The Business Environment Assignment Essay Example

The Business Environment Assignment Paper The Business Environment Assignment Learning Outcomes – on completion of this unit you should; 1 . Know the range of different businesses and their ownership 2. Understand how businesses are organized to achieve their purpose 3. Know the impact of the economic environment on businesses 4. Know how political, legal and social factors impact on business Task 1 – submission Date 27/09/2012 You are working as a business journalist for the Express and Star newspaper which is planning to run a monthly feature article on local businesses. Produce an article on TV’0 contrasting businesses which operate in the local area, covering purpose, ownership, organizational structure and strategic planning. Business Type You need to highlight what category the business comes under and provide some facts and figures to support your claim. The options available include; Local, National, International, Global, Public, Private, Not-for-profit, Voluntary, Primary, Secondary, Tertiary Purpose Why does the business exist? Does the business have a mission statement? How was the business started? How has it grown? What is the businesses core activity? Does the business have any secondary activities? Ownership Identify the following; public or private sector or charity Type of private sector ownership; sole trader, partnership, private limited company, public limited company, franchise, cooperative. What are the liabilities of the owners? Explain how the type of ownership is suited to each business This task covers Pl – Desc ribe the type of business, purpose and ownership of each business Task 2 – Submission date – 11/1 0/2012 (PA) 25/10/2012 (MI) 25/10/2012 (Del) Your next months feature for the Express and Star is to write a report on the stakeholders who influence the purpose of two businesses, which operate in the local area For PA in your article you should: 1. Define the term stakeholder 2. We will write a custom essay sample on The Business Environment Assignment specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on The Business Environment Assignment specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on The Business Environment Assignment specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Identify the main stakeholders for each business 3. Explain what each stakeholder is hoping to achieve and how they try to influence the activities of the organization For MI 1 . Explain the point of view of each stakeholder, how does this compare to the aims and objectives of the organization? 2. Highlight how there could be inflicts of interest or interdependencies be;en stakeholders For Del – Using one organization only 1 . Who are the most powerful stakeholders in that organization and why? 2. Use evidence of independent research to back up your arguments to show how those stakeholders have influenced the organization. This task covers; PA – Describe the different stakeholders who influence the purpose Of two contrasting businesses MI -Explain the points of view of different stakeholders seeking to influence the aims and objectives of two contrasting organizations Del – Evaluate the influence different stakeholders exert in one organization Task 3 – submission date – 24/1 0/2012 (PA) 1 5/11/2012 (PA) The Express and Star are very pleased with your work for them so far, for next month the feature is an article on how two businesses which operate in the local area are organized. For PA -? Your article should include: An organizational chart for each business which highlights the span of control and chain of command An outline some of the activities carried out in each functional area, highlighting roles and responsibilities How are strategic plans re made in each business Tip For a medium to large business use research to find an example of their organizational structure and make your own comments on how the business is organized. For a small business draw your own organizational structure outline possible job roles based on your knowledge of the business For PA your article should include: An outline the main values, aims and objectives Of each business including SMART objectives An explanation of how the organizational structure and strategic planning help the business achieve their purpose and aims Tip – For a small business which does not have a written mission statement or aims and SMART objectives written down, you can write your own based on your knowledge of the business PA – Describe how two businesses are organized PA – Explain how the style of the organization helps them to fulfill their purpose Task 4 – Submission date – 29/11/2012 (PA) 29/11/201 2 (MM) Your editor is very excit ed about this months feature, which is an article featuring two businesses, this time one in the local area and one abroad. You can choose the businesses and the location of the business overseas. You are to produce an article describing how economic factors affect each of the selected businesses. For AS 1 . Select 2 organizations; 1 local 1 overseas 2. Give an outline of the economic environment that each business is operating in (which can include, economy, government policy demand, supply, global interaction) 3. For each economy include at least 2 economic topics (e. G. Recession, credit crunch, unemployment, housing, oil prices, inflation, exchange rates, interest rates etc. ). 4. Describe how each economic topic you have outlined will influence each business For MM 1 . Compare the economic challenges faced by the businesses in the economic environments 2. Identify 3 business activities which have been adapted to suit their environment ( You can include any activities carried out by the functional areas of the business e. G. Recruitment) This task covers: PA – Describe the influence of two contrasting economic environments on business activities within a selected organization MM – Compare the challenges to selected business activities within a selected organization, in two different economic environments Task 5 – submission date – 13/1 2/2012 (PA) 13/12/2012 (MM) 20/12/2012 (DO) Your editor was so pleased with last months feature that she wants to develop it for next month. Again, a local business is to be contrasted with a business overseas in terms of the influences of political, legal and social factors. For PA – Your article should: 1. Identify what is happening in the external environment in terms of the following factors; Describe the legal framework the businesses operate in terms of an outline of business law Describe the political framework the business operates in (E. G. Hangs in government, taxation, infrastructure, grants, education, support such as Business Link) Describe the social framework the business operates in (E. G. More people from overseas working in the LIKE, aging population, ethics, attitudes to work etc. ) 2. Describe how each of these external factors impacts on the business and its stakeholders For MM 1 . Analyses the political, legal and social challenges faced by the businesses in the two economic environments. 2. Identify 3 business activities which have been adapted to suit their environment ( You can include any activities carried UT by the functional areas of the business e. . Product development) 1 . Build on your work for MM and MM evaluate the responsiveness of each business to their different economic environments, consider (a) What are the likely new challenges? (b) What changes are taking place in society? (c) What are the forecasts for the economy? 2. Make justified recommendations for the future development Of business activities in the novo different business environments. PA – Describe how political, legal and social factors are impacting upon the business activities of the selected organizations and their stakeholders MM Analyses how political, legal and social factors have impacted on the two contrasting organizations DO – Evaluate how future changes in economic political, legal and social factors, may impact on the strategy of a specified organization Resources A good assignment will include information obtained from a variety of resources, including textbooks, journals, internet, along with business sections Of newspapers and magazines. It is important to reference your work carefully and include a list of sources of information when you hand in your work. The Business Environment Assignment Essay Example The Business Environment Assignment Paper The Business Environment Assignment Learning Outcomes – on completion of this unit you should; 1 . Know the range of different businesses and their ownership 2. Understand how businesses are organized to achieve their purpose 3. Know the impact of the economic environment on businesses 4. Know how political, legal and social factors impact on business Task 1 – submission Date 27/09/2012 You are working as a business journalist for the Express and Star newspaper which is planning to run a monthly feature article on local businesses. Produce an article on TV’0 contrasting businesses which operate in the local area, covering purpose, ownership, organizational structure and strategic planning. Business Type You need to highlight what category the business comes under and provide some facts and figures to support your claim. The options available include; Local, National, International, Global, Public, Private, Not-for-profit, Voluntary, Primary, Secondary, Tertiary Purpose Why does the business exist? Does the business have a mission statement? How was the business started? How has it grown? What is the businesses core activity? Does the business have any secondary activities? Ownership Identify the following; public or private sector or charity Type of private sector ownership; sole trader, partnership, private limited company, public limited company, franchise, cooperative. What are the liabilities of the owners? Explain how the type of ownership is suited to each business This task covers Pl – Desc ribe the type of business, purpose and ownership of each business Task 2 – Submission date – 11/1 0/2012 (PA) 25/10/2012 (MI) 25/10/2012 (Del) Your next months feature for the Express and Star is to write a report on the stakeholders who influence the purpose of two businesses, which operate in the local area For PA in your article you should: 1. Define the term stakeholder 2. We will write a custom essay sample on The Business Environment Assignment specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on The Business Environment Assignment specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on The Business Environment Assignment specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Identify the main stakeholders for each business 3. Explain what each stakeholder is hoping to achieve and how they try to influence the activities of the organization For MI 1 . Explain the point of view of each stakeholder, how does this compare to the aims and objectives of the organization? 2. Highlight how there could be inflicts of interest or interdependencies be;en stakeholders For Del – Using one organization only 1 . Who are the most powerful stakeholders in that organization and why? 2. Use evidence of independent research to back up your arguments to show how those stakeholders have influenced the organization. This task covers; PA – Describe the different stakeholders who influence the purpose Of two contrasting businesses MI -Explain the points of view of different stakeholders seeking to influence the aims and objectives of two contrasting organizations Del – Evaluate the influence different stakeholders exert in one organization Task 3 – submission date – 24/1 0/2012 (PA) 1 5/11/2012 (PA) The Express and Star are very pleased with your work for them so far, for next month the feature is an article on how two businesses which operate in the local area are organized. For PA -? Your article should include: An organizational chart for each business which highlights the span of control and chain of command An outline some of the activities carried out in each functional area, highlighting roles and responsibilities How are strategic plans re made in each business Tip For a medium to large business use research to find an example of their organizational structure and make your own comments on how the business is organized. For a small business draw your own organizational structure outline possible job roles based on your knowledge of the business For PA your article should include: An outline the main values, aims and objectives Of each business including SMART objectives An explanation of how the organizational structure and strategic planning help the business achieve their purpose and aims Tip – For a small business which does not have a written mission statement or aims and SMART objectives written down, you can write your own based on your knowledge of the business PA – Describe how two businesses are organized PA – Explain how the style of the organization helps them to fulfill their purpose Task 4 – Submission date – 29/11/2012 (PA) 29/11/201 2 (MM) Your editor is very excit ed about this months feature, which is an article featuring two businesses, this time one in the local area and one abroad. You can choose the businesses and the location of the business overseas. You are to produce an article describing how economic factors affect each of the selected businesses. For AS 1 . Select 2 organizations; 1 local 1 overseas 2. Give an outline of the economic environment that each business is operating in (which can include, economy, government policy demand, supply, global interaction) 3. For each economy include at least 2 economic topics (e. G. Recession, credit crunch, unemployment, housing, oil prices, inflation, exchange rates, interest rates etc. ). 4. Describe how each economic topic you have outlined will influence each business For MM 1 . Compare the economic challenges faced by the businesses in the economic environments 2. Identify 3 business activities which have been adapted to suit their environment ( You can include any activities carried out by the functional areas of the business e. G. Recruitment) This task covers: PA – Describe the influence of two contrasting economic environments on business activities within a selected organization MM – Compare the challenges to selected business activities within a selected organization, in two different economic environments Task 5 – submission date – 13/1 2/2012 (PA) 13/12/2012 (MM) 20/12/2012 (DO) Your editor was so pleased with last months feature that she wants to develop it for next month. Again, a local business is to be contrasted with a business overseas in terms of the influences of political, legal and social factors. For PA – Your article should: 1. Identify what is happening in the external environment in terms of the following factors; Describe the legal framework the businesses operate in terms of an outline of business law Describe the political framework the business operates in (E. G. Hangs in government, taxation, infrastructure, grants, education, support such as Business Link) Describe the social framework the business operates in (E. G. More people from overseas working in the LIKE, aging population, ethics, attitudes to work etc. ) 2. Describe how each of these external factors impacts on the business and its stakeholders For MM 1 . Analyses the political, legal and social challenges faced by the businesses in the two economic environments. 2. Identify 3 business activities which have been adapted to suit their environment ( You can include any activities carried UT by the functional areas of the business e. . Product development) 1 . Build on your work for MM and MM evaluate the responsiveness of each business to their different economic environments, consider (a) What are the likely new challenges? (b) What changes are taking place in society? (c) What are the forecasts for the economy? 2. Make justified recommendations for the future development Of business activities in the novo different business environments. PA – Describe how political, legal and social factors are impacting upon the business activities of the selected organizations and their stakeholders MM Analyses how political, legal and social factors have impacted on the two contrasting organizations DO – Evaluate how future changes in economic political, legal and social factors, may impact on the strategy of a specified organization Resources A good assignment will include information obtained from a variety of resources, including textbooks, journals, internet, along with business sections Of newspapers and magazines. It is important to reference your work carefully and include a list of sources of information when you hand in your work.

Top 10 Online Tools for Book Authors

Top 10 Online Tools for Book Authors Top 10 Online Tools for Book Authors Top 10 Online Tools for Book Authors By Ali Hale Writing and publishing a book is a huge (and wonderful) undertaking – and you’ll want all the help you can get. There are loads of great downloadable tools out there for book authors, like Scrivener (for writing), Calibre (for producing ebooks) and KDP Rocket (for finding good keywords to use on Amazon). But in this post, I want to focus on online tools – ones that you can use through your web browser. Here are ten of the best, for different stages of your author journey: Tools for Writing and Editing Your Manuscript I’ve already taken a look at some useful tools to help you focus and get your writing done in Top 10 Online Tools for Writers – so here, I want to focus on a couple of tools that will help you edit your book manuscript: #1: Visuwords (free) Do you ever struggle to find the right word? If a traditional thesaurus isn’t helping, try using Visuwords, which shows you the links between different words (including opposites, related topics, and words that derive from your original word). It might just help you find the perfect word or phrase when you’re struggling. The map above shows the word â€Å"anarchy† and related terms. Tip: By running your cursor over a word, you can view a definition – and you can double-click a word to see its related words on your map, too. #2: WordCounter (free), Steven Morgan Friedman It can be tricky to spot which words come up just a little too often in your own writing – but if you keep using the same ones again and again, readers will start to notice. That’s fine if you want to repeat a particular word for effect, but problematic if it’s unintentional. Once you’ve got your list of potentially over-used words, you can do a â€Å"Find† in your document to check each instance and see whether you want to vary it. Here’s a list from my novella-in-progress: (I’m happy with many of those – Flint, Jonathan, Corwin and Ruth are all character names, so it’s perfectly normal that they appear a lot. I suspect I’m using â€Å"go† and â€Å"just† a bit too often, though!) Wordcounter is quite bare-bones, and I found that while it ignores punctuation like commas and periods, it includes quotation marks and apostrophe, meaning that some words will get listed twice, and also occasionally lists some odd words (I apparently have 60 instances of the word â€Å"ey† in my novella, which I haven’t ever used!) Tip: There’s also a WordPress plugin version of the tool, which you might want to use if you’re writing blog posts – either to check for words that you overuse, or to check if you’ve included keywords as much as you wanted to. Tools for Publishing Your Book I’m going to assume here that you want to self-publish your book – so if you’re planning to seek an agent and publisher, you’ll want to skip this section. (However your book is published, though, you’ll find the â€Å"Tools for Marketing Your Book† list useful.) #3: Smashwords (free), Smashwords, Inc Smashwords is a tool for self-publishers to format and distribute their ebook(s) to readers through a variety of different platforms (such as through Apple’s iBooks stores and through the Kobo store.) They offer loads of advice on self-publishing, too, particularly through the Smart Author Podcast. You can also sell books through – and indeed buy books from – Smashwords itself. Most authors, though, use it primarily as an easy way to get their ebook into lots of different online stores. The one big exception is Amazon: you can’t easily get your book onto Amazon through Smashwords. That’s not too much of a problem, though, because Amazon’s own system (KDP – Kindle Direct Publishing) is straightforward and easy to work with. We’re going to cover that in a moment. It’s completely free to create an ebook through Smashwords, but Smashwords will take a small commission on each ebook you sell – and the stores you sell through will also take a cut. Tip: You need to format your manuscript carefully according to theSmashwords Style Guide. If you don’t, it’ll either be rejected, or you’ll find that it comes out looking a bit weird! #4: Amazon KDP (free), Amazon Amazon is the biggest ebook retailer there is and they make it pretty straightforward to add your own ebook to their vast catalogue. You can sign up for KDP using your existing Amazon account (or you can create a new Amazon account). The KDP dashboard allows you to publish (or update) your ebooks and to see reports on your ebook sales. While it’s free to use Amazon’s KDP to publish your work, Amazon will take a fairly hefty cut of everything you sell – paying you â€Å"royalties† out of your book’s cover price. If you price your ebook between $0.99 and $2.98, or above $9.99, you’ll get 35% royalties; if you price between $2.99 and $9.99, you’ll get 70% royalties. (You can’t price an ebook lower than $0.99.) Tip: Before Amazon can pay you, you’ll need to enter your tax information. You don’t need to have this to hand to start selling your ebook(s), though. #5: CreateSpace (free), Amazon While it’s possible to publish a paperback version of your ebook through KDP, CreateSpace is a more established option. (KDP’s paperback publishing is becoming better all the time, though, and you might want to check out this article by Dave Chesson for a side-by-side comparison of KDP Paperback and Createspace.) As with KDP, you can use your existing Amazon details for CreateSpace. You don’t need to pay anything upfront to publish a book through CreateSpace – but you’ll find that the printing costs eat up a fair percentage of the cover price. The paperback version of my novel Lycopolis, for instance, is priced at $12.99 in the US; I get a royalty of $3.32 on each copy sold. Tip: Although CreateSpace offers a â€Å"cover creator† so you can design your own ebook cover, it’s not the greatest tool to work with. If you just want to publish a print version for your personal use, or perhaps to give to a few friends, it’ll do – but I’d avoid using it for a professional-looking book. Tools for Marketing Your Book Once your book is up for sale, the hard work really begins! Marketing a book, whether fiction or non-fiction, is a huge task but these online tools can give you a helping hand. #6: A-FWD (â€Å"Link Globalizer for Amazon Affiliates And Authors†), Woboq If you haven’t already signed up to Amazon’s Affiliate scheme, I highly recommend doing so. You can earn a little extra on books you sell via your affiliate links (and you’ll be able to track how many sales you’re making through your own website, tweets, etc – as opposed to sales you’re getting through other channels). Unless your book is very specific to a particular country, you’ll probably be selling it worldwide, on different versions of Amazon’s site. Ideally, you want potential new readers to land on their version of Amazon. That means using a special link that can direct readers based on their location. And that’s where A-FWD comes in. Just paste in your affiliate link – the full version, not the short one – from your local Amazon, and you’ll get a single link that should direct readers to their Amazon (regardless of whether you have an affiliate account there or not). Tip: If you have affiliate accounts for more than one version of Amazon, make sure you paste those in under â€Å"Tracking IDs† (or you may find that your affiliate sales don’t get counted). #7: WordPress (free), WordPress Foundation At some stage in your author journey, you’re going to want to have a website or a blog. WordPress is a great way to build either. You can opt for WordPress.com aka â€Å"hosted WordPress† (which is easier and cheaper to get started with, but more limited) or WordPress.org aka â€Å"self-hosted WordPress† (which offers lots of flexibility and full control, but has a slightly steeper learning curve and means paying for a domain and hosting up-front). There’s a handy summary of the differences on the WPBeginner.com blog. Keep in mind that you don’t have to blog as an author – you might simply want to use WordPress to create a straightforward websites that showcases your books. Tip: You can set up a completely free blog using WordPress.com, so if you’re feeling a bit daunted by the idea of blogging (or having a website), why not create a â€Å"practice† one so you can try it out? #8: MailChimp, The Rocket Science Group If you read any blogs aimed at book authors, one key piece of advice you’ll come across is to â€Å"create a mailing list†. This allows you to email interested readers who’ve signed up to receive updates from you. You might think you could simply email readers through your regular email account – but this is a really bad idea. First, it means collating email addresses manually, which is an administrative headache. Second, and most importantly, it could easily see you falling foul of laws like CAN-SPAM (in the US) and GDPR (in the UK). There are plenty of online tools, though, that you can use to create an email list: readers can sign up and get added to the list at any time of the day or night, and you can create nicely formatted emails to send them. I’ve chosen MailChimp here as it’s free up to the 2,000 subscriber point but there are plenty of other good options, like Aweber and Constant Contact. Tip: Email marketing, like blogging, can seem very daunting at first. Do give it a try: you can always set up a small mailing list with just yourself (and maybe a couple of willing family members or friends) on it, so you can test out your emails before sending them to readers. #9: Canva (free), Canva You can use Canva to create almost anything that involves images and graphics – from book covers to posters, leaflets, and designs for Facebook, Instagram and other social networks. If you’re not yet at the stage of your author career where you can afford a professional designer, Canva could be a great option for you. There are lots of premade templates that you can use and thousands upon thousands of images – creating the perfect Facebook cover or business card could be just a few clicks away. Note that not but all images are free: you’ll need to pay $1 in order to use some of them. Plus, some of Canva’s features (like being able to use your previous designs as a template) are only available at the premium, paid-for level. Tip: While Canva is a great way to create promotional materials, it’s still a very good idea to go with a professional designer for your book cover itself (unless you’re an artist/designer and know what you’re doing). #10: NovelRank (free), NovelRank LLC NovelRank lets you track your sales across different Amazon sites (.com, co.uk, .fr, etc). It tells you where your book ranks in the charts, estimates sales made, and more. It’s free to use at the basic level – in fact, you don’t even need to create an account if you only want to track one book. Note that NovelRank can only show your sales from the point at which you set it up, as Amazon doesn’t provide historical data. Tip: As well as NovelRank, there are plenty of other tools that offer similar services, like BookCore (which is more basic, but works across multiple platforms). #11: DesignWizard (free with paid features) DesignWizard is another tool you can use to create the graphical assets of your book, including its cover and related marketing material. You will find that it offers virtually all the features of competing solutions while charging a lower price for the premium plans, so it is worth to check it out. I hope you’ll find the above tools helpful in your own journey to publication. Don’t feel that you have to use or even try all of them: pick and choose based on what you need right now, and take things step by step. Best of luck with your book! Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Fiction Writing category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:100 Whimsical Words"Certified" and "Certificated"How often is "bimonthly"?

Quality Management Tools & Techniques Assignment - 3

Quality Management Tools & Techniques - Assignment Example Three design specifications are to be maintained in development of the process. The first two design specifications are measurement of distance between two parts of the process while the third specification is power in form of current. Measurement of the distance is in millimeters, where the first one, A, must be 11.5 +/- 1.0mm while the second one, B, must be 8.5 +/- 2.0mm. Finally, current, C must not exceed a maximum threshold of 2.5 amps. In order to appraise the processes technical capabilities, a histogram for the three variables will be plotted and resultant patterns used in selecting optimal set of conditions. Process testing is an essential step in development of manufacturing processes. Engineers and process owners cannot commission manufacturing processes before validating their level of compatibility with pre-determined standards. In this regard, one reason for carrying out process testing involves the need to detect errors. New processes may have technical errors which may lead to increased cost of operation. For example, the process in subject may need current exceeding the technical limit of 2.5 amps. However, optimal operation of the hard drive production process needs a maximum current of 2.5 amps, above that threshold compromise on the power efficiency of the entire production setup. In this case, testing facilitate early detection of errors which would hinder optimal performance later. Apart from errors, testing is also necessary as a means of appraising safety standards. Douglas (2008) mentioned that employees involved in operating the disk drive machine must be certain of the ir safety aspects. Conventionally, every industrial process must conform to some specified safety standards. Therefore, testing will facilitate quantification of the process’ integrity. Detection of any deviation from conformance limits warrants use of appropriate corrective measures. Normally, most processes fail to undergo thorough testing because of

Tuberculosis Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Tuberculosis - Term Paper Example According to the World Health Organization (WHO) approximates, nearly ten million new patients get TB annually, and that around 2 million people died from TB worldwide during 2010. Nonetheless, if TB is identified near the beginning and properly treated, people with the disease soon become non-infectious and are finally cured. Poor cure has caused outbreak of mycobacterium TB strains that do not respond to treatment with regular first line combination of anti-tuberculosis drugs, causing the â€Å"emergence of multi-drug resistance tuberculosis in almost every country† (Bynum, 2012). Tuberculosis is a matter of universal apprehension and a key focus for prevention and control attempts for CDC along with its collaborators throughout the world. The universal program to end TB (2011 - 2015) has marked the objective of 50 percent drop in TB pervasiveness and casualty rates by 2015, in comparison with 1990 levels. CDC chips in to the accomplishment of these objectives by working to enhance the level of TB control plans globally in countries nations with an increased stress of TB and those that add considerably to TB stress within the United States. CDC offers significant scientific sustenance to global collaborators for epidemiology as well as inspection, together with assistance for drug-resistant TB; laboratory support; medical and operational research that assesses hopeful analytics, cure and avoidance approaches. CDC is presently involved with activities to endorse the up-gradation of the â€Å"three is intensified case finding, isoniazid preventive therapy, and infection control† (Connolly, 2008) and early start of ART for individuals residing with HIV in lesser resource nations with TB/HIV syndemics. CDC’s global TB management activities are largely carried out in high-burden nations and nations of origin for foreign-born US TB cases, collaborating with MOHs and other collaborators to make sturdy national TB programs. CDC has a vital part in

Procedures or Methods Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Procedures or Methods - Research Paper Example The researcher requires a platform for explaining reasons behind the collected data. The researcher has to develop guidelines that help collect the reasons behind the results during the research process. This involves the formulation of causal explanations that justify the collected information. Beneficial ways of identifying and carrying out a research depend on the researcher’s intimate understanding of the issue to be studied. This is enhanced during the design process where the researcher gets some background information on the issue. The NCLB law was enacted to give children with disabilities equal education opportunities with their counterparts without disabilities (Baker, 2010). The research design process begins with identifying the aim of the research. In this case, the researcher would be interested in finding out the benefits of NCLB and how the children have benefited so far. Some scholars consider NCLB law to contradict with the initial IDEA law that protects indi viduals with disabilities (Baker, 2010). The researcher may include the effects of the two laws in protecting people with disabilities. The teachers and state education heads have developed educational interventions in order to comply with NCLB requirements and meet the required student performance. The results and failures of the strategies can be included in the aims of the research. The second step is to formulate the research questions that completely address the aims of the research (Bynner and Stribley, 2010). These questions shed light on the benefits of NCLB and the effects it has created in the education system. The research questions are: Where would Special Needs children be educationally without No Child Left Behind? What impact has NCLB created among children with disabilities? What strategies have been formulated by the education board and what effects have they introduced in the curriculum? What issues make the implementation of NCLB difficult and what are the resourc es involved in the implementation process? The third step is to design the research paradigm or theoretical framework. The framework provides a guiding structure and range of tool that will help the researcher answer the research questions. This research would require a positivistic method of collecting data like interviewing students with disabilities, parents, teachers, and curriculum developers (Mitchell and Jolley, 2012). Questionnaires would also be helpful in collecting quantitative data on the subject. The questionnaires would be distributed to various schools within the state. They would have sections to be filled by students, teachers and their parents. These would increase the sampling area by minimizing the effort used when conducting interviews. The students would provide data on the effects of NCLB on their education process. The teachers would provide information regarding the effects of the law on the curriculum and the cumulative effects on the education process for students. Parents would also provide information regarding student performance and perceived benefits introduced by the law. The curriculum developers or education officials in the state offices would provide information regarding the effects of the law on curriculum development and the challenges faced when implementing the guidelines. The questionnaires would also involve questions dealing with the benefits of NCLB on the students, the impact in the education

Educational Philosophy Essay Example for Free

Educational Philosophy Essay Human nature is the product of ones environment. Change the environment to change the behavior. Reinforce good behavior, punish bad behavior Conservation of cultural heritage preserves the wisdom of the achievements of humankind. Behavior evolves within the conditioning influence of the institutional system, tradition is the repository of a collective social intelligence. Constructivism is an educational methodology which asserts that learners should be taught in a way that allows them to construct their own understandings about a subject. The purpose of the teacher is not to cover material but to help the child uncover the facts and ideas in a subject area. Essentialists believe that children should learn traditional basic subjects. (Reading, Writing, Literature, Foreign Languages, History, Math, Science, Art, and Music. ) Generally teaches children progressively, from less complex skills to more complex. Schools should transmit the traditional moral values and intellectual knowledge that students need to become model citizens. Focus is on basic skills. Existentialism rejects the existence of any source of objective, authoritative truth about metaphysics, epistemology, and ethics. Do not accept any predetermined creed or philosophical system and from that try to define who we are. Aim for the progressing of humanity. Use independent thinking. It engages the student in central questions of defiming life and who we are. Answers imposed from the outside may not be real answers. The only real answers are the ones that come from inside each person, that are authentically his or her own. For the existentialist, there exists no universal form of human nature; each of us has the free will to develop as we see fit. â€Å"Stimulate learners to achieve a more vital and fuller identification with the Absolute Mind or the Macrocosm Students come into a gradually expanding mental awareness that leads to self-definition based on a comprehensive understanding or perspective of the universe. † (Gutek, p21) Liberalism focuses on the individual. Ideas come from experience. Sensation and reflection create learning. Behavior Modification Conserve/preserve heritage. Constructivism Essentialism Willaim C. Bagley Arthur Bestor Existentialism Idealism Plato Liberalism John Locke Marxism Karl Marx Marxism promotes socialism, as opposed to capitalism where one class oppresses another. Education is use d to change society. Naturalism Rousseau The child should develop in the natural way s/he is designed, guiding the process Perennialism Perennialism Robert M. Hutchins Perennialists believe that one should teach the things of everlasting importance to all people everywhere. They believe that the most important topics develop a person. Philosophy is improtant to study. Studens should learn principles, not facts, teach scientific reasoning, not facts. Teach first about humans, not machines or techniques.. Perennialism focuses first on personal development. Prepared for ED828 Educational Philosophies and Change Jean Marrapodi †¢ Capella University †¢ September 2003 Construct new ideas Back to the Basics What is real? Striving for the ideal Blank slate of individual experience All for all Natural development of the child Like perennial flowers, great principles repeat Educational Philosophies. Philosophy Pragmatism Philosophers Beliefs Key Thought John Dewey Scientific problem solving, experiential learning Progressivism William Kilpatrick Realism Aristotle â€Å"Ideas were to be judged by their consequences when acted on; truth was a warranted assertion, a tentative statement based on the application of hypotheses to solving problems; logic, following the scientific method was experimental; values were experienced within the context of ethical and aesthetic problems and issues charged by the unique features of particular situations. † Gutek, p 77. Progressivists believe that education must be based on the fact that humans are social animals who learn best in real-life activities with other people. Teachers provide not just reading and drill, but also real-world experiences and activities that center around the real life of the students. Discovery follows the scientific method: 1. Become aware of the problem. 2. Define the problem. 3. Propose hypotheses to solve it. 4. Test the consequences of the hypotheses from ones past experience. 5. Test the most likely solution. â€Å"Cultivate human rationality, the human’s highest power, through the study of organized bodies of knowledge†¦encourage human beings to define themselves by framing their choices rationally, to realize themselves by exercising their potentiality for excellence to the fullest, and to integrate themselves by ordering the various roles and claims of life according to a rational an hierarchical order. † Gutek, p 41 Education should examine, define the problems and change the social structure of society. Rebuilding Society George S. Counts Social Reconstructionism. Learn by Doing! Rationally real Theistic Realism Thomas Aquinas Similar to realism, but God is central God in the core Totalitarianism Adolph Hitler Totalitarianism is a political system in which a citizen is totally subject to state authority in all aspects of day-to-day life. Government controls education. Total dependence on government Utopianism Robert Owen A perfect society can be achieved through the education of the young. Perfect society through education Prepared for ED828 Educational Philosophies and Change Jean Marrapodi †¢ Capella University †¢ September 2003.

Who is Responsible for Military Robots’ Lethal Actions? Essay

I) Introduction Robotic technology has enabled the US military to use autonomous robots (or unmanned systems, UMS) in modern warfare. In the war with Iraq, the US military sent 12000 ground robots at the end of 2008 (P. W. Singer). One of the most popular robots used in Iraq is the iRobot Packbot, an unmanned ground vehicle, which is capable of detecting and destroying improvised explosive devices. Exploiting robots in warfare can save lives of many human soldiers. Moreover, robots are faster, have longer endurance, high precision and immunity to chemical and biological weapons (Ronald Arkin).In the National Defense Act of 2001 the U.S. Congress, obviously impressed by the potential of robots saving lives on the battlefield, established the requirement for one-third of the ground vehicles and one-third of the deep-strike aircraft in the military to be robotic within the decade. Consequently, in the â€Å"Fiscal Year 2009-2034 Unmanned Systems Integrated Roadmap† of the office of the secretary of defense showed the four categories that will be focused on are reconnaissance and surveillance, target identification and designation, counter-mine and explosive ordnance disposal, and chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear detection (Stew Magnuson). As for now, most of the robot soldiers in the field are not fully autonomy. They are controlled by human soldier operators. However, the pressure of wars and the superior advantage of robots which can make decisions on their own will shift the interest in developing autonomous robots. In battle field, the time to decide whether or not to take action is too short that it would be impractical that a robot must send a signal to an operator and wait for the permission to fire (Ronald Arkin)... ...gner, A.R., and Duncan, B., â€Å"Responsibility and Lethality for Unmanned Systems: Ethical Pre-Mission Responsibility Advisement†. GVU Technical Report GIT-GVU-09-01, GVU Center, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2009. Asaro, P. M., â€Å"Robots and Responsibility from a Legal Perspective†. IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation. Roma, Italy. April 2007. Magnuson, S., â€Å" Robo Ethics†. National Defense (Volume 94, Issue 672, Nov 2009), 28-29. Singer, P. W., â€Å"Military Robots and the Laws of War†. New Atlantic: A Journal of Technology & Society (Volume 23, Winter 2009), 25-45. Sparrow, R., â€Å"Building a Better WarBot: Ethical Issues in the Design of Unmanned Systems for Military Applications†. Science and Engineering Ethics (Volume 15, Number 2 / June, 2009), 169-187. Sparrow, R., â€Å"Killer Robots†. Journal of Applied Philosophy , Vol. 24, No. 1, 2006.

Juvenile Justice: Incarceration vs. Intervention Essay

Abstract The national trend towards getting tough on juvenile crime by altering the juvenile justice system to more closely mirror the adult system was examined in order to determine whether secure confinement of juvenile offenders is as effective as community-based rehabilitative and treatment programs for these youth. Politicians and public perceptions have allowed the juvenile justice system to evolve from one of reform based thinking to one of punishment based thinking, placing more young offenders in secure facilities than ever before. The social repercussions of secure confinement of juveniles, without the use of proper rehabilitative tools, including education and life-building skills, are evident as youth are being ‘set aside’ rather than being encouraged to become productive members of their communities.  Not a day goes by where our national media doesn’t report on stories involving heinous and criminal acts committed by juveniles in the United States. Juvenile delinquency is a fact of life – ranging from minor status offenses to unimaginable acts of violence. When dealing with young offenders, there are always difficult decisions to make concerning appropriate punishments that take both public safety and the needs of the juvenile into account. In response to a recognizable increase in youth crime, getting tough on juvenile delinquency and holding young offenders more accountable has been the national trend in the past two decades  (Brinks, 2004). Many argue that removing juveniles from the environment in which their crimes were committed is the most successful deterrent of future negative behavior. But what does secure confinement provide these troubled juveniles aside from isolation from the negative influences they may be subjected to on the outside? Should young offenders be incarcerated for their crimes as they would be as adults, or is it possible to ‘rehabilitate’ a juvenile delinquent without the use of detent ion or incarceration? Of course, juvenile offenders must be held accountable for their offenses – it is an essential element in the natural process of learning and maturation. However, the immaturity that is seen in children and adolescents is an indicator that these behaviors will not be well deterred by harsh punitive action, but rather be better served by rehabilitative attempts. The fact that young offenders tend to outgrow their nonconformity is even more of a reason to believe that a castigatory approach to these juveniles will not be successful in reaching deterrent or rehabilitative goals (Young & Gainsborough, 2000). Because of these matters, community programs and intense intervention are more effective than secure confinement when it comes to juvenile delinquency rehabilitation. In order to explore the effectiveness of treatment and intervention versus incarceration of juveniles, it is helpful to look at the original intentions of the juvenile justice system and how the system has since evolved. The question of rehabilitation versus incarceration of juvenile delinquents came to a head in the late 1800s, resulting in the creation of the first juv enile court system in the United States. Prior to this time, institutionalized children were held along with adults, and no efforts were being made to teach them the necessary skills they required to make positive contributions to society. After centuries of treating very young children as property, and those over the age of five or six as simply little adults when it came to criminal misconduct, it was finally recognized, and widely accepted, that the developmental differences between juveniles and adults provided an increased opportunity for the successful rehabilitation of juveniles outside of secure confinement. The early years of the juvenile justice system focused on recovering the lives of the juvenile offenders before they were completely immersed in a life of criminal activity. The states took on the role of ‘parents’ or â€Å"parens patriae† (state as guardian) and undertook the  parenting responsibility until the juveniles showed improved behaviors, or became adults. Juveniles were no longer tried as adult offenders, and reform houses, rather than prisons, were used to emphasize behavior reform rather than punishment (Brinks, 2004). The juvenile justice system’s focus on reform continued throughout much of the 20th century. Changes began emerging in the juvenile court system in the mid 1900s. During this time, the main objective of juvenile justice remained focused on reformation rather than criminal punishment, however, principles which were not previously in place, were being established by the Supreme Court, requiring juvenile courts to guarantee specific constitutional protections to young offenders. These protections included the right to be represented by an attorney, the right against self-incrimination and the right to hear the testimony against them (Ramsey & Abrams, 2004, p. 42). Although these rights are in line with constitutional rights afforded adults, many within the juvenile justice system were concerned that the court’s reformative techniques would be lessened if the same constitutional rights were applied to children as to adults. Justice Potter Stewart expressed concern that the court’s decision would â€Å"convert a juvenile proceeding into a criminal prosecution† (â€Å"History of America’s,† 2008). While constitutional rights must now be afforded to everyone, this was the first of many changes which began to alter the historical intent of the juvenile justice system. Until 1980, other changes in the juvenile justice system seemed to consistently refer back to the main objective of its creation. The Juvenile Delinquency Prevention and Control Act of 1968 encouraged states to establish programs geared towards the prevention and rehabilitation of juvenile delinquency at the community level. These programs, once approved, were eligible to receive federal funding. The Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 built upon the 1968 act and increased nationwide rehabilitative efforts for juvenile offenders. If states wished to receive funding under this act, they were required to remove all juveniles within their jurisdictions from secure confinement facilities and separate them from convicted adults, building on the be lief of writer Morrison Swift who commented on jailing young offenders with adults, â€Å"young and impressionable offenders were being carried off to Rutland with more hardened men, there to receive an education in lawlessness from their experienced associates†Ã‚  (Swift, 1911). Despite these steps towards delinquency prevention, or perhaps because of them, public perception towards an increase in juvenile crime in the 1980s caused radically different changes to begin to take place within the juvenile justice system. In the past two decades, the U.S. has gravitated towards a â€Å"get tough† approach with juvenile delinquents. In the mid 1980s and early 1990s, the U.S. saw a steep rise in violent juvenile crime, a predictable increase in the juvenile population, and many high profile occurrences of youth crime such as public school shootings in Paducah, KY and Columbine High School in Littleton, CO. In 1996, Janet Reno, U.S. Attorney General stated, â€Å"no corner of America is safe from increasing levels of criminal violence, including violence committed by and against juveniles† (Zavlek, 2005). American’s feared that they were under assault by a generation of adolescent time-bombs and that â€Å"only the abandonment of soft education al and rehabilitative approaches, in favor of strict and unrelenting discipline – a zero tolerance approach† could effectively address the issues (Browne, 2003, p. 10). In reaction to these public fears, legislatures resolved to crack-down on juvenile crime, even though by the mid 1990s, juvenile arrest rates for violent offenses were as low as they had been 20 years earlier. State and local laws imposing harsher punishments on juvenile offenders were enacted, and in turn, more youth were brought into the court system for longer amounts of time (McCord, Widom & Crowell, 2001). This led to an extremely large population of young offenders being held, to this day, in secure confinement facilities. Secure juvenile detention facilities have become the most accepted form of punishment for youthful offenders. Although there was a 66% increase in the juvenile arrest rate during the late 1980s and early 1990s, from 139 arrests per 100,000 youth in 1986 to 231 arrests per 100,000 in 1993, there was an even larger, 74% increase in the number of youth confined in secure facilities during that same period. Furthermore, in 2001, when juvenile crime rates were comparable to the rates in 1980, the number of youth confined in secure juvenile or adult detention centers was more than double the number in 1980 – 51,000 on any given day in 1980, compared to 104,000 on an average day in 2001. Additionally, despite the dramatic decline in juvenile arrest rates since 1994, more than 44%, there has not been a parallel decline in youth confinement, which has stayed relatively constant  since 1995 (Sickmund, 2002). This increased reliance on secure detention accommodations brings with it several concerns regarding the present juvenile justice model of confinement. After looking at the apparent trends in the United States in regards to juvenile crime rates and a propensity towards harsher punishments despite a seeming decrease in juvenile delinquency, there are concerns which arise out of the adult adjudication and incarceration of our youth. Melissa Sickmund claims that one of the largest c oncerns about secure detention and confinement of juveniles is overcrowding of facilities. She estimates that 39% of juvenile detention facilities are housing more residents than they are meant to accommodate, creating dangerous situations for management, and hindering opportunities for treatment and rehabilitation (Sickmund, 2002). Overcrowding of facilities presents many challenges for administrators, potential rehabilitators, and the confined youth. Opportunities for educational development, such as obtaining a GED, for youth detained for extended periods of time, are extremely limited. Furthermore, mental health needs cannot be appropriately addressed. It is estimated that between 50 – 70% of juveniles who are incarcerated have diagnosable mental health issues and up to a quarter of those may be suicidal, but access to proper treatment is difficult in crowded facilities (Wasserman, Ko & McReynolds, 2004). In addition to the physical, educational and mental health needs of confined youth not being successfully met, unproven effectiveness of detention and confinement is another major concern. Recidivism rates are extremely high for youth confined in correctional units, such as training schools, where up to 70% of released youth are rearrested within one or two years after their release (Wiebush et al., 2005). Not only are there substantial concerns for the well-being of juveniles in secure facilities, the cost of operating and continuing to construct these facilities is extraordinary. In the year 2000 alone, at least $10-$15 billion was expended in the United States for juvenile justice, most of which went towards paying confinement expenses (Mendel, 2000). Rather than focus on treatment and teaching skills which will help these juveniles become productive members of society, these facilities create a considerable separation from family and community, succeeding only in isolating these youth and making community re-entry difficult (Wiebush et al., 2005). Because of these, and other, issues,  positive alternatives to incarceration for young offenders must be made availab le and used to the fullest extent possible. As is illustrated by the many concerns surrounding the secure confinement of juvenile offenders, its ineffectiveness is apparent, and there are much more advantageous and beneficial alternatives available to these youth. According to Rolf Loeber and David Farrington, secure confinement should be reserved only for those juveniles who are a likely threat to themselves or public safety, and even then, small, community based facilities are preferable. They contend that â€Å"The most effective strategy for treating and rehabilitating juvenile offenders and preventing recidivism is a comprehensive, community-based model that integrates prevention programming; a continuum of pretrial and sentencing placement options, services and sanctions; and aftercare programs† (Loeber & Farrington, 1998, p 333). Community-based curricula are affordable alternatives available to a large number of juvenile offenders, which are intended to decrease crowding, cut costs of maintaining juvenile detention centers, protect offenders from the negative attention of institutionalization, and help sustain positive relationships between the youth and their families and communities while discouraging association with youth who have similar, or more serious criminal histories. One community-based program which has proven to be very effective as an alternative to secure confinement for juveniles is home detention. Home detention requires the offender to remain at home either at all times, at all times when not in school or working, or at night. During home detention, supervisors, normally paraprofessional outreach workers, have much more frequent contact with the youth than traditional probation officers, but the juveniles are allowed to remain with family in their communities (Ball, Huff & Lilly, 1998, p. 158). High levels of success are reported with home detention programs. Studies conducted in California, Ohio and Alabama have reported an 89-97% success rate with their home detention programs, success being measured by recidivism rates, which were generally under 8%, compared to up to 70% for those youth being held in secure detention (Austin, Johnson & Weitzer, 2005). In addition to keeping children within their communities, community-based treatment and therapy has been pegged as one of the most effective treatments for juvenile delinquency. A goal of community-based treatment is to increase parental  authority and supervision as well as focus on any school, family or interpersonal needs or potential problems (Cullen & Gendreau, 2000). There are many successful intensive supervision programs (ISPs) of this type across the country. One such program is the San Francisco based Detention Diversion Advocacy Program (DDAP). Juveniles are referred to DDAP by parents, courts, probation officers or other community agencies. Upon referral to the program, DDAP identifies potential problems, and presents a rehabilitative plan to the court. Offenders live at home, and they and their families are provided with needed services by DDAP case workers. A 2007 study of DDAP found that the recidivism rate of juveniles in this program was less than half that of juve niles who were held in detention facilities for at least 3 days (24 percent versus 60 percent) (Sheldon, 2009). Many reasons were cited for DDAP’s success, including: smaller caseloads, freedom of the caseworkers from administrative limitations of the juvenile justice system, and the program’s emphasis on treatment and educational services along with precise goals to follow the youth’s progress (Sheldon, 2009). Similar programs are also in place for those youth who are unable to return to their homes or families for any reason. Treatment foster care programs are suitable alternative locations in the community for those children who may not be able to live at home. Treatment foster care programs are unlike traditional group homes or foster homes in that the foster care families are actively recruited and specially trained to care for only one youth at a time in their home. The training provided to the foster parents stresses behavior management methods in order to provide the youth in their care with structure and a corrective living environment. Even after training, daily support is provided by case managers through telephone calls and visits. Biological families are also provided family therapy services. Random evaluations of these programs have shown that recidivism rates are lower among these participants than in those in traditional group homes and secure facilities (Greenwood, 2008). Treatment foster care programs are another example of successful alternatives to juvenile detention. As has been shown in the above examples, the research that exists in regards to juvenile justice suggests that community-based alternatives to detention and s ecure confinement of juveniles are at least, and most times more, effective in reducing recidivism rates among young  offenders, while being significantly lower in cost to operate. Despite noticeable decreases in juvenile crime, many jurisdictions are still faced with the problems of overcrowding in their juvenile detention facilities. In addition to the many negative consequences surrounding overcrowding, such as the facility’s inability to maintain safety and security, most youth will simply not benefit from confinement without the use of evidence based programs (Greenwood, 2008). Effectively dealing with juvenile delinquency involves a myriad of issues ranging from the immaturity of young offenders to the changing trends of juvenile crime. When looking at the many possible outcomes of both incarceration and alternate forms of punishment, we should be able to draw a better conclusion about what types of punishments or treatments are most effective for this group of offend ers. As a community, we must focus on opportunities to mentor and grow the youth of today into productive contributors of tomorrow’s society. To achieve this, youthful offenders must be embraced, not forgotten. References Austin, J., Johnson, K. D., & Weitzer, R. U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. (2005). Alternatives to the secure detention and confinement of juvenile offenders. Retrieved from website: https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/ojjdp/208804.pdf Ball, R., Huff, C., and Lilly, J. 1988. House Arrest and Correctional Policy: Doing time at home. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publications. Brinks, D. O. (2004, Jan). Immaturity, normative competence, and juvenile transfer: How (not) to punish minors for major crimes. Retrieved from http://philosophyfaculty.ucsd.edu/faculty/dbrink/pdf articles/Immaturity, Normative Competence, and Juvenile Transfer.pdf Browne, J.A. 2003. DERAILED! The schoolhouse to jailhouse track. Washington, DC: Advancement Project. Cullen, F., and Gendreau, P. 2000. Assessing correctional rehabilitation: Policy, practice, and prospects in Criminal Justice, vol. 3, edited by J. Horney. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, National Institute of Justice, pp. 109–160. Greenwood, P. W. (2008). Prevention and intervention programs for juvenile offenders. Journal: Juvenile Justice, 18(2), Retrieved from http://www.futureofchildren.org/futureofchildren/publications/journals/article/index.xml?journalid=31&articleid=47 §ionid=166 History of America’s juvenile justice system. (2008). Retrieved from http://www.lawyershop.com/practice-areas/criminal-law/juvenile-law/history Lipsey, M., and Wilson, D. 1998. Effective intervention for serious juvenile offenders. In Serious and violent juvenile offenders, edited by R. Loeber and D. Farrington. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Loeber, R., & Farrington, D. P. (1998). Serious and violent juvenile offenders: Risk factors and successful interventions. (pp. 313-345). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. McCord, J., Widom, C.S., and Crowell, N.A., eds. 2001. Juvenile crime, juvenile justice. Washington, DC: National Academy Press. Mendel, R.A. 2000. Less hype, more help: Reducing juvenile crime, what works—and what doesn’t. Washington, DC: American Youth Policy Forum. Puzzanchera, C. U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs. (2008). Juvenile arrests. Retrieved from Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention website: https:// www.ncjrs.gov/html/ojjdp Ramsey, S. H., & Abrams, D. E. (2004). Children and the law: Doctrine, policy and practice. (4 ed.). West Law School. Scott, E. S., & Steinberg, L. (2008). Rethinking juvenile justice. Harvard University Press. Shelden, R. 2009. Detention diversion advocacy: An evaluation. Bulletin. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. Sickmund, M. 2002. Juvenile residential facility census, 2000: Selected findings. Bulletin. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. Swift, M. I. (1911). Humanizing the prisons. The Atlantic Monthly, 108(2), 170-179. Retrieved from http://www.theatlantic.com/past/docs/issues/95nov/prisons/humanizi.htm Wasserman, G., Ko, S., McReynolds, L. 2004. Assessing the mental health status of youth in juvenile justice settings. Bulletin. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. Wiebush, R., Wagner, D., McNulty, B., Wang, Y., and Le, T. 2005. Implementation and outcome evaluation of the intensive aftercare program. Report. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. Young, M. C., & Gainsborough, J. (2000, Jan).Prosecuting juveniles in adult court: An assessment of trends and consequences. Retrieved from http://www.prisonpolicy.org/scans/sp/juvenile.pdf Zavlek, S. U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. (2005, Aug). Planning community-based facilities for violent juvenile offenders as part of a system of graduated sanctions. Retrieved from website: https://www.ncjrs.gov/html/ojjdp

Case Study Regency Grand Hotel Essay

Introduction: The Regency Grand was Thai owned and operated. It was a profitable and successful company during it 15 year existence with very high morale within the company. Employee’s worked according to management’s instructions. Employees were not allowed to be innovated and creative. All decisions were at management level. When Regency was bought out by a US Hotel chain, the general manager decided to retire early. The American based company then appointed John Becker as general manager. John has 10 years experience with the American company. John was appointed due to his previous success integrating newly acquired hotels in the US. In most previous acquisitions, Becker took over operation with poor profitability and low morale. After he implemented changes the employees morale decline, absenteeism increased, customer complaints increased, and poor ratings in the media. 1. Culture–The US based company failed to research or invested in any culture changes that might affect employees when they acquired the Regency Hotel. 2. Change–John made sweeping changes that once worked in the past for fledging acquired hotels. Becker failed to plan and implement change. He did not involve any staff in the change process nor did he have a change agent to help oversee the change process within the newly acquired hotel. John based his decisions off what was successful in the past in American style business. He failed to consider the Regency was already successful and profitable with high employee morale. 3. Communication–John empowered employees to make minor decisions while only elevating major decisions to management. John failed to communicate expectations of what are minor decisions and what are major decisions. He also encouraged employees to be innovative and creative. * Problem Statement: There are several issues with this case, but the three main problems in this case are Culture, Change, and Communication. The American based company provided no culture training to John Becker or the staff at the Regency. John Becker had no plan for changes he implemented.  Lastly, but most important was the poor communications within the entire company. Even with the best plan; if it is not communicated properly then it will fail. * Analysis and Evaluation: During his staff meeting with management John did not communicate his expectations, nor did he ensure every manager understood the tool empowerment. Using the MARS model under roles perception, if tasks such as John expectations, standards, rules, and definitions such as the difference between major and minor issues were properly communicated then managers would not over turn employees decisions. Employees would have job satisfaction, high morale and a sense of purpose. Employee’s decisions were over turn by management led to increases in absenteeism, turnover, and customer complaints resulting in the decline of service in the media’s eye. Using the Expectancy Theory of Motivation, provide role clarity and increase reward with desired outcomes. ABC of Behavior Modification can be use to set effective goals use the Specific, Measurable Achievable Relevant Time-frames Exciting Reviewed (SMARTER) Alternative actions to improve the performance are 1- Build a manager/employee guide to communicate the standards, rules, expectations, and define what major/minor decisions are. Hire a SIGMA 6 facilitator to oversee the process. Provide comment boxes for suggestions of improvement, feedback, and open communication. In addition to employees Performance appraisals, provide a 360 scoring of managers/employees such as online surveys. 2- In addition to the first choice, open lines of communication within the organization such as the open door policy. Get the whole team involved in the decision making process through meetings gear to meeting their needs both for management and the employees. Provide employees an avenue to voice concerns (anonymous if needed), and address issues on an individual bases. * Recommendation: The best of the alternatives listed above is 2. This alternative provides open communication, training to the entire staff, and both managers/employees handbooks that outlines expectations, rules, and standards. It also provides an expert to oversee the process. This  alternative also fights for feedback both from management and employees. You must communicate the change to the entire staff, listen to the concerns, and allow for anonymous feedback. After meeting with management to explain the change, have a facilitator oversee this process. After the management team is onboard. You should involve the employees with the same concept as the management. Get the whole team involved in the development ideas for the guide. Assign certain team both management and employees with the task of creating the guides. This should be implementing immediately.

Critical analysis of a PR campaign The WritePass Journal

Critical analysis of a PR campaign Abstract Critical analysis of a PR campaign ). Social media made this form of contest possible, with the dreamers fuelling the desire to see it happen if not to them then to someone they could relate to. Once again, the campaign appealed to the target market in a manner that they could relate to with a message that they could understand. This has served to provide Queensland with a sustained and widely popular brand that is associated with innovation and trying new concepts (Australia, 2014). 2.3 Effectiveness The Queensland PR campaign has been deemed successful and innovative by a wide variety of professionals and advertisers around the world (Pomering, 2013). The simple style, coupled with the psychological incentives combined to surpass company expectations. The implementation of low cost solution to high cost problems propelled this campaign forward. As evidence of their overall success, the Queensland Company claims the campaign has changed the face of global advertising in a positive manner (Australia, 2014). This point has a clear impact on the manner in which other modern operations are conducted. With numbers that are hard to dispute, the amount of interest generated by free media coverage alone provides a compelling appeal to the approach. 3 Conclusion This essay examined the Tourism Queensland promotion of the Great Barrier Reef in 2009 in an effort to develop a deeper appreciation of the benefits and detriments of the approach. The research illustrated that it was the simple, direct, novel and innovative approach the Queensland PR campaign that utilized the exotic locale and attractiveness of rare employment, alongside the simple principles of timing and effective communication to sustain the interest of entire global population. There was a direct a lasting outreach to a targeted market of adventurers using social media that resulted in a growing wave of interest that created media attention and further exposure. Building on this reaction was the contest application method that publicized the lucky winner, and continued to follow the person after the job. As a result of this strategy the company experienced free media coverage, a wide base for extended communication and an overall improvement of their brand image. Further, this able utilization of assets on hand was accomplished at a minimal cost with maximum effect. In the end the Queensland PR campaign of 2009 showcased what can happen when a company can tap into the dreams of a population, as well as the pocket book. References Australia, T. 2014.  About the campaign Best Jobs in the world Campaigns Tourism Australia. [Online] Available at: tourism.australia.com/campaigns/Global-Youth-about-the-campaign.aspx [Accessed: 7 Feb 2014]. Biocca, F. 2013.  Television and Political Advertising. Hoboken: Taylor and Francis. Culbertson, H. M. and ChÊ »en, N. 1996.  International public relations. Mahwah, N.J.: Erlbaum. Cutlip, S. M. 2013.  Public relations history. Hillsdale, N.J.: Erlbaum. Goeldner, C. R. and Ritchie, J. R. B. 2010.  Tourism. Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley. Grunig, J. E., Grunig, L. A. and Toth, E. L. 2013.  The future of excellence in public relations and communication management. Mahwah, N.J.: Erlbaum. Macnamara, J. 2010. Public relations and the social: How practitioners are using, or abusing, social media.  Asia Pacific Public Relations Journal, 11 (1), pp. 2139. Pomering, A. 2013. Indigenous Identity in the Nation Brand: Tension and Inconsistency in a Nations Tourism Advertising Campaigns.  Corporate Reputation Review, 16 (1), pp. 6679. Ryan, D. and Jones, C. 2011.  The best digital marketing campaigns in the world. London: Kogan Page. Smith, R. D. 2002.  Strategic planning for public relations. Mahwah, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Sweeney, M. 2009.  Best job in the world campaign storms Cannes Lions advertising awards. [online] Available at: theguardian.com/media/2009/jun/23/best-job-advertising-awards [Accessed: 7 Feb 2014]. Simon, R. 2014.  Tourism Queensland ‘Best Job In The World’ Social Media campaign Marketing Case Studies | UTalkMarketing. [online] Available at: utalkmarketing.com/Pages/Article.aspx?ArticleID=17349 [Accessed: 7 Feb 2014].

Physician Assisted Suicide (Utilitarianism vs. Right-Based Concepts) Essay

Physician Assisted Suicide (Utilitarianism vs. Right-Based Concepts) - Essay Example rights centered arguments is one that has been utilized by both opponents and proponents in support of their respective positions and these will be assessed in the paper. The paper will also assess assisted suicide through the utilitarian theory which elaborates on the ethical justification for a person to perform a right act if it will bear fruit to some good. Hence, in both ethical approaches the issue is controversial as it can be supported by both proponents and opponents of the argument using the same theory making it difficult to determine the appropriate position. This is a dilemma that is frequently associated with moral issues. Therefore, the aim of the paper is to illustrate the ethical arguments held by proponents and opponents of the rights based perspective to physician assisted suicide as well as the arguments presented by those for or against physician assisted suicide using the utilitarian theory. As mentioned above, the utilitarian theory implies that it is acceptable to perform an act that will lead to the greatest good. Hence, in cases of unbearable suffering in diseases that are incurable, physician assisted suicide will result in the greater good of relieving both the family members of the patient and the patient himself from unbearable suffering that will ultimately result in his death (Carr, 2010). Hence, the happiness that is gained through the relief of suffering patients of the patients justifies the lesser action of physician assisted suicide as the patients are already terminal and in the majority of cases death is inevitable. Physician assisted suicide can be in the form of lethal injection of the doctor prescribing the patient medication that would lead to the termination of his or her life. Hence, the summation of this action is that the doctor is minimizing suffering by prescribing lethal medication, and maximizing happiness by relieving the suffering which ma kes this an achievement of a greater good and in coherence with the

Runology in Scandinavia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Runology in Scandinavia - Essay Example This alphabet uses only sixteen runes, and in many cases one symbol is used to represent many sounds. Even when dealing with the Younger Futhark, there are several related but slightly different alphabets that vary by place and time. These can be roughly divided into two main types: the first is the "long-branch" or normal Younger Futhark, which are sometimes referred to as the "Danish runes". There is also a variant known as the "short-twig runes" in which the forms are simpler, also called the "Norwegian-Swedish runes". "Shorthand" versions of these futharks appeared, as did hybrid variants. What exact form was used depended on exactly what date one is looking at, and what region. By the Middle Ages, as the language changed and so did the runic alphabet. Gradually symbols were changed, and new symbols adopted, resulting in a 16-rune alphabet plus extensions. Most of the surviving Viking Age runic inscriptions come from rune-stones, which were erected as grave markers, memorials, and cenotaphs most often. By the middle ages in Scandinavia, runes came to be used occasionally to record Latin inscriptions (approximately 10% of all medieval runic inscriptions are Latin) and these usually invocations of saints or prayers. Occasionally runes are found on various wooden items such as crosses. In Bergen, Norway, 110 "ownership tags" have been found, shaped in many cases so that they can be easily attached to goods or merchandise. Several runic "business memos" have also been discovered in Bergen, usually on a wooden stick which has been whittled flat on at least one side, with the most usual type having four flat sides for inscription. Since the runes occurred in a fixed order, carpenters and construction workers used them to label wooden roof beams for churches so that they went up in the correct order. The oldest runes discovered in Norway date from 400 AD. They were based upon the 24 - rune Elder Futhark of Germanic origin. Two of the runes in the Elder Futhark, Pertra and Eoh, have never been found in any Norwegian rune text. From 550 AD to 700 AD there was a transition period between the older 24-rune Futhark and the newer 16-rune Futharks. By the end of this period, the 24-rune Futhark went completely out of use and the 16-rune Futharks had prevailed. Then, about 900 AD, the Shorttwiggs-runes were introduced from Sweden. Shortly thereafter, from 1000 AD, Futharks with more than 16 runes became more prevalent, as these were more consistent with the Latin alphabet. These types of runes were used in Norway up to 1800 AD. After the end of the Viking period the runes became more and more in common use by ordinary people. A lot of rune inscriptions from the end of 1100's, 1200's and 1300's, the so-called town runes, show that it was not only the professional scribes who wrote runes. Even the ordinary people had learned the art of reading and writing runes because runes were the most accessible tool for them and were useful in their mercantile trading. "Training sticks" have been found which were used to learn runes, showing that more people could write and read than one had previously believed. It is interesting that knowledge of runes