Technology Brought Both Advantages and Disadvantages to Students Research Paper

Technology Brought Both Advantages and Disadvantages to Students - Research Paper Example As the paper declares one of the great advantages of new technologies in the classroom is the digitalization of learning resources such as books and journals by converting them into electronic formats that not only embraces text and illustrations, but also multi-modal features such as animation, sound, music, video, in addition to hyperlinks. The current generation of books is nothing close to the conventional formats, particularly because, by using software like Adobe Reader or Microsoft Reader, students can access a large proportion of learning resources in the form of e-books by viewing them on their personal computers both at home and at school. The digitalized learning resources provide a broad reservoir of learning resources, which students can access easily by purchasing e-books from online bookstores or by renting them free from online libraries. According to the discussion findings the electronic book resources have many advantages over the conventional books because they often have user-friendly interphases and editing tools that allow the reader a lot of control over the reading resources. Introduction of learning technologies has also created new opportunities for extended learning, particularly because students are able to conduct extra research on their own away from the classroom situation, in addition to the knowledge delivered in the classroom. Technology enhances both teaching and learning efficiency in the classrooms.... Reader, students can access a large proportion of learning resources in the form of e-books by viewing them on their personal computers both at home and at school. The digitalized learning resources provide a broad reservoir of learning resources, which students can access easily by purchasing e-books from online bookstores or by renting them free from online libraries (Larson 122). The electronic book resources have many advantages over the conventional books because they often have user-friendly interphases and editing tools that allow the reader a lot of control over the reading resources. For example, the students can utilize those tools to manipulate the text in so many ways including editing, deleting, marking passages, highlighting, and even inserting comments on sticky notes, among many other things. This way, students engage more with the learning material, thereby enhancing their comprehension and overall performance; in this case, technology leads to enhanced student perfo rmance because it leads to the transformation of learning experiences in the classrooms. Introduction of learning technologies has also created new opportunities for extended learning, particularly because students are able to conduct extra research on their own away from the classroom situation, in addition to the knowledge delivered in the classroom. The internet is a rich source of diverse information and learning resources that students can utilize on their own away from the classroom, thereby not only transforming their experiences by understanding the knowledge gained in the classroom further, but also extending their learning experiences through additional information. The pervasive spread of information and technology has facilitated the access of course material by students

Integration of Evidence-Based Practice Into Professional Nursing Practice Essay Example for Free

Integration of Evidence-Based Practice Into Professional Nursing Practice Essay In this paper we will discuss the integration of evidence based practice into professional nursing practice. Scott McSherry (2008) define evidence based practice as the combination of individual, clinical, or professional expertise with the best available external evidence to produce practice that is most likely to lead to positive outcomes for a patient. Despite literature surrounding what evidence based nursing is and isn’t, nurses struggle to get evidence into practice. Many reasons have been reported including a lack of understanding about evidence based nursing means. Scott McSherry (2008) also define evidence based nursing is a process by which nurses make clinical decisions using the best available research evidence, their clinical expertise and patient outcomes. We will also discuss nursing’s simultaneous reliance on and critique of EBP in the context of critical reasoning. There will also be discussion of a study done that examined the effects of integrating evidence based practice into clinical practicum among RN-BSN students and the limitations of evidence based practice and an alternate view of decision making. Lastly we will discuss evidence that challenges the traditional practice regarding injection sites (Cocoman Murray 2010). According to Guem et al. (2010) evidenced based practice is a problem solving approach to clinical care that incorporates the conscious us of the current best available evidence, a clinician’s expertise, and the patient values. Evidence for evidence based practice does not always rely on research findings. Sources used can include research findings, clinical experience, quality improvement data, logical reasoning, recognized authority, and client satisfaction, situation, experience, and value (Leddy Pepper 2008 p. 66). On the contrary evidence based nursing is essential because of its potential to save time and money and improve patient outcomes by decreasing costs, through standardizing and streamlining costs (Scott McSherry 2008). It is important o understand the difference between evidence based practice and evidence based nursing because at times they are used interchangeably. Scott McSherry (2008) state that the nursing practice has welcomed EBP but when it comes to EBN, it is still yet to come reality because the concept is much unsophisticated and can lead to problems associated with its use and misuse. EBN is merely a construct and has yet to be successfully implemented (Scott McSherry 2008). In essence the dilemma with EBN is that we don’t really know the definition of nursing. Although there are problems with the definition we know that clinical judgment is one of the major concepts used in nursing thus it reinforces the notion of EBP and ultimately EBP. To advance the profession and ensure solid standards of practice, we should look beyond evidence based practice, while useful in implementation it is just one of many other component parts (Jutel 2008). Evidence based practice is like the new black in nursing practice and already occupies a prominent position, several international nursing organizations support its use as a strategic action in the advancement of the profession. Despite the emphasis on EBP, there is also a strong opposition to it, not with the actual use of EBP being a problem but with the fundamentals on which it stands. These arguments complain of the veracity of the criteria used in EBP which simultaneously undermines and cannot support EBP (Jutel 2008). If it had not been for the cultural turn which recognized that things are not always as they seem or that power, society, and culture contribute as much as science to generating knowledge, the debate about EBP would have never surfaced (Jutel 2008). Although nurses argue against EBP, they lack important tools necessary to replace EBP. â€Å"Nursing education places high value on authority and adherence to clinical protocols, rather than on skills† (Jutel, 2008. P. 419). Opponents of EBP suggests that development of clinical practice guidelines, critical care pathways, and protocols may actually interfere and entice practitioners to develop somewhat of a cookbook recipe attitude to client care (Leddy Pepper 2010). With quality improvement being rooted in industrial production, perhaps standardization may not be as desirable because patients have unique needs and characteristics the may be overlooked when adhering to strict clinical practice guidelines. Nursing adopts a devoted and somewhat naive trust when assessing information, we are quick to accept the truths of a peer reviewed article, drug company propaganda, and quick to accept an argument on inconsistencies of EBP. The tools EBP claims to own, are incredibly useful, however, are not tools of EBP; they are critical skills of information appraisal. As evidence based practice rapidly replaces the traditional paradigm of healthcare decision making, health care members have an obligation to access knowledge, apply it in practice, and lead others to use it appropriately (Geum et al. 010 p. 387). For example RN-BSN programs; these are adult students who have clinical knowledge and skill, structured background and educational preparation and employment experience but have not taken a formal research course, thus they show less confidence to include evidence based practice in their practices because these are courses that are not common outside a baccalaureate curriculum. To examine the effectiveness of the integration of EBP into a clinical practicum a study was done among Korean RN-BSN students. The main goals were to enhance students’ competencies for EBP knowledge skills and attitudes and to expose students to opportunities that would encourage the use of best evidence (Geum et al. 2008). Each student was instructed to define patients nursing problems for their individually assigned patient and to formulate nursing problems using the EBP question format, PICO, which we discussed earlier in the semester, to select the nursing intervention for the problems posed. Before the EBP practicum, the overall and individual scores for EBP efficacy among RN-BSN students indicated that students were â€Å"a little confident† regarding the EBP process (Geum et al. 2008, p. 389). Results of this study indicate that integration of EBP into an RN-BSN clinical practicum had a positive effect on EBP efficacy and decreased barriers to research utilization among students in Korea, which also corroborates with studies conducted in other countries. Evidence based practice is a learned set of skills thus critical thinking is vital in developing evidence based nursing practice (Geum et al. 2008). Regardless if the evidence on complications, nurses in clinical settings still continue to use and instruct nursing students on the use of dorsogluteal injection sites as the site of choice for intramuscular injections (Cocoman Murray 2010). So, where should an intramuscular (IM) injection be given? Nurses have traditionally used the dorsogluteal, but recent literature has advocated the ventrogluteal site. Choosing sites has been a matter of personal preference, rather than the results of evidence based practice. Slow uptake of medications, major nerves and blood vessels present make this site problematic. A British study suggests â€Å"as previous studies have shown the low efficacy of gluteal intramuscular injections, this route should be avoided for most drugs† (Cocoman Murray, 2010. P. 1171). As the sciatic nerve lies only a few centimeters from the injection site, injuries pose a significant threat, making the need for accurately identifying landmarks especially important. An alternative site is the ventrogluteal, seen by many as the preferred site. This site provides the greatest thickness of gluteal muscle and is free from penetrating nerves and blood vessels (Cocoman Murray 2010). Despite evidence favoring the ventrogluteal site, nurses are slow to use it, relying on the much taught and used dorsogluteal site. â€Å"Studies show that only 12% of American nursing staff uses the ventrogluteal site† (Cocoman Murray 2010. P. 1172). Studies suggest that some reasons the site is not used is because of nurses’ unfamiliarity in locating the site and potential needle stick injury. Unfortunately, nurses have not come to realize that when using the V method, the non injecting hand is to be removed, as it’s only used for visual land marking (Cocoman Murray 2010). Throughout this paper we have discussed the integration of evidence based practice into nursing from various articles. In the various articles the authors talked about evidence based practice compared to evidence based nursing, the integration of evidence based practice in RN-BSN programs. We also discussed the article on a clinical example which suggested that the ventrogluteal intramuscular injection site over the dorsogluteal site is preferred when it comes to positive patient outcomes.

Explorations of Modernity and Excitement in Two Poems: The Teachers an

Poems- ‘The Teachers’ and ‘In Mrs Tilscher’s Class’ I am going to be comparing two poems, ‘The Teachers’ by Liz Lochhead and ‘In Mrs Tilscher’s Class’ by Carol Ann Duffy. The two poems talk about the same thing, which is teachers, but in different ways and the way that the poems' structures are created for the reader. Both the poems recall parts of their school days and talk about memories of teachers they once had. Carol Ann Duffy talks about her fond memories of a teacher she once had, saying about how playful her school day was, she uses ‘skittle of milk’ to describe the joy of being able to have milk, also, she relates many parts of the poems to toys, including her teacher, ‘Mrs Tilscher’, who made many of their lessons more playful and at the end of the day it would leave her happy. On the other hand Liz Lochhead concentrates on the description of what happened in school and the characters of her teachers. On lines 5- 6 she says ‘Wars were bad but sometimes necessary’, this could represent the fact that the poem was written during or after the war era, she could also be talking about classroom wars, for example ‘wars of the sexes’. She chooses to start the poem on a really dull note; this could be because she may not have felt any em otions towards her school life or her teacher and peers. This dreary start makes the rest of the poem bland, with no detail of emotions, leaving it plain and basic to the reader. In the first stanza of ‘In Mrs Tilschers Class’ Duffy, starts it with ‘You could travel up the blue Nile with your finger†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢, even though the blue Nile isn’t blue, its like she remembers the start of the day as being perfect, but whilst everyone knows that the water in the blue Nile is actually ... ...e last line of the poem would make us think even though they are going into a newer school habitat and age, they still are growing up and they will find out things that they never knew and are able to learn more even though that there are dangers on the way. Also the line could mean that they are now leaving Mrs Tilschers Class and now their lives may become dangerous without her. Overall, I think that both the poems are good, but Lochheads is lacking the excitement that school can bring. Both the poems are similar to each other, but ‘In Mrs Tilschers Class’ is more modern than ‘The Teachers’ which many have been set in the war era, meaning everything was in short supply during the school day. Lochheads poem doesn’t make you feel any emotion, but Duffys makes you feel what she is feeling as a child, which I think makes it a more interesting poem to read.

Hackin’ the Sack

Hackin’ the Sack. If you are a slow runner or can’t jump to save your life foot bag is the game for you. Foot bag, known today as hacky sack, was invented in 1972 by John Stalberger and Mike Marshall of Oregon City, Oregon. Recovering from knee surgery, John Stalberger decided he wanted to find a fun way to rehabilitate his knee. Mike Marshall is the one who actually created the first hacky sack. He created a hand-made bean bag and was kicking it around. During the time of John Stalberger’s recovery the two decided to kick around the bean bag for fun. They ended up turning it into a game and calling it Hackin’ the Sack. Later on the two men collaborated and marked their new game under the trademark of â€Å"Hacky Sack ®Ã¢â‚¬ . Different varieties of the sport of Hacky Sack have now came into play including â€Å"Freestyle Footbag† where players stand around in a circle and pass the hacky sack while doing tricks and there is also â€Å"Footbag Net† where players try and volley a Hacky Sack over a 5-foot-high net. The rules for playing freestyle are 1. No hands (except when serving) and no arms – shoulders are allowed in the average circle but are technically forbidden. 2. Always pass the sack to someone else when serving (unless you are playing alone). . Don’t hog the bag. This is a co-op game. If there are others playing please share. 4. Never say sorry! When you are passing the hacky sack and another player misses do NOT under any circumstances apologies. Everyone makes mistakes. 5. Don’t pass from the knee. Most likely if you try and to pass the sack from the knee it will go straight to the ground before the other play can get it. 6. Don’t play with a drink in your hand. It is nearly impossible to keep your hand and eye coordination going and you will only get frustrated and possibly lose the hacky sack. General tips while â€Å"Hackin’ the Sack† starts with proper foot wear. So ladies please do not try and play in high heels someone might get hurt. The most common footwear would have to be a nice snug, mid cut sneaker. Although preferences do vary from bare feet to boots. The second tip would be using the perfect service to play on. If you are playing out in the street on the pavement make sure you are paying attention to your surroundings. There are a lot of cars out there that you will have to dodge and make sure you stay away from all sewers you really don’t want to lose your sack down one of those. Grass is also a good ideal for playing freestyle even though it is a little more difficult to play on, but eventually you will grind away the grass and have a nice area of dirt to play on. Mike Marshall died of a heart attack in 1975, at the age of twenty-eight. Stalberger continued with the â€Å"Hacky Sack† cause and formed the National Hacky Sack Association. He later sold the rights for the Hacky Sack ® Footbag to Kransco (operating under the Wham-O label), which also manufactured the Frisbee flying disc.

Caedmon Essay

Karolay Olaya The Ecclesiastical Essay English IV 27 September 2012 How does Caedmon qualify as histoy: Caedmon's story qualify as history because his amazing poetry and verses changed how we see and express christianity. Have you ever felt like you don't fit in for a reason? Well Caedmon was like that. He was a stable-hand at the monastery of Whitby in the seventh century. The Anglo-saxons loved singing; indeed, it was very common for men to gather for an evening and share tales through a song.Everyone was expected to contribute. Caedmon; however, he would slip away because he was either too shy to sing or he just didn't have nothing to share. According to the church historian Bede, who was born about seven years before Caedmon died, Caedmon slipped out of the hall one night to tend the animals while the others sang. Afterward, he fell asleep. A man spoke to him in a vision, saying, â€Å"Caedmon, sing me something. Caedmon replied that he could not sing. That was why he was out he re, not in the hall. â€Å"Yet you could sing,† said the man, and suggested Caedmon sing â€Å"the beginning of all things. † In his dream, Caedmon began to sing his great Hymn of Creation, â€Å"Now let us praise the guardian of the heavenly kingdom, the power of the Creator and the counsel of His mind, the works of the Father of glory: how He, the eternal Lord, originated every marvel†.When Caedmon awoke, he found he remembered the verses perfectly and was able to sing them. The monks were convinced he had been given a gift by God. Whitby's famous abbess, Hild (Hilda) convinced Caedmon to become a monk. His songs and poetry changed Christianity today because now people sing and praise to the lord through music which is an amazing to do and everything because of Caedmon.

air bad safty essays

air bad safty essays According to statistics, motor vehicle accidents are the number one leading cause of unintentional injury-related deaths, making up close to 45% and more than quadrupling all other causes. Although these statistics can be overwhelming knowing that driving a motor vehicle on a daily basis comes with a lot of risk, an individuals chance of injury can be lowered by following basic rules of safety. The American Trauma Society believes that the injury rate could be reduced by 50% if people would simply apply existing information about prevention. Wearing a seat belt while riding in a motor vehicle is by far the easiest way to prevent injury and death, and should be done anyhow because it is a federal law to do so. In addition to seat belts, motor vehicles are equipped with air bags, an automatic form of protection designed to reduce the risk of injury. In the past decade, air bags have saved the lives of close to 3,000 people. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) con ducted a study of real-world motor vehicle crashes and were able to conclude that the combination of seat belts and air bags is 75% effective in preventing serious head injuries and 66% effective in preventing serious chest injuries. Unfortunately for about 100 people in the past decade, their lives were saved at the expense of suffering a less severe injury caused by the air bag itself. However, when proper air bag safety is applied in conjunction of wearing a seat belt properly, most injuries and deaths caused by motor vehicle crashes are minimized or even prevented all together. Air bags are designed specifically to cushion occupants as they move forward in a front-end crash, keeping the head, neck, and chest from hitting the steering wheel or dashboard. In order to perform well, air bags deploy quickly and forcefully, with the greatest force in the first 2-3 inches after releasing through the cover and beginning to inflate. Therefore, occupants who a...

Social Forces, States and World Orders Beyond International Relations Theory by Robert Cox

Social Forces, States and World Orders Beyond International Relations Theory by Robert Cox In his article, Robert Cox (1981) discusses the factors the shape the main peculiarities of international relations. Much attention should be paid to his assumption according to which the world order is shaped by social forces and institutions within countries.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on â€Å"Social Forces, States and World Orders: Beyond International Relations Theory† by Robert Cox specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More In this particular context, the term world order can be depicted as a set of rules and principles that govern the interactions between the main actors of international politics (Cox 1981, p. 152). It seems that this argument is important for understanding the main trends in the global politics. These ideas should be discussed in greater detail. Overall, the scholar notes that the distinctions between the state and civic societies may not be relevant if one speaks about the foreign policy of a country. Traditionally, political scientists regard international relations as the expression of state interests and priorities such as the need to minimize or eliminate external threats (Cox 1981, p. 126). Nevertheless, the author believes that this separation of civic society and the state is not permissible. The writer provides various examples that can illustrate his argument; in particular, he discusses the system of international relations that emerged in the nineteenth century. It is now known as Pax Britannica. To some degree, it was the expression of values which were advocated by the middle class (Cox 1981, p. 141). Apart from that, much attention should be paid to the increasing of role of manufacturing capitalism in the nineteenth century (Cox 1981, p. 141). The author offers a model according to which social forces, forms of state, and existing world order are closely intertwined (Cox, 1981, p. 138). One should keep in mind that the author introduces the idea of transn ational social forces that manifest themselves in various regions of the world. To some degree, this premise can be accepted because social groups in different countries may have similar interests; moreover, they can set the norms governing international relations. It should be noted that this approach can be useful for understanding the way in which social forces and institutions affect international relations. Nevertheless, this approach may not be suitable for explaining the conflicting nature of international politics. For instance, the government can enter into alliances with countries in which different classes or institutions can play the dominant role.Advertising Looking for essay on international relations? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Additionally, one should not overlook the role of conflicts within the civic society. These are some of the factors that Robert Cox does not consider. Moreover, his interpr etation minimizes the role that separate policy-maker can play. The decisions of these people can be affected by such factors as prejudice, ambition, or lack of relevant knowledge. Nevertheless, their actions can profoundly affect international relations. This is one of the issues that should be taken into account. On the whole, Robert Cox’s article can give readers useful tools for understanding the development of international relations. The author lays stress on the necessity to analyze the internal factors within the state, because they are often reflected in the foreign policies of a country. In particular, social forces can shape the norms and institutions that govern the interactions between states. In the author’s view, both civic society and state form international policies. However, the scholar does not examine the possibility of conflicts within a civic society. Moreover, his model cannot account for individual decisions taken by policy-makers. These are th e main aspects that can be singled out. Reference Cox, R 1981, ‘Social Forces, States and World Orders: Beyond International Relations Theory’, Millennium Journal of International Studies, vol. 10, no. 2, pp. 126-155.

Confidence

Confidence Confidence Confidence By Maeve Maddox The Latin verb fidere means â€Å"to trust.† Adding the prefix con-, â€Å"with,† gives confidere, â€Å"to have full trust or reliance.† According to a note in the OED, the word may have originated to show the relationship between two people, â€Å"two friends who mutually confide in or trust each other, and hence are trusted by each other.† In time, the word came to be used in a more general sense. The noun confidence has a variety of meanings. As a synonym for faith or trust, it means â€Å"the mental attitude of trusting in or relying on a person or thing†: And we have confidence in the Lord touching you, that ye both do and will do the things which we command you. 2 Thessalonians 3:4, KJV. Do You Have Confidence in President Obama? Confidence can mean feeling sure of a fact or an issue: Climate models now include more cloud and aerosol processes, but there remains low confidence in the representation and quantification of these processes in models. Speakers frequently use confidence in the sense of â€Å"assurance arising from reliance on oneself: What can I do to help my child have confidence when in new situations? 10 Tips to Boost Your Confidence Confidentiality is required of lawyers, priests, social workers, and anyone else to whom private matters are confided. For example: There are many specific areas regarding consent and confidentiality that are particularly difficult for teens, parents, health care professionals and lawmakers. Other â€Å"with trust† words: confident (adjective), confidential (adjective), confidentially (adverb), and confide (verb): Less-Confident People are More Successful Teachers should discuss such matters confidentially with individual parents. Confidentially, I don’t much care for the terms Usonian and Usonia. It’s difficult nowadays to keep personal information confidential. It was a mistake to confide in her: she posted everything I told her on Facebook. Before 1700, a person trusted with private information, â€Å"usually amorous,† was called a confident [sic]. Then the French word confidant/confidante entered the language. For a time, English speakers observed the masculine/feminine differences in writing, but now a confidant can be either a man or a woman. Anyone familiar with the television series The Golden Girls is acquainted with the opening words of its theme song: Thank you for being a friend Traveled down the road and back again Your heart is true, you’re a pal and a confidant. Finally, there’s such a thing as too much confidence, either because a person thinks he knows it all, or because a person trusts the wrong person: Malcolm Gladwell drew an important distinction between the normal mistakes that result from incompetence (not knowing enough) and mistakes made because of the overconfidence of experts (miscalibration). San Antonio police have arrested a fugitive accused of running a long-term confidence scheme with victims in Ohio, Florida and Texas. He repeatedly befriended his victims, convinced them to give him thousands of dollars and then absconded with the money. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:100 Idioms About Numbers26 Feel-Good Words30 Words Invented by Shakespeare

Business Ethics & Social Responsibility Research Paper

Business Ethics & Social Responsibility - Research Paper Example This essay stresses that business ethics are moral standards and guidelines that guide the conduct of business founded on the concept of what is right, fair and wrong. Majority of business people rely on their consciences for decision making and fall back on their own religious and moral backgrounds for guidance. Business people are on the other hand affected by their immediate colleagues and superiors when making decisions and at times feel pressured to behave in unethical manner when aiming to make profits. This paper declares that many firms have in the recent past made efforts to establish and develop codes of conduct to be used as standards to guide managers in decision making in business. Corporate responsibility on the other hand is a business philosophy that stresses the need for companies and organizations to behave well as corporate citizens by conducting their marketing and production activities in such away to prevent environmental pollution or exploitation as well as obeying the law. Some firms due to their developed code of conduct behave in a more socially responsible way, partially because their managers need to do so and partially due to fear of consumer pressure groups, environmentalists and the media, as well as their concern for their public reputation. This is actually because of the argument that social responsible behavior pays off in the long run even when it includes particular short term sacrifices. (Solomon, 2004). This paper seeks to develop standards for ethic al and moral conduct in the form of a Code of Ethics. The paper will reflect upon my own ethical standards and consider from where my values and principles emerged and how they have evolved over time. Through this, the paper will include references to the moral philosophy or social issues that affect my approach to the development of this Code of Ethics. My Code of Ethics will contain the following components: Statement of values, and why the principles are non-negotiable, the moral philosophy or social issues affecting my approach to ethics, training and communication plan, implementation plan, plan for the role of leadership, corporate social issues, monitoring and enforcing plan, ethics auditing plan, and considerations for working internationally. Development of Code of Ethics involves prescribing values and principles that a firm aspires to operate in consistency to. The Code of Ethics contains the â€Å"thou shalts† and specifies the operation’s ethical rules. Mo st ethicists have argued that the development and continuous dialogue around the values of the Code of Ethics is very significant and pivotal to the business organizations. However, other philosophers have disagreed on the value of Code of Ethics and assert that too much emphasis is often put on them though the codes are not influential in ethics management at workplace. In quite larger organizations with multiple departments and programs, an overall corporate Code of Ethics is mandatory to guide and separate each department or program. I would not develop my Code of Ethics out of Legal departments or Human Resource departments alone. This is because, the Code of Ethics would be insufficient if only intended to ensure the legality of policies. I will do this to ensure that all other people see the program of ethics as driven from top management (Boatright, 2008). On reflection upon my own ethical standards and consideration of where my values and principles emerged and there evolvem ent over time, I would say that ethical principles as standards of conduct define my own conduct of behavior and therefore emerge from within myself. These principles help in establishing the criteria by which other people will judge my decisions and guide me in making such decisions as well. It is important to note that, poor personal ethics ultimately result into poor business ethics. In this regard, my own ethical standards and principles from which I would develop my Code o

Drug profile Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Drug profile - Essay Example Indications: - bronchial asthma (RACGP, 2006; Lullman et al., 2000), - bronchitis (RACGP, 2006) - exercise-related dyspnea (RACGP, 2006) - other breathing problems (RACGP, 2006). - pre-term labour (Morgan et al., 1987). According to the Medical Reference Manual by Adult Retrieval Victoria (2011), Salbutamol (5-10 mg or 8 puffs 10-15 minutely) is one of the standard therapies for refractory asthma. Continuous nebulised Salbutamol is also used for maximum pre-intubation therapy. As well, the Queensland Ambulance Service (2011) lists approved emergency indications as bronchospasm and suspected hyperkalaemia with QRS widening and/or AV dissociation (Medical Director’s Office 2011 p. 69) for adult and paediatric administration (p. 70). Contraindications against paramedic use of salbutamol have been reported to include potential synergism with other sympathomimietics. It should also be used with caution in patients with diabetes, hyperthyroidism, and cerebrovascular disease (Albuter ol 1999, p. 1). List of drug-drug interactions with Salbutamol (Albuterol 2011) Medicine name Strength Atomotexine – may cause CVS effects such as tachycardia and hypertension case reports Digitalis – hypokalemia induced by salbutamol may cause cardiac glycoside toxicity Mechanism already elucidated Diuretics – hypokalemia Steroids – hyperglycemia or hypokalemia Sympathomimetics – additive effects Theophylline – additive effects Xanthine derivatives –hypokalemia Bendrofluazide – augments hypokalemia, cardiac effects, arrhythmia Signal Transduction Mechanisms for ?2 Receptors Figure 1.The messenger system starting with the activation of receptor, which stimulates the G-protein to dissociate into its subunits. The ?-subunit then activates the enzyme converting ATP to cAMP. Figure from Guyton, A. C. and Hall, J. E. 2006. Textbook of Medical Physiology. Philadelphia: Elsevier. Salbutamol is an agonist of the beta 2 adrenergic recep tors found on the smooth muscle lining airways of the lungs (Lullman, 2000). The intracellular components of the receptor are associated with G protein. In turn, G protein has three sub units (alpha sub unit, plus tightly associated beta, and gamma sub units). Upon binding of salbutamol to ?2 receptor, the latter activates the G protein, causing GDP (guanosine 5'-diphosphate) associated with the G protein to be phosphorylated to GTP (guanosine 5'- triphosphate), which initiates detachment of alpha subunit. The alpha subunit binds with adenylyl cyclase, which catalyses the conversion of ATP to cAMP (adenosine 5'-triphosphate to adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate) (Guyton and Hall, 2006). cAMP then inhibits myosin light chain kinase which is responsible for the contraction and hence constriction of bronchial smooth muscle (Klabunde, 2008). The inhibition of myosin light chain kinase promotes the physical relaxation and hence dilation of the smooth muscle lining of the affected airways whic h improves the potential for improved respiration which is key to addressing several pulmonary disorders Evidence of Clinical Effectiveness Despite being the most used ?2-agonist, research on the clinical effectiveness of Salbutamol had contradicting results. In a randomized control trial on salbutamol against preterm labor, 100 women, ages 17-32 years old and between 20-37 weeks pregnant, were recruited.

Controversy and the Paparazzi Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Controversy and the Paparazzi - Research Paper Example However, in terms of privacy, the celebs get the shorter end of the stick because thanks to the paparazzi, they literary have to forfeit their right to privacy which was famously described by Thomas Cooley as the right to be left alone (Nordhaus 287). While Paparazzi are protected from the consequences of their actions by their first amendment, they should not abuse those rights at the expense of the personal privacy and safety others. People have lost their lives due to the Paparazzi, and more are suffering every day because of their behavior, therefore, a line needs to be drawn where a person’s safety is not subject to the perversions of constitutional rights. Before one is a celebrity, they usually are human beings entitled to their rights just like everyone else. In their quest to take photographs of the celebs, they often go out of control, and mostly results in danger both to themselves and the celebrities. The case that brought this to light was when England’s princess Diana was involved in a car crash while being chased by paparazzi who wanted a picture of her and her boyfriend (Johnson). However, in the attempt to protect themselves from this invasion, they crashed the car in a tunnel. While there has been no conclusive evidence to date on what exactly caused the accident, it is almost without doubt that the main contributors to this accident were the paparazzi. Moreover, they could get another photo of the person who in all likeliness is the most photographed human being in the world. Notably Diana was one of the few celebrities who had a cordial relationship with the paparazzi and often posed for them and acknowledged them unlike most celebs that rarely give them time of the day and even attack them (Julianna). They caused multiple deaths, which is a price too high to pay for any number of pictures.

Computer Electronics Warehouse Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Computer Electronics Warehouse - Essay Example o address how a computer warehouse can be kept operational for computer/laptop along with their accessories through delineating the advantages and the disadvantages of warehouse automation. Moreover, the strategies to be used for optimal utilization of surface area and importance of suppliers in warehousing management would also be determined. Evolution of My Warehouse. My warehouse mission statement is to be consistent in superior delivery through proper management of warehouse and emerging as the United States’ (US) leading retailer of computer/laptop and accessories with a vision of becoming the customers’ first choice through providing a wider range of quality products at best price with superior advice. Being the employers’ prior choice in industry would also be a key mission of the warehouse. The warehouse deals in the products including computer, laptops and accessories which are commonly usable products in office, household along with commercial purposes. Correspondingly, the proper route for distribution of these products will be using land, sea, air and through online which can help in smooth and easy processing. Location of warehouse should be in heavy industrialised area as such equipment requires proper knowledge with proper handing. Besides, the employees should have ample knowledge of w ork and have high experience of working in handling sensitive materials as any mislead in the process of storing could create massive loss to the warehouse operations. Employees should further be sub-divided into various departments with proper warehouse assistants who should be experienced enough in monitoring goods safely and maintaining efficiency with proper records. For a particular section of employees employed in moving various products within the warehouse, any previous experience might not be critical as full training program would be gradually provided to enhance their knowledge about their job role. However, knowledge about the warehouse environment

Religion in Colonial Society Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Religion in Colonial Society - Assignment Example In Massachusetts Bay, Winthrop led a colony that he believed he was called by God to lead. He exercised authority with a divine perspective and entrenched democracy in the church. The churchmen were the only people allowed to choose their colonies leaders. In his sermon ‘A Model of Christian Charity’ Winthrop outline God purpose for the Massachusetts Bay (Winthrop). The church has a big role to play in the way the colony was governed. Consequently, the group that settled in Plymouth had a similar system in governing it people. Bradford had come out of the Church of England with the aim of reforming the church values to its primitive ways. The earlier Christian believed the bible to be the ultimate reference book in governing and others ways of life (Halsall). The Maryland Act of Toleration made profound announcement to God similar to the Puritan writings. However, the ‘Plantation Agreement at Providence expounded on the freedom of men in running out the resources in the new found colony (The Maryland Toleration Act 1649). The influence of the early religion in America has continued to influence the majority of the population. People have aligned them self to policies that have been run down through history. The Christian life of American is shaped by the ideas of the Pilgrim and the

Computer Electronics Warehouse Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Computer Electronics Warehouse - Essay Example o address how a computer warehouse can be kept operational for computer/laptop along with their accessories through delineating the advantages and the disadvantages of warehouse automation. Moreover, the strategies to be used for optimal utilization of surface area and importance of suppliers in warehousing management would also be determined. Evolution of My Warehouse. My warehouse mission statement is to be consistent in superior delivery through proper management of warehouse and emerging as the United States’ (US) leading retailer of computer/laptop and accessories with a vision of becoming the customers’ first choice through providing a wider range of quality products at best price with superior advice. Being the employers’ prior choice in industry would also be a key mission of the warehouse. The warehouse deals in the products including computer, laptops and accessories which are commonly usable products in office, household along with commercial purposes. Correspondingly, the proper route for distribution of these products will be using land, sea, air and through online which can help in smooth and easy processing. Location of warehouse should be in heavy industrialised area as such equipment requires proper knowledge with proper handing. Besides, the employees should have ample knowledge of w ork and have high experience of working in handling sensitive materials as any mislead in the process of storing could create massive loss to the warehouse operations. Employees should further be sub-divided into various departments with proper warehouse assistants who should be experienced enough in monitoring goods safely and maintaining efficiency with proper records. For a particular section of employees employed in moving various products within the warehouse, any previous experience might not be critical as full training program would be gradually provided to enhance their knowledge about their job role. However, knowledge about the warehouse environment

Marketing analysis and forcasting Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Marketing analysis and forcasting - Coursework Example The data available is of Hughes Travel PLC monthly travel data collected over the span of January 1986 – December 2010. It consists of two variables, namely: number of overseas visitors travelling to the UK and the number of UK residents travelling abroad. The time interval of data collection for both the variables is a month. As both the variable data is independent of each other, hence, we have two univariate time series. The data does not depict a particular trend. Analysis of UK Residents Time Series Figure 1 of appendix A shows the month wise distribution of UK residents travelling abroad. The graph shows that highest number of UK residents travel abroad during the months of August, September, and July. The graph shows that August has had highest number of UK residents travel abroad and it has happened consistently for the past 25 years. Similarly, figure 2 of appendix A shows the cumulative data on UK residents travelling abroad on a yearly basis. The data shows a steady rise in the number of UK residents travelling abroad with the highest being year 2010. Figure 1 in appendix A also depicts that UK residents travel least during the months of December, January, February. ... Figure 4 of the appendix shows that the rate of Overseas UK travels has risen considerably from the previous years and it was the highest in 2010 from the past 25 years whereas the years 2007-2009 saw the lowest travelling statistics. This probably has to do with the recession and the credit crunch during these years. Figure 5 displays the overseas travelling statistics distributed over the 25 years. The graph clearly shows that not once in the period of 25 years, the months of July and August have never seen a decline in the number of overseas travellers as compared to other months. Moreover, the graph also shows that as the years 2007-2009 were an all time low for overseas travellers, the number of travellers declined to their lowest during the July-August of these years as well. Forecasting Methods Several forecasting methods have been developed over the years and each of them have their advantages and accuracy. We have chosen the two most basic and common forecasting models: expo nential smoothing model, and ARIMA Model. Exponential Smoothing – This method is most common forecasting method for different types of time series data. It was developed by Brown and Holt. A basic approach towards time series modelling is to look at each observation as the combination of a constant and an error term. The value of constant would vary with time but is constant in a short interval of time. One way of modelling this is to assign greater weight to the most recent values of the constant as compared to the older observations also termed as moving averages, which is the basis of simple exponential smoothing. Following is the formula of simple exponential

African-American women Essay Example for Free

African-American women Essay Firstly however we must address the problems that occur when separating the effects of time and interference. Baddeley and Hitch (1977) conducted a survey whereby they asked rugby players to recall the names of teams they had played against during the previous season. Due to illness and injury some of the players had been unable to play in all the fixtures. This meant for some of the players two games back meant two weeks ago whereas with others two games back meant four or five weeks ago. The findings showed that passage of time was not the main factor that determined how well the teams could be recalled, but it was the number of games that effected recall. In other words forgetting occurred more often where team members had other games interfere with previous fixtures rather than trace decay. If interference is the major cause of forgetting within L. T. M it should be true that people will remember material over a time period providing no interfering material intervenes. It is clearly difficult to set up a condition whereby no participant is immobilized after learning with any opportunity for the occurrence of any new learning. This has led researchers to look at the effect of different types of interfering material on recall. McGeoch and McDonald (1931) asked participants to learn and relearn lists of adjectives and then compared their performance on recall tests after interpolated tasks. Forgetting these adjectives was at its least when participants simply had to rest during the learning and recall and increased when participants were required to learn nonsense syllables in the interval. Rates were even higher when it was adjectives that were learned in the interval and were at there highest when the adjectives learned were similar in meaning to the original list. This shows that forgetting increases as a function of the similarity of the interfering material. Retroactive Interference Proactive Interference Retrieval Failure This is also known as the tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon and comes about when we think we know something but cannot recall it at that precise moment in time. This is due to the fact that the correct retrieval cues are not available. Sometimes different words related to the original memory can prompt us to remember the memory and these are called interlopers. Brown (1991) has reviewed this phenomenon for the last 25 years and has concluded that people can correctly name the first letter of the target word between 50 and 70 per cent of the time along with being correctly accurate with the number of syllables in the word. The interloper theory (retrieval cue) was investigated by Perfect and Hanley (1992) who found that distinctiveness of the target word and its similarity in meaning play a factor in recall. Tulving was another researcher to investigate retrieval cues and it was his work with Osler (1968) that led to some interesting findings. They presented participants with lists of words, each paired off with a weakly associated cue word e. g. city-dirty. Participants where then tested for free recall (without the cue word) or were cued with the word e. g. dirty. They found that cued recall consistently produced higher levels of recall. To counteract the argument that any semantic association might aid the recall, they gave participants weak semantic associates which were different to that of the original cue words. These cues did not aid in recall and so led them to conclude that specific retrieval cues aid recall if and only if the information is stored at the same time as the information about the membership of the word in a given list. While Tulving stressed the importance of cues at the encoding stage he later admitted that cues not present at this stage could also be helpful under certain circumstances. Context Dependant and State Dependant Learning Research has shown that we remember more if we recall things in the same state as what we learned them in. In other words how we encode material at the time of learning is clearly important. Godden and Baddeley (1975) presented deep-sea divers with lists of words to learn. They learned these on the beach and under 15 feet of water. Recall was then tested in either the same or the opposite environment. Findings showed that recall was significantly better if tested in the same environment. These differences however are only small but it has been suggested that by even simply imagining the original environment can be helpful. Smith (1979) gave participants a list of 80 words to learn while sitting in a distinctive basement room. The following day he tested some of the participants on recall in the basement room and others in a fifth floor room with quite different surroundings. Average recall for the basement group was 18 but for those in the fifth floor room it was only 12. A third group was tested in the fifth floor room but were instructed to imagine themselves in the basement. The average recall for this was 17 words. There is also some evidence to suggest that not only external environment plays a role in recall but also our internal environment i. e. physiological state or mood may play a part. Godwin et al (1969) found that heavy drinkers who learn things in a drunken state are more likely to recall them in a similar state. Eich (1980) has found similar findings with a range of drugs including marijuana. Research into the Role of Emotional Factors in Forgetting Flashbulb Memories Psychologists have often ignored the role of emotion in human cognitive processes but it seems likely that the way we feel has an impact upon the way we remember things and one particular type of memory that seems to be influenced by emotion have been called flashbulb memories. This is a particularly vivid, detailed and long lasting memory of an event that is usually highly significant and emotional and is usually unexpected. It can be a personal event or something that provokes worldwide interest e. g. death of Princess Diana. Research carried out by Brown and Kulik has led them to conclude that the event must be surprising and have real consequences for the persons life. They believe that such an emotional event triggers a neural mechanism that causes details of the scene to be imprinted on the memory. They believe it is a special type of memory because the detail and accuracy with which the event is remembered and the fact that the structural form of the memory is always so similar. They believe six different types of information about the event are stored being i. Where they were ii. What they were doing iii. The person who gave them the news iv. What they felt about it v. What others felt about it vi. What happened in the immediate aftermath However not all psychologists believe that flashbulb memories are special. Neisser (1982) believes that the longitivity of such memories result from frequent rehearsal and reworking of the event rather from neural activity at that precise moment in time. He believed that we recall it clearly due to the fact that we resort to storytelling techniques when telling someone about the event. It is still unclear whether flashbulb memories represent a particular type of memory or whether they are substantially similar to most memories for big events. Repression Another view about the way in which we forget things was put forward by Freud (1915-18) who believed that some memories become inaccessible as a result of repression. He believed that we use an unconscious process that ensures that threatening or anxiety-provoking memories are kept from our conscious awareness. These memories may stay repressed for years and never come to mind or can do in the form of hysterical neurosis. Although it has proved difficult to recreate repression in laboratory circumstances a number of attempts have been made. Levinger and Clark (1961) asked participants to generate associated words with words presented by them. Some of these words were emotionally neutral e. g. tree, window and others were emotionally arousing e. g. angry, quarrel. When asked to recall these associated words results showed that people tended to recall the emotionally neutral ones as opposed to the emotionally provoking ones, which helps to support the idea of repression. However such tests are considered suspect and Holmes (1990) concluded that there is no experimental support for the concept of repression. Recently research has focused upon repressed memories associated with child sexual abuse and whether or not recovered memories are genuine. The main problem with assessing whether or not they are true is that they have no independent, objective corroborative evidence. Williams (1992) found that 38 percent of a group of African-American women who were known to have suffered abuse reported repressed memories about it although it was clear that some of these memories were false. Loftus (1997) conducted an extensive review of studies that led him to believe that even psychologically healthy individuals altered their memory of events based on false suggestions about them. Baddelley concluded that it is important to exercise great caution in interpreting such reports.

Child Support Agency: Critical Analysis of its Current State

Child Support Agency: Critical Analysis of its Current State Support that Needs Supporting: A Critical Analysis of the Current State of the Child Support Agency Abstract: On November 17, 2005 Prime Minister Tony Blair stated to the House of Commons that the CSA has fundamental problems. And this is the current opinion amongst many of the users of the service. This project will critically analyse the issues which have caused the agency to fail in its provision of support to some of the most vulnerable people in society; children. Table of Contents (Jump to) Preface Introduction Chapter 1: Investigation Chapter 2: Adjudication Chapter 3: Enforcement Chapter 4: Technological and Staffing Problems Chapter 5: The Future for the CSA Conclusion Bibliography Table of Cases and Statutes Preface This dissertation examines the current state of operation of the United Kingdom Child Support Agency, an organisation beset with criticism and administrative difficulties. It was hoped that the CSA, which has the two-fold role of assessing and collecting child support payments, would solve many of the problems of the court-based regime it was designed to replace. However, after 13 years of operation and several intervening attempts to reform the Agency these early ambitions have not proved well founded. In the following paper various areas of institutional weakness are identified and discussed, and conclusions are drawn on the basis of the observations made. Introduction The Child Support Agency (â€Å"CSA†) commenced operations in April 1993. It is an executive agency of government and a branch of the Department for Work and Pensions. The CSA is obliged to implement the 1991 Child Support Act and all relevant legislation relating to child support.[1] Child support, which is more popularly known as child maintenance, can be defined as the contribution made by a non-resident parent towards the financial costs of raising their child and it is usually paid to the person (usually the other parent) with whom the child resides. Before the establishment of the Child Support Agency disputes regarding child maintenance were dealt with by the courts. It was hoped that the introduction of the CSA would solve many of the problems associated with the old system in particular its inability to trace parents and its tendency to impose arbitrary and unfair settlements. The CSA was charged with the duty to assess payments on a consistent basis against a standard formula and thereafter to collect and distribute child support in an efficient manner. There is no doubt that this is a very sensitive and difficult area of public policy to manage but it is hard to avoid the assertion that the Child Support Agency has performed poorly. Criticism has been levelled at the CSA since its inception. In 1998, Prime Minister Tony Blair accepted that the CSA had â€Å"lost the confidence of the public†. He described the Agency as â€Å"a mess, in need of urgent reform†.[2] Various costly and comprehensive reforms were indeed implemented but the Agency’s performance deteriorated yet further over time. In November 2004, Doug Smith, the head of the CSA, resigned after wide-ranging criticism of the CSA systems..[3] Chairman of Work and Pensions Committee Sir Archy Kirkwood was moved to describe the situation at the CSA as: â€Å"a systemic, chronic failure of management right across the totality of the agency..† In November 2005, confronted by reports that for every  £1.85 that is collected for child support, the CSA spent  £1 on administration, Tony Blair acknowledged that the CSA was â€Å"not properly suited† to its function.[4] Blair proceeded to admit to the House of Commons that the CSA has â€Å"fundamental problems.† It is submitted that this is now the view of the overwhelming majority of commentators and clients of the CSA’s services. There is now a strong likelihood that the CSA will be subject either to radical reform or be scrapped altogether. At the time of writing in June 2006 it is anticipated that the government’s plans for the CSA will be laid before Parliament before Parliament rises for the summer. These are therefore important weeks for the Agency. This project will critically analyse the issues which have hindered the CSA in its efforts to provide support to some of the most vulnerable people in society; the children of failed relationships. Chapter 1: Investigation â€Å"†¦I make no defence of the current situation. The CSA is in an extremely difficult position†¦it is the investigating agency, then it is the adjudicating agency, then it is the enforcement agency†¦.The basic problem remains†¦It is extremely difficult to make this operation cost effective when the agency is the investigating, adjudicating and enforcing authority†¦.The truth is that the agency is not properly suited to carry out that task† Prime Minster Tony Blair House of Commons, 16 November 2005[5] Perhaps the first point to make is that the CSA caseload is very heavy. Changes in society are producing more and more broken families and thus child support claims, and many of these may prove to be highly complex cases. The investigation-stage of a case is clearly resource-intensive and the plain fact of the matter is that staffing resources and internal efficiency protocols have never been adequate to meet the demands of the burgeoning caseload. It needs hardly be said that the process of investigation of child support cases is often a very difficult and thankless task. Non-resident parents will often make great efforts to conceal and misrepresent facts so as to circumnavigate, obfuscate and frustrate the work of the Child Support Agency and it is unfair to blame the Agency for the behaviour of those with whom it is charged with dealing. Anecdotal evidence suggests that parents have taken extreme steps such as changing jobs or rendering themselves unemployed to defeat CSA investigations aimed at building a case to require them contribute financially to the upbringing of their children. It is likely that evasive or duplicitous parents create many times the amount of work for the Agency that a cooperative parent does and it is perhaps unreasonable to lay that responsibility at the door of the CSA. However, it is submitted that the style of management and administration systems operative at the Agency has exacerbated the profou nd external difficulties it faces, magnifying inevitable difficulties and allowing other problems that could be avoided under a tighter and more cogent regime to manifest themselves causing additional costs and delays. Perhaps the greatest weakness in the CSA investigation system the policy organisation’s policy that â€Å"the non-resident parent has a right to be believed† which ties the hands of Agency staff. This policy is clearly in place to reduce the administrative burden on the CSA but it is manifestly susceptible to abuse, if not, frankly, ripe for it. If a parent with care is fully aware that the non-resident parent has several jobs but has disclosed only one job to the Agency, then telephones the Agency to disclose this fact, the Agency will respond by repeating the aforementioned mantra and refuse to take further action unless â€Å"pay-slips from other jobs can be provided†, which in almost every case is an impossible demand. This is a ridiculous state of affairs, and one that gives non-resident parents full and open licence to deceive the Agency and avoid paying the proper amount to the children who are supposedly the priority in the system.. It is also submitted that the CSA, being an administrative entity, is not best suited to dealing with some of the highly complex and contentious cases that fall for its attention.. Such cases, which would probably be better suited to solution within the court system, serve as logjams in the Agency’s workload, and delay the progress of many more straightforward cases.[6] CSA investigations have been hampered not only by clumsy managerial procedures and organisation, but also by the information technology systems upon which it relies. The problems with the CSA’s IT systems have been well-publicised and are so extensive as to merit specific discussion later in this paper.[7] However, with regards to the issue of case investigation in particular, it has been impossible for management accurately to scrutinise and evaluate the performance of the Agency, and thus set in place long term strategies and goals, because of failings and incongruities within its information technology infrastructure. As the Commons Work and Pensions Committee commented in 2005: â€Å"It is difficult to exaggerate the Agency’s already low reputation†¦Ã¢â‚¬ .[8] It is submitted that the credibility of the CSA is perhaps one of the greatest obstacles to its case investigation work. The Agency does not enjoy the unqualified respect of parents on either side of the child support equation, and this probably understates the truth. The CSA is widely perceived to be a disorganised and failing entity. Given that effective investigation is heavily reliant on prompt and fulsome compliance by parents, the credibility of the Agency itself has become a major factor in reducing its effectiveness as an organisation. In simple terms, parents are not scared of the CSA or intimidated by the consequences that dilatory or obstructive behaviour on their part might provoke. When one contrasts the reputation of the CSA with that of the Inland Revenue or the Police it is clear that the Agency is its own grea test enemy, in particular in regards to its role as investigator something which is so dependent on its relationship with and image in the eyes of parents, many of which already harbour a recalcitrant agenda. CSA investigation has also been hampered by weaknesses and omissions in the range of powers made available to the Agency for the fulfilment of its case investigation work. For example, Liberal Mps David Laws and Danny Alexander recently claimed that the CSA has had to shelve 46,000 cases where the non-resident parent cannot be traced, noting, almost incredulously, that there is no obligation on non-resident parents to inform the Agency when they change either their job or their address.[9] This position has been labelled as â€Å"absurd† by the Work and Pensions Select Committee.[10] It can be argued that such lacunae in the powers awarded to the CSA have made a significant contribution to the inefficiency of its case investigation operations.. Moreover, in this regard it should be noted that the ability of the Agency to obtain information about a non-resident parent’s income at the investigation-stage from Government bodies and other organisations and is woefully inadequate, and this weakness predictably generates a huge amount of unnecessary delay. The CSA’s inability to access confidential information such as credit cards records clearly hampers the organisation’s activities although there is a limit on just how far enhanced legal powers could assist in bringing the most assiduously evasive and duplicitous non-resident parent to book. Ironically, given that the future of child support may well lie in that direction, it is submitted that there has to date been poor communication and ineffective cooperation between the Child Support Agency and the Inland Revenue.. Unfortunately, even in cases where both parents offer full cooperation, due to the CSA’s parlous communication networks families rout inely have to wait many months before a child support assessment is made and a maintenance liability is established, and of course over this period extensive arrears may build up. Another factor which has frustrated CSA investigation work is that the rules and frameworks under which it operates have been subject to constant and comprehensive change over the course of the life of the Agency. Seemingly well-meaning â€Å"reforms† have been implemented with such regularity that the CSA is in a constant state of learning. For example, The Child Support, Pensions and Social Security Act 2000 introduced a wholly new system[11] (known in the literature as the new scheme†) which entered into force for new cases as of March 2003. The intention was that the new scheme, which incorporated much simpler calculations, would elevate the problems of the Agency, however, it is submitted that this attempt to improve the situation at the CSA only made things worse, because the Agency now had to deal with a new an unfamiliar system alongside the old rules which remained applicable to earlier cases. Further work was generated by the need to convert cases from the old system to the new. These demands inevitably had a negative effect on the on-going case investigation work of the Agency, further depleting morale and resources. Other weaknesses in the investigation process may prove simply intractable. Under the rules of the CSA men are liable to start paying maintenance from the moment they are named by the mother as the father of the child. Unfortunately, almost one in five men who challenge the claim and ask for a DNA test discover that they are not the father of the child in question (3034 of 15909 1998-2004).[12] Refunds to the men are paid by the taxpayer, no attempt has been made by the CSA to recover any of the money wrongly paid over to the women in question. Labour MP and ex-social security minister Frank Field has commented: â€Å"The situation in the CSA is getting so absurd that even Lewis Carroll would have rejected it as a script for Alice in Wonderland.†[13] However, this is just one example of the difficulty faced by the CSA in attempting to impose an administrative framework and order in its investigative case work over such complex, sensitive and fraught personal relationships. The very latest report on the Child Support Agency’s performance, published on 27 June 2006 by Independent Case Examiner (ICE) Jodi Berg (who is charged with the responsibility of monitoring the CSA) expresses â€Å"deep concern† about the standard of its investigation work and the weakness of the basic administration of the Agency.[14] Berg reported that complaints against the Agency rose 5 per cent over the past year and noted that more than fifty per cent of all complaints were associated with delays or errors in the case investigation process. This increase in complaints follows on the back of record increases in the past two years.[15] Given the problems identified above this is perhaps not surprising. Berg recommended in more than half of all complaints ultimately investigated (1,348 over the last year) that the CSA should offer some form of financial recompense to the complainant.. The examiner concluded that the Child Support Agency would only be able to deal wi th its poor levels of customer service if it achieved the establishment of â€Å"sound fundamental administration processes†.[16] It is submitted therefore, in summation on this issue, that the CSA operates under a weak and pregnable administrative system, and that holes and ambiguities in the system are exploited by non-resident parents determined to avoid paying child support by any means. This commentator asserts that this combination of factors is in large part responsible for the poor performance of the Agency’s work on case-investigation. Chapter 2: Adjudication Alongside its role as investigator, the Child Support Agency is charged with the responsibility to adjudicate the cases that come before it. It is clear that the Agency has dramatically under-performed in this area just as it has in other spheres of its activity. The National Audit Office (NAO) has qualified its opinion on the CSA’s account in every single year since the Agency’s inception due to the level of error detected in maintenance assessments.[17] The NAO has reported that more than a quarter of receipts from non-resident parents and, astonishingly, more than three quarters of maintenance assessment debts are incorrect under the CSA‘s accounts. The NAO has also estimated that overstatement errors run to more than  £20 million pounds per year and that understatement errors may amount to around twenty times that amount.[18] This is an appalling state of affairs, and one which prejudices, in particular, the interests of children which the CSA is supposedly duty bound to hold high. The CSA Standards Committee provides the Chief Executive with a independent review of the quality of decision making within the Agency, and on the mechanisms in place for quality assurance. The Committee expected an improvement in the standard of adjudication achieved by the CSA after transition from the old to the new scheme, however it noted in its 2003/04 annual report that the new IT system was unable to deliver the anticipated results.[19] The report indicates an overall accuracy figure of 81.8%, which is below the 90% target imposed by the Government. It is submitted that this figure, which suggests mistakes in around 20 per cent or one fifth of all adjudications is unacceptable and that it cannot be explained merely by blaming IT difficulties. It is argued that staffing issues and poor management and surveillance play a significant part in erroneous adjudications and this is one aspect of the work of the Agency that cannot be defended by pointing at the behaviour of recalcitra nt non-resident parents.. The accuracy of decisions exclusively made in maintenance assessments is put at 79.8 per cent by the Committee, which is a steadily improving figure. (accuracy was put at 75% in 2002/03 and 71.6% in 2001/02). The report suggests that the primary causes of â€Å"inaccuracy† under the old scheme were: miscalculation of earnings errors regarding housing costs supersession errors[20] insufficient documentary evidence..[21] The Committee expressed disappointment that similar errors appeared to be creeping into the operation of the rules under the new scheme, and reported that these included mistakes in the setting of effective dates, elements of client contact and erroneous earnings calculations.[22] In March 2005 the House of Commons Work and Pensions Committee delivered its report: The Child Support Agency: Government Response to the Committees 2nd Report of Session 2004–05. In this report the Work and Pensions Committee expressed continued concern at the â€Å"lower than expected level of accuracy of maintenance calculationsâ€Å". The Select Committee noted, the findings of the Agency’s Standards Committee as discussed above and recommended adherence to policies set down in the Transformation Programme designed to smooth the problematic transition from the old scheme to the new. These policies include double-checking for the most commonly made errors, and measures ensuring that all decisions are correctly documented (inadequately documented decisions are classified as inaccurate even if the calculation is correct). The Select Committee noted that a series of measures would be developed to further improve the adjudication process and these include: The adoption of a Standardised Adjudication Form – completion of which should be mandatory in the case of all â€Å"off-line decisions† unsupported by the system. It is submitted that this should support the documentary trail supporting these decisions. The introduction of a risk-based checking system – It is suggested that this policy should target surveillance and quality control resources on stages in the adjudication process known to be error-prone. In terms of opportunity-cost it is clearly prudent to make such stages a priority in this regard, but that is not to say that other less commonly arising mistakes should be ignored. Centralised Checking Teams – It is submitted that, in theory at least, this is also a well-founded policy. A centralised quality assurance mechanism, could more efficiently improve consistency and standardisation within the Agency and it is perhaps surprising that such a resource has not been in place within the CSA since its inception. Introduction of Quality Support Officers – again it is surprising that it took 12 years of operation before the creation of such posts were seriously considered. It is argued that the prior lack of such officers goes someway to explain the poor performance of the Agency since its establishment.. Such officers could quickly draw adjudication errors to the personal attention of the decision maker and the relevant Team Leader to ensure that misunderstandings are promptly and effectively rectified through focused coaching and targeted support.. Enhancements in Staff Training – Again it is noted that the User Education Programme concentrates on training aimed at eliminating the top five errors, but it is submitted that improvements aimed at eliminating the propensity to err in general should also be implemented if the Agency is really to address the mistakes plaguing its adjudication processes. As has been argued was the case in the context of the Agency’s case-investigation work the transition from the old scheme to the new scheme rules has proved problematic.. Efforts to improve the quality of the adjudication process have been hampered by the change from one system to the next and by the fact that the two quite different systems run in parallel and must be administered as such within the organisation.. These effects have been felt not only in the UK CSA but in its Northern Ireland counterpart. In the Annual Report on Decision Making in the Northern Ireland Child Support Agency (2003-2004)[23] the Independent Standards Committee reported that whereas under the old scheme around 1 in 4 decisions contained an error, under the new scheme almost half of adjudications contained a flaw, although curiously financial accuracy is reported to be 92 per cent in both cases. This suggests that most errors are either procedural in nature or to be found in the inaccurate/incomple te recording of decisions and this is very much a management issue. Ultimately, it is argued that it is the senior management team of the CSA that should be held responsible for the general tendency of the Agency to err in its adjudication role.. It is the function of the leadership of the Agency to set in place the appropriate systems and cultures necessary to ensure accuracy. After thirteen years of operation one would, it is submitted, properly expect that teething troubles in the adjudication process should have been long-since identified and rectified, but that does not appear to have been the case. Indeed the management malaise at the CSA, while perhaps most obvious in the context of poor adjudication standards, translates into below-par performance in other fields of activity beyond the largely internal scope of the adjudication process, with even greater force due to the determination of non-resident parents to hamper the administration that lax management has left pregnable.. Chapter 3: Enforcement Enforcement is the third of the CSA’s three main functions in the field of child support.. Yet again however, it is submitted that the Agency has been found lacking and criticism of its efforts in this arena has been both extensive and far-reaching. The CSA has consistently exhibited a disturbing failure properly to enforce maintenance payments. In an enforcement monitoring exercise supervised by the Child Support Agency Standards Committee in 2003 it was discovered that only 10 per cent of enforcement cases were dealt with in a correct manner. This, it is argued is a simply disgraceful state of affairs. Moreover, the National Audit Office has qualified the CSA’s Client Fund accounts in every single year since the Agency’s inception and this is an indefensible situation that would have led to collapse and investigation if it had occurred in the private sector in the context of any normal commercial undertaking.[24] Part of the blame can be laid on the behaviour o f obstructive non-resident parents but the lions share of the responsibility for this appalling record of failure must lie with the management and administration system dedicated to enforcement that those reluctant payers seem to find so easy to exploit. In principle, where a non-resident parent fails to pay regular maintenance, the Agency’s policies dictate that so-called â€Å"front-line staff† should endeavour to negotiate an arrears agreement. If such an agreement cannot be reached on a voluntary basis, and the non-resident parent is in employment, a debt manager may be called upon to impose a Deduction from Earnings Order on his or her salary. If this action proves ineffective the case will be referred to an Enforcement Team which will consider legal proceedings (this decision and the form of such proceedings is at the discretion of the Enforcement Team). The Child Support Agency Standards Committee have found numerous errors occurring at this important stage..[25] Among the errors the most commonly occurring include a failure to use the full range of powers available to the Agency to obtain information to allow the conversion of a case from an interim maintenance assessment to a full maintenance assessment.. In this regard it should be noted that section 14A of the Child Support Act permits criminal proceedings to be brought against those failing to provide information or who offer false information. It is argued that cultural factors within the management of the organisation deter resort to criminal action in some cases and that this tendency coupled with the fragile administrative superstructure is deleterious both to t he CSA’s performance and its reputation. Another frequently noted error is the incorrect application of Liability Orders, which are necessary to obtain legal recognition that a debt is owed as a precursor to further enforcement proceedings against the non-resident parent. In many other cases no action is taken after the issuing of a letter warning of enforcement action to an unresponsive non-resident parent.. There is strong anecdotal evidence and a commonly held public perception that the Agency takes a very tough and rigorous line on non-resident parent’s willing to cooperate and make payments, but a far less assiduous approach to uncooperative and evasive parents. It is submitted that there is a widely held belief that the CSA pursues this line with a view to the preservation of its own resources and the improvement of its own performance figures and the Agency is routinely criticised for disregarding the interests of children and single parents as a consequence. Indeed, the CSA has been roundly criticised by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman for this engrained pattern of behaviour.[26] However, that is not to say that the Agency has not made progress in some fields of enforcement activity. Prompted by recommendations made by the Standards Committee the CSA has sharpened its policies to some extent. For example the  £250 de minimis[27] debt threshold for enforcement action (imposed presumably for administrative and cost efficiency) has been abolished and new fines have been introduced along with the option to seek the withdrawal of driving licences from non-payers. That said, by 2005 the Agency had only used its power to withdraw driving licences 11 times in the five years since the introduction of the penalty[28], and given that over that period well in excess of 250,000 non-resident parents had become habitual non-payers, this must be viewed as a lamentable if not disgraceful record. Unfortunately the developing picture became even gloomier despite the increase in resources made available to the Agency’s enforcement teams. Billions of pounds have now been written off by the Agency as â€Å"uncollectable†. It is submitted that the Agency’s political overseers must take some of the blame alongside the senior management of the organisation. Under Tony Blair’s Labour administration the amount of the uncollected child maintenance had tripled from  £1.1bn in 1997 to  £3.3 billion by 2005. It is clear that the Agency puts insufficient emphasis on compliance and that, for some inexplicable reason it resorts to middle-order procedures to compel regular payments in far fewer instances than should be the case. The parent with care is typically forced to make numerous complaints before any enforcement action is taken by the CSA and even then there is no guarantee that effective measures are put in place. For example, it has been asserted that only around 19 per cent of long-term defaulting cases are subject to a Deduction of Earnings Order.[29] It has also been noted that the sheer amount of complex regulation confuses both parents with care and non-resident parents, and that the latter group has become skilled in the art of exploiting the convoluted appeal system so as to either evade payment or delay it for as long as possible.[30] This commentator is spoilt for choice in the selection of statistics for mention in this paper on the CSA’s enforcement performance but perhaps the most damning fact of all is that the Agency Enforcement unit retrievedjust  £8 million in 2005 but cost £12 million to operate.[31] That really speaks for itself. Again it is pertinent to restate the fact that non-resident parents have exacerbated difficulties over enforcement by their obstructive and often duplicitous behaviour, but this does not justify the results obtained by the Agency. If the CSA was using the full range of its powers to their full effect and achieving poor results, this commentator would indeed dwell more on the behaviour of parents and the agenda of the Government which awards and delimits the powers. However, it is manifestly clear that the Agency does not use its powers effectively something best evidenced by the stated statistic on the incredibly low use of the driving licence withdrawal option. Such a threat is obviously a potent weapon in the arsenal of the CSA, and while it may not always be appropriate, perhaps because the non-resident parent relies on his or her licence in order to generate an income, this commentator simply refuses to accept that it has only proved ap

Iagos Revenge in Shakespeares Othello :: Othello essays

Iago's Revenge in Othello      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Iago has a large appetite for revenge.   In his perspective, he believes that it is he who should be in charge, not Othello the moor.   This creates an anger in Iago, who entraps Othello in a web of deceit.   He does this through a series of suggestions and hesitations that entice and implant images in Othello's head that lead to his demise.   But what is more important is that he gives Othello the motive to murder innocent Desdemona.   Iago is constantly like a puppet master, pulling the strings of the people around him.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   There are many instances in the play where Iago is left by himself.   He utilises these opportunities by telling his future plans to the audience.   It would seen that he likes talking to himself about himself, which suggests he has much inner turmoil that he harbors close to his chest, but when the opportunity arises, he describes his deeds with a passion.   In the first of these monologues, he makes his intentions perfectly clear.   He implies that Othello has had an affair with his wife by stating "I hate the moor, And it is thought abroad that 'twixt my sheets He's done my office".   The irony of this statement is that in the next line he says that he does not know it for a fact, but because he suspects it, he will act as if for certain!   This gives me the impression from the beginning, that Iago is insane and exceedingly paranoid, going so far as to set up a cache of murders, just on the suspicion of adultery.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Iago was also jealous of the open and loving relationship that Othello had.   When Othello and Desdemona are reunited after the journey to Cyprus, he kisses her in full view of everyone.   Iago treats his wife as an object and she knows it.   In Act three, Scene four, she tells Desdemona "They are but stomachs, we are but food, and when they are full, they belch us".      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In Iagos' racist mind, he views his superior, Othello, as being of an inferior creed.   He sees him as possessing an evil mind and soul, and having no right to marry the very white and very naive Desdemona.

Healthy Lifestyle Final Research Report

Life SLEEP AND HEALTHY LIFESTYLE 1 Sleep and Healthy Lifestyle National University of Singapore Undergraduates Profile Jiexuan Wang SM2 Group 1 National University of Singapore SLEEP AND HEALTHY LIFESTYLE 2 Sleep and Healthy Lifestyle National University of Singapore Undergraduates Profile Sleeping, along with other healthy life habits has arisen awareness in recent years. As will be stated later, the majority of university undergraduates rarely took healthy living seriously.University students have long been known, as claimed by Dement (1997), to burn the midnight oil and maintain an unhealthy lifestyle, which could be potentially hazardous to their health condition. Apart from dozing off in the class, sleeping deprivation and poor sleeping quality led to many long-term effects on the health conditions. Recently, we conducted a survey among the National University of Singapore (NUS) undergraduates to explore their knowledge of healthy lifestyle and sleeping habits (see Appendix A In terview Questions).The research mainly covered the concept of a healthy lifestyle, the sleeping hours and rituals. The aim of this paper is to reveal the general sleeping and healthy lifestyle conditions among NUS undergraduates and to revoke awareness on the healthy lifestyle and sleeping issue. Methodology The primary evidence was collected from our interviews, and several related materials were analyzed as subsidiary resources. We conducted face-to-face interviews and recorded down the responds from respondents. Six faculties were involved in the research, including Faculty of Science, Faculty of Art and SocialSLEEP AND HEALTHY LIFESTYLE 3 Science, Faculty of Engineering, Faculty of Business, School of computing and School of design and environment. Because of the limitation of the research method, we have only covered 96 respondents in our research. Results and Discussion This research covers the concept of a healthy lifestyle, sleeping deprivation and other related perspectives . The result is to some extent in accordance with our expectation, but some of the problems of sleeping disorders and deprivation have grabbed our attention. This section will discuss these topics in detail.Healthy lifestyle concept The concept of a healthy lifestyle may vary according to different people. From the research, it is clear that sleep, nutrition and exercise are major contributing factors, with some of the respondents emphasizing the importance of scheduled and balanced lifestyle. However, they could only give an idea of the concept without knowing further about this topic. The following Figure 1 presents an idea of the respondents’ understanding of healthy lifestyle. 71 4 5 5 6 4 8 1 1 80 60 40 20 0 42 51 Figure 1 Healthy lifestyle Concept of NUS undergraduates number of espondents SLEEP AND HEALTHY LIFESTYLE 4 Sleeping hours Scientists accentuate the importance of length of sleep, suggesting a six to eight hours of sleep every night. Insufficient sleep may lead to diminishing productivity, tendency to make mistakes and most dangerously, unintended sleep. Figure 2 shows the sleeping hours among the respondents. The percentage of sleep deprivation among NUS undergraduates is sobering. 18 out of 95 respondents stated that they have less than 6 hours of sleep each day, and as one of the respondents added, â€Å"There were many students dozing off during lectures. In addition, some of the respondents gave details of the sleeping time at night, ranging from eleven o’clock to two or three o’clock in the morning, and even shockingly, four or five in the morning when there is no lecture in the morning. However, noting that our biological rhythms work just the other way around, the sleeping habits of the majority of undergraduates are unhealthy. Reports (Fredrik, 2007) indicated that the period of 11 o’clock in the evening to 3 o’clock in the morning is when the body goes through a detoxification process and any time be tween 5 o’clock to 7 o’clock in the morning is suitable for defecation process. 0 60 40 20 0 below 6 sleeping hours 6 to 8 above 8 18 5 72 Figure 2 Sleeping Hours among Undergraduates in NUS SLEEP AND HEALTHY LIFESTYLE 5 Sleeping Rituals Sleeping rituals could affect the sleeping efficiency and quality of sleep. Figure 3 illustrates the major sleeping rituals among the NUS undergraduates. One major factor is eating. Eating before bedtime has been a long-discussed topics among scientists. It is a two-edged sword, for sleep-benefit drinks such as a cup of warm milk can improve the efficiency of sleep while most snacks taken before bedtime are well known to be weight gaining.Interviews with respondents reveal that most of them will choose to eat before bedtime if they are hungry. However, burning the midnight oil easily contributes to bedtime eating habit. Besides, scientists claim that eating within three hours before bedtime is unhealthy (Taft, 2012). The research also reveals that the second most favorable activity before bedtime is to exercise, which was proved to be beneficial to the improvement of sleeping quality, as stated in (Wooten, 2007).Among other common sleeping rituals, recreations like movie watching may cause an excitement before sleeping time and resulted in sleeping disorder. number of respondents Exercising Chatting Set Alarm Shower Go Out Listening to Music Reading 25 12 12 9 37 1 1 3 2 1 16 15 15 19 Figure 3 Things NUS Undergraduates Do before Sleep SLEEP AND HEALTHY LIFESTYLE 6 Conclusion The research reveals that the majority of undergraduates have a relevantly clear concept of a healthy lifestyle and that the sleeping pattern of the majority of undergraduates is reasonably healthy.The overall results from each faculty were mostly the same (see Appendix B). However, when it comes to sleeping hours and sleeping rituals, much can be done to improve the quality and efficiency of sleep, in order to avoid impaired performances and unintended sleep during daytime. The significance of the study of sleeping patterns is obvious, for it reveals the healthy condition of undergraduates and possibly revokes awareness of sleeping issue among NUS undergraduates. (846 words) SLEEP AND HEALTHY LIFESTYLE 7 References Fredrik, P. (2007). When is the Best Time to Sleep?.Retrieved November 30, 2012 from http://www. ineedmotivation. com/blog/2007/10/when-is-the-best-time-to-sleep/ Taft, W. (2012). Stop eating three hours before bed. Retrieved November 30, 2012 from http://willtaft. com/eat-at-least-3-hours-before-going-to-sleep/ Dement, W. (1997). Sleepless at Stanford. In What all undergraduates should know about how their sleeping lives affect their waking lives. Retrieved November 30, 2012 from Stanford University, Center of Excellence for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Sleep Disorders Web site: http://www. stanford. du/~dement/sleepless. html Wooten, V. D. (2007). Discovery Health: â€Å"How to Fall Asleep†. Retri eved November 30, 2012 from http://health. howstuffworks. com/mental-health/sleep/basics/how-to-fall-asle ep. htm SLEEP AND HEALTHY LIFESTYLE 8 Appendix A Interview Questions 1. What is your concept of a healthy lifestyle? 2. What do you think are the factors that represent a healthy lifestyle? 3. Do you think that sleep is essential in maintaining a healthy lifestyle? Why? 4. How much sleep do you normally have? Is it any different during examinations? 5. Do you have any leeping ritual- ­? a series of actions that you usually carry out- ­? before going to sleep? How long does it take you to do this? 6. Do you eat before bedtime? A. What food/drink helps you to sleep? How does it help you to sleep? B. What food/drink prevents you to sleep? How does it prevent you to sleep? 7. Do you exercise before bedtime? What type of exercise do you do? How long does it take you to do this? 8. What other activities do you do before sleeping? Do/does these/this help or prevent you to sleep? SL EEP AND HEALTHY LIFESTYLE 9 Appendix B Research Data (Original)

First Amendment

The First Amendment is part of the Bill of Rights. The Bill of Rights is our rights as citizens living in the United States of America. In this paper I will look at three provisions to the First Amendment, highlighting one case for each provision. Included are one case to discuss freedom of speech, one case to discuss separation of church and state and one case to discuss freedom of association. 1.)Discuss at least one Supreme Court case of significance related to three of the provisions of the First Amendment. Case number 1: Cohen v. California, 403 U.S. 15 (1971), this was a United States Supreme Court case dealing with freedom of speech. The United States Supreme Court overturned a disturbing the peace conviction by a man who exited a courthouse wearing a jacket decorated with profanity. On April 26, 1968, Paul Robert Cohen was 19 at the time of his arrest outside a Los Angeles courthouse wearing a jacket decorated with profanity. His jacket had the words â€Å"[email  protected]%k the Draft.† Cohen was arrested for maliciously and willfully disturbing the peace or quiet by any person or a neighborhood. a.)Why did this case have to be heard and interpreted by the Supreme Court? Paul Robert Cohen was found guilty of disturbing the peace at a Los Angeles Courthouse. Cohen’s lawyers appealed and the conviction stood its ground in the California Court of Appeal. The California Supreme Court denied review, the United States Supreme Court granted to review and argue the case. The Court’s decision was in favor of Paul Robert Cohen by a vote of 5-4 and overturned the appellate court’s ruling. According to Justice John Marshall Harlan II â€Å"the state may not, consistently with the First and Fourteenth Amendments, make the simple public of this single four-letter expletive a criminal offense.† (Cohen v. California, docket #: 299, 1971). b.)How do the Supreme Court decisions in each case continue to affect the rights of American Citizens today? Cohen v. California is a landmark case because this case removes from our government the right to censor speech and determine what actions of speech are appropriate for a civil society (Balter-Reitz, 2003). This case affects all of us today because it prevents local and federal government determine what is appropriate or over the line when we are expressing ourselves. 2.)Discuss at least one Supreme Court case of significance related to three of the provisions of the First Amendment. Case number 2: McCollum v. Board of Education, 333 U.S. 203 (1948), this was a United States Supreme Court case dealing with separation of church and state. This case was argued at the United States Supreme Court to the power of a state to use tax money to support public schools to provide religious instruction. Vashti McCollum an atheist objected to the religious classes being provided by the Champaign public school district. McCollum argued that the school district violated the First Amendment, the principle of separation of church and state. a.)Why did this case have to be heard and interpreted by the Supreme Court? McCollum v. Board of Education, 333 U.S. 203 (1948) was first decided in the circuit court of Champaign County in favor of the school district. McCollum then appealed to the Illinois Supreme Court that held the lower court’s ruling. McCollum finally appealed to the United States Supreme Court that agreed to hear her case. The Courts decision was in favor or Vashti McCollum by a vote of 8-1ruling that the religious classes was unconstitutional. Justice Hugo Black stated that â€Å"To hold that a state cannot consistently with the First and Fourteenth Amendments utilize its public school system to aid any or all religious faiths or sects in the dissemination of their doctrines† (McCollum v. Board of Education, 333 U.S. 203, 1948). b.)How do the Supreme Court decisions in each case continue to affect the rights of American Citizens today? This was a landmark case because it separated church from state. This case also provided a level platform for those who are attending a public school. In the McCollum case her son was being singled and made fun of by other students because he did not attend the religious classes. This case was beneficial for all of us today to attend a public school government funded and not have to attend religious classes against our will. As a result of this case school officials in Champaign Ill, decided to release the students one hour earlier known as â€Å"release time† to attend religious classes without supervision from teachers or school officials (Time Magazine, 1948) 3.)Discuss at least one Supreme Court case of significance related to three of the provisions of the First Amendment. Case number 3: Boy Scouts of America et al. v. Dale, 530 U.S. 640 (2000), this was a United States Supreme Court case dealing with freedom of association. James Dale an assistant scoutmaster for the Boy Scouts of America was expelled from scouting after the Boy Scouts of America read an article at a local newspaper that Dale indicated and quoted that he was gay. a.)Why did this case have to be heard and interpreted by the Supreme Court? Boy Scouts of America et al. v. Dale, 530 U.S. 640 (2000), was first decided at a New Jersey Supreme Court which forced the Boy Scouts of America to readmit assistant Scoutmaster James Dale after learning that he is gay. The United States Supreme Court overturned the New Jersey Supreme Court decision and decided that forcing the Boy Scouts of America to readmit James Dale violated the rights of the Boy Scouts of America, specifically the freedom of association. The Freedom of Association allows a private organization to determine which person can be included into the organization (Boy Scouts of America et al. v. Dale, 530 U.S. 640, 2000.) b.)How do the Supreme Court decisions in each case continue to affect the rights of American Citizens today? Affects of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision on the case of Boy Scouts of America et al. v. Dale, 530 U.S. 640, (2000) is difficult to measure. It only has been 10 years since the decision but today we are experiencing other cases similar to one above. Cases of the military’s â€Å"don’t ask don’t tell† policy has recently been on the news as well states allowing or opposing gay marriages. I predict that the above case will be serving as a foundation for future decisions regarding Americans rights to freedom of association especially if they are gay. 4.)Evaluate the rights and responsibilities that the constitution provides you as an American Citizen. In the examination of the cases above, the Constitution provides me an American Citizen a safety net to argue situations when I felt that my constitution is being violated. I can believe that I can appeal to a higher court and all the way to the United States Supreme Court to make a final decision. In conclusion, this was a great paper to write because as an American Citizen I have neglected to fully understand the right given to me as a citizen. This paper made me realize how much protection I have as a citizen. After examining the three United States Supreme Court cases I am glad that there is a higher court and whether the decision is pro or con, I can rest assure that a fair and just decision will be made. References http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/faclibrary/case.aspx?case=Cohen_v_CA http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,804516,00.html caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=US&vol=000&invol=99-699 caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/cgi-bin/getcase.pl?court=US&vol=333&invol=203