Wireless Security Policy Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Wireless Security Policy - Assignment Example The implementation and administration of radio communication in the wireless networks occurs at the physical layer of the Open Systems Interconnection, or OSI, model (Rus & Donohue, 2010). This paper will address a wireless security policy for a medium sized banking organization, highlighting the policy overview, purpose, scope, applicability and security requirements. It will also address wireless network requirements, device requirements, standards supported by the organization, ethical guidelines and policy enforcement. Wireless Security Policy Overview Wireless networks occur in various forms, which are wireless PAN (WPAN), wireless LAN (WLAN), wireless WAN (WWAN), wireless MAN (WMAN), wireless mesh networks and cellular networks. Devices in relatively small physical areas are connected through WPAN. WLANs link several devices over short distances via wireless distribution methods such as internet access points, allowing users connection and mobility simultaneously. WMANs link a number of WLANs while WWANs cover large geographical areas, like neighboring cities and towns. For a banking organization, policies create a foundation on which all security initiatives are built. Therefore, the bank needs to come up with standards and policies on data integrity and confidentiality while putting into consideration security levels imposed by government regulation (NIST, 2003). Purpose and Scope The key purpose of wireless network security in a bank is to allow employees freedom of mobility while accessing the network to deliver better customer service without compromising the confidentiality of both the customers’ and the organization’s information (Goldsmith, 2005). The security measures implemented should protect the wireless signals from their vulnerability to eavesdropping and meet audit requirements. Since standards for wireless network security emerge and evolve continuously with technological developments, the bank must keep abreast with the chan ges to avoid being exposed to reputation and strategic risks. The bank’s ability to avoid or manage the risks is dependent on the effectiveness of its management and board oversight; effectiveness of procedures and policies to implement and run wireless projects; the network’s capacity and reliability; the business continuity plan’s adequacy; and the actions taken to monitor undesirable events. Applicability The applicability of the security system should accord clients seamless interactions with the bank and their accounts. This means it must be structured specifically for the requirements of non-company users while prohibiting incidents such as personal use by employees or sending financial records over the network. Although WLANs typically provide unrestricted access to the Internet and an organization’s entire network, the bank should consider blocking its wireless subnets from its Intranet and intranet. It must be specified who has the authority to u se the WLAN as well as their level of access. Regardless of the way access is allowed, it is essential that the scope of access is determined and defined clearly in the bank’s wireless security policy and implementation (Pahlavan & Krishnamurthy, 2009). The CEO and the head of the technical department should be the only ones with exclusive access to critical information, and the policy should also stipulate that access by one of them should be known by the other. Wireless Network Security Requirements The internal department that will be given the responsibility of deploying the wireless access points (WAPs) and the devices, also known as stations, to be used within the network, should also be determined.

Critically evaluate the above statement, explaining the various legal Essay - 1

Critically evaluate the above statement, explaining the various legal implications and legislative concerns of e-commerce which deserve a greater attention from business regulators and law legislators - Essay Example Increased individual autonomy for shoppers poses questions on the legal validity of contracts. The convenience of buying goods or services from any part of the world affects the enforceability of transactions especially when disputes arise. Likewise, increased liberty may expose consumers to infringement of rights to privacy. It is critical for legal stakeholders to familiarise themselves with these legal concerns in order to guard against loss of business due to these issues. One of the primary challenges in handling ecommerce transactions is the lack of physical signatures. E-commerce transactions take place without paper or other physical representations of transactions. In traditional business settings, handwritten signatures authenticate contracts by providing a unique form of identification for the signee (Chaudhury and Jean-Pierre, 2002). They also assist in showing the association between the person and the document being signed. Traditional signatures are highly useful in proving that the signee was actually involved in the transaction. E commerce also has its own form of authentication called the electronic signature. Sometimes it is in the form of a secret code, a pin number, a typed name or a scanned image of one’s handwritten signature (Frieden and Sean Patrick, 2006). Digital signatures may also be used; these ones come in the form of encrypted messages that only respond to a specific key when being decrypted. The latter form is highly secure in comparison to other electronic signatures. Regardless of the type of signatures chosen, certain legal implications still exist. Stakeholders are yet to decide on the circumstances in which electronic signatures ought to be trusted. Furthermore, it is still unclear whether these signatures hold the same weight as traditional ones. Some signatures seem to hold greater authenticity than others. Business persons are still

Educational Status of Women in India

Educational Status of Women in India INTRODUCTION Education and literacy can be viewed as essential prerequisites for the full integration of women into the social and economic life of the nation. Apart from providing greater opportunity for employment in the skilled and prestigious high-income jobs, female education and training have important consequences for the whole familys welfare, as well as for its individual members. Where the mother of the household has above average education she is more likely to enter the labour market and use her supplementary income to raise the standard of well-being of the family. In addition, most studies from around the world have found a relationship that is inverse between a womans education and her fertility, and that is positive between her education and the early survival chances of her child (Ghazi, 1985). A childs academic achievement is also likely to be closely associated with its mothers level of schooling. The educational status of women therefore is the key indicator of the stage of so cietal development and the potential for progressive change. Literacy is an important indicator of development among tribal groups. Among women in general, high literacy rates lead to lower infant mortality rates (Kingdon, 1999; World Bank, 1997), reduce the number of pregnancies and enhance the status of women both in domestic life and society. Additionally, the mothers literacy status and educational attainment have significantly positive effects on the childs human capital attainment (Sengupta and Guha, 2002; Colclough, 1982). The tribal population, in general, lags behind the Hindus and the Scheduled Caste population both in literacy and educational attainment. This discrepancy in human capital attainment between the mainstream population and the tribes is particularly marked among tribal women. However, the literacy rates for scheduled tribes in India have also improved substantially from 1961 (8.54 per cent) to 2001 (47.10 per cent) for both males (13.04 per cent to 59.17 per cent) and females (2.89 per cent to 34.76 per cent) respective ly. OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY The present paper aims to focus on the educational status of Muthuvan women belonging to the state of Kerala. THE STUDY POPULATION The tribes under study are known as Muthuvans who are residing in the Chinnar Wild Life Sanctuary in Devikulam taluk of the Idukki district in Kerala. The Muthuvan settlements are located in the interior of the forest. To reach the Muthuvan settlements are too difficult because of the segregated nature of settlements in the interior forest. Necessary and relevant information was collected from three Muthuvan villages in the Sanctuary namely Eruttalakudi, Puthukudi, and Fifth Mile. The study generates ethnographic data through secondary sources, participant observation, orally conveyed memories, personal observations and interviews. In the 2001 census report the population of Muthuvan tribe is clubbed with the Mudugar tribe of Wayanad district therefore does not give the correct population of both these tribes. The population size of Muthuvan/Mudugar tribe has been given as 21000. The Muthuvans are settled agriculturalists, cultivating lemon grass, ragi, maize, beans, sweet potato and other allied vegetables. Their chief food items are ragi and rice with leaves and vegetables. Each household produce their food. LITERACY LEVEL OF TRIBES IN KERALA In all the five year plans, priority was given to educational development of the Scheduled Tribes. The main reason for the very slow spread of education among the Scheduled Tribes is the peculiar nature of their habitation. Majority of the Scheduled Tribes are living in remote areas far away from educational institutions. The socio-economic condition prevailing in the tribal settlements are not conducive for studies. Lacks of sufficient educational institutions in tribal areas, their poverty etc, curtailed effective educational development among Scheduled Tribes. However, the literacy rate of the tribes in Kerala (64.9 per cent) is far ahead of the tribal areas in India (47.10 per cent) and even higher than the literacy rate of the total population of the country (64.8 per cent). The Muthuvans are very poor. Many of the students discontinue schools at Primary and Middle school due to financial difficulties. Though the state and central government is providing enough financial assistance in the form of scholarship, free boarding, lodging facilities, provision to text books and mid-day meals in primary schools, stipend and hostel facilities, not many tribal children are attracted to education. The Muthuvans have not been earning much to educate themselves. Their cultural surrounding and poverty creates hindrances in the process of their education. NON-FORMAL EDUCATION AMONG THE MUTHUVANS Among the Muthuvans the dormitories were a kind of training institution for unmarried boys and girls. It is in this Chaavati (male dormitory) and Kumari Madam ( girls dormitory) that the traditions were passed from mouth to mouth, from older age group to youths and from youths to younger ones. The parents and the elders of the village initiate the child into different customs and traditions of their community and group. The dormitory system exist as a kind of school where the Muthuvan youths of either sex learn how to perform their conjugal and social duties as also the lore of the clan. These Muthuvan dormitories are chiefly meant for imparting social education to the Muthuvan children. Muthuvan dormitory especially the Chaavati functions as if it is a club, a place for juvenile happiness, a non-formal school, and also a training center for children for making the Muthuvan boys as mature community members. At least up to the second quarter of the 20th century Muthuvans had both male and female dormitories (Krishna Iyer, 1939; Luiz, 1962) to train their youths to a useful and mature community member. But now the female dormitories (kumari madam- where kumari indicate the young unmarried-girls, madam indicates dwelling) had undergone a process of decay. The Muthuvan dormitory (Chaavati) acts as a club for members to come together to share traditional experience. Their folk-tales, folk-songs and folk dances reveals lessons in different agricultural operations, hunting, wood cutting, honey collection, and in economic pursuits. These stories and anecdotes speak about sanctity of Muthuvan discipline, social approbation, social justice, law and order in their community. Chaavati enables them to get to know how to protect the community by learning the ways of defence against animal raids and enemy attacks, teaches them how to be useful for the community through co-operative labour, enables to know the community rituals and rites and also how to participate in them, provides an avenue to be community conscious and corporate in their feelings and actions thus making them responsible to the community. Members are also taught how to make fishing nets, traps, mats, ornaments etc., whereas in formal schools this kind of activities are absolutel y not seen and home could not attract the Muthuvan children. From the dormitory, each Muthuvan acquire the knowledge about the flora and fauna, the forest track path, medicinal plants for various diseases and so on. In the Chaavati Muthuvan children are properly educated in order to face future eventualities of life and cope ages with the cultural requirements. FORMAL EDUCATION Formal education is considered as important tools for social change and development. Formal education can be broadly divided in to two, primary and secondary education. Primary education is intended for all children aged between 4 years to 12 years where as secondary education is provided for children aged 12 years and above. In general any type of education oral or written is the action of developing the individual mentally and morally. For primary education in all the study villages government established primary schools with a single hut class room which will house all the students up to IV standard, handled by a single teacher. Muthuvans send their children to school up to primary level. To attract the children to school, government provides many facilities for students in primary level. All students in the primary school are provided with book, pencils, and slates for free of cost. Government also provided mid-day meal to all students in the primary level. In mid day meal per day 150 gram rice and 30 gram dal and 2 eggs in a week are provided. Children above the IV standard will be sent to the tribal hostels and tribal schools away in the block or district headquarters. But once they come for vacation, majority of them never return to hostels. The strange life style and schedule at the hostel, being away from the parents and the village, missing all the cultural and social freedom, all these make them quit the hostels and keep them still close to illiteracy. Like any other people they too feel comfortable to speak their own language and dialect, the enavan pech (our own speech). LITERACY TRENDS AMONG THE MUTHUVAN WOMEN Among the Muthuvans the demand for education is much lower than as compared to other tribes in Kerala. Muthuvan women have to work in order to cope with their daily living and do not place a high value on education. Additionally, in the remote Muthuvan hamlets where a good infrastructure is lacking, women find it difficult to have access to schools. Many are not even aware of the existence of schools in their areas due to lack of communications and networks. LITERACY LEVEL OF THE MUTHUVAN WOMEN Even though Kerala has a high literacy rate even in the rural areas (90.9 per cent), women among the Muthuvan tribe are still lagging behind in literacy (36.98 per cent compared to the women literacy rate of Kerala, 87.80 per cent). The general trend of high female literacy rates in Kerala and the high status of women in the state have no impact on the literacy rate among the Muthuvan women because of their isolation and living in the dense forest away from the main stream. Considering the educational qualification of the women respondents in the study area, out of the total 211 respondents 71.09 per cent are illiterate, 18.48 per cent studied up to the primary level, 10.5 per cent were in the Middle school level. Only two respondents were studied up to Higher Secondary Level and two were studied up to graduate level. Due to the provision of incentives such as mid- day meal programmes and distribution of uniforms, there is a slight increase in the number of children who go to school. In the sample population, Muthuvans in the age group of 5 to 19 years showed some inclination towards schooling. Out of 92 boys and 83 girls, 81.66 per cent boys (75 boys) and 80.53 per cent (67 girls) attended school. These are obviously the first generation learners because the largest number, 82.66 per cent boys (62 out of 75 boys) and 79.10 per cent girls (53 out of 67 girls) were in the primary school. The number of girls and boys in the Middle and High school were meager. There are many reasons for this condition. Non-availability of middle schools in the vicinity of tribal settlements as well as the failure of ITDP schools in the state of Kerala to offer Middle schools and High Schools is the two most important reasons for the educational backwardness of tribal children. Poverty of the parents is yet another re ason. Above all they are still unaware of the importance of education. EDUCATION OF THE MUTHUVAN GIRL CHILDREN The girl child among the Muthuvans is denied the future opportunity of the total development. The reasons associated with not educating girl child are financial constraints, early marriage, submissiveness, and motherhood. After attaining puberty, Muthuvan girls are not allowed to go to school even if the school is located in the settlement itself. Girls have no say on the topic of education. It is entirely their parents decision. Regarding their aspiration to educate their daughters, the parents had different response. More than half of them wanted to send their daughters to schools but others thought it was futile. In absence of hired labour, the girls work at home and fields is of utmost importance and all considered the fact that eventually the girls have to get married and start their families. Where parents are enthusiastic about educating their daughters, they enroll their daughters in schools but rarely allow them to complete their schooling. The girls study up to primary scho ol only; since there is no middle school in their area they have to go to town to continue their education. The Muthuvans are reluctant to send their girl children out of their settlements since they are very much concerned about the safety of their daughters. Thus they discontinue their education at the primary level and turn to household chores and agricultural activities. From early childhood itself Muthuvan girls play a prominent role in running the family. By the age of 12-14 years most of the girls join the agricultural force. The girls also supplement the household income through their labour-force and also participate in minor forest produce collection. If they have spare time in spite of all these activities and obtain permission from their parents then they may go to school. According to 47.86 per cent of the respondents the reason for their present educational status is that the facilities were not available for them to get educated, 0.94 per cent revealed that girls education was not allowed, 6.16 per cent said the reason that because of agricultural activities and household chores they did not get time to study, 3.31 per cent opined that they did not have any interest to study since this education is worth less for them on account of that they are staying in the forest and they possess enough knowledge from the forest itself to cope with their lives. Out of 211 respondents 93.36 per cent are ready to send girl children to school up to primary level, while 6.63 per cent shows unwillingness to send their girl children to school. They are of the opinion that girl children should first learn how to manage household chores and agricultural activities as they have to manage her husbands house after marriage. From early childhood to begin with, girl children are trained in various domestic chores. As soon as girl is grown up enough to play she is regarded old enough to work. She may be seen assisting her mother in all domestic work bringing fuel from the forest, carrying water from the nearby pipe and by attending to small babies. She has to attend all kinds of domestic work. When the girl children started to manage the household mother can go for agricultural activities without any hindrance. In absence of hired labour, the girls work at home and fields is of utmost importance and all considered the fact that eventually the girls have to get married and start their families. Other than going school 50.23 per cent of the girl children were managing the household chores, helping in agricultural activities and taking care of the younger children. Even if the schools were located in their hamlet itself, due to these work burdens girl children were always withdrawn from the schools. DROP-OUT AMONG THE MUTHUVAN CHILDREN Drop out is an evil of primary education. Primary education is imparted with two main objectives as to make the children literate and to prepare them for becoming responsible citizen of the country. So the children to be literate should have at least four years schooling and to be a responsible citizen most have and eight years of schooling. The drop out pupils of the study area is large. So it is very important to analyze the cause for drop out. REASON FOR DROP-OUTS The reasons for drop-out are depending on family status, economic imposition, bi-lingual education, lack of interest, etc. Among the Muthuvans it was found that the problem of dropout is not an isolated phenomenon, but it may be attributed to so many other facts. 1. Economic Backwardness The Muthuvans depend on agriculture for their subsistence. Further they also engaged in wage labour and each family income ranges from Rs 800/-to Rs.1000/-per month. As such they find it difficult for them to spend hard earnings on the expenses of their childrens education. Though majority of the families depended on agricultural produce and collection of Non-Timber Forest Produce (NTFP), barter system has no longer very much effective in their daily living. Everything has a price now a days including education. Exploitation of non-tribes in procurement of agricultural produce from Muthuvans and consequently trap in vicious cycle of indebtedness accentuated the problem of poverty. Due to their poor economic condition, children assist their parents in familial subsistence. As such this drop-out problem is perpetuating in the study area. 2. Socio-cultural factors Socio-cultural practices of Muthuvans play a significant role in the overall development of children in the study village. The formal education which is imparted to Muthuvan children is devoid of learning about their own society and their vernacular language, they are forced to learn alphabets in alien language. Even the teachers are not well versed with Muthuvan language and they teach in text book language. They are not bothered about whether the children are capable of understanding what they are taught. It is the fact that despite their tradition and culture these societies have to accept the innovation for getting employment. But they feel that the medium of instruction should be local up to primary level and the syllabus should be based on their culture and society. Lack of such amenable medium of instruction and territorial based education causing lot of confusion among the children. Eventually they turn down this education under those psychological pressure and phobia about the formal education. 3. Non-availability of facilities All the settlements had primary schools and Anganwadies, but these settlements do not have Middle school and High Schools. The Primary Schools in the study area was working with a single teacher in a small hut having only one room. All the students from Standard I to Standard IV were sitting in the same class room and the single teacher managed all the classes. Further analysis of the reasons for dropout showed that after the attainment of puberty girls never allowed to go to schools, in addition to this their economic conditions also forced them to dropout. The dropout generally occurred after the child completed the school. Where schools are not located at close quarters from the settlements, rates of dropout as well as non-enrollment are high. There is a natural hesitation on the part of most parents to send children to schools located at a distance. Lack of appropriate atmosphere of schooling, continuous attendance, parental interest, study interest are some of the important problems of education faced by Muthuvan children. Few teachers perceived economic problems, inadequacy of clothing, lack of books and stationery as the reasons for poor attendance of students. Poverty coupled with insufficient infrastructure is responsible for the prevalence of large scale drop out among the tribal children. The Muthuvan settlements are located in forest belts. Often children have to walk through wild animal infested forest tracts to reach the nearest school. This is a big safety risk. For example, not a single child in the school going age in the settlements in the midst of Chinnar Wild Life Sanctuary was going to school, where the schools are located away from the settlement. The Muthuvans are especially apprehensive about sending girls through lonely forest tracts for a very genuine fear. Many a time not only they encounter wild elephants but also wild and lusty men. There have been instances when forest contractors, non-tribal men in the neighbouring villages have tried to make sexual advance at these young girls. PRE-METRIC HOSTEL FOR FEMALE CHILDREN The Kerala state provided a boarding institution for tribal girls- pre-metric hostel as it is called, in Marayoor, the nearby town of the study area, for the convenience of the tribal girls who are coming from the remote settlements. The hostel has now thirty-two boarders who are students in Government-run and private schools. Of them, only six are from Muthuvan community. As Muthuvans consider themselves as superior to the other tribes they do not prefer to admit their children to the hostel where they would have to live, interdine, and interact with the Malapulaya children. Muthuvans are claiming superior status over Malapulayas. The school dropout rate among Muthuvan children is said to be considerably high. It would seem that besides their hesitancy to stay and interact with Malapulaya children, Muthuvan children who are used to high altitudes and evergreen forest habitat and associated way of living find the hostel and school alienating. The resistance of Muthuvan parents to the ir children intermingling with Malapulaya children is very high. This also forms one of the reasons for not sending the children in the schools away from Muthuvan hamlet. DISCUSSION Low literacy among the Muthuvan tribe in general and women in particular, presents a very serious problem. The demand side of labour market has a feedback effect on the investment decisions on the Muthuvans in education. They are relayed on agriculture for their livelihood. The Muthuvans consider both boys and girls as economic asset to the family, therefore sending them to school upsets the traditional pattern of division of labour. Muthuvan girls usually help their mothers at home in all possible ways and work in the field in the agricultural seasons. In non-agricultural seasons they are usually engaged in the collection of minor forest produces, grazing cattle and goats, under these circumstances parents never force the children to go to school at all. Although economic constraints hinder tribal girls from getting educated, cultural, social and family structures also contribute to the tremendous variation in dropout rates of girls among the Muthuvans. Besides going to school majority of the Muthuvan girls are managing the household chores, taking care of the younger children, helping in the agricultural activities, collecting minor forest produces and firewood. They also bring water from the far away pipes and looking after the livestock. Parents want the children to help them in agriculture and other allied activities. On the top of that, school vacations are not synchronized with the heavy agricultural seasons of sowing or harvesting. So the parents cannot be faulted for pulling out their children for getting of little extra help. The study area has only primary and middle level schools. After completing middle level education, they are unable to go to town for higher education due to cultural and safety reasons as mentioned earlier. The Muthuvan literacy level, in general is quite low. But in case of Muthuvan women it touches the lowest bottom. Muthuvans as settled agriculturalists lack enough food grains to maintain the family whole year. Education therefore is a luxury for them which they can hardly afford. Each school- going girl in a Muthuvan family is an economic unit and contribute to the family. If the girl is taken away from her normal economic work to attend school, the family is deprived of little income which she brings; instead, the parents have to feed the child out of their earnings which further reduces the economic stability of the family. Merely increasing the number of schools in tribal areas or throwing up superficial incentives per se will not bring development to the doors of the tribal women or girl children. The actual needs and real life situations have to be taken cognizance of while planning schemes for tribal development. In order to facilitate tribal girls to make extensive and effective use of schooling facilities, schools must be located within easy and safe reach of children. This definitely is a meaningful incentive for a large number of tribal parents who are desirous of sending their children schools. One cannot expect young girls to walk for miles through dangerous animal and human infested forest tracks. It is easier to offer scholarships and gold medals to successful tribal learners than opening new schools in distant tribal belts or removing the actual hurdles to effective utilization of existing facilities. The introduction of formal education is not without any negative impact. A set of values totally alien to the Muthuvan culture have now been introduced to their community. Often, the curricular content of class room training is in direct contradiction to their real life experiences. Barring a few exceptions tribal education programmes do not take into account the needs and conditions of tribal life and culture. A curriculum that is alien to their culture and ways of life leaves them confused. Such concepts as the father being the sole bread earner, mother attends only to household chores, boys playing out-door games and girls engaged in domestic work leaves them perturbed. Even the gender insensitive games that are taught in the non- tribal schools do not have positive attitude towards tribal values. The non-tribal culture at large does not have a very pro-women attitude and the same is reflected in the attitude of these teachers towards female children. The teacher addressed the gir ls as waste, burden, and scolded them whenever they did not show interest in the lessons or failed to answer their questions. They made a point to repeatedly remind the female students that their place was in the home and that kitchen work does not require any formal schooling. Teachers with such attitudes are doing great damage to the motivation of girl children because of their gender blind attitudes. Ideas that had hitherto not crept into Muthuvan mind have now been introduced. Many female teachers also act as a negative, influence on women and girl children. They express their displeasure and disapproval about such tribal practices as elopement, divorce and widow marriage. These young children are slowly developing a sense of aversion towards their indigenous practices, many of which are very progressive.

Prescription Drug Abuse in America Essay -- Prescription Drug Abuse Ep

When a person thinks of problems that haunt the state, mostly what comes to mind are drunk driving, the meth epidemic, or the bipolar weather, but our state has a crisis that is on the rise and catching the attention of the police force all over the state. Our state ranks high among all states with people, ages 12 and older, taking prescription pills without being prescribed them. (NSDUH) Many teens and adults can recall a friend asking them for their prescription pills or have witnessed someone taking these pills illegally. Throughout my life, there are many instances that I can recall from memory that deal with prescription pills and these instance changed or altered my life. People tend to think that prescription pills are safer than street drugs because they are made for people to take. But in one occurrence, my mother lost her best friend and my good friend lost his mother to the addiction with prescription drugs, which caused a downward spiral in her life. One might ask, what i s the state doing to stop this epidemic? One might also wonder what effects prescription drug abuse has on our city. My personal story and experience with the prescription drug problem started when my mother and I moved from Spain to the United States; my mother met her soon-to-be best friend, Regina. When I was a child, my mother never told me about the serious problem that Regina had: addiction to prescription pills. She wanted to shelter me from the problems it caused. Most common drugs that are abused are opioids: hydrocodone and oxycodone, depressants: diazepam, or stimulants: amphetamines, all of which Regina had been using for a considerable amount of time. (NIDA) Soon Regina’s family moved away to Florida and she told my mother that she had... ...H115/sr115-nonmedical-use-pain-relievers.htm>. (NSDUH) Griffin, R. Morgan. "Living With Chronic Pain: Treatments, Alternative Remedies, Exercises, and Tips." WebMD. Ed. Brunilda Nazario. WebMD, 09 Mar. 2011. Web. 25 Feb. 2014. . (WebMD) "Statistics of Prescription Drug Abuse, Overdosing, Emergency Room Visits: Foundation for a Drug Free World." Statistics of Prescription Drug Abuse, Overdosing, Emergency Room Visits: Foundation for a Drug Free World. Foundation For A Drug-Free World, n.d. Web. 25 Feb. 2014. . (Drug-Free World) "Prescription Drugs." National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). National Institute of Health, Dec. 2012. Web. 28 Feb. 2014. . (NIDA)

Performance Management at Jet Food Services Essay

It is now the end of Sampada’s first year as regional manager for Jet Food Services. As regional manager, Sampada supervises a total of ten districts, each of which has a manager responsible for sales and service to customers in that area. Jet Food provides contract food services for hospitals, schools, colleges, business firms, and other institutions that need meals prepared on site but that do not wish to be responsible for operating such services. Jet Food Services hires all necessary kitchen employees, purchases all supplies, and prepares meals in accordance with specifications agreed on with customers. The district manager is responsible for coordinating all customer activities. This includes planning, budgeting, hiring and supervising Jet`s on-site representative (customer service manager), customer satisfaction, and contract renegotiations. Sampada was recruited after years of experience as director of food services for a multicampus university. In that job, she had oversight responsibility for the food services at several campuses. The Jet Food position offered an opportunity for continued growth and advancement. In her first year, Sampada has concentrated on getting to know the district managers and the customers with whom they work. She spent more than a week with each district manager and visited each customer with him or her. At this point, she feels comfortable with her job and the knowledge she has gained of both operations and personnel, and it is time to appraise the performance of the district managers and to schedule review meetings with these employees. Sampada`s assessment of Ranjan: Ranjan is the longest term district manager in Sampada’sregion. He completed less than one year of college, held several short term jobs, and then joined Jet as a shift supervisor of the company`s services at a large college. At present, he is completing twelve years of employment with Jet. He has been a district manager for three years. In working with Ranjan, Sampadahas observed his strengths, along with some problems. Ranjan has a talent for working with people, Jet employees and customers alike. In fact, in his years with Jet, no customer he worked with has ever switched to a competitor. Many on-site supervisors recruited, trained, and supervised by Ranjan have gone on to become managers of other districts.On the other hand, Ranjan’s unhealthy eating habits – despite doctors` warnings – have contributed to some serious medical difficulties. During the past year, Ranjan was out of work for three months with gallbladder and heart problems, attributable in part to obesity. And Ranjan’s behaviour towards others can be overbearing. Sampada kept track of her phone calls from district managers during the year, and there were more calls (or messages) from Ranjan than from the other nine district managers taken together – calls to promote or advertise his own efforts. Although Ranjan can be charming, he has started to be loud and rude with regional personnel whom he perceives as excessively rule – oriented. All in all, Ranjan’s style and appearance have become entirely different from what Sampada is accustomed to in colleagues and employees.Further, it has been announced that Sampada’s region is going to be expanded and that a new position, that of assistant regional manager will be created. Ranjan has made it clear that as Jet`s longest tenured district manager in the region, he feels entitled to this promotion. However, Sampada does not feel she could work with Ranjan as the assistant regional manager. She feels that their management styles are too different and that Ranjan’s behaviour might irritate regional and corporate personnel. As Sampada looks over Jet`s performance assessment and management instrument, she realises that her honest assessment of Ranjan’s performance in his current job is generally excellent. She glances at the last page of the assessment and management form and the overall ratings from which she will have to choose. Jet`s overall rating system is on a 1-10 scale, with 10 as outstanding; 7-9, different degrees of excellent performance; 5-6, satisfactory; 3-4, below average; and 1-2, unacceptable. Sampada is uncertain as to what overall rating to assign. If she gives Ranjan too high a rating, he will expect to be promoted. If the rating is too low, Ranjan will doubtless be angry, feeling that an injustice has been done. Ranjan`s Self-Assessment and Management: Ranjan sees himself as different from the other district managers. An outgoing, gregarious type, he loves to visit his customer locations and work with his company`s personnel. His idea of a successful day is one spent teaching a customer service manager a new operating procedure or management technique. In fact, Ranjan is known to roll up his sleeves and teach Jet employees a new recipe or how to improve an existing dish.Ranjan has worked for several district managers and has always liked to keep them informed about his activities, sometimes phoning two or three times a day. From discussions with Sampada, he is aware that she thinks many of these calls are not necessary, but he wants her to know how things are going with his employees and customers. He is also aware of Sampada’s views regarding his ignoring medical advice. Ranjan is proud of his career and of what he has been able to do without much higher education. He feels he is qualified to become a regional manager, and he looks forward to the possibility of promotion to the new assistant regional manager position as a step toward this ultimate goal. Ranjan’s Assessment Rating: In reviewing the situation, Sampada decides to give Ranjan an overall rating of 6. She feels justified, given that Ranjan did miss months of work as a result of neglecting his health. She knows that Ranjan will expect a higher overall rating, but she is prepared to stand behind her evaluation. Sampada then goes back to considering the separate ratings she will assign and to making plans for their feedback review. Questions:1 How would you describe Sampada’s approach to the assessment and management of Ranjan’s performance? 2 Are Sampada`s concerns with Ranjan’s performance legitimate? Will Ranjan have justifiable reasons for feeling dissatisfied with the assessment and management results?

Marialyn Essay

My First week in bank of Makati makes me so tired but still I am grateful because we got the opportunity to have an on-the-job-training with a prestigious kind of bank. I was assigned near the teller’s area. In my first tasked Ma’am Noreen the branch operations head, assigned me to encode the account name and account number of clients exclusive only for the past two years. I was also assigned to stamp the liquidated receipt paid by the bank as their expenses and etc. I also had a time to socialize with some employee. In the following days, my tasked are still the same. I continued to encode the remaining sets of accounts then I stamp customer information forms. I was also assigned by Ma’am Dianne the marketing sales associate to paste the invitation cards and cut designs for the candle holder which will be used for the opening of the new building that the bank of Makati will be moved. Those invitation cards will be given to their selected clients. I was also assigned to arrange receipts according to its serial number. An hour before the duty end the manager treat us a snack for us to relieve our stress. In the second week of our on the job training, during its first day we already moved to the new and better building of Bank of Makati which is located at Quimpo Boulevard, Ecoland Matina Davao City. We have a little celebration together with the manager, employees, visitors and other officers from the main office. When we went back to our work, one of the employee who is assigned in loan operation department told me together with my co-trainees to count the documents by hundred. As I get back to the department where I truly assign, Ma’am Noreen instructed me to arrange the files sealed in the long enveloped and cleaned it. The next day I encode another set of account name and number of clients. After that I was task to arrange again the files sealed in the enveloped the same routine that I made the other day since the branch operation head told the utility man to transfer the drawer’s placed then I take off the envelop and I arrange it back to its original placed. I was also tasked to stamp letters which will be given to the clients and then I make sorting for the serial number of sealed enveloped, it seems that it is confidential I cannot saw what’s inside of it. I also helped my co-trainee to cut the slips in check accounts that will be used by the teller. In the following days, I was tasked to cut small pieces of labeled papers which has a content of bank’s name and its new address, it will be used as label to those envelop that will be delivered to the clients. After that I paste those pieces of papers that I cut and I inserted the letters inside of it and then I sealed. I also cut another pieces of papers which has the content for requirements purposes and I arrange it to the small box. At afternoon, I was tasked to put check marks in the customer information forms, specimen signature cards, payroll debit authorization & etc. so that it would be easy for the clients to know the things that they only needed to fill up. I also arrange bundles of transmittal form according to its places. It was quit tiring and confusing because after separating the transmittal form according to its places, we’re going to arrange it also by dates in descending order. In my third week, during its first day I continued sorting the transmittal forms which I started last week. I was also instructed to cut pieces of labeled papers that will be used by the teller in wrapping cash such as 500 and 1,000 bills, and then I continue doing it after lunch. I was also tasked by one of the employee assigned in loan operation department to look the certificate of registration of selected clients. After that I was assigned by Ma’am Dianne to fold letters for the clients and sealed it to envelop. The next task was looking for those selected names in a two bundles of sheets. I was also instructed by Ma’am Noreen to her by e-mail the things that I encoded last week. For the following days I was tasked to crash out the wrong information regarding the terms and conditions in time deposit/special savings account in the customer information forms, I think that were about hundred of forms. I was also assigned to stamp bundles of envelop and then I also answered telephone calls and I make sketch lines in log book for clients information purposes. In the next day my tasked are still the same as yesterday which is the crashed out thing in the customer information form but the difference was this time I crashed out the already filled up forms by the clients while yesterday it was the unfilled up ones. The next tasked that was assigned to me was to fold letters and sealed it to an enveloped. After that I continued my tasked which is the crashed out thing again and that was my assigned work for the whole afternoon and a whole day in the next day. In the last of my duty for this week, Ma’am Dianne let me joined with their official business travel or what they called OBT. We went to nearby places in Davao City in which our target market was the regular employees, encouraging them to avail the newly created loan system of the bank of Makati. It was quit tiring but enjoy because I get the chance to observe them the actual way on how to market a loan. For this week, my first tasked was to sort and alphabetized the signature cards, that was my assigned work for the whole day. On the second day, I helped my co-trainees in their assigned department to sort and arranged bundles of files. Then the next day I was tasked to check and arranged the documents in customer information form and after that I go back with my co-trainees and helped them to continued their assigned work since the other day. At afternoon, one of the employees in loan operation department asked me to get inside the vault and look for the registration card of those listed names that she gave to me. Since I was absent last Friday I have to comply it in Saturday and in that day I was tasked to stamp, sort and arranged the signature cards, arranged other files, sorting and arranging receipts. In this week my tasked was to arranged files, I inserted those customer information forms inside the enveloped in alphabetical order. I was also told to make corrections for those unwanted information in customer information forms. In Tuesday I was asked to encode receipts and sort it after. I also cut withdrawal slips that will be used by the teller. In Wednesday, I continued to cut withdrawal slips and that was my work for the entire day. In Thursday I was assigned to cut another sets of slips, after that I was tasked to pull-out certificate of registration’s (CR’s). In the last day of the week I helped my co-trainee in their assigned department in segregating documents namely the Dacion en Pago or Deed of Sale. For this week, I was with my co-trainee in their assigned department. We arranged documents and I was also assigned to pull-out certificate of registrations. The next day I together with my co-trainee was instructed to look for the document of a specific customer. In Thursday, after one & a half day of looking for the document in almost a hundred of bundled sheets at last we found it. The next thing we did was to insert those sealed envelops to its original placed. In the last day of ojt for this week I was assigned in the vault’s area, I arranged and sort files. I was also assigned in loan operation department; I was tasked there to look for the documents listed in a 3 sheets of bond paper. Mission Statement We value our role in economic development We exist to help more people: I. Answer the following questions on a separate sheet. A. Has the practicum/fieldwork experience helped you prepare for a job in the business field? Why or why not? Yes, the practicum experienced helped me prepare for a job in the business field because it gives me learning about the real scenario of how to work in a bank, in which they taught me those duties and responsibilities that I will be used in preparing for a job someday. With that, I could I could say that those learning’s from where I had my practicum motivates me to be ready in the actual world of workplace. B. Which of the courses you have taken were of the most value during the Practicum? Of all the courses that I have taken the most valuable during the practicum was the Total Quality Management (TQM), which talks about on how to manage things in a proper way because in the work that I have undergo I was assigned in encoding, stamping, filing, arranging documents and from those worked that I have encountered I have learned to see to it that everything must be in the proper way. It should be organized and orderly done. C. What could your company/job supervisor have done to improve your practicum/fieldwork experience? My supervisor helped me to become a good listener, alert, and patience in every tasked that she gave to me. She made me become a good listener in the sense that I should see to it that in every words that she says, I must directly and clearly understand it. To be alert that in every assigned work I should have the enthusiasm or willingness to do and lastly she made me become patience, that whatever loaded work that will be given to me I shouldn’t be get mad or be high tempered. D. What could you have done to improve your practicum/fieldwork experience? The thing that I have done to improve my practicum experienced is to gain willingness in every tasked that will be given, because if there’s a willing power of a person there’s a big possibility to make the worked done properly E. What skills/competencies were you required to use in your fieldwork that: . 1. You felt prepared to do: The skills that I have required to used in my fieldwork that I felt prepared to do, are my skills in encoding, sorting, arranging bundles of documents even the ability to make conversations with clients and faced their concerns. 2. You felt unprepared to do: The skill that I felt unprepared to do was to market loans and making business transactions. Because I think I am not yet ready for that, I need to undergo an experienced for me to be ready. F. What other courses or learning experiences would have helped in the Practicum? The other learning experiences that have helped in the practicum was our subject in Marketing Management which tackled about on how to market products or services, reminds me in the official business travel that I have joined together with the selected employees from the bank where I did my on-the-job-training. From which I saw the actual scene on how to market loans. The other subject that helped me in the practicum was our Management 3 which talks about the ethical behavior, helped me to behave in a descent way and treat one another fairly even if a person is lower than your position G. What suggestions can you make to help improve the Practicum Program? I suggests that if

Discover the Windward and Leeward Islands

Discover the Windward and Leeward Islands The Windward Islands, the Leeward Islands, and the Leeward Antilles are part of the  Lesser Antilles  in the Caribbean Sea. These island groups include many of the most popular tourist destinations in the West Indies. This collection of islands is diverse in terrain and culture. Most are very small and the tiniest islands remain uninhabited. Among the major islands in this area, a number of them are independent countries while in some instances two islands may be governed as a single country. Quite a few remain as territories of larger countries like the United States, United Kingdom, France and the Netherlands. What Are the Windward Islands? The Windward Islands include the  southeastern islands of the Caribbean.  Theyre called the Windward Islands because they are exposed to the wind (windward) of the northeast trade winds (the northeasterlies) from the Atlantic Ocean. Within the Windward Islands is a chain that includes many of the smaller islands in this group. This is often called the Windward Chain and here they are listed from north to south. Dominica: The northernmost island,  the British government  held this territory until 1978 and considered it part of the Leeward Islands. It is now an independent country and most often thought to be in the Windward Islands.Martinique  (France)Saint Lucia  Saint Vincent and  The GrenadinesGrenada  Ã‚   Just a little farther to the east are the following islands. Barbados is more to the north, nearer  St. Lucia, while Trinidad and Tobago are to the south near the coast of Venezuela. BarbadosTrinidad and Tobago What Are the Leeward Islands? Between the islands of the Greater Antilles and those of the Windward Islands are the Leeward Islands. Mostly small islands, they are called the Leeward Islands because they are away from the wind (lee). The Virgin Islands Just off the coast of Puerto Rico are the Virgin Islands and this is the northernmost part of the Leeward Islands. The  northern set of islands are territories of the United Kingdom and the southern set are territories of the United States. Outside of the Bahamas and Jamaica, the Virgin Islands are among the most popular tourist destinations in the Caribbean.St. Croix is the largest of the Virgin Islands.Though considered part of the Lesser Antilles, from a purely geological standpoint, the Virgin Islands are actually part of the Greater Antilles. British Virgin Islands There are over 50 small islands in the British Virgin Islands territory, though only 15 are inhabited. The following are the largest islands. TortolaVirgin Gorda  AnegadaJost Van Dyke U.S. Virgin Islands Also made up of around 50 small islands, the U.S. Virgin Islands are a small unincorporated territory. These are the largest islands listed by size. St. CroixSt. ThomasSt. John   More Islands of the Leeward Islands As you might expect, there are many tiny islands in this area of the Caribbean and only the largest are inhabited.  Working south from the Virgin Islands, here are the rest of the Leeward Islands, many of which are territories of larger countries. Anguilla  (U.K.)Saint Maarten - the Netherlands controls the southern third of the island. The northern two-thirds are controlled by France and called  Saint Martin.Saint-Barthà ©lemy  (France)Saba  (the Netherlands)Sint Eustatius  (the Netherlands - in English Saint Eustatius)Saint Kitts and  NevisAntigua and Barbuda (Redonda  is an uninhabited dependent island.)Montserrat  (U.K.)Guadeloupe  (France) What Are the Leeward Antilles? To the west of the Windward Islands is a stretch of islands known as the Leeward Antilles. These are farther apart from each other than the islands of the other two groups. It  includes more of the  popular destination Caribbean islands and runs along the Venezuelan coast. From west to east, the major  islands of the Leeward Antilles include the following and, collectively, the first three are known as the ABC islands. Aruba (Netherlands)Curaà §ao  (Netherlands)Bonaire  (Netherlands)Isla de Margarita (Venezuela) Venezuela has a number of other islands within the Leeward Antilles. Many, like the Isla de Tortuga, are uninhabited.

Course outline Essay Example

Course outline Essay Example Course outline Essay Course outline Essay A key goal is for students to achieve the competence, self-assurance, and know-how needed to face the opportunities and challenges of the global community in which we all live. This course area will help develop understandings of the variety of ways that the past has been brought into and understood in the present. Students will also learn about the core concepts of history, culture, and globalization, which will be discussed in the context of the contemporary global issue in question. The contemporary issue that we will face in this class is Revolution. Revolution can be fined as rapid, often violent, political, social, economic, and cultural change in a country or region over a fairly short period of time. During the past year and a half, revolutions have swept the Arab World from North Africa through the Middle East. Long entrenched rulers were driven from power in Egypt, Tunisia, Yemen, and Libya. Daily we read in the press about the bloody struggle Oust this week the UN has estimated 60,000 people have died) the Syrian people have waged to overthrow the Sad family, which has been in power for some 40 years. Depending on what appends in Syria, other nations such as Iran, may also erupt in full-scale rebellion. The Arab Spring has significance today and for the future, not only for the Middle East and North Africa, but also for the entire world. In this course, we shall examine the origins, course, and significance of Revolutions in their political, economic, social, comparative, and cultural aspects during the past two hundred years through case studies of France (1789-1815), Russia (1917-1934), Mexico (1911-1921), China (1945-1976), Iran (1979), 1968 and 1989 Global Revolutions, and currently the Arab oral. Regarding the book review (10%), the students will have to select a book on one evolution, read at least 50 pages from the book, and write a review summarizing and critiquing the book. A list of selected books will be passed out for students to choose from. The review will be due at the end of the eighth week of classes. By the end of the fourth week, the instructor will pass out a list of questions, based on the cultural aspects off revolution. The students will have to select a different revolution from the one selected for the book review, select one question from the list, and write an essay (10%) of 2-3 pages. The student must credit all sources through footnotes at he bottom of each page, and a bibliography at the end of the essay. Furthermore the essays must employ the basic rules of English grammar and usage. The essay will be due at the end of the semester or week 14. At least 50% of the sources for the essay have to come from published books and academic articles found in the library or the library e-Journal web site. Information found on the internet should be avoided doing the research for your essay. Participation (10%). Participation in class is very important. At the start of each class, I will ask four or five students at random to briefly answer a question based on the previous lecture. While the class is very large, each student will have the opportunity to answer at least one question during the course of the semester. This exercise will ensure that students attend each class, and pay attention to the material given at the lecture as well as keep up with the weekly readings. Quizzes (40%) There will be four (4) quizzes.

Quotes From the Novel Great Expectations

Quotes From the Novel Great Expectations We can learn a bit more about the life and experiences of Charles Dickens by reading his semi-autobiographical novel, Great Expectations. Of course, the facts are immersed in fiction, which is part of what makes the novel such a masterpiece. The novel follows life and misadventures of Pip, the orphaned protagonist from his encounter with an escaped convict as a child to  his eventual happy ever after with the woman he loves. The novel has been popular since its original serialized publication in 1860. Great Expectations Quotes Now, I return to this young fellow. And the communication I have got to make is, that he has great expectations.Take another glass of wine, and excuse my mentioning that society as a body does not expect one to be so strictly conscientious in emptying ones glass, as to turn it bottom upwards with the rim on ones nose.Mrs. Joe was a very clean housekeeper, but had an exquisite art of making her cleanliness more uncomfortable and unacceptable than dirt itself.It was understood that nothing of a tender nature could possibly be confided to old Barley, by reason of his being totally unequal to the consideration of any subject more psychological than gout, rum, and pursers stores.That was a memorable day to me, for it made great changes in me. But, it is the same with any life. Imagine one selected day struck out of it, and think how different its course would have been. Pause you who read this, and think for a moment of the long chain of iron or gold, of thorns or flowers, that would neve r have bound you, but for the formation of the first link on one memorable day. I never had one hours happiness in her society, and yet my mind all round the four-and-twenty hours was harping on the happiness of having her with me unto death.So now, as an infallible way of making little ease great ease, I began to contract a quantity of debt.It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade.Take nothing on its looks; take everything on evidence. Theres no better rule.Some medical beast had revived tar-water in those days as a fine medicine, and Mrs. Joe always kept a supply of it in the cupboard; having a belief in its virtues correspondent to its nastiness. At the best of times, so much of this elixir was administered to me as a choice restorative, that I was conscious of going about, smelling like a new fence.We spent as much money as we could, and got as little for it as people could make up their minds to give us. We were always more or less miserable, and most of our acqua intance were in the same condition. There was a gay fiction among us that we were constantly enjoying ourselves, and a skeleton truth that we never did. To the best of my belief, our case was in the last aspect a rather common one. All other swindlers upon earth are nothing to the self-swindlers, and with such pretenses did I cheat myself. Surely a curious thing. That I should innocently take a bad half-crown of somebody elses manufacture, is reasonable enough; but that I should knowingly reckon the spurious coin of my own make, as good money!In a word, I was too cowardly to do what I knew to be right, as I had been too cowardly to avoid doing what I knew to be wrong.Heaven knows we need never be ashamed of our tears, for they are rain upon the blinding dust of the earth, overlying our hard hearts.So, throughout life, our worst weaknesses and meannesses are usually committed for the sake of the people whom we most despise.I was always treated as if I had insisted on being born, in opposition to the dictates of reason, religion, and morality, and against the dissuading arguments of my best friends.And could I look upon her without compassion, seeing her punishment in the ruin she was, in her profound unfitness f or this earth on which she was placed, in the vanity of sorrow which had become a master mania, like the vanity of penitence, the vanity of remorse, the vanity of unworthiness, and other monstrous vanities that have been curses in this world? Source All Quotes - Charles Dickens, Great Expectations

Speech Class Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Speech Class - Essay Example On the other hand, illegal operations give no benefit to the government, but legalization will bring in taxes and help control the operations as well. â€Å"It is estimated that pot is the largest cash crop in California, with annual revenues approaching $14 billion. A 10% pot tax would yield $1.4 billion in California alone. A veritable marijuana economic-stimulus package!† (Klein, Joe, 2009; â€Å"US Policy on Drugs†, n.d.; Wolff, Madeline, 2009) 1. â€Å"Cannabis being used as a treatment goes back to China in 28 BC. Emperor Shen-Nung prescribed cannabis for: beriberi, constipation, female weakness, gout, malaria, rheumatism, and absent-mindedness† (â€Å"Marijuana Uses - Marijuana as Medicine†, 2009) Saad, Lydia. â€Å"U.S. Support for Legalizing Marijuana Reaches New High.† Gallup.com. 19 October 2009. 17 November 2009. Wolff, Madeline. â€Å"Legalizing marijuana can reduce crime, increase revenue for state.† sundial.csun.edu. 2009. 17 November 2009.

Ethical Standards Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Ethical Standards - Essay Example The new code of conduct will act as a guideline for all the employees to follow, when confronted with a dilemma (Roth, 2005). The devised code of conduct will try to cover all the business aspects where any predicament can arise. Thus, code covers the matters of business conduct, marketing and sales practices, business gifts, relationship with colleagues and clients, insider trading, reporting measures and the use fo company or clients’ resources. Therefore, it is very important for every ECG employee to fully understand and abide by the code of conduct. A company’s image is affected by the manner the employees, within and outside the workplace. With ECG’s plan of venturing into international business market, acquiring rival firms and launching an IPO it is essential for the company employees to be on their finest behaviour. This will affect the company’s representation and in turn affect the planned investments (Johnson, 2006). The purpose of developing a code of conduct and policies is to ensure through mutual consent and understanding that these policies are implemented in order to achieve the ultimate target of integrity. The role of all the HODs is very crucial in this regard. The HODs have to become an example for their subordinates. Until the HODs follow these codes of conduct, it is very unlikely for the members of that department to do so. In order to ensure that these policies are adhered to at all times, the HODs should adopt the â€Å"lead by example† approach in this regard (Roth, 2005). The code of conduct clearly specifies the kind of behaviour which is expected from all the employees, irrespective of their stature in the company. Emphasis has been placed on integrity, honesty and trust which should be the foundation of any ethical code. The general business code of conduct lays down the rules for the employees, for the business practices and for the overall business as well. The code of conduct outlines the cul ture of the organization and provides the employees with a framework which will help them in their daily activities. The code also provides the employees with a framework by which they can judge their own behaviour and also learn how to interact with other colleagues and clients. A successful and positive relationship with our clients is essential for the success of ECG. We as a company have been proud of the fact that all out business activities are dealt with honesty, integrity and fairness. Since the relationship with our clients is so vital for our success, care should be taken with the information we provide to our clients, which is always accurate and never misrepresented. Even though client servicing is important, care should be taken when the company is incurring expenses on account of client entertainment or other benefits. These expenses should not exceed a reasonable limit and should always be approved by the finance department. This is made mandatory in order to increase transparency within the system (Lagan & Moran, 2005). Special attention needs to be paid to the marketing and sales department in particular. The marketing department is the department that directly interacts with the consumers. Therefore, the working of the marketing department is a reflection of the company’s image and policies. Documentation of the transactions is an essential part of the code of conduct. Employees are required to document every transaction which takes place between ECG and its clients. This not only makes audit very easy, but also helps

Sport Training Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Sport Training - Essay Example However, when lactate production is excessive, it accumulates in the muscles and the blood. Meanwhile, if the glycogen stores of the muscles and blood decrease, the exercises slow down and when the aerobic procedures undertaken are not sufficient, the exercise can not be maintained (Astrand & Rodahl, 1987; Fox, Bowers, & Fos, 1988; Weineck, 1986). Lactat is accumulated in the organism after all kinds of muscle exercise having maximal and supramaximal workload. It can even be observed within ten minutes workload (Jacops et al, 1983). The measurements of lactate in the muscle and blood are being done to determine these processes. Lactate measurements during exercise yield information on the intensity of the workload and on its duration. The measurements carried out after the exercise yield information on the frequency of workload and on its scope, that is, on resting-recovery process (Bueno, 1990). Babij found that, after an exercise of 10 minutes where maximal oxygen consumption rate was 50%, there was no accumulation of venous blood, and that, after the same exercise where oxygen consumption rate was 76%, lactate of the venous blood increased up to 5 minutes and then started to decline (Babij et al, 1983). The number of infantile and juvenile competitions has significantly increased over the past two decades (Bar-Or O. 1996; Colantonio et al, 1997; Kemper, 1995; Matveev, 1996), which has favored world records to be broken by 14-year old athletes. One knows well metabolic and functional responses to exercises in adults, whether normal or with impairments (Del et al, 1985; Negrao et al, 1998) but there are many issues that are yet to be solved regarding physical training of children and adolescents (Bar-Or O, 1996). Aerobic fitness is instrumental for children and adolescents, not only for healthfulness8, but also for the practice of a number of sports (McArdle et al, 1996). Human capability of performing mid and long-duration exercises chiefly depends on aerobic metabolism. Thus, one of the main indices used to assess this condition is the maximum oxygen uptake (VO2max), known as aerobic power (Denadai BS, 1995; Kiss MAPDM, 2000). According to literature, in maximum exertion tests, swimmers (S) and water polo players (WP) typically present VO2max values close to 69.012 and 55.513 (ml.kg-1.min-1), respectively. In judo practitioners, it has been observed, from four consecutive Wingate test bouts for upper limbs that oxygen uptake (VO2) in the first bout was lower than that in the second, but there were no differences from the later in the third and fourth bouts, showing a tendency to stabilization. For swimming and water polo, when comparing two consecutive Wingate test bouts for upper (ARMS) and lower limbs (LEGS), and specific tests at the pool, there was good correlation only for ARMS (r = 0.85, p In spite of evidences about mean VO2max values at exercises in which aerobic metabolism prevail, it is interesting to observe its behavior in exercises in which anaerobic metabolism prevail. VO2max may be defined as the highest oxygen (O2) uptake accomplished by an individual breathing air at sea level (Astrand PO, 1952). This variable is one of the main items examined in endurance studies, in spite of the use of the expression oxygen peak uptake (VO2peak) to describe O2 uptake values from any

We were soldiers - movie on leadership Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

We were soldiers - movie on leadership - Essay Example Lt .Col Moore’s wife like her husband is also portrayed as a leader in the film. Julie Moore demonstrates to the viewers of her leadership capabilities when she decides to take the initiative of delivering telegrams to the families of soldiers. A good leader is one who is empathetic, respectful and understanding. Julie Moore gives a clear demonstration of these leadership skills. During the war, U.S soldiers died in the battle field (We Were Soldiers). The news of their death as depicted in the film was delivered through telegrams. In one of the scenes, cabs were hired to deliver the telegrams containing the sad news (We Were Soldiers). When she learns of this, she takes the initiative of having the telegrams delivered to her and she, in turn, delivers to each family. She is mindful of the family’s emotions and goes ahead to comfort them. Delivering the news personally shows that she takes care of people. Lt. Col.Moore is no doubt an entrepreneurial leader. He is entrepreneurial in the various ways. One of the ways is when he makes a speech in one of the scenes. In his speech, he was able to convince the soldiers to perceive their situation as he perceived it. He tells the soldiers that he cannot guarantee that they will not die, but he promises that they will all return home (We Were Soldiers). He also reminds the soldiers that they are at war to secure their families a better future. He instills hope in his soldiers. He sets the pace by telling them he will be there throughout the war.

Theories and Treatment Programs for Delinquent and Adult Offenders Research Paper

Theories and Treatment Programs for Delinquent and Adult Offenders - Research Paper Example Some treatment programs for delinquents and adult offenders may be used for both populations. Substance abuse treatments are used for both delinquents and adult offenders. According to substance treatments for both sides, the philosophy they work upon is that substance abuse is one of the major reasons why the majority of the youth and delinquents are taking part in organized crime gangs, in turn ending up with extensive criminal records. According to Nelson (2007), adult offenders take part in criminal activities as a result of their being jobless and a need to make a living, therefore, the majority end up stealing while others may have been under the influence of drugs at the time of the crime. Educational programs for individuals who may be addicted to drugs or other substances is highly recommended within the rehabilitation process. Rehabilitation is the ultimate goal of current treatment programs. During probation, the drug addicts undergo rehabilitation programs that enlighten them on the dangers of drug abuse, with a focus on transforming the individuals into responsible and productive human beings within society. At the end of many rehabilitation programs, research shows that many of these individuals turn out to be responsible individuals. Improving an individual’s ego is one treatment program for delinquent offenders. This treatment program works on the belief that if the ego of the youthful or delinquent offender is boosted by increasing self-esteem, then these individuals are able to engage as positive role models in society; they are able to have a new life that conforms to society’s values. Since the direction and focus is to instill behavioral change in the individuals this method is also used toward reforming the adult offenders, as well. The hope is that the offenders may be given an opportunity to advance in life by introducing them to

What is the problem of communication with aliens, according to Peters Term Paper

What is the problem of communication with aliens, according to Peters - Term Paper Example Otherness is the condition in which an individual develops the belief of being different or possessing another form as compared to the majority around him/her. The notion of otherness in philosophy has been advanced since the debate on the existence of extraterrestrial beings and other unidentified objects within space. The feeling of otherness exists in a number of situations and depends on an individual state of being, experiences and level of knowledge and exposure (Peters 231). In the development of the otherness feeling, two classification of individuals arises which includes the 'us' versus 'them' feeling, one which is currently dominant in the discourse of aliens and terrestrial life. The out-group, which in this situation happens to be the aliens, is coherent as a group due to the opposition it receives from the in-groups, which are the human beings. One common example of the feeling of otherness arises from the western versus others feeling which is created by the strong bel ief that the west are more superior to the others. In this ethnic discourse, the feeling of otherness is strengthened by binary logic, which is more attached to the strong principle of self-identity. Within this set of argument, 'us' and 'them' hypothesis and reasoning is created from the grouping that exists in us and the distinctions from their groupings. For example, the division of one group into heterosexuals and homosexuals while the other group forms the male and female dichotomy forms the basis behind the advancement of this notion (Peters 243). The preoccupation with alien invasion and the need to develop communication means with the extraterrestrial beings has led to the establishment of the communication with extraterrestrial intelligence, which seeks to develop communication protocols. Just like the craze for developing human-animal communication processes, alien communication has grown since the 20th century. In case of any alien encounter, attempts to communicate will occur due to human instinct power but communication will not be the end of the problem. Just as human-animal communication has been described as one way communication, human-alien communication can also fall into this category. In an attempt to understand and discern the information from the aliens, human may be subjected to erroneous fabrication and interpretation of the message from the aliens. It is common knowledge that the desire to communicate with extraterrestrial beings is capped with dialectic enlightenment. Human have shown interest in communicating with the aliens and the number of studies that followed the telephone signal that was received from space demonstrates this. According to Peters in his speaking to the space discourse, there is no other kind of communication other than that with the aliens, a statement that he supports in his writing. Whenever we speak, we speak to the air and the aliens are the real occupants of space according to this discourse. The electroma gnetic communication that occurs from voice vibration results into the travel of sound into space, which incites the aliens. All communication, whether between ourselves may seem to be internal communication but it is all directed to the others who are not part of the ‘us’ (Peters 235). With communication, misunderstanding occurs from several avenues and this may be possible in instances where there is no otherness. However, miscommunication with aliens does not occur as a result of the semantics as words have the same meaning but from figuring out what is meant by otherness. Through this statement, Peters refers to the fact that without misrepresentation of the words from the aliens, it would be possible to understand each other’

Theories and Treatment Programs for Delinquent and Adult Offenders Research Paper

Theories and Treatment Programs for Delinquent and Adult Offenders - Research Paper Example Some treatment programs for delinquents and adult offenders may be used for both populations. Substance abuse treatments are used for both delinquents and adult offenders. According to substance treatments for both sides, the philosophy they work upon is that substance abuse is one of the major reasons why the majority of the youth and delinquents are taking part in organized crime gangs, in turn ending up with extensive criminal records. According to Nelson (2007), adult offenders take part in criminal activities as a result of their being jobless and a need to make a living, therefore, the majority end up stealing while others may have been under the influence of drugs at the time of the crime. Educational programs for individuals who may be addicted to drugs or other substances is highly recommended within the rehabilitation process. Rehabilitation is the ultimate goal of current treatment programs. During probation, the drug addicts undergo rehabilitation programs that enlighten them on the dangers of drug abuse, with a focus on transforming the individuals into responsible and productive human beings within society. At the end of many rehabilitation programs, research shows that many of these individuals turn out to be responsible individuals. Improving an individual’s ego is one treatment program for delinquent offenders. This treatment program works on the belief that if the ego of the youthful or delinquent offender is boosted by increasing self-esteem, then these individuals are able to engage as positive role models in society; they are able to have a new life that conforms to society’s values. Since the direction and focus is to instill behavioral change in the individuals this method is also used toward reforming the adult offenders, as well. The hope is that the offenders may be given an opportunity to advance in life by introducing them to

Biochemistry perspective Essay Example for Free

Biochemistry perspective Essay Diabetes is an ailment which is caused due to high amount of glucose (sugar) in the blood. The main reason for high glucose levels in blood is due to the inability of body to utilize it properly. Glucose comes from the digestion of sugar and foods rich in carbohydrates that enable the liver to create glucose. The high concentration level of glucose in blood is termed as Hyperglycemia. In 1910, Sir Edward Albert Sharpey-Schafer suggested people with diabetes were deficient in a single chemical that was normally produced by the pancreas. He proposed calling this substance insulin. The term is derived from the Latin insula, meaning island, in reference to the islets of Langerhans in the pancreas that produce insulin. (Patlak, 2002) Insulin: An Introduction Insulin is a polypeptide containing 51 amino acids arranged in two chains. The chain A contains 21 amino acids and chain B contains 30 residues. These two chains are cross linked by two sulphur bridges by cysteine residues. Insulin is formed by proteolytic cleavage of its 84 amino acid prescursor Proinsulin. Insulin has a molecular weight of 5808 Da. It has the molecular formula C257H383N65O77S6. Insulin structure varies slightly between species. Its carbohydrate metabolism regulatory function strength in humans also varies. Porcine which is pig insulin is close to humans. The image above is computer-generated image of insulin hexamers. The zinc ions holding it together and the histidine residues are involved in zinc binding. Insulin Action A pharmacological action of insulin includes carbohydrate metabolism, protein metabolism, lipid metabolism and other actions. Insulin increases the use of sugar in the tissue and stimulates transportation of glucose into the cells. Insulin also stimulates protein synthesis and growth. It increases synthesis of messenger RNA and decreases gluconeogenesis. A gluconeogenesis is a formation of glucose from glycogen. It also increases amino acid uptake in the muscle. In adipose tissues, insulin increases fatty acid synthesis, glycerol phosphate synthesis and triglyceride deposition. Other action of insulin includes prevention of ketone boy formation and increases potassium uptake. After the release of insulin from the pancreatic beta cell into the interstitial compartment, it enters the circulation after crossing endothelial barrier. Insulin action effect at the cellular level is achieved by activating and suppressing the activity of enzyme. It can also be achieved by changing the rate of synthesis of enzymes at the level of transcription and translation. Insulin stimulate glucose uptake into fat cells by glucose transporters. Glucose transporters are small vesicles which contain specific protein macromolecules. Insulin increases the rate of fusion of these vesicles with the plasma membrane, and activates the transporters to transfer glucose across the plasma membrane into the cell. Insulin synthesize hoxokinase, an enzyme which phosporylates glucose as soon as it enters the cell. Insulin is an anabolic hormone. It encourages the storage of fats and the synthesis of proteins. Each receptor of insulin contain a pair of alpha subunits, which are located on the outer surface of the membrane, and a pair of beta subunits which crosses the membrane and stick out at both the outer and inner surfaces. Both alpha and beta subunits are held together by disulphide (S-S) bonds to form an aggregate. In humans, the insulin receptor gene is located on chromosome 19. Insulin binds to the receptor at a specific site on the alpha subunit. This causes increased phosphorylation of the receptor by ATP, mostly tyrosine residues of the intracellular portion of the beta subunit. Increased phophorylation of these tyrosine residues activates the beta subunit to function as a kinase enzyme. Some intracellular effects of insulin that occur after insulin-receptor binding may be mediate through nucleotide regulatory proteins (G proteins) a family of proteins associated with the inner surface of the plasma membrane. Cyclic AMP also has some intracellular effects of insulin. The major function of insulin is to counter the concerted action of a number of hyperglycemia-generating hormones and to maintain low blood glucose levels. Because there are numerous hyperglycemic hormones, untreated disorders associated with insulin generally lead to severe hyperglycemia and shortened life span. In addition to its role in regulating glucose metabolism, insulin stimulates lipogenesis, diminishes lipolysis, and increases amino acid transport into cells. Insulin also modulates transcription, altering the cell content of numerous mRNAs. It stimulates growth, DNA synthesis, and cell replication, effects that it holds in common with the insulin-like growth factors (IGFs) and relaxin. Specific protease activity cleaves the center third of the molecule, which dissociates as C peptide, leaving the amino terminal B peptide disulfide bonded to the carboxy terminal A peptide. Insulin secretion from beta cells is principally regulated by plasma glucose levels. Increased uptake of glucose by pancreatic b-cells leads to a concomitant increase in metabolism. The increase in metabolism leads to an elevation in the ATP/ADP ratio. This in turn leads to an inhibition of an ATP-sensitive K+ channel. The net result is a depolarization of the cell leading to Ca2+ influx and insulin secretion. In fact, the role of K+ channels in insulin secretion presents a viable therapeutic target for treating hyperglycemia due to insulin insufficiency. Insulin, secreted by the beta-cells of the pancreas, is directly infused via the portal vein to the liver, where it exerts profound metabolic effects. These effects are the response of the activation of the insulin receptor which belongs to the class of cell surface receptors that exhibit intrinsic tyrosine kinase activity as shown in the figure. Insulin produces its action through specific insulin receptors which consist of two subunits ? and ?. Insulin receptor complex then initiates a chain of biochemical reaction involving cAMP, protein phosphorylase, protein kinase, phosphatase and lipase. A diabetic condition result when receptor of insulin is desensitization. Therefore, Insulin is used medically in diabetes mellitus. Patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus depend on insulin (commonly injected subcutaneously) for their survival because they make no hormone. Patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus have either low insulin production or insulin resistance or both. Therefore, they require insulin administration when other medications become inadequate in controlling blood glucose levels. Actions of insulin-insulin receptor interactions at the level of IRS1 and activation of the kinase cascade leading to altered activities of glycogen phosphorylase and glycogen synthase. The insulin receptor is a heterotetramer of 2 extra cellular alpha-subunits disulfide bonded to 2 transmembrane beta-subunits. With respect to hepatic glucose homeostasis, the effects of insulin receptor activation are specific phosphorylation events that lead to an increase in the storage of glucose with a concomitant decrease in hepatic glucose release to the circulation. Only those responses at the level of glycogen synthase and glycogen phosphorylase are represented. This image shows Insulin-insulin receptor actions on glycogen homeostasis showing the role of protein targeting glycogen, PTG in complex formations involving many of the enzymes and substrates together. Also diagrammed is response of insulin at the level of glucose transport into cells via GLUT4 translocation to the plasma membrane. GS/GP kinase = glycogen synthase: glycogen phosphorylase kinase. PPI = protein phosphatase inhibitor. Arrows denote either direction of flow or positive effects, T lines represent inhibitory effects. In most nonhepatic tissues, insulin increases glucose uptake by increasing the number of plasma membrane glucose transporters: GLUTs. Glucose transporters are in a continuous state of turnover. Increases in the plasma membrane content of transporters stem from an increase in the rate of recruitment of new transporters into the plasma membrane, deriving from a special pool of preformed transporters localized in the cytoplasm. GLUT1 is present in most tissues, GLUT2 is found in liver and pancreatic b-cells, GLUT3 is in the brain and GLUT4 is found in heart, adipose tissue and skeletal muscle. In liver glucose uptake is dramatically increased because of increased activity of the enzymes glucokinase, phosphofructokinase-1 (PFK-1), and pyruvate kinase (PK), the key regulatory enzymes of glycolysis. Lack of Insulin Usually the inefficiency and lack of insulin are bracketed together, as both situations result in diabetes. There are two types of diabetes, diabetes insipidus and diabetes melitus, which is by far, the most common. Diabetes mellitus in turn has two types: Type 1, also known as insulin dependent diabetes mellitus, IDDM Type 1 is characterized by decreased productions of insulin so must be treated with insulin. It is most often found in children and adolescents. Type 2, also known as non-insulin dependent diabetes melitus, NIDDM Type 2 is caused by either decreased insulin production or abnormal cell sensitivity to the insulin that is present. It may be treated with diet alone, with oral hypoglycemic agents, or with insulin. It is more commonly diagnosed in adults. (Perspective Press, 240-43) Insulin does not cure diabetes. It is merely a treatment for the diabetes. Over time, many complications can occur in diabetic patients taking insulin. Some of these are coronary heart diseases, peripheral vascular diabetes, eye disorders, renal failure, and limb amputations. Because of reduced circulation and nerve damage, diabetic patients are essentially prone to developing foot ulcers, a major cause of amputations. They are able to feel foot infections, which allow it to grow and cause permanent damage. Proper foot care is essential and includes avoiding injuries oral restricting circulations, cleaning wounds, controlling infections, relieving weight from the ulcer area, and improving circulation. A new genetically engineered drug, becaplermin, promotes the healing process in diabetic foot ulcer. Lack of insulin or ineffectiveness of it may trigger some response from the body. The predominant tissue responding to signals that indicates fluctuating blood glucose levels is the liver. One of the most important functions of the liver is to produce glucose for circulation. Both elevated and reduced levels of blood glucose trigger hormonal responses to initiate pathways designed to restore glucose homeostasis. Low blood glucose triggers release of glucagon from pancreatic Alpha-cells. High blood glucose triggers release of insulin from pancreatic Beta-cells. In elderly people pancreas either fails or does not secrete right amount of insulin. In this patient insulin per injection becomes drug of choice when oral antidiabetics have failed. Insulin was also used to induce shocks in schizophrenics. Insulin secretion is controlled by concentrations circulating glucose, amino acids, and fatty acids, various hormones and neuron-transmitter agents. In the fasting state, when glucose concentrations are low, insulin secretion is minimal. As glucose concentrations rise after the utilizing carbohydrates meal the raised glucose concentration stimulates insulin secretion. Insulin resistance develops over time. Therefore, doses have to be increased. This occurs because of the development of insulin antibodies in the blood. This also can be somewhat corrected by changing the type of insulin injection and by giving cortiscosteroids which are immunity suppressant drugs. Yet, it also produces negative effect by increasing blood sugar and this is why they are not used. Types of Insulin There are many types of insulin and many salt forms of it. It can be derived synthetically of from different animal sources such as beef and pork. There is now genetically engineered human insulin available. Different insulin differs in the onset of action and the duration of action. Some are mixed together to achieve a desired effect such as a quick onset but a longer duration of action. The most common mixtures is regular insulin with NPH insulin (70units NPH and 30 units regular insulin per milliliter) The different categories of insulin’s are: 1. Short-acting insulin types: regular insulin (crystalline zinc insulin), semilente insulin (prompt insulin zinc suspension), insulin lipsor; 2. Intermediate acting insulin types: NPH (isophane insulin suspension) and linte insulin (insulin zinc suspension); 3. Long-acting insulin types: PZI (protamine zinc insulin suspension) and ultralente insulin (extended insulin zinc suspension). Administration Insulin is injection instead of giving orally because it is destroyed in the gastrointestinal tract. Also, the molecule is too large to be absorbed by the intestinal membrane. Therefore, injection of soluble crystalline insulin is given by subcutaneous injection which is quickly absorbed. Peak effects of insulin are achieved quickly and also excreted quickly within a few hours. However some insulin such as simelente is absorbed slowly. The peak is reached slowly and is sustained. This type of insulin excretion is also very slow and sometimes partly destroyed by insulinase enzyme in the liver. Controlling glucose level with insulin injections is a complex task since: a) Glucose concentrations fluctuate based on food ingestion. b) Cell sensitivity to insulin changes. Exercise increases sensitivity while stress, pregnancy, and some drug decrease insulin sensitivity. As a result some diabetic patients take multiple injections for a short-acting insulin preparation to produce peaks in insulin concentrations and a long acting formulation to establish a baseline concentration. Variable rate infusion pumps are also used. Patients who use insulin need to be instructed on the rotation method of taking their medication. Insulin is absorbed more rapidly with administration in the arm or thigh, especially with exercise. The abdomen is used for more consistent absorption. Glucose levels should be checked as per physician orders. All insulin must be checked for expiration date and clarity of the solution. Insulin should not be given if it appears cloudy. Vials should not be shaken but rotated in between the hands to mix contents. If regular insulin is to be mixed with NPH or lente insulin, the regular insulin should be drawn into the syringe first. Unopened vials should be stored in the refrigerator, and freezing should be avoided. The vial in use can be stored at room temperature. Vials should not be put in glove compartments, suitcase, or trunks. Humulin is a new type of insulin and is often the patients preference because it can be taken orally. It is imperative that the physician be called if any adverse reactions to the medications are observed. (Jahangir Moini, P 150-154) Undesirable Effects Insulin The main undesirable effect of insulin is hypoglycemia. This is common, and can cause brain damage. Intensive insulin therapy results in a threefold increase in severe hypoglycemia. The treatment of hypoglycemic is to take a sweet drink or snack, or, if the patient is unconscious, to give intravenous glucose (50% w/v solution) or intramuscular glucagon. Rebound hypergly (Somogyi effect) can follow excessive insulin administration. This results from the release of the insulin-opposing or counter-regulatory hormones in response to insulin-induced hypoglycemia. This can cause hypercemia before breakfast following an unrecognized hypoglycemic attack during sleep in the early hours of the morning. It is essential to recognize this possibility to avoid the mistake of increasing (rather than reducing) the dose of insulin in this situation. Allergy to insulin is unusual but may take the form of local or systemic reactions. Severe insulin resistance as a consequence of antibody formation is rare. A high tire of circulating anti-insulin antibodies is more likely to occur with bovine than with porcine insulin. Note, however, that virtually all patients treated with animal insulin have antibodies against the hormone, albeit usually flow. Human insulin is less immunogenic than animal insulin but may still evoke an antibody response, since the source of the hormone is not the only determinant of immunogenicity; insulin undergo physical changes before and after injection which can increase their potential for provoking an immune response. (HP Rang et al, 200-270) References 1. Patlak M. 2002. New weapons to combat an ancient disease: treating diabetes. Available on http://www. fasebj. org/cgi/content/full/16/14/1853e 2. Perspective Press. 2003. The Pharmacy Technician 1st edition: Morton Publishers. P 240- 243. 3. Jahangir Moini. 2005. Comprehensive Exam Review for the Pharmacy Technician: Thomson Delmar. P 150-154 4. H. P. Rang, M. Maureen Dale, James M. Ritter, Philip Moore. 2001. â€Å"Pharmacology†: Churchill Livingstone. P 200-270

Effectiveness Of Bottom Up And Top Down Environmental Sciences Essay

Effectiveness Of Bottom Up And Top Down Environmental Sciences Essay Urban poor communities are becoming increasingly vulnerable to the effects of climate. This is due to many reasons, such as densely populated cities and poor housing structure. There are many ways to reduce the vulnerabilities of the urban poor to climate change. One of the key ways to deal with the impacts of climate change and thus increase resilience to climate change, is to adapt to these changes. This essay will focus on adaptation rather than mitigation, to enable a more detailed analysis of top-down verses bottom-up approaches. This is not to say that mitigation is not important or that adaptation should replace mitigation strategies. Rather that adaption is solely explored to better analyse which approach is best. This can be achieved either through bottom-up approaches or top-down strategies. Top-down usually refers to management at the city and national level such as municipal authorities. Bottom-up approaches are self-protection efforts made by households and communities t hemselves, based on local knowledge (OBrien et al 2006). However, there is no clear definition and often it can be uncertain where top-down starts and bottom-up begins. The aim of the essay is to evaluate whether a top-down or bottom-up approach is more effective to deal with the impacts of climate change on urban poor communities. In order to achieve this aim, the essay will be split into three main parts: part one will outline arguments that a top-down approach is most effective for dealing with the impacts of climate change, looking at approaches from within disaster risk reduction. However the second part will challenge this and explore debates that a bottom-up approach is more successful, through asset-based adaptation. On the other hand, the third part will argue that there is a need for a more participatory approach that incorporates local communities within top-down strategies, referred to as collaborative planning (Healy . The analysis will be supported by examples from current and past practices in the Global South. The conclusions reached areà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Part one: top-down The adverse effects of climate change are already evidentà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦and developing countries are [the] most vulnerable. (World Bank 2003) Urban settlements in the developing world are beginning to face increasingly severe weather events as a result of climate change. Urban poor communities will be increasingly forced to cope with higher incidents of flooding, air and water pollution, and heat stress. Cities in developing countries are particularly at risk due to their high density populations, expansive informal settlements, poor land management and lack of infrastructure, such as adequate drainage channels (Tanner et al 2008). Thus, urban poor communities are one of the most vulnerable to the changes in climate. Bohle et al (1995) argues that to reduce vulnerability there needs be a reduction in the exposure of potentially harmful effects of climate change, an increased ability to cope with disasters and the process of recovery needs to be strengthened (Wilbanks and Kates 1999). One of the key ways of achieving all three of these aspects to reduce vulnerability is to adapt to the changes in climate and reduce the risk of disaster. This can be done through top-down approaches at the city or national level. In general, efforts to improve the ability of whole populations to recover from disasters are usually tackled through public policy intervention at the national scale. Thus, top-down approaches are needed to direct and implement adaptation strategies to increase resilience (Adger et al 2005b). The concept of resilience refers to the ability to persist and adapt in the face of climate shocks and stresses (Tanner et al 2008). This can be achieved through disaster risk reduction (DRR) which increases the resilience of local communities through reducing the vulnerability of people and property, better land management practices and improvement in preparedness. DRR includes hazard reduction, such as improving drainage, and preparedness for response and recovery s uch as insurance schemes. DRR involves building response capacity and managing climate risk (Sutanta et al 2008). National governments take the lead in identifying the dangers to communities and in developing strategies to cope with, and adapt to, changing circumstances. One of the ways to deal with the impacts of climate change is through disaster risk management (DRM). DRM refers to both disaster risk reduction (prevention, preparedness and mitigation) and humanitarian and development action (emergency response, relief and reconstruction). For example Tanner et al (2008) states that in Bikol region in the Philippines, there was access to safe land which reduces the disaster risk and increases the resilience of poor communities to climate change. This can only be achieved through top-down processes as city and municipal governments in developing countries are usually primarily responsible for infrastructure and service provision that is essential for the reduction of vulnerability to many environmental hazards (Tanner et al 2008). For example, Dodman and Satterthwaite (2008) point out that acti ons in Durban, one of South Africas largest cities, illustrate how top-down initiatives can increase the resilience of the urban poor in cities. The municipality has incorporated climate change into long-term city planning, addressing the vulnerability of key sectors in coastal infrastructure and disaster management (DRR). Furthermore, early warning systems are essential to reduce the impact of disasters and these are developed from the top-down, increasing the resilience of the urban poor to climate change related disasters. For example the Ningbo government in China, have established early warning systems using high-tech instruments. Tanner et al (2008) states that in 2005, when typhoon Kanu hit Ningbo, the government was able to reduce damage to the city by taking action earlier and evacuating thousands of people avoiding thousands of casualties (Tanner et al 2008). The vulnerability of the urban poor also depends on many factors that influence the amount of damage that a particular hazard can cause. There are different types of vulnerability, such as socio-economic fragility, which affect how resilient urban communities are to climate change (Cardona et al 2004). Assets held by individuals and households are influenced by external factors, such as government policies. Therefore, the efficiency of land administration and management can help build the adaptation capacity of poor people in urban areas. If land policies and management are simple and compatible with the urban poor, so the urban poor can access affordable land, then this will be one of the most effective ways to deal with the impacts of climate change (Moser et al 2010). Stern (2007) argues that to develop resilient cities there needs to be an improvement in urban planning and provision of public services and infrastructure, which can only be achieved from the top-down (OBrien et al 2006). For example, in Indonesia, DRR has been integrated into spatial planning which has resulted in a reduction of vulnerability to natural hazards (Mitchell 2003). Moser et al (2010) also identifies politico-legal vulnerability, such as a lack of tenure rights. A lack of tenure rights means that communities face a lack of services and infrastructure, increasing their vulnerability to disasters. This relates to climate change-related issues as it means inhabitants have weak incentives to increase the resilience of the housing structures and as mentioned above, often live in the most hazardous sites. This can only be solved from a top-down perspective as programmes to secure tenure are not possible without government support. Thus, sustained political support is needed, as well as adequate urban planning methods and a substantial commitment of financial and human resources, which all come from the top-down. Moser et al (2010:56) argues that from a policy perspective clarifying tenure rights and developing coherent urban land policy frameworks is of the utmost importance for building resilience of the urban poor to negative climate change impacts. This also provides long term solutions to the impacts of climate change (Dodmam et al 2010). Linked to this, urban poor communities are vulnerable in that many live in extreme poverty. There are important linkages between urban poverty and vulnerability to disasters and climate change (Dodman and Satterthwaite 2008). Carraro et al (2007) argues for the importance of considering climate concerns in the development context. Thus, one of the most effective ways to deal with the impacts of climate change is to include adaptation and DRR within development goals, which can only be done from the top-down. Poverty eradication will increase the resilience of local communities to extreme climatic changes, while also addressing the underlying factors which may lead and/or have led to a disaster (Sutanta et al 2008). In Latin America, it has been common for some time to define disasters as failed development (OBrien et al 2006:70). As Schipper and Pelling (2006:29) argue, measures to mitigate the risk of disaster need to focus on reducing vulnerability within the context of development , thus the most effective way of addressing the risks posed by climate change and disasters is to lessen the underlying factors causing vulnerability to these phenomena. DRR is often given a low priority by national and international organisations and so for top-down strategies to be effective then measures to address climate change should be integrated with national development programmes (Wamsler 2009). Consequently, poverty reduction as well as adaptation from the top-down would be the one of the most effective ways to deal with the impacts of climate change (Stern et al 2007, Tearfund 2008). However, the second part of the essay will go on to explore arguments that bottom-up approaches are needed. Part two: Bottom-up On the other hand, top-down responses are often only seen through the lens of disaster. DRR only responds to disasters and does not take other climate change related issues into account. This presents a very partial picture of predominant patterns of weather changes and the sources of resilience of local communities. This is a key flaw Moser et al (2010) identified that urban populations in Kenya and Nicaragua were increasingly experiencing smaller, micro-level severe weather problems. These problems are not considered disasters by the major national institutions. Therefore, the adaptation needs of such communities are often ignored by national and international policy communities as the impacts are slow and incremental, but still have serious negative impacts for the majority of the worlds urban poor (Moser et al 2010). Dodman et al (2010) argue that DRR, driven from the top-down, alone is not effective to respond to climate change as it does not take into account the longer climati c changes. Thus community-based adaptation is an effective way to reduce the vulnerability of low-income groups. Bottom-up approaches are often seen as the most effective way to deal with the impacts of climate change because adaptation also responds to the slower changes in weather patterns. Bottom-up approaches to increase the resilience of poor communities by reducing the risk of disaster and adapting to changes in climate at the community, household and individual level. Dodman et al (2010) describes how Federations in the Philippines have been successful in working towards community-led saving schemes to improve housing, and thus reduce the vulnerability to disasters. Improving communities capacity to deal with climate change through DRR will also improve their ability to cope with future hazards (Tearfund 2008). Furthermore, creating policies to help reduce the risk of disasters will also improve opportunities more generally (Wisner et al 2004). Another way to increase resilience is to adapt assets such as housing to be more resilient to future weather events. One theoretical approach to respond to climate change is the asset adaptation framework. The framework focuses on asset vulnerability to climate change and identifies climate change adaptation from the bottom-up. These adaptations also work towards the slower changes in climate that affect the urban poor. Moser et al (2010) uses this framework to show how communities in Mombasa, Kenya and Estelà ­, Nicaragua are vulnerable to climate change in terms of individual assets such as human and social capital, and also in terms of household, small business and community assets such as financial and productive assets. Many poor communities in the Global South live in poorly constructed housing that is often self-built and unplanned, and thus provides little resilience to extreme weather events. Moreover, Yahya et al (2001) argue that in many developing countries, meeting gove rnment standards is impossible for many urban poor communities, forcing them to remain in self-built structures. This means urban poor communities often live in areas most at risk to natural hazards, such as flooding, because this is where either the land is cheapest or they live illegally. Thus, adapting assets to climate change at the community level is effective for dealing with the impacts of climate change. As part of the asset-adaptation framework identified by Moser et al (2010), adapting assets is one of the keys ways to reduce the vulnerability of the poor from the bottom-up, as individual assets, such as housing, were considered the most important aspects to building resilience. The key to the development of an asset-based adaptation framework therefore is the identification and analysis of the connection between vulnerability and the erosion of assets (Moser et al 2010:8) Assets therefore have a role in increasing the adaptive capacity of the urban poor. The asset adaptation framework identifies strategies to adapt assets to climate change. These strategies aim to build resilience, protect assets during extreme weather and rebuild them after such events. Moser et al (2010) found a variety of responses to the increasing severity of local weather patterns. For example in the city of Mombasa, inhabitants dug water passages in case of flooding, while small business owners constructed concrete walls to protect against flooding. As extreme weather events increase in frequency and intensity then solidly constructed housing becoming increasingly important. In Mombasa, most of the bottom-up responses to weather events revolved around adapting housing to reduce damage that would be caused by future weather events. They also protect assets during extreme weather events, such as in Mombasa they place sandbags in the doorways of houses during floods to limit the amount of damage. Communities also rebuild after such events, to ensure assets are resilient to future disasters. For example inhabitants in Esteli, replanted trees and plants, to reduce flood damage, while those living in Mombasa accessed weather forecasters which informed people of the occurrence of severe weather. These strategies have proved successful in dealing with the impacts of clim ate change, as they reduce damage to assets and thus reduce the vulnerability of the urban poor to future extreme weather events. Dodman et al (2010) also stated that asset adaptation at the community level were effective. They used examples from the Philippines, where community-based action is used in post disaster reconstruction of temporary and permanent housing and relocation. These strategies are effective when dealing with many aspects of climate change. Adger et al (2005a) argue that the most effect level of governance is bottom-up approaches. Rayner (2010) also argues that bottom-up strategies are best through improved adaptation to climate change. He argues that climate change policies should be designed and implemented at the lowest level. He also argues that approaches should focus on adaptation, which has the potential to bring real benefits to local communities. Adaptation is local in character and therefore a bottom-up approach. Part three: both On the contrary, Rayner (2010) also recognises that climate change is a multilevel governance problem. Therefore some aspects may need to be governed from the top down. However, it can be difficult to define which a top-down is and bottom-up approach and sometimes they overlap. Therefore, for policies to be most effective a combination of both should avoid confusion. As Tanner et al (2008) point out municipal governments in developing countries often do not have adequate provisions in order to deal with increased climate hazards such as flood management. The financial capacity of these governments is weak and often the division of tasks between different levels of government remains unclear, leading to inefficiencies. Therefore, adaptation at the community level is effective, but it still needs the support from local governments. The success of a strategy depends not on the scale but on how that action meets the objectives of adaptation, and how it affects the ability of others to meet their adaptation goals. Thus, the most effective way to adapt to the changes in climate would be a collaboration of both approaches. Developing countries should draw upon what Healey (1997) refers to as collaborative planning, which is the theory that local communities should be more involved and enlightened in decision making. The urban poor are often excluded fro m deliberations because of the informal nature of their communities and tenure arrangements, which generally lead to a level of invisibility and lack of voice in relation to all formal planning processes (Moser et al 2008). Nawrotzki and Oluwagbuyi (2008) recommend that combining top-down and bottom-up approaches will increase the effectiveness of policies. Therefore, the best method to reduce the impacts of climate change should be led from the top-down, to address issues such as poverty and politico-legal vulnerability, but should also include the interests of local communities. Involvement of poor and marginalised groups in decision-making will ensure a city can improve the conditions for those living in informal settlements or living in exposed locations (Dessai et al 2001). This has been achieved in Kerala, India, where political consciousness and awareness of rights and responsibilities is high at every level, resulting in a high turnout at elections. Kerala also has neighbour hood groups to represent the poor, which consist of 20-40 people who meet once a week to discuss problems in their communities and seek solutions (Tanner et al 2008). Schemes that work in isolation can often have negative impacts in the long term, and do not take into account wider effects and process. Dodmam et al (2010) points out that isolated activities in separate communities will be unable to meet broader goals without the support of local officials, and be unable to meet the adaptation needs of a large number of people (Hounsome and Iyer 2006). Combining governmental programs, NGO intervention and adaptation measures by local people to the problem of climate change will decrease the vulnerability of the urban poor (Nawrotzki and Oluwagbuyi 2008). A supportive legal system and local government is also important for supporting locally developed responses to achieve effective climate change adaptation (Dodman and Satterthwaite 2008, Satterthwaite et al. 2007). This will also help to strengthen antagonistic relationships between the urban poor and governments, as often adaptation activities may become perceived as a threat by informal settlers, and an excuse to evict them (Wilbanks and Kates 1999). In Mombasa, there is a lack of trust of governments outside agencies must gain the trust of local communities (Moser 2010, Bicknell et al 2009). Moser et al (2010) argues that if local communities are not involved then government policies will not be full informed as to what is best for the urban poor and may make their situation worse. Moreover, because changes in climate and an increase in extreme weather events will mostly negatively affect the urban poor, their participation in decision making is crucial for building resilience (Tanner et al 2008). Nour (2011) states that in Egypt, there has been a shift to incorporate local communities in urban upgrading and development interventions, for instance, there has been a community-based maintenance of local drains. There has been a joint responsibility of government agencies, the community and the private sector for garbage collection and the improvement of the environment. Nour (2011) argues that without community participation, attempts to achieve sustainable results are bound to fail. This therefore improves from top-down perspectives which are externally imposed and expert oriented. Roy and Ganguly (2009) state that participatory planning has been a success in West Bengal since the 1970s and this form of planning result in local people feeling ownership of these plans. Furthermore, the Stern Report (Stern 2007) argues that effective adaptation at the community-level, would include deliberation about actions being decided by communities rather than being imposed from above. There fore climate change adaptation should be in the form of multi-level governance (Bulkeley 2010). Community based strategies are often in isolation from one another and there is no overarching authority controlling them. Conclusion the conclusions reached are that top-down strategies are ultimately necessary, but that these must incorporate local communities priorities The conclusions reached are that a top-down approach that engages with local authorities and communities is the most effective. Top-down approaches need to also include support for local responses such as community-based adaptation. Local communities should be involved in higher decision making. Thus the most appropriate adaptation responses will often be multi-level responses. In effect, the diversity of climate change means that the most appropriate adaptation responses will often be multi-level responses. (Adger 2005: 924) in the future there needs to be connected between responses at all levels. DRR should involve a large array of stakeholders, including local communities, NGOs, local and national governments, scientists, school communities, faith groups, private sector institutions, etc. Schipper and Pelling (2006). Disaster risk reduction is largely a task for local actors, albeit with support from national and international organisations, particularly in humanitarian action. efforts in Sri Lanka in response to the 2004 tsunami indicate that policymakers are not viewing the reconstruction phase as an opportunity to take into account the potential adverse effects of future climate change-induced sea-level rise in their plans, Reducing vulnerability is a key aspect of reducing climate change risk. . In reality, national governments will take the lead