Pavarotti Fashions Brand Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Pavarotti Fashions Brand - Case Study Example The paper "Pavarotti Fashions Brand" discovers case with the Brand of Pavarotti Fashions. In the first case, Amanda ordered a pair of jeans from Pavarotti’s mail order catalogue on the 5th of December. She received a notice on the 12th of December that the jeans are no longer available for the advertised price, but for the revised price of J300, introduced on the 8th of December. While Pavarotti offered a complete refund, Amanda refused the offer and insists that Pavarotti sell the merchandise for J250, as advertised. The relevant issue therefore is whether Amanda’s rights were violated as a result of Pavarotti’s refusal to sell her the merchandise based on the advertised price; and whether she can compel Pavarotti to sell her the merchandise based on the advertised price. In determining whether Amanda’s rights were violated, one must assess her rights as Pavarotti’s customer, in particular and as a consumer, in general. As Pavarotti’s custom er, Amanda’s rights depend on her contractual relationship with Pavarotti, such that a contract binding the two to specific performance must first exist. However, the courts may find that a contract does not exist. Looking unto Partridge v Crittendon , Pavarotti’s advertisements in the catalogue can be treated as an â€Å"invitation to treat† as opposed to an offer. By ordering, Amanda is simply making an offer. However, in introducing the revised price, Pavarotti makes a counter-offer, which is tantamount to a rejection of Amanda’s offer, ending the current negotiations.... While Carlill v. Carbolic Smoke Ball Co7 illustrates a contrary situation, where if applied to Amanda's case leads to a valid contract and existing obligations between the two parties8, this application is unlikely. Unlike in Carlill, Pavarotti, through the mail order catalogue did not illustrate a willingness to be bound by the advertisements, such that the company was merely supplying information to prospective customers. The lack of contractual intent on Pavarotti's part makes his advertisements merely an invitation to treat, as opposed to an offer. Furthermore, looking at the nature of Pavarotti's business where the merchandise is always subject to the availability of stock9 and the fact that mail order catalogues are already dated once released, such that it does not reflect price changes made within the company's physical office days after the release; Amanda cannot rely on the catalogue's certainty. Thus, the lack of contractual intent on the part of Pavarotti, and the lack of certainty, as illustrated in the facts given regarding the mail order catalogue, illustrates that no binding contract was formed, such that Amanda cannot hold Pavarotti to sell her the merchandise based on the adver tised price because no contractual relationship or obligation exists between the parties. Insofar as contractual obligations are concerned, Amanda therefore has no claim against Pavarotti. However, as a consumer, she can claim that Pavarotti's action violates her civil rights. Based on the Trade Descriptions Act 1968 and the Consumer Protection Act 1987, Pavarotti can be subject to criminal liabilities. Amanda can argue that even though there is no contractual obligation between her and

The media institutions operate under advance capitalism Essay Example for Free

The media institutions operate under advance capitalism Essay Today, just a handful of firms are responsible for most of the information that people sees, hears or reads. Most disturbing of the concentration of ownership is the unregulated and near-complete control over information in the hands of a small number of very powerful corporations. These big corporations of mass communication and media are becoming more and more influential our lives. The media institutions operate under advance capitalism. The information that we get is selected and framed to serve particular political and economic interests, such as commercial needs and corporate needs, but not individuals interests. The effect of TV, dairy newspaper, magazines and internet so far has largely been to increase the political crises and profit motive. If communication and media are abused, they can be used against society, and changing our world in a very negative way. Western democracies have free-market economies, in which individuals are at liberty to produce and consume according to their own interests.1 In our society, our democracy is based on the free exchange of information, on an open market place of ideas. Many communication activities have been returned to private hands from the public ownership due to the privatization and deregulation. There are several reasons for the concentration of ownership and the cut down of government regulation. Firstly, revenue-strapped governments have become eager to assign more and more areas of the economy to market forces.2 Some government action can lead to a less efficient allocation of resources and slow down the development of the economy. For example, regulatory agencies fixed the prices can only allow the corporate to earn a normal rate of return. In addition, due to the changing of economy, many small firms expand their power by selling to local market, merge up by a bigger corporation. The powerful corporation can fix the prices and control output to maximize the profits, which can benefit the economy growth. They can even cut prices to drive the other competitors out of the business. Implementing the intercept requirements could harm the competitiveness of our country products in the global market. Secondly, the growth of the technology allowed the market to expand without bound. For example, the Internet is a new method of communication and a source of information that is becoming more popular, which everyone can access it from anywhere and anytime. The government cannot interfere with what we see and hear makes it more and more difficult for national governments to assume control of cultural production. Thirdly, peoples sense of belonging to the national community has changed.3 People do not want to put more power in the hands of the government. They think government involvement creates even more problem than they can solve. Sometime can lead to a less efficiently, wasting time and money. The deregulations of the mass communication and media have threatened the public interests. The factors of concentration of ownership, the profit motive and advertisers interests are the main key to determining the production and the content of news and media. The press and the media are responsible for reporting news, issues and events as clearly as possible. Since we are educated about what is happening in the world around us and updated on issues that we care. Any distortions can cause the information to be misinterpreted or completely wrong, result in the misinforming of the public. However, based on the capitalism, large media corporations make profit by selling the audiences to the advertisers. For example, the economic structure of a newspaper is that it sells readers to other business. They are not really trying to sell newspaper to people. They just try to increase their readerships in order to increase the advertising rate.4 They are not trying to provide what people want to see, but to communicate the public to a large number of companies or businesses. The media content is depending on the advertising company, which can affect both the content of news as well as the process by which news is created. We have to think deeply about the questions such as: How all these factors affect peoples lives? What purpose does peoples lives serve as? Can we continue to gain the absolute truth? However, the sad thing is many people do not know or concern the horrors that control and power can bring to our society. Corporate journalism and corporate control of the cultural, information and entertainment complex have always existed. The media has been increased the political crises around the world. Take 911 as an example, the U.S. media devoted huge coverage to the attacks and their aftermath, but omitting a critical and accurate discussion of the context.5 The way which news broadcast, print, radio and Internet present news has a great effect on our emotion or feeling. Many Canadians are indignant as much as the Americans are when we heard that thousands people were killed by an airplanes hit in the World Trade Center. They support U.S to start the war against Iraqi because they are deeply influence by the mass media. The truth is, beside the reason of revenge and the elimination of terrorism, is the over taking of the petroleum a one of the reasons too? Countrys culture industries can be overwhelmed by foreign influence. The United States has always had stringent restrictions on foreign investment in its telecommunications and media sectors.6 Another negative effect of the mass media is the influence of the advertising have on us. Is advertising deceptive? Does it create or perpetuate stereotypes? Advertisements are everywhere in television, newspapers, magazines and internet. These media not only reflect our society, it also constantly reinforces certain ideas and human being.7 Companies and businesses often overwhelming the benefits and advantages of their products. They are willing to stretch and distort the truth, just to convincing people to buy their product. They may hide some facts such as the expensive price. For example, BMW ads amplify the amazing horsepower and the superior performance of their vehicles but will not mention how costly they are. Nike ads are accused of implying that their shoes will give a consumer athletic ability. The result is customers usually buy the things that they really do not need. Children most likely ask their parents to buy the toys and clothing after they have seen the commercial on the TV. It has created a stereotype, such as boys prefer to play robots and girls love dolls. Also, teenagers have become top consumers in todays society, so advertisers have focused on getting their business. Teens like to purchase new items to keeps up with the changing trends. Therefore, advertisers use their view of teens to create ads. Some ads may have bad effect on teenagers, such as alcohols and cigarettes. Although the concentrations of ownership, deregulation and technology have threatened our public interest, we can still able to learn about the choices that we face and make reasoned decisions. We have choice to see, to read, and to hear what we wanted to. It is up to the consumers to make wise choices and develop shopping skills that are intelligent. The one event may give rise to several news. People should learn to make an analysis of the truthfulness and express their own feeling but not influence by the media. BIBLIOGRAPHY: Chodos, Murphy, Hamovitch, Lost in Cyberspace, James Lorimer Company, Publishers, Toronto, 1997. Chomsky, Noam, Understand Power: The Indispensable Chomsky, The New Press, New York, 2002. Ermann, Williams, Shauf, Computers, ethics and society, Oxford University Press, New York, 1990. Gay, Martin k., The New Information Revolution, ABC-CLIO, Inc., California, 1996 Lorimer, Gasher, Mass communication in Canada, Oxford University Press, Canada, 2001. Mckibben, Bill, The age of missing information, Plume, Penguin Books Ltd, 1992. INTERNET RESOURCES: Global Media Markets and Citizen Information http://faculty.washington.edu/bennett/Media_Markets.htm Ansolabehere: Media Deregulation http://bostonreview.mit.edu/BR23.3/ansolabehere.html 1 Lorimer, Gasher, Mass communication in Canada, Oxford University Press, Canada, 2001, p.205. 2 Lorimer, Gasher, Mass communication in Canada, Oxford University Press, Canada, 2001, p.205. 3 ibid p.206 4 Chomsky, Noam, Understand Power: The Indispensable Chomsky, The New Press, New York, 2002, p.16. 5 Chomsky, Noam, Understand Power: The Indispensable Chomsky, The New Press, New York, 2002, p xiii. 6 Chodos, Murphy, Hamovitch, Lost in Cyberspace, James Lorimer Company, Publishers, Toronto, 1997, p.93. 7 Mckibben, Bill, The age of missing information, Plume, Penguin Books Ltd, 1992, p.17.

History Of Green Technology

History Of Green Technology In this new era, technology is improving fast and economic is growing rapidly due to the luxurious lifestyle of human nowadays. We can have as much energy as we want by producing efficiently and continuously. But the negative impact that these energy produce is more than positive impact because of resources that we need to use and waste product that were produce from the process of producing energy such as nuclear energy and coal energy. On the other hand, the rapid growth of industry from agricultural industry to manufacturing industry in the past decades has caused the production of energy to increase. However, the increase in these energy production consume a great amount of resource and will cause pollution to the environment and also people nowadays has already aware of the consequences of pollution that will bring to us in future. Therefore, production of green technology and energy has been increasing in these few years. 1.1 History of Green Technology In the early days, before the industry revolution, people were using the main source, the sun, to generating the heat, they also used the other source to assist their daily life, such as horses as their transportation use, animals like cows and donkeys as their labors, and the wind will use to move the sails and generate the simple machine. However, since the first introduce of modern steam engine by Thomas Newcomen and James Watt in the mid 1700s, people found the possibility of make use of the power of steam. The single steam engines were soon became powering locomotives, factories and farm implements after the coal dug from the miles of England and Appalachia. In the 1800s, more and more natural resources were founded useful and able to bring us a zillion of convenience, such as the oil and petroleum which use in processed the gasoline for machine combustion after that. However, this ease has brought a lot of energy crisis all around the world today due to the huge consumption on the fossil fuels such as the oil, coal and the natural gas in the past decade. Nowadays, green technology can refer to many different things, such as clean energy, renewable energy, sustainable energy, waste management and energy conservation. However, it is hard to find a history specify for green technology in the past. During the 1900s, there were a series of energy crisis in the Middle East and things getting worse in year 1973 when the embargo imposed by the oil producers of Iraq on America led the price of crude oil to rise from $3 per barrel to $12 in year 1974 and almost reach a average price of $45 in year 1980. This decision was in response to the America gave their support for the Israel in the Arab-Israeli War (Yom Kippur War). (Terry Macalister, 3 march 2011) United Stated was awaking by this oil crisis and realized the importance of the energy resources, therefore beginning the initial push for developing the clean energy. In 1978, the National Energy Act became a landmark first step in beginning the research and development of renewable energy, but the push for renewable standards really began in the 1960s. (http://www.greenenergychoice.com/green-guide/renewable-events.html) After that, Madrigal also had a significant research in solar, wind and other alternative energies because there is a sudden change in the energy cost and realization of environmental crisis. These were the evidences to prove that since 1900s, green technology was undergoing a huge and rapid growth until today. In figure 1, the diagram shows the rapid growth of energy consumption from year 1986 to 2011. Figure 1: World primary energy consumption grew by 2.5% in 2011, less than half the growth rate experienced in 2010 but close to the historical average. Rowth decelerated for all regions and for all fuels. Oil remains the worlds leading fuel, accounting for 33.0% of global energy consumption, but this figure is the lowest share on record. Coals market share of 30.3% was the highest since 1969. 1.2 Research Background Energy is very important nowadays in either industrialized country and also consumed by household. Most of the energy is coming from oil and natural gas but unfortunately these resources are depleting when times goes on. Due to this problem, researchers are trying to develop alternative fuels, new means of generating energy and energy efficiency requirement. They have developed many sources of renewable energy which is chemical energy, electrical energy, radiant energy and nuclear energy. Although all these alternatives sources of energy is renewable, but it also pose other negative impact to the environment said Kofi (2002). In some countries, clean energy is produced which is energy that does not produce waste products also known as green energy. According to Bakar, Sam, Tahir, Rajianiand Muslan (2011), green technology is an evolving of various kind of methodologies and materials enhancement. The usage of environmental friendly mechanisms has been increased to reduce the impact resulting from industrial sector wastage and fossil fuel consumption due to researches that has been done by scientists related to green technology pointing to climate changes and global warming due to greenhouse gases. With the threat of global warming and costly energy rising, businesses are starting to realize the benefits of using these technologies to reduce carbon footprint and waste while giving the business a positive results said Zainura (2010). According to Eyraud, Wane, Zhang and Clements (2011), they have done research on renewable energy by analyzing the trends and determinants of investment on green technology for the last decades on advanced and emerging countries. They are using multi-country historical dataset and the results shows that green investment has become an important factor in energy sector which is growing rapidly mostly by China. 1.3 Development of Green Technology There are various types of green technology such as wind power, solar energy, hydroelectric power which is derived from the water movement, biofuels which is derived from burning plants and animals substances., geothermal energy which is derived from the heat that given off by the earth, biomass which is produced by the organic materials such as plants and animals. Figure 2: G20 Renewable Electricity Production C:UsersUserDesktopUntitled.png Source: NRDC, 2012; U.S. Energy Information Administration, 2012; Bloomberg New Energy Finance 2012 There is a research and data collection prepared by the NRDC, 2012; U.S. Energy Information Administration, 2012; Bloomberg New Energy Finance 2012 showing some important statistics in percentage of the renewable electricity production and investment of ranked the G20 country. The electricity are produced by various kind of renewable resources such as the wind, solar, geothermal, wave and tidal. (see figure 2) Table 1: Electricity from Wind, Solar, Geothermal, Tidal and Wave in the G20 Countries C:UsersUserDesktopUntitled1.png Source: Natural Resources Defense Council, Energy Information Administration, and Bloomberg New Energy Finance As of 2011, the EU countries are really leading the pack, with Germany the most out of the G20 countries, getting nearly 11% of its energy from renewable sources. Its followed by the EU as a whole with almost 7%, then Italy and Indonesia. Other countries like the U.S., China, Mexico, and Brazil lag behind. The US comes in at seventh place, where its measly 2.7% renewable energy puts it just a hair ahead of Mexico. Russia comes in last, with 0.0% of its energy coming from renewable sources. While all these countries have made important progress since 2002 they are still significantly behind other countries like New Zealand, Spain, Portugal, and Iceland (see table 1). The NRDC also ranked the nations on how much their renewable energy production has grown since 2002. South Korea has had the most growth: it multiplied its then-puny production 200 times, putting it at a still-puny 0.9%. China comes in a distant second, having multiplied its renewable energy more than 80 times. The US is eleventh on that list, having quadrupled its production. Argentina, where production has decreased by 12%, is last. (see table 1) Table 2: Top Countries for Clean Energy Investments in 2011 C:UsersUserDesktopUntitled3.png Source: Bloomberg New Energy Finance, 2012 These rising trends are showing up in the investment in clean energy in each of these G20 countries. Since 2002, the G20 countries have cumulatively invested over $860 billion in clean energy, according to data from Bloomberg New Energy Finance. The majority of this investment has occurred in the E.U. ($291 billion), followed by the U.S. ($215 billion), China ($197 billion), Brazil ($52 billion), and India ($40 billion). Saudi Arabia, which has spent a pathetic $20 million since 2004, comes in last place. This is because in Saudi Arabia the oil price is still low. In the midst of worldwide renewable energy sector growth, some government policies encouraged renewable energy growth much more effectively than others, such as Germanys feed-in tariffs. The United States has been pursuing renewable energy less aggressively than Germany has, and, in accordance with the saying you reap what you sow, Germany has far more effectively stimulated renewable energy growth. To fully understand the importance of weighing an aggressive growth policy versus a milder one, its important to understand the purpose of encouraging renewable energy usage. Due to the fact that global warming is a time bomb that requires urgent action, a mild growth policy that leaves the United States generating only 2.7% of power from renewable sources is not adequate. Every year that coal power plants dominate, they make a significant contribution to our growing global warming problem. If global warming was not an issue, it could be pursued less aggressively. However, peak oil is a concern as well. The reports authors remind the 20 nations of the commitment they 20 made in 2002 to substantially increase the global share of renewable energy sources. Theyve made a difference: in the G20 countries as a whole, new clean energy investments have increased by almost 600 percent, far outpacing economic growth in those countries. But its not enough, the reports authors warn. Without a striking turnaround, the G20 nations are on no track to meet their goal. The G20 nations as a whole currently use 2.6% renewable energy. Based on current trends, they will be using under 4 percent by 2015, and less than 6 percent by 2020. (Jake Schmidt Aaron Haifly, Jan 2012) Problem Statement 1.4 Research Objective 1.4.1 General Objective: The general objective of this study is to study the factor that enhances the global green technology in economic perspective. Other than that, the purpose of this study is to examine the cointegration and long run relationship among the variables by using Vector Error Correction Model (VECM) method. Then, we will found out which variables are significantly influenced others and how it does in order to discover a more effective way in doing an enhancement of green technology in global. There are five variables that we used in our study, which are clean energy index (green technology index), fossil fuel price, CO2 permits price, technology index and the market stock price (SP 500). Lastly, the specific objectives of this research are as follow. 1.4.2 Specific Objective: Our specific objectives are as follows: 1. To examine whether clean energy index and fossil fuel price has any cointegrated and long run relationship by using VECM. 2. To examine whether clean energy index and CO2 permits price has any cointegrated and long run relationship by using VECM. 3. To examine whether clean energy index and technology index has any cointegrated and long run relationship by using VECM. 4. To examine whether clean energy index and SP 500 has any cointegrated and long run relationship by using VECM. 1.5 Research Question Do the clean energy index and fossil fuel price have a significant relationship between each other? Do the clean energy index and CO2 permits price have a significant relationship between each other? Do the clean energy index and technology index have a significant relationship between each other? Do the clean energy index and SP 500 have a significant relationship between each other? 1.6 Hypothesis of the study In our research, we treated all the variables as our dependent variables. Thus in this case there is no need to specify which variables are endogenous variables and which are the exogenous variables by using this VECM method. So, we are going to make a hypotheses to figure out either there are cointegrated and long run relationship exist among these variables. In fact, as we noticed that, the rapidly growing of the green technology globally in recent decades, hence, we are expected that the variables we had chosen will have long run relationship and cointegrated among each others. 1.7 Significant of the study Back to the previous studies, past researcher have stated that the clean energy index, technology index, oil price, interest rate have long run relationship and cointegrated among each other. However, the study had figured out CO2 permits price had no long run relationship and no influenced by other variables (Surender Kumar, 2009). Therefore, in our study, we decided to investigate over the CO2 permits price with other variables again to figure out whether there is an existence of cointegrated and long run relationship among them. Due to the sharply rises of the pollution rate and the energy crisis problems, it has been ring a bell to not only the developed countries but globally including those countries which are still in developing stage. Based on the previously studies, most of the researchers were only focus the area of study on developed countries and some of them are worlds renewable energy leaders (Germany, Denmark, Spain), such as the OECD countries and G20 nations. On the other hand, contribution of other small countries also cant be neglected. So, it is important to investigate other developing countries which are also undergoing a huge improvement in their clean energy growth such as Iceland, Lesotho, Albania, Paraguay, Bhutan and Mozambique. Therefore, we decided to do a globally research on our topic. Besides that, the government and future researcher may use this study as their references. For example, government will get benefit by have some ideas with how to enhance their green technology due to the past research had stated that the country gross domestic production has a positive relationship directly with the green technology growth. Furthermore, future researcher can do a review on this study and they may do a more reliable with future theory. 1.8 Chapter Layout In chapter one, which is the introductory chapter includes background and definition of green technology and how it benefits to the environment, problem statement, objectives, hypothesis and lastly theoretical framework. In the background and definition part, we discuss about the importance of clean energy also known as renewable energy and what is benefits it will bring to our environment. After that, our research will continue to problem statement. In this part, we will discuss about the problem and issue of the research topic in detail. Then we will proceed to next part which is the objective. It is separated into two parts that is general objective which is the main objective of our research and specific objective which is specific idea of what we are going to test. And lastly we will continue with theoretical framework that is the structure that supports the theory of a research study. In this part, we will include and describes the theory that we use and apply in this research.

Montana 1948 by Larry Watson - Metamorphosis from Child to Adult Essay

Montana 1948 by Larry Watson - Metamorphosis from Child to Adult Maturity may come at any age and time in a person’s life. One moment he or she may be a carefree child, and then suddenly realize that they have been transformed into a mature adult by a powerful and traumatic experience. An experience they will remember their whole lives. Young David Hayden, the narrator of Montana 1948 by Larry Watson, has a traumatic experience. He discovers that his uncle has been sexually assaulting Native American women in his town. This is a heavy burden for a twelve year old boy, especially since it reveals that his beloved Uncle Frank is the "bad-guy". However, one discovers, as the novel develops, that David matures and grows in order to deal with this situation. He must come to understand what has happened and how the immoral actions of Frank will affect his family and its name. But most importantly, he must know that his integrity will be changed. He will learn shocking things that would mean nothing to a child, but everything to an adult. Lar ry Watson suggests that traumatic experiences transform children into adults. Therefore, disturbing experiences lead to changes of mind, growth in morals, and an emerging sense of adulthood. David changes his mind about Uncle Frank through the traumatic experiences regarding the discovery of Frank’s secret actions. Uncle Frank used to be David’s idol and David adored him. But that all changed when David’s housekeeper and baby sitter, Marie Little Soldier, becomes violently ill and is in need of a doctor. Wes Hayden, David’s father, calls his brother Frank, who is the town doctor, to come and see her. Strangely enough, Marie Little Soldier refuses to be alone in the room with Frank. Later on, Marie tells David’s mother horrible things that Frank has been doing to Native American women. David’s mother, Gail, tells Wes as David overhears. She says, â€Å" ‘Wesley, your brother has been raping these women. These girls. These Indian girls†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ [David states] I was beginning already to think of Uncle Frank as a criminal†¦Charming, affable Uncle Frank was gone for good'; (47, 49). David always thought goodly o f his uncle, until he heard these ghastly statements. All the attractiveness and appeal of Frank dissipated once David learned of his filthy behavior. David knew this information would change him forever. He takes anoth... ...mily and his parents’ well being, emotionally. David exemplifies this and stands by his family when they are in need. He does not desert them or feel shameful. He stays loyal and true to those he cares for and loves. Thus, he has shown his ability to act as an adult would. One can never be too sure when the innocence of childhood is lost, the sure thing is that everyone becomes an adult eventually, and that’s when they lose their innocence. In many cases, this change from child to adult is a harsh one, often it is the realization that the world is not perfect. The shootings at Columbine is just one example. Those children were faced with the severe reality that death does not apply only to older people, but to anyone in the world. This revelation caused many of them to cease their immaturity and become an adult. And it was a very difficult task for many of them. One must be careful for corruption rears its ugly head where you least expect it. The loss of innocence signifies a person’s metamorphosis from a child to an adult. Therefore, it is the events and happenings in life that trigger this change. Work Cited Watson, Larry. Montana 1948. Milkweed (New York)1993

Professional Values and Awareness Essay

In this assignment I will identify issues that affect the care provided in a home for adults with learning disabilities. Using the â€Å"case study† format I will focus on the interpersonal relationships and identify the underlying factors that influence them, then provide explanations for these by applying established theories. Churton (2000:214) describes a case study as â€Å"a detailed investigation of a single research area†¦Ã¢â‚¬ . The case study will form a unique representation of the individuals involved at the time they were observed. As a single study the outcomes may not be representative of all care homes, but it is reasonable to assume many issues may be similar. As a student I was able to observe both staff and clients in their normal routines. I was accepted as a member of the care team and took part in daily activities. This form of research is described in Giddens (1997:542) as â€Å"Participant observation†. Becker describe the role of the researcher as â€Å"someone who watches the people he is studying to see what situations they ordinarily meet and how they behave in them† (cited in Marsh I. 1996:124), however the by taking on a role within the group that justifies their presence the researcher acts as more than a passive observer and becomes a participant. As a stranger to the group my presence will have affected the behaviour of the clients and studies have shown that the presence of students affects the way that qualified staff work (Reed J & Procter S. 1993:31). My own preconceived ideas of Learning disabilities and the staff and clients previous experience of students will all have contributed to the behaviour I witnessed. On my first day at the placement I was introduced to my mentor (the deputy manager). We discussed the homes basic philosophy and the clients’ disabilities. I was introduced to the nine clients, and the staff approximately 15. During this first meeting my mentor made me feel welcome and allayed some of my fears about the placement. Unfortunately other than two brief conversations this was the only time I worked with her over the six-week placement. The staff are mostly female with only four male staff. They were of all ages and came from a mix of races and religions, some single and others married with children. All of the staff are support workers and most have NVQ level 3 or are currently studying towards it. I found all the staff very friendly and felt welcome, but I also felt a like a ‘spare part’, as the clients were encouraged to do things for themselves, very little intervention was necessary. Record keeping, giving medication and supervising the clients at the many activities they attended were the main tasks. The days soon became very predictable with set activities and â€Å"opportunities† to be achieved. The slowness of the day meant that staff talked a lot, discussing personal matters as well as how they felt about the clients and their jobs. Conversation included issues around the low regard support workers had from the general public and other health care professionals, the quantity of paper work to be completed daily and the emphasis placed on it, little support and understanding from the management, and having to attend college in there own time. My personal performance was influenced most by the lack of a mentor. Without a mentor to shadow I would try to â€Å"latch onto† a member of staff only to find that we were on different activities or were at the end of their shift. My shifts and my mentors were not together, when I asked the manager if I could swap my weekend to the same as my mentors, she told me that there was no need for me to work with my mentor at all. I was left feeling very isolated. The need for student and mentor to work together â€Å"as much as possible† to build successful relationship is highlighted in Baillià ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½re’s Study Skills for Nurses (Maslin-Prothero1997:32). Good mentoring is a two-way process requiring willingness from both mentor and mentee to build a collaborative relationship (Ellis et al 1995:121, Ajiboye P. 2000:11). Formal mentoring is relatively new to nursing (Maslin-Prothero 1997:51), and is closely related to Project 2000 (Salvage J.1999:14). The ENB define mentors as â€Å"an appropriately qualified and experienced first-level nurse/midwife/health visitor who by example guides assists and supports the student in learning new skills, adopting new behaviour and acquiring new attitudes† (as cited in Quinn F. 1995:188). Mentorship has existed for centuries with references dating back to Greek mythology (Ellis R. et al 1995:109), and it is widely used for career development in business, where mentors are â€Å"role models, talent developers and door openers†(Tyson S. & Jackson T. 1992:121). There are several theories on how mentoring works, most emphasise the mentor as a facilitator allowing the student to experiment while ensuring the safety of the patient/clients, and providing a â€Å"developmental bridge between theory and practice† (Ellis R. et al 1995:109). Communication and interpersonal skills are the foundations on which a successful relationship is built and are therefore essential skills in a mentor (Ellis R. et al 1995:121). However the mentor themselves may be the most important factor. A mentor is a role model good or bad. Hopefully the student will witness a high standard of practice and set their own standards similarly. But when the standard is low it depends on the students’ knowledge of the theory as to whether they choose to imitate the mentor or apply their own higher standard. Bandura (cited in Ellis R. et al 1995:116) describes this process as Social Learning Theory, a three-stage process. Stage 1 Observational Learning: Imitating a good role model Stage 2 Inhibitory/Disinhibitory Effects: bad practice rejected or imitated Stage 3 Eliciting Effect: good practices learned and core knowledge improved. The break down of the mentor mentee relationship on my placement may have been for variety of reasons, poor communication, unrealistic expectations or time constraints. Supernumerary students have time to observe and reflect, but mentors may have an already busy schedule and supervising students can become just another pressure (Reed J. & Procter S. 1993:36). Students in this environment may find themselves being used as â€Å"another pair of hands† (Ajiboye P. 2000:11). Many texts cite good leadership of the manager as vital to forming an atmosphere conducive to learning (Quinn F. 1995:182). A good manager will find time to inspire staff to enthusiastically provide high quality care (Grohar-Murray 1997:125). In the philosophy of care/service values of the placement it states that â€Å"we have a well trained staff who have achieved a NVQ in care or are working towards it† (not referenced to protect confidentiality). However the staff studying the NVQ had to attend college in there own time. This caused resentment towards the management as the staff felt that the qualification was for the company’s benefit, but at their expense. Tappen (1995:69) recognises that by allocating staff time to attend lectures or college days without them incurring financial penalties the outlook is changed from just gaining a ‘paper qualification’ to ‘an opportunity’ to develop skills and increase personal knowledge. Encouraging staff to develop new skills is a great motivator. Motivation has been described as â€Å"the oil that keeps the machinery turning† (Dell T. 1988:59) and is a key element in many leader/management theories. Many motivation theories are based around the concept of fulfilling needs. Maslow (1968 cited in Hogston R. & Simpson P. 1999:295/303) devised a hierarchy with seven levels, the first level are basic physical needs such as food and water progressing up to more psychological needs of self fulfilment. Individuals climb the pyramid a step at a time motivated by fulfilment at the previous level (see appendix 1). Kafka (1986 cited in Tappen 1995:304) offers five basic factors for motivation, Economic security, Control, Recognition, Personal self-worth and Belonging. But unlike Maslow the five may be placed in any order, as one person may be motivated more by the need to belong than the need for money (see appendix 2). Self-esteem/worth and belonging are needs common to both Maslow and Kafka. If managers boost self-esteem by acknowledging good practice and recognising achievements they enhance the feeling of belonging. Without feedback staff often feel overlooked and isolated. To be constructive feedback should contain both positive and negative elements and be based on observed behaviour, given objectively it can highlight areas that need strengthening and increase motivation. Kron (1981 cited in Tappen R. 1995:420) described this â€Å"positive feed back† as a â€Å"psychological paycheque†. The need to belong affects students, when they are included in procedures, and given opportunities to express opinions and don’t feel â€Å"in the way† they become part of the team. Being accepted boosts self-esteem and motivates learning (Oliver R & Endersby C. 1994:94) Dell statement that â€Å"people work harder for recognition than for money†(Dell T. 1988:59) is supported by a study of the affect of incentives such as pay increases and shorter hours. When each incentive was implemented productivity was found to increase. When the incentives were removed and working conditions returned to normal it was expected that the productivity would fall. In fact productivity rose â€Å"to the highest levels ever†. Mayo’s conclusion was that being in the study had caused the group to bond (belong) and that the interest (recognition) showed by researchers had encouraged the workers to achieve the level they believed the researchers expected of them (Mayo E. 1933 cited in Barratt M. & Mottershead A. 1999:74). If the security of â€Å"belonging† is absent self-esteem deteriorates which can lead to an â€Å"increase in complaints and fatigue†¦and absenteeism is likely to rise†(Barratt M.& Mottershead A. 1999:73). Lack of appreciation and support are two of the ten factors cited by Tappen (1995:455) that contribute to ‘burnout’. As the â€Å"most caring and most highly committed are often the ones most prone to burnout† (Eisenstat & Felner cited in Crawford J. 1990:48) it’s frequently linked to health care. Burnout is defined as, (Kozier B et al 2000:1387). † an overwhelming feeling that can lead to physical and emotional depletion, a negative attitude and self concept, and feelings of helplessness and hopelessness† There are many methods to prevent burnout. One of these I observed, and have been guilty of my self, is the ability to suddenly become deaf. For example one client would continually ask for a ‘cup of tea’, to which staff would respond ‘you’ve just had one’ and the client would reply ‘I’ve just had one’ and walk away. But if the frequency of requests increased or they interrupted another activity staff would often pretend not to hear, they would ovoid eye contact and turn away. By ignoring the client it extended the periods between acknowledged requests. For the same reason this client was always last to receive his cup of tea when it was being made for the group. This coping mechanism ‘denial’ is one of many established ways to deal with stress (Kenworthy N. 1996:91). In denial you reject the thing that is unacceptable choosing to believe it isn’t there. Denial is very similar to ‘repression’ where although aware of the feelings you block them out, Tappen suggest that this can leave the caregiver with a â€Å"vague sense of unease† towards the client. Having denied hearing the request staff would then repress their guilt, leaving them with an uneasy feeling towards the client. This practice while not acceptable, had no long-term affects on the client as he would simply ask again a few minutes later, however if all requests where dealt with in the same way it could become harmful to the client (Tappen R. 1995:11). Another behaviour I witnessed was the reliance on PRN medication; a different client was very vocal following staff around the home asking questions about her forthcoming blood test. After a couple of failed attempts to reassure her it was decided she needed PRN to clam her down. The staff had coped by rationalising the situation. Rationalisation uses one explanation to cover up a less acceptable one i.e. their reason for giving the medication was to calm the client down. But the real reason was it would stop her bothering them with questions. (Tappen R.1995:11). Often in learning disabilities carers see a client’s failure to behave in an acceptable way or achieve targets as a personal failure (Brown H. Smith H. 1992:95). These failures or ‘client losses’ are another factor that contributes to burnout (Tappen R.1995:455). Other factors often experience by learning disabilities cares also contribute to burnout such as ‘low pay’, ‘discrimination’ and ‘inadequate advancement opportunities’. Learning disabilities are often referred to as â€Å"the Cinderella of the Cinderella services†(Parish C. 2001:13), and as such tend to attract the least skilled workers, who are given a low status even in relationship to carers in other fields (Brown H. & Smith H. 1992:93). Care is traditionally seen as â€Å"women’s work† and therefore â€Å"unskilled and unworthy† (Brown H. & Smith H. 1992:162/166). This is reflected in the fact that care staff are predominately women working part time, earning low levels of pay and having few opportunities to advance their careers (Hudson B. 2000: 88). Care work is rarely undertaken solely for financial gain; often the motives are more altruistic (Dagnan D. 1994:127). A study into staff satisfaction found that â₠¬Å"in spite of low pay† care staff â€Å"found rewards in the close nature of the caring relationship† (Hudson B. 2000:89). Recent government white papers ‘NHS and Community Care Act’ and ‘Valuing People’ aim to enhance the status of learning disabilities by reorganising the way that the service is provided (Beacock C. 2001:23), and â€Å"give those working in social care a new status which fits the work they do† (Hudson B. 2000:99). These proposals may ultimately improve the status of the service, but in the short term the changes are creating more paperwork, require new skills, and are leading to greater job insecurity. These factors are adding to an already stressful job (Hudson B. 2000:96). Studies found that the main causes of stress for care workers were â€Å"the inability to provide service users with what they needed, accountability or responsibility without power, frustration at office politics and uncertainty about the future† (Hudson B. 2000:90). ‘Powerlessness’ and ‘unresponsiveness to client needs’ added to ‘too much paper work’ are more factors that can contribute to burnout (Tappen R. 1995:456). Care staff are under a great deal of pressure, in their daily work they face all of the ten factors that contribute to burnout. This must ultimately have an affect on the way care is provided. I have no doubt that the staff at my placement are genuinely caring people who do their best to provide a high standard of care for their clients. However sometimes the quality of care I witnessed reflected the pressures they were facing. Only when the attitudes towards care work improve will its status be increased. This would in turn see a rise in pay and a decrease in the stress felt by carers, which would have the end result of improving the care received by clients. References Ajiboye P. (2000) Learning partners. No Limits. Autumn 2000 pp.11 Barratt M. Mottershead A. (1999) Understanding Industry. 5th Edition. London, Hodder & Stoughton. Beacock C. (2001) Come in from the cold. Nursing Standard. Vol.15 no.28 pp.23 Brown H. Smith H. {Editors} (1992) Normalisation: a reader for the nineties. London, Routledge. Churton M. (2000) Theory and Method. London, Macmillan Press Ltd Crawford J. (1990) Maintaining Staff Morale: the value of a staff training and support network. Mental Handicap. Vol. 18 June pp.48-52 Dagnan D. (1994) The Stresses and Rewards of Being a Carer in a Family Placement Scheme for People with Learning Disabilities. British Journal of Learning Disabilities. Vol.22 1994 pp.127-129 Dell T. (1998) How to Motivate People: a guide for managers. California, Crisp Publications Inc. Ellis R. Gates R. {Editors} (1995) Interpersonal Communication in Nursing: Theory and Practice. Kenworthy N. London, Churchill Livingstone. Grohar-Murray M, DiCroce H. (1997) Leadership and Management in Nursing. 2nd Edition. Connecticut, Appelton and Lange. Giddens A. (1997) Sociology. 3rd edition. Cambridge, Polity Press. Hudson B. Editor (2000) The Changing Role of Social Care. London, Jessica Kingsley Publishers Ltd. Hogston R, Simpson P. {Editors} (1999) Foundations of Nursing Practice. London, Macmillan Press Ltd. Kenworthy N, Snowley G. (1996) Common Foundation Studies in Nursing. 2nd Edition. Gilling C. Singapore, Churchill Livingstone. Kozier B. Erb G. Berman A. (2000) Fundamentals of Nursing: concepts, process, and practice. Burke K. 6th Edition. New Jersey. Prentice-Hall Inc. Marsh I. (1996) Making sense of society: an introduction to sociology. London, Longman. Masllin-Prothero S. (1997) Baillià ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½re’s Study Skills for Nurses. London, Hardcourt Brace and Company Ltd. Oliver R. Endersby C. (1994) Teaching and Assessing Nurses: a handbook for preceptors. London, Baillià ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½re and Tindall. Parish C. (2001) Take the reins. Nursing Standard.Vol.15 no.29 pp.12-13 Quinn F. (1995) The Principles and Practice of Nurse Education.3rd Edition. Cheltenham, Stanley Thornes (Pulishers) Ltd. Reed J. Procter S. (1993) Nurse Education – A reflective approach. London, Edward Arnold. Salvage J. {Editor} (1999) Nursing Times Student Pack. London, Nursing Times. Tappen R. (1995) Nursing Leadership and Management: concepts and practice. 3rd Edition. Philadelphia, F. A. Davis Company. Tyson S. Jackson T. (1992) The Essence of Organizational Behaviour. Hemel Hempstead, Prentice Hall International (UK) Ltd. Bibliography Bartlett C. Bunning K. (1997) The Importance of Communication Partnerships: A study to investigate the communicative exchanges between staff and adults with learning disabilities. British Journal of Learning Disabilities. Vol.25 (1997) pp.148-154 Brigham L. Atkinson D, (2000) Crossing Boundaries, Change and Continuity in the History of Jackson M, Rolph S, Walmsley J. Learning Disability. Plymouth, BILD Publications. Booth T. Simons K. (1990) Outward bound: Relocation and community care for people with Booth W. learning difficulties. Buckingham, Open University Press. Clegg A. (2000) Leadership: improving the quality of patient care. Nursing Standard.Vol.14 no.30 pp.43-45 Clissett P. (2001) The Effectiveness of NVQ Training. Nursing Management. Vol. 8 no. 1 pp.11-13. Clutterbuck D. (1991) Everyone needs a Mentor: fostering talent at work. 2nd Edition. London, Institute of Personnel Management. Dinsdale P. (2001) Community spirit. Nursing Standard. Vol.15 no.39 pp.14 Gray J. (2001) Inside out: Analysis of the difficulties surrounding participant observation. Nursing Standard.Vol.15 no.31 pp.51 Hattersley J, Hosking G, (1987) People with Mental Handicap: Perspectives on intellectual Morrow D, Myers M. disability. London, Faber and Faber Ltd. Hill M. {Editor} (2000) Local Authority Social Services: an introduction. Oxford, Blackwell Publishers Ltd. Kroese S. Fleming I. (1992) Staff’s Attitudes and Working Conditions in Community-Based Group Homes of People with Mental Handicaps. Mental Handicap Research. Vol. 5, no.1 pp 82-91. Moore S. (1987) Sociology Alive Cheltenham, Stanley Thornes (Publishers) Ltd. Oliver M. Barnes C. (1998) Disabled People and Social Policy: from Exclusion to Inclusion. London, Longman. Quinn E. (2001) Stressed out? RCN Magazine. Spring 2001 pp.14-15 Sarantakos S. (1998) Social Research. 2nd Edition. London, MacMillan. Wilson J. (1994) The Care Trade: a picture of health. Lancaster, Quay Pulishing Ltd.

Public Education System

In the past few decades school has shifted its focus from education to fashion. Students are judged upon their shoes or jeans rather than their knowledge. Uniforms in the public education system is a great idea, not only is it cost effective, but also it gives the students a chance to concentrate on their studies and not have to worry about what to wear tomorrow. Plus the crime or violence rate drops in schools that have a uniform policy, and those that do not belong on campus are spotted quicker and easier. Private schools ave already adopted this idea as well as some schools in England and Australia. Early morning or late evening fights over what is allowed to be worn to school could come to an end if uniforms are issued in the public The kids that come from lower class level backgrounds are the kids out there selling drugs and committing the crimes, but the money made goes to buy the latest designer jeans, just so that they are â€Å"cool† at school. A difference in the violence on school grounds has decreased in areas were school uniforms are mandatory. Gang activity is not as high because the students can not show their colors or signs at school. Sgt. Joe Battle, a Long Beach, California juvenilia officer states that, â€Å"uniforms take away the No. 1 reason that kids treat each other differently; how they look† (Ritter, 1A). Long Beach was the first public school in the nation to have mandatory school uniform policy. The crime rate there is down 76 percent, and assaults on school property is also down by 85 percent (Starr,1). One of the reasons behind the sudden change in school policy has to do with the recent school hootings. The most famous and talked about one was the Columbine High School. The two teens were able to bring in weapons to the school under trench coats. With uniforms this could have been prevented, because long coats are not to be worn in the school. Even the President of the United States is moving to the uniform policy. President Clinton has given speeches during his State of the Union address including that uniforms keep kids, † from killing each other over designer jackets† (Ritter, 1A). The way that the kids are dressed is more important than the grades they make. The students are able to focus on the education rather than someone else's new clothes. Parents that were not too sure of the idea agree that there are more positives than negatives to wearing uniforms. The students are less distracted and can concentrate on the teacher. Students admit that having everyone wear the same thing is easier on them. No one worries about whether or not they wore something last week or that they don't have the name brand labels to flash around. Kids that can't afford the name brands are the ones with the lower test scores and poorer attendance. The cost of uniforms in comparison to the latest fashion is ridiculous. For what it would cost to buy a major household appliance, two or three of the latest designer outfits can be bought. The students who don't have the money to buy all the newest clothes tend not to go to class as much because they feel they don't fit in. It used to be that the kids that wore the K-Mart or Wal-Mart brand of clothes were thought of as uncool. Uniforms don't only bring down the cost of clothes for the parents, but the school spirit is higher and the students feel a sense of unity. The line between the poor and rich kids is brought down, the students can no longer tease on another because of their clothes as they are all dressed the same. Administrators can spot a person who does not belong on campus faster and easier if they a don't have a school uniform on. Uniforms can be bought at almost any clothing store. Prices range from $5-$7 for shirts, $10 for shorts and pants and $7 for a jumper. Now compare that to $30-$80 for jeans and$15-$30 for a shirt. Majority of parents only buy two or three uniforms a school year Students all dressed the same that is the whole idea. But there some negative aspects of this area. Psychologist Ruth Rubinstein at the Fashion Institute of New York argues that having students dress alike decreases their sense of expression or creativity. Although students can express themselves in the classroom or even wear different socks. Some days are specified for the optional dress down, where the children can wear what ever they would like. If the students have to wear uniforms then so should the teachers and staff. How can the students be expected t follow the teachers lead if they are not in uniforms as well? This makes the whole school equal and the principles' job easier for enforcing the dress code. Some schools do have strict dress codes if a not a uniform policy. Students must wear clothing that is appropriate for a learning environment. No sleeveless shirts or offense slang or short, shorts are not allowed. Students that do not follow the rules could be suspended. Schools could go as far as to not allow skirts to be worn. Some schools have an optional uniform policy. Most parents and students choose to wear uniforms because of At the moment many public schools are only using uniforms under a voluntary basis. With this system they hope to increase awareness of the benefits that these uniforms hold. These uniforms will help to lower budgets, school violence and help students become more accepted among their peers. Fatal accidents could be avoided with the use of uniforms in the public school system. It is not just a fast growing trend to make the school look better, but also a way to increase the chances of a more secure learning environment.

What can we do for Glen Canyon essays

What can we do for Glen Canyon essays Former President Nixon stated during the Vietnam War, Dont ask what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country? Much controversy has been spurred over recent years over a decision made in 1963, specifically the construction of Glen Canyon Dam. Many agree that Glen Canyon Reservoir (a.k.a. Lake Powell) is an amazing place to visit. Families often flock religiously to Lake Powell each summer to uplift their spirits. However others, particularly speaking of environmentalists, agree that disturbing the once free flow of the Colorado River by constructing a dam was a grave error to begin with. The creative environmentalist writer Edward Abbey propelled a strong debate supporting the draining of Lake Powell with his essay The Damnation of a Canyon. Following the lines of President Nixon, we should ...ask what you can do for Glen Canyon. To better understand the reasons for building Glen Canyon Dam, one must be aware of the original intent for its creation. During the mid 20th century dams were invented as a new, cleaner, and efficient way of producing hydroelectricity. With the construction of one of the modern great wonders of the world, Lake Meads Hoover Dam, other river locations around the nation were being examined for more potential dams. Glen Canyon was decided to be a desirable location for a successful dam to be built following after the Hoover Dam. In 1963, Glen Canyon Dam was completed. However today, Lake friendly people present several points for their decision: 1. First and foremost, Glen Canyon Dam generates clean power. Use of hydroelectricity plays a crucial role in the effort to reduce Green House Gas Emissions. Pollutants emitted from burning of fossil fuels contribute to the increases in global warming. ...