Do average people have an impact on the course of history? Essay

I most certainly agree with the position that average people have the ability to change history. Take for example Martin Luther, Bill Gates and Adolf Hitler. These people have changed history I both a good and bad way. Without a shadow of a doubt average people have a significant impact on the course of history. Martin Luther changed history in a religious way. He started off as a poor man, and then later in his life became a small time priest. As he became a monk, he saw that the pope and the church were misleading the people in order to make a bit of money. He went against the church and did everything in his power to set people back on the right path. Even though he was excommunicated, he still held on, and that is how Martin Luther has a great impact on the course of history. Bill Gates, as many of you may already know is a very rich man, if not the richest man in the world. But this was not the case when he was a young man. In fact he was very poor and he dropped out of school at a young age. A couple of years later he created Microsoft, the largest computer company in the world. Today he has over forty billion dollars and donates billions of dollars to charity. Although some people don’t agree that he has changed history and still is, I think otherwise. I mean take a look at the number of computers in the world; you will see that most of them are powered by Microsoft. Adolf Hitler, in my opinion has changed the course of history in a bad way that any other person in the world. Although he wasn’t rich at a young age, he became rich and very popular in his later life. He developed a strong hatred for the Jews which led to him killing thousands of them. This was known as the holocaust. Although many people don’t know what happened to Hitler after these events, many speculate that he poisoned himself. Over role these three historical icons have changed history in a significant way. Just to answer your question about average people having a significant impact on the coarse of history, my answer is without a shadow of a doubt average people can have a significant impact on the course of history.

Fleet Management System Essay

ABSTRACT The current situation in Kenya demands a good fleet management due to the  rising factors of economy that needs to be addressed in order to have a flourishing economy. Vehicles aid in transportation of goods and services in government offices. Effective use of transportation resources especially in the government we help a great deal in keeping the country’s economy at per with other developing states around the globe. It also helps improve service delivery and good governance. Currently, there are no effective ways of monitoring and managing the government vehicles. In order to have a good method of controlling the vehicles in different government departments, we need a good fleet management system. Fleet management system is focused on maintenance management, and helps people to ensure that fleet assets are maintained properly and on schedule. The system controls the entire operations of a vehicle to enable effective utilization of the vehicles and more so to increase accountability among the civil servants. It is aimed at keeping drivers records, vehicle details and records of bookings made. The system goes beyond maintenance management to offer optional features such as fuel logging, personnel records, route logging and inventory tracking. The system enables you to establish a pre-emptive approach to fleet maintenance management. It helps you prevent costly, unexpected break-fix scenarios and downtime due to neglected fleet vehicles and equipment. It serves as a ready resource for fleet maintenance history, fuel usage, and all expenses associated with operating a fleet of motor vehicles and other mechanical assets. It also help significantly ease your reliance on a pen and a paper. The research adopted a questionnaire driven methodology to gather information and follow-up processes. CHAPTER ONE 1.0 Introduction. 1.1 Background information Fleet management is the management of a company’s transportation fleet. It includes commercial motor vehicles such as cars, ships, vans and trucks, as well as rail cars. Fleet (vehicle) management can include a range of functions, such as vehicle financing, vehicle maintenance, vehicle telematics (tracking and diagnostics), driver management, speed management, fuel management and health and safety management. It is a function which allows companies which to rely on transportation in business to remove or minimize the risks associated with vehicle investment, improving efficiency, productivity and reducing their overall transportation and staff costs, providing 100% compliance with government legislation (duty of care) and many more. These functions can be dealt with by either an in-house fleet-management department or an outsourced fleet-management provider. According to market research from the independent analyst firm Berg Insight, the number of fleet management units deployed in commercial fleets in Europe will grow from 1.5 million units in 2009 to 4 million in 2014. Even though the overall penetration level is just a few percent, some segments such as road transport will attain adoption rates above 30 percent (Maduro M, 2010). Fleet management system enables people to accomplish a series of specific tasks in the management of any or all aspects relating to a company’s fleet of vehicles. These specific tasks encompass all operations from vehicle acquisition to disposal. Software, depending on its capabilities, allows functions such as driver and vehicle profiling, trip profiling, dispatch, vehicle efficiency, etc. It can provide remote control features, such as Geo-fencing and active disabling. Current vehicle diagnostic information can also be related to a management site, depending on the type of hardware installed in the vehicles. New platform, based on Fleet management software, is fleet controlling with higher amount of information available for both drivers and dispatchers of a fleet. At this time (2012) online software platforms are very popular: users no longer have to install software and they can access the software through a web browser  (Lakhani, K. R., & Von Hippel, E, 2003). 1.2 PROBLEM STATEMENT: Kenyan Government departments face a common challenge of controlling their fleet assigned to them to carry out various functions in the ministries. Vehicles record management is done manually and there is a need to computerize the whole process of assigning a vehicle to a driver, its maintenance and its daily operation. The project will be an online system which will take care of all the vehicles operations and maintenance and also provide security so that only the authorized users will be able to access the data. The system is aimed at improving or rather eliminating all these problems that are encountered during the operations of fleet management. 1.3 THE OBJECTIVES OF FLEET MANAGEMENT SYSTEM The objectives of the system will include: To enable accurate and complete data that will be stored in the database about all the government vehicles. To help keeping records of every vehicle i.e. The designated driver of every vehicle. The mechanics Fuelling and mileage Insurance cover To enable in keeping the drivers details i.e. Valid license number. Valid National ID number. Painting of the vehicle Changing of break fluids. Changing tires. To determine whether the vehicle is taking the government at a profit or loss. 1.4 SCOPE OF THE PROJECT The focus of this proposal is to analyse the how a fleet of vehicles have been managed in various government departments and how the current situation is in vehicles management in terms of their job allocation and general maintenance. There has been great controversy about the use of an online  management system. This study therefore wishes to analyse the effectiveness of the Online Fleet Management System. 1.5 PROPOSED SOLUTION Due to the advancement in technology the researcher will develop a computerized system that will be implemented to overcome the old system which the government have been using. 1.6 PROBLEM JUSTIFICATION Fleet Management System will be very appropriate when it comes to management of a fleet of vehicles government. It will help reduce misuse of vehicles and it will more accountability to the drivers and officials assigned to those vehicles. A report about each vehicle will be generated to rate the performance of the drivers and the vehicle itself. Security is also paramount. The system ought to have a controlled access so that no unauthorised persons is allowed to manipulate the data that is in the system. 1.7 CONSTRAINTS OF THE PROJECT Time constraints- time is a limiting factor in the study due the fact that lecturers are on. Limited funds- Finances to carry out an in-depth study are not available to me since am depending on somebody. Shortage of material related to the study- the sample is limited to government departments only. Longitudinal effects: unlike most professors who can take several years researching on a single research problem, the time available to investigate a research problem and to measure change or stability within a sample is constrained by the due date of my assignment making it difficult to carry a proper feasibility study. Lack of prior research on the topic: the fleet management system topic has not been thoroughly researched on making it difficult to find existing work. 1.8 SOLUTION STRATEGY Development of an Online Fleet Management System will find a solution to the problems associated in vehicle fleet management. The system will be developed using PHP, HTML, CSS and java script at the front end and MySQL at the backend. 1.9 WHY THE CHOICE The Kenyan government institutions have been facing so many challenges when  it comes to management of its fleet of vehicles. I considered this system to be appropriate to solving the existing challenges in effectively monitoring the vehicles. CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Vehicle Fleet Manager 3.0 Fleet management system works more the same as Vehicle Fleet Manager 3.0 which has been developed by vinisoft through enabling you to record, manage and consult all information concerning your vehicle fleet quickly and efficiently. It is designed not just for large transport firms, but service companies and businesses, too. Whether you have a fleet of 3 or 1000 vehicles to look after, we have the solution to meet your expectations. In terms of functionality, fleet manager 3.0 works more less the same as Fleet Management System. It does the following: It tracks and manages the drivers information Get notified when insurance has expired. Creates group of vehicles. Monitors the petrol consumption Keep a record of the vehicles’ details. However, Vehicle Fleet Management 3.0 does not have a module to cater for the bookings of the vehicles made in different organisation departments. (Kanuka, 2003; Schwegler, 2000; Taylor, 2006) 2.2 Intelligent Fleet Management System This is a system that was developed to control the vehicles in a city. The routing plan of a delivery fleet is usually developed a priori and provides an optimal way of serving customers by taking into account certain constraints, such as delivery time windows. However, such plans may not cope adequately with the dynamics of a city logistics environment, in which unexpected events (e.g. traffic congestions) often occur during delivery execution. We present the development and evaluation of a real-time fleet  management system that handles such unforeseen events. The system monitors the delivery vehicles in real time, detects deviations from the initial distribution plan, and adjusts the schedule accordingly by suggesting effective rerouting strategies. The system has been tested in simulation environment and in real-life cases and the results show that delivery performance is enhanced significantly and customer satisfaction is improved. Gaps in the system: Unlike Online Fleet Management System, the Intelligent Management system, the system does not capture the details of the driver and also the bookings made to deliver commodities and staff members within the city. Online Management System will capture all this data and it will a far much better system as compared to the Intelligent Fleet Management System. 2.3 Fleet Management in defence The United Kingdom Government developed a system managed its army fleet. However, in the long, the government realized that the system had its own shortcomings. Due to these fact these drivers, in the UK the concept of Whole Fleet Management (WFM) was devised as a way of meeting all operational and training commitments with a reduced fleet and reduced equipment. It was proposed that the practice of issuing units and formations with their full establishment of vehicles would cease and instead, units would hold a reduced fleet of vehicles sufficient only for low level collective training. The plan was that their holdings would be augmented from a central pool for higher level training and operations. This process has the potential to improve availability, reduce maintenance costs and allocate diminished resources at the right time, in the right place and in the correct configuration. The operational benefits and efficiency of the WFM concept are such that the UK MOD proposes to extend it to all ground based equipment and vehicles across Defence. As such, the benefits are that there will be a reduction in the number of vehicles procured, which will result in a smaller Total Fleet Requirement (TFR). Quite simply, without WFM the UK MOD will not be able to meet future operational and training requirements. The Management Information System Requirement FM within expeditionary warfare, invariably demands short planning times, so to plan for future operations Commanders need precise and timely information on units, formations and fleets, including: Equipment location. What the state of repair of each asset is. How each piece of equipment configured. When each piece of equipment will be ready for use. Research Gaps: Poor visibility of: Land equipment configuration, locations, ownership, usage, maintenance, reliability and availability; Inefficient maintenance techniques and procedures, which did not implement Reliability-centred Maintenance (RCM) well and involved little data analysis. Few effective logistic support partnerships with Industry. 2.4 Sierra Wireless Fleet Management System Sierra Wireless defines Fleet Management Solutions (FMS) as a system designed for commercial or private vehicles, trailers or similar vehicles that incorporates data logging, satellite positioning and data communication to a back-office application. Within this definition we note the following areas of Fleet Management Solutions: Fleet management (trucking, local delivery, service fleets, utility companies, taxis, rental vehicles, public transit, school buses, emergency service vehicles, heavy equipment, etc.) Container/Trailer tracking User based insurance (Pay as you drive) Stolen Vehicle Recovery / Tracking Track and Trace Driver Behaviour Metrics Fleet Management systems allow companies that rely on transportation in their business to remove or minimize the risks associated with vehicle investment, improving efficiency, productivity and reducing their overall transportation costs. Fleet management can include vehicle financing, vehicle maintenance, vehicle telematics (tracking and diagnostics), driver management, fuel management and health and safety management. Advanced fleet management systems can easily connect to the vehicle’s on-board computer, and gather data for the user. Data collected can vary and can include details such as mileage, fuel consumption, and much more, which are then gathered into a global statistics scheme. Research Gaps Sierra Wireless Fleet Management System only to keeps log of the track of the vehicles without holding both the vehicles and drivers’ details. CHAPTER 3 SYSTEM MODEL 3.0 Introduction This chapter outline the online fleet management system model .It covers the following areas: implementation of the system, system analysis, project design DFDs, ER diagrams case diagrams, case scenarios and UML diagrams. 3.1 PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION The online fleet management system is to be developed using PHP scripts and MYSQL database. Java scripts will be used to validate the data captured from the interface as it is a client side scripting language. The system will be on windows platform but once hosted on a server, it can be accessed by anyone using any platform. 3.1 SYSTEM ANALSYSIS The task of system analysis is to establish in detail the proposed system requirements i.e. functional and Non-functional. It aims in understanding the input and output of a system and processing steps necessary to perform inputs into outputs. What interface will be provided for the users to interact with the system, based on the skills and computer proficiency of the intended users and what control measures will be undertaken in the system. 3.1.1 SYSTEM REQUIREMENT Hardware Requirements The online fleet management system should be hosted on a server which has Intel duo core processor of speed 3GHz and above, Ram of 2 GB, Hard disk of 160 GB and above. Functional Requirement These are statements of services the system should provide, how the system should react to particular inputs and how the system should behave in particular situations. The following are modules which aid in implementing  the system functional requirement: i) Security module This module performs login, logout from the system and privileges allocation depending on the type of user who is accessing the system. ii) Vehicle Registration This module captures the details of all the vehicles that are owned by government departments and institutions. iii) Driver Registration This module captures the details of the drivers that are assigned vehicles at department level. iv) Booking Vehicles This module captures the details of the vehicle bookings made by the different people. v) Duties assignment of vehicles. This module holds the assignment for all the vehicles available at department level. Non-Functional Requirement These relates to the behaviour of the system in its operation environment. The system should be safe and secure where it should operate without catastrophic failure and protect itself against accidental and intrusion. It should be reliable and available thus delivering services as specified and when requested for. 3.2 SYSTEM DESIGN Based on the nature of the project I chose the waterfall development model for software engineering. This model will be used to build the Online Voters Registration System. Its paradigm is as shown below.

Resource Based View Essay

The mid-eighties witnessed the emergence of a growing body of work collectively labelled the resource and capability-based view of the firm (RBV). In reality, Resource Competence View (RCV) first adopted an â€Å"economic† orientation. Pioneer studies (Wernerfelt, 1984) , Barney, 1986, 1991, Dierickx and Cool, 1989, Peteraf, 1993) focused on the type of resources and competencies that could offer to its owner a sustainable competitive advantage. Therefore, resources and competencies approach first appeared as a theory of competitive advantage or a theory of â€Å"performance of the firm† (Argyres & Zenger, 2007). It is only recently, in the last 20 years that organizations have started using the resource based view approach on strategy. Nowadays, they view it as the most important key development in international business research and strategic management, an approach that gives a coherent vision based on a firm’s capabilities to help determine the strategic reso urces necessary for the firm’s survival and growth within a particular market place. As Hitt et al (2001) stated, â€Å"the resource based model assumes that each organization is a collection of unique resources and capabilities that provides the basis for its strategy and that is the primary source of return.†. It suggests that in order for a firm to sustain competitive advantage, it must not only have resources and capabilities but also have a firm control over it and they must meet certain basic criteria such as being: valuable, rare, inimitable and non substitutable such that it is impossible to be copied or replicated (VRIN). Although a resource based view strategy sounds like the better way to go, others have wondered if this approach is at all necessary or bring any more insight than the traditional understandings into a successful strategy to survive and thrive into a competitive market, strategy that will allow the firm to have a good competitive advantage. In this review, we aim to elucidate the concepts behind the resource based view strategy and its use by managers. Furthermore, we aim to elaborate on its advantages but also disadvantages moving on to a critical analysis of this emerging approach to strategy and competitive advantage from the point of view of well known authors such as M. Porter (1980,1985) who believes that external factors mainly contribute to a firm’s competitive advantage and Jay Barney (1991)  who criticizes the narrow approach of a resource based view on competitive advantage, mainly the homogeneity it gives to firms resources. RESOURCE BASED VIEW : A CRITIQUE The RBV has emerged after the industrial work of Michael Porter and Rick Perry , who stated that companies must achieve a competitive advantage based on external factors. In fact, the RBV suggests that differences in profitability between firms in the same sector are much more important than inter sector profitability differences which was its founding idea. The resource-based view (RBV) has become one of the most influential and cited theories in the history of management theorizing. It aspires to explain the internal sources of a firm’s sustained competitive advantage (SCA). Its central proposition is that if a firm is to achieve a state of SCA, it must acquire and control valuable, rare, inimitable, and non substitutable (VRIN) resources and capabilities, plus have the organization (O) in a place that can absorb and apply them (Barney, 1991a, 1994, 2002). This proposition is shared by several related analyses: core competences (Hamel & Prahalad, 1994), dynamic capabilities (Helfat & Peteraf, 2003; Teece, Pisano, & Shuen, 1997), and the knowledge-based view (Grant, 1996b). Given its elegant simplicity and its immediate face validity, the RBV’s core message is appealing, easily grasped, and easily taught. 1 FUNCTIONAL ASPECTS OF THE RESOURCE BASED VIEW :Models based on resources and skills, Resource Based View and Competence Based View The resources and competences are expressed through certain knowledge (know-how , know-machine ,distribute knowledge) Resources are defines as assets owned or controlled permanently by the firm to develop and implement its strategy. There are six types: Financial Resources : CAF, debt ratio, volume TR ; Human Resources : number of employees, qualification, experience,intelligence ; Physical resources : production sites and their geographical location, land,stocks ; Organizational Resources : information systems, ISO standards,  procedures,coordination mechanisms ; Technological resources : know-how, patents ; Reputational Resources : brand, reputation ; The approach based on the resources considers that the company more than the industry, constitutes the relevant level of analysis to explain the performance (Barney, 1991; Rumelt, 1984; Wernerfelt, 1984). The organization is rehabilitated as an actor ; the firms are able to accumulate resources and competences which are transformed into advantage on the competitors if they are rare, creative of value, non-substitutable and difficult to imitate (Barney, 1991; Dierickx and Cool, 1989) see figure 1. 5 tests to assess the strategic value of competencies: Figure 1. Barney J.B. (1991), Firm resources and sustained competitive advantage, Journal of Management, vol. 17, pp.99-120 The firm is not designed any more like a wallet of products or markets, but like a wallet of resources. It is not the customer requirements who determines the strategy, but the resources and competencies which the company possess : the competing advantage is to be sought in-house (See Table 1). Competencies indicate the organizational capacity to deploy the resources in the form of combination to achieve a goal, which implies the idea of a training by combining several resources. 2 A CRITIQUE OF THE RESOURCE BASED VIEW APPROACH The Resource based view approach has been subject to several critiques ,some of which suggest that it is a very limited model , very hard to apply and its variables cannot be clarified. All of these critiques could be faced with more explanations of the (RBV)’s variables,boundaries,and applicability. On the other hand, some critiques are threatening the (RBV) model, these critiques are concerned with the limitations of the defining two concepts of the (RBV) model which are : resources and value which entail some problems and affecting the explanations of a firm’s competitive advantage. These critiques could be categorized as follow : Studies argue that (VRIN) criteria is not essential to the understanding of SCA as (Kraaijenbrink et al) (2010) mention (Foss and Knudsin) (2003) arguing that it’s mainly uncertainty is one of the basics to achieve SCA , Furthermore, stating that other conditions simply additional . These comments suggest ‘ fundamental disagreement about the nature of markets , individuals , and resources and the roles these play in generating SCA (Kraaijenbrink et al, 2010). Individual’s, entrepreneurs, and manager’s judgement and models are not sufficiently recognized by the (RBV) to the critique which argues that the (RBV) limits the entrepreneurial and managerial skills. This critique outlines the importance of a firm’s environment whilst arguing that (RBV) is mostly focused inward and dismisses the external environment which is important for assessing the main strength and weaknesses of an organization , which essentially leads to achieving competitive advantage ; it also leads to the issue of value creation , and environmental assessment , internally and externally , are essential to value creation and strategic positioning. Connor (2002) argues that the (RBV) is limited to large firms (with significant market power) , furthermore, SME’s cannot be sometimes assessed by their resources when it comes to SCA resulting in their fallout of the (RBV) . Finally , adding that (RBV) applicability can , in most cases, relate to firms pursuing SCA. 1 PORTER’S FIVE FORCES (P5F) AND RBV On one hand, the RBV model supports the idea that a firm can sustain competitive advantage by having highly superior resources and these  resources are represented in the VRIN criteria . In other words, sustaining a competitive advantage depends on the ability to integrate a group of extreme resources to provide the firm with its leading position . According to Barney (1991,1994,2002) â€Å"RBV central proposition is that a firm is to achieve a state of SCA , it must acquire and control valuable, rare, inimitable,and non-substitutable (VRIN) resources and capabilities , plus have the organization (O) in place that can absorb and apply them† , which would lead the firm to earn a massive surplus. On the other hand, Micheal Porter believes that for a firm to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage it has to focus on its external environments, have a strategic positioning in its industry or intended industry and this strategic positioning is guided by five industry-level for ces namely; Entry barriers, Buyers bargaining power, Suppliers bargaining power, Threats of substitutes and Rivalry among existing industry. He specifies that finding a strategic fit within an industry gives a firm an edge over its rivals and can lead to a sustainable competitive advantage. A company can outperform rivals only if it can establish a difference that it can preserve (Porter, 2000) and how can you establish this difference? By deliberately choosing a different set of activities to deliver a unique mix of value e.g. Southwest Airlines, IKEA. However, It is clearly noticed that one of the big differences between both models (Resource based view and Porter’s five forces) is that they differ in the approach used. The RBV focus only on the firm’s resources but the P5F model is based on the industry itself. Another similarity between both views are the description of resources in the RBV that it’s inimitable matching the concept of threat of new entrants in P5F . Also the threat of substitute in the P5F model sounds similar to the attributive of resources that it is non-substitutable in the RBV. Both models put the concept of earning superior profits as an objective of any firm, similarly both agree that the way to achieve that surplus is by sustaining competitive advantage , but when it comes to how to sustain this competitive advantage they differ ; P5F SCA by gaining a high profit on the long-term , contrarily the RBV considers SCA by preventing rivals or competitors to acquire the same advantage . At some point, both RBV and P5F may look contradictory , in reality both complement each other when integrated . 2 JAY BARNEY AND RBV According to Barney,Mcwilliams & Turk (1989) it is stated that a sustained competitive advantage has been defined as to be an advantage obtained as a result of a firm’s strategy not being implemented by other firms as well but that cannot be replicated but point out the fact that it does not refer to â€Å"how long† that advantage is in fact sustained. Porter (1985) and Rumelt (1984) said that the basis for sustaining a competitive advantage in the market is to understand its sources. Porter mostly believes that focusing solely on external factors (opportunities, threats of new intrants,etc†¦) gives a firm better chances of reaching a sustained competitive advantage. For Barney (1991), the basis to sustaining a competitve advantage is by formulating a strategy that is based on internal strenghts but acquired through responding to external factors such that there is synergy between internal and external factors and thus heterogeinity and immobility to the firmâ€⠄¢s resources (Barney & Hoskisson, 1989). He argues that a firm simply cannot rely on the even distribution of its resources (same strategic capabilities, human and organizational capital (Barney,1991)) throughout the organization (focus that gives homogeinity and mobility of resources) to achieve a sustained competitive advantage as any other firm with the same resources can have the same competitive advantage in the market. Also, efficiency and effectiveness can be improved to the same extend and therefore the competitive advantage cannot be described as â€Å"sustained† (Barney,1991). However, it can be argued that an homogenous and mobile set of resources can also lead a sustained competitive advantage on a â€Å"first come, first served† basis where the firm that has access to distribution channels, develop good will customers and a positive reputation first gains a sustained competitive advantage as they would have established themselves before other firms had a chance to do so. Barney (1986) also highlights the concept of â€Å"Strategic Factor Market.† He explained that according to the strategy, strategic factor market in which the company must draw differ. For example, for an innovation strategy, the factor to consider may be the competence in research and development. He added that if the strategic factor market is not perfect, it will not be possible for a firm to extract superior economic performance. Barney is therefore concerned with allowing  the firm to distinguish themselves from others, and it sets up the theory of competitive advantage â€Å"sustainable†. This type of benefit resulting resources respecting the criterion called â€Å"VRIN† (resources must be: valuable, rare, difficult to imitate and imperfectly substitutable to provide the firm a sustainable competitive advantage). 3 ISSUES FOR PRACTICING MANAGERS IN ADOPTING THE RBV APPROACH Having looked at the critique of the RBV one can undoubtedly say that practicing managers may encounter some issues in adopting this approach. The RBV is a very complex approach. Thus to attain or maintain a competitive advantage managers must often and extensively simplify (Russo & Schoemake, 1989). Managers are often faced with the challenges of identifying, developing, protecting and deploying of firm’s resources and capabilities such that they can gain a sustainable competitive advantage over rivals. What are the criteria for identifying? Often times they ask what resources or capabilities do we have that rivals do not have or cannot immediately imitate and how can we achieve a sustainable competitive advantage with it. They run the risk of retaliation from rival firms which can render their competitive advantage static or useless as it is sometimes impossible for them to know the level or worth of their rivals resources or capabilities. What capabilities to develop, what resources to deploy are issues which can result to intra organizational conflicts among various departments in the firm. In adopting the RBV approach managers are likely to face a considerable uncertainty and ambiguity arising from shifts in buyers’ preference or taste, social values, economic and political trends, recent/ upcoming technologies, rivalry in the industry (competitive actions) etc†¦ (strategic management Journal Vol 14,1993). CONCLUSION REFERENCES Barney, J.B. 1991. Firm resources and sustained competitive advantage, journal of management 17:99-120. Barney, J.B. McWilliams,A. , Turk,T. 1989. On the relevance of the concept of entry barriers in the theory of competitive strategy. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the strategic managemt society, San Francisco. Lieberman,M.B, & Montgomery, D.B. 1998. First mover advantages, Strategic management journal, 9:41-58. Porter,M. 1980. Competitive strategy. New York. Free Press. Porter, M. 1985. Competitive advantage. New York. Free Press. Porter,M. 2000. What is Strategy? Harvard Business Review. Rumelt,R. 1984. Towards a strategic theory of the firm. In R. Lamb (Ed.), Competitive strategic management: 556-570. Englewoods Cliffs, NJ : Prentice-Hall. Wernerfelt, B. 1984. A resource based view of the firm. Strategic management Journal. 5:171-180.

Critical analysis and implications of the practice resulting from the Essay

Critical analysis and implications of the practice resulting from the exploration of the patient journey - Essay Example The terminology, â€Å"terminal illness† that emerged and spread in the mid 20th century refers to a condition that cannot sufficiently be treated and is thus expected to end in death after a given period. Among the conditions commonly considered terminal are progressive ones such as advanced trauma-related heart diseases and cancers (Winslow et al., 2005). Terminal diseases are thus conditions that finally end the sufferers’ lives. There are several stages of terminal illnesses that medical professionals should be familiar with. The fact that different patients and their families react differently to news about these stages implies that nurses and other medical professionals should know how to handle and communicate news about each of these stages. The first stage of a terminal illness is the disbelief phase during which most people are shocked and despaired at news about terminal illness. This phase is sometimes marked by feeling of guilt as one suspects he/she has do ne something wrong to deserve such an illness. The disbelief stage is followed by the stage of depression, which range from mild to moderate in intensity, calling for immediate family and professional support (medical therapy). Since there is no cure for terminal illnesses, only certain types of medical treatments such as treatment to ease breathing or reduce pain could be appropriate. While some incurably ill people accept aggressive treatments to reduce their suffering or in the hope of full recovery, others reject all unbearable treatments that might result in unwanted side effects and worsened condition (Abma et al., 2005). Still. Some opt to undergo untried treatments including radical dietary modifications in the hope that they could prove effective. To help manage pain, suffering, symptoms and to improve general patient life and wellbeing regardless of the management approach used, palliative care is often recommended. To provide the much needed emotional and spiritual suppor t for terminal illness patients and their families, hospice care is highly recommended. Further, supplementary care such as relaxation therapy, massage, and acupuncture are used to manage signs, symptoms and other causes of distress and pain. Analysis of â€Å"Patient Journey† An analysis of the ‘Patient Journey’ reveals several challenges that terminally ill patients encounter throughout the rest of their lives. Easily identified in the analysed case of the terminally ill John is the challenge of frequent admissions into health facilities. Accompanying these frequent admission are numerous treatments and therapies such as blood transfusion, which make the patient‘s life more painful and unbearable. In spite of these therapies and treatments, John’s condition continues to deteriorate, rendering him unconscious and unable to make decisions on his own about his health care. John’s family makes the situation worse since they respond to all questi ons directed at John. This scenario implies that the nurses could not engage the patient directly with questions regarding his health care (Abma et al., 2005). In fact, the patient’s family intervenes whenever the nurses wanted to relieve his pain by administering painkillers. Further, it is the family’s voice and opinion that was heard over John’

Advertising compan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Advertising compan - Essay Example The targeted gross sales and other numerical goals are listed in graphs throughout the plan, as well as at the end. This plan has been created on the basis of secondary market research utilizing search engines and existing literature on the topic. All figures in the plan are listed in terms of 100,000 U.S. dollars.The following graph depicts projected sales for the years 2008 through 2011. As one can see, the sales goals increase slightly with each additional year that passes. The company strives to maintain continued growth and enter the next phase of the organizational life cycle.Just to Advertise's main objective is to make a fair profit in the advertising industry. This goal is to be reached by attaining the numbers that are reflected in the above chart and in the Financial Plan section. Their secondary objective is to continue to increase profits year after year. They shall achieve this goal through meeting or exceeding their targeted sales forecast.Just to Advertise strives to offer its customers high-quality and cost effective advertising services whenever and wherever they need it. The main clients of Just to Advertise are hotels and bed and breakfasts. The company, however, also services a wide array of small and medium sized businesses throughout the United Kingdom. Currently, the company serves the United Kingdom only and is seeking to branch its services into France. They plan to start serving the French market by appealing their services to hotels and bed and breakfasts that are located in France. Then, they will begin to branch out into servicing other types of small and medium sized businesses. Keys to Success Just to Advertise focuses on two keys to success. The first is Internal Factors, and the second is External Factors. They are both explained in more detail in the subsequent sections. The company believes that these two keys to success must both be present and fully operational in order for them to perform at their maximum level at any given time. Internal Factors Basic internal factors lead the company to believe that it controls its own success. These are: 1. Marketing and Selling Power. The company makes its services attractive in order to attract the widest mix of customers. This approach has proven to be successful for the company's competitors and for the company's United Kingdom operations over the past year. The company plans to continue this practice in the new French market. 2. Overall Excellence in Meeting Promises. Clients purchase benefits rather than features. Both a claim and proof must be presented in order to realize a benefit. This company strives to succeed on every claim. Furthermore, the company believes that failure to do so is severely detrimental to the business. Company management respects the idea that every dissatisfied customer will not only fail to do repeat business with the company, but will also go off and tell a large number of individuals about the poor service that they received from the company. Just to Advertise believes that the customer is always right and that the customer comes first. 3. Generating New Business Leads in Order to Develop Visibility. The company obviously believes strongly in advertising, so they make their name well-known utilizing the vast amount of advertising resources that they have available to them. Developing a strong clientele is very important to the company in order to establish a good reputation in the markets in which they provide services. It is also important that the company builds strategic relationships with other companies and government

Macbeth Act 4 Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Macbeth Act 4 - Coursework Example 2. Do you have any sympathy for Macbeth in Act 4, scene 1? We feel sympathy when we learn someone is struggling and suffering, even if they are suffering because of their own sins and faults, in which they sincerely repent. In the case of Macbeth, he is willingly goes to witches; he has seen them before and knows that they are strange, evil and hideous creatures, however he chooses to go to them and, when he comes to their abound, he acts boldly, he commands witches to answer him, even if they will have to call on all the power of hell, and it would mean destruction in nature – he does not care for anything else, he only cares to get his answers. â€Å"Even till destruction sicken, answer me / To what I ask you† (4.1.61-62) 3. Imagine you are directing this scene. How would you: design the set dress Lady Macduff and her son direct the characters to act etc. To maximize the sense of innocence - i.e. the more innocent Lady Macduff and her son seem to the audience, the mor e cruel their murders seem, and the more wicked Macbeth will look. In the castle of Macduff there are usual daily activities that carried out – chores to attend, there are domestic animals, servants. Lady Macduff is in her middle age, tidy, stout woman; she has an apron and a headpiece. She is obviously a head of this household; she speaks gently, yet firmly.

Web Design Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Web Design Report - Essay Example The group’s choice to select Squarespace as the preferred content management system for this project is because it offers a lot of reliable features and template designs that have a friendly user interface. The valuable qualities of using Squarespace as the CMS for designing and developing the final website product outweigh the advantages of using another CMS system like Word Press or Joomla. Detailed descriptions of the benefits are explained below: Most Content Management Systems (CMSs) are created to help individuals who are not interested in not handling the technical part of building a website. The platform of the CMS should offer a simple design user interface for the end user. A system that has technical and hard to understand user interface configuration tend to demoralize an end user from the system. Therefore investing in a rich color background and text or attractive font is worthwhile to keep the admin and other users intrigued. The Squarespace CMS platform made it easier for the admin  customize the website content. The CMS platform also allows other authorized users to update content without having to get training regarding computer coding or technical language knowledge required for system maintenance. The Squarespace CMS platform template used to design the Connecting Syracuse system has a well-developed interface structure that enables easy placement of information on the webpage from the administration’s central interface. The customizable CMS tool utilizes the drag and drop functionality AJX function which enables the end web product system to have a consistent theme on all the web interface pages. This is advantageous since the system developer does not having to write the source code from scratch. These platform tools are good for web design beginners who want build customized front-end interfaces for a website without going into the technical sections. Clearly, using the Squarespace website builder is simpler as

IELD LAW Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

IELD LAW - Essay Example Acemoglu goes on to say that it is important to obtain the right balance between politics and economics, because one inadvertently affects the other (Acemoglu 68). This is where law comes in because laws and policies are mainly made by politicians; these are the same laws that have major effects on the economy and development of a country. As a result of this, it is really important that a right mix be found between politics (law) and economics; this will create new opportunities and freedoms which can be exploited in order to improve economies and by extension the living standards of people living in poor countries (Acemoglu 69). In his book, The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for Our Time, Sachs provides several reasons why some countries fail to achieve economic growth and therefore remain poor and underdeveloped. He goes on to list government failures as one of the reasons for failed economic growth in poor countries, and explains this by stating that governments must pro tect businesses and make it easy for people to do businesses (Sachs 59). This, he says, can be done by taking steps to assure people that it is perfectly safe and conducive to do businesses in a particular country (Sachs 60). My understanding of this is that law is heavily involved since policies have to be enacted and implemented in order for investors to inject their money into a particular economy. As a consequence, I can conclude that Sachs also agrees that law plays a vital role in economic development and should therefore be taken seriously because it is a tool for promoting and enhancing economic development. In his book the Bottom Billion: Why the Poorest Countries are Failing and what can be done about it, Collier (65) argues that â€Å"governance and bad policies help to shape economic performance, but that there is a proportionality in the effects of getting them right or wrong†. Collier is simply saying that bad governance and failure to enact the right economic p olicies can seriously dent a country’s hopes of developing. When governments cannot develop and implement policies that ensure a good environment for doing business, investors will stay away and the country will not be able to attract foreign direct investment (FDI). FDI plays a crucial role in the development of a country, and it is common knowledge that all developed nations attract a lot of FDI, and also go to great lengths to ensure that their countries are investor-friendly. In poor and underdeveloped countries, bad governance and lack of democracy leads to things dictatorships, chaos and instability. These are some of the arch-enemies of development; they greatly inhibit the ability of a country to attract investment, aid and good diplomatic relations and therefore limit its potential for development. In Easterly’s The White Man’s Burden: Why the West’s Efforts to aid the rest have done so much ill and so little good (Easterly 5), Easterly identifie s two groups that have influential roles to play when it comes to aid and the distribution of aid. He names these groups as planners and searchers, and says that planners are those who insist on a continuation of giving out aid and grants that often do not reach their intended targets, while searchers advocate

Experiences of Being Human Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Experiences of Being Human - Essay Example   The poem is written with a mixed emotion of appreciation of friendship (between man and environment) as well as the nostalgia of needing to have an emotional connection. Mora on her work in Legal Alien that appeared in her poetry collection that was published in 1984 entitled Chants spoke how horrible it felt once this human connection is lost by just being different in a society that is oblivious of diversity. Mora is of Mexican descent and holds American citizenship by law yet not entirely part of the society she is in because of her two worlds, being a Mexican as well as an American. This poem exudes raw emotion as it was articulated from the first-person point of view on how Mora felt the emotional alienation when that emotional connection of which Whitman talked about is lost by just being an immigrant. This became obvious in the last few lines of her poem stating; â€Å"Sliding back and forth/between the fringes of both worlds/ by smiling  / by masking the discomfort   / of being pre-judged  /Bi-laterally†. pain was best described by using the characterization of the protagonists of the Vietnam War such as the â€Å"white vet's image /floats closer to me, then his pale eyes look through mine† and a woman â€Å"trying to erase names: [but] No, she's brushing a boy's hair† making it poignantly painful to recall. The Martian Sends a Postcard Home, on the other hand, combined the familiar and the bizarre as the familiar was seen from an alien’s point of view. Here, Craig Raine highlighted the eccentricity of human experience by the characterization of a martian of which it narrates the similarity and difference between an alien and human being and in a way a commentary or critique of how human beings treat human experience. The Model T has used a symbol (the early version of cars made by Ford) that it differs because it is locked from the inside and that there is â€Å"a film to watch for anything missed†. This pass age may have been written casually but this line is actually loaded with meaning. It is the human experience gone by as it is looked on the film (which is really the rear mirror)† and we are mindless of it because â€Å"time is tied to the wrist or kept in a box† which made us all regretful and as he Raine tells â€Å"No one is exempt and everyone's pain has a different smell†. Perhaps one of the best media of how human beings expressed their deeply seated emotion is through poems. The authors Whitman, Mora, Komunyakaa, and Raine may have represented the varying human emotion that ranged from the â€Å"joyous leaves†, alienation, pain in recalling and indifference or regret and may have used different symbolisms such as the trees, Vietnam Memorial, Model T car or a legal status but all of them converged in their intent to articulate and explore human emotions.  

Labor Relations and Collective Bargaining Essay Example for Free

Labor Relations and Collective Bargaining Essay Are 2-tier wage systems fair and justified?† Provide supporting data to justify your response. The two tier wage system is usually established by management and sometimes in agreement with a union for three main reasons. The first reason being that the employer wants to pay senior, experienced and productive worker more without increasing overall wage cost. The second reason for the implementation of this system is so that the employer can establish a merit wage scheme that compensates employees without increasing overall costs. The last reason could be that the employer wants to reduce overall cost by hiring new employees at a lower wage than incumbent workers. Unions usually agree to this type of wage system as a tactic that would allow employer to hire future employees at lower wages than senior workers, so as to reduce cost to employers and prevent future layoffs and wage cuts. Unions realize that preserving the jobs, wages and benefits of active union members is first priority. The two tier wage system may be considered fair and justified as in the recession of recent times. This system can be implemented as a strategy to resist the need to lay off workers, and reduce the wages of current workers. Unless there is a recession, the two-tier system is unfair and unjust. During non-recession economic times, employers, especially those in the private sector, may use this system as a way of minimizing cost and maximizing profits, which is unfair to workers. Each worker should be viewed as equal and should be rewarded equally. The two-tier wage system may be viewed as discriminatory, and denies employees the opportunity to thrive and get ahead. Employees who perform the same work should be paid the same the amount. This is the main reason for the labor movement and the reason why people join union. Employees who are being paid more will be constantly in fear of losing their job and be in fear of being replaced by lower-tier employees which will therefore reduce overall morale. Employees who are paid less to do the same work will be in conflict with those who are paid more and this may lead to lower productivity from these workers. In the case that there is a recession it would be beneficial to current employees to agree to a two-tier wage system, so as to preserve their jobs and benefits. The seasoned employee would not have to worry about being paid at the lower level as only new employees are affected. The system should be reversible and should be reversed, once the employer has become profitable again. It would be unfair to keep this system around if the company can afford to revert to the previous system. The United Auto Workers and GM, Ford and Chrysler in 2007, agreed to a two tier wage system, with new employees being paid the lower tier. The CEO of Ford believed that this change in the wage system was necessary to retain jobs. In 2010 under the new wage system Ford hired 1,200 new employees, rather than laying-off workers and closing plants. Two tier wages system can be as strategy for maintaining job security and benefits for current workers during difficult times but should be reversible once the company is again profitable.

Solving The Problem How To Produce Economics Essay

Solving The Problem How To Produce Economics Essay Introduction Economic is the study of how people satisfy their material needs and wants with the available resources. The primary focuses of economics are distinguished between needs wants, fundamental economic problems. Needs means something we have to have, ex foods, water, clothes. Wants are something we like to have. To produce these things society will face various problems. What to produce, how much to produce, how to produce, for whom to produce, when to produce. Basic economic problems are simply because wants are unlimited resources are limited. Resources can be mainly divided into two, natural economic. So we have to make choices to select wants needs. Its means unlimited wants limited resources force us to make choices. Evaluation of the total (life cycle) costs of alternative solutions to the problem of meeting the requirements of a particular client and choice of the best solution. ANSWERS Q1 Q1.1.Market Economy An economic system in which economic decisions and the pricing of goods and services  are guided solely by the aggregate interactions of a countrys citizens and businesses and there is little government intervention or central planning. This is the opposite of a centrally planned economy,  in which  government decisions  drive most aspects of a countrys economic activity.   The main co- coordinating device is the price decided in the market place through the interaction between demand and supply. Hence this also called free market system because the price is the main device that solves all basic economic problems. This is called price system. It is said that in a market economy, there is an invisible hand operating due to (a) economy is operated by the price system, (b) buyers and sellers respond to price system and accordingly both parties get coordinated, (c) basic economic problems are solved using the price system. In a market economy the basic economic problems are solved and resources are allocated in the following manner. Solving the problem what to produce in which quantity In a market economy this problem is addressed by the private sector entrepreneurs through the decisions made by them. Since they always have the profit motive the commodity and factor prices are considered in decision making. Consumers will create demand in the market by revealing their choice by purchasing goods. Suppliers create the supply force having considered the commodity price, cost and profit. Accordingly they will allocate more resources to produce more of goods with higher profits. Solving the problem how to produce This problem is concerned with the selection of production method by referring to the factor market. Since the private sector is concerned with profits they will select the most cost effective production method. Hence the factor with the lowest price will be applied more in the production in order to minimize the production cost. Solving the problem whom to produce This problem stresses how the economys total output gets distributed among people. This is decided by the distribution of income among people. Income distribution is determined by 2 factors which are (a) how much of factors are owned by the household units, (b) the price of such factors. In the market economies individuals can own resources without being subjected to any limitations. The resource ownership is decided by factors such as merits, skills, inheritance and entrepreneurship. Factor price is decided by the demand and supply of the factors. Therefore this problem is solved by the operation of the factor market. Command economy In command or planned economies, questions on resource allocation are decided by a central authority often the government or a state controlled council. However since centralized decisions require plans set in advance for the desired outcome, these economies are called centrally planned economies. In these economies, economic activities such as what to produce and how much to produce take place as per the commands of the central planners. E.g.: Cuba, North Korea In command economies the basic economic problems are solved and resource allocation is done based on a preset plan. This plan is a descriptive statement that illustrates resources, operation of production activities, and distribution of income among households etc. with a view of achieving a set of selected objectives. Solving the problem what to produce in which quantity It is the central planning authority that decides the resource allocation between consumer and investment goods. Solving the problem of how to produce It is the central planning authority that decides the production method and they set the plan to match inputs. Solving the problem for whom to produce This is concerned with the distribution of income among household units. The only factor that is owned by households is labour. The only means of income available to the household units is salaries and wages. A disparity in income distribution arises to a certain extent due to the differences in quality of labour. Further the quantity of goods and services the households get does not depend solely on their income because government also supplies goods and services at subsidized prices or free of charge. Q.1.2. (a) Market equilibrium price : Rs.51 (b) Market equilibrium quantity : 490 units Q.1.3. Effect of taxes The government imposes taxes on production or sale of commodities which are called indirect taxes. The indirect tax can be either a unit tax or an advoleram tax. If the government imposes an indirect tax on a commodity, it will shift the supply curve leftward by the amount of tax (i.e: if it is a unit tax, the supply curve will shift leftward by the amount of unit tax as supplier is supposed to pay the tax to the government). The effect of taxation will be that it increases the net cost of supplying a particular commodity. Therefore every quantity will be supplied at a higher price than earlier or in other words the quantity supplied at each price will be lesser than earlier. Figure 2 depicts the incidence of an indirect tax. Price S2 S1 C A C P2 B E P1 Qty D P0 0 Q2 Q1 Incidence of tax on the buyers Figure 2 Incidence of a tax on the sellers The division of the tax burden between the buyers and sellers depends on the elasticity of supply and demand. Given the demand conditions, the greater the elasticity of supply, and the greater the incidence of tax resting on the buyers of a commodity. On the other hand the greater the elasticity of demand, and greater the incidence of tax resting on the sellers of a commodity. Figure 2 represents the case of a commodity with relatively elastic supply. When the tax levied on this commodity, the supply curve shifts leftward from S1 to S2, the prices rise from P1 to P2 and the equilibrium quantity reduces from Q1 to Q2. P2 to P0 represents the unit tax. The price increase from P1 to P2 will be the incidence of tax on the buyers. P1 to P0 represents the burden of taxation (per unit) on the sellers. It should be noticed that in this case of elastic supply curve, the incidence of tax on the buyers is greater than that on the sellers. Imposing a tax on commodity typically increase the price paid by the demanders and decrease the price received by the suppliers. This certainly represents a cost to demanders and suppliers, but from the real cost of the tax is the output that has been reduced. The lost output is the social cost of tax. As per Figure 2, the concepts of consumer and producer surplus can be used to value the social cost of tax. The loss in consumers surplus is given by areas C+A and areas E+B represent the loss in producer surplus. Thus the total loss to the consumers and producers of the commodity is the areas C+A+E+B from which C+E is gained by the government as the tax revenue. The rest of the area A+B is known as the Dead Weight Loss of the tax or the excess burden of the tax. Basically, it is the lost value to the consumers and producers due to the reduction in sales of the commodity. Therefore the government does not get any revenue on the reduction in sales of the commodity. From the view point of society, it is a pure loss dead weight loss. Effect of Subsidies Subsidies on production will shift the supply curve to the right until the vertical distance between the two supply curves is equal to the per unit subsidy. When other factors remain constant, this will decrease the price paid by the consumers and increase the price received by the producers. A subsidy will reduce the net cost of supplying a commodity. Therefore every quantity will be supplied at a lower price than earlier or in other words the quantity supplied at each price will be higher than earlier. Figure 3 depicts the effect of subsidies. Figure 3 (b) FV= $100000 r = 12% n = 5 PV= ? PV = FV (1+r)-n = 100000(1+0.12)-5 = $56742.69 (c)FVA= Rs. 500000 n= 15 r= 7% PMT =? ] *Payment 500000= [(1+0.07)15-1)/ 0.07]* Payment Payment = Rs.19897.31 per annum Q2 Q2.1 Imagine that the monopolist produced one more unit than Qm. The consumer surplus from that unit would be the difference between the demand curve and the price for that unit. Now imagine that the monopolist produced all of the additional units it would take to make the efficient quantity. The area of the blue triangle represents the additional surplus that consumers would get if the market were efficient. In other words, the area of the triangle is the loss in consumer surplus that results from the monopolists under-production. It is the true dead weight loss to the society. Therefore it is evident that monopoly is not good from the view point of the society as a whole. A monopoly will be appropriate in a situation where there is a limited supply of a particular commodity which can be considered as a necessity good where it is required to be offered to the public at a reasonable price. In such situations the government will establish a monopoly. This will ensure that the particular product or service meets the required standards. E.g. Railway in Sri Lanka Q.2.3. (a) Labour per day Output per day Marginal Product Variable cost Average Cost Marginal Cost 0 0 0 0 1 5 5 50 10 10 2 12 7 100 8.33 7.14 3 20 8 150 7.5 6.25 4 31 11 200 6.45 4.54 5 40 9 250 6.25 5.56 6 46 6 300 6.52 8.33 7 50 4 350 7 12.5 8 52 2 400 7.69 25 (b) (c ) Q.3.1 Summarizing There are various types of economic systems practiced in the world. Such as Market economy, centrally planed (Controlled) economy, Mixed economy. Each system has various types of advantages disadvantages. Demand supply both determine the price of a good. Demand means willingness capacity to pay. Supply is the quantity of goods that businesses willing to produce or sell. In demand supply analysis the concept of equilibrium plays a major role. This is a concept which opposing dynamic forces cancel each other out. When it comes to theory of the firm economic cost can be divided as, explicit, implicit, fixed variable costs. Explicit costs are the monitory payments it makes to those who supply labor services, material, fuel, transport service etc. Firms implicit costs are the opportunity costs of using its employed resources. Fixed costs are not related directly to production rents, rates etc. they can change but not related to output. Variable costs that do change when we produce more more. There are 4 major types of market structures available. Each market consists of different features. The market means any organization where buyers, sellers, particular good are kept enclosed with each other.

Developing Diversity in the Clinical Psychology Profession

Developing Diversity in the Clinical Psychology Profession The profession of clinical psychology is currently  predominately  predominantly white, female and middle class. What can  be done to ensure that we become a more diverse and  inclusive profession? Word count:1.256 The question of how the field can be made more – can be made more diverse and inclusive is one that has been much explored in the clinical psychology community in Britain as well as in other countries. This essay will examine strategies and initiatives previously put in place in order to recruit clinical psychologists from a wider pool of applicants, and look at how successful such initiatives have been. Finally, the discussion will focus on what seems to be the best way forward for the profession in its efforts to more closely reflect the disparate communities of which it serves. The skewed demographics of the profession might be at least partly responsible for the low usage rates of clinical psychology services by black, ethnic minority and male UK citizens. An influential BPS report entitled â€Å"Widening access within undergraduate psychology education and its implications for professional psychology: Gender, disability and ethnic diversity† was published in recent yearsrecently published (Turpin Fensom, 2004). The report revealed that only 5.8% of UK clinical psychologists were recruited from ethnic minorities, and that a mere 23% were men. These figures called indicated a need for greater efforts to increase the number of recruits from black and other ethnic minority (BME) and disabled communities. The report referred to the work of Davenhill et al. (1989), who made a number of recommendations to widen access of BME groups into clinical psychology training. Unfortunately, little progress was made.[RZ2] The BPS has, however, demonstrated an ongoing commitment to deal with this complex matter, such as the setting up of a ‘Race and Culture Special Interest Group’. Amongst the Group’s aims and objectives is a stated commitment to â€Å"promote strategies that increase Black and Minority Ethnic Communities to the profession of Clinical Psychology, †; [RZ3]and to â€Å"promote the view that training in clinical psychology should reflect the needs of people from Black and Minority Ethnic Communities† (Reference!!!).[RZ4] A notable contribution has also been made by the BPS s ‘Standing Committee for the Promotion of Equal Opportunities’, which amongst other valuable functions, monitors levels of minority representation within the BPS. According to the most recent available figures, these BPS initiatives have not as yet had significant impact on diversity and inclusiveness, but it is perhaps too early to condemn them as inadequate and ineffectual. Turpin and Fensom’s 2004 report (2004) gives interesting figures, showing that psychology is hugely popular as an undergraduate discipline with approximately 80,000 applicants a year, of which 79 percent are female. In the field of psychology, BME students are more highly represented at 12 percent compared with the rest of the population studying other subjects. The same study also found that out of those from a BME background, only 1.4 percent are successful in their clinical training applications, compared with 3.95 percent of those who are white, and 3.5 percent who are male. With regard to clinical training, approximately 9.4 percent of students are of a BME background, whereas only 6.2 percent of these are successful. Of the 90.6 percent who consider themselves to be white however, the success rate is 93 percent. These data point towards highly complex reasons for a profession dominated by white females of a middleclass background. Gender bias in psychology has been recognised for many years (Morris et.al, 1992). It is likely that the nature of the discipline appeals more to females than men. [RZ5]But it might also be influenced by lack of knowledge of the true nature of psychology as well as that of future career possibilities. Amongst the practical measures announced in the BPS report mentioned above, were a recruitment video to be used in schools, and an initiative to make careers advisors more aware of the employment opportunities offered by clinical psychology. [RZ6] It can be argued that the mere process of undertaking clinical training in itself is likely to exclude certain social groups. [RZ7]The ratio of applicants far outweighs the places available, 29.3 per cent in 2002 (Turpin and Fensom, 2004) and this in itself is likely to deter some people. In addition to high academic entrance requirements, s several years of relevant experience is required, Working as an assistant psychologist does not in itself necessarily give opportunities for a career, and even years of experience do not always guarantee acceptance into clinical training. This can give an impression of uncertainty in addition to the likelihood of eventually being in substantial financial debt. [RZ8] All these factors could partly explain the reduction in applications from students from a BME background. Little is known about the perception of psychology as a vocation within or across different ethnic groups and culture. Darr (1998) found that ethnic applicants to higher education undervalued allied health professions as career choice and chose more traditional careers instead.[RZ9] Research has also shown that BME students obtain fewer 2.1 and 1.st degrees than their fellow white students (Pathak, 2000). This in itself might partly explain the drop in applications to clinical training, but it does not explain why fewer applicants from BME groups are successful compared to their white peers (Turpin and Fensom 2004, Boyle et al, 1993). Turpin and Fensom doubt that an explicit discrimination factor at short listing and interview would simply account for this. But in addition to the academic criteria and the necessary working experience, applicants are also vetted through interviews and other tasks. (Phillips, Hatton Gray, 2001). It is tempting to hypothesise, building on knowledge from social psychology, that applicants from minority backgrounds may encounter greater difficulties in conveying their knowledge and personal abilities.[RZ10] The important goal of wider diversity within clinical psychology is to ensure that the Mental Health Service can offer adequate therapy for minority and socially excluded groups. More male clinical psychologists from different backgrounds might ensure that the Mental Health Service is accessible to these groups. More research is needed to give an understanding of the gender differences and how psychology is perceived as a career in different ethnic groups. Research into exactly why, or at what stage, ethnic minorities fail in the vetting process might be helpful. [RZ11] References:[RZ12] Widening access within undergraduate psychology education and its implications for professional psychology: Gender, disability and ethnic diversity, (BPS, 2004) BPS Equal Opportunities Policy Davenhill R, Hun H, Piallary H M, Harris A Klein Y (1989). Training and selection issues in clinical psychology for black and minority ethnic groups from an equal opportunities perspective. Clinical Psychology Forum,21 34-36 Darr, A. (1998) Improving the recruitment and retention of Asian students on nursing, midwifery, radiography and physiotherapy courses: A qualitative research study. Bradford and Airedale Health Related Strategy Group. Morris,P., Cheung,D. Smith,H. (1992) How and why applicants choose to study psychology at university. The Psychologist,5, Pathak,S. (2000) Research report topic, race research for the future ethnicity. In Education, Training and the Labour Market. Department of Education and Employment,UK Phillips,A.,Hatton,C. Gray,l. (2001) Which selection methods do clinical psychology courses use? Clinical Psychology,8 19-24 [RZ1] [RZ2]Can you provide a quote from the report here to illustrate why little progress was made? What are the criteria for progress in this area? [RZ3]What are these strategies? [RZ4]Yes, don’t forget to reference this quote! [RZ5]Why? Support this assertion. [RZ6]You may want to consider moving this explanation of practical measures to the previous page, where the question of strategies is raised initially. [RZ7]Why? Are certain social groups less demonstrably likely to display the work ethic necessary to complete clinical training? [RZ8]Good point. [RZ9]Does Darr hypothesise why this might be so? [RZ10]Why is it tempting? Internalized racism? [RZ11]Miid 2:2 Standard. You should consider spending less time describing the particulars of the problem and more time analyzing why the problem exists and what might be done about it. Otherwise, well-written and well-sourced. [RZ12]K c

Preventing Air Pollution Essay -- Environment, Toxic, Ecology Essays

Preventing Air Pollution Air Pollution is a problem nation wide. The pollution hangs over our cities and is harmful and destroys living things and materials. Diesel exhaust is one of the most dangerous sources of air pollution. This type of pollution comes from on road vehicles such as large trucks and buses although factories, construction equipment and farms are big polluters too. Pollution from diesel engines contributes to about 80% of the added cancer risk from toxic air pollution nationwide. A main pollution problem has typically been high levels of smoke and sulphur dioxide arising from the burning of smoke and sulphur dioxide arising of sulphur containing fossil fuels, such as coal, oil, and gas for domestic and industrial purpose. Here are the equations for the gases Sulphur+oxygen+water = sulphuric acid This is very bad to breath in and additionally destroys rubbers and metals. It comes from fossil fuels. Carbon + oxygen = carbon monoxide This is a very poisonous gas, which comes from vehicles. Furthermore soot is a common air polluter, which mixes with fog to make smog, which when breathed in, is very bad for our lungs. It is even most unpleasant in valleys as it hangs in the air for longer. When the pollution goes into the air it is known as an inversion layer, which can be transported for miles by wind killing and destroying on its journey. When the pollution attacks things that aren't living it can damage many things like, bike tyres, power line insulation, paint on buildings and makes spots on car paint via acid rain. Scientists have discovered that air pollution from the burning of fossil fue... ...trogen oxides that are releases into the air. So that means to reduce the emissions of fossil fuels. If people use less power and drive their vehicles less that will be a start to reduce acid rain. If everyone bought energy efficient appliances, bought energy efficient house or upgrade old houses to be energy efficient, take transit to work with 3-4 people in it instead of 3-4 cars, ride a bike, or walk it would make the air a lot cleaner to breathe. Certain types of chimneys can be built called static chimneys which when the pollution from the fossil fuels blow up then it sticks to the sides of the chimney, then got rid of in a solid form. If every person in the world would do this we help dramatically to reduce acid rain. Meaning it to be easier to breath and higher populations of fish, trees, plant life and animals.

Essay examples --

CPR is a very effective method when dealing with a victim suffering from cardiac arrest. CPR involves chest compressions of at least 2in (5cm) deep and at a rate of at least 100 compressions per min, this helps to pump blood through the heart and also the body. The main goal of CPR is to try and stop tissue death. It’s also use to prolong for a successful resuscitation without causing permanent brain damage. CPR can be performed on adults, children, even animals. CPR can be used by one or more than one person. Although CPR saves lives it can still cause dangerous injuries. For example CPR can cause blunt trauma which is caused by impact, injury or physical attack. CPR can cause bruising, which is tissues that are damaged by trauma, allowing blood to seep into surrounding tissues. CPR can also cause fracture of the sternum or ribs, fracture is a medical condition in which the bone breaks. Also for safety reasons CPR should not be performed on a healthy person because of the risk of trauma. Using a single rescuer CPR for an adult correctly within a certain time frame is possible. Be...

A Paper Essay

A Paper Brian Nguyen Austin Community College December 4, 2012 ENGL. 1301 English Composition 1 Should people who are caught driving drunk lose their licenses for a year? I highly agree anyone who drives drunk and fails a sobriety test should lose their licenses for how much alcohol or illegal drugs the driver consumes. (Ballantyne) This should happen because 40% of accidents are caused by drunk drivers. (Ballantyne) This will make the roads safer and would teach the driver a lesson. Studies indicate that since the law has done this, 800 lives have been saved in a year. Ballantyne) With the law doing this, I agree it’s a good idea for the law to do this because it will make me feel safer when I’m driving on the roads. But especially for my parents and family don’t have to worry about me getting in an accident and getting hurt. I think if anybody suspects a drunk driver on the road, they should call the police and report their licenses plate number and location. A nd the cops will take care of the situation and keep the roads safe. Back in fall 2008, my cousin Joe Nguyen was 18 and picking up two of my other friends from a party out of town.He knew they were intoxicated and couldn’t drive, so he wanted to be safe and pick them up. The drive was around 30 miles out of town and it was 4 am in the morning, he safely picked them up and was on his way back into town. Having only 10 minutes to get into town, he was hit head on with an oncoming car. The other driver was drunk and had been swerving into the opposite lane. The impact of the hit had killed him and injured the other two will serious injury. One having serious scares and the other having brain damage. She didn’t remember what happened and couldn’t recognize who her family was.When I said anybody who fails a breath test I mean anybody. Adult drivers, teenage drivers, and under aged driver should receive the consequences. With the roads with young drivers just like me, they should know better not to drink because they are under aged. But with teens being per pressured from other people when they go to school parties, they need to think about the consequences. But now-a-days, I know for experience that a lot of young teens drink when they go to parties. Just to fit in or their friends will judge them if they don’t drink.Then that’s when they need to say no and walk away. When young teenagers see that their friends and even their family members driving drunk, they think it is okay if they do it also. Once they do it and don’t get caught, they do it again and again until one day they get caught. Officers take zero tolerance towards underage drunk drivers. (â€Å"Consequences of drunk driving†) If the under aged driver consumes only a small amount of alcohol, then the driver is fined and his or her licenses is lost for a year. On 2004, a woman named Judith Gubernikoff was at home taking care of her three sons.She helps her father at a fish market and has to go take a 25 mile drive to go wake up her father in Manhattan where he lived. (Kotb) Neville Wells, a 41 year-old man was drink at a night club. He was a big drinker and always drives home drunk. (Kotb) When he left the night club around 3 am at night, witnesses say that his driving could be compared as a blind person behind the wheel. (Kotb) He has driving a minivan that night, and had hit a parked car in a parking lot. (Kotb) Making the car fly in the air and only thing stopping the car was an iron fence. Kotb) Inside the parked car were Judith and her father where they had to be cut out of the vehicle and rushed to the hospital. (Kotb) Wells, the driver of the minivan was okay with only scratches. (Kotb) The doctors were able to save Judith’s father but could save Judith. (Kotb) The doctor said that the power of the impact of the hit had made Judith’s heart burst like water balloon being poked by a needle. (Kotb) Her husband, Geor ge Gubernikoff was doing research about Wells on his record of DWLs. (Kotb) Well’s first DWL was in 1999 and he gotten a fine. Kotb) His second DWL was in 2000 and lost his license for a year. (Kotb) The night of the accident, the report of the breath test said that his blood level was . 22. (Kotb) Which is 3 times the average legal limit and he had about 15 alcoholic drinks. (Kotb) He didn’t get a fine for this accident, he was sent to prison for 17 years for second degree murder. (Kotb) With adults being legal drivers and legal to drink, they shouldn’t be able to drink and drive at the same time. The story of Judith and Neville shows that adults like Neville, should not have a license and shouldn’t be driving period.Even if he isn’t intoxicated with alcohol, he shouldn’t have the privilege of driving. Showing that Americans around the State don’t care about driving drunk and will just do whatever they want to do. That it can lead to death and serious injuries. If you were to be stopped by a cop and arrested for DWI (Driving While Intoxicated) or DUI (Driving under the Influence), then you will have to pay a big fine of expense determined on your licenses and insurance policy. (â€Å"godui. org†) On one if my resources, this website shows people’s opinion on if you drive drunk you should lose your licenses for a year. Debate. org) 85% of the people agreed and 15% disagreed about the driving drunk. (Debate. org) Some of the 85% people say that they should do better than just take away their license for a year. (Debate. org) Some say that their license should be taken away forever. Debate. org (Debate. org) For the people who disagreed had something else to say. They say that the law are being dramatic about the situation and should not spend so much money on something that is not important. (Debate. org) I highly disagree with his comment about being dramatic and stop spending on something that is not important.I think the law is doing a good job and should spend as much money as they can to stop drunk driving. The law may be being too dramatic about this situation, but in my opinion they are just trying to keep the roads safe and making sure driving drunk is being stopped. The laws in Texas about DWI and DUI are different from other states. In other states, on their first offense they only get a fine. But in Texas, on their first DWI, their licenses are lost for a year and a fine is issued too. (T) The judge in Texas sends the driver to DUI School and has to take class depending on how bad their DWI or DUI is. T) Going to DUI School is the ticket on getting your license back and the bad thing about it is you have to pay for each class. (T) With Texas having stricter laws from each other, drivers will not able to get a fine on their first offence. (roisin) DUI School is not as easy as sitting in a class for seven hours and you can get the hours. You have to sit down with a pr ofessional counselor and answer a few questions about their drinking problems. (â€Å"dwi. com†) Depending on the drunk driver, shows how much meetings you have to attend. (â€Å"dwi. om†) It can be up to 4 meetings up to 90 meetings in 90 days, or 28-day residential treatment program, detoxification, or other medical treatment. (â€Å"dwi. com†) The cost of all the fees and bills you get when you drive drunk you have to pay. (â€Å"dwi. com†) First there is the fine you get for driving drunk. (â€Å"dwi. com†) Then you have to pay an additional insurance coverage before you get your licenses back and that can be a lot of money. (â€Å"dwi. com†) The last fine you have to pay is when the state has to re-issue your driver’s licenses.With all the fees and bills you have to pay, the cost will be higher than a regular traffic accident. (â€Å"Consequences of drunk driving†) Drivers are mostly paying for the cost of damages of the r oad, car, or medical bill of the person he or she injured in an accident. (roisin) So what will happen to the person’s vehicle if they were arrested for a DWI? Well there are a lot of things that can happen to the vehicle. First the officer has an interlock device that locks the car so if the person is trying to make a run for it. (â€Å"Consequences of drunk driving†) Then the car can ether impounded, confiscated, or sold. â€Å"Consequences of drunk driving†) With the information I have given you, I hope you agree that drunk drivers should lose their licenses for a year for the safety of others on the road. With innocent people dying from drunk drivers driving on the road, the law should enforce this law around the United States. Work Cited Ballantyne, Coco. â€Å"Roads safer when drunk drivers immediately lose license to kill. .† Science American. Scientific American Inc, 24 2007. Web. 6 Dec 2012. Kotb, Hoda. â€Å"The worst kind of drunk drivers. â⠂¬  NBC news. NBC News. Web. 6 Dec 2012. â€Å"should people who are caught driving drunk lose their licenses for a year?. † godui. org. N. p.. Web. 6 Dec 2012. . â€Å"alcohol alert. † Consequences of drunk driving. N. p.. Web. 6 Dec 2012. . â€Å"Debate. org. † Society Opinions. N. p.. Web. 6 Dec 2012. T, Buddy. â€Å"Alcoholism. about. com. † Penalties for Driving Drunk. Medical Review Board, 28 2012. Web. 6 Dec 2012. . â€Å"Arrested dor DWI in Texas. † dwi. com. N. p. , n. d. Web. 6 Dec 2012. roisin, . â€Å"yahoo. com. † drunk drivers should lose their licenses for life the first time they are caught. N. p. , n. d. Web. 7 Dec 2012. A Paper Essay A Paper Brian Nguyen Austin Community College December 4, 2012 ENGL. 1301 English Composition 1 Should people who are caught driving drunk lose their licenses for a year? I highly agree anyone who drives drunk and fails a sobriety test should lose their licenses for how much alcohol or illegal drugs the driver consumes. (Ballantyne) This should happen because 40% of accidents are caused by drunk drivers. (Ballantyne) This will make the roads safer and would teach the driver a lesson. Studies indicate that since the law has done this, 800 lives have been saved in a year. Ballantyne) With the law doing this, I agree it’s a good idea for the law to do this because it will make me feel safer when I’m driving on the roads. But especially for my parents and family don’t have to worry about me getting in an accident and getting hurt. I think if anybody suspects a drunk driver on the road, they should call the police and report their licenses plate number and location. A nd the cops will take care of the situation and keep the roads safe. Back in fall 2008, my cousin Joe Nguyen was 18 and picking up two of my other friends from a party out of town.He knew they were intoxicated and couldn’t drive, so he wanted to be safe and pick them up. The drive was around 30 miles out of town and it was 4 am in the morning, he safely picked them up and was on his way back into town. Having only 10 minutes to get into town, he was hit head on with an oncoming car. The other driver was drunk and had been swerving into the opposite lane. The impact of the hit had killed him and injured the other two will serious injury. One having serious scares and the other having brain damage. She didn’t remember what happened and couldn’t recognize who her family was.When I said anybody who fails a breath test I mean anybody. Adult drivers, teenage drivers, and under aged driver should receive the consequences. With the roads with young drivers just like me, they should know better not to drink because they are under aged. But with teens being per pressured from other people when they go to school parties, they need to think about the consequences. But now-a-days, I know for experience that a lot of young teens drink when they go to parties. Just to fit in or their friends will judge them if they don’t drink.Then that’s when they need to say no and walk away. When young teenagers see that their friends and even their family members driving drunk, they think it is okay if they do it also. Once they do it and don’t get caught, they do it again and again until one day they get caught. Officers take zero tolerance towards underage drunk drivers. (â€Å"Consequences of drunk driving†) If the under aged driver consumes only a small amount of alcohol, then the driver is fined and his or her licenses is lost for a year. On 2004, a woman named Judith Gubernikoff was at home taking care of her three sons.She helps her father at a fish market and has to go take a 25 mile drive to go wake up her father in Manhattan where he lived. (Kotb) Neville Wells, a 41 year-old man was drink at a night club. He was a big drinker and always drives home drunk. (Kotb) When he left the night club around 3 am at night, witnesses say that his driving could be compared as a blind person behind the wheel. (Kotb) He has driving a minivan that night, and had hit a parked car in a parking lot. (Kotb) Making the car fly in the air and only thing stopping the car was an iron fence. Kotb) Inside the parked car were Judith and her father where they had to be cut out of the vehicle and rushed to the hospital. (Kotb) Wells, the driver of the minivan was okay with only scratches. (Kotb) The doctors were able to save Judith’s father but could save Judith. (Kotb) The doctor said that the power of the impact of the hit had made Judith’s heart burst like water balloon being poked by a needle. (Kotb) Her husband, Geor ge Gubernikoff was doing research about Wells on his record of DWLs. (Kotb) Well’s first DWL was in 1999 and he gotten a fine. Kotb) His second DWL was in 2000 and lost his license for a year. (Kotb) The night of the accident, the report of the breath test said that his blood level was . 22. (Kotb) Which is 3 times the average legal limit and he had about 15 alcoholic drinks. (Kotb) He didn’t get a fine for this accident, he was sent to prison for 17 years for second degree murder. (Kotb) With adults being legal drivers and legal to drink, they shouldn’t be able to drink and drive at the same time. The story of Judith and Neville shows that adults like Neville, should not have a license and shouldn’t be driving period.Even if he isn’t intoxicated with alcohol, he shouldn’t have the privilege of driving. Showing that Americans around the State don’t care about driving drunk and will just do whatever they want to do. That it can lead to death and serious injuries. If you were to be stopped by a cop and arrested for DWI (Driving While Intoxicated) or DUI (Driving under the Influence), then you will have to pay a big fine of expense determined on your licenses and insurance policy. (â€Å"godui. org†) On one if my resources, this website shows people’s opinion on if you drive drunk you should lose your licenses for a year. Debate. org) 85% of the people agreed and 15% disagreed about the driving drunk. (Debate. org) Some of the 85% people say that they should do better than just take away their license for a year. (Debate. org) Some say that their license should be taken away forever. Debate. org (Debate. org) For the people who disagreed had something else to say. They say that the law are being dramatic about the situation and should not spend so much money on something that is not important. (Debate. org) I highly disagree with his comment about being dramatic and stop spending on something that is not important.I think the law is doing a good job and should spend as much money as they can to stop drunk driving. The law may be being too dramatic about this situation, but in my opinion they are just trying to keep the roads safe and making sure driving drunk is being stopped. The laws in Texas about DWI and DUI are different from other states. In other states, on their first offense they only get a fine. But in Texas, on their first DWI, their licenses are lost for a year and a fine is issued too. (T) The judge in Texas sends the driver to DUI School and has to take class depending on how bad their DWI or DUI is. T) Going to DUI School is the ticket on getting your license back and the bad thing about it is you have to pay for each class. (T) With Texas having stricter laws from each other, drivers will not able to get a fine on their first offence. (roisin) DUI School is not as easy as sitting in a class for seven hours and you can get the hours. You have to sit down with a pr ofessional counselor and answer a few questions about their drinking problems. (â€Å"dwi. com†) Depending on the drunk driver, shows how much meetings you have to attend. (â€Å"dwi. om†) It can be up to 4 meetings up to 90 meetings in 90 days, or 28-day residential treatment program, detoxification, or other medical treatment. (â€Å"dwi. com†) The cost of all the fees and bills you get when you drive drunk you have to pay. (â€Å"dwi. com†) First there is the fine you get for driving drunk. (â€Å"dwi. com†) Then you have to pay an additional insurance coverage before you get your licenses back and that can be a lot of money. (â€Å"dwi. com†) The last fine you have to pay is when the state has to re-issue your driver’s licenses.With all the fees and bills you have to pay, the cost will be higher than a regular traffic accident. (â€Å"Consequences of drunk driving†) Drivers are mostly paying for the cost of damages of the r oad, car, or medical bill of the person he or she injured in an accident. (roisin) So what will happen to the person’s vehicle if they were arrested for a DWI? Well there are a lot of things that can happen to the vehicle. First the officer has an interlock device that locks the car so if the person is trying to make a run for it. (â€Å"Consequences of drunk driving†) Then the car can ether impounded, confiscated, or sold. â€Å"Consequences of drunk driving†) With the information I have given you, I hope you agree that drunk drivers should lose their licenses for a year for the safety of others on the road. With innocent people dying from drunk drivers driving on the road, the law should enforce this law around the United States. Work Cited Ballantyne, Coco. â€Å"Roads safer when drunk drivers immediately lose license to kill. .† Science American. Scientific American Inc, 24 2007. Web. 6 Dec 2012. Kotb, Hoda. â€Å"The worst kind of drunk drivers. â⠂¬  NBC news. NBC News. Web. 6 Dec 2012. â€Å"should people who are caught driving drunk lose their licenses for a year?. † godui. org. N. p.. Web. 6 Dec 2012. . â€Å"alcohol alert. † Consequences of drunk driving. N. p.. Web. 6 Dec 2012. . â€Å"Debate. org. † Society Opinions. N. p.. Web. 6 Dec 2012. T, Buddy. â€Å"Alcoholism. about. com. † Penalties for Driving Drunk. Medical Review Board, 28 2012. Web. 6 Dec 2012. . â€Å"Arrested dor DWI in Texas. † dwi. com. N. p. , n. d. Web. 6 Dec 2012. roisin, . â€Å"yahoo. com. † drunk drivers should lose their licenses for life the first time they are caught. N. p. , n. d. Web. 7 Dec 2012.

Assess Different Indicators Used to Measure Development Essay

Development is a process of change that affects people’s lives, which may involve an improvement in the quality of life as perceived by the people undergoing change. As development is such a wide category, it can be split into social and economic factors as well as simple and composite indicators. To start with, many economic indicators are used to measure a country’s development. GDP (Gross Domestic Product), this is the total value of goods and services produced in a country. GNP (Gross National Product) includes income from investments abroad and PPP (Purchasing Power Parity) takes into account local cost of living and is usually expressed per capita. These are the three main economic indicators. Many advantages appear when using economic measurement as an indicator, such as it is a useful figure for comparing countries and often used to rank countries to establish a fair system of aid payments. Also, each country can be easily compared and calculated so that patterns can be seen quickly. However, this way of measurement does come with a lot of problems. For example, the distribution of wealth is unequal I most/all countries but when studying the indicator results, it shows that supposedly the country has an equal distribution. This results in inequality being ‘covered up’ and a true picture is not shown which therefore makes the result lack in validity. Countries have different currencies, which is an issue within itself but this is enlarged when countries have different currency fluctuations. This makes it hard to then compare each countries results to one another as the values shown have different rates of wealth. Although, this problem is being tackled by converting all the currencies to US$ so easy comparisons can be made, and patterns can be easily shown when comparing countries. Other problems that come from using economic indicators are they can be manipulated by governments who want to appear poor to collect more aid and it does not take into account informal economies which are very important in less developed countries. To try and eliminate the economic problems, social indicators are also used to make the results as accurate as possible. Social indicators are used mainly to give an idea about the peoples quality of life in that country, although this can be significantly hard to actually categorise. The main indicators for the social categories are Life Expectancy (the average lifespan of someone born in that country), Birth Rate (number of babies born per thousand people per year). This allows a clear indicator of a countries level of development, as well as being able to predict the future situation to plan accordingly. BR can be affected by population policies (e.g. China’s one child policy) and figures in LEDCs are not necessarily accurate. Literacy Rate (percentage of the population able to read and write) also has negatives such as when used on its own it doesn’t tell us whether the figure is a consequence of too few schools or the fact that children are having to work. The other issue is that it takes no notice of other skills (agricultural for example) the people may have which are equally valuable (e.g. a good understanding of farming techniques). Literacy rates is used as an indicator because it does show the amount of education on offer and tells us how many children could or couldn’t attend school. Finally, Infant Mortality (the number of children who die before they reach the age of one for every thousand live births per year). An advantage of using these four social indicators to ‘measure’ a country as a general point is that more patterns are shown by comparing economic and social factors. For example, the higher the GDP per person the higher the life expectancy showing a positive correlation between the two. As stated in the opening paragraph, the development of a country can also be measured by using simple and composite indicators. The indicators discussed above in both economic and social categories are classed as simple indicators (excluding GDP). The composite indicator definition is as follows: ‘Composite indicators measures are used when single indicators cannot adequately capture such multi-dimensional concepts. Ideally, a composite indicator should be based on a theoretical framework / definition, which allows individual indicators/variables to be selected, combined and weighted in a manner which reflects the dimensions or structure of the phenomena being measured’. Simplified, composite indicators combine a number of single component indices to give a combined score. A frequent composite indicator that is often used is the HDI (Human Development Index). this combines PPP, life expectancy, adult literacy and average number of years in schooling. Other composite indicators include GEM (Gender Empowerment Measure) and GDI (Gender-related Development Index) to measure gender inequality. Other quality of life indicators could measure a variety of social and economic fac tors. Composite indicators are often considered more reliable as they combine a number of simple indicators to give one average score. The problem with this however is having only an average result. As previously discussed, by having an average score the result lacks validity as it doesn’t show a true picture. In conclusion, the method that gives the most accurate and true representation of a country, in my opinion, is to use a combination of social and economic simple indicators. Many positives and negatives come from using simple and composite indicators, but the key problem with using composite is that it only gives an average. The main point of creating and using indicators is to get the true representation of a countries development, and composite indicators often do no prove this where as simple indicators are more likely to. View as multi-pages