Why and how is the landscape of childrens services changing What are Essay

Why and how is the landscape of childrens services changing What are the implications of these changes for practitioners who work with children - Essay Example fts in institutional values have also contributed to this change, such as the gendered character of contemporary parenting and the gendered character of childhood, which have corresponding implications in the children’s services (Daniel, e al., 2005). Today’s children’s services argue the importance of using gendered perspective in order to engage adequately with the causes and effects of child maltreatment. This perspective may be analysed as an outcome of the growing gendered character of the household and the workplace, which has characterised modern industrial societies like England. England has designed and implemented its early years’ educational policy in the period of 1997-2004 and presented some innovations in the policy, its evidence base, and delivery of new services. It suggests evidence concerning expansion of services on the benefit of early years education on children’s development (Sylva and Pugh, 2005), a direction which children’s services as pedagogy is leading. Early year’s education in England is claimed to be transformed through integration of education and care at local and national level, the strong focus on families and children in the delivery of services, as well as the introduction of the Foundation Stag Curriculum 3-6 years and its birth-3 years supplement (Sylva and Pugh, 2005). Stone and Rixon (2008) stressed that while child-centred is the key, it is as important to seek the perspective of parents who are left with the child when all the professionals have gone home. Stone and Rixon also emphasised that it is important to recognise the value of families, which serve as one point for change and in which change itself can and should originate from, resonating with the changes in children’s services in England. The focus of change, as Rixon (2008) points out, has been on the challenges for practitioners of these currents, which likewise affect the experiences of children and their families. England launched in 2003 its

The Doctrine of Frustration Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

The Doctrine of Frustration - Essay Example However, this has created many problems in practice as the common law position law stipulates that obligations due prior to the frustrating event remain in operation5, which has fuelled conflict as to the nature of obligations that remain operative notwithstanding the applicability of frustration. On this basis, whilst the theoretical guidance appears to be clear in that the doctrine of frustration will be invoked on rare occasions which fall under the above circumstances, however in light of the fact that there is no definitive list of frustrating events and the doctrine has been developed on a case by case basis, it is far from clear as to what constitutes frustration in reality6. Moreover, there has been much controversy as to when the doctrine should apply, the main issue is the fact that the courts determine when an event is sufficiently frustrating to merit judicial interference, which results in termination of the contract7. Indeed academic debate is polarised as to the circumstances in which frustration should be applicable8. Furmston highlights the five central theories advanced to clarify an area of law9 and the focus of this analysis is to critically review the applicability of the doctrine of frustration in practice and in particular consider whether the doctrine has been applied sufficiently widely in practice. Firstly, it is necessary to discuss the background and evolution of frustration as a doctrine in order to understand the complexities of its application today.

Fading Light Experiment on Arduino Kit

Fading Light Experiment on Arduino Kit Introduction Arduino is an open source prototyping platform enabling users to create interactive electronic objects. [1] Here, we performed Fading Light one of the basic activities on this Arduino kit. This activity demonstrates the use of analog output in the code (Pulse Width Modulation) to fade the LED light. You can fade out and fade in the light of LED automatically using Arduino with a simple code that is installed in Arduino. Materials with Description Arduino Board Arduino Uno SMD SR3 is used. The main material needed to hold the materials, and execute the code from computer. Prototyping Shield It is a prototype extension board for Arduino Board Resistor 220R 220 ohms resistors will be used on this experiment. It is use to reduce the current flow for the LED output. Bread Board Used for the connections of materials together. LED light (Light emitting diode) will be used for verification if the code and plotting of materials is correct. USB cable A-B USB 2.0 cable which is the common A to B M/M type peripheral cable to connect the Arduino board from computer. Jumper Cable M/M Used to connect Arduino Board from breadboard. Procedure (self-explained) 1.Prepare the materials needed. 5MM -LED x1 Jumper Cable M/M x2 220R Resistor x1 USB cable Arduino Board Prototyping shield Breadboard 2. Place the prototyping shield on the top of Arduino Board. 3. Place LED light 1st the last row of the breadboard. 4. Place the Resistor on the Positive terminal of LED light and connect the opposite side of resistor on 10th pin using jumper wire. 5. Place the jumper wire on the Ground and the opposite side on Negative terminal of LED light. 6. Connect the Arduino Board to your desktop or laptop. 7. Now using desktop or laptop execute and install the appropriate code for Fading Light activity on your Arduino Board. Circuit Diagram Code Code Analysis This is the code for Fading Light Activity. As you can see, the ledPin variable has a value of 10, 10th is the pin that the LED is attached on Arduino. On setup() function this declared pin 10 to be an output. The Serial.begin(9600); this code is the speed communication. Arduino will send data at 9600 bits per second which is 9600 is the default bit. Executing the loop() function which make the LED light Fade on off with a time of 1 seconds and given value of full 5. Theres a method for fadeOn which is getting the time with 1000/ 1 sec and an increment of 5 which is called as parameters. This values are being process on for-loop which is changing the luminance of LED lights. As you can see in for-loop (byte value = 0 ; value Comparison of Code vs. Hardware Output The given code says that LED light will fade on off 19 times with a luminance of 5 which is the maximum luminance of it and decreases the luminance by 5. The given code output is accurate from the expected output of the hardware. It fades on off 19 times with 5 additional luminance in every fadeOn and decreases 5 luminance in every fadeOff, the code is accurate from the output of hardware. No errors and run successfully. Recommendation/Enhancement I recommend that procedures, guides, or instruction are given on each group members to perform those activities successfully. Readable and reliable codes that are easy to understand. Have a review on those codes that is used. References: [1]Arduino:An Open Electoring Prototyping Perform

Philosophy Examined :: Detrminism Conflicts

Assignment: Comment on the Following Statements 1)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Out of the people edited in Abel or discussed by Palmer, the following are hard determinists†¦ Well, Palmer only discusses two hard determinists: B.F. Skinner, and Sigmund Freud. Out of the texts read in Abel, Abel discusses Skinner and D’Holbach as hard determinists. 2)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Hard determinism conflicts with some of our ordinary beliefs and experiences. For example: On the one hand, we are raised to believe that we are free, that we posses freedom of thought and action. If we come to a fork in the road, we can either go left or right, either choice is a free choice. A hard determinist would have us believe that our actions are determined, hence, unfree. If the hard determinists theory were in fact true, then, if we were to come to a fork in the road, what use would it be to choose the right, or the left path? For out decision has already been determined, according to the hard determinist point of view. Frankly, I find the idea of hard determinism utterly ridiculous, and incredibly hard to defend. 3)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  If hard determinism is true, then people cannot be held responsible for their actions. This statement is true. For if hard determinism is true, then our actions are determined. Meaning that we have no control over our own actions. Therefore, we cannot be held responsible for out actions, because, we are not responsible for them, for they were determined. If this is indeed true, then the worlds judicial systems have been making mistakes for several thousands of years. 4)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It is possible to interpret Freud as being committed to hard determinism. It is also possible to interpret Freud as believing in freedom. This statement is making two claims, which may be interpreted differently by different people. Thus needing some explanation. It is true that Freud was committed to hard determinism, for he believed that the majority of a person’s actions are motivated through the subconscious mind, the subconscious being a driving force in the decision. Subconscious decisions are not free, for the person is not aware of the force of the subconscious. The second part of the above statement is in a sense, true. Freud, being committed to hard-determinism, could not believe it direct freedom. However, Freud did believe that a person could change, thus gaining some control over their actions, and that in a sense, is freedom (i.e. the case of the woman who kept choosing partners who beat her).

Business Operations Strategies Essay

Cost Leadership- Cost Leadership is a way of getting a competitive advantage by finding the most efficient way of manufacturing the good or delivering the service in the industry. A cost leadership strategy is where a business aims to be the lowest cost manufacturer within its industry. Low costs can be achieved through economies of scale in production and distribution, access to cheaper raw materials or inventing an innovative way of producing a product. Visibility- Operations can be influenced with something such as what they can see from the operations in action. Service based businesses will have a higher based level of visibility, while customers will rarely see the operations process of a manufacturing based business. The implications for operations of a highly visible operations process are that the quality of labour will be significant. Operations will generally need to have well trained, highly skilled, adaptable staff that are able and willing to deal with the individual needs of customers. A close relationship with human resource will be essential. Speed is also a crucial factor in operations as customers usually have a much lower tolerance for waiting. Short time lags are important in operations between the customer ordering and the delivery. Otherwise the customer may get sick of waiting and move onto a competitor. Overheard costs- This refers to the ongoing expenses of an operating business. Overhead expenses are all costs on the income statement except for direct labour, direct materials & direct expenses. Overhead expenses include accounting fees, advertising, depreciation, insurance, interest, legal fees, rent, repairs, supplies, taxes, telephone bills, travel and utilities costs. Over-head costs can be classes under four titles such as Functional classification, Classification on the nature of expenditure Element-wise classification and Classification on behaviour of expenditure. Globalisation- Gives the consumer the opportunity to purchase products from the business will provide them with the best value for money. Globalisation is the integration of different national economies into a single market where goods and services can be traded easily. This can increase the flow of goods, services, people, finance, and information around the world. It refers to the increasingly global relationships of culture, people, and economic activity. Cost Based Competition- A business can keep it competitive edge by structuring a cost based competition with other businesses. A business can gain price advantage over its competitors by using operational strategies that lower costs. In this approach a business can reduce its prices lower than its rivals. This should increase the profit of sales and market share. Supply Chain Management The supply chain management includes all the businesses directly linked to one another to supply goods and services to one another. This is useful in way of a business being able to consume various resources necessary to produce a good or supply a service. Good suppliers are to be found that can provide good inputs with the best price and reliability. Technology Technology is the equipment and knowledge that are available to help businesses perform certain functions or make products. Technology is very important and very crucial in businesses. The most significant influence is on businesses that fail to keep up with the progress in technology by hanging onto equipment or operation methods where competitors have released new technology giving them an advantage. Adapting new technologies may make a business more competitive if the technology is widely adopted but it prevents the loss of competitiveness. Government based policies Government policies can be a very important influence on the operations functions of a business. They can impact on the operations function include regulation, subsidies and grants, and taxes and tariffs that encourage or discourage aspects of operations or ways the operations functions are conducted. Corporate and Social Responsibility Corporate social responsibility refers to the relationship between business and the broad society and the way its relationship is perceived and managed. The focus of the responsibility is to ensure the business activities have a positive impact on society and the stakeholders in the business. These days the community have high expectations about the behaviour and the behaviour of a business. Volume Volume is that amount of a product that is produced. Sometimes a business will be better off producing more than what is needed to ensure they will have the products ready to be sold. This can work out to be cheaper in ways of getting the products made in bulk, this can be both convenient for the buyer and the seller. An example of this would be Dominos pizza. If they have their pizzas already made and cooked for people, it would be more convenient for them to just walk in and buy it straight out of the oven rather than ordering the pizza and having to wait for the usual waiting period. Quality expectations A business that is customer focussed will try to produce goods and services that will satisfy the desires of its customers. Customers always have their own idea of how a product should be and what quality it should be at. The business must keep their intentions in mind. An example of this would be at JB HIFI. A woman wants to buy a pair of ear phones. She enters the shop intending to buy a $20 headset but the shop does not have the product in her price range, the woman ends up disappointed and goes to another shop. Sequencing and Scheduling These are tools that are used to identify all steps in operations process and organise them into the most efficient way and order to complete. A key role of operations when scheduling and sequencing is to perform a detailed task analysis to determine the different parts of the entire process of making a good or providing a service. There are many factors come under scheduling and sequencing such as- What production and activities are used. – When a particular activity will occur. – How long an activity will take to finish. – What activities are independent and can therefore occur at the same time. – What activities are related so that one can occur before the other – What resources will be used etc. Legal Regulations Legal regulations are a very important influence on any business. It impacts on the operations functions of a business. Legal regulations are laws that regulate the ways things can be done. They are also important because of the potentially dangerous aspects with the use of the equipment in the business. Each State Government Have legal regulations that govern the behaviour of the employer and the employee in the work place, it is a legal requirement to provide a safe working environment. Logistics Logistics are a massive part of the functions of a business. It is a crucial aspect of the supply chain management. Logistics is important because it can be part of a source of a competitive advantage if a business can do their logistics activities more cheaply than their competitors. An example of this would be when Woolworths spent billions of dollars on overhauling their entire distribution system. This is what gave them their competitive edge over Coles. E Commerce This is one of the fastest growing aspects of supply chain management. The term E-commerce refers to the use of the internet for all aspects of commercial transactions. An example of this would be EBay. This is a website where you can buy and sell your own personal items. Businesses also use this site to sell their products too. This gives them a wider range to sell their products to all over the world. Global Sourcing Global sourcing is important in the supply chain of management because businesses are increasingly seeking raw material and component parts wherever they are cheapest. Buying and selling raw materials around the world is very useful in ways of saving money and making money. Buying raw materials from other countries may work out to be cheaper than to buy the products from the country the business is based at. Outsourcing Outsourcing is a very significant in the development in current business practises. It is a supply chain of management strategy that can provide very significant value to a business. Outsourcing is the term used when goods and services that would normally be part of the business are obtained outside of the business. Inventory Inventory is an area of operations that is undergoing significant change. It is often called stock and refers to the store of transformed resources waiting to be processed. To have an inventory can be very useful in the case of having an impulse of buyers. Having the stock already produced and ready for sale will be convenient for both the buyer and the seller. Economies of Scale (EOS) This is when the managers of a business design a factory to conduct the transformation process. They have to make the decision as to the capacity volume. Economies of scale in other words mean the expansion of a business to minimise costs through the use of high volume and production. An example of this would be Wal-Mart, they are a massive franchise and are expanding all over the world. Product differentiation The Product differentiation strategy and is a very different way of developing a competitive advantage. A product differentiation is concerned with developing products that are different from their competitors because they have benefits or attributes a customer values. This means that customers will be willing to pay more for a differentiated product. Visibility Customers appreciate being able to see what they buy and try it out before they get the product. This is an approach of having good customer service from the staff showing off the product to the interested customer. An example of this is at Athletes foot. The customer enters the shop and immediately gets attended from staff. The staff will then assist the customer in trying and showing the customer what he/she is interested in. Customer Service Customer serive is a massive part of running a successful business. With helpful staff that is able to assist you, this makes things much easier for the customer and will make them more willing to buy the product. So either way with this approach everybody wins depending on how well the customer service. Flexibility When a business is manufacturing a product or delivering a service in a dynamic environment the ability to change is important. A business must have the ability to make changes to suit the changes to keep up its competitive edge and keep up with the game. Flexibility is important for every business because businesses can fall behind and lose track of what else is happening within other businesses. Warranties Warranties are very important to customers. Potential customers often find that a number of competing products will effectively meet their needs. This is to do with products such as cars and white goods such as refrigerators, televisions etc. Warranties become an important part of the consideration in the customer’s choice. Speed Speed is a major factor within running a successful business. Customers appreciate quick service and prefer to be in and out of the shop as quick as possible. Speed refers to the time difference between a customer’s request for a good or a service to when it is actually received. Control Dependability Dependability is an important performance objective for many businesses. It means that the business is consistently good in its quality and its performance. This is a key performance indicator for all businesses. Having a dependable business will keep customers coming back for more, and will keep people talking about the reliability of the business. Environmental Sustainability Environmental sustainability is a massive concern to both the wider world and the community and of what the business has of impact on the environment. It is the ability to maintain the qualities that are values in the physical environment. – Climate chance, Water, Waste etc. Quality Assurance Quality assurance involves establishing and using a set of procedures and/or processes that will prevent product defects from occurring in delivering services. Global factors There are a number of global factors that influence operations strategies. They include global sourcing, economies of scale, scanning and learning and research and development. Global sourcing is where products are acquired outside the home country and are bought from overseas for cheaper sales. Scanning and Learning This is the competitive global environment within which many large businesses operate which is constantly changing. Technology as an example is changing at a very fast rate. Businesses need to scan and learn off other businesses what is going on in the market of other businesses.

Cyber-Bullying Essay

Bullying has become an epidemic that the educational system has been campaigning to cease through the establishment of school wide anti-bullying policies. In recent years the federal government has implemented the National Safe Schools Framework and the Civil Liability Act of 2002, to assist educators with diminishing schoolyard bullying (Campbell 64). Since the development and rise of technological resources, cyber-bullying has expanded the opportunity for the act of bullying to take place; bullying is no longer isolated face to face. Students’ abilities of escaping to a safe haven, away from their harasser, are almost nonexistent. The use of the internet and cellphones has extended the capability of students to be targeted in private places, such as their homes. Due to the extremities and serious effects of cyber-bullying, school policies concerning bullying need to address and incorporate cyber-bullying. † The effects of cyber-bullying on a victim are similar to those effects of school bullying. Mathew Campbell, author of †School Policy Reponses to the Issue of Cyber-Bullying agrees, victims of cyber-bullying expressed feelings of depression and anxiety, thoughts of and attempts of suicide, self-mutilation, lower self-esteem, and a hatred of school (63). It can also be said that these effects can be more severe in cases of cyber-bulling because there is no escape for the victim. The internet and use of cell phones has enabled the harasser to intrude into the victim’s home and eliminate places of security. This has also allowed anonymity of the harasser which in turn, increases the likeliness that cyber-bullying will take place over the confrontational, school yard bullying scenarios. Although the acts of cyber-bullying may not always take place during school hours or on the premises of the school, research shows that there is a direct correlation between cyber-bullying and school yard bullying. After interviewing 20,000 students, it was found that approximately 26% of students are victims of bullying that took place during school hours (Schneider, O’Donnell, Stueve, and Coulter 173). This same research documented that in addition to school bullying, approximately 16% of students are victims of cyber-bullying. When researchers compared students being bullied at school to those being cyber-bullied, it was found that 59% of those victims being cyb er-bullied were also victims of school bullying and 39% of students being bullied at school were also cyber-bullied (Schneider, O’Donnell, Stueve, Coulter 173). It is evident that there is a correspondence between school bullying and cyber-bullying. Currently, most schools have a non-tolerance policy concerning acts of bullying taking place during school hours or on school grounds, but have yet to incorporate the aspect of cyber-bullying. With the use of technology in schools, the act of cyber-bullying is taking place more often in school than just outside of school. The internet use in schools allows students to access social-networking sites, such as Facebook or Twitter, because of their educational purposes, but these sites are some of the origins where harassing comments and intimidating posts are being seen. Along with the internet, the increase in the use of cell phones in school, whether it is against school policy or not, has created another outlet for students to be bullied. These technology sources are eliminating the physical or confrontational aspect of bullying and allowing it to be less visible and easily feasible. Educators are not always aware of what is taking place in schools and less likely to be able to prevent it without victims reporting it, and because there is no policy against cyber-bullying victims are less likely to report it. An educational system’s sole responsibility is to provide a quality education for all students. In doing so, it has taken on the role of creating a safe learning environment which includes preventing students from being harassed and/or intimidated by their peers. Some questions have been raised on whether the jurisdictional boundaries put limitations on what a school may actually do to prevent cyber-bullying without intruding on the legal rights of students. Campbell states, â€Å"Legally a school does not have any responsibility for the care of students within the home†¦ However, a social responsibility of schools is to ensure that their students are cared for beyond that which is legally prescribed† (66). Therefore, any act of bullying that may eventually disrupt a student’s ability to learn or feel comfortable at school, is still the school’s responsibility to prevent. Educators and administrators need to educate students and parents on identifying acts of bullying, as well as the effects of bullying. Parents and students must also be encouraged to report acts of bullying. To ensure that the prevention of cyber-bullying and school yard bullying, the school needs to enforce cyber-bullying rules and set consequences for those who break those rules. The traditional scenario of a child being verbally or physically intimidated in the school yard is no longer the only form of bullying. Technology has opened the doors to a new and less apparent form of harassment. Its emotional and psychological effects are just as severe, if not more lasting. Children have lost the security and comfort of their homes and can no longer escape their harasser. With cyber-bullying being increasingly wide-spread, it is essential that schools incorporate cyber-bullying prevention into their anti-bullying policies. Works Cited Campbell, Matthew. â€Å"School Policy Responses to the Issue of Cyber-Bullying.† Journal of Catholic School Studies 83.2 (2011): 62-69. Print. Schneider, Shari K., Lydia O’Donnell, Ann Stueve, and Robert W. S. Coulter. â€Å"Cyberbullying, School Bullying, and Psychological Distress: A Regional Census of High School Students.† American Journal of Public Health 102.1 (2012): 171-177. Print.

Free Essays on Review Of May God Have Mercy By John Tucker

May God have Mercy by John C. Tucker gives an account of the story of Roger Coleman, a Virginia man tried and executed for the 1981 rape and murder of nineteen year old Wanda McCoy. This book gave a very in depth, detailed review of every aspect of the crime, trials, and events that led to the execution of Roger Coleman. Even as the most staunch, conservative, pro prosecution reader you can’t help but to second guess the decision to execute Coleman. Reasonable doubt as to whether he committed the murder is established through the police investigation and subsequent trials. At the very least Coleman should have received a life sentence due to all the inconsistencies in the prosecution’s theory on what happened on that dreadful night. Brad McCoy arrived home from work shortly after eleven PM on March 10, 1981 when he found his wife brutally raped and murdered on the floor of their spare bedroom. Brad called his father and asked him to come over to the house. Brad, impatient, then ran down the street to his father’s house. At 11:21 the police received a phone call from McCoy about the murder. Brad’s father Hezzie McCoy estimated that ten minutes had passed from the time he received Brad’s initial phone call to when he placed the call to the police. The police and medical examiner arrived and said that Wanda had just been killed recently because the blood was still warm and wet. Virginia State Police special agent Jack Davidson took over the investigation into the crime. Wanda’s sister Trish and husband Roger Coleman were frequent visitors to the McCoy house. According to friends of Wanda’s, Coleman was one of a few men she would have let into the house. The McCoy family provided a couple of names to Davidson of people they thought may have committed the crimes including Wanda’s former husband and a man Brad McCoy had a recent argument with. Coleman had a previous rape conviction involving a... Free Essays on Review Of May God Have Mercy By John Tucker Free Essays on Review Of May God Have Mercy By John Tucker May God have Mercy by John C. Tucker gives an account of the story of Roger Coleman, a Virginia man tried and executed for the 1981 rape and murder of nineteen year old Wanda McCoy. This book gave a very in depth, detailed review of every aspect of the crime, trials, and events that led to the execution of Roger Coleman. Even as the most staunch, conservative, pro prosecution reader you can’t help but to second guess the decision to execute Coleman. Reasonable doubt as to whether he committed the murder is established through the police investigation and subsequent trials. At the very least Coleman should have received a life sentence due to all the inconsistencies in the prosecution’s theory on what happened on that dreadful night. Brad McCoy arrived home from work shortly after eleven PM on March 10, 1981 when he found his wife brutally raped and murdered on the floor of their spare bedroom. Brad called his father and asked him to come over to the house. Brad, impatient, then ran down the street to his father’s house. At 11:21 the police received a phone call from McCoy about the murder. Brad’s father Hezzie McCoy estimated that ten minutes had passed from the time he received Brad’s initial phone call to when he placed the call to the police. The police and medical examiner arrived and said that Wanda had just been killed recently because the blood was still warm and wet. Virginia State Police special agent Jack Davidson took over the investigation into the crime. Wanda’s sister Trish and husband Roger Coleman were frequent visitors to the McCoy house. According to friends of Wanda’s, Coleman was one of a few men she would have let into the house. The McCoy family provided a couple of names to Davidson of people they thought may have committed the crimes including Wanda’s former husband and a man Brad McCoy had a recent argument with. Coleman had a previous rape conviction involving a...

Gasb State #34 Essays - Free Essays, Term Papers, Research Papers

Gasb State #34 Essays - Free Essays, Term Papers, Research Papers Gasb State #34 On June 30, 1999 the GASB passed statement number 34. Statement 34 establishes new accounting requirements for state and local governments that are scheduled to begin on June 15, 2002. There are three phases scheduled for the implementation of statement 34, each depending on the size of the government. The largest governments must meet the requirement first while the smaller governments have more time to comply with the statement. Statement 34 will improve the governmental accounting system in many ways. First, statement 34 will create easier to understand financial statements. This will allow people other than accountants to understand the information within a government financial statement. Secondly, statement 34 will help city officials keep track of fixed assets that need to be replaced or improved. This addition is important because city officials often forget that assets have been in use for too long, resulting in costly improvements that could be avoided. Furthermore, statement 34 will allow readers to determine whether the government has improved since the last fiscal year. These goals will be accomplished in several ways. First, a management discussion and analysis (MD&A) statement will be required. Within this statement, managers will discuss the financial achievements of the governmental entity during the fiscal year. In this discussion, managers will compare the current and previous years-financial statements, and inform the reader if there has been an improvement or deterioration financially. The managers preparing the MD&A must also explain any significant fluctuation within any major accounts, as well as, any future event expected to have a major impact upon the said government. Another notable change made by statement 34 is the adoption of the full accrual method. This will greatly change the bottom line of many governmental entities. Under this system, governments will report all revenues earned in a given period. This change will give financial statement readers a better idea of the actual financial position of the government, because all revenues earned within a given period will be reported. The full accrual method will help government officials determine if citizens have paid for the benefits that have been received and if the governments financial position has changed since the previous year. A third important change that statement 34 will usher in is the way governments report activity in their major funds. Governments will no longer report their funds in aggregate form. The new model will reclassify funds into more specific individual fund listings. This change will make it easier to track specific expenditures while increasing government accountability. Another substantial change brought about by statement 34 is asset management. Governments currently record assets at the time of purchase as expenditures. The new accounting model will force governments to monitor their assets cost and value on an annual basis. This could prevent major damage to government assets that could otherwise be neglected, such as sewers and drainpipes. Governments are having mixed reactions concerning the implementation of GASB No. 34. Some states, such as Wisconsin, have already implemented the statement while others, hardly know it exists. The state controller of Wisconsin is sending out a strong message, urging all states to get an early start. Other states, such as Michigan, already use procedures similar to those of statement 34. As a result, Michigan plans to have met the requirements of statement 34 sometime in 2001. The larger states are under the most pressure, given they have the most to do and the least time to accomplish it. In most cases, in order to comply with statement 34 regulations, states will have to create new accounting software. In addition, because of the new asset management methods many states will have to value their existing assets. This will require governments to create new data collection methods. Many governments find the time constraints difficult, given the Y2K problem is still not fixed in many states. Governments, especially the larger ones, must really be on top of things to meet the time requirements of statement 34. In conclusion, GASB statement No. 34 will improve financial reporting for state and local governments in many ways. First, the reports will be easier to read and understand. The management discussion and analysis will give people with little or no accounting background a

Adverbs of Frequency Beginner English Lesson

Adverbs of Frequency Beginner English Lesson Students can now talk about their daily habits. Introducing adverbs of frequency can help give them further expressive capabilities by allowing them to speak about how often they perform daily tasks. Write these adverbs of frequency on the board next to a list of the days of the week. For example: Always - Monday / Tuesday / Wednesday / Thursday / Friday / Saturday / SundayUsually - Monday / Tuesday / Wednesday / Thursday / Friday / SaturdayOften - Monday / Tuesday / Thursday / SundaySometimes - Monday / ThursdaySeldom - SaturdayNever This list will help students associate the adverbs of frequency with the concept of relative repetition or frequency. Teacher: I always have breakfast. I usually get up at 7 oclock. I often watch television. I sometimes exercise. I seldom go shopping. I never cook fish. (Model each adverb of frequency by pointing to it on the board while slowly saying the phrases allowing students to take in the regularity associated with the adverb of frequency being used. Make sure to accent the various adverbs of frequency.) Teacher: Ken, how often do you come to class? I always come to class. How often do you watch TV? I sometimes watch TV. (Model how often and the adverb of frequency by accenting how often in the question and the adverb of frequency in the response.) Teacher: Paolo, how often do you come to class? Student(s): I always come to class. Teacher: Susan, how often do you watch TV? Student(s): I sometimes watch TV. Continue this exercise around the room with each of the students. Use very simple verbs that the students have already become used to using when talking about their daily routines so that they can focus on learning the adverbs of frequency. Pay special attention to the placement of the adverb of frequency. If a student makes a mistake, touch your ear to signal that the student should listen and then repeat his/her answer accenting what the student should have said. Part II: Expanding to Third Person Singular Teacher: Paolo, how often do you eat lunch? Student(s): I usually eat lunch. Teacher: Susan, does he usually eat lunch? Student(s): Yes, he usually eats lunch. (pay special attention to the s ending on the third person singular) Teacher: Susan, do you usually get up at ten oclock? Student(s): No, I never get up at ten oclock. Teacher: Olaf, does she usually get up at ten oclock? Student(s): No, she never gets up at ten oclock. etc. Continue this exercise around the room with each of the students. Use very simple verbs that the students have already become used to using when talking about their daily routines so that they can focus on learning the adverbs of frequency. Pay special attention to the placement of the adverb of frequency and the correct usage of the third person singular. If a student makes a mistake, touch your ear to signal that the student should listen and then repeat his/her answer accenting what the student should have said.

Did the possession of nuclear weapons prevent war in Europe after 1945 Essay

Did the possession of nuclear weapons prevent war in Europe after 1945 - Essay Example There is no doubt that presence of nuclear programs and weapons enabled Europe to take wise decisions after 1945. The best example of European ‘wise decisions’ is no nuclear war has taken place since 1945. If we talk about the nuclear battlefield in the context of British Government, we would analyse the British Army of the Rhine spent much time and effort in trying to imagine what such a battlefield might look like and in preparing to cope with it. The main reason was that British Government was in debt to the USA, due to which it reduced its armed forced to one million soldiers. Beside this, all European countries were aware of the haphazard of nuclear war, since the bombing of ‘Hiroshima’. During the 1950s and 1960s these efforts were taken very seriously, which involved two steps: possessing advanced nuclear weapons and visualising war with and without them. Of course war cannot be fought without them, which means war fought with nuclear weapons. ‘ Hiroshima’ bombing is a sample view, which is still giving birth to the haphazard of a single nuclear bomb. In the context of war at the strategic level the first response was to emphasise ‘counterforce’. Soviet weapons were the strategic targets and senior commanders still talked as though a nuclear war could be ‘won’. Then the danger of this approach dawned with the development of Soviet Union the means of delivering a massive blow against the United States, so the notion of 'riding out' a first strike and then delivering a counter-blow on what could only be empty silos and deserted bomber bases became highly unattractive. The result was a shift back to 'city-busting', holding the people rather than the weapons as hostages; 400 one-megaton weapons able to hit area targets would suffice. This totally amoral doctrine was dressed up under the term Mutual Assured Destruction and its appropriate acronym (MAD). The tactical counterpart to this change of heart took a further five years to mature. It came to be realised that large-scale assault on NATO, while still a de adly danger, was by no means the only or even the most likely contingency. (Barnaby & Holdstock, 2003, p. 39) At that time the total nuclear stockpile of the United States, at its highest point, had an estimated explosive yield of some 9 billion tons of high explosive and the Soviet stockpile must have been much the same. In the 20 years from 1945 to 1965 nuclear warheads evolved to fill every possible ecological niche on the battlefield and in numbers far greater than any rational person could possibly have considered useful. (2003, p.

Decriptive Writting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Decriptive Writting - Essay Example It matters not what the weather is outdoors, for in my haven, I begin each morning gazing at blue skies. No matter the outdoor seasons, I don't need slippers in my comfort zone for I pad about with my feet warmed by lush mauve cotton. I sit each morning in my sanctuary listening to the birds chirp just outside my window. If I close my eyes though, I can let them in. Once in, the birds pick their place in my haven and wish me a good day with their chirps. Comforting scents of coffee, cinnamon and butter slowly waft in as I rest my head on a couch cushion. I hear determined footsteps through my sky. My daughter is awake and getting ready for school. A glance to my right reminds me how privileged I am to be the mother of this remarkable woman. In this room she lives as well. My right wall is adorned with the proof of her superiority Honor roll, first place in science six years in a rowvolleyball team recognitions. All of these things surround the pictures of my magnificent seventeen year old creation. Only last night, in the evening sky I visited with my instruments. There they have sat for years waiting for my touch. I wonder if they miss my touch and the music we made together.

Overpopulation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Overpopulation - Essay Example The pieces of evidence presented by census findings, instead of theories of demography, furnish the inevitable core of this idea. These are all according to the proponents of population reduction. During the time of Jesus, the population of the world may have been around 300 million people, densely packed mainly in China, India, and the Mediterranean region (Fagley 1960, 15). After analyzing different approximations, the Secretariat of the United Nations Population Division, proposes â€Å"that the world’s population was likely to have been between 200 and 300 million at the beginning of the Christian era† (Fagley 1960, 15). At some point between1930 and 1960, the growth in the population of the world will be roughly 1 billion, or approximately three times the overall population during the age of the New Testament (Green 2008). Furthermore, this population growth may be twice as huge as the world’s total population during the Reformation. This phenomenon is calle d ‘population explosion’ (Fagley 1960, 15-16). With the current rate of population growth, it can be estimated that in six centuries the number of people on the planet will be such that there will be just a square meter for each individual to inhabit (Jakab 2008). However, this would be impossible since something will take place to stop it. As an arithmetical practice, the picture of the imagined population explosion can certainly be furthered (Gilland 2008). In an April 1958 hypothetical article John L. Russell, S.J. theorized that, supposing a population that grows twofold every century, a growth rate significantly below the current rate, the current population of the world would have stemmed from an Adam and Eve existent roughly in 1000 B.C. (Hollingsworth 1996). A vivid illustration of this theory is presented in the following passage (Fagley 1960): One thousand years hence, at the same rate, there would be two million million people†¦ In 2,500 years from now, the population would be so densely packed that there would be one man on every square yard of the earth’s surface, including the sea. In 5,000 years the weight of human beings would be equal to the total weight of the earth, and in 14,000 years to the estimated total weight of the universe (ibid, p. 18). Apparently, such practices are only useful in illustrating that the current population growth rate cannot continue, and that the issue of overpopulation cannot be mitigated unless the growth rate itself is substantially altered. The major issue at this point is the importance of the short-range forecasts demonstrating the possibility that the human population will double in the very near future. This is certainly not an exploratory or hypothetical practice. This is the reasonable and valid repercussion of the established truth. This is an extension of a population explosion already in full swing. Is there really a problem of overpopulation? What should the governments do abou t this so-called threat of overpopulation? Should population growth be aggressively controlled by the enforcement of laws and taxes? The next section will review and discuss the arguments for and against the implementation of population growth control measures by the government. Overpopulation should be stopped: True or False? Different assertions have been made for endorsing population control mechanisms. They run the

BUSINESS LAW I (BUS 231) contract six ways an offer may be terminated Essay

BUSINESS LAW I (BUS 231) contract six ways an offer may be terminated - Essay Example Although, in some instances, a person under below 18 years may be forced to sign an agreement but this depends on the contract type. First, it should have a subject of an agreement. The subject should indicate the conditions or contract terms made between two people. Therefore, the subject should have a permitted policy or legal matter. Secondly, the agreement should be considerable. Consideration is a valuable element in a contract, and it consists of the legal damage and negotiation. A legal damage is an agreement of refraining from causing damage. The purpose of this element is to ensure that there should be a negotiation rather than making inquiries in case one party is subjected to a loss or not (Keenan and Sarah 56). Thirdly, it should be competent to form an agreement. In this case, competency needs a minimum age and psychological capability of understanding the agreement. For instance, organization can engage in contracts but through actions of the required labor force who are competent in binding the contract. Fourthly, it should have lawful relationship meaning that the purpose of the agreement is to pr oduce legitimate relations. Lastly, the agreement ought to have an offer and be acceptance. This means that the parties involving in the contract should make a bid or tender. Therefore, the tender should be acceptable meaning that it should provide satisfaction and meet the required standards for a reason. In this case, one party makes a tender and another one accept it because sometimes misunderstandings may occur. Therefore, the offer should satisfy both parties and have some evidence connected in conduct manifesting the agreement for both parties involved in the contract. There are varied ways through which an offer may be terminated. First, through revocation whereby the offeror may cancel the agreement before the offeree admits it. This is termed as revocation or invalidation; thus, the offer will be

Control Systems and Quality Management in Relation to Motivation Essay

Control Systems and Quality Management in Relation to Motivation - Essay Example Control systems and quality management incorporates techniques which motivate the behavior of employees in evaluating their performance. Quality control and quality management systems in the healthcare company ensure quality of products and services. They involve a planned and organized approach to monitoring, analyzing and enhancing organizational performance which is a source of motivation. Most healthcare organizations have established continuous quality control and improvement systems for an excellent and constant quality management program as suggested by Shortell and Kaluzny (1997). Healthcare companies should consider that institutions with constant quality control systems desire to adopt positive changes in all aspects of the organization’s activities. Quality management in healthcare companies offers a framework for service delivery and helps hospitals organize their operation to provide quality services. Management control systems aim at bringing commonness of goals and coordination of processes in health care organizations for dysfunctional control systems. The control systems are expected to monitor and regulate the behavior of workers in the organization. For instance, the top management depends on information provided at different management levels to make decisions and to evaluate processes. Management control systems in healthcare organizations are concerned with resource allocation, coordination and motivation of the employees. The control system in management of healthcare organizations applies techniques such as total quality management. Total quality management is an aspect of management which constantly aims at enhancing quality services and management. Every healthcare organization’s management should develop a control system customized to its goals and resources. These control systems relate to motivation of employees in healthcare organizations through different principles as outlined below: Focus in critical points: for in stance, controls are used where failure is a threat and the costs do not exceed a specific amount. This critical point involves all healthcare operations that affect the motivation of workers. Established processes integration which implies that controls in healthcare organizations must work in coordination within various processes in order to motivate the employees for improved performance. Control systems are important in providing information on the organization’s resources including human, financial and physical resources. This is because they are manipulated to improve the use of these resources mostly during strategy implementation Information availability is another important principle that goes toward the motivation of employees through quality management. This can be achieved by ensuring that there are set targets in various processes including deadlines for project completion, priority aspects in services, and cost effectiveness. Comprehensibility is another princip le which implies that motivational controls must be easy and simple for employees to understand Accuracy demands that an effective and motivational control system should offer real information which is useful, consistent, valid and reliable to workers. Economic feasibility is an important control systems motivational aspect as it ensures that control benefits are above the costs. Functional and Dysfunctional Control Systems Functional and dysfunctional control systems are applied in management to combine data collection. The data collected is normally used to determine employee motivation and evaluate their performances. These types of control systems a

To Introduce Dameware Mini Remote Control Software to our Research Proposal

To Introduce Dameware Mini Remote Control Software to our InformationTechnology Section - Research Proposal Example It helps to monitor and control remote sites so that people are not required to be there physically. It is efficient when used to remote control servers so that they can be managed from remote locations. This paper will analyze the use of this software and how this software will help reduce expenses for most operations. Chapter 1 1.1 Thesis and focus The proposal is aimed at investigating in the Dameware mini remote control software and its effectiveness and efficiency to the organization. Currently, organizations are after high productivity. In undertaking this research, information technology department will be interviewed on the usefulness of the Dameware mini remote control software. In addition, training will also be carried out so that they get the right skills to run the department. In adopting the Dameware mini remote control software the organization will be in a position to formulate policies with much ease. The purpose of the proposal is to test my ability on whether I can actually research on a business proposal, will also check on whether I have the ability to plan an extended business proposal, if I can cite locate, and even criticize on data that has been done by other scholars during my proposal writing and finally to assess my ability if I can outline special features of various types of proposals. The purpose of this statement will be to evaluate the implementation of Dameware mini remote control software in the information technology department. The specific objectives of the proposal will be to establish the benefits accrued from the Dameware mini remote control software, to evaluate efficiency of Dameware mini remote control software before it is implemented in the IT department, and to identify the defects that may be associated with Dameware mini remote control software. The proposal is aimed at increasing efficiency of organization. Technology currently has taken over every aspect that is being done in any organization. In many organizat ions, an estimate of 80% of the total work being done is mainly done by the support of technology. In employing the Dameware mini remote control software in an organization, productivity is greatly improved. On the other hand, there are other operations which are harmful to human beings, technology will do it best. Lastly, in using technology, time will be saved thus work will be efficient to the users. 1.2 Introduction The Dameware mini remote control software  is remotely supported software that is in place in many organizations. It is a software program that mainly deals with remotes. It is related to the Virtual Network Computing, but the difference is that it has other functionalities like; it can install the server on a demand, smart card support and pass through authentication. It is also termed Dameware mini remote control software. It is enabled in such a way that it can support many more that one monitor in a given environment, including other functions such as encryptio n and the transfer of files have been enabled currently. It is an enterprise system management application meant for windows that give administrators the control on the remote client computers. It offers an integration of composed Microsoft Windows NT administration utilities that has been incorporated in a centralized interface for management of remote in the window servers and workplaces. Majority of the standards utilities are added into the explorer-style

Control Systems and Quality Management in Relation to Motivation Essay

Control Systems and Quality Management in Relation to Motivation - Essay Example Control systems and quality management incorporates techniques which motivate the behavior of employees in evaluating their performance. Quality control and quality management systems in the healthcare company ensure quality of products and services. They involve a planned and organized approach to monitoring, analyzing and enhancing organizational performance which is a source of motivation. Most healthcare organizations have established continuous quality control and improvement systems for an excellent and constant quality management program as suggested by Shortell and Kaluzny (1997). Healthcare companies should consider that institutions with constant quality control systems desire to adopt positive changes in all aspects of the organization’s activities. Quality management in healthcare companies offers a framework for service delivery and helps hospitals organize their operation to provide quality services. Management control systems aim at bringing commonness of goals and coordination of processes in health care organizations for dysfunctional control systems. The control systems are expected to monitor and regulate the behavior of workers in the organization. For instance, the top management depends on information provided at different management levels to make decisions and to evaluate processes. Management control systems in healthcare organizations are concerned with resource allocation, coordination and motivation of the employees. The control system in management of healthcare organizations applies techniques such as total quality management. Total quality management is an aspect of management which constantly aims at enhancing quality services and management. Every healthcare organization’s management should develop a control system customized to its goals and resources. These control systems relate to motivation of employees in healthcare organizations through different principles as outlined below: Focus in critical points: for in stance, controls are used where failure is a threat and the costs do not exceed a specific amount. This critical point involves all healthcare operations that affect the motivation of workers. Established processes integration which implies that controls in healthcare organizations must work in coordination within various processes in order to motivate the employees for improved performance. Control systems are important in providing information on the organization’s resources including human, financial and physical resources. This is because they are manipulated to improve the use of these resources mostly during strategy implementation Information availability is another important principle that goes toward the motivation of employees through quality management. This can be achieved by ensuring that there are set targets in various processes including deadlines for project completion, priority aspects in services, and cost effectiveness. Comprehensibility is another princip le which implies that motivational controls must be easy and simple for employees to understand Accuracy demands that an effective and motivational control system should offer real information which is useful, consistent, valid and reliable to workers. Economic feasibility is an important control systems motivational aspect as it ensures that control benefits are above the costs. Functional and Dysfunctional Control Systems Functional and dysfunctional control systems are applied in management to combine data collection. The data collected is normally used to determine employee motivation and evaluate their performances. These types of control systems a

Conflict Management Essay Example for Free

Conflict Management Essay Conflict management refers to the long-term management of intractable conflicts. It is the label for the variety of ways by which people handle grievances — standing up for what they consider to be right and against what they consider to be wrong. Those ways include such diverse phenomena as gossip, ridicule, lynching, terrorism, warfare, feuding, genocide, law, mediation, and avoidance. Which forms of conflict management will be used in any given situation can be somewhat predicted and explained by the social structure — or social geometry — of the case. Conflict management is often considered to be distinct from conflict resolution. In order for actual conflict to occurr, there should be an expression of exclusive patterns, and tell why the conflict was expressed the way it was. Conflict is not just about simple inaptness, but is often connected to a previous issue. The latter refers to resolving the dispute to the approval of one or both parties, whereas the former concerns an ongoing process that may never have a resolution. Neither is it considered the same as conflict transformation, which seeks to reframe the positions of the conflict parties. Scientific studies Scientific study of conflict management (also known as social control) owes its foundations to Donald Black, who typologized its elementary forms and used his strategy of pure sociology to explain several aspects of its variation. Research and theory on conflict management has been further developed by Allan Horwitz, Calvin Morill, James Tucker, Mark Cooney, M.P. Baumgartner, Roberta Senechal de la Roche, Marian Borg, Ellis Godard, Scott Phillips, and Bradley Campbell. Utilizing a multidisciplinary approach and avoiding semantic discussions, we could also state that the father of conflict management is Thomas C. Schelling, an American economist and Nobel Prize winner, who authored the Strategy of Conflict in 1960. Schelling’s main goal was to lay the foundation for a theory of conflict that would include the fields of economics, psychology, sociology and the law. Conflict is an omnipresent trait of human societies since it is almost impossible to find two parties with entirely overlapping interests, thus a general theory for bargaining and negotiation to address conflict is useful not only in the field of international politics or business management, but also at the personal and intimate level. Counseling When personal conflict leads to frustration and loss of efficiency, counseling may prove to be a helpful antidote. Although few organizations can afford the luxury of having professional counselors on the staff, given some training, managers may be able to perform this function. Nondirective counseling, or listening with understanding, is little more than being a good listener — something every manager should be. [1] Sometimes the simple process of being able to vent ones feelings — that is, to express them to a concerned and understanding listener, is enough to relieve frustration and make it possible for the frustrated individual to advance to a problem-solving frame of mind, better able to cope with a personal difficulty that is affecting his work adversely. The nondirective approach is one effective way for managers to deal with frustrated subordinates and co-workers.[2] There are other more direct and more diagnostic ways that might be used in appropriate circumstances. The great strength of the nondirective approach (nondirective counseling is based on the client-centered therapy of Carl Rogers), however, lies in its simplicity, its effectiveness, and the fact that it deliberately avoids the manager-counselors diagnosing and interpreting emotional problems, which would call for special psychological training. No one has ever been harmed by being listened to sympathetically and understandingly. On the contrary, this approach has helped many people to cope with problems that were interfering with their effectiveness on the job.[2] References 1. ^ Henry P Knowles; Bà ¶rje O Saxberg (1971). Personality and leadership behavior. Reading, Mass.: Addison-Wesley Pub. Co.. Chapter 8. OCLC 118832. 2. ^ a b Richard Arvid Johnson (1976). Management, systems, and society : an introduction. Pacific Palisades, Calif.: Goodyear Pub. Co.. pp. 148–142. ISBN 0876205406 9780876205402. OCLC 2299496. Kellett, Peter M. Conflict Dialogue. London: Sage Publications, 2007 External links †¢ Conflict Management Articles A collection of Conflict Management Articles †¢ Peace Forge -A wiki dedicated to best practices in peace and conflict resolution †¢ Search For Common Ground One of the worlds largest non-government organisations dedicated to conflict resolution †¢ CUNY Dispute Resolution Consortium- The Dispute Resolution Headquarters in New York City. See also †¢ Conflict resolution †¢ Conflict atlas †¢ Conflict style inventory You cant avoid conflict in your life, at home, at work, and even at play. Wherever people interact, there is a potential for conflict. Thats not bad news because good things can arise, and relationships can improve through conflict, provided conflict is managed with thought and attention. The bad news is that most of us are fairly limited in how we manage and resolve conflict situations, often throwing gasoline on the fire. It doesnt have to be that way. Weve gathered together the best and most useful free online resources and tools to help you manage and cope with conflict more effectively. Whether you want to learn about conflict at work, between siblings, within the family, or any other context, youll be sure to find help on these pages. Originally created for our own research purposes, we decided to publish the directory so others could use it. New conflict material is added weekly, so make sure to subscribe to our update newsletter. Customer Service (75) new A major part of providing good customer service involves dealing effectively with angry, dissatisfied, or just plan difficult customers. Here youll find suggestions about how to deal with those tough customer service, and customer conflict situations. (Call Centers) (Suggested Books) Difficult People (53) new Difficult people can drive you nuts, and if youre difficult, you may be driving others nuts. Learn more about what makes difficult people tick, and how to deal with different kinds of difficult people behaviors. (Discussion Lists) (Suggested Books) Diversity and Multicultural Issues (73) Learn about diversity and culture, how to create diverse organizations, and increase your understanding of the links between diversity, culture and conflict. Practical suggestions about resolution of conflict that is linked to culture. (Suggested Books) (Doing Business Abroad) Emotional Intelligence (37) Free articles and papers related to Emotional Intelligence, Goleman, and others. Facilitation (21) new Articles about the faciliating process in groups and dyads and about facilitators Family Conflict Parents and Children (35) new Parents and children often come into conflict over large and small issues, regardless of age of the children. Learn more about dealing with conflicts between parents and children from these resources. Family Conflict Sibling Disagreements (20) new Conflict with brothers and sisters is a natural process, and occurs in every family. Learn more about conflict between siblings and sibling rivalry and how to deal with it. Fighting Fair (16) Sometimes its not whether you win or lose an argument but how you act during an argument that dictates a positive or negative outcome. Learn to fight fair during disagreements and conflict. Labor Law (23)

Integrated Community Centre for Mental Wellness in Hong Kong

Integrated Community Centre for Mental Wellness in Hong Kong Introduce ICCMW Services in Hong Kong Integrated Services in Hong Kong Start from 1991, the establishment of first integrated youth services centre, there are more and more integrated services has been developed in Hong Kong. It is believed that integrated services generated a lot of advantages, such as avoiding wastage of resources and duplication of services. For different target group of people, different kind of integrated services has been developed afterwards. Nowadays, there are integrated youth services (ICYSC), integrated family services (IFSC), integrated elderly services (DECC), integrated disable services (DSC), and integrated mental wellness services (ICCMW) in Hong Kong. In this paper, the integrated services of mental wellness in Hong Kong will be focused and discussed. The strengths and limitations of this integrated social service would be analysed, as well as the improvement of implementation. Background of Integrated Mental Wellness Services In March 2009, Social Welfare Department set up the first Integrated Community Centre for Mental Wellness (ICCMW) in Tin Shui Wai. The major aims of setting up ICCMW are enhancing the social support and re-integrating the ex-mentally ill persons into the community (Social Welfare Department, 2014). The goals of ICCMW are providing one stop services and accessible community supports for the needy. The targeted service users are discharged mental patients, persons with suspected mental health problems, their families or carers of above persons, and people who are interested in understanding and improving their mental health. ICCMW has been established in all the 18 districts in October 2010. Upon now, there are 24 ICCMW provided by 11 non-governmental organization (Social Welfare Department, 2014). Integration of Services Generally, there are three integration levels that integrated services have to address the different needs of clients, includes ICCMW, which are linkage, coordination, and full integration. For the first level, linkage, ICCMW would like to link up the service users and the particular services. For example, it provides information for people who concern about their stress level. For the second level, coordination, ICCMW would serve the function of coordinator between systems and agencies, process to address problem of service users. For example, follow up the case which just has been discharged from hospital by providing day training programs or counseling services in the centre or in other organizations, is a kind of cross-sectional operation between medical and mental wellness sectors. For the third level of integration, full integration, multidisciplinary team cooperation, and community integration would be the targets of ICCMW. There are nurses, occupational therapists, doctors, c linical psychiatrists, social workers as a team to provide mental rehabilitation services for clients, in order to let clients re-integrated to the community. Using the agency of The Wellness Centre in Tin Shui Wai of New Life Psychiatric Rehabilitation Association (New Life) as an example, it provides prevention services and intervention by using recovery-oriented approach. For the prevention, New Life offers a lot of mental health promotions and public education, letting general people have more understanding about mental health and mental illness. For the group work intervention, New Life provides support groups, carer volunteer training, and psycho-education programs for clients. For the individual level intervention, New Life provides counselling, peer support worker training, vocational planning and development services, wellness programs, and so on (New Life Psychiatric Rehabilitation Association, 2013). These kinds of intervention and therapy are for the goal of making people with mental health problem to reintegrate to community. Strengths of ICCMW There are a lot of advantages of setting up integrated services in Hong Kong, so do ICCMW. The first advantage of ICCMW is, convenient to services users. For the service users, ICCMW is multi-functional which provides occupational training, vocational training, care and support, and leisure opportunities. For the public who concern about their mental wellness, they can self approach ICCMW and ask for information and related services. Services are easier accessed nowadays. The second advantage of ICCMW is better coordination among workers and services. After integration, there are multidisciplinary within a team in ICCMW, such as occupational therapist, nurses, doctors, and social workers. They have regular case meetings for discussing how to manage the case, and it is believed that coordination would be better between each division due to more communication. The third advantage of ICCMW is reducing stigmatisation. ICCMW provides different kind of services, not only giving therapy and counselling for people with mental illness but also providing public education and volunteer trainings for mentally ill person or the caregivers. Public education serves the function of letting general public know more about mental health, and letting them to understand that it is not only refer to mental illness but also mental wellness related to everyone. Also, the chance of letting mentally ill person doing voluntary work to community helps them integrating back to community. Therefore, multidimensional services provided by ICCMW would let the concept of mental health and also the mentally ill person integrated into community. Limitations of ICCMW A coin has two sides, although ICCMW provides lot of advantages to service users and community, it is not faces no limitations. Firstly, ICCMW is hard to select centre location. Usually, ICCMW have to select a location for services centre which is close to community for residents convenience, however, there are lots of limitation of setting up centre in estates. Many of the ICCMW reflects that they are hard to find a permanent premises which are large enough for group services and training. And the reason may attribute to the approval time of Welfare Department are too long (Cheung, 2011). In addition, there are objective sounds reject if ICCMW is too close to community or located in estate. For example, in 2010, the residents and the district councilor of Tuen Mun Wu King Estate objected one ICCMW established in their estate, and requested the moving out of ICCMW (MingPao Health, 2011). The major reason is due to stigmatization of mentally ill people who are dangerous and would attack public suddenly. Therefore, residents object if ICCMW too close to the residents. Secondly, there is shortage of man-power. As integrated, ICCMW needs professional staff from different discipline such as nurses, clinical psychiatrists, and doctors. It is all known that, these kinds of professions are now shortage in Hong Kong. Even an ICCMW start in estate, they may face the problem of down man-power for a period of time. Thirdly, it is time-consuming to have meetings for multidiscipline to discuss and examine the case management. Since services integrated, operation complexity would be increased. Regular meeting is essential to understand the roles and views of other professions, however, caseworks and pressures would relatively increase. That makes the workers may easily burnt out for the increased duties. Lastly, there is lack of centralized data for different agencies. Although the communication and interaction between agencies, departments, or bureaus increased under integrated services, they do not have share information between each other. For example, a mental illness patient who just discharged from hospital with marriage problem, Medical Social Services Department in Hospital, Integrated Family Service Center (IFSC), and ICCMW would be involved in this case. Since there are no platforms for information sharing between agencies, the social workers in ICCMW may need to contact IFSC social workers and medical social workers particularly for further information. Procedures may be duplicated due to lack of data transparency. Suggestions for ICCMW First of all, it is suggested that increase the linkage between agencies and organization by developing a platform to share essential information. For example, the doctors in hospital can provide medical reports, integrated progress notes provided by social workers from related agencies etc. It is believed that can raise the transparency of information and data. In addition, it is suggested that Social Welfare Department can simplify the application system of centre location, to avoid the situation that appropriate venue has been rented by other private parties during the long and complicated approval process. Furthermore, it is important to strengthen the public education for public understanding the nature and image of ICCMW. As residents have misunderstanding about people with mental health problem are all dangerous to society, public education is necessary to eliminate their incorrect perception. It is recommended that government should strengthen the advertisement and civil education in community and education institutions, to let people have correct concept about recovered mental ill person that they are also a part of society, and not only harmful to society. Finally, it is also suggested that more resources should be granted for ICCMW. As ICCMW is the newest service within integrated services since 2009, the resources and experiences are not yet well-developed. Therefore, resources like funding for ICCMW allow them to purchase more useful treatment tools for clients, or hire more professional staff for relieving the pressure of existing staff. Conclusion Integration of services in Hong Kong are designed to fulfill different needs of clients, and avoiding wastage of resources. ICCMW generates the advantages of convenience to service users, better cooperation among services workers, and reduce the stigmatization of mentally ill people in society. However, there are still some limitations that ICCMW facing, such as difficulty of selecting centre location, shortage of man-power, time consuming of multidisciplinary meeting, and lack of centralized data. It is believed that ICCMW is still in the developing process, if government provides certain assistances and recourses for them, the integrated services would benefit more and more people in need in the coming future. References Cheung, K. C. (2011), Hong Kong Social Workers General Union. Service Series- Rehabilitation Services, Retrieved on 29 April 2014 from http://www.hkswgu.org.hk/node/70 MingPao Health (2011), â€Å"Only 6 out of 24 ICCMW location confirmed† retrieved on 5 May 2014, from http://www.mingpaohealth.com/cfm/news3.cfm?File=20110213/news/gok1.txt New Life Psychiatric Rehabilitation Association (2013), Annual Report 2012-2013. Retrieved on 2 May 2014, from http://www.nlpra.org.hk/information_n_publications/Annual_report/pdf/049_117_2013.aspx Social Welfare Department (2014), Integrated Community Centre for Mental Wellness (ICCMW), Services Description, retrieved on 2 May 2014, from http://www.swd.gov.hk/en/index/site_pubsvc/page_rehab/sub_listofserv/id_iccmw/ 1

Essay --

I blinked. The pencil drummed on the table erratically as my hand twitched, my knuckles feeling the trembling broken lead beneath my anxious thumb. The incessant tapping fell dull on my ears, but I earned more than one icy glance from classmates. The paper stared back at me, white and unyielding. My eyes were locked on its blankness, but I didn’t see. The faint blue lines blurred, and fabricated shadows danced before my unfocused eyes. My mind whirred; I could almost hear the gears struggling fruitlessly to turn without oil. I felt my heart stretch with the effort of keeping all the unsatisfied energy within. My fingers laced up through my hair and I pulled on the long curls, as if the prickling pain would help me think. A frustrated growl threatened to escape my throat, but I pushed it back down with a silent reminder that everyone was already irritated with me. The vague babbling from behind served as an ignored cue that a friend was trying vainly to communicate with me. From experience I knew that after a moment, she would mutter, â€Å"You can’t hear anything I’m saying, can you?† and give up on trying to reach me. That was fine by me. The whole of the world was a distraction; I couldn’t afford any individual pulls from my work. As it was, a song hummed distantly in my mind, begging me to draw it closer. My pencil adopted the beat and I frowned. I studied my hands, the tendons tense beneath the surface, knuckles jutting out sharply, and scratches splitting pale skin. Instinctively, I drew one up to my mouth and began to gnaw on an abused and ragged fingernail, feeling my braces click, metal on metal. I noticed my habit, but did nothing to stop. A thousand thousand thoughts sauntered across the surface of my sanity, mocking... ...ped a bucket of cold water over my sleeping chimera. The sound of my pencil’s knocking bounced off the walls of my consciousness and echoed back into my ears. Words of description flashed before my eyes, leading me on towards the light. My paper’s utter blankness ceased mocking me, and held promise instead of contempt. I felt the words there, written in ink only I could see, waiting, waiting for me. I felt a smile push the corners of my mouth up and my pencil began to fly across the paper, soft whispering noises floating up to me like a song, the gentle proof that I had broken down the walls around my creativity. â€Å"The pencil drummed on the table erratically as my hand twitched†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I almost laughed aloud. I couldn’t stop now if I wanted to. â€Å"I’ve got it,† I called over my shoulder. â€Å"Yeah? What?† my friend leaned forward absently. I smiled. â€Å"Writer’s block.†

Society, Class, and Conflict the Social Criticism of Virginia Woolf Ess

Virginia Woolf offers interesting analysis of social pressure and social class in Mrs. Dalloway and The Years. Understanding Woolf’s message about society demands a certain amount of sensitivity and decoding on behalf of her reader. Her social criticism in both texts can be easily overlooked because she keeps it subtle and implicit, hidden in the patterns and courses of her characters’ trains of thoughts. Yet upon such close reading, the essential importance of conflict between the individual and society in Woolf’s work becomes clear. While Mrs. Dalloway critiques the mental consequences of socialization, self-restraint, and the subsequent regret, The Years examines the relationship between the upper classes and the lower classes and the physical consequences of their respective places in society. Virginia Woolf’s stream-of-consciousness style of narration is essential to her method of providing social criticism. Instead of forcing extreme physical situations or conflicts into her text, Woolf instead offers nuanced observations through her characters’ patterns and trains of thought. Virginia Woolf said of Mrs. Dalloway, â€Å"I want to criticise the social system, and to show it at work, at its most intense† (Zwerdling), a statement that may surprise some readers. However, allowing the reader to witness each individual thought of the characters as they are linked together helps provide insight into how the social system influences their thoughts, memories, and ultimately their identities. The strength of Woolf’s social criticism comes from her ability to infer judgment in this fashion and presents interesting perspectives on class conflict, socialization self-restraint, regret, and coming to terms (or rejecting) with the conditions ... ...s assuming particular identities and suppressing their desires. Through Rose, Woolf shows us that rebellion against this social order comes at a cost. Meanwhile, through Clarissa the reader learns of the the regret that must accompany assuming a social role for the sake of material success. Instead of focusing on the technological and economic progress of her time, Woolf highlights the psychological consequences of social change. As societies grow more complicated and intense with their development, her stream-of-consciousness style provides her readers with insight into the individual costs that we all must pay. Works Cited Woolf, Virginia. Mrs. Dalloway. Orlando: Harcourt, 1981. Print. Woolf, Virginia. The Years. Orlando, FL: Harcourt Brace & Company, 1937. Print. Zwerdling, Alex. "Mrs. Dalloway and the Social System." PMLA 92.1 (1977): 69-82. Print.

My Mother

This essay is about how a perfect mother looks like to me. People say that the perfect mother does not exist, I actually don’t know if that is true, but what I do know is that my mother is perfect for me. Everything in my mother is special; the way she dresses, the way she speaks, the way she behaves etc. Somehow they are a part of you, a part of your world, your heart. For me that is my mother. Her voice calms me down. When he leaves for business trips, I feel like a part of me is missing. When he calls me to say hello, he makes everything better in a second. Just the sound of her voice is what I need from time to time. She is very good with words and almost knows what you want to hear when you are sad. The picture of my mother will ever fade away from my mind. Her curly brown hair with white strands throughout make her look younger than she is. She stands at 5’5 and weighs 145Ibs. She has smoky gray eyes that glow when the sun comes up. Her eyes sparkle and change colors depending on her mood. Her eyes and her smile light up my world. Her style of clothing is a little different from other mothers, but I love that about her. She doesn’t let anyone change her mind. She never wears heels because she hates getting dressed up but her favorite shoes of all time are Nike shocks. Being a writer explains her love for book and literature in general. She loves telling stories especially about her childhood and past experiences which she is really good at. She puts her heart and soul into whatever she writes. She has a hard time showing her feelings because of past experiences, but when she writes stories she shows it. It’s her way to express herself. Writing is her way of making her feel better and a way to express herself as a person. Her voice is being heard on paper. My mother is a fantastic cook. You will always find her in the kitchen making some sort of desert. I always used to help her make monkey bread as a little girl. She would always smell like honey and maple syrup. When I was a little girl, I would always remember when she used to tuck me into bed and kiss me goodbye I could always smell maple syrup on her. I love that smell. Even twenty five years later, the smell has never disappeared. She has the same smell that lingers off of her that brings back so many great memories for me. My mother is the kind of person that does not show her feelings a lot. She keeps her feelings to herself sometimes but when she gets the chance to show us, it’s the greatest feeling in the world. She may not kiss or hug us all the time but I always know that she loves us unconditionally. When she does hug us, I feel warm and loved. She doesn’t judge what we have done in the past or what we might do; she teaches us lessons that will help us make the right choices in life. She is the one who is always there for me. If I am having a bad day or just need someone to talk too, she is the first person I run too. She isn’t just my mom but she is my best friend. She knows me instead and out. I get most of my looks from my mom which isn’t so bad because my mom is beautiful inside and out. I am so lucky that my son has her for a grandma because he will have a great role model to look up to when he gets older. They say you will never forget the person you first laid eyes on. Without them you feel lost and not yourself. Somehow they are a part of you, a part of your world, your heart. My Mother This essay is about how a perfect mother looks like to me. People say that the perfect mother does not exist, I actually don’t know if that is true, but what I do know is that my mother is perfect for me. Everything in my mother is special; the way she dresses, the way she speaks, the way she behaves etc. Somehow they are a part of you, a part of your world, your heart. For me that is my mother. Her voice calms me down. When he leaves for business trips, I feel like a part of me is missing. When he calls me to say hello, he makes everything better in a second. Just the sound of her voice is what I need from time to time. She is very good with words and almost knows what you want to hear when you are sad. The picture of my mother will ever fade away from my mind. Her curly brown hair with white strands throughout make her look younger than she is. She stands at 5’5 and weighs 145Ibs. She has smoky gray eyes that glow when the sun comes up. Her eyes sparkle and change colors depending on her mood. Her eyes and her smile light up my world. Her style of clothing is a little different from other mothers, but I love that about her. She doesn’t let anyone change her mind. She never wears heels because she hates getting dressed up but her favorite shoes of all time are Nike shocks. Being a writer explains her love for book and literature in general. She loves telling stories especially about her childhood and past experiences which she is really good at. She puts her heart and soul into whatever she writes. She has a hard time showing her feelings because of past experiences, but when she writes stories she shows it. It’s her way to express herself. Writing is her way of making her feel better and a way to express herself as a person. Her voice is being heard on paper. My mother is a fantastic cook. You will always find her in the kitchen making some sort of desert. I always used to help her make monkey bread as a little girl. She would always smell like honey and maple syrup. When I was a little girl, I would always remember when she used to tuck me into bed and kiss me goodbye I could always smell maple syrup on her. I love that smell. Even twenty five years later, the smell has never disappeared. She has the same smell that lingers off of her that brings back so many great memories for me. My mother is the kind of person that does not show her feelings a lot. She keeps her feelings to herself sometimes but when she gets the chance to show us, it’s the greatest feeling in the world. She may not kiss or hug us all the time but I always know that she loves us unconditionally. When she does hug us, I feel warm and loved. She doesn’t judge what we have done in the past or what we might do; she teaches us lessons that will help us make the right choices in life. She is the one who is always there for me. If I am having a bad day or just need someone to talk too, she is the first person I run too. She isn’t just my mom but she is my best friend. She knows me instead and out. I get most of my looks from my mom which isn’t so bad because my mom is beautiful inside and out. I am so lucky that my son has her for a grandma because he will have a great role model to look up to when he gets older. They say you will never forget the person you first laid eyes on. Without them you feel lost and not yourself. Somehow they are a part of you, a part of your world, your heart. My Mother This essay is about how a perfect mother looks like to me. People say that the perfect mother does not exist, I actually don’t know if that is true, but what I do know is that my mother is perfect for me. Everything in my mother is special; the way she dresses, the way she speaks, the way she behaves etc. Somehow they are a part of you, a part of your world, your heart. For me that is my mother. Her voice calms me down. When he leaves for business trips, I feel like a part of me is missing. When he calls me to say hello, he makes everything better in a second. Just the sound of her voice is what I need from time to time. She is very good with words and almost knows what you want to hear when you are sad. The picture of my mother will ever fade away from my mind. Her curly brown hair with white strands throughout make her look younger than she is. She stands at 5’5 and weighs 145Ibs. She has smoky gray eyes that glow when the sun comes up. Her eyes sparkle and change colors depending on her mood. Her eyes and her smile light up my world. Her style of clothing is a little different from other mothers, but I love that about her. She doesn’t let anyone change her mind. She never wears heels because she hates getting dressed up but her favorite shoes of all time are Nike shocks. Being a writer explains her love for book and literature in general. She loves telling stories especially about her childhood and past experiences which she is really good at. She puts her heart and soul into whatever she writes. She has a hard time showing her feelings because of past experiences, but when she writes stories she shows it. It’s her way to express herself. Writing is her way of making her feel better and a way to express herself as a person. Her voice is being heard on paper. My mother is a fantastic cook. You will always find her in the kitchen making some sort of desert. I always used to help her make monkey bread as a little girl. She would always smell like honey and maple syrup. When I was a little girl, I would always remember when she used to tuck me into bed and kiss me goodbye I could always smell maple syrup on her. I love that smell. Even twenty five years later, the smell has never disappeared. She has the same smell that lingers off of her that brings back so many great memories for me. My mother is the kind of person that does not show her feelings a lot. She keeps her feelings to herself sometimes but when she gets the chance to show us, it’s the greatest feeling in the world. She may not kiss or hug us all the time but I always know that she loves us unconditionally. When she does hug us, I feel warm and loved. She doesn’t judge what we have done in the past or what we might do; she teaches us lessons that will help us make the right choices in life. She is the one who is always there for me. If I am having a bad day or just need someone to talk too, she is the first person I run too. She isn’t just my mom but she is my best friend. She knows me instead and out. I get most of my looks from my mom which isn’t so bad because my mom is beautiful inside and out. I am so lucky that my son has her for a grandma because he will have a great role model to look up to when he gets older. They say you will never forget the person you first laid eyes on. Without them you feel lost and not yourself. Somehow they are a part of you, a part of your world, your heart.

Sources and Forms of Entertainment and Their Impact on Society Essay

In Life the Movie: How Entertainment Conquered Reality, Neal Gabler describes entertainment as having no moral, physical, or mental benefits to the success of society other than bringing temporary happiness. Through forms of entertainment, especially ones created in the last century, this viewpoint is strongly evident. However many forms of entertainment stimulate and progress society. Entertainment brings a greater feeling of happiness and relaxation to individuals of society thus having a positive effect. However the source and form of entertainment chosen to fulfill happiness and relaxation in most instances, determines the positive or negative effect on society. Physical activities create possible the largest source of entertainment for society. From Ice climbing to soccer matches all entertainment of this form has a positive effect on society. From a scientific viewpoint physical activity brings more flow of blood to the brain, thus supplying it with the maximum amount of nutrie nts and oxygen needed for brains growth and health. This process of extra blood flow creates an outstanding separation between student athletes’ and regular students’ high school GPAs. In most schools student athletes average GPAs average almost a full grade point higher than other students’ average. Though, this is not the only advantage to this source of entertainment. Entertainment such as this builds personal characteristics, characteristics such as teamwork, perseverance, effort, and even leadership. From my personal experiences in soccer I have learned how to become a leader while still doing my part on the field, qualities that can help me and any groups I work with in the future. Varies forms of storytelling have been a source for entertainment for as long as human populations have been able to communicate with each other. Sources of entertainment such as fireside stories, performances, and reading are just some examples of this form of entertainment. However, in the past few decades, new technologies especially the television have altered the art of storytelling to mindless, visual and emotional appeal. Before television this form of visual and imaginative entertainment, would usually include life lessons about morals and history or even provide guidance for one’s life. With television being the most common source of entertainment it holds a huge part on the  influences on the people of society today. However shows such as Fear Factor and real world have no positive effect on society. These types of shows have no lessons to be learned and force no physical or mental exercise of the viewer. Entertainment keeps society driving and pushing further. Not only can it offer happiness and a better state of mind, but it can also offer learning opportunities to society. However, source and form of entertainment determines the positive or negative effects of its use. With technology growing at exponential rates concerns arise because of the correlated increases in negative impact entertainment. The idea being, the more we really on technology for everyday tasks, the less capable we become of being a positive part of society. Entertainment needs to stimulate both the mental and physical capabilities of society, it shouldn’t only bring happiness and visual appeals otherwise we will live in a world much like the one in Mikes Judge’s film Idiocracy.