How do large-scale forces shape and constrain people's intimate lives Essay

How do large-scale forces shape and constrain people's intimate lives - Essay Example Mut’a otherwise known as marriage of pleasure or temporary marriage is a pragmatic solution practiced by Shi’ite Muslims in Iran (Shahla). This arrangement permits an unmarried woman and an unmarried man to have intimate relationships. The contract is practical since it is usually encouraged for individuals who do not have necessitates for a binding permanent conjugal arrangement. For instance, widowed or divorced Shi’ites may have this convenient option when they prefer to enjoy momentary intimacies. Moreover, this is also ideal for men who do not have much financial, psychological, as well as moral means to enter permanent marriage. For example, instead of sacrificing moral standards and suffer from taboos and social stigma by engaging in premarital sex, a man can have a sanctioned relationship through temporary marriage. This kind of social viewpoint is most likely inspired by the changes brought about by industrialization, globalization, as well as economy. W ith the modernization comes the evolution of convictions and dematerialization of traditional principles. Nowadays, what is right is â€Å"what works†. Globalization has also affected this change in a way that conservative norms are challenged by more liberal foreign standards. In addition, with the economic crises in various areas and intervals, temporary marriage seems to be more sensible than ceremonially lavishing on an extensive yet unsure matrimony. There is no much commemorating and luxurious rituals for it. In the face of economic pressure, temporary marriage is more logical since there are lesser expenses.... There is no much commemorating and luxurious rituals for it. In the face of economic pressure, temporary marriage is more logical since there are lesser expenses. Similarly, globalization has made it possible for Vietnams to engage in transpacific marriages. â€Å"Globalization rapidly opened impersonal markets of capital, goods and labor, and in conjunction with these markets, it also opened a rather personal market of emotions and marriages† (Constable 149). This social change made it possible for locals to have a way out from the marriage squeeze crisis which is due to an extremely low male to female ration in Vietnam. By getting in touch with Vietnamese males in other countries like the US and Australia, women can have more marriage prospects. In addition, transpacific marriages is also an inviting option for many women due to economic benefits. Normally, men living in other countries have higher economic status and earn in profitable currencies. Hence, transpacific marria ges is made possible through globalization and poses advantages regarding pecuniary challenges. Another issue which is affected by large-scaled changes is masculinity. This aspect has varied interpretations. One common view is associated with aggression, independence, or vitality. â€Å"Penny, like Kate, relies on notion of masculinity as active, not passive† (Elliot 52). This is more of a cliched belief that associates men with the stereotypical attribute of brute strength and assertiveness. â€Å"Some mothers think that sons need more independent of their mothers than daughters do† (Elliot 52). Similarly, stereotypical mind-sets consider women to be dependent

Market Model Patterns of Change Essay Example for Free

Market Model Patterns of Change Essay 1. Describe the industry and explain the general pattern of change of the particular market model Health insurance in the United States providers represent competitive market because they are numerous, variety of choices, and no single entity has much power over prices. The health insurance can be considered as rapid growth industry. Recently, this industry is transforming in a rapid way and evolving into an oligopoly. Insurance markets in many states are eventually controlled and dominated by a few large firms. There were more than five hundred health insurers involved mergers between 1998 and 2008 (Bakhtiari, 2010). Although there are hundreds of small insurance companies operating in the market, the industry Led by WellPoint, 12 health plans cover two-thirds of the enrollment in the U.S. commercial-insurance market (Bloomberg News, 2010). An analysts report cited in the article predicts there will be 100 insurers with around 200,000 members could be forced out of business. Smaller insurers are increasingly unable to invest in the infrastructure and technology to effectively manage care (Bakhtiari, 2010). However, mergers have been the main power rather than small insurers going out of business. 2. Hypothesize the basic short-run and long-run behaviors of the model in the industry you have chosen in a â€Å"market economy† This paper uses Kinked-Demand theory of oligopoly; there is no single theory that explains oligopoly behavior. The kinked demand model assumes that if one firm raises the prices, other firms will not follow to increase. If the firm reduces its price, it is assumed that its competitors will follow suit and reduce their prices as well. The result is a demand curve for the firm that is kinked at the current equilibrium price (Low, 2000). Taking this as assumption, a single health insurer that tries to raise price will lose market share mainly just because other insurers are not following, it will suffer a loss in demand because the competitors’ prices remain low. In contract, if a single firm that cuts prices, all of its competitors will follow to reduce the price. As a result, a firm will have a kinked demand curve. Firms may operate at a profit in the short-run if demand for the product is high relative to costs. The firm may force to go out of business if it can’t generate enough revenue to even cover the variable costs. Hence the model predicts that prices in the long run should be fairly rigid in an oligopoly. This could indicate that insurance premiums will remain fairly stable in the health insurance industry. The kinked demand theory suggests there will be price in these markets and the firms will rely more on non-price competition to boost sales, revenue and profits. The result in market share is no gain and relative small increases in quantity demanded (Low, 2000). 3. Analyze at least three (3) possible areas for the industry that could lead to transaction costs, and explain each in detail In the health insurance industry, transaction cost could arise from acquisition expenses, process outsourcing, and increased product complexity.Acquisition is the expense of soliciting and placing new insurance business on a company’s books. It includes agent’s underwriting expenses, medical and credit, report fees, commissions, and marketing support services. The significant efforts are made by insurance companies to lower acquisition costs because of the competition. Outsourcing of processes may become a necessity when firms gather up more and more customers due to mergers, the current workforce will no longer be able to handle jobs. Sometime, hiring more employees could be very costly for some firms because of increasing market salaries; outsourcing could be the better option. Firms will have to pay additional expenses to outsourcing firms that process application and provide customer service. This lead to transaction cost. Transaction costs may also arise from increase product complexity due to firms grow, merge and consolidation. Products become more complex catering to more segments due to gathering more customer; firms increase product lines. Hence, customers will have to incur transaction costs in searching or inquiring for the best product, and in estimating the quality of the service. 4. Speculate about the behavior that could result from these transactions and propose at least two (2) strategies for dealing with them It affects consumers’ behavior for reconsidering the health plan when transaction costs arise from product complexity. Any uncertainty arises from product uncertainty; it refers to the difficulties in determining the quality of purchased products (Thompson, 2004). Consumers are likely to inquire more information if purchased services will meet their expectations before they purchase. Consumers rely on the quality examination that insurance agents or references. This product uncertainty may increase transaction cost. This can be dealt with by reinforcing product quality through advertising about the products and services, meeting with potential customers, and providing training to employees to meet better expectation. When transaction costs arise from enforcement and monitoring, behavioral results are uncertainty. Behavioral uncertainty refers to the inherent difficulties faced by buyers in accurately evaluating the contractual performance of insurance companies (Thompson, 2004). This increases transaction cost as consumers spend more time thinking about buying insurance because the claims may against them or excessive policy. This can be dealt with by ensuring that potential customers understand the nature of the contract. 5. Collect costs, revenue data, or other data from the industry you deem relevant. Explain how you would modify the data in order to make it relevant to decisions a manager must make Base of the data from Austin Hungerford, health insurance markets in many local areas are highly concentrated and the exercise of market power in concentrated markets generally leads to higher prices and reduced output. In the data, medical loss ratios among major insurers range from a low of 70.7% to almost 89%. Some major commercial insurers have had significant decreases in medical expense ratios in the past decade. For example, CIGNA HealthCare’s medical loss ratio, 86.3% in 2001, fell to 70.7% in 2008 (Austin Hungerford, 2009). In general, medical loss ratios can change dramatically from one year to another. This explained by unexpectedly high medical costs or by aggressive pricing intended to increase market share. The above data help managers understand industry characteristics better than an individual. It is relevant to managers by consolidating all of the medical loss ratio, and combining them in an industry average. The managers have a better feel for industry averages and trends. 6. Explain the major factors that affect the degree of competitiveness in your industry. Use the data to develop at least three (3) measures (e.g., productivity measures) to show how the industry is evolving The first factor is the number of firms on the market. If there are large number of firms operate in industry, overall prices will be reduced. The second factor is government regulation which affects the degree of competitiveness of the health insurance industry. The third is government provides health insurance. This can change the entire game plan for health industry. Private firms may be unable to compete against government’s insurance plans. That will affect the overall competitiveness of the industry. These measures to show how the industry is evolving include average prices of health insurance plans, potential buyers, and overall average medical costs. Average price of health insurance will show the industrys evolution by examining patterns of profit growth in relation to health insurance costs. The number of health insurance buyers will help understand the growth patterns in customer base, and demand for health insurance plans. Medical costs will show the relationship between industry growths, inflation of costs, and increase in general medical care.

Challenges ASEAN Will Face In Establishing A Community

Challenges ASEAN Will Face In Establishing A Community ASEAN nations have signed the Cebu Declaration on the Acceleration of the Establishment of an ASEAN community by 2015 on the 12th ASEAN Summit in Cebu. This ASEAN community comprises of 3 main pillars, the ASEAN economic community, ASEAN political security community and ASEAN socio-cultural community. It is aimed at being a concert of Southeast Asian nations, displaying the outward looking nations that are living in peace, stability and prosperity as a whole region which is bonded strongly together in a dynamic and wide development and in a community of caring societies. However, it seems that due to the many differences between the countries, there would be many challenges in fulfilling its 2015 vision of establishing an ASEAN community by 2015. Background of ASEAN ASEAN was established on 8th of August 1967 when the Bangkok declaration was signed by Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia , Singapore and Indonesia. Brunei Darussalam joined the ASEAN community on January 1984 and Myanmar joined in 1997. Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia became members in 1995, 1997 and 2004 respectively. ASEAN was established to strengthen self-reliance and regional cohesion, while emphasizing social, cultural and economic cooperation and developmentà £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Another reason why ASEAN was formed was because back then, countries like China were getting too powerful and the only way the smaller countries could prosper was to group together. Thus, ASEAN was established. Now the main purpose of ASEAN is to help its members increase its economic growth and social development, and to establish peace between the ASEAN countries. Map of ASEAN countries Overview of challenges In this project we will study the ASEAN community and their commitment towards their goals, the problems they might face, and find the possible impact of it. The security and religious issues continue to be a barrier for ASEAN, with the many ethno-religious movements that will likely affect the coherence and stability within a nation and possibly ASEAN as a whole. The issue of more transparent boundaries that will be established will also cause the security to be less tight and will affect the peace of all. The different rate of economic development between the ASEAN nations is a huge challenge for ASEAN members in establishing a stable ASEAN economic community as the economy is a very important area and it will affect everyone in the ASEAN community. The differences in political systems of ASEAN members also poses a challenge as it would be difficult for so many different countries to work together cohesively with the nations operating differently. Challenge 1:Religious and security issues One of ASEANs greatest challenges in creating an ASEAN community is the security issues caused by ethno-religious movements and the more transparent boundaries that might greatly disrupt the peaceful coexistence that the ASEAN nations have tried established with one another. The ASEAN community will create more transparent boundaries so that it is more accessible for the people but that will also lead into a security that is not that tight and making it more unsafe for the people. The ASEAN countries remain vulnerable to threats from ethno-religious movements of the people who are hungry for self-governance. Ethno-religious movements have been a huge block for ASEAN in establishing a fully fledged ASEAN Community as there would be issues arising regarding the coherence of the country or the entire region. Southeast Asia has housed Islamic militant groups for the past few decades. After the World War II, Southeast Asian countries mostly became independent as the colonial powers that once ruled then departed. The countries were governed by undemocratic and brutal governments and affected the Muslim identities and values. This stirred up a sense of antagonism and animosity towards their various central governments, causing a great impact on the stability and security of ASEAN as a whole. Take for example, the Abu Sayyaf and Moro Islamic Liberation Front, both guerrilla organisations in the Philippines, are using political violence in attempt to pursue an autonomous Islamic state in Mindanao in the midst of the mostly Christian country and is said to have links to Malaysian and Indonesian jihadist forces. They have kidnapped foreign tourists from Malaysia, bombed a Philippines Airlines plane, assassinated and kidnapped priests and businessmen. Abu Sayyaf is said to have received arms and munitions from Afghanistan. It aims to evict Christians. As stated in the 2003 Declaration of Asean Concord II, Asean shall urgently and effectively address the challenge of translating Asean cultural diversities and different economic levels into equitable development opportunity and prosperity, in an environment of solidarity, regional resilience and harmony. Also, as ASEAN builds up its ASEAN Community, it also makes boundaries between the countries more transparent and this will result in a simpler way for terrorists groups to gather more members with the same beliefs as there is a larger number of people and the influence coming from so many areas will cause one to be daring enough to stand up for what they think that it is unfair to them as there are others backing them. This also makes it easier for terrorists movements to move about within the region as there is a widespread of members throughout the whole ASEAN and resources will be easier to get and access resources within the region. Even though ASEAN recognises that the region is divided into many ethno-cultural groups, efforts can only be taken to try to preserve the diversity in cultural heritage and to promote regional identity and it will be very challenging for ASEAN to overcome such issues to achieve a harmonious community. Along with the issue of more transparent borders, ASEAN can try their best to understand and accommodate the different religions and the reasons being such movement, however, ASEAN must also remember that even though the boundaries are more transparent, security must always remain tight and must always be alert and looking out for terrorist threats that will be constantly heading towards every country. Challenge 2: Differences in each countries development rates Different rates of development between ASEAN countries makes it difficult for all of them to work together cohesively on the large scale. Many ASEAN countries have widely different economic states, making fulfilling the goal of establishing the ASEAN community by 2015 rather challenging. GDP per capita of ASEAN countries as of 2005 in USD One example of counties with vastly and Cambodia. Although Cambodia is more than 250 times the size of Singapore and has 30 times the population, Singapore has a much better economy. In Cambodia, as of 2004, the percentage of the population below poverty line is a whopping 31%, while comparatively, in Singapore, the amount of citizens below poverty line is almost 0%. The currency and GDP per capita of Singapore is also much higher than that of Cambodia, at 1.4 per USD and $50,300 compared to 4221 per USD and $1,900 respectively. Singapore also has a lot of well developed infrastructure while Cambodia has barely any infrastructure in the rural areas. With the huge differences in these statistics, it is easy to tell that the Singapore economy is doing much better than the Cambodia economy. Another pair of countries with different development rates is Cambodia and Thailand, these two countries are right next to each other and both are relatively unstable. Both countries have gone through many economic and political troubles, but the economic situation in Thailand has generally been better than that in Cambodia, and the GDP of Thailand has constantly remained above that of Cambodia. In the countryside, Cambodia does not really have even the more basic infrastructure and the majority of Cambodias population is in fact younger than 21 years old and many of these youths lack the skill and education required to help push forward Cambodias economy. While on the other hand, Thailand has relatively well developed infrastructure and the countries people generally better educated. The GDP per capita of Thailand and Cambodia as of 2009 was $8,100 and $1,900 respectively. Although Thailand has slightly over four times the population of Cambodia, it has around twenty times the GDP. The death rate and infant mortality rate is also higher in Cambodia, and the life expectancy in Thailand is 73 years while in Cambodia it is 62 years. All these information shows that Thailand is a more economically developed country than Cambodia. All these information shows that the countries in ASEAN all have vastly different economic development rates, this would pose a problem when attempting to fulfil the 2015 vision. Statistics on ASEAN countries Challenge 3: differences in each countries political system Differences in government systems between ASEAN countries make it rather difficult for the countries to cooperate, as actions taken by different countries to tackle a similar issue may vary and there might be conflicts between the countries. The type of government greatly affects the domestic stability of a country and many other aspects, such as the economy, security and welfare of the citizens. Differences in government system in ASEAN can be seen through the case study of Myanmar and Thailand. Myanmar has a military government, in which military officers took up the majority of the ministries and cabinet posts which control the country. Though major political parties, such as the National League for Democracy and the Shan Nationalities league for Democracy and parties representing other ethnic groups are present in the country, their activities are greatly suppressed and controlled by the military government. Little room is given for the political organisations while many parties and underground student organisations are prohibited by the military. Despite pressure from ASEAN nations to release all the political prisoners and the request for greater progress towards democracy and a harmonious country, human rights in Myanmar remained poor. ASEAN nations had failed to come to an agreement on Myanmars lack of political reform during the 12th ASEAN summit, as each country has their own opinions and concerns. While some countries do not wish to interfere with Myanmars internal issues, others regard democracy and human rights issues as a possible obstacle for ASEAN to be integrated in terms of politics, which is part of the 2015 vision. Furthermore, Myanmar ranks 178 positions out of 180 countries for the level of corruption in the country, according to the Corruption Perceptions Index. This also affects the militarys efficiency and their practice of good governance in the country. On the other hand, Thailand is under a constitutional monarchy government, led by a king, a Prime Minister and has a parliamentary democratic system with multiple political parties. In Thailand,their King is more of a symbol of national identity and unity rather than having direct power under Thailands constitution. Thailand was similar to Myanmar in the way that Thailand was under the rule of a succession of military leaders with relatively weak democratic system. In the recent years, Thailands political landscape has been constantly plagued with issues such as persisting and significant difference between the urban and rural political orientation and focus, and democratically elected leaders abusing their power and their conflict of interest. Currently, the ongoing political unrest in Thailand began due to a coup dà ©tat staged by the military in 2006 that overthrown Thaksin, the former Prime Minister, for corruption and abuse of power. Thaksin supporters, who are mostly working class constituency and people from poor rural areas, accuse Thailands urban elites for coordinating the coup. These poorer citizens liked his ideas of more affordable medical care and debt relief, which can greatly improve their living standard. This is one of the key reasons for the overwhelming support from the red-shirt protestors even when he was on self-imposed exile. Not only was Thailands national economy crippled by its political instability. Thaksins supporters had disrupted the 14th ASEAN summit that was held in Thailand last year, and brought embarrassment to the ASEAN community. All of these issues makes it difficult for the ASEAN countries to work together, and much things need to be done to dampen these problems. Conclusion ASEAN countries face quite a number of challenges towards achieving their goal of setting up an ASEAN community as there are always some problems in cooperation faced by the member countries. Security issues, political and government issues make it hard for countries to cooperate together to form the community. These problems faced will not allow the member countries to make decisions and agree with one another easily. To fulfil its dream of the 2015 ASEAN community, ASEAN has to put in much effort into rectifying these problems, even though much has already been done towards establishing the ASEAN community.

Lazy is the American Essay -- Argumentative Technology Technological P

Lazy is the American Today’s American society consists of many technological achievements. The cars we drive, the classes we take, and even the things we do in our spare time has changed due to the increasing amount of technology that is available to us. Technology is a wonderful thing to behold, but then we can look at the one thing technology has done to humans and especially Americans. Technology has created a society of many lazy people. In order to support my argument, I believe that it is imperative to answer one question in great detail. How has technology made us lazy? Laziness has gradually increased in the past ten years. Kids no longer want to play outside. â€Å"It’s too hot?† or â€Å"Let me finish this game!† are just a couple of excuses kids make these days for staying indoors and not enjoying an outdoor activities. Air-conditioners and video games have done some extreme damage to youths and their physical activity. I am only 19 years old but I remember playing a pick-up game of baseball or wiffleball after school or during the summer in the afternoon. Kids these days have forgotten how to enjoy the outdoors. Sure there are those few kids in town who still enjoy doing such things. Hell, I still enjoy playing a game of baseball or wiffleball. But for most kids, the interest is non-existent. Kids in the 90’s grew up with new inventions such as the Playstation and the PC. Why go outside when all you need is inside? Nowadays there is a television in almost every room in many typical American families’ home s. Kids even have televisions in their rooms with their game consoles plugged in and their computer next to their bed. Our family had one TV to share and a game system was connected to it. I was forced to share... ... or shooting some hoops with mom or dad, can resolve some laziness both as a person and as a parent. Parents could also focus on helping their kids with homework or keeping up to date on their grades. This is no technological achievement that has been made to act as a parent and there shouldn’t be one. When that child grows up to be a parent, their attitude will reflect that of his parent’s, a majority of the time. This is a society that makes excuses for our laziness. Technology has helped induce our laziness. We shouldn’t do away with technology, but we should use technology when we are lacking in time to spend being active outdoors or when we are spending time with our family. Technology should not be used for everything we do either, such as cooking, traveling, or even doing basic chores because sometimes technology hurts society more than it helps society.

Community mental health service Essay

Describe how three key professionals could be involved in planning support for individuals/Mr. Ali There are three key professionals working with Mr. Ali and supporting him through his decisions. They are also working together with each other to put together a support plan for Mr. Ali. The three key professionals are; a community psychiatric nurse, support worker and dietician. Each has a different role in the planning support for Mr. Ali as they are all supporting Mr. Ali with different aspects of his health and well-being. A Community Psychiatric Nurse is fully trained and has many years experience in a hospital setting before going out into the community. Their experience would have been on psychiatric wards in hospitals. The role of the Community Psychiatric Nurse is to visit people in the community, usually in the patient’s own home but can also be clinic based. CPN’s are normally the patient’s first point of contact as they are there to support people who are experiencing a difficult time in their lives. They also visit patients in the community who are in good health to ensure they are okay. A CPN administers medication to patients and ensure they know the reason to why they are taking then and when they should take them. A CPN does not only support the patient but also family, friends and carers. This role is valuable as it helps them to understand and cope with any illnesses the patient has. CPN’s also take referrals from GP’s, psychiatrists and inpatient wards as the CPN will support the patient and help them get back out into the community and from then on the CPN is usually the patients key-worker. In regards to Mr. Ali, the community psychiatric nurse will visit him at home to ensure his emotional and psychological state is not going to be jeopardised due to him taking part in the sponsored walk. The CPN will also ensure Mr. Ali is still taking his medication correctly and support him through any tough times he is facing. The CPN’s role as a nurse and key-worker when participating in the planning of Mr. Ali’s support plan is, to review Mr. Ali’s progress and assess if all of Mr. Ali’s needs are being addressed. This involves, getting feedback from Mr. Ali about how positive or negative the help and support is that he is receiving from the mental health team. The key-worker can be anyone who is a member of the community mental health team; a psychiatrist, CPN, Occupational Therapist, Social Worker or psychologist. A support worker is someone who supports people with different need in their everyday lives. They support them in many ways and in many situations. They focus on the needs of the service users by supporting them, giving time to the service user and promote their recovery or support them through illness. The role of a support worker is to; promote the independence of the service user, provide companionship and friendships whilst providing practical and regular support. A support worker will provide support with daily living and facilitate people living normal lives. A support worker plays a huge role in any service user’s life and helps them gain access to resources such as; day centres, support groups etc. If a service user was to deteriorate then their support worker will help identify this and then supporting the service user when they are going through treatment. Health promotion information is also provided by a support worker. In regards to Mr. Ali, a support worker working with mental health is known as a STR; a support, time and recovery worker. The STR will work as a team who focuses directly on Mr. Ali and provide mental health services. Even though Mr. Ali lives independently, his STR will support him to keep his independence. The STR would need to have a good relationship with Mr. Ali, providing companionship and friendship, and then they will be able to provide regular and practical support. Mr.Ali attends a day centre and to gain access to this, the STR would have helped Mr. Ali. The STR will give Mr. Ali all the support he need with daily living whilst facilitating Mr. Ali to live an ordinary life. If Mr. Ali was to start having a relapse his STR would help identify the early signs and report it to other health professionals involved in Mr. Ali’s care and support. The STR would the support Mr. Ali with any treatment he is involved in. When Mr. Ali attends the day centre, his support worker may be with him at times to provide emotional support and could also act as an advocate. As Mr. Ali’s STR, they will be there to support Mr. Ali through anything he finds difficult in his daily life and support him with tasks when needed. The STR will put their views across to other professionals and Mr. Ali when in the process of creating a support plan. He will be able to pass on his concerns about Mr. Ali and also what he thinks Mr. Ali’s strengths are. The STR will put a lot of information into a support plan as they would know Mr. Ali best due to building a strong compassionate friendship and due to being more involved in Mr. Ali’s personal life than other professionals. Whilst being involved in the support plan the STR will promote Mr. Ali’s rights, maintain confidentiality and promote equal opportunities, ensuring Mr. Ali is being treated with respect and dignity, which is part of ethical practice. A dietician is a trained professional who enables and empowers people to make informed and practical choices about the food they eat and lifestyle choices. They are trained in hospital and community settings and usually employed by the NHS. They can also work in the food industry research and education, and also on a freelance basis. Dieticians must be registered before working with anyone who is referred to them. Their role includes going through a practical application of nutrition with individuals, promoting the well-being of both individuals and the community; this will help to prevent nutrition related problems. Dieticians can also diagnose individuals with nutrition related problems and disease, and are also involved with dietary treatment of disease. Their main responsibilities include; working with individuals with special dietary needs, evaluating and improving treatments. They also use a social marketing approach to inform the public about nutrition and offer unbiased advice. They are there to also educate patients, clients, other health professionals and groups in the community. The use of mass media is used a lot by dieticians; leaflets, adverts, posters, billboards, radio advertisements, television adverts and many more forms of media are used and this is how dieticians promote well-being, inform the public, educate and give advice. In regards to Mr. Ali, he wants to become healthier as he wants to help raise money for the day centre he attends. He will be helping raise the money by participating in a 20 mile sponsored walk. He has taken this very seriously and wants to do his absolute best in achieving his goal. The event is taking place in three months time and within this time Mr. Ali wants to gradually improve his walking distance. The main support he wants is with his diet. He wants support and advice on healthy eating; this will be part of his preparations. He wants to know what meals, drinks and snacks are best for him to keep his energy levels up but not empty calories which will make him gain weight. To help Mr. Ali with this, the dietician will advise him on what is a good way to maintain his weight and raise his energy levels. Dieticians sometimes do this by working with the service user to create a healthy eating plan. This will consist of what Mr. Ali will eat each day, Mr. Ali will be involved in the whole process. Mr. Ali will be given leaflets full of nutritional advice and the dietician will also talk to Mr. Ali about any bad habits he has, what foods he eats more of, what his food weaknesses are and if he does any physical exercise. The dietician would have to take into consideration that Mr. Ali cannot be pushed too hard or become distressed due to his mental health illness. The dietician needs to respect Mr. Ali’s choice and treat him with dignity. Mr. Ali’s rights should not be infringed and the dietician should not use and abuse their power; just because Mr. Ali has come to the dietician for support and advice, it does not mean the dietician can control what Mr. Ali eats or controls what he does in his personal life. All the dietician should do is give advice and support Mr. Ali with his preparations. The dietician can review Mr. Ali’s progress before the event begins. They can do this when they feel Mr. Ali will need more advice and support. It may start off as every two weeks then move to once a month depending on his progress and health. The role of the dietician when participating in the process of creating Mr. Ali’s support plan is, to put forward his thoughts on how he thinks the healthy eating and preparation for the 20 mile sponsored walk will affect his health. He can put forward whether they think it would be too much pressure on Mr. Ali or if it will be for his mental and emotional state. Together all three professionals can determine, with Mr. Ali present, what the best option is for Mr. Ali and how he can participate in the event without it affecting his health and well-being. When working together all professionals must consider Mr. Ali’s individuals rights and treat him as an individual. If he is not treated with respect and dignity, or not treated as an individual then he will feel his personal identity has been stripped from him. Taking a holistic approach will ensure that all Mr. Ali receiving a person centred care.

How To 10x Your Content Ideas With Sujan Patel From Web Profits

How To 10x Your Content Ideas With Sujan Patel From Web Profits Have you struggled to come up with content ideas about your niche that are significantly better than what’s already out there? Also called 10x content, this type of content is important for appealing to both search engines and the readers who are going to end up buying from you. Today’s guest, Sujan Patel, is the co-founder and GM of Web Profits, a growth marketing agency. He’s been quoted in Forbes, Inc, and Entrepreneur, among other publications, and today Sujan is going to talk to us about generating 10x content ideas that will help you succeed as a marketer. Some of the topics that you’ll hear about today include: What Web Profits is all about, what Sujan does, and other projects that he’s working on. How Sujan stays focused on 10x growth as evaluates content ideas, from brainstorming to the narrowing-down process, and how publishing fits into the 10x growth plan. Why it’s so important to publish lots of quality content, consistently. Sujan’s process for generating great ideas for content: How he comes up with ideas and how he makes sure it will be effective in terms of SEO. Some of Sujan’s favorite brainstorming methods and tips. Sujan’s best advice for a marketer struggling to come up with 10x ideas. Powered by PodcastMotor Actionable Content Marketing powered by By 00:00/00:00 1x 100 > Download file Subscribe on iTunes Leave Review Share Links: SujanPatel.com Web Profits Growth Mapping Podcast Quora ContentMarketer.io MailShakes Email Outreach Playbook Sujans Customer Delight Playbook If you liked today’s show, please subscribe on iTunes to The Actionable Content Marketing Podcast! The podcast is also available on SoundCloud, Stitcher, and Google Play. Quotes by Sujan: Quotes by Sujan: â€Å"Staying focused means saying no to a lot of things.† â€Å"One piece of content can be used multiple different ways when you apply different formats.† â€Å"If you’re writing things that are on par with what others are writing, go back and double that part. Go deeper.† â€Å"The best way to build a personal brand is to leverage blogging.†

Prejudice in essays

Prejudice in essays How does To Kill a Mockingbird show the different forms of Prejudice that existed in the Southern States of America? Prejudice is a problem still faced by people today, it is the victimisation of people who are different to the majority in some way. These people are discriminated against and treated unfairly. In the 1930s, when this book is set prejudice is extremely evident. These were times of great depression resulting in sweeping changes. Some people starved trying to find work, while others did all they could to just hang on a little longer. Across America, all had tough times. The stress brought on by the depression took its toll on family members in poor households. Throughout the book there are strong references to the many forms of prejudice that were and still are present, such as classism and racism. The book demonstrates how the people at this time were hypocritical when it came to racism. It shows peoples ignorance and ability to pigeonhole others. It illustrates attempts to break prejudicial barriers and the effects of prejudice on the community. Prejudice is directed at v arious characters during the book, each time new forms and effects are clear. The first sign of prejudice in the novel is when the Finch Children raid Boo Radleys home. They have judged him on rumours they have heard and describe him like an animal. There was a long jagged scar that ran across his face; what teeth he had were yellow and rotten; his eyes popped, and he drooled most of the time. The children treat him with little respect and great fear when they creep up to his house. Boo is the victim of the communities abuse because he is a recluse. It shows how people can be isolated from society with little reasoning; he had never done any of the things he was accused of. During the depression there was nowhere to go, nothing to buy and no money to buy it with. So women e...

Free Essays on The Song Of Solomon

The Song of Solomon - What's in a Name? Toni Morrison’s award-winning novel Song of Solomon is full of very interesting, deep symbolism. Macon Dead III, nicknamed â€Å"Milkman,† is a very symbolic character throughout the novel. His character is not only symbolic, for so is his name. Also, Milkman’s paternal aunt, Pilate, has an extremely significant and symbolic role in the novel. To her father, she represents the child who killed her own mother and took away her father’s wife. Seeing that Pontius Pilate sentenced Jesus to death, the name Pilate seems to coincide with her father, Macon Dead’s, opinion. Ironically, though, Pilate is a good person and is murdered in the end, just as Jesus was by Pontius Pilate. Another important character in the novel who portrays a great deal of symbolism is Guitar, Milkman’s best friend. Guitar is named after something that he is ultimately unable to attain. â€Å"I saw it when my mother took me downtown with her. I was just a baby†¦I cried for it, they said. And always asked about it.† This unreachable goal accurately describes his character throughout the novel. He is never able to overcome the obstacles that stand in his way or to reach the goals he has set for himself. Toni Morrison intelligently uses the characters Milkman, Pilate, and Guitar to successfully portray a great deal of symbolism throughout her novel. â€Å"A milkman. That’s what you got here, Miss Rufie.† Milkman is given his name for a very logical reason: his mother nurses him until he is an adolescent. Freddie discovers this and gives Macon III his new nickname that will stick with him for the rest of his life. The name Milkman is symbolic in that it represents the other man in his mother, Ruth’s, life; it represents her need for another man because she simply cannot get what she feels she wants and needs from her husband. Consequently, she turns to her son to provide her with the comfort and love she is lacking. ... Free Essays on The Song Of Solomon Free Essays on The Song Of Solomon The Song of Solomon - What's in a Name? Toni Morrison’s award-winning novel Song of Solomon is full of very interesting, deep symbolism. Macon Dead III, nicknamed â€Å"Milkman,† is a very symbolic character throughout the novel. His character is not only symbolic, for so is his name. Also, Milkman’s paternal aunt, Pilate, has an extremely significant and symbolic role in the novel. To her father, she represents the child who killed her own mother and took away her father’s wife. Seeing that Pontius Pilate sentenced Jesus to death, the name Pilate seems to coincide with her father, Macon Dead’s, opinion. Ironically, though, Pilate is a good person and is murdered in the end, just as Jesus was by Pontius Pilate. Another important character in the novel who portrays a great deal of symbolism is Guitar, Milkman’s best friend. Guitar is named after something that he is ultimately unable to attain. â€Å"I saw it when my mother took me downtown with her. I was just a baby†¦I cried for it, they said. And always asked about it.† This unreachable goal accurately describes his character throughout the novel. He is never able to overcome the obstacles that stand in his way or to reach the goals he has set for himself. Toni Morrison intelligently uses the characters Milkman, Pilate, and Guitar to successfully portray a great deal of symbolism throughout her novel. â€Å"A milkman. That’s what you got here, Miss Rufie.† Milkman is given his name for a very logical reason: his mother nurses him until he is an adolescent. Freddie discovers this and gives Macon III his new nickname that will stick with him for the rest of his life. The name Milkman is symbolic in that it represents the other man in his mother, Ruth’s, life; it represents her need for another man because she simply cannot get what she feels she wants and needs from her husband. Consequently, she turns to her son to provide her with the comfort and love she is lacking. ...

Disagreements on the Interpretations of the Zhuangzi Essay

Disagreements on the Interpretations of the Zhuangzi - Essay Example These differences can be summed up in presenting two modern analyses and interpretations of some parts of the Zhuangzi, with emphasis on the governing forces that shape and control the universe. For writer Erica Brindley, she interprets the Zhuangzi as the driving force and endless source of power that moves the universe and is above even Heaven itself is the Dao ?, which is â€Å"an upright way†, â€Å"a method†, â€Å"a path†, or â€Å"a truth†.1 The Dao allows the proliferation of diversity, thus any kind of method is considered acceptable as long as it is in line with the truth, making it a cyclical or a circular concept. Meanwhile writer Michael J. Puett interprets Heaven or Tian ? as the apex in the universal hierarchy and governs laws initiating changes and transformations, similar to patriarchy as a social order.2 Because the two authors read and interpreted the Zhuangzi using two different terms with differing ideologies, there are disagreements b etween the two, wherein Brindley’s interpretation of the Zhuangzi shows that the universe has a cyclic nature accessible through transcendence, while Puett’s interpretation states that the universal hierarchy is linear with Heaven at the apex, and man must live in balance with it without having to enter transcendence. Comparisons of the Two Interpretations of the Zhuangzi Brindley’s interpretation of the Zhuangzi gives a greater emphasis on the Dao as the all-encompassing, dynamic, unbounded and limitless driving force that shapes the cosmos and initiates its constant transformations.3 This is due to how she explains some ideas in the Zhuangzi using the Dao as the major influence. For example, she interprets the Dao to be impersonal, thus when a person unites with it, the perception of the self ceases to exist and becomes indistinguishable through emptiness, Wu ?. Thus this person does not act of his own accord anymore, because the self is no more. A passage fro m Zhuangzi mentions the impersonality of the Dao: â€Å"The Way has its reality and its signs but is without action or form. You can hand it down but you cannot receive it; you can get it but you cannot see it (Zhuangzi 6.9).†4 The idea is similar to Descartes’ â€Å"I think, therefore I am†, but instead it becomes I no longer am, and thus my thoughts are not mine.5 This turns thoughts from something personal to something that is not from the person, thus being impersonal. On the other hand, Puett’s interpretations of the Zhuangzi gives more emphasis on Heaven to be the one governing all changes that happen in the universe, and that humans must strive not to work against it, but rather follow its patterns.6 This is because resisting or controlling these changes makes people resentful, and will turn into an endless cycle of dissatisfaction, whereas allowing changes to happen as fate brings one pleasure and peace. This can be further explained using a passa ge from Zhuangzi: â€Å"Such things from time to time may happen to come your way. When they come, you cannot keep them from arriving, but when they depart you cannot stop them from going (Zhuangzi 16.5).†7 By allowing things to happen according to the patterns of Heaven and forgoing all, man can easily live in peace. Another disagreement between Brindley’s and Puett’s interpretations of the Zhuangzi is on how normalcy or humanity is defined. For Brindley, what the universe creates that man does not see normal are the products of how the Dao allows diversity to exist in the cosmos, while for Puett anything that exists in nature, regardless of whether humans consider it normal or not are still the products of the will of Heaven and are thus â€Å"heavenly†. The two texts both mentioned the following passage from Zhua

Retailers Extensions or New Format based upon changing Consumers and Assignment

Retailers Extensions or New Format based upon changing Consumers and Markets - Assignment Example My document examines effects of demographic shifts on consumption patterns. In addition, it highlights effects of changing consumer behavior on the performance off-price retailers and the marketing function numerous sources have revealed that demographic shifts pose significant impacts on the production, distribution, and individual consumer behavior. Significantly, demographic factors play a critical role in marketing. For instance, demographic trends can forecast change in the commodity demand. In addition, demographic variables influence profoundly on brand choice. Examples of off-price retailers include; the TJX companies, Ross Stores, and Big lots. These retail stores sell clothing and its accessories from major brands at relative discount. They take advantage of surplus and cancelled orders. In addition, they speculate on the mistakes made by counter parts in the full-price sector. Consequently, due to the increasing aging population, the declining middle class, and the high po pulation of working women, it implies that there numerous surplus in the markets. In response, there off-price retailers are able to purchaser commodities in large quantities. Additionally, since they get the commodities at considerable discounts, they sell the commodities at relative cheap prices. Symbolically the consumers are able to multiply their savings significantly; due to their friendly prices, the off-price retailers retain more customers than the full-price retailers. As a matter of reciprocation, there is a considerable change in the customer behavior. Accordingly, if the above trend in the demographic composition remains, the off-price retailers would be better positioned. Additionally, they make supernormal profits due to the large commodity margins. However, this demographic trend may influence negatively on the off-price retailers. For instance, due to the existence of online off-price retailers such as the Overstock Company and the Bluefly Company, the off-price ret ailers may not enjoy the said supernormal profits. Actually, e-commerce enables companies to offer enormous discounts on various commodities such jewelry and kitchen products. In addition, the bluefly companies offer numerous brands at discounted prices. Consequently, the consumers may decide to get goods through online despite the cheap prices offered by the normal off-price retailers. Generally, the full-price retailers stand better positions because they are immune such market uncertainties. Sources have revealed that, the current changing demographics coupled with consumer spending strategies, and the emerging numerous stores, have created a new retail environment. Additionally, new retail concepts have brought significant competition in retail trade influenced by the rapidly changing consumer demand. Moreover, the competition has intensified widely thus affecting both full-price retailers and off-price retailers because they are trying to maintain their share in the market (Car r, Babin, & Zikmund, 2012). In fact, there is the need for retailers to device appropriate strategies in order to reinvent themselves. For instance, they can ensure that they offer convenience, assortment, and value. In addition, some retail stores

Causes of crime in Great Britain and USA Assignment

Causes of crime in Great Britain and USA - Assignment Example United Sates and UK are some of the worst affected countries as far as criminal activities are concerned. Some people argue that poverty is the major reason behind increasing criminal activities. However, US and UK are two of the richest countries in the world and still crime rates increasing day by day in these countries. Cyber crime, burglary, organized crime, gun violence etc are some of the major criminal activities seen in United States and UK. â€Å"The UK government has published a report on February 17, 2011, concluding that the overall cost to the UK economy from cybercrime is  £27bn per year. Drug-related crime is estimated to cost the UK  £13.9 billion a year† (Cluely, 2011). On the other hand, â€Å"In 2006, the Internet Crime Complaint Center in America received and processed over 200,000 complaints. Total alleged dollar losses were more than $194 million†(Cyber crime Statistics, 2011). Cybercrime and burglary in UK and USA: Similarities and differences Cybercrime is one of the most modern crimes added to the list of organized criminal activities list. No country seems to be free from cyber crimes. Hardcore technology and online expertise are now available for rent and it is possible for even the unskilled antisocial elements to take these skills on rent basis for the execution of their criminal activities. In fact some of the organized cyber attacks which occurred in the recent times have surprised some of the highly technically skilled personnel. Kinetic weapons, power of electromagnetic energy, malicious computer code etc are some of the most common methods of cyber attacks employed by cyber terrorists. Botnets (vast numbers of compromised computers that have been infected with malicious code, and can be remotely-controlled through commands sent via the Internet) are another major tool for cybercrime, because of its effectiveness and the easiness in usage. America is facing more cyber attack threats from countries like China compared to United Kingdom. China wanted to outcast America from the superpower list and for that purpose; they are constantly engage in cyber espionage with America. China’s involvement in some of the recent cyber attacks on American computers was proved beyond doubt. The Times on 8 September 2007 reported that the Chinese military hackers have prepared a detailed plan to disable America’s aircraft battle carrier fleet with a devastating cyber attack, quoting a Pentagon report (The Times, 2007). Fox news on 24 March 2010 reported that the cyber attack on Google and US companies are part of suspected Chinese government operation (Fox News, 2010). In short, America is facing cyber crimes not only from individuals, but also from other countries as well. On the other hand, UK seems to be facing fewer threats from other countries as far as cyber espionage is concerned. In fact China and America are the two countries accused of spreading cyber espionage because of their superior technologies in IT and computer sectors. Cluely, (2011) has pointed out that total money losses in cyber crimes in UK has already crossed the ?27 billion per year.- ?9.2 billion comes from theft of intellectual propert

CASE STUDY Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Case Study Example Consultant, while not very well versed with the issues in hospitality industry, was nevertheless of the view that if turnover is a recurring or chronic problem, one must tackle it differently. In this case, while turnover was recognized as consistent problem, recruitment remained the only solution. Gunter’s assumption that issue needed to be looked from different perspective was correct. Consultant’s advice inspired him to investigate turnover and ex employees who had left for better prospects. The resort was seen as major training institute by other resorts who thought of Green Mountain’s alumni employees as top performers. Hence, Gunter took new recruits as opportunity to get hard working and committed workers. The recruits as career building would be able to give excellent level of service and thereby, contribute to resort’s success. It was sound strategy because there will not be shortage of potential top performers as they would continue to wait for their enlistment in the resort. Recruits are motivated because working in the resort is good for career

Symbolism in Waiting For Godot Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Symbolism in Waiting For Godot - Essay Example Although Godot does not arrive during the course of the play, his anticipation sets up the context for the musings and conversations of Estragon and Vladimir. Author Samuel Beckett creatively exploits this open ended plot structure to ponder over important questions about the human condition. Given that it was published in the aftermath of the Holocaust, it asks deep and compelling questions of the state of human civilization and the nature of our species. Such utterances from the two lead characters as â€Å"to hold the terrible silence at bay†, â€Å"Nothing to be done†, â€Å"We are saved!†, etc offer profound interpretive scope for the reflective reader. (Beckett, 1956) The most ostensible symbolisms in the play pertain to the existentialist philosophical framework. The first quote alludes to the acute existential crisis shadowing the period after the Second World War. Written as it was in the aftermath of the most devastating war in history, Beckett's preocc upations with the purpose of human life and how best to go about fulfilling it are in tune with the concerns and sentiments of the time. In this, the play is full of symbolisms of existence and its opposite state death - a pattern found in the works of other post-war intellectuals such as Albert Camus and Jean-Paul Sartre. Waiting for Godot is a product of the author's affectations during the war and hence contains in it psychological and philosophical questions treated in the existentialist framework. It is for this reason that notions such as 'death', 'nothingness' and momentary crises of human existence are all symbolically expressed. The play can also be read with theological symbolisms in mind, especially that of the Christian doctrine. The choice of the name Godot (that contains 'God' in it) is perceived by critics to have religious connotations. This claim is vindicated by dialogues in the play that resonate with Christian concepts of salvation, rising from the dead, etc. For example, â€Å"We are saved!†, which is frequently uttered by Vladimir or Estragon can be taken as a reference to the notion of salvation. These two characters can also be seen as the two thieves crucified alongside Jesus Christ. Out of their boredom, every now and then Estragon and Vladimir contemplate committing suicide by hanging themselves from the only prominent tree in the setting. This is again a reference to the crucifixion, but albeit in a sense of parody. Vladimir's casual remark to Estragon in Act I, â€Å"Hope deferred maketh the something sick, who said that?" is again a parody of a Christian proverb of the same rhyme - â€Å"Hope deferred makes the heart sick; but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life." (Beckett, 1956) Hence, the religious symbolism is quite strong, but the tone is one of mockery and not reverence. Ontological questions are focused upon in the play, with the author giving special treatment to the concept of time, which links this work to anoth er path-breaking existentialist thesis, namely that of Martin Heidegger’s Being and Time. For example, the deliberate similarity between the first and second acts in the play and elements of repetition seen in them is symbolic of the rhythmic and periodic nature of human existence, with each passing day a mirror of the day gone by and so forth. Because the play is essentially devoid of a describable plot and narrative, it operates at a very high level of abstraction. At this level, it lends itself to

Rdms, phase2 db1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Rdms, phase2 db1 - Essay Example Two types of integrity constraints entity integrity and referential integrity are taken in account for the design and development of database system. â€Å"An Entity is commonly thought of as a noun – a person, place or thing. In a real sense, Entities reflect Tables in the database† (Mickler, 2008). Entity integrity guarantees that there are no duplicate records within the table and that the field that identifies each record within the table is unique and never null. In general, Entity Integrity is the mechanism the system provides to maintain primary keys so that there is a unique identifier for rows in the table (database.dev.co.uk, 2008). It is good practice to have primary key in every table so that each row can be identified uniquely. â€Å"A primary key is typically only one field and that field is set to a special domain, or type† (Mickler, 2008). A primary key, composed of one or more columns, uniquely identifies each row of a table and eliminates the possibility of duplicate rows in a table (CTU Online, 2008). According to Hoffer, Prescott & McFadden (2007), â€Å"A foreign key is an attribute in a relation of a database that serves as the primary key of another relation in the same database†. Referential integrity maintains the consistency among the rows of two relations. The referential integrity rule states that for every foreign key value in a table, there must be a corresponding primary key value in another table in the database (CTU Online, 2008). Problems arise when we fail to relate the tables properly and inadvertently delete data in a particular table that would result in broken links or floating records (Mickler, 2008). For the new Student Class Registration System we have to make sure that entity and referential integrity constraints are applied. Entity integrity can be achieved by having a primary key not null field in each table of the database system that uniquely identifies each row. In case of our new Student Class Registration

CASE STUDY Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Case Study Example Consultant, while not very well versed with the issues in hospitality industry, was nevertheless of the view that if turnover is a recurring or chronic problem, one must tackle it differently. In this case, while turnover was recognized as consistent problem, recruitment remained the only solution. Gunter’s assumption that issue needed to be looked from different perspective was correct. Consultant’s advice inspired him to investigate turnover and ex employees who had left for better prospects. The resort was seen as major training institute by other resorts who thought of Green Mountain’s alumni employees as top performers. Hence, Gunter took new recruits as opportunity to get hard working and committed workers. The recruits as career building would be able to give excellent level of service and thereby, contribute to resort’s success. It was sound strategy because there will not be shortage of potential top performers as they would continue to wait for their enlistment in the resort. Recruits are motivated because working in the resort is good for career

Rdms, phase2 db1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Rdms, phase2 db1 - Essay Example Two types of integrity constraints entity integrity and referential integrity are taken in account for the design and development of database system. â€Å"An Entity is commonly thought of as a noun – a person, place or thing. In a real sense, Entities reflect Tables in the database† (Mickler, 2008). Entity integrity guarantees that there are no duplicate records within the table and that the field that identifies each record within the table is unique and never null. In general, Entity Integrity is the mechanism the system provides to maintain primary keys so that there is a unique identifier for rows in the table (database.dev.co.uk, 2008). It is good practice to have primary key in every table so that each row can be identified uniquely. â€Å"A primary key is typically only one field and that field is set to a special domain, or type† (Mickler, 2008). A primary key, composed of one or more columns, uniquely identifies each row of a table and eliminates the possibility of duplicate rows in a table (CTU Online, 2008). According to Hoffer, Prescott & McFadden (2007), â€Å"A foreign key is an attribute in a relation of a database that serves as the primary key of another relation in the same database†. Referential integrity maintains the consistency among the rows of two relations. The referential integrity rule states that for every foreign key value in a table, there must be a corresponding primary key value in another table in the database (CTU Online, 2008). Problems arise when we fail to relate the tables properly and inadvertently delete data in a particular table that would result in broken links or floating records (Mickler, 2008). For the new Student Class Registration System we have to make sure that entity and referential integrity constraints are applied. Entity integrity can be achieved by having a primary key not null field in each table of the database system that uniquely identifies each row. In case of our new Student Class Registration

Gothic art and architecture Essay Example for Free

Gothic art and architecture Essay The thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, spanned by what we term the Gothic period, saw a revolution in the social and economic life of Europe. As princes created fixed capitals for themselves instead of the earlier uncomfortable peripatetic courts, so the earlier agricultural system gave way before a more modern money economy. The movements brought great changes in their train and were to have a profound effect upon the arts. For the first, the building of castles, palaces and town residences not only gave a new importance to the visual effect of surroundings but also to the ideas of comfort and luxury. The court of Burgundy led the way and life came to be dominated by intricate ceremonial inherited in part from antiquity, Byzantium and the orient, and elaborated into an obligatory etiquette destined to reach its most exaggerated expression in baroque Spain. At the end of the period this court culture flowered into what was an almost decadent magnificence. Gothic sculpture, like Gothic architecture, originated in France, and it, too, spread rapidly throughout Europe, varying in each country (Frankl 21). Gothic art had become common to all of Europe, and its national variants did not develop in isolation, although they always remained distinct within the framework of the style. There was a good deal of practical exchange, and German holy images were ordered from and sent to Italy, French ivory caskets and small altars were exported to England and Germany and English alabasters were exported throughout Europe (Frankl 25). In its transition from the Romanesque, Gothic architecture was characterized by an open stone framework supporting a stone vaulting (Frankl 3). As this development reached its peak, painting and sculpture were almost completely subjected to architecture, though all three arts were ultimately to gain. It was inevitable that large-scale mural painting should give way as the walls of Gothic churches were increasingly devoted to ever-larger windows. However, these new transparent walls of glass were quickly claimed by the painters and at the very moment when they were most dependent upon the good will of the architect, they achieved their greatest triumphs; for this new painting with colour and light on enormous areas of glass amounted to the conquest of a new artistic field. Glass painting, from being a pleasant accessory of the old order of architecture, had gradually become an indispensable feature of Gothic interior decoration. Its greatest successes were achieved, as were those of the Gothic style as a whole, primarily north of the Alps, and its decline accompanied that of the style as a whole (West 104-05). In appropriating sculpture, Gothic cathedral architecture presented it with such gigantic new problems that it was taxed almost beyond its strength. The figures that had previously been sparingly applied to doorways and towers multiplied and became immense crowds nestling in groups round doorways and towers. As a result of this dependence on architecture, more sculpture was commissioned in the Gothic period than at any other time between antiquity and the baroque era; indeed the sculptor has probably never been so much in demand as he was then (West 137-39). At the end of the Gothic period, when architecture tired, when cathedrals, started at the peak of the period, remained unfinished despite increasingly extended building periods; when towers, planned on a gigantic scale, were left incomplete; when niches on pillars and portals still remained empty, sculpture was still strong enough to leave the sinking ship, alert enough to recapture part of its former territory. It was altar-decoration which gave new life to the dying art of monumental sculpture. Here sculptors and wood carvers gradually developed the simplicity of the early retable into an architectural structure worthy to carry their figures. The Gothic winged altar grew from the mensa, until, high under the distant vaulting, multitudinous groups of figures were gathered into its forest-like branches, both over centrepiece and over wings. At the close of the Gothic period a true Kleinplastik developed-Kleinplastik is an untranslatable word which applies to small, delicate carvings, sometimes only a few inches high, which were later to become the passion of the lay collector with his delight in elaborate material and craftsmanship. The ideals of the thirteenth century were still those that had inspired the crusades and which, towards the end of the eleventh century, had fired the western Christian world with a zeal to free the Holy Land from the Mohammedan infidels. In the space of a few generations, religious fervour and love of adventure moved hundreds of thousands from every country to do battle with the dangerously advancing forces of Islam. Great victories awaited them, but also shameful defeats; fame and riches, but imprisonment and miserable death as well. An important after-effect of the period of the crusades, which really ended at the close of the thirteenth century, was the growing prosperity, not only at the courts but also amongst the lesser nobility and the burghers. It was accompanied by a taste for luxury, a desire for a less simple mode of life, which in turn generated the forces needed to satisfy the new demands. The world had become, in contemporary eyes,-not only bigger and wider, but also more beautiful and interesting. Thus poetry and the arts, as well as the crafts, which had worked almost solely for the honour of God and the glory of his Church, were now called upon to glorify the everyday world (West 210-11). Commerce and the crafts, in all their colourful diversity, gained respect. As they grew in importance, guilds and merchant companies came into being, and succeeded in getting a voice in the administration of the cities, until the cities finally obtained freedom from the feudal overlord, owed allegiance only to the emperor, and were able to form political alliances with other cities. There was no more bondage for the burgher. The main roads met in the cities, which were the centres for travellers and pilgrims and for the trade of goods from far and near. The great building organizations were situated within their walls and they sheltered the artists and craftsmen; new wealth accumulated in the cities and with it a new civic pride appeared. All these developments offered the Gothic sculptor and carver many opportunities and, moreover, each generation had an insatiable desire to express its own artistic feeling. This was only made possible, over the years, by making room, by repeatedly clearing away or destroying the outmoded work of previous generations. Furthermore, the changing and often more elaborate liturgical customs and rites of the high and late Middle Ages demanded new equipment, new furnishings, and these afforded new subjects for the artist. For example, the appearance of the Rosary brotherhoods of the late Middle Ages produced a flood of Gothic Madonnas. The fast-spreading cult of St Anne led to the creation of charming groups showing her with the Virgin and Child (Branner 47). The number of altars increased considerably during the Gothic period in the cathedrals and collegiate churches especially, but also in the parish churches. The spacious churches of this era often had dozens of altars, sometimes more than fifty. The burgher, noble, or even ecclesiastic donors of these altars made themselves responsible for the material needs of the priest who served at their altar as well as for the provision of an artistically conceived altar with furnishings of admirable craftsmanship (Frankl 95). For such an altarpiece tradition demanded a representation of the patron saint, a cross, candelabra, an altar cloth, and robes. The buttresses of the new churches favoured the construction of subsidiary chapels and thereby increased the potential space for additional altars, which meant more commissions for the artists. The altarpiece which, as the chief domain of art, combined painting and sculpture in a common effort, has become the classic expression of late Gothic art for the world at large. In these altarpieces, the central section was generally reserved for three-dimensional figures. The insides of the wings were often given to the carvers for their reliefs, if they had not already been allotted to the paintersfor whom the outsides of the wings were always reserved. Such an altar complex was indeed imposing; its changing face-different on weekdays, Sundays and feast days-served as a kind of three-dimensional picture book of the church year for a pious world which could as yet neither read nor write, and so readily sought these vivid illustrations of the scriptures. The Western world found, in Gothic art, a means of symbolizing the Christian capacity to experience life and religion as conceived within the framework of medieval piety. Although each nation added something of its own national peculiarities the style retained its validity as a common artistic expression of Western Christianity and was universally recognized. Works Cited Branner, Robert. Burgundian Gothic Architecture. A. Zwemmer, 1960. Frankl, Paul. Gothic Architecture. Penguin Books, 1962. West, George Herbert. Gothic Architecture in England and France. G. Bell Sons, 1911.

Nursing Assessment Problem Identification Case Study Mr Lim

Nursing Assessment Problem Identification Case Study Mr Lim The medical record also shows that Mr. Lim has Type 2 diabetes (DM). His blood glucose level is 6.5mmol//L which according to Changi General Hospital (2009), is well-controlled for a diabetic patient. DM may be the major cause of Mr. Lims development of chronic renal failure (CRF) as suggested by Daniels and Hostetter (1992). Diabetes results in kidney damage by accelerating atherosclerosis and inducing hypertension (Rachmani, Ravid, 2003). A recent research links diabetes with atherosclerosis by the large amount of advanced glycation end products produced in diabetic patients that suppress the enzymes capable of dilating blood vessels and inhibiting inflammation of blood vessels (University of Rochester Medical Center, 2008, March 17). Inflammation of the glomerulus can result in hardening with scar formation, inducing tubulointerstitial injury in diabetic nephropathy causing it to progress into CRF (Brosius et al, 2008). The medical record shows that he has history of hypertension. On assessment, he exhibits high blood pressure (B/P) of 165/105, jugular venous distension (JVD), bilateral lower limb edema and change in skin turgor. Hypertensive nephrosclerosis is the second most common cause of CRF after DM. It causes CRF by increasing pressure in the arterial wall leading to stiffening and thickening of the afferent arteriolar and subsequently damages the glomerulus (Hill, 2008). However, hypertension as the only cause of CRF only occurs in those who are genetically predisposed (Freeman, Sedor, 2008). The other way round, Mr. Lims elevated B/P could be due to increased cardiac output associated with sodium and fluid retention as a complication of CRF (Hortom-Szar, 2007). Hypertension is exacerbated in CRF because damaged kidney is no longer able to maintain electrolyte balance and excreting of sodium is impaired due to damaged nephrons, leading to more amount of water reabsorbed, and hence hypertens ion and edema (Moorthy, 2009). As a result of fluid retention, Mr. Lim may report experiencing breathlessness and paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnea. On assessment, he exhibits tachypnea with increased respiration rate of 22/min, may be accompanied with crackles. This is associated to decreased oxygen saturation of 95% leading to an increased in respiratory rate as the body attempts to compensate by exhaling more carbon dioxide (Broscious, Castagnola, 2006). Left ventricular heart failure can also occur as a result of compensatory mechanism to reduced cardiac output in fluid overload (Thomas, 2008). The blood test results show increase in both creatinine (Cr) to 1.7mg/dL more than normal range of and blood urea nitrogen (BUN) to 28mg/dL, more than normal range of 0.6-1.3mg/dL and 10-20mg/dL, indicating decrease in renal ability to excrete waste product of metabolism (Hattersley, Mahon, 2002). Estimation of glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) is a better indicator of kidney function than serum creatinine level as it also takes into consideration of individuals body mass according to race (Thomas, 2008). Mr. Lims eGFR of 41 indicates stage 3 kidney damage. Mr Lims hemoglobin level of 12g/dL falls in the normal range of 12-18g/dL but in the lower end as anemia only starts to occur in state 3 CRF as suggested by Moorthy (2009). He is likely to become anemic if left uncontrolled as CRF progression results in fewer production of erythropoietin leading to a shortage of red blood cells (Moorthy, 2009). 2. Sleeping Mr. Lim reports insomnia. It could be due to pain, itchy skin, breathlessness or feelings of powerless, anxiety and financial stress. Depression and anxiety are also hurdles to Mr. Lims compliance to medical and dietary management of CKF as suggested by Kopple and Massry (2004). He may find life meaningless when challenged with poor health leading to spiritual deprivation and lack of impetus to improve his conditions. 3. Maintaining a safe environment Mr. Lim exhibits hyperthermia with temperature 37.8Â °C, higher than normal temperature of 37.0Â °C. Mr. Lim should be assessed for other signs of infection such as chills, aches, nausea, vomiting and cloudy urine caused by pus or bacteria. This is important because indwelling catheter and intravenous line provide entrance for harmful microorganisms and infection is likely as his immune system is suppressed due to disease progression (Heinzelmann et al, 1999). Lower leg edema also increases Mr. Lims risk for infection by ulcer development (Stalbow, 2004). Mr. Lim may complain of sudden onset of itching skin. According to Brewster (1996), Mr. Lim has a high risk of getting severe uremic pruritus because of his gender and high BUN level. Pruritus is caused by excretion of calcium, phosphorus and urea in the skin (Thomas, 2008). Assessment may reveal scratch marks. Scratching can cause blooding and bruising in Mr. Lim because of capillary permeability and altered clotting functions due to disease progression (Thomas, 2008). A nurse should assess Mr. Lims risk for injury associated with uremia induced central nervous system disorder. Mr. Lim may exhibit mental disabilities such as poor memory, loss of concentration and slower mental ability (Moorthy, 2007). Mr. Lim has high risk for fall if his mental status is altered. A nurse should also assess for signs of head injury associated with Mr. Lims fall. 4. Pain Mr. Lim reports a pain score of 4. He may describe flank pain as dull, aching and steady pain at the posterior costal margin. He may also complain of leg pain due to edema. Joint pain could also occur due to renal bone disease resulted from releasing of calcium may be released from bone to compensate decreased serum calcium (Broscious, Castagnola, 2006). Serum calcium level decreased due to albumin loss in CRF because some calcium is bind to protein. CRF also reduces vitamin D synthesis, resulting in less calcium absorption in the gut. He exhibits muscular spasm and tetany due to hypocalcemia (Moorthy, 2007). 5. Eating and drinking Mr. Lim may report loss of appetite due to metallic taste in mouth and prescribed unpalatable renal diet. Weight measurement may show rapid weight loss. Mr. Lim also requires a high-calcium diet to replace low serum calcium level. 6. Communication Effective patient education may be impeded by his lack of attention and fatigue as treatment requires a lot of patient participation. Ineffective communication would also prevent patient from discussing his concerns with his sons, making him feel more helpless and powerless. 7. Personal cleansing and dressing Mr. Lim reports extreme fatigue, weakness resulting in difficulty performing the activities of daily living. On assessment, Mr. Lim exhibits unkempt appearance and decreased range of motion especially of lower extremities. 8. Mobilising Mr. Lim may have difficulties ambulating due to pain from lower limbs swelling and renal bone disease. It could also be due to Wittmaack-Ekboms syndrome and paresthesia of feet associated with sensory neuropathy from uremia (Moorthy, 2008). 9. Eliminating Mr. Lim reports oliguria for last 24 hours and his urine output is measured to be 20 to 25ml/hour, below than normal volume of 33 to 84ml/hour suggested by Dugdale (2009). As a result, his urine colour appears dark due to decrease urine excretion. Urine output decreases because kidney is unable to excrete water due to damaged nephrons with decreased GFR (Broscious, Castagnola, 2006). Weight measurement may show rapid weight gain. However, fluctuation of weight may not occur due to malnutrition. Mr. Lim may exhibit hematemesis and tarry stool associated with gastrointestinal bleeding due to irritation by ammonia which is released in the gut by the breakdown of urea (Thomas, 2008). Mr. Lim may report difficulty in passing motion. Constipation occurs in patients with CRF as fluid intake is restricted and patient is inactive due to fatigue (Thomas, 2008). Nursing Diagnosis 1. Fluid overload related to inability of the kidneys to produce and eliminate urine as evidenced by high B/P of 165/105, edema and decreased urine output to 20 to 25mL/hour 2. Powerlessness related to lack of understanding of diagnosis and treatment plan and feeling of loss of control as evidenced by patient verbalization of financial concerns and appearing anxious and worried. 3. Risk for imbalanced nutrition: less than body requirements, related to decreased calcium absorption and decreased oral intake associated with loss of appetite and prescribed unpalatable diet as evidenced by low serum calcium of 2.0mg/dL, weight loss and patient verbalizes lack of energy. 4. Pain 5. Activity intolerance 6. Knowledge deficit 7. Risk for impaired skin integrity 8. Risk for prolonged bleeding 9. Risk for infection 10. Risk for fall C) Nursing Interventions 1. Fluid overload A nurse should monitor circulating volume by evaluating Mr. Lims daily weight, fluid intake and output records, JVD and circumference of edematous parts and vital signs, particularly blood pressure and pulse. Nursing care should also include assessing for crackle and S3 heart sound. Close monitoring allows the nurse to consult a physician if signs and symptoms of fluid overload worsen so interventions can be taken to prevent complications such as pulmonary edema or cardiac failure (Martchev, D). Medications such as diuretics which increase excretion of urine and arterial vasodilators to increase renal perfusion should be administered. This is important as controlling of hypertension and primary diseases are the only interventions proven effective in preventing progression of CRF (Thomas, 2008). Since Mr. Lim is diabetic, he requires B/P lower than 130/88mmHg to achieve same benefits as non-diabetic patients whose target B/P is 140/85mmHg (as cited in Thomas, 2008). However, Mr. Lim should not be intensely treated to become edema-free because of the danger of hypotension (Carpenito-Moyet, 2009). A nurse should collaborate with dietician in planning a renal diet with strict fluid restrictions, low sodium and low protein with high biological protein and encourage Mr. Lim to adhere to the diet. The amount of fluid given to Mr. Lim is restricted to 24-hour urine output plus 500mL to replace insensible loss to maintain fluid balance. Low-sodium diet is beneficial to prevent further fluid retention. High biological proteins from meats, cheese and milk provide amino acids essential for cell growth and repair but release less BUN during metabolism (Carpenito-Moyet, 2009). A nurse should assist Mr. Lim to sit in a semi-Fowler position since not contraindicated and elevate his feet when sitting up. Literature review shows that this increases lung volume, allowing him to breathe better and reduces venous return to the heart and thus decreases blood pressure (Bixby, 2005). Expected outcomes: During treatment in hospital, Mr. Lim does not develop complications of CRF. Before discharge, Mr. Lims B/P returns to his baseline prior to onset of renal failure, his edema is decreased and his electrolytes are normal or at baseline. 2. Powerlessness Since Mr. Lim expresses financial concerns, the nurse can inform Mr. Lim and his family that he is included in the Medisave for Chronic Disease Management Programme as he suffers from DM and hypertension which are covered in the programme, as such, he can activate Medisave to pay most of the bill when he visits general practitioner which can total up to $150 per visit (Health Professionals Portal, 2008). A nurse should encourage Mr. Lim to verbalize his concerns about potential changes in body image, life style and express feelings and frustrations. Patients with CRF feel inferior due to a restricted life style and dependence on others (as cited in Carpenito-Moyet, 2009). Effective communication between the nurse and the patient is necessary for a successful discharge planning including reduced anxiety and better quality of life (Carroll, Dowling, 2007). A nurse should and tell him not to see himself as a victim of disease as he has the capability to control the disease progression by complying with diet, fluid restriction and follow-up care. The nurse should provide adequate information about the multiple facets of the illness and therapy options encourage him to make decisions with the new knowledge. Self-worth and dignity can be enhanced when patient actively participates in decision making. Literature review shows that increasing patients self-worth is an effective treatment for depression in elderly (Ku et al, 2008). A nurse should explore the effects of the disease on Mr. Lims family as chronic illness has negative impact for the whole family, not just the individual with the disease. Expected outcomes: The nurse provides a holistic care to Mr. Lim and his family. Mr. Lim participates actively in decision-making for plan of care and identifies personal strengths and factors he can control and as a result is highly compliant to the treatment. 3. Risk for imbalanced nutrition A nurse should explain to Mr. Lim and his family about the reasons for dietary and fluid restrictions. Interaction between patient and nurse and family can enhance adherence to treatment by empowering them with knowledge (Kopple, Massry, 2004). The nurse should encourage good oral hygiene before and after meals and provide a pleasant environment during mealtimes to stimulate appetite. The nurse should be aware that individuals cultural background influences his food choices and relationship between diet and health (Kopple, Massry, 2004). He/she may discuss with Mr. Lim dietary options rather than restrictions as he might become discouraged if the diet is too restrictive and unpalatable (as cited in Kopple, Massry, 2004). A nurse can provide methods for Mr. Lim to relieve dry mouth with metallic taste and maintain fluid restriction as required by his condition. He/she can suggest Mr. Lim to take ice chips instead of water as one cup of ice equals only half cup of water and he can attain more satisfaction from ice as it stays in the mouth longer. He may also keep hard candy with him as it can alleviate dry mouth by stimulating saliva secretion. Frequent rinsing is also useful. Administer vitamin D or calcium supplements as ordered. Calcium supplements can replace calcium and decrease risk of tetany. Vitamin D facilitates calcium reabsorption in the gut. Expected outcomes: Mr. Lim understands the importance of adequate nutritional intake and complies with the prescribed dietary regime within 2 days. His calcium level increases after 1 week and he reports no muscular spasm and tetany. He maintains ideal weight and adequate nutrition during the hospital stay and after he is discharged.

Huck Finn :: essays research papers

Huck Finn Mrs. Williamson describes a hero’s journey as a cycle where the person is a hero from birth. This holds true for the character of Huck Finn because he fits the description of a hero in the book Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. There are many different phases, or episodes that embody Huck and Luke’s journey. They both start out feeling unfulfilled with their current circumstances, Luke is unhappy living in the desert and feels that he isn’t living up to his potential. Huck is living with his aunt, and then his father who are both abusive in their own way and hinder his progress as a person. Then they both leave home and begin to view the world from a more mature perspective. Luke finds out that life consists of more than just the day to day experiences that he has had and that indeed there are many injustices taking place in the world. Such as the fact that evil people can rule others. Huck discovers this same phenomena, he escapes with Jim and begins to question a hu man’s right to own someone else. In the end they both discover their worth as men who are able to do something to influence the world around them. For example, saving the lives of thousands of people or just one slave.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The period in one’s life of innocence is a starting point for many heroes. This is the time prior to the adventure he is about to embark on. Huck’s childhood consisted of childish games with his best friend, Tom Sawyer. Huck’s days were filled with games of pretend that were supposed to be actual adventures. Most of these adventures were figments of Tom Sawyer’s imagination. This is important to know since it provided the preparation Huck needed to get through the journey on the river. It gave him the tools to survive and maintain his sense of moral well-being. It is ironic, however, that the adventures Huck actually experiences are far more intense than the adventures they pretend to go on. Indeed, truth is stranger than fiction. Huck’s schooling with the widow and Miss Watson are another element of his innocent childhood. He experienced what he called the ‘civilized’ life. He was fed, wore clean clothes, and was well tak en care of. For a boy who lived for adventures and everything nature had to offer, the civilized life did not appeal to him.

Earth :: Essays Papers

Earth I heard of this place not too long ago. I can’t quite remember what it was called. It is a place where it is forever dark and it is ruled by something or someone extraordinarily powerful. In this place, humans walk alongside with gargoyles, beasts and ogres where humans are the inferiors. There is no sun or stars or moon, nor is there day or night. There is no democracy. Humans are the slaves and are treated like animals, men and women alike. Humans aren’t allowed to speak out, Laugh or even smile or they will be severely punished. They live in a nightmare society. The land is engulfed in darkness. There is no electricity, no roads, no transportation, no houses, no communication, no nothing. There is fire. That is all they have to bring light to the place. The beasts live in giant homes or shelters made of anything they can find. The beasts are absolutely horrid creatures. They are nothing like you or I have ever seen before, not even in horror films. They are not like anything you could ever even imagine. Their faces are mangled and deformed. They are decrepit figures who do not walk but drag themselves from place to place. Humans do not roam freely. They are shackled together by long chains that go on forever. They are pets. They do not get shelter and they barely receive enough food or water to survive. They are given the rotten leftovers and bones to pick at. When I speak of bones, I am talking about human bones. Not the bones of pig or cow, they do not exist. The beasts find humans very useful indeed. They believe that humans are extremely simple-minded which, in result, makes them good slaves. They tend to the crops and pick the fruit, which is all done in a very specific manner. If it is not done correctly, those slaves will be thrown into the pit. Humans are used to pull wagons and sleds. They build all of the huts and shelters needed for the beasts. They cook and clean and are used as personal slaves as well, if you know what I mean. When the humans become too old to use for physical labor, they are either eaten by the beasts or thrown to the pit for the rest of their lives. The beasts are very intelligent creatures. They would never want to run out of humans, so they had cages made.

Government Merit Systems

Elimination of Merit Systems For many reasons, merit based civil service systems have come under assault and yet at the same time have been hailed. Merit systems do however attempt and achieve many important objectives including ensuring that an effective workforce is attracted and maintained by providing protections against arbitrary termination and by attempting to avert politically influenced hiring and promotions. Notwithstanding, the way merit systems go about attracting a workforce and the varied protections against termination are the cause of antipathy. Many would agree that a better civil service system is needed. This better civil service system should reward good service and punish bad or mediocre service with dismissal or no promotion. Equally important, this new system has to have a process to hire quality employees quickly. However, this better system needs to have all the mechanisms that are in the current merit systems to protect against corruption. This paper argues in favor of eliminating both merit system protections and merit in hiring and promotions, while at the same time evaluating the various arguments against merit systems. In public administration literature, it is argued that in order for the bureaucracy to be both efficient and effective, it has to be staffed by tenured bureaucrats who feel relatively secure in their positions and receive adequate compensation. The bureaucracy attains its power from the experience of its workforce. Indeed, the bureaucracy is made up of â€Å"seasoned and knowledgeable ‘old hands'† who have molded relations with organizations and government itself (Kaufman 2001, 8-42). Therefore, if returning to a spoils system results in arbitrary terminations the bureaucracy would be robbed of the most experienced administrators who bestow effectiveness within an agency. An important point regarding the removal of protections against arbitrary terminations is made by Charles T. Goodsell who argues that removing protections causes an â€Å"Am I Next? † mindset to occur where employees agonize over the threat of termination and which in itself can result in diminished effectiveness (1998, 653-660). In a related way to the â€Å"Am I Next? † syndrome is a breakdown of the â€Å"politics administration dichotomy† where administrators fearing termination would only perform those duties to please the administration (Durant 1998, 643-653). Accordingly, a break down in the â€Å"politics administration dichotomy† would seem to some to signal an increase in corruption and overall unethical behavior. Corruption is one of the big factors for the creation and continuance of a merit system. Those opposed to removing merit factors cite the abuses that occurred in the nineteenth century prior to the Pendleton Act. Also, tenured civil servants are necessary to assure that political appointees obey the law† (Maranto 1998, 623-643). Speaking about this was a Washington journalist, who argued that it was tenured civil servants of the Central Intelligence Agency and the Federal Bureau of Investigation who blew the whistle during the Watergate scandal and for this purpose tenured civil servant are needed to serve alongside appointees (Maranto 1998, 623-643). However, Robert Maranto who is a proponent of a alternative systems, points out several occurrences where tenured civil servants and political appointees worked together, such as in the Department of Housing and Urban Development scandals during the Regan administration. Specifically, Maranto argues that when any organization, private or public is under investigation â€Å"it reacts by closing ranks to outsiders and shunning suspected whistle-blowers† (1998, 623-643). Using this rationale, it could appear that having no tenure protections is the same as having tenure protections with regard to whistle-blowing. Maranto furthers the argument of corruption stating that â€Å"regular rotation of some political officials as ‘in-and-outers' helps uncover scandals because incoming appointees are not tied to existing corrupt practices, can claim credit for ending them, are not as protective of organization reputation, and have sufficient political pull outside the organization to weather attacks of those within† (1998, 623-643). Indeed, as pointed out by Maranto, the scandals of Andrew Jackson's administration had actually begun under the previous administration and were uncovered by Jackson appointees. Another argument offered by Murray was that to cite the difficulties presidents Clinton, Bush (1st), Regan and Carter had in filling executive branch positions that required presidential appointments. His argument is that if an administration is unable to fill important political positions than it is doubtful an administration â€Å"will put much urgency in finding a nominee for positions currently filled by career bureaucrats† (1998, 70-677). His argument was meant to conclude that if there is a weak administration many positions will go unfilled and result in diminished effectiveness. Nonetheless, his argument against a spoils system citing a weak presidency is apt in arguing that there will not be a massive partisan termination following elections. Moreover, there have been several Supreme Court rul ings which prohibit hiring, promotion, termination and even the awarding of contracts based on politics. Eisenhart distinguishes between five categories of public sector employees: 1)full-time permanent employees protected by some form of civil service system; 2) at-will employees who can be fired at anytime for any reason so long as the reason is not illegal; 3) contractual employees; 4) temporary employees; and 5) independent contractors (Eisenhart 1998, 58-69). These five categories of employees within the public sector are covered by Supreme Court rulings. In 1976, the U. S. Supreme Court ruled in Elrod v. Bums (427 U. S. 347) that it was unconstitutional for the newly elected Democratic Sheriff of Cook County to dismiss all employees who were hired under the previous Republican administration whose positions were not in policymaking areas where political loyalty would be required. Another ruling by the U. S. Supreme Court was in 1990, Rutan v. The Republican Party of Illinois (497 U. S. 62). The U. S. Supreme Court ruled that it was unconstitutional for the Republican governor of Illinois to require applicants for hire, promotion, transfer and recall from layoff to obtain recognition from the Republican Party of Illinois prior to service. In 1996, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the Rutan decision applied to temporary employees as well. For several reasons it is unlikely an administration would commence large scale terminations after each new election. Even with a return to a spoils system an administration would not introduce massive terminations of productive workers for several reasons. First, as Kernell and McDonald argue, â€Å"the new breed of office-holding politicians who entered Congress at the end of the nineteenth century saw greater electoral payoffs from providing direct services to their constituencies than from subsidizing local party organizations. Thus they eschewed patronage for the merit system† (Ruhil and Camoes 2003, 27-43). This reflects twenty-first century American society more than it did in the nineteenth century. Also, the expensiveness of mass terminations would prevent government from mass terminations of productive employees. As argued by Kellough and Osuna â€Å"turnover also holds the potential for enormous organizational costs, including the direct costs of hiring and training new employees as well as significant in direct costs associated with lower productivity levels from newer employees and opportunity costs from situations requiring more experienced workers to provide task assistance to new colleagues (Kellough and Osuna 1995, 58-68). Indeed, research by the Saratoga Institute proposed that the replacement cost of an employee is between one and two times the individual’s salary. In another study by the Keener-Tregoe Business Issues Research Group it was estimated that it costs approximately $134,000 to replace a human resource manager in the automotive industry (Selden & Moynihan 2000, 63-74). For this reason it is just unlikely that government would commence with large scale terminations as those who are against the spoils systems contend. Equally important it is extremely expensive to run a merit system and as a result a lot of poorer states and local governments just cannot continue with the expansive hiring, promotion and discharge protocols. For instance, in a local government in the state of Michigan written test were administered to six hundred applicants for just a few vacancies, and followed up with oral examinations for all those found qualified by the written exam. It is argued that such a process is â€Å"neither practical nor an efficient use of limited government resources† (Leidlein 1993, 391-392). As a result a lot of states and local governments have tweaked their own merit systems resulting in abandonment of some merit principles or abandoning the principles all together. This situation is exemplified by Jay M. Shafritz, who argues that there is a â€Å"nether world of public personnel administration† which often exists to circumvent the maze of merit systems (1974, 486-492). For instance, in both the city of New Haven, Connecticut and the state of Idaho the personnel systems there were so time consuming they begun hiring temporaries in an effort to speed the process (Jorgensen et al. 1996, 5-20). Moreover, in Florida, Georgia and Virginia merit principles have been removed and have resulted in efficient government activities. For example, in the state of Georgia, merit protections have been removed entirely for state civil servants hired after June 30, 1996; employees hired prior to July 1, 1996 are still covered by the traditional merit system protections. In the state of Florida, merit protections were removed for all state civil servants on May 14, 2001. The result is in both Georgia and Florida, â€Å"civil servants can be hired, promoted, disciplined and fired quickly and with relative impunity; they [civil servants] accrue no seniority and therefore have no bumping rights whatsoever† (Walters 2003, 34-80). Nonetheless, in regards to Florida’s new civil service system, Mark Neimeiser, from Council 79 for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees which represents most of the state’s rank-and-file employees states that: It [Florida’s new system] exposes state workers who enforce regulations and license businesses and professionals to the risk of retribution for pursuing cases against politically well-connected Floridians. Second, it leaves higher-salaried senior staff exposed to the whims of departmental budget cutters who, like a sports-team owner trying to meet a salary cap, might be tempted to off-load more senior, high-paid staff just to save money, regardless of what it means by way of institutional brain drain or employee morale (Walters 2003, 34-80). However, according to Walters it seems that their concerns are valid. He details how there are several former employees who blew the whistle and were terminated for political reasons, either because they took regulatory action against an ally of the governor or because they were Democrats. Notwithstanding, Walters does point out that â€Å"Depending on one's view of the spoils system and what it ought to deliver to whom, such stories are either shocking or just par for the political course and no different than stories that filter out of Albany, Springfield or Sacramento whenever there's a change of party, regardless of the civil service rules† (Walters 2003, 34-80). Nevertheless, Walters does point out that there is ample evidence showing that there was widespread removal of long time employees in various Florida agencies. Yet, he does note that most of the laid-off employees were given the option of taking other jobs in government. According to AFSCME, the jobs offered typically represented demotions in both rank and pay. For example, a group of employees in the Department of Business and Professional Regulation were terminated, then allowed to reapply for jobs paying 25 percent less (Walters 2003, 34-80). As pointed out previously, one of the necessary factors for retaining workers is relative job security. And as such if termination protections are removed, it is believed a large turnover in the bureaucracy would occur (Godsell 1998, 653-660). However, a study on turnover in state government which specifically studied the environmental, organizational, and individual factors for turnover found that one determinant that prevented large turnovers was pay increases and promotions (Selden & Moynihan 2000, 63-74). Charles W. Gossett conducted a survey in the Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice testing hypotheses on organizational loyalty, job mobility, and performance responsiveness between the workers covered by those hired after June 30, 1996 who has no civil service protections and those hired prior to July 1, 1996 whom still are covered by civil service protections (2003, 267-278). Some of Gossett's findings were that there were no substantial differences between the protected and un-protected civil servants in voluntary turnover and concern for the agency. However, Gossett's research did determine that un-protected workers are more willing to seek promotion within the agency and view themselves as needing to be more responsive to management because they feel they can be disciplined for any minor infractions (2003, 277). The purpose of this essay was to argue against and examine the arguments against eliminating merit systems. Given the importance of achieving an efficient and effective public workforce, it is essential to know whether eliminating merit protections and procedures will result into a more efficient and effective workforce. From the literature, it appears that the elimination of merit systems pose no horrific menace. Most of the arguments against removing merit factors, center on effectiveness and efficiency. The opponents argue that the removal of merit factors will result in hiring, promotion and termination based on political considerations. However, there are numerous federal laws, state laws and court decisions to protect every possible category of employee employed by government. Also, as evidenced in Georgia, non-protected workers tend to be more responsive to management which is good because it increases the effectiveness of executive leadership. For this purpose, chief executives are able to deliver on their promises. Getting rid of merit principles also allows government to hire qualified individuals quickly and cost effectively. Works Cited Durant, Robert F. 1998. Rethinking the unthinkable: A cautionary note. Administration & Society 29 (January): 643-653. Gossett, Charles W. 2003. The changing face of Georgia's merit system: results from an employee attitude survey in the Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice. Public Personnel Management 32 (Summer): 267-278. Hamilton, David K. 1999. The continuing judicial assault on patronage. Public Administration Review 59. (January): 54-62. Jorgensen, Lorna, Kelli Patton and W. David. 1996. Underground merit systems and the balance between service and compliance. Review of Public Personnel Administration 16 (Spring): 5-20. Kaufman, Herbert. 2001. Major players: Bureaucracies in American government. Public Administration Review 61. (January/February): 18-42. Leidlein, James E. 1993. In search of merit. Public Administration review 53 (July/August): 391-392. Maranto, Robert. 1998. Thinking the unthinkable in public administration: A case for spoils in the federal bureaucracy. Administration & Society 29 (January): 623-633. Ruhil, Anirudh V. S. and Pedro J. Camoes. 2003. What lies beneath: The political roots of state merit systems. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory 13. (January): 27-43. Selden, Sally Coleman and Donald P. Moynihan. 2003. A model of voluntary turnover in state government. Review of Public Personnel 20 (Spring) 63-74. Walters, Jonathan. 2003. Civil service tsunami. Governing 16 (May): 34-40. ________. 1997a. Who needs civil service. Governing 10 (August): 17-21. West, William E. and Robert F. Durant. 2000. Merit, management, and neutral competence: Lessons from the U. S. Merit Systems Protection Board, FY 1988-FY 1997. Public Administration Review 60 (March/April): 111-122. Cross-agency comparisons of quit rates in the Federal Service: Another look at the evidence Author: Kellough, J Edward; Osuna, Will Source: Review of Public Personnel Administration v15n4, (Fall 1995): p. 58-68 (Length: 11 pages) ISSN: 0734-371X Number: 01152472 Copyright: Copyright Institute of Public Affairs 1995 Shafritz, J. (1974). â€Å"The Cancer Eroding Public Personnel Professionalism. † Public Personnel Management 3, 3 : 486-492