Effects of imperialism in Asia Essay

â€Å"What impact did Western imperialism and colonialism have on Asia† That Colonialism and imperialism played a significant role in shaping the modern world and particularly Asia is a prudent judgment. Colonialism is â€Å"a policy in which a country rules other nations and develops trade for its own benefit† and â€Å"the extension of power or authority over others in the interests of domination† (2004). ‘The West’, which refers to the societies of Europe and their genealogical, colonial, and philosophical descendants. Spain, France, Britain, Canada, and the United States of America are some examples of Western societies. These countries have spread their influence and hegemony over other nations for centuries; shaping today’s North America, Central-America, South America, Africa, Oceana, and Asia (Western Society, 2004). Indochina is a region that today we would consider as Southeast Asia, comprised of Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam (Indochina, 2001). Its most recent and most important contact with the West came from France and America. The West had a negative impact on Indochina because its influence damaged Southeast Asia’s system of government, destroyed and diluted the indigenous culture, caused many people to lose their lives and liberty, and set the course for future economic depressions and poverty. INDO-CHINESE GOVERNMENT. Under French colonisation, the Indochinese political structure went into shambles (Hammer, 1966). The puppet governments installed after French colonization were â€Å"repressive, totalitarian, and corrupt which meant that age old traditional and cultural monarchies were replaced by despots under French influence. In little time, each country lost its own unique identity; Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam disappeared off maps and were replaced simply by ‘French Indochina’ (Vietnam War, 2004). Only French-speaking or French-educated people were allowed to gain high positions in government, while others were treated as second-class citizens and toiled in the fields. Opposition to these policies was punishable by exile or imprisonment. This system of government ensured absolute French political control over Indochina’s administration and contributed to lost initiative among the working class people (Hammer, 1966). This system would dominate for about a  hundred years, suppressing regular riots and movements undertaken by the Indochinese people. As time went on, communism’s appeal grew stronger as the repressed saw a light in forms of promised equality, housing, education, money, and better jobs (Vietnam War, 2004). CULTURAL EFFECTS. Culture was also affected. Before French colonization, Vietnam was China’s ‘sphere of influence’. After French colonization, however, Vietnam was torn between two spheres of influence, Chinese and French. The French also imposed their influence on Laos and Cambodia. As a result, many Indochinese people became confused. They did not know whether they should embrace the new forceful French influence, or try to live their shattered pre-existing lifestyle in secrecy (Vietnam War, 2004). Hammer states, â€Å"the widely diffused Chinese educational system, teaching history and morality as well as language, which linked Vietnam with its past, was abolished.† (1966, p.63). The French did whatever they could to stuff their culture down the throats of the people of Indochina; one strategy was manipulating the education system. They implemented a policy where all public secondary education would be taught in French, not the native language of the people (Clayton, 2002). Since the beginning, France had plans to seed their culture in Indochina. Even before colonization of Indochina, French missionaries were sent around the world to spread the French culture through mission civilisatrice (civilizing mission). This policy affirmed that it was France’s â€Å"duty to spread the ways of the superior beings to inferior beings with inferior ways of living† (Ty, n.d., para.17). In addition to implementing new policies and changing existing ones, assimilation was another method of cultural dominance. The French were not hesitant to intermix with Indochinese women and assimilate them and their children to adhere to Western ways of life (Vietnam War, 2004). Everyday lifestyle changes were another method of ensuring cultural dominance. The French manipulated those who had power. A portion of the elite class in Indochina admired the French for their ‘prestigious’ lifestyle and converted to Catholicism, setting an example for the lower  classes (Vietnam War, 2004). Literature is an important part of culture, seeing that countries keep their records, history, and information in texts which would be stored for future generations. A French missionary named Alexander de Rhodes romanized the Vietnamese language, which used to utilize Chinese symbols. This new script, called ‘Quoc Ngu’, detracted Vietnam from its original culture and China’s sphere of influence. Quoc Ngu’s impact is so large, that it is the how the Vietnamese language is written and read today (Quoc Ngu, 2001). In the later 20th century, the Western urban youth’s rebellious lifestyle leaked its way to the Indochinese people. Many young Indochinese people embraced sexual freedom and the movies, clothing styles, and rock music from Western cultures became popular (Vietnam War, 2004). As well as corrupting the way of life for all of Indochinese people and destroying the cultural language of Vietnam, many important historical and cultural cities such as the ancient dynastic capital of Vietnam, Hue, were physically destroyed during the Vietnam War’s bombings (Vietnam War, 2004). As most people lost their government and culture, they became restless and weary of living their peasant lifestyle. Peasants struggled under heavy taxes and high rents. Workers in factories, in coal mines, and on rubber plantations labored in abysmal conditions for low wages. A growing nationalistic fervor was growing by shared feelings of anger, poverty, destitution, and lost liberty. This fervor contributed to the formation of many revolutionary movements. Many people died, became refugees, or became homeless while trying to overthrow foreign invaders out of their country to unify their people. The Vietnamese revolutionary group, the Viet Minh, had a prime objective to overthrow the oppressive governments and install a Communist regime to unify Vietnam. After the end World War II, Ho Chi Minh, leader of the Viet Minh, declared Vietnam’s independence from France (Vietnam War, 2004). Minh was prepared to go at great lengths and sacrifices to achieve his dream of a unified Vietnam. â€Å"You can kill 10 of my men for every one I kill of yours, yet even at those odds, you will lose and I will win.†, decreed Minh himself (Karnow, 1998, para.2). The French were unwilling to give up their colony, a symbol of their world power, so they opposed this informal declaration and attempted to reassert their power back into Indochina by militarist means. This resulted in the bloody Franco-Viet  Minh war where the French were defeated, but at a large human cost to the Vietnamese freedom fighters (Vietnam War, 2004). The victory for the Vietnamese in the eight-year-long Franco-Viet Minh war was supposed to end Indochina’s colonization, and end the bloodshed to unite their people. For nearly a hundred years the people of Southeast Asia resisted and rebelled to no avail, until this landmark victory. But the bloodshed did not stop. Minh’s declaration of independence and liberation would not happen for thirty more years of fighting. The second Indochinese War, The Vietnam War, had an even greater effect on Southeast Asians’ lives. American ‘Secret Bombing’ campaigns and countless napalm strikes lead to the destruction of many homes and at least 10 million people became homeless, and 800,000 became war orphans in South Vietnam alone at the end of the Vietnam War. Most crucially, most of these casualties were civilians. South Vietnamese civilians made up a significant portion of victims of the bombings, even though they were allied to the Americans. Entire cities, forests, mountains, and fields were laid to waste. One quarter of Laos’s population became refugees; which is approximately 500,000 people. In total, over 5 million Indochinese lives were lost fighting for their independence and freedom (Vietnam War, 2004). ECONOMICS. Indochina’s economic problems today can be traced back to colonial times. France’s mercantilist policy exploited the land, labour, and resources of Southeast Asian countries. Indochina was simply a large pool of natural resources for French industrialists. France would get the resources it needed from Indochina, manufacture them into goods, and sell them to her colonies at inflated prices. In addition, Indochina was not an autonomous colony, meaning it could not be self-sufficient. This was intentional because France wanted to have a monopoly on trade with her colonies (Hammer, 1966). France’s attempt to industrialize Indochina only ravaged the land. The sudden shift from calm subsistence farming to large plantations lead to a precariously unbalanced economy that was extremely dependent on agricultural exports; which would eventually be disastrous because of future  land degradation (State of the Environment Vietnam, 2002). A large decline in the number of farmers was not good for agriculture, either. During the time of European domination, productions of rice grew immensely. With this increase of production came an increase in quotas that impoverished peasants had to yield to their landlords, causing widespread famine (Hammer, 1966). Hammer states, â€Å"[Both areas referring to Vietnam] In the 1930’s, at a time when the Vietnamese people did not have enough to eat, Cochin China exported rice in considerable quantities, even Tonkin managed to export some.† (1966, p. 64). Adding to the famine was the insistence that nonfood crops like jute, oil seeds, and opium be grown in certain areas instead of rice (Hammer, 1966). Today, economic expansion is extremely difficult because of Indochina’s history. Laos, Vietnam, and Cambodia rank as some of the most undeveloped and impoverished countries in the world. Strained foreign relations as a result of Indochina’s wars and its communist system of government have lead to significant decreases in foreign aid over the past decades (CIA World Factbook, 2003). Although agriculture makes up a significant portion of Indochina’s economy, Indochina cannot even rely on their agricultural economy because Vietnam’s fields, forests, and streams have been contaminated or destroyed by Agent Orange and napalm strikes. As well, Laos’s beautiful jungles consisting of exotic woods, timber, and stones are laden with millions of deadly, unexploded land ordnance, and Cambodia’s prolonged anarchy has proven fatal for any form of significant economic growth. The effect of Indochina’s hardships created by the West has even hindered i ts ability to pick up where it left off, before foreign influence (Vietnam War, 2004). Even decades after formal European military conquest and intervention, Indochina continues to feel the sting of the West’s influence. Today, Southeast Asia is among the poorest places in the world, where people enjoy very little personal freedom and opportunity. Indochina’s primitive infrastructure and poverty-stricken society is burdened by its history and injured foreign relations. The future for Southeast Asia in terms of political stability, human liberty, and economic growth looks unpleasant  because of on-going internal civil tensions caused by unresolved conflicts brought upon by Western imperialism and colonialism. The West truly had a detrimental impact on Indochina because it caused the collapse of Indochina’s traditional system of government, loss and weakening of its pre-existing culture, diminishment of its people’s prosperity and freedom, and destruction of its economy. Concisely, Indochina’s relationship with the West brought nothin g but bloodshed, tears, poverty, famine, and a legacy of economic and social problems that will continue to plague Southeast Asia for centuries to come.

Oceans and Atmosphere Worksheet Essay

The Oceans 1. What is the composition of seawater? The salinity of seawater ranges from 3.3 to 3.7%. When seawater evaporates it leaves behind sodium chloride, better known as table salt. The other components of seawater are acquired through various methods. One of which is weathering. Chemical weathering of rock releases soluble such as salts of sodium, potassium, and sulfur. 2. What are the three major layers (zones) found in the ocean? Describe each layer briefly. The three layers of the ocean are the surface layer, the thermocline, and the deep zone. The surface layer goes up to 100 meters deep and consists of low density, warm water. In the thermocline temperatures decrease rapidly as it extends to depths of 1500 meters. The deep zone maintains a cold temperature of about -2 degrees Celsius and extends to the ocean floor beyond the thermocline. 3. What is an ocean current? Surface ocean currents are caused by winds. Wind presses on the ocean’s surface and forces the water to move along with it. These currents range from 50 to 100 meters in depth and are contained to the surface layer. Deep ocean currents are caused by several factors including temperature and salinity, which accounts for the water’s density. 4. How do oceans regulate climate? There are several ways in which the oceans regulate the climate. The oceans act as a sink for excess carbon dioxide which helps to regulate the greenhouse effect. Also there is a heat exchange that occurs within the ocean that is extremely important. Water can be heated more efficiently by the sun’s rays rather than land. The sun’s ray’s can penetrate much further into the water. Water has a higher heat capacity than land. Latent heat also plays a role, as water is frozen heat is released and as water in unfrozen heat is absorbed. 5. What causes a change in sea level? The changes in sea level can be contributed to the addition or subtraction of water to the oceans. The additions come from the melting of stored water that come in the form of glaciers and ice caps during times of global warming. Subtraction comes from the removal of water to land based frozen forms during times of global cooling. 6. What causes ocean tides? Tides are caused by the gravitational pull of both the moon and the sun. The moon being closer has a greater effect on tides. Water on the side of Earth closest to the moon bulges toward the moon. There is also a bulge away from the moon on the opposite side of the Earth. 7. What is the relationship between plate tectonics and the ocean floor—seafloor spreading, for example? 8. What are different ways that earth materials are moved around in the oceans? Surf is a powerful force. It causes erosion and moves sediment from one location to another. Currents are another manner in which materials are transported through the ocean system. There is a longshore current and a beach drift responsible for disturbing and transporting materials. 9. What are the different types of shorelines? Describe each type briefly. There is a rocky coast, lowland beach and barrier island, as well as coral reef. A rocky coast describes the most common type of costal area. This is where there are vertical wave cut cliffs and horizontal bench cut cliffs. The erosion undermines the cliffs and sends the resulting debris into the ocean forming rough outcroppings. Beaches are not only the sand areas on land they extend into the sand in the surf zone. During low tide, sands are sometimes blown onto land creating dunes or barrier islands. A coral reef is formed in an area where temperatures exceed 18 degrees Celsius but do not exceed 30. Also they are formed only at or above sea level. Coral is a limestone reef formed by a colony of organisms which secrete calcium carbonate as their skeletal material. 10. Why do waves change as they approach shorelines? A wave changes as it approaches shore due to the fact that a wave exists not only on the surface but also below water. As a wave approaches shore it comes into contact with the shallow sea floor and this begins to distort the loop shape of the water movement. It causes the wave height to increase while the wavelength shortens. Atmosphere 1. What is the composition of the Earth’s atmosphere? Air is what envelopes the Earth. Air is invisible and typically odorless. Air has two highly viable components that are aerosols and water vapor. Aerosols are liquid and solid particles so small that they remain suspended. Water vapor in air is expressed in terms of humidity. When ignoring aerosol and water vapor these gasses, termed dry air, are present and known as nitrogen, oxygen, and argon. There are more gases that make up a very minute portion of the atmosphere but play a vital role known as carbon dioxide, neon, and six others. 2. What are the four major layers of the Earth’s atmosphere? Describe each layer briefly. There is the Troposphere, the Stratosphere, the Mesosphere, and the Thermosphere. The Troposphere contains 80% of all actual mass of the atmosphere. It is also the layer where all weather phenomenon take place. Most all heat absorbing gases reside here. The Stratosphere contains 19% of all atmospheres mass. The Mesosphere and Thermosphere together contain only 1% of the atmospheric mass. The thermosphere absorbs short ultraviolet wavelengths. The Mesosphere absorbs medium wavelengths. The Stratosphere absorbs long wavelengths. 3. What is the greenhouse effect? The greenhouse effect is how the Earth’s surface is heated. Greenhouse gasses such as water vapor, carbon dioxide, and methane absorb some of the outgoing infrared terrestrial radiation and prevent it from escaping. 4. How would you describe the ozone layer? Why is the ozone layer important? The ozone layer is a protective area in the outer three layers of the  atmosphere that protect the earth from harmful radiation by blocking particular wavelengths. 5. What is the relationship among the Earth’s atmosphere, the sun, and the rotation of the Earth? The sun heats the Earth’s atmosphere and makes it a habitable planet. The earth is a sphere so the sun cannot warm every place on earth at once. This issue is solved by the earth’s rotation and its rotation around the Sun. 6. What is the Coriolis effect? The Coriolis effect causes anything that moves freely with respect to the rotating earth to veer off a straight path. This can be demonstrated through long range missile launches that have been known to land far from their intended targets due to the earth’s rotation. 7. How would you define climate? Climate is an average of weather patterns over a long period of time, generally on a regional or global scale. 8. How does the atmosphere regulate climate? Atmosphere regulates climate through weather patterns created through the greenhouse effect. This process creates heat within water vapors and other gasses that are the main contributing factors in weather. Also the filtration of wavelengths by the upper atmospheres keeps the earth’s climate at a more even temperature. 9. What are the six global climate zones? What are the main climate effects on people and the environment? The six climate zones are tropical, dry, temperate-humid, cold-humid, polar, and highland. Each zone is driven by solar energy which drives temperature, seasonality, precipitation which in turn fosters vegetation, . These factors make a zone habitable or non habitable. 10. How do the oceans and the atmosphere interact? The oceans provide a great deal of moisture for the atmosphere. This moisture is a main component in heat exchange which leads to weather patterns. Water is in constant motion and plays a vital roles in the regulation of the atmosphere.

Mortgage Fraud in the UK Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Mortgage Fraud in the UK - Essay Example While past research has focused on the personal motivating factors behind the commission of a white-collar crime, this particular article review several facets of the crime itself and explores the possible neighborhood risk factors that help attract the crime. From a national perspective, mortgage fraud seems to take place more frequently in neighborhoods that have low socioeconomic indicators. These links become even more distinct when the amount of fraud occurrences within the community is factored in as a variable. Upon disaggregating the data according to the region, the fraud indicator variables also display differing trend levels, perhaps indicating that as mortgage fraud practices begin to mature within an area, its community dynamics are likely to modify as well.  In conclusion, mortgage fraud is on the increase in the United Kingdom and good measures need to be put in place to curb the crime. A delay in proactive and preventive measures in regard to mortgage fraud will gre atly affect the economy and that the revenue collected by the government will reduce drastically. Mortgages have a long history spanning from the 12th century but have been in common use in the UK housing sector since 1925. The word mortgage is said to derive from the French for a ‘dead pledge’ meaning â€Å"the one in which the borrower has to find ways to repay the loan† (Giles 2009). According to Giles (2009), the process of securing a mortgage can be defined as â€Å"Alien on a piece of land or property as security for a debt†. During late 2008 and early 2009, the downturn in the UK economy had a drastic impact on the once strong housing sector with house prices slumping and mortgage approval decisions declining (House Price Crash 2009). A leading factor as to why lenders run into financial trouble was lending to applicants who had provided falsified information (BBC News 2009).  

CONDOM USE IN KENYA Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

CONDOM USE IN KENYA - Assignment Example The distribution of the visual aids in the brochures will involve the use of famous Kenyan Musicians. Music has been used to create awareness on condom use in adults. The use of famous musicians will attract the attention of several adults thereby leading to increased condom use awareness to several residents of Kisumu. The awareness raising will be done through road shows and vernacular radio talk shows. Vernacular Radio talk shows will be effective in reaching adults in the remote rural areas who cannot be accessed through road transport. Importantly, local and famous musicians who understand the native language will be appropriate in delivering the message to the adults who may not be able to read and understand English and Kiswahili (national languages). The visual aids should have the information concerning right and consistent use of condoms, consequences of not using condoms, and the perceived barriers. Members of the public must lean how to use condoms correctly. Most adults normally use condoms in the first sex encounter but later ignore the usage. In addition, women must also be made aware of their role in making decisions concerning condom use. Women must ensure that men use condoms whenever they engage in sex. The Health Belief Model suggests that simple knowledge and awareness about HIV will not necessarily reduce risky behavior that lead to high prevalence of HIV/AIDS. Every individual must know that he or she is susceptible to the virus. In addition, individuals must learnt HIV infection is a serious health hazard, and learn the benefits of taking preventive actions. Consequently, individuals must learn that potential barriers to taking preventive action are outweighed by potential benefits (Volk and Koopman, np). The use of local and famous musicians in delivering the message ensures that local perceptions are explained. These musicians are more familiar with the culture of Kisumu people; communication of culture bias

Same Business, Different Countries Research Paper

Same Business, Different Countries - Research Paper Example It has a unique status in the consumer market due to the continuous inventions and introduction of latest technology. For instance, it is acknowledged for inventing light bulbs, audio cassettes, C.T. scan machines etc. (Company Profile, 2013). In comparison to this Hitachi is located in Japan and it typically deals in electronic systems in trains, power tools, elevators, construction machinery, medical equipment etc. The core values of the company include harmony and sincerity within the corporation and with the outside world. Moreover, it aspires to make an immense contribution to the society through facilitating its members with the latest technology. Both companies commonly deal in televisions, refrigerators, multimedia projectors etc. (Hitachi Group Identity, 2013). Comparative Analysis One of the biggest challenges faced by both the organizations is that of technology. In the contemporary world, technology has taken precedence over every other business issue due to the fact that today companies dealing in electronic products need to bring an innovation far before their competitors. In addition to this once the new technology is introduced by either Hitachi or Philips, it becomes easier for other competitors to produce its replica (Dubbink, 2011). Although both the organizations are located at entirely different places since the world has now become a global village, companies operating even at different places but with similar products face same problems. This is primarily due to immense competition and same consumer market. For instance, home appliances of Hitachi and Philips are available in western and eastern countries with the same frequency. Therefore when one of them introduces a new technology the competitor has to come up with more advanced products so as to maintain its market share and profits. Otherwise, the competing organization would lose its consumers which can also destroy the overall prestige of the company (Dubbink, 2011). Excelling in t he current business environment needs extra managerial skills and abilities. Although Hitachi and Philips are operating in the same industry on the international level both of them have distinctiveness on the country level and therefore their decision-making style and management strategies vary from one another. Following are most common differences between them: Social: As discussed above Hitachi gives huge importance to the social welfare and overall progress of the society. In Japan, they work while considering the future issues of the society and its variable needs hence when it comes to decision making Hitachi considers the benefits of its society, employees and other related members of the organization (Hitachi Group Identity, 2013). In contrast to this Philips has a major focus over the improvement of lives all over the world which means that their business strategies do not only cover the homeland rather they plan for the welfare of people across the borders (Company Profile , 2013). Political: Political conditions in Japan and Netherlands are better than the eastern parts of the world. However, the political turmoil in countries with consumers actually influences the overall strength and managerial decisions of Hitachi and Philips (Ferdinand & Grapperhaus, 2009). Ethical: Business ethics play a vital role in the overall success of any organization.  Ã‚  

A Life-Span View Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

A Life-Span View - Assignment Example It is evidently clear from the discussion that the researcher’s life dates back when she was a little girl. She was a jovial and playful baby. The people around me were truthful which led to the elemental sense of my trustworthiness. The researcher depended on her mother and her father for care, comfort, and sustenance. By this time, the author’s relative comprehension of the world came from her parents, particularly her mother, and their interactions with her. The researcher’s parents’ regularity, warmth, and reliable fondness exposed her to a world ruled by the trust. There was no point in the author’s life that her parents failed to offer a secure surrounding to meet her basic need. Just like noted under Erikson’s Psychosocial Theory, this would have created mistrust which would have resulted in suspicions, lack of confidence, withdrawal and frustration to me. The researcher’s parents were the regular sources of comfort, food, love, which taught her to trust. As the author grew older, she started to choose clothes by herself. By the age of 3, the author had gained control over eliminative roles and would make choices in her life and explored the environment around her. Needless to say, her parents still provided a secure environment where the author would carry out her own activities at will. The researcher’s patients were patient and would wait to look at her choices and would correct her if I had gone wrong at some point. At this time of the researcher’s life, she had developed a strong interest in music and played with the radio. The author would put some loud music which her parents would control by informing her to reduce the high volume. The author was able to feed herself now and would wash her clothes and use the bathroom on her own. Between the age of 3 and 6 years, the author was imaging much. She would take on tasks just because she had been active. The researcher was slowly learning t he world around her and learning numerous basic principles. The researcher would tie her shoes and tie her school tie and would speak effectively with her parents without any problems. The author did not like being idle and would felt guilty if it happened. The author felt the urge to help her mother with her household chores. The author would also feel bad if she did something and was not productive as she had anticipated.

Change Management and Management Styles Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Change Management and Management Styles - Essay Example Therefore, these scholars suggest that change commences with leadership; thus, organizations should have leaders projecting constructive behaviors. Ajmal, Farooq, Noman and Awan (2013) argue that change is managed by visionary transformers, who are expected to facilitate strategic change that is led by quality. In this case, organizations are focus applying technological advancement in gaining competitive advantage. In order to facilitate these changes, organizations are expected to adaptive towards change, thereby coping with potential challenges. On the other hand, these scholars suggest that organizations should convert into learning organization during their first stages in change process. Conventional organizations are transformed into learning organization based on requirement of fundamental in leadership. Therefore, managers are expected to make necessary clarifications of missions of organizations, while helping employees to be innovative in a learning environment. According to Fernandez and Rainey (2006), change is managed through establishment of research that analyzes the interactive effects of factors through application of research designs and methods; in fact, managers applied contingency approach in implementation of change. Furthermore, managers focus on application of multivariate statistical techniques and large-sample data set regarding different levels of organization in various management settings; these scholars suggest that change can be facilitated by immediate research, which can enable refining of general proposition that are used for synthesize of theories, and evaluating competitors propositions. On the other hand, they suggest that managers can confront challenges by analyzing association between the content and process of change. Kelly (2009) presents a case, which is concerned with management tasks and procedures involved in facilitate changing strategies. In this case, this scholar suggests that managers should recognize ways

Phillips & Apple (Income Statement) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Phillips & Apple (Income Statement) - Essay Example The violation will create distrust among the affected parties. When mistrust crops up, many of the financial statement users will divest their investments in the company or avoid dealing with the fraudulent company. The principle ensures that revenues are recorded in the accounting period that they are earned. To be earned, the products must be sold, to increase understanding between the financial statement preparers and the financial statement users. There are requirements before revenues are recorded for accounting purposes. First, revenue should only be recorded when the service had been rendered to the company’s current and prospective customers. Revenue should only be recorded when someone buys or takes the company’s products and services. The company cannot record a sale of $ 2,500 if no one has agreed to buy the product. Doing so would violate the revenue recognition principle. When a customer pays for the product and receives the product, then the company compli es with the revenue recognition principle when the $2,500 amount is entered into the books as a credit to revenue or sales. There must be an exchange between cash that is paid by the customer, an accounts receivable for collectible customer accounts, and the company’s giving the products to the customers. However, companies do allow installment sales. Installment sales comply with the revenue recognition principle because there is a transfer of goods from the company to the customers. When the company finished performing a service, the company can recognize service revenue because the service had been done and the customer is satisfied with the services rendered (Drury, 2007). Explaining the difference between a product and period expense There is a big difference between product expense and period expense. Product expense includes all expenses incurred to make the final product ready for sale to the company’s current and prospective customers (Drury, 2007). For exampl e, the product expenses in the making of a chair include the wood that is used to make the chair. Next, the product expenses include the nails that are used to join the pieces of cut wood together. The paint that is used to make the constructed chair more presentable to the customers’ eyes forms part of the chair’s product expenses. The salaries of the carpenters who contributed to the making the chairs form part of product costs. The indirect factory expenses form part of the product costs. The indirect costs include indirect materials and indirect labor. To make the discussion short, all expenses incurred in the factory forms part of product cost. All expenses incurred by the administration department do not form part of the product costs. All promotion advertising, customer entertainment and other marketing expenses are not included in the product expense. In a merchandising business, the product cost is the cost of making the product available to the current and pr ospective customers. The cost of purchasing the product forms part of the product costs. The cost of goods sold of the merchandising company equates to product expenses (Bierman, 2010). Period expenses are expenses that do not qualify as product expenses. The salary of company’s president is period expense. Marketing expenses are period expenses. The marketing expenses include amounts paid to entertain current and prospective customers of the company. Marketing expenses include advertising costs of placing the company’s ads in television, radio, internet, and newspaper spaces. The company lawyer’

The Play True West By Sam Shepard Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Play True West By Sam Shepard - Essay Example True West is a play written by Sam Shepard which revolves around two brothers Austin and Lee who came to their mom's house to spend their days as their mom is going to some other state. However as the play continues the brother develop a grudge against each other and difference develop between them. The major change of personality can be seen in both the brothers as in the starting Austin is the one who is a decent and well behaved person who does not drink, where as Lee is the one who has negative views about his brother and drinks most of the time. Whereas in the end it can be seen that Lee is adopting to Austin's views and Austin has adopted the habits of Lee which are drinking and doing crimes. This basic change happens because of the opportunities presented to Lee and Austin by the producer Saul Kimmer. In the beginning of the play Saul Kimmer the producer comes to bring an opportunity to Austin whereas, the whole plot changes when Saul Kimmer rather accepts the script of his br other. Austin is shown as an educated person who is determined to make a fortune for himself in the world. Therefore after his script gets rejected over his brothers he gets emotionally unstable as he cannot attain his dreams. Furthermore after realizing that he cannot achieve his dreams even though he has struggled for them, he goes into an identity crisis and follows the same path that his brother has. The basic reason for his identity crisis is because of his brother's greedy attitude but he in the play thinks as if his brother is more competitive and intelligent than him. This makes his brother Austin follow the same path as Lee as he thinks that following that path might make him successful in life as Lee is. It can be seen in the play that after Kimmer rejects the idea of Austin over Lee's he decides to drink heavily. On the other hand Lee is greedy to make a respectable place for him in the society amongst all the other individuals. He wants to overthrow his brother and shatt er his dreams so he can achieve his own goal and thus he approaches the producer to consider his script which to the surprise of Austin is accepted by the producer. As his script gets accepted by Kimmer Lee pursues a life of comfort in the society as lived by Austin and tries to change him self. Change plays a deep role in the play as the lives of both Austin and Lee are changed from what they were before. Both the brothers transform into each others lives as in the latter part Austin starts to drink and steal like his brother Lee. While Lee tries to write a script for his movie like Austin did in the past. This shows that life is uncertain and some things are not meant to happen. The unstable nature of Austin can also be viewed as he started doing activities which were not in accordance to his education and level. Greed also plays an important role in the story as the greed for fame and fortune forces Lee to con Kimmer to see his script rather than his brothers. However the work of Lee is not as good as that of Austin but even then his work is preferred by the producer. Change takes place in the play when Austin forces Lee to take him to the desert where their father lives. He wants to follow the same path that his father did which he did not allow previously to over take him. The habit of stealing overtakes Austin in the latter end of the play like his brother and this can be said

Industrial Revolution Essay Example for Free

Industrial Revolution Essay Industrial Revolution is regarded as a very important period in human development which occurred in the period towards the end of the 18th century stretching to the 19th century. Industrial revolution is said to have begun in the United Kingdom and later spread to other parts of the world including the rest of Europe, North America amongst other parts of the world. During this period there were major transformations in the agricultural sector, transportation, and manufacturing among other spheres of life. These changes were to have profound impacts on the social, economic, and cultural life of the people in Britain which was the cradle of the revolution. This paper shall examine the central ways in which the Industrial Revolution changed the western societies. Impacts of the Industrial Revolution The inception of the Revolution is regarded as a crucial turning point in the history of mankind as it led to alterations in virtually every aspect of life. The Revolution started towards the end of the 18th century when there was mechanization of the textile industry, emergence of new iron making skills, and an increase in the utilization of polished coal. There were improvements in the transport network which facilitated exchange of goods and services. Generally, a growth in various industries was witnessed and manual labor was replaced by mechanization which led to increased production . The textile industry was among the first to feel the impacts of the industrial revolution. The invention of the cotton gin in 1794 brought efficiency in separating of cotton seeds from fiber. The discovery of the sewing machine in 1846 further revolutionized the textile industry as the making of clothes moved from homes to industries. Apart from the impacts of the industrialization on the domestic industries, the revolution led to increased productivity in the farms due to mechanization of agriculture. With increased productivity in the farms, industries cropped up and individuals clustered in particular regions working in the industries or engaged in trade. This eventually led to the development of towns and cities . Advancement in technology during this period led to the growth of capitalism as the owners of the means of production grew richer. There was an increase in the economic growth which was due to the new technologies of the industrial revolution as seen in the doubling of the UK’s purchasing power and a rise in the total national income during the 19th to 20th century . The revolution also brought about changes in the country’s political structures in Britain as capitalists begun replacing the land owners of the agrarian period to become influential in the country’s economic and power structure. There were also alterations in the working conditions as factories provided the workers with poor working conditions. These included poor ventilations, overcrowding, child labor was on the rise, and individuals were poorly paid and worked under dangerous and unsafe environments . The laborers were paid less wages that led to development of slums since they could hardly afford decent housing. The workers were generally working under extreme conditions which forced the government of the day to pass legislations that would govern the interests of the workers. The workers also initiated efforts that resulted in the creation of trade unions which agitated for their interests . The Industrial Revolution also led to developments in the transport and communication sector. Several inventions led to the efficiency in this sector as road networks were improved, water transport boosted through the invention of steam engines, and communication made easier especially with the discovery of telegraphic machines. Railway transport was also developed and this eased the transport of bulk goods, products, and raw materials to the industries . Conclusion There is no doubt that industrial revolution was a defining moment in human history. There were great advancements and innovations that were aimed at making life more efficient at the same time increasing production. Though the revolution came up with its challenges, it remains to be a crucial part of human history as it totally revolutionized the world into a new order.

Risk Assessment Case Study

Risk Assessment Case Study C is a 14 year old boy who has a diagnosis of autistic spectrum disorder and learning disability. C is a very active young boy. His mother is a P.E teacher and has him involved in many outdoor activities. C loves being outdoors and doing practical hands on things such as cooking and outdoor activities. Although C is involved in various activities, these are all organised by his family. Mrs F feels that C constantly seeks reassurance when doing tasks etc. She would like to develop his dependence by involving him in activities which are not organised by the family. Furthermore Mrs F felt concerned that if anything were ever to happen to her or her husband, she would like to know that C has some experience within a different type of home care setting. I completed a UNOCINI assessment on C and a carers assessment on Mrs F. From that I felt that C would benefit from some time spent apart from the family. After completing the carers assessment with Mrs F, I determined that although the mai n reason for the parents was to develop Cs independence now that he is 14, I felt they would also benefit from these few hours of respite. The need for respite was not initially an issue however when I got Mrs F to think about her caring role and the level of caring responsibilities and how this impacted on her socially and emotionally, she acknowledged that yes, these few hours would act as respite for her as she care for C full-time when she comes home from work on weekdays and at the weekends. This option would help to develop his independence and get him more socially integrated in activities not organised by the family. I also identified two other services called Enable and Charis. The family were informed of these services and given the appropriate information. I left this information with the family so that they could make an informed decision. Mr and Mrs F agreed that they would definitely want to consider the option of the respite unit for C to attend for a few hours every week initially, with the view that they may want to increase this at a later date. The purpose of this piece of work is to carry out a risk assessment prior to C commencing the rest bite unit. This will need to consider any risks there are with C, how C may behave, what the triggers etc are and how the staff at O can best deal with these risks. Because there are significant behavioural problems with C, the risks are mainly centred around outdoor safety as he has a significant fear of dogs, his dislike of loud noises and consideration of his speech difficulties which will most likely result in communication difficulties. These factors all present risks to C and this meeting is an opportunity for Cs parents, a staff member from the unit, Cs teacher and I to come together, identify the risks, discuss how they are a risk to C and identify the best ways the staff can manage these risks. Legislation that will guide my practice As a student social worker I have a duty to practice in a professional and legal manner and it is important that I am aware of the legislation related to disability, which provides the mandate for the intervention. The Health and Personal Social Services (NI) Order (1972) sets out the role of social workers in Article 4 as having a duty to promote the well being of all the public. The Chronically Sick Disabled Persons Act 1978 legally obliges Personal Social Services to disseminate information, assess need, collect and maintain confidential information and provide Social Welfare Services to meet the needs of any person defined as chronically sick and/or disabled. Under this piece of legislation disabled people have the right to live in the community and be provided with appropriate support services. Under section one, authorities have a duty to inform themselves of the number and needs of handicapped persons in their areas and a duty to publicise available services. Section 2 lists various services which should be provided to meet the needs of disabled people including; social work support to families, adaptations to the home and including special equipment, holiday arrangements and meals (OliverSapey, 2006). An opportunity for C to develop his independence has been identified as a need for C. I have enquired into the services available and signposted the fam ily to these services. It is now their decision as to whether they want to avail of them or not. The Children (NI) Order 1995 is the main piece of legislation associated with the Childrens Disability Unit. This piece of legislation sets out the powers and duties of the Trust in relation to Children in Need and others. The Trust sets out clear assessment procedures for children in need which take account of any special needs. The order outlines that children with a disability will, in many cases, require continuing services throughout their lives therefore the assessment process needs to take account of any special needs and to take a longer perspective than for other children in need. A holistic assessment is needed to determine what is best needed for that child, taking into account the child and familys strengths, weaknesses and capacities. I have assessed the needs of C and his parents and from that I feel that I strongly feel this service will be of benefit to both C and his parents. Article 17 (c) defines a child in need as a child with a disability; C has a diagnosis of autism and learning disability and therefore is considered a child in need due to this disability. Also I am aware that in accordance with this legislation (Article 17 a b) I have a responsibility to ensure C achieves or maintains a reasonable standard of development or health through the provision of services. I will bear in mind Article 18 which sets out the trusts duty to support children in need. I had a duty to support C by carrying out an assessment of need which will allowed me to determine what type of support C required. Support may be provided in terms of providing services, signposting, referral to other agencies or the worker may provide emotional support, 1 to 1 work, advice, a listening ear etc. In this instance I have provided the appropriate support through signposting the family to two other services for C and I am in the process of providing them with a respite service. Within my work with children I am conscious that the welfare of the child is paramount and that this supersedes all else (Article 3 (1). To ensure I achieve this I have knowledge of and will make reference to The Welfare Checklist Article 3 (3) (Children NI Order 1995) The Disabled Persons Act (NI) 1989 also gives the mandate for the intervention. It gives individuals more control over their lives by providing them with the right to; representation, consultation, assessment, information this I consider to be my role. Carers also have the right to request an assessment and the ability to care is taken into consideration during the assessment process and when decisions are made. The legislation ensures that disabled people have equal opportunities in terms of services amongst other things. I have already completed a carers assessment with Mrs F which indicated that this service would also be of benefit for her as Cs carer. United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (1991) set out for the first time, the rights of the child. Article 2 states, Whereby appropriate measures should be taken to ensure that the child is protected against all forms of discrimination or punishment on the basis of the status, activities, expressed opinions, or beliefs of the child, parents, legal guardians or family member and under article 6 whereby all children have the right to life and to the greatest possible opportunities to develop fully. It is hoped that through C spending some time away from his family, it will develop his independence. Under article 3, whereby in all actions the best interests of the child shall be a primary consideration. In assessing the risks associated with C, we will be able to identify what the risks are, what the level of risk is, are there any triggers, what primary preventative strategies can be used to avoid these behaviors and reactions occurring, what secondary measures should be introduced if the behaviors become apparent, what reactive strategies should be required, specify any unmanaged risks and determine what should be the response following a behavioral incident. The Human Rights Act 1998 brought the European Convention of Human Rights into domestic law. Human rights are universal legal guarantees protecting individuals and groups against actions and omissions that affect their freedom and human dignity (SHSSB, 2004: 42). Every child has rights under the United Nation Convention on the Rights of the child 1989. Every child has a right to survival, developmental, protection and participation rights. Article 23 of the UNCRC states that a disabled child should enjoy a full and decent life, in conditions which ensure dignity, promote self reliance and facilitate the childs active participation in the community. I am mindful that the Data Protection Act (1998) must be adhered to at all times in order to ensure that information is accessed only by people who have a right to access it. This ensures that service user confidentiality is respected and that relevant and accurate information is stored. This legislation safeguards personal data i.e. personal information that is stored on computer and on relevant manual filing systems under eight principles. Policies and Procedures It is imperative that as an student of the trust I have knowledge of the Trust Policies and Procedures and how they inform my practice. It is important that I inform Mrs F about the complaints procedure and provide a leaflet advising individuals of how to make a complaint and express their views about the Trust services. It is important for the Trust to have feedback from service users as this enables the Trust to change and improve standards of services were appropriate. Furthermore it is important service users are aware of the confidentiality policy. I will explain to Mrs F that the information discussed within the meeting will be kept confidential. Theoretical Considerations Risk became a dominant preoccupation within Western society towards the end of the 20th century, to the point where we are now said to live in a risk society, with an emphasis on uncertainty, individualization and culpability (Beck, 1992). Social workers frequently have to deal with risk. Obvious examples would be when there are concerns about the safety of children. The process of assessing risk highlights the complexity of the social work role. The fact that decisions have to be made seems to require an element of control in peoples lives and this can cause conflict for some workers. The question often arises about the obvious power imbalance between the worker and the service user and issues can surface around care versus control. Burke and Cigno (2000) pose the question as to what degree of vulnerability in children reaches the degree of threshold for intervention, and what should be done to minimize the risks to children. These are difficult issues to reconcile. All parties concerned should be aware that allowing children to take a certain amount of risk is recognition of human beings to fulfill their potential. Denial of risk-taking greatly reduces steps towards independence and decreases quality of life. Trying to balance between parental and organisational protectiveness and acceptance of the childs need to take risks can be a difficult undertaking. There is also the problem of communicating effectively with children their wishes and needs. In the case of children and young people with learning difficulties, professionals are likely to have to learn additional ways of ascertaining the childs wishes and assessing his or her situation. All forms of risk need to be acknowledged in any assessment or evaluation (Trevithick, 2003: 115). A risk assessment is only valid for the situation which it has been carried out in and needs to be an ongoing process as the child develops. It is important to recognize that the situations of children and families are not static they are fluid and changing. Each individual risk has a lifespan and needs to be constantly monitored and reviewed. However, it is important not to give the concept of risk more weight than is needed by becoming too focused on controlling risks. Questions should be asked about whether or not the level of risk is acceptable, sometimes risk is inevitable and to try and control everything a person can or cannot do can be a breach of a persons basic human rights. The Bamfords Review of Mental Health and Learning Disability Equal Lives Group argued how service users want the chance to make their own choices in life and to be supported by the professionals around the m, not simply told what they can and cannot do. Hope and Sparks (2000) suggest that a risk assessment can only identify the problem of harm, assess the impact of it on key individuals, and pose intervention strategies which may diminish the risk or reduce harm. They do not believe that assessments can prevent risk completely. This is something which I would be inclined to agree with. Beckett and Maynard propose that control may be used to protect service users, staff and other members of the community and that by controlling the extent of potential risks that we are ensuring that the best possible care can be delivered. They feel that control used appropriately is not the opposite of care, but on the contrary is an expression of care. We should not fall into the simplistic idea that the use of statutory powers is necessarily oppressive or that working in other ways is necessarily anti-oppressive. There has been a concurrent growing mistrust of professionals in social work and an increased reliance by the profession on complex systems of assessment, monitoring and quality control (Stalker, 2003). Parton (1998) proposes that the blaming society is now more concerned with risk avoidance and defensive practice than with professional expertise and welfare development. However, risk is a normal and often beneficial part of everyday life. While it enables learning and understanding, in the case of potentially destructive consequences it may need to be monitored and restricted. The Southern Health and Social Care Trust (2008), define risk as the chance, great or small, that damage or an adverse outcome of some kind will occur as a result of a particular hazard. It is the threat that an event or some action will adversely affect the Trusts ability to successfully execute its strategies and achieve its objectives. It is a process of continual improvement which requires the identification, assessment, analysis, evaluation, treatment, monitoring and communication of risk. The Southern Trust Risk Management Strategy recognizes the need to reduce and eliminate or reduce all identifiable risk to the lowest practicable level. The trust is committed to achieving this through a holistic approach based on the principle that risk management is everybodys responsibility. There are two important models to consider when assessing risk, that of Brearley and that of Greg Kelly. Brearleys analysis of risk talks about predisposing hazards, which are factors that cannot be changed or are difficult to change before decisions are to be taken. He talks about situational hazards, which are factors specific to the situation that can be changed. Brearley also takes into account the strengths of the situation as factors that decrease the possibility of a poor or loss outcome. This is a positive step which may encourage families if their strengths are acknowledged. The Childrens (NI) Order 1995, promotes the welfare of the child and risk assessment and risk management are now a central part of the social work role and should acknowledged accordingly. Greg Kellys model is designed for use when there are serious concerns for the welfare of the child. It is designed to help clarify the issues in relation to the protection of children, to address key questions in decision making in situations where risk is present, what is the problem and how serious is it? The development of a non-technical language (strengths and weaknesses) has made the model useful in sharing and discussing issues with parents. What is very useful about this model is that it categorises risk. Thus to agree on the degree of risk is to agree on the harm that is more likely (high risk) or less likely (low risk) to occur in the absence of preventative measures. It inevitably involves a degree of predicting future events. Almost by definition taking decisions in situations of risk means taking them not in ideal circumstances and with less knowledge than we feel we need. Despite the dangers, however, childrens circumstances sometimes require that we take decisions base d on our best estimate of the risk of harm to them in a particular situation and at a particular time. The risk assessment pro-forma used at O respite unit is based on Greg Kellys model in that it categorises risk as high, low or medium. High Risk would be recent and regular occurrence of behaviour, for example in the past 3 months. Medium risk would be recent and only occasional occurrence in the past 3 months. Low risk would be seen as having happened in the past but would only have occurred very minimally in the past 3 months. The assessment here is not just the potential of risk of harm to the children, but also the individual measures staff can take to prevent the likelihood of the risk actualizing and any steps that management may need to take. Person centred planning is rooted in the belief that people with disabilities are entitled to the same rights, opportunities and choices as other members of the community. Person centred planning has been around for about twenty-five years and its principles are about sharing power with service users and community inclusion. This way of thinking insists that people with disabilities have the same quality of life and position in society which is equal to people without disabilities. It challenges the idea of grouping people together on the basis that they are perceived as needing the same level of assistance. Person centred planning asks how the client wants to live their life and ways that they think could make this possible and if they require any support with this. Person centred planning has five key features:- The person is at the centre, family members and friends are partners in planning, the plan reflects what is important to the person, their capacities and what support they require, the plan helps build the persons place in the community to welcome them. It is not just about services and reflects what is possible, not just what is available. The plan results in ongoing listening, learning, and further action. Putting the plan into action helps the person to achieve what they want out of life. Person centred planning is about the social worker facilitating the service user to take control of his or her own lives and move forward as much as is possible. Coulshed and Orme (2006) illustrate how it focuses on the individual as unique and special in their own situation. It is important for the social worker to develop a good relationship with the service users for this approach to be successful. It encourages the development of an equal, non-authoritarian relationship where both service user and social worker work together to establish a significant and meaningful relationship.  (Trevithick, 2006: 271) It is important in person-centred planning to work out what is important to the client but also what is important for the client, which can sometimes be difficult. This can even be simple things such as pen pictures which illustrate the things which are of most important to our clients. This can include information such as favourite foods, colours, clothes, possessions, people, activities or place. It is important to remember these principles when I am completing the risk assessment and ensuring that it is a personalised account of this child. Previous knowledge My knowledge of risk assessment is initially very limited. Although I have completed various UNOCINI assessments, and within that you are thinking about risk and identifying potential risks for that child or family if certain support networks or services etc are not put in place, this is not as extensive as this specific risk assessment I am to undertake with C. I read around the topic of risk assessment and took into account the different models, especially the Southern Trusts Risk Management Strategy. I also considered number 4 of NISCC objectives which was to manage risk to individuals, families, carers, groups, and communities, self and other colleagues. This increased my sense of purpose and direction in which the risk assessment was to take. I have good knowledge around C and the family as I had completed the initial assessment. I have previously met with Cs teacher which gave me an insight into Cs daily routine at school and explained the best way to communicate with C. Further to this I read a completed risk assessment which used the same pro-forma to gain a better understanding of how the information gathered should flow. It is important to have an understanding of what autism is and how it can impact on a person and their family as C has autism. Having shadowed the autism support worker few home visits to see children who have autism, I already had an insight into the importance of the schedule and routine for children who have autism. I had also previously increased my knowledge base by talking to the autism support worker within the team about the disorder and its effects. My first degree in Psychology also looked at autism and its effects on development so I have refreshed my memory and read my notes again. Tuning into my own feelings as a worker I feel a little nervous as I will be facilitating this meeting. I feel nervous about the fact that there will be other professionals such as Cs teacher and the social worker and manager from the respite unit. Furthermore, Mrs F is also a teacher. Considering Mrs Fs profession, she may have standards and I hope I am able to effectively facilitate the meeting in a professional manner which meets her standards. In saying this, I have met with Mrs F on a few occasions and I feel very comfortable with her. I want to be able to facilitate this meeting as effectively as possible in ensuring everyone gets an opportunity to contribute, all opinions are considered, all risks are identified and a plan is set in place which will effectively manage these risks. I feel slightly more confident in that I have met with the social work manager and Cs teacher before and feel I have built up a good rapport with Mrs F. Tuning Cs feelings C is unable to contribute to the meeting due to his learning disability. Tuning into parents feelings This is a new experience for Mrs F as she is Cs main carer and the only time they are ever apart is when C is away at school. She may be feeling anxious about considering the risks there are with C. She is placing a lot of trust in the staff at O in order to be aware of these risks and manage them. However this is an opportunity for Mrs F to inform the staff on how to best, most effectively manage the risks associates with C. In turn this meeting may consequently lessen Mrs Fs anxieties in knowing that we have identifies the relevant risks and we are fully aware of how to most appropriately manage these risks. This will hopefully provide reassurance for Mrs F in knowing that the relevant safeguards will be put in place prior to C commencing the unit. Skills It is important that I am able to analyze the information from the O assessment in order to determine if there are any risks, what they are, how they are currently managed and how they could be best managed by staff members. I have already analyzed what the risks are. I have determined that Cs communication is a risk as there is a risk he may become distressed if the staff at O do not understand him. I thus felt inviting Cs teacher to the meeting was important. I felt this could also act as an information sharing meeting whereby the people that C spends most time with such as his mother and teacher would be able to give input on how best to communicate with C. Cs teacher previously informed me that use of the PECS and super symbols would be essential to apply in order to effectively communicate with C, until such times as the staff familiarise themselves with C. The ability to analyze involves breaking a situation or issue down into its component parts so that the inter-connections a nd patterns can be uncovered (Thompson, 2005). I need to be able to analyze the information gathered to determine what the risks are, to determine the level of risk and determine what safe guards need to be put in place in order to try and reduce these risks. Communication has been defined as, the verbal and non verbal exchange of information, including all the ways in which knowledge is transmitted and received (Barker, 2003: 83). I will be facilitating this meeting and thus I need to communicate in a clear and concise fashion in explaining the purpose of the meeting, what I hope to cover, why and what I hope to achieve. I will explain the relevance of inviting Miss V, Cs teacher and explain how I hope she will be able to contribute to the meeting. This will reassure Miss V of her role, purpose and prepare her for what she may want to say with regard to how the staff can best communicate with C. I will similarly explain the relevance of why Cs parents are there also, in that they know C best as his parents and carers and their input and advice will be most valuable with regards to identifying any additional risks I may have missed, and how to manage these and give any input they wish throughout the meeting. This is also an opportunity fo r Cs parents to ask any additional questions, be reassured that we are aware of the risks involved with their son, the appropriate safeguards will be put in place to try and minimize the risks and what plan they have in place if something does happen to C. Negotiation skills are vital as a result of this Risk Assessment. I have invited the relevant persons to this meeting so important information can be shared with regard to how certain risks can be most effectively managed. Miss V, Cs teacher has a good insight into effective communication exchange techniques which will allow the staff and C to effectively communicate with each other and understand what C is communicating. This is vital in order to prevent C from feeling frustrated if noone understood what he was saying or what he wanted etc. I will be looking upon Mr and Mrs F are experts in their own family lives. Noone will know C better than themselves and thus their input is vital in indentifying any additional risks, how they can best be managed. Before we end the discussion, in order for the risk assessment to be effective I feel it is necessary that everyone negotiates on how the risks can most effectively be managed. Trevithick (2005) proposes that listening provides a creative opportunity to demonstrate our commitment and care. The essence of good listening is learning about how to reach the emotions and thoughts of others; it requires active involvement and engagement with the client. I am confident in my ability to convey that I am valuing Mrs Fs contribution as she is the expert her family life with C and Mrs Vs contribution as Cs teacher. Values I am committed to anti-oppressive practice and Thompsons PCS model of discrimination helps me to be mindful of this. Thompson analyses discrimination in terms of three levels: the personal, which highlights the feelings and attitudes at an individual level; the cultural which refers the social norms, and the structural level which is the way that oppression and discrimination can be institutionalised in society. Biesteck value principles are principles of the social worker-service user relationship which are deemed to be effective forms of practice. The principles are:- individualization, purposeful expression of feelings, controlled emotional involvement, acceptance, non-judgemental attitude, service user self-determination and confidentiality. I think these value principles have a lot to offer professionals. I think in terms of this risk assessment I will be aware of the importance of individualisation. This is a specific piece of work which directly impact on the care and support that C will receive while he is at O for respite. It is vital that the work is an accurate representation of C and his individual needs. Biestecks value principles are a useful checklist to ensure that we are practicing in an anti-oppressive manner. One of the core values that I believe to be relevant in all of my work is respect for the person I am working with. Valuing Ms F and treating her with dignity is fundamental to a good working relationship. This should be a part of my everyday practice, part of empowerment, participation and choice (Payne, 1998). Thompson acknowledged the importance of respecting persons and not treating them in a way that you would object to if other people treated you like that (Thompson, 2000). In order to build trust and a positive working relationship with Ms F, Rogers (1961) core conditions of empathy, congruence and unconditional positive regard are vital. I need to be able to convey to Mrs F that I understand their situation and their feelings. In order to do this I need to be open and honest and convey warmth and a non-judgmental attitude to Mrs F. If my work is to be effective it needs to be based on partnership. I hope to convey to Mrs F that she will always will be the expert on herself and C and their family situation. Within a social work context, it is the service users who should define their own needs and dictate wherever possible how their needs should be met (Parker Bradley 2003). Useful pointers in developing a relationship based on partnership include: do not do most of the talking, do not put words into peoples mouths, help everyone feel comfortable, particularly Mrs F. Empowerment involves seeking to maximise the power of clients and to give them as much control as possible over their circumstances. It is the opposite of creating dependency and subjecting clients to agency power (Thompson 1993:80). I will be reminding Mrs F of the importance of her contribution in identifying any risks and advising on how she best manages those risks at present as no one knows C better than herself. Hopefully this reassurance will empower Mrs F to contribute as much as possible to the sharing of information.

Essay --

Did you know that over one million people injure themselves each year because of slipping and falling? 300,000 people are injured each year from slipping and falling in the workplace and 15% of workplace deaths are due to the injuries caused by slipping and falling. Slips and falls can be easily prevented by the store or business with anti slip treatments, securing electrical cords, removing rugs or mats or other tripping hazards, routine maintenance, and cleaning up spills as soon as they happen. There are many reasons as to why you could slip and fall and those causes and factors include: †¢ Water †¢ Ice †¢ Snow †¢ Grease or oil †¢ Objects in the way †¢ Floor cleaner †¢ Uneven surfaces †¢ Areas with lots of foot traffic †¢ Unstable areas †¢ Ladders †¢ Stairs †¢ Areas prone to wetness or spills †¢ Bad lighting If you do slip and fall you should ask yourself the following: †¢ What caused the slip and fall? †¢ If the floor was slippery, why was it slippery? †¢ Was it more slippery then normal? †¢ Was there any warning that the floor was slippery? †¢ Did the owner or landlord know abo...

The Society for Latin American Anthropology :: SLAA Human Rights Latin America Essays

The Society for Latin American Anthropology Changes in the SLAA's definition of "Latin America" have gone hand in hand with changes in the intellectual, social and political goals of the Society. As then president Michael Kearney wrote in an open letter to the membership published in the Society's April 1997 column in the Anthropology Newsletter:" (Until recently the society's membership) was centered in North America while its objects of study were primarily to the South of the United States. The prevalent pattern in the production and consumption of knowledge by North American anthropologists was one in which "we" used to "go down to" Latin America to study the "Latin Americans", and then publish most of our work in English...In recent years, in dialogue with the membership, the Board has sought to redefine "Latin America" as an object of anthropological inquiry from a region defined in geopolitical terms to a sociocultural definition based on the de facto presence of Latinos." The term "Latin America" has been expanded t o include the Anglophone, and Francophone Caribbean and Diasporic Latino communities. This push towards a more inclusive anthropology evident in their definition of "Latin America" is reflected in the Society's current goals and programs. Creating a truly international community of scholars of Latin America is the most important goal of the Society. Current president Joanne Rappaport in a statement published on the SLAA webpage writes, reaffirming Michael Kearney's vision, that the mission of the Society is to create "a space for dialogue across boundaries, particularly national and ethnic ones, in an effort to view Latin America, not as a geopolitical reality upon which we as North Americans have an "impact", but as a place from which to speak, write, and to theorize." The most important step in this mission to promote a dialogue between the different national Latin American anthropological traditions that constitute the field has been the creation of the Journal of Latin American Anthropology (JLAA). The Journal started in 1995 under the editorship of Wendy Weiss seeks to publish articles on anthropological research in Mexico, Central America, South America, the Caribbean and the Latin Diaspora. So far, issues have been devoted to the state of current Latin American anthropology, the concept of Mestizaje, and the Zapatista movement for indigenous autonomy in Mexico. Articles have been published in both Spanish and English.

Plato’s Theory of Ideas :: History of Philosophy

Topic: Plato’s Theory of Ideas Student: Milena SadÃ… ¾ak Date: december, 2001 Author’s introductionary remark: Still innocent and so naà ¯ve, the common human consciousness slowly began to raise itself, giving birth thereat to great men, who will forever remain in the hearts of the â€Å"consecrated†. One of those great men was Plato. Plato as a philosopher. Plato as an artist. Plato as the birth of concsiousness of its own limitedness. Plato as my own flight from reality. Being young and inexperienced, and having read one small but important part of Plato’s great treasury of dialogues, I stood lost and confused. It is impossible for a philosopher to believe in the existence of two simultaneous worlds. But that is what his words are saying to me. Did he truly believe that our souls had existed in that perfect world, prior to their birth? Being certain that Plato did not think so, and having realized the boundaries of my understanding, I’ve consulted people who dedicated their lives to this great philosopher. I must admit that it was just then that my confusion reached its utmost point. I have never seen so many confronted opinions on the same topic. Well, we have the dialogues right in front of us, what is the thing that’s keeping us from realizing Plato’s thought as it is, and at least reduce the number of confrontations? I know what my obstacle is: youth, lack of experience, lack of knowledge, but what is theirs? CONCLUSION: The young common human consciousness created a genius, but a young one, such as itself. Youth as such carries with it the impossibility of valid thought-word transmission. The space is too big. In time, the young common consciousness perfects itself. Its improvement implies the improvement of individual consciousness. The possibility to validly transmit thought-word is greater, therefore the interspace is reduced, and the number of dissacords in interpretations of philosophical works is reduced as well. Plato still belongs to the young common consciousness, therefore, we have inummerable explanations of one and the same thing. Theory of Ideas Nowadays, Plato is rightfully considered the originator of idealism. To explain in details what the concept of idealism means represents a great difficulty and demands great effort, so I will merely define idealism as a philosophy which reduces all existence to forms of thought, or in Plato’s case, idea. The word â€Å"idea† originates from the Greek word â€Å"eidos† which literally means â€Å"appearance, image†. In Plato’s thought, â€Å"idea† represents the first principle, cause, form, shape, essence.

All human interaction Essay

â€Å"All human interaction is powerplay. How is powerplay represented in Antigone? † Powerplay involves the complex struggle and manipulation for authority and dominance between opposing ideologies. Several diverse forms of powerplay through human interaction are experienced, however power is a tortuous process to attain and retain due to its tangible and allusive nature. Sophocles’ Antigone delves into this convoluted interplay of powers through investigating the relationship between political and personal power. Not only does Antigone explore the consequences when divine power is challenged, but also when state law and male authority are challenged. Thus the text’s utilisation of powerplay through human interaction enhances its intricate nature. Antigone’s act of defiance to Creon’s edict is due to her belief that man-made laws are inferior to the unwritten laws of God, whereas Creon views that an enemy of state is not deserving of an honourable burial. This powerplay is primarily a conflict of point of view between Creon and Antigone arising directly from their differing values, perspectives and personalities. Creon, who values to establish his reign of power after an acrimonious battle between the two brothers vying for political control, depicts a politic and pragmatic attitude. He believes that he is restoring stability and peace to his kingdom by establishing such an inhumane law. He also reinforces his view to â€Å"not give equal honour to good and bad† which portrays Creon nature to reward the loyalty and punish the rebellion. Furthermore, Creon contends that he must appear to be a powerful and tenable leader of Thebes. He explains to Haemon that letting Antigone go with impunity for defying his laws would make him a traitor as stated in ‘How if I tolerate a traitor at home, shall I rule those abroad? â€Å". This is ironic as Creon himself develops into a traitor since he refuses to comply with divine law. Antigone however values to abide higher law as she has the â€Å"duty to the dead† to bury them, keeping with divine law. She believes that as a sister, she has the duty to bury her family members regardless of the laws that are implemented against it. The citizen’s of Thebes create powerplay in support of her perception that divine law overrules Creon’s decree. For example, Haemon expresses that Antigone’s action is noble in â€Å"Know how the people mourn this maiden doomed for noblest deeds to die the worst of deaths†. Antigone moreover yearns for a noble death to compensate her history of misfortunes as she alliterates in â€Å"The weird of Oedipus, a world of woes! â€Å". Her own initiative of a noble death is ironic as she is incapable of maintaining her composure and reveals her human frailties resulting in her suicidal. Through Creon’s and Antigone’s differing views on political power, their conflict of values and beliefs represents powerplay in the tragedy. Sophocles conveys in Antigone the inherently destructive nature to the wielders of power signifying that those who play with power will ultimately lose all power. Creon rules by trepidation in a despotic manner and also by pride in his power, which will not allow him to acquiesce resulting in dire consequences. He firmly believes that his actions are moral contradicting the divine laws of the gods who honour the dead. Teiresias points out that Creon commits an atrocious sin by condemning a living human being to death inside a grave, as he keeps a rotting boy in daylight. Creon’s actions against Antigone and Polyneices’ body demonstrate his attempts in inverting the order of nature, defying the gods through the assertion of his political power. Haemon challenges Creon’s parental power by confrontment on his rational decision of Antigone’s fate. He uses metaphoric language in â€Å"See how the trees beside a stream in flood sae, if they yield to force, each spray unharmed, but by resisting perish root and branch†, to compare Creon’s kingly authority to a tree representing how he governs his kingdom. Haemon advises that even though his decisions were for the good of the people, in the end his obstinate and unyielding nature towards Antigone will perish him. Creon’s ignorance to these confrontments is symbolic of his blindness to the catastrophic events he was creating, thus losing all power over controlling his fate. Antigone creates powerplay in her confrontation with Creon as she attempts to use her power to prevail over his male and kingly authorities. Her determination and courage derives from her belief that she did not commit a crime. She declares that the laws of the state are not binding as they have been laid down by a man and men are not infallible. Antigone’s statement is a direct challenge to male dominance and Creon’s political power, showing her critical involvement in the powerplay.

Business Trip Brussels Essay

My flight to Stockholm would be late landing. The pilot told us that we were in a ‘stack’ of planes circling above the snow clouds that were giving Brussels its first taste of winter. Air traffic control had closed the runways for a short period at dawn, and the early morning flights from all around Europe were now being allocated new landing slots along with the long-haul jumbos from the Far East and the US. After a 20-minute delay, we descended bumpily through the clouds, and landed on a recently cleared runway. Even then there was a further ‘hold’ on a taxiway; we were told that the de-icing of the apron was being completed so that planes could proceed to their allocated stands and airbridges. All around the airport I could see the scurrying flashing beacons of the snow-clearing vehicles, the catering suppliers’ vans, the aviation fuel trucks, the baggage trailers, buses transporting crews and passengers, security police cars, and an assortment of other vehicles all going purposefully about their work. Brussels airport always looks busy, with over 10 million passengers a year, but this morning the complexity and scale of the operations were particularly evident. Finally, about an hour late, we pulled up to the gate, the engines were turned off, and we disembarked into an icy-cold airbridge, leaving behind a particularly untidy plane strewn with litter from a full cabin of restless passengers. We passed the team of cleaners and maintenance staff waiting just outside. They will have a hard time this morning; more mess to clear and probably less time than usual to do it, as the airline will want a quick turnaround to get back on to schedule,’ I commented to my colleagues. We could just hear the sounds of frantic activities going on below the plane: baggage and cargo being unloaded, catering vehicles arriving, fuel being loaded, and technicians checking over the engines and control surfaces. Everyone trying to get their work completed quickly and correctly, not least so that they could get back indoors out of the biting cold wind! From the airbridge we walked past the crowded seating areas, where plane-sized groups were gathering anxiously awaiting the signal from the gate staff to board their much delayed flights. Then on to the moving walkways, conveyed leisurely past other departure lounges, equally overfilled with passengers. Anxious to get ahead of the crowd, we took to a running pace past the rows of cafes, bars and shops, hoping to avoid the usual morning queue for Passport Control. I should have remembered the old saying ‘more haste, less speed’ because my next journey was to the First Aid room! I had apparently slipped on some spilt coffee that had not been cleaned up in the haste of the morning, and had fallen awkwardly, straining my ankle and breaking my duty-free brandy. ‘At least they would clean the floor after that,’ I thought, sadly. Suitably patched up, I hobbled with my colleagues and joined the long queue for Passport Control, and eventually through to Baggage Reclaim. Even with the excellent new baggage-handling systems in Brussels, the passengers usually get there first, but the accident had changed all that! Scanning the video screens, we found no reference to our flight arrival; the remaining bags from our flight had apparently already been removed from the carousel and were stored in an adjacent office. After a simple signing ceremony, we were reunited with our belongings, and hastened (slowly in my case) to the taxi rank. Our hopes of a quick ride to the city were dispelled when we saw the long queue in the icy wind, so we made our way to the station below, where a dedicated ‘City Express’ train departs every 20 minutes for the Gare de Nord and Gare Centrale. We just missed one! After a busy and successful day at our Brussels office, a taxi was called, and we were back at the airport in the thick of the evening rush hour. The departures check-in area is the upper floor of a vast new terminal extension, and is very orderly and well equipped. Facing you on entry from the taxi drop-off point is a huge electronic display which lists all departures scheduled for the next few hours and showing the appropriate check-in desk number for each flight. The speed of the check-in systems has been improved dramatically, so there was no queue at our desk, and the three of us were issued with boarding passes in only a couple of minutes. Our baggage sped away on conveyors down to the new sorting hall two storeys below. Brochures explain that the new terminal extension was designed to make it possible to go from check-in to final boarding in only 20 minutes, which has involved investment in a state-of-the-art automated baggage-handling system. On my last visit, following traffic delays on the way to the airport, I found that this system works, but I doubt that it would if everyone arrived only 20 minutes before departure! It is no wonder that they advise checking in one hour before; it also gives passengers much more time to spend money in the duty-free shops, restaurants and bars! By this time, my injured leg had swollen up and was throbbing painfully. This seemed to be a routine situation for the check-in staff, who arranged for a wheelchair and attendant to take me through Border Control and security checks. While my colleagues travelled down to the departures hall by escalator, I took the slower route by lift, meeting just outside the duty-free shops where the attendant left them to take care of me. We had some time to spare, so we replenished the brandy, bought some Belgian chocolates and headed for a cafe-bar. While Brussels is renowned for its excellent cuisine, we didn’t expect to find high standards of food in the quick-service environment of an airport, but we were wrong! The delicious aromas of freshly prepared food attracted our custom, and we weren’t disappointed. After a welcome glass of speciality raspberry-flavoured beer to round off the meal, we headed for the airline’s executive lounge. The view across the airfield was not promising! After a bright, crisp day, more snow-laden clouds had arrived and a chill wind cut across the tarmac. De-icing crews were working on the parked aircraft and others were treating the runways, taking quick action between the aircraft movements. Concerned that we might be delayed and miss our connection at Oslo, we checked with the staff at the airline’s flight information desk. After some phoning, they confirmed that, although there could be some delays, Oslo had arranged to hold connecting flights, as many passengers originated from Brussels. Their professional and friendly advice made us feel much more at ease, and they even offered to allow us to send fax or phone messages to our destination. They couldn’t have been more helpful. Announcements of the minor delays were made over the speaker system, but it wasn’t long before we were directed to the departure lounge and were preparing to board. Outside, around the aircraft in the gloom, the baggage trucks were pulling away and the giant push-off tractor was being connected up to the nose-wheel. Ten minutes later, we were at the end of the runway, ready for take-off. ‘Today must have been a very busy one for everyone involved in keeping the airport open,’ I thought, ‘but perhaps every day has its own challenges in such a complex operation. ’

Leadership of Howard Schultz Essay

† Howard Schultz for President? â€Å". Howard Schultz, who is a founder & CEO of Starbucks has showing concern about the future of Americans. His recent activities including boycott the political donations, until Washington, D. C coming up with some â€Å"real effort† to reduce the debt ceiling. Disappointing with the U. S political leaders as they failing to act appropriately while America’s confidence is faltered. By looking at the past, the Starbucks CEO has indeed achieved a remarkable milestone, from a sales person in Xerox Corporation in 1979 and to today, a massive green giant astonishing leader. All this footprint certainly is not coincidence or miracles. In the past, economy volatility, US recession, consumer demand instability struck his business beyond all recognition. Despite all this pitfalls, this premium coffee maker able to embrace the resistance and continue serving quality coffee every corner till today. Looking at his context ,all these demonstrates that his business understands the concept of â€Å"ostrich syndrome†, meaning by burying their head in the sand when facing criticism. And such, Howard now challenge the leadership style adopted by the U.  S government by not hearing the heart of the Americans. The question here is, â€Å"Can his leadership style fit perfectly in the political field†? Many critics claimed this is total different ball game, not just about coffee bean. As Howard apparently lack of political experience, this has put his entrepreneur leadership into challenge. Howard’s leadership however substantiated by evidences, well, at least from business perspectives. In his business history , this captain well aware that customer response and satisfaction is the best business performance thermostat. But to achieve this corporate desire , will require tremendous effort, starting from top management down to every barista in Starbucks. In such circumstances, to him, everything matters, and this is not something hard to observe. This modern leadership are well played by Howard and his team throughout Starbucks business. Sourcing from Joseph Michelli- Starbucks experience, â€Å"this coffee business having the capability of motivating people through powerful, emotionally engaging visions and reconciling the people needs around their organization†. Starbucks management has even establish a Mission Review Committee that govern leadership behaviors and ensure commitment by their partners by listening their concern. They makes a point of listening and responding to the ideas and suggestions of partners. Clearly, Howard adopt â€Å"Situational Leadership† here, whereby attend the perception of the followers and to indicate how efforts directed towards wider organizational goals could align with calculations of follower self-interest. His leadership style, changes our perspectives towards leadership. Is the U. S President not doing sufficiently to address the needs of his people? Don’t get me wrong. Both also are transformational leaders, is just that Howard Schultz is practicing authentic leadership, this largely due to his father losing jobs because of medical problems, since then he became passionate about a company’s need to care for its employees. On the flip side, President Obama has proved to be a very good Senate majority leader by convening committees to do the work and intervening at the end. One of this strength is tends to see issues from several vantage points at once, so maybe it is natural that he favors a process that involves negotiating and fudging between different points of view. But particular in this debt ceiling settlement, he seems to be passive. Further from the above, so what setback is facing by the President? According to the award winning author, John Kotter, in his book â€Å"Our Iceberg is melting†, somewhat is similar to President Obama of failure in producing short-term wins. Failure in creating some visible, unambiguous successes to his fellow Americans all these while. This eventually causing Americans losing faith and trust in his leadership. This weakness of President Barrack Obama allowing Howard Schultz leadership ability become more prominence. Howard now ultimate intention is to create more job opportunities inside U. S, which he believe will turn things around. This similar challenge faced by all the leaders around the world, no exception of the increasing unemployment rate in my country. In my opinion, to resuscitate the economy, unparallel creative leadership style is needed. Perfect example from Sternberg’s propulsion model of creative leadership, â€Å"Re-initiation† leadership style, â€Å"whereby a leap in the dark from the familiar to meet perceived opportunity, and findings ways of removing constraints to uplift current country economic condition†. This is certainly not easy. Especially the effort of satisfying the needs of millions citizen in Malaysia. Perhaps, respective leaders need to learn from the green giant leader on how to â€Å"surprise and delight† like what he did to his Starbucks customer. This is what we hope from our leaders, an effort to put a smile on everyone’s face.

Pros and Cons School Uniform Essay

Abstract The decision for school district to enforce school uniforms has been in existence since the 16th century. School uniforms were originally created for poor children; however, over time, schools saw uniforms as a way to bring students together. There has been debate whether uniforms improve academic success while reducing affiliation of violence. There is opinion and study that indicate no correlation between school uniforms and academic achievement; however, there were come correlation between school uniforms and student behavior. Among many concerns is the cost of uniforms, especially for a multiple child household. Pros and Cons of School Uniforms History of School Uniforms Uniforms were first instituted in 16th Century England at the charity schools for poor children. It was not until the 19th Century that the great English public schools began instituting uniforms and even later for them to be widely accepted at state schools–especially state elementary schools. There is a lot of debate whether the acceptance of school uniforms is good or bad. Read more: Should school wear uniforms essay Historically, the concept of school uniforms is familiar to many European schools and private schools within the United States. However, much more attention to the controversy over school uniforms arose when a significant movement began in the 1980’s to introduce dress codes within public schools in the United States. . â€Å"In 1996, approximately three percent of all schools in the United States had a school uniform policy (Gentile & Imberman, 2009). † How Society Views Uniforms During the 1996 State of the Union Address, President Clinton discussed school uniforms as one solution to gang-related behavioral problems in the  metropolitan areas. â€Å"That discussion led us to scour the existing literature to determine whether his assertion was supported by empirical evidence. We found a body of literature (largely journalistic and anecdotal) that discussed not only reduction of gang violence in schools but also a host of other possible outcomes of school uniform policies that included decreased behavioral problems, increased learning, and enhanced school climate, self-esteem, school spirit, and academic achievement (Brunsma & Rockquemore, 2003). How students view school uniforms  Many students in grade school to third grade don’t really render any judgment either way favorable or not for the school uniform policy. Students that are more conscious of their appearance and want to be viewed for their individuality are the ones that speak more openly about having the choice to be a non-uniform school. For example, â€Å"as children we always seem to be told â€Å"love who you are and be yourself. † For instance, as a child how many of you were so excited to pick what to wear for the day, to feel that sense of control and to know you could show up to school and say â€Å"this is me and I love who I am! (2012, 10). † â€Å"In the Long Beach Unified School District study, 4th and 5th grade elementary and all middle school students were surveyed for their opinions of the school uniform policy. Students felt uniforms did not lessen the occurrence of fights (80. 9%) and a majority of students did not feel safer at school (Stanley, 1996). Cost of School Uniforms FrenchToast. com, a website that sells school uniforms, listed specific prices on their website. For boys? uniform tops and bottoms in sizes 8-14, prices ranged between $9 and $20 (http://www. frenchtoast. com/). Young Men sizes ranged between $8 and $41. For girls?uniform tops and bottoms in sizes 7-14, prices ranged between $7. 50 and $29. Young Women sizes ranged between $13 and $21. Sweaters were generally the most expensive type of item, and short sleeve tops were generally the cheapest. Pros of School Uniforms Surprisingly, there have been several incidents of violent acts simply over clothing and accessories. A student from Detroit was shot for his shoes, and another student in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, was robbed for his jewelry. With these shocking revelations, many schools converted to requiring school uniforms in hopes of preventing any such violent acts (2013, 04). † Many people view the school uniform policy as a way to uniform the schools. By having each student dress the same, the ability to distinguish between the different social classes is obsolete. â€Å"Clothes breed jealously because people will want what another has. If everyone is dressed alike, they will feel equal, and it will help children focus on their studies better (2013, 04). † In today’s schools, there are many issues that may take a child’s focus off education. These problems include social outcast, violence, fashion, cliques, and economic class. School uniforms can eliminate these problems that arise in school and enable to students to focus on their education. Cost of clothing students the same as their peers can be costly for those not in the same economic class as others. School uniforms eliminate this stress since the attire is mostly khaki’s and a plain shirt. In some cases, schools offer the outfits at a low cost to the parent; however, in most cases, schools inform students of certain colors that are appropriate for each school district. By instructing certain colors, this can alleviate any gang affiliation. â€Å"Proponents of school uniforms often cite many reasons for improved academic achievement (Knechtle & Mitchell, 2003). † â€Å"Though there are many arguments for school uniforms, the issue of academic achievement is most pertinent in a society focused on test scores. Arguments abound in the discussion of school uniforms and their relation to academic achievement. Academic achievement, when used in various studies, is the combined subject scores on standardized tests (Bodine, 2003). † Cons of School Uniforms â€Å"The issue of uniforms becoming mandatory in public schools is an outrage. Not only does it infringe on the rights of students to express themselves, but it is unconstitutional. The first amendment states that â€Å"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; of abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances (Jacobs 19). † As parents and society, we encourage people to embrace their own diversity and individuality. By enforcing school uniforms, the identity of children is erased. Also, if a parent of more than one child in a uniform school, the cost tends to increase the cost with having to purchase multiple outfits. Additional disadvantages in a school uniform is that many students do not like wearing them. The chosen style of uniform may not suit some students need to express their individuality, which many students thrive on and in some cases lower their self-esteem.. â€Å"While a statistically significant correlation was shown, further analysis of this correlation showed that an increase in academic achievement disappeared in subsequent years. Students who were forced to wear uniforms after the initial year of the study had a three-point decrease in standardized test scores. In addition, students who never wore a uniform during the study had little change in test scores (Brunsma & Rockquemore, 1998). † Conclusion Overall, the debate continues still whether the effect of school uniforms on children is good or bad. In one study, school uniforms had a direct relation to a student’s self-esteem, behavior problems and low academic success. On the other hand, school uniforms seemed beneficial for elementary kids providing less distraction and uniformity. Teachers have also concluded that uniforms bring a distraction to teaching, as some school systems have gotten bogged down in what a child is wearing instead of their academic performance and study. The debate of school uniforms has been ongoing since as far back as 18th Century and more recently the 1980’s. References (2012, 10). com/essays/Pros-And-Cons-Of-School-Uniforms-1598816. html Bodine, A. (2003). School uniforms, academic achievement, and uses of research. The Journal of Educational Research, 97(2), 67-71. Retrieved from www. proquest. com/ Brunsma, D. L. , & Rockquemore, K. A. (2003). Statistics, sound bites, and school uniforms: A reply to bodine. The Journal of Educational Research, 97(2), 72-77. doi: 10. 2307/27548013 Brunsma, D. L. , & Rockquemore, K. A. (1998). Effects of student uniforms on attendance, behavior problems, substance use, and academic achievement. The Journal of Educational Research, 92(1), 53-63. Retrieved from http://www. proquest. com/ Gentile, E. , & Imberman, S. (2009). Dressed for success: Do school uniforms improve student behavior, attendance, and achievement? (No 2009-03, Working Papers, University of Houston). Retrieved from http://www. uh. edu Knechtle, J. C. , & Mitchell, H. W. (2003). Uniforms in public schools and the first amendment: A constitutional analysis. The Journal of Negro Education, 72, 487-494. Retrieved from http:// www. journalnegroed. org Stanley, M. S. (1996). School uniforms and safety. Education and Urban Society, 23, 424-435. doi:10. 1177/0013124596028004003.