Wednesday, July 31, 2019
Environmental Justice In Central America Region: A Critical Perspective Essay
This paper aims to talk a about the realities of life in the Central America region without withholding any truth about the situation in the country. The things that will be dealt with in this paper is very relevant in giving inquiries about how the economic and political intervention of superior countries affect the whole lives of the people in the Central America region. Introduction            Human needs do not only include the necessity to eat meals everyday. It also includes the right to live with dignity and self-reliance without the oppressive intervention of other countries. Life in the Central America region is just as simple as that of other third world countries, that are known to be developing in their status. People there are also hoping for a peaceful, harmonious and progressive existence on earth. That is why people are trying hard to cope up with the changes in the environment brought out by the decisions made by man.            The decisions that I am talking about has something to do with the ability to commit to the preservation of natural resources in the region. Without the will to choose preservation of natural resources, the next generation of the said region will suffer after the prior generation will harvest what nature has to give back. It is not debatable that the people in the region are suffering through the years due to lack of giving importance of natural resources. There may be different factors outside the will of the people, that has been considered as the causes of this event, but at some extent, it is still the fight of the people that will stop the environmental abuse in the region. The environment is no longer working in line with man’s needs but rather going against it. The said situation is very alarming that many scholars and authors like Roberts and Thanos who gave a very comprehensive and relevant criticism and analysis of the situation in Central American region. This paper then, would be guided by the way how the two authors attacked the environmental injustice that occurred in the region under study.            Basically, the needs of an individual alone will include food, shelter and clothing. These needs must be provided to the person because it will serve as one factor on how he would live his life. The moment these needs are not achieved, the individual will suffer physically, as he would get sick due to lack of food, shelter and clothing. The individual will also suffer psychologically and emotionally as he would be disturbed on the difficulty of his situation. Therefore, human needs must be met in all circumstances in life.            In connection with that, it is humbly and respectfully submitted that, the necessity of the development of long-term and sustainable alternative production mechanisms and the promotion that human needs must determine the distribution of food are the solutions to stop environmental crises and poverty in Central America region. Thus, politics and economics must not be the determinant factors or basis in the distribution of food in the region, but human needs in general. What has been the root cause of this submission? The authors of the book â€Å"Trouble In Paradise†, which are Roberts and Thanos perfectly pointed out the environmental problems in the Central America region which greatly affected the lives of the people and will surely affect the next generation. The book talks about Green Revolutions, Deforestation, and New Ideas, that are very much related with each other. Basically, it was pointed out in the article that the widespread adoption of pesticides and fertilizers as well as the rapid growth of biotechnology and genetic seed manipulations altered the human conditions in the region. With that, there is a need to work hard in order to solve the problem.            The purpose of the said changes and innovation in the said region is the attainment of modernization and economic progress at the expense of the environmental or ecological balance. It must be stated that without the preservation of the environment, the economic progress that has been achieved will become useless by the time floods, storms and other calamities will occur due to abuse in nature.            Deforestation has been done to be able to supply logging needs of other countries with the hope of gaining profits with the said import transaction without thinking that eventually, it will cause greater problems aside from poor economic condition. The problems of overpopulation, unequal distribution of wealth and land, as well as natural hazards occurred in the region affecting the lives of the people. If nothing will be done at the moment, the problem will become worse and worse as the time continue to roll. Environmental Justice in Central America Region            Roberts and Thanos practically stated that, the purposes of the modernization of agriculture are to develop the third world through United States aid projects, address poverty and economic stagnation as well as to create markets for United States products. Actually, there is something questionable on these purposes, as these has been the reason why many people are suffering in the Central America region. In the guise of United States aid projects, the countries in the region are affected by the results of widespread modernization of agriculture.            The main reason why it should be done is to augment the food supply system in the region and to sell the agricultural products surplus to other countries. But, the ends does not justifies the means, as the purpose was defeated in the long run. It is true that poverty is addressed in those ways, but there was no valid and diligent consideration on how the processes will affect ecological balance in the region.            What is more shocking is the very purpose of finding dumping grounds for the products produced by the Americans. The country tried to look for markets for their products by means of establishing connection with other countries, particularly third world countries through giving them numerous aid projects in return. The said underground purpose of the American nation is so oppressive and destructive that it should be stopped. Third world countries must be given their chance to govern their own economic and political development under environmental justice considerations.            There were so many problems that occurred in the region due to the Green Revolution, that is the modernization of agriculture. First, the said modernization of agriculture was not introduced into a social vacuum. The modern techniques for agricultural production was mainly confined on the rich and affluent families that are connected with political leaders that they are closely associated with. The poor and working tenants or the masses were not informed of the said modern techniques. This is because the modern techniques of agricultural production is the vehicle for producing export commodities. The local inhabitants were not taken into consideration as there will be no profits that can be taken from them. Their role in the situation is to become the working class as farmers and not to share with the fruits of their labor.            Second, the situation reinforced and worsened the economic and social divisions in the Central America region. The truth is, few of the elite landowners as well as wealthier peasant farmers and the poor are greatly divided as there was a great disparity of their income and social standing. The poor and working class, who were the people who caused the tremendous production of agricultural products were downgraded to wage laborer status instead of getting an appropriate share of the profits.            Third, there was a terrible states of erosion and contamination. This happened because there was a serious and heavy reliance on agrochemicals that created ecological damages. Merriam- Webster On line Dictionary simply defined agrochemicals as those belonging to fields or soil (â€Å"Agrochemicals†). Practically, agrochemicals were used to control the presence of pests in the agricultural fields worldwide to be able to prevent it from destroying the crops.            However, this solution to the problem was not really effective and there was no difference on the results when agrochemicals are used compared to its lack of use. Roberts and Thanos declared in their work that, pests continue to destruct around 37% of the world’s agricultural products and compared to the time before the modernization of agriculture, pests also caused the loss of 34-40% of all the global agricultural production (Roberts and Thanos, 2003, p. 70). Thus, due to the ineffectiveness of the use of agrochemicals, the environment was affected and the ecology with all its living things suffered imbalance. Now, what are other effects of this destructive practice in farming? What about the share of political agenda on this matter? Was it fair for the people in general?            Unfortunately, the answers of these questions were vague and we need to seriously deal with this. Roberts and Thanos correctly commented that, in the political arena, what happened was that, agricultural inputs such as seeds and machinery that are exported from wealthy countries are very expensive but agricultural products are sold cheap (Roberts and Thanos, 2003, p. 70). This means that aside from the environmental injustice that was brought by the use of agrochemicals, there was also an economic unfairness that was experience by those farmers who worked hard to till the land that may be owned by them or by rich large landowners.            What is worse is the fact that, there was a finding that pesticide poisonings known as nemoticide caused sterility in male laborers. This product was actually banned in the United States but was dumped or sold in the Central America region (Roberts and Thanos, 2003, p. 70). The product was obviously banned due to its negative effects in the health of the person. The farm workers who will be affected in the said pesticide will surely suffer.            Besides, regulatory agencies and United States manufacturers were aware of the danger of pesticide use but there was no care on the matter as long as profits can be taken from the export of pesticide activities (Roberts and Thanos, 2003, p. 70). The dumping ground of this product are the third world countries of which are trying hard to improve their agricultural production for economic advancement. Then, the third world countries are easy prey to the deception that was done in terms of exporting dangerous nemoticide chemical. In order to facilitate the export of these restricted pesticide products, the same were illegally shipped to third world countries without warning labels of its negative effect in their consumption pertaining to agricultural production (Roberts and Thanos, 2003, p. 70).            In addition to that, Roberts and Thanos also pointed out that, the said dangerous chemical can also affect women and children (Roberts and Thanos, 2003, p. 70).Going back to the scenario wherein the other poor and working peasants became the workers of the large lands to produce export commodities, there were many negative effects it would bring to them in particular. The owners of these farms only raked profits of the production but little did they know that the farmers who worked in the farm experienced health problems in the process.            Women and children can be seen in the farm helping in the production process. The children, young as they were, would help in harvesting the export commodities produced in the fields. Women also work, in addition to the activities they are confined with in their homes. In line with these, Pan International said that, short term economic interests greatly affects policy-making (â€Å"Dangerous Pesticide Use In Central America-Wanted A New Approach†, 2001, p. 1). The said interests of producers of those export commodities and the pesticide industry have prevailed over concerns of public health (â€Å"Dangerous Pesticide Use In Central America-Wanted A New Approach†, 2001, p.1). This was really a sad report and very unfair for that matter.            Another thing is that, theres was a directive to use pesticides safely but by all means use pesticides in the agricultural production (Roberts and Thanos, 2003, p. 70). Yet, the assurance was repeated by pesticide producers and backed up by scientific studies which was paid for and done by pesticide companies themselves (Roberts and Thanos, 2003, p. 70).That was also a case of utter deception. It was pointed out by Pan International that, pesticides are hazardous technology when used under conditions that cannot give a minimum of safety, and they have negative effects in the worker’s health (â€Å"Dangerous Pesticide Use In Central America-Wanted A New Approach†, 2001, p.1).            The truth is, this is incompatible with principles of sustainable development. Global community defined sustainable development as the sound balance among the interactions designed to make a healthy economic growth, preserve environmental quality, make a wise decision on our resources and enhance social benefits (â€Å"Definition of Sustainable Development†). Another thing that was done by companies to produce export commodities was the biotechnology industry. Roberts and Thanos explained that, â€Å"many seed and biotechnology companies was bought by chemical producers who made species resistant to their own herbicides, so that other plants will die while only the modified species continues to grow after application of weed killers†(Roberts and Thanos, 2003, p. 70). This process will also destroy ecological balance as it will eventually make other living things extinct.            Moreover, the University of Texas Press also pointed out that, economic reform or liberalization in Latin America generally included the eradication of protectionist rules, the availability of international markets by decreasing tariffs and quotas, the privatization and or disbanding of government corporations for rural credit, infrastructure, commercialization and technical assistance, the end or even reversal of land reform rules and regulations and the radicalization or reorientation of food policies pointed on the internal market toward an export-based agricultural economy (â€Å"Food For The Few: Neoliberal Globalism and Biotechnology in Latin America†, 2008, p. 1). The effects on this pattern was directed to the constituents of the third world countries, particularly the Central America region. Aside from that, the University Press presented the fact that, â€Å"many people are excluded as producers by the new agricultural policies and technologies†(â€Å"Food For The Few: Neoliberal Globalism and Biotechnology in Latin America†, 2008, p. 1).            Furthermore, the ranks of the unemployed was increased due to this phenomenon and peasant farmers were made as wage workers (â€Å"Food For The Few: Neoliberal Globalism and Biotechnology in Latin America†, 2008, p. 1). The sad thing is that, third world counties possess the largest plant biological diversity on earth, as well as the largest problems of soil depletion and environmental problems (â€Å"Food For The Few: Neoliberal Globalism and Biotechnology in Latin America†, 2008, p. 1). The injustice that we knew through this fact is very evident and degrading on the part of developing countries that for so long, they were deceived and used by oppressive rules and polices.             This time, we will be informed of the effects of deforestation due to the efforts of agricultural modernization of countries. But before that, it is wise to define first the term modernization. Global Change defined deforestation, as â€Å"the conversion of forest to another use or the long- term decrease of the tree canopy to include below a 10% threshold†(â€Å"Deforestation†). It also implies the long-term or permanent loss of forest cover and its transformation into another land use (â€Å"Deforestation†). Some of the activities that are very much related to deforestation are forest clearing, degradation and fragmentation by means of timber harvest, conversion to agricultural road building and human-caused fire (â€Å"Deforestation†). Merriam-Webster also simply defined deforestation, as the action or process of clearing of forests, the state of having been cleared of forests (â€Å"Deforestation†).            Roberts and Thanos mentioned that, rich countries are considered consumers of forest timber and they contribute to deforestation in a large capacity (Roberts and Thanos, 2003, p. 77). The regular harvest of timber products without replacing them was exported to wealthy nations for their use. The Central America region is rich in its timber products resources and it follows that many of its forests were victims of rampant deforestation.            Aside from that, each generational increase in human numbers places additional demands on land and natural resources (Roberts and Thanos, 2003, p. 77). The people will cut more and more trees and clear the forest fro them to have additional place to live and land to till for survival. Those who are poor and cannot afford a land for their own, will be forced to go to the countryside to live. They would develop the forest area on their own way and live there with their extending families. As a result, in the Central America region, the forest was in the edge of disaster due to deforestation (Roberts and Thanos, 2003, p. 77). The living things that can be found in the area will loose its place to live. As a result, they would become extinct in the long run. Extinction of living things in the ecosystem will cause ecological imbalance affecting the entire place. Ecological imbalance will affect farming activities that will cause shortage in the production of food resources.            There are examples of forest in the Central America region that is known for its rich biodiversity features and natural resources. In Mexico, for instance, the forest named as Lacondona Forest was known for its rich natural resources and wide area (Roberts and Thanos, 2003, p. 78). Also, in Costa Rica their forests was famous for being full of bird species larger in numbers compared to other countries with the same land area. This fact is good to know but was disrupted by the fact that these forests has been used to produce timber products for export purposes without doubling its reforestation activities. It is alarming to note that trees were cut in these areas without giving much effort in replacing those trees that had been cut. The soil erosion is common in areas were tress are always cut and were forest were cleared. That would cause flood and storms that will affect the people living in the area. If there will be more floods in these areas, the lives of the people will be displaced. Many will die and get sick for that matter.            In line with that, Roberts and Thanos practically mentioned that, there were some research pertaining to this matter speaking that, when there is environmental degradation, social inequality increases (Roberts and Thanos, 2003, p. 78). As the natural resources become depleted, the rich nations will find more places to exploit almost destroying all forests, while the poor ones will eventually loose its home. More people will loose their jobs and others will continue working with timber companies having a low wage. Children will suffer from too much hunger and their development as a child will be affected. The women in the families will live within their means that is already too small for their families to survive. Their families will suffer diseases brought by famine and natural disasters while the rich ones continue to live comfortably. This social inequality had exists in the region for so many years and will continue to happen if the environmental problems will not be given priority for solutions. While the rich countries are the most benefited by the natural resources production of developing countries, they should be aware that if they will continue to do this practice, they would also be eventually affected because we are just living in the same planet.            With that, Roberts and Thanos pointed out that, transnational groups such as the World Wide life Fund, Conservation International and Nature Conservancy intended to give assistance and funding to countries that were politically â€Å"open†and where there were already active local conservation groups (Roberts and Thanos, 2003, p. 78). Now, what is the rationale for this one?Why is it necessary for the wealthy countries to select only those politically open nations to extend aid projects? That was very alarming and it means injustice. Admittedly, it could be logically said that wealthy countries would give help in the guise of financial aid for reforestation projects to get something in return. They like those nations who could give them favor while they extend funding to them. As such, the developing countries will believe with them because of the hope that they could use the extended or sponsored reforestation to rehabilitate their already destroyed forests. Yet, these purpose actually cause so many problems involving the same people who live in the areas where forests are rehabilitated to some extent by foreign aid projects.            In line with that, Roberts and Thanos were aware that, forest-dwelling individuals were relocated out of the protected areas and treated as poaches if they continued to harvest fuel wood, wildlife, medicines or other forest resources that had sustained them for generations Roberts and Thanos, 2003, p. 79). It would be unfair for this people who are the most holder of rights to live in the area knowing that they can no longer survive to live in the cities. Their only resort is to live in the forest and depend on the natural resources that they could get there. These natural resources are the only things that they could afford because they do not have the money to afford things that are sold in the city like medicines, foods and even clothing.            For so long, they were so dependent on the produce of the forest for food for their families to survive. Thus, any attempt to deprive them of the right to take resources in the forest and to live there give them no choice but to rebel. It is ironic that the people who occupied and called the lands their owned were not allowed to use the same for their benefits. Then, it was absurd to rehabilitate forests when the supposed to be recipients are driven away.            While it is true that there was a peasant- administered conservation reforestation projects, the same was not reasonable and fair. Roberts and Thanos confided with this respect that, large landowners were reportedly paid up seven times more than small landholders and squatters were paid less Roberts and Thanos, 2003, p. 79). The said disparity in payment is not acceptable in a society that loves freedom and self-reliance. That was an example of economic and environmental injustice to the prejudice of the people in the Central America region.            However, no matter how unfair the situation may be, as long as it can contribute to the rehabilitation of the forests, then it would be okay. The best thing that should be done is fight for the rights that is accorded to an individual so that injustice will not prevail. Yet, how said it is to say this, that if we succeed in saving an ecosystem but lose the people that are a part of it, what have we really won? No matter how we try to save the environment when the people are no longer surviving, it will be useless.            One solution to the problem is the introduction of ecotourism. This term was simply defined by the American Heritage Dictionary of the American Language as, a tourism involving travel to places of natural or ecological interest, typically under the guidance of a naturalist, for the purpose of observing wildlife and learning about the environment (â€Å"Definition of Ecotourism†). This means that, there were groups of people who are holding projects in this purpose for governmental profits or purposes and sometimes aided by foreign funding.            Tourists are the frequent visitors of places that are placed as ecotourism business and only few of the domestic people who availed of the said services. These people who avail services under ecotourism pay an indigenous community, government agency, or even private establishment to let them â€Å"experience nature†(Roberts and Thanos, 2003, p. 80). They would really enjoy the adventure as the forests in the Central America region are beautiful places to visit with and that it was known for its rich biodiversity and ecological resources.            Actually, the visitors will also be informed of the importance of ecological imbalance. However, environmentally benign projects, like observing or feeding wildlife, can be incredibly disruptive when repeated by flocks of ecotourists everyday, or even several times a day (Roberts and Thanos, 2003, p. 80). That means the living things that are preserved in ecological preservation projects are â€Å"preserved to death†as pointed out by Roberts and Thanos (Roberts and Thanos, 2003, p. 80). For instance, if there were many birds in the area for ecotourists, these species of birds will be disrupted by the constant presence of people who will sometimes feed them improperly. Besides, due to the increase of the number of tourists in the area, it could be possible that building other infrastructure within the area for commercial purposes could happen. The aim of preserving the ecology would become useless if this thing would occur.            At this juncture, it is expected that we will be informed of the contentious globalization touching the topic of international law, treaties, green labeling and human rights. This is a very important topic since it talks about the dynamics of the environmental problems in the Central America region. According to Roberts and Thanos, Justice Lloyd Doggett’s decision to allow the suit in a Texas court was a pivotal step in the international struggle to make transnational corporations more accountable to their employees (Roberts and Thanos, 2003, p. 81). This a practical solution to end utter oppression in the region leaving the indigenous inhabitants nothing in their hands as if their lives depends upon the whims and caprices of these transnational corporations.            In connection with that,this was considered an international struggle because the problem is not only existent in the Central America region but also in other third world countries. The said case proposed that, the principal determinants in the case were political, economic and social factors-not technical or procedural factors as claimed by Dow and Shell (Roberts and Thanos, 2003, p. 80). If the principal determinants of the case would be technical and procedural factors, the rationale that was built within the law used as the basis for rendering decision will be put to nothing.            There was a very strong argument that is connected of the case given as an example on how international law would come to the rescue concerning international struggle for environmental injustice. If we could remember the cases of laborers who are victims of sterility due to the dangerous chemical nemoticide produced by Dow and Shell Companies, thousands of farmers filed cases against them asking for damages (Roberts and Thanos, 2003, p. 71). In line with that, the dominance of profit interests as well as control over information and technology by the manufacturers who concealed early toxicological research evidence of the reproductive hazards and by the managers of the banana producer-companies influenced and ultimately determined the case (Roberts and Thanos, 2003, p. 81). Profit-oriented companies do not care with the health of the people and instead refuse to disclose the danger of said chemicals early on so that the peasants could prepare and be warned of its ill effects.            There were so many people who fought to solve these problems in the region. Many people also fall as victims of human rights violations as they magnified their struggles. Some died for that matter. With that, Roberts and Thanos wrote that, the deaths of these people gives us an idea that we must turn our focus to the social and political underpinnings of violence. It was so sad that individuals needed to shed blood in order to defend their own lands. For example, Sign On San Diego pointed out that, a leading human rights group said that, it had lost its faith in Mexico’s legal system and would take is efforts to clear the names of two celebrated anti-logging activists to an international tribunal (â€Å"Mexican Rights Groups Says It Will Take Environmentalists Case To International Court†, 2002, p. 1).            Finally, alternative production mechanisms should be done by the people in their own efforts with the assistance of their governments in the region. The organic food production was tried wherein the use of pesticides was lessened to some extent. However, Roberts and Thanos reported that only a few profit will go to the contract farmer and the rest of the fruit of his labor will go to the seeds producer, fertilizer companies and others (Roberts and Thanos, 2003, p. 81). Fair trade efforts was also done wherein farmers were paid a fair amount or living wage on their exported products. Conclusion            The destruction of the environment will result to the suffering of the people. It will create a dilemma that will haunt them as pervasive as to the next generation. That is why it is necessary to take good care of the ecological balance of nature. Deforestation must be stopped and reforestation must be done double time. This is because according to the Rotarian Fellowship for Population and Development, deforestation contributes to soil erosion, scarcity of water, and climate changes (â€Å"Population and Deforestation in Central America†). Aside from that, three fourths of Central America is hilly or mountainous and that when it would be stripped with cover and the trees would be cut, it would unable to hold water and soil (â€Å"Population and Deforestation in Central America†). As a result, the destruction from Hurricane Mitch was seriously caused by the deforestation because of overpopulation in the region.            It is also concluded that, the environmental preservation projects that was made in the forests of the Central America region was not sustainable because it could disrupt the existence of living things in places made and intended for ecotourism. The purpose of preserving the wild animals and plants will be defeated of the constant presence of visitors and adventurers in the area. Thus, environmentally-benign projects are indeed not sustainable.            Finally, we should learn lessons from this paper since it has something to do with our survival and the future of the next generation. We must admit that all things are interconnected that any destruction done in the other side of the globe would affect us in one way or another. The realization that the environment is the common factor that would help us solve poverty is evident and we should not discard the idea. It may be true that wealthy nations will live comfortably because of the wealth that was taken from deforestation and inappropriate farming methods, but time will come that they would experience calamities as a result of the ecological abuse. Therefore, all of us must unite in preserving the fragile planet in which all of us are housed. References Global Change. (2008). Global Deforestation. Retrieved March 23, 2008,           from            http://www.globalchange.umich.edu/global/change2/current/lectures/deforest/deforest.html. Global Community. (2008). Definition of Sustainable Development. Retrieved March 23, 2008 from            http://globalcommunitywebnet.com/globalcommunity/definitionsustainabledevelopment.htm Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary.(2008). Agrochemicals. Retrieved March 23, 2008, from            http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/agrochemicals. Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. (2008). Deforestation. Retrieved March 23, 2008, from            http://www.merriam-webster.com/cgi-bin/dictionary&book=dictionary&va=deforestation. Pan International Website. ( December 2001). Dangerous Pesticide Use In Central America-    WantedA New Approach. Retrieved March 23, 2008 from http://www.pomuk.org/pestnews/            issue/pn54p.12.htm Roberts, J. T. and Thanos, N. D. (2003). Trouble In Paradise. USA: Routledge. Rotarian Fellowship for Population and Development. (2008). Population and Deforestation:   Central America. Retrieved March 23, 2008, from            http://www.rifpd.org/overview/predicaments/enviroment/deforestation/deforestation.html. Sign On San Diego. (21 August 2002). Mexican Rights Group Says That It Will Take                                  EnvironmentalistsCase To International Court. Retrieved March 23, 2008, from            http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/mexico/20020821-1356-mexico-humanrights.html. The American Heritage: Dictionary of American Language. (2000). Definition of Ecotourism.                                                                                                                                                           20            Retrieved March 23, 2008, from http://education.yahoo.com/reference/dictionary/entry/            ecotourism. University of Texas Press. (2008). Food For The Few: Neoliberal Globalism and Biotechnology in            Latin America. Retrieved March 23, 2008, from http://www.utexas.edu/utpress/excerpts/            exotefoo.html. Â
Tuesday, July 30, 2019
Social Benefits of Audit
Audit emerges because society needed. Auditing has been a regular feature of organized human activity from the earliest times. Indeed evidence suggests that formal audit procedures existed in the economic activities of the most of the early civilization. With the advancement of development, audit emerges as a separate discipline & contributes to the economic & social advancement. Audits serve a vital economic purpose and play an important role in serving the public interest to strengthen accountability and reinforce trust and confidence in financial reporting. As such, audits help enhance economic prosperity, expanding the variety, number and value of transactions that people are prepared to enter into. However, in recent years, and in the light of corporate scandals, we have witnessed ongoing global demands for improvements in audit quality. Changes have been taken place to promote greater transparency in the audit and accountability in auditors but there are continuing demands for further improvements to be made. Definition of audit: The availability and use of resources is strongly influenced by the type of economic policies that entities implement. Modern audit is concerned with citizen’s economic and social benefits. In the jargon of economics, government actions typically ‘distort’ the operation of economies, compared with the benchmark of a competitive market economy, and assumed to be able to operate without any government intervention. Such actions can only be justified by auditor if there are benefits stemming from the action that outweigh its costs. Here is an example of such logic applied to education: To finance better-quality schooling for those who have the least educated parents, and who attend the worse schools, it may be necessary to raise taxes on other people. The basic economic insight that such taxation distorts incentives remains valid. Such policies should be implemented only to the extent that the (present) value of the long-run benefits of greater equity exceed the efficiency costs of funding them. [World Bank, World Development Report 2006 (Washington DC: World Bank, 2006) at page 22. Benefits and costs are typically measured using a money-metric. Education is typically valued in terms of additions to a person’s expected future lifetime earnings, placing a low value on education of people whose expected future lifetime earnings are low, and no value on people for whom such earnings are zero. The same tension can be found if we look at the economy as a whole. Neoclassical economics judges the benefits of economic policies in terms of maximizing the output of goods and services, as measured by the level and rate of growth of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). It is assumed that rapid economic growth will lift people out of poverty, and that private ownership and market competition are likely to be the best mechanisms for maximizing economic growth. (This belief is what underpins the advocacy of privatization of public enterprises and services, and liberalization of markets). If some people are left behind, or indeed made worse-off, by policies aimed at maximizing national output, then it is assumed that ‘winners’ can compensate ‘losers’, for instance via taxation and public expenditure ( though these instruments must be used in a way that minimizes so-called ‘distortions’). This might be described as a strategy of ‘first maximize the size of the pie, then hope that it will be sliced up in such a way that nobody is made worse off’. Note that this approach is indifferent as to whether the losers are people who are already very rich, or very poor. Each is equally deserving of compensation. Nor does it pay much attention to the likelihood of compensation actually taking place. If the policy measures are expected to produce the maximum possible extra output, then auditor will express opinion that is enough for them to be judged ‘optimal’. States enjoy a margin of discretion in selecting the means to carry out their obligations. However, in discharging their obligations for the realization of economic and social rights, states must pay regard to the following key points: the requirement for progressive realization; the use of maximum available resources; the avoidance of retrogression; the satisfaction of minimum essential levels of economic and social rights; non-discrimination and equality; and participation, transparency and accountability. These principles can be used as a framework for auditing economic policy. Role of audit to the social perspective: Governments are facing an ever? growing demand to be more accountable and socially responsible and the people are becoming more assertive about their rights to be informed and to influence governments? decision? making processes. Faced with these demands, the executive and the legislature are looking for new ways to evaluate their performance. Civil society organizations are also undertaking ? Social Audits? to monitor and verify the social performance claims of the organizations and institutions. Social Audit is a tool with which government departments can plan, manage and measure non? financial activities and monitor both internal and external consequences of the department/organization’s social and commercial operations. It is an instrument of social accountability for an organisation. In other words, Social Audit may be defined as an in? depth scrutiny and analysis of the working of any public utility vis? a? vis its social relevance. Social Audit has significant role in social development. Purpose of the Social Audit The purpose of conducting Social Audit is not to find fault with the individual functionaries but to assess the performance in terms of social, environmental and community goals of the organisation. It is a way of measuring the extent to which an organisation lives up to the shared values and objectives it has committed itself to. It provides an assessment of the impact of organisations non-financial objectives through systematic and regular monitoring, based on the views of its stakeholders. Salient Features The foremost principle of Social Audit is to achieve continuously improved performances in relation to the chosen social objectives. Eight specific key principles have been identified from Social Auditing practices around the world. They are: 1. Multi? Perspective/Polyvocal. Aims to reflect the views (voices) of all those people (stakeholders) involved with or affected by the organisation/department/programme. 2. Comprehensive. Aims to (eventually) report on all aspects of the organisation? s work and performance. 3. Participatory. Encourages participation of stakeholders and sharing of their values. 4. Multidirectional. Stakeholders share and give feedback on multiple aspects. 5. Regular. Aims to produce social accounts on a regular basis so that the concept and the practice become embedded in the culture of the organisation covering all the activities. 6. Comparative. Provides a means, whereby, the organisation can compare its own performance each year and against appropriate external norms or benchmarks; and provide for comparisons with organisations doing similar work and reporting in similar fashion. 7. Verification. Ensures that the social accounts are audited by a suitably experienced person or agency with no vested interest in the organisation. . Disclosure. Ensures that the audited accounts are disclosed to stakeholders and the wider community in the interests of accountability and transparency. The following figure depicts the principles of Social Audit and universal values: These are the pillars of Social Audit, where socio? cultural, administrative, legal and democratic settings form the foundation to operational social Audit. The Social Audit process is intended as a means for social engagement, transparency and communication of information, leading to greater accountability of decision? akers, representatives, managers and officials. The underlying ideas are directly linked to concepts of democracy and participation. The application of Social Audit at the village level holds tremendous potential for contributing to good local governance and increased transparency and accountability of the local bodies. Applying the Tool The six steps of Social Auditing are: 1. Preparatory activities 2. Defining audit boundaries and identifying stakeholders 3. Social accounting and book? keeping 4. Preparing and using social accounts 5. Social audit and dissemination 6. Feedback and institutionalization of social audit Stakeholder consultation, involving department functionaries and civil society, would be the forum for sharing the Social Audit plan. This consultation would clarify the issues important for Social Auditing, role of stakeholders, as well as commitments from them. The outcome of the consultation would be fed into the process of detailing out: the indicators to be monitored; which existing records are to be used; and how additional information would be collected. The next key step is to fix responsibilities for various activities. The activities include preparing formats for social account? keeping, compilation of data and reporting the same on a monthly basis (internal use). Managers of the department/programmes can use this information for monitoring as well as providing feedback for improving performance and overcoming bottlenecks. Ideally, Social Audit should be conducted regularly, and the method should be developed through a participatory relationship between the auditor and the organisations/departments. The following figure depicts the detailed steps followed in the social audit cycle.
Monday, July 29, 2019
Major Real Estate Development Risk management and Insurance from the Research Paper - 1
Major Real Estate Development Risk management and Insurance from the developers position - Research Paper Example I will also look at the insurance factors that affect a real estate developer’s position. Various literatures offer a different understanding of the concept of real estate development with some looking at it as being similar to property development, while others looking at them differently. Basically, real estate development refers to a process that makes it possible for land use to be intensified for the purpose of coming up with housing structures for occupation. Real estate is also looked at as a concept that makes it possible for construction and necessary access of infrastructure, and at the same time allows legal subdivision of property for the purpose of vertical construction. Real estate itself is looked at as a projection that takes in the aspect of money, space and time. Through real estate, creation and management of time and space is enabled with the aim of generating specific estimated cash flows over a particular period of time. A developer refers to and individual or a corporate organization that develops land and buildings to increase their value to specified amounts over time. Developers in the real estate industry are therefore individuals or organizations who bring together land, labor and capital and plan how to manage and facilitate the market in a way that the requirements of the users are sufficiently met. In addition to this basic definition, the real estate industry is characterized by various types of developers who may be classified on the basis of their strategic capital role, geographic scope and ownership structure or the type of products they deal with (Davis 89). Real estate developers may therefore be classified in three most common categories: trader developer refers to the type of a developer who assumes the entire risk of the project until it’s completed. A trader developer then makes a complete sale of the land and property which results to the main goals as being exploitation of
Sunday, July 28, 2019
Investor Sentiment Explanation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words
Investor Sentiment Explanation - Essay Example Closed-end funds can serve as a perfect illustration for limitations of many theoretical assumptions. Concerns of many researchers from US and UK trying to explain closed-end funds, which differ from open-end funds with a fixed limited number of shares on the stock market, deserve serious attention. But before an explanation of closed-end fund phenomena from the behavioral perspective will be given, clear frames of the subject question should be defined. There are some differences and similarities between closed-end funds in the US and the UK. One of the most important differences is much greater participation of institutional investors in the UK market than in the US (Bleaney and Smith 2003, p. 19). Nevertheless the US and the UK markets are more similar than different, that is why we can extend results acquired from one market to another, but with some corrections made. Investor Sentiment Explanation Unlike economic theories trying to explain the closed-end fund puzzle with rational assumptions (e.g. tax liabilities), behavioral theories imply that there is some amount of irrationality on the market. It is called â€Å"noise trader sentiment† the component of expectations about asset returns not warranted by fundamentals. Basic assumptions of investor sentiment explanations are as follows:some of the investors are not fully rational, and their demand for risky assets is affected by their beliefs or sentiments; arbitrage is risky and therefore limited. However, researchers advise not to fall into opposite extreme: â€Å"It is absolutely not true that introducing a degree of irrationality of some investors into models of financial markets eliminates all discipline and can explain everything†.
Saturday, July 27, 2019
From civil rights to black power Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 1
From civil rights to black power - Essay Example Blacks, many working- and middle-class Whites themselves became angry and suspicious, charging that Blacks had already made too many gains at Whites expense. President Nixon who referred this as â€Å"the Silent Majority" of Americans who supported "law and order" and other white Americans worried about their economic prospects and their own future, law and order meant using the power of the government to keep Blacks in their place; they had already achieved too much, and now must accept their second-class status in American society.(1) From the 1970s on, conservatives, Republicans, and White Southern politicians have used code words about welfare, law and order, affirmative action, drugs and crime, teenage pregnancy, and the breakdown of the family to attract concerned Whites, who feel that Blacks are responsible for their own problems, not the government, not the of Blacks to law and order and the rights of Whites has helped shaped a White backlash against civil rights and further gains for Blacks civil rights since the 1970s. Unfortunately, this White back clash has only made young Blacks more angry, cynical, and suspicious about the government and White Society. Regarding the emergence of civil rights and black power movement we can explore a detailed study related to these occurrences. On July 26, 1948, President Harry Truman issued two executive orders, one instituted fair employment practices in the civilian agencies of the federal government; the other provided for "equality of treatment and opportunity in the armed forces without regard to race, color, religion, or national origin." This was a major victory for civil rights advocates in the quest for full citizenship.(2)Courtesy of the Chicago Daily Defender, Chicago, Illinois.)This was one beginning moment among others from which the racial sufferers gained inner strength to fight for the complete freedom. The African-American Civil Rights Movement (1955-1968) refers to the reform movements in the United
Japan Earthquake and Tsunami 2011 Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words
Japan Earthquake and Tsunami 2011 - Term Paper Example Natural disasters account as a perfect example signifying the limitations of the human knowledge and control over the world. Scientists and researchers have tried to devise techniques to find out a solution to these occurrences but they have not achieved success in this field. A tragic natural disaster hit the country of Japan on the 11 march 2011. This tragic occurrence was analyzed to be the worst earthquake that had occurred in the history of the country and was highlighted to have set up alarms up till the United States and the South America. The earthquake was accompanied with a tsunami and resulted in a nuclear disaster in the country which was termed to have a higher severity than the Chernobyl nuclear event. These disasters not only hampered the infrastructure of the country but led to the displacement and deaths of thousands of people and resulted in great economic losses for the country (Japan  Earthquake, Tsunami and Nuclear Crisis 2011). The earthquake in Japan ha s been ranked as the fifth most powerful earthquake of the world since the twentieth century. The earthquake was of the magnitude of 9.0 on the Richter scale. The earthquake had the highest severity in the northeastern part of Japan. Twenty four thousand people lost their lives or were missing following the earthquake. The tsunami, that resulted due to the earthquake, led to the destruction and drowning of complete villages in the northeastern part of the country. It was estimated that more than 3,400 buildings in the country had undergone destruction and damage. The power supply across the major cities was disrupted and people had to survive with no electricity and gas. Fires erupted across the areas that were hit mainly in the industrial locations as well as in places where there were oil reservoirs meant for storing the oil. The severity and strength of the earthquake did not settle and 100 minor earthquakes followed within a short period. The communication network across the are as that were hit was also disrupted. Immediately following the earthquake, it was understood by the nuclear experts that the tsunami that had resulted due to the earthquake had posed risk of damage to the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station. The chaos that had resulted has not led to provide for a complete analysis of the situation. But owing to the risk, hundred thousands of people were moved from the areas that were close to the nuclear power plants to avoid the adverse effects that could have resulted due to the radiations from the power plants. The combined national organizations and the forces of the country set to work to save the people and move them to safer locations. These included the people from the fire department, police department as well as the armed forces of the country (Dawson et al 2011; Japan  Earthquake, Tsunami and Nuclear Crisis 2011). The earthquake and the tsunami caused enough destruction and negative effects in Japan but the devastation in the country was aggravated by a nuclear breakdown and leakage that occurred in the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station. The nuclear power station had been affected by the tsunami as well as the earthquake. The day following the earthquake hit the country, there was a first blast reported from the nuclear power plant. This was accompanied by a second blast after three days. The
Friday, July 26, 2019
Classify each person into 1 profile group Essay
Classify each person into 1 profile group - Essay Example yers suggested that a fourth dichotomy, (with the contrasting poles of perceiving and judging), also has an effect on the characteristics of personality type- Judging- perceiving (J and P respectively.) All possible permutations of the four criteria mentioned above produce sixteen different combinations/possibilities representing which of the different poles/ends in each of the 4 (four) dichotomies dominates in an individual, thus defining sixteen different personality types. The sixteen personality types can be assigned a combination of four letters (i.e. an acronym) corresponding to the different ends in each of the four dichotomies (Penner et al 67-90) Various descriptions clearly suggest that George W. Bush belong in the ESTJ. His pictures and character are those of an extravert. As a child, Bush is portrayed as something of the family crown of entertainer. He takes extravert roles such as cheerleader and runs for fraternity president. He gets a playboy status and shows a bias for operation by flying for the Texas Air National Guard. On the political campaign, his trail comes across as active, sociable, energetic and outgoing. In contrast, his democratic opponents-Al Gore and John Perry- both earned reputations as being too stiff, wooden or boring (Jones3-6). His tendency to spend time at his ranch or ant Camp David may at first suggest preference for introversion. However, a closer look at his behavior in these settings further suggests a preference for extraversion in that a key theme is sociability- in addition to the presence of presidential staff; he is known to engender long and active days that often involve family and fri ends. Intuition and Sensing refer to different ways of comprehending. People who prefer sensing are described as realistic, practical, and always focused on living in the present. People who prefer intuition are described as imaginative, oriented to the future or theoretical. According to an analysis, George W. Bush appears to be a
Thursday, July 25, 2019
Extra credit Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words
Extra credit - Assignment Example The most noteworthy aspect of marketing in the current economy is testing. Individuals and business firms that need to be successful should; have the right message, to the right audience in correct timing (Kennedy 15). Without these factors, whatever product that is being promoted will have a poor turnout. Through testing one finds the best performance expectation of a product. This enables the marketer to assume a clear baseline that resonates to the best audience. This also includes online marketing strategies which are aimed at establishing their market. Moreover, measurement and testing is essential in marketing success and, only proper testing can provide this information. Without customers, then no business takes place since, they are the lifeblood to any business criterion. Therefore, this is the overall secret to success of any business firm or individual. In line with testing, tracking the business progress is vital. This has made many business firms depend on online marketi ng efforts which track businesses’ growth. There are also many other ways in which a business firm can look into the growth issue. Nowadays, marketing is enmeshed in a medium defined by technology. For instance, the marketing field has some perpetual values like empathy with clients, authentic hearing, compelling of visual designs, open-mindedness, fluid mapping and an engaging flair for showmanship (Kennedy 23). However, the most fundamental aspects in the marketing discipline include analytical pattern recognition, agile project management, experimental curiosity and rigor, systems thinking and mashable software fluency (Kennedy 34). These factors are a veritable baseline to the success of any business firm. This is because they focus on the beneficial aspects of success in business enterprising. In business, individuals should outline a clear business plan, an operational plan and the risk analysis factor which are likely to affect the business. Analytical pattern recognition
Wednesday, July 24, 2019
MKTG 466 = FINAL EXAM Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words
MKTG 466 = FINAL EXAM - Assignment Example An independent variable is an assumed causal variable whereas, a dependent variable is an assumed effect variable. The primary or key term in these definitions is the assumed as researchers are always in doubt whether a particular variable has caused another variable to change. In a research, it is assumed that it does but cannot be stated with certainty. For example, in a research if lack of sleep predicts increase usage of coffee, then lack of sleep is independent whereas, increased coffee consumption is dependent variable. Construct on the other hand is intangible, abstract and unobservable perception which is directly gauged with a set of related variables. For example customer satisfaction, service quality and brand appeal are some of the constructs. Some of the constructs which depict the respondents’ personality or uniqueness can also be measured. For example creativity, helpfulness, effects of various deals offered by various brands and so on. Relationships in a causal study depict the connection between two or more variables. Relationships between variables may be positive or negative. Positive relationships means than the variable are in direct proportion with each other and increase or decrease simultaneously. For example the more educated a person, the more likely he is to adopt technological advancements. On the other hand, negative relationship refers to a state where variables are inversely proportional to each other. Senior citizens are less likely to adopt to technological advancements. In order to efficiently convey the relationships and variables, researchers go through a process known as conceptualization. This process involves three primary steps; identification of variables, hypothesis statement and relationships and drawing a conceptual model. A conceptual model is primarily a diagram which a researcher uses to depict the relationships between variables and the hypothesis constructed during
Tuesday, July 23, 2019
Environmental Sustainability Master Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words
Environmental Sustainability Master - Essay Example There are 76 data sets integrated to fully assess the likelihood of a certain country to preserve effectively its environmental resources. These data sets include tracking natural resource endowments, past and present pollution levels, environmental management efforts, and its capacity to improve its environmental performance. The broad range of environmental issues being faced by each country falls into five categories: environmental systems, reducing environmental stresses, reducing human vulnerability to environmental stresses, societal and institutional capacity to respond to environmental challenges, and global stewardship. Despite of the continuous urbanization process in most countries, Ireland is maintaining its rural character. An evident decline in the rural population was observed in 1901 when the rural population fell from 72 to 43 percent. Surprisingly, the country experienced a boom in rural population growth in 1981 and 1996. This rural growth is characterized by isolated houses in the countryside or cluster of houses outside towns and villages. The expected reason for such phenomena is the obvious importance of agriculture to the livelihood of the people. However, this is not the case. The observed rural settlement growth took place at a time of stagnating agricultural economy and a turn down in agricultural employment. Studies were able to establish that there is a strong relationship between changes in rural settlement and the trends in car ownership. There was a 140 percent increase in car ownership in Ireland between 1970 and 1994. Presently, the country is experiencing 5 percent annual growth in car ownership. Due to this, people are more capable to choose residence in one place and be employed in another; they become the so called commuters. (McGrath) The growth of rural settlements and the increase in the working population whose residences are situated in a place far from work, give way to the issue of car dependency. The majority of the rural population being car dependent contributes to certain environmental problems whose scopes are wider and whose effects transcends beyond the communities of the involved people. The issue of motor car dependency, therefore, is being linked as the main reason to more serious environmental issues. The motor car is tagged as environmentally unsustainable and less efficient mode of everyday transport. A car consumes twice much energy as a train and five times greater than a bus. Aside from this, it is a main contributor to air pollution, a problem which is of great global concern nowadays. A motor car's carbon dioxide emission, measured as grams per passenger kilometer, is 50 percent higher than a train and four times higher when the bus is the mode of transportation. The bottom line, Ireland, its people being dependent on private cars for personal travels is relatively unsustainable on transport related environmental grounds because of the per capita levels of energy consumptions and vehicle emissions (McGrath). Such is the main findings of the Dublin study. Luckily, the current state of our Science and Technology is far advanced from what we can and what we have in the past. Right now, innovations and discoveries are becoming a usual part in this fast-pace world. Ireland's mod e of transportation has a lot of potential of being modified and improved so as to avoid the further risk of subjecting
Monday, July 22, 2019
Cold War Essay Example for Free
Cold War Essay The end of the Cold War and the plurality of new issues on the global agenda, to which are referred in this document as well as other literary reviews, have been accompanied by increasing calls for rethinking the foundations of a Globalization Theory and Theories of Globalization or discipline. To differing scholars, Theories of Globalization thought appears to be out of touch with the ground-breaking changes in world politics, as well as deficient in how to explain them to the masses and interested parties. Justin Rosenberg, International Relations scholar, has suggested how strange it is for such momentous events, such as the collapse of Soviet Communism, the strains of European integration, and the economic growth of China (which presently contains one-fifth of the worlds population) and not be inclusive of theoretical logic within other theories. â€Å"These events, within Rosenberg’s Globalization Theory, are part of a gigantic world revolution of modernization, industrialization, nationalism, and globalization in which the West has been caught up for the last two hundred years, tend to be excluded from most International Relations theory. †(Tickner, 2001, p. 9) In popular usage, globalization is linked to the idea that advanced capitalism, aided by digital and electronic technologies, will eventually destroy local traditions and creates a homogenized, world culture. â€Å"Critics of globalization argue that human experience everywhere is becoming essentially the same. Long believed to be a fair characterization of life at the beginning of the twenty-first century†(Qin-Hilliard, 2004, p. 143) Given that globalization has by now come to mean so much, and so little, this paper will discuss globalization specifically as a mode of empire, as an imperial project that has historically operated simultaneously through domestic and foreign policy while obscuring the connections between multiple theories. Looking at everyday life in the industrial international markets and at the responses of the populace at local, national, and transnational scales allows for an approach that would help advance a critical understanding for studying globalization. Multiple Theories of Globalization have burgeoned over the last decade. Arguably, perhaps the most sophisticated critique of Globalization Theory is contained in Justin Rosenberg’s The Follies of Globalization Theory. Nevertheless, globalization remains an essentially contested concept, expressed in a range of important debates. â€Å"†¦there is an ongoing debate between those who believe that it is primarily mythological (or ideological) and those who believe that it is a new reality with important structural features. †(Held et al. 1999) â€Å"The proliferation of Theories of Globalization reflects the polytonality of the phenomena at hand. In this light, globalization can neither provide a new theoretical grand narrative nor be seen as the only path to economic development. We see Theories of Globalization above all as a framework to deal with social complexity (Mittelman 2000). Within the globalization framework we find a host of analytical tools, such as the dialectic between territorialization and de-territorialization, and the concepts of transnationalism, hybridity, and borderlands, which provide a more nuanced picture of the changing face of religious and cultural life in the Americas. †(Marquardt et al, 2003, p. 3) â€Å"There is something about the last three hundred years which sets them apart from all other epochs in human history. In the field of international relations this is especially obvious since these centuries see for the first time the emergence of a states-system which covers the entire planet. †(Rosenberg 1994, p. 1) Examining the capital mobility impacts on cash transfers in universal and corporatist conservative state contexts, none of the possible relationships between dimensions of international capital markets and cash income maintenance is consistent with conventional globalization theory. Rosenberg theorems outlines a broad historical materialist framework for analysis and then challenges the realist a statement or idea that the masses accept as self-evident or obvious. It can be accepted as a model that the geo-political core of the disciplines subject matter is philosophy the most general branch of metaphysics, concerned with the nature of being are distinct from the wider structures of social reproduction develops an ambitious and intellectually rich. â€Å"Stated logic is a pervasive version of Marxs social theory of capitalist society as an alternative (i. e. non-realist) way of understanding the modern international system. †(Rengger, 2000, p. 55) Globalization Theory assumes or explicitly argues that business will resist moderate-to-high levels of welfare provision that raise the reservation wage, create work disincentives, contribute to fiscal imbalances, and engender high taxes. Instead of being an outcome driven and explained by a multitude of interrelated processes and necessary preconditions, economic globalization has become conceptualized in mainstream economic thinking and radical political debates as the universal cause. In his provocative book The Follies of Globalization Theory, Rosenberg (2000, 2-3) offered a compelling critique of the use of globalization as the universal explanation by social/globalization theorists: The term globalization, after all, is at first sight merely a descriptive category, denoting either the geographical extension of social processes or possibly, as in the working definition, the intensification of worldwide social relations And the globalization theorists clearly intend something more than this. Explicit in much of Globalization Theory is the notion that international financial integration is particularly consequential for larger welfare states that significantly depart from market-conforming precepts. For example, â€Å"In this view, the social democratic welfare states of the Nordic countries and the generous occupationally based social insurance systems of continental Europe are under especially strong pressures to reduce costs and restructure along market conforming lines. On the other hand, alternative theoretical argument highlights institutional features of these welfare states (e. g. , universalism and its political correlates) that may buffer them from the economic and political pressures flowing from globalization. †(Swank, 2002, p. 10) Related institutionalized international order is also, (defined and recognized as a society with obligations and responsibilities exist and grow by virtue of membership and especially by virtue of the express consent given by states to international law), the chief mechanism for regulating and monitoring international order. â€Å"However, most important of all, cosmopolitan liberals emphasize that growing institutionalization is the only way in which liberal forms can be globalized, especially in the context of globalization theory. †(Rengger, 2000, p. 106) Justin Rosenberg writings continued to suggest dominating influence of stability or order versus justice, which abstract from real-world issues. Rosenberg call for theory grounded in historical and social analyses is intrinsic to in his Globalization Theory which will be compared to Theories of Globalization as this paper progress. â€Å"He suggests that global issues can be better explained through narrative forms of explanation rather than social-scientific methodologies of conventional International Relationship. †(Tickner, 2001, p. 9) International economic scholars, based on postulates of past findings, have made a significant contribution to the study of economic globalization through theorization of its inherent occupation of space and sheer quantity of material. The distinctive contribution of Globalization Theory and Theories of Globalization within the crowed study of social, economic, cultural, and political has yielded increasingly single and autonomous global environment. Not accepting the policy of some scholars and instead describing the terminology as unclear or too vague and useless for understanding contemporary global economic change, many researchers and analysts embrace the important reasoning of how and why globalization will be a standard for discipline for the foreseeable future, â€Å" †¦as mutually constitutive material processes and ideological discourses, not the least because the term has now gained so much currency in the political and business world. In the context of his critique of international relations and globalization studies, Rosenberg argued that we need to take Globalization Theory s seriously, since its claims combine to exercise a kind of theoretical veto over other, more valuable resources for understanding both the contemporary world in general and its international politics in particular. (Yeung, 2002, p. 285)
Economics Markets Essay Example for Free
Economics Markets Essay The most probable result if the minimum wage for teenage workers in Australia will increase is that the employment rate will decrease. The effects on employment on the workers on the increase in the minimum wage of teenage workers will lose their job. This is because employers must retain their profit. Increasing the minimum wage of the workers will result into decrease profit of the company, thus employers will lessen their employers also decreasing their labor costs to retain their profit (Kennan 2007). Take for example a company that aims to maximize its profit. Currently, the companys labor force is n and the minimum wages for its employer is w. Consider a case when the company increases the minimum wage to W with no changes to other factor like profit. If this happens, the profit will decrease because of n*(W-w). The only way to regain the losses of the company that is brought by the increase in the minimum wage is to lessen its labor force n to compensate the losses. Drastic change will occur on the employment of teenage workers in Australia because employers will consider first the adult or the professionals. Companies that need personnel with expertise on the said company will be hired first because these professional are more equipped in producing profit for the company. The figure below illustrates how employment is being affected by the increase in the rate of wage of the labors. As the wage increase, so also the gap thus increasing the rate of unemployment (David Tuerck and Paul Bachman 2005). There are other possible outcomes when minimum wage rate will increase among teenage workers in Australia. Though many employee will be attracted on the high wage rate in Australia, there is a big possibility that companies will go to other places where there is low wage rate. Most companies now are finding their personnel on places where there is a low wage rate. This is to lessen other expenses incurred by the companies (Haussamen 2007).
Sunday, July 21, 2019
System Thinking In Healthcare Nursing Essay
System Thinking In Healthcare Nursing Essay The health care system can be defined as a set of interrelated parts or agents, which include caregivers and patients, bound by a common purpose and acting on their knowledge. This great number of interconnections within and among makes the healthcare organisation complex (IOM, 2009). Such complexity brings problems and opportunities and requires organisations to adjust to the changes. The ability to understand and respond to both the external and internal environments might require a holistic thinking approach of the system (Lebcir, 2006). Systems consist of interrelated, interacting and interdependent parts configured in a manner that produces a unified whole. System thinking studies these components parts, their interrelationship and the way they function as a whole. According to Senge (1993), system thinking is a conceptual framework, a body of knowledge and tools that has been developed to make the full patterns of systems clearer, and to help see how they can be changed effectively. There are various system thinking approaches and the essay will review some methodologies that were used in managing the case study of Ashford hospital. 1.1 Case Study- Ashford Hospital Earlier in the year, Ashford hospital which serves quite a large population experienced severe pressure on service. The hospital had 67 ward beds. Patients had to wait for long in chairs or trolleys at accident and emergency unit (A E) before they could be admitted into the wards. This led to overcrowding of AE unit. Patients were asked to stay away from the hospitals AE unless absolutely necessary. The healthcare providers were put under pressure and resulted in trading of blames amongst them. Patients were no longer satisfied with the quality of care. The management of the hospital was disturbed and wanted a way out of the messy situation. 2 Soft Systems Methodology (SSM) SSM is an action oriented approach for tackling perceived real world problematic (social) situations ( Checkland and Poulter, 2006). Appendix A shows the SSM process steps that were followed in the course of investigation. 2.1 Finding out An investigation team was invited by Chief Executive (CE) and introduced to some health workers. Using the SSM the first stage was to identify and provide a brief description of the situation. Due to the workload the clinicians were encountering, getting them round a discussion table wasnt easy. However, the investigation team moved around asking questions and observing proceedings. A rich picture was developed to help capture the main entities, structures and view points in the problem situation of Ashton hospital (Figure1, Appendix B). As part of the finding out, the team had to identify key roles that were affected in this situation (Analysis 1). The team already knew who the client was because it was the CE who requested for intervention. The nurses and doctors (some with specialisation) in A E provided treatment to patients with various illnesses and injuries.. Where necessary, patients were moved to the ward. The bed manger allocated beds to patient, while the ward manager supervised the ward. Table1 shows the outcome of Analysis 1 while table 2 shows the worldviews of the issue owners. Having known the key issue owners, the social texture (Analysis 2) of the issue owners in term of their role in the hospital, the norms (expected behaviour associated with such role) and the values (standard by which behaviours are judged) were identified. This is illustrated in table 1 of Appendix B. A political analysis (analysis 3) which enriched the cultural appreciation previously obtained through Analyses 1and II was done. The essence was to find out the disposition of power associated with the roles within the hospital thereby buttressing our cultural understanding of the situation. The CE, being the head of the hospital, had positioned power over other roles while the doctors enjoyed expert power across the hospital. The details of the analysis 3 are shown in figure 2 of Appendix B. The culture analysis provided a basic for identifying the relevant issues, actors and conflict in the hospital. The Client- person(s) who caused the intervention to happen The Chief Executive of Ashford hospital The Practitioner- people performing the investigation The Investigation team (Us) The issue owners-people who are concerned about or affected by the situation. Doctors, Bed managers, nurses, patients, ward managers, Chief Executive Table 1: Analysis 1 (the Intervention Itself) in Ashford hospital case study Issue owners World views Chief Executive Targets must be met with the available budget Doctors Patients need to be given effective treatment before they are discharged Bed manager Doctors do not discharge patients on time and are always bed blocking Patients We need better healthcare service; we Need to get well before we are discharged Ward managers High standards must be maintained in the ward Nurse To many patients to cope with Table 2: Worldviews of the issue owners in Ashford hospital case study. 2.2 Making Purposeful Activity Models. According to Checkland and Poulter (2006), every human situation reveals people trying to act purposefully. The models of purposeful activity system viewed through the world view of the doctors and the bed manager were considered very relevant. This was because the doctors made decisions on patients that needed admission while the bed manager was involved in allocation of beds. In order to model the purposeful activities, root definitions describing the primary activity processes and functions were developed using a mnemonic CATWOE analysis. Appropriate root definitions for the primary functions performed by doctors and bed manager were formulated as follows: A doctor system to provide quality and effective treatment care, through the use of appropriate acquired knowledge and hospital resources in, order to improve patients condition. A bed manager system that provides timely placement of patients in wards, by optimizing the use of available hospital beds, in order to contribute to quality and effective patient care. Tables 3 and 4 show the purposeful activity models for the Bed Manager and Doctor respectively. The conceptual purposeful activity models are illustrated in figure 2 and 3 of Appendix B. Purposeful Activity model 1 Root definition A bed manager system that provides timely placement of patients in wards, by optimizing the use of available hospital beds, in order to contribute to quality and effective of patient care. Activity name Admission of patients Task Primary task Customer Patients, doctors Actors Bed manager Transformation process Patients are admitted in hospital ward beds Worldview Doctors do not discharge patients on time and they contribute to bed blocking Owners Bed managers, doctors, ward managers, nurses Environment Number of beds, bed management and ward policies Efficacy Are beds available for patients? Are beds data correct? Efficiency How long do patient wait before being admitted? Do patients over stay on ward bed? Optimal bed usage, waiting time Effectiveness Have all patients been admitted on time? Table 3: Purposeful Activity model of Bed Manager. Purposeful Activity Model 2 Root definition A doctor system to provide quality and effective treatment care, through the use of appropriate acquired knowledge and hospital resources in order to improve patients condition. Activity name Treatment and admission of patients Task Primary task Customer Patients Actors Doctors Transformation process Patients are admitted and treated in the hospital Worldview Patients need to be given effective treatment before they are discharged Owners Nurses, doctors, bed managers, ward managers Environment Bed management and ward policies, availability of beds Efficacy Have patients been treated and admitted Efficiency Are patients getting better?, cost of drugs, time Effectiveness Have all patients been treated and admitted on time? Table 4: Purposeful Activity model of Doctors 2.3 Discussion and Outcomes. Activities in conceptual models developed were used for the discussion. The most significant finding that resulted from the investigation was in the area of discharge. The actual problem which was assumed to be limited to the AE was actually as a result of failure to adequately plan discharge in the wards. When the rate of patients needing admission increased, there was a need to change discharge plans. However, it was realised that the doctors did not change discharge behaviour and created waiting lists for patients that needed admission. Facilitated brainstorming sessions resulted in identifying number of contributing causes of delayed discharge. Discharge was done after ward round which took place in morning during week days alone. Insignificant numbers of discharge were done over the weekend because there was no major ward round. This meant that most patients needing admission in A E over weekend had to wait till following week before beds could be arranged for them. This also compounded the bed crises. A discharge project team was immediately set up. The main function of the discharge team was to carry out additional ward rounds in the evenings and on weekends so as to discharge patients and free up more beds. They were able to indentify other causes of delayed discharge and resolved them. This ensured timely discharge fashion which then freed up beds for patients in AE. 2.4 Strength and weakness of SSM The methodology provided guidelines that were flexible to apply. The use of models provoked debate and learning among the issue owners. Through discussion and debates, the hospital was able to realise that there was a need to amend patient discharge policy. However, this methodology could not satisfy everybody. Some of the discharge decisions were not favourable to the ward patients. Also members of the discharge team had extra work to do and ways of compensating them were not discussed. This could be seen from Jackson (2000) arguments that SSM tends to favour the more powerful people in the system while genuine participative debate could be severely constrained. 3.0 Thinking Differently Most of the inventions in our society today, such as electricity, telephone, automated teller machine and many more, are the results of some people who decided to think differently. Thinking differently involves using innovative and creative approaches to transform healthcare delivery service (NHS, 2007) The first stage was to stop and think of the whole situation and identify areas where creative thinking could improve matters. It was observed that there was poor co-ordination of patients and beds management while poor communication existed between the bed manager and other clinicians, in the wards and A E, about bed availability. A tool called Others Point of View (OPV) was then selected to describe the issue from others peoples perspective. The aim was to generate some alternative ways of framing the problem and to think about what other people might say about bed management of the hospital. Hotel manager Despite their poor hospitality, they still have more clients.poor service in hotel industry will make you to be out of business Service Consultant Poor customer service in the hospitalno regards for patientscustomers are kings ..so are the patients Journalist Taking the sick to a sick hospital. Patient -This is disgustingwhere else do they want us to go to? The second phase allowed clinicians to brainstorm and come up with ideas. At this stage no idea was good or bad. It allowed for people to speaking out their imaginations. The Fresh eyes tool was picked to see how similar issues were managed in other industries and the possibility of adopting the solutions into the hospital. Hotels- Hotels manage rooms, checks customers in and out using software systems designed to help administrator to track all rooms availability. University- students can book their accommodation online while a system assists in organising and allocating rooms to students Airline Airline Reservations Systems that manages airline schedules, fare tariffs, passenger reservations and ticket records. This gave us insight to how clients and resources were being managed in other industries. The stake holders then agreed to try out a bed management information system. The hospital implemented bed management information system on a small scale and some of the benefits were highlighted (Table 5). Real time online monitoring of bed position, bed manager did not have to go round wards again It improved communication between units for patient admissions Saved time searching for available beds in the hospital It provided an overview of bed occupancy rate in hospital It was user friendly and easy to use. Enabled more accurate allocation of beds for emergency patients Table 5: Realised benefits of Bed management information system after implementation. 3.1 Strength and weakness The thinking differently methodology was a powerful tool in stimulating thinking and lots of ideas were suggested. However, this took time and caused arguments as feasibility, advantages disadvantages and risk of each idea were all argued out. Also, traces of people trying to impose their ideas on others were noticed while others brought up ideas that would satisfy their own interest. 4 System dynamics System dynamics is an approach and simulation technique for studying and managing complex feedback systems, that are seen in business and other social systems (SDS, 2009). According to Jun el at (1999), there has been increased use of simulation in healthcare. This could be attributed to numerous success reports of using simulation to address health care system problems and availability of simulation software packages. The methodology was used to estimate and manage the aggregate flow of patient through the hospital and its environment. As the number of people visiting AE increased, it in turn increased the number of people who needed hospital admission. Also, as patients waiting for bed increased, it caused an increase in number of patients that were discharged home early. This is illustrated in Figure 1. There was the need to control the number of patients coming through A E. The availability and use of other healthcare facilities such as GP practice, community care and nearby hospitals would have a negative feedback on the inflow of patients into aE. This would directly affect the number of patients needing admission. Most of the patients that were discharged home might not have to return to AE as community care could assist carter. This methodology helped the hospital to forecast inflow of patients and ways that could be adopted to control it. Community care services around were informed about the situation of things in the hospital. In addition, ambulance bringing patients were informed ahead to make use of other hospitals or GP practices if condition of patient was not too severe. Figure 1: A model to show the flow of patients through the hospital 5. Conclusion The complex nature of healthcare system makes system thinking well-suited to tackle problems in this sector. The various methodology approaches used assisted in better understanding of the relationship between the various units in Ashford hospital and its environment. This showed that like any other system, no unit in the hospital is an island. The different methodologies applied in Ashford hospital situation yielded various positive outcomes that helped improved the problematic situation. While some of the methodologies used have their roots in action research, further participatory research will be carried out to investigate occupational work stress among the clinicians. This may help identify majors causes of stress associated with their workflow, how it affects their relationships with others and with the patients in particular. Word count -2034
Saturday, July 20, 2019
Internet Copyright Laws Essay example -- essays research papers fc
Internet Copyright Laws A student comes home to his dorm at the University of Scranton after a rough day of classes. With the quick internet connection provided on the school’s network, the student makes a few clicks and logs into Morpheus, a program that enables music fans to download free music. Within a few minutes he is on his way to owning an unlimited amount of songs at no cost. Everything this student is doing is legal, right? Wrong. The downloaded music from the internet is copyrighted material. Today’s internet is considered an â€Å"information superhighway,†a device where anything from music, books, programs and information can be shared worldwide. Since billions of people have the ability to access the internet, the content of the internet can be difficult to regulate. One controversy which has risen because people can transmit and share information broadly via the internet is that of copyright infringement. Arguments over the rights to property on the internet have been heated. For example, Napster (similar to Morpheus) was sued for providing software that enabled internet users to download music at no cost. Since the internet is a device that is used worldwide, copyright laws should exist to protect people who own copyrights so their civil liberties are not infringed upon. Because the internet is sometimes considered unregulated, users often assume that the law does not apply to its use. Widespread misuse of people’s intellectual property via the internet occurs because of this belief, though anyone can access the internet. Since the                                                   number of people who have the ability to access the internet is so high, laws that are made to protect people’s publications in other media should also apply to protect them on the internet. Copyrights that protect products can sometimes be confusing to understand. The simplest way to identify copyright infringement is to question if the copyright is handed over with the product. For example, if a person owns a compact disc and lets a friend borrow it, the compact disc i... ...material is under copyright laws. However, while in court, it was thought the publications could be of public domain. The courts decided that the information was not an infringement and returned the confiscated property to Wollershiem and Penny. Copyright laws exist to protect the ownership of material. Where the material is located should not void the copyright. If copying property is for personal use, than a problem should not exist. If a person starts to make money or distribute the copied material, then a problem with copyright laws will arise. In this case, the provider of the material will be at fault. With the arrival of the electronic age, the internet will be another place where copyright laws are needed, and must be enforced; The internet cannot be free and unregulated. Whether it is a tape in a stereo, or a religious hoax on the internet, copyright laws must exist and be upheld to protect individuals from infringement of their property rights. Bibliography: Knowledge and Identity in the Electronic Age. Richard Fearer; McGraw-Hill, 1998. 124 131. Who owns digital works. Scientific American Publication. Ann Okerson; October 13, 2002. 37-41.
Friday, July 19, 2019
Essay --
This is the worst moment in my life yet, which I cannot forget. My story takes many turn; however, it is sad overall. My story similar with an episode of drama but it happened in real with me. After this incident, I hate to people and avoid always from strangers. My story disclose that how crimes are increasing in our society. After this incident my lifestyle has changed quietly. I learnt from the time because I was kidnapped in a strange way. It was unbelievable for me and I think that I was also a guilty person. In fact, I franked to everyone without know him. It was my interesting journey but there was some suspense and thrilling. My story show the mystery of social crimes from my personal narration. My story started from a local van. I could not forget this worst day of my life when I got a heavy loss; however, luckily God saved my life from enemies. Sometimes, I feel that how life is very tough and it is full of scales. I believe that life is not a bed of roses. I was 19 years old young boy but I was naughty instead of very polite in attitude and simple. I franked to everyone in very short time. Most of strangers become my friend. I trust on strangers without any fear. Most of my friends prevented me to be frank with anyone. This was the major reason of my worst incident of my life. The sun was sinking below the horizon and I decided to leave my city. I was ready to go to my cousin. Before sunset, my van was on the way and after 2 hours in the early night I had arrived there. In the van a young boy was impressed my new mobile Samsung glaxy3. It was the latest model of Samsung in the market. He became my friend in a few minutes. We were talking as we were friends from a long time ago. He was texting to someone but I did not a... ...ntage of my simplicity. I had to get loss but on the other hand they did not break the confidence on strangers only instead of they learned me that how strangers involved in social crimes. If I saw them today, I can recognize but I think that I was very young had no idea about typical life. I tasted a bitter taste of life in very early age. I think that life teaches us in different mood and style. Some learned from life with shocks and some were within passing the time. However, it was worst experience of my life because I lost my very precious gift. After, the incident, I started my new life with a new vision and thought. I also thanked to God for my new life and wisdom. Now, I do not make friends very early and especially avoid from the people those are accompanying with me for a little time. This incident told me that how should I tread with the life and society?
Essay --
1. Guided bone regeneration (GBR) The concept of GBR was described first in 1959 when cell-occlusive membranes were employed for spinal fusions 105.The terms ‘‘guided bone regeneration’’ and ‘‘guided tissue regeneration’’ (GTR) often are used synonymously and rather inappropriately. GTR deals with the regeneration of the supporting periodontal apparatus, including cementum, periodontal ligament, and alveolar bone, whereas GBR refers to the promotion of bone formation alone. GBR and GTR are based on the same principles that use barrier membranes for space maintenance over a defect, promoting the ingrowth of osteogenic cells and preventing migration of undesired cells from the overlying soft tissues into the wound. Protection of a blood clot in the defect and exclusion of gingival connective tissue and provision of a secluded space into which osteogenic cell from the bone can migrate are essential for a successful outcome. The sequence of bone healing is not only affe cted by invasion of non-osteogenic tissue, but more so by the defect size and morphology. A predictable intraoral GBR approach was developed in the late 1980s and early 1990s; 108-110 (bone augmentation techniques 2007) The survival rates of implants placed in augmented sites with GBR are reported in many publications, survival rates range from 91.7 to 100%. However, there are few data about the success rate of dental implants placed in those areas, according to universally established criteria. This may represent a limit in evaluating the reliability of the GBR technique, because a high implant survival rate may not correspond to a high GBR success rate bearing in mind that an implant can remain stable and osseointegrated even if the total amount of regenerated tissue ... ...nd limitations must also be being considered. Some authors have reported partial relapse of the gained bone. More studies are needed to assess the implant survival in the bone gained by DO versus other augmentation methods, including new bone substitutes and augmentation factors. (Alveolar ridge augmentation for implant fixation: status review zakhary 2012). Determination of what technique should be used, is largely surgeon preference and on the extent of the defect and specific procedures to be performed for the implant reconstruction. It is most appropriate to use an evidenced-based approach when a treatment plan is being developed for bone augmentation cases. (Bone augmentation techniques. 2007)(Clinical outcomes of vertical bone augmentation to enable dental implant placement: a systematic review.2008) (Bone Grafting the Mandible Patrick J. Louis, DDS, MD 2011)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)