions would have been different very different but in reality the the steps in the text provided more proper steps and they would have been a more thought out process for me butat the same time my decision would have been the same. It would have been precise, more thought out some plans would have been setup, and short term goals would have been set, long term goals would have been into play and set as well. More thought would have been there to back everything up not just the goals set in my head they would have been on paper in black and white. I would have been better prepared for all my future intents. People gather and evaluate information when they face major decisions or milestones in their lives. The internet has become a more important source of information as people gain experience and as they embrace broadband (Copyright 2012 Pew Internet American Life Project). In this paper I have discussed some similarity to the text, and explain how some of the steps might be different. The decisions people make in their life time will definitely be easy and some maybe very difficult and how I truly believe that each individual is in control of their own destiny and in complete control of the decisions they have to make in their life time. I hope I have covered everything in this paper that you have asked for. I thank you for your attention and your time. References: Copyright 2012 Pew Internet American Life Project http://pewinternet.org/Topics/Activities-and-Pursuits/Decision-Making.aspx?typeFilter=5

Research Report Critique: Nursing and Midwifery Grants

Research Report Critique: Nursing and Midwifery Grants Citation of the article Gledhill, S., Mannix, J., MacDonald, R., Poulton, G. (2010). Nursing and midwifery research  grants: profiling the outcomes.  Australian Journal Of Advanced Nursing,28(3), 14-21. Introduction: This paper was aimed at outlining the contributions that were made in the field of health care particularly to professions of nursing, and midwifery by researchers who were granted financial support in their by The Queensland Nursing Council (QNC) Australia. This research paper is based on the findings obtained from a survey and focused on research grants awarded in the the time frame between1996 and 2010. 1. Substantive and Theoretical Dimensions relevance of research problem and significance The research problem that has been identified in this research paper is very crucial to the professions of nursing and midwifery. This research report exposes the problem of closing down of this grant program with effect from July 2010 due to the shifting of territory and state midwifery and nursing regulations into a regulatory scheme under the authority of national health profession. Moreover the author also points out at the problems lying around underfunding of the nursing research. The problems stated are thus of vital importance which the author has supported with the studies of other authors and have highlighted the need and importance of nursing funds in encouraging and stabilizing the nursing and midwifery profession in different ways such as leadership support that a successful research development provides and making significant contributions to advance the health care system. congruence between research question and methods used Given the authors’ emphasis on the outcomes of Nursing and midwifery research grants, this research is primarily survey-based and takes in responses of different nurses and midwives who have conducted or still conducting researches under such grants. Their fields of study have been taken in account and the relation of these studies to the profession of nursing, midwifery and health care. literature review Gledhill, Mannix, MacDonald and Poulton cite several previous studies as part of their literature review. The literature review that has been incorporated in the research report covers all the dimensions that the author aims to explore, starting from the barriers and obstacles in the nursing research, problems relating to the underfunding, proposed frameworks to make these systems better, sources of the funding to the benefits of nursing grants to the system of health care. 2. Methodological Dimensions research design A cross sectional electronic survey consisting of 21 items was conducted relating to the research grant outcomes. 71 former and current research funds receiver from across Australia participated in the survey. Respondents were required to evaluate the effect and advantage of the research grant on nursing and midwifery and the role they play in enhancing knowledge, education, practice, and how this funding support the professional their project. I think that the cross-sectional survey can result in responses that a high ratio of personal bias on the issue. 71 was very low response rate and I think the electronic form of the survey was one reason that limited the participants in this study. I think that another research design should also have been used for example content analysis of the research articles and publications that have been published as a result of the researches conducted with the help of such grants. population and sample Methodologically, I have concerns regarding sampling of this research report. (91.4%)of the respondents were female, while the males only comprised of 8.6% of respondents. There were Ninety three per cent (93 %) nurses in the respondents and only 7% of the midwives. There were approximately nine times as many females than males, 91.4% versus 8.6%. Coincidentally, most of the respondents were also nurses. I would have favored if the survey had engage a comparatively more equivalent number of participants on the basis of sex and the fields of profession i.e. nurses and midwives. Age groups were classified as: 20-29 years, 30-39 years, 40-49 years, 50-59 years and 60 years and older. 38% of respondents were among the 40-49 year age group followed by 29.6% from the 50-59 year age group, 19.7% were 30-39 years of age group and 12.7% of respondents were from the age group greater than 60 years. Response rate from the age group of 20-29 year was nil. This did not extend the prospects of thi s study towards young nurses and midwives or enrolled students or fresh graduates in the nursing, midwifery and health care degrees. collection of data Collection of data was well carried put considering the survey method that was used. Frequencies were calculated by means of the data analysis function of survey tool. Frequencies presented an actual count as well as the calculation of the percentage of participants individually, choosing each response category for a particular item of questionnaire. Qualitative data was examined by means of thematic analysis. Every response was independently coded, while identifying the subthemes and the clustering them into major themes. Data was collected in four spheres: demographic data, research focus and award category, impact of research grants and qualitative findings. Validity The results were quite consistent with the already done research around this topic. The result obtained from the survey showed that majority of respondents centered their research on midwifery and nursing staff. These results are in line with the literature reporting and support the ideas that most nursing research focuses on profession ‘endogenous’, rather than on patient ‘exogenous’ (Trayner et al 2001). The results also show consistency with an international comparative analysis carried out by Polit and Beck (2009). Taken from eight English journals, this analysis examined the 1,072 nursing research studies and their characteristics 2005 and 2006. The researchers used the scales consisting of a variety of settings. This could result bad for the internal validity as the participants might not have focused on completing the scale, rather they tried on completingpaperwork etc. 3. Ethical Dimensions confidentiality or anonymity The authors mentioned percentages of the respondents who have obtained different research grants, however, they did not mention that their names were known or not. Moreover, the authors have also not given any confirmation regarding disclosing the forms that they filled or keeping them confidential. informed consent The authors engaged the participants in an electronic survey which was suppose to be filled and answered by them directly. Therefore, I don’t think there is a chance of any negligence regarding the consent of the respondents. The participants engaged in the survey with their own choice knowing what it was aimed for. vulnerability of study subjects/participants We do not know that respondents were kept anonymous or not, therefore it is not certain to say that their vulnerability was compromised or not. research ethics board approval Ethical approval was obtained from the Queensland Nursing Council before conducting the research because the research was based on research grant programs administered by Queensland Nursing Council. 4. Interpretive Dimensions discussion section The researchers incorporated an extensive discussion section. It is a well structured section explaining the survey outcomes in terms of sampling and their link with the results, informing of the new techniques being used and new dimensions being explored, the limitations in the researches and the recommendations for providing more research grants in the nursing and midwifery field. The authors highlighted several explanations for their findings. The authors clarified the shortcomings that I pointed out earlier (population and sample) in their sampling in the beginning of the discussion section. They make it clear that demographics of respondents represented present demographics among the midwifery and nursing professions. The nursing profession in Australia consists of 90.4% females of which 33.0% are above 50 years of age. Most respondents were working as nurse academics or nurses than midwives and the average age was 43.5. Respondents over the age group of sixty corresponded really well, signifying that old age group researchers make valuable contributions in the knowledge body related to nursing and midwifery. The authors had also taken note of the lack of response amongst the young burses and midwives and suggest that this indicate the need of balancing a career along with personal commitments. The significance of consolidating a clinical career in young and fresh graduates was also highlighted. The frequency of randomized controlled trials technique and pre-test/post-test method carried out by respondents in this survey indicates the increasing trend towards a practice based on evidence in nursing and midwifery. This was unknown prior to this survey so it was a stepping stone in signifying the importance of increased research practices. The authors also pointed out the desire that nursing and midwifery reflect to understand experiences of patients and the health care. The authors proved the validity of the results in the discussion section explained earlier in (Validity). The discussion also point out the shortcomings that exist in the nursing and midwife research i.e. the focus on endogenous aspects such as examining what it is that midwives and nurses are doing, and how they deliver care, which should arguably be focusing on patients. They also pointed out that researched merely focused on main national health concerns which include asthma, cancer control, arthritis/musculoskeletal, cardiovascular, injury prevention, diabetes, obesity and mental health. The authors identified several benefits from funding led research including enhancing the body of knowledge, workplace efficiencies due to healthier workforce such as cost savings and better decision making attributed to up to date information. conclusion section The conclusion was well built. It adequately highlighted the aim of the research paper i.e. outlining the contributions that were made in the field of health care particularly to professions of nursing, and midwifery by researchers who were granted financial support in their by The Queensland Nursing Council (QNC) Australia. Respondents were capable of revealing the benefits of their research projects in the course of clinical practice changes, policy changes and the development of professional networks that adds significantly to the mass of research based knowledge in nursing and midwifery. Moreover, most participants were also able to publish their research findings and knowledge in various national and international journals. While highlighting the contributions of the nurse and midwifery led research, the conclusion also proposes a positive future of health care nationally and internationally through continued support for researches in nursing and midwifery to maintain the existing capacity of researchers in Australian nursing and midwifery as well as internationally. implication section I felt that recommendation section was a little vague. The recommendations presented were very general and were not explained specifically. In fact, there were a few implications that were outlined in discussion section were more elaborated such as advising to consider a close link between national health priorities and nursing and midwifery research projects to efficiently utilize the available funding and advising professional organizations of nursing and midwifery consider the overall benefits of the research grants to the health care consumers and profession. 5. Presentation and Stylistic Dimensions any missing information The survey did not include information about the effects that these nursing and midwifery had on the career of these researchers. Was it able to boost their career and gave them improved opportunities to work in better positions in health care? I think the survey also missed out on questions relating to the duration of the grants and their research. Information regarding confidentiality, anonymity and vulnerability is also missing. The percentages for response rate for any quantitative item have not been given. . clear, grammatically correct writing The writing is clear and easy to understand. The authors’ tone adds continuity in the article. The writing is somewhat grammatically correct and use simple words. well organized The research report is well structured. The information is presented in order. Research focusing questions and major themes for quantitative and qualitative data collection has been presented in tables that made the structure of the questionnaire/form easy to understand. enough detail, no jargon Jargons and technical terms have been explained for example the terms such as RCT, endogenous and exogenous were explained for the reader to understand. Limitations: The response rate was very low, of only 33%. Due to this low response rate, generalizing the results to nursing and midwifery research was a little difficult and thus a lot of support from existing literature was taken to do so. Conclusion: The research report is well structured and well organized. However, the research questions are not stated in a question form and neither any hypothesis has been proposed as such. However, the research problem has been identified effectively and has been supported with the results obtained from a survey. The results along with literature reporting were sufficient enough to fulfill the purpose of the study. However, a mixed method approach could still have been used such content analysis for a more detailed information on the subject.

Presidential Campaign of 2004 :: essays research papers

Each presidential election overview has always been similar to a three-ring circus, but in the 2000 Election with Al Gore and George W. Bush, was by far one of the biggest circuses ever. Democrats had reason to worry about the election. Republicans held the White House for three consecutive terms from 1980 to 1992, voters often grow tired of one party after two terms. They were hoping to win control, yet there was a lot at stake with the election at the time. And even though it came to be a quite chaotic election, it was by far the closest election ever in history. The main problem was that the results were so close in Florida that it became indefinite who the winner was. It took over a month to finally attain the results. Ultimately it was not the citizens whose votes counted, but the vote of the Supreme Court for the election case. Al Gore had a good start to begin with, having high marks on his ability to handle key issues, including Democratic stands on such as health care, education and Social Security. But Gore changed all that on the last day of the Democrats' Los Angeles national convention. Whether it was the highly publicized kiss he gave his wife or not, Gore changed the public's view of him. No longer was he a just a stiff politician. Instead, he was a passionate, loving father and husband who lacked many of Clinton's weaknesses. And Gore jumped a few points ahead of Bush. The Monica Lewinsky scandal Clinton had did not necessarily give him a bad reputation. On the contrary, people continued to cast their support for the president since the public thought he had done so much for our nation. Yet in the 2000 Election Gore seemed to go in the completely opposite direction of Clinton, or at least try to avoid his name in his speeches at first. Yet Gore's luck did not change when he left California. Bush seemed to have difficulties when asked about his tax cut plan and about his statement that the U.S. military was not fully ready. While Gore looked relaxed and energetic, Bush made mistakes in front of the camera. Polls suggested that Gore was far ahead of Bush by at least a few points. Republicans became much less optimistic about Bush, while things were looking very promising for the Democrats. Gore’s campaign was focused on issues that were mostly concerned by women, such as health care and education. "We're for the people. Big tobacco, big oil, the

1960-present :: essays research papers

Contemporary Literature and the Events That Influenced It   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the last forty years there have been some key people and events that have shaped history and in turn have influenced the works of some of literature’s most prolific writers. During this time period some of the most powerful speeches, poems, and literary protests were written. These works of literature were sometimes written out of necessity for the times and spoke out to all that read them. It all started in 1960 when John F. Kennedy defeated Richard Nixon, become one of the youngest men ever to hold the office of president; in the eyes of many this event began a new era in history.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When John F. Kennedy was elected he inherited the task of taking over a nation that was in the middle of many tragic events. Kennedy’s ideas and dreams were summed up in this famous line from his election speech when he stated â€Å"And so, my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.† In 1963, when John F. Kennedy was only in his third year as president, the young, well liked president was assassinated in Dallas, Texas. Lyndon B. Johnson was sworn in as president in the wake of the assassination (Davidson 672-675). That same year Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his famous â€Å"I have a dream† speech. In this speech he spoke out against racism and pushed towards the future, saying â€Å"I have a dream†¦ that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.† Two years later in 1965 President Johnson made the decision that affected the United States and all U.S. citizens more than any other event during that time. He officially sent U.S. troops into Vietnam, beginning the massacre known as the Vietnam War. (Karnow) During the Vietnam War in the United States young men and women started to protest mainly against the war, but also against the Establishment—the values, tradition, and views of their parents. Those who rejected the Establishment became hippies, dropping out of society to live together in communes. â€Å"Make love, not war,† they demanded and â€Å"never trust anyone over thirty.† For the first time in society, drug use became widespread and young people experimented with new freedoms.

Internet Gambling Essay

The technoculture related topic that I am going to explore is the phenomenon of Internet gambling. With the emergence and explosion of gambling on television such as the World Series of Poker of ESPN or The World Poker Tour on the Travel Channel, online gaming has quickly become a major player in the technoculture of contemporary society. I feel it is important to explore this issue because of American society’s fascination and obsession with gambling. Gambling can and has become a very serious and damaging activity to many people in this country. According to CNN. com, studies have shown that people who gamble on the Internet tend to have more serious addictions than people who wager through more traditional venues. Through my research, I hope to further explore why Internet gambling has the potential to be more dangerous than traditional casinos and how younger generations of Americans and the government are responding to this ever-growing phenomenon. Literature Review The research I discovered on Internet gambling is fairly recent and comprehensive. Since online gaming is a reasonably new trend, the material written on the matter was rather current. Furthermore, there was a substantial amount of information within these three sources. It was evident that the three authors conducted high-quality research, and it showed with the use of graphs, charts, and case studies. Also, the three sources had a very similar outlook on the present and future situation of online gaming. With that being said, given that online gaming is at the peak of its existence, it is imperative that further exploration and examination within the subject be carried out. Because of the instant access one has to a gambling venue and the privacy factor of the Internet, online gaming has become a risky undertaking for many. According to David Schwartz (2003), â€Å"Internet gambling presents new problems for individuals and society† (p. 214). Instead of driving to an actual physical casino, problem gamblers can enjoy betting in the comforts of their own home. At home, they are not monitored by other gamblers and/or casino personnel which results in the ability to set their own limit. The Internet also allows the gambler to maintain a level of privacy not found in real casinos. If there are no friends or family around to supervise, then the gambler can engage in irresponsible betting without any time constraints. Finally, unlike real casinos, Internet casinos are readily available at the click of a button. If an online gaming organization will not accept one’s money, one can bet that there are thousands of others that will be happy to take one’s funds. The demographics of gambling are interesting to investigate within the subject. According to Rachel Volberg (2001), â€Å"adults ages 18 to 29 are substantially more likely than older adults to have gambled privately† (p. 34). Young adults are also more likely to gamble for excitement compared to older adults (Volberg, 2001). This is not a difficult concept to grasp. Normally, young adults have a less appreciative concept of money because they do not have as great of a responsibility as older people in regards to providing for family, paying bills, and spending money on expenses that are traditionally not familiar to a younger person. Furthermore, young people are usually unsupervised, especially in the collegiate demographic. Without the approval from mommy and daddy, young adults all across America are enjoying the financial freedom to do whatever they want with the money they have. In addition, according to Thomas Barker and Marjie Britz (2000), â€Å"many college students have deep pockets ? Mom and Dad’s† (p. 139). With this new found autonomy and fiscal assistance from parents, college kids are engaging in online gaming for fun and excitement. However, if left untreated and unsupervised, the fun and excitement can soon turn into a dangerous addiction with serious consequences and ramifications. With the possibility of Internet gambling becoming a serious problem, the government has been asked to step in and legislate the situation. According to Volberg (2001), â€Å"The fact that Internet gambling is conducted in a networked, data-intensive environment offers opportunities for regulation and oversight in several critical areas, including licensure, testing for game integrity and site security, auditing and oversight, taxation, and consumer protection† (p 97). Basically, Volberg is supporting a regulatory system that will be able to monitor the activities not only of the individual gambler, but of the gambling website as well. If the government actually does get involved, certain problems can be remedied. For example, every transaction made by a player can be closely followed and tracked. If a player indicates behaviors that suggest irresponsible decision-making, the player can be flagged and possibly suspended from a gambling website. However, all in all, Internet gambling will most likely always have its problems. Just like alcohols are with minors, people will get their hands on something they probably should not be touching. Internet gambling is an intensifying activity in American culture. With all the limitless possibility and endless potential of the Internet, online gaming will continue to be a major player in the world of technoculture and the information society. Nevertheless, what is important within this public sphere is to be able to responsibly deal with the world of Internet casinos. We need to come to a positive middle ground between the two sides of the spectrum; the fun and excitement of gambling and the spiraling addiction. Current Trends Like anything in life, when you create stimulus you are going to yield a response. In regards to online gaming, the stimulus that was created was the buzz generated by the constant bombardment of gambling programs on television. ESPN annually televises The World Series of Poker during the summer in which thousands of people descend upon Las Vegas to gamble in all types of events including poker, blackjack, craps, etc†¦ Many times they tell the story of some â€Å"average Joe† who enters a tournament and eventually ends up winning thousands of dollars. This false sense of hope has grabbed millions of Americans into thinking that they too, have the ability to win a substantial amount of money. The response to this stimulus has been the emergence of online casinos. However, instead of people winning money, crime has actually been the fallout of this risky behavior. According to ABCnews. com (2006), a Lehigh University student by the name of Greg Hogan Jr. attempted to rob a local bank in order to pay off his gambling debts. He was eventually caught and pleaded guilty to the offense and now faces up to three years in jail. During his interview with Good Morning America, Mr. Hogan blamed his addiction to online gambling websites for his setback, and cautioned the American public to the dangerous power of Internet gaming. In addition to his story, according to ABCnews. com (2006), â€Å"2. 9 million Americans between the ages of fourteen and twenty-two gamble with cards online at least once a week, and fifty percent of male college students and twenty-six percent of female college students gamble on cards at least once a month. † To combat this growing epidemic, the House of Representatives took a proactive stance on the matter by passing legislation that would make it illegal to use credit cards on gambling websites and make it significantly more difficult to access these sites. Whether it gets passed by the Senate and the Executive Branch is another matter, however, at least the government is recognizing the problem sooner rather than later. In conjunction with this theory of crime, many Internet scammers have found opportunity within this growing trend. An article on ABCnews. com (2006) describes an elaborate scheme where bookies took sports bets through an Internet gambling site. The insecurity of the website allowed these thieves to launder millions of dollars and corrupt the free enterprise system of the Internet gaming business. Fortunately, these criminals were caught. Nevertheless, it makes you wonder how frequent this sort of thing exists in the online world. Some have argued, nonetheless, that Internet gambling has its benefits. According to Tom W. Bell (1998), the inclusion of the Internet has fostered competition to a business that has long enjoyed the sanctuary of restraining licensing practices. Rather than having to fly out to isolated casinos in Vegas or Atlantic City, you can enjoy the experience of gambling in the comforts of your own home. Bell (1998) also supports the belief that gambling in your home allows an individual to escape the traps found in real, physical casinos. A person does not have to be surrounded in a windowless structure while being harassed by cocktail waitresses carrying a tray of free booze. Because of online gaming, the business world has more free enterprise and has given the individual a sense of security not found in traditional locales. In terms of my own personal experience, I actually signed up to one of these gambling websites to investigate how they attract and seize the public. The website was www. gambling. com and in order to register, all I had to give them was a current e-mail address. I found it sort of comforting to know that they pledged that they would not pass any of my information on to any other company and/or website because I did not want my stagweb to become flooded with junkmail from these websites. Immediately after becoming a member, I was granted 400 Ludos. I had no clue as to what Ludos were, but after some probing, I discovered that they were basically a form of Internet currency. For every twenty five Ludos, I received a dollar. That equals sixteen dollars. But, here’s the catch. For me to actually receive the Ludos and use them to gamble, I would have to give them my credit card information and pay a montly fee which was actually just about as expensive as the Ludos themselves. Brilliant. Moreover, the website contained links in which I could learn how to play games by reading tutorials, and then, actually play those games. I conducted a little experiment of my own to see how many times I won during one of the games. Out of twenty-five spins on one of the slot machines, I ended up winning sixteen times. That is a sixty-four percent average of winning. Now, anyone who understands anything about gambling knows that the absolute best percentage of winning is fifty percent. However, most of the games are not even close to that percentage. My suspicion leads me to believe that these websites give a false sense of hope to their members. If they succeed in tempting people to try these games, and these games yield a winning percentage better than fifty percent, more often than not, someone is going to believe that they actually have a great chance of making money. It actually is a genius scheme to lure in the public. Make them believe. Once they have accomplished that, these websites have them right where they want them. Conclusions The effects of online gaming are now becoming more clear and transparent to technoculture and the information society. It is apparent that online gaming has become a microcosm of the digital divide that exists within society. According to one of our readings during the semester written by Oscar H. Gandy, Jr. (2002), the differences that make up the digital divide are more than just social constructions. The actual construction is molded due to the new systems of communication that have surfaced within the last twenty years. In relation to online gaming, Internet gaming websites are now competing to display the flashiest, most hypertextual sites in order to attract customers. Due to this competition, better bandwidth and enhanced software will result, thus highlighting the digital divide. Data mining and this notion of surveillance has also entered the conversation regarding online gaming. Because an individual has to present private information about one’s self on a website to facilitate gambling, the possibility of gambling website selling personal information in return for financial gain is a distinct possibility. As aforementioned, the site I visited before pledged that they did not engage in data mining. Yet, this seems to suggest that other sites do exercise this right which effectively gives companies useful information about yourself. Moreover, whenever someone uses the Internet, especially in a situation where one willingly submits personal information such as credit card and phone numbers, the possibility of third party surveillance is always present. It really conveys the authentic risks one undertakes when participating in the latest innovation. Another theory that online gaming illustrates is the constant tension between structure and agency. The government represents structure. As a stable entity, it looks to control the path of Internet gambling by establishing rules and regulations in hopes of creating some order. Internet gambling, on the other hand, is the perfect example of agency. Gambling, in and of itself, is the exact definition of what agency represents: the ability of uncertainty and chaos to influence the parameters through which we live. However, as much as these two concepts seem unrelated, there is an interdependence that spurs the creation of new technologies, not only in the world of online gaming, but throughout the technological landscape. Annotated List of Relevant URLS 1. http://www. playwinningpoker. com/resources/sites2. html : This website is a resource for gamblers.It allows the user to learn new games, find new games, and contact certain people involved with gambling. 2. http://www. gambling. com/best/online-gambling-sites. htm : This website directs users to the best gambling websites on the Internet. It has a list on the left hand side with about sixty different links to other gambling sites. 3. http://www. out-law. com/page-6655 : This website is about illegal activities on the Internet. It contains a few articles on illegal mishaps that have occurred through Internet gambling websites. 4. http://www. becker-posner-blog.com/archives/2006/08/on_internet_gam. html : Blog that contains articles about Internet gambling. Website constructed by Gary Becker and Richard Posner. 5. http://www. cardplayer. com/blog/entry/179 : Blog that is pro-Internet gambling. Players write their feelings on why they think Internet casinos are fun and exciting. 6. http://www. istoppedgambling. com/ : Website founded to help people with gambling problems. Includes personal stories, how-to instructions, and negative articles about gambling. 7. http://www. nomoregambling. com/ : Website founded to help people with Internet gambling problems. Has a hotline and other medias to help combat irresponsible Internet betting. Works Cited Barker, Thomas & Britz, Marjie (2000). Jokers Wild: Legalized Gambling in the Twenty-first Century. Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc. Schwartz G. , David (2003). Suburban Xanadu: The Casino Resort on the Las Vegas Strip and Beyond. New York, NY: Taylor and Francis Books, Inc. Volberg A. , Rachel (2001). When the Chips Are Down: Problem Gambling in America. New York, NY: The Century Foundation, Inc. http://www. cato. org/testimony/ct-tb052198. html.