Saturday, August 31, 2019

Rizal and the World at the Time

Jose Mercado â€Å"Rizal† lived in a time that had quite the background. Globally, slaves were getting freed, powers were rising, powers were declining. Locally, it was more oppression and religious brainwashing than progression. How could these events influence Rizal? Of course, being an individual of high intellect, how could he not? You have to imagine what Rizal could see and learn around him at that time. He was one of the few who were that of a well-to-do family.This meant that he could attend school and receive education. He read books when he wanted, he learned history and philosophy, and many others that when combined with a brilliant mind, could see things more objectively without being clouded by passion. If he could take an objective stand on situations and yet as reflected in his works, be passionate about them, then that means that his passion is backed up by something objective. The whole world was entering a time that respected the rights of the human being.Sla ves were being freed and because of this, a lot of human rights laws were being made. At the same time, the world’s powers were expanding and decreasing at the same time. Locally, news of oppression spread. These things give you a good idea why Rizal took his stand against the rebellion as he did. The oppression around him was definitely not acceptable in the eyes of Rizal because human rights were being spread around the world by the intellectuals of North America and backed up by the actions of Russia.But Rizal knew that the Philippines definitely cannot hold itself as a country yet. He’s a smart guy and with that he probably looked up the history of war and what was needed to have strength as a country. If one were to look at the circumstances of the country with just the country in your sights, you would have taken the route of a Katipunero and decided to wage war against the oppressors. Rizal didn’t. Why?This is because he had the circumstances of the whole world to back up his ideals. He was influenced by the events globally and not just locally. He was an intellectual who was influenced by the works during and before his time. He thought of the welfare of the country in the long run and not just the shortest way out. It’s too bad he had to die as he did. He definitely would have come up with a revolution that would have put the Philippines in a better state than it is now.

Friday, August 30, 2019

Draft Process for Major Sports

A draft is a procedure used to apportion certain players to sports teams, particularly college players for involvement in professional sports (Encarta, 2009). During a draft, teams take turns in selecting from a pool of qualified players. Accordingly, when a team selects a player, the former receives exclusive rights to sign the latter to a contract. The most recognized mode of draft is the entry draft, which is utilized to allocate recently qualified players to play in a certain league. NFLThe NFL team that finished with the worst record during the preceding year is granted the first draft pick, unless the team had earlier made a trade that relinquished its right to pick first. NFL draft has seven rounds and, accordingly, every team can each have seven selections. The draft is held in April and is every NFL team’s chance to improve the roster by adding new talented players. Only upon completion of four years of play that a college player becomes eligible to join the NFL draft .In the recent decades, however, a growing number of players have preferred to enter the draft as underclassmen by going out of high school for at least three years. NBA The May NBA Draft Lottery is a yearly event that establishes the order of selection among non-playoff teams to take part in the process of obtaining rights to pick promising young local collegiate and foreign players. For teams that do not win one of the top three picks in the lottery, the order of the selection will be decided by the order of their regular season win-loss record.During the calendar year of the draft an aspirant must be no less than 18 years of age to qualify for the draft. Moreover, a draftee who completed high school basketball eligibility must be separated for no less than one year from the time of his class graduation. MLB Every year the MLB holds two drafts, which lasts up to 50 rounds; however, a much shorter draft is carried out in Rule 5 draft. The Rule 5 draft takes place every December, du ring the general managers’ annual Winter Meeting.The selection order is also based on each team’s previous regular season win-loss record, with the team with the worst record starts every round. MLB draftees are either college baseball players who have played three years and who have turned 21 years of age or high-school graduates who have opted not to go to college. However, players who have been in the organization for four years and were signed at age 18 or younger, or were signed at age 19 or older and have been in the organization for three years but are not on their major league organization's 40-man roster, are eligible for selection in the Rule 5 draft.NHL Every year, the NHL holds a seven-round off-season draft. Similar to the NBA, the NHL makes use of a lottery system to establish which team gets the top pick, beginning with the five teams with worst previous season record. However, like any other drafts, teams are allowed to trade draft picks. Any overseas p layer over 18, and any North American player age 18-20, is eligible to join the draft. Players are generally chosen from overseas clubs, the NCAA, high schools, and junior hockey teams. Cities with teams in the league take turn with the NHL draft's location.MLS MLS teams draft players at the annual MLS SuperDraft. The draft is divided into four rounds with fourteen picks each, with the worst team likewise getting the first draft pick. The selection order is decided as follows: the first six selections are given to teams that did not make it to the playoffs beginning with the team with least previous regular season points; while the other eight positions are ranked by least regular season points amongst the teams that were eliminated in the same round of the preceding playoffs.However, an expansion team is given the first draft pick in each round. In order to be eligible for the draft, aspirants must be: college players who are nominated by MLS teams and no longer have college eligib ility; invited to join in the draft year's MLS Player Combine; or generation adidas-signed players. Conclusion Every year, the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL and MLS conduct its draft. Depending on the sport, the players may come from junior teams, high school or college teams or teams in other countries.In recent years, these drafts have become spectator events, receiving the attention of millions of audiences throughout their drafting periods. Certain rules are relevant during their respective draft processes, some of which serve to make watching them a thing of some excitement and suspense. Reference Microsoft ® Encarta ® Online Encyclopedia. (2009). Draft (sports). Retrieved July 13, 2009, from http://encarta. msn. com

Thursday, August 29, 2019

The Context for Inclusive Education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

The Context for Inclusive Education - Essay Example The context of inclusion education has been formulated as along with implemented in different countries with greater significance. In this respect, different policies as well as practices in relation to inclusive education have been devised and implemented on a global context. Inclusive education is determined to be a decisive policy with regards to human rights along with equal opportunities. Additionally, the SEN provisions will ensure that social justice would prevail largely in a specific community of various nations (Winter & O’Row, 2010). Inclusive education aids in the formulation of effective educational policies especially for children with disabilities and those who require SEN. The inclusive education system is based on certain principles that include diversity, equality and tolerance. With regards to this, inclusive education program is developed based upon certain policies and practices, ensuring that the provisions are accepted on local, national and global context. There are various legislative policies, amongst which the policy of ‘Special Educational Needs Code of Practice’(2001) has been formulated and implemented with the intention of accomplishing the objectives of inclusive education in local, national and worldwide context. ... usive education program is developed based upon certain policies and practices, ensuring that the provisions are accepted on local, national and global context. There are various legislative policies, amongst which the policy of ‘Special Educational Needs Code of Practice’(2001) has been formulated and implemented with the intention of accomplishing the objectives of inclusive education in local, national and worldwide context. The Code intends to avail children with SEN and the process in accordance with which inclusive education services will be offered. Therefore, the plans associated with the Code are based on deciding appropriate policies on the basis of which educational policies in schools will be developed (Crowne, 2012). The Code ascertains the framework, the principles along with the standards that are to be followed by schools. Additionally, it will aid in evaluating the progress of schools in offering SEN to children and also accomplishing the determined ob jectives of providing inclusive or special education to disabled children. It covers the provision of ‘Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001’ [1] (The National Archives, 2001). The SEN Co-ordinator (SENCO) provides the basic frameworks and the principles on the basis of which inclusive training programs will be conducted by ‘Local Education Authorities’ (LEAs). Accordingly, the local autorities will be able to maintain schools, develop settings in relation to early education and undertaking other measures along with duties in order to meet the needs of children with SEN. In this context, the ‘Education Act 1993’ has provided the ‘Secretary of State’ with the obligation and right to develop the Code. Moreover, ‘the Secretary of State’ is also empowered with the task of

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Management consulting-To what extent is it realistic to expect Essay

Management consulting-To what extent is it realistic to expect consultancies to act ethically - Essay Example Consulting is defined as a practice that involves use of multiple talents and expertise to help solve issues in organizations. In the present business environment business consultants have a very important role that provides them with a good influential position in an organization. This has given rise to many ethical aspects that have emerged after a series of frauds that have come to light recently over the few years (Wang, 2008, p.56). The recent case of Mr. Rajat Gupta involved in a series of corporate frauds and unethical practices illustrates the aspect of unethical practices being used by consultants worldwide. The famous and influential consultant who happened to be the managing director of Mc Kinsey and Co illegally and unethically started a parallel consultancy that had his family members in the top management. Mr. Gupta reportedly indulged in unethical practices like leaking sensitive information and insider trading to get unexercised options worth 1.3 million dollars from GE’s subsidiary arm Genpact (Monadnock Research, 2011). It has also been reported that it is the middle management persons that are most often involved in cases of frauds and unethical practices in business organizations (Monadnock Research-a, 2011). ... In the age of capitalism it has often been stated that consultants and consultancies largely act as certifying agents. The auditors largely acted as an assurance agent for external investors and general public towards the aspect of ethicality and trustworthiness of the business organizations. This aspect in itself has given considerable powers and high status to the consultants who normally act as auditors for business organizations (Sikka, 2009, p.3). With the passage of time since the industrial revelation the world has seen many reforms that also include better surveillance and control by the regulatory authorities on public organizations as well as the financial institutions like banks and stock markets. The growth of business organizations was also followed by a commensurate growth in the consultancy industry. However the aspect of regulations and monitoring was completely absent for this sector that has perhaps led to the growth of unethical practices in the industry (Mahoney, 2011, p.5). The aspect of unethical aspect in the consulting industry has been often traced to the aspect of individualism in the industry. It is a common practice in the consulting industry to make individual consultants accountable for their activities that also includes the aspect of providing accolades for their performances. This has been identified as one of the major reasons for the growing influence of the consultants that in turn has given rise to unethical practise in the industry. This aspect of unethical means has also led to the growth of a popular feeling with regards to the trustworthiness of the consultants with regards to their practices in the industry (Mahoney, 2011, p.3). The trustworthy perception of

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts - Essay Example Luxury rooms and luxury food have become the major features of modern Hotels like the Four Seasons Hotels. While going through the performance report, one finds that the firm has been implementing various strategies in branding, market segmentation, and product positioning. Table of Content 1. Introduction 2. Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts chain in the marketplace 3. Centralization and Decentralization 4. Technology at Four Seasons 5. The Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts’ Internet Site 6. SWOT analysis 1. Introduction The Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts is a Canadian based business organization started by Isadore Sharp in 1960. Today, the company has 74 hotels and 13 resorts operating in 31 countries around the globe, including USA, India, Egypt, Italy, Malaysia, and Hong Cong. The company also provides services like video conferencing, wedding services and vacation packages. It has now become the world’s leading operator of luxury resorts and hotels. Their highest stan dards of service and dedication to the customers have made them the benchmark in luxury hotels. In the opinion of Talbott (2006), the success of the Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts can be attributed to choosing its employees who provides the best genuine and innovative service and its unique organizational culture. 2. Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts chain in the marketplace The Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts has kept a distinguishable place in the marketplace rooted on their motto and vision statement of â€Å"treat others the way you would have them treat you† (Sharp, 2011). This puts the firm in an advantage point above the competing chains in the market. The main business strategy of the hotel is that it only hires people who seem to par with the vision of the organization. The management conducts thorough interview for the employees before they are appointed. The staffs of the hotel are asked to get into interrogation with the top level management regularly; this process makes the employees feel that they play an important role in the organization. On the other hand, in the opinion of Capodagli(n.d) the turnover rate at the Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts is much lower than many other competing luxury hotels. The employees have the chances of getting incentives and bonuses that is above normal. In the opinion of Aufreiter, Elzinga & Gordon (2003), the Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts’ consistency in treating the customers with respect and caring them in an excellent manner distinguished them from competitors. 2. Four Seasons’ delivery of service around the world The Four Season Hotel chain is highly noted for its excellent customer service all over the world. Burke, Martin & Cooper (2011 p.9) also state that the four qualities that hold the Four Seasons above some of their competitors are service, quality, culture, and brand. While delivering service over the international market, the Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts hold the view that there are things that have to be sustained in the same manner for some properties and there are things that must be differentiated according to the culture of the area the hotel is located in. Technology is used only as a complementary tool to the human interactions. A telephone call is made as a follow-up to answer the e-mail send by a customer. Whenever the Four Seasons’ officials visit their different properties, they spend time having dinner with the top-level

Monday, August 26, 2019

Decision Making As a Critical Part of Good Management Essay

Decision Making As a Critical Part of Good Management - Essay Example This report is based on certain scenarios of NENE, Benjamin and Peters Limited that are faced with different situations and require financial decision making on the choice of project, company evaluation as well as production decisions. The report will use financial calculations of various business analysis tools to help with the decision making. The report will be confined to the information provided in the particular case studies when making decisions. Other outside sources such as books and journals are also used to reinforce certain calculations, principles and analysis tools when making decisions concerning particular case studies. Alpha Payback period: 2 years (representing the year just before the cumulative cash flow becomes positive) + 31/38 (representing the remaining period for the project to achieve the zero cumulative cash flow amount). Therefore, the Payback period for project Alpha will be 231/38 years or 2.82 years. Beta Payback period: 3 years (representing the last year where the cumulative cash flow is still negative) + 5/35 (representing the proportion of years left for the last negative cash flow amount to become zero). Therefore, the Payback period for Beta project will be 3 5/35 years or 3.14years. The Average annual Operating profit is calculated by adding up all the operating profits provided for the six years period and dividing by the number of years. This comes to (205,000 / 6) = 34, 167.7 equivalent to 34,200 pounds. But this is the amount of depreciation. With the annual depreciation rate being 18,000 (100,000 – 10,000) / 5 = 18,000 pounds, the average annual operating profit will be the average annual profit minus depreciation. Which is 16,200 (34,200 – 18,000). This is the amount of depreciation. To advise NENE Limited on the most appropriate project to undertake, all the four appraisal methods must be evaluated. To begin with, using the cash flows of the two projects, it is vividly clear that that project Alpha seems a good project as it has more cash flow ( £105,000) than project Beta ( £83,000).  Ã‚  

Sunday, August 25, 2019

History of Japan (The II World War and Postwar Period) Essay

History of Japan (The II World War and Postwar Period) - Essay Example The World War II ended in May 1945 in the European land and August 1945 in the Pacific. The war between the United States and Japan was an outcome of several years of Cold War due to the strong economic, political and cultural differences. The War erupted in December only when the Japanese military leaders and the civilian supporters decided to put an end to the Cold Wa. One of the main reasons for the Japanese outburst was their motivation to achieve their goals for autonomy and hence accomplish industrial, economic and political success as a nation and country. The clash between the United States and Japanese governments was driven by strong confrontations of racial and political dissimilarities which led to severe manifestations and penalties. The Americans forced Japan to adopt a racial and ethnic identity which they never wanted. Americans wanted to develop Japan commercially in the nineteenth century with a racial dominance of â€Å"whiteness†. The Japanese were convinced that the West’s military and technologies wanted the feudal nation of Japan to become entirely westernized. On the other hand, the influx of the Japanese immigrants to the West was a source of fear for the Americans that this was a slow and gradual invasion of the Asians into the American land. One of the important factors which led to the Japanese attack of the Pearl Harbor was the dysfunctional democratization in Japan that was going on for several years. The civilian leaders supported the Western-style democratic institutions which diminished the roles of the military and emperors. Bureaucratic politics and status discrepancies among the country also led to the Japanese outburst. Japanese invasions into China and Russia increased Japan ’s strength and the victories brought Japan forward as a strong opponent against the United States (Cashman & Robinson 2007). Japan’s mainland in Asia was increasing and the United States and Japanese elited started seeing each other as stong military and economic rivals. The Japanese troops started occupying the French clony in Indochina and as a response the United States cut off the oil export to Japan in 1940. Japan attack the Pearl Harbor in December 1941 along with two other islands Wake and Guam. In April 1941, US bombers started a bombing raid against Japan starting in Tokoyo. The United States also forced the Japanese-Americans to relocate in various isolated areas. This was followed by different attempts of invasions and fight made by both sides, some successful and other interepted. It was in August 1945 that the first atomic bomb was prepared and dropped in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This was the final straw causing the death of 100,000 people and followed by the surrender of the Japanese government. Japan signed a surrender document on Spetember 2nd 1945 (National Geographic, 2001). The atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki was not just an end to the Pacific war but also ended the Tokyo’s dreams of racial reversal (Horne, 2004). Japan has a strong national identity as the first and historically only country which had been a victim of atomic bombing and its dreadful consequences. Japanese had a strong emotionalism which is associated to the atomic bombing victimization and the historic racial prejudice by the Americans. In the early post-war years, the Japanese, although harbouring strong hostility towards the Americans, were not able to bring their voices in front of the world because of many reasons. They were faced with circumstances of unemployment, hunger and no homes, and expressing hostility was the least thing on their mind. There was a sense of fear and many refrained from expressing any views against the

Saturday, August 24, 2019

Construction Health & Safety Policy at Work Act 1974 Essay - 1

Construction Health & Safety Policy at Work Act 1974 - Essay Example The Act defines the general duties which employers have towards employees, members of the public, employees have to themselves and to each other. In general terms it can be defined as â€Å"It is the responsibility of employer to ensure the health and safety of employees along with welfare at all stages of employment†. The Act with 28 main sections came into force in 1975 with the purpose to bring all the workers of all occupations under the cover of legislation. The revision of the law and new regulations paved way for more comprehensive understanding and implementation of legislation with the passage of time. Mainly most of the legislation in this regard is done through the regulations instead of through parliament. European Six pack The commonly known six pack regulations on health and safety is group of regulations which were introduced in Europe on January 1993.The inspiration to develop such legislation was to harmonize the health and safety law throughout the Europe und er the frame work directive. These regulations put into practice various European directions on health and safety issues and also elucidate how employers must fulfill with their duties under the Health and Safety at Work Act (HASAWA) 1974. ... The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 6. The Workplace Health, Safety and Welfare Regulations Approved Codes of Practice (AcoPs) The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations, the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations and the Workplace Health and Safety and Welfare Regulations mentioned above have Approved Codes of Practice (AcoPs). These have been approved by the Health and Safety Commission and give useful recommendations on what should be done to fulfill the requirement of the law. While employers and others do not have to follow AcoPs needs to prove that their alternative arrangements ensure same or better standards of health and safety. The salient aspects of each regulation are briefly discussed in subse quent paragraphs. 1. The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations These regulations contains duties of employers, self employed workers and employees. The rights of trade unions safety representatives are also elucidated in these regulations. The employer duties encompasses on assessment of risk for the safety of workers, arrangements for implementation of health and safety measures, facilitate in compliance of safety measures by effective means, ensure emergency procedures, adequate training/instructions of employees and sharing of work place. The employees’ duties elaborate the use of equipment and substance in accordance with training, reporting of matters and shortcoming in health and safety issues. The trade union safety representative duties mainly focus on consulting the employer on measures for safety and health of workers.

Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Assignment - Essay Example As much as they are like so are these sculptures different. Some contrasts are noted here. StandingMale Figure with Nails appears to be mostly wood; whereas, Reliquary of Sainte Foy is gilded. Furthermore, StandingMale Figure with Nails appears to be the image of a yoked and tortured African; while Reliquary of Sainte Foy is the image of an enthroned European. Moreover, StandingMale Figure with Nails appears to be steel encrusted, and Reliquary of Sainte Foy appears to be jewel encrusted. These differing views of the human condition are strikingly dissimilar. This study of StandingMale Figure with Nails (Nkisi Nkondi) and Reliquary of Sainte Foy yield a greater appreciation for each piece. Here, we conducted analysis of both comparison and contrast to seek a deeper understanding of their meaning. These sculptures represent two ways of honoring the human condition. One is natural and rugged and somewhat scary to think about, but the other is enlightened and uplifting and bright.

Friday, August 23, 2019

Explain the concepts of both individual and cultural relativism Essay

Explain the concepts of both individual and cultural relativism - Essay Example Of importance to note is that, at times this concept counters itself and its subsequent argument of what might be perceived as right of wrong could be concluded as baseless (Brooks, 2011). This ethical relativism concept articulates that the perception of what is ethically right is dependent on a given culture. For instance, one culture might believe in cannibalism as being morally right while another culture is against the practice. Needless to say, this concept assists in understanding why certain practices are common in some cultures and not others (Brooks, 2011). Apparently, the concept Utilitarianism argues that action could be defined as morally right or wrong when the consequences are at hand unlike ethical relativism where right or wrong is determined by an individual or culture (Brooks, 2011). Kantian theory is described as one of the best ethical principles as it articulates that human beings have the opportunity to effectively use their reasoning faculty to determine what their obligated to do and do it diligently. Conversely, ethical relativism does not entail actual reasoning on a particular action but simple perception (Brooks, 2011). This contract theory revolves around an agreement that is formed by two differently organized groups of people where responsibilities are assigned to each member of the group. Moreover, limitations and rights about certain issues are defined. In ethical relativism, cultural relativism where society is incorporated does not have limitations and rights, but practices that are perceived morally right or wrong (Brooks, 2011). Actually, divine command theory argues that actions deemed to be moral rightly ought to be equivalent to what God has commanded and that being moral is following what God has commanded unlike Ethical Relativism where an individual or culture decides what is right or wrong (Brooks, 2011). This theory articulates that natural laws that are created as a result of human reasoning could

Thursday, August 22, 2019

United States public debt Essay Example for Free

United States public debt Essay The United States deficit, surplus, and debt will always have an impact on taxpayers. In the state of high deficit the government seeks ways to cut and save money for debt payment. The government does this by pulling funding from programs that have little government impact. Increasing taxes also supplies the government with extra income. In addition to the reduction or elimination of certain tax credits, the government analyzes school funding for cost effectiveness. Each step the government takes has a trickling effect on taxpayer’s dollar. The Effects of U.  S. Deficit, Surplus, and Debt When a surplus exists, the government has extra funds to spare and infuse into the economy. This surplus will increase government programs. When the government has a surplus it focuses on its needs by order of necessity, similar to the way individuals do when they have extra money. This can lead to new tax credits for taxpayers. However, when the nation is in debt the taxpayers are also in debt. The government uses tax money to finance their operations. If debt increases taxes go up, if debt decreases taxes lower for most. Effects on Future Social Securities and Medicare Taxpayers are affected by the U. S. deficit when there is a shortfall in revenue, which is the result of the National Debt increasing. Surpluses also have an effect on taxpayers as well. Programs like Social Security and Medicare receive government funding from tax money. Social Security takes contributions made by citizens to accumulate a surplus, which it uses to buy government bonds, which are government debt. These bonds accumulate and eventually mature. The money from the mature bonds helps to pay retirees. As American citizens contribute money into Social Security, the bond purchases mean that the government owes the Social Security program the value of the bonds purchases (Colander, 2010). The debt reported by the government for this purchase, however, is for on-budget accounts, while the U. S. reports unified accounts which include on-budget accounts but also adds off-budgets accounts as well. Like Social Security, Medicare relies on contributions made by citizens. However, Medicare makes use of third party payer markets, which helps people receive services who may be different from those who provide the services. Third party payer systems take contributions to help defray the cost or expense of providing the service while a portion of the services, such as Medicare, are paid by the consumer through the use of a co-payment system. The expenses incurred by instituting a program, such as Social Security, means that the costs of using this program are set against any revenues made for that same year. The cost of running Medicare and Social Security will rise as more Americans reach retirement â€Å"This will require more benefits be paid out than revenues are coming in, thus increasing the expenses and increasing the deficit† (Blahous, 2011). â€Å"The Social Security Administration figures that by the year 2040 the SS trust fund will be used up causing utilization of one of three options: borrowing, increasing revenue, or lowering benefits. The Medicare program is estimated to be much closer to crisis than the SS trust fund. In contrast to current Medicare and Social Security benefits budget of 35 percent, an increase to 60-65% may be necessary as early as 2030† (Colander, 2010). Current legislative discussions by political parties recognize the potential impact on future economic growth that this increasing deficit may have and are seeking ways to address as well as reform programs such as Medicare and Social Security. Unemployment and the Deficit Just as Social Security and Medicare are affected by the United States deficit and surplus, so is the unemployment rate. Increasing unemployment rates increase the deficit thus naturally reducing the deficit decreases unemployment rates as well. According to Ginsburg and Ayres (n. d. ), â€Å"The President and Congress try to outdo one another on who can cut the Federal budget deficit the most. But efforts to reduce the deficit at the expense of necessary social programs are unnecessary and counter-productive. In fact, much of the recent reduction in the deficit is due to the decline in unemployment† (p. 1). With record high deficits within the last years the idea of the government spending to spur the economy that ultimately would help reduce the unemployment level seems near impossible without further affecting the deficit rather than helping reduce it. University of Phoenix Students When students default on their loans, it adds to the national debt. The main problem lies in the fact that newly graduated students can’t find jobs that pay enough to reduce their debt â€Å"Tarah Toney worked two full-time jobs to put herself through college, at McMurry University in Abilene, Texas, and still has $75,000 in debt. She graduated in six years with a Bachelor’s in English and wanted to go on to teach high school† (Jaffe, 2011). Yet the government still requires the students to make on time payments. A surplus allows the government to use more money for grants and loans. The extra money from the budget goes into programs like the Pell grant. This enables more students to borrow or receive money to attend college. A deficit of funds affects students the same way student debt affects the government. To combat debt, cuts to government funding will take place. When the government cuts education funding, programs that fund grants lose money. The United States International Financial Reputation In addition to domestic ramifications regarding the United States deficit, surplus, and debt, international standing can waver due to a weak economy. These topics play an immense part in formulating this nation’s global standing. Maintaining its reputation as a world superpower is arduous during economic crisis. The deficit consists of the dissimilarly in government’s income and its disbursement. Other countries closely watch the deficit/surplus gap. America reputation rest whether it is positive or negative on the amount of the deficit. When the nation spending exceeds the amount it receives, America’s economy seems to be at risk. A surplus in funds strikes a balance to the United States receiving more money than it spends. Hall (2012) states, â€Å"†¦surpluses and deficits result from policy choices about government spending and taxes† (para. 6). If a surplus transpire because of the government not administering funds toward the policies that can help the United States run more efficiently, this can shed a negative light on its globe’s personal image. A Domestic Automotive Manufacturing (Exporter) As an exporter of domestic automobiles, the nation’s deficit, surplus, and debt can impose the prospering or nonsuccess of exporting. An economic strain on funds seeps down and effects American businesses. America prospers from its export and import business. Exporters in the automotive manufacturing lament when the nation’s deficit/debt is high. When America economy is failing, it experiences a lofty volume of automotive imports. American automotive manufacturers languish during economic decline. The automobile industry as a whole continues to be depressed as a result of the global economic depression† (Thompson Merchant, 2010, p. 12). Despite America’s economic problems Japanese manufacturers appear to thrive. Thompson and Merchant (2010) state, â€Å"†¦foreign automakers Toyota and Honda continued to achieve record high revenue levels through 2008 as they increased their market share in the United States† (pg. 12). During a surplus, automotive exports escalate for American manufacturers. A surplus in funds results in the nation’s ability to pay its impounding debt. Lowering debt equals lower interest rates. A surplus makes it easier for manufacturers to safeguard loans to export automotive parts. U. S. Deficit Effect on International Import The economies deficits, surpluses, and debt have an influence on both an Italian clothing design importer and GDP. For example, America can import clothing from an Italian clothing company. If the country has a financial deficit, they must reduce importation and focus on local product. This hurts international trade. A government surplus allows the country to purchase an increased amount of foreign goods. Surpluses, deficits, and debts also affect the nations GDP. As imports increase and deficits and debts increase, the GPD in the nation will decrease as less domestic goods are being sold in the country. When exports increase and a surplus occurs than GDP will increase as well as when there are more domestic products being sold in and out of the nation. Gross domestic product is the amount of products made in the country and sold. These can be both domestic products made and sold here along with exports made and sold elsewhere.

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Manual handling injuries at the gym

Manual handling injuries at the gym Working out at the gym is everyones business from education to big companies. In the US, schools have introduced physical activities such as weight training in their daily program. This is because researchers agreed that children doing physical exercises often have better grades at school. Big companies have found out that healthy employees are more productive and so pays fitness club for their employees. Like a phoenix, gyms have been reborn a number of times with names like weight rooms, fitness rooms and gyms which overlapped over and over again. Gyms were originally found in unhealthy neglected neighbourhood, located in wet basements, with poor lighting and ventilation leading to a strong smell of dried sweat and unsanitary condition. For decades, this was the bad image associated with gyms until the end of the 1960s and certainly was no place for women to set foot, but this has certainly changed with recent technological development with fitness equipment on the front scene making it hardly recognisable to people still living into the old stereotype. This firstly changed by giving members new activities like running, cycling and walking which traditionally was considered as outdoor activities, todays gyms offer state of the art equipment with digital readout displaying exercising programs, duration and intensity of exercise, calories burned etc. The atmosphere itself has drastica lly changed, from a badly lit smelly place, to an air conditioned atmosphere with good lighting, nice sound system, mirrors on the wall and TV showing how to exercise have made gym a pleasant and user friendly place to work out. Due to these improvements, the clientele which were mostly composed of muscle bound hulks has diversify into a recreational area for gentlemen, ladies, teenagers and elders wanting to keep fit but also a place for rehabilitation of individuals after an accident or illness. Today gyms is a $12.2 billion a year industries according to statistics from the International Health, Racquet and Sports club Association (IHRSA) and it is especially developed in the US where one corporate opens branches of gym in each states. An example of this is The Bally Total Fitness chain. It has more than 400 clubs around the US, 4 millions of customers and yearly revenue of about $1 billion. Statistic in the US shows an increase of gym members from 20.8 million in 1992 to 33.8 mi llion in 2002. Western Europe such as Germany and England shows the same trend with a business estimated of $5 billion per year. The common age group found in gym in the US are 35-54 years with a percentage of 36.5%, 18-34 years with a percentage of 31%, 55 and above years with a percentage of 22.5%, 12-17 years with a percentage of 6% and 6-11 years with a percentage of 4%. (Yigal Pinchas, 2006). Benefits of physical activity in gym Physical activity in gym helps promote physical fitness for our body that is increase in cardiovascular endurance which strengthen the muscle of the heart and blood vessels when using treadmill and bicycle, promote bone density and makes then more solid as the weight put stress on the bones which in response increase their density to make them more solid and so prevent diseases such as osteoporosis (Osteoporosis happens when the bones decrease in mass making it more fragile), increased muscle mass not only increase our strength but also makes us burn more calories as lean muscle mass fires up our metabolism during work out and even after as the body needs energy to maintain this new muscle mass (Shawn LeBrun, 2002; Yigal Pinchas, 2006). Gym population: The gym population comprises of everyone from children, adolescents, adults to seniors. These groups of people have different goals for training in gym from trying to keep fit and control body weight to conditioning the body to perform at its highest level in competition so it is not uncommon to see professional sports men to workout at the gym at the same time with people doing rehabilitation exercises. (Yigal Pinchas, 2006) Cases of gym accidents: With the increase number of people going to gym, the risk of accident happening in them increased. Gym injuries can range from minor injuries such as small superficial cuts and bruises to severe sprain and strain, crushed body parts and rarely death. Weight room injuries has wake public awareness when a University of Southern California American football player star was injured to his throat and was lucky to survive when his bench press bar slipped from his hand and fell on him. Mr Stafon Johnson received a load of 275 pound nearly 125 kg on his throat and had to undergo multiple neck and throat surgeries. He couldnt speak for months because of his injuries. Another severe case of injury happened when another American football player nearly got his fingers ripped off while training in the weight room ( Josh Staph, 2010). Reed Remington was doing shoulder press with a load of 165 pound (75 kg), when he found out he didnt have enough strength to push it up from head level, he arched hi s back to try to lock it out but lost balance while doing so, so he tried to throw the weight bar in front of his head but ended up having the bar hitting his head while falling down, his right hand got caught between the weight and the apparatus holding the weight which crushed his index finger and ripped it off. After surgery, Reed Remington had to stay at hospital for five days and 3 weeks at home for recovery (Tim Rogers, 2010). Cost of Manual handling injuries: Manual handling of loads is describe as the action of lifting, pulling pushing, moving, lowering, holding and carrying any objects using the force generated from the human body. As seen above, weight training injury takes a lot of time to heal up, leading to temporary impairment and sometimes permanent disabilities if the injury is severe. This affects the income of a working people, his social life and family life and the company currently employing him. Problem Statement: With gym getting more popular these days, more and more people are adopting weight training in their lifestyle. According to a statistic report published in THE NEW YORK TIMES, weight training injuries are on the raise due to it gaining popularity and trainees dropping their weight where they shouldnt. From year 1990 to 2007 data collected shows us that nearly one million Americans end up at emergency section in the hospital due to weight lifting injuries and that a yearly increase of 48 percents were noticed in that period. According to The American Journal of Sports Medicine, of the 970,000 people injured, 82 percent were men but this trend is changing, number of injuries among women doing weight training is on the rise yearly with 63 percent as opposed to men which is 46 percent. This may be due to the increase of women adopting gym training in their lifestyle. People between the age 13 to 24 recorded the most number of injuries but concern is rising with people between 45 to abov e as they have recorded the greatest increase of weight training injuries as many of them want to delay or regain the muscle loss due to ageing (Jane E Brody, 2010) The most common injures encountered among women were in the region of their feet and legs while in men the majority were in the region of the torso and hand. Fractures were mostly reported among women while men suffered more from sprain and strain. Most of the injuries encountered were by dropping weight on themselves with body parts being crushed or by getting hit by the equipment they are exercising. Loss of balance, overexertion and muscle pull formed 14 percent of injuries which were treated at emergency rooms and 90 percent of the injuries happened while using free weight than weight machine (Nicholas Bakalar, 2010) In Mauritius the average income of workers is about Rs18,247 monthly according to a survey done by the Mauritius Employers Federation. (Nilen Kattany, 2011). This have give rise to different gym service facilities offered to Mauritian across the country. They are categories by the number of service they offer, from new sophisticated ergonomic well maintained state of the art weight machine, free weight and coaching system, sauna facility, air conditioned room, good lighting to old out of fashion weight machine from the 1960, Weight machine constructed by owner of the gym by welding iron bars which sometimes isnt ergonomic for everyone as it isnt adjustable, bad flooring as the owner hasnt repaired the floor which was damaged by dropping free weight on it which create a risk of slip, trip and falls , no coaching system such as municipal gym multi sport complex where you have the weight machine and free weight but no one to spot you which can lead to accidents for example being crushed under a bench press bar, coaching system but with unqualified coach, congested areas where there are too many members training at the same time and you have the risk of being hit by someone training with a weight while moving around and poorly maintained weight machine. Gyms offering good services are quite expensive in Mauritius with a monthly membership fees of Rs1000 to more so most Mauritian (especially teenagers due to their low income) prefer to train in gym offering low to medium services where monthly fees may range from free (Municipal Gym Multisport complex) to Rs 900 making them more exposed to weight training injuries. Aim and Objectives: Aims: To minimise the risk of manual handling injuries in Weight training Gym. Objectives: To identify the risk elements contributing to manual handling injuries in weight training exercises. Identify common weight training exercises which has a significant risk of bodily injuries. Assess the risk of bodily injuries due to gym environment, individual factors such gender and age Give recommendation to minimise the risk of the accidents. LITERATURE REVIEW Manual handling of loads is describe as the action of lifting, pulling pushing, moving, lowering, holding and carrying any objects whether lively or dead by using the force generated by the human body. LEGAL REQUIREMENT: The Occupational safety and health act 2005 (OSHA 2005 ) The Occupational safety and health act 2005 points out the legal requirement for health and safety that an employer has to abide. Although OSHA 2005 focus mainly on employees, it is the duty of the employer to ensure that people other than his employees are not affected by health and safety issues arising during operation of his business Section 5 General duties of employers: According to section (5)(2) General duties of employers, the employer shall, so far as is reasonably practicable, provide and maintain a safe working environment, provide and maintain any plant or system of work, maintain any place of work under his control that is safe and without risks to health, ensure that use, handling, of articles is safe and without risks to health and provide information, instruction, training and supervision as is necessary to ensure the safety and health at work of his employees. Section 10 Risk assessment by employer: Section 10 of OSHA 2005 stressed out the legal obligation of an employer to carry out a risk assessment. Every employer shall, within 30 days of the start of operation of his undertaking, make a suitable and sufficient assessment of any risk to the safety and health to which any employee is exposed whilst he is at work, and any risk to the safety and health of any person not in his employment. Section 84 Manual handling operation: According to this section, every employer shall (a) so far so far as is reasonably practicable, avoid the need for his employees to undertake any manual handling operations at work which involve a risk of bodily injury (b) where it is not reasonably practicable to avoid the need for his employees to undertake any manual handling operations at work which involve a risk of bodily injury- take appropriate steps to reduce the risk of bodily injury to those employees arising out of their undertaking any such manual handling operations to the lowest level reasonably practicable. take appropriate steps to provide any of those employees who are undertaking such manual handling operations with general indications and precise information on the weight and nature of each load to be handled. provide sufficient training in the safe techniques or methods of manual lifting and handling to any employee who is required in the normal course of his work regularly to lift, carry or move loads exceeding 18 kilograms for any employee Section 84 (3) defines manual handling as any transporting or supporting of a load, including the lifting, putting down, pushing, pulling, carrying or moving thereof by hand or by bodily force. This definition reflect exactly the exercises practiced in weight training exercises. Although these legislation focus mainly on employees, it is the legal duty of the employer to ensure the safety and health of any visitors visiting the workplace. By applying these measures to the gym, it will not only affect the health and safety of the employees but also have an impact on the visitors which will reduce the likelihood of fines and any civil prosecutions due to injuries. According to OSHA 2005, the maximal penalty under this act is RS75,000 and a maximum of 1 year imprisonment. GYM POPULATIONS: In this subsection, we will go into detail about the different types of people frequenting the gym, They are divided into different age group and needs to train in gyms. They are namely children, adolescents, adults, seniors, Children: Children are described as someone under the age of twelve. Children before this age werent allowed to workout in gym in the US as there was fear that children practicing weight training would be prone to injuries such as damaged growth cartilage which would stunt their growth. Research done by Docherty, Wenger, Collis, Quinney, Hetherington also concluded that weight training at this age was futile as none of their research could demonstrate any adequate increase in strength and muscle mass from test subject doing weight training at this age. Their theory for this result was it was because children lack sufficient androgens in their blood at this age (Androgen is the hormone responsible for the development of skeletal muscle mass). Theory about children being at more risk of injuries when practicing weight training was confirmed by report published by the US Consumer Product Safety Commission in the year 1987 which found out that of the 8543 weight training related injuries most of them were younger than 14 years old. But recent research done by Faigenbaum, Milliken, Moulton, Westcott in 2007 discovered that properly designed resistance training exercise (weight training) for children and adolescents increased their muscle strength and decreased the likely hood of injuries and that data from previous research was inaccurate as training exercises use to collect data was for adult. (Aleksandar IgnjatoviĆ¡ et Al, 2009). Doing weight training at this age proved to contribute for better posture, improved self confidence, contribute to improve motor abilities and intramuscular coordination. These data proved to be much relevant when we realise that children school back pack bags that they carry weights approximately 32 percent of their total body weight so training at gym will help consolidate the weaker muscle group and help them in their daily life. Before starting any exercises, the child should be examined by a physician to determine its physical cond ition. Training at this age should be strictly supervised, light weight should be use until he or she learn the proper techniques, add weight slowly when 8 to 15 repetition is performed easily and exercises should be design to work all muscle groups and be performed to full extension of joint movement. To gain strength, workout should at least be 20 to 30 minutes long and be done 2 to 3 times weekly with gradual increase of training weight or repetition when strength of muscle improves. Due to skeletal and physical immaturity children should avoid any form of competitive weight training such as bodybuilding, power lifting, weight lifting as they would be tempted to lift maximal weight to compete. (PEDIATRICS, 2001; Yigal Pinchas, 2006 ) Adolescent: Adolescent is described as someone between the age of 12 and 17 years old. Physical activity at this age is crucial for achieving the optimum development and growth potential of the body. This is because after these ages, the skeletal system will start to hardened and will be less stimulated by physical exercises and development of the skeletal system will stunt even if weight training exercises is used. Strength training at this age can be done with free weights, weight training machine and by using the body own weight. Strength training at this age must be strictly supervised such as frequency of training, types of exercises done, intensity and duration of exercises to ensure strength increase of the adolescent and minimum risk of injuries (Yigal Pinchas, 2006) . At this age, muscle size, strength and power are lost easily after 6 weeks of total rest so maintenance exercises is a must so as to conserve progress. Adolescent strength training can improve the athletic performance in s ports such as American football where strength and size of body matters. Despite theories that strength training helps to reduced or stop sport related muscular skeletal injuries in adolescent scientific research have failed to confirm it but recent research suggests that there is a possible reduction in sports-related knee ligament injuries in teenage girls when strength training is combined with plyometric exercises. (Pediatrics, 2008) The National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) use by the US Consumer Product Safety Commission has estimated from year 1991 to 1996 that 20 940 to 26 120 injuries happened annually in individual less than 21 years old. Data collected from NEISS and other studies reported that 40 to 70 percent of the injuries were from muscle strain and most muscle strain occurred in lumbar back area. Before starting any exercises, the adolescent should be examined by a physician to determine its physical condition. Training at this age should be strictl y supervised, light weight should be use until he or she learn the proper techniques, add weight slowly when 8 to 15 repetition is performed easily and exercises should be design to work all muscle groups and be performed to full extension of joint movement. To gain strength, workout should at least be 20 to 30 minutes long and be done 2 to 3 times weekly with gradual increase of training weight or repetition when strength of muscle improves. Due to skeletal and physical immaturity adolescent should avoid any form of competitive weight training such as bodybuilding, power lifting, and weight lifting as they would be tempted to lift maximal weight to compete (PEDIATRICS, 2001). Most adolescents in Mauritius are influence by western cultures where muscular bodies are seen everywhere in movies or advertisement. More are them are tempted these days to engage in weight training and prefer to go in low services gym as they dont have enough money, common problem in these gym are they are n ot supervised and adolescents want rapid results where they lift weight without learning the proper lifting techniques and often exaggerate on weight size to gain muscle quickly which most of the time lead to serious injuries such as back problems. ADULT: Most of the adult that come to work out in gym do so to keep fit as they have come to accept that exercises is necessary to have a sound physical and mental health. At this stage the body is fully developed and ready to accept complex training, increased load, frequencies and duration of exercises (Yigal Pinchas, 2006). With most people working in offices these days and health problem such as overweight and cardiovascular problem at their doorsteps, physical activity has become very important these days. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) about 600,000 people died of heart disease each year in the US, in Mauritius, concern is rising about heart diseases when diabetic and obesity which always leads to heart problem is on the rise (CDC, 2013). Since 1987, Mauritius has recorded an increase of 60 % of diabetic among adult. Nearly half of Mauritian between the age of 25 to 74 is either diabetic or pre-diabetic (Mauritius News Team, 2010). Weight training is one of the solutions to the problem as it can reduce fat by increasing the metabolic rate of the body on short and long term. This is due to the fact that weight training builds lean muscle which metabolise fat in the body to grow. But weight training can also cause injuries if done carelessly. According to data collected from 100 emergency departments, men were more injured than women from weight training exercises (82.3%). This may be due to the fact that more men lift weight than women. Most of the injuries happened due to free weight (90.4%) and most of these injuries happened when the users drop the free weight on themselves or hit themselves by mistakes while using it (65.5%). The upper trunk and lower trunk were the most injured body part on men with 25.3% and 19.7% respectively. The most common diagnostic resulting from these injuries was sprain and strain with 46.1%. Women suffered more from foot injuries and fractures than men. (Zachary Y. Kerr et al, 2010). Seniors: At this age where muscle loss and other illness such as osteoporosis and cardiovascular diseases happens gradually with ageing, physical activity is a must in order to keep the body fit and away from these illness. At this age working out using weight is a good way to increase muscle mass and reduce fats in the body while in the same time increase bone density to combat some of the osteoporosis and loss of balance due to weakened muscle. Exercises should be supervise by a qualified instructor as frequency, intensity, number of repetition, duration of the exercises and type of exercises would be different from those of the other age group. Senior should always consult a doctor before doing any form of exercises due to the fact that most of the time they have orthopaedic issues such as joint problem and cardiac problem and special type of exercises should be designed for them to eliminate any exercises that can pose a health risk. Senior should visit gym 3 times weekly to gain adequate strength and a rest time of 48 hours between sessions. Exercises should be design so as all muscle groups and joints are trained equally per week, duration of session should be at least 20 minutes but no more than 45 minutes. When progress in strength is seen, repetition or weight should be added in each exercise. But due to orthopaedic and cardiac problem, weight addition could be a problem so other factors like repetition could compensate this problem (Darryn S. Willoughby, 2009). According to statistic, the number of injuries among old people is on the rise. Most of the injuries happen while they used weight training machine. The most common injuries were overexertion and while doing exercises that involve pulling and lifting exercises. ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY: To understand how these different types of injuries occur and how to prevent them, we must understand how the human body work. Anatomy of the spine The spine is a column comprising of different material namely bones, tendons, ligaments, muscles, cartilages and nerves all assemble together to form a very strong yet flexible structure in areas such as the neck and lower back. C:UsersDavidDesktopgymNew folderIllu_vertebral_column.jpg (Wikipedia, 2006)C:UsersDavidDesktopgymNew folderGray_111_-_Vertebral_column-coloured.png Lumbar spine: The lumbar spine is in the lower back area where the 5 last vertebrae the L1 to L5 bones are found like seen in the picture above. The vertebrae are the 33 bones in the shape of a disc that connects together to form the vertebral column, the vertebra has a hole in the middle where the spinal cord passes through and so acts as a protection and support. The lumbar spine bears the load of the body and absorbs any stress from movement such as lifting or carrying heavy objects. This is why the vertebra bones are bigger in this area. Intervertebral discs Each vertebra sits and is separated by an intervertebral disc and prevents the rubbing of these bones. The intervetebral disc has 2 layers the outer ring called the annulus and the inner ring called nucleus. The annulus is made of fibres bands criss-crossing each other and attaches both the upper and lower vertebrae together. The nucleus, the inner ring is filled with a gel like substance called the nucleus and act as a cushion between both vertebra. The intervetebral disc function like coil spring where the annulus compress both vertebrae together and the nucleus being and uncompressible liquid push the vertebrae away so a gap between both vertebrae is formed. This gap allows the nucleus being uncompressible to work like a ball bearing where the vertebrae roll on it and so making the vertebral column flexible. With age, the intervertebral disc loses progressively the ability to absorb the liquid making the nucleus and so it becomes flatter and brittle resulting in loss of height (To nya Hines, 2013) C:UsersDavidDesktopgymNew folderPE-AnatSpine_Figure4b.jpg C:UsersDavidDesktopgymNew folderPE-AnatSpine_Figure4a.jpg Why back injuries occur? Most of the time, back pain injuries occur due to injuries and degeneration of the intervertebral discs. Degeneration happens due to wear and tear of the intervertebral discs while doing movement such lifting heavy weight, bending over which put stress on the disc. While doing these movements, compression of the intervertebral disc happens and can move the disc toward the spinal cord and surrounding nerve. This displacement results in the compression of the spinal nerve and put strain on nearby ligaments which causes the back pain. Movement where both twisting and bending occurs put more stress on the spine

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Euthanasia: The Debate

Euthanasia: The Debate The term euthanasia is originated from the Greek meaning well death. In the past, the term has often been used in English literature as a welcome way to depart quietly and well from life. Today, however, the connotation has been altered and the most commonly understood meaning of the word has become the practice of ending life in a painless manner mercy killing. According to The Oxford Dictionary of Modern English, the definition of euthanasia refers to the act or practice of ending the life of an individual suffering from a terminal illness or an incurable condition, as by lethal injection or the suspension of extraordinary medical treatment. As such, in definition, the term euthanasia is defined as a legally approved and medically assisted mercy killing. However, in most countries, any practice of euthanasia is illegal no matter it is supported by the medical professionals or not. This then leads one to consider two fundamental questions regarding euthanasia. First, is euthanasia ethical? Second, depending on the answer of the first question, should euthanasia be legalized? The question as to whether euthanasia is ethical or unethical has been in debate over the years, from Jack Kevorkian, an euthanasia activist assisting at least 130 patients to their ends, to the 2006 Supreme Court ruling on Oregons Death with Dignity Act. Many professionals in different fields such as philosophers, scientists, religious leaders, lawyers, doctors have been debating over the issues of right to die and dignity of human life. Decision whether to consider euthanasia as an ethical or non-ethical conduct depends on individual; however, one may set three fundamental questions as their guidelines to ascertain their beliefs and understand opposing viewpoints. 1. Is it ever right for another person to end the life of a terminally ill patient who is in severe pain or enduring other suffering? 2. If euthanasia is sometimes right, under what circumstances is it right? 3. Is there any m oral difference between killing someone and letting them die? Taking above three questions into consideration, I came to a conclusion that euthanasia is the compassionate choice and thus should be supported by the same constitutional safeguards that secure such rights as marriage, procreation, etc. The best way to live and die is to do so deliberately, autonomously, in a way that enables us to view our lives as our own creations. Such freedom includes nothing less than the right to define ones own concept of existence, of meaning, of the universe, and of the mystery of human life. Michael J. Sandel Euthanasia is an individuals right to choose, and that the government should not take that away from anyone no matter the case. Person who owns and lives a life should have the priority to decide what to do with his or her life; it is a gift and the government should not take part in making decisions regarding moral and/or religious matters. Every individual has a choice central to pers onal dignity and autonomy. This then leads to the second assertion that euthanasia is an ethical conduct that helps patient to acquire natural death. Throughout the centuries, human beings have enabled themselves to prolong their lives through the use of newly developed vaccination and life-supporting machines. Humans are the only mammals who expand their life cycles relying on technology. However, in most of cases where euthanasia is conducted, patients are suffering from terminal illnesses and incurable diseases which technology cannot cure but can only sustain the lives of patients. If the technology fails to cure the disease but only functions to relieve the pain, it is natural to let go of dying one as happens in nature Social Pressure Then, to draw answer for the second question: should euthanasia be legalized?, one should comprehend the concepts of two different types of euthanasia. The first form of euthanasia is the voluntary euthanasia due to severe pain caused from terminally incurable illness, or if the patient has no hope of recovery according to the opinions of doctors, or if the patient wishes to relieve the financial and psychological burden on patients family, the patient could make a voluntary decision to terminate his or her life. As such, this form of euthanasia is also referred as euthanasia by consent. In the context of international laws, voluntary euthanasia has the least controversies. The first controversy is whether the patient is mentally competent to make a desired decision. As the patient is situated in extreme circumstance, he or she may have difficulty in making rational choices whether to receive euthanasia or not. Prepossessed with the desire to avoid any more suffering, patient may la ck a thorough understanding of the consequence of euthanasia definitive death. Thus, although patient may be willing to request for euthanasia, request may not reflect patients authentic thoughts. However, if euthanasia is carried under scrupulous procedures patients desire for euthanasia must be consistent and strong for certain period of time, constant medical assessment on the patients mental status, etc it would be easy to prove or disprove whether the patient is mentally competent or not. Social pressure is another controversial issue that can affect the patients decision. For many people, they do not want to be a burden on their loved ones when they become weak, incapable of looking after themselves and approach death. According to the perspective of the patient, dying can be a tiring and expensive process upon family members who by reason of law and custom, have to support the patient as well as their own livings. However, this social pressure can again be related to the i ssue of mental competence. If the patient is mentally competent, fully acknowledging factors of social pressure and how those affect ones decision, this should not be an issue of controversy. Thus, the government should not question or to disprove a patients voluntary decision to proceed euthanasia, if he or she is officially proven to be mentally competent. Last but least, some religions prohibit any form of suicide, and most people consider euthanasia as an indirect form of suicide. However, since not all shares the same religion and thus beliefs, some religion may allow euthanasia; thus peoples beliefs promoting euthanasia must not be prevented by the government since it is very contradictory if government advocates freedom of religion but prohibits euthanasia by consent for reasons of religious beliefs. This is comparable to demanding a patient to accept a particular religion and its beliefs. Involuntary euthanasia is the second form of euthanasia due to patients incapability t o make decision (patient is in a coma, have severe brain damage, or have mental disabilities to a very severe extent), decisions regarding euthanasia, must be made by friends, family or doctors of patients in order to bring the most beneficial course of treatment. As such, this form of euthanasia is often referred as euthanasia without consent. In comparison to voluntary euthanasia, this form is definitely more complicated. In most of the cases, people who make the decisions friends, family members, doctors do not agree either among themselves or even with the patient. For instance, judging that any means to protract the life of patient would be redundant in the future, doctors may strongly advocate euthanasia. On the other hand, patients acquaintance family members, friends may be more familiar with the patients moral and ethical values and disagree with euthanasia as an ultimate mean to end ones life. Moreover, patients inability to communicate causes a further uncertainty. As most countries view euthanasia as an illegal medical practice, governments in most countries do not have any policies or laws indicating who has the final decision to terminate patients life. Therefore, in order to reduce any confusion, the government should not intervene to prohibit euthanasia prohibition of euthanasia completely ignores some views of people but should intervene to legalize euthanasia so that choices whether to conduct euthanasia or not can be left among patients associates. Then, by establishing laws as to who should be prioritized in making decisions for patient, patients may have greater chance to pass their opinions about euthanasia through acquaintance whereas government banning could only bring one outcome which may be less desirable to some patients. In this day and age, most countries have been very hypocritical regarding issues of euthanasia. Constitutions in most countries reject the notion/concept of human euthanasia while accepting animal euthanasia in most cases. On one hand, governments argue that euthanasia neglects the dignity of human life: Accepting euthanasia would replace the equality-of-human-life ethic with a utilitarian and nihilistic death culture that views the intentional ending of certain human lives as an appropriate and necessary answer to lifes most difficult challenges the dire consequences that would flow from such a radical shift in morality are profound and disturbing. Wesley Smith. JD, International Anti Euthanasia Task Force At the same time, on the other hand, the governments prohibiting euthanasia accept animal euthanasia. They seek to secure dignity of human life but not dignity of other living beings. For instance, in most countries, animal owners and veterinarians have primary decisions to put down the lives of animal and there are no moral or legal issues against these acts. No complicated procedure is taken and the voices of animal owner and veterinarians humans are dominant. On the other han d, vague efforts have been put in to recognize the feelings of animal ignorance. Some may view euthanasia as murder, assisted suicide or mercy killing. However, no matter what forms that euthanasia takes, I believe that the primary decision whether to practice euthanasia or not should be given to the individual patients rather than the governments. Individuals must have decisions to live or die.

Monday, August 19, 2019

Cyber Crime and Cyber Law Essay -- Internet Security, Cybercrime, Onli

Introduction Recently, the Internet has become the most significant technology in all over the world, which is not only used by the people to contact with each other but also utilized by the business organizations to become global (Taylor, Caeti, Loper, Fritsch & Liederbach, 2006). Computer and internet enable the business organizations to execute the Electronic commerce business model, which has become very popular. Computers and Internet are a powerful source in the success of globalization and international business. Computers are being used worldwide and due to this, cyber crimes are increasing continuously with a rapid growth (Cheeseman, 2006). These types of crimes have become a matter of importance for the consumers as well the business firms because it involves large eviction of the amount in terms of money. In these types of crimes, computer and Internet are the primary factor (Spinello, 2000). A high percentage of population is using computers in the Australia, United States as well as other developed nations. These people are much more connected with the world by the use of internet. They are using the computer for fun, business, e-commerce, e-marketing, etc.; thus, it has become an essential part of life and daily routine (Wall, 2008). Cyber crime has become an important concern for not only the business firms, government, law enforcement agencies but also for the common people because these kinds of issues are related to the consumer’s day-to-day activity (Polivanyuk, 2005). Due to these types of crimes, consumer’s money, children, business organization’s integrity, consumer and company’s privacy, etc. are in danger. This is an illegal activity and to remove this crime from the society is very important for a brig... ...Fighting_Cybercrime_-Technical,Juridical_and_Ethical_Challenges.pdf McAdams, T., Neslund, N. & Neslund, K., 2004, Law, Business and Society, 7th Edition, New York: McGraw-Hill Companies. Polivanyuk, V., 2005, ‘Computer Crime: New Kind of Professional Crime’, Web. 28 May 2015. Spinello, R., 2000, Cyber Ethics: Morality and Law in Cyberspace, eds., New York: Jones & Bartlett Publishers. Taylor, R.W., Caeti, T.J., Loper, D.K., Fritsch, E.J. & Liederbach, J., 2006, Digital Crime and Digital Terrorism, 1st Edition, New York: Pearson Education, Inc. Wall D., 2008, ‘Cybercrime, Media and Insecurity: The Shaping of Public Perceptions of Cybercrime’, International Review of Law, Computers and Technology, vol. 22, no. 1-2, pp. 45-63. Yar, M., 2006, Cybercrime and Society, eds. Sage Publications.

Sunday, August 18, 2019

Crash Course In Density :: essays research papers

Crash Course in Density   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As flight 143, a twin engine 767, was passing over Red Lake on its was to Edmonton, Canada, the left front fuel pump warning light went on. There were a few possibilities for this to happen, such as the fuel pump failing, a fuel line clogging, or a empty fuel tank. The former two were easily dealt with, since the plane could fly without one fuel pump. However, the last possibility was horrifying. After a few minutes, the second fuel pump in the left wing began to blare. It would be too much of a coincidence for two fuel pumps to independently fail, or two fuel lines to independently clog, so it was apparent that the left tank was out of fuel. Quickly, the pilots decided that getting to Edmonton was out of the question. The nearest large airport was at Winnipeg, so they radioed ahead and changed their course. In a few minutes, all four of the fuel pumps had failed. The worst possible news, they were out of fuel. In a few more minutes the engines stopped running, and all of the high tech instruments became useless.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  They realized that they could not even make it to Winnipeg. Their only chance was an abandoned to a abandoned Air Force airstrip. Unfortunately, the airstrip had been converted to a race track, complete with race cars, fences, and spectators. The 767 crash landed, and, fortunately, no one was killed.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Their were many contributing factors that made this plane run out of fuel. First of all, the computerized fuel gauge was not working, and a maintenance worker said , incorrectly, that the plane was still certified to fly. To measure the amount of fuel remaining, they use a drip stick method. They discovered that their was 7 682 liters in the tank. However, they had always measured fuel in the past as pound, while the 767 consumed fuel in kilograms. The drip sticks did not express the amount of fuel in pounds or kilograms, but in liters. It seems to be a simple matter of conversion to arrive a the answer.

Analysis of The Astronomers Wife by Kay Boyle :: Astronomers Wife Kay Boyle Essays Papers

Analysis of The Astronomer's Wife by Kay Boyle In the "Astronomer's Wife" by Kay Boyle, something as simple as a conversation with a plumber about a stopped elbow is enough to trigger an awakening in Mrs. Katherine Ames. When Mrs. Ames realized that the plumber was talking about something she understood (the stopped elbow), she realized that her marital problems were not the result of a division betwwen the sexes; instead, she realized that some men, like the plumber, are as practical as she is, and that some other men, like her husband, scorn people like her because they are intellectually inclined. Previous to this discovery, Katherine did not realize that there were different kinds of men, and therefore she did not realize that she and her husband were mismatched. Furthermore, in her awakening, Mrs. Ames also discovers that she, like the plumber, occupies as valuable a place in society as the astronomer, for she does the "dirty" work to free people like her husband to have time to think and to discover. The scene in question takes place after Mrs. Ames has already noticed that the plumber has a few physical characteristics that match her own (such as blond hair), and she is talking to him as he descends into the earth. The scene begins immediately after the plumber says "I think something has stopped the elbow", because this phrase was one of the few things that a man has ever said that Mrs. Ames has understood. After the plumber has descended into the ground before the scene, Mrs. Ames is the only one left. She spends the entire duration of this scene sitting on the grass, silently thinking and revealing her thoughts to the audience. During her course of thinking, Mrs. Ames makes the important discovery that there is a whole race of practical people like herself, men and women alike. She knew that "when her husband spoke of height, having no sense of it, she could not picture it nor hear", but strangely enough, when another man who happened to be a plumer spoke of his work, "madness in a daily shape, as elbow stopped, she saw clearly and well". Mrs Ames finally realized during these thoughts that these were two men with two different ways of life, and perhaps her way of life suited the plumber's more than the astronomer's, in that she too could identify only with daily concerns. The division between people in her mind was no longer just between men and women; it was now the working and the thinking, those who "had always gone up, [and] others who went down, like the

Saturday, August 17, 2019

Full Disclosure

Full DisclosureFull disclosure is the reporting of any financial facts significant enough to influence the judgment of an informed reader. The Financial Accounting Board is responsible for establishing the rules and regulations in regards to a company providing full disclosure with their financial statements. The areas that are directly affected by the FASB include financial statements, notes to the financial statements and the supplementary information. Although these are the ones directly affected by the FASB, for a company to participate in full disclosure the company should also include other means of financial reporting and any other pertinent information. (Kieso, Weygandt, & Warfield, 2012).Interim ReportingEach business can use a different method of financial reporting so it is important ethically to report anything and everything that the â€Å"informed reader† will need to make a fair assessment of the business. According to the AICPA’s Special Committee on Fin ancial Reporting businesses must provide more forward looking information, focus more on the factors that create longer term value and better align information that is reported externally with the information reported internally.For a business to be able to have up to date information it is important to have interim reports. Interim reporting will break down the length of time between the reporting which in turn will give a better forecast. As part of an interim report the following will be disclosed the sales or gross revenues, basic and diluted earnings per share, seasonal revenue, costs or expenses, significant changes in estimates or provisions for income taxes, disposal of an extraordinary item, contingent items, changes in accounting principles and significant changes in financial reporting. As important as interim reporting is a business does want to stay away from information overload, in which the informed reader  becomes inundated with information not necessary to unders tand the reports. (Kieso, Weygandt, & Warfield, 2012).Notes to the Financial StatementsPart of full disclosure is the notes to the financial statements. These notes explain what has been presented in the financial statements. The notes should include the following major disclosures: inventory, property, plant equipment, creditor’s claims, equity holder’s claims, contingencies, commitments, fair values, deferred taxes, pensions, leases and any changes in accounting principles. It is also important to include the way the business reports their finances.Full disclosure includes the disclosing of any special transactions or events. These transactions should include any related party transactions which is when a company engages in a transaction in which one of the parties has the ability to significantly influence the policies of the other. It is necessary to report the economic portion of these transactions and not the legal portion. The economic portion should include the parties’ description of transactions for each of the periods that income statements are presented.This portion also includes the dollar amounts for which income statements are presents as well as the amounts due from or to the related parties as of the date each balance sheet is presented. The special events would include the subsequent events which take place at the time of the balance sheet but have not been included in the numbers as well as non-subsequent events which take place after the date of the balance sheet and still need to be considered. (Kieso, Weygandt, & Warfield, 2012).Segmented InformationSegmented information is an important part of full disclosure with major companies. The GAAP requires that a company choose one method of segmentation. In the Manager approach there are specific operating segments. The three parts of an operating segment are information regarding the activities from which there are revenues and expenses, results that are regularly reviewed by the comptroller to assess performance and resources, and the information that is generated by the internal financial reporting  system.An enterprise must report general information about the operating segments, segment profit and loss and related information, segment assets, reconciliations, information about products, services and geographic areas, and major customers. (Kieso, Weygandt, & Warfield, 2012).Final ReportsFull disclosure reporting should include the auditor’s unbiased report, the manager’s report, a financial forecast as well as a financial projection. The reason the auditor’s report should be included is to show that an unbiased opinion has gone over the financial reports and concludes that the company is above board. The manager’s report is important because it will show favorable or unfavorable conditions regarding the liquidity, capital resources and the results of operation. The financial forecast with the financial projection will give the informed reader a grasp of where the company is heading. (Kieso, Weygandt, & Warfield, 2012).Full Disclosure IncreaseFull disclosure has increased in the last ten years due to the FASB’s new rules in the last ten years. The need for these rules have become transparent due to the recent businesses in the news who have chosen to do illegal financial reporting which has ended with many people losing their places of employment as well as all of their money. (Kieso, Weygandt, & Warfield, 2012).ConclusionIn conclusion, full disclosure is important so a company has to answer for the reports they are filing. Full disclosure can protect the company as well as the public if done properly. The FASB has had an important part in the full disclosure laws. As long as there is not an information overload then the informed reader should be able to read a company’s reports and see where they have been, where they are, and where they are going.

Friday, August 16, 2019

London by William Blake Essay

Question- Identify a poem that makes a social or political statement. Explain what statement is being made and, with close references to the text, analyse the literary conventions used to convey the statements. Further, explain how this helps you gain a stronger understanding of the poem`s main theme(s). I have chosen the poem London by William Blake; I will explain how Blake is making a social and political statement by addressing the inequality and oppression within the city of London in the late 18th century. I will also examine how the poet manages to convey his opinion through poetic techniques. The poem is set in the City of London during the Industrial revolution, when there was a population explosion in the cities of the UK due to the movement of people from rural areas to urban areas in search of work. The sudden urbanisation in cities such as London put pressure on the standards of living and caused extreme poverty, people lived in horrific conditions. Due to the poor sanitation, there was a rapid spread of diseases such as cholera. William points to the corruption within the city of London; this poem is a form of social and political protest against the oppressive landlords and authorities of the city. In the first stanza William Blake talks of wandering through the streets that are privately owned, and states even the river Thames is not free from ownership. He is making a social/political comment about the ruling class and how everything that should be free to every citizen in London but has actually been stolen by the ruling class. His sense of inequality and oppression is clear from the very beginning. The repetition of the word â€Å"chartered† emphasises the bureaucracy that William felt was controlling the people of London. He also uses repetition with the word â€Å"mark† when he comments on the effects of this control and oppression has on the ordinary working class people. He states that in every face he sees there is a look of helplessness, and hopelessness for the future, all the people in despair. In the second verse, the poet continues to emphasise the oppression of the people. He uses repetition by emphasizing the word every, he is talking about every member of the population being enslaved by the ruling class and all are sorrowful this creates a feeling of depression on the streets of London. He talks about how minds are being controlled by using a metaphor to great effect: â€Å"The mind-forg’d manacles I hear. † The image being conveyed is that of a mind being manacled, unable to have hope for the future, and the suppression of thought, suggesting an imprisonment of the mind. Perhaps he felt that people were being socialized into accepting their fate, the authorities would want to supress any sense of rebellion In the third verse Blake make reference to the plight and exploitation of child workers, in this case Chimney sweeps. Child labour was cheap, but families relied on their meagre wages to survive. The children had to work long hours, in very harsh and dangerous environments. William Blake is appalled about how church and the palace sits back and does nothing to ease the plight of the destitute. Every black’ning Church appals; and the hapless Soldier’s sigh Runs in blood down Palace walls† The reference to soldier`s sigh represents men having to serve their country for a cause they do not agree with but feel they have no choice. Blake is appointing blame to these institutions that are supposedly meant to care and offer hope to people, yet there is no help forthcoming. His imagery creates a picture of a deep mourning within society. In the final stanza, he draws attention to the plight of the young prostitute on the dark night streets. When in a time of harsh economic trouble; young women may have had no choice but to turn to prostitution. Blake is drawing attention to the young women who are also victims of exploitation. â€Å"Blasts the new-born Infant’s tear and blights with plagues the Marriage hearse. † These women not only neglect their offspring but insult, damage, denigrate their children – we might think this is because of how these babies are got, or the circumstances of life – but the poet makes no mention or understanding, noting again, only the negative appearance, in a most unpleasant, off putting, unsympathetic way. Marriage is a â€Å"hearse† as opposed to a joyful partnership, marriages are killed or destroy those within it – and this is linked to the presence of young prostitutes who are either victims of, or the cause of – we cannot know further, because the poet walks on, breaking off communication with us and leaving us with only this singularly dark impression. One clue is the use of the word â€Å"plague†. The prevalence of what we would refer to as STD’s – a real plague in Victorian London, where the availability of prostitutes, lack of birth control and social attitudes meant that uncounted numbers of men brought an invisible virus home to the marriage bed. This must have had a debilitating, frightening impact on many of the population. The resultant levels of sickness among middle class – and no doubt other – women terribly deformed and blinded children, and all because of a topic that would affect almost every family but which was not discussed. William`s political views are clear throughout, his distrust of authority, and his hatred of the enslavement of society. He projects this through his dark imagery. His language throughout is morose and this sets the scene of a society ridden with poverty, working class people constantly being trod on by the ruling class. His social protest leaves the reader in do doubt that William detests the inequality and oppression that he sees all around him and also helps the reader to understand how hard it was to live during the industrial revolution unless you were a member of the ruling class.

Thursday, August 15, 2019

The Da Vinci Code PROLOGUE

Louvre Museum, Paris 10:46 P. M. Renowned curator Jacques Sauniere staggered through the vaulted archway of the museum's Grand Gallery. He lunged for the nearest painting he could see, a Caravaggio. Grabbing the gilded frame, the seventy-six-year-old man heaved the masterpiece toward himself until it tore from the wall and Sauniere collapsed backward in a heap beneath the canvas. As he had anticipated, a thundering iron gate fell nearby, barricading the entrance to the suite. The parquet floor shook. Far off, an alarm began to ring. The curator lay a moment, gasping for breath, taking stock. I am still alive.He crawled out from under the canvas and scanned the cavernous space for someplace to hide. A voice spoke, chillingly close. â€Å"Do not move.† On his hands and knees, the curator froze, turning his head slowly. Only fifteen feet away, outside the sealed gate, the mountainous silhouette of his attacker stared through the iron bars. He was broad and tall, with ghost-pale skin and thinning white hair. His irises were pink with dark red pupils. The albino drew a pistol from his coat and aimed the barrel through the bars, directly at the curator. â€Å"You should not have run.† His accent was not easy to place. â€Å"Now tell me where it is.† â€Å"I told you already,† the curator stammered, kneeling defenseless on the floor of the gallery. â€Å"I have no idea what you are talking about!† â€Å"You are lying.† The man stared at him, perfectly immobile except for the glint in his ghostly eyes. â€Å"You and your brethren possess something that is not yours.† The curator felt a surge of adrenaline. How could he possibly know this? â€Å"Tonight the rightful guardians will be restored. Tell me where it is hidden, and you will live.† The man leveled his gun at the curator's head. â€Å"Is it a secret you will die for?† Sauniere could not breathe. The man tilted his head, peering down the barrel of his gun. Sauniere held up his hands in defense. â€Å"Wait,† he said slowly. â€Å"I will tell you what you need to know.† The curator spoke his next words carefully. The lie he told was one he had rehearsed many times†¦ each time praying he would never have to use it. When the curator had finished speaking, his assailant smiled smugly. â€Å"Yes. This is exactly what the others told me.† Sauniere recoiled. The others? â€Å"I found them, too,† the huge man taunted. â€Å"All three of them. They confirmed what you have just said.† It cannot be! The curator's true identity, along with the identities of his three senechaux, was almost as sacred as the ancient secret they protected. Sauniere now realized his senechaux, following strict procedure, had told the same lie before their own deaths. It was part of the protocol. The attacker aimed his gun again. â€Å"When you are gone, I will be the only one who knows the truth.† The truth.In an instant, the curator grasped the true horror of the situation. If I die, the truth will be lost forever.Instinctively, he tried to scramble for cover. The gun roared, and the curator felt a searing heat as the bullet lodged in his stomach. He fell forward†¦ struggling against the pain. Slowly, Sauniere rolled over and stared back through the bars at his attacker. The man was now taking dead aim at Sauniere's head. Sauniere closed his eyes, his thoughts a swirling tempest of fear and regret. The click of an empty chamber echoed through the corridor. The curator's eyes flew open. The man glanced down at his weapon, looking almost amused. He reached for a second clip, but then seemed to reconsider, smirking calmly at Sauniere's gut. â€Å"My work here is done.† The curator looked down and saw the bullet hole in his white linen shirt. It was framed by a small circle of blood a few inches below his breastbone. My stomach.Almost cruelly, the bullet had missed his heart. As a veteran of la Guerre d'Algerie, the curator had witnessed this horribly drawn-out death before. For fifteen minutes, he would survive as his stomach acids seeped into his chest cavity, slowly poisoning him from within. â€Å"Pain is good, monsieur,† the man said. Then he was gone. Alone now, Jacques Sauniere turned his gaze again to the iron gate. He was trapped, and the doors could not be reopened for at least twenty minutes. By the time anyone got to him, he would be dead. Even so, the fear that now gripped him was a fear far greater than that of his own death. I must pass on the secret. Staggering to his feet, he pictured his three murdered brethren. He thought of the generations who had come before them†¦ of the mission with which they had all been entrusted. An unbroken chain of knowledge. Suddenly, now, despite all the precautions†¦ despite all the fail-safes†¦ Jacques Sauniere was the only remaining link, the sole guardian of one of the most powerful secrets ever kept. Shivering, he pulled himself to his feet. I must find some way†¦ . He was trapped inside the Grand Gallery, and there existed only one person on earth to whom he could pass the torch. Sauniere gazed up at the walls of his opulent prison. A collection of the world's most famous paintings seemed to smile down on him like old friends. Wincing in pain, he summoned all of his faculties and strength. The desperate task before him, he knew, would require every remaining second of his life.

Wednesday, August 14, 2019

Employability

Definition of EmployabilityEmployability has been used as a public presentation index for higher instruction establishments ( Smith et Al, 2000 ) and represents a signifier of work particular ( pro ) active adaptability that consists of three dimensions: calling individuality, personal adaptability and societal and human capital ( Fugate et Al, 2004 ) . At the same clip, Knight and Yorke ( 2004 ) have put frontward the four wide and interlacing constituents of USEM history of employability: * Understanding ( of the capable subject ) * Skilful patterns in context * Efficacy beliefs * Meta-cognition Nabi ( 2003 ) mentioned that employability is about alumnuss possessing an appropriate degree of accomplishments and properties, and being able to utilize them to derive and stay in appropriate employment. From a human resource development position, employability is a construct that emerged through the ninetiess along with a turning perceptual experience among employees that they can non number on their employers for long-run employment. Employability is a promise to employees that they will hold the accomplishments to happen new occupations rapidly if their occupations end out of the blue ( Baruch, 2001 ) . Prior to this, Harvey ( 2001 ) has defined employability in assorted ways from single and institutional positions. Individual employability is defined as alumnuss being able to show the properties to obtain occupations. Normally, institutional employability relates to the employment rates of the university graduates. However, Harvey argued that employment results of alumnuss are non an index of institutional employability. He presented an employability-development theoretical account shown in Figure 1. The theoretical account illustrated a multi-perspectives position of employability with all related stake-holders.Employability and Higher Education: Key issuesDespite the burgeoning research on employability and handiness of a broad scope of theoretical accounts purporting to explicate it, employability itself remains a combative construct unfastened to a & A ; lsquo ; overpluss of micro-interpretations ‘ ( Harvey, 2003 ) . This can do the undertaking of course of study development peculiarly hard. [ p5 ]The turning importance of employabilityHarmonizing to McNair ( 2003 ) , graduate employability has become a more of import issue for establishments. This is: because of the altering nature of the alumnus labor market, mass engagement in HE, pressures on pupil finance, competition to enroll pupils and outlooks of pupils, employers, parents and authoriti es ( expressed in quality audit and conference tabular arraies ) . On a broader degree, it has been noted that higher instruction, through the coevals and airing of cognition, straight impacts economic fight on a national and international degree ( Brown et al, 2003 ; CIHE, 2003 ; UUK, 2007 ; DIUS, 2008 ) . The significance of the UK HE system to the wider economic system has been by and large acknowledged since the Robbins Report was published in 1963. However, this relationship has been made more expressed in recent old ages and it was with the publication of the Dearing Report ( 1997 ) that the connexion found outstanding look. Dearing strongly expressed the demand for a globally competitory economic system incorporating extremely skilled, extremely trained and extremely motivated alumnuss who could execute efficaciously on the universe ‘s phase. This coupled with the farther development of human-capital theory ( Becker, 1975 ) , which asserts that one function of authorities is to supply and foster conditions which will increase the pool of skilled labor, has created a fertile forum for the discourse of & A ; lsquo ; employability ‘ to boom. The altering nature of the graduate-labour market Dearing ( 1997 ) stated that & amp ; lsquo ; acquisition should be progressively antiphonal to employment demands and include the development of general accomplishments, widely valued in employment ‘ ; nevertheless, the labor market is altering dramatically and at a much faster gait than in the yesteryear. Emerging markets and rapid enlargement of the cognition economic system means that the same set of employability accomplishments which were in demand 10 or even five old ages ago may non be required in the germinating graduate-employment market. Employers are progressively seeking flexible recruits who can work efficaciously in the & A ; lsquo ; de-layered, down-sized, information-technology driven and advanced ‘ administrations in being today ( Harvey et al, 1997: 1 ) . Employers are seeking people who can make more than merely react to alter, they need those who can take alteration. McNair ( 2003 ) remarks on the velocity of labour-market development and notes that a higher per centum of the work force is employed in little and average endeavors ( SMEs ) , a tendency besides reflected in graduate-employment statistics. While this may offer chances to derive early duty in less structured and hierarchal work environments, alumnuss need to hold the accomplishments to make honoring graduate functions function in what Purcell and Elias ( 2004 ) refer to as & A ; lsquo ; niche-graduate businesss ‘ . Niche-graduate businesss are those: where the bulk of officeholders are non alumnuss, but within which there are stable or turning specialist niches that require higher instruction accomplishments and cognition ( Purcell and Elias, 2003: 5 ) . Students hence need to be equipped with accomplishments which enable them to & A ; lsquo ; turn ‘ occupations to graduate degree. HE has been criticised by some as being excessively slow to recognize the changing nature of the labor market and is bring forthing alumnuss who are sick equipped to cover with the worlds of graduate employment ( CBI, 2006 ) . Government policy to widen engagement in HE, taking to increase the proportion of 18-30 twelvemonth olds to 50 per cent by 2010, will no uncertainty have a important impact on the supply of alumnuss in the labor market. Harmonizing to Elias and Purcell ( 2004 ) engagement rates in UK HE about doubled in the decennary 1991-2001, from 1.2 million pupils to 2.1 million. Such rapid enlargement has raised concerns that the addition in the figure of extremely qualified persons may non be coupled with an tantamount rise in demand for their accomplishments and makings ( Brown and Hesketh, 2004 ; Brynin, 2002 ; Keep and Mayhew, 1996, 1999 in Elias and Purcell, 2004 ) . While Elias and Purcell ( 2004 ) conclude that the enlargement of HE at the terminal of the 20th century has been chiefly positive, Purcell et Al ( 2005: 16 ) express concern that & amp ; lsquo ; the tantrum between the supply of alumnuss and employers ‘ demand for their cognition and accomplishments clearly falls some ma nner short of ideal ‘ . There are assorted studies about whether demand for alumnuss will be affected by increasing engagement in higher instruction. The supply of alumnuss has been steadily lifting and there were 258,000 alumnuss in 1997 compared with 319,000 in 2007 ( HESA, 2007 ) . Despite lifting Numberss go forthing HE, harmonizing to DIUS ( 2008 ) , demand for alumnuss remains high and the latest study by the Association of Graduate Recruiters ( AGR 2007 ) suggests that the figure of graduate vacancies increased by 15.1 per cent in 2007. Both DIUS and AGR do nevertheless raise concerns about the mismatch between what employers are looking for and the accomplishments graduates possess ( see Chapter 2 for a more elaborate analysis of accomplishments ) . Despite much contention about the impact of increasing pupil Numberss, it is incontestable that alumnuss are confronting a changing, more competitory labor market and they need to be prepared consequently.The altering nature of the higher instruction lan dscapeBeyond force per unit areas confronting alumnuss in the labor market, universities are confronting increasing demands to account for what they do and prospective pupils and parents are going spoting & A ; lsquo ; clients ‘ when shopping for the most suited HEI ( McNair, 2003 ) . Given the importance of employability in the equation, establishments can non overlook the significance of developing this facet of proviso. Allison et Al ( 2002 ) allude to the force per unit areas confronting HEIs as evidenced by the publication of increasing Numberss of public presentation indexs and counsel paperss such as the QAA Code of Practice for Careers Education, Information and Guidance ( 2001 ) and the Harris Review of Careers Services ( 2001 ) . Yorke and Knight ( 2002: 4 ) have expressed some concern about the manner in which statistics on employment rates used in league tabular arraies can deflect HEIs from the of import undertaking of heightening employability. They province that: one time employment rates become an institutional public presentation index ( HEFCE, 2001 ) , there is a baneful slipstream as establishments seek to & A ; lsquo ; better their tonss ‘ since they know that these tonss will stop up in the alleged & A ; lsquo ; league tabular arraies ‘ published in the imperativeness.Consequently:there is a danger that maximizing the mark will command more institutional attending than carry throughing the educational purpose of heightening employability. Higher Education in the UK has gone through considerable alteration during the last two decennaries. The move from an elitist system to one of mass engagement has been extremely important. Shelley ( 2005 ) indicates that the figure of 18-30 twelvemonth olds in HE rose from 12 per cent in the 1980s to 43 per cent by 2002. This he points out has non been matched with commensurate degrees of support and between 1977 and 1997 authorities outgo per pupil fell by 40 per cent. In recent old ages nevertheless support degrees have improved with HEFCE denoting a figure of & A ; lb ; 6,706 million in recurrent support for 2006-07 to universities and colleges in England ( HEFCE, 2006 ) . Increased support degrees have led to systems of answerability being put in topographic point. These in bend have led to the development of managerial patterns intended to advance new efficiency and customer-focused, customer-led policy models which should guarantee success in a new competitory market. In the eyes of observers such as Bekhradnia ( 2005 ) the last decennary has seen a mixture of successes and failures of managerial enterprises. For some observers ( e.g. Brown and Lauder, 1999 ; Green, 1993 ) these policy directives coupled with the accent placed on the part of HE to the planetary economic system has led to the & A ; lsquo ; marketisation ‘ and the & A ; lsquo ; commodification ‘ of HE and its instruction. Brown and Lauder ( 1999 ) contend that there has been a motion towards a & A ; lsquo ; neo-Fordist ‘ attack to HE in which instruction and acquisition is now emulating the Fordist fabrication procedures of the early 20th century. This construct was characterised by the production assembly line & A ; lsquo ; just-in-time ‘ unitization production methods of fabrication industries. For HE this manifests itself in several ways which Brown and Lauder describe as: scholar administrations with accent on & A ; lsquo ; numerical ‘ flexibleness ( i.e. outcome-related instruction and cost-driven dockets ) , aggregate production of standardized merchandises ( i.e. modularisation/unitisati on of course of study ) , and accent on quality systems to guarantee standardization which consequence in a bland mechanistic experience of larning. [ p9 ] Given the evident consensus among the cardinal stakeholders about which accomplishments are of import and on the demand to turn to employability in HE, it seems unusual that there is so small commonalty in attacks taken by universities to heighten employability. There remains considerable argument on how best sweetening of employability can be achieved, and so the extent to which HE can act upon this facet of pupil development. In an extended reappraisal of HE proviso, Little ( 2004: 4 ) concludes that while there is: international concern that higher instruction should heighten alumnus employability, there is small grounds of systematic believing about how best to make it, allow entirely any theoretical account that can be badged as & A ; lsquo ; best pattern ‘ and adopted wholesale. Developing a common apprehension of how to heighten employability is a extremely complex issue, although Knight ( 2001 ) believes authorities and others persist in handling it in much the same manner as & A ; lsquo ; invention ‘ , as & A ; lsquo ; something simple, to be planned, delivered and evaluated ‘ ( Knight, 2001 cited in Lees, 2002: 1 ) . Trying to organize a co-ordinated and holistic attack to skill development, authorities has introduced many programmes and enterprises to advance accomplishment development and these seem to hold had some impact. The DfEE Higher Education Projects Fund 1998-2000, for illustration, included undertakings to develop cardinal and movable accomplishments and Harvey, Locke and Morey ( 2002 ) have reviewed the tendencies in establishments ‘ attacks to implanting employability. They note that there has been a displacement in HE from developing the specific employability accomplishments within specializer faculties to a more holistic attack where establishments are implanting employability and accomplishments throughout the course of study. They present illustrations of employability enterprises from different HEIs which were extremely varied and based on differing doctrines. Possibly it is inevitable that establishments and even single sections and faculty members will change widely in their attacks to developing employability as they will be runing in the context of their ain frame of mention about instruction, and will be covering with pupils who will change enormously in their ability and aspirations. However, it is clear from the research on employability accomplishments that the properties which employers value and pedagogues recognise as of import are really similar, and there is hope that such consensus in thought can lend to a more consistent attack to curriculum development.