Easycar Swot Essay

EasyCar is one of the companies under the easyGroup brand name created by Stelios Haji-Ioannou. It is the fastest growing car rental company in Europe because it offers value for money. This is achieved by simplifying the car, and passing on the benefits to the customer in the form of a lower price. This low cost car rental idea is not for every consumer. Since the market is segmented into business and leisure travelers easyCar tries to focus all of its efforts to the price sensitive leisure segment. It has taken them two years for easyCar to break even, and Stelios intends to quadruple its sales in the next two years. Swot Analysis: Strengths: Leverage on established brand reputation of easyJet (by easyGroup): EasyCar is a member of the easyGroup brand which first developed the easyJet air carrier. The other companies under the easyGroup umbrella mimic the low cost, no frills business strategy. This business model has been quite successful in the rental car industry, has a presence in the internet cafà © industry, and easyCinema is expected to be launched soon. Competency of Stellos: Stelios Haji-Ioannou is an entrepreneur who founded easyJet, and has been expanding the easyGroup brand. Stelios is described as a flamboyant entrepreneur who has been aggressive in expanding his brand into many different industries that fit his low cost, no frills business model. Stellos’ excellence is a direct reason of how easyJet broke even after two years of operations. No agent (disintermediation): EasyCar has been able to maximize the amount of revenue they receive because they deal with the majority of the bookings themselves. For other rental car companies ninety percent of their bookings are made by agents (intermediaries), and these agents require a portion of their sales. EasyCar manages 100% of its rentals so it is able to gain the maximum amount of revenue. 90% utilization of assets: There are three main strategies that easyCar utilizes to gain the highest utilization rate out of the major car rental companies. Firstly, their information system evaluates projected demand, and expected utilization quite accurately, and adjusts price accordingly. Secondly, they only offer one car type on each lot. The customers know that and they will automatically be matched to any car in the fleet. This removes the risk of decreased utilization as a result of customer picking certain cars over others. Finally, they offer demand based pricing. This ensures that for any given demand the maximum number of cars are rented out. Weaknesses: Only one type of car: Having one type of car can also be seen as a negative to customers because it offers them no choice. If customers value selection and quality over price then they will not rent from easyCar. Process of car picking up is time consuming for customers, given the low staffing levels: When a customer wants to pick up a car they usually have to wait between a half hour and an hour at the lot to finally pick up their car. This inhibits the company’s ability to sell more in a day, and the customers become dissatisfied from waiting. Public relations issues regarding its policies: The Office of Fair Trading has passed legislation stating that easyCar has to grant customers seven days form the time they made a booking to cancel it and receive a full refund. The company is scared that this process will inhibit their plans for a 2004 IPO. They have also received bad press from their clean car policy. The company requires the car to be fully cleaned when returned, and it’s very strict regarding this policy. They have received some bad press, but 85% of their fleet are returned with an acceptable amount of cleanliness. Finally, there are many additional charges that are explained in the fine print. When easyCar first opened they received a lot of bad press because they didn’t explain their costs clearly. Recently they have been trying to make their charges more transparent to the customer. Opportunities: Expand into other European markets: Experts of the car rental industry feel that Europe is â€Å"ripe for consolidation.† This is significant since it will allow easyCar to work together in different countries across Europe and further strengthen its brand. Broaden the fleet size to offer customers more choices: To further expand easyCars market share they could offer more selection. Customers value choice, but this is only realistically possible if the prices remain low. Further develop the one hour car rental service provider: To compete with local transportation like buses and cabs they can target citizens of each city who only want to rent a car for an hour or a short amount of time to complete less time consuming tasks. Threats: Legal Challenges: If the company is unable to amend the seven day full refund law than there could be serious consequences. The utilization rate would be expected to fall from 90% to 65%, and it could also delay their expected 2004 IPO. There is also legal criticism with the posting of peoples faces on the website who have overdue cars. Competition: There are several internationally recognized car rental companies, and domestic companies that easyCar competes with. For example, domestic or national companies usually account for 50% of their country’s sales. New low cost companies are going to be popping up since they have seen the success of easyCar, thus easyCar needs to widen its gap between its competitors.

IKEA in Australia

As a part of International Advertising ADV301 we were assigned to research an advertising campaign for a product or brand that is marketed locally as well as internationally. To write a report comparing and contrasting the actual advertisements/commercials and campaigns taking various factors into account. The following report will examine the world’s largest furniture retailer Ikea. By studying Ikea’s global strategy as well as the national strategies and the different advertisement internationally and domestically one will get a deeper understanding of their marketing and advertising executions. The advertisements that will be reviewed in this report are two TV commercial, one from Australia and one from the UK. I chose Australia and UK just to show that even countries with similar cultural preferences can have very different approaches. Background A Swedish man named Ingvar Kamprad in a small town called Älmhult, Sweden, founded Ikea in 1943. The company distributes its products through its retail outlets located in over 39 countries. As of October 2010, the chain has 313 stores, most of them in Europe, North America, Asia and Australia (Ikea, 2010). Ikea’s vision is to create a better everyday life for the many people (Ikea, 2010). Their business idea supports this vision by offering a wide range of high quality, well designed and functional home furnishing products to low prices so that as many people will be able to afford them as possible. Ikea has made this possible by using inexpensive materials in a novel way and minimizing production, distribution and retail costs. IKEA and Advertising IKEA’s positioning statement is â€Å"Your partner in better living. We do our part, you do yours. Together we save money†, referring to the ready-to-assemble furniture. The brand image is the result of over 50 years work by Ikea’s co-workers at all levels all over the world. The actions done, things being said, the products offered, the low prices, presentation of product range and the information provided to customers all contributes to the overall image. Ikea has a long tradition of marketing communication and has upon till recently mainly focused on print media, which has shown to be successful. However in the last five years additionally media have been used to an extended degree including TV, radio and Internet (Wise, J., 2000) During the years Ikea has had a number of controversial TV commercial, some have even been banned form certain countries throughout the world. However Ikea believes that their controversy is what makes them stand out and separate them from their primary competitors. The marketing department means that if you like it or not it engages people, it provokes conversation and debate, which successfully results in raising awareness of the brand and increasing sales (Wise, J., 2000). Ikea uses advertising to support many different areas of the business including brand awareness, store themes, catalogue drops and store openings. Every year Ikea publish a free catalogue distributed both in stores and by mail. The catalogue is published in over 36 countries and translated into 27 languages worldwide. The catalogue consumes 70% of the company’s annual marketing budget and is considered to be the main marketing tool of the retail giant. 110 million catalogues were circulated last year – three times higher than that of the Bible, with 13 million of these being available in the UK (Ikea, 2010) Advertising strategy IKEA’s target audience is the same in each country they are situated in and is roughly described as â€Å"everyone† but mainly focusing on young families and couples starting out. â€Å"You have more ideas and ambitions than you have a thick wallet during that period of your life, we think Ikea fits in mostly there† says Christer Granstrand, head of Ikea's international marketing department (Wise, J., 2000). However the target audiences differ from country to country in terms of how they perceive or interpret symbols or stimuli, respond to humor or emotional appeals, as well as in levels of literacy and languages spoken. Most of Ikea’s ads are known to have a sense of simplicity, practicality, rebelliousness and the unexpected. Ikea has managed to maintain a kind of overall brand personality across the markets, even if the company is split by country into franchises operating with almost complete autonomy, including setting its own advertising budget and developing its own marketing initiatives (Wise, J., 2000). This means that the decision process is centralized but the advertising approach is regional (Mueller, B. 2006). Campaigns are based around the unique marketing conditions and cultural sensibilities of each country. Ikea realized that to strengthen its presence in the global market it was necessary to localize. They have over the year worked with different advertising agencies to bring out some of the most creative and unconventional television spots across the globe. Ikea uses a standardized strategy with modified executions. Within a homogeneous environment advertising standardization is recommendable. If, on the contrary, environmental variables across markets are heterogeneous, customized advertising should be favored (Oboulo, 2010). Some studies argue that a standardized advertising strategy is the most desirable option when consumer needs are universal, while others argue that adaptation of the advertising strategy across boundaries is more appropriate due to differing consumer buying motives and cultures. Languages barriers, media limitation and culture diversity are three major factors that need to be taken in to consideration when developing a strategy. Language is one of the major barriers to effective communication through advertising. The problem involves different languages of different countries, different languages or dialects within one country. Communication is impeded by the great diversity of cultural heritage and education which exists within countries and which causes varying interpretations of even single sentences and simple concept (Payne, N., 2009) Even the simplest and most taken for granted aspects of advertising need to be carefully researched. Colors, numbers, symbols and images do not all translate well across cultures. Ikea sells home furnishing products, but not just products but also a way of life, they sell a lifestyle. The lifestyle we have and the way we live differs enormously between cultures and that insight is something Ikea has taken into account not only by tailoring the product range depending on the market but also adapting the advertising execution accordingly. For example, European spots, particularly those in the UK, are more in your face than those in North America, which tend to be more comedic. However Ikea has in general over the last years moved towards idea advertising and away from product and price spots that define many of the chain's competitors (Wise, J., 2000). A reason for Ikea’s international marketing success is that executives from Sweden are located wherever Ikea has a head office such as across Europe, North America, Asia and the Middle East, which helps to carry forward the company’s corporate culture (Wise, J., 2000). The international marketing department develops common strategies during meetings with local marketing managers where they look at common values, ideas and how they would fit with the traditional vision of Ikea.

INTRODUCTION TO COMMERCIAL LAW Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

INTRODUCTION TO COMMERCIAL LAW - Essay Example The bill proposes a law that changes the responsibility of distribution of pokie funds. The bill advocates for transparency, efficient and ethical behaviour in response to particular ethnic communities. The pokie machines seem to be overly represented in the lower-income communities and the bill therefore focuses on equity and reduction of harm in such locations. The member in charge of this specific bill is Mr. Te Ururoa Flavell. He is a family man married to Mrs. Erana and together with their five children they live in Ngongotaha, Rotorua. He has a rich background of leadership having spent a better part of his life working in the education circles. He was a teacher, later a principal and a CEO of Whare Wananga, an education consultant, including other leadership positions at other high levels. He is a member of the Maori civil rights movement, which has been his political party for a considerable time. Flavell has an urge for representing an independent political voice and distinc tly expressing the dreams and aspirations of the people of his community, the Ngati Rangiwewehi and Ngapuhi. In NewZealand there are several types of bills within the parliament. There are the private bills, government bills, member’s bills, and local bills. ... The current bill that we are looking into is known as the Governments bill. It is usually prepared by the ministers and is laid before the House. The government conducts this programme in order to act efficiently on its policies. The house also has a decision to make an order with which it will consider the views that have been presented before the house. The first readings of the task took place on the 4th of April and the next session was at 12th May 2009, five weeks away. On the first session the bill is usually presented and the debating comes in during the second reading. For a bill to be passed there has to be a considerable number of sittings after which the members allow it to pass as a law or be discarded. Currently the Gambling (Gambling Harm Reduction) Amendment bill is waiting to undergo its final stage where it will be passed as a law. Since all citizens have a right of speech and therefore given the provisions of the bill, a business can reject a portion of the bill if the given portion will have a larger and long term effect on the business. If they are operating within the mandate and as per the provisions of the bill and this negatively affects the community in the long term then they will reject it. Gambling, in its location in the moral and ethical dimension has for a long time generated heated debate. Research has showed that gambling has greater effects psychologically and in terms of behaviour. Gambling has with time become socially acceptable as it is seen as one of the fastest growing industries. Also the casinos have become a major source of revenue for some Native American reservationists and as well have created job opportunities for women helping them adjust their lifestyles especially in New Zealand as well as other states. Those who

Management in Nursing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4500 words

Management in Nursing - Essay Example Absenteeism and turnover negatively impacts on the healthcare organization’s bottom line in several ways, which include reduced quality of patient care, enhanced contingent staff costs, enhanced staffing costs, loss of patients, and enhanced accident rates. Costs may stem from replacement costs associated with the turnover. Turnover will require hiring replacement staff, which incorporates recruitment costs ranging from advertisement placement, and costs flowing from payments to employment agencies. Absenteeism may as well have an indirect cost implication as the new recruits will require training in the facility’s policies and work procedures. The higher the turnover level, the more training  required, and subsequently the higher the training costs that the organization incurs. Similarly, the recruits’ unfamiliarity with the organization’s policies and procedures may render them less efficient and less productive (Rowland and Rowland 1997, p.533). Furth ermore, high rates of absenteeism and turnover may yield extensive periods of understaffing; the â€Å"short† staffing conditions may force the existing staff to work overtime, which is comparatively more expensive. High absenteeism and turnover rates could be detrimental to patient’s health and wellbeing owing to disruption in continuity of care and personal relationships between nurses and patients. While it may be essential to highlight that low levels of turnover may be beneficial as they mirror the adjustment of an organization to its workforce and vice versa, extensive absenteeism and turnover is costly, as well as disruptive to the organization’s functioning. # 2 Providing privacy for patients is an important consideration for health service planner and providers. What factors should be considered in regard to privacy when providing nursing care? Medical privacy is an essential consideration for health service providers as it influences practice. Individu als may avoid treatment in case they are not confident that the information about them will remain confidential. Similarly, patients who seek treatment may withhold critical information out of concern for privacy. Patients have reportedly engaged in behaviors fashioned at protecting their privacy such as avoiding their regular doctor, requesting the healthcare personnel not to record their health information, or â€Å"fudging† diagnosis (paying out of pocket in order not to file insurance). This may be detrimental as it may prevent patients from receiving full and appropriate treatment (Douglas, et al. 2009, p.257). Guaranteeing privacy may remedy these concerns, besides promoting effective communication between physicians and patients, enhancing autonomy, and averting economic harm, discrimination, and embarrassment. In an institutional setting, healthcare professionals (in this case nurses) may be anxious on matters regarding privacy and confidentiality as they have an obli gation (moral) to protect the rights of patients entrusted to their care. This duty heralds patient-nurse relationship as one of the supporting factors that should be considered. There are a several factors that apply with regard to privacy when availing nursing care such as individuality and diversity, as individuals have their own distinct values, attitudes, beliefs and preferences. The most significant factors supporting privacy hinge on social

Women's rights in the late 1800s to explain Mrs. Mallard's behavior Research Paper

Women's rights in the late 1800s to explain Mrs. Mallard's behavior. (The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin) - Research Paper Example In the early days though women were looked upon as a creative entity, yet they were always considered to be physically and intellectually inferior to men. Moreover, women were also considered to be a major source of temptation to men. The ancient Roman law described women as children who were inferior to men. According to Greek mythology, it was Pandora, a woman who had opened a box that was forbidden and released unhappiness, disease and plagues into the world. In ancient India, after the advent of Hinduism, the role of women was one of submission. Women were required to be ever obedient and walk behind their husbands. Widows could not remarry neither could women own property. It is clearly evident that in the East and West, male children were most preferred than female children. Maternity, was considered the biologically natural role for women. Women in the early times were considered to be the fairer but weaker sex and unable to carry out work that required muscular or intellectua l skill. For example, they were required to carry out duties pertaining to the household such as cooking, cleaning and looking after their families. Work involving heavy labor was left for the men to do. Though women were considered to be the weaker sex, statistics show that women have a greater tolerance than men and live for a longer period than men. They are also capable of hard labor and have greater tolerance to pain and disease. The legal status of women was greatly influenced by the myth of women being naturally inferior and therefore all major decisions were taken by the men. Men literally owned their wives while the women remained defenseless in legal matters. Though women who were unmarried were permitted to sue or be sued in a court of law, own property or sign legal contracts, the women who were married were not allowed to do the same. In fact she had to give up her name, adopt the name of the husband and all the property she owned came under the control of her husband. However, during the 19th century, as women began educating themselves in college or universities, things began to change for them. Equity laws were passed in places like the United States and England and the rights of women became more liberalized. Married women were allowed to own property and they were allowed to take up professions in law or they worked in garment or textile mills. In the 20th century however, times began changing and so did the attitudes towards women. Women fought and won the right to vote and thereby strengthened their positions by educating themselves well and seeking good career opportunities. It was during this period that they were permitted both personal and intellectual freedom. Women began making significant progress through their achievements in various fields. ‘The Story of an Hour’ by Kate Chopin was chosen by me to reinstate the above scenario of women and how they lived during the early eras of the 1800’s and the status they mai ntained in society. This story belongs to the category of short stories and revolves around Louise Mallard, the protagonist of the story, who is a clear example of women who lived during the 1800’s when women’s rights suffered due to male domination. Brently Mallard, Louise’s husband is supposed to have died tragically in a railroad accident and on hearing the news of his death from the newspaper office, Richards who is Brently’s friend, leaves immediately to break the news to Mallard’s wife Louise. Mrs. Mallard was known to be weak- hearted and so Josephine, her sister undertakes to break the news to her most gently. On coming to hear of her husband’

'Working with and Leading people' Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

'Working with and Leading people' - Assignment Example The section continues to give a definition of management and differentiates it with leadership. The report then concludes with an analysis of the leadership styles and methods of motivation that relate to the case study provided in the assignment brief. JD Sports Fashion is among the leading sports and trainer fashion retailers in the U.K, Based in Bury, Great Manchester; the retailer owns numerous retail shops all over the United Kingdom. JD Sports Fashions has recently expanded its operations to Bristol and is in the process of scouting for a store manager of the premise. Following the expansion of JD Sports Fashion operations in Bristol and the growth in business activities at the store, the company is advertising for a store manager position. We aim at attracting a talented and enthusiastic individual with vast knowledge and experience in store keeping and management The store manager will be the head of the store management team and will be responsible for the daily planning, control and maintenance of the store activities. The store manager will also ensure that the customers have access to the necessary supplies. The recruitment process adhered to the legal and regulatory framework that applies to recruitment and placement. We ensured that all the members of the interview panel were appropriately trained in the recruitment and selection techniques and were aware of the relevant employment legislation to be adhered. Data protection and freedom of information legislation were also considered during the recruitment process. The data we requested the applicants to submit was only used for the specified and lawful purposes, relevant to the employment The information obtained from the applicants was confidential. All the recruitment staff members were required not to discuss with anyone other than the Human resource and the committee members on the

The Elements of Drama Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Elements of Drama - Essay Example Antigone feels that although Creon is a man, he is weak than she is. This is illustrated in their conversation after burying Polyneices and she is taken to Creon. She literary tells him that she has the power to say no to what she regards as vile and does not have to count any cost of it. She regards Creon as just a ruler who is controlled by the rules just because he ascended to the throne but not because he believes in them. Creon will then have to execute her even if he does not want to in order to abide by the crown. Creon is thus terrified if his action but is unable to act contrary. Antigone reads his fear and proclaims that even if her nails are broken, her finger covered in blood and her arms are wounded, she will still remain a queen. Antigone is terrified at the thought of death but then she is ready to embrace her death as a martyr. As a feminist, Antigone faces many challenges with her sister. Her encounter with Ismene about the burial of Polyneices leaves her heartbroken. Ismene is a conservative girl who believes in the maintenance of the status quo. When Antigone tells her to join her and bury their brother, Ismene is keen to remind her that the king has ordered a decree against anyone who will be seen burying him. She tells her that their family has suffered enough and was not ready to undergo another tragedy. Ismene reminds her that they are now all alone and therefore should do well in submitting to the law and obey. To Ismene, women must not fight with men. There is a conflict in philosophies at this time and Antigone tells her sister off and vows not to take her help even if she comes begging to offer it. Antigone is determined to defy Creon’s decree and bury her brother even if alone. Antigone’s conversation with her sister Ismene is fundamental in the analysis of her feminist trait. Ismene questions the role of nature in their lives. She argues that even when pushed, it should not be

Short paper on Reinventing Eden by Carpolyn Merchant Essay

Short paper on Reinventing Eden by Carpolyn Merchant - Essay Example This study is to discern specifically the shifting attitudes to the concept of â€Å"wilderness† in western culture, and some issues concerning the labeling of â€Å"wild†, as well as its advantages and disadvantages that have been produced by it. â€Å"Internalized by Europeans and Americans alike since seventeenth century, this story has propelled countless efforts by human to recover Eden by turning wilderness into garden, female nature into civilized society, and indigenous folkways into modern culture.† Wilderness according to her can be compared to the nature of a female. A female’s emotional nature is unpredictable. It could be serene for a time but can also be overly sensitive and sometimes even raging. Thus the kind of characteristic is not ideal to apply in physical environment if habitant is seeking the likeness of â€Å"Eden†. Merchant used this message to educate the readers with the importance of the civilization and organization even in a natural environment. Perhaps, she has been implying that the uniqueness of the Garden of Eden among other gardens was its cultured and organized system, as Biblically speaking the Garden of Eden was tended first hand by our Creator. In further discussion her argument within the context revealed to be that the wilderness she’s implying doesn’t mean to be in natural aspect. The results of wilderness were actually pertaining to the man made attempt for civilization but is environmentally and socially destructive, if not compatible with its habitants. The effect of this wilderness brought by man’s frequent attempt to recreate Eden in technical state has delivered the once fertile earth into a phallocentric state. This is a great decline from once pristine Eden state of the earth. The effect extent up to the lifestyle of men, from their habitation state up to the very food they are eating, which is far from the natural essence of

UK policing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4750 words

UK policing - Essay Example It shows us that in the present time the police can exploit the technology to seize the criminals (i.e. via DNA Testing, Finger-Prints etc), unlike in the past with no use of technology. (EDWARDS 1994 131-50) Triumphs, achievements, mistakes and failures are what make up the study of history. Studying the history of Policing can be precious in many ways because it gives an insight into way the practices were carried out in the past and why they have changed or emerged over time. To value police history is to appreciate the development of what policing is now. vast example of policing history is protection against Indigenous cultures. Before the governing bodies where introduced after the massacre at Myall Creek, rights and social acceptance towards Aboriginal people were non existent, but dramatically changed after the conviction of 7 men of brutal killing of innocent Aboriginal people. The new rights have given the chance for Indigenous cultures to live as normal of live as possible and feel socially accepted thanks to changes of policing history and the way it differs from when the first fleet stepped foot on Australia's shores. Studying the history of policing allows one to appreciate how and why the police are the way it works today. Studying the history of policing embraces the way policing fits into day's society and highlights how lucky we are in terms of police protection compared to history of policing. I found visiting the museum gave me clear understanding of policing history and why society is the way it works today. In conclusion studying the history of policing was very important and valuable in order to understand how certain rules and laws came about in reference to policing and why they are in place now. (COOK 2001 107-19) What Kinds of Work Do the Police Do Complementing these qualitative studies of policing, are series of more quantitative research projects which aim to establish the relative importance of specific activities that constitute routine police work in urban areas. The somewhat surprising conclusion of many of early studies of this type was that, contrary to air popular image, the police appear to spend relatively little time on law enforcement and crime-related tasks. Sherman's assessment that "the vast majority of police man-hours (sic) are expended in activity having little to do with law enforcement, but much to do with social service and peace keeping was typical of Anglo-American studies of police patrol work carried out in the early 1970s. Indeed, Punch's study of policing in inner-city Amsterdam went as far as describing the police as 'secret social service'. More recent research, however, has questioned this conclusion on both theoretical and empirical grounds. (BENNETT 2001 1-14) The Police and the Control of Urban Crime Given the importance of crime-related tasks, the effectiveness of police in controlling crime is an

Applied Econometrics Statistics Project Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Applied Econometrics - Statistics Project Example Q.3. (10) What does the sign of the estimate on ln area in model (2) tell you about the sign of the correlation between slave exports and the size of the country? Hint: think about omitted variable bias. Due to omitted variable bias, there will be a bias as the coefficient of In exports picks up the part of the influence of ln area that was correlated with In exports. The sign of the estimate on ln area in model (2) is positive telling us that the expected sign of the correlation between slave exports and the size of the country is also positive. In model 1, the value of R2 is given as 0.25 similarly in model 3, the value of R2 is given as 0.25 this shows no change in the value of R2 implying that the included variable (population) has no effect on the model; the variable is irrelevant. Q.6. (10) Note that the standard error on ln exports in model (2) is higher than the standard error on ln exports in model (1). Comment (in detail) on what information this provides you regarding the specification of Model (2). Q.7. (15) While the idea of Nunn is interesting, it is unlikely that slave exports alone can explain why economic output is so low amongst African countries. Consider population density in 1400 AD as an additional explanatory variable. Acemoglu, Johnson and Robinson (2002) have shown that population density has a positive impact on economic prosperity. Comment (in detail) on the impact of the omission of this variable from Nunn’s empirical model. Â  Each observation (variable) affects the fitted regression equation differently and has a different influence on each variable; this may result to what we term as omitted variable bias (OVB). OVB occurs when a model is created which incorrectly leaves out one or more important causal factors. The "bias" is created when the model compensates for the missing factor by over- or underestimating the effect

Occupational Safety and Health Administration Essay Example for Free

Occupational Safety and Health Administration Essay

Impact of Thatchers Right-to-Buy Policy

Impact of Thatchers Right-to-Buy Policy Analyse the impact of Margaret Thatchers right-to-buy policy in the Housing Act, 1980. As Margaret Thatcher was preparing for the 1979 general election, she promised in her Conservative manifesto that if in power, she would attempt to privatize some of Britains industries that were state owned. One of the industries that she highlighted to be of importance was that of giving the British people the opportunity to buy their state owned home which would give the working classes an opportunity that was never previously presented before them. Thatcher and the Conservatives decisively beat the Labour Party on the 3rd May 1975 and Thatcher, who was now the first female Prime Minister of Britain, stuck to her promises of the right-to-buy social housing and in 1980, the Housing Act was passed. In this essay, the consequences of the Housing Act from the time of its inception, up until the modern day will be analysed. Since Thatchers policy was enacted, there has been a radical decrease in the amount of housing that is state owned and an increase in people that own their own prop erty. In most parts of Britain, there is little social housing in Britain and a great deal of homelessness because of the realities of Right-to-Buy (RTB). Many homeowners have become wealthy landlords who have rented their ex-council homes out for up to five times more than the rent of council tenants. With the increase in homeowners but a decrease in social housing, was the right-to-buy policy that was created by Thatcher a success in the modern day? Before an analysis of Thatchers Right to Buy policy takes place, it is imperative that a study of the creation of council housing be undertaken. Council housing (the term for public housing constructed by local government authorities in the United Kingdom), was a policy that was dedicated to re-housing low income families into state owned properties that were subsided.[1] This particular policy came about following the devastation and aftermath of the First World War and the state of slums in Britain. The need to re-house families arose from an ongoing policy of slum clearance in the 1920s and 1930s; a need heightened from the 1940s onwards because 4 million UK houses were seriously damaged or destroyed by bombing following the Second World War.[2] Britain faced a serious housing problem following 1945, and large areas of the cities with serious bomb damage (such as London in the south and Coventry in the midlands) had to be completely cleared and rebuilt.[3]ÂÂ   Helped by the n ew Labour government in 1945 (which promised the social welfare programme to improve the living standards of all in Britain), alongside the implementation of the 1946 Land Acquisitions Act, which allowed local authorities to purchase land for new houses to be built, council house building was done on a vast scale after 1945 and continued well into the 1970s.[4] By 1979 and at the time of the British general election, around 32% of all homes in Britain were council houses, totalling some 6.5 million properties.[5] The selling of state homes in Britain was not an invention of Thatcher and the Conservatives in 1979. Rather, state owned homes were being sold off in the 1920s, but as Alan Murie argues, it was done on such a smaller scale compared to that of the Thatcher government.[6] In as far back as the nineteenth century, housing legislation required that council-built dwelling in redevelopment areas should be sold within 10 years of completion.[7] In the 1950s, sales of social housing increased from the 1920s and by May 1956, over five thousand homes were sold (and that was just in 1956!).[8] It was not until the late 1960s however, when campaigning Conservative local councils undertook successful sales schemes, that Party elites reconceived the idea as an attractive and tenable policy option.[9] By the 1970s, the debate over the right to buy social housing was getting heated. In 1972, Peter Walker (Conservative Environment Secretary, 15 October 1970 5 November 1972) announced at the annual party conference that he believed council tenants who wished to purchase their homes had a very basic right to do so, alongside a discount which applied to those who had stayed at their property long enough.[10]ÂÂ   Michael Hazeltine, the shadow environment secretary in 1979, also a conservative and one of Margaret Thatchers closest colleagues, agreed with Walker and urged Thatcher that if they were to win the next election, a RTB policy should be created for the 400,000+ people that were in a position to buy their own homes.[11] Thatcher, known for her principles of privatization, did not take much swaying from Hazeltine and used this revolutionary policy as a selling point to the people of Britain in the build up to the 1979 general election where Thatcher was in contention to become the first ever female Prime Minister of Britain.[12] In the Conservative manifesto of 1979, Margaret Thatcher emphasised considerably on the issue of housing. Under the heading Helping the Family, the housing topic stretched across one and a half pages. This was more than important issues such as education and the state of the National Health Service, issues that were usually seen as pivotal as a selling point in a partys manifesto. Thatchers emphasis was as Alan Murie states, on home ownership and on tax cuts, lower mortgage rates, and special schemes to make purchase easier. More important than anything else, the selling of council houses was the radical approach to enable working class people to be able to afford the right to buy their own homes. She suggested that the longer the tenant stayed at their council property, the relevant discount should be made, to a maximum of fifty per cent for tenants of twenty years. Thatcher was always a firm believer of letting the individual be in control and the state should be involved in as lit tle as possible. What this meant with regards to housing is that social housing costs the government a vast amount of money. Privatizing the housing sector to those that can afford to buy their own property allowed to free up government funds, as well as giving people the opportunity to buy where before it was not possible. Upon winning the election of 1979, Thatcher went about getting her Housing Act approved by parliament as soon as possible. However, she and her environment secretary Michael Hazeltine faced fierce opposition to the act from the Labour Party and the House of Lords, and it took nearly eighteen months for the act to be finally approved by parliament (3rd October 1980). Upon Thatchers parliamentary victory, she introduced her Housing Act policies in a special television broadcast. If you have been a council tenant for at least three years, you will have the right, by law, to buy your house, she claimed. The right to buy, as it was coined, became the slogan which would transform the housing market in the present day. Andy Beckett argues that the right to buy slogan was clever, clear, easy to say, easy to remember, and combining two of modern Britains favourite preoccupations, personal freedom and purchasing, while also encapsulating the more seductive side of what the Thatcher government was offering the country, he also added that her use of the word house in the special broadcast, when millions of council tenants actually lived in flats, was also significant. It gave the policy an aspirational flavour: reassuringly suburban rather than proletarian and urban. What Thatcher wanted to do with this special broadcast was to catch the attention of the masses of Britain. As the working classes were becoming more and more disassociated with politics, it was in Thatchers interest to reignite their interest. Knowing that this particular policy was radical, Thatcher wanted to make sure that everyone from any background could be effected by the implementation of the Housing Act. As television was becoming more readily available to the people of Britain, it was shrewd of Thatcher and the Conservative party to advertise right to buy due to the benefits of television, where it had the ability to see Thatcher persuading the public in a way where it felt she was in every living ro om in Britain. [1] Disney, R. (2010). The right to buy public housing in Britain: A welfare analysis. Institute of Fiscal Studies. 05 (1), p3. [2] Ibid. [3] McDonald, J. A. (2011). Urban Economics and Real Estate: Theory and Policy. Massachusetts: John Wiley Sons, Inc. p222. [4] Leventhal, F. M (2002). Twentieth-century Britain: an encyclopaedia. London: Peter Lang Publishing Inc. p136. [5] Disney, R. (2010). The right to buy public housing in Britain: A welfare analysis. Institute of Fiscal Studies. 05 (1), p3. [6] Murie, A (2006). Right to Buy. London: Wiley-Blackwell. p112. [7] Ibid. [8] Beckett, A. (2015). The right to buy: the housing crisis that Thatcher built. Available: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/aug/26/right-to-buy-margaret-thatcher-david-cameron-housing-crisis. Last accessed 3rd March 2017. [9] Davies, A. R. (2013). Right to Buy: The Development of a Conservative Housing Policy, 1945 1980. Contemporary British History. 27 (4), p3. [10] Beckett, A. (2015). The right to buy: the housing crisis that Thatcher built. Available: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/aug/26/right-to-buy-margaret-thatcher-david-cameron-housing-crisis. Last accessed 3rd March 2017. [11] Murie, A (2016). The Right to Buy?: Selling off Public and Social Housing. London: Policy Press. p75. [12] Holmes, M (1989). Thatcherism: Scope and Limits, 1983-87. London: Palgrave Macmillan. p226.

Absorption spectroscopy and acetic acid

Absorption spectroscopy and acetic acid The absorbance of light, wavelength 632nm, was measured in an indicator solution at varying pH, and varying concentration, allowing for a Beer-Lambert plot to be constructed. This was then used to measure acetic acid uptake at the surface of deionised water and octan-1-ol coated water, allowing pH, and hence concentration, to be calculated from absorbance of the liquid. Introduction Surfactants are molecules which are able to form a surface across a liquid, and stop the interaction of foreign molecules with the solution without interacting with these molecules first. These are extremely useful since they often contain a hydrophobic and hydrophilic aspect, which interact differently to different molecules. Surfactants are used in the manufacture of paper, textiles and construction among others.[1] They are the main ingredient of detergents and they allow non-polar molecules to dissolve in polar molecules, such as oil into water. On the surface of the liquid, the surfactant will interact slightly differently. It will create a surface of hydrophobic tails. This will stop polar molecules from entering the liquid, since the liquid will appear to be a poor solution for the polar molecule to interact with. They also increase decrease tension of the liquid.[4] This barrier is expected to stop the acetic acid, used in part 3 of the experiment, interacting with the water solvent. If it does interact, the pH of the solution will lower due to acetic acids presence, and the indicator will show a change in colour. If no acetic acid enters the solution, no change should be observed or measured. Experimental Using de-ionised water, a reference light intensity was recorded. A 250ml solution (1) of 0.005% wt bromocresol green was then prepared, and absorbance was measured. 100ml was removed, and the pH adjusted using 0.1M sodium hydroxide and glacial acetic acid, and absorbance was noted at pHs between 3-6 at 0.3 increments. 50ml of remaining solution (1) was further diluted to solutions of 0.0025%, 0.00125%, 0.000625% and 0.0003125% concentration. Spectroscopic analysis of these concentrations was made, and a Beer Lambert graph plotted. A solution of unknown concentration was then spectroscopically analysed and its approximate concentration determined. This solution was then enclosed in a container with acetic acid, and spectroscopic readings taken every 30 seconds. This was repeated with fresh solution, with the addition of 0.2ml of octan-1-ol to the surface of the cuvette. Results The results for the pH change showed a curve, going from lower pH on the left to high pH on the right. This is a more quantifiable way of showing that as the Bromocresol turned blue at higher pH. This shows absorption toward the end of the spectrum of lower energy, (ie higher wavelength). So as pH increased, the absorbance of Bromocresol at 632nm increased too as it became blue. The next aspect of the experiment was to analyse how concentration affected the absorbance of Bromocresol green. As concentration of bromocresol green was altered, it was possible to draw a Beer-Lambert plot detailing how the absorption of the light changed with concentration of the Bromocresol Green. As would be expected, there is a straight line relationship between Bromocresol concentration and Absorbance except at higher concentrations, where the solution plateaus and becomes non-linear. Excluding this end point it is possible to derive the gradient, and hence the value of ?L. This was determined to be 36600. The Bromocresol solution of unknown concentration transmitted 0.222, making a LOG(Io/I) value of 0.67. Dividing this by the gradient gave the Bromocresol solution concentration to be 4.5710-6moldm-3. From this it is possible to determine the acidity of the solution using the Beer-Lambert plot as given above. Using an original pH, it is then possible to determine the concentration of the acetic acid on top of this, using simple equations associated with pKa and pH. From the information of Ka and pH, it is possible to calculate the concentration of acetic acid in the solvent. Error analysis Using error analysis and standard errors of instrumentation used, it is possible to construct the same graphs as above but with error bars. These are shown below. Discussion The calculations and graphs suggest that coating a solvent in octan-1-ol would encourage uptake of acetic acid, rather than inhibit it. This may be due to dimerzation or trimerzation of acetic acid (1) as it evaporates from the surface, making it more soluble in the partially polar octan-1-ol solution. Single carbon-oxygen bonds display less polarisation than carbonyl bonds do, and so it is likely that in this dimerised arrangement acetic acid more readily dissolved in the oil, in addition to acetic acid readily dissolving in organic solvents. Because of these reasons it readily crossed over from the relatively non-polar octanol to the polar water solvent, decreasing the pH of the Bromocresol containing solution in both the uncoated and octanol coated solutions. It is, however, most likely that the experiment was not successful. Alternative indicators, such as NH3, would have readily dissolved in water and increased the pH of the solution. It would also not have been able to dissolve in the octanol due to the higher polarity and availability of the nitrogen lone pair. Because of this it would have been a better indicator of the presence of a surfactant than acetic acid. Acknowledgements I would like to thank my demonstrators M. Azwani Mat Lazim and Miss Olesya Myakonkaya for their advice on the experiment. References R. J. Farn, Chemistry and Technology, Blackwell Publishing (2006) pp. 6. L. L. Schramm, Surfactants: fundamentals and applications in the petroleum industry, Cambridge University Press (2000) pp. 7. R. J. Farn, Chemistry and Technology, Blackwell Publishing (2006) pp. 6. K. S. Birdi, Handbook of surface and colloid chemistry, CRC Press (1997) pp. 338. P. Atkins, J. De Paulo, Atkins Physical Chemistry 8th Edition, Oxford Publishing (2006) pp. 432. P. M. S Monk, Physical chemistry: understanding our chemical world, John Wiley Sons (2004) pp. 225. V. H. Agreda, J. R. Zoeller, Acetic acid and its derivatives Volume 49 of Chemical industries, CRC Press (1993) pp. 96.

Philosophy of Money Essay -- Economics Science Papers

Philosophy of Money This article is an attempt to sketch a philosophical view of money as a social phenomenon. I show that the way to understand the substance of money is to analyze its meaning as a medium of exchange in connection with its meaning as a purpose of exchange, thereby providing an investigation of its social value. This approach has been used by many of the great philosophers and economists of the past, but not today. Modern economics is a policy oriented theoretical discipline and concentrates its efforts on solving practical tasks. I hope to contribute a philosophical approach to economic research. Money is a reality, a permanent feature of our everyday lives. It gives our lives a particular rhythm, a particular  «charm », a particular perception of the world and our place in it. Money creates problems when we do not have it, and yet more problems when we do have it. But it is only an illusion that we are in control of our money: in actual fact we do not notice how subtly and intensively it exercises control over us. Money makes us both master and slave. Our power over money is real only inasmuch as we are able to understand its power over us. Man has sought to understand the essence of money for many centuries. Philosophers and economists, statesmen, writers, even poets have written about money. (1) Money has been lauded and cursed, it has been dreamed of and disdained. What is money - good or evil? It brings stability and instability and makes people looking for and running away from it. Money is capable of creating and destroying, of uniting and disuniting. It makes people partners and rivals and can influence the fate of individuals and whole nations. But what does money bring - freedom or depende... ... (13)  «The ideal purpose of money, as well as of the law, is to be a measure of things without being measured itself, a purpose that can be realized fully only by an endless development ». (G.Simmel. The Philosophy of Money/ Ed. by D.Frisby.- L., N.Y.: Routledge. 1995, p.511) (14)  «Exchange » is here treated in its broadest sense as the alienation of all that man gives to society and the appropriation of all that he receives from society. (15) G.Simmel. The Philosophy of Money./ Ed. By D.Frisby.- L.., N.Y.: Routledge, 1995 (16) We agree that fundamental theoretical research in economics cannot be effective without philosophy.  «What are the prospects for bridging disciplinary boundaries and for strengthening the collaboration between economists and philosophers? » (D.Hausman.Essays on philosophy and economic methodology.-Cambridge University Press.1992, p.230)

An Explication of Sylvia Plath8217s 8220Daddy8221 Essay -- essays pape

An Explication of Sylvia Plath8217s 8220Daddy8221 It tends to be the trend for women who have had traumatic childhoods to be attracted to men who epitomize their emptiness felt as children. Women who have had unaffectionate or absent fathers, adulterous husbands or boyfriends, or relatives who molested them seem to become involved in relationships with men who, instead of being the opposite of the â€Å"monsters† in their lives, are the exact replicas of these ugly men. Sylvia Plath’s poem â€Å"Daddy† is a perfect example of this unfortunate trend. In this poem, she speaks directly to her dead father and her husband who has been cheating on her, as the poem so indicates. The first two stanzas, lines 1-10, tell the readers that Plath, for thirty years, has been afraid of her father, so scared that she dares not to â€Å"breathe or Achoo.† She has been living in fear, although she announces that he’s already dead. It is obvious that she believes that her father continues to control her life from the grave. She says that she â€Å"has had to kill† him, but he’s already dead, indicating her initial promise to forget him. She calls him a â€Å"bag full of God,† telling us that she considers her father a very strong, omnipotent being, someone who is superior in her eyes. In the middle of the poem, she begins to refer to herself as a Jew, and her father the German, who began â€Å"chuffing me off like a Jew†¦to Dachau, Auschwitz, Belson.† What Plath’s intent here is to allow us to understand that her father was a German, and she relates his behavior as a person to a Nazi. But later, she becomes more enraged, and strips the title of God from her father, and labels him a swastika and a brute. â€Å"Every woman adores a Fascist† is Plath’s way of ... ...r husband were monsters in her life, destroying her, but that she has just noticed. â€Å"Daddy, daddy, you bastard, I’m through† is the last line in the poem. It is not until the end that we realize that not only is she through with the memories of her dead father and the adulterous behavior of her husband, but she is through with herself. This last line is clear – Plath has just announced to her readers that she will be committing suicide again, and plans on being successful at it. So, instead of this poem being Plath’s victorious confession to the horrible men in her life, and finally allowing closure, the poem is an outline of her promising death. Plath is still pained by these men, and cannot completely go on being alive. She believes that death is her only solution, and maybe in a way it was. Perhaps she is finally free, and finally able to â€Å"breath† and â€Å"Achoo.†

Free Things They Carried Essays: Communists and Capitalists

Communists and Capitalists in The Things They Carried The Vietnam War was directly related to the Cold War, where the communists and the capitalists used balance-of-power politics to keep the other from dominating the world. Yet, there was a role reversal amongst the soldiers fighting for the capitalists and democracy. Many of the soldiers made deals amongst themselves, which were in essence communist, stating that should one become injured or severely wounded, their "buddy" would end the soldier's suffering by killing him. This is seen in "Enemies" and "Friends". "Enemies" and "Friends" tell the tale of two soldiers who initially do not get along, but through the course of the war, form a bond that holds even through death. In the opening sentence, O'Brien says, "Lee Strunk and Dave Jensen got into a fistfight."(62) In doing so, he shows the high tensions of the entire war. The friction and animosity are evident between the USSR and the USA and North Vietnam and South Vietnam, but to show the tension within the same army proves just how drastic...

Canadian Identity Essay Essay

Canada is known worldwide for our people’s resilience to nature, our acceptance of many different cultures, our universal healthcare, and our contributions to world peace. I believe for these reasons Canada is one of the greatest nations on Earth. Firstly, Canadian citizens are among the hardiest people on earth when it comes to resisting Mother Nature. Canada is battered each year with ice storms, hurricanes’ and windstorms, yet we Canadians grit our teeth and fight through it. This treacherous weather helps bring Canada together, and unite us when things are at their worst. For example, during the 2013-2014 ice storms many parts of Ontario where left without power for days, yet out of this horrible tragedy, Canadians banded together and helped each other out, lending each other generators and supplies to help get through this hard time together as a nation. Canada is also ranked as the second coldest country on earth, with an average annual temperature of -3.6 degrees (Anand) with an annual temperature below freezing Canada is well suited for winter sports like skiing and snowmobiling. The most Northerly settlement on earth is Alert, Nunavut, Alert is a Canadian Military and research base on the Northern Tip of Ellesmere Island, the lowest recorded temperature in Alert was -64 degrees Celsius, that’s the same temperature as the surface of Mars!(CFS Alert). It’s this extreme weather that allows us Canadians to grow tough, unite together against winter, and succeed at sports like skiing and hockey. Secondly, Canada is one of the best countries in the world to immigrate to. Canada is very multicultural and accepts cultures from all over the world. Whether you are immigrating from Ethiopia or Korea you will most likely find a small part of your culture somewhere in Canada. Canada has been inhabited by immigrants ever since 1604 when French explorers settled in the Maritimes (Facts in Canada’s Immigration History). Also 23% of Canadian citizens are born outside of our Country, the highest amount out of all the G8 countries (Immigration and Ethnocultural Diversity in Canada). Canada is unique because in over 100 different places minority groups are actually the  majority. For example, Brampton Ontario has a population of 523,000 (Demographic Overview) and out of that number there are only 33,000 Irish citizens while there is 159,000 citizens from East India (Demographic Overview). Yet with all these different cultures in Canada, we all still feel united under the Canadian Flag and proud when we sing our National Anthem. Thirdly, Canada has a world renowned healthcare system, unlike countries like the US where you have to pay to go to the hospital; Canada covers the cost of most medical bills for you. The idea for Medicare in Canada first came in 1947 when the Saskatchewan Government released their first hospital insurance plan (The History of Medicare), initially most Doctors and other medical professionals despised this â€Å"Medicare System† because they worried they were going to make less money than if the medical system was privatized , slowly but surely the idea of universal healthcare grew and in the 1960’s Pearson’s minority government created National Medical Care system; were the government pays 50% of medical costs (The History of Medicare). Today, Canada’s healthcare system is an interesting mix of both public finding and the private sector. Canada is ranked 30th in the world for its healthcare system, while the United States is ranked 72nd. As a Canadian citi zen I feel safe knowing that if I ever get ill, I am covered without having to spend any money. Finally, Canada has been fighting for world peace ever since it joined the UN during its creation in 1945. It was actually Lester B. Pearson who suggested the idea of a UN lead peacekeeping force in 1956 (The Canadian Contribution to United Nations Peacekeeping). Canada’s first peacekeeping mission was done in 1949, in India and Pakistan. The mission was codenamed UNMOGIP, Canada’s job was to negotiate a ceasefire between Pakistan and India, in 1950, almost a year after the war started the UN negotiated a ceasefire with the help of Canadian Soldiers (Canada History). Canada has lost the 2nd most amounts of soldiers out of any UN country, and has lost the most soldiers per capita as well. Canadian peace keeping missions help shape the Canadian Identity because it shows the world that we care for other countries, and that even though our population is small we still  sacrifice a lot in the name of Peace. In Conclusion, I feel that Canada is an incredible nation, and I feel our contributions to world peace, our people’s resilience to the weather, our free healthcare system, and our multiculturalism are some of the main things that have helped make Canadians respected in the international community today.

Global Warming AD

As the sun’s harmful rays beam through the depleting ozone layer the globe begins to warm, earths polar ice caps melt and slowly start the elimination of life. This ad demonstrates the cause and effect of global warming. The world inside the lower quadrant of the hourglass is slowly getting swallowed by the sea due to the melting ice caps above. Within the hourglass there’s text stating â€Å"we are slowly running out of time, act now before it’s too late†. In the top of the hour glass a polar bear and penguin sit upon two nearly melted ice caps. The world below has cars driving into a city passed chopped down trees, and a gas station. Although the ad appears to be warning us of global warming, it’s actually warning us of our own selfishness! The ad uses three main tactics to achieve this, presentation of text, types of images, and image composition. The advertisers decided to use presentation of text in a subtle way to get their point across. The display of the text in this ad has diminutive properties. This relates to the feeling human beings have towards the situation of global warming. It indicates that we conveniently believe it’s a small issue and doesn’t need to be presented as a major problem. People avoid the truth and would rather just pass it on to the next generation to deal with. The use of this tactic helps sell the idea that we are to selfish to address the situation. Even though we have scientific evidence that global warming is happening, and that the polar ice caps are melting, people still don’t want to make it an issue. People would rather act selfish and destroy the earth then be inconvenienced and have to give up their comfortable lives. A stronger tactic used by the advertiser is the use of types of images, which provides us with further evidence. The types of images used in this ad show the advertisers point in a more straight forward manner. They use the images of street lights leading up to a city full of high-rises to provide us with the notion that we abuse energy. On the sides of the road there’s chopped down trees and a gas station indicating how human beings rape our land of its natural resources. Cars fill the street showing a luxury that pollutes and destroys the earth. All of which directly correlates with the image of the melting polar ice caps in the top of the hourglass. Once again it sells the idea that the ad informs us of our own selfishness. It indicates that people will do anything for their luxuries, even if it destroys our own planet. Providing evidence that our selfishness will not let anything stand between us and the things we love, even at the highest cost. By using a less noticeable, although stronger tactic, composition of images provides us with further evidence of their strategy. Image composition is the last and strongest tactic used by the advertiser. In the top frame of the hourglass the ice cap sits in pure blue water. In the lower section of the hourglass the earth is being swallowed by stagnant deathly water indicating the lack of life. Plus in the top frame a polar bear and a penguin sit perched anticipating their final moments of life as their worlds slowly melt away. As two birds hover above ground as their world disappears as well. This sells the idea by showing that people are too selfish to care not just about their own lives, but also every other life on this planet. Other creatures are going to die directly caused by our actions. The sea water levels are going to rise while the land becomes engulfed causing life on earth to diminish. And we are too selfish to look around and realize that we are destroying all habitats. Yet we still act like we are alone on this planet. This ad warns us of both global warming and our selfishness as human beings. By combining three tactics, presentation of text, types of images, and image composition the advertisers show us the affects of both. The use of dying animals, abused natural resources, man made cars, and the melting polar ice cap allows us to see the correlation between the issue of global warming and our selfishness. The presentation of text raises the awareness of people thinking it’s not a major situation, thus selling the ideas of global warming and our selfishness towards the belief of global warming. Each involves us in a selfish manner and uses cause and effect to sell the product. If humans keep being selfish and don’t stop taking advantage of our planet, then there will be no planet left to take advantage of.

Salem Witch Trials and Real Hero

The real hero is always a hero by mistake, in my understanding this quote means, true acts of courage and bravery are always performed by people who do not intentionally set out to become heroes. I agree with this quote because a person can become a hero without realizing the impact they cause to the people around them, like they didn’t know they were going to do it, they just did it. And I’ll use the play The Crucible to justify my position.In the play The crucible, John Proctor one of the main characters displayed remarkable courage and heroism, John realizes that he must confess his sin of adultery to the courts, only to stop the fury in Salem. After he confesses, he encourages his wife to do the same, â€Å"Elizabeth, tell the truth! Elizabeth, I have confessed it!† He confesses his sin, and speaks those words, only because he is looking out for the good of the community, and others around him. He hates that his name is damaged, but feels that God will forgiv e him for it.Proctor accepted the truth for what it was, not because he had to, but because speaking words of truth are actions of an honest and prideful man, that’s why I consider him as a hero. In addition there is another character in this play that I consider as a hero too, his name is Giles Corey, in the play he is killed for two different things. One thing was that he would not give Danforth the name of the person who told him that Thomas Putnam was trying to get rid of the people in the town so that he could buy their land when they were gone. This is what originally got him arrested. Later they charged him as a witch and he would not answer his indictment.Because he didn’t answer his indictment they could not charge him with being a witch. Therefore, he saved his name and his pride. You can kill him and his wife but you are not taking his property. ‘’more wait’’ were his lasts two words. Betrayal and intolerance are some of the themes we can find in this book. The crucible is a story of betrayal, the betrayal between a husband and a wife within the sanctity of a conventional marriage. However, John Proctor who is guilty of infidelity is not alone. Many of the characters are guilty of betrayal.Abigail betrays her whole community in order to seduce John. Those who falsely confess to witchcraft betray their relationship with God and their church. Intolerance, The accusations throughout the witch trials are an expression of intolerance. In conclusion the people turned to the girls to rely on who was a witch. The  girls were led by Abigail she stunned everyone with her attitude and her ability to see the Devil. It also shows that you cannot always believe what you hear because it may not be true. It also tells us that man is not perfect, and that we can make mistakes. However, even with these mistakes, we can cleanse ourselves and purify ourselves by making what is wrong right.

Picking Cotton

When a traumatic event happens, a multitude of people are affected. In Picking Cotton: Our Memoir of Injustice and Redemption written by Jennifer Thompson- Cannino and Ronald Cotton, the story of Thompson's rape and Cotton's conviction is unraveled through the perspective of both authors. The emotions that both Thompson and Cotton endure in the aftermath of the rape are shown with the alternation of speaker. With the change in speaker in each part of the book, the read gets to see the most significant part of the person's life.The memoir begins with Thompson's rape, in the perspective of her. Telling the horror of Thompsons experience strengths the reader's sympathy towards her as pathos dominates the first section of the novel. Being inside Thompson's mind and knowing her strength throughout the crime acts as a characterization method for Thompson. Since the novel is nonfiction, the typical characterization methods used in other novels are not possible. Knowing how Thompson thinks a nd feels creates traits for her which later makes her conviction of Cotton understandable.The transition to Cotton during his ime in prison enlightens the reader on Cotton's life and also his innocence. An inside look of what a double life sentence can take from an honest man is shown as Cotton reveals his hardships during his memoir. Again pathos was used, showing the struggles and confrontation Cotton faces during his imprisonment. The theme of forgiveness results after Cotton's perspective and thoughts are expressed and he chooses to forgive Thompson for her mistake. Having multiple speakers in the novel also has its disadvantages.By changing perspectives from Thompson to Cotton, the eader is neglected the others thoughts during a certain time. While Cotton tells of his prison time, the read does not know how Thompson is the novel during this time. When the novel changes speakers back to Thompson she is married with children. There is a missing gap of time the reader never knows about. The reader also misses out on Cottons reunion with his community and friends. During times when both Cotton and Thompson are together, only one person's thoughts are shown, blinding the reader to how the other person feels and what they are thinking.The authors' choice to share both of their stories in one novel had both advantages and disadvantages. While the different point of views showed how both Jennifer Thompson and Ronald Cotton were victims as a result of the crime committed by Booby Poole, the reader did not always get the full story of both speakers. Overall, the structure of the novel was strong and made a momentous impact on the reader and accomplished its goal of bringing awareness to wrongful imprisonment and also to forgiveness. Picking Cotton By alyssaduck

Information Technology Application in Marketing Homework Essay

Information Technology Application in Marketing Homework - Essay Example There are several reasons that underpin Facebook Popularity, and a possible continued lead in the social media platform. Some of them discussed below. First, the product creator understands the value of customers and the need to be at par with their changing needs and preference. Although Facebook is a unique product that may not need much attention, it requires persistent value addition to make it lively and relevant to the existing and new users. This continually led to invention and creativity of the highest degree to keep consumers at the edge, yearning for more each day. Facebook, continue to redesign their user interface to bring a whole and fresh experience to various users who desire for a more fulfilling service even with their phones, which might lack high specification. The user interface is unrivalled. The support department, working around the clock, and takes subscribers suggestion seriously creates a true sense of belonging that any product creator will need with his customers. Evident in this light of the argument is the recent change in the Facebook user interface after many subscribers demanded for a change. Such trends also happed in the past, which have conceived the present face of the network. According to Luten (146), customer value is the epic of marketing, and a key determinant of market position and leadership. Security issues serve a major boost to Facebook compared to MySpace. Looking at individual user profiles, most people give true data and more information that is sensitive. Aware of this possible loophole that might explain the increase plummeting of MySpace popularity among users, Facebook majors on connecting people who at least know each other. People feel safe connecting with people they know as opposed to strangers. In 2008, the reality found its way down to many users who viewed the need to be secure online. This was a period of escalating cybercrimes, and users demanded a safe and

Putting Elderly Parents in Nursing Homes Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Putting Elderly Parents in Nursing Homes - Essay Example Repaying your parents like this who have strived so hard and compromised so much for giving you the best is a real shame! Would you ever appreciate if your children send you to a nursing home? Would you ever want to be isolated from all you have strived for? It’s a true fact that as people get older, at times taking care of them turns to be challenging, the reason being a continuous increase in their demands. But, don’t forget that raising a child is as challenging too. With age, a child’s demands keep increasing as well, at times pressurizing the parents (Durant 2007). But parents make sure to provide their children with the best despite all the hardships that come their way. Many of you might say that you work. Valid! But there are numerous options other than dumping your parents in a nursing home. If your parents need supervision, hire a nurse or an adult sitter who can take care of them while you are at work. Seriously, the nursing home environment does negat ively shape the personalities of the elderly. Patients in a nursing home have almost no independence as they usually share rooms. Nursing home abuse and neglect have also increased to extraordinary levels as the dependant, elderly patients are tortured daily in the hands of an overworked, underpaid workforce (Folbre 2004). So, instead of sending your parents to a nursing home; honor and help them at such a critical age of their lives. As Florence Nightingale once stated that in her view the ultimate destination of all nursing is the nursing of the sick in their own homes (Praver 2004). Just because a person may be elderly doesn’t mean that they have no feelings because they absolutely do! You should make your parents feel important instead of making them realize that they have become a burden on your lives.

Discuss the impact of social media on traditional media in relation to Essay

Discuss the impact of social media on traditional media in relation to news production,delivery and consumption - Essay Example This role as well as the role of gatekeeper to information is being redefined in the light of social media usage patterns. This paper discusses how social media has influenced the way in which users consume and experience news as well as the ways in which traditional media organizations produce and distribute news content. The discussion in this paper highlights the challenges posed by social media to the authority of traditional media. It also identifies the opportunities for collaboration between the two. Social Media and User Engagement Crowe (2012) describes five types of user involvement in citizen journalism, with varying degrees of involvement and objective reporting. Blogs, discussion boards, tweets, etc. have become common tools to share news items within social networks. These tools allow users to create editorial content for others. Crowe (2012) argues that citizen journalism has had considerable effects of the traditional media in terms of profitability. He explains that although the content produced by citizen journalists does not go through the rigorous vetting of traditional media channels, the sites encouraging such form of journalism collect information from a large number of similar sources which results in validation of the information. This is particularly true in emergency situations when reporters may not arrive for some hours. Crowe (2012) notes that these developments have inspired traditional media organizations to collaborate with social media platforms for delivery of news content. Organizations entering into such collaborations include Newsweek and AOL. Changes in News Production The way in which news is produced on social media is dramatically different from the traditional methods of news production. Kerrigan and Graham (2010) note that the Internet and Web 2.0 technologies are having a huge impact on the production and consumption of regional and local news. In the social media environment, news is increasingly produced by blogger s and citizen journalists in a way that encourages the consumers to participate in the news generation process. On the other hand, in the traditional media, the production function is performed by the journalist and the news is then offered to the consumers as information. Kerrigan and Graham (2010) note that it is a competitive disadvantage for traditional regional news media if they do not exploit the potential for engaging readers in the production of local and regional news. Traditional media have been affected by reduced entry barriers and advertising share to more engaging social media sources. News consumers can act as reporters and editors of news content in the new media which leads them to prefer new media news sources over traditional ones. Thus, there is a need for traditional media sources to overcome resistance to change and embrace the new social media environment. The advent of social media has had considerable impact on the credibility and power of traditional news media sources. O’Connor (2012) notes that the role of traditional media as gatekeeper of information has been considerably weakened. In addition, the perception of a news media organization as a brand has eroded to some extent in favour of the personal branding enjoyed by citizen journalists, bloggers and others in the social media. O’

Hegels Interpretation on Universal Love Research Paper

Hegels Interpretation on Universal Love - Research Paper Example The fragment starts with the author’s reasoning on equality. These contemplations of the equality of man in front of the Lord must have been aroused in Hegel by the events and ideas of the French revolution. In this fragment, Hegel states that the equality of right brings on the dependence of people. As a result, the man loses his domination over objects, and thus he loses his worth, whereas humans are used to measuring their worth by the degree of their influence over the objective world. Feeling himself only a tiny part of the universe, the man starts despising himself, thus injuring his self and coming to ever greater discord. Whereas â€Å"the object, severed from the subject, is dead†, the only kind of love he can experience towards Lord and the universe is the love to the dead objects. The living union between the man and the world is not possible, while love towards the dead object is unrequited. The individual finds himself opposed to the external world, entirely independent of it. The man loses the sense of life and does not see the essence of his existence. These passages, in fact, describe the state of many modern people. We spend our lives attempting to overcome our loneliness and seeking help outside, we are not able to bear responsibility for our acts. Feeling detached from the external world we doom ourselves for a constant struggle with the opposed world, which often seems to be hostile to us. Not realizing that we are the part of the universe, just as our arms and legs are parts of our body, we are not able to hear the voice of God in us and understand his intentions. We lose ourselves following the wrong teachings and ideals, and only love has the power to make us whole, able to understand the divine plans and feel the way the universe moves. Hegel explains that it is so difficult for the man to bear this nullity, while our necessity is always relative, â€Å"the one exists only for the other† (p.304).

Consumers' experiences of stigma Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Consumers' experiences of stigma - Essay Example The same research also found out that at least 450 million people in the world suffer from mental health problems (Thompson and Thompson 1997, p.6). Another research also established that at least one in every 12 people suffer from depressive disorders. Like any other disease, a majority of those suffering from mental health disorders are capable of recovering fully when subjected to the right treatment and management and live a normal life like any other person. However, this is only possible when such people are helped at early stages. However, since people with mental illnesses cannot make rational decisions regarding their life, it is important that they receive the best care and physical and moral support from friends and families to enable them manage their health conditions. Nevertheless, research indicates that a majority of those experiencing mental health problems tend to experience strong social stigmatization from those who help them manage their health conditions because of their mental status. Byrne (2000) defines stigma as a sign, discredit, or disgrace, which separates a person from the rest. In other words, stigma is the negative view of someone based on his or her condition or status. Stigma is always accompanied by discrimination, since those who are experiencing stigma experience discrimination at the same time. Stigmatization is not good as everyone irrespective of mental status need equal treatment from others (Pande 2009). This is because stigmatization is likely to worsen the condition of the person thereby hindering recovery. Research has also shown that stigmatization of people with mental illness has many effects on the person being stigmatized (Thompson and Thompson 1997, p.8). This paper will explore the sources and effects of stigma for people experiencing mental health problems. To begin with, Corrigan and Watson (2002, p.16) argues that patients with mental disorders suffer doubly. This is because whereas they struggle to cope wi th the symptoms and disabilities occasioned by their health status, they also face the challenge of stigmatization that results from misconception regarding their mental illnesses. Research indicates that stigmatization effects adversely affects people with mental illness and acts as one of the chief barriers to their recovery process. Study has also shown that stigmatization against people with mental illnesses is real in the society (Thompson and Thompson 1997, p.6). This is after a research found out that millions of people with mental disorders experience stigmatization. The research found out that close to nine out of ten individuals with mental health disorders reported having been stigmatized and discriminated because of their mental health problems. Such people also reports having suffered negative consequences as a result of stigma and discrimination. To make matters worse, Coubrough (2008) also found out that stigma is being extended even to those taking care of people wit h mental health problems. As a result, this has made people shy away from taking care of people with mental health disorders. During the research, Coubrough (2008) noted that stigma originated mainly from immediate family members of the mentally challenged, which stood at 36%. This was followed by employers at 35%, 31% from neighbors while friends posted the least at 25% (Coubrough 2008). This is a clear indication that the mentally chal

Does the development of technology determine the form and social Essay

Does the development of technology determine the form and social importance of television Refer to at least two theorists in your answer - Essay Example Studies have revealed that the television is increasingly taking a backseat to the cell phone and the personal computer especially amongst consumers aged 18 to 34 years. This decline of television can be explained by various theories, two of which are Christensen’s theory of disruptive innovation and the theory of functional displacement. A disruptive technology refers to the radical innovations in existing systems or practices such that it drastically transforms the market, creates entirely new markets or destroys the current markets for other technologies, which, in the case of television, turned out to be the internet. On the other hand, the functional displacement theory states that when the functions of a particular pre-existing medium are overtaken by a newer medium, the older medium tends to maintain its position by finding new functions. This paper, throws light the impact of technology on the form and social importance of television by discussing all of the above ment ioned themes in detail. In the modern era of innovation and globalization, with shrinking distances and integrated economies, the world of technology is in an imminent perilous state. Technology is the formation of new ideas, products or tools that extend our natural abilities and bring about changes in our social environment. Technology is completely responsible for how structured our civilization has become. Modern technology has not just influenced the industrial and corporate world but also has a great impact on our personal lives. Many of the everyday items we use nowadays are a result of technology. These technological advancements have brought about improvements in our health, the clothes we wear, the way we travel and communicate and hence, revolutionized the way we live. In this fast growing world of technology, people are continuously looking for new and innovative ways of communication. Before

Analysis of RadioShack Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Analysis of RadioShack - Essay Example The company is suffering from net cash outflow instead of net cash inflow and this threatens to deplete its cash and cash equivalent reserve. This means that the company may be bankrupt in the near future and creditors are likely to lose their stake in the company. The company is also not doing well in its profitability because this source of cash inflow could offset the deficit in cash and cash equivalents that the company suffers (Carrasco 1). Possible stiff competition and poor operational management could be the reasons the organization is not doing well. While a large percentage of the organization’s stores are based in the United States, these stores have not been profitable to generate sufficient cash and facilitate growth. Competition could have also constrained demand, leading to high levels of inventory, and reduced profitability. Assuming the role of competition in the organization’s performance, poor operational strategies that have failed to minimize cost would be another reason for the current condition. The inefficient growth strategy is another reason for the condition because while the company is realizing challenges in its United States’ market while other markets remain promising, it has failed to shift its focus to the other regions (Carrasco 1). The economic approach to â€Å"profit maximization and marginalism† are the central principles to the problem that the company faces (Nicholson and Snyder 374). Under the profit maximization principle and within the scope of a competitive market, the company should operate at a level where the difference from its marginal costs to its marginal revenue approaches zero from the positive side (Mankiw 283, 284). This could inform production level and reduce or mitigate the realized negative cash flow, and develop creditors’ confidence and finance management’s efficiency.  Ã‚  

How government policy decision influenced Financial Management Essay

How government policy decision influenced Financial Management - Essay Example Policy Decisions and Influence on Financial Management There are many policy decisions factors that influence financial management. These include taxes, wars and financial influences, political changes and the stock markets, investments and accumulation goals. Taxes Taxes are the most popular and strongest influence given that it deals with use of money. Taxes are a way of generating revenue for the government (Hu, Li, Liu, Baolei, & Gaoling, 2012). Where the government or an organization overtaxes it’s people then enough money is available but citizens living below the poverty line in such a country may be highly impoverished due to heavy taxation .So for a government to manage its finance properly, then it must follow the laid down rules and regulations so that there can be a balanced change in the budget when taxes are increased (Choi, Kim, Sami, & McKenzie, 2012). Wars Political changes in a government structure may trigger wars such as post-election violence as witnessed in some countries. This will definitely affect the stock market of such a country and the spending behavior of its citizens and this affects businesses some of which come to stand still. This wave of political change affects financial management .If a country, company or an organization is involved in a trade with another such wars may affect financial management (Sara, 2011). Political Changes and the Stock Market Political parties in a country contribute immensely towards the economy of a country based on different concepts and perceptions of each .Some political parties can improve stock markets while they are in power while some may create a collapse to the economy. This affects businesses and financial management because shares are sold on the stock market and organizations and businesses use this money to improve their business. When there is less money there is less improvement and financial deficit is likely to be experienced. Concerning stock market, if a country is in rece ssion purchase of goods and services becomes less. Where less goods and services are purchased, then there will be less money in the business. With less money the financial manager will have to device new ways to produce their own goods, process them and market their own goods and services to generate income. Imposition of Bans At times a government may place bans on sales of goods which promote the economy of a country .Placement of such bans may result to decreased income which may cause instability in economy and consequently affect financial management. Positive Effect of the Policy The intended or positive effects of a government policy vary widely based on the type of an organization or company and the context in which they are made up. Due to this, policies should be carefully enacted to ensure their effectiveness. One of the positive benefits of these policies on government financial management include corporate purchasing policies which projects that all purchases above a c ertain value should be standardized by way of purchasing process (Brigham & Houston, 2011). This way, a country’s government can employ a standard purchasing through policy which enables a government or an organization to limit wastage and normalize purchasing. Other positive benefits include

A Problem Exists Essay Example for Free

A Problem Exists Essay My Assignment 4 Persuasive Paper Part 1: A Problem Exists, will inform of the author’s thesis on this paper. Additionally, the history of gun laws will also be incorporated in this paper. Moreover, this report will speak on several issues and or problems that author looks upon as unfavorable achievements, promoted by gun laws. Lastly, a conclusion for possible improvements if concealed weapons laws were not permitted will be included in this report. As we view the news and read newspaper articles, there continues to be ongoing stories and articles of school and workplace shootings and hostile environments. It appears that individuals of society are even lashing out at the innocent, when things are not done as they may see fit. For example Sandy Hook shooting took the lives of many innocent children, who victims of a troubled individual. Due to the excessive murders that are being committed in schools and workplaces, at this time, the author still agrees that citizens should not be allowed to carry concealed weapons to schools, or the workplace. Georgia actually created the first gun control law in 1837. This Georgia law banned handguns. However it was not long lived, because eight years later The Georgia Supreme Court deemed it unconstitutional and cited the Second Amendment as its basis for this determination. The Second Amendment states â€Å"the right of the people to keep and bear arms (U. S. Const. amend. II, 1791). After the Civil War, Black Codes in several Southern States sought to prevent blacks from owning and carrying guns. That essentially ended in 1868, with the Fourteenth Amendment’s citizenship guarantee and equal rights clause† (Goforth, 2013). Since then numerous laws have been debated and created. The first problem with the right to carry conceals weapon within the school is the potential environmental concern for continuous mass murders. For informational purposes, â€Å"We will begin with the definition of mass murder as four or more murders at a single location (a school, workplace, home or public place)† (Hillshafer, 2013). There have been three significant mass school murders in the past 14 years. They are the 1999 Columbine High School Massacre, the 2007 Virginia Tech Shootings and the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. In the author’s opinion had the administration been allowed to carry concealed weapons the total of murders would have been escalated. Hostile environments more than likely create hostile situations and altercations. â€Å"The likely explanation that Concealed Carry plus Stand Your Ground laws result in 600 more deaths per year is that a young man with a concealed weapon in an argument is more likely to escalate the dispute and think he is standing his ground† (Hillshafer, 2013). As the year 2013 begun there continues to be great debate and political issues on what the gun laws should be or what the laws should cover. In January, 2013 it was written â€Å"The great American gun fight began this month with handshakes and smiles in a reunion of old foes at the Vice President’s ceremonial office† (Schered, 2013). This statement helps to enlighten us on the ongoing political rivalry that continues amongst our candidates. Our American leaders should put focus on what will really save lives on the American people instead of what will make them more famous, prominent or a great candidate amongst the people. As we all maybe aware our country entered a recessional period in the year of 2008. At this time there were numerous lay-offs, â€Å"Nationwide economic recession, which has led to cities and governmental organizational laying-off police and law enforcement personnel† (Nykodym et al. , 2011). This was a period where economic issues were examined thoroughly and everyone was in search of a means to increase revenue. Those layoffs led to increased crime rates in cities, which the author believes were then used for economic gain. â€Å"Record high rates of concealed firearm carry permits issued to the public, motivated by a well-organized social movement for Second Amendment Constructionism, accompanied by increases in firearms and ammunition sales such that many dealers cannot meet customer demand† (Nykodym et al. , 2011). This is unthinkable, but true the unfortunate layoffs boosted our economy on a different level. The author beliefs are that it wrong to take someone else’s misfortune for personal gains. In this situation, it could also cause the death of many innocent victims, because of the high rate of gun sales. In conclusion many aspects were discussed. Such as hostile environments, and the possibility of escalating violence with concealed weapons being present. Additionally, political gains were discussed on how candidates use gun laws as a chance for recognition. And the third point was the unfortunate economic use of gun laws. Perhaps if concealed weapons are not allowed, escalated incidents would not arrive, because defendants/victims would not have that extra boost which causes an occurrence to end with gun fire. If candidates concentrate on the prestige of human lives and not political gain our society could be populated with more individuals who were killed due to unfavorable gun laws. And finally, maybe society should concentrate more on what would be ethically or morally suitable, such as the welfare of all humans. We as humans should stop looking for personal gain in every event that happens along the way.

Legal framework for social work in United Kingdom Essay Example for Free

Legal framework for social work in United Kingdom Essay Social work is defined as a professional and academic discipline that will seek to have improvement on the individuals, groups’ and communities’ quality of life and their well-being through having policies, conducting researches, organizing communities and teaching for the good of the people affected by social limitations that may include poverty, mental and physical sickness, social injustice including violation of human rights. International (Federation of Social Workers 2000). These groups may include school dropouts, the elderly in the society, juvenile offenders, drug and alcohol abusers and the homeless Social workers will work in different settings within a set of framework of legislation and practices. The setting may include a school situation, the service users’ home, a hospital or a public sector premise Social work values Social work is argued to be value based. Since it is a profession on, social work ethics (values) thus refer to a set of guidelines that have to govern the way professionals treat the people they interact with and the sort of actions that are regarded as right or wrong. They offer a vision and discernment (Bernstein 1970) Social work in the United Kingdom occurs in four spheres. The first sphere is majorly a concept relates to the moral philosophy that creates the ethical arguments on social work. The second sphere is based on the legislation that has created an environment for practice of social work with reference to the social work cases. The third sphere is the political ideas and concepts and their influence in shaping and sculpturing the social work models, social work methods and practices. The last sphere presents the historical part of the beginning of social work as a profession and its struggle for professional identity. These spheres are extended, mid range and restricted definitions of social work ethics and values (Bernard et al 2008, p. 6) This paper will focus on the second sphere in reference to the United Kingdom. Social work and law Social work as a profession has to follow certain laws and regulations which govern the profession. The legal framework involves the statute laws and case laws and tries to explain the relationship that links them. Moreover, it details legislation of the government under acts of parliament, the international laws, policy guidance, and the local government circulars that articulate the purpose and guidance principles of legislation. The Health and Care professional Council code of practice As a social worker, it is paramount to be aware of the legal obligations required of them to cretae a healthy and safe working conditions. The General Social Care Council code of practice imposes more duties for employers of social workers. The code states that (Brayne Carr 2002, P. 49) The social worker shall protect and promote interests of the service users The social worker will strive to establish, maintain trust and confidence of the service users The social worker will promote independence of the service users while giving them protection from possible harm The social worker shall respect the rights of the service users while ensuring that their behavior will not harm other people and themselves The social worker shall uphold the public trust and confidence in the social care services The social worker shall be accountable for quality in their work and taking responsibility for maintenance and improvement of their knowledge ACTS OF PARLIAMENT The Carew standard Act 2000 This Act has a significant role in the social care work as it did extend the registration regime for the social care in England and that of Wales for provision of the children’s services, the Act requires the following: Registration of children homes Registration of family centre’sRegistration of the independent fostering agencies Registration of voluntary adoption agencies Registration of support agencies To be a permanent registered member one has to meet a set of regulations tailored to each individual service. In coming up to a decision whether the regulatory requirement shave been fulfilled, the registering authority must have a regard to minimum National standards. England’s registration authority is Office for Standards in Education, Childrens Services and Skills (OFSTED). The Social workers and the social care services cannot function without having satisfied the above requirements. As a social worker or a social care service provider, there is a need to have knowledge to avoid prosecution by Law The health and social care Act 2012 This bill was agreed upon by both houses and obtained the Royal Assent on the 27th of March to become an act of parliament. The bill created an independent National Health Service Board to promote choices made by the patients in regard to their health issues and reduced the administration tool of the National Health Service. A National Health Service Board was also created to allocate resources and provide guidance on commissioning of social care services. Powers of the government’s ability to commission services on behalf of patients were increased. The function of the Care Quality Commission was strengthened and Section 209 of this Act amended. The powers of the new law under Section 60 of the 199 Act gave her majesty the power by order in the council to regulate social workers and social care practitioners of England. This placed the role of social workers and the role of social health care providers directly under her majesty (Britain 2012, p. 9). This Act placed a lot of Significance on Social Care services being provided in the United Kingdom. A consideration on the adult social care was emphasized. For example, allowing the transfer of public health to the local authorities through local health and the well being boards. Various new bodies have emerged such as the Local health watches which have a function of checking on health and the social care standards. Children’s Act 2004. In England, the law protects the right of children. Section 11 and 12 of this Act places a statutory duty on all agencies to co-operate and promote the welfare of the children. The government guidance for social workers and other professionals that interact with children is that: the social worker has a duty of keeping the children safe. There should be constant feedback to the children social care local authority on suggestions and assessment and lastly every person who has a role should not think that he/she has the absolute right to the child’s needs. Professionals sometimes fail to report the abuse and neglect cases do not face penalties for crime however; they might be subjected to professional discipline Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012 The bill got a Royal Assent on 8th of March. The bill aimed to give strength to the social enterprise businesses sectors and make relevant the concept of social value and its importance in the placing and providing of public services. With this bill a National Social enterprise strategy was created to encourage the engagement in social enterprises. The local government act 2000 section 4 was then required to have a sustainable community strategy proposal that promote the engagement of social enterprise in their areas. The Local Authority Social Services Act 1970 This Act brought together the different fields of social work into a single Social service department in every local authority. With this establishment, an emphasis was laid on a co-ordinated and comprehensive system of approach to the social care, the support of families and identifying the need for people to seek aid. The formulated departments then became responsible for domestic aid, residential accommodation and recreational services. Care council of Wales All social workers should be registered. It is one of the bodies mandated to register and regulates the activities of the social workers and all other social care in Wales. The care council is set up under the Care Standards Act 2000. It includes the codes of professional practice, conduct rules, and a well established guideline on the complainant’s procedure. Some other features accessed include consultation services, annual reports, the newsletters and the e-bulletins. Registration of workers ensures that there is as constant data of available social workers and social health care workers in a given state or region. It is easy to verify a genuine worker and avoids imposters who might be out on criminal activities Care and Social services inspectorate Wales This is a body mandated to regulating and inspecting the establishment of agencies that offer social care services in Wales region. It carries out duties on behalf of the ministers of Wales. It has been given power under Act 2003 of the Social and Health care to look into the handling of social services by the local authorities. On their website, one is able to raise a query on social workers conduct for necessary action. Rights and freedoms of Social workers and limitations Guide to information sharing Social work is a professional duty. When dealing with children, England places emphasis on effective information sharing between the local agencies and the social workers on identification and assessment of service provisions. These are defined in â€Å"Working together to safeguard children (PDF). Under this guidance, paragraph 1.24 states clearly that fears that arise on sharing personal information should not hinder promotion of a child’s welfare and safety. All social workers and social care provider thus are required to have an efficient information discernment process to avoid a scenario of neglect in believe that another individual will do the task. Limitations to this guide These provisions however do have limitations. In Wales’s guidance on information sharing is found in chapter 14 of Safeguarding children working together under the Children Act 2004 (PDF). In these guidance paragraph 14.5 overlaps the guidance for professionals in England. It states that â€Å"The safety and welfare of a child or young person must be put into consideration first when making decisions about sharing information about them† and that must be, â€Å"an overriding public interest in disclosing information.† The guidance then further goes on to give the way forward in sharing on information. Paragraph 14.6 states that â€Å"the best way of ensuring that information sharing is properly handled is to work within carefully worked out information-sharing protocols between agencies and professionals involved, and taking legal advice in each case where necessary. Guide to Loss and damage Social workers have been mandated with a legal duty of caring and service providers. In essence these role places the employers with responsibility of paying up damages their employees suffer while in line of duty. In the event those being taken care of suffer adverse damage as a result of social work interference, then they are entitled to sue the social work company for negligence. These may be as a result of physical damage, emotional or psychological damage. While this is the case, the law prohibits the suing of social workers when performing certain statutory functions like safeguarding children. Employers need to understand the times which their employees may be liable to protection under the law and when not. Legislation on discrimination on Personal privacy In line of duty, social workers provide aid services. In order for them to carry out these functions effectively, it is paramount for them to have knowledge of the raft of legislation that protects individuals for discrimination basing on their gender, age, sexual orientation, religion, disability or ethnicity. These are domestic laws of the United Kingdom and are complemented by European Convention on human right which protects the citizens of the United Kingdom against unjustified state interference with their life. It is always possible for government and social work agencies getting into people’s life when they are not willing. In this event then the public can resort to the human rights protection of privacy and autonomy. Social workers and social work agencies need to have knowledge of the rights and privileges granted to the masses under the European convention for both parties to avoid violating them while at the same time helping individuals who have had their rights contravened The Human rights Human rights are legal obligations that are to be adhered to universally. Human rights are defined as â€Å"the universal right to standard living that is adequate for healthy and well being of individuals and their families.†(Roosevelt 2000, p.5). The global social work perspective embodies this by stating that â€Å"The struggle for dignity and fundamental freedoms, which allows for the full development of human potentials, boils down to two words: human rights.†(IFSW 1996). With this law, special work in the United Kingdom is bound to human rights which are considered sensitive to human race and collective citizenship. The social work must then be conceptualized and sensitized to the culture in which the services are offered. Thus a social worker in England should be able to accept the culture and laws of a state or region in which he/she is working in. Conclusion Social work and social care has a pivotal role in service delivery to the society. This view cannot go unnoticed. The values, ethics of social work such as respect for humanity, equality and service to all have played a major role in helping the less privileged in the United Kingdom. The beneficiaries have included the mentally ill, the old, women and children. The United Kingdom having realized the vital role of social care came up with various laws not only to check but to guide the professionals in their field of work. These laws have been defined in various Acts of parliament, Scholarly publications and various codes of ethics and conduct of the Social work profession. Social workers and social care workers interact with different people on daily basis. In order for a harmonious and efficient system of operation to uphold, these laws and various publications have played a major role. However the legal stipulations have also had a negative side of the story being felt where they h ave had to hamper the operations of social workers and social care practitioners. Technological advancements and constant reviews of challenges that have risen in the working environment of this profession I believe can act as a catalyst to new ideas to command this noble profession to greater heights in the United Kingdom References BRITAIN, G. (2012). Health and social care act 2012: chapter 7. [S.l.], Tso. BRAYNE, H., CARR, H. (2012). Law for social workers. Oxford, Oxford University Press. BRITAIN, G. (2012). Health and social care act 2012: chapter 7. [S.l.], Tso. BARNARD, A., HORNER, N., WILD, J. (2008). The value base of social work and social care. Maidenhead, England, Open University Press. ROOSEVELT, E. (2000). Universal declaration of human rights in English, Spanish, French, Chinese, Russian, Arabic. Bedford, Mass, Applewood Books. HEALY, L. M. (2008). International social work: professional action in an interdependent world. Oxford, Oxford University Press. REAMER, F. G. (2006). Social work values and ethics. New York, Columbia University Press. BERNSTEIN, P. (1997). American work values: their origin and development. New York, State Univ. of New York Press.BANKS, S. (2012). Ethics and values in social work. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire, Palgrave Macmillan. (2004). Children Act 2004: Explanatory notes. [S.l.], Stationery Office. Source document