Television: the Downfall of American Society

Sean Conway Professor Stevens WRT 102 Essay #2 Television: The Downfall of American Society Televisions have only been around since their debut in the middle of the 20th century and have since become a huge part of everyday life here in America. Originally having good intentions, the television and watching of television in the last couple of decades has changed greatly. The amount of time people spend watching their televisions has also changed in the sense that people spend much more time in front of the television than they used to.Some argue that television has had a huge negative effect on American families. In her essay, â€Å"Television: The Plug-In-Drug,† Marie Winn explores the ways in which television has lowered the quality of family life, rituals, and values. She recognizes that there is a problem with our society and the way in which it is consistently influenced by television. She shows this when she says, â€Å"Television’s contribution to family life ha s been an equivocal one,† (Winn 353).Winn is true in saying this because television has caused children across America to have undeveloped intelligence, creativity, and imagination. TV is also detrimental to family life, family relationships, and outside relationships as well. When the television made its first debut in the early to mid 20th century it came with good intentions. This idea of good intention however did not last long with the critics. As early as 1961 the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission referred to television as a â€Å"Vast Wasteland,† (351).Many other critics would come to share in his beliefs about television. There have been numerous books, articles, essays, and research done on the subject of television and its negative effects on children in particular. Marie Winn’s article is just one of many. The amount of time America’s youth spends watching television can be correlated to a decrease in the quality of the lives of children across this nation. As a result of watching too much television, children lack the proper development of intelligence, creativity, and imagination. Parents re so used to the idea of television that they do not think to link it to their family’s problems or issues. Winn mentions a few examples of this issue in her text, one of which being a family of two boys, ages three and seven. The boy’s entire evening after school revolves around their television shows. This same situation appears countless times in households across America. The reason that this is so bad is because when young children are spending all of their free time watching television they do not develop certain characteristics that they should be developing at this age.The children who spend more time in front of the television do not gain the experience that comes from playing sports, being part of a team/club, or getting to have a large group of friends to play and explore new things with. This i s why they do not develop certain characteristics which are all important traits to develop, especially at this young age. I know that when I was young, and still to this day, I always loved being outside and playing sports or other activities.I am so thankful for this because I now realize that by spending less time in front of the television I was able to learn so many more useful traits for life. Another aspect of life that television has a negative effect on in this country is family rituals. Family rituals are defined as â€Å"The part of family life that the families like about itself, is proud of, and wants formally to continue,† (354). Family rituals are extremely important because they are unique for the family and in most cases are what keeps a family together and close throughout years and generations.Somehow television has affected these rituals in many households. Winn uses an example of a young woman from Chicago in her article to show this effect. The young wom an tells how she comes from a large family that loved getting together over holidays and had many lasting rituals that never failed to appear. Except one year when her family got a television set in their house. This particular year, instead of the usual conversations and game playing the whole family crammed in front of the television to watch a football game.This is a perfect example of family rituals going down the drain due to television. Instead of interacting and having face-to-face conversations, everyone just stared at e screen without conversing at all. This validates Winn’s argument of television having a negative effect across the nation. Television also has a huge effect on not only family relationships but others outside relationships as well. Watching television causes people to get a false sense of reality and when presented with a real world situation do not know what to do or how to act.Winn states that, â€Å"The hours children spend in a one way relationsh ip with television people, an involvement that allows with no communication or interaction, must have some effect with their relationship with real-life people,† (Winn 355). Winn is correct in saying this and in fact she proves it when she supports it with examples. She writes about a teacher who says she has trouble interacting with people after watching television for a few hours. The teacher says that because there was no necessary effort while watching, it was hard to deal with real people who require effort to talk to.Also, â€Å"Studies have been done to show the importance of eye- to-eye contact in real-life relationships,† (355) says Winn, something not required while watching television. This is more evidence to further validate Winn’s argument against television. I was lucky enough to be very involved in sports and other activities to steer me away from television. I noticed from an early age that the children in school who were not athletic and had pro blems interacting with the other children were also the ones who spent many hours a day watching television or playing games on the television.Thankfully my group of friends were always active and outdoors. Swimming also took up a lot of my time. I still swim today at the collegiate level and I still do not have time for much television. People need to learn that although television is entertaining, there is almost always something better they could be doing. Most of the people living in this nation today were born into television and watching television has been irreplaceably drilled into the minds of Americans and some people would not know how to live a life without it.The reality of television is that it has severely negative effects on people, especially America’s youth who tend to spend way too much time sitting in front of television sets. Marie Winn was able to see the significance in this and writes about it in her article, â€Å"Television: The Plug-In-Drug. † The title speaks for itself; she believes that television has a huge negative effect on quality of life including family life, real-world relationships, character development and many other things as well.She proves her believes true throughout her work and shows the reader just how important it is to limit television viewing, especially for children who are watching more and more television each year. Without these limitations and more face-to-face interactions, this nation’s future may not be a bright one.Work Cited Winn, Marie. â€Å"Television: The Plug in Drug. † Patterns for College Writing: A Rhetorical Reader and Guide. 10th edition. Ed. Laurie G. Kirszner and Stephen R. Mandell. New York: Bedford, 2007.

Online Dating

Online Dating â€Å"Are you ready to find the love of your lifer, â€Å"Experience the difference†, â€Å"Someone special is already waiting for you† are all different things you might hear on an online dating commercial, but is it really as good as they say? According to a study conducted by the Washington Post and PC World not even 20% of the connections made on these websites turn into committed relationships. Conventional dating is much safer and efficient than online dating in finding someone one actually wants to be with.Online dating may seem easier than conventional dating, but is that actually true? When diving into the world of online dating one cannot be completely sure that they are actually talking to that person. It could be someone acting as another person, or even a sex offender. Over 10% of all online dating users are considered to be sex offenders according to Reuters. Anyone can set up an online dating account whenever they please, and that can turn out to be dangerous because one never truly knows who they are connecting with.Conventional dating on the ther hand is usually much safer and there are multiple benefits to it that online dating doesn't have. The obvious benefit to conventional dating is that one is with that person face to face. It is very difficult to lie about height, weight, and age if the conversation is face to face, unlike online dating. According to a study most men lie about their height, weight, and income while women usually lie about their weight, physical build, and age. The odds are that your date will not be lying about their physical appearance on a face to face date.

Postmodernism in Literature

Postmodernism is difficult to define, because we go through it on a daily basis. Some would say it began in the 1950’s, and others say it began with the tearing down of the Berlin Wall in 1989. Postmodernism is characterized by a variety of elements that question the reading experience. Postmodern authors celebrate this by using humour and absurd experiences to create a bizarre alternate reality. The different elements that are used throughout postmodernism stories include magic realism, metafiction and irony.Magic realism is where the supernatural is not displayed as questionable. Magic realism differs from fantasy because it is set in a normal, modern world with accurate descriptions of humans and a society that does not question it. Another element is Irony. Irony is used in postmodernism literature. Irony is when that which one would not expect occurs is true. Finally, Metafiction is a device that self-consciously addresses the devices of fiction. This often happens by the author introducing themselves into the story. Post modernism and post colonialism are linked.The use of these techniques and elements encourage the reader to contemplate or query their reading experience and ones understanding of life and societies political and cultural values. Magic realism is where the supernatural is not displayed as questionable. Characters accept rather than question the logic of the magic element. Magic realism is displayed in a short story; A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings by Gabriel Marquez. The story is about an old distorted man with enormous wings found on the beach by a couple. They try to communicate with him but find it is useless as he speaks a different language.The neighbor comes over and tells the couple that he is an angel that has come to take their sick child. The community and people from all over the world were astonished and wanted to see the angel. The couple grew tired of having so many people at their house that they began to charge mo ney to see the angel they became rich and built a mansion. After a while the community grew tired of the angel because a woman who had turned into a spider by disobeying her parents arrived to town to share her stories with the community. Eventually the angel began to roam free and finally took off into the sky.This story directly relates to magic realism because the crowd does not question the angel or spider woman. The couple’s neighbor does not question it at all, but she is quite familiar with it â€Å"He's an angel,† she told them. â€Å"He must have been coming for the child, but the poor fellow is so old that the rain knocked him down† (3). The woman is not shocked or surprised to see this man at all, in fact she is not questioning it either, but in reality it would seem very bizarre. The use of magic realism makes the reader question the reading experience and reality itself.Magic realism also plays a role in The Snow Horse by J. Winterson, A story about a man who drives to a party in a horrible snow storm but is stopped by a strange man who insists on telling him a ghost story. After dropping the strange man off he decides to take a short cut that his wife warned him not to take and ends up in a car crash, but as it is crashing he sees a horse running up beside the car. The story that the strange man told him consisted of a man getting ambushed and robbed and was left for dead his horse died beside him as well.The story exhibited a richness of details that the man believed in the snow horse and seen it as he was crashing. When he gets home and into bed he hears something â€Å"Then I heard it, unmistakable, the steady clip of hooves under the window and towards the drift, and out, further and further, faster and faster, on the high old coaching road, beneath the rack of stars. †(6). Here Winterson is making a reference to Santa’s reindeer. This effect leaves the reader uncertain, whether to believe the magical elemen t of the snow horse or the realist events in the story.Last but not least magic realism is displayed in The Night Face Up by Julio Cortazar. This story is about a man who is running from the Aztecs but is dreaming of being on a motorcycle and ends up in a car crash, yet the way Cortazar sets up the story makes it seem the opposite way around. This story is a good example of magic realism because it makes the reader question which world is reality and which one is a dream â€Å"It was unusual as a dream because it was full of smells, and he never dreamt smells† (266).Here is a distinct part where reality is being confused with a dream. The story is very descriptive of both worlds which makes the reader uncertain and question which is world is real and which is not. This disrupts the reading experience. Irony is when that which one would not expect occurs is true, when reality is different from appearance. Irony is seen in Araby by James Joyce. Araby is about a young boy who fa lls head over heels for his friends older sister. He has never spoken to her but he seems to be deeply in love with her.When he finally speaks to her she mentions the Araby Bazaar and how she could not go, the boy brings himself to go to this bazaar to bring her back something but realizes it is not as he imagined it. This narrative is ironic because it is perceived as the boy writing it, but in the ending it confirms that the narrator has learned his lesson and the reader learns it is an older, mature and more emotionally experienced version of the boy â€Å"I lingered before her stall, though I knew my stay was useless, to make my interest in her wares seem the more real. †(4).The young boy went through tough situations to get to the bazaar and when he got there it was not what he pictured it to be. When he describes his anger it then tells the reader it is an older version of the boy telling his experience from the past. By using this technique it creates an ironic tension because it is human nature to change what was said, how it was said and how other people acted, so it makes the reader question the reading experience by thinking whether he told the story correctly or not. Irony also plays a role in A Girls Story by David Arnason.This story is ironic because it is not â€Å"a girls story† it is a man who is stereotyping a female. It is the opposite of a girl’s story. Arnason is constantly stereotyping women and predicting what the reader expects out of the story. Arnason seems to stereotype how a woman would write the story as well â€Å"I’m going to have trouble with the feminists about this story. I can see that already. †(228). Here you can tell that it is a man stereotyping a woman because of the fact he is directly addressing women who will read this story and how they will dislike it.Irony also occurs in The Happy Man by Naguib Mahfouz. The happy man is about a man who wakes up extremely happy and cannot understan d why. He is usually faced with strain and contemplation, but he wakes up happy. He then goes about his day and cannot even stay at work or sleep because of this strange happiness. He goes to a doctor to see why he is so happy â€Å"I haven’t come to see you because I’m ill,† he told the doctor in a hesitant tone of voice, â€Å"but because I’m happy! † (240). It is ironic because being happy is not an illness is very ironic to go to see a doctor because of it.He questions himself because he usually is not a happy man, but because of the grief and contemplation he has gone through has cause him to lose his mind and become inconceivably happy that he goes to doctors to try to cure it. This makes the reader question the reading experience and life itself. Metafiction is a device that self-consciously addresses the devices of fiction. This often happens by the author violating narrative levels by intruding to comment on their writing, involving his or herself with the fictional characters or even directly addressing the reader.The use of metafiction makes the reader contemplate their reading experience. In A Girls Story by David Arnason metafiction is strongly used. Satire is also used throughout the story as well. Satire is the use of irony, sarcasm and ridicule. Here Arnason disrupts the reading experience by satirizing what the reader would think of this part of the story by saying â€Å"I could do a lot more of that but you wouldn’t like it† (228). Arnason predicts what a reader would like or dislike in the story.Another strongly use of metafiction in the story is where Arnason directly mentions himself â€Å"He even looks a little like me and he smokes the same kind of pipe† (232). Here Arnason is directly addressing the reader by involving himself with the fictional characters. This disrupts the reading experience and makes the reader question the cultural and political views held by society. Another e xample of metafiction is displayed in Lost in the Funhouse by John Barth. Barth displays reflexivity where this enables to reader to understand the process by which he or she reads the world as a text.He casually interrupts to explain how he created the story â€Å"Description of physical appearance and mannerisms is one of the several standard methods of characterization used by writers of fiction. † (54). Barth tells the reader how describing physical appearance is important Alex 7 to keep the reader’s imagination and interest going. Throughout the story Barth interrupts to comment on his writing to explain what is going on and why he is using these different techniques.This makes the reader question the reading experience and their understanding of Barth’s writing. Finally metafiction is used in Araby. The reader perceives it as being the young boy telling his story, but in the end it is shown to be a more mature, older version of the boy. Usually when telli ng a story from the past people tend to change what happened, so this makes the reader question whether the narrator has changed anything about the story or not â€Å"Gazing up into the darkness I saw myself as a creature driven and derided by vanity; and my eyes burned with anguish and anger. (4). Here we see a different side of the boy, a more experienced angry version. This shows the reader the man who is now telling the story from a past experience. These elements and techniques that the postmodern use disrupt and question the reading experience and encourage the reader to question it. Postmodernism and Post colonialism are linked through these techniques, magic realism, irony and metafiction.

UWS property taxation and finance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

UWS property taxation and finance - Essay Example UWS property taxation and finance The Mirvac Property Trust has two development funding; Meadow Springs and Seascapes. The Meadow Springs Estate is a residential estate located around and within a championship golf course in Mandurah (Compton, 2000). The estate is located approximately seventy five kilometers south of the Perth Central Business District. Meadow Springs is serviced by the Mandurah railway and Perth, allowing an easy commute for the Perth workers. The area has various shops, stores, and supermarkets located within the area. Mandurah area features various recreational facilities like restaurants, cinema complex, walkways, and parks. Meadow Springs is therefore a residential development site valued at $15.8M. The Mirvac Development Fund for Seascapes is closed end, unlisted, single project fund. The investment strategy for the fund is maximizing the value of investors by offering returns the development and investment of subdivision project and quality land (Harriss, 2008). Seascapes are a residential co mmunity located in Mandurah located seventy five kilometers Perth South. The project is comprised of the development of forty eight hectare land with subunits approval for five hundred and fifty five residential Lots in addition to a Grouped Housing Site. Seascapes are extended to view the foreshore of the Indian Ocean and are celebrated by tourists and residents alike for its relaxed atmosphere, waterways, and beaches. The property type for Seascapes is a residential development site valued at $23.6M... WACC is important for the Mirvac Property Trust because it enables the company to maintain their relationship with investors and grow their revenues. Weighted Average Cost of Capital for Mirvac Property Trust is composed of both equity financing and debt according to Mirvac Property Trust optimal mix of financing equity and debt. Weighted Average Cost of Capital has enabled the Mirvac Property Trust to make decisions about the proposed projects (Harriss, 2003). The Mirvac Property Trust came up with the above figures by computing Weighted Average Cost of Capital using the formula Weighted Average Cost of Capital = wt*rt+wp*rp +ws*rr. Where wt is long-term debt, wp is preferred stock,ws is the common stock, rt is the long term debt cost, rp is the preferred stock cost, and rr is retained earnings stock. Therefore, the projects below the anticipated Weighted Average Cost of Capital are rejected, while those above Weighted Average Cost of Capital were chosen. The weights for Mirvac Prop erty Trust used both the historical and target proportions. The target proportions were the capital mix that the Mirvac Property Trust achieved. Internal Rate of Return The Mirvac Property Trust has a target unlevered ten years IRR Internal Rate of Return of more than 11 percent. This is because the Mirvac Property Trust maximizes the property security and income growth and maintains a portfolio that is diversified (Lindholm, 2004). Mirvac trust has also continued to raise the portfolio quality through the disposal of non-aligned asset above or at valuation. The trust has utilized the development division to come up with commercial assets that are of high

Management and Organizational Behaviour Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 1

Management and Organizational Behaviour - Essay Example ost cutting initiatives the question of quality control has arisen, a key component within the strategic and functional management of any organization, regardless of sector, product or service. Hence analysis of the quality control aspect, as well as related factors should be undertaken, with the recommendations of creating a conducive environment for the promotion of leadership attributes, quality control and the encouragement of the teamwork aspect to ensure that a continual monitoring across all levels of the organization ensues, in line with sufficient quality control methodologies. In order to provide advice regarding the issues of leadership and teamwork within an organization, a sound understanding of these concepts regardless of the firm in question is required. The different types, techniques and related processes involved within leadership require analyses in so far as aiming to increase or improve the quality of leadership within the organization, whilst aiming to improve the level and success of teamwork. The level of quality and efficacy of the leadership itself can start within the company itself, as provided by Manning & Curtis (2007) in "research shows that the evaluation of leaders by employees can be a valuable tool" (p. 308) and hence the suggestion of utilising this mechanism would be forthcoming, additionally the authors provide that "teamwork is essential for success of the group" (p. 177) which has a direct bearing upon this analysis. The level and nature of leadership upon such groups and teams will in all likelihood influence the success of any teamwork, based upon the understanding of the group as well as the influencing of the behaviour of the group, by the manager or leader (Mullins p. 298.) In order to assess the efficacy of how leadership and teamwork affect the organization, either in a positive or negative way, one of the most relevant examples or case studies is that of the Harley Davidson Company, and the leadership of the

Assignment 5-2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Assignment 5-2 - Essay Example Mistakes are relatively low on cost and therefore, less serious. Creative or lateral thinking is an alternative perspective on the situation; and thus the problem and solution states can be interpreted differently from how most people see it. This leads to an alternate style of responding to the problem. A novel solution can often seem more interesting, and people are likely to become involved in the process with more enthusiasm; thereby leading to a greater chance for success. Which style of information processing should be used in a given situation or is more likely to succeed should be chosen carefully by the person seeking to solve a problem they face in the workplace. In the present scenario, vertical processing and problem solving techniques were used to resolve a reoccurring problem in the office. It was noted that attendance of employees dropped drastically when there was a particular type of sporting event involving major regions or the country. During the previous sport sea son, there was a distinct drop in the productivity of the set-up. When another season was due; this history became a major concern for the manager. It was decided that a few key employees should be involved in finding a solution to the problem of reduced productivity. Upon discussion, it was found that the younger employees are more likely to want to take a day of to watch sports. After this conversation, it was decided that certain key playing days should be announced half – day working on the promise that other day’s would not be affected. Accordingly, a notice was circulated amongst the staff so that they feel motivated enough to come for the rest of the days without taking an unannounced (impromptu) holiday. On understanding the process of using lateral thinking it was believed that there could be other alternatives to the solution to this problem. First of all the assumptions made when evaluating the problem were tested. The manager found that the assumption that all productivity dropped on these target days was untrue. Only certain members of the staff were implicated in this situation. The other assumption that distraction was due to the game was also challenged, since the rest of the staff was not interested in abstaining from coming to work, or working at the same level a s any other day. If a reasonable number of staff were not planning to watch sports, they could easily continue work. But it is rather unfair to give free time only to a few employees because they want to watch a sport. Thus, a more right question needs to be asked by the manager as to what options are there so that it is a win – win situation for all. A new and alternate approach to the situation is to tune the cafeteria television to the Sports channel, and allow the employees watch the game for its said time-period. This option, though unconventional, at least keeps the employees at work, and only those who wish to see them do view the sports. Also, in the even t that another employee needs them to be around when getting a task done; this work will not stagnate due to the unavailability of the employee in question. Although any screen which can be connected to the office can be used to relay the match to the employees; it makes logical sense to select the one in the cafeteria, as the noise and cheering will not trouble other employees who may not be interested in the game. The vertical process comes most naturally to most employees, since

What Is Philosophy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

What Is Philosophy - Essay Example What Is Philosophy? Philosophy has crucial areas of inquiry, which include epistemology, logic, aesthetics, metaphysics, specialized branches, and political and moral philosophy. Epistemology focuses on the scope and nature of knowledge using the relationships that exist between belief, truth and the theories of justification. Logic focuses on the doctrines of correct reasoning. In this case, logic is used in arguments where they use deductive or inductive reasoning. Metaphysics focuses on the study of the general features of reality based on time, existence and the relationships between the body, mind, properties and objects. Moral or ethical philosophy targets the best ways that humanity can live and coexist. Ethics has different branches, which include normative, applied and meta-ethics. Philosophical enquiry of aesthetics focuses on arts, beauty, enjoyment, perceptions, sensory-emotional values, sentiments and matters of taste. The specialized branches of philosophy target the philosophy of language s, mind, law, science, religion and Meta philosophy. Metaphysics Metaphysics occurs as a traditional philosophical branch that focuses on the fundamental values and nature of the world and beings. Metaphysics focuses on addressing two crucial questions, which are what is it like, and what is there? Previously, natural philosophy addressed scientific questions. However, the scientific methods slowly turned natural philosophy to an empirical activity that depended on experiments unlike other philosophical fields. This led to distinguishing of science from philosophy. (Munro 21). Later, metaphysics denoted philosophical enquiries of non-empirical characters to the natures of existence. Metaphysics centrally aims at addressing central themes and questions such as the nature of being. Additionally, metaphysics seeks to address the conceptual and empirical objects using objects and their associated properties, cosmogony and cosmology, free will and determinism, identity and change and mat ter and mind. Additionally, metaphysics addresses issues of spirituality and religion, time and space, and possibility and necessity. It is vital to note that metaphysics has different methods and styles. These include empirical methods coupled with rational methods. In this case, rationalism refers to a theory or method whereby the criteria for the truth are deductive and intellectual instead of sensory. Empiricism emphasizes on the fact that senses serves as the main sources of knowledge concerning the world and universe. In addition to these methods and styles, other styles exist such as systemic versus analytical, dogmatic versus critical, individual versus collective and parsimonious versus adequate. The systemic approach focuses on answering all crucial questions in a coherent and comprehensive manner, and the analytical approach deals with the problems in a piecemeal fashion. Crucial Meta physicists who used the different styles and methods of metaphysics include Plato and So crates, Aristotle and Immanuel Kant among others (Munro 31). Epistemology Epistemology focuses on the scope and nature of knowledg

Price Strategy Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Price Strategy - Assignment Example For success in "pricing strategy," the marketing manager must understand how to heighten the concept by understanding the customers need the clarity on the market and understand the willingness to pay by the customers (Tanner Jr. & Raymond). Before a business determines the pricing strategy, it should first establish its objectives towards pricing and analyze the factors that may influence the optimum price placed on the product. Once the manager establishes the objectives and the factors, then the pricing strategy will focus on achieving the objectives (Tanner Jr. & Raymond). In many cases, the life cycle, or the sage as to which the business is currently at determined how the strategy will be, this is because products often have different stages when it comes to how it will hit the markets. The "Mexican Taco Restaurant "needs to determine the break-even point as per its pricing strategy, for this to be achieved the break-even analysis must be computed. The restaurants average order size of its customers is 7$ which is also the average order amount, the variable cost per order is 3$ while the fixed costs are 2000$ building lease, 500$ electricity and 3100$ for labor. For the "Mexican taco restaurant to reach" the break-even point the manager should adapt to new strategies. The first strategy is determining the price sensitivity, how sensitive is the price set for the product, is it high, or is its low. In determining the price sensitivity the marketing manager must understand that the higher the price the lower the volume, this strategy depend on how sensitive customers are in cases of price fluctuations, in cases where the customers are sensitive to higher prices then the marketing manager should lower the price so as to maintain the customers and also target new customers, this in turn ensures that the company meets its breakeven

Charulatha Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Charulatha - Essay Example In the film, the heroine is portrayed as an intelligent woman who writes poetry. Her aesthetic sense of life is captured beautifully throughout the movie; but unfortunately, she becomes relegated to the life of a caged bird in her palatial house. In the opening sequence of the movie, we see Charulatha moves from one window to other to watch the activities of outside world, using opera glasses. The scene clearly shows how curious and keen she is to know the world beyond the walls of her house. This clearly marks a definite deviation from the concepts of upper-class women in the 19th century and the emergence of a modern woman. The utter lack of sensibility of the elite class towards their women is manifest throughout each thread of the masterly theme that weaves the plot of the story. Colonial India in the 19th century was trapped in a vicious hub enforced by religious superstitions and social obscurantism. A few Hindu priests, who had mean objectives, exercised an overwhelming influence on the minds of people. Idolatry and polytheism helped to reinforce their position. The British, who established their political control in India by the middle of the 18th century, were a bit reluctant to interfere in the religious and social affairs of the country due to political reasons as they feared antagonism. They estimated that a divided society would pose less threat to their domination. Still, the British influence on Indian society was tremendous. The trend, especially within the elite class, inclined towards an ardent drive for conforming to British norms.

Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 4

Law - Essay Example critically evaluate the impact of the decision by the House of Lords in White v White1 in relation to division of assets and financial provisions on divorce. In particular, this paper critically reviews the White decision and considers the extent to which the decision has actually culminated in a revolutionary change in the law relating to matrimonial property and financial provision on divorce. Moreover, I shall comparatively analyse the UK legal position with the approach in other jurisdictions where appropriate. From a family law perspective, the issue of rights to the family home have continued to be problematic and decisions in ancillary relief proceedings were addressed by the House of Lords’ decision in White v White2. This decision changed the approach to assessing financial settlements on divorce and introduced the â€Å"yardstick of equality† principle as a means to ensure fairness in the division of assets between divorcing couples. Whilst heralded as a welcome decision in introducing some much needed clarity to the division of assets on divorce3, it has been argued that such an approach is inherently dogmatic in failing to specifically address the division of rights to the family home particularly where children are involved4. Although the reasoning in White v White specified that there was no presumption of equality on divorce, if the court intended to depart drastically from an equal splitting of assets they should have satisfactory justification for doing so. Furthermore, the governing legislative provision in this area of law is the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 (MCA) and section 25 of the MCA provides the court with a very wide discretion of factors to take into account on division of assets, with the welfare of a child being paramount5. As such, it is submitted that the overriding statutory requirement to consider the interests of the child inherently limits the application of White v White to cases where children are not involved as the

Law of evidence Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Law of evidence - Essay Example One example is the case of R v Cannings [2004], where the convictions for the murder of the defendant's sons were quashed on the basis of new medical evidence which discredited the expert witness at trial.2 Although the expert witness (a doctor) was a recognised professional in his field at the time, evidence later showed that his account of what he thought took place was actually fabricated and not backed by the evidence.3 Although the test at the time was passed, the actual quality of the evidence was controversial, so even in this case where the doctor was seemingly an expert at the time, his testimony proved to be damaging at trial. "The better and now more widely accepted view is that so long as a field is sufficiently well-established to pass the ordinary tests of relevance and reliability, then no enhanced test for admissibility should be applied, but the weight of the evidence should be established by the same adversarial forensic techniques applicable elsewhere."4 This test is the current common-law test in order to determine if expert testimony should be submitted. The case involved lip reading evidence being questioned as it is not an exact science or profession; the court held that this passed the test for relevance and reliability which is all that was needed to be allowed. Here, although the validity of the expert evidence was questioned, it proved to be accurate and sufficient. Another case which operated along these lines is that of R v Dallagher (Mark Anthony) [2002], which involved the admission of an ear-print expert who was brought in to analyse and compare an ear-print found at the crime scene with that of the defendant; the court held that although the field is relatively small, the expert was part of a group which were recognised within the field.5 Expected opinion evidence is used in order to assist the court and jury on matters which lie outside the experience or understanding of ordinary jurors or justices.6 If jurors or justices can be expected to understand evidence from their own view on any issue without such expert assistance, then expert testimony is not to be received, as was held in the case of Folkes v Chadd [1782].7 Trials operate on the premise that "courts and juries do not need psychiatrists to tell them how ordinary folk who are not suffering from mental illness are likely to react to the stresses of life."8 The case of R v Henry; R v Manning [1968] held that low IQ is not a mental illness and expert evidence was not admissible to explain behaviour where no mental illness exists.9 Expert evidence will ordinarily be considered necessary and admissible on matters of science, medicine, authenticity or questions of foreign law.10 There are also dangers with expert

Higher education Essay Example for Free

Higher education Essay Did you know that education in school is really important? Many parents believe that education is important because it leads to a degree which grants you a good job. With an education you can get a steady pay check. With that pay check you will get away to financial independence as an adult. Why is Education So Important? he first thing that strikes me about education is knowledge gain. Education gives us knowledge of the world around us. It develops in us a perspective of looking at life. It helps us build opinions and have points of view on things in life. People debate over the subject of whether education is the only thing that gives knowledge. Some say, education is the process of gaining information about the surrounding world while knowledge is something very different. They are right. But then, information cannot be converted into knowledge without the catalyst called education. Education makes us capable of interpreting things rightly. It is not just about lessons in textbooks. It is about the lessons of life. Did you know that education in school is really important? School and education help people you understand beyond the world around them. Education helps ones immediate family, area, region, country, culture, race, or civilization. These different subjects open up information and knowledge. An important aspect of education is learning how to learn in order differentiate fact from fiction. Education is important because it equips us with all that is needed to make our dreams come true. Education opens doors of brilliant career opportunities. It fetches better prospects in career and growth. Every employer of today requires his prospective employees to be well educated. He requires expertise. So, education becomes an eligibility criterion for employment into any sector of the industry. We are rewarded for exercising the expertise required for the field we venture. We are weighed in the market on the basis of our educational skills and how well we can apply them. Education brings about economic wealth, political stability and social prosperity; all these are hallmarks of a prosperous society. It can therefore be said that education playas an important role if a society is to be successful. Tertiary education is an important aspect in the development of any society that considers or aspires to be modern. It is by far the best investment that a nation or an individual can make in its youth or oneself respectively. Educated people are in a better position to contribute to the development of their country; these educated individuals get employment opportunities that give them satisfaction and also earn some form of respect among their work mates. It also plays an important role in the integration of a society in that by interacting with people from various areas, it will raise different issues that people in rural areas are facing thereby promoting knowledge and understanding of these areas Life is nothing without education? Life without education is like living in the streets. Without education youll become lost. You will not have a guaranteed future. You will no go home ridding your favorite car to your Own home. By learning your basic alphabets youll work your way through to have a professional career. Therefore with out Education to school you will not learn at all. Life is never without education. In societies without formal schools, parents pass skills on to children. Education starts before you ever go to school and goes on after you finish school. That said, formal education is a great way to ensure that every child knows what is most necessary to live in a particular society. Without education you will be an illiterate person your children in the future will come up to you and you’re not going to know how to answer them with a right answer. Education will help build your own perspective. Schools are the place you school of started how to pronounce and count. Importance of education is needed in order to succeed in today’s world. In order to receive education you must go through some process. Your first process is to graduate from high school with your diploma. The next step is to attend college to obtain a degree in a trade that you would like to pursue. Without education you wouldn’t get good pay or promotion that you deserve. However, some people feel that they can get by in life without education, sadly that is not true. If you would like at the graphic at the bottom you will see that the higher the education you have the more money you can make. Education is important to have in today’s society. Importance of education able you to have a good job security and knowledge of your field supporting the hard work a person put into there education. Overall, school is the basic start that will drive you to your future. With knowledge youll get the sense of pride that you know must of the things. Education will help brighten your children’s future. 66% of the US population has a high school diploma or high. You should be amongst these people.

The Prevelance Of Elderly Abuse Social Work Essay

The Prevelance Of Elderly Abuse Social Work Essay Elderly abuse has been prevalent in our society and it has not been discussed frequently as compared to other issues in our society and not much research has been done on elder abuse in Singapore. Due to such limitations present in the study of elderly abuse, this creates an impression that elderly abuse is a rare occurrence and is not a potential threat to our society. With the reports on real life elderly abuse cases, it is evident that elderly abuse does exist and is not a rare occurrence in Singapore as most of the time, such incidences go underreported. Furthermore, it is often difficult to detect elderly abuse as in the first place, there is a lack of awareness as to what actually comprises elderly abuse. Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, minister for community youth and sports, at the annual family violence symposium in the year 2009, cautioned that as Singapore comprises one of the fastest ageing populations in the world, we have to be prepared and expect an increase in the number of c ases involving elder abuse. ( straits Times). What is more worrying that majority of the elders suffer abuse under the hands of their own children due to the stress induced on them from care giving. Hence, elderly abuse has become one of the most important compelling social issues which have to be addressed due to the nature of Singapores demographic trends which consists an increasing proportion of elderly. Thus, in this paper, the social issue of my focus would be elderly abuse in Singapore. A common problem faced with regards to the discussion of elderly abuse would be the issue about what exactly constitutes elder abuse. As a result, many cases of elder abuse go unreported. ( pg 28, say no to elder abuse).The Golden Life Workgroup on Elder Abuse Prevention formed in Singapore in the year, 2002, adheres to the World Health Organization (WHO)s definition of elder abuse. It defines elder abuse in its report presented to the government as A single or repeated act or lack of appropriate action, occurring within any relationship where there is an expectation of trust or duty of care, which causes harm or distress to an older person. (Golden life workgroup on elder abuse, 2004 PG 16, World Health Organization 2002) CITE PROPERLY The Ministry of Community Youth and Sports (MCYS) categorises elderly abuse into 5 main groups such as financial, neglect, abandonment, physical and psychological abuse. (Understanding Elder Abuse and Neglect pg 8 check year 2004?). The ageing trends of Singapore suggests that with increase in life expectancy, the elderly would now require more long term care than before and there will be an increasing level of dependency on their children to support them. With declining birth rates, there would be fewer care givers in the family. This creates ample opportunity for elderly abuse to take place. (UN Secretary-Generals Report, March 2002). The percentage of elderly who are aged above 65, in 2009 was 8.80% and the projected percentage of elderly in the year 2030 is expected to rise to 18.7%. (Statistical Indicators on the Elderly, MCYS) .The United Nations uses the dependency ratio as a marker of the potential dependency burden to predict the amount of burden which has to be carried by the working population. (Source: Population Division, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, United Nations Secretariat 2007 http://www.un.org/ageing/popageing.html). In the case of Singapore, as the old-age dependency ratio is in creasing each year whereby in the year 2008 it was 11.9 per 100 and in the year 2010 it increased to 12.2 per 100. (Department of Statistics, 2011). This has serious implications for Singapore, as the working population has to shoulder the burden of care giving and financial support. Now, it becomes even more challenging with the rising number of singles and married couples choosing not to have any children or just having one child . Such situations have serious repercussions as the future trend will be such that care giving on the elderly will be solely shouldered by the only child and this creates an increasing amount of stress and pressure on the sole caregiver which in return causes them to abuse the elderly. It was reported in the Straits times that each year a total of about 178 cases of elderly abuse were being reported and out these 178 cases reported about 120 cases of the elderly were abused by their own children. (Theresa Tan, The Straits Times (Singapore) October 22, 200 9 Thursday). There are various theories to explain the reasons for the occurrence of elderly abuse. The social exchange theory seeks to further explain the reasons for elderly to experience violence from their perpetrators using the concept of social resources such as power, financial stability and status. ( Quote : social work textbook pg 324), Pillemer, 1989 refer to no eldlerly abuse book behind). Increasing level of dependency on children creates a potential environment for abuse to take place, as the elderly authority is now diminished due to lack of power and necessary resources which the potential caregiver has. Hence, such a power dimension with regards to the availability of resources creates imbalance and strain in the relationship between the elderly and the caregiver. Another instance whereby an elderly abuse can take place can be explained through another theory known as the ecological theory, is when the caregiver of the elderly themselves might be undergoing several problems for in stance they themselves might have financial difficulties or could be suffering from some health conditions. Thus, looking after an elderly may induce stress on the caregiver whereby in some situations, as a form of coping mechanism they might vent out their frustrations on the elderly under their care through verbal and physical abuse and this causes the elderly to be in a greater exposure to abuse. (MCYS , booklet). An example to illustrate such a case which was cited in a Straits times article will be about an unmarried son who was in his forties who had to give up his job to look after his mother who was bedridden and suffering from dementia. Not being able to handle the stress that he was going through, he used to hit his mother frequently. (Theresa Tan, The Straits Times (Singapore October 22, 2009 Thursday). Most of the times , the victims of elderly abuse tend to be elderly who are completely dependent on their children in terms of financial and healthcare aspects and therefo re the perpetrators of elderly abuse are usually their children or someone they dependent on.( Quote: The Pattern of Elderly Abuse Presenting to an Emergency Department, G W M Cham, E Seow, 2004, pg 571). Although, the number of elderly abuse and neglect cases are less than 200, it should not be taken at face value that the elderly abuse is a rare phenomenon. Coming from an Asian society, especially in a region whereby Confucian values are prevailing, since most of the perpetrators are their own children, the elderly seldom report about them being abused as they do not want to be embarrassed or do not want to be judged upon, looked down for raising children who are abusive. ( Penhale 1993, british journal of social work, 23,2) . For other elderly, they might choose to suffer under the hands of their children rather than reporting them as they are increasingly dependent on their children to fulfil their basic needs, they fear of losing them or they fear of the future consequences such as intensified level of abuse from the perpetrator when they resort to reporting them.(Lee and Pang, 2003, pang 2000). Due to such underreporting and the denial of being abused further heightens this soci al issue as the elderly tend to suffer in silence. The social issue of elderly abuse should be viewed in terms of a micro and macro level. (social work)From the examples cited in this paper, it can be seen that most of the Elderly abuse which is one form of family violence was initially seen to be a private affair which was confined to and occurred usually in the family sphere which is the micro level. When the issue of the elder abuse is also being experienced by majority of the citizens in Singapore as well, with the increasing number of cases of elder abuse being cited in the newspapers and with the fast paced ageing population in Singapore, this issue of elder abuse now becomes a public and national issue which the state has to address. (textboo) For instance, in the earlier years when it came to issues about abuse more attention had been given to child and spousal abuse but not elderly abuse.(say no elderl abuse) Currently as more cases of elderly abuses are coming to the limelight, it is an issue which is worthy of concern. The refore, elderly abuse and neglect is a social issue which not only affects the elderly but it also the rest of the population who now have to shoulder the responsibility of supporting the elderly. There are many perspectives with regards to the issue of elderly abuse and how it should be tackled. Firstly from the states point of view, it strictly adopts a non-welfare approach .The state believes that various social safety nets such as the community, social services and non-profit organizations have to come together to tackle the social issue of elderly abuse. The state mainly uses the legal approach and tertiary intervention in the form of laws to tackle elder abuse and neglect. For example the Womens charter seeks to deal with family violence and protect family members including the elderly who are being abused. The financial neglect of elderly is being handled under the Maintenance of Parents Act which allows the parents to demand financial support from their children through the Tribunal court. ( say no to elder). The Maintenance of Parents Act although allows parents to demand for financial provison from their children. This solution can help the elderly to seek financial support from their reluctant children especially when they have no one to turn to. Unfortutantely, this is only a temporary solution as the law only address the financial neglect aspect and does not address the emotional aspect of the elderly. It is because the law cannot mandate children to be loving towards their parents .This present solution posses certain shortfalls, for instance, ,many parents may not want use this maintenance act in order not cause further trouble for their children. Another problem with this solution is that many of the elderly are not even aware about the existence of such legal framework. From the medical doctors and healthcare professionals perspective, there has been increasing concern with regards to elderly abuse and neglect. Hospitals now see an increasing number of care givers committing suicide due to not being able to handle the pressures of care giving and some even result to abusing their parents under their care not because of the intention of abusing them but because they do not know who to handle the situation.( srraits times) In a recent stratis time a doctor in the article mentioned that one of her patientss daughter who was the sole care giver would force feed her until the patient had to be treated in hospital for malnutrition and despite continuously being admitted into the hospital, she was not told where to get help and the caregiver by chance found out that there is a centre which provides help in care giving. ( straits Times). From the health care professionals view, they feel that the state can come up with even more rigourous legal framework an d the state could help in creating a strong network between hospitals and various caregiving centres so that the patients are able to get revelant help to cope with the demanding tasks of care giving. Furthermore, health care professionals can play a key role in detecting elderly abuse. The emergency department is one important place whereby elderly who are abused are being isolated and it can be the only appropriate situation to detect cases of elderly abuse. (W S Pang, 2000).The health care professionals face a dilemma when they encounter or suspect that their elderly patients might have been abused. It is because there are no specific laws addressing elderly abuse or neglect which results in not having a clear focus of what actually constititues an elderly abuse. (Quote pg 50). There are efforts to implement laws such as Maintenance of Parents Act by the state to protect elderly in some ways however, there is no laws which calls for mandatory reporting of elderly abuse cases. Hen ce this creates a predicament on part of the doctors as to whether or not to report cases of abuse. Due to the absence of a clear and proper framework or solution for the hospital professionals to strictly adhere to, such a situation causes an elderly to be trap in a vicious cycle of abuse. This has underlying consequences in the future as more cases of elderly abuse may become undetected. From the social workers and policy makers perspective, they believe that more can be done in training healthcare professionals and social workers in terms of understanding and detecting elderly abuse. In addition, they believe that more care giving centers can be set up to reduce stress of the care givers and serve as an intervention for abuse cases. This solution is can be very useful in the long run as it helps to protect elderly and helps to consell and educating the stressed caregiver which eventually helps to prevent the elderly from being further abused. However, one area of concern would be that the availability and increasing number of caregiving centers and residential homes can also create a room for misuse whereby children of the elderly for their convenience and in order to discard their responsibility as they might use such places to dump their parents there. Thus, there has be stricter regulations with regards to the admission into the caregiving centers. After considering all the different perspectives being offered pertaining to elderly abuse, in my view, I would support and favour health professionals, social workers and policy makers view especially with the view that the state has to adopt stricter and harsher laws when it comes to elderly abuse. The absence of mandotary reporting of elderly abuse, creates the main problem for allowing elderly abuse cases to go unreported. Furthermore with the absence of a clear framework of what actually constitutes elder abuse or how this social issue can be tackled it creates a form of helplessness on the part of the healthcare and social work professionals as they are not being able to intervene in elderly abuse cases promptly. In my view once the state has come up with a clear set of laws specifically addressing to elderly abuse and once there is an the implementation of mandatory reporting then it becomes easier for the healthcare professionals and social workers to be better equipped in in tervening in elderly abuse cases. In conclusion, as discussed in this paper, elderly abuse is one of the key social issues which the states has to constantly look into as elderly abuse requires lots of intervention programmes, training and education of the public and social work professionals. Elderly abuse can have serious consequences on the mental health of the elderly and they might lose their dignity in living as a normal human and their basic human rights such as the freedom to fight against any abuse and discrimination against them is being lost. Therefore it becomes a necessity to ensure that these group of elderly not just will have the proper healthcare facilities but it is also our societys outermost duty to ensure that the elderly age with dignity and they spent their last years in a protected and non abusive family environment. .

Recommendations to Change Public Health Priorities

Recommendations to Change Public Health Priorities Changing Public Health Priorities Team Members: Jingxiang Chen Xinyu (Frank) Chen Charles (Chuck) McCall Lisa Smeester Caroline Tapscott Chloe Welch Changing Public Health Priorities: Implementing Socioeconomic Determinants of Health to drive Policy Action The medicalization of public health systems receives the bulk of funding yet socio-economic determinants of health play an equal, if not increased, role in determining population health. How public health agencies use funding to provide public health services is a huge concern not only for every public health practitioner but also for every citizen. The Trust for America’s Health (TFAH) 2013 report provides an overview to the recent expenditures of the states’ public health services funding, examining the advantages and disadvantages on such expenditures. The TFAH report gives an overview of how the health services expenditures of both federal and state are distributed (latitudinal direction) and how these amounts changed in the recent years (longitudinal direction). The major findings include both federal and state funding has been cut to inadequate levels in recent years, and there is wide variation in health statistics by state. For example, the amount of federal funding spent to prevent disease and improve health in communities ranged significantly from state to state, with a per capita low of $13.72 in Indiana to a high of $53.07 in Alaska. It is now considered more and more important to create a disease prevention mechanism, for example, the new Prevention and Public Health Fund provides $12.5 billion in mandatory appropriations over 10 years to local communities to improve health and reduce illness rates, which included Community Transformation Grants (CTGs) to allow local communities to tackle their most serious problems, incl uding obesity and tobacco, using evidence-based prevention programs tied to strict performance measures. Much research has been done by local public health agencies revealing the change of expenditures of funds on medical services in recent years. Massachusetts is a prime example, HPC (Health Policy Commission) 2013 and AGO (Office of Attorney General) 2013 showed that high health care costs are driven primarily by provider prices, which vary significantly among providers within individual payer networks as well as across the commercial market overall and there is evidence even showing such increment of price is not predicted by quality of care. Also in CHIA (Center for Health Information and Analysis) 2013 and AGO 2013, the authors argued that market leverage of providers influences health care costs in a cyclical process by determining provider prices, payments, and patient volume. Because of this, policy makers have drawn attention to the trend of provider consolidation and its potential impact on market leverage and health care costs. A shift away from â€Å"Medicalization†: Prioritization of Key Socioeconomic Determinants of Health There are many socio-economic determinants of health, some of which are being addressed and some which could use increased advocacy. Overall, the U.S. performs well in having policies that ensure an equitable right to work for all racial and ethnic groups, regardless of gender, age or disability (Heymann 2004). The U.S. is also one of 117 countries guaranteeing a pay premium for overtime work. However, the U.S. lags behind many other countries in addressing socio-economic gradients of health. For example, the U.S. guarantees neither paid leave for mothers nor paid paternity for fathers in any segment of the work force; moreover, the U.S. does not guarantee the right to breastfeed, even though breastfeeding is proven to reduce infant mortality. The U.S. also lacks a maximum length of the work week, a limit on mandatory overtime per week, and provides only unpaid leave for serious illnesses and family care through the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), which does not cover all workers. In order to address health disparities caused by modifiable socioeconomic determinants of health, we prioritize three key issues needing advocacy in the health policy arena: mandatory paid sick leave, minimum (aka â€Å"living†) wage laws, and access to cost effective nutritious foods. Health Impact Assessments: Facilitating an Evidence-based Shift in Public Health Policy In order to change public health priorities there needs to be a political will to act; this is not always the case when dealing with socioeconomic determinants of health as they are often complex, multi-faceted issues whose outcomes may take a lifetime to track (Kelly 2007). Because health policy making can be a rapid action environment driven by competition for usually scarce resources coupled with pressure from the public, there is a need for evidence-based, sustainable strategies. Health impact assessments (HIA) can facilitate the shift to public health policy to help develop a comprehensive action plan addressing social determinants of health. These assessments provide an overarching analysis of the issue in political, social, and community contexts, examines cost/benefits analysis, and lays out options for action. For example, HIAs addressing our three key socioeconomic determinants of health found: Sick leave: Staying at home when infected could reduce by 15–34% the proportion of people impacted by pandemic influenza (HIP 2009). Without preventative strategies, more than 55,000 people in the state could die in a serious pandemic flu outbreak. Minimum wage: A living wage was estimated to result in decreases risk of premature death by 5% for adults and for offspring, a 34% increased odds of high school completion, and a 22% decrease in the risk of early childbirth (Bhatia and Katz 2001). Without a living wage, workers have increased adverse health outcomes contributing to health care burden and are less sell-sufficient requiring public assistance. . Access to healthy food options: Access to affordable, healthy foods help citizens of low income communities to consume a healthful diet and maintain a healthy weight, reducing their risks of heart disease, hypertension, diabetes and cancer (PPS). Without access to fresh produce in low-income communities, reduction of nutrition-related heart disease, hypertension, diabetes and cancer will not be adequately addressed. Health impact assessments are a tangible, actionable tool to assist policy makers in shifting their public health policy focus to address socioeconomic determinants of health a top priority. American Public Health Association Public Health ACTion: Advocacy for an Increased Emphasis on Socioeconomic Determinants of Health The American Public Health Association (APHA) enacted the Public Health ACTion campaign (PHACT) in order to generate advocacy groups and actions to reach out and communicate directly with Congress and government officials about public health issues in order to make a difference. The PHACT campaign action kit is designed to be a starting block for anyone who wishes to either make a difference themselves or organize a group to do so together. The thinking is that the more people who commit to these actions and reach out toward members of Congress, the more positive change we may see. The action kit starts out with a timeline for 2014 corresponding to important congressional dates and what actions can be taken at each step of the way. This is a great way to get an overall picture of this year’s campaign and organize what actions need to be accomplished and when. The campaign takes place mostly in the summer and the plan outlines the three areas of focus for 2014: protecting public health funding, protecting public health funding under the ACA, and stopping gun violence. The fact sheet details the reasons why these areas were chosen and goes into what actions correspond to each area of focus. A ten-minute long phone script is provided after each focus so that a single advocate can call Congress to share these issues. Lastly, the campaign action kit outlines various other ways of taking action. These include getting a group of a few people and organizing a meeting with members of Congress to deliver a target message and discuss these issues. Using social media, letters to the editor or an op-ed to deliver messages are also discussed. This action kit provides a well-rounded approach to presenting target public health issues to Congress and to the public so that our voices can be heard. References Bhatia, R., Katz, M. (2001). Estimation of Health Benefits From a Local Living Wage Ordinance. American Journal of Public Health, 1398-1402 Center for Health Information and Analysis. Annual Report on the Massachusetts Health Care Fries JF,Koop CE,Beadle CE,Cooper PP,England MJ,Greaves RF,Sokolov JJ, andWright D., Reducing health care costs by reducing the need and demand for medical services. The Health Project Consortium. N Engl J Med.1993 Jul 29;329(5):321-5. Health Policy Commission. 2013 Cost Trends Report (2013). Available at http://www.mass.gov/anf/docs/hpc/2013-cost-trends-report-final.pdf. Retrieved on March 11, 2014. Heymann, Jody, Jeffrey Heyes, and Alison Earle.The Work, Family, and Equity Index: How Does the United States Measure Up?. McGill University, Institute for Health and Social Policy, 2008. Human Impact Partners (HIP). (2009). A Health Impact Assessment of The Healthy Families Act of 2009 summary of findings. Retrieved from http://www.humanimpact.org/projects/hia-case-stories/paid-sick-days-hias/ Kelly, M.P., et al. The social determinants of health: Developing an evidence base for political action (2007). World Health Organization, Geneva. Market (August 2013). Available at http://www.mass.gov/chia/docs/r/pubs/13/ar-ma-health-caremarket-2013.pdf. Retrieved on March 11, 2014. Office of Attorney General Martha Coakley. Examination of Health Care Cost Trends and Cost Drivers – Report for Annual Public Hearing (April 2013). Available at http://www.mass.gov/ago/docs/healthcare/2013-hcctd.pdf. Retrieved on March 11, 2014. Project for Public Spaces (PPS). Farmers Markets as a Strategy to Improve Access to Healthy Food for Low-Income Families and Communities. Available at http://www.pps.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/RWJF-Report.pdf Trust for America’s Health. Investing In America’s Health: A State-by-State Look at Public Health Funding and Key Health Facts. Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. April 2013 Extra Credit: Blog letter http://pubhealthinfo.tumblr.com Most people associate public health with health care and medical professions. But public health is a much broader field than that, spanning multiple disciplines. So shouldn’t public health policy reflect this? Much of public health policy is aimed at increasing access to health care for certain populations, providing health screenings, or other medicalized solutions. While these solutions are helpful, perhaps the public would be better served by combing them with policies that target social, economic, or environmental causes that contribute to the health gap that exists in today’s population. The WHO defines social determinants of health as â€Å"the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work and age.† Social determinants of health are influenced by the distribution of wealth, power, and resources and lead to health inequalities between subgroups in a given population. If we want to decrease health inequalities, we need to shift the priorities of public health policies. You might be wondering how you can affect this kind of change. The key is to be vocal, which you can do in several ways. First, and perhaps most simply, you can use social media to get others informed and involved in shifting public health priorities. Like, comment on, or reblog public health blogs that advocate for the adoption of social determinants of health into health policies. Second, you can write op-ed articles, call in to local radio stations, or write letters to the editor to raise the awareness of the importance of social determinants of health and health inequalities. Third, you can send letters to your legislators. There are multiple sites that provide form letters, such as this site, or you can write your own letter. Here is a good reference for actions you can take to reach out to your legislators. Here are some other sites you might find interesting and useful in learning about the importance of social determinants of health and how to influence change in public health priorities: UnnaturalCauses.org Policy guide UnnaturalCauses.org Planning for Media Advocacy WHO How can we get the social determinants of health message on the public policy and public health agenda?†

Irish History Essay -- essays research papers

Sources: 1.) Whelan, Kevin. The Tree of Liberty: Radicalism, Catholicism, and the Construction of Irish Identity. 1760-1830. United States: University of Notre Dame Press, 1996. Irish History Tree of Liberty Paper The Protestant Landowners in the 1690’s grew tired of attempting to collect taxes from a relatively poor Irish population. Middlemen were therefore appointed to manage the lands, collect taxes, and ensure profitability. The owners of the lands may have been Protestant but the workers were often Catholic causing landlords to place a buffer between themselves and their often angry tenants. The solution came from dispossessed Irish Catholics who could conduct their business for them. These Middlemen provided the means by which they were to effectively govern the local population allowing Ireland to become a colony and not an ancien regime. This new and effective method allowed for the consolidation of property and the accumulation of wealth. â€Å"These accumulated leases laid the basis for the striking success of middlemen in the more expansionary conditions from the 1740s onwards.†(pg.4)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Catholics were not all taken from their lands; some resisted the Protestant surge and kept their holdings. These few landlords were crucial in rebuilding the Catholic influence in Ireland as they provided the base on which other Catholics could build. Middlemen even had clans with which they used to enforce their territory. â€Å"These Sullivan’s are a des... Irish History Essay -- essays research papers Sources: 1.) Whelan, Kevin. The Tree of Liberty: Radicalism, Catholicism, and the Construction of Irish Identity. 1760-1830. United States: University of Notre Dame Press, 1996. Irish History Tree of Liberty Paper The Protestant Landowners in the 1690’s grew tired of attempting to collect taxes from a relatively poor Irish population. Middlemen were therefore appointed to manage the lands, collect taxes, and ensure profitability. The owners of the lands may have been Protestant but the workers were often Catholic causing landlords to place a buffer between themselves and their often angry tenants. The solution came from dispossessed Irish Catholics who could conduct their business for them. These Middlemen provided the means by which they were to effectively govern the local population allowing Ireland to become a colony and not an ancien regime. This new and effective method allowed for the consolidation of property and the accumulation of wealth. â€Å"These accumulated leases laid the basis for the striking success of middlemen in the more expansionary conditions from the 1740s onwards.†(pg.4)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Catholics were not all taken from their lands; some resisted the Protestant surge and kept their holdings. These few landlords were crucial in rebuilding the Catholic influence in Ireland as they provided the base on which other Catholics could build. Middlemen even had clans with which they used to enforce their territory. â€Å"These Sullivan’s are a des...

Essay examples --

OBSERVATIONS/EXPERIENCES Mapro Foods Pvt. Ltd Mapro Foods is committed to its production process of various products such as fruit jams, fruit concentrates etc. with high regard for nutrition and taste. Mapro was the pioneer of fruit-based confectionery in India with its success over five decades of becoming market leader of western India in its industry. Also it has magnificently led the socio-economic progress of Gureghar region. The indigenous product: ‘Faleros’ have secured a strong position in the market. Also a glorious national flag being set-up on the company ground made the processing unit splendid. Also their shop where one can taste the product before buying it. Amul An Indian dairy co-operative based at Anand, Gujarat. Its model is of three levels which include dairy cooperative societies at the village level federated under a milk union at the district level and a federation of member unions at the state level. At the Pune unit, we saw processing and packaging of milk. Only milk and curd are the products which are dispatched from here. Also mostly women work during daytime to boost cleanliness as well as hygiene. A proper automatized plant set up where least manpower is used with optimum used of technology. Shetty Chemicals and Engineering works Pvt Ltd. Shetty Chemical & Engg works Pvt Ltd is engaged in the business of manufacturing and selling claimed and fused Alumina products like Refractories. They have gained almost 50 years’ experience in manufacturing this product of best Quality. It is company with good team but poor infrastructure as well as lack of organized way of doing work. The warehouse and the production unit being at the same place led to dumping of raw materials and finished products. The higher mana... ...s with measure of safety, quality as well as professionalism. Their wide portfolios have allowed them to be associated with leading OEM customers. FIEM has become a supplier not only in India but also in Europe and USA. The experience to visit this company showed us the professionalism prevailing in corporates as well as the technologies used in R & D department. Ethics Art and Design Bharti Khandelwal, a women entrepreneur who explained her journey of becoming successful on her seven pillars. Her ‘Can Go’ attitude and how to manage work with things available was inspiring. She being more than 4 years into this work explained how she got the privilege to work with country’s best designers, labels, corporate, & brands. Her experiential journey understandings, reason behind company’s name as well as the belief of being worker of our own business was quite perceptive.

Juicy essay Essay

In the song â€Å"Juicy†, by Notorious BIG, also known as Biggie Smalls, there is a main theme of rising from poverty and entering into wealth. Wealth in this sense not only means material things, but it also makes reference to intangibles such as stability for himself and his mother. He begins by noting material things including: â€Å"condos in Queens,† â€Å"putting 5 Karats in my baby girls ear,† â€Å"lunches, brunches, interviews by the pool,† â€Å"50 inch screens, money green leather sofa, two cars a limousine with a chauffeur.† These material things highlight significance in his life because in comparison to his childhood, they are infinitely superior. His childhood consisted of â€Å"eatin sardines for dinner,† being â€Å"considered a common thief,† â€Å"dropping out of high school,† and living in public housing. Furthermore, Biggie’s life was immensely changed in a different aspect. Along with his economic wealth, he gained stability for himself and his mother and made her proud of him. He states, â€Å"My mother loves to show me off, of course, smiles every time my face is up in The Source.† Biggie also states that he celebrated every day because of his hard work and determination he was able to create a better opportunities for himself and his family. In the song â€Å"Juicy† there is a reoccurring theme of rising from the rags to the riches and never giving up on a dream that you set out to accomplish. Notorious BIG reflects on his life while growing up and always being told, â€Å"you’ll never make it.† In the song he says, â€Å"Considered a fool because I dropped out of high school, stereotypes of a black male misunderstood, and its all good.† He dropped out of school so that he could continue to make music and pursue a career. While growing up in poverty, Biggie was often faced with the option to sell drugs or stay in school. When he dropped out of school at the age of 17, he became a drug dealer so he could make some money with the ultimate goal of becoming a rapper. In the song he says, â€Å"to all the people that lived above the buildings that I was hustlin’ in front of that called the police on me when I was just tryin’ to make some money to feed my daughters, and all the niggaz in the struggle, you know what I’m sayin?† When he was growing up there were things he had to do to get by, there were things that he had to do that weren’t always legal, but he did  what he needed to provide for his family. Another important part of the song was when said, â€Å"I let my tape rock ‘till my tape popped†. He didn’t give up on his dream of becoming a rapper. No matter how many people told him he couldn’t do it, or he wouldn’t last, he never gave up and he continued to give out his tapes. Biggie’s â€Å"tape popped† when his song was number one on Billboard Magazine. This led him to being signed by Bad Boy Records, which was owned by fellow East Coast Rapper, Sean â€Å"Diddy† Combs. After becoming rich and making it in the rap game, Biggie became a different person. He didn’t know what to do with the wealth he had and flaunted it in the wrong ways. In the song he says, â€Å"Girls used to diss me, now they writing letters because they miss me.† When he said that they used to diss him, he was referring to how people that were close to him changed because they wanted to take advantage of him, and people that weren’t close to him wanted to be friends and benefit from the wealth he had. In this part of the song he was referring to how wealth can corrupt people. He remained unfazed, kept his circle small, and still pursued his dream of becoming a famous rapper. An excerpt from the song, after Notorious became popular, â€Å"Living life without fear, putting 5 karats in my baby girl’s ear, lunches, brunches, interviews by the pool†¦Ã¢â‚¬  This was an important transformation in his life because he went from a gangster on the streets and slinging drugs, to a rich rap star. Another quote from the song was, â€Å"Phone bill about 2 G’s flat, no need to worry my accountant handles that.† With all the wealth that he accumulated, he was carefree living. He went from struggling to put food on the table for his family to letting businessmen handle all his financial decisions. He had seen the way that wealth could change people. Also in the song he mentioned, â€Å"50 inch screen, money green leather sofa, got two rides, a limousine with a chauffer.† The way that Biggie spent his money was typical to any other person that made it from rags to riches. He went from wondering if he would have a meal to eat, to spending money on lavish things. The end of Biggie’s career came on March 3, 1997 when he was shot several times outside of an album release party in Los Angeles. He came out to a shoot music video for the song â€Å"Hypnotize† off his album â€Å"Ready To Die†. With the past beef that he had with west coast rappers, the trip out to California wasn’t encouraged. He died six days later in the hospital. Through out Biggie’s life, there were a couple strong  characteristics that he left behind. He left behind a strong work ethic with an attitude that nobody could out work him. When he died, it was a tough loss in the rap world because he had been very influential amongst rappers that had come from tough childhoods and lived in tough areas. He was a perfect example of emerging from a life of poverty and becoming successful and extremely wealthy. â€Å"The Notorious B.I.G. à ¢Ã¯â€šâ‚¬ Juicy Lyrics.† Rap Genius. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Sept. 2012. http://rapgenius.com/The-notorious-big-juicy-lyrics â€Å"The Notorious B.I.G.† Billboard. Rovi Corporation, 9 Mar. 2010. Web. 18 Sept. 2012. . Duke, Alan. â€Å"FBI Reveals Documents in Biggie Smalls Death Probe.† CNN. CNN, 08 Apr. 2011. Web. 18 Sept. 2012. .

Discuss the Marketing Environment Essay

The Marketing Environment consists of a complex set of interacting forces and influences outside the marketing department of an organization. The Marketing Environment affects the organization’s ability to build and maintain mutually beneficial relationships with its target customers. Through continuous monitoring its Marketing Environment a company must be able to anticipate change and act in a pro active way rather than leaving it to a reactive reaction. It must also keep up to date by realizing any effective changing forces. It does this by monitoring SWOT i.e. Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. Obviously wanting to maximize on Strengths and Opportunities and eliminate Weaknesses and Threats. Marketers must use marketing intelligence and market research when monitoring the Marketing Environment. The Marketing Environment can be divided into two main categories; the Micro and the Macro Environment. The Micro Environment This can also be divided. Internal Environment and Forces close to the organization. The Internal Environment. This consists of Top Management and Other departments. The Top management is responsible for setting the organizations overall mission, objectives, strategies and policies to guide all the organizations departments and employees. The success of the company is dependant on the competence of the Top managers. Other departments must co-ordinate their efforts as to maximize potential and avoid conflicts. The smoother the departments work together the better the overall outcome is going to be. All employees should realize the importance of being market-orientated and of delivering customer satisfaction. Forces close to the organization. This consists of Competitors, Marketing  Intermediaries, Suppliers of resources, Customers and Publics. Competitors: must offer superior value & satisfaction than their competitors and make it widely known throughout the target market. Companies must make an effort to attract their target customers and retain them by delivering customer satisfaction. These companies must watch their competitors closely as to retain their market share and maybe win some of the competitor’s market share. Marketing Intermediaries: These are firms that assist the company hiring them to promote, sell and distribute its products to target customers. Resellers will help find target customers or sell to them. Transportation firms help companies stock and transport goods. Agencies providing marketing services are marketing research agencies, advertising agencies, and marketing consulting firms. Financial intermediaries are organizations that will sell financial services to companies. Suppliers of resources: A company must be very careful as to watch for any changes (shortages, delays, labour strikes etc) as they are damaging to the companies sales and reputation. The organization is as efficient as its suppliers. Customers: Firstly a company must identify its target market. Then develop the right 4P’s to build long term customer relationships. An organizations target customers may be part of different markets. Consumer markets which are people who buy for personal use, these are called final consumers. Business Markets are companies that buy goods or services in order to use them for production in order to resell at a profit, these are called business customers. Government markets rent goods or services to carry out the main functions of the government. Institutional markets are schools & hospitals that provide goods or services to those in the organization. International markets are any of the customer markets but are situated overseas. Each market has its own particular features. Organizations must study the market/s to which they are selling to so as to understand its/their characteristics; including the way buying decisions are made. Publics: are groups that have an actual or potential interest in or on the companies ability to achieve its objectives. These publics include Media, Financial, Local, Internal, General, Citizen Action, or Government. The Macro Environment The Macro Environment can be considered as forces. These forces can be split into four categories: Demographic forces, Natural forces, Political forces and Social forces. Demographic Forces This is the study of the population. Demographic trends include Growing world population, Ageing population, Increasing Diversity, Changes in family structure, and a more Educated population. Growing world population: The number of needs increases as the population increases. These increased needs backed by purchasing power create market opportunities. These opportunities must be exploited. Ageing population: If the older segment of the population increases opportunities for companies that target this segment of the market. Likewise it creates threats companies that target a young market. These companies can react by offering a product suitable for an older market on top of their original product. Increasing diversity: The nationality and racial make up of the country/ies where they are selling their products should be considered. People’s wants are generally due to their nationality or race. Due to advancements in technology and transportation this has and is likely to continue increasing. Changes in family structure: Nowadays families have gotten smaller. This means that the usual budget for food etc is obviously going to get smaller i.e. with a higher standard of living an increase in purchases of various  products is probable. Women working have also increased so with money in their pocket a new segment of potential customers has been created. There is also a shift in husband and wife roles so now household products should also be aimed at husbands as well as wives. A more educated population: As a result of this the demand for quality products, book, formal clothing etc has increased. Natural Forces These are forces to do with natural resources. These forces can be split into four categories: Raw material shortage, Increased pollution, Increased government intervention and Environmentalism. Raw Material Shortage: Non renewable resources pose a serious threat. Companies face problems such as increasing costs and protests. Some day they’ll have to find substitute materials to use in production. Renewable resources also pose a problem if depletion rate supersedes its renewal rate. Companies using these resources face the same problems. Seemingly infinite resources are being destroyed due to pollution. Companies causing such harm face bad word of mouth and a bad reputation. Increased pollution: This poses a health as well as other threats to the general society. These industries must face bad word of mouth. Increased government intervention: This intervention in resource management varies across countries. Government laws and regulations must be monitored by companies as to not break laws and face consequences. Environmentalism: These cause pressure; sometimes so much that they actually damage a company’s reputation and influence government intervention. Now companies go beyond and develop a plan that is known as an environmentally sustainable strategy and develop ecologically safer products. Political Forces These are forces such as laws, government agencies and pressure groups. These forces vary with country and possibly time. There job is to protect organizations from each other, consumers from organizations and their deceptive practices etc, and society as a whole. Businesses are not only limited by laws and regulations but ethical and social codes are also considered. Most Businesses adopt the Societal Marketing Concept. Economic Forces These are forces that affect consumers’ spending ability and spending patterns. These are split into Changes in Average Income, Changes in Income Distribution, and Changing Consumer Spending Patterns. Changes in Average Income: means that a high average income level by means of a raise can lead to an increase in demand for quality products and a fall for cheaper, more inferior products. Obviously a fall in average income can lead to the opposite. Companies must therefore be very aware of the changing in incomes and adjust to the accordingly. Changes in Income Distribution: The segments are rich, middle income, and low income and people living on welfare. These segments sizes are likely to change over time. Once again the company must be monitoring this to spot changes to identify the trends in its target market/s. Companies can choose to offer two or more variations of their product in order to satisfy all parts of the Income Distribution chain ex. Books. Changing Consumer Spending Patterns: Patterns are changing every day. As income increases products such as food etc are spent on less than housing, transportation etc. This is what help businesses decide on whether to expand in the same line of products or find an alternative line. Cultural Forces Beliefs and values are divided into: core beliefs and values and beliefs  which are difficult to change, and secondary beliefs and values which are easier to change. A company must either find a way of adjusting its product to fit the core beliefs and values or try and change the secondary beliefs through marketing activities etc. These beliefs are mainly attributes of ones society. A person holds views on: 1. her/himself – people buy products that match their personalities. 2. other people – people want to interact with society, therefore there is a demand for  products that improve their relationships with others ex. Clubs etc. 3. various institutions – a positive attitude towards an institution means that people will trust this institution. Companies do this buy adopting the Societal Marketing Concept. 4. his/her society – people prefer buying products made in their own company. 5. the natural environment – if people feel close to nature a demand in products such as health food will increase. i.e. if the company harms the environment this will reflect badly. 6. the universe and spirituality – if religious convictions and practice falls, materialism  takes over. If it doesn’t fall companies promote their products with a spiritual theme. Any organization needs to research such views and adjust each of the 4P’s accordingly. Technological Forces A new technology implies new market opportunities for some organizations and threats for others. Companies once realizing this must keep up to date in order for technology to help them become more efficient, thus making them more successful.

Pleasantville Essay

When David and Jenifer are tolerated to Pleasantries and are forced to play the part of Bud and Mary-sue the whole routine/script goes out of whack. We see Davit's fantasy at the start were the director has used a close up shot of David talking to the girl of his dreams. As the camera zooms out, It becomes obvious that he was Imagining talking to her the director uses this to portray Davit's character. From this we see that he Is a loner and Is socially awkward. To David this perfect world Is his reality.David knows everything bout Pleasantries all the characters the script everything there is to know. It almost seems to be a religion to him. For Jenifer this is only a fantasy and she doesn't like it she wants to bring her reality to this fantasy world. Change Change is commonly seen throughout the film and is represented in many ways. We not only see change In the characters but In the environment around them. The first sign of change we see Is the red rose that bud sees after his d ate with Mary-sue the director uses this to show the audience that everything Is about to change.The director also use costumes to show the change In Pleasantries, teenagers In Pleasantries start to wear more modern clothing that are bright and colorful. The director also introduces rain and fire to Pleasantries, which are all new experiences for people in Pleasantries. When the director introduces rain The main characters in the film change in some way through the film. Jenifer is a teenage girl trying to be cool by smoking and getting with guys. When Jenifer is tolerated to Pleasantries we e change as the film progresses.We see a glimpse of change in Jenifer when she picks up the glasses to read the book. Moments later as we see the camera move across we see the photograph of her wearing glasses. Another sign of change is when Margaret starts baking cookies for bud Instead of Whaley. When we see Bud and Margaret on their date at lover's lane we see Margaret pick an apple from a tr ee, the apple symbolizes the corruption of the real world. The forbidden fruit. The people in Pleasantries have very little knowledge. We see an example of this when Mary-sue ask, â€Å"What outside Pleasantries† Everyone looks at her as she was stupid.The teacher replies â€Å"Mary-sue you know better than that it goes around in a circle†. We also see another glimpse of there lack of knowledge when the tree catches on fire. When we see the tree on fire the director portrays both the people of Pleasantries and the tree on fire to show their confused and intrigued faces. When bud is at the fire station yelling â€Å"FIRE† the fire fighters are all confused it wasn't until e said â€Å"cat† that the fire fighter got into action but when they got there they didn't know what to do.In the end bud saves the day putting out the fire. The tree on fire is a major event in the film this is when the people of Pleasantries what to know more. We see an example of chan ge and knowledge when David was saying the ending to a book as he was saying what happened the black pages in the book started to fill. Creating new knowledge soon after all the books in Pleasantries were filled and everyone was at the library reading and gaining new knowledge. By Dylan South