Philosophy Term Paper on Stereotype Encounters

Philosophy on Stereotype Encounters - Term Paper Example Individuals being stereotyped will feel that their behaviors are judged on the basis of their negative attitude instead from the basis of their personal merit. When people feel stereotyped their performance is undermined as they will feel their actions are under a lot of scrutiny, and this makes them loose their self esteem which will undermine their productivity (Dovidio et al, 2010). Stereotyping will make a person feel like a victim of social identity, and they will feel inferior if they are not able to cope with the stereotype and this will undermine their capability to make sound decisions and their productivity in the activity they are undertaking (Kemick, 2010). I have encountered various stereotypes the first one being that all Arabs and Muslims are terrorists. After the September 11 attacks in the United States, Muslims and Arabs have been stereotyped and have been rejected by other communities. The attacks were staged by the al-Qaida, which is a Muslim group and from this d ay people have had the notion that all Muslims are terrorists. This has denied Muslims many opportunities as people fear that they will attack them as they are connected to terrorists. After the attacks Muslims were under great scrutiny and they are treated with fear and rejection. Even the authorities at airports double checked their luggage and this made them fall victims of sterotyping.it was evident to note Muslims being stopped by police more than people from other cultures. This stereotype has had a negative impact on Muslims as it messes up with their self confidence caused by the belief that they are being sidelined or rejected by the community, and this undermines their

Law of Supply and Demand | Entry Barriers

Law of Supply and Demand | Entry Barriers The Economic Environment and Anatomy of Business Law of Supply and Demand Headline: Nexus 6 sold out: Google Play Store will have more in stock every Wednesday URL: http://www.techtimes.com/articles/19568/20141105/nexus-6-in-stock-every-wednesday-and-within-minutes-google-phablet-completely-sold-out-again.htm The first economic phenomenon that we are going to look at is the law of supply and demand. In its raw form it states that if the demand for certain product is higher than its availability (supply) then the price for that product goes up and if the vice versa is present then it decreases (Baye, 2010). A current example of this is the lightning fast selling of Google’s latest flagship smartphone Nexus 6. Upon its release in the Google Play Online store, the first shipment was sold out within minutes. After that, when the second shipment arrived, the same situation repeated. This is a clear indicator that the demand of Nexus 6 was way higher than the actual supply. The reasons for such a high demand can be attributed to several factors. Firstly, Google’s Nexus 6 came with the new Android operating system version 5.0 (Code name Lollipop), being the only phone on the market that supports it. Secondly, the price of Nexus 6 was (and currently is) relatively lower than its competitor‘s – it is cheaper than Apple’s IPhone 6, 6Plus and Sony’s Xperia Z3 (Luke Johnson, 7 November, 2014), and approximately same priced as Samsung’s Galaxy S5. This gives an extra layer of appeal to buyers and combined with its high quality, the reason behind the extremely high demand of the Google’s smart phone is justified. The graph below illustrates an example of the current supply and demand of Google’s Nexus 6: We mark the current price level of Nexus 6 with P1, the current quantity that Google can supply with Qs and the current quantity that is demanded with Qd. P* and Q* are our equilibrium price and equilibrium quantity respectively. Setting a lower price for the smartphone compared to the competitor’s and offering the exclusivity of the new Android operating system, has made the demand for the product extremely high. On one hand, this is good indicator, however, in this case Google could not provide an adequate amount of supply to the market. Those two factors led the company to an excess of demand. Assuming, the basic principles of the law of supply and demand are functioning, the rivalry between customers, who want to buy the modern smartphone, will push the price up to the equilibrium point. That point represents the place, where the demand from customers and the supply from Google, meet and form an equilibrium (supplied quantity is equal to the demanded one or our equilibrium price and quantity, conforms). Naturally, another scenario may occur – the demand for Nexus 6 might eventually drop as a result of oversaturation of the market with smartphones from the same class, adoption of the Android 5.0 OS by rival firms (it is predicted that this will happen by the end of 2014 (James Rogerson, Matthew Hanson, October 2014) due to the fact that the Android OS is open-source) or a drop in prices of competitor’s phone offers. In case this happens, the equilibrium point will be achieved at a significantly lower price compared to the first scenario. To summarize, in the base of every modern economy stands the law of supply and demand and it dictates its basic behavior. Companies such as Google and its Nexus 6 smartphone, visualize the stated law perfectly with its clear excess of demand. Entry Barriers Headline: Latest OS share data shows Windows still dominating in PCs URL: http://www.zdnet.com/latest-os-share-data-shows-windows-still-dominating-in-pcs-7000013351/ The second economic mechanism that we are going to focus on is that of entry briers. Entry barriers or barriers of entry by definition are blockades set on a specific market that make it difficult for new firms to enter. The reason of their formation can be due to government laws and regulations (this creates governmental monopolies), to a large company that is taking advantage of economies of scale, to brand loyalty, geographical barriers (the mining industry), high switching costs, sunk costs, high cost for research and development or to patents (Sullivan, A; Steven, M. S., 2003, p.153).. An excellent example for entry barriers is the market of desktop operating systems, which currently is occupied by Microsoft. Since its founding in 1975 the company has walked a long way from a simple garage firm to a global computer giant that, at the present moment, has a monopolistic position on the desktop OS market with more the 90% of it belonging to the Windows operating system (OS) (â€Å"Desktop Operating System Market Share†, 2014). With the recent announcement of the newest member of the Windows family – Windows 10, Microsoft aims to strengthen even more its position and along with that to keep the status quo. Hence, any other company, which wants to enter the market and successfully compete with Microsoft, needs to make a huge investment. Several reasons lie behind that: there is a significant market loyalty to the Windows OS, the know-how for making an OS with such proportions is concentrated within the company and the brand itself is highly recognizable. A ll those factors are barriers for the other companies to enter the market and in order to compete efficiently, they have to apply a lot of effort to popularize their new brand. Moreover, Microsoft has many patents in the software sector, which restrict major part of the information accesses for the rival firms. Furthermore, the switching costs (the cost for switching from one product to another) for a company, which uses the Windows OS, are significantly high. They consist of expenses for buying the new OS, integrating it and teaching its employees to use it and generally such migration will not be undertaken/ launched lightly or even at all. Entry barriers do not always have a positive effect on the market due to the fact they stimulates the creation of a monopolies in a specific sector, which may lead to unreasonably high prices and low quality. This stems from the lack of competitors able to challenge both price and quality of the products offered to the public. With Microsoft, this is not the case, but the probability is always there. To summarize, the barriers of entry are an efficient way for a firm to restrict access to a market segment and generate maximum profit.Microsoft’s monopolistic position in the sector of desktop operating systems is largely attributed to the various imposed entry barriers, which have assured their future dominant position on the market. Economies of Scale and Economics of a Scope Headline: Facebook Has Spent $22 Billion on Acquisitions. URL: http://mashable.com/2014/05/30/facebook-acquisitions/ Thirdly, we are going to look at the following economic concepts economies of a scale and economics of a scope. Economies of a scale is a way for a company to reduce the average cost of its products by distributing the fixed costs onto a larger amount of production (Baye, 2010, p. 185 186). Normally, this is done by increasing the size of the company (growing horizontally – expanding in the current market segment). Economies of a scope, on the other hand, is achieved by expanding the company in other market sectors, where its current know-how can help to produce goods at a relatively lower prices then it normally would do (Baye, 2010, p. 187). Facebook is a company that applies simultaneously both economies of a scale and scope. Since its founding in 2004, the company has spent roughly 22 billion dollars for the goal of acquiring other businesses that range from small companies focused on web or mobile development, through startups that have an astonishing growth rate (WhatsApp), to innovators that are promising to bring a whole new experience to their users (Oculus Rift). Buying small and medium sized companies that can be directly integrated into the development process of Facebook, is clear example of economies of a scale. By doing that, the company is reducing its fixed costs by spreading them onto a larger amount of users. Another benefit from this is the company’s employees specialization into a specific field (social media) and along with that they become more efficient, which increases the general productivity and reduce costs. Another aspect of Facebook’s policy is that of acquiring companies in sectors related to social media. A good example of that is the Oculus Rift deal that happened in the beginning of 2014. Through buying the company, Facebook can combine the virtual reality technology provided form Oculus Rift with its know-how of brining real life social experience, online and the result will be a totally new way that we experience the web. This implies that the Social Media giant will be able to reduce its total cost in the view that it already has experience in the field of software development and social media. Developing applications for the new virtual reality platform or developing the platform itself will be less expensive than for other companies that do not have such experience. Avoidlessly, economies of scale and scope come at a price. Larger firms often experience problems such as miscommunication between its separate parts, difficulties in coordination and their owners loose part of the control over the company due to the necessity to delegate part of their responsibilities to managers, hence they may not always make the most adequate decisions for the best of the company. In conclusion, by using economies of a scale and scope companies such as Facebook can significantly reduce their total costs, optimize productivity and increase production power. Price discrimination Headline: GitHub announces free developer tools for students URL: http://thenextweb.com/insider/2014/10/07/github-announces-free-developer-tools-students/ The last economic concept that we are going to look at is price discrimination. In its core, price discrimination is a type of pricing strategy, in which the same or largely similar products are sold at different prices depending on various factors. There are several degrees of price differentiation first, second and third, in addition to that, diverse combinations among them can be formed. Typical for the first degree is that a monopolistic company charges the absolute maximum price (reservation price) for its goods or services (perfect price discrimination). The second degree is closely related to quantity demand the larger it is, the lower the prices are (it does not depend on customer’s personality). Conversely, third degree price discrimination can be based on a specific market group (students, teachers, workers etc.), on geographical location or even more in some cases on a specific customer, but not on quantity (Cabral, 2014). A good example of price discrimination, is the recent release of free developer packages from GitHub for people belonging to educational sector students, teachers, administrative staff and researchers, which include waiving of subscription taxes for a private GitHub account and free educational software (third degree discrimination). By taking this step, GitHub attracts more people form the target sector. For instance, students overall have more restricted incomes, making them more price sensitive to changes and the demand they form, relatively elastic (from the graphic bellow: changes in price from P1 to P2 are met with significantly greater change in demanded quantity – Q1 to Q2). In other words, small price changes can have a great impact on the total demand of a certain item. Similarly, GitHub offers the same packages for teachers – which allows them to better educate their students and hence produce a better qualified future workers for the market, benefiting the economy as a whole. Despite the fact that those packages are now free, in long term they can bring more clients and create customer loyalty, which will result positively on the company’s revenue. Moreover, this price discrimination tactic has a beneficial influence on the whole software development sector due to the fact it provides free access to private accounts and free development tools. This contributes to students to develop their ideas, which can eventually grow in startups a effect on the economy. However, attempts for reselling the software provided within the free packages can occur and in order to prevent this the company has taken measures. For students to request such an account, they need to provide their unique university email or school ID as a proof. Teachers and researchers on the other hand need to present a â€Å"proof of affiliation†* in order to install the software on their computers. Providing proof of affiliation is a way of verifying the involvement the academic status. Such packages are allowed per person/ an email account and in addition to that most of the software is licensed under conditions that permit its usage only for academic purposes and any other attempts are punishable by international law. Undoubtedly, ways around such rules exist but generally speaking the company is relatively safe against reselling of their products. To conclude, price discrimination is an efficient way for companies to specifically tailor their products for a particular group of customers. Being one of those companies, GitHub combines the benefits from that, with the opportunity to stimulate the academic process around the world. References: BAYE, M. R. (2009) Managerial economics and business strategy – 7th edition, New York, McGraw-Hill/Irwin CABRAL, L. M. B. (March 10, 2014) Introduction to Industrial Organization – 2th edition, Price Discrimination Sullivan, A; Steven, M. S. (2003). Economics: Principles in action, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall, ISBN 0-13-063085-3. Desktop Operating System Market Share (October 2014) (online). Available from:  http://www.netmarketshare.com/operating-system-market-share.aspx?qprid=10qpcustomd=0 (Last Accessed 14/11/2014) James Rogerson, Matthew Hanson (13 November, 2014) (online). Android Lollipop 5.0 update: when can I get it? Available from:  http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/android-l-5-0-release-date-when-can-i-get-it1257804 (Last Accessed 15/11/2014) Luke Johnson (7 November, 2014) (online). Nexus 6 release date, rumors, news, specs and price round-up. Available from:  http://www.trustedreviews.com/news/nexus-6-release-date-rumours-news-specs-and-price (Last Accessed 15/11/2014) Social Work: Assessment, Plan, Implementation and Evaluation Social Work: Assessment, Plan, Implementation and Evaluation What is a social work assessment, plan and evaluation? The aim of social work is to protect individuals from harm, and to empower them and improve their lives. Social workers form a human link between the many programs employed to serve the public good and those who are in need. They form the ‘eyes and ears’ of public efforts to combat social ills, so to speak, and they are the practical human element of common sense in their application. It is in this role where new ideas are created and innovative solutions are identified, where existing practices are judged for effectiveness, and, most importantly, where the faceless bureaucracy of government takes human form. In order to accomplish this a critical process of assessment, planning, and evaluation has evolved in the field of social work which allows social workers to effectively achieve their goals. Moreover, it is has found a wide range of applications, from the student-supervisor relationship to practitioners in the field. The process of assessment is aimed first at identifying problems or ‘taking stock’ of a particular situation. Identifying the problems in a situation provides the fundamental raison d’à ªtre for the development and employment of a solution. Past identifying whether there is actually a problem (which is often suspected or reasonably understood before an assessment is undertaken), social work assessment has more to do with determining the particular nature of the problem and its degree. Understanding what kind of problem is being faced, and just how bad it really is, is key to forming a coherent plan to affect a real solution. This requires strong observation and critical analysis skills on the part of the social worker, but it also requires an intimate and experiential knowledge of the field in which the assessment is being undertaken. Once the nature and degree of a problem is understood, different options may emerge each as a possible solution. Each possible solution will have its own strengths and weaknesses, its own advantages and drawbacks. And while the process of assessment may be viewed as excessively tedious at times, it is critical to never underestimate its importance. A study on the need for an assessment model in primary medical care facilities for the elderly noted that: â€Å"When psychosocial needs go unmet through misdiagnosis, lack of detection, lack of treatment and follow up, elderly patients are at risk of further health problems that can lead to physical deterioration, reduced independence, and eventually to the need for more intensive and expensive services. â€Å" (Berkman et al., 1999) The failure of proper assessment not only prevents positive solutions, but also results in negative impacts. Assessment forms a critical foundation for the effectiveness of all other social work efforts. As such, the identification of different solutions requires policy knowhow and creativity on the part of the social worker. Meeting the demands of this important aspect of assessment, in conjunction with the skills of problem identification and critical analysis, will ensure sound and proper assessments which enable the identification of proper solutions. Assessment is a critical component at the basis of all kinds of social work, from medical care and patient treatment to domestic violence and child poverty. All outcomes depend upon an assessment model built upon sound observation and critical analysis combined with creative and informed policy thought. Solid assessment will provide the social worker with a range of options for addressing a particular problem. The selection of an appropriate solution involves properly understanding the nature of the problem, as well as the various impacts of each option at different levels. The skills required to identify the right solution to a problem involve more than simple program literacy or policy analysis. They involve the fundamental ability to not only understand policies, but to weigh them concurrently against previously identified goals. Because many factors involved in determining the impacts of a possible solution are subjective (i.e. individuals, public and private groups, changing laws etc), achieving this is not a matter of simple analysis but of an intuitive understanding of these subjective factors. Too often, someone unfamiliar with, or removed from, these subjective variables enacts a calculated decision based upon what is understood to be sound analysis. The history of social work is filled with this kind of serial miscalculation. Take, for example, a 2005 study on battered women. It found that: â€Å"Safety planning will be most effective if it occurs within a contextualized assessmentprocess that illuminates the deeper struggles and multiple harms that women balance when making decisions about continuing or ending relationships.† (Lindhorst et al., 2005) While a â€Å"contextualized assessment process† is the main focus of the essay, it is the effectiveness of the plan or policy that is identified as the major issue affected by its absence. Assuming the burdens of sound assessment are properly met elsewhere, the ‘contextualization of the process’, or the root of its understanding in the subjective variables which specifically define it, will determine its success. Real planning and policy implementation in response to sound assessment must always be rooted in the day to day reality of the issue it is dealing with. Too much abstraction or beaurocratization of this process distances it from reality, and only serves the employment of solutions which leave critical needs and major goals unmet. Ensuring that this understanding is present, along with the required critical analysis skills and policy knowledge on the part of the social worker, will ensure the right person is making these decisions. A bad decision based upon the best assessment is still an unacceptable outcome. It is never evident, however, that the right plan or policy was chosen or the right assessment undertaken without some kind of evaluation. Success and failure is seldom absolute. More often it exists in degrees. And while success may be met in a number of respects, it may be absent in a number of others. The process of evaluation is designed to measure these degrees. The changes that have taken place since a particular plan or policy was implemented are a major indicator of their effectiveness. Too often, however, not enough attention is paid to whether or not these changes are actually the result of the plans or policies in question. It is the process of evaluation’s primary task to determine the facts of policy impacts and exactly what policies are responsible for certain changes. Furthermore, the process of evaluation is usually synonymous with some kind of accountability. When looking at programs from a financial point of view, this accountability is welcome. Indeed, it is rightly viewed as necessary to their responsible administration. This evaluation is, to a large degree, black and white. Either the numbers add up or they don’t. Either an idea has fundamentally succeeded or it has failed, or else it needs some tweaking. From a personnel perspective, however, â€Å"the words ‘accountability,’ ‘supervision’ and ‘evaluation’ are frightening. They imply having ones feet held to the fire for failure. These processes exist in a paradigm of fear and dread. Educators blame others and blame the circumstances for their lack of effectiveness rather than taking personal responsibility. This phenomenon in human dynamics should not be seen as unique to teachers and administrators in education. It exists everywhere. We all have a tough time taking and giving criticism. We all have that very common fear of failure.† (Mcgrath, 2000) The human dynamic is here identified as a force resistant to the very kind of accountability the process of evaluation is meant to bring about. The study, â€Å"The Human Dynamics of Personnel Evaluation† (Mcgrath, 2000) talks about the judgmental nature and pressure of accountability which needs to be taken into account in the evaluation process. The evaluation process is often viewed as a simple matter of calculation, or arithmetic. We had the goals the reasoning goes, we had the assessment and the plan, and we had what happened – just add it all up. But it’s just not that simple. The human dynamic is woven between virtually every fibre in the assessment and policy process. Viewing accountability through a fiscal lens, or a purely factual lens of objective causes and effects, miscalculates one of the largest and most influential factors in determining the usefulness of social work evaluation: people. Making the evaluation process effective must involve, as with the two other processes discussed in this essay, more than just analysis. It must involve a psychology of responsibility that individuals are confronted with in the process at all levels. It must involve a confrontation of the fear of failure present in the heart of every sincere effort. Perhaps the great compassion which drives the field of social work forward, demanding the investment of nothing less than life itself from thousands of people, is also its greatest weakness. I believe, however, that it is the unawareness of this vulnerability which makes it a liability – nothing the fullness of character and a mature temperament cannot address. Bibliography Berkman et al. (1999) â€Å"Standardized Screening of Elderly Patients’ Needs for Social Work Assessment in Primary Care: Use of the SF-36† Health and Social Work. Vol. 24 Boutin-Foster et al. (2005) â€Å"Social Work Admission Assessment Tool for Identifying Patients in Need of Comprehensive Social Work Evaluation† Health and Social Work. Vol. 30 Burgess, H., Taylor, O., (2004) Effective Learning and Teaching in Social Policy and Social Work. London: RoutledgeFalmer Garcia, J., Floyd, C., (2002) â€Å"Addressing Evaluative Standards Related to Program Assessment: How Do We Respond?† Journal of Social Work Education. Vol. 38 Ginsburg, E., (1990) Effective Interventions: Applying Learning Theory to School Social Work. New York: Greenwood Press Gitterman, A., (2001) Handbook of Social Work Practice with Vulnerable and Resilient Populations. New York: Columbia University Press Lindhorst et al. (2005) â€Å"Contextualized Assessmennt of Battered Women: Strategic Safety Planning to Cope with Multiple Harms† Journal of Social Work Education. Vol. 41 Mcgrath, M., (2000) â€Å"The Human Dynamics of Personnel Evaluation† School Administrator. Vol. 57 Pardeck, J., (2002) Family Health Social Work Practice. London: Auburn House Siebert, D., Siebert, C., Spaulding-Givens, J., (2006) â€Å"Teaching Social Work Skills Primarily Online: An Evaluation† Journal of Social Work Education. Vol. 42

The Age of the Global Interactive Agency Essay -- Business, Technology

It was only a matter of time before the fledgling web design firms and online advertising agencies that were spawned in the late 1990s grew and coalesced into mature national companies. Now, these companies have grown too large for a single country and the age of the global interactive agency is upon us. Led by companies such as 7 Strategy, a combination of design, e-commerce, database management and a host of other marketing and technical skills are combined under one roof to provide companies from around the world with multi-national exposure on the Internet. In a unique twist, 7 Strategy has several main offices. One is dedicated to Europe, one to the Far East and one each for the Eastern and Western halves of the United States. While each office is responsible for a certain section of the world, all of their clients have access to the full breadth and range of 7 Strategy’s marketing experience and technical expertise. When asked about their success, Director of Client Services, Chase Welles, states, matter-of-factly, â€Å"It’s our ability to integrate a uniform, company-wide, back-end database and e-commerce platform with various front end designs customized to regional marketplaces that differentiates us from less well-diversified interactive organizations.† He then pauses to take a breath. This statement is rather sweeping and encompasses quite a broad swathe of technological know how and marketing expertise. Indeed, these abilities that do not seem to be in short supply at 7 Strategy. Founded in 2001, this company has never been a boutique design firm. Instead, they have focused on offering their business clients a full range of interactive marketing products that can achieve real and measurable business growth. Chief ... ...e implementation of 7 Strategy as the company has experienced significant annual growth since its inception. 7 strategy has engineered some remarkable success stories throughout its history. They have created search engine optimizations that have produced results on the first page of the Google search engine. They have also crafted award winning website designs for clients in North America, Europe and Asia. Despite these successes, the management and team at 7 Strategy would argue that, most importantly, they have delivered significant and measurable increases in the business metrics that are most important to their clients. In short, years of focused research and practical strategy testing are combined by 7 Strategy with extremely talented and innovative designers and engineers to produce highly functional and exceptionally attractive interactive experiences.

Computer Information Systems Brief Essay

In order for the company to continue to thrive, consideration of growth opportunities will also be analyzed. In addition, the threats that Kudler may encounter if changes are not implemented will also be discussed throughout this evaluation. The owner of Kudler Fine Food stores offer gourmet foods and fine wines all within one location. All store locations offer baked goods, meat, seafood, produce, cheese, dairy products, and wine with little or no preservatives added. The success of Kudler Fine Foods is in part from the systems that the stores have in place. For example, the current computer system is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, the owner provides training to all employees and is, therefore, understood by all employees. This understanding of the computer system enables the daily operations of the business to thrive as sales increase. As the company moves forward and introduces changes with technological advances, continued employee training is a must with the installation of new hardware and software programs. The number of products that must be accounted for, on a daily basis, at the Kudler locations is extensive. Presently, Kudler’s accounting data is collected by point-of-sale (POS) terminals in each store. The terminals are used as cash registers when customers check-out. The POS system records all sales, items, quantities, prices, taxes and totals for all transactions. â€Å"These intelligent terminals use keypads, touch screens, bar code scanners, and other input methods to capture data and interact with end users during a transaction, while relying on servers or other computers in the network for further transaction processing† (O’Brien & Marakas, 2008, p. 81). Furthermore, functions are available for various types of sales reports to be created with the current system. However, the current system does not meet the needs of the business as the computer system is outdated. Furthermore, the founder of the company, Kathy Kudler, is having great difficulty with monitoring the needs of the three stores and the situation will soon become overwhelming with further expansion. Ms. Kudler needs a computer system that will accommodate her current and future needs for her growing gourmet food business. Currently, each of locations operates with a stand-alone POS system. Ms. Kudler must travel between stores to ensure the managers are meeting her high standards and creates a substantial loss in productivity. The lack of remote access also presents an issue for the future expansion plans for the business. With no way to access accounting, inventory, and sales information, successful expansion will not be possible. Ms. Kudler’s presence is a daily requirement at each location to manage the operations, inventory, sales, etc. and without updated computer technology the company cannot see any further growth. Not only is the company facing limited expansion possibilities, but current security measures are not sufficient. Although Kudler’s present system is password protected and has backup capability, financial information may be in jeopardy. With the implementation of a new system can easily remedy this situation giving added security to the company. In addition to the company’s financial information, protection to the company’s customer base should also be of great concern. In particular, the customer’s credit card information is at high risk. Additional security measures addressing such concerns as passwords, employee identification numbers, and restricting employee personal use must be applied. For example, a proxy server can limit the employee’s internet access to approved websites (Bargranoff, Simkin, & Strand, 2008). Not only will a proxy server prevent counterproductive activity from employees, but it will also limit the exposure to threats from viruses, theft, and internet hackers. There are both strengths and weaknesses with Kudler’s Fine Foods current computer technology practices. Kudler Fine Foods uses the POS system to record sales, items, quantities, prices, taxes and totals for all transactions. However a continuous challenge Ms. Kudler faces is the purchasing of additional inventory. The company uses forecasting, which allows the company to replenish its inventory based upon historical sales information. For the company to monitor its supply, a system must be implemented that will track individual items and allow managers to re-order necessary inventory from this information. The issue with a forecasting inventory system is that the decisions are based upon past performance, 2 to 3 years old. Unfortunately, sales do not follow the same pattern from year to year. In addition, sales from holidays, birthdays, weddings, and the like are not accounted for under the forecasting system. Every year orders will continue to change depending on the economic stability of the state. Furthermore, holidays will not always be on the same day and will subsequently affect the forecasting information. In the event that too much inventory is order, the excess is donated to charity if in good condition, if not the excess is thrown away. Inventory management is crucial due to the perishing potential of the inventory items. It is a delicate balance because to satisfy customers, there must be enough on hand merchandise to avoid sales losses. It is imperative that Kudler Fine Foods increase the use of technology, if the company is to continue to grow and thrive. Most importantly that is a definite need for a network to assist Ms. Kudler with her communication needs between her stores and add updated software to handle the company’s inventory needs. To implement the new technology, funding and training will be required. The procurement of new software will be required for Ms. Kudler and her employees to run effectively and efficiently.

Preventative methods of animal cruelty Essay

Purpose By the end of this speech the audience will be able to know the proper preventative methods of animal cruelty, I also want my audience to know that animal cruelty is wrong and it shouldn’t be tolerated in any form. Introduction How many of you have pets? And how many of you would do anything for them? As seen in a recent study (according to animalcrueltyfacts.net in the year of 2011) 13% of intentional animal abuse cases involve domestic violence, also between 25% and 40% of battered women are unable to escape abusive situations because they worry about what will happen to their pets or livestock if they leave. In saying this animal abuse goes hand in hand with domestic abuse. Animal abuse is similar to domestic abuse because they both have the ability for the batterers to show the power and control that they have over their victims. (animalcruelty.net) Previous research indicates that batterers often threaten or harm pets in order to intimidate and control their female partners. Transition/first point: different types of abuse whether Animal abuse can be either passive or active. (animalcrueltyfact.org) When a person omits responsibility towards an animal is an example of passive abuse, while active abuse requires inflicting pain such as choking. This can be brought back to the comparison of animal abuse and domestic abuse, an example of passive abuse in regards to domestic abuse can be name calling swearing or making the victim feel little or like they don’t exist. An example of active abuse is physical violence such as hitting a spouse. Transition/ Second point: Animals have personalities and feelings like humans Darwin once stated â€Å"emotions exist in non-human animals, and his evolutionary theory suggests that behavioral traits, including personality, can evolve in just the same way as fins, wings and arms,† he said. â€Å"We should realize that studying the personality of animals could help us understand a lot about human personality.† (utexas.edu) Although many people don’t believe it animals have feelings just like humans. They can feel pain and go through emotional distress. When an animal is mistreated and being abused they feel the same pain a person would if they were in the same situation. Transition/ Third point: Laws that can be passed or that are passed already Laws are passed in all 50 states that prevent abuse towards both animals and humans. Anti-cruelty laws exist in all U.S states and territories to prohibit unnecessary killing, mutilating, torturing, beating, neglecting the abandonment of animals or depriving them of proper food, water or shelter. (americanhumane.org) But these laws will never be enough. If you are in a situation in which you are confronted with animal or domestic abuse call your local police department or anyone that can help your specific situation. Conclusion I will conclude my speech by saying that animal abuse, domestic abuse, or that any kind of abuse is wrong. Animals are innocent creatures that do not have a voice of their own so why should they be mistreated? They are suffering in silence because they don’t have a voice. People need to come to the realization that animals need and deserve as much respect as any other creature, and until people start speaking up about cruelty towards animals or humans they will never be free of the cruel acts that are imprisoning them. Works cited * Jennifer , Robbins. â€Å"domestic violence and animal abuse .† Texas journal of women and law . 2006: 129-146. Web. 16 Dec. 2012. . * www.animalcruelty.net * emily , suthertin. â€Å"Animal cruelty:facts,prevention,statistics,and action .† now public. N.p., 2012. Web. Web. 16 Dec. 2012. . * Faver, Catherine A, and alonzo

White

White Introduction This report focuses on two white-collar crimes (Tyco Scandal and Iran-Contra Affair). It describes these two crimes and provides analysis of consequences of crimes as well as theories and policies used to combat them.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on White-collar crimes: Tyco Scandal and Iran-Contra Affair specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More A description of the history of the case, parties involved and socioeconomic status of the offenders Iran-Contra Affair This was a scandal of President Reagan administration. It started in 1985 and came to limelight in 1986. In this scandal, some of the key figures were Ronald Reagan, Oliver North, Robert McFarlane, John Poindexter, Contras, and Caspar Weinberger among other influential persons in Reagan administration. This case started as an effort to â€Å"free seven American hostages in Iran under the custody of the Army of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolutionâ €  (Shenon and Engelberg, 1987). The US supplied weapons to Israel, and then Israel sent the same weapons to Iran. The Iranian receivers then facilitated the release of hostages. People referred to this scandal as arms-for-hostages scheme. In 1985, Oliver North devised various ways to ensure that parts of the proceeds went to Contras in Nicaragua (Shenon and Engelberg, 1987). Tyco Scandal In 2005, the Court charged Kozlowski and Marc Swart on various counts of fraud and larceny. Charges involved misappropriation of Tyco’s funds amounting to $170 million and unauthorized bonuses. The two also secretly forgave loans to themselves. They also faced charges of making more than $430 million through lying and conspiring about the financial condition of the company and increasing the value of their stock. The CEO also faced charges of looting $150 million from Tyco (Siegel, 2011). A description and definition of the crime(s) committed and the monies or resources that were defraude d Tyco Scandal The Court convicted these two figures with various counts such as unauthorized bonuses ($81 million), art purchase ($14.725 million), and payment of investment bank fees to Frank Welsh ($20 million). Shareholders lost over $90 billion in this scandal. The company engaged in questionable accounting practices in order to favor Kozlowski. The CEO used Tyco’s resources to fund his lavish lifestyle. Iran-Contra Affair Though details of this scandal remained scanty because Oliver North and his associates destroyed some records, some reports revealed that Iran received $30 million to transfer to Contras.Advertising Looking for report on criminal law? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Reagan supported Contras. However, there were disputes whether Reagan allowed diversion of monies from arms sales to fund Contras. Human Rights Watch indicated that Contras engaged in a systematic abuse of human rights. The Boland Amendment made funding to Contra illegal. Consequently, Reagan administration engaged in secret deals with Iran and secretly trained and armed Contras. Definitions of the law(s) violated Tyco Scandal This scandal involved embezzlement of resources and monies from a public company. The company also engaged in questionable accounting practices. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a lawsuit based on the failure the company to disclose forgiven loans of the CEO. The Court charged the CEO and CFO with 22 counts of fraud. The Court also charged Kozlowski with a tax evasion of over $1 million arising from art purchases. Iran-Contra Affair This scandal violated the Boland Amendment, which had made support to Contras illegal. Some of the charges included obstructing justice, conspiracy, deceiving the Congress, destroying, and changing evidence relevant to the investigation. Penalties imposed upon the guilty parties in these crimes Iran-Contra Affair There were several i nvestigations by the US Congress and the Tower Commission. None of these investigations found any evidence to link Reagan with the Iran-Contra Affair. There were 14 indictments of administration officials. There were also 11 convictions. However, the Court dismissed some of these convictions on appeals. Finally, George Bush pardoned all indicted or convicted officials before leaving office. Bush was the Vice President during the Affair. Therefore, there was no imprisonment because of the scandal. This is not a typical way of handling frauds. In other words, there was no justice served in this case.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on White-collar crimes: Tyco Scandal and Iran-Contra Affair specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Tyco Scandal The CEO and CFO faced 22 counts of fraud and received sentences of up to 25 years as well as fines and compensation orders that totaled to $240 million. Their charges also included securi ties fraud, falsifying business records, larceny, and conspiracy. However, punishments of such cases depend on their severity and intent of the offender. Policies in place to combat this type of crime Tyco Scandal Key policies to combat corporate scandals are in corporate governance principles of the company. However, it was clear that the CEO, who also served as the chairperson of the board, had power over directors of the board. Based increasing cases of financial scandals in large organizations, it is imperative for organizations to bring into line their corporate governance principles with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and Dodd-Frank Act of 2010. These Acts protect shareholders against uncontrolled excesses and embezzlement of funds by CEOs and other senior executives. The Acts strive to create independent boards, which are not prone to external interference. There are also SEC requirements and NASDAQ provisions as policies to combat corporate fraud. Iran-Contra Affair The US h as a policy of no concession and negotiation with terrorists. By agreeing to trade arms in order to secure freedom of the hostages, the US went against this principle. The Boland Amendment made such assistance to Contras illegal. However, senior people in the administration of Reagan violated this amendment through secret deals. The financial impact resulting from the crime Tyco Scandal According to Neumann, Tyco had â€Å"$28 billion in debt, and its shareholders had lost over $90 billion, more than 80 percent of Tyco’s peak market value by 2002† (Neumann, 2011).Advertising Looking for report on criminal law? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Iran Contra Affair The details of this scandal remained scanty even during the inquiry. However, Howard Zinn referred to some $30 million as the amount of money Iran received to send to Contras (Zinn, 2003). An analysis on the punishment of white-collar criminals Iran-Contra Affair In this case, indictments and convictions did not serve their purposes. This is because the Court dropped most cases on subsequent appeals. Still, George Bush pardoned all convicts during his last term in office. Tyco Scandal This is a benchmark punishment for senior executives involved in embezzlement of companies’ resources and funds. The two convicts got up to 25 years with fines and compensation orders amounting to $240 million. The difference between white-collar crime and other traditional types of crimes Unlike traditional crimes, white-collar crimes are complex and involve the use of legitimate enterprises in order to gain illegal profits or provide criminal activities. Some of these activi ties are so complex that they take several years to solve even after their discoveries. Siegel notes that white-collar crimes result from rationalization of offenders. They can engage in criminal activities without compromising their values and meet their personal financial problems. Another theory is the corporate culture view, which argues that enterprises exert excessive demands on employees and tolerate deviance of employees as new employees learn techniques of committing crimes. Finally, self-control view posits that such criminals have low self-control and do not consider long-term consequences of their activities (Siegel, 2011). Impacts of the research on the importance of ethical and professional behavior in the workplace This research demonstrates that white-collar crimes do not pay. On the other hand, maintaining professional behavior grows the business for its stakeholders and sets high standards in the organization. It also shows that people engaging in white-collar crim es destroy their careers and organizations. References Neumann, C. (2011). Tyco International scandal: History of Business in the U.S. Web. Shenon, P. and Engelberg, S. (1987). Eight Important Days in November: Unraveling the Iran-Contra Affair. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/1987/07/05/world/eight-important-days-in-november-unraveling-the-iran-contra-affair.html Siegel, L. J. (2011). Criminology: The Core (4th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Cengage Learning. Zinn, H. (2003). A Peoples History of the United States. New York: Perennial.

The Myth of the Melting Pot Essays

The Myth of the Melting Pot Essays The Myth of the Melting Pot Paper The Myth of the Melting Pot Paper Allison Bergonia English 100 20 september 2013 Myths of the Melting Pot Modern America is considered to be a melting pot, in which a variety of races, cultures, or individuals gather into a unified whole. The ideas of being a new American for people who have migrated from their homeland to America are to leave behind all their past cultures and practices and embrace their new American ways. Is that what really happens? If it was, would there be still racism in America? The number of people immigrating to America has risen over the years, but so has the number of active hate groups. The idea of unity in the melting pot of America is a yth because of racism, stereotypes, prejudice, and cultural segregation of its people. Most people would say that racism is the belief that all members of each race possess characteristics or abilities specific to that race. Its more than that. Its the belief that those characteristics of each race determine whether or not the race is superior or inferior to the other races. Racism has dated back to hundreds of years in the past. Even former president Thomas Jefferson said, l advance it, therefore, as a suspicion only, that the blacks, whether originally a distinct race, or made distinct by ime and circumstances, are inferior to the whites in the endowments both of body and mind Oefferson, 502). To Thomas Jefferson emancipated slaves as well as the owned slaves and their physical and mental characteristics were not up to par with their white owners. Not Just because of their status as slaves, but because what race they were. Only because they were a bit different from the white people that owned the land at the time. One of the most interesting, yet unsettling facts was that many of Americas founding fathers practiced the principle of ethnocentrism and did not eem to consider this an act of racism. Ethnocentrism has been defined as a generalized rejection of all out groups on the basis of an in group focus (Parrillo, 505). An example would be how some races have been identified as dirty, violent, or law breaking. This grew even more in the United States after the terrorist attacks of September 1 1 . It is very important to understand that prejudice is rejection of a person or people based on the group or race in which they share similarities. That is not to say that either of these should be acceptable if the intent is to improve the social condition. Another barrier to improving racial and ethnic relations is created by how the media presents situations that have occurred involving people of race and ethnic background. For example, during the aftermath of hurricane Katrina many of the pictures portrayed people of different ethnicities finding food from a grocery store. However from the two pictures the white couple were considered survivalists while the single black male was considered a looter, People complained that the captions accompanying the images were racially suggestive: black people loot and white people find (Harris and Carbado, 525). Its not very fair to say one is looting and the other as having found their supplies by looking at their race, but this is how to do with the reinforcement of prejudice and self-worth by presenting stereotypes that clarify class standings often portraying race and ethnic diversity in a negative way. This is a form where self-justification serves as a source of prejudice is the dominant groups assumption of an attitude of superiority over other groups. In this respect, establishing a prestige hierarchy ranking the status of various ethnic groups results in differential association (Parrillo, 508). This also clarifies how the myth of difference and hierarchy is established since the weaker group will submit to the stronger group and thereby establishing a so called pecking order. Sometimes the pecking order is very subtle, such as the idea that an Africa-America could become president gave hope to the idea that racial and ethnic relations could improve. Many people of all races and ethnic diversity considered this a turning poi nt in history. That hope crashed quickly after the smoke cleared and the illusion faded in the knowledge that the president did not have the power to make this happen. Erin Kaplan makes this very clear when she wrote, Its a schizophrenic attitude: we are encouraged by the black persons potential enough to give him a Job, but are we ever wary of giving him power. This is why as soon as Obama stepped into the White House, he had to be punished. Whites are used to controlling black opportunity, to giving and taking it as they see fit. President Obama in that way was never president-in-waiting, he was an opportunity the bright and capable intern who deserved a shot. But being in charge was not part of the deal (Kaplan, 545). America is known as the land of equal opportunity. Sure there are opportunity in Jobs for all races and even education. The myth of unity is truly the fantasy about this amazing land of opportunity that so many immigrants wanted and expected once they arrived in America. Instead, the citizens and the life style established in local communities rejected them. The cognitive level of prejudice encompasses a persons beliefs and perceptions of a group as threatening or nonthreatening, inferior or equal, seclusive or intrusive, impulse gratifying, acquisitive, or possessing other positive or negative characteristics (Parrillo, 505). We focus on most of the negative racial stereotypes about people that we drive them away from our communities and force them into places like the ghetto or less fortunate places because we dont give them the opportunity that they dream of and that they really deserve. Racial segregation even takes place in schools. Kids found it easier to get along with their own race. When I was in high school kids were first separated into little cliques of the average high school, like football players, band kids, kids who went to certain clubs, and leadership, etc. Then there were the sub-cliques which were by race. All the white cheerleaders would hang out separately from the others, the ghetto football players would hang out together, and Asians in drama would stay together. Even though my high school was known for its diversity, everyone was still segregated. The kids would make stereotypical comments about one another. As one of the Asian kids in high school I had a lot of Asian friends. There was even a place in my high school where all of the Asian kids would hang out after school called Asian avenue. People would always ask me if I was good at math or say that I only get good grades because I was Asian, since the stereotype is that Asians are uper smart. Social norms the norms of ones culture form the generally shared automatically accepting the prevailing prejudices, an individual is simply conforming to those forms (Parrillo, 515). I gave into this social norm of how Asians were smart and got good grades. In conclusion, America is considered a land of opportunity, but for some that was true, while others were Judged by the way they looked and cultural differences. There have been barely any attempts to stop the hate crimes in the media and on the street. With a new president in term people hoped for a change, however many were disappointed by the outcome. The land of equality is a lie to many who are looked down upon Just because of the color of their skin. Each time change might occur the hierarchy manipulates it into submission and causes tension to rise. Harris, Cheryl l. and Devon W. Carbado. Loot or Find: Fact or Frame? Rereading America: Cultural Contexts for Critical Thinking and Writing. By Gary Colombo, Robert Cullen, and Bonnie Lisle. 9th ed. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martins, 2013. 524-538. Print. Jefferson, Thomas. From Notes on the State of Virginia. Rereading America: Cultural Contexts for Critical Thinking and Writing. By Gary Colombo, Robert Cullen, and Bonnie Lisle. th ed. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martins, 2013. 497-502. Print. Kaplan, Erin Aubry. Barack Obama: Miles Traveled, Miles to Go. Rereading America:Cultural Contexts for Critical Thinking and Writing. By Gary Colombo, Robert Cullen, and Bonnie Lisle. 9th ed. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martins, 2013. 540-552. Print. Parrillo, Vincent. Causes of Prejudice. Rereading America: Cultural Contexts for Critical Thinking and Writing. Ed. Gary Colombo, Robert Cullen, and B onnie Lisle. 9th ed. Boston, MA: Bedford/ St. Martins, 2013. 504-516. print.

All About the Ancient Roman Family

All About the Ancient Roman Family The Roman family was called familia, from which the Latin word family is derived. The familia could include the triad with which we are familiar, two parents and children (biological or adopted), as well as slaves and grandparents. The head of the family (referred to as the pater familias) was in charge of even adult males in the familia. See Jane F. Gardners Family and Familia in Roman Law and Life reviewed by Richard Saller in The American Historical Review, Vol. 105, No. 1. (Feb. 2000), pp. 260-261. Purposes of the Roman Family The Roman family was the basic institution of the Roman people. The Roman family transmitted morality and social status across generations. The family educated its own young. The family tended its own hearth, while the hearth goddess, Vesta, was tended by state priestess called Vestal Virgins. The family needed to continue so that dead ancestors could be honored by their descendants and connections made for political purposes. When this failed to be motive enough, Augustus Caesar offered financial incentives to families to breed. Marriage The wife of the pater familias (the mater familias) might have been considered part of her husbands family or part of her natal family, depending on the conventions of the marriage. Marriages in Ancient Rome could be in manu in the hand or sine manu without the hand. In the former case, the wife became part of her husbands family; in the latter, she remained tied to her family of origin. Divorce and Emancipation When we think of divorce, emancipation, and adoption, we usually think in terms of ending relationships between families. Rome was different. Inter-familial alliances were essential for garnering the support needed for political ends. Divorces could be granted so that partners could remarry into other families to establish new connections, but the family connections established via first marriages need not be broken. Emancipated sons were still entitled to shares of paternal estates. Adoption Adoption also brought families together and allowed continuity to families that would otherwise have no one to carry on the family name. In the unusual case of Claudius Pulcher, adoption into a plebeian family, led by a man younger than himself, allowed Claudius (now using the plebeian name Clodius) to run for election as tribune of the plebs. For information on the adoption of freedmen, see The Adoption of Roman Freedmen, by Jane F. Gardner. Phoenix, Vol. 43, No. 3. (Autumn, 1989), pp. 236-257. Familia vs. Domus In legal terms, familia included all those under the power of the pater familias; sometimes it meant only the slaves. The pater familias was usually the oldest male. His heirs were under his power, as were the slaves, but not necessarily his wife. A boy without a mother or children could be a pater familias. In non-legal terms, the mother/wife could be included in the familia, although the term usually used for this unit was domus, which we translate as home. See Familia, Domus, and the Roman Conception of the Family, by Richard P. Saller. Phoenix, Vol. 38, No. 4. (Winter, 1984), pp. 336-355. Household and Family Religion in Antiquity, edited by John Bodel and Saul M. Olyan Meaning of Domus Domus referred to the physical house, the household, including the wife, ancestors, and descendants. The domus referred to the places where the pater familias exerted his authority or acted as dominus. Domus was also used for the dynasty of the Roman emperor. Domus and familia were often interchangeable. Pater Familias vs. Pater or Parent While pater familias is usually understood as head of the family, it had the primary legal meaning of estate owner. The word itself was usually used in legal contexts and required only that the person be able to possess property. The terms usually used to denote parenting were parens parent, pater father, and mater mother. See Pater Familias, Mater Familias, and the Gendered Semantics of the Roman Household, by Richard P. Saller. Classical Philology, Vol. 94, No. 2. (Apr. 1999), pp. 182-197.

Altius VA Ltd assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Altius VA Ltd - Assignment Example These tasks should be delegated to well-trained people who are fully aware of the long and short term objectives of the company. Training staff as well as delegating marketing duties in tandem with the laid down strategies enables working towards achieving them. Therefore, a marketing strategy is aimed at ensuring that a company is able to concentrate its resources towards the very important aspects of its core functioning; thus, minimizing wastage (Blythe 2006). Resources are always scarce; hence the need utilize them in a manner that ensures they are preserved for future use. A company must also ensure that the cost of production is kept at a minimum; while at the same time ensuring that it is making profits. Therefore, this paper will look at the marketing strategies that Altius VA Ltd need to better their business. Discussion The Altius Brand Strategic Analysis and Vision for the Compliance Software Altius VA Ltd is a vendor assessment company that keeps tabs of products from the said vendors and ensures that they meet the required standards as dictated by the different clients. This is attributed to the fact that it is always imperative for anything sold in the market to consumers to meet the laid down regulations and standards. As they have clearly stated in their website, â€Å"they believe that both clients and vendors have the right to expect a robust, fair and consistent assessment service, backed up by great customer support† (Altius 2013). They have taken the responsibility of ensuring that both the stakeholders get fair treatment as well as what they deserve out of any transaction or undertaking within the market setting. Without a brand name, Altius VA Ltd has made great strides in ensuring that their compliance software referred to as Supplier Assessment and Management System (SAMS) by their customers is well marketed in their website From their websites, they have shown and advertised to the vendors why they should be part of the Altius V A Ltd family. The benefits listed include: saving time and resources such as money, reducing duplication, aiming higher, among others (Altius 2013). These are straight to the point objectives that Altius endeavours to provide to their member vendors at all times and cost. The advantage of these to the vendors is that it helps in reducing the cost they would have incurred in performing the stated functions for themselves. By evaluating and analyzing the above advertisements on the Altius VA Ltd website, they have gone a long way in ensuring that the targeted stakeholders join them when fully aware of what they are, or could be drawing themselves into (Kelley & Jugenheimer 2009). Therefore, the vendors have an opportunity to make a decision for themselves to either be part of Altius VA Ltd or not. Altius VA Ltd services Altius VA Ltd has provided in their website what they do and how they are capable of helping both the vendors and clients. The vendors are assessed while the clients g et consultation services. This is a well-developed plan that attracts stakeholders as it indicates the need to join, and the efficiency that comes with receiving the services of Altius VA Ltd. SWOT analysis, for example, brings out how an organization can get to use the analysis of its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats

Avenues to Justice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Avenues to Justice - Essay Example The term Victimisation derived from the notion of responsibility of a victim for the cause of crime. For example there is a school of thought that, in quite a lot of cases the victims are also partly responsible, like in case of theft from car where the driver keeps the door unlocked or in case of rape where the victim gives opportunity to the offender by visiting him alone etc. The public learns about crime from various sources, press being one of the very important one. One can learn about crimes from police records, crime survey and official statistics released by the Govt. They also release 'supplementary Statistics' where more detailed information on specific offences is given. Home office also releases 'Criminal Justice Digest', which gives summaries of the above statistics. They also release selected statistics in their website for Internet access. Home office also maintains 'Offender Index', which holds data on individuals convicted of serious crime. The compilation of data for the statistics to be made available is a very cumbersome process. It involves interaction of various agencies of the criminal justice systems including various police forces. ... The compilation of data for the statistics to be made available is a very cumbersome process. It involves interaction of various agencies of the criminal justice systems including various police forces. The department politics also can effect the compilation of data. Hence statistics can never be wholly accurate. Many offences like those recorded by agencies outside the home office are not recorded. As mentioned earlier, some offences gets diluted as they are perceived as lesser offences, and they are also not included. Offences like domestic violence, sexual offences, drug offences get omitted, as they are not readily detectable by the public or police. Offences like illegal gambling, drug abuse, pornography, prostitution etc. where there is no discernable victims, also gets omitted. It will be safe to assume that the official statistics reveals which crime public chose to report and the perception of the police of the seriousness of the crimes. (Word count 505) Pages 59-61, 75-79 (2) What are the aims of sentencing Is one more effective than any of the other The key element of a criminal justice process is sentencing. Hence first we need to find out the justification for sentencing: The sentencing will ensure that the offender is made to pay for his crime, it will give a sense of satisfaction to the victims, it will create faith in other possible victims and society in general on the law of the land, and create fear in the other possible offenders, which will in effect reduce crime and prevent private vengeance. Now what are the aims of sentencing As we see Sentencing has to address three sets of people: 1) Offender 2) Victim 3) General Public. Six Aims of sentencing is propagated in most

Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 23

Management - Essay Example Elon Musk later co-founded X.com, which was a payment system based on email later transformed to PayPal. Being the chairperson of the company and major shareholder, he introduced a viral marketing initiative that allowed PayPal to spread at a tremendous pace. Later, PayPal emerged as the internet’s worldwide leading payment transfer. In 2002, 3 years after the founding of PayPal, eBay bought the company for approximately $1.5 billion. After changing the way in which people use the internet, Musk founded SpaceX, a private aerospace company whose goal is to extend human life in other planets. This initiative has been highly successful and NASA has contracted with SpaceX severally for 12 flights. Today, Musk has focused his attention on improving how people transport themselves here on earth. He has managed to make Tesla Motors the fastest-growing company in the world (The Mark of a Leader, 2014). Therefore, based on the achievements that Elon Musk has realized in transforming th e world, he is as a leader with engineering and entrepreneurial skills that help companies to address social, environmental and economic

Push and pull factors in Syrian migration Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Push and pull factors in Syrian migration - Essay Example Thus, the key factor that pushes Syrian citizens to migrate is a war which brings â€Å"daily violence and a dramatic deterioration in living standards† (Wolfe, 2014). â€Å"The wars raging in Syria and Iraq are clearly big drivers of migration† (Peter, 2015). For example, one Syrian citizen speaks on a subject in next terms, â€Å"We no longer have any hope in Syria, and there is nothing here except fear and death† (Hashash, 2015). The economic and infrastructure of most of the Syrian cities are ruined by the war. "In terms of infrastructure, major parts of Syria have effectively been bombed back to Ottoman times," says Ammar Abdul-Hamid, a Syrian activist (FoxNews, 2012). Therefore, there are no jobs, no appropriate health care, and generally, no good living conditions. Most of the citizens are left without even basic human rights (Wolfe, 2014). Being brutal to each other, opponents continue to keep the field on territories which once were private and public do mains, homes and schools. â€Å"A Syrian army officer moved into my house†¦ He likes my home, apparently†, says Khaled, a refrugee from Syria, ironically (Rollins, 2014). At least half a million homes have been destroyed in Syrian conflict already by 2013. According to estate expert Ammar Youssef’s study, it means that â€Å"about 700,000 families, or nearly 2.8 million people†, literally have no place to return (Haydar, 2013). Thus, Syrians are forced to seek for a shelter, for a better life. For the past three years of brutal conflict, about â€Å"9.6 million people have fled their homes for safety† (IRC, 2014). According to UNHCR, â€Å"approximately 7.2 million people have been forced to flee their homes within Syria, and 3.3 million have become refugees abroad† (Wolfe, 2014). In comparison to around 22 million population of Syria in prewar times, it’s about 50% of general population of the country. The situation is already called â€Å"the biggest humanitarian emergency of our era† (Wolfe,

Sex violence crime Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Sex violence crime - Essay Example This will affect the way in which criminality is ascribed, the influences of gender creating differences in the way in which the system will treat one gender in compared to another. When someone defies their gender, primarily a woman, and commits a crime that is outside of how her gender is defined, it sets society on a rampage. Even more so, if she does not publicly display enough emotion about a traumatic event in her life she can be condemned for the crime at the center of the event without the evidence supporting this eventuality. 2. Criminality and stereotypes Women have always been seen as the more passive sex, their role within society dominated by their inability to gain the physical strength that men had the capacity to gain. In the nineteenth century, especially, women from the perspectives of the Victorian aesthetics were vulnerable and needed to be taken care of by men. There were two spheres of influence that divided the sexes: men belonged in the public sphere where wom en belonged in the domestic sphere. The passive nature of a woman meant that she was incapable of making adult decisions (Davidson and Laydor 1994). Therefore, as the twentieth century began to emerge and the rise of feminism began to change that point of view, the foundational idea of how women were framed remained based upon the connotation of innocence and demure passivity that had previously been the standard. The way in which men and women interact, even when it concerns violent behaviours, is also framed by social premises that stereotype and define interaction. According to Elder (1991), stereotypes about gender are also bound up in stereotypes about race, thus creating not only a disharmony of gender relations, but of race relations. The pervasive idea of the black male aggressor against the white female victim creates an idea that there is a male archetype that represents violence with a female archetype which represents victim. The concept of the ‘other’ in wh ich inhuman attributes are connoted upon the genders in relationship to their gender can be seen in most societies. Elder (1991) goes on to discuss that in the Australian society there is the same type of connotation upon the Asian male, which puts him within the framework of the ’other’, not understood and dehumanized. Asian men are seen as a threat to the social grouping of white females through drugs and sexuality, a departure from the similar threat seen in the United States and Britain of the black male, although the black male represents a threat more often associated with violence (Elder 1991). Therefore, it can be shown that gender relationships are also complicated by race relationships, the individual parts of the whole complicated by the belief in stereotypes that ’define’ social positions within society. The objectification of men, women, and race all provide for definitions that create foundations for how society will view an event that takes place. Under this scenario, when a man commits a violent crime against a woman, it will be viewed, first on the basis of gender, and then on the basis of race. A white woman who is beaten by a white man will be viewed with slightly less threat than a white woman that is beaten by a black man. Where the stereotypes impact the public view on an event, the way in which it is treated through publicity, trial, and in punishment

Consumer law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Consumer law - Essay Example Thus, the court held; "it was possible that a business could deal as a consumer". On the surface it appears that the ruling in R & B Customs totally contradicts the basis of the statues themselves, But upon review, we see that the vehicle was in fact purchased for double use; partly for family use, and partly for business use. The family use of the vehicle, coupled with the fact that the purchaser was not in the car business influenced the courts decision to extend an exception to the statue. So in the case of Andy, he would now be in accord with R & B Customs, he would now be classified as a consumer availing him of protection under The applicable statues found in the UCTA and the SOGA. In that we have stratified him and established his privilege to coverage as a consumer, we can approach the remaining issues affecting the car and his likely remedy. The only acknowledged car fault was with the brakes, and the dealer acknowledged the fault by accepting a 400-pound reduction in his initial price. It was presumed by Andy that a repair of the brakes would render the vehicle totally road worthy, thus of satisfactory quality. And presumably place the sale in accord with the SGA. We find a similar case in Bartlett v. Sydney Marcus (1965) the claimant purchased a second hand car from the defendants and was advised that there was a minor problem with the clutch. Being offered the option of purchasing the car at a reduced price and effecting the repairs himself, or allowing the vendors to repair the car and paying full price, he chose to accept the reduction and get the work done himself. This was indicated on the sale documents.... Andy purchased a used car for multi-purpose usage; shopping, collecting the children from school and occasional business use. He paid for the car with a cheque drawn on his business account.The only acknowledged car fault was with the brakes, and the dealer acknowledged the fault by accepting a 400-pound reduction in his initial price. It was presumed by Andy that a repair of the brakes would render the vehicle totally road worthy, thus of satisfactory quality.In the Product Warranty Liability Act a description of Implied warranty is provided to describe the suppliers contractual responsibilities (or guarantees) regarding the quality or fitness of the goods. Implied warranties, which don’t depend simply on what the supplier says but based on the consumers’ reasonable expectations about the goods in all circumstances. The supplier may be responsible under the implied warranty even if the supplier says nothing at all about the goods. The purpose and nature of implied warr anties is to protect the reasonable expectations that a buyer would have about the goods considering all the circumstances of the sale. Because reasonable expectations do not simply depend on what the supplier says but on other circumstances as well, implied warranties apply even when the supplier says nothing at all. (PWLA) The issue is supported in law by Smith v. Land and House Property Corporation, 28 CHD 7 South Australia, where the court held; â€Å" a statement of opinion can be regarded as a statement of fact in certain situations.

Sex violence crime Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Sex violence crime - Essay Example This will affect the way in which criminality is ascribed, the influences of gender creating differences in the way in which the system will treat one gender in compared to another. When someone defies their gender, primarily a woman, and commits a crime that is outside of how her gender is defined, it sets society on a rampage. Even more so, if she does not publicly display enough emotion about a traumatic event in her life she can be condemned for the crime at the center of the event without the evidence supporting this eventuality. 2. Criminality and stereotypes Women have always been seen as the more passive sex, their role within society dominated by their inability to gain the physical strength that men had the capacity to gain. In the nineteenth century, especially, women from the perspectives of the Victorian aesthetics were vulnerable and needed to be taken care of by men. There were two spheres of influence that divided the sexes: men belonged in the public sphere where wom en belonged in the domestic sphere. The passive nature of a woman meant that she was incapable of making adult decisions (Davidson and Laydor 1994). Therefore, as the twentieth century began to emerge and the rise of feminism began to change that point of view, the foundational idea of how women were framed remained based upon the connotation of innocence and demure passivity that had previously been the standard. The way in which men and women interact, even when it concerns violent behaviours, is also framed by social premises that stereotype and define interaction. According to Elder (1991), stereotypes about gender are also bound up in stereotypes about race, thus creating not only a disharmony of gender relations, but of race relations. The pervasive idea of the black male aggressor against the white female victim creates an idea that there is a male archetype that represents violence with a female archetype which represents victim. The concept of the ‘other’ in wh ich inhuman attributes are connoted upon the genders in relationship to their gender can be seen in most societies. Elder (1991) goes on to discuss that in the Australian society there is the same type of connotation upon the Asian male, which puts him within the framework of the ’other’, not understood and dehumanized. Asian men are seen as a threat to the social grouping of white females through drugs and sexuality, a departure from the similar threat seen in the United States and Britain of the black male, although the black male represents a threat more often associated with violence (Elder 1991). Therefore, it can be shown that gender relationships are also complicated by race relationships, the individual parts of the whole complicated by the belief in stereotypes that ’define’ social positions within society. The objectification of men, women, and race all provide for definitions that create foundations for how society will view an event that takes place. Under this scenario, when a man commits a violent crime against a woman, it will be viewed, first on the basis of gender, and then on the basis of race. A white woman who is beaten by a white man will be viewed with slightly less threat than a white woman that is beaten by a black man. Where the stereotypes impact the public view on an event, the way in which it is treated through publicity, trial, and in punishment

Achievement Gap Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Achievement Gap - Research Paper Example that social equity cannot be attained in a society that still experiences achievement gap, and this is denotes that achievement gap is partly responsible for social inequity that prevails in numerous communities across the world. The assertions above infer that the elimination of achievement gap can create a scenario whereby every student will be equally competitive in the job market after finishing school and therefore, all of them will have equal chances in getting employment as well as improving their livelihoods. The possible benefits of eliminating achievement gap has necessitated and motivated numerous research studies that seek to analyse this problem and thereafter recommend a proper solution that can contribute to the body of knowledge currently been heaped by numerous educationists across the World. This present paper is a research project paper that seeks to contribute to the body of knowledge on achievement gap, is being continually developed by various educationists, psychologists, and other scholars across the World. In particular, the research will be field based, and problem based mini-research project on achievement gap. This mini research project will focus on the achievement differences between White and Hispanic students, especially those in similar socio-economic classes in Southern California. The research project will use the Erle Stanley Gardner Middle school in Temecula, and Menifee Valley Middle school both in California as the research case studies and the researcher will seek to describe and analyse achievement gap that exists in these two schools. In this regard, the research project will provide background information about the two schools, causes of the gap, and how it might effectively be eliminated. In the writings by Hernstein and Murray (1994), achievement gap is described as the persistent difference in terms of performance in educational measures such as standardized or common examinations, dropout rates, rate of college

Nanogels for Anticancer Drug Delivery

Nanogels for Anticancer Drug Delivery The applications of Nanogels in the field of medicine are currently under rapid growth of interest with more focus given on improving current therapies and diagnostic modalities. Nanogels composed of ionic or non-ionic network of amphiphilic polymer chains, when dispersed in aqueous media swell to considerable volume. Biological agents and drugs can be loaded into the nanogel by physical and chemical interactions between the agent and the functional group in the polymer matrix, resulting in unique class of polymeric nanocarrier with high dispersion stability. The most attractive features of the nanogels include high biocompatibility, versatility in design, and controlled release of payload with wide range of drug loading and release, the specificity and ability to physically protect biological molecules from degradation invivo and have been preclinically investigated for different anticancer drugs. In a study on targeted nanogels done by Baklaushev et al, the therapeutic efficacy of cisplatin loaded nanogels was checked on glioma cells 101/8. Nanogels synthesised using PMAA polymer cross-linked with CaCl2. Nanogels upon EDC activation cross-linked to monoclonal antibodies Cx43 and BSAT1 specific for targeting gliomal cells along with flexible PEG linker resulting in a size of 123 Â ± 5 nm, with a zeta potential of -15Â ±5 mV. Targeted nanogels significantly reduced the intrastriatal glioma compared to the control group receiving 5% dextrose up to the 30th day of the study. But no significance was observed for animals treated with targeted nanogels and free cisplatin. Heparin-polyethyleneimine (HPEI)nanogels loaded with cisplatin along with shRNA were synthesised by Lili Liu et al for targeting CLDN3 gene up regulated in ovarian cancer. These nanogels showed superior biodegradability, excellent blood compatibility and low-toxicity. Western blot analysis and CLDN3 immunostainin g were done to check the knockdown efficiency. Nude mice bearing intraperitoneal ovarian carcinomas were treated with drug loaded nanogels and the results showed that pshCLDN3/HPEI effectively suppressed the expression of CLDN3 in ovarian cancer along with synergistic antitumor activity when compared to cisplatin alone, along with low systemic toxicity. Nukolova NV et al loaded cisplatin into PEG-b-PMAA nanogels conjugated with (D-Lys6)-LHRH. With a loading efficiency of 35%, the nanogel showed receptor based cytotoxicity cells positive for LHRH showed greater uptake and cytotoxicity compared to LHRH negative ovarian cancer cells. Invivo antitumor activity was more for LHRH-nanogels with less toxicity compared to equimolar dose of free cisplatin and untargeted nanogels. A pH and thermal responsive nanogelwas developed for cisplatin delivery by conjugating the MAA, NIPAm, mPEGMA with MBA as the cross-linker. The pH response is achieved with breaking the bond between COOH and cisplati n in presence of the chlorine ion present in the human body. The acidic response is modified by incorporating thermal responsive NIPAm, this will slow down the cisplatin release from the nanogel structure. Cellular uptake was mainly localized in cytoplasm. Invivo antitumor activity using breast cancer mice modals showed better activity with longer circulation time. In the study by Jin et al, controlled delivery of cisplatin to ovarian cancer cells SKOV-3 were achieved using a biodegradable nanogel made by cocondensation polymerization of piperazine with 2,2-bis(acryloxymethyl)propionic acid, PEG 2,2-bis(acryloxymethyl)propionate macromonomer (mPEG). Carboxylic acid-functionalized poly(beta -aminoester)graft-poly(ethylene glycol) nanogels were size of around 200nm, negatively charged with water soluble nature. The cytotoxicity of nanogels on SKOV-3 cells were significantly lower than the free cisplatin whereas the invivo activity towards SKOV3 tumor xenografted immunecompromised mice was same. According to Jin et al, this decrease in cytotoxicity of cisplatin loaded nanogel on SKOV-3 cells due to the drug release kinetics which showed an initial burst release,making the response of cisplatin similar to that of free cisplatin. Also negatively charged nanogel will limit the cellular internalization delaying the cisplatin response. Only with biodistribution studies the similarity in the activity of free cisplatin and nanogel loaded cisplatin be proved. Maeda et al synthesised water soluble ÃŽ ²-1, 3-glucan schizophyllan (SPG) nanogel which can be recognized by an immunocyte receptor called dectin-1. When naphthalene introduced into the side chain of SPG (nSPG), it formed nanogel by physical cross-link and gained capability to ingest hydrophobic compounds such as doxorubicin. The in vitro assay revealed that this nanogel can be used as specific delivery of anti-cancer drugs to immunocytes. A dual-responsive prodrug nanogel system that shows very low unspecific drug leaching, but efficient intracellular release of the payload triggered by the intracellular conditions.This dual-responsive prodrug nanogel was prepared by an inverse nanoprecipitation method, which is mild and surfactant free, and based on a thiol-disulfide exchange reaction and thiol-Michael addition reaction. Highly biocompatible hyperbranched polyglycerol (hPG) was cross-linked with disulfide bonds, to obtain biodegradable nanogels, which could be degraded under intracellular reductive conditions. Doxorubicin (DOX) was conjugated to the biodegradable nanogel matrix via an acid-labile hydrazone linker. Two different prodrug nanogels were prepared with a size of approximately 150nm, which is big enough to take the advantage of the enhanced permeation and retention (EPR) effect in tumor tissue . Cell culture analysis by microscopy and flow cytometry revealed that the prodrug nanogels were efficiently internalized by tumor cells. Distinct release profiles of DOX were achieved by adjusting the nanogel architecture, and online detection of cytotoxicity showed that, unlike free DOX, the dual-responsive prodrug nanogels exhibited a delay in the onset of toxicity, indicating the different uptake mechanism and the need for prodrug activation to induce cell death. To achieve effective intracellular anticancer drug delivery, the polymeric vesicles supplemented with the pH-responsive outlayered gels as a delivery system of doxorubicin (DOX) were developed from self-assembly of the lipid/polypeptide adduct, distearin grafted poly(ÃŽ ³-glutamic acid) (poly(ÃŽ ³-GA)), followed by sequential deposition of chitosan and poly(ÃŽ ³-GA-co-ÃŽ ³-glutamyl oxysuccinimide)-g-monomethoxy poly(ethylene glycol) in combination with in situ covalent cross-linking on assembly surfaces. The resultant g el-caged polymeric vesicles (GCPVs) showed superior performance in regulating drug release in response to the external pH change. Under typical physiological conditions (pH 7.4 and 37 Â °C) at which the ÃŽ ³-GA/DOX ionic pairings remained mostly undisturbed, the dense outlayered gels of GCPVs significantly reduced the premature leakage of the uncomplexed payload. With the environmental pH being reduced from pH 7.4 to 4.7, the drug liberation was appreciably promoted by the massive disruption of the ionic ÃŽ ³-GA/DOX complexes along with the significant swelling of nanogel layers upon the increased protonation of chitosan chain segments. After being internalized by HeLa cells via endocytosis, GCPVs exhibited cytotoxic effect comparable to free DOX achieved by rapidly releasing the payload in intracellular acidic endosomes and lysosomes. This strongly implies the great promise of such unique GCPVs as an intracellular drug delivery carrier for potential anticancer treatment. The tripl e layered nanogel developed by Xiong MH et al, can deliver the drug doxorubicin specifically in the bacteria accumulated tumor environment. The bacteria SBY1 can selectively infect and proliferate in tumors owing to the unique environment within solid tumors, including hypoxia, aberrant neovasculature, and local immune suppression is more in tumor compared to the normal tissue; upon nanogel administration these bacteria will trigger the selective degradation of the PCL fence of TLND resulting in DOX release and thus killing tumor cells. Chitin PLA composite nanogel were loaded with Doxorubicin (Dox) for the treatment of liver cancer. Nanogels were of size of around 270Â ±20 nm with higher swelling and degradation in acidic pH. Drug entrapment efficiency and in vitro drug release studies were carried out and showed a higher drug release at acidic pH compared to neutral pH. The cytotoxicity of the composite nanogels was analysed toward HepG2 (human liver cancer) cell lines.

The Shift from Realism to Impressionism Essay -- Realism, Impressionis

Both Realism and Impressionism began in France with both art periods lending to the world unique techniques, aesthetic approaches and subjects in painting. While Impressionism stemmed from Realism, it can be argued Impressionism ultimately lead to continued individual expression in art through out the historical art periods to follow. The art period of Realism from 1845 to 1900, has roots which trail back to mid 1800s France and developed as a reaction to the often exaggerated emotionalism of the former art period of Romanticism. Realist artists instead strove to depict the seriousness of every day life. To show subjects or scenes just as they were without involvement of religion, mythology or history. McDowall (1918) pointed â€Å"At the bottom of realism, in all its variations, seems to be the sense of actual existence; an acute awareness of it, and a vision of things under that form. It is a thoroughly natural feeling, it is, in fact, the primitive attitude of man† (p. 3). In painting, film and literature artists aimed to present things as they appear. A major social condition that contributed to the emergence of Realism was the Industrial Revolution. With its mass machinery production of products, the Industrial Revolution not only created an explosion of railroads and cities but also an explosion of wealthy middle class and poor working class. The discovery of photography in 1839 by Daguerre and others also resulted in a growing trend to copy everyday life, which in turn sprouted the appeal of realism in art. Buser (2006) noted that during the Industrial Revolution the rules of life were the fundamental ideas of technology, science and practical business sense. Buser (2006) further theorized â€Å"Since progress in these... ...rowther (2005) reflects â€Å"One can draw a direct line from the Impressionist, through the Post-Impressionists and Neo-Impressionists, to the Fauves, the Cubists, the Symbolists and ultimately to Abstract Expressionists†. Artists through the ages continued to experiment with new technique allowing modern art to evolve and take shape.  References Bingham, J. (2009). Impressionism. Chicago, Illinois: Heinemann Library. Buser, T. (2006). Experiencing art around us. USA: Thompson Wadsworth. Crowther, J. (2005). Impressionism: more than meets the eye. Retrieved from http://www.artist-perspectives.com/articles/impressionism.htm Janaro, R.P., & Altshuler, T.C. (2009). The art of being human: the humanities as a technique for living. Pearson Education, Inc. McDowall, A.S. (1918). Realism: a study in art and thought. London: Constable and Company LTD.

Paper :: Essays Papers

Paper Since the recent terrorist attacks on the United States of America, politicians and policy makers are considering anti-terrorist legislation. This would include plans to implement a national identification card. The proposed national identification cards would include features such as magnetic stripes, holograms, and integrated circuits. â€Å"This magnetic stripe is expected soon to contain a digitized fingerprint, retina scan, voice print, and other biometric identifiers, and it will leave an electronic trail every time you use it†(1). I feel that since September 11, 2001, many Americans feel insecure and unsafe. Research done by the Pew Research Center shows that, â€Å"seven out of ten Americans favor a national-ID card program in which like the French system, the cards would have to be presented to the police upon demand†(2). In fact there are many developed countries that have a system of national ID cards such as: Germany, France, Belgium, Greece, Luxembourg, Portugal, Spain, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. It should also be noted that there are many developed countries that do not have such a system: United States, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Ireland, the Nordic countries, and Sweden. I think that the terrorist attack on the United States is unsettling. It makes you feel unsafe in your own country. I do not think that September 11 is a good reason for us to adapt a national ID card. Lori Cole, executive director of the Eagle Forum states, â€Å"We don’t want to see Congress pass something in a rush because everyone is fearful to get on an airplane right now† (3). I think that on February 20, 2002 Pramod Shrestha posted something on the discussion forum that was interesting about how national ID cards would combat terrorism, â€Å"Several countries including Hong Kong, Ma laysia, Singapore, Thailand and in most European countries have already issued National ID Card System, however, "no one has been able to identify any country where cards have deterred terrorists." If this is true then a national ID card system would not solve the problem it was proposed for. â€Å"National ID cards have long been advocated as a means to enhance national security, unmask potential terrorists, and guard against illegal immigrants† (4). In fact the chairman and CEO of Oracle recently advocated the national ID card system as a way to address airport security. I do not think that national ID cards will solve the problems that it proposes.

Human Resources Information Essay

Introduction This report on data management; has been compiled to explain to you the reasons why HR data is important to an organisation, the types of data that should be recorded, the methods for collecting HR data and some of the UK legislation surrounding the recording, storing and accessibility of HR Data. Types of Data That Should Be Recorded and the Reasons Why â€Å"HR records include a wide range of data relating to individuals working in an organisation, for example, pay or absence levels, hours worked and trade union agreements. This information may be stored in a variety of media, such as computer databases or paper files.† (http://www.cipd.co.uk/hr-resources/factsheets/retention-hr-records.aspx#link_0, accessed 3/3/2015) There are some statutory records that need to be recorded and stored; these statutory records must be kept because the law requires them. Statutory records will include things like the job title, address and emergency contact. Records such as pay and working hours will  be stored to help management adhere to the Working Time Directive and the Minimum Wage Act 1998. Non-statutory records are kept for the internal purposes of the organisation. These records such as attendance, punctuality, skills, strengths and weaknesses can all be used to recognise trends within the company and aggregate management or big data so that managers can act on any trends that may need sorting. For example at P.P. Plasma Ltd there is only one person in the sales department who is trained to read and understand technical drawings. This person is currently in line for a promotion within the group of companies and will no longer be part of the sales team in the next eighteen months. After aggregating the records it has been identified that the manager of the drawing office has the skills to teach the other sales team members enough to fill this skills gap. Other reasons for storing records could be to review capability issues; induction records, training records and health and safety documentation should all allow the organisation to challenge staff on the reasons that they are not following procedures when they have had training and have signed to show understanding. These will also show any other training that may be necessary. As evidence in case of any tribunal or discrimination challenges; recruitment and selection data and termination of employment data will show the organisation has been fair and unbiased in its selection process or how they have dealt with a termination without discrimination. Methods of Storing HR Data Paper Method The paper method of storing records has many more disadvantages than advantages; but for small organisations would still be a viable solution to storing HR records. â€Å"Data relating to employees is of a highly contentious and potentially litigious nature and has to be managed in accordance with compliance regulations. To do this manually is a daunting task and often liable to malpractice.† (http://www.ipcgroup.co.uk, accessed 7/3/2015) There are time limits on the information that can be kept and if you are storing this information manually then this also means that you must remove or redact information every so often. This means that data could be stored for too long. Aggregating all of the data collected into big data can also be a challenge; most of this data will need to be entered into spreadsheets  manually in order to create the management data needed. Other issues with paper records are the cost of floor space needed to store the information, the difficulty of backing up such a system; this would require the same amount of floor space on an alternate site and the security of the records; some filing cabinets may be locked with a key but if somebody were to forget to lock the cabinet then these files are open to anybody with access to the room. Digital Method The digital method could be a cheaper, much more secure, simple and timesaving solution to all organisations but especially the larger ones. â€Å"Given the low cost and the easy accessibility of electronic records storage, many employers are making the digital leap to â€Å"paperless† HR. These days, most records are created and maintained electronically, and some never even make their way to paper.† (http://www.businessmanagementdaily.com, accessed 7/3/2015) Security on a digital system whether it be local or cloud based would be much easier to manage, an electronic record of anybody that as accessed data can be kept automatically and permissions can be set to allow some people to see records that others do not have permission to see; for example at P.P. Plasma Ltd the Managing Director will have access to the HR of everybody in the organisation whereas a departmental manager will only have access to the records on their own staff. Space is only an issue of how much cloud space you can afford or how big a hard drive you can have in your server if you are doing it locally. When using a cloud based service you need to ensure that the cloud service that you are using has a backup system in case of a failure or natural disaster and what the time constraints on these being implemented if needed. Whereas if you are using a local system you will need to speak with your IT department and ensure that the system is backed and removed from the site, this solution will also need a time constraint on how long the system will need to be put back into place. Other reasons to use a digital HR system would be that the data could be aggregated into management and big data easily, whether the HR system has this built in or the data needs to be copied into a spreadsheet or database in order to create graphs, charts , tables and reports. Searching digital records could be done with a few clicks of the mouse and as long as the permissions are set up correctly this could also tell you who you need to  speak to in order to gain access to the information that you are searching for. UK Legislation regarding HR Data There are many pieces of legislation surrounding the recording, accessing and storing of HR data but the two that I am going to explain are the Date Protection Act 1998 and the Freedom of Information Act 2000. The Data Protection Act 1998 controls how your personal information is used by organisations, businesses or the government. Anybody responsible for storing and accessing HR data has to follow the data protection principles. They must make sure the information is: used fairly and lawfully used for limited or specifically stated purposes used in a way that is adequate, relevant and not excessive accurate kept for no longer than is absolutely necessary handled according to people’s data protection rights kept safe and secure not transferred outside the UK without adequate protection Anybody who feels that there data has not been used in accordance to these principles can make a complaint to the organisation themselves and if they are still unhappy with the response can contact the Information Commissioner’s Office. The Freedom of Information Act 2000 gives the general public right of access to all types of recorded information held by public authorities and those providing services for them. It also sets out exemptions from that right and places a number of obligations on public authorities. Recorded information includes printed documents, computer files, letters, emails, photographs, and sound or video recordings. In order to adhere to the Freedom of Information Act; any person making a request to a public authority for information will be entitled to be informed whether that information is held. The Freedom of Information Act does not give people access to their own personal data such as their health records or credit reference file. If a member of the public wants to see information that a public authority holds about them, they should make a subject access request under the Data Protection Act 1998