Differential Association Theory Essay

1. Differential Association theory would explain the burglar’s behavior by first looking at their social structure. Their social structure can affect everything; it can influence their close relationships, open them up to objective opportunities and could be seen as the main attribute that affects their learning process in behavior. A. Most of the people in these interviews are poor, young males with similar social structures. Growing up on the streets and in bad neighborhoods can influence the interactions that each of these people will have. These interactions can result in definitions favorable to crime because these people are beginning to surround themselves and interact with people who are already doing illegal actions. (Hagan, p.89). In the article it gave an example of how a group of friends may be doing coke and once it runs out someone in the group, that has developed their own belief in what’s right and what’s wrong, suggests doing burglary in order to get some money for more coke. A new person within the group may feel pressure in continuing in order to maintain their status and relationship with the members in the group. Here they are learning new attitudes and accepting new values that are favorable to crime (Hagan, p. 89). The behavior being learned is that burglary can help with any immediate needs and together they rebel against the law. The new member may now start to change what they believe is right and wrong and could begin acting in more frequent illegal actions. These burglars have the belief that burglary is okay because it is a matter of â€Å"day to day survival†. This shows that they have their own interpretation on what they think is right and wrong which is a learned definition favorable to crime. In the interview Wild Will proved this theory by describing that when he is in need of money he thinks to himself, â€Å"How do I know how to get money quick and easy?† He at one point had to have learned that an immediate fix to a bump in the road, which is justified in his mind, is to perform a burglary. Larry Harris would agree when he says that it is just something you have to do to get by. Neither of these men views burglary as something wrong but as something you do in order to survive. B. When it comes to the techniques that people learn in committing crime several burglars said that it is something that you just get better at over time. Wild Will stated that when he goes to rob a house he likes to stake out the house and call it in order to see if someone is home. This may have been a technique he had picked up from  someone else that he went and did a burglary with. Several participants in the interview confessed that if they had a friend that had a burglary set up that they would be willing to do it with them if given the offer. This is an incident where you could say that a person may have the opportunity to learned new strategies and techniques that have worked for someone else in the past. Another technique that gets learned on the streets is the ability to maintain and develop status. One of the participants shared that it is mandatory to be perceived as â€Å"hip†. People on the streets learn through interactions with each other what it takes to be hip and be seen as someone with high status. 95% of the participants confessed that they spend the money that they steal on things that give them the image of â€Å"high-living†. During the interview several things were revealed as things to do in order to gain that high status. These burglars can learn these techniques such as doing drugs, having sexual partners, the right styles and brands, and a car and car accessories, as things to pursue in order to gain that respected status in the street culture. C. It is already made clear that these burglars live in poor neighborhoods and are living on the streets which give them more objective opportunity than someone that is in a nicer well off neighborhood. Due to their neighborhood, it exposes these burglars to people that are promoters to committing crime (Hagan, p.90). Most of these men have also admitted that they are â€Å"too lazy† to maintain a real job so sources of income are limited within the household. Because of this most of these participants say that they are acting on illegal action, like burglaries, in order to gain money for food and clothing for their family. As for subjective opportunities not everyone would look at something as an opportunity to commit a crime but Larry William says it best in his interview when he is describing what he does when he is in need for money, â€Å"There it is! There’s the house†. He automatically looks for a target and sees it as an opportunity to immediately fix his problem whereas another person wouldn’t think of that as an option. Another subjective opportunity that these burglars have is the fact that their social bonds are also partaking in these acts and so they have multiple opportunities in performing a burglary when they are present with more opportunities given by their friends.

Flow of Gold and Silver Dbq

Chantelle DuncanMr. Richman AP world 1/22/12 DBQ on Flow of silver in mid-16th to 18th century The increasing flow of silver during the mid-16th to early 18th century had a very large impact on the economic and social parts of many countries through effect on land, trade, and value of silver. The huge influx of silver brought many economic problems in both Spain and China. Antonio Vasquez de Espinosa, a Spanish priest appears indignant at the huge amount of silver being taken and stolen from the mines in the west indies some paying no 20 % tax and/or registry fee and shipping silver out to the Philippines and china. doc 6) As shown in document 2, a Spanish scholar, named Tomas de Mercado, tells of the problems that the sudden influx of silver is causing Spain. â€Å" The streets of Manila in the Spanish territory of the Philippines could be paved with granite cobblestones brought from China†¦ in Chinese ships coming to get silver for China† De Mercado is showing anger in the amount of Asian ships coming to receive silver, the large amount of which is undoing the Spanish economy.Wang Xijue, a Ming dynasty court official reports to the emperor (document 3) that Chinese economy is declining, with cheap grain despite poor harvest â€Å"due to the scarcity of the silver coin† The government . The large amount of silver coming in created problems socially as well. Xu Dunqiu Ming, a writer, tells in an essay that seems directed at the general public, of the unfairness of dye shops in the commercial city of Hangzhou. Dye shops must now be paid with sliver from a moneylender, instead of livestock or crops.Borrowing from a money lender instead of trading animals or food is plunging china’s poorer class of people even further into debt, as well as changing the economy type of the Chinese people. (doc 5) Socially, other problems occurred as well. Greed became serious, as shown in doc 1, where Ye Chunji, a county official, says â€Å"the frugal ma n with only one bar of silver currency can have something left over, whereas the extravagant man with a thousand can still not have enough† on the topic of limiting wedding expenses. Wang Xijue in Doc 3. ells of how due to the government requiring silver though dispensing little, farmers are receiving less returns and thus less land is being cultivated. British merchant Ralph Fitch tells of his trip to the West Indies, telling of how the Portuguese use Chinese goods bought in china to trade for obscene amounts of silver in japan, which they go back to china and use to bring home luxury goods to the west indies. (doc 4) In conclusion, the huge influx of silver posed both a social and economic problem in mid-16th to 18th century in Asia and parts of Europe.

Animal Rights vs. Human Health – Comparative Essay

Jackie Dansky English 1A – 69 David Banuelos March 10, 2011 Animal Rights vs. Human Health Developments of cures, vaccines and treatments for human illnesses have been done through animal testing. Over 25 million animals are tested each year in the United States (Stephanie Ernst, 2008): â€Å"It's impossible to know exactly how many animals are being used in research because U. S. laws do not require scientists to report how many mice, rats, or birds they use† (ASPCA). Animals are used to interpret what medicine effects will do to the human body; they will give the closest results. The real question when it comes to animal experimentation is not if it is wrong or right, but if it is for the better. Kristina Cook poses that animal testing has benefited medicine, while Natasha Bantwal presents that more harm is done than helped. Kristina Cook is an Oxford student in the department of chemistry, and wrote â€Å"Pro-Test: supporting animal testing,† arguments sustaining animal testing for medical uses. Natasha Bantwal is a basic writer and wrote â€Å"Arguments Against Animal Testing,† arguments opposing the usage of animals for experimentation. A very common argument is that animals are being ‘tortured’ when they are being tested on. Cook approaches the issue quickly stating that â€Å"animal rights activists often demonise scientists, pretending that they are sadists who enjoy torturing animals just for the sake of it. There are countless examples of the lengths to which scientists go to minimize the suffering of animals. But the simple point is that scientists are not sadists: they act in the way that they see fit. † (Cook, 2006) However, the arguments are beyond that. They share two common grounds: animal testing has helped scientifically and medically, and that animal testing has been erroneous. Although Cook and Bantwal agree that animal testing has been helpful, they have different approaches and viewpoints on how helpful it really has been. Cook declares that â€Å"vaccines, antibiotics, transplant surgeries, medical devices†¦ and other developments would not be here today if animal testing ad not been used. † (Cook, 2006) As a counterargument, Bantwal asserts â€Å"the most commonly help perception (or rather misconception) of animal testing is that it is necessary for the development of cures, vaccines, and other treatments for human illness. † (Bantwal) Animal rights activists are attempting to discontinue all animal testings. There have been alternatives reported, bu t none can match as much accuracy and precision as animals would. Bantwal uses cancer as an example of ridding animal testing: â€Å"with countless innocent animals, billions of dollars and more than 30 to 40 years being spent on the war against cancer, one would expect concrete results show up if animal experimentation was actually as effective as it is made out to be†¦ Many cancer funds and organizations have claimed that we are now losing the war against cancer because this animal-based cancer research is failing, and it just downright stinks. † (Bantwal) She implies that animals don’t need to be tested on if they can’t even help to find the cure of big illnesses. Cook, unlike Bantwal, looks at the glass half full. She considers all the drugs that have been animal tested in the past that have been successful, and looks forward to the more cures that will be discovered through this type of experimentation. All cures and vaccines are tested on animals, but are animals a reliable source when it comes to vaccines? Bantwal discusses about the undependable basis of animals’ effect on a particular drug compared to a human’s effect. For example, she pronounces that there has been no progress in the cure for AIDS because animals are incapable of getting the AIDS disease. Cook affirms that testing drugs in animal help researchers find the potential dangers and faults it will achieve, and to understand â€Å"the metabolism of drug compounds and consequent effects seen throughout the body. † (Cook, 2006) She states that the alternatives of animal testing, such as a computer generator, won’t be as sufficient. Bantwal states â€Å"[Pro-Animal Testing] believe that if animal experimentation is stopped, then it will be at the expense of life and the human health. (Bantwal) She tries to compensate that obliterating any and all animal testing will not have a big changed impact in the medical field. She then argues that â€Å"it is dangerous and fraudulent to apply data retrieved from one species to another entirely different species. † (Bantwal) Cook does admit that there have been errors in the field. Both Cook and Bantwal use the Thalidomide as an example of rebuttal. It came out in 1956 as a sedative for pregnant mothers to overcome m orning sickness. It was successful in animal testing, and spread around the world in a few years. Unfortunately, it caused birth defects in the womb. Bantwal quotes ‘safety testing’ and states, â€Å"tens of thousands of children who’s mothers had used this drug were born with severe deformities. † (Bantwal) Cook argues that if they had done more testings on animals, that the birth defect would have been detected. She understands that the scientists messed up because they forgot to test prenatal animals. She attacks the animal rights group with: â€Å"animal rights groups confuse an error resulting from an absence of testing with one resulting from conducting tests on animals. (Cook, 2006) Cook believes that they don’t understand what they are arguing. Their example of the Thalidomide is really suggesting to do more animal testing so then it will be more accurate and precise: â€Å"a few more animals, and countless human lives would have been saved. † (Cook, 2006) Overall, animals are continued being used as experiments for all humansâ₠¬â„¢ health. Whether for or against animal testing, everybody has to be appreciative and acknowledge the benefits scientists and animals have brought. It’s like a competition between animals and humans: which race should be protected more? Both Kristina Cook and Natasha Bantwal share their perspectives and only agree upon one thing: animal testing has helped scientists and the medical field. Now, which is more important to you: animal rights or human health? Work Cited: Bantwal, Natasha. â€Å"Arguments Against Animal Testing. † Buzzle Web Portal: Intelligent Life on the Web. Web. 06 Mar. 2011. ;http://www. buzzle. com/articles/argument-against-animal-testing. html;. Cook, Kristina. â€Å"Spiked-science | Article | Pro-Test: Supporting Animal Testing. † Spiked: Humanity Is Underrated. 23 Feb. 2006. Web. 06 Mar. 2011. ;http://www. spiked-online. om/articles/0000000CAF94. htm;. Ernst, Stephanie. â€Å"Animal Use and Abuse Statistics: The Shocking Numbers. † Change. org News. 5 Oct. 2008. Web. 05 Mar. 2011. ;http://news. change. org/stories/animal-use-and-abuse-statistics-the-shocking-numbers;. â€Å"11 Facts about Animal Testing | Do Something. † Volunteer | Do Something. ASPCA. Web. 05 Mar. 2 011. ;http://www. dosomething. org/tipsandtools/11-facts-about-animal-testing;. Long, Tony. â€Å"Oct. 1, 1957: Thalidomide Cures Morning Sickness, But †¦ † Wired. com. 01 Oct. 2008. Web. 06 Mar. 2011. ;http://www. wired. com/science/discoveries/news/2008/09/dayintech_1001;.

Systems and operations Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Systems and operations Management - Essay Example While a substantial part of the reporting and operational requirements of Atokowa is currently being addressed by the system, the strain of expansion would only exacerbate the situation. If the expansion initiative of Custom Print and the Online Ordering strategy is suspended the growth of Atokowa will be stunted and its spiral decline will commence because the current difficulties in the system will only feed on itself. The initiatives of George Hargreaves and Hayley Atokowa will diversify the revenue stream of Atokowa and at the same time expand the market while widening the client demography of Atokowa. However, implementing it at this time will only triple if not double the operational problems of Atokowa implementing it after the completion of an Enterprise Resource Planning Solution roll-out would be ideal if not the best. ... tokowa brands and Customer Survey 17 References/Bibliography 17 Introduction Atokawa Advantage was founded in 1964 by the father of Jonathan Atokowa from whom he took over the reign of the company. Under the leadership of Jonathan, Atokowa has expanded to several stores all around Australia catering mostly to individual and business customers in and around the locality where Atokowa stores is at. This paper would present the analysis of the operation of Atokowa to determine challenge areas, improvement areas and growth areas. The purpose of the analysis is to recommend solutions that will enable Atokowa to resolve its current issues if there are any and respond to the demands of the ever changing market landscape in the stationary and office supply retail industry. This report shall first present the result of the analysis conducted on the operation of Atokowa that will define in detail the analysis of focus areas. After the analysis of the focus areas an assessment of the focus area shall be concluded for purposes of recommending possible solutions to the challenges posed in the focus area. Due to constraints this paper shall only present the observations in the analysis and not the process in which the analysis was conducted and the observation was arrived at. In summary the analysis in the operation of the focus areas shall be provided in seriatim as it was presented in the report. The conclusion or assessment shall follow afterwards then the recommendations that should be undertaken by the management of Atokowa to resolve its current challenges. Please note that this paper shall only focus on the technological solutions to resolve the operational and management challenges of Atokowa. Analysis of Current Systems and Operations The following focus areas were

Research assignment Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Assignment - Research Paper Example Apart from being some of the most favorable career choices in New York and the US at large, these career options suit skills that I have accrued over time, and also require the personal traits and character strengths that I possess which include spirituality, love, gratitude, kindness, and humor. From this research, I aim at collecting sufficient information both from secondary sources and interviews that would guide me in making a wise and directed career choice. The structure of the research paper will involve three segments: a total of eight Q&A on each of the two occupations, with two questions extracted from each of the four parts of information in the Career Database, and a conclusion. Occupation One: Registered nurse Q.1: What kind of work is done in this field (types of tasks, responsibilities, assignments, projects, etc.)? A: The work of a registered nurse entails a lot of tasks and responsibilities that draw their descriptions from the many environments that registered nurs es work: nursing care facilities, hospitals, correctional facilities, schools, military, doctor’s offices, and different types of camps. ... The work of registered nurses is not only limited to these, but Kate, a registered nurse in an Albany hospital, emphasizes on a lot of sacrifice of nurses in being able to step out of their working description and do many other tasks whenever it is needed, especially in a critical situation involving life. Q.2: How flexible are the hours? Does the work involve long hours, shift work, overtime, or working on weekends? A.: Most working environments for registered nurses have duty rosters that allocate each employee fair working hours. These rosters are usually supplied beforehand, ensuring each registered nurse has flexibility in planning other personal activities. The average working hours for nurses is approximately 10 hours. The work involves shifts that provide alternations by various workers. However, in cases of emergencies like catastrophes, there is an expectation and obligation of nurses to sacrifice and work overtime, even with an exception of compensation, for the sake of hu manity. Q.3: What education is required for someone who is entering this field (associate’s, bachelors, master’s, or other advanced degrees)? A: At entry level, an Associate’s degree is the requirement for someone with an interest in pursuing a career as a registered nurse. However, a Bachelor’s degree would be a better bet as research has shown that most people in this career have attained this level of education (Labor Statistics). Q.4: What kinds of people tend to do well in this field? What skills and qualities are important (e.g., attention to detail, ability to work under pressure, or ability to negotiate)? A. Being a registered nurse requires a number of skillsets and qualities that only a few have in a combinative form. These include patience, altruism,

Ethics, Professionalism and Contemporary Issues Essay

Ethics, Professionalism and Contemporary Issues - Essay Example Throughout the design steps, there were minor considerations of the possible risks this game poses to the players, as far as human trafficking is concerned. However, a concerned player of my online game, who is concerned with the human trafficking issue, raised his genuine concerns about my game predisposing the young players to human trafficking, after being lured into the real world meetings. The concerns of this player should not be neglected, but considered seriously. This is because, with the sophistication of technology, human trafficking has taken advantage and flourished. As it is globally known, human trafficking is the illegal trade of people with the objective of selling them to forced labor, sexual slavery or tissue or organ extraction. Human trafficking is done through coercion, use of force, abduction, purchases or deception (Latonero 8). It has grown to be a lucrative business for some people despite being illegal and inhumane. This implies that users of the internet a nd other technologies ought to be cautious. How Technology has aided it Human trafficking is rampant especially through technology. Many people fall prey of this inhumane practice through coercion and deception, to submit their details and address lines over the internet. Thereafter, the traffickers lay a trap for the innocent internet users, abduct them, and trade them off (Latonero 10). The trends in education have necessitated the adoption of technology in research and communication. Financial constraints amongst many people have also motivated them to embrace technology for solutions. Therefore, as researchers and students seek for research and academic solutions, they also seek for business opportunities. With this trend in the use of technology, human traffickers have managed to lay traps through online adverts and fake employment opportunities, which have trapped many people, including children and adolescents. Most of the victims are traded for sexual slavery, where they are sold off as prostitutes. This explains why most victims have been women, both adults and adolescents. In this modern hi-tech society, technology has been the leading influencer and avenue for human trafficking (Latonero 11). How Technology hindered it However, contrary to the successful efforts by human traffickers, to build their business empires in this illegal trade, technology has also been instrumental in fighting this business. Since human trafficking became a global problem, security agencies have also come up strongly, to track and apprehend human traffickers. Most traffickers do their business online. Therefore, the security agencies have also setup traps online, to catch up with them. This has been aided by the internet protocol (IP) addresses, which allows the location of anyone using the internet globally. Technology has also allowed the tracing of the users of communication gadgets like mobile phones globally. Security agents can also intercept phone conversations of s uspected traffickers. Of course, the traffickers have learned ways of escaping apprehension by using aliases and hiding the protocols. This has been the greatest setback in the efforts, to fight human trafficking through technology. However, still technology has made it easy for the security agents, to fight this illegal business. With improved technology, videos and photos can be taken via the satellite, which aid tracking of these criminals. Possible set of actions and analysis Following the threat from

Emerging market Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Emerging market - Assignment Example There was a rising tendency in the consumption of strong alcoholic beverages until the end of 1980s; in mid 1990s this trend was reversed. Since then the demand for vodka has been decreasing, whereas the demand for beer and wine has been growing1 (Tabel 1). "Alcohol is often characterized as unconditionally negative in the context of poverty." ("Poverty and Alcohol" - an article by Yoon Hui Kim, 2004). Yet, the same author agrees that arguments have been made for both the benefits and disadvantages of alcohol production and consumption - as an industry, alcohol production has been argued to spur economic growth and alleviate poverty, while as a commodity it has been criticized for exacerbating the conditions of impoverishment. Consequently, for poor people alcohol can have both positive and negative repercussions on economic, political, social, and health factors. Alcohol consumption can act as a financial drain for indigent households by diverting limited funds from expenditures on food, healthcare, and education. White spirits and in particular, vodka, have been on the increase since 1999. Much of the growth has been inspired by younger adults, who are either supplementing or bypassing altogether, beer and wine, in preference3. The alcohol industry is an innovative industry able to use a wide variety of marketing tools to achieve success in the market-place. The various aspects of product marketing include advertising, labeling, consumer promotion, packaging and merchandising, being an integral part of promoting different brands of consumer goods. Alcohol consumption in Poland is comparable to that in other European countries4. Buying of alcohol (frequency & amount) depends on demographic, socio-economic and psychological factors. Statistical data reveal that alcohol consumption is wide spread in Poland. In the period of the last dozen years changes in the quantity and structure of consumption were observed. The most frequently consumed alcohol is currently beer, particularly among young people. In may 2003, a research investigating "The conditions of alcohol consumption among Polish adults" published in Electronic Journal of Polish Agricultural Universities shows that older people seem to prefer wine and v odka. Apart from age, sex also influences preferences: "women more frequently than men drink all kinds of wine and flavoured vodka, "whereas beer, pure vodka and mead are drunk more often by men" (the

Cost Allocation in Small Businesses Research Paper

Cost Allocation in Small Businesses - Research Paper Example As the essay stresses one of the main benefits that companies get through proper cost allocation is awareness of expenses. Accurate assignment of costs to business processes makes it possible for the managers to know exactly the types of expenses incurred in any particular business operation. Here, it needs to be mentioned that such information is not just critical for the development of operating budgets; rather it is also imperative in the calculation of taxes payable to state, local, and federal tax agencies. The way a company assigns costs to different business units have a profound impact on the amount of taxes that the company pays. From the report it is clear that small businesses can also use cost allocation as a tool to know which items associated with any particular department had the most or least impact on the cost generation by that department. For example, if the accounting, marketing, and customer services departments make use of the same printer for producing prints, the company can easily spread the cost out of that printer on all associated departments according to their respective usage of the system. Such an accuracy of cost information results in improving the decision-making mechanisms of a company, as well as helps in enhancing the overall quality of business processes. Cost allocation also results in enhancing the resource usage. Companies allocating costs to different business departments know that the benefits that they will get will definitely supersede the associated costs. To be specific, when a company has to decide whether it should use the resources of any particular business department , it first takes into account the variable and fixed costs of the department. Though cost allocation, a company is able to know the extent the resources can be used without affecting the associated costs. Determines Expenses Accurately Using cost allocation, a company can determine the costs associated with hiring, retaining, and shifting of employees from one department to

Planning and time scale Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Planning and time scale - Essay Example managing the main risks as well as measuring the VOICE project performance and finally providing appropriate project management period on how the implementation and service support for providing VOICE services to VOs. Time is everything for this particular project. In that regard, here below is a presentation of how the project management is to be done which includes the timescales (Kerzner, 2013: 97). It is important to note here that though the project is supposed to be group work, each member of the group is mandated to play a specific role and hence the planning here below refers to each member and hence the group. The group leader calls for a meeting to do evaluations of the impact of the approach chosen on how compatible is the software to ISO 25000 SQuaRE Standards. This is done by every member where software product quality is thoroughly analyzed by each member and findings presented by each member in the group. The group then checks on all the findings presented by each member Each member is allocated one service process that is affected by the VOICE project whereby he is required to outline every key activity that is required to execute that very service process within the organization. Cost benefit analysis begins and this is collaboratively done by each member of the group. This involves analysis of whether the change of the software is adding value to the company. For thoroughness, each member is given a specific area which he analyses thoroughly then gives then gives the findings to the group who then does fine analysis. The group leader leads the group into identifying and assessing all emerging issues which include all legal matters and any technical risks involved in the change. The group lays down mitigation ways. Once the issues have been identified, the work is shared among each

Business Studies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Business Studies - Essay Example The customers interested in jeans do view Levi Strauss as a brand that could be trusted. Thus, the positive customer perception is further bolstered by the hold that the company has over the varied aspects of the apparel business that is purchase, production, marketing and sales. Besides, the company has also made salubrious inroads into the new product lines through diversification, which portends a positive future. The company does has the financial resources at its disposal to be invested into new product lines and entering new markets. However, it does need to be mentioned that the strengths acquired by the company came with a heavy price. The company did come out with some product lines like the permanent press slacks, the denim bathing suit and the disposable sheets and towels, which did not gel with the already existing product lines and lead to considerable losses. So the company needs to avoid entering into such flop product lines (Adcock 2000, p. 90). This may jeopardize th e strong brand image of Levi Strauss and dilute customer perceptions (Reddy 1994, p. 129). ... In that sense, Levi Strauss has a viable opportunity at its disposal to garner the ascending interest of these customers by expanding into such product lines. The biggest threat that the company faces is relying predominantly on the established product lines, which may fade away soon (Gilley 2005). Besides, a less than proactive attitude may give advantage to the other established competitors. Also, expanding into product lines that do not deliver the expected customer satisfaction may dilute the brand appeal of the company. Hence, the best possible way out for the company is to expand into product lines that cater to the proceeding tastes and requirements of the already loyal customer base, while desisting from venturing into lines that rub away the exiting brand reputation, while extending unwanted advantage to the established competitors. Reference List Adcock, Dennis 2000, Marketing Strategies for Competitive Advantage, Wiley, New York. Gilligan, Colin & Wilson, Richard MS 2003, Strategic Marketing Planning, Butterworth Heinemann, Boston. Gilley, Ann 2005, The Manager as Change Leader, Praeger, Westport, CT. Golembiewski, Robert T 2000, Handbook of Organizational Consultation, Marcel Dekker, New York. Reddy, Allan C 1994, Total Quality Marketing, Quorum Books, Westport, CT. Part II. McDonald’s and the Health Conscious Consumer It goes without saying that McDonald’s has been a leading fast food brand not only in the US, but in a more current context, the world over. However, with the consumers getting more health conscious and the commensurate health trends like the rising number of obese people within the population, many of the McDonald’s existing product lines that also happened to be high calorie products are

Quantum Phenomena Essay Example for Free

Quantum Phenomena Essay Quantum theory (including subfields such as quantum mechanics and quantum electro and thermo dynamics) is at least to say, is a relatively new field of physics, having been born just over a century ago. It can be described as one of the most powerful theory ever to be proposed in the history of physics, even today our knowledge on this subject is regularly updated with new ideas and as we progress further into this subject we begin to discover basically, the many secrets of our universe. In the early 1900s, mankind had basically been able to answer nearly all of the questions concerning physics with the knowledge gained from giants such as Newton. However 10% were unanswerable, they simply could not figure out what was going on and why certain things did not obey rules set down by classical physics. In order to overcome this problem, scientists had to propose some new radical ideas regarding the relationship between matter and energy. Surprisingly a selection of these many dreamt up ideas worked and so quantum theory was born. As said by one of the forefathers of this theory, Erwin Schri dinger (famous for his thought experiment), I do not like it, and I am sorry I ever had anything to do with it. One from the Great Dane, Niels Bohr, Anyone who is not shocked by quantum theory has not understood it. And lastly one from the Richard Feynman, I think it is safe to say that no one can understand quantum mechanics. Generally quantum phenomena can only be observed in atomic and sub-atomic scale, it is rare to see such observations on a large scale. Of the various interpretations of quantum theory that have been proposed, most physicists accept the Copenhagen Interpretation, however this does not mean it does not have any faults or lead to any paradoxes. This brings us onto Schri dingers cat, a thought experiment which criticises the Copenhagen Interpretation of quantum mechanics, stating that the interpretation would just collapse when applied to objects on a large scale, in his case, a feline mammal. If atoms can exist in a state of superposition then is it reasonable to say that larger bulkier objects can since it is also made from atoms? He points of that such as theory would state that a cat can be dead and alive at the same time, which seems impossible. Now we introduce the observer effect, which makes this problem a little bit disturbing, many have talked about the act of measurement as the moment that causes the collapse of superposition, leading to an outcome. Furthermore some scientists even believe that human consciousness is necessary to trigger the collapse, resulting in questions about the roles of consciousness in our universe. For example, if we turn our back on an object, does that object even exist anymore; was it just a part of our imagination, a virtual reality? However, we are not here to discuss about such philosophical subjects, as I mentioned before, there are some special cases where certain objects can be seen with ones naked eyes obeying the rules governed by quantum theory. Once such example is the rather strange state of matter, BEC or Bose-Einstein Condensates, named after the two people who predicted the existence of such matter. It is regarded as an example of a superfluid, we will talk more about those later. The basic formation of a superfluid involves cooling down a sample such as helium gas (helium IV) just above -217oC or 2. 17K to form helium II. Note that the temperature required for such a formation is just above absolute zero, 0K or 217. 15oC. Absolute zero is the theoretical temperature in which particles have a minimum energy. However at these conditions we can observe odd and strange phenomena that are governed by the rules of quantum mechanics. To cut a rather long story short, when helium IV is cooled down to such a low temperature, every single atom will occupy the lowest energy level resulting in a very strange state of matter due to the fact that every single atom will be identical. The Indian theoretical physicists Satyendra Nath Bose in the 1920s, whilst studying the new idea of light being made from discrete packets (now we know as quanta or photons), proposed some rules which decided whether two photon should be treated as the same particle or differently. This is now known as Bose-Einstein Statistics. Einstein had several roles to play in the events leading up to the proposition of the existence of BEC. Firstly he used his influence to allow Boses papers to be published in certain journals. Secondly but also most importantly, he used Boses rule in the context of atoms, seeing that photons and atoms are relatively the same thing. When these rules were applied to atoms in gases, for most temperatures, the behaviour according to him was pretty much the same as Boses prediction. However when it was applied in near absolute temperatures, near 0K, strange phenomena were predicted to happen. So puzzled was Einstein that he himself was unsure if his predictions and calculations were correct. Both scientists were unable to live long enough to observe the production of BEC, although superfluids were able to be made, it was not until 1995 when the worlds first condensate was made. Made by Eric Cornell and Carl Weiman, both of whom with Wolfgang Kettle, won the 2001 Nobel Prize in Physics for their works on condensates. In order to achieve this feat, they had to cool a gas of rubidium atoms to 170 nanokelvin, equivalent to -273. 14999983oC. Also it should be noted that BEC can only be called a true BEC when bosons, particles that carry a force, are supercooled, otherwise when other particles are used, the BEC can also be called a super atom (due to the fact that all the atoms are identical thus losing their individuality, all forming a single blob). As I have mentioned earlier, BEC can be considered as a superfluid. One very special example of a superfluid is helium II. The boiling point of helium gas was found out to be 4K, therefore when cooled, helium I (normal liquid helium) can be seen boiling and bubbling away. However as the temperaure moves towards absolute zero, 0K, we notice a change in properties. As it nearly approaches 2K, all movement stops, and the helium becomes very still. At approximately 2. 17K, helium I becomes helium II, a superfluid. This point is known as the lambda point due to the shape of the above graph, which looks similar to the greek letter lambda (? ). Here the helium I show some remarkable properties, such as at this point, the viscosity or treacliness of helium duudenly drops by a factor of a million, soon becoming zero. It also has zero entrophy, the measure of randomness of molecules in a system, and infinite thermoconductivity. It can perform two strange feats which can actually be seen with the naked eyes. One is when a beaker is lowered onto a container of helium II and then partially withdrawn, a thin film of helium II (a single atom thick) will form over the entire surface of the beaker. Then depending on the level of helium inside and outside the beaker, it will try and flow into the beaker until both levels are equal. A similar behaviour can be observed when a beaker of heium II is withdrawn completely from a bath of the same substance, it will creep up the sides of a container and try to debeaker itself via flowing over the top of the beaker and down the sides until it combines to form a drop of liquid at the bottom of the beaker, dripping back into the bath. Apparently in both cases, it is an example of the heliums futile attempt to reduce its own energy level, which is theoritically already at its lowest. The other feat I wish to mention is known as the fountain effect or the thermomechanical effect. If a capillary tube is placed in a bath of helium II and then heated, it will cause the liquid to flow up the tube, thus forming a fountain. It actually takes only a small amount of thermal energy to cause this effect, even radiation from visible light is enough to heat it up. One interesting application of superfluid was to trap and slow down the speed of light. In one experiment, performed by Lene Hau of Harvard, the speed of light was managed to be reduced to only 17 metres per second and momentarily stopped via the use of superfluids. Another phenomenon which occurs near absolute zero temperature is the existence of superconductors. This only happens with certain materials, characterized by zero electrical resistance and the expulsion of a magnetic field. Superconductivity can occur in a variety of materials such as simple elements (e. g. tin and aluminium), metallic alloys and some semiconductors. However it cannot occur in noble metals and most ferromagnetic materials. There are two types of superconductor, Type I (conventional superconductors), materials that only exhibits superconductivity at near absolute zero conditions. Secondly in 1986, there was the discovery of high temperature superconductors (Type II). This allows certain materials to undergo superconductivity at a higher temperature than conventional type I, around 77K, the boiling point of liquid nitrogen. The picture below shows a magnet levitating above a Type II superconductor; this is due to the fact that the superconductor can exclude the magnetic field of the magnet, resulting in the formation of an electromagnet that repels the magnet. The basic principles of superconductors can be explained by the visualization of electrical current as a sea of electrons, basically a fluid, which moves across an ionic lattice. Electrical resistance is caused by collisions between the ions and the electrons in the fluid. However, in superconductors, instead of a fluid scattered with individual electrons, it is filled with bound pairs of electrons, known as Cooper pairs. Quantum theory dictates that this fluid becomes a superfluid, resulting in a change in property, such as it cannot exhibit electrical resistance. The characteristics of superconductivity only appears when the termperature of the material is cooled below its critical temperature (Tc), generally Type I temperatures range from 20K to 1K. The graph below shows the relationship between temperature and resistivity of a material, we can see it must be a Type II superconductor due to its relatively high critical temperature.

The Music Industry Essay Example for Free

The Music Industry Essay In this essay I will be discussing the four main areas of the music industry; I hope to gain knowledge about them and how they connect to one another so I can better myself overall as a musician. Record Labels: Record Labels are brands that are responsible for marketing the music recordings and music videos of bands/artists; there are two types of record labels, major and independent. There are only 3 major record labels left which are Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group and Sony Music Group, a record label is classed major when it has more than 5% market share. Major Record Labels There are many pros to signing to a major record label and the most obvious and perhaps most important one is that these big companies have a lot of money, this means they will be spending more money promoting your record, which means a higher chance of sales and popularity. Having more cash available also means they will invest a lot in touring, recording and music videos which will all benefit your career in a band or as a solo artist. Although the pros of signing a major record deal sounds incredibly rewarding, there is a few downsides which may cause a band/artist to be put off. Firstly, signing to a major record company won’t always last as long as the artist wants it to; if your major label is paying a lot of money to promote you they will not keep you signed if you are not selling records to return the output of money back into their pockets. A lot of the time they will sign a lot of acts just to see what ones are popular and will make money, resulting in the unpopular acts being dropped. Furthermore, things like artist unfriendly deals which leave the artist earning a lot less money than the label and not having full creative control of material are all disadvantages which could leave an artist or band seeking a better deal from in an independent label. 1 Independent Record Labels An independent record label is a label not associated with the big three major labels, a lot of artists start their career on independent labels. One pro of an independent label is that they love your music; this means they will be working harder with you, this also means you will have close working  relationships with the label due to smaller staff and a smaller roster which means you can contact your label easier and ask them questions. Also independent labels have artist friendly deals, you will have more creative control and independent labels are unlikely to contract you to multi album deals. Independent labels also have a few cons and the main one being money, which was the main pro of a major label. With less money available this will mean you won’t have large recording budgets, huge promotion deals and things like tour support, you will have to support yourself financially which is why a lot of artists would prefer a major record deal. Along with a shortage of money, other cons of indie labels include size which means less purchasing power and also disorganisation. 2 Overall I believe the best type of record label depends on preference, if an artist is seeking fame and fortune a major label deal would be best for them as more money would be available to them and they would be promoted and better known. If an artist felt strongly about the music they wrote and wanted to have full creative control an independent label would be best for them. How do I get signed? If you want to get signed to a record label you can start by sending in your demo to the AR department and then things can advance from there if they like what they hear. Record labels have separate department that help find and sign artists which is AR, they help find artists by listening to demos, going to gigs and watching recordings of bands to find talent, they would contact the artist and tell them how they would develop them as an artist. Furthermore, they find the right songs for the artist, make sure they work with the right producer and find the right studio; AR are also the department that handles contract negotiations. As an AR person you must understand what music is current and what can become popular, this is an important job and you must have a good ear as this person bridges the gap between record labels and artists and can be the person responsible for signing the next big thing. If you want to get signed to a record label you can start by sending in your demo to th e AR department and then things can advance from there if they like what they hear. i What can record labels offer you? Recording studios are also another thing that comes with a signing a record  deal, perks of a recording studio includes top of the range equipment and rooms with excellent acoustics to give your band a better sound when recording, you will also have a well-trained sound engineer to mix and produce your song, however these can be expensive and leave you with less money for things like touring. I believe recording your music in a studio will also give it a better sound which means it will also be more likely to sell. Record labels will also help you distribute your material, Retail is selling your music by physical sales or through the internet, you can sell songs and albums for digital download over the internet on multiple platforms such as iTunes or amazon, once a song is bought a percentage goes to the retailer and the rest to the artist and label. Selling your music on CD is distributed slightly different, labels will discuss with the retailer how many copies they want to order and once an amount has been agreed the cd’s will be shipped then sold. Overall I believe selling your music for digital purchase is better as internet sales are becoming very popular as people can download songs straight to their phones, also you make less of a loss if your songs don’t sell on iTunes or amazon etc. as you haven’t had to pay for CD printing.ii Music Publishing: A music publisher or music publishing company is in charge of making sure songwriters and composers receive their royalty payments when their compositions are used commercially.3 They will also help distribute and promote music that is created, license songs to record companies and copyright songs and compositions, their job is to promote and protect songs and compositions. Finding songwriters and composers in a music publishing company is also handled by AR, songwriters and composers can be found on YouTube, Twitter, Facebook and other social media sites; furthermore there are traditional methods like going to gigs to find songwriters and composers. 4 Promotion One of the most important jobs to a music publisher is promoting songs, this means getting the songs to be used in ways that earn money. They can talk to music supervisors to get songs played in films, TV shows and advertisements which can bring in a lot of money due to synchronisation rights and royalties. 5 Publishers will have a network of contacts that they can  promote to and then negotiate a license with. They can also make deals with musicians that want to use songs their clients have written/composes. It is very important that a music publisher or music publishing company promotes well because getting your music heard and recognised can be the forefront to your success. Copyright management Copyright means protecting material and allowing composers to be paid for their work, if something is copyrighted it means the creators of the material are in charge of it and can decide who uses their work and what circumstances it is used in. In a song the musical work and lyrics are both protected, to copyright something it has to be original and not copied; it must be recorded on paper or on CD. It is important a music publisher copyrights their songwriters/composers material otherwise it can be copied by other people and they will not be able to prosecute in court without copyright. 6 Performing rights Performing rights are the right to perform songs in a public place; it is part of copyright law and means the composer/songwriter and publisher will be paid, the royalties would be split 50/50. Performance rights mean a group who are not copyright holders are performing a piece of music publicly, performances are considered public if they are in a public place such as a nightclub, restaurant or at a concert. This is another reason why it is important for a music publishing company to copyright their client’s music, so they can claim royalties and money can be made from their material. Live performance: Live performance includes things like gigs and festivals, I will be discussing some of the roles that make a live performance and how they work. Promoting a Live Performance The main thing that completes a live performance is people, without people turning up to your live performance you will fail to create an atmosphere and most importantly not make any money back from the high costs of renting a venue hiring staff etc. So to get people to come along to your event/performance you need to promote. Promoting techniques you can use  include printing off posters and posting them everywhere you can, ask small shops if you can put them in the windows or even stick them to lampposts. However you need a good eye catching poster otherwise it will go unnoticed. Other ways to promote include promoting your event on social networking like Facebook and Twitter, you can create an event and invite as many people as you like; people are likely to see this as a lot of people have their phones on them all the time and will receive a notification when invited7. Online and physical ways of promoting can both be effective when done right, but if you want a large amount of people to notice your event and consider coming you need to do both online and physical promotion. Setting up a live performance To set up for a live performance you need to start by gathering some equipment. It is advisable you go and take a look at the venue a few weeks before the show day so you can see what equipment needs to be brought along, things to look out for include seeing if the venue has a PA, if not you may want to hire or invest in one; if you are hosting the event at your own venue it is worth buying your own PA to save money in the long term. Other things include staging space, make sure there is ample floor space for the performers to stand and you may want to bring a stage/drum riser if there aren’t any there already. Lighting can also be important in bringing atmosphere to a performance. Finally, you will at least a handful of staff on the night such as security, stagehands and a sound engineer. 8When hosting an event you may want to choose for more expensive equipment whilst saving money on staff, good equipment will improve sound and experience meaning people will want to come aga in; but you can get away with hiring people for not much at all as people are happy to get into a free show and help. Health and safety Health and safety precautions at a live performance are incredibly important, start by making sure there is a person in charge of first aid as this is also the law; people are likely to get hurt in a crowd of people by tripping up or bumping into people. Secondly, when sorting and setting up electrical equipment you need to make sure wires are not across the stage in the air as this could cause a trip hazard for performers and also make sure there are no trip hazards in the crowd standing space also. Another precaution to take is making sure staging is secured properly; if heavy staging equipment is not put together correctly accidents could happen causing big injuries which could mean you not being able to host events again. A final thing to take into consideration is noise level, when hosting a live event you are granted a license with rules of decibel level and if you exceed this level you would not be granted another license so another live performance would not be possible. I believe taking all of these health and safety precautions is fundamental to looking after everyone at a venue and will mean things can run smoothly without any inconvenience. 9 Tour and event management An event manger means you will be in charge of a number of jobs, firstly you’ll need to find your venue that is suitable to your event; and then you need to book your acts. After you have sorted this you need to check health and safety is okay and then make sure the night runs smoothly. An event manager is an important role in making sure a live performance goes to plan, the audience may not notice the hard work of an event manager but if it wasn’t for them there would be no show. A tour manager is slightly different; they are in charge of booking venues as well as hotels and what crews are in charge of health and safety, security etc. I believe that tour and event management plays a huge part to live performance and makes things tick, without tour and event managers everything would be unorganised and would not go smoothly. Front of house and Backstage Starting with front of house, this includes a wide range of jobs such as door staff; these can be security or people that accept tickets. People at food stalls or bars are also included, these people are important as they can keep the audience refreshed with drinks and food. Front of house staff can be important as they are what the audience see so they need to be calm and relaxed so things run according to plan and not to distress anyone at the venue. Backstage staff covers a few more roles, they include the sound engineer who controls the levels and quality of the band’s sound to put on a good sounding performance for the crowd, secondly there are instrument technicians for drums, bass, guitar so if any instruments fail in any way they are there to fix it or provide a new instrument e.g. backup  guitar/bass. Other roles include a lighting technician to give the performance visual effect and also a pyro-technician who is in charge of any fireworks or fire during the performance. Backstage managers will make sure acts are ready to go on stage at the correct time; roadies are in charge of moving and packing equipment away for the end of the set or for the next act. Backstage staffs are just as important as the acts themselves, this job needs to be done effectively and communication is key otherwise things could fall apart very quickly. Performance rights When hosting a live performance you need to make sure you are licensed to play music, you must have the correct copyright licenses, having these is a legal requirement. PRS collects royalties for songwriters, publishers and composers and PPL collects royalties for performers and musicians. You also need public liability insurance, and if any DJ’s are performing they will need a ProDub licence; this is needed for when a DJ is transferring music from a vinyl, CD etc. to a digital format. If they do not have this license you may face fines or legal prosecution. Artist management Business and Tour managers Business managers are in charge of all the money to do with the artist, they are usually accountants that have experience with musicians, day to day managers can also take care of finances but they usually have a lot more things to do so it is helpful to have a business manager for this. A tour manager takes care of booking venues, hotels, flights and things like selecting a tour bus etc. Tour managers are important because they get the artist/band from one place to another and make sure things run smoothly, a good tour manager needs to be organised so the band makes it on time to gigs, interviews and recordings. Having managers can be very helpful to an artist; however they will need to be paid so it’s important to decide what mangers you definitely need. 10 Artist and managers rights In the music industry artist and managers rights must be abided by, otherwise you could be brought to court; artist rights include being paid their royalties due to copyright, these are usually songs played on the radio/television etc. Manager’s rights are slightly different they include  being paid fairly and that all contract terms are kept to, if they aren’t it means the manager can terminate the contract at any time. I believe it is very important managers and artists rights are abided by because you may end up in court if contract terms are breached. Sponsorship Sponsorship does not always mean getting free stuff from the company that is sponsoring you, it means when two businesses come together to benefit from the association of one another. Sponsorship deals can be gained by the artist’s manager, it can mean money is offered to an artist and in the return the artist will wear, promote the brand. This is a very good way for an artist to earn income; it also makes artists/bands noticed. Endorsement is slightly different as it means artists can use the companies gear, this is good as it opens the company to a lot of fans and allows the artist to use top of the range equipment. I think sponsorship deals are good as they benefit both parties and can allow a lot of income to the artist and company. Merchandise Merchandise can include clothing, CDs and stickers. The merchandise should include a creative logo that goes with the name of the band, stickers are useful as they can be stuck anywhere and promote your band. Merchandise can be sold after shows and also online which is useful if people cannot get to them at a show, selling merchandise is a great way to make money as people will pay high prices to own a t shirt with their favourite bands name and logo on it. It’s also a good promotion technique, if people are walking the streets with your band name on their t shirt soon your bands name will become familiar to people and they will tempted to listen to your music. However, you need to make sure your designs are effective and not offensive because bad merchandise may put people off of your music. Merchandising is a very popular and important way of earning money and getting your band noticed, I believe it is a very good way to help an artist/band’s success. In this essay I have talked about and explained the four areas of the music industry, I have gained knowledge which will benefit my career as a musician, with this knowledge I now have an understanding about various careers in the music industry also.

UK Social Work Theories

UK Social Work Theories The essay is an analysis of theories underpinning and key elements of critical social work and its values. Furthermore I will explore Counselling as one of the areas of social work practice and how it is influenced by the critical social work approach in practice. I will include examples from practice experience and literature and also highlight the influence of inequalities, power and social divisions. The views of service users and their contribution towards the practice will also be taken into account in the essay. Social work in the UK dates back to the 19th as a community and charitable activity to support the disadvantaged and poor. From the charitable and community origins it developed in strength to a field that aims at challenging inequality, oppression; promote social inclusion/ social justice and independence Parrot (2002). Through these values and aims Social Work broadened its knowledge base and developed into Critical social work. Wooster (2002) supports the above origins when he mentions that Social work owes its origins to Christian morality than a commitment to social problems affecting individuals. Following the economic crisis in the UK in the 1970s due to escalating oil prices social issues like poor housing, unemployment, poverty and homelessness social work shifted and broadened its focus and tried to address social issues and problems. (Grimwood et al., (1995). Adams et al (2009) mentions that in attempting to address social problems, disadvantage and inequalities social work practitioners have drawn knowledge and ideas from various disciplines such as sociology, psychology, philosophy and politics. From this multi-disciplinary knowledge base the underpinning ideology was anti oppressive principle which provides theoretical tools to understand, intervene and respond to the complex experience of oppression. This means social work practitioners have a moral, ethical and legal responsibility to challenge inequalities and disadvantage. Critical practice can be traced and associated with radical social work in the 1960s-70s deriving ideas from Marxist theory Fook (1993). Radical social work upheld the following themes: structural analysis of personal problems, ongoing social critique mainly focusing on oppressive ideas/practice and goals of self emancipation and social change. Parallel to these traditions empowering and anti-oppressive practice to participation in research and community work. Several key principles were shared from radical critiques to present critical social work which are: challenging dominant forces and oppression in all forms, a critique of positivist ideas and the need to challenge dominant constructed ways of knowing by developing other ways of knowing. This would be achieved through recognising that knowledge may reflect reality but may also be socially constructed. In order to create more/new knowledge self reflection and interaction are essential tools using communication processes. Marx analysed the capital society he lived in Germany and argued that the structures within society derived from the economy and the changes in the industrial revolution influenced some people to be more powerful and others not. Individuals were restrained by the demands of Capitalism resulting in structure/agency problem at the expense of structure. Marx highlighted issues of class and class struggle where there is a struggle between powerful and powerless resulting in different societal classes. As such a situation prevails that those in power will seek to remain in power at whatever cost and means mostly exploitation of the powerless by depriving them of their opportunities and access to facilities. Rush (2004) further mentions that Marxist critical theory is not descriptive but a means of influencing social change by raising awareness of forces within society that brings inequality and highlighting how awareness can help individuals to overcome such forces and liberate themselves . Critical thinking is also linked to Marx and Socilogists from the Frankfurt School of Sociologists (Horkeimer (1979), Adorno (Adorno and Horkeimer, (1979) and Marcuse (1964) from the 1920s/30s and Habermas (1984, 1987) writing in the late twentieth century. These theorists held that social interpretation was based on assumptions of a fixed social order mainly derived from religion, politics and social beliefs. When this social order started being rejected and challenged. Sociologists argued that knowledge of the envinonment makes individuals more effective (Gerth and Mills (1948) and Durkeim (1972) established that if we understand how social relationships work we would be able to achieve our objectives in society. This is how critical thinking in modernist way is about and it was termed modernism but has expanded and embraced other theories concerned with transformation and social change. Gray and Webb (2008) argue that critical theory is shifting from the Frankfurt school but at th e same time it has not defined its critical base. (Allan et al 2003; Fook 2002; Healey 2000) acknowledge that there is tension in defining critical theory as it comprises different theories, some argue that it is an umbrella term that encompasses a range of theories and approaches including Marxist, radical, feminist, anti-racist, anti-oppressive, anti-discriminatory, post colonial , critical constructivist and structural perspectives. This suggests that there are many theories although different they all try to understand the relationship between an individual and society. For the purpose of clarity and continuity I will at this stage define critical social work practice and highlight its values. Adams et al (2009) view critical practice as involving exercising ones judgement in a reflective and diverse manner. It involves exploring different options in a situation or actions in judging the best way to address issues. The practitioner would review their ideas, perspectives and options of others before deciding a best way forward. This is underpinned by the fact of accepting change and continuity as practitioners encounter different situations and ideas. Payne et al (2002) further mentions that in order to fulfil the requirements of critical practice which include liberation and empowerment social workers need an open mind, reflective stance that encompasses diverse perspectives, experience and assumptions. This would result in acknowledging individual differences, equal opportunity and respect. Fook and Garner (2007) further identify three aspects of c ritical practice which are critical thinking, critical action and reflexivity as essential tools to apply when seeking social justice and change. In trying to address social injustices and inequality social work uses a variety of skills and knowledge based on theory perspective and methodology. This empowers social workers to put in place intervention which is appropriate to individual circumstances. This intervention empowers social workers with skills to engage service users to bring positive outcomes. Critical social work is also informed by values which overlap the traditional social work values. The value of social justice is upheld from the fact that critical practice is a moral activity and as such professionals are also moral agents. This is further supported by Thompson (2006) when he suggests that Society comprises of a diverse range of people in which social divisions emerge which in turn forms the societal structures which networks relationships, institutions and groupings. These groupings determine, control and regulate the distribution of power, privilege, status and opportunities resulting in social stratification and dimensions. From these groupings however it is important to mention that unfairness, inequality and oppression is witnessed in the group of people who are vulnerable and marginalised. From these theories we can trace the ideas of critical perspective and acknowledge that the powerless can influence policy society views from the oppressors. The theoretical development implemented by service users was the theorising of disability from the medicalised interpretation to social model of disability. This shift was championed by disabled peoples movements to express how they felt and were treated for more than a century. This shift and theory influenced societal attitudes, influenced policies and to some extent changed societal attitudes in UK and abroad. (Abberley,1998; Barnes, 1998). (Morris, 1993) supports this by mentioning that the disability movement has overhauled societal perceptions and upheld disabled peoples rights to live independently,promote anti discriminatory practice, fairness and equal opportunities. Harris and White (2009) further explored events and changes within the welfare state from administering to managing the welfare state. They observed that the Conservative 1979 -1997 and Labour 1997-2010 were influenced by neo-liberalist ideas. This idea upheld the belief that market was superior to the state and as such professionals including social workers were meant to implement competitive government policy and approaches to meet global standards. These changes affected the vulnerable people in society as well because managers had been given the powers to speak on their behalf. These changes, debates and contradictions have put Social Work practice into a contested dilema profession. Although this definition states that Social work is a profession that promotes social change, problem solving in human relationships and the empowerment and liberation of people to enhance well-being. (International Federation of Social Workers, 2000 p1). Fook (2002) also argues that critical social work practice should be concerned with promoting a society without domination, exploitation and oppression. In order to achieve this practitioners need to reflect, reconstruct and unpack more processes for change through careful negotiation within the dominant framework. Parton et al (1997) points out that the present political environment is dominantly global, modernized and authoritarian. As such policies are informed and regulated by market principles which prescribes and narrows professional boundaries which affects the rights of service users. In order to achieve their objectives social workers need to challenge and resist the authoritarian elements by employing critical practice. Adams et al (1998) further identifies that Systems theory is another major theoretical source underpinning social work. The systems theory emphasised that peoples existence is determined by the environment they live or grow in. It highlighted that peoples problems are a result of how they interact with their resource systems which are either formal or informal. The informal include friends, neighbours and colleagues. The formal include support groups/ social clubs and associations. The public/ societal include housing ,hospitals, work and school which provides certain structure or particular function in society. The system theory encourages growth and provides a wider range of solutions to problems by identifying areas of improvement or needing improvement. However it is said not to be acknowledging power differences within society and with different roles. Furthermore (Coulshed and Orme, 1998) pointed out that the nature of diversity in society makes it difficult to be entirely depe ndent on one theory or approach. Different situations and different circumstances entails different approaches through reflective practices and perspectives. Many critical social theorists have challenged the existence of a social order and have questioned social order as evidenced in the work of Habermas (1984, 1987) who distinguishes between the system and the lifeworld which interact and sometimes conflict with each other. The system represents the structures like the government departments, transnational companies emerging from globalisation, ideas promoted by communicative reasoning, education and media.All these structures are relaying a world view through different reasoning. aAs such Social work is not excluded as an agent of systematic managerialism in agencies. (Fook 2002 and Gardner 2007) further highlighted alternative forms of critical theory which are feminism and post modernism. They have different views from Marxist views and the Frankfurt sociologists in that they focus on the understanding that the world reflects personal experience and social historical context. They argue that personal experience constructs and is constructed by the world we live in. They advocate to listening to peoples experiences (narratives) seriously and from these we can hear how they view and experience the world in different ways. This is supported by the feminists when they highlight that the narration of experiences by individuals gives us a clue on how they construct the world and how they want to engage with their problems and situations. Thus postmodernists say there is an alternative way of viewing the world than what it seems to be. Postmodernity argue there is a different way of viewing the world and different ways to deal with societal prtoblemsa hence critical social work seeks for different options and take the best way forward. In order for all these theories to be implemented there should be contact with individuals in society who experience inequality and disadvantage. Furthermore it is also important to mention at this point that social work intervention and practice is broad and spreads into other disciplines. Groupwork, Counselling, Advocacy and Assessment are examples of different forms of practising social work. I will not focus on the broadness of disciplines but will focus on the aims of the essay which are to explore how the critical social work approach influences counselling. Counselling requires a lot of skills and approaches as it seeks to address and resolve individual dilemmas, decision making and resolving issues. According to BAC counselling is a more deliberate activity and in its definition of the term the British Association for Counselling spells out the distinction between a planned and a spontaneous event. People become engaged in counselling when a person, occupying regularly or temporarily the role of counsellor, offers or agrees explicitly to offer time, attention and respect to another person or persons temporarily in the role of client. According to Dryden (2004:40), it is described as principled relationship characteristics by the application of one or more psychological theories and a recognised set of communication skills, modified by experience, intuition and other interpersonal factors, to clients intimate concerns, problems or aspirations. Its predominant ethos is one of facilitation rather than of advice-giving or coercion. It may be of very brief or long duration, take place in an organisational or private practice setting and may or may not overlap with practical, medical and other matters of personal welfare. From the above definitions and tracing the historically it is evident social workers were /and are still engaged in counselling as highlighted by the Barclay report in the early 1980s which mentioned that it was essential for social workers to engage in counselling as it helped to engage with individuals to help them manage their problems, worries and anxieties. Barclay Committee, (1982). This is no longer the situation today as noted by Brearley (1995) political, administrative, legislative changes and ideologies have affected the relationship between counselling and social; work. Some social work practitioners are in dilemma as to when they can do counselling or not and where to start with counselling and when to stop. Because social workers operate in a legislative, organisational, ideological, value and ethical context it is becoming increasingly difficult to engage in counselling without pushing boundaries. Furthermore the economic environment, budget cuts and lack of resources makes it difficult to manoeuvre and employ uncontested interventions. However despite the above constraints social workers at some point carry out counselling as not carrying it out would render their job inadequate and inefficient. There are a number of Counselling theories which are Person centred, existential, Cognitive behavioural (CBT),motivational, humanistic, psychodynamic, Karpmans (1969) Drama triangle and eclectic and intergrative approaches. Some of the theories have been criticised as inadequate and resource straining. One approach that is complimentary to social work is the eclectic/ integrative approach. Integrative theory is a method of intervention that meets the needs presented by the client and specific circumstances. The benefits of this approach are that it is flexible and adoptable to client needs. McLeod (2003) supports this statement when he mentions theapproach enables the counsellor to choose the best option and techniques from a range of theories to meet the client needs. It can mean employing different elements from different theories to blend them into a new suitable model or theory.This compliments with one of the social work theories of eclecticism which seeks to intergrate different theories to intervene ( quote) It can be argued that the aims of social work and the aims of counselling are both focusing on individuals and their interaction with the society, problems they face and how they solve them. As Egan 2006 puts it and complimented by Coulshed and Orme 2006 social workers adopt skills that compliment counselling skills some of them are empathy or understanding,respect, self knowledge and acceptance and honest. Although there are criticisms on Egans work as being ignorant of psychodynamic ideas meaning it has limited application and effectiveness. A reflective practitioner would seek to promote social justice, anti -oppressive and anti-discvriminatory practice based on knowledge to promote inclusive practice. Both professions are being challenged by increasing literature developing and need to engage in best practice and critical practice to reach all individuals and communities. My privilege as a social worker working with clients is that I have acquired knowledge and on values of social work issues and intervention. I also have a black African background which has some conflicting values to social work. I will focus on the social work values to overcome any prejudices and biases which may jeopardise my work. I also have the law on my side which will give me power to intervene and practice. From my experience as a caseworker at RA I used counselling as a technique to working with clients. Clients from different background accessed the service to resolve their immigration matters. Mostly the approach we used was person centred approach which meant clients were treated as individuals and given advice relating to their immigration issues My identity gives me a privilege because I have my own values. I am black African student social worker. I nave my values, knowledge and prejudices which can impact on the way I will relate with clients when in practice. I will not allow my own values and prejudices influence my practice. I will engage in reflective practice and use the critical social work approach discussed in this essay. Clients have their own views, way of life and interpretation of the world. My role is to promote social justice to the people I work with in order for them to have choice and independence. . This is supported by Carrniol 2005 when they mention that it is important for social workers to deepen their conscience into their social location and privilege as the first step towards empowering clients and challenging oppression. In my previous role as caseworker for refugees and asylum seekers I worked and experienced that men from other cultures do not cry because of their religion. My belief values say if a person is hurting they cry. Also handshakes are part of my culture to greet but others do not handshake. Appointments with Muslims on Friday afternoon were not appropriate as they attend mosque. I would seek to give appointments on another day. Giving Muslims women make caseworkers to counsel they wont talk give them women? I will signpost people to their own community groups to give help and support. Once you listen to somebodys problems you are counselling. I overcame all these by putting the needs of clients first before my own. Privilege as described by Bailey (1998:109) is systemically, conferred advantages individuals enjoy for being members of a dominants few with access to resources and institutional power that are beyond the common advantages of marginalised citizens Sidanius and Pratto 1999 further suggest that an individuals privilege is derived from their membership or association to privileged groups rather than their personal achievement. According to Ixer 199 it is important to examine privilege critically in two ways i.e. how it benefits the privileged person and how it affects the individual who does not possess it. In critical social work practice social worker need to reflect upon what causes privilege and explore the socio political dimensions of an individuals problem than focus on their capability to cope. (Fook 1999 Morley 2004) Carniola (2005) observed that social workers is in the right direction of developing critical consciousness about the psychological impact of oppression on individuals. He further expressed that there is concern on the degree of awareness among social workers on the impact of privilege or dominant status on individuals subjectivities and world views. Rossitter (2000) echoes the same sentiments when he mentions that the position/ impact and ways in which professionals engage with clients is overlooked and underestimated as they possess a certain class in the form of gender, race, and sexual privilege. It is important to highlight at this stage the values of critical social work practice. It is important to mention that values are in different categories ranging from personal, organisational, ethical, institutional political and religious. Values can conflict each other as well and socially constructed. Traditional Social work values and critical social work values overlap and are based on Biestek 1961 and consists of the following: Individualism, non judgemental, self determination, purposeful expression and controlled emotional development. In post modernity terms these can be interpreted to promotion of social justice, emancipation, anti-oppressive, anti-discriminatory, empowerment, non judgemental and respect and dignity. As discussed these are values that underpi critical social work for it to exist. Critical social work as discussed explores the best way forward to individuals problems and seeks to listen and engage with the individual to tell their story and work in partnership to find the best way forward. The limitation is critical social work is surrounded by external forces which are beyond it control. For example resources in the current economic climate globally and at home. It is also criticised as its values and origins are Eurocentric and do not represent universal circumstances as what seems to work in UK might not necessarily work in Afro/ Asian communities. For example the issue of confidentiality is valued and essential in UK and Europe whereas in Afro Asian cultures they value kinship support in times of distress. However they would not want anyone else outside the kinship clique to know about their situation. This brings inrterpretation problems to confidentialtity. Having explored critical social work practice and theories underpinning it it is important to acknowledge that there is continuos transformation and contest within the academic field and socio-political arena. This is greatly impacting on vulnerable people and how they are treated and marginalised in issues affecting their lives. 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(2009) Modernising Social Work Critical Considerations Bristol: Policy Press. Morris, J. (1993), Independent Lives: Community care and disabled people, Basingstoke, Macmillan. Beresford, P. (1997), The Last Social Division?: Revisiting the relationship between social policy, its producers and consumers, in, May, M., Brunsdon, E., Craig, G., (editors), Social Policy Review 9, London, Social Policy Association, pp203-226. Beresford P and Campbell J. (1994) Disabled People, Service Users, User Involvement And Representation, Disability And Society, Volume 9, No 3, pp315-325. Beresford, P. and Croft, S. (1993), Citizen Involvement: A practical guide for change, Basingstoke, Macmillan. Beresford, P., Stalker, K. and Wilson, A. (1997), Speaking For Ourselves: A bibliography, London, Open Services Project in association with the Social Work Research Centre, University of Stirling. Beresford, P. and Turner, M. (1997), Its Our Welfare, Report of the Citizens Commission on the Future of the Welfare State, London, National Institute for Social Work. Beresford, P. (1999) Storming The Millennium, Lawrence and Wishart, London, Campbell, P. (1996), The History Of The User Movement In The United Kingdom, in T Heller, J Reynolds, R Gomm, R Muston and S Pattison, (editors), Mental Health Matters, Basingstoke, Macmillan. Campbell, J. and M, Oliver, M. (1996), Disability Politics: Understanding our past, changing our future, Basingstoke, Macmillan. Coulshed, V. and Orme, J. (1998), Social Work Practice: An introduction, third edition, Basingstoke, Macmillan. (Rush, 2004:10) Rush, F. (Ed). (2004). The cambridge companion to critical theory. United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press. Croft, S. and Beresford, P. (1993), Getting Involved: A practical manual for change, London, Open Services Project/Joseph Rowntree Foundation. Croft, S. and Beresford, P. (1998), Postmodernity And The Future Of Welfare: Whose critiques, whose social policy? in John Carter, (editor), (1998), Postmodernity And The Fragmentation Of Welfare, London, Routledge, pp103-120. Croft, S. and Beresford, P, (1996), The Politics Of Participation, in, Taylor, D. (editor), Critical Social Policy: A reader, London, Sage, pp175-198. Davies, M. (editor), (1997), The Blackwell Companion To Social Work, Oxford, Blackwell. Evans C and Fisher M, (1999), Collaborative Evaluation With Service Users: Moving towards user controlled research, in Shaw, I. and Lishman,J. (editors), Evaluation And Social Work Practice, London, Sage. Giddens, A. (1998), The Third Way: The renewal of social democracy, Cambridge, Polity Press. Harding, S. (1993), Rethinking Standpoint Epistemology: What is strong objectivity?, in Alcoff, L. and Potter, E. (editors), Feminist Epistemologies, London, Routledge. Jones, C. (1996), Anti-Intellectualism And The Peculiarities Of British Social Work Education, in Parton, N. (editor), Social Theory, Social Change And Social Work, London, Routledge. Mayer, J.E. and Timms, N. (1970), The Client Speaks: Working class impressions of casework, London, Routledge and Kegan Paul. Oliver, M. (1996), Understanding Disability: From theory to practice, Basingstoke, Macmillan. Payne, M., (1997), Modern Social Work Theory: Second Edition, Basingstoke, Macmillan. Pembroke, L. R. (editor), (1994a), Eating Distress: Perspectives From Personal Experience, London, Survivors Speak Out. Pembroke, L. R. (editor), (1994b), Self Harm: Perspectives from personal experience, London, Survivors Speak Out. Priestley, M., (1999), Disability Politics And Community Care, London, Jessica Kingsley Publishers. Read, J. and Reynolds, J. (editors), (1996), Speaking Our Minds: An anthology, Basingstoke, Macmillan. Oliver, M. and Barnes, C. 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Has Technology Made Strategy Obsolete? Essay -- essays research papers

Has Technology Made Strategy Obsolete? It has been said that, "improvements in technology for waging war have made strategy increasingly irrelevant." This is not the case; strategy is actually becoming more important with the development of more sophisticated military technology. Firstly it must be clearly defined how strategy and technology relate to each other. There have been many different views on what, in effect, constitutes strategy. If one were to compare Sun Tzu's concepts of strategy and compare them to that of Clausewitz, it would be clear that the two defined strategy much differently. Sun Tzu viewed strategy as a much larger issue than did the Clausewitz. He believed that an overall strategy that utilized political alliances, misinformation, intelligence and strategic planning was the key to what he believed the pinnacle of military victory was; to win the war without ever having to fight. Clausewitz had a much narrower view of strategy, one that would more correctly be determined as tactics. Clausewitz believed in the supremacy of direct military conflict as the sole arena for states to resolve their differences and satisfy their ambitions. He focused then, on the best way to win the war, believing that war was inevitable. It is clear then, that wile both men wrote on the subject of war, their focus was on different levels of warfare, Sun Tzu's focus was on strategy, or grand strategy, while Clausewitz's focus was on the tactical level, or operational strategy. Technology is of a different ilk altogether than the closely related topics of tactics and strategy. Technology is the tools with which the war is waged. It can consist of not only mechanical instruments, but of nuclear, chemical and biological tools as well. Technology is an ever changing, constantly improving, element of warfare that has throughout history continually improved the efficiency with which mankind can kill one and other. Technology Strategy Tactics The key to understanding the issue is to understand how the three elements, technology, tactics and strategy are connected to each other and more specifically, how changes in one area of will drive changes in the other. Technology is the core to the whole process. A requirement is identified and a weapon, or weapons system is created in order to fill that requirement. Once this has been done, the military leader... ...s Strategic Defence Initiative (SDI) or "Star Wars" plan that finally broke the economically weaker USSR. Currently, the US Army's is driving toward the development of a Strategic Anti-missile System; resent successful tests of this new technology raise the specter of a return to the winnable war scenario. These new technologies has, as all technology is, been developed to finally and directly eliminate the threat generated by initial development of the nuclear strike capability. The question that now begs to be asked is weather this technology will once again change the strategic focus away from the economic arena and back to the military one? Technology has not rendered strategy obsolete. Certain military technological advances, which are continually reshaping the tactical realm, have managed, by the shear magnitude of their impact, reached beyond that area to change the Grande Strategy by which nations plan their success. As we see, strategy changed in order to counter the threat posed until a counter technology was developed. The interplay of tactics, technology and strategy is cyclical and symbiotic in nature with each element being driven by changes in the other.

True Meaning of Love Revealed in Snow Falling on Cedars Essay -- Snow

True Meaning of Love Revealed in Snow Falling on Cedars      Ã‚  Ã‚   David Guterson's novel, Snow Falling on Cedars, is one that covers a number of important aspects in life, including some controversial topics like racism and the Japanese internment during America's involvement in the Second World War. It speaks to this reader on a more immediate and personal level, however, through the playing out of Ishmael and Hatsue's relationship-one which Hatsue seems to be able to walk away from, but which shapes the way Ishmael tries to "live" his life because he cannot let go of the past, or a future that is not, and was not meant to be.    Ishmael never recovers from the severance of his romantic relationship with Hatsue because of the type of relationship that it was for him, and that it was not for Hatsue. During the internment, Hatsue realized that she "loved him and at the same time couldn't love him" (231). For Hatsue, the relationship was a friendship that grew into something it was not meant to; something she did not expect, yet allowed to continue because she could not decide if it was right or wrong. Ishmael, on the other hand, was in love. His was not a passionate lust, or a romantic love, but what true love is: an action, a decision, yet something beyond his control. For Ishmael also, the friendship grew into something unexpected, but for him it was a discovery that "[a]fter all these years that we've been together, I find you're a part of me. Without you, I have nothing" (222). Ishmael's relationship with Hatsue was something he had to hold on to, because it was all that he had.    During the War, after Ishmael's return, and throughout the trial of Kabuo, Hatsue's husband, Ishmael struggles with his feelings, hi... ... is not something that can be defined, controlled, or conquered. But through Ishmael, Guterson reveals to his reader that it is possible to love someone without letting one's passions destroy life when that relationship is not meant to be, and never will. There is a reason to hope for something greater, something more in life than a dream that will never come true. This reader would like to believe Ishmael will never stop loving Hatsue because his love is true love, which, like God Who is Love (1 John 4:7) never changing. But Ishmael learns to see that loving Hatsue means moving on with his life and doing what Hatsue always knew, and what he now realizes, are the great things he is destine to do in life.    Work Cited: Guterson, David. Snow Falling on Cedars. New York: Vintage, 1995. New American Standard Bible. Reference ed. Chicago: Moody Press, 1975. True Meaning of Love Revealed in Snow Falling on Cedars Essay -- Snow True Meaning of Love Revealed in Snow Falling on Cedars      Ã‚  Ã‚   David Guterson's novel, Snow Falling on Cedars, is one that covers a number of important aspects in life, including some controversial topics like racism and the Japanese internment during America's involvement in the Second World War. It speaks to this reader on a more immediate and personal level, however, through the playing out of Ishmael and Hatsue's relationship-one which Hatsue seems to be able to walk away from, but which shapes the way Ishmael tries to "live" his life because he cannot let go of the past, or a future that is not, and was not meant to be.    Ishmael never recovers from the severance of his romantic relationship with Hatsue because of the type of relationship that it was for him, and that it was not for Hatsue. During the internment, Hatsue realized that she "loved him and at the same time couldn't love him" (231). For Hatsue, the relationship was a friendship that grew into something it was not meant to; something she did not expect, yet allowed to continue because she could not decide if it was right or wrong. Ishmael, on the other hand, was in love. His was not a passionate lust, or a romantic love, but what true love is: an action, a decision, yet something beyond his control. For Ishmael also, the friendship grew into something unexpected, but for him it was a discovery that "[a]fter all these years that we've been together, I find you're a part of me. Without you, I have nothing" (222). Ishmael's relationship with Hatsue was something he had to hold on to, because it was all that he had.    During the War, after Ishmael's return, and throughout the trial of Kabuo, Hatsue's husband, Ishmael struggles with his feelings, hi... ... is not something that can be defined, controlled, or conquered. But through Ishmael, Guterson reveals to his reader that it is possible to love someone without letting one's passions destroy life when that relationship is not meant to be, and never will. There is a reason to hope for something greater, something more in life than a dream that will never come true. This reader would like to believe Ishmael will never stop loving Hatsue because his love is true love, which, like God Who is Love (1 John 4:7) never changing. But Ishmael learns to see that loving Hatsue means moving on with his life and doing what Hatsue always knew, and what he now realizes, are the great things he is destine to do in life.    Work Cited: Guterson, David. Snow Falling on Cedars. New York: Vintage, 1995. New American Standard Bible. Reference ed. Chicago: Moody Press, 1975.