Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Research Proposal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Research Proposal - Essay Example In essence, public policy has played a key part in addressing the issue of poverty (Lee 2006). Assessment of governments’ use of public policy in addressing the issue of poverty is a concern that needs to be articulated upon comprehensively since poverty has been widely known to carry luggage of other economic and social dev elopements. For example, studies have documented that if the issue of poverty can be solved, several other issues such as GDP can be partially be solved. In another dimension, study of how public policy can be used in eradicating poverty can be argued to possess great impact on identifying and raising issues that can help governments in making necessary measures that can help solve not only poverty issue but also other problems affecting the public (Chaturvedy 2005). In addition, in the process of investigating the phenomena at hand, it is apparent that different frameworks of how different governments have used in utilisation of public policy in addressin g public issues will be highlighted. This way, there will be a broader spectrum of how identified frameworks by successful governments can be applied by unsuccessful governments. In essence, the concern of the study will also try to interpret the differences that are recorded in different approaches of public policies in addressing public issues. 1.1 Research Questions Can public policy be used to solve the issue of poverty? In what ways can public policy be used to solve the issue of poverty? What are effects of failure to use public policy in solving the issue of poverty? 1.2 Objectives of the Study General objective To investigate if public policy can be used to solve the issue of poverty Specific objectives To assess ways in which public policy can be used to solve the issue of poverty To find out the effects of failure to use public policy to solve the issue of poverty 1.3 Conceptual Framework Independent variables Independent variable 2 Literature review Application of public policy in addressing public problems One of the apparent functions of public policy is the creation of legislations of social policies. In fact, as Lee 2006 asserted, the initial step in solving poverty issue is by putting social legislations in place. In this regard, the issue of public policy comes in. Nevertheless, focus on how an issue like poverty can be solved needs a clear articulation of several things. Basically, a government needs to conduct some research and evaluate the necessary steps to be taken in order to solve the problem. The below sections highlight some areas that governments can put public policy into action in order to curb the menace of poverty. 2.1 Creation of Labour Institutions One of the challenges of eradicating poverty is the issue of unemployment and poor employment conditions. Studies have indicated that countries with high unemployment rates experiences lower economic growth and are reported to have a higher level of poverty than counties with higher employment rates (Chaturvedy 2005). Poverty can be defined under

Monday, October 28, 2019

Building an Ethical Organization Part 2 Essay Example for Free

Building an Ethical Organization Part 2 Essay Individual: Building an Ethical Organization Part 1 The name of my organization is Focus Mental Health and Developmental Agency Focus is an agency that provides help and compassion to people that are going through a mental health issue whether it is needing counseling, support, or medication treatment Focus is your path to peace of mind. Substance abuse is another issue that we address from helping to get assistance to go into inpatient treatment facility, or outpatient treatment, as well as Aftercare which is a support program for clients being fresh out of drug or alcohol treatment or stopping using on their own. Recovery program that can be provided through Focus for continued success at a productive life for clients. Recovery is a life altering event because the client will be drug or alcohol free for a certain amount of time but will constantly be on a mission to stay free from these addictions. We have case managers who do home visits as well as office visits to stay on top of our clients’ needs before they become a crisis. We promote medication therapy which assists clients in staying on a strict medication regiment for mental health and some substance abuse treatments as well when necessary. Groups for substance and alcohol abuse meet weekly, the meeting are separated in to one for teenagers and one for adults as well as one for narcotics and one for alcohol abuse. Focus also has a team that works in human services call the impact team which do such things as take the clients grocery shopping, or to appointments or out to functions in town and even to visit family members they a re up close and personal with the clients. The clientele for Focus will be children starting at age 10 and up through adulthood. The clients are high in number in male and female ratio, meaning we service high numbers of both genders. Clientele for Focus consist of primarily low income clients but is open to all residents of Richmond County. Children and adults that may be going through a turning point in their lives and need some assistance in adapting to the changes and probably have no other place  to turn are much of Focus clientele. Within our substance abuse programs many of our clients are repeaters they have had some type of counseling or treatment in the past, the clients are children as well as adults. Much of our clientele is involved in long term care phases with Focus they are in need of support in their lives, medications and usually involved in aftercare or recovery. Mental health issues brings many clients to Focus, they sometimes come straight from the hospital to the offices of Focus they are usually in great need of care. Our clientele is very diverse we have to be prepared for almost anything from getting someone to speak another language to clients to giving a child a hug. Focus is a non-profit organization, but we do bring in an income by charging for services, on a sliding fee scale, services maybe free for those who qualify, or clients can setup a payment plan, but the rates are according to income and ability to pay. Focus has to charge a small fee to cover their bills and overhead to stay in business and grow and continue to service the Richmond County area. Focus is not in business to get wealthy but to make a difference in the lives of our clients and the community. The issue of Focus is to support an issue of private or public interest that does not include a monetary value. Mission Statement: Focus gracefully and respectfully service adults and children that may be at a turning point in their life and are having mental health and/or substance abuse issues, as well as people in any phase of relapse. Focus particularly caters to low income people but all are welcome, we serve the county of Richmond. Our goal is to provide our clients with the knowledge, treatment and support so they can return to a life of independence, good health and wellbeing; and Focus encourages and support clients in their aftercare and recovery as needed. We do not discriminate against anyone needing service for any reason; we are made up of a diverse society at Focus. The mission statement supports the ethical system because Focus not only will treat the clients and bring them around to better health and not only that Focus will make sure that the clients learns the tools they need to stay healthy and recover, and continue on a path to independence again. The mission statement supports the ethical s ystem because it calls for diversity which is a big part of the clients that come to the agency and the staff. The  message the mission statement send to the community is that we are here for you, to help you, support you and see that your needs are met. Focus will be with you through your journey and for the long term until you are able to become more manageable in your life. That during your need for Focus services you can count on us and we will teach you how to take the best care of yourself with and without our assistance. Drohan William M, (June 2010) wrote a successful statement becomes a unifying force, a foundation on which to build, and a reference point for everything the association does. Its well worth the time to make sure it is written in such a way that it will serve as a guide and an inspiration for many years to come. Values statement: At Focus we value and treat everyone that comes through our doors with mutual respect and dignity. We will have acceptance of all people regardless if there is any kind of difference between us, we will always embrace diversity. Focus will respect each client’s privacy by protecting their medical records at all times, and allowing only staff directly involved with client care to view records. There will be no room for sexual harassment of clients or staff. Kernaghan, K. (2003) writes, A values statement expressing values that are shared at all organizational levels-combined with the dispersal of leadership roles throughout the organization-provides an especially strong foundation for integrating values into public service. These values will inspire action and influence behavior because it states that you will be treated with mutual respect, so clients will know to be on their best behavior and staff will know that also as well as being professional at all times. By accepting d iversity that lets all clients know that they are welcome, important and will be getting equal treatment. The clients will feel protected knowing their medical records are kept confidential and they will not be sexually harassed during their visit. They both call for treating the clients with mutual respect, regardless of any type of differences that maybe. Values and mission statements both state that they are for diversity so it includes people, make people want to come forward and get care. Knowledge and support for the clients is a part of the values statement as well as the mission statement. Long term care is part of each statement which would usually be necessary for Mental Health and Substance abuse treatment. The mission statement and the values  statement in different ways states that they want the best for the clients, want them to get the best service or treatment available at Focus, so they can be their best. Code of Ethics All employees will abide by these codes of ethics at all times (except when necessary not to), we will present good conduct ourselves at all times to be a credit to the organization and the community we serve. Yi-Hui, Haung, (2010) states, First, responding to the argument that ethics codes are not an effective indicator of professionalism, I believe that a code of ethics is part of the standards that must be fulfilled for an occupation to be a profession, especially for public relations. 1.All staff should attempt to meet the needs of their clients, including committing to and respecting client rights and maintaining confidentiality at all times, except in special cases. 2.Staff should be knowledgeable in a variety of areas and situations in order to be able to effectively perform their duties in human services. 3.All staff must work well with their peers and should show mutual respect for one another, and avoid negative criticism. 4.All staff must carry themselves in a professional manner at all times and must not let their personal lives interfere with being professional on the job. 5.All staff should work for the benefit of society and make sure that all clients equal rights are protected and have an opportunity for helpful services that meet their need. 6.Staff will not argue with clients or other staff if a situation should come up between either of the two it must be taken to the supervisor and dealt with directly if the situation cannot be handle in any other fashion 7.All staff must vow to speak up if they see or know of another employee that is violating the codes of ethics, the law, or a client these matters must be addressed with your immediate supervisor. 8.The use of drugs will not be tolerated, and the use of alcohol while on the clock will not be tolerated either, if you suspect another employee report it, it is for the safety and protection of the organization. 9.All employees should exercise their power to prevent mistakes or wrongdoing by ask ing questions at the right time. 10.All staff should respect the property of others, be honest and not take unfair advantage of other employees. The code of ethics inspires a tangible outcome from an employee because they will want to be the best example for the organization and their peers. The  code of ethics would cause the employee to check their work more carefully and make sure it is done correctly and by the law as well as dealing with the clients. The code also helps the employees feel protected, because it sets rules and guidelines for the employees and all must abide by them equally. The code of ethics is related to the mission and values of the organization because they are there to co-inside with each other for the direction of the organization, and the protection of the clients and staff. All three are necessary for the good of the organization, the focus and the goal to be effective. Our organization plans on having a relaxing, calm, approachable family oriented culture. The atmosphere will be calming, loud noise will be prevented as much as possible, and we tell our clients to invite a family member if possible to the appointments. Our staff will carry themselves in a professional, plight and clam manner in order to set an example for the clients, so they will not get excited. The culture will institutionalize the organizations values by having them mesh together. When the clients see how the environment of the organization is they will be more than willing to come to their appointments regularly and participate in their treatment and perhaps invite a family member. Even though this will be a change for the clients from an institution staff will do everything to help them adjust. Focus employees will treat everyone with dignity, respect, honest, and kindness this is the type of atmosphere we represent. Identifying my moral responsibility as a leader is of importance, because the workers will be watching and imitating the kind of behavior that I display, the leader sets the mood in the environment in the whole organization. I will be responsible for all action that I take part in, and be honest and truthful in all my actions. While trying to maintain the ethical standard I will be evaluating their performance in six month intervals and on their anniversary date. For the six month if no problems the employee will get a gift card to a store and for the anniversary day they get a raise. I will have a one on one meeting to talk about their performance evaluation and their strengths and weakness and how they can improve during their job. I will keep a record of all evaluation so I can assist workers in being the best employee they can be. I will lead by example. Part of my moral responsibility is to lead the worker to the best of my abilities. I wil l make sure that I set the same kind of ethical  standards that I would like for my workers to follow. Morals have to do with values and values relate to compassion, integrity, and dignity and these are things that I will display while I am in a leadership role. I will maintain Focus ethical standard while measuring the workers performance by treating all employees as individuals and as fair as possible. There will be an ethics committee which will consist of the me, my boss and one employee so the employees will have a voice. The ethics committee will review the evaluations to make sure all rule and guidelines have been followed and the committee will study different methods and organization policy to look for what is right and what is wrong. Other than me leading by example and the ethics committee the workers will follow suit and become loyal employees. The structures I would put in place for oversight is training for employees, evaluate new employees the first six months of em ployment. In conclusion the mission and value statements and the code of ethics form the core of Focus is something that clients and employees can value in the organization. They serve as a guiding tool for employees so they can give their clients the best service practically every time. Effective leadership is necessary for morale and production in the organization and that comes from a good leader. Performance evaluations will play an important role in the structure of the employee’s positions. Periodical performance evaluations are necessary in order to evaluate the performance of the employees and maintain an ethical standard. The Focus is a place where people with mental health issues and/or substance abuse issues can come for help and get their needs met and feel safe. References Drohan, W. M. (1999, January). Writing a mission statement. Association missions statement; writing, 51(1), 1. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/docview/229219642? Kernaghan, K. (2003). Integrating values in to public services: The value statement as a centerpiece. Public Administration Review, 63(6), 711-719. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy..apollolibrary.com/docview/197169756? Huang, Y. (2010, June). Should a public relations code of efforts be enforced.. Journal of Business Ethics, 31(3), 259-270. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.exproxy.apollolibrary

Saturday, October 26, 2019

miscarriages of justice Essays -- essays research papers

The statement "It is better that 10 guilty persons escape than that one innocent suffer" summarises and highlights the mistakes and injustices in the criminal justice system. In a just society, the innocent would never be charged, nor convicted, and the guilty would always be caught and punished. Unfortunately, it seems this would be impossible to achieve due to the society in which we live. Therefore, miscarriages of justice occur in the criminal justice system more frequently than is publicised or known to the public at large. They are routine and would have to be considered as a serious problem in our society. The law is what most people respect and abide by, if society cannot trust the law that governs them, then there will be serious consequences including the possible breakdown of that society. In order to have a fair and just society, miscarriages of justice must not only become exceptional but ideally cease to occur altogether. A miscarriage of justice is basically "a failure to attain the desired end result of justice". In our society, every person should be treated equally and fairly as "our legal institutions are premised on the idea that our legal system is both neutral and impartial, and that all persons are equal in the eyes of the law". The country in which we were born, the language we speak, the colour of our skin and our gender should be of no relevance in deciding the outcome of justice. All these notions are part of "due process" and if this occurs in our society, why are there still miscarriages of justice? Our legal system is based on the fact that everyone deserves a fair hearing. In theory this is ideal, but due to human nature mistakes will always occur. The introduction of DNA into the courtroom ( which can free innocent people wrongfully convicted of a crime twenty years ago) and Anderson's view on allowing juries to ask questions and participate more in tria ls (by stating the evidence on which they base their convictions), on the surface appear beneficial to the outcome of justice, and in some cases this will be the result. However, justice will always be hindered by humans and their corrupt side. Unfortunately, this is part of human nature and even the people in high positions are not immune. When a person is accused of being "guilty", society must assume the person is innocen... ...ct that in less serious crimes the defendant will plead guilty in order to receive a better deal. The theories of Anderson, Hogg,Walker and Wilson are justified opinions and could be advantageous to the criminal justice system. However, even if these theories are implemented into our society, corruption will still always occur. Unfortunately, it is just part of human nature. It is futile to establish new methods of judgement without considering the fact that corruption occurs throughout all levels of society. Juries, police, and lawyers can all be persuaded and succumb to corruption if it suits their needs to do so. Likewise, DNA samples can be tampered with or plagued by human error. It is a vicious circle and until human beings change, miscarriages will continue to occur. Miscarriages of justice are definitely not exceptional and occur much more frequently than most people realise. They place a great burden on our society as a whole and cause injustices and hardships to many people. Just because we do not hear about them, does not mean they don't exist. As Walker states "s ince justice is applied by fallible, prejudiced human beings, miscarriages are inevitable".

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Internet Privacy in the Modern World Essay

The internet’s debut in 1988 which had revolutionized commercial transactions all around the globe had grown exponentially over the past decade. In fact, the world internet users and population statistics by the Miniwatts Marketing Group (2009) showed that 23.5% of the world’s population are internet users and that the growth of internet users from 2000-2008 is 336.1 %. This rapid increase in internet users paved the way for the development of electronic commerce or E-commerce. E-commerce, the exchange of information, goods or services online, had also gained popularity over time as more and more people discover the expediency of online transactions. However, the internet, which is a huge storage room of information, poses risks to one’s privacy through these E-commerce transactions. The privacy risks faced by internet users is one of the biggest threats in E-commerce, thus, this paper’s purpose is to provide information regarding internet privacy and the dangers associated with the loss of that privacy through the discussion of the following topics: the definition of internet privacy, the means through which one’s privacy can be compromised through the internet and the reason why internet privacy had become a major public concern. I. What is Internet Privacy? Internet privacy, which is another branch of privacy, is a basic human right. It refers to an individual’s ability to protect information about himself (Gadberg, Wagner & Brewer, n.d.). Privacy is protected by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and by various laws in different countries around the world. According to the initial results of the data privacy survey conducted by the director of the Philippine Internet Commerce Society, Atty. Lalen Parlade, almost all respondents in the private sector believed that data privacy is part of every person’s right to privacy, and that this right imposes limitations on the use by the government of citizens’ personal data (including name, personal circumstances, contact information), and limitations on the collection and use by private individuals of an individual’s personal data (including name, personal circumstances, contact information, credit card) . On the internet, privacy can be divided into personal information privacy, privacy of communications and anonymity. Personal information privacy deals with the amount of personal information shared with anyone else on the internet without permission. Privacy communications or message privacy is concerned with the security of information sent through communication channels, that is, the information sent would not be intercepted and leaked en route. Finally, anonymity deals with keeping one’s identity confidential (â€Å"Privacy,† n.d.). Among the three aspects of privacy, internet privacy is closely linked to anonymity which is the privacy of identity. Anonymity can refer to either persistent anonymity or one-time. Persistent anonymity refers to an online persona different from the personality created. On the other hand, one-time anonymity refers to an online persona that lasts for one use (Gadberg, Wagner & Brewer, n.d.). II. In what ways can one’s privacy be compromised through the Internet? One’s internet privacy can be compromised due to various data mining devices which store an individual’s personal information usually without that person’s consent. Some of the most common devices that collect a person’s data are search engines, spywares and cookies. Almost every individual who uses the internet is familiar with search engines such as Yahoo, MSN and Google. Search engines are the tools one uses when looking for information in the World Wide Web, the results of the search which are called hits are presented in a list. It is widely used for data gathering in the internet. In fact, the word google, the name of the leading search engine today, is starting to become a verb which is synonymous to look up or search. However, using search engines also has its costs, one of which was explained by Rushe (2007) in his statement, â€Å" A lot of people don’t realize that search engines save everything for you, everything you’ve searched for†¦the more these issues get into press, the more people realize that when they sit down at their keyboard, they’re being watched.† Many companies, including Internet Service Providers, search engine firms, and web-based businesses, monitor users as they travel across the Internet, collecting information on what sites they visit, the time and length of these visits, search terms they enter, purchases they make, or even â€Å"click-through† responses to banner ads. In the off-line world this would be comparable to, for example, having someone follow you through a shopping mall, scanning each page of every magazine you browse though, every pair of shoes that you looked at and every menu entry you read at the restaurant. When collected and combined with other data such as demographic or â€Å"psychographic† data, these diffuse pieces of information create highly detailed profiles of net users. These profiles have become a major currency in electronic commerce where they are used by advertisers and marketers to predict a user’s preferences, interests, needs and possible future purchases. Most of these profiles are currently stored in anonymous form. However, there is a distinct likelihood that they will soon be linked with information, such as names and addresses, gathered from other sources, making them personally identifiable (â€Å"Privacy and Human Rights 2003: Threats to Privacy,† n.d.). Due to these reasons, the public started to doubt the credibility of search engine companies. Google, which is the most popular search engine today, is feared by many. As expressed by Jesdanun (2001), â€Å"Although many internet users eagerly await technology from Google, Inc., it’s rapid expansion is also promoting concerns that the company may know too much: what you read, where you surf and travel and whom you write.† According to Chris Hoofnagle, senior counsel of the Electric Privacy Information Center,† This is a lot of information in a single basket. Google is becoming one of the largest privacy risks on the internet† (as cited by Jesdanu n,2001). In, addition to search engines there are spywares whose existence places computer users under constant surveillance by strangers. Spyware may be described as any software that uses a person’s internet connection as a backdoor approach intended to access personal or business information, without the knowledge or consent of the computer user. Spyware is often introduced into computers when people download files off the internet. File sharing can pose risks of spyware download, when people download music, movie or other types of p2p file sharing programs. Marketing and promotional companies use spyware as an effective tool, to access and collect information from computers. Spyware enables them to observe sites being visited, products being bought, chat line discussions, topics of interest, online searches by the user and the information obtained, allows the marketing company to direct targeted products or services. Spyware revolves around information going out to promotional companies and related advertisements coming in via the internet by way of email or pop-ups ads. Needless to say that spyware poses an immense threat to any computer user and can lead to the loss of privacy, stolen identity and financial risks. Spyware is a comprehensive term that includes adware,a trojan horse, a browser hijacker, keyloggers, and dataminers all of which affect online privacy. (â€Å"Are Your Computer Activities under Surveillance by Strangers,† n.d.). Finally, there are cookies. Almost every media site on the net uses cookies. Popular blogs have embraced them, Google and Yahoo! dispatch them to better target ads, retailers like Amazon rely on them to fulfill orders and even Sesame Street deploys them on its Web site. Cookies are simply text files sent by a Web site to your computer to track your movements within its pages. They’re something like virtual license plates, assigned to your browser so a site can spot you in a sea of millions of visitors. Cookies remember your login and password, the products you’ve just bought, or your preferred color scheme. Cookies make navigating the Web profoundly easier; however, there are third-party cookies which are also known as â€Å"tracking cookies† that are placed by an entity that’s interested in tagging visitors. Often they make sure a user won’t be hit with the same ad twice; others guarantee that someone who says they have an interest in sports gets different ads than someone who likes gadgets. But third-party cookies could also be used to compile a dossier of surfing habits, that means that it could track you over dozens of sites, logging every article you read, every ad you click on, and every gadget and gizmo you buy without your knowledge or approval (Penenberg, 2005). III. Why is Internet Privacy a major public concern? The great innovation that has led to the e-commerce revolution over the past decade has been the result of an open and flexible network environment with ever increasing connectivity and functionality. Unfortunately, this has also created many security vulnerabilities which represent a threat to users of the internet and to e-commerce merchants. Due to the glitch in the internet’s security system, privacy has become a major concern on the internet. The extraordinary growth of the Internet has created a number of privacy issues that society has never encountered before and therefore has been slow to address. Privacy issues on the Internet relate to two major concerns. The first concern is to control the rate, type and sequence of the information one views. A second concern relates to the ability of users to address and understand how organizations collect and use personal information on the Internet (â€Å"Internet Privacy,† n.d.). The first concern which is a control concern is the category to which spam belongs. Spam refers to a huge number of unwanted mails which are usually for commercial purposes. This is applicable to e-mails which convey the same message but sent repeatedly by the sender. This violates one’s privacy because it intrudes upon an individual’s private space and it results from the circulation of one’s e-mail address in the internet. The second concerns the various methods through which data privacy can be violated online through the use of information collected by commercial organizations. As Givens (2001) pointed out,† News stories of internet privacy threats are common place these days. The internet was designed as an inherently insecure communications vehicle. Hackers easily penetrate the most secure facilities of the military and financial institutions. Internet companies have designed numerous ways to track web users as they travel and shop throughout cyberspace. â€Å"Cookie† is no longer a word associated solely with sweets. It now refers to cyber-snooping. Identity thieves are able to shop online anonymously using credit-identities of others. Web-based information brokers sell sensitive personal data, including social security numbers, relatively cheaply. â€Å" One of the concerns raised by a number of individuals is the use of one’s stored information which refers to the fact that one’s online actions could be monitored by unauthorized parties, logged and preserved for future access many years later. One might not realize that one’s personal information has been monitored, logged and subsequently disclosed; those who would compromise one’s privacy have no incentive to give a warning (Gadberg, Wagner& Brewer, n.d.). Thereby, the accrued information about an individual’s transactions can incriminate or cause damage to the person from whom that information was collected. Another public concern is identity theft. Puno pointed out that the advent of the internet had provided â€Å" a new field of battle† in the right to privacy, saying that it may deprive individuals of the right to control the flow of information about themselves (as cited by Uy, March 13, 2008). The huge amount of information flowing freely on the internet makes an individual vulnerable to identity theft. Identity theft is a major problem and a vexing threat. It takes diverse forms and degrees ranging from simple unauthorized use of a credit card to complete takeover of a person’s identity. Furthermore, law enforcement officers find it difficult to identify and apprehend online Identity thieves. This may be due to the fact that they can use technology to conceal their identities and physical location, thereby frustrating law enforcement efforts to locate them. Accordingly, identifying an electronic crime scene can be a daunting task when the perpetrator may have routed his communications with the victim through computers in three or four countries, with obscure networks that are inaccessible to investigators. Additionally, perpetrators could make things much more difficult and complicated by using technology and encryption techniques that provide a high level of anonymity or assuming the identity of an innocent person. Moreover, the scale of online identity theft can exceed that of real-world crime in terms of the degree of harm inflicted by a single crime (Chawki & Wahab, 2006). Going further, another concern is being stalked and bullied online. Bullying and stalking are not only applicable in the real world but in the virtual world as well. Cyberbullying refers to the new, and growing, practice of using technology to harass, or bully, someone else. Bullies used to be restricted to methods such as physical intimidation, postal mail, or the telephone. Now, developments in electronic media offer forums such as email, instant messaging, web pages, and digital photos to add to the arsenal. Computers, cell phones, and Personal Digital Assistants are new tools that can be applied to an old practice. Cyber stalking on the other hand is almost always characterized by the stalker relentlessly pursuing hisher victim online and is much more likely to include some form of offline attack, as well. This offline aspect makes it a more serious situation as it can easily lead to dangerous physical contact, if the victim’s location is known (McDowell, 2008). Due to the nature of the above-mentioned concerns, internet privacy, specifically personal information privacy is very important. If one’s real identity is known in the cyber world one would be very vulnerable to the attacks of cyberbullies and cyberstalkers. Conclusion The increasing use of the internet in conducting E-commerce transactions totally changed the way of life. Today, with a click of a button one can get in touch with the rest of the world, one can get the latest lotto results online and one can pay our bills directly from our homes. However, while an individual is enjoying the features of the internet, that person is also faced with huge threats to privacy. These threats could be risky to an individual’s personal information privacy, privacy in communications and anonymity. But these trade-offs are necessary in order to utilize the functionality of the internet. It would be impossible to stop the use of internet especially at this age where different organizations from around the world are use the internet in conducting different transactions. Also, the internet is a huge information pool that provides large amounts of information to its users everyday. Of the 6,710,029,070 people in the world 1,574,313,184 for varying reasons. The internet also provides employment for a number of individuals so abolishing it is not an option. Internet Privacy is a very essential issue regarding E-commerce because it is one of the reasons why a number of individuals are still hesitant about going online. Getting rid of various data mining devices in the World Wide Web is also impossible because even if there are costs associated with those tools they also have their benefits. And so, the best course of action involves taking precautions in safeguarding one’s identity and staying informed. Gaining knowledge about internet privacy is very important because through this we will be aware of the amount of personal data that we reveal online.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Erikson’s stages of psychosocial development

Biography of Erik Erikson Erik Hamburger Erikson born in 1902 Frankfurt, Germany. He never knew his biological father. A few years after Erie's birth, her mother took him to a local Jewish pediatrician, Dry. Theodore Hamburger for a treatment of minor illness. His mother and the pediatrician eventually fell in love. He quickly developed a sense that something was wrong his mother and father were Jewish his own physical appearance was clearly Scandinavian. Later on he found the truth about his heritage, his identity crisis was worsened. Rejecting his stepfather's plea to become physician.He went to Europe and enrolled in art school and eager to learn about culture and history. He returned home at the age of 25 prepared to settle down and teach art for a living. Erikson was asked by his former high school friend Peter Blobs to Join him as a teacher in Experimental Nursery school in Vienna where he met Anna Freud and her famous father Sigmund Freud. Anna Freud was trying to convert psyc hoanalytic interest in childhood experiences of adult. Erikson shared her pioneering interest and was eventually trained by her as a child analyst.Erikson was still unsure to earn his living a psychoanalyst because still wanted to paint and draw. However, he began to see a connection between psychoanalysis and art. He observed that children's dream and play involve important visual images that only later are translated into words in therapy. Concepts and Principles Erosion's position represents a systematic extension of Fraud's view of the role of ego in personality functioning. Erikson is a Freudian ego-psychologist. Erikson proposed that ego often operates independently of id emotions and motivation.Ego functions to help individual adapt to challenges presented by the surrounding. Ego Psychology Emphasized the integration of biological and psychosocial forces in determination of personality functioning. Epigenetic Principle The idea that human development is governed by a sequence of stages that depend on genetic or hereditary factors This principle says that we develop through a predetermined unfolding of our personalities in eight stages. Our progress through each stage is in part determined by our success, or lack of success â€Å"crisis†, in all the revises stages.Crisis defined as the crucial period in every stage. Virtue â€Å"inherent strength or active quality' human qualities or strength emerge from successful resolution of crisis. Psychosocial Development: Stages of Ego Development Stage Basic Conflict Virtue Important Events Outcome Infancy (birth to 18 months) Trust vs.. Mistrust HOPE Feeding Children develop a sense of trust when caregivers provide reliability, care, and affection. A lack of this will lead to mistrust. Early Childhood (2 to 3 years) Autonomy vs.. Shame and Doubt WILL Toilet TrainingChildren need to develop a sense of personal control over physical skills and a sense of independence. Success leads to feelings of autonomy, failure results in feelings of shame and doubt. Preschool/Play Age (3 to 5 years) Initiative vs.. Guilt PURPOSE Exploration Children need to begin asserting control and power over the environment. Success in this stage leads to a sense of purpose. Children who try to exert too much power experience disapproval, resulting in a sense of guilt. School Age (6 to 1 1 years) Industry vs.. Inferiority COMPETENCE SchoolChildren need to cope with new social and academic demands. Success leads to a sense of competence, while failure results in feelings of inferiority. Adolescence (12 to 18 years) Identity vs.. Role Confusion FIDELITY Social Relationships Teens need to develop a sense of self and personal identity. Success leads to an ability to stay true to yourself, while failure leads to role confusion and a weak sense of self. Young Adulthood (19 to 40 years) Intimacy vs.. Isolation LOVE Relationships Young adults need to form intimate, loving relationships with other people.Success dads to strong relationships, while failure results in loneliness and isolation. Middle Adulthood (40 to 65 years) Generatively vs.. Stagnation CARE Work and Parenthood Adults need to create or nurture things that will outlast them, often by having children or creating a positive change that benefits other people. Success leads to feelings of usefulness and accomplishment, while failure results in shallow involvement in the world. Maturity(65 to death) Ego Integrity vs.. Despair WISDOM Reflection on Life Older adults need to look back on life and feel a sense of fulfillment.Success at this tag leads to feelings of wisdom, while failure results in regret, bitterness, and despair. Strengths and Weaknesses of Erik Erosion's Theory Strengths Comprehensiveness It addresses itself to wide variety of phenomenon both normal and abnormal and seeks to biological, social, cultural and historical factors. Heuristic Value Within Psychology, Erosion's work has contributed directly to lifespan psycholo gy and the development of adult psychology. Applied Value Erosion's work has practical impact in the area of child psychology and psychiatry, counseling, education and social work.Weaknesses Male Bias Erik Erikson articulated psychosocial stage describes the life cycle hallmarks of white, western society and may not apply well to other cultures or even to our own today/ present time. Erosion's positive outcome (such as autonomy, initiative, industry) virtues (such as will, purpose and competence) are frequently seen as characteristics of healthy male development. And his negative ones, (doubt, guilt and inferiority) are seen as reflecting unhealthy female development. Sailing's studies of girl and women's development suggest different positive values emerge in healthy

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Aviation Safety Program Management Example

Aviation Safety Program Management Example Aviation Safety Program Management – Article Example Aviation Safety Management Program Aviation Safety Management programs are being applied in various aviation industriesworldwide. There are various changes taking place in the aviation industry to ensure that the national airspace meets the future customer demands (SkyBrary, 2012). The transport system is undergoing various changes to ensure that the overcrowded skies facilitate speed and efficiency while ensuring safety of the skies. Safety Management Programs in the aviation industry are measure or principles that are aimed at reducing injuries accruing from accidents due to the use of a product or service (Byron, 2007). In USA, the Federal Aviation Administration is tasked with carrying out inspections of the aviation businesses to ensure that the safety measures are implemented. This paper will focus on discussing the aviation safety management program and its application in today’s industry.In 2011, various industries in the aviation industry faced fines due to non compli ance to the aviation safety program. FAA proposed a fine of about $625,000 on Pinnacle which is a regional affiliate airline of Delta Airline (SkyBrary, 2012). FAA accused the airline of using their regional jet for local flights after a flight crew rather than a maintenance crew performed maintenance tasks on the jet. FAA also alleged that the company used the Canadair regional jet without inspecting the crack on the casing around the engine. Due to this, size of the crack had increased in size and posed a risk to the safety of customers and the American skies. In its defense, the airline management maintained that they ensured that the right staff did their job. They also claimed that safety was one of their priorities (Byron, 2007).The ICAO Safety Management Manual (Doc 9859) identifies two types of safety management programs applicable in the aviation industry. This includes the reactive (traditional) and proactive (modern) safety management programs (SkyBrary 2012). The reactiv e safety management program is used when dealing with technological failures. This program aims at achieving the levels of reported safety levels. On the other hand, the proactive safety programs aim at identifying the hazard before they materialize into a disaster. It also encompasses measure taken to reduce the safety risk.Reference ListByron, B. (2007). Safety Management Systems. Flight Safety Australia,13 (4), 319-335. Retrieved from casa.gov.au/wcmswr/_assets/main/fsa/2007/dec/18-25.pdfSkyBrary. (2012). Safety Management. Retrieved from skybrary.aero/index.php/Safety_Management

Monday, October 21, 2019

The eNotes Blog Some Take-Aways from Twitters FictionFestival

Some Take-Aways from Twitters FictionFestival As promised in last weeks post on Twitters Fiction Festival, heres a round up of a few standouts of the online event, which finished this past Sunday. Four things I took away from the festival, besides learning how to read from the ground up: 1. My personal favorite was Andrew Pypers sinister adaptation of Thomas Hardys classic horror novel The Turn of the Screw. Only downside, should blare a massive SPOILER ALERT banner at the top of the account page. Do not ruin this story for yourself by reading the first few tweets! Scroll straight to the bottom of White House, which you can read in full  here. #socreepy 2. Another fantastic creative endeavor was writer Lucy Coats retelling of 100 myths in 100 tweets. Check out this pithy (and alliterative) summary of Odysseus encounter with the sirens, below: You can find a collection of many more of her mythical re-imaginings, including the tales of Leda and the Swan and Heracles, at her twitter account here. #pervyancientgreeks 3. Elliott Holts mystery tale had an interesting twist to it. The story was made up of tweets from a crowd of partygoers, unambiguous as to whether what they witnessed was a suicide, an accident, or murder. The multiple voices create an interesting, interwoven narration. Plus the self-centeredness and banality with which these characters tweet spins an interesting satire on the way we present our lives online for others amusement and approval. I think. Scroll down Holts twitter page to read this very interesting and suspenseful form of the classic murder mystery. #likecluebutbetter 4. Twit-Lit-Crit: so now that we have twitterature changing the form of storytelling, will literary criticism follow in the same vein? Carmel Doohan of Exeunt Magazine conveyed a critique of the weekend via a series of tweets, just like the authors had done themselves: Essentially a blank page where any text or format can be uploaded,  @storify  makes a bricolage of social media. On it the twitter fiction works, but when encountered on twitter itself it is frustrating; interruptions and RTs spoil the flow Yet there is something very modernist about it- interruptions incorporated into the fiction; remaining true to the fragmentation of reality Even the Guardian jumped into the fray, doling out self-effacing reviews in under 140 characters. It makes me wonder, like Doohan asks, will the twitter essay forever change the face of  criticism? Answers on a postcard. Did you have time to check out the Twitter Fiction Festival? If so, what were your take-aways?

Sunday, October 20, 2019

Ladybugs, Family Coccinellidae

Ladybugs, Family Coccinellidae Ladybugs, or ladybirds as they are also called, are neither bugs nor birds. Entomologists prefer the name lady beetle, which accurately places these lovable insects in the order Coleoptera. Whatever you call them, these well-known insects belong to the family Coccinellidae. All About Ladybugs Ladybugs share a characteristic shape- a dome-shaped back and a flat underside. Ladybug elytra display bold colors and markings, usually red, orange, or yellow with black spots. People often believe the number of spots on a ladybug tells its age, but this is not true. The markings may indicate a species of Coccinellid, although even individuals within a species can vary greatly. Ladybugs walk on short legs, which tuck away under the body. Their short antennae form a slight club at the end. The ladybugs head is almost hidden beneath a large pronotum. Ladybug mouthparts are modified for chewing. Coccinellids became known as ladybirds during the Middle Ages. The term lady references the Virgin Mary, who was often depicted in a red cloak. The 7-spot ladybird (Coccinella 7-punctata) is said to represent the Virgins seven joys and seven sorrows. Classification of Lady Beetles Kingdom - AnimaliaPhylum - ArthropodaClass – InsectaOrder – ColeopteraFamily - Coccinellidae The Ladybug Diet Most ladybugs are predators with ravenous appetites for aphids and other soft-bodied insects. Adult ladybugs will eat several hundred aphids before mating and laying eggs on the infested plants. Ladybug larvae feed on aphids as well. Some ladybug species prefer other pests, like mites, white flies, or scale insects. A few even feed on fungus or mildew. One small subfamily of ladybugs (Epilachninae) includes leaf-eating beetles like the Mexican bean beetle. A small number of beetles in this group are pests, but by far the majority of ladybugs are beneficial predators of pest insects. The Ladybug Life Cycle Ladybugs undergo complete metamorphosis in four stages: egg, larva, pupa, and adult. Depending on the species, female ladybugs may lay up to 1,000 eggs within a few months from spring to early summer. Eggs hatch within four days. Ladybug larvae resemble tiny alligators, with elongated bodies and bumpy skin. Most species go through four larval instars. The larva attaches itself to a leaf, and pupates. Ladybug pupae are usually orange. Within 3 to 12 days, the adult emerges, ready to mate and feed. Most ladybugs overwinter as adults. They form aggregates, or clusters, and take shelter in leaf litter, under bark, or other protected places. Some species, like the Asian multicolored lady beetle, prefer to spend the winter hidden in the walls of buildings. Special Adaptations and Defenses of Ladybugs When threatened, ladybugs reflex bleed, releasing hemolymph form their leg joints. The yellow hemolymph is both toxic and foul-smelling, and effectively deters predators. The ladybugs bright colors, red and black in particular, may signal its toxicity to predators as well. Some evidence suggests that ladybugs lay infertile eggs along with fertile ones, in order to provide a food source for hatching larvae. When the natural food supply is limited, the ladybug lays a higher percentage of infertile eggs. Range and Distribution of Ladybugs The cosmopolitan ladybug can be found throughout the world. Over 450 species of ladybugs live in North America, though not all are native to the continent. Worldwide, scientists have described over 5,000 Coccinellid species.

Saturday, October 19, 2019

This is not a paper just a MIDTERM question Essay - 1

This is not a paper just a MIDTERM question - Essay Example However, through the Bureau of budget formed in 1970 during President Nixon’s Administration which was and is still referred to as the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). This office is the largest office in the Executive office of the President, and is mandated to advise the president on issues related to budgeting and finance, also to countercheck and oversee budget and financial management of other executive branch groups (Gibbler, 2006, p. 14). In the congressional; action process, the budgeting committee through the Congressional act of 1974 direct s that the president submits the proposed budget to the House and Senate Budget committees so that the budget resolution may be created to serve as a universal framework through which the decisions of specific government spending and tax levies would be based upon. However, they do mot make budget nor do they require president’s signature but their mandate is to establish the budget structure to avoid both misappropriation and over estimation of the US Budget. The process is mandated to lay out guideline plan for government tax and disbursement in the next fiscal year. The Budget resolution is mandated to dictate the amount of money that ne government is permitted to pay out in the 20 Budget allocations. This process is controlled by the Committee on appropriation (Gibbler, 2006, p. 38). The process is mandated to take effect after the budget is through. Through the Appropriation Bill, the process should distribute funds to the key government programs through agencies to ensure that the prospective departments receive funding as appropriated in the budget (Gibbler, 2006, p. 72). Due to the poor economic state affecting the whole world, tax rates should be reviewed so tat the country and world businesses move. At present, business is at a stand still being that traders spend much during service delivery just to

Friday, October 18, 2019

How should Scotland vote Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

How should Scotland vote - Essay Example All political activities and operations transferred to London after the agreement. In 1880s, 1913 and 1979, Scotland unsuccessfully attempted to negotiate for its independence. Continued agitation for independence led to the reestablishment of Scottish parliament in 1999. The parliament would make its own policies and exercise its legal powers but had to be financially dependent on London. The dominance of the Scottish National Party (SNP) led by Alex Salmond in the Scottish parliament after the 2011 election worked to renew calls for independence (McLean & Lodge 2013, pg. 2). The push for independence succeeded on October 2012 when Alex Salmond and David Cameron signed the Edinburg agreement that will allow for September 18, 2014 referendum vote. Considering various economic, political and social issues, Scotland should vote â€Å"No† to secession. Scotland has been a member of the UK for over 300 years and this quantifies the great level of attachment to British. In fact, it is currently difficult to isolate real English from Scottish considering the great freedom of movement and operations of citizens of the two associate countries. According to McLean and Lodge (2013, pg. 3), London oversees most of international politics, economic and security operations and concerns of Scotland. This means that secession of Scotland from the United Kingdom will lead to serious setback for the Scottish. Most of the arguments presented by pro-independence led by Alex Salmond have been vague every time when subject to critical analysis. The need to enjoy economic freedom and control of Scottish internal affairs is unquantifiable considering that many Scots currently enjoy significant economic prosperity and hope under the umbrella of the British union. There is a hidden obsession by the Scottish political class to control the Northern Sea Oi l and taxes collected in Scotland (McLean & Lodge 2013, pg. 3).

Education Systems in Scotland and Sweden Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Education Systems in Scotland and Sweden - Essay Example This will also induce interest in the mind of the child towards the subject. Hence practical learning should be introduced in schools right from primary stage. The structure of education should be prepared in a way to build a child’s character and instill fine ideas in his mind. Education must not be regarded only as source of information but should guide towards development and implementation of skills and character. Education today must not be only memorizing of information but one should learn to apply the facts. The present curriculum should have high moral values as education provides service to the society at large. The education system must be able to provide awareness towards social duties and commitments. The education system in Scotland has a long history of universal accessibility and affordability. There is a marked difference between the education system in Scotland and other parts of the United Kingdom. The Scottish system has given more focus on variety of subje cts while the English, Welsh and Northern Irish systems have given more focus on the depth of knowledge from lesser number of subjects in the secondary school level. There is a General Teaching Council that supervises and regulates the standards of teaching capacity of the Scottish teachers (Scotland’s education system, 2012). ... It includes all the experiences that young children can garner from their education. The purpose is to develop knowledge and skills among the young pupils (What is Curriculum for Excellence? 2012). The curriculum of primary education has a broad spectrum and there is higher spending to maintain the quality of education. The primary education system is also characterized by lack of weekly tests and comparatively smaller number of students in each class. It is a supportive education system where the students can learn the practical applications of all the subjects (Scott, 2009). The age group for attending primary schools range from 5 to 12 after which they attend secondary schools (Scottish Education System, 2003). Environmental studies are a major part of primary education to make the pupils responsible towards the society and environment. It also teaches them to respect the self and others (Hayes, 2010, p.133). The primary education system encourages the young children to work in gr oups thus developing mutual communication skills. This can help them to use their skills in other classroom activities which will pave the way for improved learning environments provided by the teachers (Christie, 2009, p.154). Historical context The year 1872 has been noted as the beginning of primary education in Scotland. It was in 1920 that the difference between primary and secondary education was accepted in the country. The reason behind the adult education never gaining a prominent position was that â€Å"popular views mostly did not distinguish among the liberal humanism of university education†¦..and the kinds of liberal studies to which the adults might aspire if they had lost out on education as children† (Paterson, 2003, p.9).

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Evangelism and Colonialization Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Evangelism and Colonialization - Essay Example Pedro Cabral is one of the most renowned explorers of the world for his discovery of Brazil in 1500. In 1549, the first governor general of Brazil was Tome de Sousa. During his period as governor general, there was an increase in evangelism in Brazil. Pedro Cabral explores the coast of Brazil under the orders from the King of Portugal (Beidelman, 73). The Portuguese signed the Treaty of Tordesillas that meant there was a division between Christians and non-Christians outside of Europe. The Jesuit missionaries spread Christianity to Brazil Indians. The missionaries clash with adventurers in Brazil with the main aim of capturing Indian and looking for minerals. The Jesuit missionaries play an important role in the spread of evangelism in Brazil and its surrounding areas (Rivera, PagaÃŒ n & Justo, 54). The Portuguese individuals turned to slavery to solve their labor problems. The presence of slaves led to the development of sugar industries in North East of the country. Brazil became the largest producer of sugar because the conditions in the country were favorable. After the fall of the Roman Empire, Spain and Portugal became the new states that promoted colonization in the world. The developed of skills to travel in the ocean meant that they could travel around the world in search of colonies. The discovery of ocean skills the world the Portuguese China trade between the 1514 and 1550 (Rivera, PagaÃŒ n & Justo, 54). Jorge Alvares was the first European Explorer to reach Asia. His arrival in China boosted trade within the region.

Meeting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Meeting - Essay Example way that would keep them from overtly expressing their biasness on matters and affecting the inter-personal relationships of the organizational staff. This can be achieved through the formulation of certain team building exercises that would encourage the workers from different departments to unite to achieve pre-defined tasks. The benefit of such exercises is that representatives from different functional departments get a chance to frequently socialize with one another. In order to build a team to work for the organization with utmost sincerity, it is imperative that individual staff members respect one another and one another’s rights. Else, it would just be a crowd whereby everybody would be working for personal interests. A team works solely for achieving the organizational objectives. â€Å"A major advantage a team has over an individual is its diversity of resources, knowledge, and ideas.† (Townsley, 2008). Managers are required to design adequate and effective t eam building exercises to ensure the development of a holistic force to work in the best interest of the organization. There are many factors that play their role in the development of an atmosphere of mutual consensus and respect among the organizational staff some of which are discussed in this paper. The most fundamental reason why organizations fail to develop teams is lack of the definition of organizational goals and the designation of strategies to achieve them. Most organizations work in a haphazard manner and place very less emphasis on getting the stakeholders familiarized with the basic goals and the resulting objectives of the organization. Before the start of any project, it is imperative that meetings are conducted to serve as a platform where all stakeholders can be made aware of the fundamental goals and objectives expected from the project at hand. The organizational culture is indeed, the most influential factor in the building up of a team to serve the organization. An

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Evangelism and Colonialization Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Evangelism and Colonialization - Essay Example Pedro Cabral is one of the most renowned explorers of the world for his discovery of Brazil in 1500. In 1549, the first governor general of Brazil was Tome de Sousa. During his period as governor general, there was an increase in evangelism in Brazil. Pedro Cabral explores the coast of Brazil under the orders from the King of Portugal (Beidelman, 73). The Portuguese signed the Treaty of Tordesillas that meant there was a division between Christians and non-Christians outside of Europe. The Jesuit missionaries spread Christianity to Brazil Indians. The missionaries clash with adventurers in Brazil with the main aim of capturing Indian and looking for minerals. The Jesuit missionaries play an important role in the spread of evangelism in Brazil and its surrounding areas (Rivera, PagaÃŒ n & Justo, 54). The Portuguese individuals turned to slavery to solve their labor problems. The presence of slaves led to the development of sugar industries in North East of the country. Brazil became the largest producer of sugar because the conditions in the country were favorable. After the fall of the Roman Empire, Spain and Portugal became the new states that promoted colonization in the world. The developed of skills to travel in the ocean meant that they could travel around the world in search of colonies. The discovery of ocean skills the world the Portuguese China trade between the 1514 and 1550 (Rivera, PagaÃŒ n & Justo, 54). Jorge Alvares was the first European Explorer to reach Asia. His arrival in China boosted trade within the region.

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Week 5 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Week 5 - Assignment Example The Learning Team had found that the initial ethics program that had been implemented by the company for over a year had lacked major factors that are needed for the proper upbringing of the ethics practiced within the company. The previous ethics program did not take into consideration the checking up on the rest of the staff that were working under the supervisors and managers. Studies have shown that training classes that are aimed at all of the employees in a company are the best teachers with regard to ethical behavior and meeting the expectations of the company’s top officers (Hadden, 2009). Proper enforcement of the company policies are also in need of improvement as a number of employees take for granted the lack of discipline that is given to them by the managers and supervisors. Seeing the changes that need to be made in order to improve the company, the Learning Team suggests the following in order to address the needed changes in the Ethics program within the company: gaining proper feedbacks from company employees and ethical training for employees. In order to address to the training for the employees at hand, studies have shown that a role playing type of company training would help employees interact more with one another and build rapport with one another. Proper ethics training would prove to create a good amount of accountability and would result to an environment that workers would make the right decisions in terms of ethics and thus include the maintenance of a highly productive work environment for them to stay in (Hadden, 2009). In order to get results on the implementation of the new set of company policies on the employees, rewarding systems are one way of catching the attention of the employee but instead of the reward, per se, attracting the employee, the work that comes from the reward would be something they would strive for more.

Monday, October 14, 2019

Meaning of Life and Literary Metaphorical Descriptions Essay Example for Free

Meaning of Life and Literary Metaphorical Descriptions Essay Stuck and chained without any tendency of where your life is headed, requires necessary effort to go through. This is the situation for the main character in Wiliam Lychacks short story, Stolpestad. Without any whereabouts of his life directions, Stolpestad come across his own life through unpleasant confrontations of his own identity loss. â€Å"This is your life, Stolpestad† Stolpestad finds that his life gone tedious, waiting towards the end of each shift, lying and giving an excuse to postpone his arrival back home to his wife and his children. Driving through the city, Stolpestad yearns after his life in the town as child. â€Å"You idle slow and lawful past the house as if to glimpse someone or something – yourself as a boy, perhaps. † Though Stolpestad is aware of the requisite in his absence back home, he decides to go to a bar. At the bar he is telling stories, spreading laughter, about his earlier predicament with shooting the suffering dog. Stolpestad seems full of confidence re-telling the story, but in the certain situation he was nervous and sensitive: â€Å"with this hope that she’s already dead- that shrill of insects in the heat and grass as you nudge her again. You push until she comes to life, her eye opening slow and black to you – you with this hope that the boy will be running any moment to you now, hollering for you to stop. † He wish the dog to already be dead, or that the boy will come hollering him to stop. This nervousness of his comes truly to life when the boy and his father are confronting him, and the surrounding noices frightens him: â€Å"It’s only a door opening – but look how jumpy you are†. Stolpestad finds this confrontation to be a very uncomfortable situations, and feel that it is a repeating element in his life, which is depicted in this paragraph: â€Å"the deja vu of a pickup truck in the driveway as you pull around the house, as if you’ve seen or imagined or been through all of this be- fore, or will be through it all again, over and over†. We can interpret this, from the fact that Stolpestad keeps running into these unpleasant situations. Putting down a suffering dog turns into an unintentional disservice to the dying dog, the boy and his father and himself. The unsuccessful execution and the survival of the suffering dog, Goliath, can be seen as a metaphor for Stolpestads life. The life of the dog Goliath and Stolpestads life are heading in the same direction, Goliaths suffering is a reflection of the suffering in Stolpestads own life. Gully is gravely injured and it is just a matter of time until its’ life will peg out, but even after what was supposed to be an easy put down, the dog remains alive. Stolpestad is neither injured or near death. Stolpestad is caught between the choices whether he shall pursue his meaning of life or leave this world behind. He is stuck as a spectator of his own life, as the dying dog Goliath is a spectator of its’ own death. The injury of the dog can also be interpreted as a simile for the environment and the town Stolpestad lives in. The Christian narrative of â€Å"David and Goliath† deals for Goliaths sake with the themes negativity and failure. The nickname â€Å"Gully† is a synonym for a sewer. That means, that the dogs name in both significances refers to something including degradation and poor environs. Goliath lies on all the trash on the families within the families’ premises and symbolizes the poor social environment that the family hails from. The family is tamped by this inadequacy in the society, which the dog and its name symbolize. The sentence: â€Å"The old tires, empty bottles, paint cans, rusty car axle, refrigerator door† exemplifies what poor environment the family is a part of. The environment of the father may also explain the cause of his ironical compliments of Stolpestads house: â€Å"He lets out a long sigh and says it’s a fine place you seem to have here†. Still this higher league of society does not fit Stolpestad, and it does not seem like he has been in this contrast to the lower league of society his whole life, which also may cause the sympathy he has for the boy. The boy can be interpreted as an illusion of Stolpestad as a child. In the early beginning of the short story, Stolpestad is driving around soulless, looking for something – possibly himself as a child, and after the meeting with the boy, he quickly conceives comprehension of his life situation. This may be caused of Stolpestads own youth, that may have been difficult, but he still may miss: â€Å"Back to all the turns you were born, your whole life spent along the same sad streets† The kind of narrator being used in the story is a â€Å"second person narrator† who writes to a certain â€Å"you†. Our â€Å"you†, who our narrator directs itself to is the main character of the story, Stolpestad. Though it is Stolpestad the narrator direct itself to, the reader feels like being spoken to, when this narrative perspective is being used: †Was toward the end of your shift†. This way a text involves and affects its reader in a whole other level. It is hard to judge whether the narrator is an actual figure or totally absent throughout the story. The narrator does not specifically appear throughout the story, but certain things point to the narrators’ appearance: †away we go†. Still it is doubtful and unknown, who the narrator may be, as the short story does not give an unequivocal explanation of who the narrator might be. The language is both embossed of slang and then the more literary metaphorical descriptions. This shows, how the narrator has authority of changing the style when it fits him. Therefore it is a mixture of the lower style and a formal literary style. Stolpestad is living a life that just passes by, without him taking any action, and therefore he feels like his whole life just consists of continuous repetitions. He is living in the same surroundings as he did in his youth and during his childhood so therefore his external rams haven’t changed, though he has become older. Therefore everything feels recognizable and boring for him. With the description from a second person narrator, who sees Stolpestad from an external perspective, we can connect this to the interpretation of him as a passive individual. He is not even in possession of the authority to tell his own story, but is having it told by another narrator interfering and judging him negatively. Here as well he stands without influence, but may passively let the narrator relate his story, while he himself will have to be a spectator to his own life. So do not just let life pass you by.

Sunday, October 13, 2019

Government Influence On Travel And Tourism

Government Influence On Travel And Tourism The Travel and Tourism business demands an effective policy and co-ordination the following framework offered using examples at local and regional level provides some indication of what efforts are being made to this end. CATEGORIES OF ORGANISATIONS INVOLVED: The tourist organisation I have selected is SAMLESBURY HALL a 1325 black and white timbered medieval manor house Organisations that could interact with this attraction are, from a range of levels. The local tourist information centre situated at Guild Hall Lancaster Road, Preston. The sub-regional organisation(known as a Destination Marketing Organisation) which is the Lancashire and Blackpool Tourist Board. The regional organisation is the Northwest Regional Development Agency. The North has an umbrella marketing group that promotes the whole region overseas,this is known as Englands North Country. The national tourist board/agency is VisitBritain responsible in conjunction with the national tourist boards of Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales for promoting England and Great Britain to both domestic and overseas visitors. It has a network of overseas offices eg Poland, Russia, China. It is funded by its partners and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport which is responsible for implementation of Government policy on tourism; part of whose work is to assist the diverse businesses to identify a common interest in working together. The England Marketing Advisory Board(EMAB) is the overseer of Marketing Strategy for England. VisitBritain may encourage or influence attention to such organisations as English Heritage, committed to preserving selected historical monuments and environments while supporting research to preserve archival material. The international organisation involved in tourism is the European Union which operates with a hybrid system of supranationalism(e.g. majority voting and directly applicable laws) and intergovernmentalism(e.g. consensus bargaining by states)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Union OTHER ORGANISATIONS: There are also some international agencies that also possess the capability of influencing tourism in a number of ways. These involve the matter of international travel. There is The International Air Transport Association(IATA) with over 240 airlines as members. It has 94% of international scheduled air traffic. The IATA guides and serves the airline industry in general aspects. Then there is The International Civil Aviation Organisation(ICAO)It is an agency of the UN; functioning to ensure safety and orderly growth of the air skies; international navigation being regulated with advancement of planning and development of international air transport. Air transport is first and foremost a dynamic industry. IATA represents the interests of world airlines.It will challenge anything unreasonable in rules or charges,checking governments and pinning down for what is considered to be sensible regulation. IATA nurtures a self-help philosophy with its airlines. Always seeking to simplify processing for the convenience of the passenger,seeking to keep down rising costs as well as improving efficiency.Safety is certainly of prime importance to the IATA and ways of improvement are continually being sought. Also a concern that has rapidly come to the fore is impact on environment which the IATA seeks to minimise. The flow of airline passengers needs to be seamless as if it were only one airline operating within one country;this being the aim. Professional expertise is available for investment in publications,training and consulting. Financial systems assist carriers and the travel industry to increase revenue. The IATA requires sensible forecasting delivered with foresight from Governments and therefore ensures they are kept well informed concerning complexities surrounding the aircraft industry. Many of the aims of the European Union require for realisation quite close links between the EU and national and regional levels of government. The following,outlines the influences that each of the organisations referred to above could possibly have on Samlesbury Hall that possesses a location ideal for short breaks,business trips and overnight stays. It consists of extensive Tudor grounds and wildflower beds with a miniature farm. t has a full calendar for events, business functions and exhibitions. There is an evening ghost hunt and contrary to such a theme it is a beautiful setting for a wedding. There is self-catering accommodation available. THE TOURIST INFORMATION CENTRE(TIC): The Tourist Information Centre provides accurate and useful information to the traveller/visitor/tourist. The visitors need correct, precise, relevant and immediate up-to-date information the TIC provides this. Tourists are catered for in their search for hotels, bed and breakfast or self-catering accommodation.Queries involving local transport can all be answered. Tourist Information Centres should be regarded as the lifeblood for tourism activity, originating from the regional boards in this case the North West Regional Development Agency and funded from local authorities together with private investment. It has been argued that Tourist Information Centres have no real significance or role. That most purchasing decisions are made before leavetaking-arrangements such as accommodation, car hire and what to do; where to eat, where to shop or where to drink and the rest being left to time of arrival; but rarely upon advice from a TIC. You would ask reception,or seek assistance from a cab driver or a shop assistant. It is not thought that many people make a beeline for the TIC. There would be more suitable ways of booking for the next destination.Hotels and guest houses are now all online with many many online travel agents;with rooms available all over the country. A very small amount of visitors would be influenced into making a decision based on the TICs.Literature is made freely available by distribution companies; there is wifi to be found in the hotels and restaurants. The BBs,public houses,all are mines of information available all hours of the day. The mobile phone and laptop add the finishing touches. Upon arrival at attractions the reception area contains a plethora of information outweighing that available from TICs. Yet if it be asked as one reads this what is the explanation it is considered to be that of the political.It is considered that such would be local reaction to any prospect of closing that the ensuing struggle would simply not be worth it. Councils would retaliate and declare that with reduction of services tourism would be killed of f. Is this so? Yet what has been inferred is that the information required can be obtained quite easily from any hotel,high street shop at no extra cost to public funds.Can it also be inferred that given a choice of deployment in funding,that there would be immediate choosing of international marketing instead of providing information in a local context. Refurbishment is being carried out on TICs that have received no investment since the 80s.The object is of course to provide that world class information system required by visitors to our country,and extensive customer research backs this up.Accomodation bookings are not now the priority or function although still present.The main aim of all TICs is to encourage visitors to explore more of the area in which they have found themselves,thereby persuading free spending that will ultimately benefit the people locally. Research has shown that visitors still need the personal touch in such matters.Of course it is easy and natural to elicit information required immediately from those in proximity,taxi drivers shop keepers etc; but it is the prospect of experiencing something extra some inner desire from being able to refer to a focal point wherein they are encouraged and directed to acquire such an experience, and this is how the TICs come to the fore. It has been found that receipts are indeed higher with the application of local professional advisers to assist the visitors. There is the factor of arrival marketing where the visitor expects to find assistance upon arrival. A DESTINATION MARKETING ORGANISATION(DMO)-THE LANCASHIRE AND BLACKPOOL TOURIST BOARD: The next organisation that is able to influence activities to do with Samlesbury Hall is a sub-regional organisation;known as a Destination Marketing Organisation.This happens to be for Samlesbury Hall the Lancashire and Blackpool Tourist Board. The official tourism website representing Lancashire and Blackpool is visitlancashire.com. It is promoted both nationally and internationally. The tourist board possesses a powerful DMS(Destination Management System) with an extensive data bank to serve all visitors. Samlesbury Hall with VisitBritain,the local Tourist Information Centre, the local authority, and the Lancashire and Blackpool Tourist Board all cooperate in promoting elements of their business effectively and are able to respond effectively efficiently and rapidly to any queries from the public or press. Samlesbury Hall has accommodation apart from its unique attractions so it would benefit from the banner advertising promoted on www.lancashireandblackpool.com website.Their target market is visitors worldwide;also corporate and leisure concerns.Unique visits to the site amount to a 40% increase each month.E-marketing slots are also available with some 25,000 opt-in consumers who must be continuously trawling for informa tion as to whatever is happening in Lancashire throughout the region. Online marketing offered includes any marketing opportunities, campaigns, publications and exhibitions. The Lancashire and Blackpool Tourist Board is concerns itself with support and advice for businesses and development.It is an objective that the sub-region and Blackpool will have undergone transformation into a world-class destination.Lancashire being the destination for the mature and discerning.Salmesbury Hall can be part of this vision. A Business Development Team is available for staff development and local contacts. They are also available to assist in any funding requirements for projects. Key strategy for the Northwest concerns development and management of its economy. There is a Visitor Economy Strategy(VES) for 2006-2016 that outlines principles and priorities for the regions approach to destination management and development. A three year action plan (2006-2009) supports the VES.A Destination Management Plan(DMP)has been constructed with the assistance from a number of prominent partners and investors.The Lancashire Economic strategy(LEP) enables Partners and supporters to have a framework within which future development will happen. Included within this is the Preston City Vision. Salmesbury Hall will be supporting this. THE NORTHWEST REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT AGENCY(RDA): The Regional organisation for tourism is the Northwest Regional Development Agency. It serves a useful link between business needs within the region and Government policies.As an RDA(Regional Development Agency) is pushes for economic vigor and development, and regeneration. The Northwest Regional Development Agency liaise with partners within the public, private, voluntary and academic sectors both at regional and local levels. Investment and enterprise are prime factors in its impact as an influencing organisation. RDAs work with the Government but are not party affiliated. It has a role to play in support of the RES,Regional Economic Strategy to transform the region into vibrant growth. Issues of Equality and Diversity, Climate Change and Europe need a unified and sustained response for implementation of any national Government policy prevailing. Yet it is concerned with all kinds of local issues requiring consultation.The RES supplies a twenty year foresight for development of economic strategy with more immediate actions to happen within the next three years. It provides therefore a framework for regional, sub-regional and local action.The current RES was launched in March 2006. The action plan was the resultant of an extensive consultation between 25 private and public sector partners with feedback from over 4,000 organisations. The next RES will be presented in 2010. In 2007 visitors generated  £13.6billion for the regional economy. This represents a 4% growth in spending compared to 2006. To improve this figure there is focus upon tourism development and tourism marketing.Also in place is a Major Events strategy to maximise revenue from one-off events and others. THE NATIONAL TOURIST BOARD/AGENCY -VisitBritain: The national tourist board/agency is VisitBritain responsible in conjunction with the national boards of Northern Ireland,Scotland and Wales for promoting England and Great Britain to both domestic and overseas visitors. It promotes Britain as a visitor destination to overseas markets. There is a rapidly developing domestic tourist market in the UK and the organisation is eager to encourage short-break holidays and more of them.VisitBritain is able to influence both international and domestic markets more effectively with astute marketing and themes. Anything concerning or involving tourism the organisation is available for consultation. There is active partnership participation throughout the tourism framework with the devolved boards and the industry itself. It aims to achieve goals with economy, efficiency and right communication. It is funded by the Department of Culture, Media,and Sport. VisitBritain promotes England both within Britain itself and also to France, Germany, Ireland and The Netherlands. VisitBritain works closely with a range of investors and may encourage or influence attention towards such an organisation as English Heritage. It is a statutory adviser to the Government on matters of conservation and policy issuing grants for repairs to ancient buildings and ancient monuments.It receives about 75% of its income from the Government; the rest from revenue obtained from membership fees, properties in its care and other sources such as legacies. The Government Department(DCMS) assumes responsibility for the implementation of a policy seeking to nurture a common response for the well-being of tourism. The England Marketing Advisory Board(EMAB) is the overseer for marketing strategy in England. CONCERNING THE EUROPEAN UNION: The international organisation that could possibly be an influencing agent affecting Samlesbury Hall is the European Union which operates under an amalgam of international agreements consisting of majority voting with directly applicable laws and interstate bargaining. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European Union. The Northwest region is directly affected by European policy,influencing the prosperity of the north west.Regional business receives impact over a wide range of areas e.g.environment, employment, with other legislation. The EU is a vital agent for schemes of regeneration within the region. Markets and employment opportunities either through the agencies companies or from financial support from structural funds, the Common Agricultural Policy(CAP)or RD budgets. CONCLUSION: Many of the aims of the EU need quite close linkage between itself and national and regional levels of governments.The European Priorities has a number of thematic issues while looking forward beyond 2013. Englands Northwest intends to deliver such priorities by access of EU programmes that lie outside the European Regional Development Fund(ERDF). Any organisations within the northwest region with a special interest in such areas should become involved in supporting this.O verseeing this will be the North West Regional European Partnership(NWREP), a regional stakeholder forum. Apart from pursuing such thematic priorities, the Northwest will position itself to take part in debating on the future of the EU and its policies.In October 2006 it was confirmed by Government that the RDAs should have the responsibility for managing the ERDF programmes in England for the 2007-2013 period. There will be only one ERDF Programme for the region, named the Northwest Operational Programme(NWOP). BIBLIOGRAPHY: Sharpley,R.(1999) Tourism,Tourists and Society.ELM Publications Page,S.(2003) Tourism Management:Managing for Change.Butterworth-Heinemann Cooper,C et al(2005) Tourism:Principles and practice.FT Prentice Hall Holloway J C(2006) The Business of Tourism. FT Prentice Hall

Saturday, October 12, 2019

Significance of Ginkgo Biloba Essay -- Botany

Significance of Ginkgo Biloba The ginkgo tree appeared on earth approximately 230 million years ago, which was before dinosaurs evolved. They were referred to as 'living fossils' by Charles Darwin. These trees are so hardy that one of them lived through the atomic blast that destroyed Hiroshima (Anonymous No. 2, 1997). This tree is one of the earth's two oldest trees, The members of the Ginkgoacae family grew in parts of what are now Australia, the British Isles, Greenland, China, Russia, northern Europe, Japan, South America, Africa, and in the United States during the Mesozoic Era. It later retreated to a small area in eastern China with the changes in the world climate. It is the only surviving tree of the ginkgo family (Corrigan, 1997). The ginkgo was reintroduced to the United States in 1784. Today, these trees are all over the world again. They can be found in almost every city in the United States. Its species name "biloba" refers to the two-distinct lobes, which is characteristic of the leaves. These trees have survived over millions of years due to their resistance of disease, pests, fires, and air pollution. They can grow in almost any condition, which includes sun, shade, heat, cold, smog, pollution, wind, and humidity (Foster, 1996). The ginkgo tree can grow 75 to 100 feet tall with a trunk up to 8 feet in diameter, They have a distinctive fan- shaped leaf, which are bright green in the spring. Their leaves turn to a dull green in the summer and become a translucent gold in the fall (Corrigan, 1997). The ginkgo tree was used for many purposes, even in the ancient times. The ginkgo leaf was first mentioned in Lan Mao's Dian Nan Ben Cao, published in 1436. Lan Mao notes the external use to treat skin and head ... ...iful 'living fossil'. St. Louis Post Dispatch, p. L14:1. Foster, Steven. 1996. Ginkgo biloba: a living fossil for today's health needs. Better Nutrition 58(4): 54-56. Mowrey, Daniel. 1997. Valerian root, passion flower, and ginkgo are top 'neurotonic' herbs. 59(l): 34. Tyler, Varro E. 1998. Boost your brain and your libido: ginkgo: this ancient herb may improve memory and (surprise) wake up your sex life. Prevention 50(6): 91-93. Additonal References Holt, Ben F. and Gar W. Rothwell. 1997. Is Ginkgo biloba really an oviparous plant? American Journal of Botany 84(6): 870-873. Huffman, Grace Brooke. 1998. Efficacy of Ginkgo biloba in treating dementia, American Family Physician 57(10): 2504-2506. Oken, Barry S. 1999, The efficacy of Ginkgo biloba on cognitive function in Alzheimer disease. Journal of American Medical Association 281(5): 402.

Friday, October 11, 2019

Body Glove Case

Question 1: For what purpose does Body Glove use its budgeting system? Which purposes are emphasized? The purpose of Body Glove’s budgeting system was to project expenses and forecast revenues for the upcoming fiscal year. The budget is used to monitor performance (but not linked to performance based incentives) and detect early warning signals of problem areas. The budgeting system allows the managers of each department monitor their expenses in which budgets have been set for materials, salaries and legal expenses amongst others. Question 2: Trace the steps in the development of the budget at Body Glove. What are the key events that relate to the timing of the steps in the budgeting process? 1. The budgeting process of Body Glove began in November 1990. The management team estimated sales growth for 1991 and the national sales manager, Kurt, then broken down these forecasts to provide the total projected sales per month per product. 2. Each department was requested to developed monthly projection of key expenses such as materials, salaries, legal expenses, etc. for the upcoming fiscal year. 3. Russ (president of Body Glove) consolidated, reviewed, and discussed them with his managers, suggesting changes if any changes were necessary as some managers were too optimistic with their forecasting. 4. The budget was finalized by the end of December 1990, by Russ. 5. Throughout the fiscal year the budget was used to ensure figures were met and monitor the performance of departments. It was also used to detect early warning signals of problem areas by comparing actual performance on monthly basis and re-evaluate departments not achieving their budget targets. It was not linked to performance based incentives. The key events that led to the budget being established were the fact that production was scheduled based on historical and pre- book data which meant that they did not have enough inventory and were one month behind getting products into stores, which had two main impacts 1) the cost of inventory stock outs was greater than inventory carrying costs 2) the reputation of the organisation was impacted. The budgeting process meant that managers based their forecasts on a wider scope of information rather than just pre book sales. Question 3: The case says that Body Glove never prepared a budget prior to fiscal year 1991. How can a company like Body Glove function effectively without a budget, or can it? Body Glove had a great product with the neoprene wetsuits and had gained significant market share through its niche fun life style image which challenged competitors. The business had a small but loyal customer base, and had attained no.2 market share. Whilst the business had significant growth, I don’t believe it ran completely effectively. An extract from the case state mentions they lost $1 million in sales due to a shortage of inventory and its forecasts on future sales were not accurate. Anthony, Hawkins & Merchant (2008, p.740) assert ‘If the total costs in a responsibility budget are expected to vary with volume, as is the case in most standard cost centre’s, the responsibility budget may be in the form of a variable budget. Such a budget shows the planned behavior of costs at various volume levels.’ If the company was able to better understand its costs, and forecasts for growth it could have made the necessary investments in upgrading the manufacturing operations to meet the demand. Body Glove’s reputation was at stake and in 1990 the company decided to break away from employing ‘family only’ which may have been a sign that they needed some ‘fresh eyes’ to drive growth. Question 4: What changes to Body Glove’s budgeting and review process would you recommend, if any? * Body Glove needs to undertake some major strategic planning to ascertain company key objectives and ensure that the budget reflects these plans. * Managers should not be the final people to establish the key figures relating to the budget, this should be done separately based on information provided by previous years data (a board or a strategy department should be in charge of this) to eliminate bias in forecasts * The president needs to ensure that the goals of the organisation are communicated clearly throughout the company and how each department directly relates to these goals. Calling a meeting with personnel from each department may be important in communicating this information. * Each individual should relate to the budget. For example, the sales forecasts are dependent upon the work of the sales team and therefore should be a motivator for them to perform. Achieving outcomes should relate to performance incentives, this includes managers also. Question 5: If Body Glove continues to grow and, perhaps, diversifies, what changes will have to be made to the budgeting and review process? Strategic budgeting is imperative in any organisation. Leland (2003) asserts ‘The behavior or capabilities of the large and complex organisation cannot be fully comprehended by analyzing its individual parts. Because of its complexity, the organisation or system, displays emergent behaviors arising from the relationships among those parts.’ Strategic budgeting is about comprehending the whole organisation in order to understand emergent behaviors. It requires a top down approach, not a bottom up approach and at the present the budget system is not really valued by the organisation. The budget system can be easily modified, managers (whose forecasts will be biased) are setting numbers and the outcomes of the budget are not linked to organisational performance which would leave any manager to wonder what the disincentive is not to meet the results. A long range plan should be established so that Body Glove can start some long range formal planning, they should also look at a Strategic Human resource approach whereby they incorporate these long term goals into the behaviors and performance of staff. How do these outcomes relate to an organisation that you are familiar with? Whilst at GSK, each year in February the company would commence the working year with a sales conference where all sales staff would meet and the opening day would include a talk by the managing director on the goals of the organisation. The MD would talk about previous year performance, what worked and what didn’t work so well and key learning’s. We were then told of the total operational budget and this was broken down into sales for our various products. As sales teams, our managers would then discuss with us which Key performance indicators we would be measured by, which was a mix of sales results and behaviors. Throughout the year, our direct managers would often re-communicate the budget to us and we would receive a monthly break down of targets and results.