Education policies Essay

Education is so important in any given society. For this reason, it forms a major part of any government’s plans. The plans that any government wishes to implement as regards their education system is determined by existing policies. Factors which influence formulation of policies form the subject of this discussion. For orderly presentation, the essay is divided into three chapters namely the introduction, the main body and conclusion. The introduction gives definitions of key terms used in the essay as well as conceptual frame work, the main body outlines and discusses major factors which influenced education policies in African countries after achieving their independence and lastly the conclusion draws a summary of the essay. 1. 1 Statement of essay purpose This essay aims at discussing the factors which influenced education policies in African countries after their achievement of independence. The essay will outline these factors and later give a detailed discussion of each factor. 1. 2 Definitions of terms In order to make this discussion meaningful, it is imperative that definitions of key terms that are involved are done. The key terms involved in the discussion are education, policy and independence. The definitions of the terms are as given below Education. According to the United Nations Education, Scientific and Culture Organisation (1975:1), education is defined as â€Å"organised and sustained communication designed to bring about learning† Thus education in this context involves a lifelong process by which an individual is incorporated into the group and made capable of behaving in the ways expected by the society for an individual of a particular age, sex or status. Education can take place formally, non formally and informally. However, in this context the emphasis is on formal education. Policy  A policy is defined as a deliberate plan of action which is put in place to guide decisions and achieve intended outcomes. Policies differ from rules or laws. Rules or laws are established to compel or prohibit certain behaviours while policies guide actions towards desired goals. This discussion, however, focuses on education policies. Bartlett and Burton (2012:134), define an education policy as the â€Å"rafts of laws and initiatives that determine the shape and functioning of educational systems at both national and local levels. Therefore, education policies give direction to the functioning of an education system. Independence This is defined as the freedom from being governed or ruled by another country. African countries in this discussion acquired the freedom to rule themselves from colonial mast 1. 3 Conceptual Framework Blackmore (1999), states that there are three models of policy making namely popular participation, decree and delegation models. This discussion will refer to these three models in outlining and discussing the factors which influenced education policies in African countries after achieving their independence. These models are discussed in detail below. (a) Popular Participation Policy making model. (b) In this model, everybody is given an opportunity to contribute to the formulation of policies. People in African countries were given opportunities to make suggestions on changes to make to the education system. For example, Zambia’s educational reforms of 1977. (c) Decree Policy Making Model In this model, the head of state makes pronouncements on the direction to be followed in a given education system. (d) Delegation Policy Making Model This involves appointing a commission to review the education system of a given country. For example the Onide Commission was appointed to review the education system of Kenya in 1963. Policies are made with respect to the findings of the commission. CHAPTER TWO 2. 0 Main Body This chapter outlines and discusses the major factors that influenced education policies in African countries after achieving independence. These factors are as given and discussed below. Education for Economic Development The consideration given to education as an important vehicle for economic development is one of the factors which influenced education policies in African countries after achieving independence. Investment in formal education was considered as an essential precondition for economic growth. African countries learnt lessons from developed countries that a high basic platform of education was a catalyst to rapid economic development. There was a belief among developing countries that the modernisation, industrialisation and wealth of developed countries were the direct consequence of their educational systems. Coombs (1970) argues that during the 1960s education in developing countries was regarded as a sort of intellectual yeast which would ferment and transform pre industrial societies by promoting knowledge, skills and attitudes which were favourable to economic and social development. Therefore, education policies in African countries after the achievement of independence were directed at promoting education pro vision expansion in order to achieve meaningful development. In fact an argument is advanced by Anderson (1965), that analysis of evidence from major developed countries such as Britain, France, United States of America and Russia that in general terms, a thresh hold male literacy rate of 40 percent was required before there be any significant take off of economic development. To this end, African countries directed their policies on education after attaining independence towards increased access to education in order to reach the required thresh hold of literacy. Therefore, in the 1950s and 1960s, demand and plans for investment in formal education by African countries increased. Education was regarded to be a principal weapon in achieving economic growth. To this end rapid quantitative expansion of the education system became the order of the day in newly independent African countries. Man power Shortages. After attaining independence, African countries were confronted with shortage of manpower in various sectors of the economy. As a result of this scenario, they experienced economic stagnation. Man power shortages were heavily felt in technical and managerial fields. Thus, education policies in most African countries were directed towards resolving the man power shortages experienced. This situation was evident from what obtained in Kenya. As Eshiwani (1993:26), observes ‘’at independence in 1963, Kenya found herself with a high shortage of skilled manpower to run the economy. In order to solve this problem, a commission was appointed to advise the government on the formulation and interpretation of national educational policies. † Therefore, it can be stated that man power planning in newly independent countries of Africa gave a direction to the formulation of education policies. Consequently, the governments of newly independent countries of Africa saw it paramount to expand the education systems of their countries in order to produce more graduates from the education system that would fill the manpower gaps which were experienced in various sectors of the economy. Most technical and managerial jobs at independence in most African countries were occupied by foreigners. Therefore, the aim of most African governments was to decolonise the education systems, produce more output from secondary and higher education so that manpower to participate in national development could be realised. Fafunwa (1974), Contends that education development in African countries like Nigeria was treated as a national emergency for the reason of curbing manpower shortages in crucial areas of the economy. In order to meet the requirements of manpower in various sectors of the economy, the policies of African countries after independence were directed at increasing school enrolments, especially at the post primary level. Rapid expansion of secondary and higher education was considered as a pre requisite for sustainable economic growth. Enhancing education as a basic human right Newly independent African countries were confronted with a task of providing to every child their basic, essential right to education. The kind education that was to be provided was supposed to be relevant to the child in his or her African setting. For this reason, most newly African countries had massive capital and recurrent budgets towards the financing of primary education for all. The provision of education especially at elementary level to citizens of newly independent African countries was prompted by the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights in which education is enshrined as a basic human right. As Bishop (1989:1), postulates, â€Å"Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit. †Therefore, from the foregoing, newly independent African countries were compelled to provide education especially primary education on the grounds of human justice and equity. The newly independent African countries were supposed to consider primary education as the birth right of every child. This was due to the fact that education was seen as an effective way to give all children regardless of sex or family background an equal start in life. Furthermore, the leadership of newly independent African countries considered education to be the great equaliser that would help to narrow the wide disparities which were apparent in conditions of living in rural and urban communities. Before the attainment of independence, education in most African countries was a preserve for the elite. In order to correct this, African leaders made radical changes to their education systems to make them more accommodative to everyone. As Carmody (1994:23), contends â€Å"As in most African countries, from the early days Africa’s leaders viewed education as a powerful, often the most powerful vehicle for social transformation. Thus, as the UNIP government assumed power, among its immediate priorities were the elimination of racial segregation in schools and expansion of education provision. Tuition and boarding fees were abolished. † A point was also made by Bishop (1989), which in the days of the 1950s and 1960s massive expansion of education provision was regarded as the best means available for rooting out old prejudices and socio economic injustices. Therefore, education was regarded as basic human right which everyone needed to enjoy as provided in the foregoing arguments. In the pursuit of providing universal primary education, newly African countries set for themselves benchmarks. For example, the Addis Ababa conference on the development of education in Africa held in 1961 recommended that primary education was to be universal, compulsory and free by 1980. The conference further recommended that secondary education was to be provided to 30 percent of the children who completed primary school. Similarly, the conference of Arab states which met in Tripoli in 1966 also set 1980 as the target date for achieving universal primary education. To this end, it can be argued that one of the factors that influenced the formulation of education policies of African countries after achieving independence was related to the consideration that education was a basic human right which every citizen of a given country was supposed to enjoy . Hence, massive investment in the provision of education was undertaken by African countries after attaining independence in order to promote the achievement of universal primary education. As Court and Kinyanjui (1978:14), comment on the provision of Universal Primary Education in Tanzania. â€Å"President Nyerere had the choice of expanding the number of classes at grades V to VII so that those children entering primary education received seven years of schooling instead of four†. It can be concluded from the foregoing statement that the decision was arrived at because it enabled finances to be spent on the provision of 7 years of education to one child which helped him or her to become a useful member of society. African countries aimed at improving the access to education by increasing the number of school places which was facilitated by expanding already existing schools as well as construction of new schools in different parts of their countries. Promotion of Modernisation. African countries formulated their education policies with respect to the purpose of attaining modernisation. In order to influence modernisation in their countries, there was massive investment in education. This was a result of the belief that schooling would assist in the inculcation of modern ideas and attitudes. Bishop (1989), postulate that evidence seemed to indicate that schooling influenced the development of modern traits and ideas. To this end, schooling had some impact on modernisation. This was manifestated in higher levels of modernity among urban people and lower modernity among rural people. Consequently, many African leaders in newly independent countries felt modernisation of attitudes and behaviours was an important pre requisite for their countries’ development. According to Carmody (1994), education should socialise a nation’s population into modern values, attitudes and personalities. For this reason there was more emphasis on the expansion of education systems in newly independent African countries in order to enhance the access levels. Increased access to education meant increased modernity levels within a given country. In studies which were conducted be Inkeles and Smith (1974), indicate that education was the single most variable for modernisation. The studies indicate that each year of schooling improved a person’s score on their modernity scale by about 2 points. Education was also very effective in the development of positive attitudes and values. For this reason, formulation of education policies in newly independent African countries was influenced by the idea of modernisation. Modernisation was to be attained by every citizen in the newly independent African countries through education. Ensuring Citizens’ Political Participation The citizens’ participation in political affairs of their countries could be seen as one of the major factors which influenced education policies in African countries after achieving independence. Political participation of citizens of a particular country was linked to the notion of modernisation. This was due to the fact that knowledge was regarded as power. For this reason, many political leaders of African drafted educational policies which were responsive to the promotion of political participation of citizens in nation matters. This was highly evident in the content of education which was offered to the citizens . Again this could only be realised through the wide spread of education in African countries which most leaders promoted through the expansion of the education system. Cowan (1965), stressed that any political principle which governed education policy in independent African countries was supposed to regard as a top priority the provision of an education that would establish the most vigorous form of self government and independence. Therefore, extending schooling to a larger population would make more people politically and socially conscious and more active in the process of nation building. Thus, if equal political rights were to be enjoyed by everyone then everyone ought to have at least an adequate primary school education to participate more fully in the political process of their country. Promotion of Social Equality and Removal of Divisions The attainment of social equality is among the major factors which influenced education policies in African countries after achieving independence. Education was regarded as an instrument of social equality which was critical in the upbringing of social responsibility. Therefore, education policies which were put in place by African countries after attainment of independence were directed towards the promotion of social equality within their countries. Consequently, more and more school places were created in most parts of African countries to bring about the issue of equality within their countries in the provision of education services. Equality in the provision of education was called for as it ensured that child was provided with varied and challenging opportunities for collective activities and corporate social services. Furthermore, Eshiwani (1993), points out that the promotion of social equality in the formulation of education policies in African countries after achieving independence helped young people to acquire positive attitudes of mutual respect which enabled them to live together in harmony and to make a positive contribution to the national life. This contribution to national life was not supposed to be extended to every part of the country, hence the need of social equality in the provision of education. Respect and Development of Cultural Heritage The formulation of education policies in African countries after achieving independence was influenced by the need for promoting respect and development of cultural heritage. Education policies were directed towards the promotion of respect, fostering and developing the rich cultures which African countries have. For this reason, policy formulation as regards this situation was clearly addressed in the content of education which African countries were to provide to their people. The content of education was adapted to the culture of the people in any particular African country. In support of this assertion, Eshiwani (1993), states that the commission which was assigned to review Kenya’s education system in 1963 recommended that Kenyan schools were to respect the cultural traditions of the people of the country, both as expressed in social institutions and relationships. Similarly, Damachi et al (1978), reports that education policies in African countries after attainment of independence were influenced by the need to enhance every aspect of human development which included the promotion of cultural heritage. Consequently, African countries were to state clearly their language of instruction in their education system both at lower and higher levels. This was done with the sole aim of promoting the preservation of cultural heritage and national unity. To this end the education policies which most African countries drafted after the attainment of independence were geared towards learners understanding of past and present cultural values and their valid place in contemporary society. Education for Self Reliance The education policies of African countries were influenced by the need for the curriculum offered to respond to the attainment of self reliance. Thus the recipients of such education were supposed to engage themselves in self employing activities. The curriculum of African countries emphasized practical subjects in order to ensure the acquisition of self reliance by learners. It was realised that the kind of education which was offered in some countries in Africa was too bookish and academic. The education system in most African countries separated manual work from learning. Thus theory was separated from practice. This situation further alienated young people from their societies. Therefore, education reforms in most African countries were inevitable so as reverse this trend. As Bishop (1989:116), reports â€Å"By the mid 1950s it was being argued once again that schooling should be reformed principally through curriculum reform to include more practical and vocational studies’’ Similarly, Carmody (1994), reports that Zambia’s First National Development Plan pointed to the need for increasingly relating secondary education to the needs of the country by diversifying the secondary school syllabus into technical and commercial fields and giving a new place to agriculture. Therefore, it can be pointed out that education policies in African countries were supposed to address the concept of self reliance. Academic schooling was to be placed side by side with technical and vocational training in African countries. Improvement of Education Efficiency The education policies of most African countries after achieving independence were influenced by the need of improving the efficiency of the education systems. In education systems of African countries, it was felt that there was no correlation between inputs and out puts as well as between costs and returns. Education policies were centred on the need of making the systems of education to be more efficient. That is, the education systems were supposed to achieve their output at the lowest cost and also get the greatest return for a given cost. According to Bishop (1989), most education systems in African countries after achieving independence were inefficient, particularly at secondary and higher levels. The inputs such as expenditure per student or teacher training did not seem to have the effects on test scores which educators anticipated. Therefore, education policies were designed in a manner that would make the education systems in newly independent African countries to be more efficient. Additionally, education in many African countries was dysfunctional. It relied heavily on rote learning and led to an inappropriate reverence for paper qualifications. Furthermore, most curricular in African countries were irrelevant to pupils’ future lives and created an imbalance with many school leavers unemployed. Consequently, African countries formulated policies which were aimed at addressing the challenges which were faced in education systems. Education as a means of fostering international consciousness Education policies in African countries were influenced by the need to foster international consciousness in learners. Education policies as complimented by the content of education provided to learners was supposed to ensure that positive attitudes towards other countries as well as the international community were upheld. This was emphasized because no country existed as an island. Each country depended on others for its prosperity. Therefore, it was essential that learners were provided with education that would instil international consciousness for the purpose of promoting cooperation among countries. CHAPTER THREE. 3. 0 CONCLUSION Education policies in African countries after their achievement of independence were influenced by a number of factors. Some of the major factors which influenced education policies in African countries included manpower shortages, recognition of education as a basic human right, consideration of education as a tool for development, modernisation, improving education efficiency, need for citizens’ political participation, and promotion of international consciousness among learners as well as self reliance. Changes in education policies were inevitable due to the fact that African countries experienced change in government. A change in government is associated with an ideological shift, thus aspects of the education system in a given country  will be in a continual state of reformation. Hence, changes occurred in education aspects such as content, teaching methodologies, assessment and structure. REFERENCES. Anderson, C. A (1974), Education and Development Re considered, Newyork: praeger Publishers. Bartlett, S and Burton, D (2012), Introduction to Education Studies, Los Angeles: Sage Publishers. Bishop, G (1989), Alternative Strategies for Education, London and Basingstoke: Macmillan Carmody, B (1994), The Evolution of Education in Zambia, Lusaka: Book World Publishers. Coombs, P. H (1970), The Need for a New Strategy of Education Development, Paris: UNESCO. Court, D and Kinyanjui, K, K (1978), Development Policy and Education Opportunity: The Experience of Tanzania and Kenya, Paris: Macmillan. Cowan, J. O (1965), Education and National Building in Africa, London: Macmillan Damachi, U. G, Routh, G and Abdel, R. A (1978), Development Paths in Africa and China, London and Basingstoke: Macmillan. Eshiwani, G. S (1993), Education in Kenya since Independence, Nairobi: East African Education Publishers Fafunwa, A. B (1974), History of Education in Nigeria, London: Macmillan Press. Inkeles, A and Smith, D (1974), Becoming Modern, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.

Book Fair Essay

It was a fine sunny morning when I with my bunch of my classmates went to the 18th annual Delhi book fair on 6th September 2012 at Pragati Maidan. It was a nine-day affair featuring discussions on proliferation of e-books and interaction with authors, apart from availability of vast number of books on divergent genres. We were supposed to report for a radio show as per our curriculum and were told to reach Pragati Maidan at 10 in morning. Getting up early and witnessing the bumpy metro ride I reached Pragati Maidan at 10. 30 am. All are group members waited for the respected teachers to give us the gadget. The time we waited for the teachers to come we discussed about the theme of our radio show. As soon as we got the recorder we tightened up our belts and went to hall no. 8 from where the book fair commenced. We chose children’s book as our theme for radio show and decided to take the bites of all the students and children. First of all we went to the information desk to know about the number of stalls that were based on children books and educational games. We found that out of 235 stalls 40 to 45 stalls were dedicated for the children of all ages. We also came to know that the theme of the book fair this time was e-books. We started with the school children of classes 3rd to 5th of New India Modern Public School and recorded their experience at the book fair. Also we talked to their teachers who told us about the books they preferred for their children. Then we all went to the group of school girls who came all the way from Himachal Pradesh along with their teachers to explore Book Fair 2012 as it was a part of their training program to learn English. They told us that it was their first visit to book fair and how it helps them in their training program. We also talked to the parents and children and different stall owners and recorded their aims and aspirations from the book fair this year. After we got the required bites we handed over the recorder to the other group and I went to look for different books especially the e-books. The new theme e-books influenced me a lot personally. The idea of saving trees by omitting paper for e-books was quiet paramount. I really liked the concept and especially the material that it offered. It was one of the easiest and environment friendly ways that makes reading and learning fun. I also went and saw many books by national geography and saw the epical photographs that were printed in them. Over all it was a nice educational expedition that was accompanied by fun and new learning ventures. VINAYAK VERMA

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Constructivism and Post-Structuralism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Constructivism and Post-Structuralism - Essay Example Constructivism's 'importance and its added value for the study of International Relations lie mainly in its emphasis on the ontological reality of intersubjective knowledge and on the epistemological and methodological implications of this reality'. He devotes an entire section to elucidating intersubjectivity as collectively shared knowledge which both empowers and constrains actors and also defines social reality. The upshot of Adler's portrayal of constructivism is, as the title of his article suggests, that it has a justifiable claim to the 'middle ground', which he construes as situated between rationalism and poststructuralism. Adler identifies 'seizing the middle ground' as the key to the constructivist project. This assessment is echoed by other scholars. Hopf sees constructivism as situated in the middle ground between rational choice theory and postmodernism, whilst Ted Hopf locates it between the mainstream and critical theory. Thus in defining constructivism scholars make reference to recognising the material world as existing independently of, but interacting with, the social world, the central role of intersubjectivity and the significance of occupying a middle-ground position. Wendt's positioning in the middle ground, related to a particular notion of identity; Kratochwil's reliance on an unproblematic intersubjectivity, based on normative context; and Onuf's claim to an independently existing material world behind our constructions. The acknowledgement of materiality appear to be crucial.... (Katzenstein, 1998, 645-85) This takes us on to a second key element of constructivism, namely intersubjectivity. (Guzzini, 2000, 147-82). According to Adler, constructivism's 'importance and its added value for the study of International Relations lie mainly in its emphasis on the ontological reality of intersubjective knowledge and on the epistemological and methodological implications of this reality'. (Adler, 1997, 319-63) He devotes an entire section to elucidating intersubjectivity as collectively shared knowledge which both empowers and constrains actors and also defines social reality. (Adler, 1997, 319-63) The upshot of Adler's portrayal of constructivism is, as the title of his article suggests, that it has a justifiable claim to the 'middle ground', which he construes as situated between rationalism and poststructuralism. (Adler, 1997, 319-63)Adler identifies 'seizing the middle ground' as the key to the constructivist project. This assessment is echoed by other scholars. Hopf sees constructivism as situated in the middle ground between rational choice theory and postmodernism, whilst Ted Hopf locates it betw een the mainstream and critical theory. (Hopf, 1998, 171-200) Thus in defining constructivism scholars make reference to recognising the material world as existing independently of, but interacting with, the social world, the central role of intersubjectivity and the significance of occupying a middle-ground position. Wendt's positioning in the middle ground, related to a particular notion of identity; Kratochwil's reliance on an unproblematic intersubjectivity, based on normative context; and Onuf's claim to an independently existing material world behind our constructions. (Onuf, 1989, 45-50) The acknowledgement

Answers follow questions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Answers follow questions - Essay Example 2. There was growing tension in the college after one of our beloved student was mugged and killed by people believed to be from the surrounding community. Students planned a peaceful demonstration to pass their messages of condolences and bereavement. The peaceful demonstration turned into a riot. As a student leader, I was able to influence the rioting students and controlled the tempers. I reminded them of the importance of dialogue in solving such problems. Striking and demolishing properties would not help bring our friend back but only cause more harm to our surrounding community. The students adhered to my speech and continued with a peaceful demonstration. 3. I come from a poor community where most of the students are unable to raise fee for their education. I am a good example of those helped by Imani Education Fund Group for needy students to attain their education. Every year the group conducts a thanks-giving ceremony. The ceremony provides a platform for raising more funds for needy students. I have been participating actively in this activity by soliciting funds and encouraging the society to contribute and help raise the next generation. With the help of my friends, I also organize and visit children orphanages. We usually give them our physical, mental, and spiritual support. 4. Once I am through with my college, I intend to be employed by big companies like Google, Coca-Cola, Pepsi, and Microsoft and may others in the department of marketing or human resource manager. Completion of my education successfully will furnish me with good skills and knowledge on how handling such multinational companies in terms of human resource management and marketing. My knowledge of management will help me in controlling, directing, staffing, evaluating my staff at work. My knowledge of marketing will furnish me with knowledge of understanding the aspects of supply chain, comparative

Disney Pixar Essay Example for Free

Disney Pixar Essay The balance sheet is a snapshot of a company’s financial condition. It shows assets, liabilities, and stockholder’s equity. An asset is an item of economic value owned by an individual or corporation, especially that which could be converted to cash or liquidated. A liability is an obligation that legally binds an individual or company to settle a debt. When one is liable for a debt, they are responsible for paying the debt or settling a wrongful act they may have committed. Stockholder’s equity is a company’s common stock equity as it appears on a balance sheet, qual to total assets minus liabilities, preferred stock, and intangible assets such a good will. Disney had reported their fair values for cash equivalents and cash, receivables, accounts payable, contracts, derivates and investments that are available for sale. The Company estimates their total current cash and equivalents totaling an amount of 13. 7 billion for October 2, 1010 and 12. 6 billion for October 3, 2009. Disney is such a huge company and has array of assets and best known brands. From parks, property, leasehold, equipments, furniture, land, copyrights, FCC licenses, trademarks and other intangible assets. The Company’s total assets totaled up to 42. 2 billion for 2010 and 38. 1 billion for 2009. Disney has many big assets but their largest assets are their parks and resorts/ properties. Based on their 2 most recent annual reports, the Company reported their largest assets coming in at 16 billion for October 2, 2010 and 16 billion for October 3, 2010. Two of the largest liabilities that Pixar has forgone in the last two most recent reporting periods are the Steven Jobs with The Pixar Touch and the tax liability of backdated Pixar stocks. With the Pixar Touch liability Steven Jobs had put $50 million into the company. The book started losing money the first year putting a liability into the company. With the backdated Pixar stocks puts many jobs in the dark spot light. This puts Pixar having a total of $31,687,000 of all current liabilities at the end of their most recent annual report. Pixar revenue for the past three years has taken a leap of an average of 54. 4%. Annual sales for the 100 top finishers rose of an average of 30. 7% annually. This puts Pixar having profits jump up to 55. 9% a year. Pixar is the hottest movie maker on the years hot growth list. Walt Disney is a huge entity. The Walt Disney World Resort encompasses 30,500 acres, making it approximately the same size as San Francisco. Looking at Disney’s balance sheet their total assets at the end of its 2 most recent annual reporting periods (2010) was $69,206,000. The total amount of accounts payable at the end of its 2 most recent annual reporting periods was $6,109,000. Also, the company’s total current liabilities at the end of its 2 most recent annual reporting period were $11,000,000. An income statement reports the profitability of a company’s operations over a period of time (Weygandt, 2008). Net income is when a company’s revenues exceed their expenses, as opposed to net loss when a company’s expenses exceed their revenues, and will not include investment or dividend transactions. Disney has had the success in being able to report all net income on at least three of its last income statements. Disney’s net incomes for the last three annual reporting periods are as follows: †¢2008 – $4,427,000 †¢2009 – $3,307,000 †¢2010 – $3,963,000 As you can see, from 2008 to 2009 Disney’s net income decreased by $1,120,000. Most of this loss is due to the state of the current economy.

Impact of the National Health Services Direc

Impact of the National Health Services Direc Evaluate the Impact of the National Health Services Direct,  It’s Success Rate and the Changes it has  Made in UK Health Care Practices and Procedures Anne Cook Abstract NHS Direct was set up to as part of the NHS Modernization Plan launched in 1998; the objective of NHS Direct was to offer 24-hour medical information to the general public. This was done through the use of a telephone in service, a website on the Internet, interactive touch screen kiosks and interactive digital television. NHS Direct operates across the whole of England and its digital television and website are available across a wider area. Growth and change have been ongoing, with the introduction of providing services to other departments within the NHS framework and ongoing expansion. In the main, the general public is satisfied with NHS Direct services. They have formed partnerships with other NHS departments to reduce the workload in areas such as Accident and Emergency these initiatives have had a mixed success ratio. The Business Plan for 2006 onwards was focused on further expansion and growth of NHS Direct. However, on April 3rd, 2006, the Ministry of Health announced that the NHS overall had a budget deficit of 50 million pounds and made public that NHS Direct would be forced to reduce their workforce by one third. Overall NHS Direct had met their targets, all be it at a high cost due to the requirement for advanced technology to support and run the systems needed. The focus of NHS Direct Management will now be on restructuring and downsizing with a reduced workforce. The staff turnover has always been high at 30% and the staff morale in difficult times will be a problem that needs addressing in order to retain experienced staff. The overall conclusion is that the NHS as a whole will have to reconsider its ability to provide free medical to all based on current funding. The funding to NHS has increased over the last decade. Regardless of the increase in funding, the system was not monitored in a way that identified an growing deficit, now resulting in NHS Direct and other departments having to downsize, in this case not due to their own inefficiency but the overall financial crisis in the whole NHS system. By using change agents the process of going from being a growth division to one that is reducing needs to be well managed to focus on the positive contributions they can make to the health of the general public and by closing or redirecting the services that they are not handling competently and/or cost efficiently. 1. Table of Content Abstract 1. Table of Content 2. Introduction 3. Literature Review Brief Introduction to Change Management NHS DIRECT 4. Research Objectives 5. Research Methodology 6. Research Findings SWOT Analysis Table 1 – SWOT Analysis Force Field Analysis – NHS, Direct, April 2006 Table 2 – Force Field Analysis 2. Introduction The National Health Service (NHS) is the largest employer in the UK and has a diverse workforce with many different professional groups (Smith, 2000). The researcher believes that there is accelerating pace of change within the NHS, as they need to keep a step up and embrace further growth in the public sector. In recent journals there are many problems related to the NHS Direct, which the researcher feels an investigation should be undertaken to identify the problems. A political editor said; â€Å"The report doubted whether the target of 90 per cent of callers speaking to a nurse within five minutes would be met. It said NHS Direct was changing the target waiting time to 20 minutes† (Waugh, 2002). NHS Direct is the National Health Service’s 24-hour information, advice and guidance service available by telephone, the Internet, interactive touch screen kiosks and interactive digital television. NHS Direct operates across the whole of England and its digital television and website are available across a wider area. NHS Direct is a Special Health Authority and employs approximately 4000 staff and handles around 600,000 telephone calls and one million visits to the website each month. The NHS Direct website gives patients the same information as their doctors, in clear and jargon-free language, which helps them to make informed choices about their healthcare. At the time the HNS Direct website was set up the then Health Minister, Rose Winterton, stated ‘We are working to provide a modern, flexible NHS that fits around patients needs and meets their expectations. We know that patients would like more information to support them in making decisions about their healthcare. This is an important step in providing patients with the resources they need to make informed choices’ The NHS is implementing a 10 year modernization program – the NHS Modernization Board is advising the Secretary of State on implementing the plan. Due to the vast nature of the NHS, this study will specifically look at NHS Direct and analyze the changes that have occurred, and the affect on stakeholders, both within the NHS and their external customers. 3. Literature Review Brief Introduction to Change Management Over the last 20 years the impact of change has been greater than ever before, as the pace of change is now so fast that, for organizations to sustain business growth and operate successfully they must be able to adapt with the frequent changes in markets and competition. Therefore businesses must respond very quickly if they are to survive. Clarke, (1994) Today, change is not the exception but a steady ongoing process that organisation strive on to keep a crucial part of competitive edge. [1]Burns (2000, p148) states: â€Å"What worked in the past will not work in the future, and organizations, like society at large, will have to change in unprecedented ways if they are to survive.† Managing change is a broad area to concentrate on, as change affects organizations in general and people in many different ways. The NHS has made changes to their provision of health care, which gave rise to the NHS Direct in the first place; however, the current financial crisis shows that initiatives in health care to date have not been adequate or appropriate. The one area that has not changed is the demand and scope of the services to be provided – they are providing medical for all, regardless of the persons ability to pay. Certain members of the public have opted for private health care insurance but this is not the norm. In addition, the population is aging and increasingly more seniors need long tern, high care that puts pressure on available resources. â€Å"It is easy to change the things that nobody cares about. It becomes difficult when you start to change the things that people do care about—or when they start to care about the things that you are changing.† [2](Lorenzi and Riley 1994) The NHS is important to the vast majority of the population; it is considered a right to have medical care available to all, regardless of their financial contributions. Most people do not carry private health care insurance. The Ministry of Health has repeatedly changed the NHS to maintain this service, with differing levels of success in recent years. The current situation shows serious financial deficits, a shortage of qualified staff and dissatisfaction with the service. We live at a time when organizations are continually changing and success is now determined by how well the changes are implemented and whether the desired gains can be achieved. (Collins, 1998) The rate of change is increasing in almost all organizations. The pressure is intense as the world focuses the time and attention on understanding the forces driving the changing environment and expands or applies the information systems needed to support the changed environment. The phrase change management in reference to the comments of [3]Peter Drucker is as to ‘whether one can manage change at all or merely lead or facilitate its occurrence within an organisation’. Change management is the process by which an organisation gets to its future state, however creating change starts with creating a vision and then empowering individuals to act as change agents to attain that vision. In todays rapidly changing, competitive environment, the ability to change efficiently, can distinguish the winners from the losers. Many health-related organizations find themselves unable to adapt due to the independence of technologic change. NHS Direct has been in a period of change due to their growth since inception. In 1998, the change was positive, bringing on and implementing new technology, growing call centres and providing an expanding service to the general public as well as reducing the workload in some other sectors within the NHS. However, this additional service within the NHS has involved high costs for technological infrastructure, software and implementation, as well as on going maintenance and extended the service without huge reductions to the demands on other sectors of health care. NHS DIRECT Purpose of the NHS Direct The NHS is a 24-hour health help line that handles around 100,000 calls every week across its 22 sites. Since the launch of the first wave of NHS Direct sites in March 1998, the service has expanded to cover the whole of England. In addition, it has developed a range of multi-channel services, including NHS Direct Online, Information Points using touch screen kiosks, NHS Direct in Vision (new digital TV pilot projects) and the Self-Help Guide (formerly the NHS Direct Healthcare Guide). NHS Direct has also expanded, working with frontline staff and managers to devise new with out-of-hours services to succeed in their aims and objectives providing consistent access to high quality, integrated care. Ref [4]http://www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk/ – a new gateway to healthcare The NHS Plan – A Plan for Investment, a Plan for Reform, July 2000 4. Research Objectives Introduction of the NHS direct has made a big departure to the existing practice and presents a major challenge in the management of change in the public sector. The aim of this report is to analyze the role of the NHS Direct through the use of the Internet and the impact on the Medical services. The following areas will be evaluated: Investigate the purpose of NHS Direct. Research the NHS Direct history and its operations. Identify the NHS Direct objectives and the success to date Investigate the Impact on all stakeholders, including Medical Services and the general public Evaluate the role of NHS Direct Website in helping NHS Direct meet its objectives. The challenges the change has imposed on NHS Managers and the affect on their change management approach 5. Research Methodology A literary review will be undertaken to study the NHS Direct and the elements listed in the research objectives. A range of sources will be utilised including e-journals and journals, newspapers, books and the Internet. The success of the change management will be measured by the success of NHS Direct and its ability to meet predefined goals and objectives, referred to as Key Performance Indicators. The KPIs include the changes being introduced and new services that have grown since inception of the service. The NHS Direct website will be evaluated as to how user friendly it is, what content it provides, and its acceptability from the user community. 6. Research Findings Investigate the purpose of NHS Direct. NHS Direct is a response to the desire for increased patient empowerment. It is also recognition that the NHS is a complex, multi-layered system that can be confusing for the non-health professional. NHS Direct enables people to make decisions about their own or their family’s health by providing expert advice and up to the minute information. The service can also act as a 24-hour signpost, directing people to the most appropriate level of care. NHS Direct was launched in 1998, initially at three pilot sites, to provide â€Å"easier and faster advice and information for people about health, illness and the NHS so they are better able to care for themselves and their families†. The success of NHS Direct in achieving this aim rests largely on the premise that it should be accessible to all sectors of the population regardless of race, age, gender, preferred language choice, income, sensory impairment, disability, social positioning or cultural background/preference. Ref NHS Direct website, a new gateway to healthcare http://www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk/ Objectives of NHS Direct Specific objectives set for the service included: To provide for the public a confidential, reliable and consistent source of professional advice on healthcare 24 hours a day so that they can manage many of their problems at home or know where to turn to for appropriate care. To provide simple and speedy access to a comprehensive and up to date range of health and health related information. To improve quality, increase cost-effectiveness and reduce unnecessary demand on other NHS services by providing more appropriate response to the needs of the public. To allow professionals to develop their role in enabling patients to be partners in self-care, and help them focus on those patients for whom their skills are most needed. The Ministry of Health’s mission to modernize the NHS is not confined to hospitals. The roll-out of NHS Direct, a nurse-led telephone help line, and the introduction of walk-in primary care centres indicate that the same philosophy is being applied to GP services. The common theme in these initiatives is the desire to improve access and convenience within the NHS, a theme that is emerging as the defining element of New Labours approach to health policy. The modernization of the NHS, which included the introduction of NHS Direct was a major change designed to streamline the interface between the general public and the NHS. As the NHS Direct service grew, it came under criticized for severing the personal link between patients and their GP. Some patients preferred the face-to-face interaction with their doctor when a health problem arose, even though the situation did not require medical procedure or physical intervention and was competently handled by a call to NHS Direct. Ref Coulson –Thomas, C and Coe, T (1991), The Flat organisation. British Institute of Management: London. They stated that Change is an ever-present feature of organizational life, though many would argue that the pace and magnitude of change have increased significantly in recent years. The Institute of Management, formerly the British Institute of Management, which regularly carries out surveys of its members, has certainly found this to be true. In 1991, the institute reported that 90 per cent of organizations in its survey were becoming ‘slimmer and flatter’. Such change will bring resistance – there are 4 bases for resistance to change, identified as follows by Leigh, A (1988) Effective Change. IPM Cultural – When change seems at odds with accepted values and norms: â€Å"the way we do things around here†. Social – When change threatens to disrupt relationships or break up valued groups. Organizational – When change affects formal, hierarchical status and threatens the individual’s power and influence. Psychological – When change is seen to be counter to the individual’s vested interest, when loss outweighs gain. NHS Direct could have created resistance in all the above areas. Cultural – for many senior citizens, for example, prefer to talk face to face with their medical personnel and those less computer literate people would not be inclined to use the web site as a source of information. There is a trust relationship between many doctors and patients who have worked together on the individual’s health needs for many years. Social – NHS Direct has been criticized for severing the ties between doctor and patient and recommending patient care options that differ to those ‘normally’ followed by the patient under his/her GP. Organizational – an article on the BBC, 30 August 2001 ref http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/1516701.stm shows a concern regarding the changes to the organizational structure. ‘NHS Direct blamed for rise in 999 calls’ ‘There has been a 30% rise in 999 calls since last year. The introduction of the NHS Direct help line has been blamed for a leap in the number of 999 calls made to an ambulance service. The Isle of Wight Healthcare NHS Trust is failing to meet government-set response targets of answering 75% of life-threatening calls within eight minutes. The trust says its efforts are being hampered by a 30% rise in call-outs since NHS Direct was made available to islanders. NHS Direct denies it is advising people to call out ambulances without good reason. ‘ The facts are denied by the manager of NHS Direct, he believes the increase in calls were correctly recommended by NHS Direct and that hey are being used as a scapegoat for the inability of the ambulance services to meet their target for responding to calls. The Times on line, quotes the NHS chief, Dec 08, 2005, in the article titled, ‘Turbulence is the Price of a Better Service’ â€Å"When you are introducing change you will inevitably have some degree of turbulence,† Psychological – The Emergency Medical Journal, C J Morrell, et al wrote a report entitled ‘The Impact of NHS Direct on Other Services; The Characteristics and Origins of Its Nurses. It states ‘the introduction of any new health service can clearly have an impact on other services in two distinct ways: firstly, by altering the pattern of patient demand for existing services; and secondly, if it competes for the same resources, by affecting the ability of existing services to supply care.’ This was commissioned in response to increasing criticism that the service was taking qualified nurses away from the profession. The article went on to point out that a number of the nursing staff working for NHS Direct actually have disabilities or personal reasons for not being able or willing to do active nursing duties and have been encouraged back into the work force by NHS Direct – they would otherwise have remained outside of their profession al together. Research the NHS Direct history and its operations. NHS Direct was one of the new services that were introduced in 1999/2000 to improve and reform the NHS healthcare making it a modern, efficient and patient led health service giving patients more choice and better access to their own healthcare. The service provides access to confidential health advice and information, 24 hours a day, in a range of easy and convenient ways – the NHS Direct telephone service, NHS Direct Online website and the NHS Direct Interactive service on digital satellite TV service. As well as helping patients improve their health and looking after themselves, NHS Direct helps patients access the right health care service for their needs. The value of the use of technology was reported by [5]Carr (1996) who agrees that, when properly used, information technology is a powerful tool for increasing speed, quality, and flexibility, and for creating new, different, and effective process operations. â€Å"It enables businesses to maximize their return on investment and deliver breakthroughs in competitive advantage.† But in practice, â€Å"many organizations have been sending millions of dollars down the drain by applying sophisticated information technology to automatic existing processes. The consequences? Making the same mistakes faster.† The costs and changing structure of the NHS Direct in the past and concerns regarding the accounting were tabled by the National Audit Office in Feb 2006 ref http://www.nao.org.uk/pn/05-06/0506484.htm ‘Established in 1999, until April 2004 NHS Direct was centrally managed by the Department of Health but the service was delivered at a local level by 22 NHS Trusts. When NHS Direct became a Special Health Authority in April 2004, it had to put in place new accounting systems and procedures. While these systems were being established the host Trusts which had previously funded and managed the service continued to be responsible for providing accounting and payroll services under service level agreements. Since NHS Direct had not implemented a centralized ledger or payroll system and the payroll providers and records were dispersed across the country, there was an absence of central management control over the processing of payroll. Work by NHS Direct and the NAO has indicated that in the region of  £1.6m of payroll expenditure in 2004-05 may be inaccurate. According to today’s report, NHS Direct has also been unable to provide evidenced comparative income and expenditure figures for previous years. NHS Direct has estimated total income and expenditure of  £121 million for the previous year based on returns provided by the host Trusts to the Department of Health together with an estimate of central departmental costs, but has been unable to provide sufficient evidence to support these figures.’ Identify the NHS Direct objectives and the success to date Objectives are stated as Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and divided into sections – Patient, Staff and Organisation, Stakeholders Financial. The table below summarizes the KPIs for the sections, as stated in the Executive Report for July 2005, tabled in Sept 2005. This provides a recent snapshot of NHS Directs adherence to KPIs and provides actuals for previous month and year allowing comparisons for improvement over the period. As the department is in a growth phase, these KPIs include measurements of change management as well as maintenance and adherence to standards and processes and procedures. The section for Financial KPIs does not include any metrics, therefore it is assumed they were not discussed or agreed prior to the tabling of the report. The following table has been extracted from the Executive Scorecard, a method used to measure adherence to targets. Patients KPIs Overall, patients reported being satisfied with the service received, however, the department did not achieve its objectives against the majority of KPIs The number of complaints were up from 2004, although lower than reported in June Number of complaints responded to within 20 days was 39% below target and 37% worse than in June Serious adverse incidents exceeded the target and has shown an improvement over prior year and month figures The number of web visits and calls answered were lower. This is likely to be due to the fact that this was summer and not due to any shortcoming on the service. The number of abandoned calls is above target, although improved over the period The assessment of calls, all types, have met target and are significantly improved over the period. The National Audit Office paper ‘NHS Direct in England, published in 2002 stated ‘NHS Direct’s project team has balanced the need to publicize the service and its capacity to meet demand. It has already met its target for 60% of the population to be aware of NHS Direct by March 2002. Public satisfaction with NHS Direct is consistently very high at over 90%. Very few callers received the engaged signal when telephoning, but in Sept 2001 only 64% of callers were able to speak to a nurse adviser within 5 minutes compared with the current target of 90%. ’ Staff Organisation KPIs Schedule adherence appears to be a problem, with the target not being met by 2 key staff members by 9 18%. The cause for concern is within the rolling year turnover rate for staff. This is exceptionally high at 39% and this should be further investigated to find out the root cause. The BBC article ‘Call Centres: An Ideal Calling’ an NHS Direct employee commented ‘However, with a staff turnover of some 30%, it looks as though the call handlers are not enjoying the fruits of this telecommunications boom. ‘Jonathan, who works at a major call centre in northern England, has seen this staggering turnover at first hand. Two-thirds of the people who join us dont make it past their second month. Most [of the others] leave within a year, he says. Companies have been accused of taking a cavalier attitude to happiness of their staff, preferring to hire agency workers rather than investing time and money in a full-time workforce.’ Stakeholder KPIs The departments reached the majority of stakeholder KPIs – stakeholders are other departments within the NHS and therefore this indicates that the NHS Direct should have a successful relationship within the NHS as a whole. July 2005 Executive Scorecard Patient KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) Actual Actual Actual Rating Jun-05 Target Prev mth Last Year G % Patients satisfied with service 99% 95% 98% 99% R Number of complaints (per 10,000 calls) 0.84 0.5 1.01 0.49 R Number of complaints responded to within 20 days 56% 95% 93% G Serious adverse incidents (per 10,000 calls) 0.16 0.24 0.34 0.25 A Number of web visits 963.3k 1040.9k 1013.0k 662.6k A Number of calls answered 570.01k 591.3k 553.5k 526.3k A Abandonment rate 7% 5% 10% 13% A % calls answered within 60 seconds 76% 95% 71% 57% G % urgent calls commencing clinical assessment in 20 minutes 97% 95% 97% 50% A % non-urgent calls commencing clinical assessment in 60 minutes 97% 95% 97% 50% G % of HI calls assessed within 3 hours 91% 90% 91% 90% Staff Organisation G Overall ICT availability 99.97% 99.00% 99.99% 99.99% R Schedule Adherence: Nurse Advisor 61% 80% 61% 57% A Schedule Adherence: Health Advisor 72% 80% 70% 66% A Calls per available hour 7.7 8.8 8.7 7.5 G Short term sickness 6% 6% 5% 5% R Rolling year turnover rate for staff 39% 25% 39% 30% A % of funded staff in establishment 90% 100% 91% 93% Stakeholders KPI <

Abortion Ethics Essay -- essays research papers

The argument of abortion has been raging since the Supreme Court case, Roe vs. Wade, in 1973. This court case has divided the country into two factions: pro-choice and pro-life. Pro-life advocates argue that abortions are murder and extreme levels of child abuse. While pro-choice advocates believe abortions are a justifiable means to end pregnancies. The pro-choice argument is that the fetus is not yet a human being and its rights should not override that of the mother’s. An importance on what defines a human is very important. Is a human the result of sperm fertilizing an egg? At this point of fertilization the human is composed of a single cell with a unique DNA structure. Killing this unique cell would be wrong, however does this single cell constitute for a person? If being human is defined through having a certain level of self awareness and acknowledgment of your person, then the fetus is not yet a human being so aborting it would be as immoral as destroying a malignant tumor (Shrage 127). Should emphasis be placed on intelligence and awareness when interpreting what a human being is? A fetus is not a form of intelligent life because it has not yet had any experience, so therefore probably hasn’t had thoughts. In his essay, Rene Descartes, argues that we truly exist because we can doubt our existence. He states, â€Å"If I completely stop thinking, I would completely cease to exist†. In this sense of existence is it possible for an unborn child to doubt their existenc... Abortion Ethics Essay -- essays research papers The argument of abortion has been raging since the Supreme Court case, Roe vs. Wade, in 1973. This court case has divided the country into two factions: pro-choice and pro-life. Pro-life advocates argue that abortions are murder and extreme levels of child abuse. While pro-choice advocates believe abortions are a justifiable means to end pregnancies. The pro-choice argument is that the fetus is not yet a human being and its rights should not override that of the mother’s. An importance on what defines a human is very important. Is a human the result of sperm fertilizing an egg? At this point of fertilization the human is composed of a single cell with a unique DNA structure. Killing this unique cell would be wrong, however does this single cell constitute for a person? If being human is defined through having a certain level of self awareness and acknowledgment of your person, then the fetus is not yet a human being so aborting it would be as immoral as destroying a malignant tumor (Shrage 127). Should emphasis be placed on intelligence and awareness when interpreting what a human being is? A fetus is not a form of intelligent life because it has not yet had any experience, so therefore probably hasn’t had thoughts. In his essay, Rene Descartes, argues that we truly exist because we can doubt our existence. He states, â€Å"If I completely stop thinking, I would completely cease to exist†. In this sense of existence is it possible for an unborn child to doubt their existenc...

Natural Reflection :: essays research papers

Jane Austen’s novel Sense and Sensibility illustrates a number of characteristics particular to Romantic Literature. Of these characteristics, few are better utilized to offer a view into the individual temperaments of her characters than the images of natural beauty present throughout the novel. In contrast to the Neo-classical ideal, which reserves no place for the appreciation of the sublime in nature in its structure and design, Romantic literature expresses a deep reverence and awe toward the natural world. In the case of Sense and Sensibility, this appreciation is manipulated to produce a subtle, but humorous reflection on the temperament of the Miss Dashwoods. Upon Edward Ferrars’ arrival at Barton, he joins Marianne and Elinor on their walk back to the cottage. During this walk, a discourse on the surroundings begins after Elinor comments that Norland â€Å"probably looks much as it always does at this time of year† (p. 77). Elinor’s comment comes as a somewhat perturbed response to Marianne’s overzealous inquiries concerning the appearance of Norland. Elinor also mentions that it is probably rather gloomy and untidy because of the dead leaves that cover the woods and walks. This prompts and even more dramatic exclamation from Marianne: â€Å"‘Oh!’ cried Marianne, ‘with what transporting sensations have I formerly seen them fall!’† (p. 77). In this line, and in those that follow, it seems that Marianne gets carried away with her appreciation of the dead leaves on the ground. In the description of them as inspiring â€Å"transporting sensations† in her, the extent of Maria nne’s â€Å"sensibility† is aptly conveyed in a very concise scene. The â€Å"sense† that is characteristic of Elinor is depicted in her response to Marianne’s exaggerated praises: â€Å"‘It is not every one,’ said Elinor, ‘who has your passion for dead leaves’† (p. 77). It is not that she is unmoved by the beauty of her surroundings, but she understands the difference between what is truly worthy of praise, and what would be an exaggeration or possibly even an affectation. She does not have the propensity to swoon when she thinks of the dead leaves at Norland, but she has the wit and sense to subtly joke about her sister.

Primary Health Care Essay -- Health, Policies, Regulations

Part A Primary health care evolves from the economic, cultural, social, and political conditions of a country, and it is described as an essential part of health care that is universally provided to individuals in a community at the country's and community's expense (World Health Organisation [WHO], 1978). The goal of primary health care is to address the main local health problems, but it involves community education about these problems in addition to providing disease treatments (WHO, 1978). Furthermore, primary health care is concerned with nutrition promotion, sanitation standards, family planning, immunisation, disease control and prevention, and it promotes and relies on community and individual participation in primary health care functions (WHO, 1978). Population health is concerned with policies and interventions that result in positive health outcomes within a community and further distribution of these outcomes among the individuals of the community (Kindig and Stoddart, 2003). Primary health care and population health overlap and complement each other because primary health care builds the fundamental infrastructure of the national health care system (WHO, 1978), so other aspects of national health care are built upon the principles, organisation, and functions defined in the country's primary health care policies and regulations. For example, primary care is provided to individuals, and population health is concerned with community health. However, population health depends on proper individual care because individuals with potentially communicable disease can be a threat to public health, so population health can plan its interventions in the community based on evidence collected from primary health observations... ...r intervention accordingly. Item #6. Finally, the issue of an influenza pandemic must be addressed by agencies and organisations other than health care providers, so the occupational health nurse in the role of the educator will notify and counsel boarder controls, travel agencies, and all international organisations about proper rules and regulations in this situation because entering and leaving Australia during a pandemic should not be allowed without proper vaccination. Although quarantines have proven ineffective against flu pandemics in the past, and a 90% air travel restriction can delay the pandemic by no more than two weeks (GlobalSecurity.org, 2011b), making vaccination obligatory for travellers should not be overlooked because it can both slow down the progress of the disease within the Australian community and prevent spreading it to other communities. Primary Health Care Essay -- Health, Policies, Regulations Part A Primary health care evolves from the economic, cultural, social, and political conditions of a country, and it is described as an essential part of health care that is universally provided to individuals in a community at the country's and community's expense (World Health Organisation [WHO], 1978). The goal of primary health care is to address the main local health problems, but it involves community education about these problems in addition to providing disease treatments (WHO, 1978). Furthermore, primary health care is concerned with nutrition promotion, sanitation standards, family planning, immunisation, disease control and prevention, and it promotes and relies on community and individual participation in primary health care functions (WHO, 1978). Population health is concerned with policies and interventions that result in positive health outcomes within a community and further distribution of these outcomes among the individuals of the community (Kindig and Stoddart, 2003). Primary health care and population health overlap and complement each other because primary health care builds the fundamental infrastructure of the national health care system (WHO, 1978), so other aspects of national health care are built upon the principles, organisation, and functions defined in the country's primary health care policies and regulations. For example, primary care is provided to individuals, and population health is concerned with community health. However, population health depends on proper individual care because individuals with potentially communicable disease can be a threat to public health, so population health can plan its interventions in the community based on evidence collected from primary health observations... ...r intervention accordingly. Item #6. Finally, the issue of an influenza pandemic must be addressed by agencies and organisations other than health care providers, so the occupational health nurse in the role of the educator will notify and counsel boarder controls, travel agencies, and all international organisations about proper rules and regulations in this situation because entering and leaving Australia during a pandemic should not be allowed without proper vaccination. Although quarantines have proven ineffective against flu pandemics in the past, and a 90% air travel restriction can delay the pandemic by no more than two weeks (GlobalSecurity.org, 2011b), making vaccination obligatory for travellers should not be overlooked because it can both slow down the progress of the disease within the Australian community and prevent spreading it to other communities. Primary Health Care Essay -- Health, Policies, Regulations Part A Primary health care evolves from the economic, cultural, social, and political conditions of a country, and it is described as an essential part of health care that is universally provided to individuals in a community at the country's and community's expense (World Health Organisation [WHO], 1978). The goal of primary health care is to address the main local health problems, but it involves community education about these problems in addition to providing disease treatments (WHO, 1978). Furthermore, primary health care is concerned with nutrition promotion, sanitation standards, family planning, immunisation, disease control and prevention, and it promotes and relies on community and individual participation in primary health care functions (WHO, 1978). Population health is concerned with policies and interventions that result in positive health outcomes within a community and further distribution of these outcomes among the individuals of the community (Kindig and Stoddart, 2003). Primary health care and population health overlap and complement each other because primary health care builds the fundamental infrastructure of the national health care system (WHO, 1978), so other aspects of national health care are built upon the principles, organisation, and functions defined in the country's primary health care policies and regulations. For example, primary care is provided to individuals, and population health is concerned with community health. However, population health depends on proper individual care because individuals with potentially communicable disease can be a threat to public health, so population health can plan its interventions in the community based on evidence collected from primary health observations... ...r intervention accordingly. Item #6. Finally, the issue of an influenza pandemic must be addressed by agencies and organisations other than health care providers, so the occupational health nurse in the role of the educator will notify and counsel boarder controls, travel agencies, and all international organisations about proper rules and regulations in this situation because entering and leaving Australia during a pandemic should not be allowed without proper vaccination. Although quarantines have proven ineffective against flu pandemics in the past, and a 90% air travel restriction can delay the pandemic by no more than two weeks (GlobalSecurity.org, 2011b), making vaccination obligatory for travellers should not be overlooked because it can both slow down the progress of the disease within the Australian community and prevent spreading it to other communities.

British Author Research Paper Essay

Lord Bryon once said, â€Å"Fools are my theme, let satire be my song†. A satire is a literary composition, in verse or prose, in which human folly and vice are held up to scorn, derision,or ridicule (dic.com). A well recognized satire is George Orwell’s Animal Farm. Orwell wrote this allegorical novella in England when the wartime alliance with the Soviet Union was at its height and Stalin was held in highest esteem in Britain both among the people and government. George Orwell wrote Animal Farm to fuse political purpose and artistic purpose into one whole, thus addressing the downfall of the Russian Revolution which was caused by its corrupt leaders and ignorant citizens. George Orwell was born Eric Arthur Blair. He was born on June 25th 1903 in Bengal, India to a British colonial civil servant. About a year after his birth, Orwell was brought back to England by his mother along with his older sister. He began writing poems at the age of four, ultimately getting one of his poems published in a local newspaper. In 1911 he went to St. Cyprian’s, on a partial scholarship, in the coastal town of Eastbourne, where he got his first taste of England’s class system. There he began to read the works of Rudyard Kipling and H. G. Wells. He was exceptionally intelligent that he received a scholarship to study at Eton college. After graduating, Orwell joined the India Imperial Police Force in 1922. After five years, he resigned his post and returned to England. He wanted to try his luck as a writer. He would spend his time between England and Paris, thus writing his first major work Down and Out in Paris and London. He felt that it would embarrass his family, so he published it under the pseudonym George Orwell. He was not successful and began to take up any job offer just to make ends meet. He later published Burmese Days, which offered a dark look at British colonialism in Burma, then part of the country’s Indian empire. Orwell’s interest in political matters grew rapidly after this novel was published. In 1937, Orwell traveled to Spain, where he joined one of the groups fighting against General Francisco Franco in the Spanish Civil War. He was injured and left back for England. For years, Orwell had periods of sickness, and he was officially diagnosed with tuberculosis in 1938. Later, he landed a job with the BBC as a producer and in 1943 he became the literary editor for a socialist newspaper. Orwell is best known for two novels, Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty-Four, both of which were published toward the end of his life. Animal Farm was published in 1945 and Nineteen Eighty-Four was published in 1949. Orwell, however, was not able to enjoy his success due to his battle with tuberculosis. He died on January 21, 1950, in a London hospital. England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, while the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separate it from continental Europe. It has a population of 53,013,000 inhabitants. The official language is British English. Christianity is the most widely practised religion in England. The major form of Christianity practised is Anglicanism. English folklore is big part of English Culture. Some of the characters and stories are present across England, but most belong to specific regions. Common folkloric beings include pixies, giants, elves, bogeymen, trolls, goblins and dwarves. Since the Early Modern Period the food of England has historically been characterised by its simplicity of approach and a reliance on the high quality of natural produce. Traditional examples of English food include the Sunday roast, featuring a roasted joint served with assorted vegetables, Yorkshire pudding, stuffing and gravy. Other prominent meals include fish and chips and the full English breakfast. Various meat pies and sausages are consumed by the British. Lancashire hotpot is a well known stew. Frequently consumed alcoholic drinks include wines, ciders and English beers, such as bitter, mild, stout, and brown ale. England has a strong sporting heritage, and during the 19th century codified many sports that are now played around the world. Sports originating in England include association football, cricket, and rugby. The basic political system in England is a constitutional monarchy and parliamentary system. Today England is governed directly by the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The monarch is Queen Elizabeth II and the prime minister is David Cameron MP. Animal Farm was published by Orwell on August 17th , 1945. This novel shows how potential ignorance and indifference to problems within a revolution could allow horrors to happen if a smooth transition to a people’s government is not achieved. The novel starts out with Old Major, a prize-winning boar, gathers the animals of the Manor Farm for a meeting in the big barn. He tells them of a dream he has had in which all animals live together with no human beings to oppress or control them. He tells the animals that they must work toward such a paradise and teaches them a song called â€Å"Beasts of England,† in which his dream vision is lyrically described. The animals greet Major’s vision with great enthusiasm. When he dies only three nights after the meeting, three younger pigs—Snowball, Napoleon, and Squealer—formulate his main principles into a philosophy called Animalism. Late one night, the animals manage to defeat the farmer Mr. Jones in a battle, running him off the land. They rename the property Animal Farm and dedicate themselves to achieving Major’s dream. At first, Animal Farm prospers. Snowball works at teaching the animals to read, and Napoleon takes a group of young puppies to educate them in the principles of Animalism. As time passes, however, Napoleon and Snowball increasingly quibble over the future of the farm, and they begin to struggle with each other for power and influence among the other animals. After chasing Snowball away, Napoleon assumes leadership of Animal Farm and declares that there will be no more meetings. From that point on, he asserts, the pigs alone will make all of the decisions—for the good of every animal. Napoleon orders the animals to construct a windmill, and the animals devote their efforts to completing it. One day, after a storm, the animals find the windmill toppled. Napoleon claims that Snowball returned to the farm to sabotage the windmill. He uses this as an excuse to rid the farm of various animals who have allegedly participated in Snowball’s great conspiracy by giving them instant death at the teeth of the attack dogs. With his leadership unquestioned, Napoleon begins expanding his powers, rewriting history to make Snowball a villain. Napoleon also begins to act more and more like a human being by sleeping in a bed, drinking whisky, and engaging in trade with neighboring farmers. The original Animalist principles strictly forbade such activities, but Squealer justifies every action to the other animals, convincing them that Napoleon is a great leader and is making things better for everyone even though the other animals are cold, hungry, and overworked. Mr. Frederick, a neighboring farmer, cheats Napoleon in the purchase of some timber and then attacks the farm and dynamites the windmill, which had been rebuilt at great expense. After the demolition of the windmill, a pitched battle ensues. Napoleon then sells his most loyal and long-suffering worker, Boxer, to a glue maker in order to get money for whisky. Years pass on Animal Farm, and the pigs become more and more like human being by walking upright, carrying whips, and wearing clothes. Eventually, the seven principles of Animalism, known as the Seven Commandments and inscribed on the side of the barn, become reduced to a single principle reading â€Å"all animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.† Napoleon entertains a human farmer named Mr. Pilkington at a dinner and declares his intent to ally himself with the human farmers against the laboring classes of both the human and animal communities. He also changes the name of Animal Farm back to the Manor Farm, claiming that this title is the â€Å"correct† one. Looking in at the party of elites through the farmhouse window, the common animals can no longer tell which are the pigs and which are the human beings. The story is meant to symbolize the downfall of the Russian Revolution and the corruption of Stalin. Old Major represents Karl Marx, as he originated Communism, hence Animalism. Napoleon represents Joseph Stalin, while Snowball represents Leon Trotsky. The attack dogs represent the Red Army, while Boxer represents the soviet workers. The rise of Stalin after the Russian Revolution inspired Orwell to write Animal Farm. It is satire on equality, where all barnyard animals live free from their human masters’ tyranny. Inspired to rebel by Major, an old boar, animals on Mr. Jones’ Manor Farm embrace Animalism and stage a revolution to achieve an idealistic state of justice and progress. A power-hungry pig, Napoleon, becomes a totalitarian dictator who leads the Animal Farm into â€Å"All Animals Are Equal / But Some Are More Equal Than Others† oppression. As an English author, Orwell traditionally used fictional characters to represent actual humans. The novel is an exceptional work of satire and meets its purpose of portraying the truth about the Soviet Union and turning point of the Russian Revolution.

Echoic Memory Essay

Echoic memory, otherwise known as the auditory sensory memory, is a part of our short term memory. When we hear a sound, like a lyric, or a short sentence, our echoic memory engages the brain to keep a perfect replica of the sound we heard in our minds for a short amount of time. Sometimes we defer paying attention to the sound’s meaning when we hear it and instead interpret the brain’s copy. For example when we are not fully paying attention to the person we are listening to, we may ask for them to repeat what they said and then realize what was already said. This is our echoic memory in action producing the copy of the sound we heard so that we can catch up on what the person was saying. This allows us to be able to briefly think on that sound’s significance. Echoic memory is often compared to iconic memory. Iconic memory is the brain’s ability to replicate exact copies of an image in our minds. The difference between the two, however, (besides iconic memory dealing with images) is the auditory sensory memory is much longer. Iconic memory lasts for less than a second, whereas echoic memory may reproduce that short sound for up to four seconds. An example of echoic memory would be if you were sitting next to your friend and your friend had asked you for the time. You respond by asking, â€Å"What did you say? Oh, 8:45.† You did not necessarily hear the question until after asking. This means that even though your focus was not initially on what your friend was saying to you, when you did eventually turn your attention toward them, you knew what was said. Research has shown that our echoic memory increases with age and also declines after adulthood. That means that a toddler’s echoic memory is not nearly as advanced as a teenager’s, but also means that an elderly person has worse echoic memory than a teenager’s. This may be because our cognitive development declines with age.