Human Trafficking A Form Of Modern Day Slavery - 2794 Words

Humans have been enslaving each other for thousands of years due to lack of opportunities without having an education. Human trafficking is seen as a form of modern day slavery that enslaves over 20.9 million people in every culture and in almost every country worldwide (Cecchet, 2014). It is even published in the Bible, â€Å"Your male and female slaves are to come from the nations around you; from them you may buy slaves†, (Leviticus 24:44, p. 68). Human trafficking has become more of a cultural problem that is becoming worldwide. In the eyes of other countries human trafficking is seen as a normal thing that everyone witnesses everyday. Trade in humans isn’t unique to any area of the world. It has been seen in states as diverse as Ukraine,†¦show more content†¦About 100,000 American children have become victims of sex trafficking annually. Human trafficking is a difficult situation to think about, however, many people are in denial about this situation and d on’t want to acknowledge that it still remains a problem all around the world. After the cold war, antislavery has been highly dominated by the situation of human trafficking. This leads toward transnational organized crime that has been escalating in recent decades as globalization impact more regions, resulting in a decline of nation states and border controls. The main issue has been â€Å"sexual slavery,† or forced prostitution, an issue that is dealt with â€Å"broader preoccupations with sex, gender, and the status of prostitution more generally.† Therefore, human trafficking is not a singular situation, rather it also refers to immigration, people smuggling, crime, migrant labor, tourism, social cohesion, citizenship, and structural inequalities. Human trafficking is seen as an international crime, which means that it is still a growing transnational phenomenon. International trafficking of women and girls for the sex industry has been spreading to new regions of the world and has become a larger part of the global economy. This is caused b y â€Å"poverty, [mainly] among women, lack of political, economic or social stability, legal jobs prospects, domestic violence or disintegration of the family structure, gender discrimination, and lack of access to education†

The Importance Of Freedom Of Speech - 1394 Words

The First Amendment of the U.S. constitution states â€Å"Congress shall make no law [...] abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.† However, the right to freedom of speech has limits, including violence, inciting a riot, libel or slander and yelling fire in a theatre. At a private company, such as the NFL, there are even more limits to this freedom, depending on the organization’s terms and conditions and any contracts that must be signed by members. In college, Colin Kaepernick, a football quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers, joined a fraternity called Kappa Alpha Psi to find â€Å"a deeper connection to his own roots and a†¦show more content†¦Kaepernick stated that â€Å"[he is] not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color† (qtd. in Washington Post). As a biracial individual with multiple African-American friends, Kaepernick was exposed to the hardships that colored individuals face on a daily basis. Reid stated that â€Å"it baffles [him] that [their] protest is still being misconstrued as disrespectful to the country, flag, and military personnel† (NY Times). Clearly, their actions are being misunderstood by those who oppose their protest, even though disrespect was not part of their intentions. By taking a knee on the sidelines, players are not obstructing the game or physically affecting those around them, so they should not be disre garded. Rights stated in the Constitution should apply to all citizens, at all times, whether they work for a public or private company. Employees working for a private company are not protected under the First Amendment; they can get fired at any time, for no reason at all. The NFL has the right to fire players for protesting; however, since players are not posing a serious national threat, no legal action should be taken. In Steven Mitchell Sack’s The Employee Rights Handbook, he states that â€Å"in many states a private employer cannot discipline, fail to promote, or fire an employee because the company does not agree with the employee’s comments on matters of public concern† (148).Show MoreRelatedSpeech : Importance Of Freedom Of Speech1116 Words   |  5 PagesTopic/Title: The Importance of Freedom of Speech General Purpose: I want to inform my audience Specific Purpose: I want my audience to understand the importance of freedom of speech. Thesis: Freedom of speech is important because it allows new ideas to surface, encourages the development in social relationships to prosper, and it permits for the truth to prevail. Introduction A. Attention getter There is a famous written saying that adheres to the attitude of every important figure throughoutRead MoreThe Importance Of Freedom Of Speech979 Words   |  4 Pagesthe most cherished one: the freedom of speech. Freedom of speech gives citizens the right to express their own opinions publicly without government interference, violating laws, or inciting any kind of violence or rebellion. However, the first amendment does not mean anyone can simply say whatever they want. There are several topics that are strictly scrutinized by law and there are even some situations in which freedom of speech is lawfully restricted. Freedom of speech is an extremely important partRead MoreImportance Of Freedom Of Speech1455 Words   |  6 PagesIt is in these moments of confrontation that the importance of free speech becomes essential to finding a resolution that fits the needs and wants of the majority without disregarding the basic human rights of the minority being represented. Free speech sh ould have limits; this includes the use of inappropriate personal attacks, un-related subject matter/ lying, and inciting violence against others for their opinions and beliefs. Freedom of speech is one of the most important rights in society thatRead MoreFreedom Of Speech : The Importance Of The Freedom Of Speech1039 Words   |  5 PagesFreedom of speech is a right protected by the First Amendment. According to the administrative office of the United States Courts (n.d.), the First Amendment states that, â€Å"Congress shall make no law... abridging freedom of speech.† Freedom of speech is arguably one of the most cherished American values in the First Amendment. As defined by an online unabridged Dictionary (n.d.), The rights covered by freedom of speech include the right to express opinions publicly without governmental interferenceRead MoreThe Importance Of Freedom Of Speech1192 Words   |  5 Pagesamendment of the United States’ Bill of Rights states â€Å"Congress shall make no law... prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech,†. Freedom of speech tends to be the most appreciated part of this ame ndment, while also causing the most anger. Most hate speech is protected under it, causing loads of controversy of the years. If the speech is not active fighting words threatening the livelihood of somebody, you’re allowed to say whatever you want. A landmark case in confirmingRead MoreThe Importance Of Freedom Of Speech878 Words   |  4 PagesFreedom of speech is a basic fundamental human right. Whether or not on a college campus, people (especially college students) should have the right to speak freely. Everyone does have the right to speak freely, because it is one of the twenty-seven amendments. Colleges all around the United States are now home to many restrictions on free speech. For example, the idea and use of â€Å"free speech zones† has made its way to colleges everywhere. A â€Å"free speech zone† is a sidewalk sized place where studentsRead MoreImportance Of Freedom Of Speech778 Words   |  4 Pagessomeone referring to Freedom of Speech, what c omes to your mind? How far should Freedom of Speech go for you or others? And when you see someone practicing Freedom of Speech, do you actually support it? In today’s society, some of us forget what Freedom of Speech actually is and how far it is actually extended. Freedom of Speech means, the right to express any opinions without censorship or restraint. Freedom of Speech is protected under the First Amendment. Freedom of Speech includes but is notRead MoreThe Importance Of Freedom Of Speech1526 Words   |  7 Pagesthem listed in our constitution in the 1st amendment is the right to freedom of speech. However, like many liberties, freedom of speech is not absolute under the supreme law of land. What this means is that yes we do have freedom of speech, but it is not protected by the government if it includes obscenity, defamation, fraud, incitement, true threats and speech integral to already criminal conduct. White, K. (2017, June 08) Speech is an important part of our democracy, it gives us the right to speakRead MoreThe Importance Of Freedom Of Speech956 Words   |  4 Pagesdiscussed on campus to protect their students, but this hinders the quality of the students learning. Public college campuses should not safeguard student’s fr ee speech by providing safe spaces, presenting trigger warnings, or controlling who speaks on campus.   Ã‚  Ã‚   All students attending public colleges should be allowed the freedom of speech and not be shielded from what college officials deem necessary to censor. Colleges that provide safe spaces, physical places students can go to openly discuss controversialRead MoreThe Importance Of Freedom Of Speech1374 Words   |  6 Pages Freedom of speech is defined as â€Å"the political right to communicate ones opinions and ideas. The term freedom of expression is sometimes used synonymously, but includes any act of seeking, receiving and imparting information or ideas, regardless of the medium used.†. It is a constitutional right under the first amendment. However, does freedom of speech really mean freedom of speech, or is it limited? Freedom of speech is the ability to speak without censorship or limitation. Also called freedom

Culture Event Texas State Arts and Craft Fair Essay Example For Students

Culture Event: Texas State Arts and Craft Fair Essay This was the time when was there, in the ass, it was like what imagine Woodstock would be, There was music, dancing smoking tot marijuana, and drinking. The festival is a gathering of many different cultures and still today they are gathering for the festival, and they are more family oriented now. By the sass attendance had grown to 25,000, The program included an eighteen-day schedule of eleven six-hour evening concerts, New Folk Concerts with forty writers, Folk Mass celebrations, six two-hour childrens concerts, and a four-day Festival of the Eagle honoring American Indians at a newly constructed and then expanded Treadmill Memorial Theater in the campgrounds (Rod Kennedy, 2013) (Para S). The humanities are distinguished from other modes of human inquiry and expression through academic disciplines. The academic disciplines research the human condition by way of methods that are mainly investigative, decisive, or hypothetical these ways are distinct from the use an experimental method, indicating confirmation or results that occur are capable Of being detected by the senses. The Servile Folk Festival can be compared to IP-hop/rap music. Both changed the culture of many people. Hip-hop music is somewhat Of a new class, and it dates back to 30 years ago. African music and oral traditions were brought by West African slaves to North and South America; where they developed into their own musical styles often starting with church music, but becoming popular over time in wider circles (Chris Curtis, 2011) (Para, 1). It is nice to see how culture changes throughout the different times.

Julius Caesar Essays (845 words) - , Term Papers

Julius Caesar In Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, Decius Brutus and Mark Antony, both Roman Senators, eulogize Julius Caesar, each using a different technique and approach. Brutus, in a somewhat arrogant, to the point, eulogy, attempts to sway the people. He justifies conspiring against Caesar by stating that Caesar's ambition would have hurt Rome. However, in Antony's eulogy, he focuses on Caesar's positive traits, and cunningly disproves Brutus' justification for killing Caesar. The fickle Romans waver between leaders, responding emotionally, rather than intellectually, to the orators. Brutus seeks to explain why he conspired against Caesar. He begins his speech with "Romans, countrymen ...", appealing to their consciousness as citizens of Rome, who, he later says, will benefit as freeman with Caesar's death. This shows that Brutus knows how to lure the crowd, appealing to their better judgement as Romans. He declares that he is an honorable man, and tells them that he will let them judge the validity of his claims. That is, he will allow the truth to speak for itself. This encourages the crowd to believe him, as an honorable man. He says that he wants them to know the facts; "Censure me in your wisdom, and awake your senses that you may the better judge." Sharing information with the people is flattering and it almost guarantees acceptance. He gets their sympathy by saying that he loved Caesar, daring the people to find anyone who loved Caesar more. Brutus declares that he never wronged Caesar, that he cried for Caesar's love, was happy for his greatness, honored him for his courage, but had to kill him because of Caesar's ambition. He says that the reason for killing Caesar was his great love for Rome. He justifies his actions by saying that he loved Caesar but, "Not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more." He then asks rhetorically if the people would want to live their lives as slaves under Caesar's rule or would they prefer to live as freemen with Caesar dead. To anyone insulted by his speech he wonders if, as Romans who love their freedom, they could be offended or reject what he, Brutus, says. He poses the question, "Who is here so base that would be a bondman?" He stresses the point, repeating the line, "If any, speak, for him have I offended." "I pause for a reply.", allows them to respond to his rhetorical questions, giving them an even greater sense that he cares about them and their opinions. They can only respond, " None, Brutus, none." That is, none are offended, they do not disagree or argue with his words or his actions. Mark Antony's eulogy utilizes a different approach. He starts out by addressing the crowd as "Friends" because he wants to come to them as a friend rather than a ruler trying to gain power. He then says, "I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him.", thus he can ease in praises of Caesar without the crowd stopping him. He sounds very sincere when he says, "The noble Brutus hath told you Caesar was ambitious.... For Brutus is an honorable man." He repeats that statement three more times becoming increasingly sarcastic, saying finally, "Yet Brutus says he was ambitious, and sure he was an honorable man." Since the people responded positively to Brutus' speech, Antony could not insult Brutus' honesty in a direct manner. Yet, Antony disproves Caesar's ambition with three examples. One is when he gave the ransom of captives to the public treasury and not his own, another when he cried with the poor people, and finally when he refused the kingship that Antony offered him, three times. Anyone who was ambitious would never have done any such things. Antony says, "I speak not to disprove what Brutus spoke." , but that is exactly what he does. Antony is using a dramatic effect on the people, first by entering on the stage with the body of Caesar, and at the end stating that his heart is still with the body of Caesar, ending his speech weeping. In justifying Caesar and disproving Brutus, the people see Antony as a potential successor to Caesar. They are swayed to him by his dramatics,

Philosophy paper example Essays

Philosophy paper example Essays Philosophy paper example Essay Philosophy paper example Essay What is Freedom By the literal meaning, freedom refers to having the right to think, speak or act without getting restrained or hindered. Freedom of action on a philosophical perspective means the ability to be free from hindrances (Largen, 234). These restraints are not only external barriers to our actions but also internally from addictions or physical disabilities. Politically, it refers to having the right to speak, assemble, and the government restrictions on associations, organizations, and groups, for example, the media or religion. Such are examples of external freedom. My goal in this paper is to give a further discussion on the different features that relates to freedom which includes: Individuality-The freedom to create, develop and showcase the unique personality of an individuals life story both in public and in private. Protection against manipulation- Captured from the symbolic manipulation where one uses other people as a means of actualizing their needs. It is a standard feature with money matters where one pays others to make their ends meet. Freedom to make and live in the world-The society is an artifact where we are born not only to reside in but also to change it to our desires. It is a collaborative task to limit the abuse that can result from the actions. In his article titled The Two Concepts of Liberty, Isaiah Berlin says that negative freedom, is the lack of any constraints either internal or external. There is also another form of liberty he refers to as ;positive freedom; which raises an earlier question about the free will. One can have the freedom to act; that is being free of constraints even if the free will gets determined by the laws of nature.; What is Determinism Determinism, on the other hand, is a philosophical idea that every occurrence or the state of affairs, which includes every person;s action or decision, is an inevitable and necessary outcome of a previous state of affairs (OGrady, 16). On a stricter note, determinism should be differentiated from pre-determinism which is the notion that the entire history, as well as current and future events, is determined at the origins of the universe. Also, neither should it be confused with determination (OGrady, 17), which dictates that the previous events can determine events including the human activities without getting pre-determined back to the time before the individual;s birth or during the origins of the universe; What is Consciousness Consciousness is the natural state when one is awake, and the mind is aware of the surroundings. It comprises of four aspects namely feeling, intuiting, sensing, and thinking (Semir, 121). The four elements are inextricably co-joined in the mind and body it is almost impossible to separate them.; Consciousness enables living things to respond to situations grasped when whole and not just the features or parts that can relate to rules and regulations of computation. Its evolutionary advantage is that the organism can formulate a response to or determine the factors it is facing. This situation relates to characters that can engage with natural laws or laws of computation but which have particular features of whole combinations.;; To begin with is subjectivity. It is a conscious experience which is suffered by a conscious subject. These experiences get different from worldly objective features which are readily available for observation by anybody in a position to see them. They are felt only by the subject. Therefore, they significantly contribute to how the subject reacts to the world.; The second is qualia whereby conscious experiences do have features that exceed the physical properties that seem to cause them. A good example is the feel of pain or the look of colors. Human beings can sense color blue of the sky but the computer despite displaying blue on the screen, it does not experience what it is.; The last is unity whereby a conscious experience is described as unity by the subject experiencing many of these features all at once. This circumstance is particularly sensible in the case of visual experiences. Free Will Definition Free will can be referred to as common but mistaken in the layman;s sense that the adverb free gets to modify the concept will. Much clearly according to McCall (503), it is an indication of the elements of chance which is a primary requirement for the free will present in the determination of one;s self will itself. An agent is said to have free will if the person has the capacity coupled with the freedom to choose the course of action to take.; To cap it all, a study course in philosophy is necessary because apart from enhancing intellectual growth, it also prepares the graduate thoroughly for other careers based on the personal development acquired. The student gets the adequate skills necessary to add value to the face of their prospective employers. The thinking capacity helps in unveiling more about the world and how it works. References Largen, Kristin Johnston. Freedom From And Freedom For: Luthers Concept Of Freedom For The Twenty-First Century. Dialog, vol 52, no. 3, 2013, pp. 232-243. Wiley-Blackwell, doi:10.1111/dial.12048.; ; ;; Lee, Richard E. Determinism. 1st ed., Albany, the State University Of New York Press, 2010,; ; ; McCall, S. The Supervenience Of Truth: Freewill And Omniscience. Analysis, vol 71, no. 3, 2011, pp. 501-506. Oxford University Press (OUP), doi:10.1093/analys/anr051 OGrady, William. Processing Determinism. Language Learning, vol 65, no. 1, 2015, pp. 6-32. Wiley-Blackwell, doi:10.1111/lang.12091. Semir, Zeki. The Visual Brain And Its Many Consciousnesses. Frontiers In Human Neuroscience, vol 2, 2008, Frontiers Media SA, doi:10.3389/conf.neuro.09.2009.01.008.

Dimorphodon Facts and Figures

Dimorphodon Facts and Figures Name: Dimorphodon (Greek for two-formed tooth); pronounced die-MORE-foe-don Habitat: Shores of Europe and Central America Historical Period: Middle-late Jurassic (175-160 million years ago) Size and Weight: Wingspan of four feet and a few pounds Diet: Unknown; possibly insects rather than fish Distinguishing Characteristics: Large head; long tail; two different types of teeth in jaws About Dimorphodon Dimorphodon is one of those animals that looks like it was assembled wrong out of the box: its head was much bigger than that of other pterosaurs, even near-contemporaries like Pterodactylus, and seems to have been borrowed from a larger, terrestrial theropod dinosaur and planted on the end of its small, slender body. Of equal interest to paleontologists, this middle- to late Jurassic pterosaur had two types of teeth in its beaked jaws, longer ones in front (presumably intended for snagging its prey) and shorter, flatter ones in back (presumably for grinding this prey up into an easily swallowed mush)- hence its name, Greek for two shapes of tooth. Discovered relatively early in paleontological history- in early 19th century England by the amateur fossil-hunter Mary Anning- Dimorphodon has occasioned its share of controversy, since scientists didnt have a framework of evolution within which to understand it. For example, the famous (and notoriously cranky) English naturalist Richard Owen insisted that Dimorphodon was a terrestrial four-footed reptile, while his rival Harry Seeley was a bit closer to the mark, speculating that Dimorphodon might have run on two legs. It took years for scientists to realize that they were dealing with a winged reptile. Ironically, according to the latest research, it may be the case that Owen was right after all. The big-headed Dimorphodon simply doesnt appear to have been built for sustained flight; at most, it may have been capable of fluttering clumsily from tree to tree, or briefly flapping its wings to escape larger predators. This may have been an early case of secondary flightlessness, since a pterosaur that lived tens of millions of years before Dimorphodon, Preondactylus, was an accomplished flyer. Almost certainly, to judge by its anatomy, Dimorphodon was more accomplished at climbing trees than gliding through the air, which would make it the Jurassic equivalent of the contemporary flying squirrel. For this reason, many experts now believe that Dimorphodon subsisted on terrestrial insects, rather than being a pelagic (ocean-flying) hunter of small fish.

Physical Characteristics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Physical Characteristics - Essay Example All scientists do not unanimously accept the latest IAU launched definition of a planet that changed the status of Pluto. They continue to view Pluto as the ninth planet. (Spinrad, 2004), (Stern, 2007) Kuiper Belt is an unexplored region of the solar system that extends from just outside the orbit of Neptune to quite a distance from the orbit of Pluto. It is similar to the asteroid belt in that it consists chiefly of small bodies and one known dwarf planet, Pluto. But while the asteroid belt is made up of metal and hard rock, the Kuiper Belt is composed mainly of frozen objects made up of dust and ice, called KBO's. They vary in size from small clumps of ice and dust to large bodies like the Pluto. It is the revolution of these objects that determines the disc-shaped structure of the Kuiper Belt. If their orbits are interrupted in order to bring them into the inner solar system, they can be seen as comets which turn into gas and dust when they get too near to the sun. (Stern, 2007) During the year 1905, an American astronomer named Percival Lowell, observed that some kind of gravitational force seemed to be disturbing the revolutions of Uranus and Neptune. In 1915, he postulated the existence of another planet beyond Neptune and started his research from his Arizona observatory. Unfortunately, he found his death in 1916 before he could discover Pluto. But his works were carried on by the Lowell Observatory staff, and in 1929, Clyde W. Tombaugh, an assistant at the observatory, took pictures of the part of the sky that was in question with a very powerful wide-angled telescope. The next year he discovered Pluto on three of the photographs. (Spinrad, 2004) However, the newly discovered planet seemed to be quite small to cause interruptions in the orbits of Uranus and Neptune. So, the calculations of Percival Lowell were rechecked by the later astronomers, and were found to be inaccurate confirming no disturbances in the orbits of Uranus and Neptune. Hence, discovery of Pluto was just luck through hard work. Later, in 1978, the U.S naval observatory at Flagstaff observed discovered a moon orbiting Pluto very closely, and named it Charon. (Stern, 2007) In 1951, Gerard Kuiper, a renowned Dutch American astronomer, predicted the presence of the Kuiper Belt. He and his colleagues expected that a belt composed of frozen volatile material might exist beyond the orbit of Neptune, just like the rocky asteroid belt lying between mars and Jupiter. Although the first few searches were unsuccessful, introduction of the charge-coupled device (CCD) in the late 1980's opened up a new gateway to space research. These devices were a lot more efficient in absorbing light than the obsolete photographic technology, allowing them to capture extremely dim objects. Thence in 1992, two astronomers, Jane Luu and David Jewitt, discovered the first Kuiper Belt Object, 1992QB1. (Stern, 2007) Physical Characteristics: Size and Orbit Pluto is approximately 39 times as far from the sun as the earth that is a distance of about 5.9 billion kilometers. It has an approximate diameter of 1,400 miles, which is about two-thirds the size of earth's moon and less than a fifth of the earth itself. (Spinrad, 2004) It takes about 248 earth years to complete a full revolution around the sun, while it takes 6 earth days for a full rotation around its axis. As its orbit is elliptical in shape as

Freedom and Determinism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Freedom and Determinism - Essay Example Through determinism concept, freedom is driven by several aspects in human live including mental status, past life experience, physical factors, theological matters, biological concerns and so on. However, criminals also try all evasion avenues possible to escape any convictions, possibly using their lawyers. With this understanding, the stand of the attorney general and the jury that Penry's behavior may be a scheme purposed to deception, as opposed to arguments on childhood abuse and diminished mental capacity may be worth. Penry's side felt that his behavior was as a result of mental disturbance, with the other side believing that the behavior was out of ignorance but not mental retardation. Penry's lawyers hold that moral responsibility depends on mental stability. They suggest that the case should be waved because could the accused be smart mentally, then the crime could not take place (Doob, 2006, 11). Several aspects of determinism can be used to explain the varied views and opinions of the two sides. Nomological or causal determinism can be used to necessitate and explain present and past events. The horrific treatment of Penry by his mother should have impacted on the way he behaved by the belief that the past can influence the present. This is backed by scientific determinism or deterministic dogma which provides that cause, effect and precise eventual combination engenders particular outcomes at given moments. Events that Penry underwent at young ages accumulated to influence his behavior. Horrific treatment of the accused by his mother tells us what character the mother was. Biological determinism argues that desire, belief and behavior of an individual can be mould by endowment of genetics (Doob, 2006, 13). As a result, Penry may have inherited bad habits from her mother. In defining a disease, genetics is treated as a vital element, meaning that ailments are linked to gene tics. In theological determinism, daily happens are determined by God. This takes place through a form of omniscience, knowing ones actions in advance and decreeing ones actions in advance. The controversy of this determinism is how free will can be deemed free when someone has already planned for it. Thus it can be argued that this is the way God programmed the life of Penry. The above concepts of determinism link it to excuses of behaving unethically. Hard determinism applies environmental and hereditary means in influencing morality. Therefore, people do not have to belief ethically if they don't believe in uncaused free will. Soft determinists say that causation isn't acted unpredictably neither should it be viewed as compulsory or else a constraint (Doob, 2006, 12). Based on the above facts about determinism, prosecution judges should be very careful in establishing whether the conduct of the accused was genuine. This is the starting point for fairness to both sides and legal system itself. In the same line of thought, the society requires justice from legal institutions. These institutions are primarily set up to safeguard the rights of individuals and the general society. As above stated, the jury should take time to determine what made the man behave this way. If it was intentional, then the man is a potential threat to the society, indicating

Intro to Security Final Project Essay Example for Free

Intro to Security Final Project Essay Due in Week Nine: Write 3 to 4 paragraphs giving a bottom-line summary of the specific measureable goals and objectives of the security plan, which can be implemented to define optimal security architecture for the selected business scenario. The objective of the Security Policy is to provide the basis of a secure information system within the Bloom Design Group. This policy will protect the information system from threats that exist in nature as well as disasters that exist from humans. The policy will also give consideration to the privacy, reputation, intellectual property and productivity of Bloom Design Group. The efficient operation of this company is dependent on being able to access and use resources within the building and being able to remote access with security. Each employees responsibility must be considered and appropriate access will be given to ensure that information is shared only with those who have the authority to have it. This policy will ensure the adherence to the Bloom Design Group policies but also with any government regulations. By limiting the access to certain groups of users, the security policy will guard against misuse of data and information. All processes that are within the system will be aligned with the policy and executed automatically to ensure that the policy is effectively protecting the information and resources in a continuous manner. Any disruptions or security risks will be dealt with immediately and automatically by means of the system software that has been established and configured for these purposes. 3. Introduction Due in Week One: Give an overview of the company and the security goals to be achieved. 3. 1. Company overview As relates to your selected scenario, give a brief 100- to 200-word overview of the company. The Bloom Design Group is an interior design business that offers services to clients globally. There is a corporate office in New York and a secondary office located in Los Angeles. The group’s website allows clients a virtual decorating tool, where they are able to get an idea of the design and color scheme they would like to see and how it may look after the design is completed. This is a great tool to aid the client in making decisions, backed up by consultation by experienced interior designers as well. The designers are able to access their client files and style guides utilized by the company. The designers will also be able to process orders for materials and furniture when accessing the website. Access is gained by a secure login and password. The employees and designers of this company conduct most of their business remotely and access the network via a secure VPN. 3. 2. Security policy overview Of the different types of security policies—program-level, program-framework, issue-specific, and system-specific—briefly cover which type is appropriate to your selected business scenario and why. For The Bloom Design Group, a program-framework policy would be appropriate. The corporate office would set the security policy as it pertains to network usage. The program-framework policy would cover the WAN, the entire organization would be covered by it and all decisions related to how data is accessed by the workforce. This would require an acceptable use policy, which pertains to all areas of access including remote access, authorized data retrieval and retention, and connections within the WAN. 3. 3. Security policy goals As applies to your selected scenario, explain how the confidentiality, integrity, and availability principles of information security will be addressed by the information security policy. 3. 3. 1. Confidentiality Briefly explain how the policy will protect information. Using the program-framework policy will help in making it possible that only those with authorized access to the company’s data will be the ones doing so. VPN technology will be utilized for these individuals and devices only. These will continue their privileges as long as the policy is complied with. The VPN will be maintained so as to minimize risk of unauthorized access, keep user and data confidentiality as much as possible over the internet, ensure the reliability of the company’s system as well as those systems of the authorized users of the network. 3. 3. 2. Integrity Give a brief overview of how the policy will provide rules for authentication and verification. Include a description of formal methods and system transactions. The program-framework policy will maintain the data and keep it secure, reliable, and free from corruption. The policy will keep unauthorized users from gaining, retaining, modifying, or deleting data of the company by means of firewalls, encryptions, and anti-spyware or anti malware tools. The VPN will be secured with using a tool that provides encryption and user authentication. Intrusion detection tools will also help protect the VPN. 3. 3. 3. Availability Briefly describe how the policy will address system back-up and recovery, access control, and quality of service. The program framework policy will maintain that authorized individuals, users, and systems will have access to information in its original format and at all times. The IT department will keep the business continuity plan up to date and and secure it in such case that there is a need for it due to emergencies. The company will create a business impact analysis which will evaluate risks to the company’s data and systems will be ready to be used for recovery of data if needed. A disaster recovery plan will also be created with step by step implementation to ensure recovery and continuation of business operations in the event recovery is needed due to loss. A risk analysis will be created to further identify and take steps to secure the company’s data. Full cooperation from each department and the administration of the company is needed for these plans to be effective. Training will be conducted in order to ensure that all are compliant to the plan. (Merkow Breithaupt, 2006). 4. Disaster Recovery Plan Due in Week Three: For your selected scenario, describe the key elements of the Disaster Recovery Plan to be used in case of a disaster and the plan for testing the DRP. 4. 1. Risk Assessment 4. 1. 1. Critical business processes List the mission-critical business systems and services that must be protected by the DRP. The Bloom Design Group has the need of protecting their general support systems. These are the mission-critical systems and services to be concerned with. They are related to network connectivity, access to the internet and various resources through applications that will rest on the network that will aid in the daily productivity of the company. The following list of systems is includes the assets that must be protected by this plan.

Re-interpretation of the Philosophical Thought of Benjamin Constant :: Philosophy Psychological Psychology Essays

Re-interpretation of the Philosophical Thought of Benjamin Constant ABSTRACT: The liberal French thinker Benjamin Constant develops a conception of human nature which shows the triplicity of being human. Such triplicity manifests itself in the close connection between emotion, rationality, and animality. He also develops an idea of liberty which treats it only as a real, historically conditioned minimalization of external limitations. Liberty thus understood enjoys metaphysical rootedness in human nature. 1. Introductory remarks Benjamin Constant (1767-1830), the French aristocrat, politician, one of the fathers of the French liberalism and, at the same time, the then well-known man of letters is also the author of a voluminous and almost unknown work about religion. It appeared in the years 1824-1833 in Paris in seven volumes, five of which are entitled "De la religion consideree dans sa source, ses formes et ses developpements", and two "Du Polytheisme romain considere dans ses rapports avec la philosphie grecque et la religion chretienne. Constant wrote this work through all his life, changing the fundamental theses and supplementing them as his theoretical knowledge about religion increased and as a result of his personal experiences connected with religion. Although the huge volume of the work is rather perceived as unattractive today and most of the historical material is out of date, it contains interesting philosophical theses which are the crowning achievement of the whole intellectual life of the a uthor. These theses allow us to understand and interpret better the philosophical foundations of Constant's liberalism which are created, among others, by a certain understanding of the human nature i.e. a certain philosophical anthropology, whereas the latter induces an understanding of liberty, peculiar for the Constantian liberalism. 2. The human nature. Constantian theses contained in the work on religion and refering to the human nature can be formulated as follows: 1. A man is not entirely the product of society in which he lives and its culture, but he is a being that can be defined by his stable and unchangeable nature. 2. What the human nature is like can be judged by examining the behaviours common to all people and their creations, for example religion. 3. The human nature is unchangeable . However, the forms change, through which it manifests it self in various periods of the development of humanity. In people's religious behaviour, for example, there is manifested something which is the permanent source of every religion and is inherent in human nature.

Causes of violence among the youths and young adults Essay

Our current society’s ever bringing up youths. In the most modern society, youths are viewed as tomorrow’s leaders. It’s the parents up-bringing formula that shall serve to make them or break them. As they grow up daily these young adults acquire behaviors that seemingly contribute much to their final being. These acts of behavior may either humble them or cause them to acquire a level of aggression that may be detrimental between them and their immediate environment within which they occupy. The concern at this point in time is to evaluate the major inducers of aggression in these youths. This paper shall establish the reasons why the youth and generally people engage in acts of aggression and acts of violence. Its along these lines that psychologist will seek to establish the reason(s) as to why some students in class behave differently as compared to others in the same class or study level. It shall investigate into the role played by social learning towards producing aggressive actions and behaviors among the youth people. It’s important that the immediate acquaintances of these youths get assisted in explaining the rationale for the said aggression. This shall help in understanding them incase they choose to behave in a way they sometimes do behave. A recent research, â€Å"(Godow KD & Sprafkin J. , Field experiments of television violence with children: evidence for an environmental hazard? Department of Psychiatry, State University of New York, Stony Brook 11794-8790. )†, establishes that youth violence and aggression arises from watching TV, but considering our society today, antagonism in youths goes beyond just watching TV. As a result, it’s the role of this paper to study the causes with the aim of filling this knowledge gap. Also, , this shall serve to empower the youths with the implications of indulging in cases of social maladjustments, and which they have to change as they grow up. Hypotheses: After study, this paper shall seek to prove three issues. That, one, does TV programs contribute towards arousing aggression in youths and young adults? Two, it shall investigate for a correlation the kind of friends young people make friends with along their social corridors that contribute towards building aggression in the society. Despite friends, are there some other factors contributing to the whole idea of aggression and acts of violence amongst the youths? Methodology: In carrying out this research, both qualitative and quantitative methods shall be used. Basic measurements and or instruments shall be employed, including surveys, interviews, use of focus groups and observations. In surveys and focus groups, standard numbers of respondents ought to be used with the aim of reducing discrepancies in the data collected. Interviews on the other side will be run through acquiring information from key informants about the cases that are currently prevailing around the cities. It shall involve moving from college to college and researching for the information from the school heads concerning â€Å"rogues† and other maladjusted students in the college. It shall also involve moving from door to door, and upon encountering a family with youths, the parents shall be subjected to a question session, with the aim of establishing the mode of family upbringing adopted in that particular family. After running interviews across different households, the records shall be compared for eventual decision making. The use of the survey questionnaire shall have to be both semi-structured and also unstructured in type. This shall be carried out across all major social places and preferably over the weekend, with the expectation to capture as much information as possible. Conversely, the respondents chosen in the focus groups will be made on a random base, whereas interviews shall be selected in a discriminating manner. Information shall be collected through interviews, observations and filling in of questionnaires. In observations, researschers ought to observe keenly all that they come across during the trips to colleges interviews shall be carried out in different town neighborhoods, from door to door and using the same questioning schedule. Researchers hall be expected to collect timely data and make systematic recording to avoid unnecessary errors and memory bias. A good and fair sample shall be used as the results ought to bring out a generalization theory about the population under study. They ought to make first hand recording using the available instruments on board. In interviews, researchers ought to move from door to door and using recording instruments such as tape recorders, researchers ought to carry out a one-on-one interview with different members of the public and through social places across major cities. Clarification shall be made, in situations where unclear information is given. Necessary preparations shall be made, and all the resources availed to the researcher with the aim of spear heading the research process. Questionnaires on the same subject shall be formulated to be send to different homes and neighborhoods to accompany questioning process. A questionnaire shall be filled in by the willing members of the given focus group of our choice. The only criterion towards such a focus group is that they ought to be able to read and also write. After executing all these, the results shall be critically analyzed and conclusions and or discussions drawn. Results: From the research findings, it’s established that teenagers with aggressive behaviors normally have psychiatric disorders. For some cases, the aggression levels were so much pronounced that the victims had to be hospitalized, or search for medical consultation. For instance at a child’s center, it was established that above 60% had a psychiatric disorder, disregarding conduct disorder; and among many that were common included conduct disorders, substance use related disorders, behavior disorders and above all mood disorders. The latter was more prevalent. It was also established (from the research taken at the colleges) that 70% of the behaviors painted amongst the youths was purely learned. Crews and other hordes of boys from different estates and cities tended to have similar character traits, and so were the girls; and more to that, they seemed to have a back-up for each other, and in whatever the activity they involved in. These character traits differed so much from one group to the next. A group of youths from Texas was so much different from one whose home town was, for instance, Illinois. Similarly, out of the thirty families in the focus groups, 55% of them proved to have deserted their children completely. According to the parents, the kids were to establish their own lives, including choosing the kinds of friends to make friends with. They had no much influence on the choice of the type of friends to walk around with. Whether these children chose on the wrong counterparts, or not, was none of their business. 20% of the remainder of the group showed concern over the kind of friends that their children chose. Infact, it was the role of the children to inform the family on the â€Å"new† friend that the child is currently making friends with. Other factors that were seen to contribute towards aggressiveness and violence included hostile interactions between family members. Three families that were interviewed said that it was the parents’ role to develop and sustain filial love amongst the children. It was bitter to realize that, in one family, it lost a family member due to the hatred that existed among the children, and which they were not aware. It was also established that on any Monday, four out of forty students in a class at colleges and even universities in the US were great participants in abusing drugs. Some of the substances abused include mainly alcohol, cocaine and cigarettes. Friday nights carried most of these college going students and all through the weekend. And come Monday, students extended the weekend hangovers to class. Such students were quite rowdy, rough, aggressive and a nuisance to the learning atmosphere in classes. In the last family that was visited, parents admitted that it was their mode of life that impacted heavily on the aggression of the children. Ghetto life was proving unbearable to them and in particular, it contributed to the sidelining of the children by their fellow peers. The children could not take part in the normal peer social activities because of their little financial ability. Discussion: There’s significant evidence that explains that the acts of aggression and acts of violence amongst the youths is greatly as a result of an individual’s interaction between him/her and the immediate environment. As a result, parents have a key responsibility in terms of bringing up a young adult. Factors related to abuse and a child’s discipline is important when it comes to studying a child’s aggression. One needs to simply study the nature of the child’s upbringing. In particular, substance use related disorders may be handy to analyzing a maladjusted child, stemming from parental carelessness. The environment may impact positively or even negatively on a child’s nurturing state. Close association with peer group members, which are of deviant behavior also leads to aggression and acts of violence. Similarly, continued exposure to TV and other forms of media are greatest catalysts of violence. Listening to TV programs with harsh inflammatory statements while still at a tender age in a youth’s life may have a strong impact upon his or her life to come. For instance a youth who is used to watching movies with a horrific theme and TV action movies such as blackmail may tend to grow up taking after such program actors in character. Movies such as â€Å"Halloween† shouldn’t be shown to youngsters below the minimal adult qualifying age. . Poverty in the family contributes to aggression. Lack of the basic needs of the children and the inability to lead a â€Å"classy† or up-to-date life can impact heavily on the child’s ability to socialize. Negligence or lack of keeping a keen eye on the children as they grow is a major proponent to aggression amongst the youths. Parents have a key responsibility in terms of advising the child on the social network established and to be established. They can also help avoid the use of drugs in the youths. Lastly, as seen above, most of the behaviors related to violence and aggression are psychiatric in nature. As a result, parents with such cases in the families should seek the consultation of a doctor. Psychiatrists, psychologists and other clinical doctors can be handy in bringing a solution to such mental related complications. In adults, traditional mood stabilizers could be applied to curb violent behavior such as psychosis. References: Robert A. B, Donn E. B. (1984), Social psychology: Understanding Human interaction, University of California Leo J. Bastiaens, MD and Ida K. (2006) Bastiaens Youth Aggression: Economic Impact, Causes, Prevention, and Treatment Psychiatric Times. Vol. 23 No. 11 Godow KD & Sprafkin J. (1993), Field experiments of television violence with children: evidence for an environmental hazard? Department of Psychiatry, State University of New York, Stony Brook 11794-8790

Ethics & defined Essay

Ethics is commonly defined as the rules or standards governing the conduct of people. Gender is the social dimension of being male or female. Most people acquired gender identity by the age of three. War should be understood as an actual, intentional and widespread armed conflict between political communities. No nation can be expected to wage war with one hand tied behind its back, but ethical issues of most profound nature are raised anytime. Once the actuality of possibility of war becomes the context within which we live, men and women are forced into set roles. Gender serves as a medium or vector for war’s presence in our innermost social settings. This essay will discuss these ethical issues in war and their link to gender. Discrimination is one of the ethical issues in war. Women have always participated to some extent in combat, but several recent wars have seen them fighting on the front lines. While the roles of female ex-combatants vary widely the women seem to share one unfortunate characteristic, limited access to benefits when peace and demobilisation come. This is also true for girls abducted for sexual services and the families of ex-combatants in the receiving community. These groups are often neglected during mobilisation and reintegration; or at best women, girls, and boys may receive equal benefits but are treated as a homogenous group which prevents specific needs being addressed. (Goldstein, 2001 pg207-212) Sexual violence especially on women especially rape has its own brand of shame to recent wars. From conflicts in Bosnia, Peru and Rwanda women have been singled out for rape, imprisonment, torture and execution. Systematic rape is often used as a weapon of ethnic cleansing. More than 20, 000 Muslim girls and women have been raped in Bosnia since fighting began in 1992. Impregnated girls have been forced to bear the enemy’s child. (Human Rights Watch, 2000 pg12) Sexual violence of women erodes the fabric of community in a way that few weapons can. Rape’s damage can be devastating because of strong communal reaction to the violation and pain stamped on entire families. The harm inflicted in such cases in a woman by a rapist is an attack on her family and culture, as in many societies women are viewed as repositories of a community’s cultural and spiritual values. (UN, 2005 pg8) In addition to rape, girls and women are also subject to forced prostitution and trafficking during times of war sometimes with complicity of governments and military authorities. During World War II, women were abducted, imprisoned and forced to satisfy the sexual needs of occupying forces and many Asian women were also involved in prostitution during the Vietnam War. The trend continues in today’s conflicts. Nearly 80 percent of the 53 million people displaced by wars today are women and children. Refugee families frequently cite rape as the key factor influencing in their decision to seek refuge. (Alison, 2007pg78-83) The high risk of inflection with sexually transmitted diseases including HIV/AIDS, accompanies all sexual violence against women and girls. The movement of refugees and marauding military units and the breakdown of health services and public education worsen the impact of diseases and chances for treatment. The exchange of sex for protection during the civil war in Uganda in the 1980’s was a contributing factor to the country’s high rate of AIDS. (UN, 2005 pg131) Women suffer a double victimisation, in that they were compelled against their will to join the armed forces and today they are victimised by society for having played a combative role in the conflict. They are treated with hostility suspicion for ‘breaching’ both gender and sex roles. These women are largely excluded from disarmament and reintegration programmes of Sierra Leones peace process which favour men and boys. This especially occurs in Sierra Leone. (Human Rights Watch, 2000 pg7) Men and boys are also victims of gender based sexual violence during war. Women are raped as a way to humiliate the men they are related to, who are often forced to watch the assault. In societies where ethnicity is inherited through the male line, ‘enemy’ women are raped and forced to bear children. Sexual violation of children has devastating effects. The experience of captivity and sexual destroys a girl’s sense of home and security, of self worth and power of the possibility of safe interpersonal relationships, indeed of any future at all. Men tend to greatly underreport experiences of sexual violence. They may have doubts about their sexuality and fear infertility. (Carpenter, 2003 pg 661-694) A war is only just if it is fought for a good reason. A country that wishes to use military force must demonstrate that there is a just cause for doing so. Just war theory is the most influential perspective on ethics of war and peace. For a war to be just there must be a just cause, right intention, proper authority and public declaration, proper authority and public declaration, a last resort, probability of success, and proportionality. Pacifism is also an ethical issue in war. Pacifism rejects war in favour of peace. It is not violence in all its forms that the most challenging kind of pacifism objects to: rather is the specific kind and degree of violence that wars involves which the pacifists objects to. They object to killing in general and particular mass killing for political reasons, which is part and parcel of the war time experience. Most women are generally pacifists as compared to males. People are pacifists for one or some of these reasons: religious faith, non-religious belief in the sanctity of life and practical belief that war is wasteful and ineffective. Pacifism cannot be national policy as it only works when no one wants to attack your country or if the nation with whom you are in dispute is also committed to pacifism. Because most societies regard going to war as fulfilling a citizens’ ethical duty, they honour those who give their lives in war. If there is believe in war governed by ethics we should only honour those who give their lives in a just war and who followed the rules of war. It should be wrong to honour dead soldiers who killed the enemy or wounded or raped enemy women. (Harris and King, 1989 pg78) (Goldstein 2001) defines war as lethal inter group violence and feminism as an ideology opposing male domination and promoting gender equality. Cross cultural consistency of gender wars is pervasive and not universal. Women have fought in wars but are portrayed as exceptions to the gender rule that men are warriors. Gender exclusion from combat is by policy choice not by physical ability, women can and do fight. There is no support for arguments regarding predisposition to aggression and little support for the hypothesised link between testosterone and aggression. Gender is portrayed as a weapon to humiliate a military opponent or to discredit peace activism and political dissent from military policy. A recent example is, Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfield’s remark about â€Å"media mood swings† in regard to criticism of the war in Iraqi, a reference clearly intended to evoke the archetype of the â€Å"irrational† menstrual/menopausal women. Rape in war as well as military homophobia underlies exclusion of policies aimed at sexual minorities. Neither men nor women benefit from war at the expense of the other, both genders lose in war. Neither genetics per se, nor hormones (males or female) nor male bonding nor women’s innate pacifism explain gendered war roles. (Suzzane, 2002 Pg 407). The interdependence between war and gender is obscure. However it is clear that it is not soldiers who make war but societies that make war. War does not happen without women’s knowledge cooperation, and participation, however few or many actually take up arms and engage in battle. War is based on a dominatory approach to relationships in which the usual overriding aim is to get the better of or overcome the other who is framed as an opponent or competitor. Gender as we know it, which positions men as dominant and characterises them as aggressive and heroic, is fundamental to the culture of domination of which war is an expression. The human resources of moral sensibility and decency have been buried or seriously depleted. The impetus towards peace that is so necessary in ending of violence conflict is diminished by the discouragement of half the population from active participation. A gendered perspective of human security enables a more advanced understanding of the perspectives of those involved in conflict including victims’ perpetrators and decision makers.(Zeigler and Gilbert, 2006) References Alison, M. (2007) Wartime Sexual Violence: Women’s human rights and questions of masculinity, Review of International Studies Pg 75-90 Carpenter, R. C, â€Å"Women and Children First†: gender norms and humanitarian evacuation in the Balkans, International Organization 5, 7, 4, 2003, Pg 661-694 Cohn, C â€Å"Sex and Death in the Rational World of Defence Intellectuals, Signs, Vol. 12, No. 4 1987 Pg 687-78 NO1101 Harris, A and King, Y (eds) Rocking the ship of state: Towards a feminist peace politics, Bovider, C. O West view press 1989. Human Rights Watch (HRW) 2000: Rape as a weapon of Ethnic cleansing HRW, March 1. Jousha S. Goldstein (2001) War and Gender: How Gender shapes the war system and vice versa. Cambridge University Press Pg 201-213. Moser N, and Clark F (eds), victims, Perpetrators or Actors: Gender, Armed Conflict and Political Violence; London Zed Books 2001, V. 64. Nashim: A Journal of Jewish Women’s studies & Gender Issues. Rosemarie Skaing (1999) Women at War: Gender issues of Americans in combat: McFarland and Company: North Carolina and London ‘Symposium on war and Gender, (2003) (Reviews of Goldstein’s Book) Perspectives on policies, 1, 2, 330-347 The state of World’s Children 1996. UNICEF United Nations (2005): Africa Renewal â€Å"Sexual Violence, an ‘invisible war crime’ Warren, J and Cady, L (1994) Feminism and Peace: Seeing connections’ Hypatia special Issue on Feminism and peace Pg 7-14. HQ1101. World Bank (2002) Addressing Gender Issues in Demobilisation and Reintegration Programs, Africa Region Working Paper Series 33 Zeigler, S and Gilbert, G (2006) The Gendered Dimensions of Conflicts Aftermath; A

Major Developments in China Since 1976 essays

Major Developments in China Since 1976 essays The year 1976 was a watershed year for the development of China. Three of the most senior officials of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) - Zhou Enlai, Zhu De and Mao Zedong - died in that year. The year was also marked by mass demonstrations and criticism of the Maoist regime. When Deng Xiaoping attained power in 1978 he created a new atmosphere of political and economic promise, which in many ways sharply contradicted governmental and political proceedings of the previous two decades. One of the most significant changes implemented by Xiaoping was on the economic front, which included a series of far-reaching economic reforms.. Yet, the most essential change in China since 1976 has been the decisive move away from the Maoist emphasis and focus on the class and political struggle to a There are many reasons for the reforms in China. The fact that the previous communist reforms were not capable of sustaining and creating economic growth in the country is one of the reasons for the reforms. Other very cogent reasons are that China needed to join the international community for economic and developmental reasons; and because China had for many years come under pressure, particularly in terms of its social traditions, to conform to international standards. The demand for modernization is an important aspect that contributed to China's reform and this was increased by Western influences. China eventually had to face the reality that political strategies alone could not increase productivity. This issue came to a head in the 1970's and resulted in the "Four Mobilizations" program, which was intended to reform and energize the Chinese economy. These mobilizations or areas of focus were agriculture, industry, science and technology and the military. The important aspect that underl...

Tracking Your Goals for Success

Tracking Your Goals for Success Working on commission can be stressful, especially when you dont know how much money comes in each month. Just as you keep track of your bills, you should get in the habit, if you havent already, of staying up-to-date with each piece of work you have in the pipeline. Not only will this help your bottom line, but youll also keep on track with your major goals. For instance, if your goal is to write for  The Writer Magazine, you may need to climb the ladder from where you stand now. Its rare for first time freelancers to break into the national magazine market, so build a system and break down your goal into smaller bites to develop your portfolio to improve your effort toward that big accomplishment. Using the system outlined below, I wrote my first article for a paying ezine and quickly followed it with work for Writing for Dollars, Writers Weekly, and Writer2Writer. Twenty articles later, I had my first article accepted While I use Excel, you may use Microsoft Word, a day planner, or simply a blank notebook (If you prefer, you can use apps), and just as you would schedule your doctors appointments and kids soccer games, create a task list of everyday activities needed to bring in the income. As a freelancer, your times can be flexible, but I caution you to adhere to certain goals each day. Divide your list into four separate sections like the example below. The first section is research, the second is reviewing the guidelines, the third is preparing and submitting, and the fourth is writing and editing. To stay on task with your goals, you have to set aside time each day to do all four. Research Review Guidelines Prep Submission Pkgs Writing Editing Research mags blogs for places to submit article on Writing Tight Review writers guidelines for Parenting Today and  Working Moms Prep submission pkg for Adopting at 50 Parenting Today Working Moms Begin writing the Writing Tight article. Edit other article on staying healthy during the winter When an idea for an article strikes, begin researching places that might be interested before you waste time writing. Some writers suggest pitching before the article is written, but such a move is dependent upon the publications guidelines. After your research, review the guidelines once more for the article you finished the evening before. Guidelines can change so confirming what you should be sending saves time for you and the editor.   Then prepare the submission package for your article and move on to the writing phase of your evening. As you work, highlight each completed task so at the end of the day, youll see the progress youve made. Each evening, create a new list so you start fresh each morning. Carry over the activities you didnt complete the previous day onto the new list and start with those first. Never skip over one of your tasks because doing so erases a potential income opportunity and sets you back a step. Yes, you work on more than one article at a time. Hope Clark keeps as many as thirteen in play, as she likes to put it. Youre always moving forward, working multiple opportunities at different levels. Trust me, its doable. Just ask every successful freelance writer. To achieve goals, you need to keep up with where you are on your journey. This system is designed to help any writer climb the ladder of success, but even if you dont use this one, you should have a way to track the steps youre taking toward your dream.

The Tendency of the Firm in a Monopolistic Market Essay

The Tendency of the Firm in a Monopolistic Market - Essay Example These differences between perfect competition and monopolistic competition have social welfare implications. In perfect competition, marginal revenue is the same as price and this reflects the optimum utility of goods as the price is also equal to marginal cost. Supply also meets the demand at the most efficient level. This is illustrated in Figure 1 where supply and demand achieved equilibrium. The case is different in a monopolistic competition where there are few or no competition. The tendency of the firm in a monopolistic market is to restrict production as can be shown in Figure 1 to drive prices up as represented by P1. The market then becomes inefficient because firms are not producing at a minimum cost where price is much higher than the cost of production. This has an implication in social welfare as inefficiency would mean requiring more resources to achieve the same utility of good thereby increasing the social cost. This is not the case in a perfect competition where mar ginal revenue is the same as price. In the diagram in Figure 2, a competitive market achieves an equilibrium where demand is met with supply (MC and AR intersect). It meant that the social service can be had at its cost and is, therefore, the most optimum level where the needed service is appropriately supplied without waste. Thus comparing perfect competition with a monopolistic market, price in the monopolistic market is higher as shown in P1 compared to Price of perfect competition in P2. Production is also inefficient in the monopolistic market as shown by Q1 as it is deliberately restricted to drive the price or P1.

Management Practices in the Workplace Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Management Practices in the Workplace - Essay Example entrusted with five functions namely: planning, leading, organizing, staffing and controlling which must be done efficiently and effectively to achieve organizational success. These will be the subject of this paper especially their implementation in a practical situation. This is one of the critical functions of management. According to Block (2011 p. 16) is the capacity to initiate a future distinct from the past. This can only be achieved through practices that foster high employee engagement. DuBrin (2008) and Reilly et al (2011) view planning as a process of setting goals and deciding on how to achieve them. Organizations unlike in the past whereby they used to have crisis management whereby decisions are made when problems arise; make long-term plans to guide the future of the organization. The manager must develop a vision and mission for the organization to guide all its activities. Plans can be strategic, tactical or operational depending on their use. Strategic plans are long-term and determine the future of the business. They are developed by high levels of management and form the basis for lower level tactical and operational plans. Tactical plans are developed for functional areas of the organization or business unit in a global company. These tactical plans according to DuBrin (2008) are for implementation of strategic plans through division into specific goals. They are also formulated by middle level managers. Operational plans on the other hand, are concerned with specific procedures and actions involved in running day-to-day activities or daily performance targets (Reilly et al. 2011). However, tactical and operational plans should be aligned with strategic plan. The operation plans in this case ensure efficiency (doing things right) while strategic plans ensure effectiveness (doing the right things) (DuBrin, 2008, p. 135; Reilly et al. 2011). For exa mple at Tripac, the most important decisions such as increasing market share or to do with

Government in Preventing Environmental Crime Essay

Government in Preventing Environmental Crime - Essay Example South & Brisman (2013) state that some of the environmental protocols set by the international bodies include the banning of wildlife trade in endangered species under the CITES stipulations. It has been an instrumental international law that did shape the UK Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 amendments. Secondly, the illegal logging Act that protects forests from unthoughtful exploitation. Besides, the international protocols on the environment include banning of dumping hazardous wastes in water as provided in the Basel Convention on the Control of Tran boundary Act 1989. Committing any of the above crimes is liable to prosecution in accordance to international law; this should be seen being enforced by the individual government. Overview of UK Environmental Act Today, United Kingdom is among the countries that have signed several environmental and wildlife conventions are a renewed commitment to protect the environment from crime. Some of the provisions in the Countryside and Wildlife Act 1981 include banning of poaching, illegalizing unplanned logging and prevention of endangered species as provided in the CITES 1975 international protocol (Reins 2012). Since the Committee inquiry of 2004, the government commitment to protect the wildlife increased substantially, this was seen when the house of common began to deliberate on numerous amendments of the Countryside and Wildlife Act 1981, resulting in the more recent Wildlife Act 2012 Amendment. However, wildlife has been amended many times to respond to new crime threats that has become complex to non-specialist police. The year 2006 saw the enactment of law that prohibits the poisoning of birds because there were increased threats posed by poaching through poisoning. Moreover, the formation of the National Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU) is a living testimony of the framework created by the government to enforce and repeal numerous Acts of the wildlife (Stewart 2012). However, some critics argue that wildlife crime enforcement has been greatly undermined by lack of definite sentencing guidelines for wildlife judges.

Child Behavioural Problem Programmes Analysis

Child Behavioural Problem Programmes Analysis Antisocial behaviour Aggression and fighting are part of normal child development and can help children to assert and defend themselves. Persistent, poorly controlled antisocial behaviour, however, is socially handicapping and often leads to poor adjustment in adults (Scott 1998). It occurs in 5% of children (Meltzer et al 2000), and its prevalence is rising (Rutter et al 1998). The children live with high levels of criticism and hostility from their parents and are often rejected by their peers.3 Truancy is common, most leave school with no qualifications, and over a third become recurrent juvenile offenders (Farrington 1995). In adulthood, offending usually continues, relationships are limited and unsatisfactory, and the employment pattern is poor. Thelon term public cost from childhood for individuals with this behaviour is up to ten times higher than for controls and involves many agencies (Scott et al 2001b) Antisocial behaviour accounts for 30-40% of referrals to child mental health services (Audit Commission 1999). Most referrals meet general clinical diagnostic guidelines for conduct disorder from ICD-10(international classification of diseases, 10th revision), which require at least one type of antisocial behaviour to be marked and persistent. Rather fewer meet the diagnostic criteria for research, which for the oppositional defiant type of conduct disorder seen in younger children require at least four specific behaviours to be present (World Health Organisation 1993). The early onset pattern typically beginning at the age of 2 or 3 years is associated with comorbid psychopathology such as hyperactivity and emotional problems(Taylor et al 1996, language disorders, neuropsychological deficits such as poor attention and lower IQ, high heritability (Solberg et al1996), and lifelong antisocial behaviours (Moffitt 1993). As a result of its prevalence and significant consequences, the management of these childhood behavioural problems has received an increasing level of attention, research and theory over recent years. Two of the more prominent interventions for the behavioural management of children are health visitors and Group Parenting Programmes. Each of these approaches will now be outlined and will be the focus of the systematic literature review to be discussed. 1.1 Health Visitors and behaviour management The health visitors first task is to identify health care needs. Together with general practitioners, they provide the child health surveillance programme of immunisations, screening, and advice. They aim to identify those important conditions that parents might overlook and, for the rest, to help parents access professional expertise, voluntary agencies, and local facilities (NHS Executive 1996). Health visitors make key contributions regarding immunisation, breast-feeding, good nutrition and depression. This role can extend to help make appropriate interventions regarding the management of child behavioural problems through home visits. Health visitors can help to identify problem situations and refer the parent/child to the right agency. Furthermore, they can advise the parent and help to equip them with the skills needed to effectively manage and reduce the behavioural problems. If the health visitor can meet the parent when the child is under 10 days old, or even at the ante-natal stage, then a trusting and effective relationship can be formed (Beecham 1997) which can have positive effects. It has been suggested that this is of particular relevance to subgroups such as single parents. They have been shown tube less likely to attend health care environments for immunisations and their children appear to have more accidents around the home (Flemmingand Charlton 1998). These are clearly key issues within community service provision (Hall 1996). The health visitors can provide much needed support, particularly with the more vulnerable groups. This social support can have significant benefits during pregnancy/labour(Match and Sims 1992), after birth (Kumar et al 1993) and in reducing the probability that the mother will experience post-natal depression(Ray and Hornet 2000). The health visitor can therefore have a range of benefits for the parent and the child and the extent to which these benefits extend to the child’s behavioural problems merits consideration. 1.2 Group Parental Programmes Harsh, inconsistent parenting is strongly associated with antisocial behaviour in children (Rutter et al 1998), but whether this is a cause or consequence or is due to a common genetic predisposition has been less clear (Farrington 1995). The pioneering work of Patterson and colleagues showed that parents had a causal role in maintaining antisocial behaviour by giving it attention and in extinguishing desirable behaviour by ignoring it (Patterson 1982). Such findings have facilitated the development of group parenting programmes which aim to reduce children’s anti-social behaviour by working with parents. These programmes include the Webster-Stratton programme (Webster-Stratton and Hancock 1998) and the Solihull approach. They generally involve group sessions with parents of children who have behavioural problems. Sessions take place over a few months and involve the discussion of topics such as play, praise, limit setting, rewards and the handling of misbehaviour. The children do not attend the sessions. Video tapes aroused to provide examples of good and bad parenting behaviour and encourage the parents to talk about their experiences. This approach provides an alternative way of managing child behavioural problems rather than the need for health visitors to attend the parents’ homes. 1.3 Evaluating Health Interventions Before selecting any health-related intervention it is vital that theyare assessed on a number of grounds through empirical research which investigates their effectiveness and efficacy. Within the NHS, cost restraints pose a significant issue and hence any intervention needs to provide value for money relative to other potential options (Royal College of Paediatric and Child Health 1997). The Audit Commission(1997) reported that the annual maternity costs in England and Wales are  £1.1 billion. Hence, any savings, or more cost-effective approaches, could have significant impacts on the financial performance of the NHS. Both group parenting programmes and health visiting have been evaluated within empirical research. Most of this research has taken place within America (Deal 1994). The following review will consider this research in order to evaluate the use of group parenting programmes and home visits by health visitors with regards to their effectiveness and efficacy for managing child behavioural problems. The methodology employed within this research will now be outlined before ten relevant research studies are discussed and critically analysed. These findings will then be related to the research discussed in this introduction to the review before overall conclusions are drawn regarding the research question. 1.4 Method and search history A systematic review aims to integrate existing information from comprehensive range of sources, utilising a scientific replicable approach, which gives a balanced view, hence minimising bias (Clarke Oman 2001). In other words, a scientific approach will help to ensure that research evidence is either included or excluded based upon well-defined and standardised criteria. This should ensure that the possible effects of researcher bias should be kept to a minimum. Berkley and Glenn (1999) also states that systematic reviews provide a means of integrating valid information from the research literature to provide a basis for rational decision making concerning the provision of healthcare. Literature reviews are important as they can help to consolidate the knowledge which is available on a given topic. The main themes and findings can be highlighted and this information can inform the design, implementation and evaluation of future research. In this instance, the research evidence can be used to make recommendations and decisions regarding the use of health visitors and Group Parenting Programmes for behaviour management in children. 1.5 Reviewing process Whenever one reviews or compares research reports, it is important that clear set of criteria are established upon which the evaluations can be made. Table 1 below outlines the global process which was used to conduct the literature review. This process was based upon that employed by Berkley et al (1999) It is important that such a framework is identified and used to structure a literature review so that all of the relevant stages are addressed and that limitations which could be associated with the methodology employed can be reduced where ever possible. Table 1: Systematic Review (Summary of Framework)(Adapted from Berkley and Glenn 1999) Identify the need Rationale, background information, existing work Formulate problem and specify objectives Background, problem specification, objectives Develop review protocol Design, resources, refinement Literature search and study retrieval Sources, search strategy, documenting a search strategy Assessing studies for inclusion Defined criteria, minimising reviewer bias, tables of studies included and excluded Assessing and grading studies Appraising checklists, hierarchies of evidence Extracting Data Data collection forms, extraction methodology Synthesizing data Qualitative overview, quantitative synthesis Interpreting results Strength of evidence implications of results Disseminating and implementing results Methods of dissemination and implementation In terms of the process used to review the selected research, the guidelines used by McInnis et al (2004) were adopted. These are displayed in Table 2 below: Table 2: Core Principles Used in Reviewing Selected Research Articles (adapted from McInnis et al 2004) Systematic reviews Adequate search strategy Inclusion criteria appropriate Quality assessment of included studies undertaken Characteristics and results of included studies appropriately summarized Methods for pooling data Sources of heterogeneity explored Randomised controlled trials Study blinded, if possible Method used to generate randomisation schedule adequate Allocation to treatment groups concealed All randomised participants included in the analysis (intention to treat) Withdrawal/dropout reasons given for each group Cohort All eligible subjects (free of disease/outcome of interested) selected or random sample 80% agreed to participate Subjects free of outcomes on interest at study inception If groups used: comparable at baseline Potential confounders controlled for Measurement of outcomes unbiased (blinded to group) Follow-up sufficient duration Follow-up complete and exclusions accounted for ( 80% included in final analysis) Case control Eligible subjects diagnosed as cases over a defined period of time or defined catchment area or a random sample of such cases Case and control definitions adequate and validated Controls selected from same population as cases Controls representative (individually matched) 80% agreed to participate Exposure status ascertained objectively Potential confounders controlled for Measurement of exposure unbiased (blinded to group) Groups comparable with respect to potential confounders Outcome status ascertained objectively 80% selected subjects included in analysis Cross-sectional/survey Selected subjects are representative (all eligible or a random sample) 80% Subjects agreed to participate Exposure/outcome status ascertained standardized way Qualitative Authors position clearly stated Criteria for selecting sample clearly described Methods of data collection adequately described Analysis method used rigorous (i.e., conceptualised in terms of themes/typologies rather than loose collection of descriptive material) Respondent validation (feedback of data/researchers interpretation to participants) Claims made for generalizability of data Interpretations supported by data The results of this analysis will be presented via the CAST tool. Thesis available in two formats. The first concerns the evaluation of qualitative research studies and the second provides a framework forth evaluation of studies which have used a randomised and controlled approach within their methodology. The use of such a framework can provide structure within the results section and ensure that the data is presented in a way which is easily read and understood by the reader. 1.6 Sources of data The methodology employed within the research will involve obtaining data from three key sources: Computerised searches, Manual searches, and the Internet. Each of these data sources will now be considered in more detail. 1.6.1 Computer-based searches The methods used in this research will include a detailed computerised literature search. Multiple databases, both online and CD–Rom will be accessed to retrieve literature because they cite the majority of relevant texts. (Ford and Miller 1999) The computerised bibliographic databases are:- †¢ MEDLINE †¢ EMBASE †¢ CINAHL †¢ PSYCHINFO †¢ British Nursing Info BNI †¢ Cochrane †¢ Science Direct (All Sciences Electronic Journals) †¢ Asia †¢ DETOC †¢ HMIC However because articles may not be correctly indexed within the computerised databases, other strategies will be applied in order to achieve comprehensive search (Sindh Dickson 1997). 1.6.2 Manual searches A manual search will be performed to ensure that all relevant literature is accessed. The manual searches will include:- †¢ Books relevant to the topics from university libraries and web sites †¢ Inverse searching- by locating index terms of relevant journal articles and texts †¢ Systematically searching reference lists and bibliographies of relevant journal articles and texts 1.6.3 The Internet The internet will provide a global perspective of the research topic and a searchable database of Internet files collected by a computer. Sites accessed will include:- †¢ Department of Health †¢ National Institute of Clinical Excellence †¢ Google †¢ The British Medical Journal website (www.bmj.com) 1.7 Identification of key words Databases use a controlled vocabulary of key words, in each citation. To assist direct retrieval of citations techniques Boolean logic will be applied using subject indexing, field searching and truncation to narrow the topic focus (Hicks 1996, Goodman 1993). As part of this approach, key words will be based on the components of the review question. An imaginative and resourceful technique of searching electronic databases will be used including recognising the inherent faults in the indexing of articles. Misclassification and misspelling will be included in the searches with searches utilising keywords and the subheadings, (Hicks 1996). Based on these principles, the following search terms will be used in different combinations: †¢ Behaviour Management †¢ Children †¢ Anti-Social Behaviour †¢ Health Visitors †¢ Group Parenting Programmes †¢ Webster-Stratton †¢ Solihull †¢ Evaluation Further search terms may be used within the methodology if they are identified within some of the initial search items. Whenever one is searching literature ‘sensitivity’ and ‘’specificity’ are important issues when conducting searches of research on a database. The searches need to be as ‘sensitive’ as is possible to ensure that as many of the relevant articles are located. This may be a particularly salient issue with regards to the evaluation of behavioural management techniques for children as the number of appropriate entries may be limited. Thus an attempt to locate as many of these articles as possible becomes a more relevant and important objective. Furthermore, the search needs to be ‘specific’. In other words, it needs to be efficient where appropriates that a higher number of the articles identified through a database search can be included and hence the time allocated to reviewing articles which are ultimately of no relevance, can be kept at inacceptable level. 1.8 Inclusion/Exclusion criteria In order that a manageable quantity of pertinent literature is included in this study, it is essential that inclusion and exclusion criteria are applied. In order that a diverse perspective of the topic is examined broad criteria will be used. (Benignant 1997). However, it is important to note that a balance needs to be achieved through which the scope of the inclusion criteria is sufficiently wide to include relevant articles whilst also being sufficiently specific such that the retrieval of an unmanageable set of articles is avoided. 1.8.1 Inclusion criteria: The articles which are highlighted within the proposed searches will be assessed in terms of whether or not they meet the following criteria. Each article will need to be viewed as appropriate with regards to all of these constraints if they are to be included in the final analysis. †¢ A literature review encompassing all methodologies will be applied ( Pettigrew 2003) †¢ International studies will be included †¢ Available in English †¢ Relate to the evaluation of Health Visitors and/or Group Parenting Programmes †¢ Focus on the behaviour of young children 1.8.2 Exclusion criteria The articles highlighted by the searches will also be assessed in terms of whether or not they fulfil the following exclusion criteria. If a potential relevant article meets one or more of these criteria then they will be immediately excluded from the data set and will not be included within the analysis stage of the methodology. †¢ It is not the purpose of this review to discuss the development of behavioural management interventions so studies focusing on this will be excluded †¢ Literature in a foreign language will be excluded because of the cost and difficulties in obtaining translation. †¢ Research reported prior to 1990 will not be included within this review. 1.9 Consideration of ethical issues Any research involving NHS patients/service users, carers, NHS data, organs or tissues, NHS staff, or premises requires the approval of ankhs research ethics committee (REC).(DH 2001) A literature review involves commenting on the work of others, work that is primarily published or in the public domain. This research methodology does not require access to confidential case records, staff, patients or clients so permission from an ethics committee is not required to carry out there view. However, it is essential to ensure that all direct quotes are correctly referenced. Permission must be sought from the correspondent before any personal communication may be used. All copyrights need tube acknowledged and referenced. The researcher will also act professionally when completing this report and ensure that research is identified, reviewed and reported accurately and on a scientific basis. The analyses of the ten selected articles will now be summarised. 2.0 Results and CAST tool Based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria for this literature review, a set of ten research studies were selected. They will now be analysed using the CAST Tool. Article 1: Morrell and Walters (2000) TITLE Costs and effectiveness of community post-natal support workers: Randomised controlled trial AUTHORS Morrell CJ and Walters PS SOURCE British Medical Journal, 2000: 321, 593-598 QUESTION 1: FOCUS This research was sufficiently focussed on assessing the cost effectiveness of a series of home visits by a health visitor. It aimed to determine the cost of this intervention compared to that which would be normally incurred through the maternity process. It also aimed to investigate the health benefits of these individual home visits for the mothers and children involved. QUESTION 2: APPROPRIATENESS A randomised controlled trial was employed within the methodology of this research as it provided a group with which the results of the women in the intervention group could be compared. Therefore the progress of women who had recently given birth could be monitored and analysed to see if there were any significant differences as a result of the attendance of a Community post-natal suppor t worker. QUESTION 3: ALLOCATION A total of 623 women who had recently given birth were recruited for the study at a university teaching hospital. They were randomly allocated to either the intervention group (N = 311)or the control group (N = 312). The only requirement for inclusion in the study was that the participants were giving birth. Participants were not matched for factors such as their age, marital status or whether or not it was their first child. It was presumed that such individual differences would be controlled for by the random allocation of the participants within the relatively large sample. Subsequent analysis of the characteristics of those in the sample revealed that there was no significant differences in terms of age between the intervention and the control group. Neither did they differ on a set of88 socio-economic details. QUESTION 4: BLINDED The intervention participants were not blind to the fact that they were receiving help from a support worker. No de tailed information is given of the control group and of what their perception and knowledge of the research was. Inevitably the support workers themselves knew that they were in the intervention group. The potential, however, for observational bias was relatively small as the dependent variables were provided by the participant. As they had nuclear interest in demonstrating that the intervention had made appositive effect when it actually had not, this should have helped to ensure that the data given were accurate accounts of what had actually happened. . QUESTION 5: ACCOUNTED FOR Of the 623 participants who were recruited for the original study, a total of 551 participants completed the whole study through to the follow up stage. The cases of drop out were due tithe participants not wanting to complete the course of home visits or because they did not return the questionnaires at the follow up stage. QUESTION 6: FOLLOW-UP A range of questionnaires were completed by the participan ts at the six week and six month follow up stages. It would have been interesting to combine this approach with a more qualitative method, such as a focus group, such that a more in-depth data set could be gained to supplement the quantitative data. QUESTION 7: CHANCE The study employed a relatively large sample of 551 participants. QUESTION 8: FINDINGS Therefore were no significant health benefits associated with the intervention at the six week or six month follow up periods. The cost of the intervention to the NHS was  £815 for the intervention group and  £639 for the control group. There were no differences between the groups in terms of their use of the social services and in personal costs. QUESTION 9: PRECISE The study provides p values which indicates that there are no significant benefits associated with this intervention despite it being significantly more expensive. QUESTION 10: OUTCOMES As a result of the relatively large sample it would appear that these results co uld be generalised to other simple hospital situations in the UK. Based on the statistics provided, one would not recommend this intervention in terms of the health benefits. Having said this, it was a popular intervention with the women who received it and this may have value in itself. Article 2: Scott et al (2001a) TITLE Multi-centre controlled trial of parenting groups for childhood anti-social behaviour in clinical practice. AUTHORS Scott S, Spender Q, Dolan M, Jacobs B and Ashland H SOURCE British Medical Journal, 2001, 323, 194 QUESTION 1: FOCUS This research was sufficiently focused on the evaluation of a specific programme for a specific age group and set of behaviours. QUESTION 2: APPROPRIATENESS A sample of 141 3-8 year olds were allocated to either receive the intervention or to go on a waiting list(control group). Allocation was based on the date of referral This was an appropriate approach for this research study as it enabled the effects of the intervention programme to be evaluated. QUESTION 3: ALLOCATION The controlled trial approach was used as the allocation procedure should help to ensure that the children in the intervention and control groups exhibited equivalent anti-social behaviour and hence individual differences could be controlled for. QUESTION 4: BLINDED The particip ants were blind to the allocation stage of the methodology. The participants were aware that they were taking part in an evaluation study. The people who rated video tapes on the parent participants and their children was blind to whether the participant had been in the intervention group or in the control group. Therefore the ratters were blind to treatment and condition. QUESTION 5: ACCOUNTED FOR A total of 31 participants dropped out of the study as they did not attend a sufficient number of the intervention sessions. QUESTION 6: FOLLOW-UP Participants were followed up five to seven months after the base line stage. Six measures of child behaviour were taken as well as one measure of parenting behaviour. This is inacceptable follow up period for this form of study. A long term follow-up, however, would have helped to establish the permanence of any significant changes which result from the intervention. QUESTION 7: CHANCE A power calculation was reported in this study and the s ample size exceeds that which is recommended. Thus it could be argued that sufficient steps have been taken to minimise the possible influence of chance. QUESTION 8: FINDINGS The referred children who took part in the study were highly anti-social. A significant reduction was observed in taint-social behaviour of those within the intervention group. The behaviour of those within the control group was found to remain constant. The praise given by parents was found to increase three fold by those in the intervention group and to decrease by a third for those in the control group. QUESTION 9: PRECISE Confidence levels are provided within the statistical section of the study. Based on these it could be concluded that the parental group behavioural programme does have a significant impact on serious anti-social behaviour among children. QUESTION 10: OUTCOMES The large sample and sound methodology employed within this research would lead one to conclude that these results could be gene ralised to children of similar ages and with similar levels of anti-social behaviour. Article 3: Harrington et al (2000) TITLE Randomised comparison of the effectiveness and costs of community and hospital based mental health services for children with behavioural disorders. AUTHORS Harrington R, Peters S, Green J, Byford S, Woods J and McGowan R. SOURCE British Medical Journal, 2000, 321, 1047-1050 QUESTION 1: FOCUS The research focused on the evaluation of a community based versus a hospital based delivery of mental health services for children with behavioural disorders. The question set was relatively broad including both the costs and effectiveness of the approaches but it was sufficiently focused on specific programmes. QUESTION 2: APPROPRIATENESS The parent/child participant pairing were randomly allocated to receive the behavioural programme either at community location or at the hospital. This allocation was performed bay researcher who was independent of the study. The allocation was performed using stratified sampling between the two different health authorities involved in the research. Q UESTION 3: ALLOCATION This randomisation was performed such that no bias within the allocation procedure could have an influence on the results. The potential of parental expectations as a confounding variable was also acknowledged and assessed. No significant difference was found between the two groups on this variable. QUESTION 4: BLINDED At the observational stage of the research theatre was blind to the treatment group of the participants. This was demonstrated when they tried to identify the location which different participants had received the intervention. Their performance on this task was no better than chance. QUESTION 5: ACCOUNTED FOR A full set of data was available for 115 out of the 141 participants who took part in the research. The drop outs occurred through non-attendance to the programme sessions or no data being provided at the follow up stage. QUESTION 6: FOLLOW-UP The participants were followed up one year after the base line stage. QUESTION 7: CHANCE The sa mple size was selected based on the size of the effect which was required by the purchaser and the provider’s agreements regarding whether the programme would be accepted for wider implementation. QUESTION 8: FINDINGS It was reported that there were no significant differences between the intervention groups in terms of the parents’/teachers reports of the child’s behaviours, the parents ‘criticisms of the child and the impact of the child’s behaviour on the family. Parental depression was identified as a significant problem and variable which predicted the outcome of the child’s behaviour assessments. QUESTION 9: PRECISE The ultimate finding of this research was fairly specific in suggesting that the location in which a parental behavioural management programme was delivered did not have significant impact on the child’s behaviour. It appears more important that a range of services are made available, including those which address par ental depression. QUESTION 10: OUTCOMES The large sample and the use of two different health care authorities would lead one to conclude that these findings could be generalised to other areas of the UK. Article 4: Buts et al (2001) TITLE Effectiveness of home intervention for perceived child behavioural problems and parental stress in children with utero drug exposure AUTHORS Buts AM, Pulpier M, Marino N, Belcher M, Leers M and Royall R. SOURCE Archives of Paediatric and Adolescent Medicine, 2001, 155, 1029-1037 QUESTION 1: FOCUS This research project was specifically focused on evaluating a home intervention programme which aimed to educate and provide support for parents of children with perceived behavioural problems. QUESTION 2: APPROPRIATENESS Participants were mothers who had recently given birth at one of two urban based hospitals in Baltimore, USA. They were randomly allocated to either receive the home visits or to be given the standard care package which would usually be given. QUESTION 3: ALLOCATION Random allocation was used to overcome any potential bias which could have been present if the researchers had allocated the participants. This enabled an assessment of the relative benefits of the home intervention to be determined over and above that which would be associated with standard care. QUESTION 4: BLINDED The data obtained within the study was via questionnaires completed by the parental participants. They were blind at the allocation stage of the study but clearly they knew that they had been either exposed or not exposed to the home visit intervention. The child behaviour ratings were given by an independent observer. QUESTION 5: ACCOUNTED FOR A total of 100 participants took part in the study. A sample of 51 participants comprised the standard care control group with 49 being in the intervention group. The details of the dropout rates were not clear. QUESTION 6: FOLL